Chapter 98 Ninety Eight
KAZIEL
I scream before I'm even fully awake, the raw sound tearing out of my throat. My skull feels like it's splitting down the middle, as if someone drove a spike straight through my temples and left it there to vibrate.
"Fuck—!"
The word rips out of me as I try to curl in on myself, only to find that I can't. Cold metal bites into my wrists, and they sting. These are not ordinary restraints. The realization hits me hard.
I jolt, panic overwhelming me as my body refuses to move the way it should. My arms are yanked back and tied high, my shoulders screaming in protest. My legs are folded beneath me, numb and stiff, my back pressed against something solid.
A pole.
I'm sitting on the floor.
"What the fuck—" I snarl, thrashing instinctively, the restraints digging deeper into my skin. The movement sends a fresh wave of agony crashing through my head, and I choke, gagging hard as bile threatens to flood my mouth.
I hold it back with a growl, breathing through clenched teeth.
"Son of a—" I snarl, my breaths coming fast. "Untie me, you cowardly piece of shit—!"
My own voice grates on my nerves. Everything does.
The cold seeps into my bones, crawling up through the floor and into my legs, my spine, and even my fucking teeth.
Drip.
I freeze.
Drip. Drip.
Water from pipes, it's somewhere close. The hair on the back of my neck lifts.
No, no, no.
This place—
I don't recognize it exactly, but my body does. My wolf does. Every instinct I have is screaming the same thing.
You've been here before.
My stomach twists, and I crack my eyelids open. Blinding white light slams into my skull. Black spots explode behind my eyelids, and nausea rears up so quickly I barely manage to turn my head before I retch dryly.
"FUCK—!" I choke, gagging. My stomach convulses again, useless and empty.
I squeeze my eyes shut, panting, sweat breaking out along my hairline despite the cold.
"Whoever did this," I growl hoarsely, "I'm going to rip your fucking throat out."
"Well," a voice says pleasantly. "You grew up."
My blood turns to ice.
I don't need to see him. I don't need to hear another word. My body knows that voice the way scars know blades.
No.
My chest constricts as something old and rotten claws its way up from my gut.
"Fuck you," I snarl.
A low chuckle answers me. It's familiar in the worst way possible.
I force my eyes open.
Pain hits me again, white-hot and blinding, but I grit my teeth and push through it. I catch sight of the concrete floor and rusted fixtures, and then I see them.
Red boots.
The same deep crimson leather that once stood planted in front of a ten-year-old boy chained to the floor. Rage slams into me like a tidal wave.
"You," I rasp, my voice shaking with fury. "What did you do to me?"
The chains rattle as I jerk forward, my muscles screaming. My heart is pounding so hard it feels like it might break my ribs from the inside out.
The devil laughs softly.
"Oh," he says. "That's not how this goes, Kaziel."
He moves closer, his red boots stopping right in front of me.
"You probably don't remember this part," he continues conversationally, and I narrow my eyes at him.
"You touched a business card," he says, watching me closely now.
My heart rate accelerates.
"That sigil," he says softly, "locked into your essence and anchored itself there. A beautiful piece of work, really."
Cold dread pours through my veins.
"It means," he finishes, "that I can call you whenever I want. Wherever you are."
The memory slams right into me right then.
"You felt it, didn't you?" he says. "Even then."
I see it so clearly now, it makes my head throb harder.
Danika standing beside me with a smile. Her hand glowing against my arm after the bicycle nearly took her out. My heart still racing with the instinct to shield her from everything. I remember the man's face. Alvin. Brown eyes. No scent.
I remember the way my instincts were unsettled the second he spoke. The way he pressed the card into my hand.
If you ever need my assistance...
Fuck.
I snarl, my teeth bared.
"You used her presence," I growl, the Hollow stirring viciously. "You knew I'd be distracted."
His eyes gleam.
"I knew you'd be careful," he corrects. "Careful men make the best anchors."
Something cold and ugly settles in my chest. All this time, he had been waiting for the right time. This was no coincidence.
"And now," he says, moving away, "the Hollow has weakened your barriers. The sanctum has failed. Which makes summoning you..."
His black gaze meets mine.
"...effortless."
I yank at the chains with a roar, raw power ripping through my veins. But it's still restrained.
"For what it's worth," he adds pleasantly, "I didn't expect you to last this long."
My chest heaves. Danika's face flashes in my mind. Goddamnit, she must be so scared.
"I'm counting on the possibility that my sweet girl will show up to save you."
My blood runs cold.
