Red Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  Spoken like a true woman scorned.

  Ray stood in front of the door. I glanced behind me. My brother’s face was set and Rourke appeared ready to do some damage. “Okay, let’s go,” I said. “The smell out here is killing me.”

  My brother waved his hand in front of his face and then leaned over to sniff Rourke. “Jesus, dude, you need a shower.”

  “Working on it,” Rourke growled. “There’s not exactly a public restroom nearby.”

  “The Prince’s rooms are palatial,” Lili replied. “You will be able to clean up once we are inside.”

  Ray edged his shoulder up against the door and grunted as he pushed. It gave, but only about an inch.

  “What’s wrong? Is it too heavy?” I asked.

  “No.” He pulled back. “There’s something blocking it from the inside.”

  “If you can, try to pry it open it a little more so I can see what it is,” I told him, craning my neck around, trying to get a good angle.

  Tyler nudged by me. “Let me see,” he said. “You go stand next to stinky.”

  I chuckled, letting him do it, moving back by Rourke. I didn’t care how bad he smelled. I leaned my back against his chest and sighed. “Nothing can cover your natural scent for me.” I inhaled and grinned like a besotted teenager. “Molasses and cloves. Just the way I like it.”

  His body rumbled with pleasure as his arms enfolded me. He leaned down to my ear. “You’re a handful, you know that?” His fingertips electrified me, sending currents of energy racing through my body.

  “Mm, I know,” I replied, laying my head against his shoulder, gazing up at him. “But that’s the way you prefer it. If this were easy, you’d be bored. I know you adventurous types like life filled with action and I’m happy to oblige.”

  He chuckled. “I could take nice and boring with you right now.” He growled low and ran his lips across my neck. “Long, boring… and slow.”

  Chills raced up my spine and my heart skipped a beat, right as Ray shouldered the door again. He pushed his weight against it and there was a snapping sound as the door finally moved in a few inches.

  “What was that?” I asked, moving reluctantly out of my mate’s grasp to investigate.

  He growled his displeasure, but let me go.

  “I don’t know,” Tyler said. “It sounded like broken bones to me. I can’t really get a good look.”

  Ray changed positions with Tyler and glanced into the opening. “I have no idea what the hell that is, but we need to start referring to this entire place as the Mad Fucking House of Horrors, because there are no explanations for what goes on here.” Ray grumbled, peering into the doorway again. “I think that’s… a remnant of a human being of some kind, but I can’t tell either.”

  Ray stepped aback and I moved in. It actually resembled a mummy, of all things. “What”—I paused as Ray pushed the door open a little more, ignoring the crunching sounds, to expose what appeared to be a withered-looking human—“is that thing?”

  Lili cleared her throat from behind us. “That is a golem. A human golem.”

  We all stared at her.

  “It’s like every time you speak, it’s in tongues,” Ray snipped. “What exactly is a human golem?”

  “The Prince has taken a liking over the last century to necromancers. He’s lured quite a few to the Underworld with promises of riches and as many dead souls as they’d like. But he ensnares them and makes them do things… such as this.” She gestured at the mummified broken thing behind the door.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered. “That dead human was resurrected as some kind of guard? Looks like it did a band up job. It broke into pieces at the first attempt to get through the door.”

  Rourke shook his head and moved into the doorway, examining the golem. “No, it didn’t break because of that. It broke because it was linked to the door spell. It was a two-for-one combo.” He glanced at Selene. “Did you know you were disarming this thing when you broke the passageway spell?”

  “I didn’t know what it was specifically,” she countered with some hostility. “I felt something back there, so I did what any witch would do—I sent a spell backward to fry whatever it was.” She raised her eyebrows. “It didn’t really have any brains to fry, but it worked anyway.” She looked smug.

  “It sure did,” I commented. “But that thing doesn’t look like it would’ve put up much of a fight anyway.”

  “It’s only the watchdog,” Lili said. “It was supposed to alert its master if someone broke through the spell.”

