I break the silence, “I can’t believe it’s so calm tonight. We’re never going to catch a wave.”
“We will,” he states as a matter of fact.
I roll my eyes. “What’s up with you tonight?”
His tone remains even and low, “What do you mean?”
Splashing him to get him out of his funky mood, which he doesn’t flinch from, I point out, “That, right there. You’re being all broody again.”
Gideon continues to look at the stars. “Maybe I just want to enjoy some peace and quiet, but you won’t stop talking.”
I splash him again. “Whatever, punk. You know you love the sound of my voice,” I joke.
His body remains still, save for the cunning grin growing on his lips. “I do,” he admits as he turns his head to face me. “Especially when you think you're being tough and you don’t know how cute you are.”
Taking a deep breath, I shake my head in disbelief, “I swear, G. I’m gonna kick your ass.”
He sits up on his board with one swift movement, “Oh, yeah? It hasn’t happened yet. Wanna give it another shot?”
“Is that a challenge?” I mock.
Paddling closer to me so our legs are touching, he retorts, “What if it is?”
“I’d say you’re going down,” I exclaim, shoving him off his board. I giggle at my small victory and quickly lay forward on my board, paddling away to avoid his wrath.
The waves pick up, and I glance over my shoulder to find Gideon missing. It’s dark, and he hasn’t come up for air. I stop my board and spin around. “Gideon!” I call out in the darkness, listening for the splash of him emerging. The slow swelling of waves is all I hear. I yell again, “Gideon!” His empty board floats to me, and I begin to panic. “Gideon!”
A force beneath me pushes my board out of the water, and I tumble off, plunging into the dark sea. When I reach fresh air, I hear Gideon laughing. “You’re an ass! I thought something happened to you!” I chastise, pulling myself onto my board.
“You had it coming. Don’t be a baby,” he says, mounting his surfboard as well. I wring my ponytail out, glaring at him. He gestures past me. “Here comes the swell. Let’s go!”
I regard the waves over my shoulder and turn back to paddle. Together, we swim fast and hard, keeping up with the crest of the wave. He offers, “You got this! Go!” As he falls back to let me take the wave. I drop in.
On the beach, Gideon starts a fire as I peel half out of my wetsuit and readjust my ponytail. He surprises me by asking, “Have you started applying for colleges yet?”
I quirk a brow, “What? I haven’t even started junior year. Why would I start applying now?”
He comes to sit beside me with a sigh before he confesses, “UCLA and Berkeley are really hard to get into. A lot of people start applying early.”
“I don’t know that I want to go to either,” I note. He’s silent a moment, and I prod, “What?”
“I just thought we would stick around L.A. I didn’t know you wanted to go somewhere else.”
I’m a little surprised, yet a little relieved. “We?”
He shrugs, “Well, yeah.” His eyes bore into mine with a small smile. “Peas in a pod, right?” I return the smile, and he adds, “Besides, who else is going to take care of whatever asshole breaks your heart.”
I shake my head looking to the sand at our feet while forcing the smile on my face to remain. I think, But you’re the asshole who broke my heart.
Alice wakes me with a gentle shake, “Hey, sweetie.”
My eyes flutter open, noticing her dolled up face in the dim lighting of my room. “Hey. What time is it?”
“Almost ten. We’re heading out.”
“Oh. Ok. Have fun.”
She stands from my bed, regarding my stillness. “Are you ok?”
Dreams of Solas when I thought he was just the boy I grew up with have me missing his presence more. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
She nods. “Alright. Don’t wait up,” she winks before leaving.
Listening to the footfalls as everyone descends the stairs, I wait for the sound of their cars leaving the estate. The smell of barbeque wafts throughout the house, and my stomach growls. I pull myself out of bed, stretching my limbs as Evelyn begins to hum a tune. Skipping down the stairs, I ask her, “Is that Big T’s I smell?”
“I don’t use anything else,” she replies with a warm smile as I enter the kitchen. “Hungry?”
“Starving.”
“It’s almost ready. You look exhausted, dear. Are you not sleeping well again?” she observes.
