The Road (The Road to Hell Series, Book 3)

by Brenda K. Davies

  Ever since I shared a dream with the fallen angel who considered himself my father, I’d known it was possible I could become like Lucifer. It terrified me more with each passing day and every change of my body.

  By the time I was done pulling on a fresh pair of socks and wiggling my big toes through the holes in the tips of them, Kobal returned.

  “I’ll find you some new clothes soon,” he said as he handed me a jar of peaches and a couple pieces of beef jerky.

  “Not necessary.” The last thing I cared about was what I wore.

  “I did destroy a good number of your things,” he replied.

  His arrogant grin made me laugh. “You did,” I agreed as I took a bite of my jerky. Kobal had a habit of sometimes being a little too impatient when undressing me. I’d lost more clothing to his hands than anything else over the months I’d known him. “But all the losses were worth it.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  I pulled on my hiking boots. The soles had worn down, but thankfully there were no holes in the bottoms or the tops of the boots. I finished off my odd breakfast before holding my hand out to him. His entirely black fingernails flashed in the light as he easily tugged me to my feet. Those nails could lengthen into lethal, three-inch-long claws.

  Instead of releasing me, he pulled me up against his solid chest. I’d never get used to the nearly electric thrill that always went through me when we touched. I tilted my head back to take in the harsh planes of his magnificent face.

  “If you don’t mind me ruining your clothes, I can start again now,” he said.

  “If you don’t mind me walking around naked in front of everyone in the camp and the skelleins, feel free to do so.”

  The smile slid from his face. “Unacceptable.”

  “Then don’t leave my clothes in pieces,” I teased before rising on my toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

  He chuckled before setting me away from him. I grabbed my guns and holster from the ground and secured them to my waist before slipping my katana over my back. I’d come to rely on my natural abilities more than the human weapons, but I still felt naked without the weight of them on me. Besides, I’d rather be over prepared than under.

  Kobal took my hand and led me through the trees toward the camp comprised of almost three hundred humans and demons. I kept expecting something to attack us while we were encamped here, but Kobal assured me that few of our enemies would dare come at us right now.

  There were too many demons amongst us now, and the skelleins would be enraged if anyone tried to skip over them in order to gain access to the gateway, or attacked their king and queen. I still hadn’t wrapped my head around the fact that Kobal and the other demons considered me to be his queen, but as Kobal’s Chosen, they had all accepted me as such despite my mortal status.

  Maybe if we got married it would make a difference in the way I felt about it, but I doubted it. I knew we were irrevocably joined for the rest of my life, so it wasn’t a lack of wedding vows and rings that made me uncertain about the whole queen thing.

  It was the whole queen of Hell thing, in general, that had me more than a little uncertain.

  I mean, what did the queen of Hell do all day? Before meeting Kobal and the others, I would have said she pulled the arms off babies, or some such thing, but these demons weren’t like that. There was no sun in Hell, so no tan to work on, and no lap of luxury on which to sit. I didn’t feed on souls, so there was no punishing the souls of the damned who entered Hell in my future.

  Right now, Hell was torn apart thanks to Lucifer, the angels, and the humans, so I had enough to deal with without throwing royalty status into the mix. If Kobal and I both survived this, I would deal with it after. For now, I could only take each day one minute at a time.

  CHAPTER 2

  River

  Breaking free of the trees, my gaze slid toward the large, shingled bar in the center of the lot. The laboratory that had once sat here, the one the humans had been using when they’d torn open the gateway into Hell, was gone. The initial destruction of the gateway opening and the bombs that had followed had ensured little of it survived.

  What had remained of the lab had been cleared out by the beer-loving, dancing skelleins to construct the bar, which was more compatible with their personalities. If the skelleins were going to stand watch over the gateway on this side of the world, they figured they might as well have fun doing it. I’d never met the skelleins at the gateway on the other side of the world, the one in Europe, but I had a feeling they were a lot like their riddle-loving compatriots on this side.

