by Sam Cheever
Sighing, I murmured, “Neither can I.”
~SC~
I sat at the base of a tree, staring into a fire that had raged for hours on a couple of chunks of wood I’d found on the ground. The flames leapt higher as the breeze soughed over it, seemingly nurtured by nothing more than the contents of the air.
Judging by the sulfuric stench of the wind I wasn’t even surprised.
“We need to make a move, Astra.”
I looked up at Gerch. He’d been pacing restlessly behind me as I considered my plan to release Dialle. I thought it was foolproof. The problem was I had no idea if I was strong enough to access the materials I’d need to pull it off. That was what I was trying to figure out.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. Maybe I can help.”
I shook my head. “I doubt it. It’s pretty radical.”
“I can handle radical.”
I sighed. Maybe he was right. I wasn’t making any progress myself. I might as well give him a chance. “Okay, here’s the thing. I noticed that every place where Nestrada hangs out is tropical. She obviously likes—or needs—heat. So I asked myself why. Then I realized she’s kind of snaky. What do you know about snakes?”
He shrugged. “I know they give me the creeps.”
“Snakes don’t do well in the cold. If it gets cold enough they die.”
“Good to know. The next time I’m attacked by a giant snake I’ll throw ice cubes at it. But that doesn’t really help us here. There’s no way to make it cold enough in Perdigo to kill Nestrada. She’s massive and powerful. I’m guessing she’d need a mini ice age to die.”
I frowned. “That’s the thing. I don’t think we need to kill her. We just need to slow her down enough to release Dialle and get out of here.”
Gerch’s beady eyes disappeared under his wide brow as he frowned. “So you just need a massive, short term, cold spell?”
“Yeah.”
He snorted, lifting his hands to the sides. “Hello, Astra. Hell environs. The climate here isn’t exactly glacial.”
“No. But I know a place that is, at least at the higher elevations. And it’s winter there right now. I’ve cut a hole between the two places once before, maybe I can do it again.”
His eyes widened. “Olympus.”
“Yeah. There’s just one problem. I just got my power back and I’m not sure I have enough juice to pull it off.”
Gerch dropped onto a log beside me, looking thoughtful. “The last time you did it you tapped into Dialle’s power.”
“Yeah.”
“Can’t you just do that again?”
I shook my head, touching the spot on my throat where my daemon hickey had been before that bitch Crisanne had magic-raped me. “We shared the mark then. I don’t have a way to tap into his power anymore.”
“Are you sure? Maybe there’s some residual connection there.”
“I’ve been trying to connect. It’s not happening, I’m afraid. Either the mark is truly gone or Nestrada’s barrier is stopping us from connecting.” I fixed the big soldier with a look. “Do you think we can get my sister or Slayer here? Or even my aunt Myra?”
“Only the king could transport them. I can’t bring them over and you aren’t of these environs. Without your connection to Dialle, Hell won’t recognize your transportative magic.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes while I continued to consider my options. Finally I sighed and stood up. “I don’t see any way around it. I’m going to need help.”
Gerch stood too. “Help? From whom?”
I shook my head. “You don’t want to know. How do I contact someone in the inner circle?”
Gerch narrowed his beady gaze. “Whom do you want to contact?”
“I told you. You don’t want to know. Just tell me how, Gerch. The longer we stand here arguing, the longer it will take to get Dialle out.”
The big devil sighed. “Generally you would use a sulfur-core cell phone but we don’t have one.”
“There has to be another way.”
“There is, it’s archaic, but it should work.”
“I’ll try anything.”
“Basically you need to perform a summoning.”
“Like witchcraft?”
“Devil craft actually. But yeah. You need to cut your hand and dribble three drops of blood into the fire. Then say the name of the person you want to see three times.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“You asked.”
Shaking my head, I found a sliver of rock and sliced the tip of my finger with it. Then I stood next to the fire and squeezed the wound, letting the blood drop into the flames. It flared high, nearly singeing my eyebrows. I jumped back. “Frunk me!”
