“Follow or your sister will die.” Orange looked excited, and that scared me more than her anger.
I could hear Mischa’s wheezing, her small whimpers sending panicky trills down my spine. I forced my panic into anger, sneering as growls fell from my mouth. “Marked can’t die.”
The twins glanced at each other before turning back to me and, synchronized, both laughed, the dead, empty laughter of crazy people. “Of course the marked can die, and the countdown is on for Mischa. You don’t want to delay.”
Truth. I knew those bitches held the key to our mortality.
Without removing my eyes from them, I slowly stood, my sister’s slender form cradled in my arms. “Hurry the fuck up, and you better hope and pray that Mischa is okay.”
I shut down my emotions, schooling my features, before following them through that entrance – I had to shift Mischa around so she would fit – and into the next tunnel. The moment I got a free hand I was going to activate my tracker. Mischa was fading, and something told me I was going to need help myself in the next few minutes.
Chapter 18
Mischa stared up at me, her wide green eyes glassy. Shock and pain had set in.
She blinked a few times, bubbles of watery blood forming at the corner of her mouth, and it took her more than one attempt to make a noise. I had to move very close to hear what she was saying.
“I’m … I … I’m sor … sorry, Jess. Said would … get … Max…” She trailed off, her head falling back against me as she ran out of steam.
I could feel the warmth of her blood still seeping out of her side. Her shifter healing should be slowing that flow. Why the heck was it taking so long? My eyes darted toward the twins. Was that knife infused with silver? I tilted my head over and sniffed at her wound. The burning tingle indicated there was definitely silver involved.
“Enough screwing around.” The command came from one of the fruity bitch twins. “Move your ass, Jessa.”
My head flew up, and for the first time I noticed the new area we’d stepped into.
“Oh screw me sideways,” I groaned, frantically looking left and right. I knew this place, I’d seen it before … in a dream.
It was a stone tunnel, about five feet wide and twenty long, ending with a massive symbol against a rocky wall. A compass symbol, the four points perfectly clear in the dim light.
“What the hell is this weapon?” I snarled, moving closer, almost as if I couldn’t help myself. The symbol was calling to me. I had a burning need to see it more clearly.
Orange and Lemon were already standing before the image, one on either side, facing me. “The dragon king had a scepter that he used to rule the races. It is needed to free him.”
I shook my head. “I won’t help you. I don’t care what you want from me, I’m taking my sister and getting out of here.” I spun on my heel, forcing myself to leave. It was tough, like dragging myself through sticky taffy. The compass pulled me back to it. I had to focus all of my energy just to take a step.
Laughter rang out, washing down the corridor, but I didn’t stop. I made it to the doorway in the stone, turning sidelong so I could fit back through again. Truth was, I preferred the hall with all the serial killer sociopaths over the twins.
Orange’s voice followed me along passageway. “Two things are going to happen, Jessa. Firstly, Mischa will never stop bleeding without us. The knife was coated in silver, and a spell which cannot be reversed by any but us.” No matter how far I walked, her voice continued to follow. “Second … every guard you have to go through to escape from Krakov is going to bring you back to us. We control the male mind, you have no chance.”
Shit. She was right. I could not get out of this place on my own. It was too narrow for my dragon, and in animal form I couldn’t carry Mischa. My sister was now slipping in and out of consciousness, and considering her blood was starting to soak the floor beneath us, I knew they were right about the wound healing.
I growled as Orange spoke again. “Help us and we will make sure your sister is healed, and we’ll give you the weapon. You can have it. The dragon king will not rise for two more days, so you will have time to try and hide it from us.”
It wasn’t as if I had much of a choice.
I exhaled deeply before turning back to the direction I’d just come from. The twins were a long way from me now, still standing on either side of the compass mark. Knowing I couldn’t run from this, I stomped along, my arms barely registering the strain of holding Mischa. It took me no time to reach them.
“What do I have to do?”
I spoke each word slowly, trying to figure out how to kill them with jagged words and angry looks.