Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 542(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
I also noticed that the more experienced miners wore little to no clothing. Most of the men wore shorts and no tops, while the women favoured shorts and cropped shirts.
I resisted the urge to strip down to my underwear, mainly because more than one of the demons who supervised us had given me leering glances. I wasn’t unaware that I was pretty, but good looks got you a certain kind of attention that was rarely positive in a place like the Blaze.
My left hand smarted from hammering, so I switched to my right, even though it was harder to do it with my non-dominant hand. I noticed there were workers who constantly shuffled by, collecting the reylite into large bins as we chipped away at it.
By the time our shift ended my hands were so sore and achy they were in danger of hardening into claws. My skin, hair and clothes were covered in soot and I was so thirsty I felt like my throat would close.
Many of the miners had flasks of water but I had no idea where they’d gotten them.
Just like before we were herded out. I dropped off my hammer and noticed people lining up in front of a water fountain to fill their flasks. The newcomers, like us, were without flasks, and simply shoved their mouths under the tap to drink as much as they could before they were moved along. When it was our turn, Ren and I drank deeply, then made sure Maya and Demi got a chance to drink before someone bigger and stronger tried to bully them out of the way.
When we returned to the sleeping quarters I saw that another group was already waiting to take our place in the mine. I heard a demon refer to them as shift three, which meant if Vas and Sven were in shift one they were still off duty.
I turned to Maya. “Have you any idea where we can get some flasks to store water?”
“I overheard some of the others saying that every new miner is supposed to be given one, but the demon in charge, Gio, only doles them out to those who do him favours.”
My eyebrows rose. “What kind of favours?”
“I’m not sure. That’s all I heard but I doubt it’s anything good.” She paused to shudder. “Demons love to humiliate and hurt those they see as below them.” There was a haunted, hopeless look in her eyes and I knew something awful had happened to her in the last mine she worked at. Ren and I shared a glance, thinking the same thing. We wouldn’t only get Vas and Sven out of the Blaze. We’d get Maya and Demi out, too.
I look around until I spotted the demon Maya referred to. Gio was tall, wearing a dark vest top that displayed bulging arms. His hair was shoulder length and jet black and his eyes were an orangey bronze colour. He didn’t have horns but his fingernails were black and razor sharp. All the better for cutting through flesh. I shivered at the thought.
“Okay, I’m going to go ask him about getting us some water flasks,” I said, steeling myself.
“Wait,” Ren said. “I’ll come with you.”
Nerves thrumming, I approached Gio and his serpentine eyes slithered over me. Instantly, I got a vibe. A bad one. This was not a good man. I could feel it in the chill that skittered down my spine.
“What do you want, halflings?” he barked and it took me by surprise that he’d referred to Ren as a halfling, too. Was that what they called everyone who wasn’t a demon?
I swallowed down the nervous lump in my throat. “We were hoping we could barter for some flasks.”
A cruel but interested smile graced his lips. His attention wandered to Ren and I reached out to grip my friend’s hand. I didn’t like how Gio was looking at him.
“How many do you need?”
“Four,” I replied and he nodded.
“That can be arranged,” he said, his eyes devouring Ren in a way that put my nerves even more on edge. “An hour alone with your friend and you’ll have your flasks.”
Cold sweat coated my upper lip as Ren bent to ask, “What’s he saying?”
“He said he’d give us the flasks in exchange for you spending an hour alone with him.”
Ren’s eyes bugged. “What the fuck? No way. I’m not going anywhere with that terrifying bastard.”
“He doesn’t speak our language,” Gio caught on. “Even better.”
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “No deal.”
Gio stepped forward and Ren and I instinctively moved back. “Who says you have a choice?”
“I do,” came a voice and I’d never been so relieved to hear Vas. Gio blinked, a frown marring his mean face.
“You think you’re in charge now?”
“No, but these two are under my protection, and I wouldn’t want to have to use any magic to keep them safe,” Vas spoke calmly.