Page 59 of Misfit
Harlow
Monday Night
Dark Haven Courtyard
We didn’t have to wait long to see what was coming our way. The ground shook beneath us as the building creaked violently. I half expected the entire thing to come tumbling down around us. As the quakes continued, artwork and plaster rained down on the floor. If not for Kol’s wings covering us and Monty’s shadows engulfing the area, we’d likely be crushed under some of the debris.
“Shit, the portal,” Drake said, already heading that way. We burst outside and my heart stopped at the scene unfolding before us.
At least ten bodies lined the ground in front of the portal. Blood was pouring from the slashes on their throats, pooling on the ground and soaking into the earth below.
The portal itself had changed, opening even wider now and pulsing with power. The flames shot into the night sky and filled the courtyard with an eerie glow. A low noise that resembled thunder echoed out of the hole. It was utterly terrifying.
This was what Hel was waiting for.
“This is why she called us to Helheim. It was a distraction so the warden could sacrifice the innocents,” Monty said.
“Why is my blood different than theirs, I’m a fucking human, just like they are! This doesn’t make sense,” I said. Shadows filled the space, the familiar emptiness of my shadows pushing at me in a time of crisis. It was almost reassuring.
“You’re not just a human, you’re bonded to demons and gargoyles, there’s something different about you. But I don’t think it’s just going to happily close this portal. There’s no way it’s that easy,” Drake said in frustration.
“Easy?” I choked out. “You think killing myself would be easy?” Honestly, I was more numb than anything now, not truly letting it hurt me.
Drake looked at me with an annoyed expression. “Don’t read between the lines here, Harlow. We’ve already made it clear that death is not an option.”
Another forceful quake had us pitching forward and falling to the ground. We tried to scramble to our feet but it was unrelenting, a wave of demons in the hundreds pouring out of the portal and racing past us.
Kol’s horn sounded behind us, calling the gargoyles to action but there was no response. They were likely already occupied and failing to stem the tide of demons.
“I know what we need to d—” Monty’s words cut off abruptly, and when I turned to face him, he was gone. There were no shadows or smoke left in his wake like there usually was, and I knew that my protector had been taken by Hel. My chest ached at the loss, as if our bond were being severed. Pain lanced through me so intensely that I could barely breathe or think. Tears blurred my vision as reality tore through me just as sharply as the dwindling bond.
She’d followed through on her promise, Hel was giving me no choice but to die.
But would it even save him?
“NO!”I screamed into the void, angry and broken. What did I ever do to deserve the pains she’d given me all these years. And this was my final thanks for that sacrifice? She was more of a monster than heeverwas.
Was this the real reason she put the warden here? To whisk my demon away when I needed him most. Giving me no choice but to fight without him?
“He’s gone,” I choked out. “She took him.”
As abruptly as the horde appeared, they were gone. The courtyard descended into an empty silence.
But we weren’t alone.
The warden and Gravik stood in front of us, smiling as if they had already won. The arrogance had me letting out a war cry, but it was cut off with a wave of Gravik’s hands. It felt as if my body had turned to stone, a heavy weight pressing into me as I was rendered motionless. I couldn’t move or fight. If she wanted a willing sacrifice, this was the last thing that would achieve it.
Kol let out a roar in protest behind us and Drake was cursing up a storm. I looked up at Roman and he was pale, frozen as the fight drained from him. He looked resigned, and I knew what was going through his head. He was about to be forced to watch someone die in front of him again. Someone he wanted to protect.
I hated that he would suffer even more trauma from this, and I couldn’t let that happen, I had to get us out of this.
The real fucking question was how. I had no magic to fight back, only a blade I couldn’t reach for.
“What do you hope to gain from this?” I asked. Yelling wasn’t my intention but my voice was hysterical, there was no helping it, and I no longer cared about showing weakness. I’d had enough. Even my hallucinations kept their distance, forming on the borders of the courtyard and not bothering to move in as they watched it all unfold. A constant presence I found oddly grounding in that moment.
Askaal laughed at my struggle. “I stand to gain an army, and I’ll be even more powerful than you could ever dream to be. It willallbe at my fingertips. It never made sense that the warden, the one Hel trusted her entire prison to, didn’t control her army. And now your commander is going to rot away in the same prison I’ve watched over for centuries. Don’t worry, I prepared one of my best rooms for him.”
Gravik laughed. “Every time you call for him, he will hear you, but won’t be able to rush to your side. In fact, every ounce of pain we give you, he will feel tenfold. Imagine being so helpless. How poetic that you’ll die and he can’t even stop it.”