I shy away, getting us plates and silverware to set the table for us. “I’m fine. You’re up pretty late,” I note, turning the conversation around.
Evelyn sighs, “I’m worried about Jack.”
“He’s only been gone a few hours.”
“I know. Do you want some tea?”
“Water, please,” I answer.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” she says, handing me a glass of ice water.
“Ok.”
She brings the food to the table, and we begin making our plates. “I know why Michael warned you to stay within the estate,” she discloses.
I stop breathing, unable to meet her gaze as I mumble, “You do?”
Her hand meets the top of my wrist, “I’m not upset with you, dear, but I’m not ignorant. I know you’ve been sneaking out. Michael doesn’t want to see you unguarded.”
I whisper, “Did he tell you that?”
Evelyn’s hand slides away from me, “No.”
“Does Jack know?”
“It’s not my place, but understand, it’s not good to keep secrets in a relationship—even with your friends.”
I release an inward sigh of tension. “I’m sorry.”
“Can I ask where you’ve been going?” she asks before taking a bite of her food.
I start to eat as well, chewing slowly to buy time. Evelyn waits patiently, eating delicately with graceful movements. I take a sip of water, place my hands in my lap, and keep my eyes downcast. “I’ve met someone. A Reaper. And they’ve been helping with something I know I shouldn’t be doing. I know Jack and the others would disapprove and keep me from going, but this is something I have to do. I need answers. I’m not going to get those answers by staying here.”
Her response shocks me, “I understand. You have my word not to say anything, but I want you to be careful. Watch your back, and be careful with who you trust.”
I try not to smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
Two hours later, I receive a text from Telly.
T: Need another night 2 get u what u need.
Me: Ur kidding, right?
T: Sorry. I’ll explain tomorrow.
Me: What am I supposed to do?
T: Wait.
Me: Fine.
You’re fucking kidding me! I can’t just sit here! I need to find him! I’ve got to get him out of there!
Chapter 11
Solas
I’m in hell, literally, and I’m losing my mind. Sheol is a maze of ordered chaos, stratums of suffering, torture, and incessant wickedness. I’ve been keeping to the shadows as best I can. It can be difficult with most creatures able to see through the darkness without the clarity of daylight. When I’m on the verge of being discovered, I’m forced to silence the beings before they can blow the whistle. Being a Fallen rogue, this is the worst place for me to be, but it’s necessary to keep Ivy safe.
Since the battle at The Keep, every evil creature has spread the word above and below about Ivy killing Beleth with Immortal Pestilence. I’ve heard their rage. They call her Teloch. It’s Enochian for Death. They fear her as much as they despise her.
My initial intent in coming to Sheol was to prevent Lucian from resurfacing and killing anything he sends after her. Now, Lucian is not the only threat. The entire underworld wants her dead. It’s becoming harder and harder to keep Fallen and demons from surfacing to attack her. There was ta
lk of an attack on the Roe’s estate in which they failed to find her, but managed to wound a few of its residents. A Fallen warrior under the command of the Second Duke of Sheol, Uriel, reported that one from his legion was captured during the attack. I hope they slaughtered him piece by piece.
With Beleth out of the picture, the First Duke of Sheol position is open for grabs. Uriel plans to prove himself by capturing Ivy and bringing her to Lucifer. He believes he should have been the First Duke of Sheol to begin with because he’s one of the seven Original Archangels, whereas Beleth was only a Seraphim.
Each Duke of Sheol will be bumped up in position if Uriel succeeds. The Fallen Cherubim, Roman, will become the Second Duke. Mephistopheles, the Fallen Throne, will be the Third Duke, and that piss-ant of a Dominion, Logan, will be the Forth Duke. When all is said and done, Lucifer will continue to seek out a candidate capable of being the Fifth Duke of Sheol. Competition for the title has turned the Fallen against themselves. The treachery between them is profound to say the least.
