Inner Darkness (Book 2 of Dragonfire series)

Chapter 16

Stella's POV

Fires burned throughout the massive cave. A path led from the castle to the opening we had just come through. Water flowed off the rock the castle sat on, and over a cliff to the bottomless pit below. Large bats and other flying creatures either hung from the ceiling or flew around the cave, releasing occasional growls or shrieks that echoed off the walls of the cave.

"This is it," Lilah took a shaky breath and looked to me. I gave her a reassuring nod before walking on the bridge. Cullen quickly took the lead, walking at a rather brisk pace.

"Cullen, why don't we slow down before charging in there without a plan," I ran to catch up to him and forced him to stop and look at me. He smacked my hand away and ran his other hand through his hair.

"I can't just stand around out here while he's making her do who knows what in there!" The others finally reached us and stopped to catch their breath.

"We're already half way across, let's just get to the castle and figure it out from there." I placed my hand on Cullen's shoulder. "You ready?" Cullen nodded and looked at me.

"I'm sorry Stella, I'm just worried about her."

"Oh, how sweet. Kinda pathetic though that you haven't gotten over me yet." We all looked up to see Alena, who looked even worse than before. Her wings were pointed, almost like a bat. She physically looked worse, as if she now believed in the evil that coursed through her.

"Alena, please, just let me talk to you."

"What are you going to say Cullen? Apologize and say how much you love me? I hate to break it to you, but I've moved on." I was confused for a second, until he showed up.

Damien was scarier than Lilah described. It wasn't his clothes or the unnatural color of his skin that scared me, but rather the black void that filled his eyes. He flew over to Alena and wrapped his hand around her waist naturally, as if he did it all the time. I looked at Cullen and saw his hands tighten into fists.

"Welcome to my castle. I'd love to stay and chat, but we have some business we must attend to. Allow me to leave you a welcoming gift." Damien aimed his hand toward the bridge and created three of the same monsters we fought earlier in the caves. Lilah and I instantly transformed while the boys already started to attack. This time, I made sure to stay clear of the saliva they sprayed across the bridge. As Alena and Damien started flying away, I shot an energy blast at them to get their attention. Damien quickly turned around and caught it before it hit them. I watched as he focused on it and added his own magic to it. The ball of energy doubled in size and turned black. He whipped it at me before I could move out of the way. I was thrown onto the bridge, giving me bruises on my arms and knees. Derek ran over to help me up.

"Stella are you ok?" I took his hand and gave Alena and Damien a dirty look to their backs.

"Yeah, I'm fine. He's just a little stronger than I thought." I looked over to Lilah and saw her kill the last of the monsters. Derek and I ran over to her and the others.

"Is everyone ok?" The others nodded and looked towards the castle.

"I'm going in there with or without you guys." Cullen stormed across the bridge, the rest of us following closely. The large doors to the castle were wide open, daring us to enter. "I don't know which way they went, so I suggest we split up." There were three hallways; one going left, right, and straight. Cullen and I went left, Derek and Lilah went straight, and Alfio went right. It was definitely the creepiest place I've ever been. Paintings on the walls depicted demon like creatures performing evil deeds. Fires burned throughout the castle, casting shadows on the walls. We walked swiftly, careful not to make any sound. We turned a corner and entered a large room. In the center was a large stone table with four black stones on it. We were about to run over to it when a voice stopped us.