Gerch grimaced. “Sorry. I should have warned you. Blood has power in Hell. In fact, blood and fire are the two most powerful substances here.”
I murmured the name I didn’t want Gerch to hear and then repeated the process two more times. We waited as the fire crackled happily. Nobody appeared.
I looked at Gerch. “It didn’t work.”
He opened his mouth to respond as the fire exploded upward, sending wood, flame, and dirt in a wide arc. I shrieked as a flaming tinder burned through my clothing and into my skin. Gerch jumped back with a curse.
A tall, dark figure unfurled from the spot where the fire had been, fixing me with a sexy, velvet gaze. “Well, well, well. Astra Q. Phelps. You’re the last person I ever expected to summon me.”
I glared at the infuriating royal standing a few feet away. “King Nerul. You’re looking disgustingly vigorous.”
Nerul laughed, pulling the sides of his robes back to place his hands on his hips. I was relieved to see that he wore tight, leather pants under the robes. Though his buff, golden chest was bare. Nerul liked to run around with all his parts bouncing. Totally nakies. Suffice it to say I wasn’t in the mood for that kind of entertainment at the moment.
“Have you lost your frunkin’ mind, Astra?”
“Probably.” Gerch’s outburst reminded me that I needed to get my business underway. It was getting darker by the moment and Hell after dark was a place you did not want to be unless you had some serious protection.
Nerul took a step closer and my hands came up, fingertips sizzling with power. “Don’t move, asshole.” Gerch reached for his sword, only to grimace when he realized it wasn’t there. I needed to remedy that. He wasn’t much good to me against the nasties in the Hell environs if he wasn’t armed.
Nerul crossed his arms over his chest and smiled down at me. “You called me, Astra.” He was well over six feet tall, slim and elegant, with smooth, black hair that he’d cropped short. No more sexy devil tail at the base of his strong neck. Pity. Nerul’s velvet gaze was fringed in thick lashes that were almost too pretty for a man. He was very good looking. But I knew the evil in his soul and it dimmed his appeal considerably.
“Yeah. Unfortunately I’m aware of that. I need your help.”
He lifted a slim, black eyebrow. “What’s in it for me?”
“I’ll speak to Dialle about letting you back on the court.”
He threw back his head and laughed, genuinely amused. “You are so delicious, Astra. I’ve heard how Dialle treats his court. I’ve also heard he has a lot of vacancies at the moment. I don’t think I want to serve under him.”
Good news apparently traveled fast in Hell.
“He had nothing to do with that slaughter. That was his father’s doing.”
Nerul stepped closer and I gritted my teeth, barely containing my urge to send power crashing into him. “You truly believe that? I guess you haven’t gotten any smarter since last we met.” He reached out and tugged a strand of my hair. I jerked my head to pull the hair from between his long, tapered fingers.
“No touching.”
His smile only widened. “Oh, I’m afraid there will be touching. You see, that’s my payment. The only thing I will accept for helping you. I want you to come to my bed—
”
“No frunkin’ way.”
“Oh, I am not done. It gets much, much better.”
I was shaking my head before he finished speaking. Looking at Gerch, I asked, “How do I send him back. This was a mistake.”
“I would have told you that if you’d let me in on your plans.”
Nerul was suddenly pressed full-length against me. I could feel his rigid shaft pushing against my belly, and my stomach churned with revulsion. He pinned my arms against my sides, holding me helpless. Gerch grabbed his arm and was sent flying on a wave of oily power. He hit the rocky ground several feet away and skidded, his head smacking hard on a rock.
I struggled against Nerul’s grip. “Let go of me evil turd!”
He lowered his head and licked my cheek as I tried to pull away. Déjà vu bit my ass with razor-sharp teeth. It seemed I was forever destined to find myself fighting off the debauched royal. “Get the hell away from me.”
Nerul laughed. “Again, I would remind you that you summoned me. But I’m pleased that you have. You and I have unfinished business.”
“We have nothing of the kind.” I lifted my knee and smashed it hard into his thigh, missing my target when he twisted away.
