Land of Monsters (Savage Lands #8)

Chapter 11

My worst nightmare hung in the air like a ghoul, sucking the energy and life from my marrow.

A vindictive smile twisted Sonya’s mouth, arrogance polluting her aura.

She knew.

Throat tight, I tried to swallow, keeping my reaction flat, trying not to display the fear engulfing me.

Sonya recognized Raven was not just someone important to me, but to the entire Unified Nations.

The queen’s daughter. The princess.

Sonya had the UFN by the balls, and I didn’t see them standing aside for the better of the country. Her father and her uncles alone would shred through this castle to get to Raven. But it wasn’t merely these walls imprisoning her, keeping them from reaching her.

Russia had been quietly building their military for decades, manufacturing weapons, expanding trade, and making deals with other countries. By themselves they weren’t a huge threat, but rumor was China had associated with them as well, which brought Sonya’s threat into reality.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know who she is?” Sonya stroked Nyx’s head. The hawk glowered at me, enjoying my pain, relishing in the agony of watching someone I care about hurt.

My lips stayed pinned together. Sonya’s snappy overconfidence told me she hadn’t been aware of Raven’s identity, not until recently. Probably when she and Dimitri Kozlov realized they were after the same people. Otherwise why would she think the girl in raggedy, dirty clothes, slumming it with me in whorehouses, was the princess of the UFN? Raven was famous, but social media hadn’t existed like it did before the barrier fell. Her likeness was just seen in print magazines and newspapers. Stuff the rich could afford to buy in the Eastern Bloc.

“She is the merely leverage I need.” She dropped her hand from Nyx, nodding to Raven, her gaze never leaving mine. “You are useless and will only cause me problems.” She clicked her tongue. “So sad you came all this way to seek revenge… for nothing.” She nodded at Joska behind me. “Kill him.”

“Gladly.” A deep growl came from his throat, sounding more animal than human. “Just know before I tear your limbs from your body that I will hunt Brexley down and make sure she and her little wolf are next.”

The flare of wrath gritted my teeth, but I forced a chuckle between my lips. “Good luck with that. You’ll be dead before you could even get within a mile of Brexley.” She could kill him with her eyes closed without even putting effort into it, but she wouldn’t have to. Warwick would cut him down before he stepped into town. Anything threatening her was dead on arrival.

“Quickly!” Sonya ordered Joska. “Then take her back to the breeding room. Let the Primul mate her until she conceives. To have her power, her bloodline as one of my soldiers… I will so love to see the expression on Her Majesty’s face when she sees her adorable grandson.”

Madness drank me in, embodied me, became the blood in my veins and the beat of my heart. Numbness buzzed in my brain, possessing me, while Samu and another approached her.

“ Kurvára ne nyúlj hozzá!” Do not fucking touch her! I bellowed, the voice not even sounding like mine. Pushing against the goblin metal, I thrashed against Joska’s hold, tugging him with me as I tried to move to her curled-up form on the muddy, icy ground.

Sonya’s laugh played like a soundtrack in my mind, adding to my craze.

“Basszon agyon a kénk?ves istennyila!” Get fucked to death by lightning with sulphuric stones! I screamed at her, pulling against Joska.

Joska dragged me over against a wall, my shouts tearing up my throat, my energy draining from me, which only added to my anger.

I was helpless. I didn’t have power like Brexley or Warwick had; my magic was limited to earth and nature. I was born a healer and even though I was raised a fighter, it wasn’t in my DNA to fight against goblin metal, no matter how much I tried. The organic makeup and magic were a nature fairy’s worst nemesis.

“Raven!” I hollered her name, needing her to know I hadn’t left her here all alone. I came for her. But between the two of us, sadly, I was the luckier one. My death would be quick. What was in store for her was unfathomable.

I needed her to wake. To fight. To get out of here and live her life. Fall in love and be happy. Dziubu?, I cried in my head. Wake up. You have to fight…

For a moment I thought I saw her leg twitch, but it was more likely I hoped I saw it.

Joska pointed his gun at my chest, just slightly off from my heart.

“I’m gonna watch you bleed out while I rip your limbs from your body.” A hyper-excited yip came up his throat, his chest puffing out.

Samu couched down to pick up Raven as Joska pushed down on the trigger.

I am so sorry I failed you.

