Where All Souls Meet by S. E. Campbell Read Free Book Online Page B

her souls, not the other way around.
    "Stop," Eden said. "I'll go. I'll go with you."
    All eyes were on her. The demon to her right let out a cackle. She ignored him and stared at Jared. For a second, she could see a flicker of uncertainty and then guilt on his face, but the emotions were gone as fast as they had come. In this moment, even as he betrayed her, she pitied him. Jared must have been overwhelmed by hopelessness to resort to this.
    "Eden, don't." Yuri grabbed her arm.
    She pulled away from him. "I have made my choice. Let me go, Yuri."
    Yuri did not listen, nor did anyone else. Finally, though, Thema sighed and then spun around and stared at her. Eden moved so she was directly in front of the demons, even though Yuri stepped toward her again. The fiends, hungry for their prey, let out excited hisses.
    "If you go, I will stop at nothing to get you back," Yuri said.
    "You have to let me go, Yuri," she said. "We can't defeat them now. We're surrounded. Let me go ."
    "We'll get you out," Thema said. "We will."
    Eden turned and gazed at her friends. Their eyes were wide and their mouths gaped. I am so close. I only have one... She felt cold hands grab her from behind. The hands of a demon. Eden caught a fleeting glance of Jared's face over her shoulder as she struggled. Jared trusted the demons, which he should never do. Once she had attempted to trust Satan Spawn to get her out of prison, but they had turned their back on her. The memory of the Satan Spawn false promise flashed in her head.
    "If I let you out, you won't hurt me or the other prisoners?" Eden asked.
    The imp shook its head.
    "You swear?" Eden asked.
    The imp shook its head again.
    Eden dropped the vial on the ground where it shattered into a million pieces and the small imp flailed around like a fish out of water. Bending down, Eden examined the small creature and then touched its horned head. It was surprisingly hot.
    "You okay, little guy?"
    The imp wobbled to its feet and then gave her an evil grin.
    "Never trust a Satan Spawn," the imp said in a dark, demonic growl. "We know no loyalty except to our Dark Lord."
    Eden gave a frightened look at Jared who must have thought he was doing the right thing. Fear coursed through her like blood once had. She gazed at an opening in the group and realized what would happen the moment this demon took her away. The Raiders would do to her friends what the Raiders had attempted to do to her back in the prison. They would try to destroy her. If Adanna hadn't come along, she would be gone now. She refused to let that happen to the people she loved. They had given so much for her. Both Adanna and Thema had risked losing everything in order to aid her on her quest. Emotions crashed upon her soul. She quaked at the overwhelming emotion within her. A half-scream burst from her throat. At that moment, she didn't care about herself. All she wanted to do was save her friends.
    The only thing distracting her from her overwhelming thoughts was a chill that went through her stomach. Darkness crept over her waist, dragging her backward into it. The demon was going to transport her through shadow. Time. She was running out of time. It didn't matter what happened to her. She had to warn her friends.
    "Run!" she screamed. "It doesn't matter what promises the demons made. Get away from the demons!"
    Everyone except Jared made a break for the gap between demons. Cold and darkness overwhelmed her, but even then, she managed to get a glance at Jared. He stared at her, wide-eyed and stubborn. Behind him, a demon's hand crept over his shoulder and she heard the demon give a shaky breath of excitement.
    "Jared, run—"
    But then his face disappeared from her sight as she was sucked into the demon's darkness. Eden blinked, trying to comprehend where she was. It was like true nothingness. She didn't feel as if she was being transported. Instead she was in a world of darkness and she could not move. Red eyes flickered everywhere.
    Got to