Chapter 20 Dante
Dante
Dread. Dread and panic. That's all I feel. I can't feel Hannah's grip on my cuffs anymore—all of the blood drains from my face as Ella cackles into the night over the corpse of the Nephilim.
Whirling around, I plant the heel of my foot in Hannah's gut and smirk as she falls back.
Ella's laughter turns to an enraged shriek behind me, and I think Melody tackled her.
I plop down onto a knee and press Hannah's squirming body into the dirt—I know she has the fucking keys.
Wrenching my cuffed arms to her pocket, I rifle around and toss capped syringes aside.
God, how much medication does she carry?
Hannah coughs as I bear down on my knee, switching to the other pocket.
I couldn't give a single shit, especially when my fingers close around the key ring.
Grunting in triumph, I wrench them from her pocket and frantically shove keys into the cuffs.
Relief seeps into my bones as the cuffs—thankfully—snap open. I'm free.
I'm fucking free.
"Melody!" I bellow. "I've got the keys!"
Melody doesn't respond. I swivel my head and find her beating Ella's head into the ground. Blood splatter sprays my wife's gorgeous face. God, she's ethereal.
I run over and place a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Love, come on. Let's get the others."
"Huh?" Melody looks up at me with confusion. "Others?"
"I know Helena's here, come on, love," I urge. "We can get Melnyk, and Nihil, and Forge—"
"—we can't," Melody interrupts. "We can't get Forge."
"What? Why no—it doesn't matter. We can talk later, love. Let's go, please!" I yank on her shirt, pleading with her. She stumbles back, rubbing the heel of her hand in her eye. My wife looks at me with mildly unfocused eyes before nodding.
I grasp her hand in mine and pull her behind me, sprinting back into the godforsaken prison. Melody staggers, panting heavily. We race down darkened hall after darkened hall.
"Helena! Melnyk! Anybody!" I shout. "We're leaving, where are you?"
Just barely audible over Melody's heavy breathing and discomforted whimpers, I hear a wailing scream.
It sounds like Helena, and it sounds like it's coming from above.
Fuck. I know Ella and Hannah are still alive.
There's no way a few shoves killed them.
We are on a serious time crunch, and Melody's inebriated state isn't helping.
"Melody, darling," I wheeze out. "Can you get Helena? Can you do that for me?"
"What? You're leaving me?" Tears fill her beautiful honey-brown eyes, and her lower lip wobbles. "No, you can't leave me!"
I curse under my breath. I don't want to leave her, but it would be so much faster if we split up. I sigh. "You're right, love. I'm sorry. But please, hurry!"
Maybe it's the urgency in my voice. Maybe it's the darkness surrounding us.
Maybe it's both or nothing, but Melody runs.
Whatever drug Ella injected her with seems to have given her shocking speed.
She runs down the darkened hall, huffing and panting, with her head on a swivel.
Helena's muffled voice yells out again, and Melody corrects course.
She bounds toward an illuminated staircase and jumps up the steps—taking them two at a time, sometimes three—with her hand clamped over mine.
We burst through the door and find Helena's waving arms sticking out of another cell.
"Over here! Where are you? How?" Helena shouts.
Melody's eyes widen, and she releases my hand, scampering over to Helena. "Oh, honey. What did they do to you?"
"What did they do to you?" Helena gasps. "Oh, god. Oh, fuck. Get me out of here—please!"
"Where are the others?" I demand and shove the keyring into Melody's hand. "Here, try these, love."
"Melnyk is down the hall—but I haven't heard him in a few days," Helena sobs. "I'm sorry—I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if he's alive."
Fuck. I turn to Melody and force her to look in my eyes. "Love, listen to me. I'm coming back, okay? I'm not leaving you. I'm going to check on our friend. Keep trying to get Helena out, alright?"
"I promise," Melody whispers, fiddling with the keys.
Her eyes still have that glassy, red look.
My heart lurches in my throat. I don't know what the fuck Ella gave her, and it's scaring me.
But I have to get Melnyk. I have to get our allies.
I have to get us out. I've failed everyone—so many times—I have to do this.
Gritting my teeth, I nod and kiss her forehead. She giggles, still poking keys into the lock. "Go, babe."
