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

by Brenda K. Davies

  I lowered my forehead to hers. “No matter what happens, I will always be with you, Mah Kush-la.”

  Turning her cheek, she rested it against my chest and closed her eyes. I enveloped her in my arms and carried her to the thick furs set before the crackling fire. Morax and the others had returned with supplies and weapons. I’d set out a piece of cooked rabbit and some green beans for her to eat when she’d first climbed into the pool.

  I sat down across from her and watched as she bit into the rabbit and wiped the juices away from her chin. “Would you like more?” I inquired when she finished off the meat and turned her attention to the green beans.

  “No, I’m fine. I don’t suppose there’s much human food in Hell?”

  “They brought enough food for you for at least two weeks, and you may be able to eat the prury fruit when we go through the Forest of Prurience.”

  She brushed a strand of damp hair from her forehead. “What’s that?”

  “The prury fruit comes from the calamut trees. At the very least, it may not taste good to you, but it won’t be poisonous.”

  “And what about this forest?” she inquired.

  “It’s where the nymphs and the canagh demons reside.”

  Her fingers stilled on her food. “The canaghs?” she croaked.

  “Not all of them are bad,” I reminded her. “And many of them went above when the gateway opened. Magnus has assured me that though the tree nymphs are still there, the wood nymphs have not returned to the woods, probably because the trees would not allow them to reside there again.”

  “The trees have a say in that?”

  “The trees have a say on many things when it comes to the forest.”

  “How… fitting. The wood nymphs are on Lucifer’s side?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought nymphs were supposed to be friendly or something.”

  “Some are. The wood nymphs are not.”

  She turned her attention back to the beans. With some food in her, the bruises on her face were fading faster. The color returning to her cheeks had nothing to do with her abraded skin and more to do with her body healing itself.

  “So we will be going through this forest?”

  “It is the safest way to the Fires of Creation and the seals.”

  Her eyes widened as they came back up to me. “We will be going to where you were created?”

  “We will travel to the chamber where I was forged.”

  Taking a breath, I braced myself for what I was about to tell her next. She wouldn’t like what I had to say, but I’d told her I wouldn’t keep anything from her anymore, and I’d meant it. “You and the others may not be able to enter the chamber with me. Only the varcolac and the hounds have ever entered before.”

  Her eyes narrowed on me. “What happens if we can’t enter?”

  “I will continue onto the seals without you.” I held up a hand to forestall her protests. “I am telling you this because I promised you no more secrets between us, but it is not up for debate, River. We must get to the seals quickly and going through the Fires of Creation is the fastest way. If you are unable to enter, you will still be safe outside the chamber, as Lucifer doesn’t know where it is located.”

  “How do you know that?” she demanded.

  “Because I am the only one who knows where it is. It isn’t something anyone else would stumble across, and if they did, they wouldn’t know what they were looking at. I like the idea of leaving you behind as much as you like the idea of me continuing without you, but it must be done. With every seal that falls, Lucifer becomes stronger.”

  “What if you can’t stop the seals from falling on your own? Or what if you’re walking into a trap?”

  “If it is a trap then I will take one of the other ways into and out of the seals.”

  “If there are other ways then we will take one of them, together!”

  “They are much longer, all well-known, and more dangerous. If I do not return, Morax and the others will come for me one of those ways.”

  “Am I to go one of those ways too?”

  My claws extended before I drew them back into myself with a steadying breath. “If you cannot enter the chamber then you will wait for me by it with Corson and the others.”

  “I will not stand by and simply wait for you to come back from battle and neither will the others.”

  “They will if I command them to.”

  “Kobal—”

  “I promised I would not keep anything from you again. Do not make me regret telling you this.”

  “But you’re still trying to order me around.”

  “No, I’m not. This is the way it must be, River. The faster we know the answer to what is going on, the better off we’ll all be. If I thought there was a better way, I would do it, simply so I didn’t have to leave you behind. You know that.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “I do,” she admitted.

  I took her hand, holding it in both of mine as I drew her forward. I brushed the wet hair back from her neck and kissed her nape as I settled her onto my lap. “And if you can enter the chamber, then you will be with me every step of the way.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  “Neither do I.”

  I slid the fur away from her to drink in the sight of her beautiful body. Laying her down, I followed behind, determined to drown her apprehension and mine in nothing but pleasure until she was too tired to worry anymore.

  “My heart,” she whispered before clasping my cheek in her hand and drawing me down for a kiss.

  CHAPTER 27

  Kobal

  Stepping into the room with the carousel again, I gazed around at the large number of demons and skelleins gathered within. The skelleins were passing around canteens I knew were filled with either their beer or mjéod.

  Holding River’s hand, I led her across the glass of the carousel and down a set of steps toward where Corson, Bale, Verin, Shax, Morax, Magnus, and Hawk waited for us. They stopped speaking as we approached. Slowly, all of them and the troops standing behind them, went down to one knee.

