BloodWitchInferno Page 4

  She followed it through twists and turns and it grew stronger. Uncertain, Mira slowed, sniffing the air. The atmosphere was acrid, the walls around her duller than before. Her heart beating rapidly, she turned around to tell Karnon what she had found.

  A demon stepped out of the shadows in front of her.

  “So you are the one following me,” he said, his voice slithering over her.

  She opened her mouth to yell but he was beside her, gripping her by the wrists and covering her mouth.

  “Now, now. None of that, my little blood-witch.”

  Up close the resemblance to Karnon was clear, except his dark eyes were colder and his expression meaner. She struggled in his grip and bit down on his hand.

  “Bitch!” he cursed.

  She inhaled to scream as his fist smashed into her temple.

  Chapter Four

  A Circle of Witches

  “Xander has been on Father to name a heir. He’s really stressing the old man out.” Cronus paced in front of Karnon, his expression concerned.

  “Have you talked to him?”

  “I tried, but you know Xander, slippery as always. Says some simpering thing like ‘he just wants to be there for his father.’”

  “Well maybe he does,” Karnon said.

  “He doesn’t give a shit about our father!” Cronus whirled to face Karnon. “If he cared he wouldn’t be adding stress to his state.”

  “That bad?” Karnon willed it not to be true.

  “I’m afraid so. This illness is nothing like anything our medicine man has seen before.”

  “I’ll talk to Xander. I just have to take care of something first.”

  “Be careful with her,” Cronus said. “With our leader weakened it’s a dangerous time for a witch, and anyone who brought her here.”

  “You worry about taking care of Father. I can take care of myself,” Karnon said.

  “Your funeral.” Cronus saluted his brother and stalked off. Karnon shook his head. He couldn’t believe Xander was pressuring their father to name an heir, not allowing Satan to rest when he needed it most. It was time to have a long talk with Xander.

  “Damn it, where did she disappear to?” Karnon stood in the empty enclave, Cronus’ warning echoing in his head. He had to find that blood-witch before she got into serious trouble.

  He cursed again and stalked through the tunnels. What had he shown her? Something must have caught her interest and she’d probably gone back to check it out. He began to retrace their steps.

  * * * * *

  Mira was sure her brain was going to punch out of her skull. She opened her eyes. They watered from the intense pain at her temple. Disoriented, she sat up and then regretted it as the room spun around her. She moaned and buried her head in her hands.

  “And my sleeping beauty wakes up.”

  A cold voice floated out of the darkness. Mira raised her head again.

  “Where am I?” she whispered.

  The owner of the voice shifted into view. In the low red light his sharp face and corded, muscled neck were terrifying. Mira swallowed. His smile became predatory.

  “Now what’s a tasty morsel like you doing wandering through the halls?”

  “You’re Karnon’s brother.”

  That made him pause. He watched her.

  She felt a dim ray of hope. “He’ll be looking for me, you know.”

  The demon threw back his head and laughed. Mira shrank back from the sound.

  “My foolish witch, Karnon has never guessed what I have been busy with for some time. What makes you think he would even think to look for you here?”

  “Let me go.”

  He stepped forward. “That I can’t let you do. I have worked too hard and waited too long for this. I will not have some blood-witch on the loose to mess it up.” Xander looked at her scornfully. “I would not try to escape.”

  He leaned closer, his heavy breath on her face. She cringed.

  “For I can do things to you that will make you understand the true meaning of the word ‘hell’,” he hissed.

  Mira trembled.

  “Now come. I will add you to my collection of pretties.”

  He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. She winced in pain, her head still pounding from the earlier blow, and faltered. He slapped her. Shocked, she put one hand up to her cheek where it burned.

  “Move, you lazy bitch!”

  Bowing her head, she stumbled in the direction he pulled, her eyes teary. He muttered something. A tunnel appeared in the same way it had in Karnon’s room. Grunting, Xander pushed her through it.

  At the room on the other end, Mira caught her breath, horrified. Almost a dozen women in various stages of starvation lay scattered in heaps on the floor. Some looked up listlessly when they entered. Most didn’t move.

  “Ladies, welcome the newest member of our family.”

  He leered at Mira, who flushed. Xander paused and his eyes became unfocused, as if he listened to something only he could hear.

  He snapped back to attention. “Well, it looks like our fun will have to be postponed. I have work to do.” He grabbed Mira and shoved her to the floor.

  She cried out in pain as she struck the hard stone floor. None of the women reacted.

  “No one is to speak to her. I command it,” he said, pointing around the room.

  Mira shivered from the surge of power from his words.

  He smiled, bending down to tweak her nipples. “I think I am going to enjoy you.”

  She pushed his hands away. He growled and slapped her again, harder than the last time. Pain exploded behind her eyes.

  “You will not disobey me!”

  She whimpered.

  “I will be back to finish this.” He stalked out the tunnel, his threat lingering behind him. The entrance closed, leaving a smooth wall.

  Mira was trapped.

  She covered her breasts with her hands as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, and began to shake, the pain from his blows still fresh.

