Carved (The Road to Hell Series, Book 2)

by Brenda K. Davies

  Tilting my head back, I lifted my hand to the mobile over my head. My fingers slid over the cherubs hanging from it and dancing in the air beneath my touch. I turned away from the mobile and moved closer to the window to stare out at the hushed street.

  I bit my lip, suppressing a gasp as the shimmering image of a young girl standing on the sidewalk materialized before me. Her wheat blonde hair hung in ringlets around her shoulders, her kelly-green eyes were vivid in the sun spilling around and through her transparent body. She looked the same as Angela, the girl in the picture downstairs, and she wore the same red and white checkered sundress from the picture.

  I knew it wasn’t real, that the little girl didn’t exist, but I couldn’t look away from her. There had been a lot of strange occurrences in my life, some I’d written off and forgot, others had stuck with me, but nothing like this had ever happened before. I closed my eyes and rubbed them with my fingertips. When I opened them again, she was still standing there, a see-through vision who held my gaze.

  “Do you see her?” I inquired when Corson walked over to stand next to me.

  “Who?”

  I wasn’t surprised by his answer, but I’d still hoped that someone else could see her too. “No one. I thought I saw someone, but I was wrong.”

  The little girl continued to stare at me, her pretty features sparkling with the rays of the sun filtering through her body. Angelic would have been the best way to describe her. I flattened my fingers against the glass as the girl wavered and vanished before blinking back into form further across the road. She turned and lifted her hand to point at the horizon. I followed her finger until I spotted something standing along the tree line on a distant hillside.

  “What are those?” I inquired and pointed toward the shapes moving swiftly across the ground. I didn’t know if it was the distance, a trick of the light, or if they were really doing it, but they seemed to be floating across the earth.

  Corson’s eyes narrowed as he studied where I’d indicated. “Lanavours,” he grated. I recalled the name from last night and the creatures roaming the city. “We have to get out of this town.”

  “What about Kobal?” I demanded.

  “He’ll find you, but not if they find us first. We don’t have enough weapons or people to deal with them, and believe me, you do not want to deal with them. The gargoyles were more fun.”

  Those words made my blood run cold. Anything worse than a gargoyle was something I preferred not to mess with. Turning away from the window, I snatched one of the angels from the shelf. I had no idea what possessed me to do such a thing, but it felt right in my hand as I rushed out the door after the others.

  CHAPTER 14

  Kobal

  I stared at the boulders blocking the road, my fury mounting when I spotted the crumpled remains of a gargoyle wing poking out from the rubble. We could climb over the boulders, but that would mean leaving behind all the supplies and vehicles. It would mean continuing on foot from here, something that would take far too much time considering the mortals.

  “Shit!” I exploded.

  Grabbing a boulder the size of a small car, I lifted up and heaved it out of the way. The boulder smashed off the rock face across from me, disintegrating into smaller pieces that crumpled onto the top of the giant pile in our way. Humans scampered to get away from me and the broken bits of rock bouncing across the surface of the asphalt.

  I looked toward the next rock with the intent of throwing it out of the way, but there were hundreds of them separating River from me. It would take hours to work our way through them enough to be able to pass. I hadn’t set it free, but fire licked over my hands and up toward my elbows as I stared at the obstacle before me. My flames would be of no use against stone. The force would push the rocks back, but with the mountains blocking both sides of the road, there was nowhere for the rocks to be pushed to.

  Turning, I studied the road behind us. It branched off a few miles back, most likely making its way around to the town where Corson and River had gone, or at least it would go close to it.

  “We’re going to have to double back,” Morax said.

  “I know,” I murmured. “Let’s go!”

  Around me, what remained of the human contingent returned to their vehicles. They went in reverse until they found a place to turn around. I climbed behind the wheel of another pickup and Bale slid into the passenger side. Backing down the road, I spun it around and drove forward to take the lead when the other vehicles stopped to wait.

  I found the other road and drove down it rapidly. I didn’t care about the creaking, thudding sounds of the pickup or the tires as I pressed the gas pedal to the floor. I had to get to River, had to see her, had to know she was safe.

  It took far more time than I would have liked, but we finally pulled into the town where I’d told Corson to wait for us. The sun had set an hour ago; the moon hung over the tops of the trees to illuminate the roadway almost as well as the headlights did.

  I caught a lingering hint of River’s fresh rain scent, a scent that radiated from her soul and was an integral part of her. It was far too faint for her to still be in this town. My hands curled around the wheel as I fought against ripping it from the truck.

  Fear wasn’t something I was familiar with, but now it incessantly crept through me. They had been here; they never would have left if something hadn’t driven them away.

  What if something had taken her?

  Bowing my head, my nostrils flared and my muscles bulged as I grappled to maintain my self-control.

  “What is it?” Bale inquired, and I heard a hitch in her voice I’d never heard before.

  “They’re not here,” I growled.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I know.”

  She held her hands up and leaned against the door to put more distance between us. I shoved my foot down on the gas and drove toward the school where I’d told Corson to wait. As I drove, I detected traces of River’s scent at different places throughout the town. I’d check those locations for some sign of where they’d gone after the school.

