Chapter 1
Chapter One
Mynor watched the guard walk past them. He and Alphan exchanged a glance, but they waited for a few more seconds.
Once they were sure the guard hadn’t noticed their presence, they crept out of their hiding spot.
They had to be quick. The guard would walk past again in about six minutes.
Mynor knew because he’d counted them every time he’d spied on the palace over the past two weeks.
He’d been watching the jail for that long.
He’d had to stand by, unable to do anything for the people inside.
He’d desperately wanted to intervene when he’d seen the guards drag demons in, but he’d known it would be best if he waited.
Tonight, all of that would come to an end.
He and Alphan would free as many people as they could, but unfortunately, it wouldn’t be all of them.
Mynor already knew that their queen wouldn’t be happy.
Anya didn’t like anyone going against her authority.
He didn’t give a shit.
They reached the door that opened in the dungeons of the palace, where the cells were located.
Mynor took a step back, allowing Alphan to get near the door.
Alphan already had the key they’d stolen from a drunk guard in hand when he reached it, and it only took a few seconds for him to unlock it and push it open.
He slipped in, but Mynor glanced back one last time to ensure that no one had noticed them.
There were no guards in sight, and no one was yelling at them to stop moving. They were as safe as they could be in these circumstances.
He stepped into the palace and closed the door behind himself. He didn’t lock it because it was the only way for them to leave, and they’d need to make a quick escape. Mynor wasn’t sure they’d be able to, considering how many people were imprisoned here, but they could try.
He swallowed. Part of him knew that this was going to be a disaster, but what else could they do?
They couldn’t leave these people here, not when they hadn’t done anything to deserve it.
Some of them were too weak to be imprisoned for weeks at a time.
They’d die if no one did anything, and no one but Mynor and Alphan were willing to risk it.
Hell, sometimes Mynor wondered if he should do this at all, but then, he saw what Anya did, and he knew that someone had to stand up to her.
He didn’t love the fact that it was him, but better him than no one at all.
“Guards?” Alphan whispered to Mynor.
“Nothing,” Mynor whispered back.
They hadn’t seen any guard yet, but they would.
Even though Anya was so convinced of her absolute power that she didn’t think people would stand up to her, she wasn’t stupid.
She might not believe that anyone would ever consider coming to the palace to free the prisoners, but she wouldn’t risk it.
This was just the beginning of this mission.
Mynor couldn’t wait to see the end of it.
They moved as quickly and quietly as possible. They knew where they were going because they’d found old maps of the palace, but things could have changed. They had to be careful not to end up in Anya’s bedroom instead of the central area of the dungeon where the cells were located.
Luckily, they didn’t have to go far. The dungeons were extensive, and they couldn’t afford to go deep. They walked through the first door on their right, and Mynor was only partially shocked to see that all the cells here were occupied.
They were in a circular room with a table and chairs.
The room had two doors, one of which they’d come in, the other right in front of it on the other side of the room.
A ring of cells surrounded the room. The disposition of the place meant that the guards could see everyone in the cells.
No one could hide for any reason. It was safer for the guards, but it was a nightmare for the people in the cells.
Some of them were sleeping, but others perked up when they noticed Mynor and Alphan. Most were silent, but someone was quietly crying, while someone else shuffled toward the bars of the cells to take a better look. The demon cocked his head, his attention on Mynor.
“You’re not a guard,” he said.
“I’m not,” Mynor confirmed as he and Alphan moved around the room. They needed to find the keys to the cells.
“They’re on that wall,” someone else said.
When Mynor turned, he saw a demon pointing a claw toward the other door. Sure enough, next to the door, someone had planted several nails. Each nail held a key.
He and Alphan rushed that way. Thankfully, it looked like the keys had been hung in a way that made it obvious which belonged to which cell, or at least, Mynor hoped so. They didn’t have time to try every key in every lock.
“You take that side,” Alphan murmured. “I’ll take the other.”
They went to work. Thankfully, the cells were easy to open since they had the keys, but even once they were open, the demons stayed in, as if they were afraid.