Walking through each stratum of Sheol affects the mind accordingly. I stay away from Bam, a massive castle that houses souls in limbo. If I’m ever inside, I imagine my purpose for being there would be lost on me. Babalond is the stratum of lust, and I find myself locked inside my own thoughts of Ivy. I miss her scent, her touch, and the taste of her.
There’s nothing for me in the third and fourth stratums of Sheol. Alpod is a prison of souls lying in the vile slush of a continuous rain of ice, and Allar is where souls are lost in their own greed.
I forget myself in Baglie, the fifth stratum. It should be easy for me to pass through because every being—souls, demons, Fallen—fight each other across the River Styx while the sullen drown in it, yet my rage for revenge encompasses my every thought. I’ve taken out a hoard of creatures while passing through, letting the anger in the atmosphere eat at me. Then, I see her face, and I realize what I’m there for. I keep going.
Adphaht is a cemetery of immortal beings and sleepless souls burning within flaming tombs for their heresy. It’s filled with screams, cries for help, and unfathomable pain. I have to keep my telepathy in check from wanting to save them.
The last three stratums of Sheol are where I find my best intel and track the beings sent to capture Ivy. The seventh stratum, Kiaofi, is split into three sections. The first section is reserved for souls that drown in a river of boiling blood and fire. The second section is saved for souls of suicide. The souls are rooted in the ground as they suffer being fed upon by other creatures; the demons of Kiaofi. The third section is a desert of burning sand and raining fire for the most violent of souls. It’s here that I found a demon with information about Lucian. I’ll never forgive myself for the soul I fed him for that information, but I needed to know what stratum of Sheol I could find him on.
I had to trek over the bridges connecting the stone pits of Ardox before reaching the ninth and lowest stratum of Sheol where Lucian stays within his father’s wicked kingdom. Lucifer’s kingdom in Sheol is a stratum in itself with four cities. When first entering Babalel, I didn’t see the souls beneath my feet. With each step, the crunch of my boots across the ice would reveal a soul beneath. The further I traveled, the more souls I could see. Some are frozen just below the surface of the ice, others further down, and some so far below that they’re nothing but specs of black.
I’ve learned fast that looks can be deceiving within Babalel. On the outskirts of its cities, ice coats the ground for as far as you can see. As if hell on Earth, when you enter any of the cities, you're transported to burning populations of cluttered structures. Buildings are in flames, surrounded by lakes and rivers of fire, and soot floats through the air, coating the ground. Creatures with disgustingly deformed faces roam the streets on all fours without skin, their blood dripping from their bodies to sizzle as it touches the ground. The stench is overpowering and makes me want to retch.
These creatures are the lowest level of demons that only reside in Sheol. They scout Fallen and other higher demons to possess with the hopes of traveling to the surface. If they make it to the surface, they jump from their host to a vulnerable human. They watch me carefully, ready to pounce as I make my way to the inner most city of Babalel, Judecca, where Lucifer’s kingdom is located and Lucian is sure to be hiding.
Shifting into my preferred form, a crow, for stealth, I soar over the outer cities of Cain, Antenora, and Ptolomaea. Smoke from the structures below cloud the glowing darkness occasionally, but as I near my destination, I find mountains of stone carved into pockets of caverns and tunnels between the burning buildings.
I’ve been coming and going between Judecca and Baglie for months now, tracking Fallen warriors from Lucian’s legion and those reporting back to him. My time in Sheol’s become a vicious cycle of violence, rage, and determination followed by misery, longing, and futility. During my lowest moments, I remember Ivy’s face, the significance of her purpose, and my love for her.
The King of Sheol’s kingdom in Judecca is the largest castle I’ve ever laid eyes upon, possibly spanning more ground than the Roe’s entire estate. Along with Lucifer, Lilith, and Lucian, it holds each Duke and their legions of Fallen warriors. It’s taken a few weeks to find Lucian’s main quarters, but now I’m able to track him easily. He’s predictable. I can always find him with his father in the Throne Room every evening.
Sometimes they duel when Lucifer feels his son needs punishment. It’s my favorite pastime in Sheol. I may enjoy it a little too much. This place has been changing me. The Creator would be disappointed in me if he knew. Who am I kidding? He knows. I could never face him again with the corruption tainting my essence now.
