by Linsey Hall
Chapter Twelve
“Wake up!” Cass’s voice carried down the hall.
Blearily, I opened my eyes. Roarke was gone, which was probably for the best, because Cass and Nix burst into the room a moment later.
“So, you worked it out with Roarke!” Cass cried as she hurtled into the room.
I sat up and shoved my hair off my face, yawning. “How could you tell?”
“Every other bed in this house is already made,” Nix said. “Come on, dude, we’re problem solvers. Of course we noticed.”
“Nothing happened,” I said.
“Not yet.” Cass wiggled her eyebrows.
I threw a pillow at her.
“Oof.” She doubled over, clutching the pillow to her middle.
“But thank you for coming.” I climbed out of bed and straightened my fluffy robe. “Any chance you brought me some clean clothes?”
“You know it.” Nix tossed a duffle bag on the bed. “And another sword and sheath from Cass’s collection. Roarke said you might need it.”
“You’re a hero.” I changed quickly while Cass and Nix explored the room.
“This place is nice,” Cass said.
“Yeah.” I strapped the new sword sheath to my back and picked up the hilt of the sword that the Phantom dragon had given me.
“You’ve got some answers?” Nix asked as she came out of the bathroom.
“Yeah. Let’s go down and get something to eat, and we can talk about it.” I was famished, and from the pale gray light coming in the window, it looked like it was dawn. Breakfast time.
We found Roarke and Aidan in the kitchen. Aidan leaned against the wall, drinking a cup of coffee, while Roarke poked at a massive skillet of eggs. It was an older, homier room, with a black slate floor and little framed pictures all over the walls, and the men looked distinctly out of place. Too big and too deadly looking, despite the spatula in Roarke’s hand.
Roarke and I traded smiles, then I looked at Aidan.
“Aidan! You came,” I said.
“‘Course.” He nodded at Roarke. “Just chatting with your friend here. It sounds like you have an adventure ahead of you. And behind you.”
“Adventure.” I thought of the dragons and the crazy ride down the mountain in the mining cart. “Yeah, adventure just about covers it.”
Roarke filled two platters with bacon and eggs, then nodded at the table. “Food’s up.”
“Thanks.” I grabbed a cup of coffee from the pot. I kept the sword hilt near me at all times, putting it in my lap as we all sat at the round table in the corner of the kitchen.
We dished up plates. As the first bite of eggs was headed to my mouth, Cass asked, “So what are we up against? Why are you carrying around a broken sword hilt?”
I set down the fork and pulled the sword hilt off my lap. “This is half of a talisman that will help me control the Cat 5 powers.”
“The Ubilaz demon powers,” Nix said.
“Exactly.” Between bites of eggs, I filled them in on what the Phantom dragon had told me—about how I’d have to use my dragon sense to find the blade and prove myself worthy of obtaining it.
“That’s not so hard,” Cass said.
I swallowed my last bite. “No, not normally. But I still have demons after me. Though I’ve finally got control of my other magic.”
“Well, that’s something,” Nix said. “When do you want to get started?”
“I’m thinking right about now.”
“Sounds good,” Aidan said.
“Since Roarke was good enough to cook, we’ll clean up,” Cass said. “You, Del, can figure out where we’re going to get this blade.”
“You’re coming?” Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer.
“Duh,” Cass said. “You might need help. I’m sick of sitting around and letting you do this alone. And anyway, I want to be there to claim some credit.”
I grinned. “Thanks.”
They cleaned up the dishes while I stayed in my chair, closing my eyes and focusing on my dragon sense. It was a little weird to use it around Roarke even though he knew exactly what I was doing, but it was fine.
When my dragon sense finally caught on and tugged, my eyes popped open. “Oh crap.”
“What is it?” Roarke demanded, coming to stand in front of me.
“My dragon sense wants me to go through the portal near your house. To the Underworld.”
“Damn it.” Roarke rubbed his forehead.