  At the intersection, I began to turn toward the school, but Bale grasped my arm and pointed at a sign on the other side of the road. I’d been so focused on getting to the school that I hadn’t noticed the white sheet draped over the sign and tied around the post. Lanavours in the area. Had to leave. Go straight. Will leave signs, R.

  The R barely fit onto the bottom of the note scrawled in what looked like blood. As we drew closer to the sheet, I caught a waxy, unfamiliar scent through the open windows of the truck. I didn’t know what they’d used to write the note, but it wasn’t blood.

  “Lanavours,” I grated.

  “They couldn’t have stayed here,” Bale said. “They had no choice but to leave.”

  I nodded, but my teeth were beginning to throb from clenching them so tightly.

  Bale squeezed my arm, drawing my attention to her. “Corson and the others will follow the same route we intended to, for as long as they can. We’re not that far behind them, but you have to let the humans rest. They can’t keep the same pace we can.”

  “They can sleep in shifts and we’ll keep driving until we find them.”

  “Kobal—”

  “We can’t be more than a few hours behind. The humans can rest when we catch up. We can’t stop here in case the lanavours are still around anyway.” Bale released my arm and sat back. I didn’t look at her again as I drove down the road. “Keep your eye out for another sign.”

  “I will.”

  ***

  River

  I took over driving for Hawk when the sun rose. It was the first time I’d ever been behind the wheel of a vehicle in my life. My hands shook in the beginning, my heart knocked louder than a poltergeist on the walls, but taking hold of the wheel made me feel powerful. Now, I just had to keep the truck in the center of the road and stop trying to use both feet on the pedals.

  When a squirrel ran out in front of me,
I accidentally hit both the brake and the gas at the same time, one with each foot. The truck jerked forward with a squeal. Corson, Erin, and Vargas were thrown up against the cab of the truck by the sudden start then stop. Groans sounded behind me as their bodies bounced off the metal with multiple heavy thuds.

  “Sorry!” I called back to them.

  “One foot for both pedals,” Hawk said for the umpteenth time, his eyes red-rimmed from exhaustion as he gazed at me from the passenger seat.

  “Okay,” I muttered and forced my left foot away from the brake pedal.

  After a while, I got the hang of it and the others drifted off to sleep, except for Corson. His back was against the window behind Hawk, his eyes half-open as he watched the passing scenery. For all I knew, he could be sleeping. Kobal slept with his eyes closed, but they were all different kinds of demons, each with their own traits.

  “We should leave another sign,” he said after a half an hour, confirming my doubts as to whether or not he was awake.

  I pulled to the side of the road and jumped out of the truck without putting it into park. My left foot hung out the door, running over the ground as I scrambled with my right foot to find the brake. The truck lurched to a stop and, thankfully, no one was slammed against the cab again.

  “You have to put it in park first,” Hawk muttered without opening his eyes.

  “Thanks for the info.”

  “Anytime.”

  I shifted the stick on the steering wheel into park and cautiously took my foot off the brake. I held my breath as I waited to see what would happen, but the truck didn’t move. Grinning and fighting the urge to pat myself on the back, I hopped out. Corson’s earrings swung back and forth as he glanced between me and the truck with a look that clearly said he believed the truck was smarter than me.

  “I’ve never driven before,” I said defensively.

  “You’ve seen it done before though, right?”

  “Until recently, it had been years since I’d last seen it done. I doubt you came out of Hell with the knowledge of all things human.”

  “We came out knowing a lot of things,” he said as we walked toward a red stop sign on the side of the road. Tucked under his arm was one of the sheets we’d taken from Angela’s house. “I watched humans more than a lot of the others did.”

  “How come?” I asked.

  He draped the sheet over the sign before tying it securely to the post. “I don’t know. It was something to do. You’re a self-destructive, crazy species, but you’re entertaining to watch.”

  “Kind of like a soap opera for demons.”

  “A what?”

  “They were these TV shows my mother used to watch back in the day.”

  “I didn’t see much of your TV.”

  “Interesting. So what am I writing?”

  I pulled out the tube of red lipstick we’d found in Angela’s home. It was the only thing we could find to write with; everything else had dried out over the years.

  “Write: staying on the original route.”

  “Should we stop and wait for them here?”

  “No, I know a place that will probably be safer for us to stop and wait,” he replied. “Until we get there, we have to get as far from the lanavours as we can.”

  “How bad are those things?”

  “Bad.”

  The word didn’t make me shiver, but the haunted look in his eyes did. If the demons didn’t want to face them, I definitely didn’t. “Should I tell them where we’re heading?”

  “No, nothing and no one else can know where we’re going. Kobal will figure it out.”

  My stomach turned at the possibility of something else out there, possibly stalking us right now. I lifted the lipstick to the sheet and began to write. Staying on the original route, R. I twisted the lipstick down and replaced the cap.

  “How many humans do you think survived the gargoyle attack?” I inquired.

  “I don’t know.”

  My head bent as the memory of those broken bodies and screams drifted back across my mind. “I don’t want anyone to die because of me.”

  “They’re not dying because of you. They’re dying to protect you.”

