by Tara West
Boner pranced backward. “I don’t think so.”
The king flashed a rueful smile. “This one keep lady demons busy.”
Boner puffed up his chest, tossing his mane. “I’m sure I have a superpower, too. I just need to figure it out.”
I squared my shoulders, glaring. “We’re going, Aedan.”
Aedan threw up his hands. “We’re going all right. Crazy.”
Cam banged his staff, and the cavern rumbled again. I backed up with a gasp as the ground split open, revealing an elevator big enough to fit a few elephants. After the Nephilim finished saying their goodbyes, Cam took down the first two, and a few minutes later he came back for one more giant, as well as Jack and Boner. Finally, the rest of us squeezed into the elevator, my heart lurching as we made our descent.
Despite my best efforts to be brave, my limbs were shaking so badly by the time the elevator dinged, I nearly lost the nerve to step off the platform. If it hadn’t been for Aedan’s warm hand holding mine, I didn’t know how I would have managed.
Boner was glaring at us with arms crossed over his chest. “What took you so long?”
“What do you mean?”
He checked an invisible watch. “We’ve been waiting for you for at least an hour.”
Cam chuckled. “Time passes more slowly in the fourth dimension, remember?”
Boner’s jaw dropped. “Oh, shit.”
I echoed his words when I got a good look at our surroundings. I had no idea why I’d been expecting level four to look like level one, with mountains and caves, but this place was a desert wasteland with scorched dirt and monster tumbleweeds. The distant horizon was lit up in crimson fire, casting a dull glow across the landscape. And, oh man, was this place hot. Sweat was already beading across my brow and trickling down my back and between my breasts. So not cool. Not only was I a big yellow bird, I was a big sweaty yellow bird. I sure hoped we could find our friends and get the hell out of Dodge before I turned into liquid mush. And I sure as heck hoped Sarge still had the scythe, because I did not want to spend the next thousand years as a drippy dishrag, especially since I knew Hell probably didn’t have any Gatorade or antiperspirant.
I looked at Cam with pleading eyes. “Do you think maybe you could hold the elevator for us? We’ll try to make it quick.”
He took a step back, holding out both hands. “I’m sorry. This is where I must leave you. Keep to the ground. No flying, or that dragon may see you. Take the tunnels if you can, just don’t go too far down.”
When he said that last part, a chill stole up my spine, which was kind of weird considering it was hotter than a flaming vagina during spring fling. He punched the button without another word, the elevator door slid shut, and he shot back up into the sky.
“Of course.” I rolled my eyes. “Nothing is ever easy in this damn place. I turned and looked at my companions. The three giants were standing there with shoulders slumped, their elongated necks sagging and sweat rolling down their grey foreheads. Yet not one of them complained.
Aedan wiped the sweat off his brow. “We’re sitting ducks here. Let’s get moving.” He looked up at the biggest giant. “Goliath, do you see anything?”
Goliath shielded his furrowed brow with a hand, scanning the horizon. He lifted his club, pointing toward the glowing embers in the distance, and grunted. Jack surged forward, his two heads frantically sniffing the ground, and we walked across hot sand behind him. Even though I had on new sneakers with thick soles, it felt like the heat from the ground was burning holes through my feet. I resented not being able to fly. My wings had dried almost as soon as I’d stepped off the elevator. That was how freaking hot it was down here. Of course, the first thing to dry up was my mouth. It felt as if I’d swallowed a cup of dust, and blisters were already forming on my lips.
Boner clomped behind me, shifting around on all four hooves, crying, “Hot, hot, hot!” as his bowling-ball balls slapped his thighs.
The giant named Boar slowed his step, grunting as he fell in beside me. Even though he had changed to demon form, he looked awfully familiar, like the giant who’d let loose the nauseating fart and cleared an entire table last night.
I ran my tongue along my parched mouth as I craned my neck at him. “Boar? What’s your power?”
He crooked a lopsided grin and held down a hand, waggling his long fingers. “Pull Boar finger and find out.”
