Hell High

by Cindi Madsen

  I hopped down from the carriage, stormed up the cracked sidewalk, and knocked on the door.

  The instant the door swung open, I lunged forward and wrapped my hand around Ms. Bing’s throat. “Tell me where to find Buer. I need his help healing a friend.”

  Feigned confusion flashed across her collagen-heavy features. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

  “I’m talking about the lion-goat thing you took me to after you burned me. Now, I can make what my daddy did to you seem like a picnic, or you can tell me, and I’ll be on my pissed-off little way.”

  “Like I said, I don’t know who you’re—”

  I squeezed, thinking about how she’d burned me, and flames formed under my palm. The orange and red glowed around against her skin, but it didn’t hurt me.

  Ms. Bing wasn’t so lucky. She screeched and scraped at my wrist with her fake nails.

  “In case you can’t tell, I’m not in a very patient mood,” I said through gritted teeth, and I think I was as shocked as she was when I lifted her a couple of inches off the ground. “So let’s try this again.”

  Flame shot from my palm, and the scent of charred flesh filled the air. Through her cries, the succubus finally managed to tell me where to find Buer.

  As I walked away from Ms. Bing, a gaping, hollow hole formed in my chest. Then more rage filled it right up—emptiness problem solved. I was playing with fire, letting my evil side stretch and spread its wings, but I was too damn angry to care.

  Ike and Spike were patiently waiting for me. I scratched them under their chins and cooed at them, telling them what good dragons they were. Then I got into the carriage and instructed them where to take me.

  Within seconds, I was flying down the road, the trees and sky forming one long black and red blur.

  One quick sword-brandishing incident later, Buer and I arrived back at Tristan’s. Figuring I might as well embrace my princess title, I didn’t bother sneaking around. Just strolled into the village like I owned it, jabbing my sword into Buer’s side to keep him rolling forward on his freaky goat legs.

  “I’m going,” he roared, sneering at me. “You don’t have to keep stabbing.”

  I thrust the tip deeper as we entered Tristan’s hut. “Less talking, more healing.”

  Buer looked over Tristan’s injuries before digging supplies out of his bag.

  Tristan’s eyes flickered open, but there wasn’t much life behind them. “Lily?”

  I knelt next to him and grabbed his hand. “I’m here. Buer’s gonna clean out your cuts and get you all fixed up.”

  “I must be out of it, because it sounded like you said you brought one of the demons who attacked you to help me.”

  “Well, he’s the only one I know of who heals using substances instead of power. Don’t worry, he’s feeling very compliant, and if he tries to attack me now, I’ll just slit his throat.” I shot Buer a smile. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t amuse me when he flinched and hurried to comply.

  That’s right. You picked the wrong girl to screw with. And as soon as Tristan’s patched up, we’re going to have a nice, torturous chat about who the mastermind is behind the attacks.

  I leaned down and kissed Tristan’s feverish forehead. “It’ll all be okay soon. I’m going to fix everything.”

  In an oddly human gesture, Buer ran one of his goat legs across his leonine forehead. “He’ll be better in no time. The drugs will wear off soon, but he’ll still be a little groggy for a while. Of course, there will be some scarring.”

  The demon gestured to a bottle on the floor and spoke in a gruff voice. “I’m leaving some valerian root for lingering pain and to help him sleep, but the dead’s cell regeneration is quick. Makes them good for working long hours. By tonight he should be about seventy, eighty percent.”

  A couple of the cuts had required stitches, but already Tristan’s skin was beginning to heal, turning into puckered red lines.

  The knot that had been lodged in my chest since I’d first laid eyes on his injuries loosened. “I’d say you’re a miracle worker, but it seems like the wrong term.”

  Buer bowed. “At your service, Princess.”

  “I’m so glad. Because now you and I are going out to the edge of the woods to have a little talk.”

  Tristan reached out and grasped at my hand. “Lily. Don’t…”

  “Shhh. You get some sleep, and I’ll be back soon. I’ve just got to wrap up a few loose ends.”