  “Is there a difference?”

  “Yes. There is a possibility you could save their entire species. That is a worthy cause, one they are willing to fight and sacrifice for. They’re dying because some of your species royally fucked up.”

  “And what if there is nothing I can do about closing the gateway or Lucifer?” I asked.

  “Then we come up with a new plan.”

  “A new plan,” I murmured as I gazed at the distant horizon.

  “Kobal won’t stop until he’s caught up with us,” Corson said.

  “I know.”

  I ached for him; I wanted him beside me right now. I had to know he was okay and that the gargoyles hadn’t hurt him. Deep inside, I believed I’d know if he’d been injured or killed, and not because of my ability to know and see things, but because my soul would recognize the loss of his. We were inextricably bound together.

  My hand instinctively lifted to touch the marks on my neck. My heart raced at the realization they were already healing. Something primitive stirred within me, and I immediately recognized it as a demon instinct, too strong and volatile to be human, too sexual and possessive to be angel. I had to have him back soon.

  “Back at Angela’s house, when you were looking out the window, what did you see on the street?” Corson asked in a low voice when we started back toward the truck.

  I stopped walking, my gaze went to the tiny, kneeling porcelain angel figurine I’d stolen from the house and set on the dashboard of the truck. Once I’d cleaned it up, I could clearly see its cherubic cheeks, green eyes, and wheat-blonde hair. Its head was tilted back, its wings unfurled behind it as it stared at the sky with a look of peace.

  I’d unknowingly snatched an angel closely resembling Angela. I didn’t believe in coincidence in this world. At least not where I was concerned.

  I’d also never been one for lucky charms. I’d always believed that what would be would be and no amount of rabbit’s feet, clovers, idols, or even prayer could change that, but I couldn’t bring myself to part with the angel right now.

  “I thought I saw someone, but I was wrong.” For some reason, I felt I had to keep Angela to myself, for now.

  “I see,” he murmured.

  I didn’t know if he completely believed me, but he didn’t press me any further. “How far are we from this place you think we’ll probably be safe at?”

  “We should make it there tonight.”

  “Good.” I walked back to the truck. “Would you like me to keep driving?”

  “You might as well learn how, or at least I hope you can learn.”

  That was confidence boosting, but I slid behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition to start it. I remembered to shift into drive before hitting the gas pedal, something I hadn’t done the first time I tried driving this thing. A step in the right direction, I thought and pulled onto the road.

  CHAPTER 15

  Kobal

  “I think I know where Corson is taking them,” Bale said as the edge of the sun dipped beneath the horizon.

  I had a pretty good idea where Corson was going too as I stared at the newest message left behind for us. It was a genius idea, but I didn’t know how River was going to react to what she would discover when they made it to their destination.

  “Pearl’s,” I said.

  “Yes. We must stop, Kobal, at least for a little bit. The humans haven’t had anything to eat or a bathroom break in hours.”

  Resentment slithered through me. I felt completely unstable, but then I’d been unstable ever since I’d put River in that truck and told Hawk to drive away. Now I was leaning toward an escalating rage as I felt the hounds’ hostility building within me. River was my Chosen and they were as eager to get her back as I was.

  I wasn’t used to this vulnerability clawi
ng its way through my insides. I’d led River out here, I’d sworn to keep her safe, and now she was out there with countless enemies hunting for her. Lucifer had seen her, he knew what she looked like now and so would his followers.

  I wanted to continue onward, I wouldn’t be able to take another easy breath until River was by my side again, but Bale was right. The humans needed a break. It would do all of us little good if they were too exhausted to continue.

  River will have the same needs, I reminded myself. They wouldn’t be pushing themselves as relentlessly as I was pushing these humans. We were gaining on them, and Corson was most likely heading for Pearl’s. They might be able to find safety there for a little bit, or at least long enough for us to catch up.

  Demons steadfastly avoided Pearl’s, and I doubted any humans would go anywhere near it, if there were any still alive in the area. Corson was probably dreading every second they got closer to the place, but he would do what he had to in order to keep River safe.

  I stared at the red writing on the sign for a minute before thrusting the door of the truck open and stepping out. I strode toward where Captain Tresden sat in the pickup behind me. “We’ll stop for a half an hour,” I said briskly.

  He nodded and climbed out of the truck before barking the order to the rest of the troops. Verin, Morax, and Shax strolled over to join Bale and me by our pickup. “You think Corson’s going for Pearl’s?” Shax asked.

  “Yes,” I replied as I rested my arms on the bed of the truck. My foot tapped against the ground while the humans hurried into the woods and gathered food from the supplies. Most of them went to the woods to relieve themselves first, willing to eat on the drive if they had to.

  “I hate that place,” Morax muttered.

  “Which is why Corson would go there,” Bale said. “Everyone hates it.”

  “True.” Morax shifted to watch the trees as people reemerged from their shadowy depths.

  Turning away, I searched the horizon before shoving myself away from the truck. I walked down the road, passed the sign River had written, and over to a small hill in the road. Peering over the top of the hill, I stared down the road, searching the woods for any hint of something lurking amid the trees in the descending twilight.