Angela motioned for everyone to come closer to her. Nina, Fury, and Juno approached, but Troy remained stiff and on guard, never taking her glowing eyes off the demon, refusing to budge a single inch.
Angela turned to Nina first. “What should we do? He has a point. We know nothing about our surroundings. Without him, we could be good as dead soon enough.”
Nina whispered so softly, her voice was like a breath. “I don’t like this, Angela. It’s all too coincidental, like he knew we entered through that door. And his eyes are way too much like that metal snake’s. They’re probably the same person.”
“He’s not asking for the same conditions,” Angela said. “His entire reason for helping us goes against all of that.”
Juno cocked her head, listening to Fury’s bird chatter. “Fury says it’s probably a trap.”
Angela regarded the crow as it gazed back at her with intelligent eyes.
“I don’t like this either,” Angela said. “But maybe we just don’t have a choice. Besides, we have Troy with us. That counts for something, right, Juno?”
“Auntie is a great warrior and hunter,” Juno said, but her expression was unfocused, unsure.
“I vote no,” Nina said.
Juno flapped her little wings. “Me too.”
Angela stepped back, rubbing a hand through her hair. That should have helped, but she didn’t feel any closer to a decision.
Nina was probably right when she said not to trust this demon. And it couldn’t just be a coincidence that his eyes matched the snake’s on the door or that Angela had to fight the snakes Camdon sent after her and Troy. But if this demon’s help got them closer to Sophia, and if they stuck together and kept an eye on him, maybe things wouldn’t be so bad. They had no clue where to go first anyway.
Angela looked to Python who was examining his nails. He sighed loudly and glanced in her direction. “Well?”
“All right,” she said firmly. “I’ve decided that we—”
“There will be no decision,” Troy growled. “At least, none besides mine. We will make no deal with you, snake. Do you find us that weak and stupid? Slither back to your mother and weep with her. We will have nothing to do with you—”
“Troy!” Angela shouted, anger boiling over within her. How dare she? Troy was going to defy her directly, even though they were Bound to each other? Even though Angela was the Archon?
“Is that how you really feel?” Python said, looking at Troy with distaste.
Troy flapped her wings and rushed for him with blinding speed.
Python dodged, but Troy raked across his face with her nails.
He staggered back and examined the blood on his hand, wide-eyed. He touched his bleeding cheek, turning to Troy with an expression of respect mixed with deadly hatred.
Angela’s insides froze.
“All right,” he said to Troy with the worst kind of hiss. “You’ve made your choice then.” He looked back to Angela with a smirk, suggesting that this wasn’t the first or the last time they would meet. “Have fun wandering around in this rat maze, Archon. Perhaps you’ll rethink my offer as you watch your friends get gnawed by Hounds. Those horrors don’t run across fresh meat often.”
A thick purplish mist spread around Python’s body, and his form became shadowy before vanishing completely.
Troy licked the blood off her nails, refusing to look at Angela.
Hot with anger, Angela strode over to her and grabbed her sinewy arm. “What the hell did you do that for? I didn’t give him my answer yet. My answer. Not yours.”
Troy snarled and ripped her arm away. “I saved you the trouble of getting us all killed, Archon. If anything—you should be on your knees thanking me.”
“You defied me!” Angela shouted.
Troy stood again, tall and deadly. “It was a trap,” she said, breathing hard. She was clearly holding back the worst of her anger. “Perhaps it wouldn’t concern you, Archon, if I or my niece died, but we have much more to live for than to become a snake’s dinner.”
Troy started down the tunnel the demon had emerged from.
Angela ran ahead and stood in front of her, blocking her path. “Next time you will obey me. You don’t have a choice anymore. We’re Bound, remember? I subjugated you. Not the other way around.”
Troy displayed her fearsome teeth, smiling. She leaned into Angela with lethal fire behind her eyes. “But I don’t think you quite understand the rules. I’ll also be the one to finally kill you; remember that? And just like with Sariel, we can do that the hard way if you’d like. Continue to piss me off, and I’ll go much slower than necessary when the time comes.”