I shrieked, nearly tumbling over my own feet. “Uhhh, no thanks.” I had made the mistake of falling for that trick with my grandpa when I was a kid and nearly lost my lunch. I wasn’t about to fall for that again. Especially not with a giant whose fart could probably make me lose my breakfast and then some.
Boar’s chuckle was so deep, I could feel it rattling my insides. “Boar no use his magic unless we in big trouble.” He patted his gut. “When Boar in trouble, tummy make rumbling and hurt real bad.”
“Sounds like me after I eat gluten,” I said. When I eat gluten, it feels like an alien is trying to claw its way out of my insides, and not a cute little green-skinned man but the big monster bitch with sticky saliva dripping down her fangs and claws the size of butcher knives.
Boar shook his head, pinching his fingers together. “No like little woman fart.” He threw his arms wide. “Boar make powerful fart like bomb.”
Oh, how vile. “So if a demon army attacks us, you’re going to toot on them?”
“Yah.” He eagerly nodded as he slapped his hands together. “Fart make them fall down.”
“And what about us?”
He shrugged. “Hold nose and close eyes.”
Oh, jeez. Somehow I got the feeling holding my nose wouldn’t work out so well. I only hoped Boar wouldn’t need to use his power. Nothing sounded more torturous than choking on giant demon nuclear gastritis. Somehow I got the feeling it would be equivalent to swallowing a skunk, and I’d probably wind up with that taste in my mouth for weeks. My mom’s liver and onions was starting to sound more appetizing. Nobody told me I’d need a gas mask in Hell.
Callum O’Connor
I woke to the sound of water splashing and someone softly humming. I raised my hand to my throbbing forehead and instantly regretted it. My shoulder was on fire! What had happened to me? My eyes shot open at the feel of warm water trickling down my neck. A dark-skinned beauty with large mocha eyes, a wide smile, and a riot of dark curls stood over me. But her beauty wasn’t as striking as the fact she looked perfectly human. No feathers, serpents, scales, or claws. It was as if death hadn’t changed her. That was odd, because everyone down here had changed into demon form. Could I have been taken to the Nephilim’s lair? If so, I didn’t remember meeting her.
She held up a dripping rag. “Lean to the side, so I can clean your wound.”
The lilt of her voice was so mesmerizing, I felt obligated to obey. I leaned over, staring at the light from a flickering candle as it cast our shadows across a grey stone wall. Strange how this place didn’t feel as hot and humid as my dragon’s den on level one. I had always believed the lower levels grew ever hotter. She bent down, steadying a hand on my wing, and I bit my tongue as she cleaned the tear at the base of my shoulder. I held my breath, knowing I would frighten her if I released a plume of fire.
When she was done, she applied something warm and wet on my back, soothing the wound almost instantly.
“Lift your arm,” she said and she wrapped soft, sticky gauze around my shoulder.
Gauze and medicine? When had Hell received such luxuries? Surely, I was dreaming, because I couldn’t have ascended to Heaven.
“You may turn over now,” she said in that sweet sing-song voice. “Be careful not to tear the bandage.”
I rolled over, studying the perimeter of my room. “Thank you.” I let out a slow breath of air, cursing myself at the puff of smoke that filled the space between us.
She coughed, waving a hand in front of her face.
“I’m sorry,” I said as a blast of heat flamed my cheeks. Odd how I’d
never noticed the smell of my breath before, not even with Ash, but this girl was different. Something in the softness of her gaze and the rosy hue of her full lips made me want to cry “Mine.” Instead, I squeezed my hands into fists until my talons cracked the skin, reminding myself Hell was no place for foolish notions. Damnation had a way of dangling a carrot in my face, only to pull it away the moment I reached for it. It had happened with Ash and my brother. It would happen with this girl, too.
“Where am I?” I asked, averting my gaze and focusing on the crude stitching of her grey robe. It reminded me of a nun’s habit, only so loose it fit her like a potato sack.
“Don’t worry. You are safe.” She leaned forward, patting my hand.
I jerked away with a scowl. The feel of her soft skin on my rough scales was too much. “That doesn’t tell me where I am.”