  “Well, Selene seems to have circumvented the alarm,” Ray snorted, “so what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

  Rourke led the way through the narrow chambers. Tyler stayed behind and made sure the passageway door was firmly shut. We traveled through several short tunnels before we ended up in a small atrium. It held a huge bed in the center, draped in ornate cloth. The color scheme in here was decidedly feminine: the room was decorated in rich gold and yellow hues. The walls were covered with tapestries that appeared to be from our plane, and likely priceless at that.

  I raised an eyebrow at Lili. “Is this space yours?” The bed was made. It appeared not to have been touched in a while, so that was a relief.

  “Yes,” Lili said. “It was… ours.”

  Doing the nasty with the Prince of Hell sounded like the most detestable thing I could possibly think of. But I reminded myself I wasn’t a demon. Or even a half demon. I needed to get some perspective or I might start gagging. “How do we get to the Prince’s rooms?” I asked.

  “These rooms are mine,” Lili answered. “We have to travel a bit farther to get to his quarters. Down the next hallway we’re going to come up on a big door made of iron.”

  Rourke moved through the room, pacing around the huge bed, motioning for us to follow. We passed through another beautiful space decorated in plush scarlet couches, and chandeliers that hung from smooth stone ceilings.

  I noticed something peculiar about this space that made it different from the others I’d seen in the Underworld. “The interior here looks like it was made from human textiles and furniture, not like the other smooth, glossy stuff I’ve seen,” I said. “Whatever is manufactured in Hell is all weird and shiny.”

  “Our raw materials are much different from those found on your plane.” Lili nodded. “We use pure minerals only found here. Everything that grows in Hell is alive, even the metals, and it makes them smooth and somewhat moist.” She glanced around her old rooms wistfully as we passed through. “I much prefer human decorations, so the Prince spared no expense. They were last updated a century ago, but I will miss them.”

  “How far underground are we, by the way?” Ray asked as we entered another hallway, this one with walls resembling polished granite. “These walls are solid rock.”

  I hadn’t thought about that much. The buildings I’d first seen were obviously on the top, but my suspicion was we were deep underground.

  “Demons have always lived below the surface,” Lili answered. “We are cave dwellers by nature. The sun above burns our skin, so it is out of necessity as well. We are about six levels under right now. This level is called the Hodoseod Dyjyd and is reserved for Demon Lords and their accommodations only. That’s why you don’t see any low-level demons milling around. Only their servants are allowed to come here.”

  Rourke finally stopped in front of an imposing door.

  “Sweet, another door for us to bust through,” Tyler quipped, coming up behind us. “That one looks easy enough.”

  “Once we open this, it will alert… whoever resides in there,” the demoness said quietly. “The doors and walls are very thick, so they likely can’t hear us, but once we break the seal they will be able to both hear and scent us.”

  “Unless the Prince has spelled the area,” I countered. “Or has it booby-trapped.”

  Selene interrupted, surprising me by shaking her head and saying, “There are no spells here.”

&nb
sp; “How can you be so sure?” I asked. I didn’t want any golems to jump out at us.

  Selene looked at me like I was a moron. “I may be dead, but I know how to detect a spell, especially if it was one of mine. I sense nothing in the air or on the door.”

  “She’s right,” Lili said, appraising Selene. “I detect nothing as well.”

  Rourke placed his hands gently on the door, testing. Nothing zapped him, so that was a good sign. “This door is thick,” he said. “But to bust it open will make a lot of noise.” Instead he grasped one of the two big handles and depressed it.

  It didn’t move.

  I asked Lili, “How did you two lovebirds go back and forth? You didn’t have to come through this locked door every time, did you? Shouldn’t there be a key in some secret cubbyhole or something?”

  “There is no key,” Lili sighed. “I used magic, of course. He has found a way to block me already, but I will try.”

  She moved in front of Rourke and placed her palms on the door, caressing it as she pressed one cheek to it listening for something.

  Then she sprang back. “There’s something on the other—”

  Before she could finish, the door burst open in front of us.

  “Looking for me?” a very bored and familiar voice intoned.