  “But…your soul. Gotta be…strong.”

  I didn’t know how to tell him I’d already crossed so many lines today that I didn’t think it was possible to go back. By tonight it would all be done anyway.

  First things first, time to find out who was next on my make-’em-pay list. Brandishing my sword, I gestured at the door. “After you.”

  Buer let out a loud roar as soon as we were out in the open, and I jabbed him with the tip of my sword. “Shut up,” I said.

  He snarled at me but waddled forward, using three of his five legs.

  I led him to the edge of the hut village. I wasn’t sure where the best place to aim my blade was, so I went for the middle-ish. I wasn’t sure what would happen if I plunged a sword through his non-beating heart, but I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. It might be too late to keep my soul completely pure, but I didn’t want it totally dark either.

  At least not until I made sure Tristan was taken care of.

  Then nothing else would really matter anyway.

  “So, Goat Boy,” I said. “It’s time to tell me who sent you and Ratman to kill me.”

  Buer’s yellow eyes flashed gold. “We weren’t there to kill you. We’ve only been messing with you, seeing if we can scare you, testing how strong you are. Stronger than we thought, but you’ve made plenty of mistakes.” A creepy grin hit his cat lips. “But now that you’ve proven just how powerful you are, it’s time to abduct you and put the next stage of our plan into play.”

  “Perhaps you should consider who’s holding the sword here.”

  He opened his mouth and roared again, a guttural noise that echoed through the woods and vibrated through my head. “Perhaps you should consider if one little sword’s going to be enough for a wyvern.”

  “What’s a—”

  A shriek pierced the air, and then a shadow the size of Texas appeared over us.

  I knew without looking that it was going to be bad, but since I’d have to look sometime…

  A giant dragon flew overhead. Its black scales glimmered red in the facing sunlight, and its enormous wings were tipped in bone spires. The wyvern screeched again, displaying rows and rows of sharp teeth that made Ike’s and Spike’s look puny in comparison.

  Smoke curled from its nostrils as it pointed its nose toward the ground, and then its yellow eyes homed in on me.

  Forty-Seven

  Fire shot from the dragon’s mouth, the blast aimed at me. I dived, nearly impaling myself on the sword in my hands. I gripped the handle of my bulky weapon and pushed to my feet.

  The scene that unfolded looked like a movie from whatever time period when villages with stone huts and straw roofs were all the rage. People fleeing, roofs burning. If this didn’t up my popularity, I just didn’t know what would.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Buer, rolling end over end away from the fight. I chased after him, dodging the screaming stream of people running in the opposite direction. No way I’d catch him, not with that wheel thing he did with his legs.

  I brought my sword up over my head and flung it at the demon, hoping the one pickup football game I’d played to impress a boy all those years ago would pay off.

  The sword hit the thigh of one of his legs, and Buer sprawled to the ground.

  Okay, so I didn’t hit what I’d been aiming at, but not bad. I sprinted over, dropped next to him, and grabbed a fistful of mane. “You could’ve done the right thing and just told me who you were working for. But the hard way it is.” I twisted the hilt of th
e sword that remained planted in his thigh, digging the blade deeper into his leg. “Now call off the dragon so we can resume our conversation about your boss.”

  “Wyvern,” he spat, blood trickling from his lower lip. “And she’ll keep coming for you until she gets you, no matter what I do. She’s been ordered to take you back to her master.”

  The drago—wyvern circled, her shrewd eyes scanning the ground. Her gaze landed on me and she swooped.

  I jerked the sword out of Buer’s leg and stood and spun, keeping the blade pointed at the dragon.

  The ground under my feet trembled as the dragon landed in front of me. Its neck swayed back and forth, her giant yellow eyes following me and my sword.

  “Great,” I said. “You’ve got horns, too, because all the other pointy parts just aren’t enough.”

  It opened its mouth and shrieked, its hot, sticky breath slamming against me. I straightened and, keeping my blade lifted, circled.