“Lots of demons in there, I bet.” Cass threw the dishtowel she’d been using on the counter. “Sounds like it will be a fight.”
“As long as we stick to my part of the Underworld, no,” Roarke said. “I have jurisdiction there. The demons will follow my command and not attack. But if we have to take a portal to another Underworld, then we’re in trouble. I rule those places through command over their king, not the subjects themselves. So if we happen to meet any wayward demons, they won’t necessarily listen to me.”
“And they’ll attack,” Nix said.
I looked at Roarke. “Is it even possible for them to go to the Underworld without dying?”
He nodded. “If I escort them through personally, then yes. But they won’t be able to get out unless I accompany them.”
“So if you get killed while we’re there, we’re stuck?” Nix asked.
“Yes,” Roarke said. “And if you get killed there, then you’re stuck.”
I grimaced.
“Then we’ll just have to make sure none of us get offed,” Cass said.
I met her gaze. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Her voice was firm. “And you’re going to need the help if you want any chance of making it to your sword. If we have to leave Roarke’s area, demons will be on you like white on rice, and you’re going to need help fighting them off.”
She was right. “Thank you.”
“But once you’re in your Underworld, how do we get to other ones?” Nix asked.
“More portals,” Roarke said. “They’re scattered over the different Underworld realms, connecting each of them.”
“So we just have to go and see where my dragon sense leads, then,” I said.
Roarke nodded.
I stood, nerves making my skin feel extra sensitive. “We might as well get a move on.”
“I can transport us to Roarke’s house,” Cass said. “It’ll save time.”
“Thank you.” It still kinda stung not to have my transportation power—I’d used it for so long it had become part of me—but Cass was always good about giving me a ride. And I had plenty of powers now. Too many, in fact.
Everyone made quick work of getting their things together. I strapped the sword hilt into the sheath that Nix had brought and carried the actual sword in my hand, ready to be used if necessary.
When we were all ready, we gathered around Cass. Because of her massive amount of magical power, she was able to transport many people at once.
“Okay, children,” she said in a singsong voice. “Everyone stand in a circle and hold hands.”
I grinned and grabbed Roarke’s and Nix’s hands.
Once we were all connected, Cass smiled and said, “Here we go.”
The ether sucked us in, a whirlwind ride that spit us out in the woods near Roarke’s house. At least, I thought it was near Roarke’s house. It was dark, the sliver of moon shedding hardly any light at all.
“Where’s the house?” Nix asked.
“Eh, somewhere nearby?” Cass said. “I’ve never actually been here, so I was guessing based upon what Del had told me before.”
“It’s okay.” I used my dragon sense to find the portal. “The portal is only about a hundred yards away.”
We set off through the woods, eventually coming upon the portal. It had been repaired since the last time I’d torn through it, so I could feel it but not see it.
“We’re here, right?” I asked.
“Yes,” Roarke said
. He turned to my friends. “I’ll have to hold your hands as you go through. You need to be touching me to pass over.”
“We’ll go first.” Cass grabbed Aidan’s hand and stepped toward Roarke.
Roarke gripped Cass’s and Aidan’s hands, and they stepped forward, disappearing into thin air.
“Crazy,” Nix said.
“Yeah.”
Roarke returned a moment later, grabbing Nix’s hand and pulling her through. I adopted my Phantom form and followed, stepping through the portal without a problem.
On the other side, my friends stood in Roarke’s garden. I’d forgotten how pretty it was, and how different from the rest of the Underworld. The air smelled of flowers and was slightly damp, as if it’d just rained. Tumbling roses grew on the path on either side, and every shade of green surrounded us.
“This isn’t so bad,” Cass said as a swan floated by on the lake.
“Wait until you see the rest,” I said.
We set off through the garden, encountering only swans and flowers. By the time we reached the house at the other end, I was vibrating with tension, just waiting to stumble into a demon. No matter what Roarke said about being able to control the demons here, I did not want to run into one.