“Now, now, pretty halfling. That’s no way to behave.” He lowered his head, his tongue swiping over my chin and across my lips. “Mmm. You taste delightful. Sweet and a little smoky.”
I stopped struggling, forcing myself to take a deep breath and look for my power, nestled deep within me. I caught the spark and pulled it forward until it sizzled just beneath my skin. Then I opened my eyes and smiled. “To Hades with thee fool, for I hath tired of you.” I let the energy I’d gathered blast away from me in an unfocused wave that sent Nerul flying. My last impression of his face before he blasted away was a look of surprise that I’d been able to move beyond his dampening hold on me.
I was a bit surprised too. Maybe my powers had returned stronger than I’d thought.
Nerul disappeared with a pop and I glanced toward Gerch. “You okay?”
He glared at me, shoving to his feet. “Stop asking me that.”
I smiled at his crankiness. Gerch didn’t like it when he couldn’t protect me. I pictured his sword in my mind and it appeared in my hand. “Here. Sorry. If I’d been thinking I’d have done that sooner. It’s a newly acquired skill.”
He took the sword. “Are you done screwing around now, Astra?”
I blinked, surprised by his outburst. When he glared back at me I lost it. His implication that I wasn’t serious about saving Dialle was the long straw in the short cup that set my temper on edge. “Oh, I’m sorry, Gerch. I was under the impression that I was trying to get Dialle back. But it seems you have a better idea how to do it. So let’s hear it. I’m all ears.”
He glared back at me. “I say we just wait until dark and sneak down there.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Then what?”
He held my gaze for a beat and then shrugged. “Kick ass and blow shit up.”
I tried to hold onto my temper but my lips twitched. “Seriously?”
He grinned. “It’s my favorite plan.”
I finally gave in to my laugh. “Yeah. Mine too. But I don’t think that’s gonna work this time.”
“So what are we going to do?”
I glanced up at the quickly darkening sky. The area where we stood had grown more quiet as night fell, like everything living had gone to ground in anticipation of the big uglies that would be emerging with the dark. “Plan B. I was really hoping not to have to do this. You’re not gonna like this guest any better than you liked the last one.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. Get ready to run for your life. ’Cause our next visitor is about twelve times more dangerous than Nerul.” I crouched on the ground and gathered the firewood back into a pile, hitting it with a jolt of energy to ignite a new fire.
“Don’t do it, Astra.”
I ignored him, slicing a new wound in my finger. My expulsion of power had healed the last one. Squeezing the wound, I threw Gerch a look and lifted an eyebrow. “If she gets close to me, run her through with that blade.”
He sighed, stepping away to give himself more room.
Holding my bleeding finger over the fire, I squeezed it and watched a crimson drop hit the flame, creating a small explosion. As flames roared upward, I said the name of the woman I hated most in the whole world.
Two drops later the fire exploded upward again and the evil bitch was standing before me, grinning as I stepped backward. I kept energy dancing on my fingertips as a barrier between us.
She cocked her head. “Interesting. I see you’ve managed to regain your power.”
“Better than ever, devil skank.”
She pursed her lips, frowning slightly. “Well, I guess I’ll just need to do a more thorough job this time.”
I amped the power, surrounding myself with a protective bubble. “Just stay the hell back, Crisanne. I’ll cook your black heart in your chest. In fact, don’t tempt me. I’d really enjoy doing it.”
She stared at me through exotic, light-brown eyes that masked a monumentally evil soul. “It’s clear you haven’t put our differences aside, Astra. And yet you summoned me here. I have to wonder why.”
I certainly hadn’t wanted to summon her. In fact I’d struggled with the idea for hours. But I needed an impressive amount of power to do what I wanted to do, and she was the most powerful person I knew who lived in the Hell environs. Aside from the three people we were hunting of course. “I need your help.”
She laughed, then sobered as she realized I wasn’t joking. “You can’t be serious.”
“Unfortunately I am. I need to rescue Dialle from Nestrada and I can’t do it alone.”
Her brown gaze widened. “Nestrada? Ouch. He’s probably already gone.”
