by Maya Nicole
"For everything bad that has happened, there has been twice as much good." Asher looked down at me then shut his eyes. "The bad has just been really fucking bad. You think we're all a dream in your head?"
I made a noise in my throat. The thought had crossed my mind several times, especially when shit got pretty dicey. If it was a dream, it was pretty elaborate. Maybe I was in a coma?
"Reve wouldn't do that," Alaric practically growled.
Tobias leaned forward and looked at him. "He exploded our dream the other night. He tortures people in their dreams. Or at least he did before Danica."
Alaric moved closer to the bars and wrapped his hands around them. "She's his mate."
Asher's eyes popped open, and he rolled his eyes. "We don't believe in that kind of shit on Earth."
"That's a shame." His face became thoughtful. "You're all mates. How does that work with three men?"
"There's four," I said. "It works how you think it would."
He let out a whistle. "They just share you? Don't they fight?"
I laughed, and Tobias squeezed my hip. "They fight, but over time it's become less frequent. I don't think that sharing me is an appropriate explanation of what we have together."
"She's always protected and feels loved. But we also feel the same way from her and each other. I'm pretty lucky. I not only get Danica but also three best friends." Tobias kissed my temple.
My heart swelled, and a smile tugged at my lips. The feeling was short-lived.
The two gargoyles at the entrance transformed back into men and stepped to the side. Tobias jumped to his feet and stood in front of me.
I peered around his legs as the two goons that seemed to be Lilith's right-hand men, came and stood in front of our cell.
"Mark. Sam. I see you still don't know how to think for yourselves." Alaric stood, and one of the goons stepped over to his cell.
They stared at each other before a growl ripped from Alaric's throat, and the goons looked away. Alaric and his men laughed at whatever had just transpired.
"You're the one locked in a cell right now. What do you think, Mark? Will Lilith let me be the one to take his head?"
"Sure. As long as I can eat his monkey in front of him first." He gestured for one of the gargoyles to unlock our cell. "She wants the girl only."
Tobias hadn't budged from his spot in front of me. Asher rose to his feet as well, and together they stood as a united front.
"Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" one of the men said, stepping into the cell.
Tobias brought his fist back and swung at him. He moved faster than I could track and grabbed Tobias's fist before it connected with his face. A grin spread across his face, and his fist connected with the side of Tobias's head, sending him to the hard stone floor.
I rushed to Tobias, who was unconscious on the ground. Asher stood clenching his fists at his sides but didn't strike.
"Now, are you going to come with us, or do we need to knock this one out too?"
I stood and squared my shoulders. "Go away."
They both threw their heads back and laughed. "That shit doesn't work on us, princess."
I would have taken his name for me as an insult, but I guess I literally was a princess. I looked at Asher. I couldn't get a read on what he was thinking, but there was a tick in his jaw.
"What will happen to them?" My voice was surprisingly even considering how scared I felt at the prospect of seeing my mother again.
The last time I had seen her, she had poisoned me and then stabbed me in the chest. She wasn't exactly mother of the year material.
"They stay here. Lilith will decide. You think you have a choice in this matter? You don't." Sam or Mark, I'd already forgotten which one was which, stepped forward and grabbed my elbow.
Alaric and his three friends growled from the other cell. Picard was on Alaric's shoulder and let out a screech.
"Get your hands off her," Asher warned. I had never heard him sound so menacing before.
"Asher." I put my hand on his arm and looked at him. "There's no use in you getting hurt too."
I looked down at Tobias, who had rolled over and let out a pained groan. I knew I didn't have a choice. I just had to hope that Reve would come through for them.
"She's a smart one, this one." They laughed again and stepped back out of the cell.
I turned to Asher and wrapped my arms around him. "It will be okay. Reve is coming." I didn't think anyone except him heard me. The goons were back to glaring at Alaric.
I knelt down next to Tobias and put my hand on his cheek. His eyes cracked open before shutting again. I hoped he could still heal himself.
Before I lost my courage, I stood and walked out of the cell.
Chapter Thirteen
It crossed my mind several times to run. Now that I was walking on my own two feet and not slung over a gargoyle's shoulder, that plan was quickly squashed.
We were in a small village near the castle. The houses were made of stone, and the streets were dirt in some places and cobblestone in others. I felt like I was walking through medieval London.
Many demons came to their doorways or stopped in the streets to gawk at me. Most looked human. If I ignored their eyes and the extra appendages some had.
"Do all demons live in towns?" I was walking between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Had I tried to run, their big meaty hands would have stopped me in an instant. I'd given up trying to remember their actual names. It didn't deserve the extra mental effort.
"No. Only the civilized ones." I didn't even want to know what uncivilized demons were like.
I snorted at his answer, and he turned his head to glare at me, his eyes seeming to glow. "And what are you?"
"Civilized."
"No. I mean, what type of demons." I scanned the surroundings, looking for a place to escape to. Nothing looked promising.
"Bear shifters." He grunted and grabbed my elbow, steering me towards a paved set of stairs leading up a hill.