"She's the reason I can finally finish what I started," he says softly. "This time, I will bring the god back."
My vision blurs as I realize that I might be truly trapped this time.
"Rest, Kaziel," he calls over his shoulder. "You're going to need your strength."
The door slams shut, and the darkness presses in. My spine suddenly arches, my neck jerking back with a sickening crack.
'Give in,' the Hollow snarls. 'You're tired. Let me take over.'
My body convulses, my muscles spasming. Foam coats my tongue. I can't breathe. I'm drowning in my own body.
This is it.
This is how it takes me.
Just when I think my fight is over, Danika's voice floats into our bond.
'Kaz?'
I grab onto the sound with everything I have left, clinging to it as my consciousness starts to fade. The Hollow recoils, shrieking in fury as I wrench myself back, riding the agony instead of sinking into it.
'Kaz, where are you?' Her voice trembles in my mind. 'I can't feel you.'
I can't move my body, so I reply with my mind.
'I... don't know,' I lie. ‘Somewhere dark.'
I know where I am. I know exactly who has me. And I will not put that weight on her.
She lets out a sob.
The sound devastates me more than the seizure, more than the snapped vertebrae, and even more than the Hollow tearing me apart from the inside.
'No—no, dove,' I rasp weakly, mentally clutching at the link between us. 'Please don't cry.'
'They took you,' she chokes. 'I can't find you. I'm scared—'
'Listen to me,' I say firmly, forcing strength into the bond even as my body shakes uncontrollably. 'I'm okay.'
It's another lie. But she needs it.
'I'm hurt,' I admit carefully. 'But I'm still here. I'm not gone.'
Her breathing comes in shaky gasps. 'Promise me.'
I dig my fingers into the concrete, my nails breaking.
'I promise,' I say, and this time it's the truth. 'I won't let it take me. Not while I can hear you.'
The Hollow hisses, enraged, battering at the walls of my mind again. I bare my teeth and cling harder to her presence.
'Stay with me,' I beg silently. 'Just for a little longer.'
Because I honestly have no idea if I'm going to win this time. I'm so exhausted.
"Captain."
A familiar voice slides into my mind, steady.
Isaiah.
"Are you awake, or are you doing that thing where you pretend not to hear me because you're being dramatic?"
A weak breath pushes out of my chest. "You always accuse me of that."
"You’re still conscious, that’s great," he whispers, his voice laced with relief.
My vision swims as I force my eyes open a fraction, the seizure fading. The light overhead stings my eyes. I groan, my jaw tightening as I turn my head just enough to keep myself from vomiting.
"Remember Geneva? When you told me to blend in and I accidentally punched a diplomat?"
I huff despite myself. "You didn't accidentally punch him. He insulted your sister."
"You didn't even yell at me. You just sighed. Like you were already so damn tired."
Silence stretches for a moment.
"Captain," he says again, and this time his voice cracks. "You don't get enough credit for that. For everything you've held together with nothing but your stubborn will."
I swallow hard.
"I know you're tired," he goes on, emotion bleeding through now. "You've been fighting this thing for years. Not days. Not months. Years. And you never asked us to carry any of it."
Shakily, I try to pull myself together.
"I refuse," Isaiah says firmly, "to lose my Alpha like this."
My throat goes dry.
"Tell me who has you," he begs. "Give me something. I can track it. I can get to you."
The Hollow stirs at the back of my skull in warning.
I shake my head weakly. "You can't—"
"Kaziel," Isaiah interrupts. "I will tear everything apart if I have to. But I need you to trust me."
I close my eyes, and Dani's face flashes behind my lids.
"She can't come," I say hoarsely. "Promise me that first."
Isaiah doesn't hesitate. "She won't. We'll guard her with our lives."
"And she can't be alone," I add. "Not for a second."
"She won't be," he swears.
I breathe out slowly, every ounce of resistance draining from me.
"Okay," I whisper. I need you to stay calm because I'm about to say something you won't like."
He goes silent for a moment.
"Say it."
My throat tightens.
"I'm back," I force out. "In that basement."
"...What?" Isaiah breathes.
"The one from when I was ten," I continue.
I hear him inhale sharply.
"He found a way to summon me," I add. "It was embedded months ago. I didn't see it."
Isaiah swears viciously under his breath.
"That bastard," he says, his voice shaking with fury. "He put a leash on you."
"Yes." My headache spikes, tears pricking my eyes.
"Captain... I'm coming for you."
I let my head fall back against the pole, grunting.
"I'll wait."