“Seems you’re being a bit rash.” A voice cut through, swinging everyone’s heads to the newest addition. Sucking in, I froze as I watched Dzsinn step into the courtyard, pulling down his hood, his focus on Sonya. “Though you always were. So desperate to be the best, to be recognized and seen, you tended to overlook things…”

Her eyes widened, shock tinting her features while Dzsinn moved to the middle.

“Even as a child.”

Fury bloomed in her eyes, her expression turning impassive, her chin lifting in defiance.

“Dzsinn.” She uttered his name with intimacy, sinking my stomach into the ground.

“It’s been a long time. Glad you still remember me… cousin .”

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

Cousin?

This whole time he not only knew of her, but was related to her? What the hell was going on? Was this all a trap for me?

My gaze jumped between them in disbelief, noticing the animosity.

Her lids narrowed. “We share no blood, genie.”

“And yet, you wear my family’s heirloom like it’s yours to have.” He flicked his hand to the luminous crystal necklace around her throat. It was nothing I really took notice of before, a woman’s trinket. “I was wondering how my people were ignoring my summons.” He seethed. “The Cintamani stone is rightfully mine, Sonya. You stole it from me .”

The Cintamani stone?

It was a sacred stone to the jinn race, which most believed was more a myth than truth. A symbol with both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. One of the stories was that it originated in the stars and had fallen to Earth as a meteorite from the gods. It was known as the wish-fulfilling gem. It gave luck and opportunity to whoever wore it, emitting vibrations and assisting in resourceful manifestation with an energy source. Some linked it to the Philosopher’s stone—the elixir of life.

“And unless my moles are dead, no one, except another genie, can break our summons.”

Holy fuck.

I stared at her, her chest rising and falling under the legendary stone. It made so much sense. Her continuous rise to the top, acquiring so many to follow her without thought, getting away without a scratch, and succeeding in everything she did almost effortlessly.

People died right and left around her, yet she skated by, only becoming more powerful. Because she had the foundation of genie magic around her throat.

Dzsinn glared daggers at her. “You came into my family, were raised and loved like one of our own, and this is how you repay us?”

“Loved?” she spat. “I was treated like an outcast my whole youth.”

“Because you were a righteous, conceited bitch even then,” Dzsinn jabbed.

“For all I went through… I earned this.” She touched the jewel. “Plus, the necklace chose me. I was the worthy one out of all of you and your brothers.”

“It belongs to me.” Dzsinn’s vocals tightened. “And I’ve come to reclaim it.”

A loud laugh sang through the yard, her head tipping back. “And you expect me to hand it over to you?”

“With or without your head attached. I am taking back what is mine.”

Her amusement tinkled in the air again, her head shaking, the humor slowly dropping away.

“Kill them both.”

The clicks of guns snapped in unison, her soldiers reacting instantly to her order. I held my breath, waiting to hear the shots, feel the bullets burrow into my body.

But instead of a gunshot, a rumble shook the ground, knocking against my skin and diving into my lungs. The entire world seemed to stop on a point.

She rose from the earth like she came out from the depths of hell, her skin and hair bathed in night. Her back curved, sharp blades tearing through her tank, her hands becoming scythes of death. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew the fire blazing in her eyes, the dagger teeth ready to rip into flesh.

Fear filled the air, their terror turning on her. Wondering what the hell she was.

The hyena bayed out a cry. A shot went off, the bullet grazing by her. A chant hissed from her directed at the hyena, but he raised his gun again.

Raven’s lips peeled back, darting for him, but he was just as fast as her, his own teeth chomping for her neck.

Raven stumbled back, her dark dweller livid with anger, but confusion blinked over her face for a moment.

It was like I could feel her fear, her understanding of what had just happened.

Holy. Fuck.

Her obscurer had no power over them. Their minds were different than fae or humans. They weren’t even in-between. An obscurer was rare, despised, and hunted down, but their magic was still based in nature.

These things were not.

“Get her! But don’t kill her!” Sonya ordered from high on her perch, Nyx taking flight, squawking overhead. The world became chaos, a frenzied energy of distressed howls and commands aimed at her. From all directions, bullets volleyed for her, her beast roaring with fury.

“Raven!” I belted as Joska turned his gun on her, her head snapping to me.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Her mouth moved faster, a power shimmering around her body, blood starting to drip from her nose. Every bullet missed her, embedding into the stone behind her. Joska pounded on his chest, his roar matching hers. He leaped for her, their bodies colliding in a thud.

