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Fear twists my insides. Visions of being underground, of being buried alive tighten my throat. Have I gone crazy? I’m sure I’m still sitting, but I move my arms for the first time in what seems like a long time. Touching my body, I feel jeans on my legs. I’m wearing a thin shirt and a leather jacket.
Spanning my arms to the sides, I reach around in the darkness, but I don’t feel anything. I don’t encounter any boards or bodies. Putting my hands down beside me, I touch the cold, damp earth. I still hear the trickle of water as if running down the side of a cave.
“You’re in my mind?” I ask, needing clarification. “So you don’t exist?”
“Oh, I exist.” His voice has become a hiss. “Soon you’ll no longer exist. You don’t even remember who you are. Eventually, you’ll stop fighting the inevitable.”
Full-on panic hits me then. I reach for my jacket, feeling the chest, pockets. Something must be in it to tell me who I am. I’ll see it, and I’ll remember. I know I will.
Empty. My pockets are empty. Poppy’s soft chuckle is in my ears, and I know he’s watching me.
A low growl comes from deep in my belly. Feeling inside the coat, I find it has small pockets against my chest.
“Ha!” My breath gushes out as I make contact with something hard in one of them. Pulling it out, it’s a small vial. By the way it feels and its rubber cap… My hope falters. It’s useless.
“FUCK!” I shout, and Poppy laughs more. His sickening cackle almost pushes me over the edge.
“I already checked your pockets, panther.”
I hate his disembodied voice. I want to kill him. I’m about to throw the small vial across the dark hole when I feel a strange urge. Running my fingers over the glass, it’s as if a voice is telling me to do something. I hear nothing but the trickle of water and the rasp of my companion. Still, I’m being implored. It doesn’t make sense. At the same time, none of this makes sense.
Hesitating, I try to look around once more. I don’t know if this is Poppy manipulating my mind again or if it’s something else. It feels different from Poppy’s influence. Using the edge of my fingernail, I flick off the black cap and drink it fast.
“What are you doing?” For the first time, I hear fear in my companion’s voice.
Flashes of light go off behind my eyes. I see sunlight hitting the waves of w
ater. I see a body, the beautiful pearl-white of a smile. Dark hair sweeps around my shoulders in waves. I inhale the scent of fresh air and warm woods. Mercy.
My strength comes back in a rush. Blinking hard, I can see. Grey light reveals I’m not in a cave. I’m sitting in a burned-out wood with my back against the damp trunk of a tree.
Movement whispers above me, and I lift my chin. I shout when my eyes clash with pale ones just over my head. He’s wrapped around the tree above me like a snake, and one hand is stretched out, touching my head. Reflexively, I slap his arm away, and I see long claws retract from my skull. A whisper moves through my hair as his long talons release my brain.
I’m on my feet at once facing him. “What kind of demon are you?” I growl, ready to rip him limb from limb.
“Only the demon sent to guard you.” He draws back and quickly slithers into the branches above. “Goodbye, panther.”
Lunging forward, I try to grab his retreating tail, but I’m too late. He’s gone in the darkness of the branches, most likely all the way to the top. It’s a massive elm.
“I’m Koa!” I shout after him. “Tell your master I’m here, and I’m coming for her.”
No use hiding it. Clearly, Hayden already knows I’m here if he’s sent his slaves to hold me. Shaking away the fog in my brain, I remember him standing on the side of the river watching as I drank. I remember his sinister smile. Yes, he knows I’m here, and he thought he’d beaten me.
The small vial is still in my hand, and I look down at it. It was in my jacket pocket… Doris. If I ever get back, that old lady has a lot of explaining to do. For now, I’ve got to find Mercy. I don’t know how much time I’ve lost, and I don’t know how I’ll find her. At least I know I’m on the right track.
Pausing before I run, I think hard, hoping to send a message: I’m here, Mercy. I’m coming for you, my love. Don’t give up. I have to believe she can hear me.
* * *
Mercy
The light never changes in this place, no sunrise or sunset. I never know if it’s day or night. I have no idea how much time is passing. It feels like weeks.
My body grows tired as if by habit after hours of wakefulness, then I sleep. I open my eyes to find I’m in the same dim gloom. I’m starting to think I’ll go mad before Koa ever finds me — is he even still searching? Did he try to find me and Cerberus killed him?
Desperation tightens my chest, and I have to get out of this room. Ripping my covers back, I jump out of the enormous bed and throw open the black doors, running down the hallway to the top of the stairs.
“You let Persephone go home!” I shout at him.