Even being here at all made me feel like I might have to stay.
Roarke led the way into the main foyer. I’d been out of my mind with fear and pain last time I’d been here, running for my life, so I hadn’t been able to fully appreciate the grandeur of the massive space. In all fairness, I probably wasn’t appreciating it now, with my eyes darting all over the place looking for demons.
“Whew.” Nix whistled as she looked up at the high ceiling. “This place is fancy.”
“It’s really more for show,” Roarke said. “Demons respect strength and wealth.”
“Who doesn’t?” I asked.
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, four hulking demons walked into the hall. They were dark gray with massive horns. Dozens of weapons were clipped to their leather utility vests like horrible ornaments.
The deadly Christmas trees. I remembered these jerks. They’d chased me down last time I was here.
Unable to help myself, I stiffened.
Their gazes were drawn immediately to me, making my heart race, but they didn’t linger. Instead, they lowered their eyes and knelt before Roarke.
“Warden,” they rumbled in unison.
“Rise,” Roarke said.
They rose, their gazes on him. They were scary bastards, but not as scary as Roarke. His demeanor had changed, and though he technically looked no different, something in his eyes and posture made it clear that he was the boss.
“We need a guard,” he said. “You will escort us. There is a chance that we may depart for another Underworld. In that case, you will attack any other demon that approaches us.”
They nodded in unison, then took up position behind us.
“Lead on,” Roarke said to me.
I focused on my dragon sense, picking up the thread of direction and following it out the front door and into the courtyard. It was grayer and darker here, nothing like the beautiful garden out back. But by the time we reached the gate and walked over the drawbridge that spanned the smelly moat, it was clear we were in hell.
“I see what you mean,” Cass muttered.
“Right?” The horrible vista stretched out before me, a barren hellscape punctuated by patches of flame and an endless expanse of jagged black rocks. A strange gray haze shimmered on the air.
“I can see why you choose to live in Magic’s Bend,” Nix said to Roarke.
“Commuting is better,” he agreed.
Our demon guard tromped along behind us as we made our way over the jagged rocks, dodging the crevasses that plunged deep into the ground. Sweat rolled down my skin as we walked. Though we encountered demons, they took one look at Roarke and hurried about their business.
We’d been walking for over an hour by the time we reached a portal. It was a shimmering black hole in the air, unlike the one on Earth. Here in the Underworld, they weren’t concerned with hiding portals from humans.
My dragon sense pulled inexorably toward it. I’d been expecting it—no way this was going to be so easy that I found the sword blade in Roarke’s Underworld—but it made my heart race all the same.
“We have to go through,” I said.
“I’m not sure where this one leads.” Roarke turned toward the demons and pointed to the two nearest to him. “Morphus and Kartis, come with me. We’ll check it out first.”
The two demons nodded and stepped forward. Roarke didn’t have to take their hands as they stepped through. All three disappeared.
The Underworld suddenly felt different without Roarke. Way more threatening. I glanced back at the other two demons, whose gazes were riveted to me. Confusion and something like anger or annoyance glittered in their black eyes.
Great. Just the kind of enemy I wanted.
A moment later, two figures hurtled out of the portal, straight at us. I stumbled back as Roarke tossed onto the ground the frozen blue body of one of the demons who’d accompanied him. He ducked back into the portal and returned with one more frozen demon, throwing him onto the ground next to the first. They looked like cartoons of mountaineers who’d been trapped on a snowy mountain.
“We have a problem,” he said.
At my feet, the demons began to lose their blue tinge as they thawed.
“Are they dead?” I asked. “What’s over there? Mount Everest?”
“Basically,” Roarke said. “It’s an ice hell. Morphus and Kartis aren’t dead, but they’re close. Their species can’t survive the cold, not like human bodies can.”
They must be native to this sweltering hellscape.
“That means we’re losing our guards,” Aidan said.
“Yes.”
