Total pages in book: 207
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
"I assume you know why you have been invited to present yourself?"
"My superior has spoken to me about the Board's understandable concerns." Zari picked her words with care. "And I have, as suggested, applied for one of the paid cases—-"
"Then why is it," the warden asked, "were you still seen last night at the crime scene of your previous assignment?"
It was the one question that Zari hadn't been expecting, and she launched into an apology without hesitation. "I am very sorry, warden." Appeal to emotion was always a great time-stalling tactic, and Zari silently thanked her mentor for all those hours they had spent working on her poker face and making sure she was capable of lying to save her life (literally). "Micah did say I was to prioritize paid cases to show my loyalty to the agency." Pointless recounting was the next second best strategy, and by the end of it, Zari had found herself a plausible excuse.
"And are you loyal to AGNEX, Ms. Baltimore?"
"Absolutely, warden," Zari averred without blinking. "The only reason I've been working on pro bono cases is because I'm afraid to be a disappointment to the agency...and to myself. And with Warehouse 57 being my first big case..." She swallowed hard and made her voice tremble a little. "I simply wanted to be sure I had left no stone unturned."
"The grave has been emptied, trapper," the warden snapped. "Or are you saying there are more bodies to be found?"
Before Zari could decide between admitting the truth and uttering another lie, the building alarms suddenly went off, and both Zari and the warden were instantly on their feet. The red light flashing over and over could only mean AGNEX was under threat, but who the heck would be stupid enough to attack the agency in broad day—-
"TROUBLE AT L1," a slightly panicky voice declared over the PA system. "ALL TRAPPERS RESPOND. Threat identified as Alexandru Gheorgiu..."
Zari didn't hear the rest.
Didn't give a damn as the warden yelled for her to stop.
She was running as fast as her legs could carry her, heart beating madly, just running and running while optically peeing like someone whose eye bladders had given up on her.
A couple of trappers tried blocking her way when she made it to the lobby, but she didn't even stop for a single second, just pulled her gun out and trained it on them. "Just fucking try," Zari snarled, "and I swear to God I'll shoot you."
No additional warning was needed, everyone smart enough to jump out of her way, and finally, finally, she was out of the building—-
Oh God.
She started trembling violently.
Oh God.
And a broken sob escaped her.
"Master."
The Master Who Bullies Her
Chapter Seven
COLORS. OR RATHER JUST one color, actually. That was what a soul seer's vision would always be rooted in. One color, just a single shade that could be any of the hundreds known to man or even one that Pantone had yet to discover.
One color.
It was always like that...except for the time Zari wrapped her fingers around a bloodstained rock, and a vision like no other had consumed her.
Instead of seeing in colors, she saw nothing.
A vision drowning in darkness, just one endless void where color didn't exist, and the only sign of life had been the painfully familiar timbre of her Master's low, velvety voice.
NEVER.
And that had been it.
One word, just one word, and Zari would've fallen to the ground if not for Mihail catching her in his arms. "What is it, Lady Zari?"
She tried to speak but found it impossible. She was too angry, too frustrated, too consumed with the need to see her Master so she could yell at his broodingly beautiful face.
Seriously, Master?
SERIOUSLY?
He finally found a chance to send them a message, probably risked his life nearly bleeding to death, and instead of showing them how to rescue him, her Master had instead given them one damn word.
Not a sentence or a phrase, not even two words, but one.
Just one word that couldn't save his life, one word that no one else would understand—-
Except for her.
Because that one word was to answer the question she had asked one stormy, drunken night.
Will you hate me, Master...if being strong means that you might have to die for me?
The Man Who
Went to Hell and Back
Chapter Eight
FOR THE PAST THOUSAND-plus days, Alexandru Gheorgiu had been imprisoned in a place where the skies weren't blue, and the air that stung his skin made the rays of the sun seem like beams of ice.
Having lived for centuries before his captivity, Alexandru had thought he knew everything there was about pain. A hunter of rogue vampires and demons, he was used to risking his life with every mission he took, and he had never been the type to shy away from death.
But just a day in Hell...