  Erin, Hawk, and Vargas looked up at us when we stopped beside the bed of the pickup truck they sat in. Sergeant Erin Choi’s short black hair emphasized her pretty features and striking, almond-shaped, ocean-blue eyes. Small and lean, she was far more lethal than her petite build made her seem.

  Beside her, First Sergeant Sue Hawkson sat on the hump over one of the back tires. Thanks to his unusual first name, he much preferred to be called Hawk. Last week, he’d permanently twisted a man’s nose to the side and blackened both his eyes when the guy called him Sue. The display of temper had been out of place for Hawk, but it had made Vargas laugh so loud, I’d worried he might choke.

  Hawk had shaken his aching hand out and turned from the guy before strolling away. None of us had mentioned the incident since, and I doubted anyone would ever call him by his hated first name again.

  Hawk’s buzz cut had grown out in the weeks we’d been camping outside of The Last Stop, and his dark brown hair was now an inch or two long. His indigo eyes lifted to me; he gave me a brief nod of greeting before returning his attention to cleaning his rifle. Hawk was extremely handsome with his chiseled features, solid jaw, and well-muscled body. The girls in camp had been tripping over themselves to get closer to him since we’d been here. He’d even picked up what I could only describe as a stalker.

  Sergeant Anselmo Vargas sat against the back of the pickup truck with his arms draped over the tailgate. Having been born in Peru, he had a deep olive complexion, broad cheekbones, and eyes so brown they were nearly black. At five foot ten, he was only an inch taller than me, but he had a good thirty pounds more muscle on his wiry frame than I did. His black hair had also grown out since we’d been here, but it was still a little shorter than Hawk’s.

  Kobal bent to kiss my temple. “I’ll be right back.”

  I watched him walk over to where a group of demons had gathered near the steps of the bar before resting my hands on the side of the truck. I pulled myself into the back to join the only three human friends I’d made since leaving my home. I didn’t have any anger or resentment anymore over being taken from my family. I wouldn’t have met Kobal otherwise, and if Lucifer couldn’t be stopped, things would get a whole lot worse for everyone in the world over the coming years. Maybe there was something I could do to help keep that from happening.

  I still wasn’t entirely sure what that something would be though.

  “Sleep well?” I asked as I settled into the truck bed near Hawk. None of us had been sleeping much since starting this journey, but Hawk had been having a real hard time of it for the past couple of weeks. I suspected it was part of the reason he’d been more short-tempered recently.

  “Well as I could with my stalker over there.” Hawk thrust his thumb over his shoulder at Sarah, the small blonde woman who had joined our numbers after we’d arrived here. She and Hawk had had a thing a couple of weeks ago, and since then she’d become a constant presence around him. “She watched me all night.”

  “Maybe you should talk to her,” I suggested.

  “I already tried. She won’t listen, and frankly, it’s freaking me out to have her watching me while I sleep.”

  That would freak me out too, but I couldn’t help feel sorry for her as even now she stood watching him. “She must still believe your little fling meant more than it did.”

  Hawk lowered his gun to look at me. “Going into it
, she was the one who said it was only going to be a one-time thing, which I was fine with. I’m not exactly ready to be tied down, unless it’s in the fun way—”

  “Gross,” Erin griped, and my nose wrinkled at the mental image his words conjured. Vargas chuckled as he stretched his legs out before him.

  “Instead of telling me she wasn’t looking for anything,” Hawk continued, “she should have told me it would be a one-time thing and I’d have a more loyal shadow than my own following me around after.”

  Erin rolled her eyes. “I know way too much about your sex life.”

  “What sex life?” Hawk retorted. “My new tail over there has effectively chased away any other possibilities. At first it was flattering. I mean, I know I’m unforgettable—” This statement caused me to snort, Erin to stick her finger in her mouth while making a gagging noise, and Vargas to laugh out loud. Hawk ignored us as he continued speaking. “—but now she’s bordering on boiling rabbit crazy here.”