They no doubt were. Even Mynor was scared, and he’d come here of his own volition.
He had no doubts that Anya would happily lock his ass up in one of the cells if she could—or worse—but she hadn’t caught him yet.
And now, he was in her lair.
“Come on,” he urged. “Everyone, get by the door. We’ll need to be fast when we leave.”
“Why are you doing this?” the first demon asked. He was slightly taller than Mynor and looked like he could crush him with no effort. Mynor wondered how he’d been caught. It should have been relatively easy for him to escape, but Mynor didn’t know the entire story.
“Because someone needs to,” Mynor told him before moving on to the next cell.
By the time all of them were open and everyone was out, the central room was crowded. The people were also making more noise than they could afford, so Mynor raised his hands, hoping to get everyone’s attention.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” he explained. “Alphan and I timed the guard patrols, so we know when and where the guards will be, but there’s no certainty, which means we need to be fast. When Alphan and I give the signal, we’ll get out this door and hurry to the outside one.
“What about the other prisoners?” a demon asked. “My sister is here, too.”
Mynor shook his head. “We can only take care of this room. I’m sorry, but there are too many cells and too many demons.”
She opened her mouth, but she didn’t get the opportunity to say anything. The demon standing next to her grabbed her arm and squeezed, and while she glared, it was enough to keep her quiet.
Mynor and Alphan looked at each other. It was time.
“You go ahead,” Mynor told Alphan.
Alphan looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he nodded curtly and stepped ahead.
The door creaked slightly when he opened it, and he paused, listening.
Luckily, no one came screaming at them to stop.
They still had a little time before the guards were supposed to check this room, but they couldn’t waste it.
“Go,” Mynor ordered.
Alphan disappeared into the hallway. For a moment, no one else moved, so Mynor gestured at them to follow. “Alone. Follow Alphan. He knows the way.”
There was still a moment of hesitation before the first demon scurried out in the hallway behind Alphan. More followed, and Mynor waited until the last one was gone to do the same. He carefully closed the door behind himself so that nothing would look out of place when the guards came by.
Their luck held until Alphan started getting people out through the outside door. Everyone was moving fast now, but not fast enough.
Mynor was ushering the last few demons through when someone yelled behind him. He turned, his hands flying to his waist, where his weapons hung. He didn’t think they would do him much good since a group of five demons was running toward him, but he could try.
“Mynor!” Alphan yelled from outside.
Mynor glanced back at the door. It was still open, but everyone had gone through. Alphan was clutching the wood, looking like he was about to step back in, but Mynor shook his head. “Go,” he ordered.
“I’m not abandoning you.”
“You’re not abandoning me. You’re helping all these people. I’ll be fine.”
Alphan’s eyes were wide. “You won’t be.”
He was right. Mynor wasn’t even sure he’d survive this. “We knew this could happen when we decided to do this, remember,” he murmured as he held up his knives. “I’ll be fine.”
Alphan still didn’t move, so Mynor reached out and grabbed the door.
For a second, Alphan resisted. Mynor didn’t give him the opportunity to do so for long.
He pulled hard, slamming the door and hoping that Alphan would stick to the plan and leave.
He had the key, so if he were smart, he’d lock the door so the guards couldn’t follow.
Mynor doubted he’d be able to keep them back for long.
But he was going to try.
Justin didn’t know where to go. It had been years since he’d had a home that wasn’t Caitlin’s house, and leaving it hurt.
Leaving his brothers hurt even more, but right now, with them fighting the way they were, he couldn’t stay.
He felt like his heart was going to explode.
He was grieving Caitlin, now, he would have to grieve the relationships he’d lost with Calyx and the others.
He wasn’t sure they could ever return to what they’d been before.
He didn’t understand. Why would Caitlin have done something like that?
Wouldn’t she have known that leaving her house to Calyx would hurt everyone else?
Justin was sure there was a good reason for her to have done so, but she hadn’t given them anything to work with.
They didn’t know because she’d never told them, and now, it was too late.
She was gone. The house belonged to Calyx, and Yancey was pissed.