  She clenched her fists. She would just have to escape before he got back. She searched for any sign of hope or help from her fellow prisoners but there was nothing. She tried not to gag at the sight of ribs sticking out under shrunken breasts and skin stretched taut against meatless bones. How were these women still alive?

  She explored the small cave of her prison, picking her way around the limp bodies. A loose scattering of throw pillows on the floor showed a poor attempt at comfort. No windows or doors, at least none visible to the naked eye. She ran her fingers down the place Xander had exited but the smooth walls gave nothing away.

  Mira crouched next to a small woman with black skin and dull eyes. Probably in her early twenties, although hard to tell with the prematurely aged face and stretched and ashy skin.

  “How long have you been like this?” Mira asked.

  The witch stared back with eyes that didn’t focus.

  “Can you really not speak to me?”

  The witch reached out a hand. Mira held out hers, unsure.

  “Ow!” Mira jerked away after the girl’s teeth sank into her palm. Another witch, older with graying hair, tottered over. She shook her head at the dark girl and gently slapped the hand away from Mira.

  “Thank you,” Mira said, rubbing her hand. The bite had not been strong enough to do any damage—it had barely left a mark. The young witch smacked her lips, chewing imaginary food. The older woman sank back to the ground, breathing heavily from the exertion. She mimed fingers to lips, indicating the girl was just hungry.

  “He doesn’t feed you and he keeps you here. How are you all still alive?”

  The witch tapped her chest and pantomimed horns on her head.

  “Xander keeps you alive?”

  A nodded response.

  “How long have you been here?”

  The worn expression told Mira it had been very long time.

  “How long has she been here?” Mira pointed at the girl who had bitten her. It
was indicated they both had been there for the same amount of time.

  “But you are older than her?”

  The older witch shrugged and pantomimed horns again.

  “So you don’t age here?”

  The witch shook her head.

  Mira’s heart pounded. That meant these women could have been here for years—no, decades. “Is there one here named Selena?”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed. Mira swallowed her eagerness, trying to keep her expression neutral as she was stared down. A tingling sensation caused the hair on her arms to stand up. She was being prodded by something, a weak magic, as if a hundred caterpillars crawled over her skin. It withdrew and the witch’s expression lightened. She lifted one hand and pointed. Mira followed the line of her finger. In the corner there was a body. Dazed, Mira picked her way over and looked down at the remains of her mother.

  “Mommy?”

  * * * * *

  Karnon chewed his lip. He had searched everywhere and still no sign of Mira. It shouldn’t take this long to find her. If he got close enough to her, he should sense her presence, but so far, nothing, which meant she was either very far away or behind a closed cave. Absorbed in his thoughts he nearly ran into his brother, who was hurrying the opposite direction.

  “Xander! I’ve been meaning to speak with you.”

  Xander flicked a glance at him. “I’m late for something, can it wait?”

  Karnon sensed Xander’s impatience as well as something deeper. Fear? Annoyed, he stepped close to Xander, struggling to rein in his temper.

  “On your way to see our father?”

  Xander slunk a step away. Karnon had always disliked that about his brother. Xander was passive-aggressive, he was never straight with Karnon.

  “Go easy on him, okay?” Karnon asked.

  “Cronus needs to watch his mouth. You know, he’s the one who’s strutting around like he’s the favorite for succession. I want to make sure our father isn’t fooled into making a hasty decision, considering how delicate he is,” Xander snapped.

  Karnon stared at his brother, unsure what to think. This was why he didn’t want to be the next Satan. He hated politics, it brought out the worst in everyone. He wasn’t good at playing sneaky games.

  “Well whatever Cronus is doing you both need to back off,” Karnon said after a long pause. “Also maybe you can help me. I brought a blood-witch back with me and now she’s disappeared. You didn’t pass anything strange recently, did you?”

  Xander’s eyes were flat and cold. “No, I didn’t. What were you thinking, bringing one of those here?”

  Karnon ran his fingers through his hair. “I wasn’t exactly thinking.”

  Xander smirked, a knowing look on his face. Karnon wanted to punch him.

  “Well, guess you better get going. Don’t want to be too late for that meeting. I’m going to keep searching,” Karnon said and turned to leave.

  “Don’t bother. There’s nothing that way,” Xander said.

  “You sure?”

  “Come to think about it, I did hear a rumor about some disturbance on Level Four,” Xander said, snapping his fingers. “Come on, it’s on the way to my meeting. I’ll walk with you.”

  Karnon hesitated. As much as he disliked the idea, walking with Xander would give him a chance to talk some sense into him about their father. And if there really was a disturbance up on Level Four he would bet his horns that his damn blood-witch was behind it.

  * * * * *

  Mira stroked her unconscious mother’s hair, holding her in her arms. Tears threatened and she willed herself to be strong. At least her mother still lived, even if barely. Although much thinner and sickly pale, Mira recognized the snub nose and small birthmark on the left cheek. Her mother appeared prematurely aged but not as old as the added twenty years since Mira had stumbled into the attic on that fateful night.

  “Mommy, what has he done to you?” Mira rocked her mother, ignoring the curious glances from a few of the other women in the room.

