Page 43 of Anywhere

I knew Rook coming would be tough on her and cause more stress. I should have left right away. I didn’t know if it would help, but it couldn’t have hurt. After last night’s conversation, I knew I loved Mari, but more than that, I didn’t want her to be alone. The rules were firm. Unless a woman born into the Faction was blessed with a birthmark or she was a witch with red hair, then they were to remain unmarried and were turned into weapons. Those weapons were never allowed attachments, children, or anything else that could be used against them. Assassins for a cause. The Faction’s cause.

Mari had been sent on more missions and killed more high-level targets than she would ever tell me. I always knew when she was going, though. She wore the same outfit, packed the same travel bag, and refused to speak to me for a few days afterward. It was no life for any of the unchosen, but it was especially hard on her. Her abilities made her more vulnerable than anyone realized. I didn’t know how to keep her safe and still form my triad without the two colliding and destroying relationships on both sides.

It crushed me that this was her life. She deserved better. I had plans to change the rituals and free the women so they could find love. But to do that, I needed my triad, and so far, it had not gone the way I envisioned.

I knew all too well what it was like to want this kind of escape, not to feel the weight of everything crushing me, just for a little while.

Breathing hard, I ran into the dank underground tunnel. Touching the wall, I could feel old torches lining the rock, and with a thought, they all lit. There weren’t that many, and the wicks were low, so they didn’t cast much light, but it was enough to see where I was stepping. I’d done a quick locator spell as soon as I got into the car and didn’t like where this spot was located. It was far enough away that they wouldn’t be seen and yet was easily accessed with endless trails. The problem was that it was a long hike from the nearest road. It was the perfect spot for people to go and never return.

Three of the seven doors were open and empty. Reaching the fourth door, I opened it and prepared for an attack, but none came. I did the same to the fifth and the sixth, and panic set in. If Mari wasn’t behind the seventh door, where was she?

My hand wrapped around the metal handle of the heavy wooden door, and saying a little prayer to the spirits, I yanked it open.

There she was, lying on the dirt floor, her eyes black as night as her head lulled from side to side, her body twitching from the effects of too much demon blood. A long dark smear stretched from the corner of her mouth down the side of her neck. I’d seen this before. Too many people died from overdoses before I killed the demons and closed all the portals—or thought I closed them all.

“Fuck, Mari. Yer no’ dyin’ on me.”

I quickly sheathed my sword and pulled out the small pouch I grabbed before leaving. It was the only concoction I’d come up with that beat back the demon’s effects and pushed the blood out of the body. Pulling the small blue bottle from the pouch, I lifted Mari so she was leaning against me. Removing the cork with my teeth, I spat it to the side, then forced her mouth open and her chin up.

“Drink it, Mari. Dinnie choke,” I said as I poured the syrupy elixir into her mouth.

Her face was covered in dirt, and she had a massive bruise. I would worry about that later. I wished I had healing abilities. There were so many things I could do, but healing wounds or helping those that were ill was beyond those in our Faction. Only one Faction could heal and make potions that would fix just about anything. But they stayed to themselves and never wanted alliances with anyone.

She tried to turn her head away, but I held her jaw firm and forced her to take every last drop. When it was empty, I put the bottle away and stood to pick her up. A soft hissing sound caught my ear, and I pulled one of the long knives from my chest. The cavern was once more plunged into darkness.

They didn’t know who they were dealing with, I was Rhys McGregor, and I owned the darkness. Slicing my hand with the knife, I licked the blood from my palm, and instantly, the tiny blood offering allowed me to see in the dark as if it were day.

The Basalainn was the largest I’d ever seen, but the size didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it was sent back to the depths. The creatures reminded me of something shapeless and yet like tall insects at the same time. They had oddly shaped heads with rows of sharp teeth, and their long, spindly arms reminded me of an ugly octopus.

It thought it could sneak up on me, so I figured I would play along. Stumbling out into the open space of the cave, I put my arms out as if searching for the wall. The creature fell for it and lowered into a crouch to pounce.

They were surprisingly easy to kill, but only if you put a blade through their skull. Anywhere else, they could heal and regenerate. As soon as the demon leapt off the ground, I spun and grabbed it by its slender throat. Without wasting a moment, I jerked my blade into the squishy underside of its jaw. The knife sank to the hilt, and the five eyes of the demon bulged as black spittle sprayed my chest. My hand twisted back and forth, making sure to destroy the brain.

“Naw one hurts me family,” I growled out.

When the demon finally stopped twitching, I tossed it to the side, where it would quickly decay and turn into dirt.

That was six demons that had slipped through a crack. Six that I hadn’t gotten word about, and it bothered me that I hadn’t known. I tried to keep a finger on the pulse of everything on my island. I had guards whose sole job was to bring me intel like this, and they’d been completely quiet. I was going to need to have a discussion with them.

“Luminous,” I said, and the few torches that lined the halls lit once more.

Mari moaned and curled into my body when I slipped my arms under her, and my heart pounded hard. Her face was too pale, and dark circles rimmed her eyes, but the demon blood she’d taken was beginning to drip from her nose, which meant the elixir was working. I took heart in that.

“Let’s git ya outta here.”

I marched out of the tunnel and through the low entrance, picking up a jog. The trail was a dangerous one. Hunters loved to use these sections, but it was the most direct route back to the cars. When I was younger and looking for a fight, I came down here to see if I could run into one. A couple of years made a huge difference in perspective about what was smart or not smart. Those had certainly not been my smart years.

There was a fallen log across the trail, and with a leap, I kept running. I would have to come back later to get Mari’s car. Placing Mari in the passenger seat, I buckled her seatbelt and ran to the driver’s side.

It was a rough ride out to the main road, but once pointed toward home, I quickly put her into fifth. Mari had been very quiet. Other than the odd little moan, she didn’t come around. I needed to get her in an ice bath as soon as possible. The demon blood hated cold. It was like it needed the heat to incubate and take what it wanted from the host. It would leave Mari’s body faster if I could get her cold.

The twisty road was dark and vacant of any sign of life, not that I expected anyone from the Faction to be out this late. My eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror as three lights pulled out of an old road. This couldn’t be anyone good. I stared at three motorcycles, the engines revving loudly as they gained on me. Fucking Hunters.

“Fuck,” I swore and slammed my hand on the wheel. “All right, ya fucks. Ya wanna do dis again so soon, do ya?”

My small sports car looked normal enough, but it had built-in armour, an extra-large engine with boosts, and if needed, she also had a few tricks up her kilt—little modifications I’d managed to make myself after watching the old 007 movies. They may have been hundreds of years old, but I still enjoyed watching them. They were a guilty pleasure of both mine and Mari’s. We’d fallen asleep on the couch multiple times to a marathon of the movies that none living would remember except those at the head of Factions. Television, movies, and most music were restricted once the Factions took control of the world. Only Factions had access to guns, and the penalty for owning one was death. Anything that might make the Flitters question who was in power or start a revolution was wiped out or controlled.

“Come on, den. Don’t be chicken,” I said to the single headlight closing in on the right.