She lay her head against his chest, ‘Don’t ever leave me again,’ she begged, ‘I cannot stand it.’
‘I won’t,’ Kai promised.
CHAPTER 23
By the time night fell, the police had given up their search. But Kai still felt that something was amiss. He looked over at Sienna who was sitting next to the fire. He wondered whether he was capable of protecting her the way she needed to be protected. Being with him meant that she would always be in danger. He couldn’t rid himself of the nagging feeling that continuously plagued his mind. He knew she wasn’t safe out here in the open, but it was too late now to turn back. They would only be captured by the police, or worse – by Quinn himself. Meanwhile, Astrid walked over to Sienna. She plopped herself down next to the fire and took a long look at Sienna who refused to return the look.
‘You know, one day you’ll like me,’ Astrid teased, ‘I’m not as bad as you think.’
Sienna huffed in protest. ‘No, you’re a saint,’ she replied sarcastically.
She shifted closer to the fire to block out the cool evening breeze. Ogel was lying on his back in the water. He seemed completely at home in these surroundings.
Kai wondered how he got it right to live so reclusively without getting lonely. He felt sorry for him, even though it didn’t look like he needed to.
Ogel seemed happy, in a peculiar way. Kai leaned back against a rock and tried to think of happier times with Sienna, before everything went awry; before Allison’s death and before he knew about beasts and vampires – before he knew that he himself was a monster. But the confusion of his reality returned with force and he knew that there was no turning back now.
Kai kept an eye on Astrid to make sure she didn’t frighten Sienna again. Astrid seemed to have drifted off into a meditative state, looking almost dead, which made Sienna shift away uncomfortably. Kai sat down next to her and placed an arm around her.
‘You okay?’ he asked.
‘I’m fine,’ she said, as she leaning against him. ‘Are you scared?’
Kai thought about it, and had to admit that he was. ‘Yes, I am,’ he said as he placed his chin gently on her soft hair.
‘Me too,’ she replied as she drifted off to sleep.
****
The next morning Kai woke up with a jolt of panic, and a tight rope around his neck. He couldn’t breathe. He frantically flailed around as he tried to break free, but within seconds the light seemed to grow dimmer and the images of Sienna’s fearful face lingered until only darkness remained.
****
‘Kai, wake up,’ Sienna said repeatedly as she tried to get Kai to wake from a deep sleep. He could only hear her faintly as he struggled against the darkness.
Immediately after opening his eyes, he grabbed at her, ‘Are you okay?’ he spluttered in a panicked voice.
‘Yes, yes, I’m fine, but I don’t know where we are,’ Sienna said as she sat back against a cold concrete wall. ‘It looks like some kind of dungeon.’
He looked around him, taking in his surroundings, but nothing looked familiar, ‘Where are Astrid and Ogel?’ he asked, realising that they weren’t in the dungeon with them.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied with a sigh. ‘They weren’t with us when they took us.’
Still confused about what happened, he stood up and walked over towards the thickly barred cell door, ‘Who took us?’
‘I did,’ answered a dark voice from the corner of the cell. Sienna jumped at the sight of gleaming red eyes appearing from the walls. The eyes flowed out from the wall like liquid, transforming into a human.
‘Who are you?’ Kai demanded.
‘Oh come on Kai, you already know who I am,’ the dark stranger said, flashing his teeth.
‘I…’ Kai stammered, shaking his head, ‘I’ve seen you before,’ he said surprised.
‘Don’t look so shocked dear boy. I’ve been watching you for a very long time,’ said the stranger closer towards Kai.
‘You came into the bookstore. I know who you are!’ Kai said in disbelief, his voice shaking.
A feeble laugh came from the red-eyed stranger.
‘You find it amusing?’ Sienna yelled at him.
‘Oh yes dear, I actually do,’ he said glancing at her, dissecting her with his eyes. Sienna moved closer into the corner furthest away from the odd-looking man. Kai threw a glimpse her way and desperately begged with his eyes for her to keep quiet, but before he could move, the stranger was standing over her, holding his clawed hand around her neck.
‘One step closer and I’ll rip her throat out,’ the man screeched as Kai tried to stop him. He could feel his blood boil with anger and felt his body transforming slightly.