I hated stairs. I also hated hell and demons. Except for Reve. Unless Reve really had ditched us. I hoped he was just laying low until the time was right.
"I don't understand how Inferna and Earth are so similar." I was thinking out loud because I was trying to ease the panic churning inside my gut.
"Inferna was a fuck up. He took what he liked and started over on Earth."
"God?" I was half-angel, and most of the time, I doubted one man was behind creating everything. It would certainly explain how eerily similar I was finding certain aspects of Inferna, though.
"Is that what he calls himself?" They laughed, and one of them prodded my shoulder. "Speed up. We don't have all day."
We came to a large iron gate that slowly opened to let us into a courtyard. The gate shut with a clang, and I felt my freedom slowly getting farther and farther away.
My dad was inside the castle. At least if I were going to be held against my will, it would be with my father. Hopefully, Olly was inside too.
I couldn't think about what state I would find them in.
I followed the two men up to a large iron door, and we waited. A small piece of the door slid open, and an eye peered out at us. It felt very much like The Wizard of Oz, except I wasn't going to be going back to Kansas.
The door opened, and a tall man stood to the side in a suit. He bowed his head slightly and gestured with his arm to enter. I looked to my two captors, and they pushed me forward and into the dark foyer.
If it could be called a foyer. It was big enough to house a family of four and had a large chandelier hanging in the center that sparkled unnaturally.
"We'll show you to your room. You will have a few hours to bathe yourself and dress for dinner." One of them took the lead and went to a large staircase that took my breath away.
"So you aren't sticking me in the dungeons? How kind of you. Can I also find my father and boyfriend up here?" Tweedledum stopped on a stair and looked down at me. Maybe it had come out a l
ittle too snarky.
I couldn't exactly fight two bear shifters with my fists, so my words were my next best weapon. Except that all of my words were mostly just nervous banter to keep from losing my shit.
"You have quite the mouth on you for being in the situation you're in."
"Well, I am the daughter of the evil demon queen and the devil. What did you expect?"
He made a noise and continued up the stairs while Tweedledee followed. We entered a long hallway and stopped in front of a pair of double doors.
"This will be your room. We will be right here outside the door. The windows are locked." He opened the door and waited for me to walk inside before shutting the door behind me.
I heard the lock turn and immediately ran to one of the windows. I checked them all, but they were all locked with bars covering them. Of course, escaping couldn't be as easy as they made it in the movies.
My attention was drawn to a chair where a flowing pale blue gown was laid out. There was a card on top.
My princess,
At last, we can be together as a family. Please wear this dress to dinner. You can find the accompanying accessories on the dresser.
Love,
Mom
I threw up a little in my mouth and chucked the card across the room. The dress had way too much taffeta and far too many embroidered flowers for my liking.
I looked down at my dirty clothes and lifted an arm to sniff. I didn't seem to have a choice about what I was going to wear. I'd have to suck it up and dress like I was going to prom.
I must have already been experiencing Stockholm syndrome because I had no problem pampering myself in the large bathtub. I dressed like the princess Lilith wanted me to be and completed my look with a thin crown of diamonds on the top of my head.
At least I thought they were diamonds. For all I knew, they could be melted together souls of kidnapped puppies.
I looked at myself in the floor-length mirror and tried to put on a fake smile. I was going to have to get Lilith to believe I was all for being a happy little family.
A fist pounded on my door before the lock was undone, and the door opened. I followed the bear shifters down to the main floor, where we entered the dining room.
I stopped in my tracks.
"Danica. So glad you could join us." Lilith stood at the head of a long table. She gestured to the seat to her right.
My breath caught in my throat as I looked at my dad. He had cuffs around his wrists and neck. It didn't appear they were attached to anything.
I made my way to the seat to her right and sat down. I didn't take my eyes off my father, who was now staring at me from across the table. Lilith sat down and tapped her nails on the table. I looked at her.
She looked exactly as she had in Shanghai. Her mahogany hair was pulled into a chignon with tendrils of hair framing her face. Her eyes shined with mirth, or maybe that was just the crazy in her leaking out.
"Tomorrow evening, there will be a ceremony to reunite our family." She took a sip of her wine and then grinned at me. "You, my dear, will be bound to me as my one and only heir."
A lump formed in my throat. "And my dad?" I choked out.
"We are already bound. We were sorry that you had to miss it. It really was the party of the century, wasn't it, sweetheart?" She patted his hand that was balled in a fist on the top of the table. "Now that we are bound together, if anyone hurts or attacks me, he feels everything." She laughed in that way that sent chills down my spine. "Isn't blood magic wonderful? I can't wait to teach you!"
I'm pretty sure if I had a mirror, I would have been pale as a ghost.
I looked at my dad, who sat to the left of Lilith. He stared straight ahead, his jaw set in stone.
"Your father already made the mistake of trying to kill me after the ceremony while I slept. He won't dare make that mistake again. Isn't that right, sweetie?" She put her hand over his and squeezed.
"Right," he bit out through his teeth.
