Two Kingdoms (The Dark Side Book 3)

by C. M. Owens

  “We’ve trusted you with our lives since day one. Even though we didn’t realize how much,” Gage says dismissively, not even turning around.

  “That’s not the same as trusting me. Besides, Ezekiel says you guys were questioning if you were ever meant to bond with me in this lifetime.”

  I’m a little surprised when they all turn a glare on Ezekiel, whose head drops back as he groans up at the cave ceiling.

  “You fucking told her that shit?” Kai growls.

  Aww. His angry scowl makes him my favorite. Then again, the bar is set pretty low right now.

  Ezekiel’s eyes meet mine. “I was pissed. It was just something I said in the moment to hurt you. I didn’t mean it.”

  I hesitate, looking around at them and then him. “Are you apologizing?” I ask incredulously.

  His lips tense as his eyes narrow. “I’m rescinding those words because I didn’t mean them.”

  “Which is a Horseman’s equivalent of an apology, I’m sure,” I state dubiously.

  I dart a wary glance at our surroundings.

  “Is this cave leaking some kind of hell-slash-purgatory gas that makes you all delusional enough to act out of character?”

  “You had just fucking died, destroyed us, and then went off to face the Devil on your own, while leaving us helplessly behind. And then you did it a-fucking-gain,” Ezekiel presses on, growing angrier.

  “But you’re still apologizing?” I ask with a grin.

  That neck-wringing glare of his is in place when he starts to speak this time. “For fuck’s sake, I’m trying to say—”

  “She’s deliberately distracting us. It’s what she does when she decides in her head what’s going on and determines a plan of her own to deal with the situation,” Gage states, surprising me a little with his extreme accuracy.

  I feel transparent—and in a different way than my ghostly-transparent form.

  I blink at his back, since he’s still peering out of the cave’s entrance. If it wasn’t for Chloe, he’d be my favorite right now just because it feels like he gets me.

  Jude and Ezekiel swing their gazes to me, and Kai starts essentially breathing down my neck as his grip tightens.

  “Well?” Kai prompts from behind me.

  It’s pointless to tell them, but I do anyway. “I feel like we’re being tested. I’m not sure why, but that’s the way I’m leaning.”

  “Tested?” Jude asks skeptically.

  “Yes, like in the trials. We’ve gathered a lot more information since then, guiding me to this conclusion. I feel like this is something we’re expected to just know, but without any memories, we’re flying blind. I’m just not sure what’s being tested and for whom.”

  They all simply stare at me.

  “And your plan?” Ezekiel pries.

  “I’m still working on that. I figure we’ll just kill anything in our path until we figure out what they’re looking for,” I answer as I idly glance around.

  “If we treat this like a trial, there’s an end-point we have to reach,” Gage says, eyes still on me.

  “There’s no course. No instructions. No guidance at all,” Kai unhelpfully points out.

  “Not to mention, we’ve never seen this section of purgatory. I think we’re in the crater lands—also unoriginally referred to as the wastelands,” Jude adds.

  Kai reluctantly releases his hold on me as I push to my feet.

  Addressing no one in particular, I say, “It’s all a freaking wasteland if you ask me. We can fight our way around until we prove whatever point it is we’re expected to prove. We’ve all recently leveled-up. I don’t find it a coincidence that we staved off a rebellion, got these weird new outfits, and then heard church bells before landing here.”

  “Lucifer did mention something about another family reunion. Surely we’re not performing for his brothers…” Jude lets the words trail off as he frowns.

  A slightly alarming, somewhat monstrous groan comes from the very back of the dark cave that sounds a little deeper than we realized.

  “I vote we talk while we run before whatever that is fully wakes up,” Kai suggests as he bounces to his feet.

  Jude’s hand snags mine, and we all quickly exit. My knee feels as good as new, which is good, since we’re running like we have a destination to reach.

  Every time the earth rumbles under us, we all speed up and run that much faster, eyes open and looking around behind us too. I don’t particularly like knowing two monsters have already outsmarted us today.

