Chapter Two

Nova

Inhaling deeply, I followed the path and headed to Derrick’s cottage. I had to tell him what I’d done. There were only two cabins at his camp. He granted me and the children the smallest. As the leader, he got the only one with a washing room. Everyone else slept in tents, but I’d rather be in those. At least his soldiers got food.

But I’d killed a proxy hunter. Maybe he’d reward us with food, and we wouldn’t have to wait for Odin to master the spell. As I neared the door, my vision blurred, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since the day before.

As the eldest, I could handle that hunger. Odin, Finn, Sofia, and Cloud suffered, though. Sofia and Odin were eleven, two years younger than me. Cloud was eight, Finn nine. I was nearing womanhood. Their naivety and hopeful futures made me wonder if life had sucked optimism from me. I had none. I saw their daily happiness and laughter, thinking, I must protect that.

Derrick kidnapped Sofia four years ago, Odin and Cloud two years ago, Finn one. They didn’t know the danger - they didn’t know why someone took them from their families and forced them to cultivate their power. Each day held new hope for them. Sofia, a red demon with no power, no different from humans besides her vibrant color, was the only one who wasn’t a proxy. People sought after demons like Sofia for their beauty. My stomach rolled as I thought about Derrick stealing her for when she became a woman.

I’d been there my whole life. Optimism died after my last escape attempt at five. Derrick beat me until welts formed on my arms and bled.

“ You’re mine, Nova. Mine. Don’t forget that,” he said.

I ensured I didn’t hear those words again. My life became about protecting the children brought in. I’d never make it to eighteen, anyway. One day, I’d be the next sacrifice in Derrick’s war. He plucked proxies, forced them to fight his battles. He sacrificed children.

I’d long discovered Derrick lacked a heart, only seeking revenge against another proxy—a story he never told. He only wanted prisoners knowing they’d sacrifice themselves.

He hadn’t forced that fate on me yet, but I’d spilled enough blood not to flinch, while taking a life. All I saw was right before me—what mattered, what I must protect.

Everything and everyone be damned like me. I’d do everything to get those four out before Derrick killed them.

I opened the door and called out, “Derrick!”

Derrick took more care of his home. He had a bed and a place to bathe while our cottage only had blankets and threadbare clothes strewn about. Derrick wouldn’t let me use magic to improve our conditions. If we wanted anything, we had to make a payment.

I hoped the dead hunter sufficed for food.

“I thought you were going to the river,” Derrick’s cold, deep voice came from his bedroom. His boots clunked to the floor, then he appeared, a scowl edged on his features. He appeared as a twenty-something male with brown eyes and hair, but I didn’t know his true age. Compared to his bulky soldiers, Derrick was lanky, but no one dared ignore his malicious glint.

Then again, who in the Underworld wasn’t cruel?

I’d yet to meet someone older than me to be anything different.

“Nova killed a proxy hunter,” Odin blurted before I could speak.

Derrick’s lips parted slightly, eyes meeting mine. I lifted my chin, instilling the ferocity in my slanted brows I knew he liked.

“The hunter’s body is miles from the city,” I said.

Derrick’s jaw tightened. “That’s not the way to the river.”

I prepared myself. “Would you rather I ignore a presence in the woods and let him roam free?”

“No.” Derrick smiled, stepping toward me. “Good girl.” He patted my head, and I fought the urge to jerk away. “Were there others?”

“Just him.”

“Stay here. Don’t let anyone near the kids,” he ordered.

As he opened the door, I faced him. “Wait, don’t I get a reward?”

“Of course. What do you want?”

“Food. For all of us.”

He gripped the door handle until his knuckles whitened. “Food comes when Odin masters the spell.”

“Derrick—”

“Fine.” He waved me off. “But only after I confirm it.”

The second he shut the door, the four of them started squealing. “Food!”

I smiled reluctantly. “All right, all right. He can hear you.” Glancing at the door, I relaxed when Derrick didn’t return. Then I reprimanded them for being loud. “Let’s wait in our home.”

Odin puffed his chest as we passed Derrick’s soldiers. Hundreds of tents surrounded the two cottages. Fires burned, men ate, and my stomach growled at the cooked meat aroma. No one would dare give us food, risking Derrick’s wrath—not that they would, anyway. Most were as mean and disgusting as him.

I didn’t know if he brainwashed them, but I couldn’t imagine so many sacrificing themselves for his conflict with another proxy. I wondered if his enemy commanded demons to die for him. And for what? Why did killing that enemy matter so much to kidnap us as kids?

Derrick taught explosion magic, little by little, so that one day his little proxies could explode like a weapon and destroy everything in their path.

I shuddered, instantly counting their heads as we walked. There was no way any could disappear right before me. I’d die before letting anyone take them. But counting eased my discomfort.