  The wyvern mimicked my movement, and each step with her two muscular T-Rex legs sent vibrations through me.

  She crouched low, then leaped into the air, beating her wings and gaining serious distance seriously fast. She positioned herself with her taloned feet aimed at me and dived.

  Too afraid to close my eyes, I pictured a big net, hoping I hadn’t already drained all my energy and—

  Arms came around me, pinning mine down at my sides. “Remember me, Princess?”

  The hairy arms, the scratchy voice. Ratman ripped the sword out of my hand. I kicked my foot back. But this time he was ready and blocked with his thigh. He squeezed me tighter, sending all the air whooshing out of my lungs.

  “Give her to the wyvern and scatter,” Buer yelled. “Before His Royal Darkness shows up and the plan falls apart.”

  Ratman heaved me into the air like an offering to the gods—for all I knew, the wyvern was one.

  I kicked out, but the wyvern’s talon-tipped—toes?—clutched me. I struggled in her grip as she lifted into the air, but she was too strong. Well, at least I put up a good fight. Better than I thought I could.

  And once I get to wherever she takes me… The optimism I was attempting to muster sputtered out when I realized my sword was down on the ground below. I was totally and utterly screwed.

  The wyvern jerked her head, twisting her neck to look at something on her back. Suddenly her body slackened, and her toes uncurled.

  For a second I was weightless.

  Then the nothingness gave way and I plummeted toward the ground. The impact from my rough landing jolted my spine, and for a second my vision went black.

  I gasped, desperate to refill my lungs with the oxygen that’d shot out of me.

  The dragon landed on the ground in front of me, and I began crab walking backward.

  Red sunlight lit up a figure, and Tristan slid down one of the wyvern’s legs. Keeping a hand on the scaly shin, he looked at me. “Sorry. I didn’t realize she’d drop you.”

  I sat up and wheezed. “I’m fine.” Actually I hurt everywhere, but I was so thrilled to see Tristan up and at ’em—and taming wyverns—it didn’t matter.

  Buer and Ratman backpedaled, eyes wide with fear.

  “I calmed her.” Tristan patted the wyvern. “You want to give her new orders?”

  The yellow eyes that had held such fierce determination moments ago were lidded, as if she were half a second from curling into a ball and taking a nap.

  I stood and locked my gaze onto one of the yellow reptilian eyes. “Bring me those two…” I swept my hand toward the retreating figures who’d ambushed me for the last time.

  Buer’s injured leg slowed him some, but Ratman was already near the tree line.The wyvern soared into the air, clearing me and flying after the two demonic pains in my butt.

  Tristan rushed over and threw his arms around me, and I clung to him just as tightly. “You okay?” he asked.

  “Thanks to you showing up in the nick of time.” I pulled back and looked him over. “What about you? How’s your back?”

  “I can’t believe how quickly those cuts healed. How did you get him to—”

  “You don’t want to know,” I said, already picturing the disappointment on his face.

  Our new pet wyvern dropped Buer and Ratman at my feet.

  I crossed my arms and stared down at them. “Ironic, isn’t it? That you guys called in the creature I’m going to use to torture you with?”

  “You truly do have similar powers as your father,” Buer gasped, his expression turning even more horrified.

  “Let’s not go there.”

  Ratman shrank down to a rat, and I was about to lunge for him, but the wyvern stomped on him. He morphed back, one leg twitching like the squashed rodent he was.

  I stepped on Buer’s bleeding leg, grinding my toe into the cut. “Time to confess. I hear it’s good for the soul.”

  His pained face turned up to me, and the rage I’d experienced all afternoon flared to life once again, demanding retribution.

  I dug my toe deeper. “You’re going down—nothing’s going to change that now. So you might as well tell me who’ll be joining you in the fiery depths of Hell.”

  I really thought a couple singeings would’ve been enough to get Ratman and Buer to talk. Ratman’s eyes kept fluttering shut in pain, and then he went and passed out on me, so influencing him had been out. And apparently Buer was a higher-level demon because he was a no go.

