The Darkest Touch

by Gena Showalter

  His bedroom door suddenly burst open, and a gorilla-like demon raced inside. "Three prisoners attempted to escape, my lord, but they didn't get far. They await your punishment."

  Keeley stiffened. Torin, Viola and Pandora? Probably. Mission fail! Time for damage control.

  "Where are they?" Lucifer asked, as calm as before.

  "The throne room, my king."

  "Bring them here."

  The demon raced away without missing a beat.

  Throat dry, Keeley asked, "What are you going to do with them? And why do you have two females chained next to your throne?"

  His dark eyes glinted at her. "What would you like me to do? And because it pleased me to do so."

  "Let them go?"

  He smiled, shook his head. "You always had a soft heart. I had hoped that what Hades had done to you had hardened you."

  It would have, permanently, if not for Mari...and then Torin.

  "You know, the timing strikes me as odd," he said, his tone merely observational. "Does it you? You arrive, and suddenly there's an escape attempt."

  "What strikes me as odd is the fact that your prisoners didn't try to escape sooner."

  "Hmm," was all he said as the three prisoners were dragged in.

  Keeley held back her sigh of relief. Not Torin, Viola and Pandora, after all, but a redheaded warrior--Baden, surely--as well as the spirits of Cronus and Rhea. All three wore serpentine wreaths.

  Well, well. Her gaze narrowed on Cronus. The male had imprisoned her for centuries and had played a sinister part in Mari's death. Though vengeance against his body had been stolen from her, there were plenty of things she could do to his spirit....

  The walls began to shake.

  Cronus must have suspected the direction of her thoughts. He struggled against his captors.

  "I've changed my mind," she announced. "Definitely don't let them go. We'll play pin the dagger on the dead."

  Rational thoughts peeked above the darkness of her desires, bright lights she couldn't ignore. Did Torin know Baden was here? Had anyone noticed his absconding with Viola and Pandora? She hoped he'd succeeded.

  If he was caught...hurt...

  I will burn this realm and everyone in it to the ground.

  "Excellent idea." Lucifer dabbed the corners of his mouth with his napkin, even though he'd never taken a bite of the food.

  "Where's Pandora?" Baden snarled. "What have you done with her? Tell me!" His wild gaze flicked to Keeley, moved back to Lucifer, only to return to Keeley and widen. "The Red Queen. You're here. Why are you here?"

  He knew her?

  Victim of the Time Out box?

  "It would be my pleasure to show you exactly what I've done to your precious female." Lucifer stood. He helped Keeley to her feet, and she could think of no reason to protest the trip to the throne room. Surely Torin was gone.

  But then, why hadn't an alarm sounded?

  Lucifer led the way, never releasing her. First problem--if she couldn't break free of his grip, she couldn't flash anywhere else in the underworld. Those stupid wards!

  No time to panic.

  The doors were opened for Lucifer so that there was never a pause in his step. As they entered the room, he casually said, "Tonight, Keeleycael, you will warm my bed, and I will brand you as my concubine."

  Uh, second problem. "How about...no."

  "Did I lead you to believe you would have a choice in the matter? My apologies."

  "Do you think you'll have the strength to force me?"

  He laughed. "I recently captured two females beloved by the Lords of the Underworld. You may remember them from my throne room. The ones in chains. Yes? I planned to hurt them and blame Hades. The Lords would have gone after him, distracting him, allowing me to swoop in. If I'd known you would show up on my doorstep, I wouldn't have bothered. You will make a far better distraction."

  As anger burned through her--try to use me, the Red Queen, never!--he stopped short. Viola and Pandora were gone. And none of the demons had noticed.

  Impressive. Masterful. How had Torin managed that?

  Lucifer leveled undiluted rage at her. "It seems I underestimated you. My own distraction. Bravo. But no matter," he said with another unveiling of his cold smile.

  "What can you do about it?" she asked, then hit him so hard in the chest his sternum cracked. While he tried to draw in a breath, she punched him in the face. Jab, jab, jab. She turned, swooping low, and grabbed a smaller minion by the neck, turned again, going back the way she'd come, and swung. The creature's horns cut through Lucifer's skin and cracked into his thigh, breaking his femur, the biggest bone in his body.

