Page 18 of The Shade of Things
Celeste schooled her features back into her usual disdain. “Whatever.” The vampire flicked her finger against Ian’s cheek a few times, until he came out of his daze somewhat.
“I don’t remember where I ended up.”
“Nav?” I said. “Does any of this sound familiar?”
“No.” Any trace of flirtation was gone. He was in full Carpe Demon mode. “If demons were behind something like this, I’d have caught wind of it.”
“Ohrists and/or vamps are running it then,” I said.
“Sounds fun.” Celeste prodded Ian. “Is there a buy-in?”
Ian shuddered again, a stark look on his face.
“Was it an actual race where the first person to the end wins?” Eli said. “Were the vampires and shifters after you? Were you supposed to kill them?” His shoulders stiffened. “Kill each other?”
“We had one week to cross this city,” Ian said dully. “Reach the end point and survive as the sole player until time ran out.”
I clenched my jaw, my expression grim. On top of the shifters and vamps, the players were pitted against each other.
“Did you get the sense that there was some agenda behind the game?” I said. “Were people betting on you? Was there a prize of some sort or were you put through this for no reason except the fact that you were still alive?”
Ian threaded his fingers together. “I don’t know why they did this, but when we first got there, they told us about crossing the city and holding out until the end. I didn’t learn about the prize until the final trial.” There was a long pause. “Immortality.”
He gazed off for a couple of seconds before shaking his head, dissipating his dazed look. A muscle ticked in his jaw and his eyes sparked. It was the first sign of anger he’d displayed. “They lied and now I’m stuck in this hellish limbo.” He banged his fist against his thigh twice. “I want to die, but I’m too much of a fucking coward to just end it.”