  A few lesser monsters scream and retreat, avoiding the Devil’s daughter.

  After hours of aimlessly running, my legs are burning, my back is aching, and my sides feel like they’re splitting in two. I finally lean forward to whine and pant heavily, causing Jude to drop my hand during the abrupt stop.

  “Can’t. Breathe,” I groan as I collapse to the ground a little theatrically, because I’m not used to having to be so physical in physical form.

  Totally not as easy.

  “We don’t need to be out in the open. There could be any number of things waiting for us,” Gage says as I heave for air, not bothering to even try to stand as I lie on the ground and wait for something to eat me and put me out of my misery.

  “Get her,” Kai says to someone, ear toward the ground like he’s actually concerned something is literally going to eat me.

  “Go on without me,” I tell them, limply waving them on. “Save yourselves.”

  Jude snorts while leaning over me, and I groan in protest as he drags me up by my arm, forcing me to my feet.

  When the ground gives a little tremble, I start running with a renewed sense of self-preservation, causing all of them to laugh when I begin moving even faster than them.

  Dicks.

  The more things change, the more they stay the same…

  The gray landscape around us looks like a bland desert in some areas, with the occasional rotting tree or pungent carcass of an unidentifiable beast. It’s doing very little for my morale; however, it’s doing plenty for my growing state of paranoia.

  “How do we get out of here if we don’t even know what we’re doing?” I gripe as we stop inside yet another cave that is slightly disturbing.

  There’s a giant hole right in the middle of it, and not even I can see down to the bottom.

  “You’re the one who said we kill shit until we get out,” Jude reminds me.

  “Why is anyone listening to me? I have no idea what’s going on,” I dutifully point out, still warily gauging the suspicious hole in the ground.

  “She bitches at us when we ignore her, and bitches at us when we do what she says. I think never being satisfied is part of her balance. Fucking women,” Kai grumbles.

  “Just for that, you’re on probation from being my favorite,” I go on, kicking a rock into the hole and counting as I strain to hear it land.

  “One orgasm and I’ll be back on top,” he answers dismissively as I get to fifteen-Mississippi.

  “Sort of late to spit out a comeback, don’t you think?” I feel the urge to say as I continue listening and silently counting.

  “We’re assuming Lucifer was telling the truth about who killed us. We all know the Devil and his games. He’s legendary for being a fucking sociopath. Hell, he was the original sociopath and snake in the grass,” Ezekiel is saying as I get to twenty-nine-Mississippi.

  There’s a little bit of silence for a second as I continue to count, getting increasingly nervous about just how deep this curious, gaping hole might be.

  “The Devil didn’t kill you. Manella recycled you because you all lost your minds after my death and tried to destroy the world.” May as well set that record straight.

  Forty-eight-Mississippi and still going.

  “What?” they all snap in unison.

  “It was apparently a mercy killing, because you couldn’t live without me. Unsurprisingly,” I add, still only halfway paying them any real attention.

  “How do you k
now this?” Kai asks.

  “You were sneaking around. I had to balance that betrayal by also sneaking around. At least my sneaking around produces useful info—assuming my info is true,” I state, my attention still fixed on the hole.

  Fifty-seven-Mississippi…son of a bitch, this thing might actually be endless.

  “You had to be restrained again after my death,” I go on. “I was spared any details, other than the fact you weren’t put back in Hell’s Black Heart. But it must have been bad to inspire Manella to take action, since his deadly sin and dark influence is sloth. It’s why he’s not in any of the paintings. He’s too lazy to take on a mortal life or push any influence. I read that last part in my journal.”

  Silence ticks on for a few beats.

  Seventy-one-Mississippi…

  A distant tink finally sounds, and I shake my head. That’s a long fall, but it didn’t have the landing sound I expected.

  “Why are you telling us this right now?” Gage asks really close to my back as I continue staring down the hole.

