Logan...where are you?
Aiden crouched before me, stroking my cheek with his bloody finger. I summoned the scraps of energy I had left to jerk away as forcefully as I could, stumbling back and falling against the rocks. My wasted eyes saw a shadow flickering behind Aiden, and I flinched as another train roared by, drowning out all sound except Aiden’s voice as he pulled me to my feet, gripping me by the throat and pinning me to the pillar. I gasped for air, his fingers closing tightly around my neck.
“The first thing I’m doing when we’re on the other side,” he purred into my ear, his breath moist and invasive on my skin, “is arranging the assassination of your protector. You’d be surprised how many in the warlock army would give up their little warrior for the right price.”
Aiden stepped back, still gripping me around the throat. Dark spots skipped around in my vision, drawing together to form a curtain of blackness that closed over me.
And then Aiden’s fingers loosened their grip, keeping only a light hold around my throat as I slumped to the ground. I was dimly aware of shrieks echoing around the tunnel. I grabbed his wrist between my bound palms and pulled his arm off me, his fingers easily slipping off my skin with just a feeble tug. The stale air in the tunnel was a welcome, fresh rush of oxygen to my deprived lungs as I crumpled against the rocks, taking huge, gulping breaths.
Panting, I forced my blurry vision to focus and stared in confusion at Aiden’s arm—his arm, which was no longer connected to his body, but lying about a foot from me, staining the rocks a dark purple where it had been sliced from his body.
I heard a low whine, and I pushed myself up into a sitting position, looking toward the source of the weak cry. I could see the silhouette of Aiden, cowering on the ground, blood gushing out of the stump that had once been his left arm. He scrambled backward, his heels ineffectively scattering rocks as he kicked wildly, trying to find some purchase to get away from Logan.
Logan, who stood before Aiden, his chest rising in anger and sword gripped tightly, dripping with blood.
“I told you not to touch her,” Logan snarled, slicing his sword through the air with an audible whirr. Aiden held up his shielded arm in protection, giving birth to a spray of sparks and light as Logan’s sword clashed with the metal. A malevolent smile tugged at the corner of Logan’s mouth as he studied the demon, writhing in pain and panic at his feet.
I’d seen Logan bleed an unnatural color, watched him cast spells in an otherworldly language, and hell, I’d even seen and touched his wings. But he’d never looked demonic until this moment.
Logan held the tip of his sword against Aiden’s throat, a slow grin on his face. The portal expanded again, showering the tunnel in another blast of bright light and spotlighting Aiden’s face, which was twisted in terror.
“You can’t kill me!” Aiden cried, his eyes appearing a pale violet in the blinding white light from the portal.
“Oh, but I can,” Logan told Aiden. “I’m just trying to figure out which way will be the most painful.”
Aiden used his armored hand to swipe at Logan’s sword, sending another spray of sparks scattering around the rocks as Logan let his sword be pushed to the side. Logan looked almost amused as he shadowed Aiden’s movements, following closely as the demon scrambled to his feet, clutching at his bleeding stump.
Logan sauntered behind Aiden as he stumbled forward a few steps before kicking him in the back of the knee, sending Aiden sprawling down on the rocks. In two steps, Logan had Aiden pinned on the ground, his foot pressed against Aiden’s neck.
“You can’t—you need me,” Aiden sputtered, his usually artfully messy black hair now stringy and hanging in his face. “You need me to close the portal.”
“I’m pretty sure killing you will do the job,” Logan said. Aiden’s hand wildly flung in the air, and I saw the gold disk reflect the light from the portal as it flew in the air.
“Look out!” I tried to scream with the last surge of energy I had left; but the words left my mouth in a weak croak as Aiden’s signature weapon unleashed its deadly whips, which lashed in the air as the disk spun toward me. The spiny whips whirled, and I tried to move, struggling to my feet only for my legs to collapse underneath me, my body drained of all strength as the portal expanded again—devouring my life to sustain its own.
Logan rushed toward me, his sword drawn—and quickly hacked through the disk midair. It imploded with a flash of gold smoke, an almost musical tinkling sound heralding its destruction before fragments of the feared weapon rained down ineffectively on the rocks.
Aiden had struggled to his feet, his head whirling from side to side before picking a direction, and he began staggering off balance in search of an exit. Logan raced toward him, launching himself off the rocks and knocking into Aiden, forcing the demon onto the ground with a heavy thud. Aiden yelled in pain as Logan stood up, kicking the demon in the ribs, the force of his kick sending Aiden rolling onto his back. Logan raised his sword, and with one swift move, impaled the demon through his good shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
A retching, gurgling sound escaped Aiden’s throat, and he clawed ineffectively at the sword with his one hand. Logan gripped the handle, jiggling it slightly to test how firmly it was lodged in the ground—earning another wet-sounding cough from Aiden. Logan grinned, taking obvious delight in Aiden’s agony.
“That should keep you in place. I’m looking forward to killing you slowly, Aeodhan. Every mark you left on her is another hour you’ll scream in agony.”
And then Logan turned to me, beginning his slow approach. His head was tilted down, his hair hanging in his face as his dark eyes fell on mine—once-familiar eyes that were now cold and bloodthirsty, bathed in the harsh white glow of the portal. And I was afraid.
Afraid—until Logan fell to his knees in front of me and cupped my face, and the warmth and love I knew was back. I exhaled in relief, my shoulders relaxing at his touch.
“He’ll never hurt you again,” he murmured, his eyes searching mine as his hands slid down my neck, inspecting the bruises that were likely already forming from Aiden’s constricting grip. Logan gently took my bound wrists in his palm and slid his index finger in between my raw wrists, whispering harsh words from that shared demonic language.
The wire fell away, disintegrating into mere gold flakes that fluttered to the ground like celebratory confetti. Logan cradled my wrists as the portal flashed again—and I gasped, doubling over in pain as the doorway to the Dark World grew.
“The portal,” I choked out, my hands wrapping around my stomach. “It hurts worse than last time. Every time it gets bigger, it hurts. It hurts so—”
My words were cut off as I braced myself against another wave of pain—a searing burn that felt like it started in my bones and radiated outward, settling into my skin and leaving my body desiccated in its wake.
The savage look returned to Logan’s eyes when he saw how much I was suffering. He stood, taking one long, last look at me before crossing back to where Aiden was pinned to the ground, his bloodied fingers clutching at the sword.
And Aiden was laughing.
“You have to let me go! Don’t you want me to close the portal?” he asked, a delirious smile on his face—a smile that morphed into screams when Logan removed his sword.
Grabbing Aiden’s collar in his fist, Logan lifted the demon up and slammed him against the pillar.
“You don’t have any special weapons. You don’t even have all your limbs. It’s over, Regent.” Logan slammed Aiden back into the hard concrete for emphasis, but the demon just smiled in reply.