For Hell's Sake (Queen of the Underworld Series Book 1)
Page 16
Cat’s voice breaks through our reunion. “Whoa, that’s hot as shit.”
They guys all tense, each of them holding a weapon out toward the new intruder. “Cat, nice to see you again.” I smile as I watch her tiny figure sitting on top of a headstone, kicking her legs.
“You know her?” Levi asks. Aries sets me on the ground, then storms toward her, his eyes ablaze, but she doesn’t budge. Her smile stays planted on her lips.
“You must be Aries.” She leans forward, her hands resting on the tombstone. “Nice to meet ya.”
“Who are you and what are you doing here,” he barks as he stands before her, blocking her from our view.
Rolling my eyes, I walk over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder. “Calm down, killer. She’s half the size of you. No need to feel threatened.”
A grunt slips past his lips, but he shifts to the side slightly. I notice her eyes are no longer glowing, and her hair is a little disheveled, half hanging out of her ponytail. She looks like a crazed pale princess. “Seriously though, explain yourself. How do you know me? And what are you?” I turn toward her, crossing my arms over my chest.
A small laugh slips past her lips as she leans back. “Of course they wouldn’t tell you. I should have known—those damn angels are always so secretive.”
Cocking my eyebrow, I listen to her ramble. Angels? What is she talking about?
She jumps down off the headstone and stands before me. She’s about my height, maybe a half an inch shorter. Holding out her small hand, she waits for me to take it. I stare at her but refuse to touch her until I know what she is. “Like I said before, I knew who you were when you came in for coffee that day. Well, not right away—it did take a bit for it to click. But seriously, you give off a huge vibe of hellfires and pent-up desires, I’m surprised it took me that long to figure it out. I’m Catalina, your appointed guardian angel-demon, I suppose you could say.” She curtseys like that explains everything.
“Her appointed guardian angel-demon? What the fuck is that?” Aries growls.
Lex steps forward and eyes her up and down. “I’ve heard of you. Her father wrote about you in his books, but I don’t remember you being called Catalina.”
Her cheeks flame red as she averts her gaze. “Yeah, well, I didn’t like my other name, so I changed it. I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m here to protect the queen while she’s on Earth and whenever she needs me. I’ve just been chilling up here in the land of the living until she was ready for me. Then I saw her and I felt her panic at the fight, so poof.” She snaps her fingers. “I appeared like she summoned me. It’s all quite analytical actually. We’re tethered together now by an invisible string. My only purpose in my existence is to protect her.”
My eyes widen as I listen to her, but I can feel the small tether she’s talking about. I know subconsciously she’s telling the truth. I can feel it in my bones.
“We’re her protectors. Seems awful suspicious you show up when Lilith is magically here too,” Ryce growls from behind us. Cat doesn’t even flinch; her eyes are solely focused on me.
“She’s telling the truth. I don’t know how I know, but I do. She’s coming home with us,” I say, nodding to my new bodyguard.
The guys start to protest, but I let out a growl. My hair catches fire as I whip around and stare each of them down. “This is not something you can fight me on.” They all quiet down, so I let my monster crawl back to the shadows. “I’m not saying I fully trust her, but she’s telling the truth. I can sense sin and lies. She’s not filled with either of them.”
The guys nod reluctantly but don’t argue. Maybe I’m finally being the ruler I was meant to be. Aries wraps his arms around me and cradles me against his chest, his lips grazing over mine. “Let’s get you home.” Without a glance toward Cat or anyone else, he carries me to the portal, crossing over with me in his arms, bringing all of us home.
As the portal closes behind us, he sets me on my feet. I breathe in the scent of the musty air, realizing how much I’ve missed this smell. My strength returns, easing the pain in my muscles as my magic returns in full force. I can feel the pain and greed in the air, fueling me back to my full queen of hell potential. A shift in the energy causes a sharp pain in my side as I wait for the rest of my magic to appear. “Something’s wrong.”
The guys surround me, on high alert looking for a wound. Cat jumps in front of us, protecting us from an unknown threat. Maybe she won’t be too bad to have around.
“Are you hurt?” Lex lifts my shirt, looking for blood.
I swat his hand away, “No. It’s something else. There’s something wrong here. I can feel the greed, the souls. But I can’t feel the dread and pure evil.”
Aries’ eyes narrow as he takes off toward the gates, all of us jogging after him. All the wings are intact except for the south wing. The gate is bent, and lying outside of it on the ground is Charon. I rush over to him, falling to my knees by his side. His breaths are shallow as he turns his sunken eyes toward me. “Lucia.” His voice cracks. “You’re home.”
“Charon, what happened to you?” Panicked, I grip his hand in mine, looking over his form for a sign of injury.
His cool skin burns against mine as he squeezes my hand. “The deaders…they’re gone.”
Aries takes off into the wing, followed by Ryce and Levi. Cat stands with her back to us, watching as the others run toward the unknown.
Lex looks over Charon. “It looks like they drained you before they left,” he says, looking for confirmation from Charon, who nods. “Thankfully you’re already dead, so they can’t fully kill you. We need to get you back to the River Styx. Being submerged should regenerate you with time.”
Biting my lip, I glance at him, hoping he’s right. Charon’s my buddy, the only one who ever entertained my nonsense. “Are you sure this will help him?”
He nods, his lips set in a grim line. “It will, it just might take longer than we hope.” He bends down, picking him up in his arms to carry him over to the river.
Aries and the others reappear, their eyes hardened. “They’re all gone. Every one of them.”
“Do you know who let them out?” Ryce calls out to Charon.
He coughs as his voice rasps, “I thought it was Nassiter. That he freed them when he escaped. But he was already gone when they were let loose.” Another cough racks his body before he continues. “Someone else opened the gates and released the safety switches for them to escape. Along with unlocking the portal.”
We all look to each other, none of us expecting what’s to come next.
“The Golden Gates were opened. They went through to Heaven.”
Dear Readers
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T.L.
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