She carried the water basin to a nearby table. “You are underground in a hidden chamber far from harm,” she said over her shoulder, tossing a rag in the basin.
I eyed her skeptically. “Who are you?”
She turned, seemingly walking on a cloud as she glided toward me. “I am Cara, a sister of the web of light.” Her eyes glazed, and her voice had this hollow ring, making her sound like she was in a trance.
“A web? What web?” I didn’t like the sound of that. I had this odd feeling her religion had something to do with spiders, and even though I was a big, scary dragon who had fought monsters of all shapes and sizes, the only spiders I cared for were grilled and dead, very dead. The spiders on level one could release a poison so venomous, I would hallucinate while writhing in excruciating pain for days at a time.
She gestured to a darkened corridor behind her. “The web of light is our protector and giver of gifts. It is also the way to our fate, and accepting fate is our salvation.”
“I must have bumped my head when I fell,” I mumbled, feeling the base of my skull with my good arm. But wait a minute. How had I fallen? A rush of heat escaped my chest when the memories hit me. “Shadow!” I bellowed, balling my fists. “Where is he?”
She backed up several steps, waving a hand in front of her face as the gas from my breath filled our small chamber. She coughed out a response. “Your friend is above.”
“My friend?” I stumbled out of bed, leaning on the wall for support as a wave of dizziness overcame me. “Shadow isn’t my friend.” I needed to get the hell out of here before that tricky demon came back.
She came to me, resting a hand on my elbow. “He saved you from Doc’s demons.” She looked up at me with concern. “Now lie back down. You are unwell.”
“Doc?” I mumbled, inwardly cursing my weakness as I allowed her to help me back to the bed. I could have dusted her with one breath. Why did this woman think she could manipulate me? Why did I let her?
“Doc is the Marshal of the fourth dimension,” she said as she placed a soothing hand on my brow.
“The cuss who feeds the dragon?” I fought the urge to sigh into her touch. This woman had to be a witch. No other demon could have such a hold on me.
“Yes. But you don’t have to worry about him now. You are fortunate. Mother has only saved souls of women, for male demons are usually too hardened for repentance. Then Shadow came into our midst. Mother could not deny a soul who had been taken from Purgatory, for she knew the almighty God who gave her the web would be displeased. Shadow has convinced her you are worth protecting as well.” She pressed a cool wet cloth across my brow.
Damn, that felt nice.
“Mother?” I asked. The only kind of mothers I’d encountered in Hell hadn’t exactly conjured images of warm hugs and homemade jam.
“Mother is our high priestess, the seer of fate and keeper of the web of light.”
I looked into her eyes. They had that ethereal quality again, as if she were speaking in a dream.
“The what?” Though I thought she’d mentioned the web of light before, my brain was still too foggy to process what she meant.
“We are all lost souls who have found salvation, thanks to Mother.” It was obvious she held this Mother person in high reverence, but after dealing with Scorpius for over a hundred years, I knew all too well how powerful demons could enslave others. I did not know Mother, but already I mistrusted her.
I pushed her hand away, needing some space so I could think things through. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She clasped her hands in front of her, appearing more saint than sinner as she batted long lashes. “You will in time.”
In time? But I didn’t have time, did I? The Sergeant, and perhaps more of my friends, were being held prisoner by this Marshal, and I intended to get them out.
I threw my legs over the bed, attempting to stand once more.
“I need to get back to the quarry. My friend needs me.”
She blocked my path, holding out a steadying hand. “Is he big and green?”
“Yes.”
“Shadow has reported seeing him as well.” Her features fell as her soft voice took on a dark tone. “Mother would have saved him as well, since an imprisonment in Hell should not have been his fate, but she can’t save the souls who are marked for Zahaka.”
If I had been baffled before, it was nothing to the confusion I felt now. “I don’t think we’re speaking the same language.”
“Mother has already foreseen he will be nailed to the cross of sacrifice. He will be presented to the dragon, Zahaka.”
Unfortunately, I knew exactly what she was talking about. I’d seen the sacrifice first hand. “You’re telling me my friend is about to be eaten?”
Her narrow shoulders fell. “I’m sorry.”