Angela laughed. “You can’t kill me. I’m the Archon. You need me.”
“For now,” Troy said archly. “Until the Book is opened. After that . . .”
She stepped around Angela and continued down the tunnel.
Angela slammed her fists against the stone, groaning at the pain that shot through her arms.
Troy wasn’t right. That’s not the only reason Angela was alive. Raziel kept her alive for much more than opening Sophia.
Didn’t he?
Juno approached and glanced at Angela compassionately, but, with Fury perched securely on her shoulder, she swiftly rejoined her aunt.
Nina stopped beside Angela and rested her hand on Angela’s shoulder. “Forget about it,” she whispered. “What’s done is done. Troy was probably right. Nothing good would have come from that demon, Angela.”
“Nina,” Angela said. “There’s more to me than being the Archon, isn’t there? I mean, people’s destinies aren’t just set in stone, never changing. I have other reasons to live besides opening Sophia and helping people. That’s a big responsibility, I know. But—there’s more for me than just that, right?”
Angela thought of Israfel and Kim. She thought of Raziel mentioning a broken heart that needed to be mended, even though he hadn’t mentioned whose. That was her responsibility too.
“Of course,” Nina said, patting her on the shoulder.
She walked ahead to join the others and Angela followed behind, unable to stop the sinking feeling inside of her.
Troy wasn’t right this time. There had to be more.
They paused again after the tunnel spilled them out into an enormous cave with walls glowing faintly in luminescent blue and green. Misty rapids tumbled over enormous boulders cut through the rocks to their left. Acidic fog filled the air. Angela sniffed at its harshness and paced, itching already to move forward. These breaks drove her crazy.
“Calm down,” Troy said to Juno, though Angela felt the words were directed at her. “We must rest before we continue. The journey will likely be long.”
Troy glanced at the strange glowing cavern, without any sign of its light hurting her eyes.
“I want to keep moving,” Angela whispered.
Troy shook her head and gestured at Juno. “The little one needs rest. She can only move so fast and so far in a day.”
“Then I’ll carry her,” Angela said. “Would that help?”
“You will not put a finger on her,” Troy muttered. She yawned and her teeth glinted in the cold light. She looked at Angela again, almost begging her for the challenge.
“Fine,” Angela said.
She took off her overcoat, suddenly warm. She was hungry, too, but didn’t dare say a word when Juno was obviously starving. Besides, Troy would find food for them when the need arose.
Thirst was another matter.
Nina settled down for a quick nap, but Angela inched closer to the stream, watching the foam bubbling on top of the water. She reached down to scoop some of the clear liquid with her hands.
Troy wrapped her fingers around Angela’s wrist. The Jinn yanked her from the water, tossing her back to the tunnel wall. Angela rolled to her feet, hissing at the pebbles piercing her knees.
“What’s wrong with you?” Angela shouted angrily. “I’m just trying to take a drink.”
“If yo
u do,” Troy said, “it will be your last.” She plucked a feather from her wings and held it over the water, then dipped the tip into a calmer part of the rapids.
She pulled it out slowly. What once had been a feather was now a tarry lump.
Troy flung it back into the water. It left a puff of steam before vanishing. “The Styx River flows through Hell, all the way down through the demon city of Babylon and to the Abyss. It is an acidic river that gains strength the deeper one journeys through Hell. This is only one of its minor tributaries. Its acidic fog eats away at our wings over time. It is why the most ancient demons are flightless. If you were to drink from this river, your innards would turn to mush.”
Troy reclined on the stone next to Angela, watching Juno tap at a rock.
“Oh,” Angela said. She sighed. “Well, then thanks . . . for not letting me drink from the stream.”
“The water in those pools.” Troy pointed at a little outcropping of rough stone. A tiny puddle of water had settled in one of the crevices. “That will be safe.”