  “Because I’m not entirely sure we’re going to survive whatever is coming—today, tomorrow, whenever—and I don’t want secrets between us,” I answer just as I hear a louder thunk.

  My stomach tightens. My rock just hit. Apparently the tink was it grazing the side of the hole instead of landing.

  “That’s a whole lot of Mississippis,” I say very warily as I turn and find all four of them sucking in a breath as they stare out the cave entrance.

  I dread looking to see what’s happening, but I dart to the entryway, observing something that has my stomach sinking.

  Gray dust is flying into the air as a ripple effect of the land breaking apart in the distance grows louder and more visible, meaning whatever is happening is heading straight toward us.

  “Is that what I fucking think it is?” Kai asks somewhat hollowly.

  “What do you think it is?” I immediately demand, my eyes widening as the land continues to break like a semi-melted, weakened glacier, and red water…or blood…starts rising through the cracks, boiling hot as it bubbles over the ground.

  “Draining day,” Jude bites out.

  “Draining day? That doesn’t sound so bad,” I state, not feeling confident at all about that.

  “It’s the day everything on the surface or too close to the surface of purgatory is cleansed with the blood of the damned,” Kai answers quietly.

  My eyes dart to that nefarious hole, a sense of dread unfurling in me. Will we even survive that damn fall? I realize we’re somewhat impervious to most things, but I just had my body break and heal once today.

  It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t easy. And it wasn’t a huge Mississippi drop.

  “How the hell is the blood of the damned supposed to be cleansing?” I snap.

  “Really don’t have fucking time for explanations. We need a plan of action and very damn fast!” Kai snaps.

  My breath comes out in a rush when I’m hit with a familiar sense of envy, and I turn around just as a flash of red hair catches my sight. Before I can process that Lilith is in the cave with us, warm lips are on mine.

  It’s brief. Chaste. Completely fucking weird, since she’s my sister. I don’t condone incest even as the Devil’s daughter.

  It’s so quick that I almost wonder if I’ve imagined it when she pulls back, smirking as her red hair starts to turn dark. She winks as she shoves me hard, catching me off guard, all of it happening in less than one-Mississippi.

  I’m…falling…

  My eyes widen in horror when I realize there’s no ground beneath me, and the guys shout for me and reach too late to grab my hand.

  “You’re welcome,” I hear on a feminine, laughing echo as I continue to helplessly fall, flailing my arms like I might fly.

  But apparently The Apocalypse doesn’t have wings. Even dark angels should have wings, damn it.

  “Paca!” I hear Ezekiel roar, just as I see two shadows come through the hole.

  Another two shadows quickly follow before I lose sight of the hole’s entrance altogether.

  Those idiots are following me?!

  “Paca!” Gage shouts this time, his voice echoing all around me as my gray vision leaves me even less visibility than it did in that creepy freaking hell’s belly forest.

  “I strongly suggest leaning right!” I shout up to them. “I’m seventy-two percent certain my rock hit the wall on the left before it found the ground!” I shout back up.

  It’ll take less Mississippis for me to hit the ground than the rock, but I really can’t do math when I’m freaking out and falling and trying to see them.

  However, I think my rock must have never really hit and that this tunnel really is endless, because I fall for too many Mississippis.

  There’s a point when falling stops being terrifying and leaves you with a sense of nervous boredom.

  “Any chance you four have popcorn on you?” I call up.

  “Really?” Jude snaps.

  “Yes, really. I don’t joke about popcorn—”

  A familiar shock of blinding light cuts off the rest of my words.

  Chapter 9

  I hit the ground roughly, grunting as I dart a look around and scramble to my feet, my eyes widening as I take in my new surroundings.

  Lucifer is here. And…he is glaring at some unkempt, raggedy, dirty guy who is wearing clothes that have rips and stains all over them. Two rows of chairs are facing me, divided by a visible white line. Which is a little random.

  Quickly, I take note of our surroundings, feeling like I’m in an ancient arena meant for gladiators, and they’re all sitting on the royal viewing platform.

