Free Captive's Kiss by Sharon Kay Page B

and he have anything to do with this, you’re gonna regret it.”
    “I-” Saige let out a yelp as a ball of fire flew past in the air beyond the guard. It smacked into the wall, leaving a blackened mark. Demonfire.
    The guard barked a command to a comrade, then yanked Saige out into the hall. His friend grabbed Logan. “You’re coming with us.”
    The guard’s fingers crushed tightly around her forearm. “If you planned this, we’ll kill your goddamn precious brother. Bitch!” Rough hands jerked her down another concrete corridor, different from the one that housed the males.
    This one she’d glimpsed once or twice, as a male was led down its length.
    This one led to the fighting arena.
     

     
    Tanner gritted his teeth as explosive spell charges rocked the building. Every nerve itched for him to get Saige and her brother out of here and far away. But the Vipers’ dampening spell made that impossible.
    He willed his team to get down here faster. Vipers were vicious predators, dipping arrows in the venom that dripped from their fangs. A strong dose was one of the few things that could incapacitate a Lash demon. The Watchers knew that and prepared for it.
    Hurry. He flexed his fingers around the bars. Across the corridor a young Lash male paced, eyes wide with panic. He caught Tanner’s eyes.
    “Can you help get me out? I don’t even know how I ended up in here. Fuck.”
    “Help is on the way. Hear that noise? That’s the good guys,” Tanner said. The captives would need to be freed, then the innocent ones sorted from the criminals, all hopefully before the building collapsed from the blasts. He was a fan of the spell charges, but shit. That should be enough, guys.
    A familiar face loomed on the other side of his bars. Raul.
    “Took you long enough,” Tanner muttered.
    “Shut it. Your estimate on the number of Vipers here was a little on the…” Raul grunted as he grabbed the bars and wrenched them off their hinges. “…on the low side.”
    “Sorry.” Tanner stepped into the corridor, taking a breath of fresh, unspelled air, and instinctively searched for Saige’s scent. “I gotta find Saige.”
    He bolted down the passageway, to the door he’d glimpsed when they’d brought him in. It hung wide open, revealing a small room with two beds. Her scent was thick in the air, along with a male Lash-but neither was there. Fuck.
    Ian and Gabriel charged down the stairs, each tackling a Viper to the ground. Ian managed to stab his opponent in the belly while Gabe was forced into a roll, deftly avoiding dripping fangs. Aleksai vaulted from the top step, landing next to Ian, and cutting a thick ring of metal keys loose from the Viper’s belt.
    “Nice to see you’re still in one piece. We’re on prisoner duty,” Aleksai said.
    Tanner forced his mind to think logically. “They’ve taken Saige and her brother, but I’m betting they haven’t gotten far.”
    “There’s a brother?” Aleksai flung a ball of demonfire at an approaching Viper. “Ian! Go with Tanner. Find the civilians.”
    Ian handed Tanner a dagger and joined him in following the sweet jasmine scent down a different corridor.
    This one was lined with rough concrete, but had no cells or distinguishing features. A few widely spaced fire bulbs hovered along the ceiling. He ran, drawn by her scent and creeping dread of where this might lead. Up ahead, an arched opening gaped.
    Shouting and thudding, the scrape of metal and the thick sound of flesh on wet flesh met his ears. Tanner barreled to the doorway and into a huge high-ceilinged open space.
    The ring.
    New and old blood covered the dirt surface. The place was filled with Vipers and Watchers, battling. Fireballs shot through the air, along with arrows that had to be tipped with venom.
    He scanned the arena. Clusters of fire bulbs were suspended overhead, giving a brilliant glow to the macabre spectacle. Blood sprayed and bodies swerved. Where the hell was Saige?
    A huge Viper went down,