‘Quinn, don’t,’ Kai shouted in protest. ‘Please, don’t hurt her,’ he begged.
‘So, you do know who I am,’ Quinn smirked.
‘Yes, I do, and I’ll do anything you want; just leave Sienna out of it. I was the one that broke the rules of the curse. I’ll take any punishment that comes my way,’ Kai said desperately.
‘Aww, but I was looking so forward to nibbling this dear girl’s heart. Besides, I warned you. I told you to stay away from these things that you were so eager to pursue. Maybe, if you had listened, and stayed away from this human, I would have been easy on you. Just like your father, you disobeyed my orders.
‘And look what happened to him, his bravery to protect your mother and you cost him his life. Such a shame. So now, the girl is mine,’ Quinn said calmly. Kai’s eyes grew with surprise.
Sienna squirmed as he leaned closer to her, smelling her hair.
‘Stop it,’ she tried to say, but he was cutting off her breath.
Suddenly, he released her from his grip as Kai wrenched his claws deep into his side. But in one swift movement, he had Kai flat on the floor. ‘Not yet,’ he breathed, ‘I like my meat crispy.’
As quickly as Quinn appeared, he was gone. Sienna rushed over to Kai and helped him up.
‘That was insane,’ she said, grabbing at her hair. ‘Whoa, it feels like this is some kind of dream,’ she rambled, ‘I mean, that wasn’t human. That thing almost killed us.’
‘Sienna, please, you can’t freak out now, I’m begging you, please try to stay strong for just a while longer. I’ll get us out of here,’ Kai said, taking her by the arms.
‘Okay, okay,’ she nodded, confused and frightened.
He got up and headed towards the wall where Quinn had appeared. He felt the wall, but it was solid and there were no levers. ‘How did he do that?’ he asked, amazed.
He headed towards the steel bars and tried to find a weak spot but the bars were unbreakable.
‘Shit!’ he cursed.
Sienna walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him as he rested his head against the icy cold steel.
‘I’m sorry, Sienna.’
‘It’s okay. You tried everything you could. Nobody could have predicted that things would turn out like this.’
Kai sighed, resigning himself to the fact that they’d have to attempt an escape if they were ever removed from the cell. It wasn’t ideal, but it was their best option under the circumstances. Hopefully, he would be able to overpower Quinn’s guardians, the Harpies, before they were taken forever to the underworld.
CHAPTER 24
Days passed and they were still held up in the cells without any word from Quinn. Kai could feel his body getting weak. The water and scraps of food the Harpies supplied was insufficient for their needs, particularly Kai, who was relying on his strength to make an escape.
He could no longer tell what time of day it was, or even which day it was anymore. His mind was playing tricks on him as he grew weaker. He desperately had to stay strong to ensure their safety. The ghoulish Harpies paced up and down the staircase and hallways, and in the distance Kai could hear the screams of other prisoners held in the cells.
‘I can’t understand what they’re saying,’ Sienna remarked, breaking the silence. ‘The Harpies,
I mean. They’re speaking the weirdest language.’
Kai was keeping a close eye on them and tried to follow their shift patterns, which gave him some time to figure out how many of them were on duty at a time. ‘Yeah, they’re speaking a different language, but I can understand them,’ he replied as he squinted to see.
‘You can?’
‘Yeah, I don’t know how, but I kind of understand what they’re saying. If I’m right, they’re coming to fetch us soon,’ he said, looking down at her. ‘So that means we have to be ready to fight.’
Sienna nodded. ‘I’m ready to kick some ghastly bastards’ ass,’ she quipped.
‘That’s my girl,’ he smiled.
‘You know, even though this has been the strangest living arrangement, I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together,’ she smiled. ‘It’s silly, I know.’
‘No, it’s not silly at all. I wouldn’t have been as strong if it wasn’t for you sitting here and coming up with all your genius ideas of how we should escape,’ he replied, pulling her closer.
‘Well, we’ll see how genius they are once these guys finally decide to take us for “dinner”,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘I’ve honestly given up with being scared. It isn’t worth it.
