Ink & Dagger (Sins of Eden #1)

40. Chapter XL

Chapter XL

Emily

“ G ot it,” I whispered triumphantly to myself as I broke the barrier surrounding the house.

I shook out my arms and cracked my neck before looking around the backyard. Wherever the guys were, it seemed like they were keeping the pack busy, because from where I stood, everything was quiet.

Sprinting to the house, I lifted the heavy cellar door, straining against its weight while attempting to remain quiet, before stepping back to admire my work.

This felt like a fucking trap.

Something about this was too easy.

Dusting off my hands, I swallowed hard and glanced around one last time before descending down the cement steps. With each step I took into the dusty cellar, damp earth and mildew hung in the air, but there was something else, too. A copper scent that lingered as if it were embedded into the brick walls around me, intensifying with each step I took.

Pausing, I closed my eyes and sent up a silent prayer to the Mother Goddess for protection. As I made it to the bottom step, I froze at the scene before me. In the doorway, stood Agatha as if she’d been expecting my arrival all along.

Fuck. Not as stealthy as I presumed.

“Agatha,” I spat, glaring at her as I stepped into the cold, dark cellar. “Where’s Charlie?”

“The prodigal daughter has returned,” she cooed, ignoring my question. “Ever so predictable, my dear.”

Shadows danced along her face from a single dull bulb swaying overhead, but it was too dark to tell what fresh horrors awaited my arrival. My skin prickled in awareness, the electrical thread pulling tight in my chest as I tried to take in the corners of the room. My Demon was here, somewhere. But, where?

Just as I lifted my hands to blast her out of the way, a piercing pain shot down my spine. From the corner of my eye, I watched a syringe jerk from my neck and my body sagged. I locked my knees and forced myself to stay upright as I struggled to stand.

Growls from within the room had my eyes darting into the darkness, but I startled with a scream as large hands gripped me roughly from behind, dragging me across the room to a wooden chair.

I kicked and thrashed against the Lycan to no avail as the toxin worked through me. I struggled with every ounce of energy I had remaining to stand. To fight back, but a crack to the face with the back of his meaty hand made me wince and I cursed under my breath as an angry ringing buzzed in my ears.

Fucking Hell, how many times could a person be concussed in such a short period of time and survive?

Closing my eyes against the loud noise assaulting my eardrums and the wave of nausea making my world spin. I didn’t give a fuck if I was outnumbered. Charlie and Jaxon were here, I could feel them. I would find them both and make everyone who dared take them from me pay.

The Lycan roughly bound my wrists and ankles to the chair as I tried to peer around the room, my heart pounding behind my ribs as the ringing subsided. I uselessly tugged at my arms and squirmed as I mentally laughed to myself. How ironic that this was the same way I’d incapacitated his pathetic Alpha.

“Not so tough now, are you, Witch?” The Lycan leered.

When in Hell, go out with a blaze of glory, I thought, determined to piss him off. Call me psychotic, but I’d already died enough times and survived. I was willing to try for death number five.

“I don’t know, I think Erik would disagree,” I smirked. “Oh, that’s right. No one’s told you yet. I killed your Alpha,” I laughed sadistically, recalling the euphoria I’d felt when I stabbed my pocket knife deep into his chest.

And I enjoyed every fucking minute of it.

“Shut your mouth, whore. He’ll be here shortly to help sort you out,” he barked.

“You really don’t believe me,” I chuckled, my eyes widening in mock surprise. “He’s dead. He isn’t fucking coming. Probably would have groveled if I’d let him, but -,”

His large hand raised to strike me again, but Agatha’s cold voice rang through the cellar, halting him.

“Enough,” she ordered. “Leave us.”

“Run along, pup. You mustn’t anger your master,” I taunted.

His top lip curled into a sneer before he abruptly turned for the cellar door.

“So the Alpha is dead,” Agatha stated with no remorse as she approached. “Less work for me, but a shame nonetheless.”

I stared up at Agatha bitterly as she stood in front of me with her hands on her hips. Her features hardened and she peered down her nose at me as if I were still the unruly troublesome teenager she once raised.

“What the fuck was in that syringe? And where is Charlie?” I spat, struggling to break free of my bindings.

I could move if I concentrated hard enough, but my body felt weightless. My mind felt muddled and groggy, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t get my magic to respond. Worse than all of that though, the bond connecting me to Charlie and Jaxon felt muted.

“Couldn’t have you getting any dumb ideas now could we, sweet child?” She laughed bitterly. “Charlie has always been your weakness. I did what I had to do for the sake of the coven. I tried for years to get you to join us willingly, but all of my endeavors were futile. Charlie was useless in her attempts and even poor Erik turned out to be a waste of time. You’ve unfortunately forced me to take a more drastic approach.”

I shook my head, pausing in my attempt to use magic to free my wrists from the rope digging into my skin. “What are you talking about? What the Hell does Erik have to do with any of this?”

“Erik Jones was supposed to be my insurance policy. You think someone as bland and powerless as him could have managed the kind of power he accrued without a little help? I gave him that. In exchange, I may have altered his mind a bit to convince him that you were his Mate.”

I couldn’t fucking believe what I was hearing. A deep, menacing rumble from behind her had me glancing over her shoulder into the darkness.

“Quiet you,” she scolded, before focusing on me again.

Jaxon. I breathed a sigh of relief only for a moment before burning anger coursed through my veins. My heart ached to be near him and touch him. I could feel his presence if I focused on the thread between us, but I couldn’t see him in the dark room. Peeling my eyes away from the shadows, I turned my attention back to the cunt bag in front of me.

“You mean to tell me that you put that fucking psycho in my life? He almost killed me. What the Hell were you thinking?” I asked, appalled by the lengths she’d taken to have me.

“Hush, child. None of that was ever supposed to happen. He was only meant to keep you here. I thought that with a little time I could convince you to join us, but something went awry and he couldn’t handle the amount of magic it took to convince him that you were his Mate. Needless to say, his mind was never the same.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You manipulated my life and put me in harm just to convince me to join your fucking coven? Fucking Hell, Agatha. I’ll join, you crazy fucking bat. Just let Charlie go,” I shouted.

“Oh no, dear. I need you both. Brigid, bring her here,” she called into the darkness.

The overhead light flicked on, blinding me momentarily and I gasped in horror as my eyes adjusted to the light. Empty cages lined the walls around the small room, hay was stacked in piles in the corners of each, acting as makeshift beds and there were weapons hung across the back wall. Just as we’d seen in the warehouse, they appeared to have some sort of engravings etched into them.

Beads of sweat prickled along my forehead as I stared into the cage to my left. Charlie was slumped over herself, unconscious and chained to a bar in the iron cage. Her fair skin was battered and bruised and her arms were covered in scorch marks. Beside her, within the same cage, crouched a Demon.

Killian. I was right, they were together after all.

Blood and bruises both fresh and old covered every inch of his visible skin, marring the tapestry of his tattoos. He looked feral as he sat beside Charlie, almost as if he were protecting her from further harm.

He shifted from his stance and let out a menacing growl as Brigid approached their cage. With her and Agatha distracted, I shifted my body and I reached for the pocket knife in my pocket, ignoring the pain in my shoulder as I stretched.