  But once my new wyvern friend started snacking on goat legs, the answers had come tumbling out.

  Armed with my sword and my newfound knowledge, my boyfriend at my side, we rode our new wyvern friend to the castle, where my enemy was—trying to provide his own alibi, the conniving bastard.

  I patted Maleficent’s scaly neck. “Drop us here on the walkway, please, Millie. I’ll whistle if I need you.”

  The wyvern crouched low, and I slid down her leg, Tristan right behind me.

  Just as we reached the front door, Tristan caught my hand. “Lily, you’re scaring me. You tortured those guys like it was nothing.”

  “They’re not guys, they’re demons. And they would’ve done the same to me. Not ten minutes earlier, they were trying to kidnap me. Using a giant wyvern.”

  The somber expression on Tristan’s face only deepened, his mouth setting in a tight line that pleaded for me to reconsider my course of action.

  “I did what was necessary to find the answers, and now that I know who exactly I have to blame…” I gripped my sword tighter, the tantalizing desire to use it to slice my enemy to pieces that begged for mercy overtaking the rest of my senses. “He’s been messing with me the entire time I’ve been here, all while acting like he cared about me.”

  Tristan didn’t back down, but what he couldn’t seem to understand was neither could I. My hand lifted to the side of his face, and I took a second to soak in every curve and line. “When I saw you earlier today, your skin slashed and bleeding, I let the anger in, and now it’s taken over.”

  My temper flared at the memory, annihilating every trace of sympathy and demanding vengeance. “I want revenge. I’m thinking mangling and dismembering—I’m not really picky, as long as he gets the message that messing with me was a bad move.”

  I took a step toward the castle door. I was going to thoroughly enjoy this next part.

  Tristan tugged on my hand, halting my progress for the second time. “You don’t have to deal out justice yourself. Your dad can easily take care of it—all you have to do is give him the facts and let him handle it.”

  He stepped in front of me, a dire sort of energy radiating from him. He swept my hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on the sensitive shell. “Please don’t cross that line, Lily. You might not be able to come back.”

  Clearly he wanted me to change my mind—to promise that I wouldn’t personally torture the enemy who had no qualms doing the same to me—but I couldn’t give him what he wanted.

  His shoulders sagged, and he dropped his forehead again
st mine. He closed his eyes and exhaled, and when he pulled back, I wondered if he was memorizing my features, the way I’d memorized his.

  Tristan pointed to one of the nearby spires—one of the curved ones I’d always thought looked like dinosaur bones. “I’ll be right there waiting for you. If you don’t come out in five minutes…” A muscle flexed in his jaw and made his cheek twitch. “Well, I really hope you will, because we both know this might be our last chance to be together. Do you want to spend it with me, or do you want to spend it losing your soul?”

  Both, I thought but didn’t say it.

  Tristan lightly kissed my lips and headed over to the spot he’d promised to wait. For five whole minutes, his way of giving me a choice while also forcing me to make a decision.

  I opened the castle door and stepped inside the foyer.

  Murmured voices drifted from the dining room, where Dad was conducting today’s meeting.

  I charged in, going out of my way to be nice and loud about it. “Hey, everyone,” I said with a shit ton of fake cheer behind the words. “You’ll never guess what just happened to me.”

  All eyes were on me as I rounded to the head of the table, which was exactly what I wanted.

  Dad scooted his chair away from the table, but I put my hand on his shoulder as he started to stand.

  “You see, someone keeps attacking me.” I paced across the front of the room, adding a wrist spin with the sword that would’ve been more impressive if it weren’t so sloppy. That was okay, though—I had backup powers and, man, did I want to use them.

  “First, it was a rat-man kind of thing. Then this demon named Buer, and then a wyvern came to kidnap me, which was just loads of fun.”

  Rage lit Dad’s eyes as he pushed to his feet. “Someone dared to attack you?” He took two strides toward me, nearly impaling himself on my sword as he frantically looked me over. “Are you okay? Did you…?” He seemed flustered, like he didn’t even know how to finish.