With a deep breath, I slipped the knuckle-dusters in place. I bent my fingers, feeling the weight of them once again in my hands.
When I looked up, I saw Zaal had followed my lead. He looked every inch a gulag fighter, bare chested and wearing only the standard black pants. And in his hands were his black sais. From this vantage point, as Zaal’s eyes remained cast down to stare at his weapons, I felt like I was here with Anri once again.
I fought a smirk at how my best friend would have relished in this moment. He would have stormed into this fight like a hurricane of rage, taking Master and his Wraiths out with a smile on his face. When Zaal looked up at me, he asked, “You think of my brother?”
My chest tightened, but I replied truthfully, “Yes.”
Zaal nodded sadly. I knew it still bothered him that his memories were almost gone of his twin. Only fragments of their childhood remained. “This is the moment he wished for,” I said, thinking of our parting in Alaska. “He was coming back to find you and destroy this place. He didn’t quite remember, but he knew his heart was being called here.”
Zaal’s green eyes brightened.
“I was just thinking of how he would have rejoiced in this moment. Finally getting to meet the male that created this hell. Getting to return to the slave factory where you were experimented on like rats.” I huffed a laugh. “He would have burned it to the ground with a laugh bursting from his chest.”
Zaal didn’t say anything in response.
“And we will. In his memory, we will do as he would.” My eyes darted to Valentin, who was sitting bare chested with his sharp picanas in his hand. Zaal looked to his new brother. Valentin looked to him. “Every move we make in this pit will be in Anri’s honor. We will attack and survive as he would … then we will burn it to the ground, just as he would.”
Several long seconds passed before Zaal nodded. “Yes,” he agreed in a husky voice. “We will do this for Anri.”
Zaal’s eyes drifted to look out the window as the ground approached. When Valentin looked to me, I nodded my head in thanks. Hope sprouted in my heart at Valentin’s unexpected words. He was sitting stoic, like I had told him to be. His moods were unpredictable and his rage uncontained. But here, seated before me, was a male that met the story Viktor would tell. A savage male captured and made into a brutal killer.
I knew the male underneath, the one seething with rage. The one willing to risk anything for his sister.
The plane bumped as we landed. Viktor looked back from his seat at the front. Four of Zaal’s males had been brought along. They would play the part of Viktor’s Georgian gulag’s guards.
When the plane drew to a stop, several cars and vans stopped beside us. Wraiths.
Valentin growled low in his throat when males dressed all in black left the cars. Flicking my wrist, I gestured for Zaal and Valentin to take their places. Three of Zaal’s males came toward us and attached rope around our necks. My muscles tensed at being back in this position. The male that was holding my rope sent me an apologetic look. It helped calm the flames sparking in my chest.
When I glanced to Zaal, he was calm and quiet. Valentin, at having something back around his neck, wasn’t faring so well. But he held it together.
The sound of the plane door opening cut through the cabin, and my heart slammed against my chest. Viktor disappeared down the steps. We were all quiet in the plane as we listened to Viktor discussing his “cargo” with the Wraiths. Ten minutes later, Viktor shouted for us to disembark.
Zaal’s byki led us forward by our rope collars. I went first, Zaal following behind. Valentin was at the rear.
The night was black. As I was led down the steps, I glanced up through a fallen strand of hair and saw miles and miles of what appeared to be barren wasteland. The perfect disguise, I thought, knowing that beneath the ground was a slave city.
The Wraiths were gathered in a perfect formation. Their guns were loaded and aimed at us, just in case we charged. They stared at me as I stopped to stand next to Viktor. A few of them murmured in quiet whispers when Zaal stopped, too. But their reaction to Valentin trudging down the steps was clear to anyone with eyes. The guards tensed and stared at the monstrous scarred male as he descended to the tarmac.
The Wraith in charge stared at Valenin in shock. Moving closer to Viktor, he said, “So you weren’t lying, you truly have 194 in your gulag.”
Viktor nodded. A fake prideful smile on his face. He too was acting the part of the perfect gulag owner. “We do. And he is one of the best fighters I have ever seen. He will give your champions a challenge like no other.” He pointed to us all when Valentin came to stand by our sides. “They all will.”
I could see by the Wraith’s expression that he believed Viktor. I could also see that he was impressed by us. Relief settled in my bones. If the Wraiths thought us strong and viable males, in comparison to their own, then we had a chance for our plan to work.
The head Wraith pointed to the van. “Load them in there,” he said to our byki. Zaal’s males did as ordered and placed us in the back of the van. We were all silent as we were plunged into darkness. I knew it was Valentin who sat beside me. The male’s body was pulsing with aggression.
“Calm,” I whispered in Russian.
“Wraiths,” he snarled low and almost unheard.
“Calm,” I repeated just as the van began to move. Valentin took long, deep breaths.
The tension thickened the farther we drove. Until we came to a stop. In seconds the back doors were opened and our byki reached for our roped necks. When we got out of the van, I took in what was before us. We were standing in the center of a large compound, enclosed by high, dark fences. There was barbed wire covering the tops. Two large watchtowers were in sight, but I couldn’t see the others; the wall stretched too far. Each tower was manned by at least three guards.
When the other cars stopped beside us, I saw Zaal and Valentin scanning the perimeter. They were recording all this for future use. But other than the walls and the towers, there was nothing. Nothing but a steep set of steps descending into the earth. No buildings, no life, just barren land and these stairs.
The head Wraith jumped from a blacked-out jeep, followed by several of his males. He indicated for us to follow and began walking down the steps. Our byki guided us down, Viktor walking out in front.
The steps were many, then at last we came to a large set of steel doors. The head Wraith banged on the metal. The heavy doors creaked open, revealing a dank, wide tunnel beyond.