Tonight, I find Lucian arguing with his father as I tuck myself into a nook in the ceiling to conceal myself. Lucifer circles his son, hands behind his back as he watches him for any reaction to his words.
He begins in a calm, even tone, “Do you think of me as oblivious, son?”
Lucian stands rigid with his hands fisted to his side, his jaw ticking, teeth clenched and grinding. Opening my telepathy to Lucian’s mind, I listen to his thoughts. “He’s bluffing. He’s trying to get me to admit to something.” Lucian replies, “No, Your Highness.”
The King adds, “Your protected dwelling will not keep your secrets. I know what you have done.”
Lucian’s jaw twitches with his slow intake of breath. “I have done nothing that wasn’t necessary.”
Lucifer back hands him across the face before Lucian can see it coming. The crack of the force shakes the walls of the Throne Room. Blood drips from his cheekbone and the corner of his mouth, but he makes no move to clean it off. Lucifer bellows with the voice of three tones, shaking the cavernous room, “I want her alive! If I find you have touched her again, I will end you myself!”
Lucian jerks his attention to his father’s eyes, “You would have her end us all? You would have her take what rightfully belongs to us?”
“Me. What rightfully belongs to me,” Lucifer articulates as the flames in his eyes flare into a frenzy.
Lucian surprises me when he backfires, “You’re not doing a damn thing to capture her! She will end us all if we don’t stop her! Every day she grows stronger! You can’t expect me to stand by and watch her destroy all that you’ve built!”
Lucifer tilts his head with a calm composure. “You know not of what I do, and it is none of your concern. The Princess will come to me without your interference. I will gain her trust and she will come of her own free will. You will stay out of this. That goes for your mother as well. I’ve sent her away until the Princess is under control.”
“Where is she?”
“She is on the surface. She is to stay there until I call for her. For now, you will stay in Judecca. You are not to leave. Am I understood?”
The Prince of Sheol swipes the blood from his cheek, “Yes, Your Highness.”
“Good.” Lucifer disappears within a cloud of smoke, leaving his son to think about the con
sequences of treachery should he pursue Ivy again.
I knew it wouldn’t be long before the Devil himself would come after her. I was wrong to think he hadn’t already been part of the game, moving chess pieces around quietly while he slithered in the darkness.
How is he planning to gain Ivy’s trust? He’s been up to something. Should I keep following Lucian or should I refocus on Lucifer? I’ve lost track of him now. I’ll have to stay with Lucian. We’ll see if he plans to keep his word and stay in Judecca or if he plans to go behind his father’s back. I think Lucifer expects him to disobey.
Following Lucian to the dwelling his father knows to be protected from detection, I listen to his raving mind, “I cannot wait to get my hands around that bitches throat! Mother’s going to have a fucking fit when she hears Father’s been secretly going after Ivy—if she doesn’t already know. Maybe that’s why he sent her away. Good riddance. She’s been getting on my last nerve anyways. Always punishing me for her own failures. When I take Ivy as my own prisoner, I’ll prove myself to them both. Mother thinks she can take the throne away from me by killing my father? She’s got another thing coming. They’ve underestimated me and they’ll regret it.”
Entering Lucian’s sanctuary, the walls are crawling with souls he’s stolen from Bam. He gets off on torturing. With his ever growing obsession with Ivy and the lack of her presence to take his anger out on, the souls bound to his caves receive the brunt of his brutality.
Watching him experiment with different forms of torture on these poor souls out of pure boredom, churns my stomach. It’s sickening and angers me that I’m not able to intervene. Even if they’ve been damned for eternity, they don’t deserve this kind of cruelty. I can only take so much of his constant ranting about Ivy and watching him entertain himself with the pain of the helpless souls bound to his cavern. When I determine that he has no plans as of yet, I leave for Baglie to take out my aggression on the unending war across the River Styx between Fallen creatures, damned souls, and manic demons.
Gilded Inferno (The Helio Trilogy Book 2) Page 12
