He then bent down, yanked the woman back to her seat, ignoring her shriek of pain. He glared at the rest of the group. “I don’t want to hear so much as a whisper ’cause I sure as hell have no qualms about using the rest of you for target practice.” He arched a brow. “Remember, you can’t die here unless Lilith wishes it.” Declan spit on the headless body. “Trust me, he should have played it cool. Lilith has no patience for this shit. He’ll be avoiding mirrors for at least the next century.”
Ana took another step back as Declan turned and nailed her with a furious look. He was at her side in a second and bent low, his breath caressing her cheeks as he whispered in her ear.
“You show weakness like that again and we’re blown wide open. Everyone will know we’re not what we seem. There is no room for mercy down here. At all. Do you understand?”
Ana nodded.
“Move to the door.” His voice was dead serious. “And don’t do anything.”
The shuttle started to shake something fierce. Ana glanced out the windows. Long fingers of mist crawled along the side and then twirled upward, sliding along the stone walls like ribbons of smoke.
Up ahead the heavy weight of gray that blanketed the shaft they traveled was slashed through with a reddish glow. She could see another shuttle in front of them, and beyond several more.
“We’re nearly there.” Declan watched the prisoners carefully, before cocking his head to the side and speaking in low tones. “Stay close, do not touch anything, and for God sakes, keep your mouth closed.”
Ana kept her face calm, uttered not a sound, though inside, every curse word she knew flew about her head.
The shuttle picked up speed and the noise was so loud that nothing else could be heard. Ana stared out the window at the rapidly approaching glow. Hell was not at all what she’d expected.
A screeching sound erupted as the brakes were engaged. The entire cabin shuddered and Ana struggled to keep her footing. Within a few seconds they came to an abrupt halt.
There was nothing but silence. Ana saw the fear in the newbies’ faces and her eyes lingered on the addict. Her thin arms were wrapped around her body as she tried to pull some kind of comfort from what little was there.
The doors slid open and two guards appeared, dressed in black like Ana and Declan, with massive weapons held firm in their grasp. They were demon, the scent was unmistakable.
“Let’s go,” the nearest one shouted.
“Everybody up,” Declan said, waving his weapon at them, “and be quick about it. I’m feeling a little antsy.”
Ana stood back as the entire shuttle emptied, all prisoners taking care not to step anywhere near the still twitching body of the shifter.
She and Declan followed the last one out and Declan nodded to the large demon closest to him. “We’ve got a body that needs a pickup.”
“No shit.” The demon laughed. “There’s always at least one.” He turned and shouted for a cleanup crew and then smiled at Ana. “You staying with him?”
Ana nodded. “Yep.” Her answer was curt and didn’t invite conversation.
The demon grinned. Its human facade was in place and she’d be the first to admit he was handsome. Demons thought humanity weak, pathetic, yet they loved playing dress-up in human skin.
How ironic.
“We’ll take over from here,” Declan interrupted. “Once the cleanup crew is done with the shifter, you boys can head back.”
“Yeah, looking forward to some R&R in District One. It’s been a while.”
Ana followed Declan onto the platform where the group of newbies huddled together. The heat was indeed much worse and she took a moment to study the terrain as Declan consulted with another demon.
The cavern was large, with walls carved from stone that rose to well over two hundred feet in the air. The ceiling was covered in long, deadly, staccato-like stakes. They glistened as if made from glass and a reflection of fire danced inside them. She watched closely, surprised as long drops of water fell from several of them, to splash into steam as they hit the surface.
To her left a smoking river of lava slowly drifted by, disappearing through a crevice at the opposite end of the cavern. In the center of the cavern lay a huge gaping hole. It sported occasional surges of fire, flames that erupted at least fifty feet into the air.
The platform looked like any found in the subway of a metropolitan city in the human realm. Their shuttle was but one in a long line of nearly one hundred.
