Underland(7)

“That sounds kind of absurd.”

“Does it?” Sable flipped her green tresses over her shoulder and sighed. “I hear your world spends billions, and cities revolve around basketball, baseball, and feetball.”

“Football.”

“Football, yes. We don’t have that, but why is it so hard to imagine we’re any different? We have the ever-changing games. By decree of the Underlords of Olympus Tower. If you compete and win, both you and your sponsor—or owner—make tons of freedom tokens. But you’re a human,” she emphasized the word dramatically. “So Raz will end up selling you to feed a sponsor’s vamp or zeke or anything else with a taste for your kind.”

“Zeke?”

Kira’s blank stare made Sable sigh like a petulant child. “A zeke is a zombie. They feed on humans, you know. Well actually they feed on anyone, but they prefer humans.

Kira’s smile fell. There really wasn’t an easy way out of here. She’d spotted a few huge looking beasts, dragon, a Cyclops, and what looked to be about five other humans, but Kira knew better than to assume they were like her. She was most surprised at the quiet nature of the young teen in the cage to Kira’s right. He sat on the floor, head bowed, with his elbows resting on his knees. He didn’t look scared or frightened about his predicament. He seemed casually resigned, and he ignored Kira completely.

Raz and Grater finished their conversation and then walked around to each of the cages and spoke quietly. When they paused in front of Sable’s cage, Kira strained to overhear what they said.

“What about this one? What should I put on the bill about this one?” Raz, the intimidating Doberman asked, his voice a deep growl.

Grater crooked one long finger at Sable. “Swamp Nymph: strengths include cunning, speed, resourcefulness, and ability to maneuver through water and woods with ease. Weaknesses: physical strength and fear of fire.” Sable looked terrified.

They moved to Kira’s cage. Raz took a quick sniff. “She smells human.”

Grater nodded. “Yes, I think Remus or Selene would buy this one as food. I heard Creeper one just won another race. I should bet on him next time.”

“We have a conundrum with this one.” They moved to the boy’s cage on the right.

Grater went on to explain about the young man, but Kira didn’t hear what they said. Her mind finally began to give into fear. That Madame Fortuna was right. Her death was imminent.

Raz and Grater moved on.

Kira looked up when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Who was watching her? Her eyes met the boy’s. He still hadn’t moved but he was now staring at her, interested. Dark hair flowed over his forehead, and his eyes seemed to burn with a fire deep inside. His gaze made Kira shift uncomfortably.

It usually took a lot to make Kira nervous. He was looking at her longingly, almost like a lover would. He wasn’t blinking and he wasn’t turning away. Kira tried to stare him down. Slowly, oh, so slowly, the corner of his mouth rose, just a millimeter in the hint of a smile. But this was not a smile to lift her spirits.

This smile chilled Kira to the bone.

“Sable!” Kira whispered over her shoulder.

“What?” she called back with a bored tone.

“What is he? Why is he staring at me like that?” Kira continued to whisper in hopes that the guy in the cage next to her wouldn’t overhear.

“Isn’t it obvious?” She waited, savoring the moment. “That’s a zeke. You’re dinner.”





Chapter 4

The slave courtyard was dark and all of the slaves slept, except for the boy in the cage next to her who kept casting hungry looks her way. The same look her stepfather always had. The only light came from the one neon cigarette sign that was left on, which cast a lavender halo on the courtyard wall. The color and glow reminded her of her unicorn nightlight—the one her daddy had given her—and it helped dispel the fear.

She missed him dearly, missed the sound of his voice, and even now wished he was by her side, chasing away the nightmares. Because in her child mind, darkness meant sleep, sleep meant nightmares, and nightmares meant…monsters.

Her late father, Philip, was great at comforting her. He had advice about everything, even if he was usually quoting someone famous. His favorite quote was the one he always used to calm her. “Sweetheart, there’s nothing to fear but fear itself.”

“But how do I get my fear to not be afraid?” she had childishly replied.

He’d smiled, pulled out that purple unicorn nightlight, and plugged it into the wall. Then he kissed her forehead and whispered, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” From that night on, she’d never had another nightmare, until one walked into her home seven years later in the guise of her stepfather.

Her father, Philip Lier, had just become a Navy SEAL when he met her mom, the love of his life. Their whirlwind romance led to a quick wedding, but Philip and Ellie had the kind of forever love that made the neighbors jealous. Philip hoped for lots of strapping boys to follow in his military footsteps, but they had only Kira. Her mom had almost died during labor, and the news that they shouldn’t expect baby Kira to live more than a few days devastated her. Then they added that she couldn’t have any more children. And she gave up.

But from hour one, Kira had been a Daddy’s little fighter. She spent the first few months of her life in the ICU where he doted on his baby girl, even if he never got to hold her except when wearing gloves.