‘Nothing I can do or say will change the fact that I’m sitting in a dungeon in the underworld with my were-leopard boyfriend, plotting how to overpower a bunch of ghastly-looking and smelly, by the way, Harpies to escape death by deep fry,’ she said with a sigh.
‘Well that’s the spirit,’ Kai joked.
‘Besides, I’m hungry. I’m so hungry, I could eat three Big Mac’s and still order some KFC for the road.’
‘Uh, be still my beating heart, how I long for some French fries right now,’ Kai replied longingly.
‘And a milkshake topped with cream.’
‘And an ice cold coke.’
‘How about both?’
‘Mmm, you drive a hard bargain.’
‘Do you really think we’ll ever see the outside of this prison cell?’ she asked, looking at her hands.
‘I really don’t know.’
‘Well, if I do spend eternity in hell, I’m sure glad I’m able to spend it with you,’ she giggled.
‘Wait until we get old and cranky for being in the same space for too long. You’ll wish you’d never met me,’ he joked, running his fingers through her hair.
She shifted her body and laid her head down on his lap. ‘I’ll never grow tired of you. I belong with you, wherever you are,’ she said, closing her eyes.
CHAPTER 25
‘Wake up!’ shouted a loud, grumpy voice.
Kai doubled over as he felt a hard kick to his ribs. He quickly grabbed the wing attached to the large Harpy and twisted it. A loud snap rang through the room as the bones in the Harpy’s wing shattered into pieces. It yelped out in pain as it slumped to the floor.
‘Come on let’s go!’ Kai whispered excitedly to Sienna.
They jumped up and grabbed the key from the big bird now flailing around helplessly on the ground. The Harpy grabbed Kai by the arm, but he shifted so quickly, that it couldn’t maintain its grip. He slashed at the beast with his nails, leaving deep wounds across its face.
He grabbed Sienna’s arm and unlocked the large steel gate and they ran up the rocky staircase. They weaved their way through spider webs and a small passageway that was cold to the touch. Water was flowing along the walls, creating large puddles of mud on the ground.
‘There’s something in this water,’ Sienna said, looking down at her feet.
Something was slithering past them, making Kai feel uneasy. ‘It looks like snakes,’ Kai said.
Suddenly, faster than the eye could see, a snake entwined itself around Sienna’s leg and flashed its fangs, ready to bite. Sienna screamed, but Kai was quick and grabbed it by the tail, smashing it against the wall.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, ‘did it bite you?’
Sienna shook her head in relief. ‘This passageway seems to go on forever,’ she said as they started to walk again.
‘I don’t think it’s much further. I can hear voices. Stay behind me,’ he said, taking her small hand in his overgrown paw.
Soon, they came to the end of the pathway. They could see a red glow just in front of them. Kai slowly looked around the corner and saw that the room beyond was empty.
‘Which way do we go?’ Sienna asked looking around the deserted, mouldy corridor. ‘It’s so hot in here, like we’re close to a fire.’
Kai gestured to her to turn right. It felt damper and humid the further they walked. The humidity got so intense that they struggled to breathe.
‘Just a little further, okay Sienna?’ Kai asked, seeing that she was struggling to catch her breath.
‘Look! It’s lava,’ Sienna gasped, pointing to a small opening on the side of the wall. ‘This must be some kind of volcano.’
‘This must be what Quinn was talking about when he said he was going to fry us. We’d better hurry. I think I can smell fresh air, just up ahead.’
They started running, but once they finally found the opening to the volcano, they could see two more Harpies guarding the gate that led to the outside.
‘Stay here,’ Kai said, guiding Sienna behind a rock. He then slowly and quietly stalked the winged Harpies who were distracted, fighting with each other. Kai bent down low onto all fours and leapt on top of the largest Harpy. It yelled out in surprise as Kai sunk his claws deep into its flesh. Yellow liquid oozed from its puncture wounds.
The Harpy tossed Kai against a wall. He quickly straightened, grasping the Harpy and throwing it aside. He heard its bones break as he hit. The Harpies expanded their wings, ready to attack. They stomped towards him yielding large axe-like weapons. The shorter one swung its weapon at Kai’s head, narrowly missing him. Kai leaped to his feet and attacked the larger Harpy, smashing a fist to its face. Kai’s anger boiled uncontrollably as he exposed his fangs and sunk them deep into the shoulder of the beast, ripping out a large chunk of its flesh. And with a final blow to the head, he ripped off the Harpy’s beak and the ghoulish beast went down with a thud.