“Raven!” I belted again, lurching for the pair fighting, my weak legs dropping me to the ground, my face smacking hard against the stone. A frustrated cry burned my vocals, and I glared at my cuffed hands behind my back.

“Hmmm… the tree humper looks like he needs us.” A tiny figure jumped on my back.

“Opie,” I breathed out. “Uncuff me!”

Chirp!

“Bitzy wants unlimited mushrooms.”

“What?” I exclaimed. “Are you serious? This is not the time to bargain. Let me go.”

Chirp!

“She says this is exactly the time.”

“Fine, whatever!” I wiggled my arms, peering back toward Raven, though I couldn’t see anything from where I was. “Just uncuff me.”

“That was for Bitzy.” Opie tapped his fingers on his mouth. “I want unlimited access for my designs. Any fabrics or jewelry, which includes a certain fae book. I have a particular design in mind from the seventh century.”

My teeth gritted. Fae books were sacred to me.

“Fine!”

Opie smiled, putting his attention to my manacles. I turned my head back in her direction, hearing her dweller roar in pain.

“Hurry!” Panic strangled my voice, the terror of her fighting them all by herself. Every second was years; every moment made me more afraid I’d hear her cries of death. I knew her power could only sustain for a short time.

“I think I got—” The second I felt the cuffs drop away, I pushed up, scrambling across the quad for her. I could see her claws slicing across Joska’s chest, stumbling him back.

As if she felt me, knew I was close, her head snapped in my direction, her flaming eyes finding mine. Black blood poured from her eyes and nose, her teeth dripping with blood reflected in the torchlight.

It was only a second, but I felt her sink into my soul, her beast marking me as hers. It was like we didn’t even need to speak, a connection between us growing like a network of intricate roots snaring deep into the ground.

Sonya shrieked, snapping reality back into place. “Get her!”

All their attention on Raven, I snuck up behind the guard running for her, slamming my elbow into the back of his skull as I kicked his knee. He dropped to the ground while I yanked the gun from his hands.

Bang!

I didn’t hesitate, shooting him through the back of the head before pointing it at anything in my path to get to her.

“Kill him!” Sonya barked, her finger pointed at me.

More of these mixed species came for me, firing their weapons, the bullets skating by my head. It would only take one to stop me.

“NO!” Raven thundered, her eyes completely in flames as she shoved past Joska, her claws slicing across Samu’s throat, propelling him into the wall, her deadly frame tearing into everything that stood between us. Blood gushed over the courtyard, which was littered with bodies. It was as if her obscurer was feeding off her anger, off the violence, turning her more savage.

Feral and wild, her teeth bared, black liquid flowing from her nose, her eyes swimming with fire and blood. A darkness encased her in a different plane of existence, slipping from my reach. In my gut, I felt like I was losing her, and if she hit a certain point, she wouldn’t make it back to me.

“ Mroczny, ” I called out to her, reaching for her. Her tempestuous gaze snapped to me, her chest heaving, taking a moment for her snarl to abate. “I’m here.” I curled my fingers for her to come to me.

Slowly, Raven moved to me, a growl still humming in her gut, her frame caked in carnage, the gore-drenched the castle as a backdrop to the true horror.

“Come here, mroczny,” I ordered, standing in challenge against her power. I stretched out, taking her wrist. Her body shifted back to normal when I touched her, as if I was what centered her, brought her back. Her face was pallid, her shoulders sagging, her bones shaking. Magic was draining from her quickly.

“I need you to run.” My command was low and determined. I locked my attention on Raven, needing her to push against the exhaustion, to continue to fight for our lives.

She nodded, but we both knew it wouldn’t be long until she had nothing left. We had to get as far as we could.

“What is wrong with you freaks!” Sonya screamed, peering down at the bodies groaning and bleeding out. “Get them!” she yelled at Nyx.

“Now!” I took Raven’s blood-covered hand in mine as Nyx screeched down for us. Pulling her with me through the gate, I was aware sometime during the frenzy, Dzsinn had once again disappeared.

Swiping up my pack, we took off. With what little energy we had left, we sprinted from the castle.

