Refugee (The Captive #3)(46)
She grasped hold of the iron bars and pulled the gate open as she lifted the torch high. A set of wild and crazed pale blue eyes blazed out at her. A startled gasp escaped as she took a swift step back. It was a man, of that much she was certain, but she wasn’t sure exactly what kind of a man it was anymore. His skin was abnormally pale; he seemed unaccustomed to light as he blinked rapidly against the flame of the torch.
Revulsion filled her as his lips skimmed back to reveal a mouth riddled by missing gaps and rotten teeth. The torch slipped from her suddenly numbed fingers as the man leapt from the bags of stored grain. He seemed more animal than human as he rushed at her. Stunned, it took Aria a moment to realize that she was in jeopardy, that this person, this thing had every intention of attacking her.
A startled cry escaped her, she grasped hold of the gate and heaved it with every ounce of strength she had. It was too late though. The man slammed into the gate, ripping it from her grasp as he shoved it back open. Aria swung her fist up, connecting forcefully with his jaw, snapping his head to the side as he launched at her. Hands skimmed down her body, grasping and pulling as he tried to secure his hold on her.
She realized her mistake too late. So attuned to having to defend her throat, her blood, her life, Aria had not been prepared for a different sort of hunger. It wasn’t until the frenzied man ripped her shirt open that she realized she was in a situation unlike any she’d ever been in before.
Taken aback by the ferocity of the attack, and his intentions, Aria was momentarily unable to defend herself. Then his hands were on her, over her, pushing and pulling at the skin exposed by her torn shirt. Reason returned as adrenaline doused her terror. She shoved at the man, turning her face away from the putrid smell of his breath. A scream built in her chest, surged up her throat, and erupted in a squeak that was cut off as the man succeeded in pressing his mouth to hers.
Bile surged up her throat; she almost vomited as his thick tongue shoved against her compressed lips. With a fresh surge of strength, she lifted her knee and drove it into his balls. The man squealed, his grip on her momentarily relaxed enough that she was able to throw herself to the side, nearly succeeding in ripping free of his grasp. It was the sharp right hook she delivered to his cheek that finally knocked his hold upon her loose. She staggered back, trying to keep her balance as she spun around and started to run.
She was almost to the end of the tunnel when his arms encircled her waist. The air rushed out of her as they fell to the ground in a tumbled heap that knocked the wind from her and skinned her knees and elbows. He was clawing his way up her back when the air rushed back into her lungs. Flipping beneath him, she swung at him again, shattering his nose.
He squealed, falling back as blood spurted forth. Aria crab crawled backward, trying to regain her feet as the man leveled her with a glare that was not only lustful but also murderous. A roar of fury suddenly reverberated throughout the massive cavern.
The man’s head snapped up, his eyes widened. Aria hadn’t been sure there was much reason left to him, but apparently his survival instinct was still intact as he reeled backward. She was well aware of just how terrifying Braith could be, just how deadly and inhuman, and all of that was being honed in on the man before her. The man leapt up, a wild cry escaping him as he raced down the tunnel.
Aria scooted away, clinging to her shredded shirt as she tried uselessly to cover herself up. Braith raced past her, barely a blur as the loud clang of metal echoed through the cave. The man had succeeded in retreating into the storage room and slamming the door shut. “Are you ok?” Ashby demanded as he fell beside her.
She wasn’t frightened of Ashby, but when he reached for her, she shied away from him. “I wouldn’t,” Xavier cautioned.
Ashby looked torn and horrified as his eyes skimmed over her. “Fine,” she managed to breathe as she clung to her shirt. “I’m fine, really.”
Aria’s attention was distracted from Ashby as a loud wrenching sound filled the cave. Xavier stepped forward as Braith ripped the gate from the walls of the cave. The gate was solid steel, without bars to prevent rodents from entering the storage room. The only hole in it had been a slit near the top to allow some air to flow through the room. Aria didn’t know how Braith had managed to wrench the heavy door free. The door flew down the tunnel, causing Xavier to dart out of the way as it bounced swiftly off the rock walls, nearly taking him out in the process.
Xavier’s mouth dropped, his gaze darted wildly to the door now lying at the opening of the tunnel. Aria knew it weighed a good five hundred pounds and it had taken seven men to get it in place. Xavier stared at Aria for a moment before turning to Ashby.
“I told you he could take the king,” Ashby murmured so faintly that Aria wasn’t even certain she’d heard him right.
Xavier’s gaze came slowly back to her as she tried to lurch to her feet. Inhuman squeals echoed from the storage room as Braith disappeared inside. “Wait no!” she cried, falling back against the tunnel wall as a wave of dizziness rocked her.
Ashby grasped her shoulders to steady her but she shrugged him off as silence suddenly enshrouded the tunnel. Horror pooled in Aria, her hand fell against the wall helping to keep her up as Braith emerged from the storage room. She knew the sudden silence had not been because he was injured, but relief still filled her.
The man was dead. She didn’t have to ask, she knew Braith would not leave him alive. She thought she should be more upset, she wasn’t. What had been in that room had no longer been a man, there had been no saving him.