  He grunted--and vanished. She turned, expecting him to materialize behind her. She flashed a dagger into her hand, ready to stab him. But he'd tricked her. He'd returned to the spot he'd vacated--with a piece of brimstone in hand. He pressed it into the top of her spinal cord, singeing hair, flesh and clothing. A scream burst from her as pain and weakness spilled through her.

  "This, Keeleycael, is only the beginning of what I can--and will--do."

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  TORIN HURRIED THROUGH the portal, shouting, "Keep it open." He dropped the two girls he'd had to carry out of the underworld under his arms like sacks of potatoes, and turned. He had to get to Keeley. But as he dove back through the portal, it closed, and he skidded into the Cage. "No! Open it, Danika."

  She slumped against the Rod, panting, beaded in perspiration, her features pale. "Trying...can't...so sorry."

  "She barely held it open as long as she did." Reyes tried to wrench the cage door from its hinges, but the metal held steady. "It's jammed. Why is it jammed?"

  Because Keeley was the owner of the Cage, and it would only respond to her. Or...maybe to Torin, too, the possessor of the All-key. But if he freed Danika, would she lose control of the Rod, Keeley's commands voided?

  Can't risk it.

  He explained that to Reyes, panic and urgency riding him hard. "We need to get Keeley back."

  "Dani is too exhausted." Reyes withdrew a dagger and picked unsuccessfully at the lock.

  Torin rushed out of the room. All of his friends were congregated in the hall, waiting for the verdict. "Lucien," he shouted, and the warrior strode forward, pushing everyone out of the way. "Flash me to the underworld. You can do it without a portal."

  "Yes, but where in the underworld? It's so vast, I can jump from one mile to another for days and not cover the entire expanse."

  "Some palace of Lucifer's."

  "You'll have to be more specific. He has as many palaces as there are miles."

  Getting nowhere. "William," Torin shouted.

  "You rang?" The warrior stepped up beside Lucien.

  "Go to Hades." Never thought I'd say those words, and not mean them as a curse or a threat. The male could save Keeley; Torin couldn't. The very idea sickened him. But her survival was more important than his pride. "Ask him if he knows where Lucifer is and tell him I need him to get Keeley away from the guy."

  Hades could take her anywhere inside the underworld, but not out of it. She'd entered through the Rod's portal, and so she had to leave through it. Flashing wouldn't work. But without the Cloak, she couldn't go through the portal. Torin would have to give the artifact to Hades--unless Torin went with him, which he would absolutely insist on doing. But at the end of the day, he had very little bargaining power here. Would do anything to keep Keeley safe. Whatever Hades wanted.

  She might hate Torin for arranging this, but he would rather deal with her hatred than her torture and death.

  Yes, she was strong, and could take care of herself, but Hades knew about the wards. Lucifer did, too. And as soon as Lucifer discovered his prisoners were missing, he would connect the dots and Keeley would be blamed. He would try to punish her.

  William scratched his chest. "I can tell you're upset by this, and my heart bleeds for you. Probably. Also probably not. But I'm going to graciously decline and blame the necessity of the re
fusal on you. You should know me better. I don't do anything free of charge."

  Torin grabbed him by the collar and shook him. "I wasn't asking."

  William didn't bat an eye. "Is this a challenge? This feels like a challenge."

  He wanted payment? Fine. "Your price?"

  "Keeley must steal my book from Anya."

  The book. His precious. Within its pages were prophecies detailing how to save his life...or something. The goddess had stolen it years ago and hidden it from the warrior. For "funnzies."

  "Done."

  "Then I shall return with Hades," William said and vanished.

  "I won't give it up," Anya called. "You don't know what he's like when that thing is in his possession."

  And he didn't care. Torin told her what she could do with herself, and it involved several things that weren't actually anatomically possible.

  "Torin's done gone dark, y'all," Kaia muttered.