  Her mother was unresponsive. Mira waited for any sign of consciousness. It wasn’t fair! She had come all this way just to find her mother almost dead. She wanted to scream and shake her into action. Trying to contain her tremors, she lowered her mother back down to the ground. In the pit of her stomach electricity bubbled. Magic called her, dared her to use it.

  Shaky, she stood up, lowered her head and closed her eyes, putting her hands over her belly, struggling to keep the power from exploding out of her. She wasn’t sure what would happen and if it would harm to the poor prisoners around her. Looking at her mother limp on the floor, her skin began to glow and heat raced through her veins. Mira breathed in and out, her awareness clouding, the view beneath her eyelids becoming red. She was losing her grip. It pushed, insistent, wanting to be released.

  Then, through the fog of anger, another presence tugged at her. She opened her eyes. The older witch stared at her, drawing Mira’s attention away from her internal struggle. Mira stared back. The two woman, one emaciated and old, the other young and vibrant with life, locked eyes. The air crackled between them. The heat inside Mira’s body responded to the older witch. It was calming, fading. Mira took one last breath and the sense of needing to release the magic inside her faded, ebbing to a dull ache in her stomach.

  The older witch tottered and swayed, her face expressing wonderment. Mira rushed to her side, sidestepping the other women on the floor whose attentions suddenly focused on them. As Mira held up the older woman, supporting her, she felt a shift in the atmosphere. All the witches, besides her unconscious mother, watched her and their eyes betrayed something.

  She caught her breath as she realized it was hope.

  If only she could communicate with them.

  “Can someone write?” she asked the group. “Write words in the ground to talk to me?”

  The witch shook her head, making the sign for Xander again.

  “So he’s controlling all communication then?”

  The witch nodded and then made more gestures.

  “But you can sign with me?”

  The witch flexed her skinny arm and pointed at herself.

  “You’re strong?”

  Her friend nodded, flexing again and waving a hand at the rest of the room.

  “Stronger than all of them?”

  The witch pointed at Mira’s mother and shook her head.

  “Not as strong as Serena?”

  Mira got an affirmative nod. The others gathered around them, paying close attention. Mira tried to ignore the heavy stench of unwashed, naked bodies and the uncomfortable sense that she was surrounded by skeletons.

  “What happened to my mother?”

  From the witch’s pantomimes it appeared that Xander had beaten Mira’s mother until she passed out. The rage started to grow again. The older woman put one hand on Mira’s chest and smiled. The rage subsided.

  “Why are you smiling?”

  She pointed at Mira’s mouth.

  “My mouth?”

  She shook her head and opened her mouth, moving her lips.

  “Speaking?”

  The old witch nodded enthusiastically.

  “I’m speaking?”

  The air was ripe with excitement. Mira gazed around. The prisoners watched her, their eyes wide and eager. Why were they so happy she was talking?

  It dawned on her.

  “I can talk!”

  More smiles greeted her.

  “I can talk, which means Xander didn’t put me under the spell, which means he can’t put me under spells?”

  One of the smallest girls clapped her hands and wheezed from the effort. The woman Mira held up opened and closed her hands in an exploding motion and pointing once again at Mira’s chest.

  Mira didn’t need to understand what the witches wanted anymore. She knew.

  * * * * *

  The walls of their prison rumbled. Mira took a deep breath as the rest of the women scattered to assume their wilted positions aroun
d the floor. Her mother was still unconscious but breathing. Mira still wasn’t sure how her spell would work. It had proven too complex to explain, no matter how many gestures the old witch had made. All she’d understood was that she had to release her anger-fueled power at Xander and hope for the best. Simply thinking about Xander, the rage rumbled inside her and she took another deep breath. She did not want to attack the demon here and risk hurting her mother.

  The hole in the wall appeared and Xander strode through, his expression gleeful. Something had him in a good mood. Mira trembled and looked down, not wanting to give away her new understanding of the situation.

  “Today is a good day, my lovelies.”

  He paused and Mira risked a glance up. He observed the unconscious figure in the corner, a frown on his mouth.

  “Useless,” he said. He turned back to the others. “Well, I believe it is time to celebrate as my plans are coming along and I have a new addition to my collection.” He leered at Mira. She lowered her eyes again, playing the submissive.

  “Which of you shall I have today?”

  He stood in front of the old witch, wrinkling his face in disgust. “My oldest bitch. Too old to please me in bed but you do offer something.”

  Mira looked away from the calm despair in the old woman’s eyes as Xander placed his hands on the witch’s head. The energy and vitality that the old witch had shown earlier slipped away, draining into the demon’s hands. When he finished the witch fell to the ground, breathing, but just barely.

  Xander’s eyes glowed golden and he licked his lips. “Now for a more physical pleasure.”

  He grabbed the youngest woman by the arm, yanking her up. The little witch yelped and Xander pinched her ass. “None of that now,” he hissed. He moved on and the girl lurched after him. Bile rose up in Mira’s throat and she swallowed. He selected another and then reached Mira. He caressed her shoulders and Mira strained not to shudder with distaste.

  “These girls will show you what I like,” he whispered in her ear. “And you better do it or you may not be as lucky to survive as they have.”