Ember
I’ve travelled through shadows but never seen through them. The best way I can describe it is feeling like a spectre, something ethereal, weightless. I can see and smell everything, but I can’t feel anything, not even the air or the cold.
“Better to be safe than sorry”, he said, and now I’m glad.
“He's at Inferno”, I say to River as he watches me strap on thigh, torso and forearm sheaths for my knives; I add extra thigh ones for some Tranq dart things Dan gave me, and I also slip some cable ties in my pockets, River gasps at the serrated machete I slip in the holster that goes down my spine, I have a knife in each boot, two on each calf, four smaller ones on each thigh with the Tranqs, one on each shoulder blade and one on either side at the base of my back.
I tightly braid my hair and stick it in the leather grip Dan made for me slipping some cable ties and darts in Rivers pockets, I then slip the Kevlar vest on and then put the body cam Silas gave me to use if I decided to hike alone on, it's linked straight to his phone, so as soon as I turn it on he will know where I am.
“Drop me in the room with Saint, then go straight to Dad, Declan or Silas,” I say, tapping the cam so he understands why Silas.
“The rooms are warded, so if you go in, you won’t get out; they are similar to what we had at the Pit, but they’re trying to be smarter.” I grab two adrenaline shots and slip them into my pocket to help me wake Saint up.
“I can't leave you in a room with my brother unconscious and a dickhead guard; I’ll have my ass handed to me on so many fronts I won’t know up from down,” he says, shaking his head; I pull his mouth to mine and kiss him deeply. I feel him sag a little and pull back.
“I owe that guard; he was ours at the Pit. I can handle him, and I have an adrenaline shot for Saint; please trust me; we need to get Inferno closed. They traffic kids! You know what happened to Trick?” I ask, and at his nod
“It’s worse there; they don’t hold back because it’s a kid; for the right price, you can go in there and do oral on a two-year-old,” My voice is barely a whisper by the end of it, but I see he’s in agreement.
“Inferno is a graduation from places like the Pit and the Cage.
Jameson was planning to take me there when I turned eighteen, but if someone paid a good enough price, I would have been there sooner.
Unfortunately, Demons can't enter unless summoned from inside” he closes his eyes and squeezes me in his arms.
“Okay, that cam stays on, and you take one of my shadow whips!” The whip winds itself around my thigh; River groans and takes a photo on his phone, as I throw mine on the bed. He then pins me to the wall and kisses me like we are heading to death row, maybe we are.
We disappear into the shadows and appear close to the building; River quickly sends a text to the group chat and mutes his phone. I raise an eyebrow at the text.
“Don't want full-blown panic if they wake and find you missing”, I flick the camera on, looking at the building; the light turns green, flashes a few times, then turns blue, which means Silas is watching; we disappear again, the ideal thought, wondering how that looks on the camera comes to mind.
The shadows fall away as I drop to a crouch behind Saint.
The guard is monologuing; I feel the coolness against my ear as an earpiece is placed inside, and notice a little microphone is now attached to my vest. I see a small bit of shadow around Saint’s Ear, too, so I guess River is now with them, and they’re getting us wired up
“I couldn't have real fun with you last time, and you ran off with the human bitch before I got to play with her cunt” Oh fuck I hope the link isn't open on the mic yet. I jab Saint in the ass with the first shot, 'promise to kiss it better later, my Dark Angel.'
“Baby sister, you are grounded for the rest of your life, Tranq that guard I want a few words with him” Well, big bro took this well, Saint’s hands start to twitch and I loosen the binds that have him secured, I trace the rune for protection on his palm hopefully he knows it’s me and doesn’t react yet, Bodhi has his back to us still monologuing, I stand hitting Saint in the chest with the second dart.
“Hey, long time no see, not that I missed you much”, I hear Declan yelling at me, but I ignore him and try to give Saint some time to fully be awake. I hear his bindings hit the floor.
“Seriously, Ember, you’re going to have a conversation with him?” I can hear someone laughing.
“Lighten up, big brother; where’s your sense of fun?” I mumble but know he can hear through the mic; I throw two darts at Bohdi, one between the eyes and the other to his dick.
“Need to find a way to protect against concrete fucking rooms”, Saint snaps as he stands up; I secure Bodhi’s feet and hands, then add an extra so he's hog-tied.
“Star? Wait, is that?” I glance at Saint, who is staring at our old friend
“Bohdi from the Pit, yeah, wonder how he got out, he would have been near our room!” Saint looks pissed, but just gives me a nod, stretching out his limbs before making his way to me.
“Dec, guessing you’re on the other end of the earpiece, this piece of shit is going straight to lock up, and I want a guard on him,” I hear an affirmative as Bohdi disappears into the shadows.
“Leave him in the binds, and don’t be Gentle”, I add.
“From the look on your dad and Brother's face, he will be forever hog-tied,” Trent says with a laugh.
“Good, what’s the plan, or are Saint and I chilling here while you glare at my body cam screen?” I hear Saint snort, then he stands at my back; he tilts my head, with a tattooed finger and kisses me deeply, but so soft, it’s more of a caress, fuck not a time to be getting wet panties,
“You two work your way out, and then you get Ember home and stay with her; River is staying with Silas in case we need any shadow extractions,” Dad commands.
“Roger that, General”, Saint replies, kissing my lips one last time.
He pulls open the door and starts following Silas' directions.
I hear Dec, Dad and Trent leave our channel as they start attacking from the outside; Saint and I take out anyone that we come across and by take out, I mean knock out, or Saint just drops them straight to lock up, I look through a door on the way past and freeze, the room is filled with animal cages, each has a demon child inside,
“Saint, can you grab my phone off my bed, please?” It appears in my hand without question as Saint comes to my side.
“Hello, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon”, Ishi says from his end. “Bring a healer now. Ishildur, Angel and Evan, I summon you and your troops;” I don’t even need to end the call as the corridor fills with troops. I pull out my earpiece and pass it to Angel.
“Silas Hound is on the other end; I presume I can leave this with you”
I point towards the room as Angel puts the earpiece in and clips the mic to his tank top; Evan peeks into the room and nods, giving me a shooing motion; I kiss him, Ishi and Angel on the cheek, which gets me odd looks from their troops.
Saint and I continue up and out; as soon as we hit fresh air, my body cam disappears, and we shadow travel to Saint's bedroom.