And I do. I run down the hall, peering into each cell. They're all in such disrepair that I nearly miss Melnyk's huddled form. All the air escapes my lungs as I look down on the man. He lies in the prison cot, and I can't tell if he's breathing. He's not moving. He's not fucking moving.
"Melnyk!" I yell, rattling the bars. "Wake up, come on, please!"
He doesn't move. The thin mattress under him shows signs of intense sweating, as if he has a fever. The harsh light shows beads of perspiration marking his forehead and neck. Something sickly yellow crusts the corners of his mouth. I hold my breath and watch him intently.
Relief floods my veins when I see his chest rise and fall with labored breaths. They're slow—much slower than I'd like—but he is alive.
"Melody!" I shout down the hallway. "I found him—hurry!"
Melnyk flinches at the sound of my voice, and I inhale a sharp gasp. "Melnyk?"
"Mm?" He cracks a bleary eye open and tilts his head toward me. "You?"
"Me," I confirm. "We're getting out. We're getting you out."
The ghost of a smile curves his lips. His eye closes again, but I swear I can see him nod.
Oh, this is bad. There's no way he can run.
We'll have to carry him. We'll make it work.
Between the three of us—and Nihil, hopefully, he's in a better state—we can carry Melnyk out.
Melody's pounding footsteps draw nearer, and Helena's panting breaths follow closely behind.
"Oh, my god," Helena breathes. "He—I didn't know, sir, please—I didn't know!"
Her panicked words and frantic hand movements break my heart. How could she think I would be upset with her? After everything? Have I been that terrible to her? "Helena, breathe. I could never blame you. That dishonor lies solely with Ella."
"You don't have to call him 'sir,'" Melody quips, poking keys into the lock. "I don't."
"I adore your feisty spirit, love, but now is not the time." I pluck the keyring from her shaking hands and rifle through them myself. "Melnyk, we're getting you out. Just hang on. Helena, any ideas on Nihil? Melody said—"
"Forge is gone," Melody interrupts in a whisper. "Gone. Gone. Gone. He's gone."
"Where?" Helena squeaks. "Where did—what?"
"Gone," Melody repeats.
Helena's mouth drops open, but she remains silent.
There is a haunted look behind her eyes, and she simply nods.
Thankfully, Melnyk's cell door unlocks with a solid click as I turn the fifth key.
Helena rushes in, throwing the door wide.
She kneels down at his side and whispers something in his ear.
A frantic scream echoes down the hall. I almost drop the key ring, whirling around. "That must be him. I have to—Melody, Helena, help Melnyk up! We'll meet you back here!"
Without waiting for an answer, I race around the labyrinthine prison halls. More and more dilapidated cells line my path. Nihil screams again, guiding me toward him. Dust billows around my feet as I run. It coats my throat, and I have to stop, coughing and hacking. "Nihil! Where are you?"
"Down here," he yells, a little softer. "You're almost here—I can hear you!"
Choking in a breath, I set off again. My heart pounds in my ears, and my lungs feel like they're going to burst. I have no idea how long it's going to take, carrying Melnyk out—and if Nihil is in the same condition?
A shiver runs down my spine. We'll be caught.
Ella might be down for the count (for now), but Hannah is still a threat.
Panicked thoughts race through my mind even as I skitter to a halt in front of Nihil's cell.
"You're a sight for sore eyes," he half-laughs, half-coughs. "Got keys?"
Oh, thank god. He's mostly unharmed. A little rough around the edges and absolutely filthy—just like the rest of us—but nowhere near the same state as Melnyk. I jingle the keys with half a smile and set to work on his locked cage.
"Where have you been?" he asks.
"Kept away from everyone else. Melody, too." The first three keys won't budge, and I set my jaw, working through the rest of the ring. "Hannah injected her with something. She's a little out of it, but she's still strong."
"Injected?" His face falls. "Oh, no. I heard them—I heard Hannah and Ella talking about it. They didn't think I was listening. Or maybe they thought I'd be dead? But, sir, it's a mix of PCP and some form of hallucinogen."
I nearly drop the keys. "What?"
"They—I imagine they tried to make her fight you?" He grimaces and looks me up and down. The keys jangle as my hands tremble. "You're alive."
"She killed the Nephilim," I mumble, shoving another key in the lock.