Roarke turned to the two demons who were still standing. “See that your colleagues are revived. Thank you for accompanying us. You may resume your normal duties.”
The two demons bowed low, then each hauled up the body of one of the others. After tossing them over their shoulders, they turned and headed back across the fiery wasteland of Roarke’s Underworld.
“On our own.” Nix rubbed her hands together. “We’ve got this.”
I sure hoped so.
We went through the portal the same way we’d passed through the other—in groups.
As soon as I stepped out on the other side, I sucked in a harsh breath, then coughed. The air was so cold it felt like my lungs were frozen.
Ahead of me stretched the most awe-inspiring vista I’d ever seen. It was like we were on top of Everest, but we were surrounded by a hundred more Everests. Jagged mountains coated with snow stretched as far as the eye could see. The wind whipped at fifty miles an hour—or something crazy strong like that; I wasn’t a meteorologist—blowing my hair back off my face and making my eyes water.
“This sucks!” I yelled over the wind.
“Can I transport us to the end goal?” Cass asked.
Roarke shook his head. “Safer to walk. That way we know what we’re heading into. We could appear in the middle of a mass of demons, otherwise.”
He had a point. I shivered hard as I called upon my dragon sense. The tug came quickly. “We’re not far!”
“Lead the way,” Roarke shouted over the wind.
We tromped through the snow, heading downward in a single-file line. I was freezing, but the exertion kept me from going entirely numb. At one point, my feet slipped out from under me, but Roarke grabbed me before I could hurtle down the mountainside.
“Thanks!” I kept going.
A few moments later, we came upon another portal.
“Please lead us somewhere warm,” I muttered.
“I’ll check it out first,” Roarke said.
“I’ll come with.”
He nodded and we stepped through to a dark forest. Tall black-trunked trees loomed overhead, the size of redwoo
ds. Forest creatures rustled in the distance, but I saw nothing that would kill us immediately.
“Looks fine,” Roarke said. “I’ll go get the others.”
Roarke returned with Aidan, Cass, and Nix a moment later, making two trips while I scouted out the nearby area.
It almost felt familiar, but it was such a vague sensation that it was impossible to place. I definitely didn’t recognize it. The trees weren’t even a type that could possibly occur on Earth. But the sword blade had to be near. I could feel it.
“I think we’re close.” I set off between the trees, my friends following.
Ahead, something dark flickered, but it disappeared as soon as I saw it. My dragon sense pulled me toward it.
We’d only made it a few yards when something crashed out of the forest. A large, pale demon, its eyes wild, hurtled toward us. Another crashed through the forest behind it.
The rustling in the distance hadn’t been forest creatures—it’d been demons. My heart thundered. I gripped the sword tight.
More appeared, drawn by my Ubilaz power. Their eyes riveted to me, confusion and then anger showing on their faces.
“Yeah, yeah. I stole your buddy’s power,” I muttered.
Beside me, a tornado of black mist swirled around Roarke. Golden light shone from Aidan. They transformed at the same time—a dark gray winged demon standing next to a golden griffin. They took off into the air, charging the demons.
More ran out from between the trees, all different species. There must have been a town nearby or something.
Cass raced forward, throwing a fireball as she ran. It lit up the nearest demon. Nix’s magic surged on the air as she conjured a bow. She fired into the horde while Roarke dipped low, grabbing them up and snapping their necks.
I didn’t want to use my borrowed sword for fear of taking the demons’ powers, so I plunged it into the ground where I could retrieve it if I really needed it. With a deep breath, I called upon my ice power and shot a thick icicle at the nearest demon. It pierced his chest and bowled him over. I spun and attacked another, dodging as one leapt for me. Cass hit him with a fireball, and he stumbled away, ablaze.
“Thanks!” I called.
Magic blasted through the air, followed by the screams of demons, as I searched the forest. I could feel the sword blade. It was so close—my dragon sense shouted it.