The entire scenario was unreal, something out of a nightmare. There were hundreds of bodies milling about. Ana shook her head. By her estimation, at least eighty percent of the occupants on the platform were human, from every race and social status—rich, poor, educated or not.
Sinning, it seemed, knew no boundaries.
It was sad, how easily they were swayed. The demons’ influence was much too strong.
No one met her gaze, they were much too afraid.
Regret was a bitch that would eat at them for the rest of their days.
“Okay, we’re heading out.” Declan indicated their group should follow the long line ahead of them. Two large doors swept open, loud creaks echoing into the cavern as they did so. From between them thick fog swirled outward, falling along the floor like long tentacles.
There was a sickly green tinge to it. Ana heard murmurs, confusion, as unease swept the crowd. There was nowhere to go but through them.
A rumble sounded into the bizarre night. Ana glanced back in time to see the row of shuttles, humming and shaking before they moved backward, heading up to District One.
She bit her lip. They were on their own.
Her eyes found Declan’s tall form as he guided their load of prisoners down the path and she quickly fell into step beside him. They didn’t speak but the feel of him next to her was enough.
As they neared the large doors a new sound swept into the room; a weird, whistling noise. She glanced at Declan, but his gaze was firmly set ahead, his jaw tense, his mouth tight.
She kept pace with Declan, her gait relaxed, or as relaxed as a guard in the fucking pits of Hell was supposed to be. When she was finally able to see beyond the door, it took everything inside her to keep her mouth from hanging open.
Sweet motherfu—
“Do not look in their eyes.”
The sad souls in front of her, those prisoners on their way to a true hell, were eerily silent.
Ana was aware of movement on all sides, of the ghostly forms with gaping holes in their skulls where their faces should be. Of their maggot-infested hands and feet and the stench that followed in their wake. They floated just above the ground, and the god-awful sound that rushed from the holes in their heads was like nails on chalkboard.
“Keep moving,” Declan shouted, shoving the edge of his weapon into the closest body. It was a vampire, and judging from the scent of him, an ancient. The tall, thin male turned and Ana was astonished at the bald fear she saw.
A large body floated close by and the vampire turned to avoid it, but instead the creature moved quickly and the vampire was caught, his eyes bulging out as he stared into the depths of depravity.
He opened his mouth to scream and as the ever-present fog continued to swirl, thicker and faster, the wraithlike creature opened wide. A disgusting suckling sound came from its throat and Ana nearly gagged as it decimated the vampire’s face.
Declan forced her to keep going and she ignored the sound as the vampire’s limp body fell to the ground, its scream dying inside the wraith’s mouth.
Up ahead she saw several similar scenarios. “That is how these creatures are made,” Declan whispered. “Do not look at them.”
Her heart was beating heavily and sweat broke out along her forehead. It was a true testament to the stress level she was feeling considering it was fucking cold as hell.
Pun intended.
She let her left hand fall to her side into a fist and slowly relaxed, stretching her fingers. His hand was there, ever s
o briefly, but the touch gave her strength.
Ana kept her eyes averted, concentrated, and blocked out the endless moans and harsh noise that was around her. The wraithlike bodies continued to glide beside them, eagerly searching for new victims. They moved amongst the fog like phantom corps.
After several tense minutes the fog parted, the cold swept away revealing a dull gray chamber, much smaller than the first they’d arrived in. Ana took stock. The group had thinned somewhat; by her estimation it looked like they were missing at least a hundred bodies.
“What is the point?” she was truly bewildered.
“It is a way to cull the weak.” Declan muttered before stepping past her. She held her weapon at the ready, her eyes never leaving him, and watched as he consulted with several of the guards.
He motioned toward a dark tunnel to the right but by this point most of the prisoners were hysterical. One of the guards near the front blasted into the crowd, mowing down several of them. It was a sure way to get their attention.
“Move,” the demon shouted.