  “What?” I blurted.

  “It was a movie I saw years ago. This woman went all nuts and boiled her boyfriend’s pet rabbit, or maybe it was his kid’s, I don’t remember, but she boiled it alive or some shit.”

  “Okay, we’re eating some of the rabbits around here, but let’s keep her away from them beforehand,” Erin murmured. “No one is boiling a bunny alive while I’m around.”

  I had to agree. “Maybe I should try talking to her?” I suggested.

  “Not today,” Kobal said, arriving at my side before Hawk could respond. Kobal’s seconds-in-command, Corson and Bale, stopped behind him. “It’s time for us to head inside, and I’ve asked Morax and Verin to speak with the girl. Are you four ready?”

  “Yes.” I rose to my feet and rested my hand on the side of the truck in order to jump out. Kobal grabbed my waist and lifted me out effortlessly. Stepping closer to him, I cast my voice low so the others couldn’t hear what I had to say as we walked toward the bar. “Why are you having Morax and Verin intervene?”

  “Because her behavior must stop.”

  I frowned at him. Kobal had little tolerance for anything human-drama related, and what little tolerance he did have had only started to accumulate since he’d met me. I may be part angel and demon, but I was also part human, and I’d been raised as a human. I didn’t have the aloof detachment demons and, from what I’d been told, angels had. Emotions were a big part of me.

  There were still times Kobal had no idea how to handle me, but he’d gotten better since we’d first come together. He didn’t do well where other’s feelings were concerned, as he never held anything back and was often brutally honest. I’d never seen him intervene in human relationships in such a way before.

  “I didn’t realize you’d noticed,” I said.

  “I think everyone in camp has noticed.”

  I looked back at Sarah as she followed us toward the bar from fifty feet away. “But what difference does it make to you?”

  He glanced down at me before focusing on the bar once more. “The humans in our camp must be as disciplined as the demons. Her behavior is out of line and will not be tolerated.”

  Had he dodged my question? It was a perfectly reasonable response, but I felt he was holding something back from me. “I’m never in line,” I said.

  “You’re different,” he replied crisply.

  The demons standing on the stairs leading into the bar bowed their heads to Kobal and me as we passed them. I paused outside as Kobal pushed the door open for me. The time for questioning him was now over.

  Stepping into the shadowy interior, I barely noticed the worn carpet as we climbed the stairs toward the main barroom where music already played on the piano. The fun never stopped in the flesh-collecting skelleins’ world of never-ending partying, alcohol, and riddles. Kobal had said that the skelleins could be unrelenting in their viciousness, but I’d yet to see it, thankfully.

  The walking skeletons had unnerved me in the beginning. After being around them for a while, their merry personalities, cheerful hats, flowers, jewelry, ties, and other assorted accessories they used to mark what sex they were and to make them stand apart from each other made them seem harmless and fun. I still wanted nothing to do with pissing one of them off, never mind all of them, as they tended to take their payment out of the flesh of their victims. Literally.

  As we stepped off the stairs, the skelleins gathered within, drinking beer and working on the assorted puzzles spread across the bar top and tables, all turned toward us. The bones of their teeth and jaws clattered together as they called cheerful greetings. The one playing the piano ceased pounding on the keys to turn on his bench to face us. On his head was a black, porkpie hat, slanting to the side. He wore a jacket with coattails dangling over the back of the bench on which he sat.

  Rising to his feet, he accepted a mug of beer someone handed him as he walked over to stop before Erin. “My turn!” he announced jovially.

  Thanks to Erin, we’d passed their riddle test a couple of weeks ago and could now come and go freely, but the skelleins had become determined to stump Erin with one of their riddles. They’d yet to do so.

  “I’m ready,” Erin replied with a smile as she folded her arms over her chest.

  Behind her, Corson grinned and Bale shook her head impatiently. Hawk rubbed Erin’s shoulders for her while Vargas leaned back on his heels. Kobal slid his hand around my elbow and pulled me a step closer to him. The skelleins would never hurt me, not now that we’d passed their test, but he still kept me protectively close.