  19

  The fake Selene stood sentry, dressed in her predecessor’s former glory. She wore a black leather corset with metal studs and a pair of the tightest leather pants I’d ever seen. Her hair was long, gorgeous, and bright red, and there wasn’t a mar on her perfect porcelain skin. She had the balls to cross her arms and lean up against the doorframe like it was no big deal that three shifters, one former goddess, and one witch-demon were standing there waiting to take her out. “We knew you’d try to come here, Lili. You are so very predictable.” She shook her head with a pitying expression.

  Lili’s power jumped and cold fury whipped off her. “Of course I came back.” Lili calmly placed her hands on her hips, belying the inner turmoil I knew raged inside her. This had to burn. “I left some of my most cherished treasures here and I can’t leave this plane until I retrieve them.” Then, without so much as flinching or signaling her intent, Lili sprang, grabbing the doppelganger by the throat with one hand and by the hair with the other.

  Hair that came out in Lili’s fist as they went down.

  They were on the floor before anyone could blink. The clone struggled, but Lili was too quick. We all watched, our mouths slightly agape as they rolled twice more, and then, with one swipe, Lili tore out the doppelganger’s jugular and plunged her fist down her throat.

  There was an awful sucking noise, followed by gushing and gurgling.

  None of us had moved from the doorway.

  “Well,” Ray chuckled, “I didn’t see that one coming.” He angled his head to the side. “That demoness has good form. Selene Two never had a chance.”

  “Lili has good form because she’s a cold-blooded killer,” I commented. “This is another reminder that’s she’s dangerous.”

  “You got that right,” Ray said.

  After a few more seconds the clone went totally still and Lili rose, clutching something slimy in her hand. Before she could explain how she’d gotten the jump on the clone so quickly, the real Selene grabbed her own throat and stumbled forward, gasping for air.

  Tyler stood the closest and managed to catch her in his arms as she collapsed, dragging her into the room and laying her out on the stone floor.

  I knelt by her side. “What’s happening to her?” I asked Lili as Rourke and Ray came up beside me.

  Lili went to a side table, plucked an ornate bowl from its resting place, and dropped something into it that landed with a squish. She bent over it for a moment, like she needed to examine it, and after finding it adequate she turned back to me, wiping blood off her hands and onto her jumpsuit. “I’m not sure. They must’ve been linked together somehow. The cloning has obviously gone awry.” She walked over, holding the bowl. “Maybe that’s why she couldn’t die in the first place? The two bodies are connected.”

  I stood slowly, blinking. For a single second I felt like I was watching this entire scene from outside myself. I glanced into the bowl Lili held. “Is that her heart? You ripped it out through her neck?” I grimaced. It was smaller than a human heart. “That can’t be Selene’s heart. It’s too small.”

  “It’s a demon heart, and it’s located higher on the chest than a human’s, which is why I opened her throat.” Lili said it like it was commonplace to rip someone’s heart out. “That clone was ninety-five percent Selene, five percent demon. Take out the five percent and it cannot function in the Underworld. The stronger the demon heart, the more powerful the clone. This was a fairly powerful heart, from one of our highborn demons, but not enough to deter me.” She shook the bowl and the mass slipped around. “The Prince underestimated me if he thought I could not disarm this clone in less than three minutes.”

  I shook my head. “You know, you could’ve told us you had this handled. Or at the very least we could’ve held her down or something.” I peered at Lili out of the corner of my eye. “Constantly keeping us in the dark is not helping you.”

  Lili shrugged. “If the clone had been smart, she would’ve used a spell. But the five percent demon gave her a big disadvantage. I had to act quickly to make it clean. Some demons can sense intent before it happens and I didn’t know which demon heart they’d used, so I cloaked my feelings.”

  The real Selene continued to roll on the ground, her hands still tearing at her neck, her eyes wide. I knelt down next to her again as she rocked, her face turning a very dark shade of scarlet. I had no idea what to do.