The line shifted forward and one pale, frightened face stood out. It was the young woman—the addict from the shuttle—and she stared at Ana, her entire body trembling.
Though her heart broke, Ana looked away. She couldn’t afford the distraction. She was aware of Declan and not much else as she followed behind, her gut twisting as the fear and the tension inside her escalated.
In no time the darkness swallowed her whole.
Chapter 27
The darkness, the absolute silence, lasted a mere five seconds. They were through the tunnel and spilled into what could only be described as controlled mayhem.
The lighting was harsh, sterile, and the room resembled a medical lab. It was filled with all sorts of machines, and monitors lined the sides. Several demons shuffled about wearing lab coats, their massive forms looking somewhat comical in such understated attire. They were in their true form and stood nearly eight feet in height.
She watched them walk through the crowd, murmuring amongst themselves as they wrote notes on their clipboards.
“We’ll take over from here.” Ana tore her eyes away from the prisoners and glanced at a tall guard. His uniform was different than hers. The same crest adorned his left shoulder, but he was dressed head to toe in crimson. He smiled at her and she caught a glimpse of serrated teeth. They were platinum gold.
Declan nodded. “Have fun. They’re a pathetic bunch.”
The demon laughed and shook his head. “Aren’t they always?”
Declan indicated she should follow him. They made their way through the room and paused before two large steel doors. There were several guards in line ahead, waiting. It was a checkpoint and she watched, a sick feeling in her gut, as each of them paused for a full body scan.
“You’ll be fine,” Declan whispered in her ear. “The serum is active and the chip Seth implanted underneath your forearm is good.”
Ana remained silent and when it was her turn she walked forward calmly. The crimson guard looked bored as hell, but he activated the scan while she held her breath and prayed.
Ana DeLacrux had found religion. It had taken only three hundred years.
A tingle of electricity sizzled along her skin as the scan slid over her body, lighting up her flesh in a warm glow. It was over in less than five seconds. The guard pressed a button and shouted, “Next.”
A door slid open and Ana moved toward it like a good guard would do, and when it shut behind her the sound reverberated inside her head. The brightness that assaulted her was nearly blinding. She felt the warmth of it on her cheeks and winced as she blinked her eyes in an effort to see clearly.
“You’re new here.” His voice was harsh and belonged to a guard with the same uniform as she. He was tall, well built, and like so many of the demons she’d met, his facade was human. His eyes, however, were a deep shade of crimson and the intensity of his gaze as they rested upon Ana put her on edge.
She shrugged. “It’s been a while.” Her eyes widened and though she tried to remain calm, Ana wasn’t sure she was successful. She was standing in a freaking meadow, with blue sky and a blazing sun overhead.
She’d not walked in full sunlight. Ever. The closest she’d gotten was an overcast day in the jungles of Belize.
She whirled around and panic clogged her throat. There was nothing but long grass and blue sky for as far as she could see. Scratch that. In the distance a tall tree stood proud, its branches outstretched and full of green foliage.
Was she dead? Had one of the wraiths grabbed her, sucked her dry, and she didn’t know it? Where the hell was Declan? Her scan had taken maybe five seconds. She’d been standing here for at least a minute.
“You coming?” the demon asked.
“Uh, where?” she asked hesitantly. There was no way Ana was heading anywhere without her sorcerer.
“To Succubus Blues, the queen’s place. I’ll buy you a drink and we can have sex.”
He would have grabbed her arm but Declan was there, appearing from nowhere.
“She’s with me.” His voice was curt.
The demon flashed a sloppy smile, “I don’t mind sharing. In fact it makes things more interesting.”
“Maybe some other time.” Declan’s hands slipped around her shoulders and he nodded toward the tree. “Let’s go.”
A second demon appeared from thin air and the tall guard dismissed them, immediately propositioning the male. Guess the dude swung both ways.