The smaller beast slashed at Kai again and this time sliced a deep wound into his back. He yelled out in pain, but quickly turned around and slashed his claws across its neck, slitting its throat. The Harpy’s wings buckled and it fell to the floor with a smack. Sienna ran towards Kai as he opened the gates. He grabbed her hand as they started running into the dark forest surrounding the volcano. He looked back over his shoulder narrowing his eyes. Suddenly he realised where they were.
‘This is our mountain Sienna! This is our forest,’ he gasped, astonished.
‘What? You mean we were this close to home all this time?’ she said, her eyes growing in amazement. She pulled at his hand, ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’
He turned around and they headed into the forest, fighting their way through the overgrown weeds and trees. They struggled for an hour to find their way. Everything seemed to look the same and they were unable to determine where they were. After a while Sienna was exhausted and asked Kai to stop. She bent over and tried to catch her breath.
‘I’m sorry Sienna. I forget that I don’t get tired and you do.’
‘It’s okay, I can manage,’ she said, standing up.
‘Come on, get on my back,’ he said as he kneeled and transformed into a four-legged leopard for her to ride comfortably.
‘Are you sure?’ she asked, a little hesitant.
‘Positive.’
She climbed on his back and threw her arms around his neck.
‘Now hold on tight,’ he said as he started running as fast as he could.
She held on tightly and put her head down. She couldn’t look up, trees whizzing past them. Kai concentrated on running as fast as he could. He could hear noises in the distance that sounded like screeching Harpies, following them.
He didn’t want Sienna to know that they were so close, so he weaved his way th
rough the trees and grass as quickly as possible. He navigated the rocks swiftly and made his way into a large opening. ‘We’re at the lake,’ he said, slightly turning his head towards Sienna.
She got off his back and walked towards the water. She bent down, cupping the ice-cold liquid into her hands and splashing it onto her face. Kai kneeled down and started drinking from the pond. He looked up at her, his piercing green eyes glimmering in the sunlight.
‘Come on, we have to keep moving.’
She obediently climbed onto his broad back. But, as he turned around and started to run, an arrow unexpectedly pierced through his lung. With a deep cry he fell to the floor and Sienna on top of him. Terrified she looked at him to see what had happened.
‘Oh no, Kai please, Kai!’ she cried, trying to touch him.
His eyes filled with pain and anguish. His panting became shallower and weaker.
‘Kai, what must I do?’ she asked alarmed.
‘Go. Run for your life,’ he gasped.
‘No, I’m not leaving you here,’ she insisted as tears of panic ran down her face. She looked around frantically.
‘Sienna, I can take care of myself. Please, run, find Astrid and Ogel and hide,’ he begged. ‘Please!’
Unsure what she should do, Sienna looked around again. ‘Hold on,’ she said, gently putting her hand around the shaft of the arrow. Hesitantly, she started to pull the weapon from his side, causing a deep-throated roar as Kai buckled over in pain. Finally, she removed the arrow and tore a piece of garment in half and pressed it against the wound.
‘How sweet,’ came a deep, booming, voice as Quinn appeared, spewing out of the air, landing with a tremor on the ground beside them.
‘What do you want from us?’ Sienna yelled at him.
‘Oh my dear girl, you know what I want from you. I want your soul.’
‘Well, you can’t have it,’ she replied stubbornly.
‘Are you sure of that?’ he asked coming closer to them, showing a menacing grimace.
Kai took a second to breathe, then placed a protective paw in front of Sienna as he got to his feet and expanded to stand as tall as Quinn. His eyes glowed with anger as he pushed Sienna behind him, away from Quinn. He grabbed the arrow and with a round kick smashed Quinn to the ground. He leaped into the air, crashing down on top of Quinn as he landed the arrow straight through his heart. Quinn retaliated, unharmed, and smashed his fist near Kai’s head, nearly knocking him unconscious.