Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1) Grayson Sinclair (book recommendations website .TXT) 📖

Eris would pay for my past sins. Would pay the too-high price Lonny forced on her, sold to Magnus or someone even worse to be abused and discarded. No, I won’t let that happen.

With each circle I made in the cramped cell, I grew more and more desperate. Through our connection, I knew she was still unconscious, but she could wake up at any moment, and I didn’t want her to be alone when that happened.

She’d never voiced it, but she was terrified of being alone. Scarred by her time in the abyss. That thought alone sent waves of hatred and self-loathing through me. I failed her. Put my revenge and bloodlust ahead of her safety. I tortured Phineas because I wanted to, as much as I wanted information.

Eris is going to pay for my failures.

“Fuck that!” Never again will someone I love pay for my actions!

I promised Eris I’d protect her, and by the nine kings of Hell, I was going to keep that promise. I dug out my lockpick set from my Inventory. My rake and tension wrench would make short work of the flimsy lock on the cage.

Jailbreaking from the inside was a new experience, and working the tumblers from the opposite side meant I seized up the pins more than once. After a few minutes of raking and failing, to try again and again, I managed to set the final pin.

Only to receive a couple of hundred volts of electricity shooting through me.

I locked up and dropped like a stone to the floor, unable to control myself as the electricity surged into me and spasmed through my muscles. I cursed when I could finally move again.

My wrench and pick had fallen out of the lock and slid against the wall out of reach. Should have figured it was trapped. My own damn fault for not thinking ahead. Eris has my head out of whack. Even though I figured it would go the same way as the lock, I pulled out a teleportation scroll and attempted to use it.

A bright purple Script circle appeared above me on the roof of the cell, shredding the scroll as it activated. Nullification magic, of course. That meant this was a cell built to house players. Expensive and annoying. Which meant my options were limited.

I resorted to brute force as my last resort, kicking the iron gate with all my strength. After a few well-placed kicks, I found myself making a lot of noise and getting nowhere. A few more halfhearted kicks before the vibrations started to hurt. This is wasting time.

 A nudge brushed my subconscious—an itch in the back of my head. Eris was awake and was wondering where I was. She tugged on our connection, making sure I was alive. I couldn’t communicate with her, but I knew she was worried about me, and herself. Her emotions rose when she found herself alone, but she was fighting to stay strong. Trying not to let herself cry.

“Damn it!” I screamed and slammed my fist into the side of the wall. Right where the small crack was leaking water. It crumbled, just slightly where my fist struck it. I’ll tear this whole fucking jail apart if I have to. Nothing is going to stand in my way!

Utterly consumed with rage, I ignored everything, even the damage I was doing to my hand, and smashed my fist into the again and again. Leaving smears of blood and scraps of skin along the cracks and not getting anywhere.

“Allow me to help,” the Aspect whispered.

I ignored the sibilant voice, but when I went to hit the wall again, my fist was encased in hard chitin. Cracks and chips started sloughing off the stone. With each hit, more crumbled under my fury. The wall weakened until daylight poured through the large cracks I’d made, bathing me in soft sunlight. Soon a fist-sized hole was through the two-foot-thick stone wall.

I’m not done yet!

With even more renewed determination, I reduced the entire wall to rubble in a few short minutes. When the hole was large enough, I bolted through it in a flash and raced as fast as I could to the auction house.

Chapter 24 - The Auction House

The first few streets were the worst. I was sure that Lonny and his goons were about to round the corner and chase after me, that it had my nerves shot to hell.

I kept my head low as I pushed through the throng of people, customers and merchants were everywhere as they bought and sold by the thousands. My pace was as fast as it could be and slow enough that I wouldn’t attract attention or run headlong into someone.

Soon as I could, I got off the main streets and took back alleys. I turned down a particularly decrepit side street and nearly ran over a couple who had let their passions overwhelm them and were locked in an embrace, kissing.

I skirted around them, hopping over a sleeping bum in the process, and was nearly out of the alley when two guards walked past.

I’d spotted them in time, but one turned their head as I ducked behind a trash bin. The thud of their boots stopped, and I heard a mumbled. “What was that?”

The other guard stopped as well, slurring his words as he spoke to his comrade. “Why’d you stop?”

“Thought I saw something.”

 A shove, followed by more slurring. “Well, go check it out then.”

Heavy footsteps approached, and I held my breath, hoping they would stop and leave, but no such luck. They crept closer. A few feet from me now.

Damn it, I don’t have time for this hide and seek bullshit.

When the guard was within reach, I jumped out from behind the