“What is this place?” she asked quietly. “I’ve never in my three hundred years experienced what I’ve just seen.” Ana closed her eyes and drank in the sunlight. “For some, this would be Heaven, not Hell.”
“Don’t worry,” Declan whispered, “this is the only slice of Heaven you’ll find down here.” They were halfway to the tree.
“It’s like the opposite of everything I’ve ever read or imagined Hell to be.”
Declan snorted. “This whole place is a warped version of Lilith’s mind and she is fucking psycho.”
“What happens to them? The newbies we just brought down?”
“They’ll be evaluated and sorted for whatever needs Lilith has. If they’re lucky, they won’t catch her eye. They’ll be sentenced to grunt work in the bowels of District Three for eternity.”
“That sounds pretty harsh.”
“Those souls are the worst kind of fucking crap there is, Ana. Murderers, drug pushers, rapists, and pedophiles. Why do you care?”
She thought of the pale woman from the shuttle. “I just . . . I think some of them are lost and not through their own fault. If they had a light in their lives, a chance to grow without darkness, they’d be different.”
He shrugged dismissing her softness. “At least they have a chance to work their way out, make it up to District One. It’s not so bad up there.”
Ana paused, moistened her lips, and asked the question that had been haunting her forever, it seemed.
“Where did you end up . . . when you were down here?”
They’d reached the tree. The trunk was massive, spanning nearly eight feet in width. The thickness of the canopy blocked out the sun and the coolness of shade caressed her cheeks. She welcomed it, not used to the sun.
Declan glanced behind them. The two guards were still several hundred feet away.
He turned, looked down at her, his lips tight. He blew out a hot breath and spoke quietly. “I caught her eye.”
They stared at each other for several long moments and Declan moved so that his hand hovered over the bark of the tree. “Stay close to me and be silent. I’ll do the talking if need be. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Ana nodded and then grabbed his arm. “She won’t be there, will she? In this Succubus place?”
“I hope not,” Declan said as his hand slammed against the bark. “We didn’t exactly part on good terms.”
The tree shimmered and Ana watched in astonishment as the center liquefied. It expanded an
d then melted away leaving a gaping hole big enough for them to walk through. Seriously, Hell would be a lot easier to navigate, to understand, if it was actually the fire and brimstone she’d imagined. This was just weird. The only lingering connection was the ever-present aroma of sulfur.
“After you,” Declan said.
Ana didn’t hesitate even though everything inside her was screaming no. She squared her shoulders and stepped through.
Cold dread sat like a lump in Declan’s gut as he followed Ana through the portal. Long-ago memories threatened, but he pushed them back fiercely. He would not relive the horrors from his time here.
Yet they were always there: images of long blond hair, entwined limbs, and the rot of evil.
As soon as they cleared the threshold, the insanity that was Succubus Blues embraced them fully. The music, the mayhem, the drugs—most of all, the scent of fear and the taste of pain.
Happy hour was in full swing, but then again it was always happy hour down here. An overabundance of illicits and alcohol fueled the crowd into a frenzy most nights and there were always casualties. The bodies were piled outside in the square, taken back to the bowels of District Three. There they’d regenerate so that their pitiful existence could happen all over again.
It was a true fact. There was no escaping District Three or the reach of Lilith.
As far as he knew, no one but he and Julian Castille had managed to do it, and that was only because of Bill. If the little bastard hadn’t pulled Declan’s ass out when he did, there was no telling what he would’ve become.
No, it definitely wouldn’t serve him well to run into Lilith until he was ready.
Declan flexed his fingers, felt the power that lay beneath his flesh. It was there, not cut from him like before, impotent and useless.
He glanced at his timepiece. They had less than two hours to accomplish their goal. Seth said he’d have a shuttle waiting for them, commandeered by one of his own men. If they didn’t haul ass and get back to the platform by the agreed upon time, they’d be stuck in District Three indefinitely. There would be no changeover for the guards for at least another two weeks.
Wicked Road to Hell Page 24