So that was it? Because Sergeant had been slated for sacrifice, there was no way to save him? Bullshit. I bore down on her, steam pouring out of my nose. “I need to get him out.”
The walls of my cramped chamber began to rattle as debris rained down on my head.
“What’s happening?” I asked as I fell against the wall, shielding my head with my good wing.
The tendons in her neck strained as she clenched her hands. “Zahaka must be angry. Do not worry,” she said with a slight tremble in her voice as she tried to steady herself against the wall. “It will pass.”
Her false bravado wasn’t fooling me. “Don’t you fear the roof will cave in on our heads?”
Her gaze locked with mine, and I could tell it was taking all her willpower to keep her composure. “No. Mother’s demonlings will reinforce the cracks in the walls.”
Mother’s demonlings?
After the shaking subsided, I jutted a foot forward, but she made no attempt to move. “You are injured.” Her chest rose and fell, and the tension radiating from her was palpable. “You must rest.”
I grabbed her shoulders, ignoring her gasp as she leaned away from me. “There’s no time. Take me to your Mother.”
Ash MacLeod
After we walked for what felt like forever, the hot sand had burned two quarter-sized holes through the soles of my shoes and sweat dripped between my shoulder blades and down my brow in a constant stream. We passed a few tunnels, but they were nowhere near big enough to fit the giants. Besides, Jack had caught scent of something along the road. Even though Aedan kept grumbling we were going to be seen, we stayed on the surface the entire time. Good thing, too, because one thing I hated worse than heights was enclosed, dark spaces deep below the ground, especially when that ground was in Hell. No sense in trying to hide three giants, a two-headed dog the size of an elephant, some weird donkey guy with boulders for balls, a yellow birdzilla, and two white-winged angels. We looked like Barnum and Bailey’s traveling freak show.
When we reached a crest and spotted the faint lights coming from the town below, Goliath frowned, dragging a club through the dirt. “No see kin.”
I angled my head, peering up at him. “Don’t worry, Goliath. We’ll find them.”
“Unless kin cast down more levels.”
I cringed at that. Though I didn’t want him to be right, he had a valid concern. I just hoped we didn’t have to travel all the way down to level thirteen to get everyone, because I might have been a badass, demon-zapping big bird, but even I had my limits. Besides, I still had a soul-sucking dragon to contend with on this level. I didn’t think I could handle anything worse.
Aedan, Mar, and I hunkered down at the edge of the rock, checking out the town for any signs of trouble while the giants, Boner, and Jack scoped the perimeter.
I fanned my face as I watched Aedan look through his pair of magical binoculars that moments ago had been a bloody hammer. All he had to do was wish for them with his little star necklace, and voila, he had a brand new set. Kind of unfair Cam gave him the necklace and not me. Sure, I already had a kickass power, but Aedan had refused to wish me a swimming pool and a pitcher of frozen margaritas. It was the least he could have done to help me escape the infernal heat. At least Aedan kept turning rocks into water bottles. He was nice enough to share them with us, passing each one around the group, and then wishing for another after he grew tired of me complaining.
Thanks to my crazy PMS hormones (yeah, Aunt Flo had announced her early arrival during our torturous trek through the desert), I was twice as hot and three times as bitchy as everyone else. I eyed his star, taunting me as it gleamed in the firelight. I’d sure like to get my hands on that necklace and wish up some tampons, pain pills, and a big slice of chocolate brownie with a scoop of ice cream and hot fudge on top. Oh yeah, and I’d wish for that stick to fall out of Aedan’s ass. Right now he was too preoccupied with laying on the hot sand as still as a statue and watching the goings on of the little rickety town below.
From a distance, the place looked like an old ghost town, complete with a saloon and hotel, which took up an entire block, a trading post, and jail. Who the heck goes to Hell and checks into a hotel? And how did people pay for stuff? Did they have a credit system? Did they sell a piece of their soul? Where had the stuff come from, anyway? I watched as a horned demon heaved a big sack out of a cart and carried it into the trading post. I had to do a double take at the horses pulling his cart, for they appeared to be made of flame.