  Get the mess cleared. Be ready. No telling how quickly William would return--and he had better return quickly. "Maddox, carry Viola to a bedroom. She needs medical attention. Lucien, Pandora is in there, too. Same condition as Viola. She's wearing wreaths, so anyone should be able to touch her."

  A flurry of activity erupted as his orders were obeyed.

  "Baden?" Sabin asked.

  "Didn't see him."

  William materialized, Hades at his side.

  "Out," Torin snarled at the crowd, clearing the artifact room of everyone but Reyes and Danika.

  William and Hades entered behind him, and William kicked the door closed.

  Enough testosterone in this room to choke a rhino. "Can you save Keeley or not?" he demanded, glaring at Hades.

  The dark lord glared right back at him but remained silent until his attention moved to Reyes. "Your woman is to rest for two days. At the end of the second, she is to open a portal for Keeleycael. I will be very displeased if she fails."

  Reyes, already on edge by the turn of events, gripped his daggers by the blades. Blood poured on the floor. "How can she rest while she's trapped inside the cage?"

  "She will have to find a way. And you," Hades said, at last deigning to speak to Torin. "You will come with me. You will return the Red Queen through the portal."

  Meaning Hades couldn't go through, even with the Cloak? "What do you want in return?"

  The male narrowed his eyes. "We both know I'll do this without demanding anything in return. For her. Not for you."

  Hades...loved her? Truly?

  Mine! My woman!

  "But when we return," Hades continued, "I'm done waiting on the sidelines. I'm coming after her. And I will win her. I can give her what you have not."

  Every dark emotion magnified, but he held his tongue. Now wasn't the time to indulge.

  A second later, the walls of the room disappeared. Another world took shape around him. The stifling heat of the underworld. The screams and the smoke and the despair. Outside Lucifer's palace, the fires were more numerous, erupting everywhere for no seeming reason. Demons of all shapes and sizes crawled over rocky walls and guarded the ginormous entrance that was shaped like a skull.

  So far, no one had noticed them.

  "She wouldn't be in this position if you had taken me up on my offer," Hades remarked.

  Please. "We both know you would have ripped Disease out of me only to give me another demon."

  Hades didn't deny it. "Erectile Dysfunction. Or Self-Mutilation. Probably both. Instead, I'll make you wish that's the way this had played out."

  Two short swords suddenly appeared in Torin's hands. A gift from Hades--a stupid move on the male's part. "Not if I kill you first."

  Ignoring the threat, Hades said, "The worst part is, you never even had to hurt her. You had the answer all along, you were just too wrapped up in your fear to see it."

  What the hell was he talking about? The answer all along? What answer--the way to be with Keeley without making her sick?

  "Tell me!" he demanded.

  The only response he received? A cold smile that proclaimed Never.

  There was no time to try to beat the answer out of him. At last the demons realized they were no longer alone and stopped what they were doing to lick their lips hungrily. Murmurs of delight erupted.

  "You ready to fight your way in?" Hades asked.

  And waste more time? "I'm ready for you to flash me in."

  "Sorry, pup. Not going to happen. I'll flash myself, but you...you are on your own from this point on." Hades vanished in a blink.

  Fine. Torin marched forward. Once, he'd lived for battles. Always he'd craved them. Today he would have one.

  The demons rushed him, fangs bared. He swung his swords in a wide arc. One head, removed. Another head, removed. A clawed hand reached for him. Again he swung his sword. The hand thumped to the ground without the arm.

  More and more demons raced toward him, swarming him. He remained in a constant state of motion, adrenaline surging through him. One pause and he would lose a limb of his own. The challenge energized him.

  With a roar, Torin removed another head. Then another. An arm. A hand. Another head. The body parts piled up around him. Black blood spurted and splattered, burning him.

  Eventually he worked his way past the double doors and entered the foyer. There were scratches all over him and a gouge in his thigh. Fire in his veins. Probably some kind of demon toxin. He didn't care.

  Two demons rounded the corner, headed straight for him. Footsteps echoed behind him. Closing in... He swung the swords backward, felt the resistance of flesh and bone, and knew he'd stabbed the ones behind him. Then he swung the swords forward and removed the heads of those two. As the heads rolled away, red eyes on him...off him...on him again...he strode forward, determined to get his woman.

