Defying Destiny (Afterword Academy #3) - Katie May Page 0,49
with me, okay? Put your hand on my chest, breathe as I do, we can work through this.”
I close my eyes and imagine we’re kids again and Karston is helping me through one of the many panic attacks I suffered. Soon, I’m able to work through the debilitating fear, the terror that freezes my limbs and my lungs.
When I open my eyes, I’m calmer than I was moments ago and have regained control of my body. “Okay. I’m ready.”
“Then let’s get moving,” Caius announces, speaking low. “The monsters won’t be gone for long.”
Why does everything he says sound cryptic and terrifying?
Braxton offers Karston and me his hands and helps us to our feet. He looks worse than all of us. Well, except for Hadley. His body is a smattering of blood and guts of every color. Even chunks of monster flesh cling to his skin.
Gross.
“Follow me,” Caius says as he begins moving through a narrow section of burning lava walls. Brax follows him, then Auston, then me, and then Karston brings up the rear, walking backwards with his dagger poised.
An eerie quiet blankets us, causing more fear than the snarling monsters ever could. The sound of our feet sliding across the loose stone echoes louder than it should.
And when the pathway opens up into a larger space, we know he’s right.
“Fuck me,” Auston says, glancing at the piles of dead and dying monsters littered about this large cavern. We’re standing at the top of a rocky hill, and down below are the remains of what must have been a bloody battle. Monsters are strewn about, but they’ve not just been killed—they’ve been slaughtered.
Pools of blood cover the ground, dismembered body parts lying here and there. Mournful cries of the dying creatures resound in my ears, so despondent that I almost feel bad for them.
Almost.
The cavern is vast, and like the rest of this level, it’s dark, and the rocky walls are littered with cascading lava. The heat is intense, making every inch of me sweat, even my hair. Holes at various places on the walls must lead to other caves, tunnels leading in and out of this space. The other side of it must be a hundred yards away.
“There it is,” Caius announces, his shadowy form shifting. At first, I don’t know what he’s talking about, but as we begin to slowly make our way down the hill, I see an odd rock formation at the back of the cavern.
Could that be it? That lump of rock?
“I don’t see it,” Karston admits. “Where, Caius?”
“There.” A tendril of dark smoke points to the convex portion of the rock wall. “That’s it, my prison. It might not look like much, but even I can’t break out of it.”
“And Hadley’s essence is in there?” I manage to choke out, overwhelmed with emotion as Auston stands next to me, giving me a perfect view of her deadened face.
“She is,” Caius assures.
“Are we just going to ignore all the dead Hell monsters, or should we talk about what the fuck might have killed them? Because it sure as hell wasn’t us,” Karston proclaims.
“Caius?” Braxton looks to the Darkness for answers.
“I don’t know,” Caius responds. “But it can’t be good.”
“Well no shit,” Brax gripes, pushing forward. As we move through the dead and dying, Brax kills anything that still lives, running ahead, flying around, slicing through bodies until they’ve all perished.
Well, all except one.
As we near the cage, a new figure emerges that causes as much fear as the monsters did to skirt down my spine. He lumbers forward from a side chamber, clothes torn and bloodied, hair disheveled, brandishing a dagger of his own.
“Administer,” Auston growls. “What the fuck are you doing here? Step aside! Now!”
The maniacal laugh that belts from Administer’s throat is otherworldly, seeming to echo all around me, as if he’s inside my head, screaming.
“You think you’ve won?” he shouts. “You’ve not won! Lilith! She’ll kill you all!”
“He’s crazy,” Karston whispers beside me. “There’s no telling what he’ll do.”
“You can’t win, Abram,” Caius sneers, floating closer to the deranged Fate. “Not when we’re this close.”
“But you’ve already lost!” he shouts. “Don’t you see?!”
Just then, a hideous winged creature lowers itself off an oozing webbing from the cave above, right in front of Administer—Abram. Whatever. The Fate pulls out his dagger and roars, slicing through the monster. But he doesn’t just slice. A burst of magic sparks alongside his blade. It seems to paralyze his attacker before