Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“It’s a trap. They’re penning us in,” I said, spotting a dead end up ahead too late. This was a situation where Carra could’ve helped. She knew the city and we clearly didn’t.
My hand was on the hilt of the dagger as we turned around. Ren was muttering incantations, trying for a spell, but I could tell he was too stressed to get it right. Where was Peter when you needed him? My ex-boyfriend, (man, it really hurt to call him that) was always ready with a spell. I rarely saw him choke when it came to magic.
“I’m so sorry, Darya. It’s not working,” Ren said as I pushed him back.
“Don’t worry. Just stay behind me.”
“You’re going to fight them? But there’s so many.”
“I’ve escaped worse odds,” I said, thinking of Mack’s vampires in the prison. Then again, I hadn’t escaped that fight on my own. Serg had come to my aid.
I eyed my opponents. They were a skinny, dirty ragtag crew. They had nothing on the strength of the vampires I’d fought.
One of the women gave a cruel laugh when I took up a defensive pose, like it was funny that I was going to try and fight them. I didn’t get what was so humorous until Ren gave a yelp right before the two of us were swept up in a giant net.
9.
“What’s happening?” Ren cried as one of the giant winged demons lifted us up into the sky. Its talons gripped the net, its black, scaled skin shimmering at I studied it up close. We rose above the rooftops, heading to destinations unknown. Fighting vertigo, I peered down and saw two men in cleaner, official looking attire handing out coins to the group who’d corralled us into the alley.
My mind raced, swiftly putting two and two together. For all the warnings Vas and my mother had given me about this place and how non-demons were captured and sold into servitude, I hadn’t factored it into my plan. I’d made the mistake of thinking I was too wily to be captured. It turned out I wasn’t wily at all, and now I had no clue what we were about to face.
The gassy, hydrogen sulphide scent of the volcanoes grew stronger. I grabbed hold of Ren’s hands as the demon lowered us into a metal cage. The net fell away, the top of the cage snapped shut and the demon flew off, its job done. We were surrounded by a dozen others. Women and men of various ages stared at us, all of them with the same terrified looks on their faces.
I glanced at an elderly man sitting closest to me, his face etched with wrinkles. His red eyes met mine and in their depths I saw a lifetime of suffering. “What are they going to do with us?” I asked him in Oreylian.
“We’re being transported to the Opal Palace to help prepare for the Star Festival. The Dicteps always brings in extra workers,” the man replied.
The Dicteps? Wasn’t that the same person who banished Roman from Oreylia? The one who ruled over the city?
“Oh,” I said, frowning. Ren and I needed to get out of this cage. We needed to be heading for Red Armand’s mine, not the Opal Palace, which I guessed was the giant fancy building that sat at the very highest point of the city. Looking around, I saw dozens of other cages, all containing scared, hungry looking people with haunted eyes just like the man who sat next to me. “Are all these people going to the Opal Palace, too?” I questioned further.
He shook his head. “Some will be destined for the mines. You should count yourself lucky. Working in the palace is far less treacherous.”
At this, I leaned closer. “The mines? Which cages are headed for the mines?”
He motioned to a number of cages several rows away. “Those ones I imagine.”
“How do you know?”
He pointed at the demons who stood guard outside. “You see those men? They work for Red Armand. He owns the largest reylite mine in Treyu.” He paused to eye me then. “You’re not from here, are you?”
“No,” I said. “I’m from somewhere…else.”
He eyed me curiously, falling silent when I turned to Ren and filled him in on what was going on. “There are no guards watching this cage. Do you think you could cast a spell to unlock it?”
“I think so. It shouldn’t be too difficult,” he replied.
We climbed the cage to the opening at the top, where the winged demon had dropped us. The other captives watched us eagerly while Ren endeavoured to cast an unlocking spell. I stared at his hands with bated breath, hoping he could do it, though if worse came to worse I could probably break the lock open.
After two tries Ren eventually managed it. It took both our strengths to push open the lid, and as soon as we did the other captives immediately rushed out, scattering to the wind. I feared they might be recaptured but I didn’t have time to worry about them. The demons guarding the cages headed for Red Armand’s mine were getting ready to start moving their captives. We needed to be in one of those cages before they began transporting them.