Katie's Hellion

Still, she couldn't sleep. She relived the bloody scene in the banquet hall, heard the creature panting her name as he came against her thigh and then tore through the other side of her neck. He'd spent hours on her, disabling her and then hurting her.

Lankha shoved another cube in her mouth, then a third. They melted and trickled down her throat. They weren't water cubes; they tasted of nothing she could identify. They were metallic and sugary. He smoothed out her hair and finally rested a feathery hand on her eyes, easing her into a restless sleep that didn't last long enough.

It felt like mere seconds later when she opened her eyes but guessed it'd been much longer. Her body was weak but working, and there were more of the odd sugar cubes beside her pillow. Lankha was asleep above, and the clamoring of the cell block was gone. She rubbed her head, shaking despite the rest. She ate two more of the sugar cubes and a water cube, eyes lingering on the bloody mess that was her jumper in the corner.

She had to get out of there. She understood Jared's warning about torture and being willing to bargain. But she didn't think any of them could escape, or they would have.

"Not so brave anymore, are you, little girl."

Her eyes fell to the dark cell holding Rhyn.

"If you were half as tough as you sound, you wouldn't be stuck in here," she retorted.

"Lunchmeat's still kicking," Jared said. His hands appeared through the cell bars.

Rhyn smashed himself against the cell, as if to prove his strength. She ignored him and rubbed her forehead.

"What does the amulet do?" she asked Jared.

"Now you want to talk."

"Keeps us here," Rhyn growled.

"Yes, that neat little trinket is a source of constant magic that traps us. I hear you're immune to magic. You could get one of us out," Jared said.

"If that's the case, why on earth would I bother to free any of you parasites?" she asked, too tired to stand. She sat next to the bars on her cell.

"I guess you wouldn't if you didn't plan on leaving Hell. Sasha's men would kill you twice before you reached the front door."

He had a point, but she knew she'd be in as much danger from the monsters as from Sasha's men. If she had the amulet and could bargain for protection --and one of them not eating her in exchange for her freedom --she wondered if she couldn't escape. Or better yet --if the monster she rescued would kill her once freed.