The night didn’t hide us from Nyx. Our figures moving through the forest outside the citadel were like glowing heat sources to her. Her squawks pinpointed our location, directing the soldiers Sonya had coming after us, feeling like déjà vu.

Shooting up at the sky, the hawk dodged the bullets, screeching even louder, staying far enough away to not be a target. She wasn’t here to kill us; she was there to keep tabs on our whereabouts.

“I need to kill that bitch once and for all,” I snarled, holding on to Raven, the thicker snow causing her to stumble. Her bare feet struggled to push on, her figure barely staying upright. “Please, don’t give up on me,” I pleaded, propelling her faster. The roars of car engines and motorcycles from the castle scraped the back of my neck.

Everything was against us. The chances of escaping were low, but I knew if the monsters they call the Primul came after us, we were dead.

Adrenaline drove my body forward, and I took more and more of Raven’s weight. Her strength was declining, her body unable to keep up with the demand.

We couldn’t slow down. We couldn’t stop. Our only chance was putting enough space between us and them. Images of what would happen if Sonya’s men caught us again, what they would do to her, especially now that they knew how powerful she was and what a dangerous weapon she could produce if mated with the Primul , ran unbidden through my mind.

She was the ultimate prize, whereas I would be shot and beheaded.

Panic and terror became molten rock in my gut, firing through my nerves and embedding into the earth. A signal of distress stamped into the ground.

The trees answered my call, bending to me, inviting me to take, to procure their energy like a siphon. And I seized it greedily.

The raw, untamed magic burned through my veins, the overload singeing my muscles and igniting me. A grunt escaped my lips, my body shaking as the sudden influx of energy almost dropped me to my knees. There was no real thought, no understanding, except intuition. The need to protect her. To keep her safe.

Tapping into the energy, I turned my focus on her, my hands tight on her face, like I was the conduit. She resisted at first, pain splintering across my forehead, knocking against the barrier. Sweat beaded down my face, and I snarled through the pain, pushing harder. I felt her wall break. My magic poured into her system, flooding her.

Raven jerked at the invasion, a cry breaking from her lips, but I only gripped her harder, forcing her to take more. Magic pumped into her like I was inside her, filling her so deeply it scorched into my soul. I sensed every one of her muscles hungrily gorging on it. Her legs stood firmer under her, her wounds knitting back together. Her cheeks flushed as her green eyes danced with flames again.

I stared down at her in awe of her beauty and power. Our enemies were coming for us, but all I could see, hear, smell, and taste was her. The intimacy of the connection was profound, yet my brain was too numb to understand what I had done. What bond this would create. Sharing magic was one of the most sacred experiences you could share with another. It was opening yourself up for them to see everything.

I groaned in desire, my body shaking like I was on the cusp of an orgasm. I could touch her darkness, feel her beast and obscurer skimming through me. No line was between us anymore, her life melding with mine.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard a hawk shriek, the rumble of motorcycles, and bellows underfoot. Go . We needed to go.

“Fuck.” I ripped my hands from her face, breaking away from her. Though all I wanted to do was stay in the bubble with her, to reach that blissful high, not caring about the world around us.

She bent over the moment I let go, gasping for oxygen. “Wh-what the fuck was that?”

“We have to go.” Every second they drew close itched my legs, but the anxiety also came from what I had just done. There was a distinct line fae didn’t cross unless it was with their mate. And even then, some didn’t do it. And I wiped that line out of existence. Sharing magic was the most intimate thing you could do. “You good to run?”

“Y-yes.” She bobbed her head.

“Good, because I need you to run like your life depends on it.”

Because it did.

Wild animals roared in the distance, setting us off. Our legs tore across the snowy ground, Raven’s slight frame outrunning mine, her skin almost a glow of excess magic. It hummed off her with familiarity, like my smell, my mark, was imprinted on her skin.

Fuck. What the hell did I just do?

With another screech in the sky, I shoved all thoughts out of my head, the trees breaking away to farmland, giving us no place to hide.

“Down!” I pointed to the village below, hoping to get lost among the houses and buildings. Raven and I raced to the country road, turning a corner around an old B&B. Headlights blinded us as the military jeep came to a screeching halt in front of us.

Terror gripped my throat, hearing guards coming down the hill behind us. My pulse drowned out my senses. We had nowhere to go or hide.

We were caught.

