The Thief (A Tale of Heroes & Demons Book 2)

Chapter 3

The Breathing Dark

Twisting until her wrist was almost at the breaking point, Rosie tried get out of Lilith's grasp. "Let me go!" She stumbled over an exposed root, Lilith's hand tugging at the skin on Rosie's wrist.

"Quiet already!" Lilith pulled Rosie's wrist and spun around so they were only a breath width apart. Darkness spread across her eyes. "I am bringing you to Demonica, but I cannot promise that you will arrive unharmed." Her lips split into a smile that sent chills down Rosie's spine. "In fact..." Lilith's fingers curled so the nails pressed Rosie's wrist until blood dripped down.

Rosie couldn't hide the fear that crossed her face. The blood slid down her arm until it began to drip onto the earth.

"Ah, yes, that's right." Lilith stepped away. Her head tilted slightly as her fathomless eyes continued to stare at the young girl.

"Where are we going?" The grip on Rosie's wrist tightened once again and she fought the urge to cry out. "Tell me and I'll be quiet. I swear."

Lilith remained silent at they moved through the forest. The moonlight flickered through the trees, casting shapes and shadows that appeared to follow them through the night. The darkness felt like a breathing thing, pulsing around them but shrinking away from Lilith.

"My brother will stop you." Rosie's voice was weak, even to her own ears, but she couldn't stay silent.

A growl erupted from Lilith, but her voice was sickly sweet when she spoke. "Just who happens to be this brother of yours?"

One of Rosie's arms came to wrap around her torso, partially to ward away the chill of the night and to form the thinnest of barriers between her and the evil holding her so tightly. "Declan. He's been fighting the demon since she came."

"Demons." Lilith chuckled. "If you foolish humans believe Demonica is the only one, then you truly have never had hope."

The darkness stretched and pulsed, wrapping round them like a blanket. Rosie shivered and involuntarily moved closer to Lilith.

Lilith stopped abruptly, dragging Rosie back with a death grip as she continued forward. "We're here."

The darkness was impenetrable now, a wall around them. Nothing significant stood out when Rosie glanced around, for all the trees had begun to look the same in the darkness. "Where are we?"

"Death's Valley."

"Why here?"

The barest of smiles crept across Lilith's face. "Ah, so you know of it?"

It was only the rush of air in front of her that told Rosie they had reached the lip of the valley.

"I'll never understand where they derived the name 'valley' for this hole. It's bottomless--a crack so deep in the earth that you can reach the Nether through it." The smile grew almost feline. "So, Rosie, welcome home."

The scream was ripped from her throat as Lilith threw her over the edge.

***

She was dead. Surely, she was dead. There was no way she could have fallen from that height and not died.

But, with a groan, Rosie opened her eyes.

Words whispered through the air towards her, a scratching melody that curled through the earth into her bones. Both familiar and strange, it was a lulling tune that forced her to her feet and across the barren floor.

The room was small--a hole carved from the earth itself with simple bars covering the only entrance. Upon closer inspection, as the swaying melody pulled her, the gleaming bars of her cells turned into bones. Chipped --chewed-- they were small, like those of a child. She recoiled, gagging.