The Elements Trilogy: The Secondaries

Epilouge

Screams. Heat. Sulfur. Blood. Fire.

Troy's senses were immediately overwhelmed by all things horrible, and as he sat up, he was sure he was dreaming...except there was no way his brain could have conjured up something this horrifying. Fire covered the walls, and below him was dead, black grass. The ceiling was made of fire and seemed to stretch on forever. In the middle of the room was a giant pit, flames leaping and jumping out. Screams filled the air, but before Troy could even think of answers to the many questions racing through his mind, dark shadows began appearing throughout the room.

Beautiful teenagers flickered in and out of sight as the shadows became more visible. One such teenager appeared in fron of Troy, a beautiful young man with freckles and a button nose. His teeth were perfectly white and straight, and the only sign that he wasn't human was his eyes; completely black, so black that Troy could see himself reflected in them.

"Where am I?" Troy asked fearfully.

The boy laughed, making Troy's blood run cold. "You know, I never get tired of hearing people ask that question."

"Am I in Hell?" Troy's voice trembled, and he tried to move, but fear paralyzed him, sweat trickling down his back.

"Well, well!" The boy sneered, his face flickering from beautiful boy, to a scarred and ugly creature, back to the boy. "You're not as dumb as you look!" The boy that Troy knew now to be a demon, cackled wildly, and grabbed Troy's wrist, dragging him roughly along.

"No, please! Stop! I'll do anything!" Troy shouted in fear and pain, terror freezing his muscles, helpless as he was dragged along the ground.

"Too late!" The demon roared, throwing Troy into a concrete cell. He followed him in and slammed the door shut behind them. "You're going to wish you were never made in that test tube, you useless piece of shit!" The demon kicked Troy in the stomach, causing Troy to double over in pain. "You were supposed to make sure Bryner did as she was told, but you failed!"

"I'm sorry!" Troy sobbed, sweat and tears running down his face. His hair stuck to his forehead, and his clothing was already soaked.

"You're sorry?!" The demon snarled. "Sorry?! You failed me! You failed us all, and now you're going to get what's coming to you! What you dished out on Earth is your punishment here, on repeat! Every pain and suffering you caused on that mortal plane is yours to bear now!"

Troy coughed up blood, and rolled into his side. "Are you going to do it?"

"Me?" The demon scoffed. "Ha! No, I have much better things to do. We have demons trained in the art of torture. But..there is a catch."

"Yeah? What could possibly make this place worse?"

"One? You have a roommate." Troy looked over to see a boy hunched in the corner, all skin and bones, covered in blood and ratty clothing. "And two, the torturer will look like your worse fear."

"I have no fear except this place," Troy said shakily, turning his attention back to the demon in front of him.

"That's a lie," the boy in the corner spoke.

Troy whipped his head around to get a better look at him; he was alarmingly thin, with a mess of bloodied that was once blonde, and bloodshot eyes that were once a beautiful shade of blue. Jamie Shay sat up, beaten and bloodied, more beaten than he had ever been before. "You're afraid of her."

Troy turned back around, fear seizing him, making him want to vomit at the sight in front of him. Five feet, nine inches, blonde hair, hazel eyes. The girl he used. The girl he manipulated. The girl who once loved him. Evalynn.