“What’s wrong? What happened?” Jarrod meets me at the bottom of the stairs. “I heard some noise, but I thought you were fucking,” he shouts.
“Did you see Rage? Did he come down?” I say as quickly as I can. I’m in full panic mode at this point.
“No.” Jarrod shakes his head. “He didn’t come down. You mean he’s not up there with you?”
“No!” I yell, “I think Gaire has him! Oh, my god! I think Gaire took him. I could smell ozone.”
Jarrod pushes a few buttons on his phone and then puts it to his ear. “Nia says that Gaire took Rage.”
Death appears about two seconds later, his phone still pressed to his ear.
19
Rage
Where the hell am I?
More importantly, why am I still breathing?
I’m feeling slightly light-headed after being teleported, but otherwise, I’m okay. “What’s going on?” I ask. We’re on a cliff at the ocean. It’s beautiful. The sky is an amazing azure blue. A light breeze is blowing, and it’s fucking cold. I wrap the sheet tighter around myself, trying to stave off a case of gooseflesh on steroids. “Why are we here?” One second I was lying in bed, and the next, boom, I was here with this prick. I’m getting sick of being teleported. I’m getting sick of all the bullshit.
“Why not come here?” Gaire says, taking in the view. He’s relaxed. Like we’re on holiday. “I’ve always loved this part of the world.” He folds his arms across his chest. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
I grunt in affirmation. “Where are we?” I think I know. I want to be sure.
“Wales. Some of the best hellhounds are born and bred on these soils.” Gaire turns and looks over the land. I do the same, keeping an eye cocked on him. It’s very green, with craggy mountains and what looks like a small village in the distance. No wonder it’s so cold. We’re in Wales.
“Let’s cut the bullshit,” I say.
“Relax.” He smiles. “I brought you here to talk, not to fight or to argue.”
“You’re not someone I want to talk to. I have absolutely nothing to say to you.”
“Are you sure about that?” he asks, cocking a brow.
This fucker is getting on my last nerve. “I’m sure, but since you’re going to say your piece anyway, you should speak. Make it quick.”
“You have somewhere you would prefer to be?”
“Yes, inside Nia.” I deadpan.
His whole demeanor changes. I watch every hackle come up. Every muscle tighten. I see a nerve tic in his jaw.
“You don’t love her, so what do you care,” I say. “You should leave her alone. Walk away. I’m this close,” I hold my fingers together, “to getting all of my brothers involved. I’m pretty sure a couple of dragons would join in as well. As a collective we—”
“You’d be signing all of their death warrants,” he interjects. “I’m strong and fast, but that’s not why I’ll win. You can’t kill someone unless you can see them coming. I’ll take heads from shoulders and hearts from chests. I’ll make you watch until every last one of them is dead, and then I’ll still take Nia from you. I’ll incapacitate you, and then I’ll fuck her while you watch. I’ll make her kill you once I’m done. I think that girl has a soft spot for you. It’ll haunt her every day. You don’t want to do that to poor Nia, do you? It’ll ruin her life.”
I feel my blood run cold. I can see that he means it. I’m itching to kill him. I know if I lay so much as a hand on him, he’ll teleport. He’ll come back invisible and take me out. I’ll be dead before I know what’s hit me. The only reason I’ve survived against him thus far is that he toyed with me. Also, because Death has saved my bacon every time. I ran like a fucking coward.
Gaire laughs. He must see my defeated expression. My anger and sheer frustration. I want to hurt him so badly. My hands itch. My muscles bunch. My adrenaline surges. I’ve never been this incensed. This fucking helpless. “What the hell do you want? If you’re going to kill me, then do it now.” I will fight back. I will try. You never know. I’m ready for this prick. I’ll die trying to end him.
“Calm down. I didn’t bring you here to fight you, or you’d be dead.” He’s smirking. Such an arrogant cocksucker. “I wanted to show you Wales, home of the hellhound. You can find yourself a replacement if you love the bitch so much.”
I clench my teeth and fold my arms to stop myself from attacking him. A jerk like Gaire would assume a person could be so easily replaced. “If you feel that way, why not choose another hound for yourself?” he shrugs. So nonchalant it’s sickening.
He shakes his head. “I already have a hound.”
“Then we have ourselves a problem.”
“I had a suspicion you would feel this way,” he says. “I brought you here to offer you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” I can hear the skepticism in my voice.
“It’s something you want. Something you desire more than anything.”
This is bull! “You don’t have anything I want or need.”
“Are you sure about that, Rage…lord of war?” his eyes narrow on mine.
I pull in a deep breath. “I have a feeling you’re going to tell me whether I want to hear it or not, so out with it.”
I don’t like the smug look in his eyes.
I don’t like it one bit.
“I want Nia. Let’s start there. I need a hellhound at my side. Makes my job easier. I’ve grown…attached to her.”
“I think it’s probably a case of wanting something you can’t have.”
“Oh…don’t misunderstand, I can have her. I’m her master. She’s mine. It’s already a forgone conclusion.” He rubs a hand over his face.
If that were really true, I wouldn’t be here.
“One way or another, the bitch is mine. It’s just that I have a job to do. Right now, I’m pissing off Hades with all of this cat-and-mouse nonsense. I want this to end. I want my dog, and then life can get back to normal. I’d like to offer you something in return for the hellhound.”
“I’m listening.” He can’t offer me anything. Not a single thing. I’m not sure why he’s wasting his time. Thing is, I need to buy myself time. I don’t want to die on these cliffs today. I’m going to play along. Make it seem like I might be interested. Then I’ll tell him I need time to think about it.
“A life for a life,” he says, being cryptic.
I keep my eyes on his. I keep my expression neutral, and I don’t say anything. If I could leave, I would.
“The life I offer is Warrick.”
It’s the last thing I expected to hear. I frown. I think I might even take a step back. I’m knocked off-kilter. The whole world feels like it turns on its axis. “What? No!” I shake my head.
Gaire is smiling broadly. He nods. “Yes. Warrick. I offer you his life in return for the hellhound.”
I snort. “That’s not possible. You can’t—”