AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tank had his eyes open and was blowing bubbles. I swam faster toward him and pulled him upward, then Gorgo helped me haul the big guy out. I laid Tank down and placed his bound wrists over his chest.
Water and silver blood pooled around us. Tank rolled to the side and coughed up water. His breath wheezed out of his chest.
“Evangeline.” Tank sounded so weak, his voice hoarse. “Asmodeus didn’t take you. Thank God. I wanted to die at the thought I failed you. Then I heard your voice, but I couldn’t move.”
Fail me? Oh, Tank. I failed you.
I brushed wet strands away from his eyes. “I’m so happy you’re alive. Let’s get these cuffs off you so you can start to heal.”
But how? I had no keys or tools. Breaking them with my hands was impossible. Touching them would make me weaker. I was about to ask Gorgo when he kneeled and jiggled something in front of me.
“I stole a set of keys from one of the prison guards when I left the castle. I figured they would come in handy one day.”
On impulse, I hugged him. When I realized what I had done, I backed away. I might have even pushed him in the process.
Gorgo’s cheeks bloomed a deep crimson as he shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. My neck grew hot with embarrassment. The human emotion of gratitude had empowered my action. Never again would I hug him, or any other demon for that matter.
Gorgo clicked the lock and unbound Tank. The hematite shackles clanked on the ground. We helped Tank up to a sitting position and the wound on his back began to stitch itself back up.
“Tank, do you know what happened to Otis?” I asked.
His eyes grew wider. “Otis. Oh, Otis. In the water, I think.”
While Gorgo picked up the cuffs, I looked for some sign of Otis in the dark water.
I followed the bobbing apple floating farther into the darkness of the cave and dove in. Seconds ticked by and I pushed my arms and kicked my legs deeper. There. Otis. He blinked when he saw me and let go of the apple clenched in his mouth.
I gripped his arms and swam toward the streambed. Tank gripped Otis’s tunic and hauled him out, then laid him on the ground. After we got the cuffs off Otis, the wound on his chest began to heal, and then the three of us stood in a small circle and smiled.
When they lowered to offer an angel salute, I wrapped my arms around the boys and held them tightly. A human hug. Then they too draped arms around me for more heartbeats.
“Tell me what happened.” I pulled away. “Where are Snow and Dawn?”
I settled on the edge of the streambed, Tank and Otis scooted on either side of me. Gorgo stood in front of us while his soldiers kept watch on the mountain’s edge.
Otis let out a long sigh. “After you and Zander left, the four of us got hit by sleeping darts. When I awoke, I was in this cavern. No sight of Snow and Dawn. I think Asmodeus took them.”
Tank nodded, glancing up at the ceiling, looking lost and confused. I didn’t blame him. I felt the same.
“How do we save Zander, Dawn, and Snow?” Otis grabbed a handful of pebbles.
I almost snapped that we weren’t going to bother with Zander, but that wasn’t how I really felt. What I felt was anger toward him, but I had to push away that emotion and do my job.
Zander wouldn’t kneel to save our friends, but Otis and Tank were more than willing to die for him. Zander must have a good explanation. He better have.
“I’m not sure yet.” I kicked some pebbles. “Gorgo has to find a way to get into the castle first. But we also need more allies.”
“You still have the divine sword, right?” Otis glanced down as if expecting to see the sword by my feet.
I blinked. I had forgotten about the sword. I hid the weapon inside my wings, but I felt no weight from it. Then it dawned on me.
I ran a hand down my face. “After I was poisoned, someone took it. Asmodeus has it now.”
Tank and Otis cursed. Gorgo smacked his forehead, his curses the loudest. My shoulders lowered with humiliation.
“How?” Tank clenched his teeth. “Only the six of us knew of the sword.”
Otis tossed pebbles into the water. “Tank, Dawn, and I have been a team for a long time. Dawn didn’t betray us.”