Angela nodded and crept toward the crevice. Trying not to look pathetic, she sniffed at the water, drank, and sat leaning her head against the stone. Angela rubbed at the sapphire pendant she shared with Sophia.
“How much longer do you think we’ll be traveling?” Angela finally ventured. “Do you know where we are?”
“We could be anywhere,” Troy said. “The maze will be self-contained, and the demon that owns it will have control over space and direction to some degree. Hell has many levels, but do not think that these levels follow the same rules of existence as on Earth. It took centuries for me to explore the mere part of Hell my Clan calls home. But eventually, all levels lead to the city of Babylon, and finally to the Abyss.”
“What is the Abyss?” Angela said, staring into the darkness.
“The beginning and end of everything,” Troy said shortly. She turned to her left.
Fury strutted over to Troy with a scrap of fabric in her beak. Troy took it and examined it, sniffing. Then she tossed the scrap at Angela.
Angela caught it. She found the cloth stiff. Blood had dried on the fabric.
She shuddered and dropped it hastily. “Whose is this?”
Troy’s expression became grim. “It belonged to Nina’s half brother. It seems the demon who helped him was not so keen on protecting him here.”
Then Camdon really is dead. He threw everything away to bring Nina back.
Angela stared at Nina who continued to sleep peacefully, one arm over her eyes.
“Can you determine how he died?” Angela said, trying to stay calm. But she choked down the desire to scream and her vision blurred over with tears. She had hoped, despite everything, that Camdon had survived, that they might have bumped into him, even though he’d tortured them all by stealing Sophia. He wasn’t evil at heart. Lucifel or one of her servants had merely taken advantage of his grief. Angela could still see the emotion on his face when Nina had appeared before him. “Do you think he . . . suffered?”
Troy shook her head but didn’t speak. Her eyes searched the darkness warily.
“Then again, I don’t know what’s better,” Angela continued. She looked at Nina again, and her heart ached. Losing a sibling was one of the worst feelings in the world. “Who could survive in Hell? I can’t imagine what an ordeal like that would do to a human like me after a while.”
Troy studied Fury as the bird tussled playfully with Juno. Her stare was always like a lion’s watching a mouse. In a mesmerizingly predatory way, Troy was beautiful. It was only when she smiled that her sharp teeth broke the spell. At quieter times like these, her proud bearing always surprised Angela, until she remembered that the Jinn descended from angels and surely some of their elegance and beauty forever remained.
“There are some who survive Hell’s second death,” Troy said softly. “But they are the strongest and most noble souls among your kind, and often my people find them, and they are given a second life as servants. Fury was and is such a rare soul.”
Angela watched Fury more closely, trying to picture her as a human girl who had hoped and loved. Now her beautiful soul had been trapped in a crow’s body. But at least it had survived. “So then why did you kill and eat humans in Luz last year if you respect some of us?” Angela said bitterly.
“Because Earth is our Hell,” Troy snapped back at her. “The mortal world sickens Jinn over time and we starve slowly. I wouldn’t have touched a single one of you—but I had no desire to die. Fury had the same resiliency, and as a Jinn I respected it. She suffered in her human existance much like you suffered, but she had also died sacrificing herself for a friend. Her compassion ensured her immortality, and I was able to resurrect her as my servant. Believe me—many of the humans I killed in Luz were far from noble.”
Angela stared at Troy, almost hypnotized by the Jinn’s glowing eyes.
A sense of honor was something she’d never expected from Troy’s kind—but looking at Troy’s expression now it felt right.
Kim had painted Troy as a villain, and their strange violent relationship and the circumstances had done little to say otherwise. But now it bothered Angela. What if she saw Troy as a villain because that was what Troy acted like in human terms? There was the key: Troy wasn’t human. Humans called her a devil, but she was really a creature who lived in another world: one increasingly revealed as harsh and merciless. She didn’t live by human rules, nor could she ever.
I suppose everyone is innocent at some point in their lives. Even Troy was like Juno once upon a time. Kim, too.