One, two, three, four. All there. All safe.

We survived another day.

“We didn’t get to clean off,” Cloud mumbled sadly, pulling on his filthy, sweat-stained white shirt. “My clothes need washing too.”

“Yeah, but we’re getting food,” Odin cheered, bringing a smile to Cloud’s dirty face.

I sat down on the floor, and Sofia dived into my lap. I tried to be happy with them, but Derrick had a habit of not keeping his promises. What if he decided not to after returning?

Cloud, Odin, and Finn gathered cross-legged before me. “Tell a story while we wait, Nova!” Loud Odin. I feared it would get him in trouble someday.

“Lower your voice, Odin. You know Derrick dislikes yelling.” I always scolded Odin. To keep him protected, I had to dim his voice and thoughts, and that stung. So far, nothing worked.

“How about you, Sofia?” I ran fingers through her black hair as she glanced up.

She beamed and asked, “About the princes and princesses?”

“With dragons and fighting!” Odin yelled.

“And a happy ending,” Finn added quietly.

I’d never been told a story. Until them, I didn’t know about made-up fantasies told to others. I’d been with Derrick as long as I could remember and only knew of true nightmares, never dreams. But after hearing theirs, I imagined similar stories to avoid disappointing them. They had never been dissatisfied, so I considered myself lucky.

“Once upon a time,” Sofia began, and I let my mind drift as she spun their happy tale. I rubbed the bulky concealments on my wrists, hidden beneath my long sleeves—two on each arm, limiting my power, giving Derrick control. Every time I grew stronger, he added more bands.

Trapped. Imprisoned. Unable to fully use the power that was rightfully mine.

If commanded, I’d have no choice but to obey. Despite that, he rarely sent me on his missions. Many proxies came and went—died for him—and yet he hadn’t sacrificed me.

My heart ached as if encased in ice. Dread. He terrified me. I feared he planned something huge. Seeing the laughing kids, I knew I had to get them away before that happened.

I was thirteen. Surely, he wouldn’t keep me much longer. I’d learned explosion magic years ago. I could walk right into his enemy’s home and detonate myself if it meant stopping him from taking more children.

But would the Underworld ever be safe for our kind? Proxies were dangerous, but so was living as one—the newest hunter proved that. Like Derrick, other thieves used kids to do their dirty work. The hunter wasn’t yet a man. His face was youthful despite his malicious, soulless eyes. Those kinds of boys were dangerous and better ended before manhood. I’d never encountered someone so persuasive yet sinister, matching Derrick’s cruelty, thinking the world was theirs.

“Burst?” The hunter chuckled deeply. “It’s been pounding since I saw you.”

I palmed my chest as an odd throb knocked against my ribcage. What had he meant? I supposed I’d never know.

Sofia screamed as the door flew open. We rushed to our feet as Derrick’s menacing stance filled the entrance. He glared at me. I braced myself as he stalked forward.

“What is it?” I blurted out.

“Don’t pretend when you already know,” he muttered.

My nose wrinkled. “What’s wrong?”

“There was no hunter,” he spoke calmly, and when he talked so softly, I learned danger lurked the most.

Bile rose — I knew what was coming.

Derrick said, “You lied.”

“I swear—”

My cheek stung as his palm connected. A metallic taste filled my mouth. My heartbeat roared in my ear as he gripped my dress and pulled me inches from him. “I’ve been good to you. I let you roam with your brats. Yet you don’t train them and now you lie for food.”

“There was one!” Odin yelled.

“Quiet!” Derrick shouted, eyeing me strangely, making my skin crawl. “You’re not a child anymore. I’ve been patient. Don’t you see everything I do is for you? ”

What?

He bunched my dress, fisting it at my chest. True terror clung to my bones. I didn’t want to be there at that moment. I wished to shrink and shrink until I was nothing. But I couldn’t be nothing when I had children to protect. So, my body trembled, and my heart felt like it wept when Derrick loosened his fist, then dragged fingers over my breasts.

No… Hades. I’d seen what his men did.

I stepped back, but he kept me from going too far. “I’m not at war anymore. I killed that proxy years ago. Our problem is bigger now.”

What were we preparing for?

“You’re confusing me,” I whispered, still trying to pull away.

“An entity knows you exist. He’ll try to come for you.” He gripped my chin painfully, forcing me to meet his stare. There was something wicked in the depths of his pupils. The same wrongness that lurked in those men’s gaze when they ripped the dresses off those unwilling demons. “You’re mine. I won’t let anyone have you. Not even Harvest.”

He shoved me away and strode out.

“Nova!” Sofia lunged.

My arms shook as I hugged her. Derrick had never looked at me like I was a woman before. I didn’t like how it made my skin crawl. I tried hard not to think about what it meant.