  “What’s happening to her?” Ray asked, kneeling next to me, his face a mask of confusion. “Can’t we stop this somehow?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” I glanced over my shoulder at the listless, very dead clone lying a few feet away. “Ray, I think the bodies are connected somehow—possibly with one soul. It’s the only thing you detected keeping the real Selene alive, but wouldn’t the demons need her soul for the clone? I mean, that’s what demons always want—your soul. Taking it must be what allows the power shift to happen.” It was remarkable, really. Transferring a supernatural’s raw magic and power was unheard of in my world. If the sorcerers had truly teamed up with the demons and gained this knowledge, it would be a supernatural game changer.

  Ray immediately raised his head in the air as his eyes shone silver.

  I knew the moment he figured it out. His eyes snapped to mine. “The soul is split. You were right.” He shook his head, his forehead crinkling in concentration. “This is very wrong. My body is telling me it’s not supposed to be like this.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s highly unusual, and the universe doesn’t like when things like this happen. Very bad chi.”

  “But that explains it, right?” I said. “Neither Selene can survive with half a soul. When the demons make a clone, I bet they take the whole soul. But Selene’s immortality must have torn it in two somehow.” Her godhood had tried to save her. My bet was that Selene had been the first goddess to ever make a deal with Hell, and that the demons had had no idea a goddess couldn’t die.

  Now they did.

  Ray angled his nose in the air again, sensing something else. His head turned back and forth like a bloodhound on the scent. He leaped up and rushed over to the clone and lowered his mouth over hers and inhaled.

  I rose and took a step back.

  Tyler and Rourke gathered behind me and Lili stood off to the side, all of us waiting to see what would happen next.

  After a moment Ray lifted his head up, his eyes cascading to full black as his incisors snapped down. His vampire and reaper sides together as one. It was a bit chilling to see. He was a formidable supernatural who was currently on a mission. And his mission was to save Selene. It was the unlikeliest scenario I would’ve ever guessed would happen during my trip to the Underworld.

  My wol
f howled in my mind, urging us to stop whatever him. I’m not getting involved, I told her. It’s not up to us any longer. If her immortality tried to save her soul, there has to be a damn good reason behind it. We’re going to have to wait this out. If she lives and comes back from this at full strength, out for revenge, we’ll deal with it then. My wolf clacked her jaws at my foolishness. I know you disagree, but eradicating a proposed threat is not the answer. Clearly something else going on here.

  Ray staggered over to the real Selene, who had stopped struggling and appeared to be unconscious. Ray placed his lips over hers and blew.

  Her chest heaved once, twice, and by the third time she coughed and sputtered, bringing her arms over her head. She blinked her eyes open as she gasped, recoiling away from Ray. “What are you doing? Get away from me!” She shoved him back hard enough for him to lose his balance.

  He thumped onto his backside and took in a few breaths of his own, resting his elbows on his knees, clearly worn out from his efforts. “Lady, I just saved your life,” he panted. “Don’t ask me how it happened, because by all rights that piece of your soul shouldn’t have lingered so long. But it did. And I wasn’t sure your body would take it back”—he paused—“but it did. I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but you have a powerful force working for you. And honestly, for the life of me, I have no idea why, because you’re a royal pain in the ass most of the time.” He rose, shaking his arms out. “And next time, a simple thank-you would suffice.”

  Selene sat up, clearly bewildered.

  I half expected her to start healing from all the previous demon torture immediately. But we all waited and nothing happened. Her hands flew to her hair and ran over her face. She leaped up and ran to a huge mirror mounted on a nearby wall. “It’s not working,” she wailed. “I feel more like myself, but my magic is not returning.”

  I pushed my senses out to check for myself, but she was right, her signature hadn’t changed at all. I sighed. “Why don’t you give it more than seven seconds. You just got your soul back together and it may need some time to mend before anything starts regenerating.” I cleared my throat to put emphasis on the next part. “But I’m warning you, Selene, if your magic does come back, and you decide to pick up where you left off back at the arena, I will not hesitate to have Ray suck your soul right back out like that.” I snapped my fingers. “And once he does, it’s all over for good.”