  *

  CHAINED TO LUCIFER'S throne. Like we're Princess Leia and Jabba the freaking Hutt. It was humiliating! But at least Keeley was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants rather than a bikini.

  Small consolation, though, considering her back was covered in stupid wards.

  The first one had weakened her so much Lucifer hadn't even had to hold her down while he'd given her the others. Now she couldn't even flash a few inches away from the danger zone.

  Lucifer would have given her more wards, covering her from head to toe just like his father had done, and would have made good on his threat to force her to warm his bed--where she would have fought with every bit of strength she still possessed--if a commotion hadn't erupted outside. He'd looked out the window, seen hundreds of his minions being slaughtered, and dragged her to the throne room to await his foe. Appearance was everything, after all.

  At least to him. Torin was here! Her heart galloped with anticipation and excitement.

  The only bummer? Hades was here, too.

  Countless minions backed against the walls as their former king stalked to the edge of Lucifer's royal dais. "You wanted my attention." His calm sent a shudder through the minions. "You have it."

  The two might have liked each other...once. But evil could not be faithful to evil. And Lucifer just happened to be as evil as they came. He had an insatiable need for more. More power. More praise. More territory. More control. Collateral damage meant nothing to him. He stole. He lied. He killed.

  He enjoyed it.

  He wanted his power to extend beyond the underworld. That's all this war was about. Once he'd taken down Hades, he assumed there would be no threat of competition. But he'd forgotten about the Most High. Not to mention William, who'd once ruled the other half of this realm, bound to it as tightly as Lucifer. Only, William had found a way to escape, just like Hades.

  "What I want," Lucifer said, "is for you to bow to me. Do it and you may walk away with the girl."

  A sardonic twist of Hades's mouth, one she was very familiar with. Lucy was about to be spanked. "You assume I'm under the mistaken impression that you can win a war against me. You assume I would not have taken precautions before ever handing ove
r the keys to my kingdom."

  Lucifer paled--because he knew it was true.

  The doors burst open, and countless demon bodies and various severed parts tumbled inside. Torin climbed over the lifeless mountain, marching straight for Hades's side, his head high.

  Hades couldn't mask his irritation.

  Keeley swallowed a whimper of relief. Torin might be soaked in black goo, but he'd never looked more fierce. She made to stand, but Lucifer jerked at the chain wrapped around her neck, keeping her down.

  "Give her to me," Torin snarled. "Now." He made to climb the stairs, his already-bloody swords at the ready, but Hades held out an arm, forcing him to remain in place.

  She knew what Hades was thinking. That Lucifer would grab her and either cut her throat or flash away with her. Or both. He was right.

  But then every minion supposedly serving under Lucifer's rule turned on him, baring fangs and claws--in challenge. Several even dropped from the ceiling, putting their bodies between Keeley and her captor.

  "I told you," Hades said with a smugness that had to grate.

  The words and the truth they proclaimed so confidently--that the allegiance of the minions had been feigned--enraged Lucifer, and he tried to slash at her anyway. But the minions took the blows for her, shielding her from receiving so much as a scratch.

  Hades released Torin, who quickly scaled the stairs.

  In typical grandiose fashion, Lucifer announced, "This isn't over," before flashing away. Realizing he'd lost this round, and quite badly, too.

  The minions fell away from her as Torin hacked through the length of her chain, freeing her from the throne. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, his heart galloping against her temple.

  "You came back for me," she said. Not that she'd ever doubted him.

  "For you? Always."

  My sweet Prince Charming.

  No. My king. My other half.

  "As touching as this reunion is," Hades sneered, "we have other things to do."

  He was right. And he'd come for her, too--which baffled her. He'd never been one to put himself out for another. Not even for payment.

  Perhaps he had changed.

  Did that mean she was ready to forget the past and start hanging out with him? No. Just that she might not make his murder as painful as she'd originally planned.

  "Baden is here," she said.

  Torin stiffened as Hades's long legs ate away at the space between them. The dark lord crouched in front of her, intent, saying, "Do you want this Baden returned to the Lords?"