Oh, God, where is he in here? Is he dead like Camdon? I don’t see how Kim could survive in a labyrinth like this alone.
“Troy?” Angela whispered.
The Jinn glared at her, seeming to anticipate her next question. “What?”
“Do you really need to kill Kim—”
“Yes,” the Jinn hissed. Her wings rustled angrily. She stretched her wounded ankle, biting back pain.
“But Kim said that his father—your uncle—was abusive, that he had no choice but to kill him. And if you find that wrong—wouldn’t it be just as wrong to kill him out of revenge?”
Troy laughed, turning aside. “You would judge me? You know nothing.”
“I guess not.” Angela breathed hard, swallowing back her fear and smiling at Juno as the little Jinn interrupted to hand Angela some pebbles.
“You and Auntie are friends,” she said to Angela. “I’m glad.”
I don’t know if I’d go that far.
Angela glanced at Troy, but Troy pretended not to hear a word Juno had said. Only her flicking ear gave her away.
“Auntie is the greatest Jinn hunter,” Juno continued. “She has made more kills than any Jinn in the Underworld. Well, other than Mama . . .” Juno’s ears flipped back, and she appeared sad. Soon, she perked up again and said excitedly, “Do you see these bones in my hair?”
Angela noted the two tiny bones tied into Juno’s hair. They were nothing compared to Troy’s collection, but Juno wasn’t humble at all.
“I got these on a hunt with Auntie,” Juno said. “This one was from an angel, and this one was from another Jinn Clan.”
Juno prattled on, doing everything but practically worshipping the ground Troy sat upon.
Troy listened with the slightest smile.
“You shouldn’t worry,” Juno said, finally winding down. “With Auntie, we’ll be safe no matter what.”
“Hush,” Troy said.
Juno took another breath, eager to continue. Troy clapped a hand over her toothy little mouth.
“Quiet,” Troy hissed. She froze, her ears flicking to catch the slightest sound. Fury stiffened beside her. Nina cracked an eye open but didn’t move, questioning Angela with a fearful expression.
Angela froze with them, hardly daring to breathe.
She saw nothing.
She strained her ears, struggling to catch suspicious noise over the tumult of the water.
Juno hid behind her aunt, her eyes the size of saucers.
Out of the mist, three immense leonine shapes slunk closer to their group. The creatures snuffled more and lifted their heads, searching the darkness with shining eyes.
Hounds.
Angela glanced at their nearest escape—a tunnel on the opposite shore. But that meant crossing the lethal water.
Horror tightened Angela’s insides and twisted them into knots.
This is what Troy got for refusing that demon’s help.
Angela moved her hand as subtly as possible, aiming to take off her left glove. In her mind, she saw Sophia somewhere ahead of them tormented or worse. For her sake, Angela had to try to stay alive.
She exchanged a meaningful nod with Troy. As Angela had hoped, there was no apology in the Jinn’s eyes. Troy, at least, felt certain of their fighting chance.
All right, Angela was ready.
But before she could act, the three Hounds snarled coldly, emerged from the darkness, and pounced.
Eighteen
No one wants my help. But when it arrives, the last word a soul whispers is “No.” —PYTHON
Troy must have known Angela was about to summon the Glaive—and that it would make her disastrously weak.
She gripped Angela tightly by the arm and wrenched hard.
Angela crashed into the wall. She howled in surprise as stars of pain speckled her vision. Nina was by her side immediately, lifting Angela up again by the shoulders. But Troy and Juno faced off against the triple threat of the Hounds. One of the horrid creatures was smaller than the others with ragged wings. It looked like a baby.
Troy growled at it in a terrifying display of wings and teeth.
The two other Hounds stepped in front of their offspring, baring their own fence of teeth.
Faint laughter seemed to come out of nowhere. An odd purple mist began to mix with the fog from the rapids. Angela struggled to see, finally standing despite the pounding agony in her head.
Covenant Page 13