She cleared her throat. "Honey. I don't think I like the tone you are taking in front of our daughter."
I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something utterly stupid. The whole exchange made me want to vomit. She was fucking crazy. How was it that I had come from her womb? Would I eventually end up like her?
She stood from her seat and snapped her fingers. The two goons approached the table carrying a knife and the Holy Grail. My eyes nearly popped out of my head, seeing it.
I pushed back from the table, and my dad looked at me and shook his head. I grabbed onto the edge of the table as Lilith took my dad's hand, swiped the knife across his wrist just above the cuff he had on, and let his blood fall into the cup.
"It will be any day now when the barrier will finally give way and stay open permanently." She tapped a nail on the side of the cup as it filled with his blood. "It's unfortunate that your boyfriend seemed to have skin of steel this time around."
"Olly? Where is he?" I choked out.
She threw her head back and laughed. "In the dungeons. He's a fighter, that one. If only John were still around to make his special serum to weaken him." She made a noise like she regretted killing the doctor. She lowered the cup to the table and wrapped a cloth napkin around my dad's wrist.
"How can you touch it?" I nodded towards the Holy Grail.
"It bends to my will now. If an angel tried to touch it while here, it would burn them." At my confused expression, she continued, "It pulls its power from whatever power source is greatest. Here in Inferna, it is an object of great darkness."
The servants returned to the table and cleared our plates. Lilith remained standing and grabbed the goblet.
"I will leave you two for a few moments while I take care of this blood." She sauntered out of the room with the goon squad behind her.
The doors shut, and I heard a lock click into place. I stood and rushed to my dad.
"Dad-"
"You shouldn't have come." He put his palms on the table and stood, the bloody napkin falling to the floor. His cut was nearly healed but should have closed already.
"We can't let demons get through. We have to stop her."
"There's only one way to stop her, Dani." He ran his hand through his hair, and I noticed the puckered skin of scars running across his forearm.
I grabbed his arm and pulled it towards me, running my thumb over the pink, raised skin. "What has she done to you?"
He sighed and looked forlorn. "She weakened me and then bound us together. You can't let her do it to you. These cuffs prevent me from breaking free. You need to find a way out of here. Where are your guardians?"
"In a jail." I whimpered and brought the back of my hand to my mouth to stop a sob from escaping. "I don't think they're coming."
He shook his head and then sat back down in his chair. I sat in the chair next to him.
"You have to kill one of us." He spoke in a barely audible voice. He straightened in his chair and then turned towards me.
My eyes widened. "What?"
"Our lives are tied together. Kill one of us, you kill the other."
Did he even hear what he was asking me to do? I couldn't kill someone. I couldn't even kill a spider.
"There has to be another way. I can't just-" I felt myself starting to panic and wanted to jump up and run from the room.
"Yes, you can."
Tears slid down my cheeks, and I shook my head. He took my face between his hands.
"You can. You must, or she's going to permanently open a way to Earth. She already managed to get the barrier open for a substantial amount of time. And if I did manage to escape, she would go back to kidnapping angels. In large quantities, their blood can get a single demon through."
A sob left me. He pulled me towards him, smoothing my hair back.
"Find something sharp. Stab it through my heart. Right here." He took my hand and put it over his chest. "Stabbing me is your best bet."
"Dad. You can't die. I can't-"
"This is
the only way. She thought binding us together would protect her. She won't see this coming."
No words were coming from my mouth. Instead, I was inhaling sharp gasps of air. Kill my father? I couldn't. I wouldn't. There had to be another way.
He brought my hand to his cheek, and I looked back at the dull gray eyes that should have been smoldering. He was weak. I was no genius when it came to reading angels, but the power that once coursed through my father had significantly diminished.
"Tobias, Reve, Asher, and Oliver." He let out a shaky breath. "They will protect you and keep you safe." I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he shook his head. "Sometimes, life isn't fair, Danica. I can think of no other way to go than saving you." His voice cracked, and a tear slid down his cheek.
"I can't."
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "You can. Tomorrow at the ceremony before she performs the ritual."
I was about to respond when the doors opened, and Lilith strode back in, looking smug.
"I love you, Danica," my dad whispered.
"I love you, too." I hugged him tightly before the goons took me back to my room for the night.
Chapter Fourteen
Tobias
My head was throbbing from the blow I took to the side of the head. It should have been healed in less than five minutes. Inferna really was weakening us. How could we protect Danica if we were completely drained of what strength and abilities we had?
I turned on my side and curled into a ball. I was a poor excuse for a man. They took Danica. They took Oliver. Now we were locked in some musty smelling cell with gargoyles guarding us.
My job was to protect, and I failed. It wasn't the first time I hadn't protected my loved ones. I allowed a moan to pass through my lips. My vision grew fuzzy, and I passed out for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"Margie." I stood at the entrance to the kitchen, my hands shaking.
She had been cooking my favorite meal: pot roast with mashed potatoes and green beans. I shut my eyes and breathed in. The aromas usually caused my mouth to water and my stomach to growl, but tonight it just made bile rise in my throat.
