Katie's Hope

"I believe you, Jade!" she said as she fled. "Sasha didn't have to do what he did. He had a choice, and he made it. You can still make things right!"

He shoved her against the wall, and she hunkered down.

"You can make this right, Jade. Just get her somewhere safe. Leave me here for the demons to guard, if you want. She's an innocent."

Her words fed at the small piece of him that didn't want to live in Hell forever, that still thought he could go back to the Immortals and his old life. He released her and turned to look at Iliana.

"Take her to a Sanctuary," Katie said softly. "There's an Ancient healer at the Caribbean Sanctuary. I know because I came from there. He could fix her fast." "I can make things right," he repeated.

"Yes, Jade."

A knock at the door jarred him, and he whirled to see the demon that entered. It froze, looking from him to the woman on the bed before his eyes settled on Katie. Recognition passed over his face. Terror of Darkyn finding out made Jade snap, and he withdrew his machete. The demon was too surprised to react, and Jade hacked him down until the black walls were sprayed with demon blood.

Chest heaving, he dropped the machete from his hand as he realized what he'd done. Darkyn would know he killed a demon. They'd do the same to him that they did to Sasha.

"Sanctuary, Jade."

He turned at her voice and saw the girl shaking with her eyes averted from the mess. He snatched up his machete and crossed to the bed to grab and sling Iliana over his shoulder. He motioned Katie forward with his machete, then stopped her to drape the pillowcase over her head as he had when she entered Hell with him.

Darkyn followed Jade as the madman hauled his two prisoners toward the portal to the shadow world. So far, everything was going as planned. Jade and Sasha would soon be out of his way, and his gamble on the hidden honor of Rhyn had paid off. Feeding Sasha information about the only way to break the bond-- without telling him the breakage was only temporary-- rendered the girl he'd been tracking for weeks vulnerable. The window of her weakness was short, only a week in mortals' time, but long enough for him to act. If he took down the Council, too, he would be all the more content.

Satisfied he'd outsmarted everyone, he waited for Jade to hack apart the demon warrior guarding the portal and then disappear into the shadow world on his way to where Sasha was, the one piece of information Darkyn didn't have. He'd have the girl soon, and he'd create an army unlike any that preceded him.