I realized she was just playing with me, maybe, but I couldn’t help myself. She’d voiced my greatest concern. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t know about Nestrada?” Crisanne laughed. “This is priceless. Nestrada loves beautiful things. She’s wanted to get her hands on Dialle for centuries. Now that she has him she’ll waste no time.”
“Waste no time doing what?”
“Creating her work of art, of course. She’ll inject him with her venom and turn him into a perfectly preserved statue so she can enjoy him forever.”
Ice filled my chest as her words sank in. Panic trickled down my spine and made the hairs on my neck rise in horror. My magic sputtered on my fingertips as my legs threatened to buckle out from under me. I’d thought we had more time. I’d thought she would keep Dialle around. I’d had no idea... “Shit.”
Crisanne grimaced. “Yeah. It’s even horrible to me. But if you were planning on rescuing him I’d recommend you do it quickly. Once the moon is full in the sky she’ll sink her fangs into his belly and fill him up with venom. I’m told the venom locks her victims’ muscles into place, preserving them so they stay beautiful. Technically they’re alive, even their hair still grows, but the venom fries their brains and insides so that their existence, such as it is, is excruciating.”
All the blood left my face. I staggered backward, leaning against the tree. Turning my head I retched helplessly, feeling as if my insides were climbing into my mouth. My magic died on my fingertips and Crisanne moved. Gerch suddenly appeared, holding his blade to Crisanne’s throat. She stilled under the threat.
I forced my knees to straighten and dragged my power forward again, wiping the back of my hand over my mouth. “You need to help me save him, Crisanne. I’ll do anything.”
She lifted a finely shaped black eyebrow. “When you first summoned me I was determined to deny you. But knowing what’s at stake I find I’m intrigued. So I’ll tell you what. I will help you save the king.”
Relief flooded me, even as a sense of dread rose in response to her words. The evil bitch wouldn’t help me out of the kindness of her heart. And I had no doubt I was goi
ng to hate what she required in return. I inclined my chin, frowning. “Okay. What do you want for helping me?”
She smiled and it was like a fist to my stomach.
“What I’ve always wanted. I want Dialle. I want to be his queen.”
Pain sheared through me, followed by a wave of white-hot anger. “Dialle isn’t a boon to be passed from person to person. It’s up to him if he wants to make you his queen.”
“Not entirely. You and I both know that if you want him he’ll cling to you. For whatever reason you have some kind of hold over him. I want you to walk away. Tell him you don’t love him. I will be there to pick up the pieces when you go.”
It was my worst nightmare. Made worse by the fact that I thought it would probably work. With me gone, Dialle would be inclined to mate for the health of the court. Or to keep from succumbing to madness again.
I wanted to blast the evil bitch between her pretty eyes and send her flying. But I knew I couldn’t save Dialle without her. And he would be dead...or worse...if I didn’t get him away from Nestrada. I couldn’t let the fate Crisanne described happen to the man I loved.
Then I had a sudden thought. “You can’t rule with Dialle. You’re a class four. You can’t leave Hell.”
“Not without a powerful sponsor, no. I think the king of the earthbound royals would count. Don’t you?”
I blinked back tears and nodded, realizing I was beaten. “I’ll walk away. But first I need to help Dialle destroy his father and my mother. They’re trying to take over the court.”
Crisanne thought about this for a moment and then nodded. “I’ll allow you to tie up your loose ends. But then I want you to leave and never return. I don’t care where you go. I just want you gone.”
Feeling as if my heart was being wrenched from my chest, I took a shaky breath. “Okay, here’s what I have in mind...”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Fate Worse than Death?
Foes abound beneath the moons of Hell, and difficult challenges thrive,
Alas young miss just cannot tell, if her loved ones will survive.
I stood on top of the ridge surrounding Nestrada’s hidey hole. Darkness had fallen over Perdigo, settling around me like a heated blanket. The silence that throbbed over the landscape beyond Nestrada’s lair created an ominous sense of expectation that made my palms tingle with unease. The heavy sound of slithering was a constant, terrifying resonance within the rocky walls of the night-blackened hole where Dialle awaited a horrific death.
