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“Yes,” I replied, a pain starting in my chest at the memory of Vas’ face right before he’d been pulled back to his own personal version of hell. “Truly awful.”
“Do you know them?” she asked, seeing something in my eyes.
I didn’t bother to lie. “They’re my friends. I came here to find them.”
She looked stunned. “You came here on purpose?”
“Not exactly. Being captured wasn’t part of the plan.” Although, what other way would I have gotten down there? I could’ve masqueraded as a demon overseer but that would’ve been tricky. Too many chances of being caught. At least this way I could search for Vas and Sven freely.
I continued my descent down the ladder. When I reached the ground floor I wandered about the sleeping quarters, noticing something unusual about the workers in their pods. Many of them weren’t asleep. Instead they stared at the ceiling or off into the distance. It was like they’d been sedated and it didn’t take long to figure out why.
“Want to buy some lava dust, girl? It’ll make you forget you’re in hell,” a grey faced woman asked as I passed her. She had an emaciated look about her, and whatever ‘lava dust’ was I’d bet my last dolmen she was using it herself.
Drugs were something people turned to in this dimension, just as they were in my own.
“No, thank you,” I replied, giving her a polite nod.
“You’ll change your mind and I’ll be here when you do,” she said and an eery shiver passed down my spine.
My eyes wandered over the names on the chalkboards, section by section. Ren was right though, I’d never be able to check all the names before it was time for us to start working.
Nevertheless, I continued checking before more workers came filing into the area. One of the shifts must’ve just ended.
A strange sensation filled my chest. The mark began a low thrum that gradually increased and I knew Vas had to be near. There was no other explanation. Anxiety took hold as I frantically scanned the hundreds of new people who milled in, climbing the ladders to get into their pods to rest.
The crowd parted, a small hush descending, and that was when I saw them.
Vas and Sven.
They were only about twenty feet away from me but I was far behind the crowd and they couldn’t see me. People were giving them a wide berth and it was clear to see why. They were pariahs now, having escaped and been recaptured. I studied their appearances, the soot and dirt that marred their hair and clothing. They were shirtless, only wearing dark trousers, their muscled torsos dirty from mining just like many of the others I’d encountered. I calculated that they’d been here a little over two weeks, but it felt like months since I’d laid eyes on them.
I wanted to call out to them, but I decided that was a bad idea. It would garner unnecessary attention, and there were still demon overseers standing about. So, I kept my mouth shut and watched as they climbed the ladder to two pods, both on the tenth level not too far from the ones Ren had snagged for us. Without analysing my next move too closely, I waited until they were both inside their pods and then I ascended the ladder after them.
Quietly, I neared Vas’ pod, my voice no more than a whisper when I called out, “Vas?”
I waited a moment but received no response. Wondering if he was asleep already, I crooked my neck around the corner to peer inside right before a hand reached out and gripped the neck of my T-shirt. A second later we were face to face, his bright blue eyes somehow more vibrant than I remembered.
Though perhaps that was down to the fury and disbelief that burned within them.
“Darya,” he seethed then dragged me inside his pod. I was shocked by his anger, so intense it practically radiated from his pores. Not to mention the fact that he was shirtless, sweaty and dirty from his shift in the mine.
Before I knew it I was lying flat inside the pod, Vasilios above me in the tiny space, his hand still fisting my shirt in a vicelike grip.
“You’re crowding me,” I complained, my voice oddly breathless. His chest was pressed hard to mine, his expression etched in anger. His scent invaded me, overpowering my ability to think straight.
“Me crowding you is the least of your worries. How the fuck did you get here, Darya?”
He looked both furious and fascinated all at once. His accent curled around the English syllables that were foreign to him and it sent an unexpectedly pleasant shiver through my body. The mark was more alive than ever, humming away happily to be reunited with its maker.
“I couldn’t just abandon you,” I responded, my words choked. The way he managed to surround me had nerves thrumming under the surface of my skin.
