A Kingdom of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 3)

Broad Face shook his head, eyeing my body and then my face. “It’s going to take an awful lot to clean this thing up. She’s a mess.”

“Not our problem, like you said.”

Legs appeared in the blackness crowding the stairwell, the magic hovering like a blanket. Jedrek came into view with a fresh welt on his cheek. He’d probably tried to resist, and they’d slapped him around. The magic above must’ve deadened sound, though, because we hadn’t heard any of it.

The leader, Ressfu, emerged on the stairs, his hand on Jedrek’s shoulder. His gaze darted around the landing, pausing on Luru’s broken body. Panic crept into his expression before easing into plain anxiety. He must’ve realized who it was. The next moment, his gaze hit me and a look of relief followed. He’d clearly regretted giving in to his stupid impulse. That was good. I hoped a lot of them gave in to moments of stupidity. Dumb creatures, even if they only acted foolish sometimes, were easier to fool.

The rest of the demons followed Ressfu, a good few of them looking me over for damage as they descended. When Ressfu reached the bottom, he reached for me.

“Her ankle is messed up,” Govam said, still holding me up. “Like her face and a handful of other issues from her fall.”

His voice didn’t hold accusation, but Ressfu bristled all the same.

“She’ll heal,” Ressfu said, grabbing me and jerking me toward the tunnel. I tried to step-hop, but to keep from falling, I had to put weight on the bad ankle. Agony blasted through me, and I couldn’t stifle a cry as I hopped on the other foot, trying to keep from going down. But I could already tell it was too late.

As I pitched forward, I threw out my hands to catch myself—just as a strong arm wrapped around my middle and pulled me up and against a chest.

“Fucking idiot,” Govam mumbled softly, holding me so I could put my good foot on the ground. “Denski, get her other side. Let’s get this done. I’m sick of this journey.”

A thin demon emerged from the gathering, his smell suggesting his power was about the same as Govam’s, which was higher than that of Broad Face and probably Ressfu, though it was hard to tell with so many of them gathered around.

They each took hold of one of my arms, and I hop/hobbled with them down the corridor, the sound of shuffling feet behind me indicating the others were coming along.

We followed the curve of the hallway, everyone obviously able to see in the darkness except for Jedrek, who stumbled within his captors’ hold. The curse’s suppression had been lifted from him, just like the rest of us from Wyvern, but I hadn’t used my power to help yank his animal out of the darkness. I was worried he’d freak out and try to shift.

Up ahead, the low-hanging domed ceiling had an opening at the top that let in a slice of dusty, crimson-tinged white light. I looked up as we passed, but couldn’t see anything through the hole. Onward we walked, darkness crowding in once again.

A bit farther in, the tunnel narrowed slightly, seemingly ending at a set of bars, the gaps between them slightly illuminated in that same reddish light. Through them were more rough-hewn walls, no difference from the hallway we’d walked down.

Govam stopped before it, saying nothing. In a moment, Ressfu walked around us, a key in hand. He glanced down at my feet before unlocking the door. He gave Govam a hard look, then headed through the opening and turned right.

Govam and Denski started forward in unison without so much as glancing at each other. I hobbled between them, my ankle pounding and sweat coating my skin despite the chill.

Torches lined these walls, few and far between, but they cast enough light for me to see without my dragon’s intervention. I had no idea why torches had taken the place of the electrical or magical light in the previous area. At a crossroads we turned right, only to reach another one, where we turned left. I noticed subtle variations in the walls that would help me find my way back, and my dragon cataloged the various smells. After one more turn, the hall ended at a giant skull, the top of its head dusting the ceiling and its chin resting on the ground. Its cheekbones spanned the width of the hallway, and its eyes glowed a sparkling red. Each tooth was pointed in its slightly ajar mouth, giving it a more sinister look and feel.

Ressfu walked right toward it. Once there, he reached to the side and opened it like a door. I belatedly realized it was flat, only giving the illusion of protruding into the hallway.

“Cool,” I said softly as we passed through.