Evie
“Why do demons end up with so many blondes in hell?” Connor asks, and I raise my eyebrows at him.
“Not another bad joke. You really aren’t going to make me laugh by telling me these. Hasn’t the last half an hour taught you anything?” I say, and he laughs.
“Nope. And the answer is . . . because they’re so hot! Get it,” he knocks my shoulder, and I just shake my head at him. “Okay, okay. What do I need to do to make you laugh, then?” he asks me.
“Nothing, I don’t know,” I mutter.
“I will find a joke that makes you laugh one day, blue,” he grins, and it makes me smile. No, he won’t, but I’m not going to burst his bubble. I look forward as we walk over a sand dune, seeing the entrance to the pyramid. There are demons everywhere, walking around the small market outside the entrance. We will have to keep our heads down to get through them and hope no one important notices us. I hold my hand up, waiting for the others to catch up to me. They all stop, sliding their bags off, and getting out their water for a drink. I do the same, reaching around Star who is sleeping in the bag, snoring loudly. I gave her some water an hour ago, so I know she is alright. Cute little tiger. I drink my water, pouring some on my face to wash the sweat away, before speaking.
“We are getting close, and we can expect there will be something waiting for us. Whoever took your princesses must know we killed and escaped their traps by now. Demons talk,” I tell them. Trex picks his axe up, holding it on his shoulder.
“We will be ready,” he says.
“Everyone be ready and keep your heads down. None of us look like demons, other than red eyes over here,” I point a finger at Azi.
“I will walk ahead,” Azi says and walks off before we can agree with him. I catch up, walking just behind him as we go down the sand and towards the stone path where there are a few demons dotted around.
“How much do you trust these Protectors?” Azi asks me quietly, never turning to look at me as he speaks.
“Not at all,” I answer simply. They could betray me at any second.
“I could take you out of here, and we could get Hali back together,” he whispers. I look back at Connor a few steps behind me, and then Trex and Nix.
“It wouldn’t work. Trust me, I have thought about killing them and leaving here, but that risks Hali’s life. I can’t do that,” I whisper back. We walk past a few demons talking quietly, their eyes watch us with curiosity, but they don’t move.
“I don’t like this, I feel like I’m missing something,” Azi says.
“Same. Can you do something for me?” I ask, and he looks back at me for a brief second, nodding.
“Anything for you, Vi,” he replies in a warm and affectionate tone.
“If anything happens, portal and find Hali. Keep her safe, she is everything. Okay?”
“For you, I promise. Nothing will happen to you, though,” he says darkly, and I believe him. I know he would do anything to save me, and if I’m honest with myself, I don’t think I would let him die.
“I have a question,” Trex says in a demanding tone, sliding into the gap between me and Connor.
“What?” I ask.
“How do we get out of the third layer of hell when we get the princesses back?” he asks. “The way we came, it’s too dangerous to take them that way.” I keep my head down as we enter the market, full of more demons than I thought. My hair covers my face well, anyway, but there is too much chance of someone here recognising me.
“There is a way,” Azi answers, looking back. “I will not tell you it. It is a family secret. You will have to trust me.” He speaks with a creepy grin that no one in their right mind would trust.
“Guess I’ll have to, demon,” he says. Well, clearly Trex is crazy.
“Everyone gather around! Gather around! We have a new sale!” I hear someone shout, and I look around to see where its coming from. We keep walking and see the demon standing on top of a row of cages. Demons all gather around, but I can’t see what is in the cages from here.
“Auctions are banned, what are they selling?” I ask Azi.
“Leave it. It doesn’t have anything to do with us, and we can’t draw trouble to ourselves,” Azi warns me, giving me a look that tells me I should do as he says. Purely because of that look, I slide away from him and into the crowd. I hear him shout my name from behind as I pull myself through the demons and get to the front. Everything seems to go silent as I look at the demon children in the cages. They have rags on skinny frames, and most are hidden in the corners, scared. One cage is full of women, all stunning demons but they don’t look in the best condition.
“What the fuck?” I mutter, looking up the demon who is selling them, shouting prices into the crowd with a greedy look on his ugly face. He is greasy, that’s literally the only way to describe him. He has red skin, spikes on his head that go down his arm and expensive clothes on. I slide my hand to my dagger but Azi gets to my side, placing his hand over mine.
“No. You do this, and we have to kill all of his bodyguards. Likely most of this crowd, and if we die, no one protects Hali,” he warns me.
“If I do nothing, I will never forgive myself. I was a child, just like them, and left alone with no one to protect me. Hali’s mother was the only one that did the right thing, and that’s what she taught me to do. The. Right. Thing,” I tell him, knocking his hand away and sliding my dagger out.
“Then we are behind you,” I hear Connor say behind me. Trex gets his axe out, nodding at me, and Nix grins as he unclips his daggers. I look up at Azi, who shakes his head, sliding his sword out slowly.
“Make your move, Vi. I’m here,” he says. I grin, lifting my dagger over my shoulder as I step in front of the crowd and fling it straight into the neck of the seller. His eyes widen as gasps fill the air, and then screams as the five demon bodyguards run at us. I run straight to the biggest-looking one in the middle, seeing how slow he is moving. He narrows his eyes at me as he lifts a purple sword into the air. I like that sword. I slide to the left at the last second, pulling my dagger out and slicing it across his arm, his sword-carrying arm. He growls, switching the sword to his other hand and running at me again. I wait this time, letting him get close and swing the sword straight at my head. I lower my entire back, making him stumble past me on my right, and I spin around, lifting my dagger, throwing it straight into his back. Right where his heart is. The bodyguard screams, falling to the floor and dropping the sword. I look around to see Azi has killed two of the bodyguards, and the protectors only have two left to kill. They can handle it. All the demons here have fled, clearly not wanting to be part of any hassle. Cowards. I walk over, pulling my dagger out of his now dead body and wiping the blood on his top before putting it back. I pick the sword up, looking it over. The whole blade is made of a purple metal, with silver tips, and it shines. There are symbols all down the one side. I’m keeping this.
“Nice,” Connor comments with a whistle, getting to my side and looking down at the sword.
“It is,” I reply, sliding my old sword out of the holder on my back, and putting the new one in. My old sword was just silver, nothing special. “It’s mine.” I grin at him. I run, jumping on the cage and climbing up, pulling myself to the top. I kick the body of the seller over, pulling the five keys off his belt. I climb back down, pulling the keys out.
“Here, help me unlock the cages,” I hand the guys a key each. Luckily the cages and keys have numbers on them, making it easy to find and unlock them. I go to mine, number one, and unlock the door. The child looks up, shaking her head of red hair with scared eyes.
“You’re free, do you understand?” I ask, and she nods, standing up. I flinch at the small bruises on her shoulders that I can see and wish I had made the seller’s death longer. “Come on, kid.” I nod my head at the door and hold my hand out. I don’t expect her to take my hand as she walks forward, but she does. Her cold hand sliding into mine. Demons usually feel hotter than normal, and yet, she feels freezing.
“Let’s find you someone to look after you,” I tell her, and she smiles up at me.
“Salvator,” she whispers. Saviour.