  The guy’s gladiator skirts spring to mind. I don’t like where this feels like it’s going.

  All the heirs, with the obvious exception of myself, are sitting on one side. Five unknown guys are sitting on the other, all of them looking just as haggard as the one being glared at by the Devil.

  A few grunts find my ears from behind me, and I dart a look over my shoulder, counting four important men who scramble to their feet with the same reaction time I did. Quickly, I return my attention to the freaky, unsettling scene at hand.

  The haggard men look annoyed. Lucifer looks like a murderous psychopath. My siblings look bored or disinterested. I’m sure I look confused and ready to kill someone.

  “Satisfied?” Lucifer growls.

  Why does Lilith have my hair color?

  I glance down, and I gasp in a little horror.

  I have red hair.

  With a red dress.

  I know how I got the red dress—I leveled up. How the fucking hell did I get red hair?

  Clashing shades of red is not the important thing right now, so I ignore that niggling little vanity impurity and focus on the real issue. Even though a purple dress would look so much better with red hair…

  Four distinct presences draw close to my back.

  Jude and Kai flank my sides. Ezekiel and Gage share space behind me, all of them touching me as we give the onlookers a collective glare. At least I assume they’re glaring. After all, it’s what they do best.

  Hera narrows her eyes on Lilith, and then she glances over at me, arching an eyebrow.

  I’m more interested in the haggardly men who are just staring at me like I’ve failed some test.

  Something crashes in the far distance, but I’m too wary to turn my attention away, just in case someone strikes. I can feel the palpable tension electrifying the air around us.

  “I hate to agree with Lucifer about anything, but clearly he’s right on this. She’d have never let Lilith save her,” one of them says, and I back into the guys a little more as Kai and Jude move in closer to my sides.

  “They all play their games—the Devil and his twisted spawn. There’s no way to be certain they didn’t plan this,” the one Lucifer is still glaring at says.

  “Her vanity wouldn’t allow it if she truly had all her memories, Rafael,” another haggard dude
says.

  My breath goes cold in my lungs, and the guys stiffen at my sides.

  This guy is Rafael? The guy with an ungroomed beard that is sticking out in ten directions and looks like he’s slept in a gutter for five straight days? This is who killed me?

  I’m clearly not as badass as I thought.

  “She studied that hole for long enough. She was considering it. She knew how to get out, but—”

  “She checked to see how deep it was, brother, as a last resort and not a destination,” another one of them says, seeming overtly bland and not at all attached to the intensity of the moment.

  “But she found it,” Rafael grinds out, the only one to have a temper.

  The four other haggard guys look at him, and Rafael closes his eyes, taking a deep breath.

  “Memory echo,” one of them says.

  These guys are angels? Where are the ethereal halos and gorgeous wings, not to mention the immaculate clothing and beautiful faces? They all look like they’ve spent ten years making a survival film and forgot to shower for this gathering.

  When it looks like Rafael has schooled his features and tucked away that impure anger of his, the one on the far end looks back at me.

  “One last test then.”

  “Excuse me?” I bite out. “We’re not your little pawns. We’ll—”

  “You’ll have no choice in the matter if you truly can’t remember how to work your powers to their fullest extent,” the man interrupts, a dismissive shrug of his shoulder following.

  Jude and Kai twirl their weapons, a smirk appearing on their lips like they’re about to make bad life decisions and attack five angels we legit know nothing about. And they call me impulsive.

  “Paca doesn’t have the ability to be deceitful. It was the deal I made before creating her,” Lucifer goes on, standing and toeing just the edge of that white line.

  “She’s not overly concerned with her current circumstances. Not likely of one so confused about the world around her,” Rafael says with a sneer.

  Okay…

  So the ages’ old rivalry is still firmly in effect. At least that knowledge seems accurate for a change.

  “Five angels, including my alleged executioner, are sitting on the same platform as hell spawn and Lucifer himself. I’m definitely confused,” I assure him. “I’ll let you know how it makes me feel when I figure out what exactly is going on right now.”