  The tapping of the skellein’s finger against his chin made a clicking noise as he stared at Erin. All skelleins had black pits for eye sockets, but it was impossible not to feel the weight of their gazes. “Okay, I’ve got one for you!” he announced. “There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a white house. Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it?”

  Erin’s mouth pursed as she stared at the skellein. In the corner, the cuckoo clock ticked away the seconds as all other movement and sound within the bar ceased. “I’m going to have to think on this one,” she said after a few minutes had passed.

  “Really?” the man asked as his jaw pulled back in a macabre smile.

  “Yeah. I’ll let you know on our way back.”

  The skelleins all chattered excitedly; it was the first time any of them had stumped her for this long. The male skellein turned away from her and returned to his bench. He placed his beer on top of the piano before sweeping his coattails behind him and lowering himself onto the bench with an elegant grace. Lifting his bony fingers over the keys of the piano, he paused before launching into a melody that I vaguely recognized.

  Kobal nudged my elbow and led me toward the door separating the barroom from the hall beyond. Erin stopped before the door and leaned her head against the wall. Her eyes closed and her foot tapped as she listened to the music filling the air. When it was over, Erin’s shoulders slumped forward and she released a sigh.

  “You didn’t know the answer to that riddle?” Vargas asked as he opened the door and we stepped into the hallway.

  We made our way toward the door at the end.

  “Watermelon,” Erin replied.

  “Sounds delicious,” Vargas said with a hint of confusion in his tone, “but not what I was asking about.”

  A wistful smile tugged at Erin’s lips when she turned her head to look at him. “The answer is watermelon. It was time to throw one of them a bone.” She chuckled over her own choice of words. “Plus, I love it when he plays “Chariots of Fire,” and he knows it.”

  My laughter faded away when Corson and Bale reached the door at the end of the hall. Throwing my shoulders back, I braced myself for the barrage of sorrow that would accompany the opening of the door and the revealing of the unnatural gateway to Hell.

  CHAPTER 3

  Kobal

  I watched River as she stared into the pit of Hell, which had been
my home for over a millennium. I couldn’t begin to feel what she felt from it, but I’d never forget her first days of coming here. Tears had streaked her face, her shoulders had heaved, and she’d barely been able to remain standing. Despite that, she had stalwartly continued to come back here every day until she became more accustomed to the effect it had over her.

  My River.

  Yet, I’d been the one to expose her to this misery, and it was only the beginning. If she could go inside, if she was able to withstand the heat of the eternal fires within the pit, there would be countless horrors for her to face, as well as Lucifer himself. My hands curled at the thought of the man who had created her, my greatest enemy. I’d tear him apart if I got the chance.

  The war between demons and fallen angels had been going on for many millennia within Hell. It was time to take back what rightfully belonged to the demons, to claim the throne stolen from my ancestor. I’d never expected the possible key to such a thing would end up also being my Chosen or that I would be the one to lead her into the place causing her so much distress.

  It was impossible not to notice the way her clothes fit more loosely on her now. I saw the evidence every night on her lithe body when she lay bared before me, but I couldn’t take her from here while the gateway was still open and Lucifer could escape. When this was over, I would take her anywhere in the world she wanted to go. I’d give her weeks of solitude away from the hardships she’d already endured and had yet to endure, I’d give her brothers back to her, but this war had to be over first. Neither of us would ever know peace until Lucifer was dead.

  After, I would make my home on Earth with her, and whatever demons decided to stay with me would be allowed to do so. The demons who remained here would have to come to me so I could open a gate for them to return to Hell often enough that they retained their immortality, but it would be doable. I would find a way to make it so.

  River deserved to be able to stay on her plane with her brothers, where she was happy and where she thrived on the life flourishing around her. She didn’t deserve to be imprisoned in the fires of Hell, away from her loved ones, and where I feared she would waste away to nothing.