  River gave a strange stutter step as she surveyed the crowd kneeling before us. Hawk remained standing, his head bouncing around the others before his gaze came back to us. His eyes fell on me before he went to one knee also. River stepped forward, her hand extended as if to stop him, but I pulled her back and secured her against my side.

  “We are their king and queen,” I murmured in her ear.

  “We’re not even married,” she whispered back.

  “You wear my marks. That is all that is required in our world.”

  “But Hawk—”

  “Is now a demon.”

  I nuzzled her temple before turning and gesturing for everyone to rise. They did so in one fluid motion. I stood and surveyed the troops gathered before me. Many of them may not survive this, but they were willing to lay down their lives to destroy Lucifer.

  I’d never thought I would think it in my lifetime, but I was tired of fighting. I’d spent my whole life relishing the thrill of the battle, the blood drenching me, and the screams of the dying as they echoed in my ears. Now, I wanted to spend the rest of River’s life with her and our children, living in as much peace as we would be able to find if we succeeded in destroying Lucifer.

  Magnus held out his hand to stop me when I started to walk past him. “There is something I would like to discuss with you.”

  “Then do so,” I told him.

  His gaze slid to River before coming back to me. “Privately.”

  River stiffened against my side. “We will discuss it in front of her. There are no secrets between us.”

  River gawked at me for a minute before a small smile curved her mouth. She rested her hand on my chest before turning to focus on Magnus. “Away from them then,” Magnus said quietly and waved a hand at the troops gathered behind him.

  I glanced over the hundred plus demons and skelleins gathered a few yards away. They were all more focused o
n talking amongst themselves and examining some of the human weapons than they were us. The skelleins were busy drinking with increasing enthusiasm. If I didn’t know they fought just as well drunk as they did sober, I would have called a halt to it.

  I gestured for Hawk, Corson, Verin, Morax, Shax, and Bale to follow us away from the group and toward the back corner of the room.

  Magnus turned and waited for everyone to join us before pinning his gaze on River. “There is more going on with you than meets the eye.”

  “Excuse me?” she blurted.

  I released her hand and wrapped my arm around her waist, drawing her closer against my side as my eyes narrowed on Magnus. The others all exchanged a startled look.

  “When I retreated here, I also spent a lot of time researching and reading through some of the many scrolls demons have kept to document our history,” Magnus stated. “When I learned Kobal was searching for Lucifer’s child, I decided to dip into the history of the humans who we know are descendants of the fallen angels.”

  “How did you learn I was looking for her?” I demanded.

  “Word travels swiftly between your followers, even those of us who remained within,” he replied with a flippant wave of his hand that set my teeth on edge. I reached out to break the fingers of that hand, but River seized my wrist and pulled it back. Magnus caught my intent and dropped his hand, folding both of them behind his back.

  “And what did you discover?” River prodded.

  Magnus cast me a wary glance before continuing. “Some of them were extremely powerful, as you know. Others were different but managed to keep those differences hidden for the most part and slipped through unnoticed. Still, others were some twisted pricks who inflicted a lot of damage before they were taken out,” Magnus continued.

  “I know this,” River said.

  “We don’t know which ones were direct descendants of Lucifer’s line, and which ones were from the other angels, but we do know many of those who were created by the angels. Jesus walked on water and turned water into wine. I am assuming these were illusions. The angel’s ability to cast illusions is not as intricate as mine, but some do possess it. Abraham spoke with God. Moses parted the Red Sea—”

  “Azote had telekinesis,” River said with a note of dawning understanding in her voice. “Which is probably what Moses used for the water.”

  “Yes. I also believe Moses possessed fire and telecommunication. Rasputin was extremely difficult to kill. Samuel spoke with God. Samson was undeniably strong. Daniel and Elijah were prophets. Noah was also a prophet and lived to be a very old age, far longer than any mortal should. Jephthah also spoke with God and offered up his daughter so he could be king.”

  “Kobal believes my ability to draw on life is also what some of them had and why they were able to live for so long,” River said.

  “Which makes sense,” Magnus said. “Even though you are part human, perhaps you could live to be nearly a thousand years old like Noah, maybe more, but that is not what makes you different from the others of your line.”

  “What does then?” Corson inquired as he rested his hand against the rock wall and leaned on it.

  “Over the course of six thousand years, there have been descendants who could cast illusions, speak with God or communicate telepathically as some demons and angels can do, see the future, cause things to catch on fire, wield telekinesis, and survive things no normal human ever could have.”

  “And?” I prodded when Magnus hesitated.

  “And not one of them was able to absorb the power of life like she does.”

  “I don’t understand. You just agreed that some of those descendants were most likely drawing on the pulse of life around them in order to live to be so old,” River said.

  “Yes, I believe that is true, but not one of them could turn it into a ball of energy and wield it as a weapon like you do. The angels can, of course, but none of the offspring of the fallen angels has ever possessed the ability. Yes, Lucifer is the strongest of the angels, both in Hell and Heaven, but he had other offspring, and none of them could wield life such as you do. One of the documents I read theorized the ability to do so was the one thing that had not survived whatever transition it was that the fallen angels went through. You are proof that theory is wrong.”