Finally, finally, finally, it clicks open.
I wrench the door free, and Nihil rushes out.
He's saying more things to me, but I can't hear them.
I can't process them. My mind swirls as we race back to my wife, back to Melnyk.
Ella tried to make Melody kill me? She gave her drugs and pointed her at me—I remember it so clearly, but I never thought that's what she was trying to do.
I hate to say it—much less, think it—but Melody could kill me.
She could have. She could have thrown me to the ground, bashed in my face, slit my throat, and choked me with my own intestines.
She's powerful. She's vicious. She's murder incarnate.
And, for the first time in weeks (months?
I have no idea how long we've been here), my cock stirs.
Her ferocity drew me to her originally, of course, but the thought of it being turned on me? Again?
Death by her hand would be an honor.
"Hi, babe!" Melody bounces up to me. Her eyes are still a bit glassy. "I missed you—where did you go? Did you miss me?"
Oh, god. "My love, you're the most beautiful thing in the world. I missed you terribly. Now, please, help us get Melnyk out."
Her eyes widen as she looks for Melnyk. Her jaw drops, and she falls to her knees in front of him. "Oh, my god? Melnyk—what happened? Who did this?"
"Mrs. Lyons, I will tell you everything—if you get me out of here," Melnyk whispers.
I scurry over and brace his left shoulder, throwing his arm around mine.
Nihil takes his right arm while Melody and Helena heft his feet.
He hisses in pain, but between the four of us, carrying him is easier than I thought.
Nihil directs us down the halls, around every turn.
I'm eternally grateful for his guidance.
After however long in my isolated cell, this entire place feels like a maze.
"Left up here, everyone," Nihil announces. Sweat beads on the back of my neck.
"It hurts," Melnyk whimpers.
"I know it does." Helena soothes him. "I know. We're getting you out, okay? Just hang on. Just a little bit longer."
I dare to peek at Melnyk, cringing as he winces in pain with every step. "I'm so sorry, Melnyk. I'm so sorry."
Plumes of dust and grime billow in the air as we stumble toward the exit. At least, I hope it's the exit. Nihil seems very confident, and I'm more than willing to trust him completely. As we round another corner, Helena lets out a yelp.
"There! Those doors—I recognize them!" She releases Melnyk's ankle, excitedly pointing. He grunts in pain as his balance shifts, and she whirls back around. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry—we're so close. I promise."
True to her word, two double doors stand at the end of this godforsaken hallway.
We shuffle around, pointing Melnyk backwards, so Nihil and I can back into the doors.
The metal push handle digs into my back, but I don't care.
We're so fucking close. We're almost free.
I almost drop the man when the hinges creak open, and the smell of fresh rain permeates the air.
Outside. We're outside. Storm clouds swirl overhead, but Melnyk cracks a tiny smile. "My god. I'm out."
"We're out!" Melody shrieks. "We're fucking out!"
"Over there!" Nihil interrupts. "That tree. Hurry!"
Goosebumps erupt over my skin as we scurry to the base of a massive, looming tree. Its leaves rustle, and its branches sway as the breeze picks up. Helena looks to the sky with a scowl immediately after we gently lay Melnyk down.
"I don't like that." She points to a cloud formation. "That looks… heavy."
Nihil follows her gaze and frowns. "That's true, but I'd rather brave a monsoon than go back into that fucking prison."
"Monsoon?" Melody pipes up. "What is that, like a tornado?"
"No, it's—"
Bang!
Nihil's voice cuts off. I stare at him in horror, watching a deep red stain bloom from his chest. He grabs at his clothes, panicking—I dive on top of Melody.
"No!" Helena screams. "No! You can't!"
"I can." Hannah emerges from behind a cluster of shrubs.
She holds a pistol aloft, smiling at Melody. Without breaking her stare, she points the gun at Nihil and fires again. I hear his body drop to the ground with a sickening thud. His last breath rattles and gurgles. Melody buries her head in my chest and clutches my shoulders.
"You fucking monster!" Helena shouts. "Why? Why would you do this?"
"Ella can't. So, I did. Why don't you ask your little bestie, huh? She killed Forge," Hannah says casually.
My heart stops. Melody stiffens beneath me.
"What?"