“Get in!” A voice barked from the driver’s window, a hand motioning us to climb in.

My lids squinted at the man behind the wheel.

“Dzsinn?”

“Get the fuck in now!” he bellowed.

Jogging over, I ripped open the door, pushing Raven into the back seat while I climbed in the front.

“Go! Go!” I yelled as gunfire pinged off the outside of the car.

Wheels spinning, the jeep lurched forward, Dzsinn slamming his foot on the gas pedal. The car skidded over the slush, fishtailing around a corner, while bullets cracked against the back window, shattering it. Raven screamed, covering her head and ducking further into the seat. Dzsinn sped us forward, getting out of range of their shot. Whipping my head around, I watched their figures disappear in the dark, letting out a slip of breath.

“Squawk!”

My head jerked to a silhouette in the sky staying in line with us. That fucking bitch . Wings spread, Nyx kept us in her sight, gliding with the speed of the car, coasting over to the field on the driver’s side. Soon Sonya’s men in jeeps and motorcycles would be coming for us, and if we didn’t lose her, she would lead them right to us.

“Hold the car steady!” I demanded, the rough country road bouncing us around. Rolling down the window, I slipped my ass out onto the door frame, the icy wind snapping at my face and hair. The roads made it hard for me to hold on to the gun and aim while not falling out of the car.

Raven’s hands gripped my thighs, holding me in place. Her heat soaked through my pants, the extra magic she contained humming against my skin, stroking me.

“Fuck.” I gritted my teeth, trying to concentrate and not have every brain cell go to my dick. Using the top of the car as purchase, I aimed.

Bang! My shot cracked in the atmosphere, her form swooping, missing the bullet.

“Szar.” I snapped, aiming at her again. In the distance behind us, headlights turned onto the road, the guards coming after us.

“We need to lose her, Ash,” Dzsinn warned, his eyes flicking to the side mirror, seeing what was coming behind. “Now.”

Taking a deep breath, I didn’t try to block out Raven’s touch, allowing it to seep in, almost like I was using her strength this time. Focused and calm, I squeezed one eye shut, getting Nyx in my view.

Bang!

The gun recoiled, followed by a shrill screech, her form dropping from the air into the dark field.

I let out the breath I was holding, hitting my hand on the top of the roof. “Yes.” I hissed through my teeth, sliding back into the car.

“Got her,” I announced with satisfaction, turning back to the headlights far behind us, but Raven came into my view instead. “You okay?” My eyes slid over every inch of her barely dressed body. Her tank was in shreds, her hair bloody and knotted, yet her face was flushed with health and vigor. Life brimmed under her skin, which thrummed with my magic.

It screamed mine . Everything about her affected me, creating a tightness, a deep awareness.

I shredded off my jacket, giving it to her to wear, only adding to my possession.

“Yeah,” she replied. As she pulled on the coat, our gazes caught, making me feel she could see right through me. Whatever we shared on that mountain went beyond the wall I had tried to keep between us. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Or about how close I was to losing her tonight.

Something had changed, and it felt like I was purged back into a world where I was forced to care. To watch those close to me die.

Sitting back in my seat, I rubbed at my forehead. Dzsinn snorted, peering at her through the rearview mirror, then back at me, shaking his head like he could see through us both.

“We need to lay low for a while. She’ll have troops searching for us,” Dzsinn spoke, pushing harder on the pedal. “This car is too noticeable.”

My lids lowered, turning to him. “Why didn’t you tell me you not only know Sonya, but you’re related?”

“Not really related.” His expression didn’t change.

“Not the point.”

“I don’t owe you anything, Ash,” he huffed, seeing the motorcycles gaining on us. “And right now is not the time.”

“We have to get off these roads before she puts up roadblocks,” Raven said, still watching the motorcycles in the distance.

Dzsinn shifted in his seat, a frown on his lips. “I know of a place we can go.”

“Another cousin’s house?” I quipped.

“A connection. I trust them.” Dzsinn pushed the old jeep until it rattled, jarring my already tense nerves. Anger welled at the feeling of helplessness, of what was already lost to me and what could be taken.

I didn’t want to feel it again.

I did not want to care, yet I was falling down that hole anyway.

The jeep squealed as Dzsinn spun us down another side road, fleeing from the notorious castle whose myths couldn’t even come close to the real-life monsters and horrors dwelling inside.