  River rocked back on her heels before glancing up at me. My hand tightened on her waist as I contemplated Magnus’s words. What did it mean that River could do it when no other had been able to before, or at least they’d never been able to do it as powerfully as she could?

  “Did the opening of the gateway to Hell cause the ability to manifest in her?” Bale inquired.

  “No, I’d experienced the sparks before the gateway opened. Nowhere near as strongly as I do now, but it did happen,” River said.

  Her fingers went to where her necklace had always hung; they tapped against her bare skin before her hand fell away.

  “Maybe my ancestors also experienced those sparks, but never fully developed the ability,” River suggested.

  “I don’t think that’s likely. The power in them may have only been slight compared to you, but there would still be some record of it somewhere over six thousand years.” Magnus’s silver eyes burned into mine as he spoke. “I didn’t realize how much some of our ancestors watched over and observed the humans and the offspring the angels left behind, until I started digging deeper into the scrolls, but I learned a lot while I was going through them. There is more to her.”

  River’s fingers curled into my chest. “What though?”

  “I believe some of your vast power with life is because you have found each other and claimed the other as your Chosen. The discovery of a Chosen makes a demon stronger, even a mortal demon such as yourself,” Magnus replied.

  “What do you believe the rest of it is?” I demanded.

  Magnus shook his head. “I don’t know. What I do know is that she is unlike any who have walked before her, and I believe she will be the end of Lucifer.”

  “No pressure,” River murmured, and I squeezed her closer. “Why are you bringing this up?”

  “Because I felt Kobal should know exactly what he is dealing with here.”

  “And what is that?” Hawk demanded.

  “The first true World Walker,” Magnus said with a reverence I’d never heard from the often glib demon.

  CHAPTER 28

  Kobal

  The silence following Magnus’s statement was so profound it reminded me of what it was like to stand outside of the seals. Traversing the walkway beside the seals, I had peered into each cell to watch those who had been locked away. Though they screamed and carried on, nothing of what they said or did could be heard outside of those cells.

  “I don’t understand,” River finally said.

  “Throughout all the years, it was believed the children of the angels could walk in all three worlds. Earth, Heaven, and Hell,” Magnus said.

  “Yes, I’ve heard it before,” River replied with an impatient wave of her hand.

  “However, none of them would have survived Hell in their mortal form.”

  “You can’t possibly know that,” River said.

  “Yes, he can,” I replied as understanding dawned on me. “Your ancestors drew enough life from the earth to let them live longer lives. However, they weren’t drawing it strongly enough to be able to walk amongst these caverns, not as you are.”

  “You can’t know that,” River insisted.

  Grasping her chin, I turned her head to me. “I’ve been so focused on the mission, keeping you safe, and teaching you to draw on your ability to wield life that I missed something.”

  Her forehead furrowed as confusion swam in her eyes. “What?”

  “Out of all the many miracles and atrocities your ancestors committed throughout the years, none of them wielded fire and life.”

  “So I don’t possess telekinesis, and God and I have never sat down to chat before,” she said. “I can’t do any illusions, and my v
isions aren’t exactly earth-shattering.”

  “I told you once that your ability to draw on life was a purely angelic ability—”

  “Yes, I remember,” she interjected.

  “And fire is a purely demonic ability,” I continued. “You are the only descendant who has exhibited the ability to wield and control abilities solely attributed to one species or the other. None of the others have. In fact, most of them possessed traits that are shared between demons and angels such as telekinesis, illusions, and visions. The closest one would have been Moses with his long life and the burning bush, but he could not wield life as you do.”

  “You are standing here with us now, and yet you are drawing on your angel ability,” Magnus said. “If you were to enter Heaven, I believe you would be able to wield fire still.”

  River continued to stare at me as she tried to process what Magnus had revealed. “But why me?” she finally asked.

  “I don’t know,” Magnus answered. “It may have been set into motion thousands of years ago that one day the powers would coalesce so strongly within you. Finding Kobal most certainly fueled it, but I believe there is more to it than that. What it is, we may never know, but you are the first true World Walker to be born. Us demons may be able to enter Heaven as Lucifer and the angels entered Hell, but we would most likely lose something, or transform into something different as the angels did when they came into our world. You will not.”

  River turned to look at Magnus. “So what does it all mean? What difference does it make, really?”

  “It means your father is going to do everything he can to get his hands on you. The good thing is, he wants you alive.”

  A cold chill went down my spine when I lifted my gaze from River’s pale countenance to look at Magnus again. “He doesn’t just want Earth,” I realized. “He wants back into Heaven too. That’s why he’s been waiting so long before going above, why he’s opening the seals. He thinks he might be able to lure the angels into a battle too if the odds become too greatly stacked against us, or that she could somehow open a gateway into Heaven.”