“Yeah, and what’s that? Why do you think you will make a difference when nothing else has?” he growls.
“Because I’m your mate.”
“Yeah, and how did that help you when you were affected by anger?” Finley flinches back like she was smacked. “You didn’t care that we’re your mates.” Obsidian’s arms fall to his sides, but his fists are still clenched. He takes a menacing step toward Finley. Stolas’ demeanor changes. He’s ready to jump in if he has to. “You were still going to attack us. You said so yourself, or did you forget? The violence level is worse than that. If you couldn’t remember who we were, how do you think I will? Violence isn’t the same as anger. It isn’t just getting mad and wanting to fight, to lash out.” Obsidian takes another step closer to Finley. Stolas’ muscles tighten. I shift subtly in my chair toward Finley. I’ll be up and out of this chair in a blink.
“Oh no. Violence is just what the name implies. It’s bloody and gruesome. It’s nothing but torture and death.” He takes another step. Finley, to my surprise, hasn’t moved an inch since that initial flinch. She’s standing her ground, not letting Obsidian’s words get to her. “So, you tell me how you think you’re going to help.” Finley doesn’t respond. Her gaze is unwavering as she stares Obsidian down. He scoffs. “That’s what I thought.” Obsidian turns, stocking out of the kitchen. A few seconds later the front door slams shut. That’s when the defeat settles into Finley. She slumps into her chair, running her hands down her face before looking over at me then to Stolas.
“He’s right,” she whispers. “Everything he said is true. How do you guys help him through the level? How do you guys not die?”
“The levels of hell don’t affect me. I’m a being born here. This is my home. I keep my wits about me. Verkor isn’t affected by the violence. We practically have to goad Obsidian into a fight with us, otherwise he tries to fight anything and everything. We move across the level, heading toward the gate. You know how fast you come back to yourself once you’re through.” Finley nods.
“Does he ever talk about what he feels? I know why I got angry. Do you think he knows why the violence affects him so much?”
“I think he does, baby.” I reach over and start rubbing her thigh. “But he just won’t talk about it. There are things about him that even we don’t know. Things he absolutely refuses to talk about.”
“I’m shocked,” Finley deadpans. I chuckle. “But in all seriousness, how bad is it going to get?”
“If Stolas and I can keep his attention and move quickly through the level, then not too bad. We might end up with a few cuts or scratches, but nothing life threatening.” Finley’s worried gaze meets my eyes.
“And if you can’t?”
“Then be prepared to run.” She sucks in a breath. Stolas stands, walking around the table, kneeling beside Finley. She turns, facing him.
“If we are telling you to run, you do that. No questions asked. You run straight for the gate and wait for us just on the other side. We will get through the gate when we can.”
“But,” Finely starts, but Stolas cuts her off. He shakes his head.
“No. No buts.” He cups her face. “I need… we need you to be safe. This is not something we are going to negotiate about. I will not risk your life or our pup’s.” Stolas leans his forehead against Finley’s. “Please, love. Don’t fight me on this one thing,” his voice growing soft. Finley reaches up, wrapping her small hands around his wrist.
“I promise. I promise to run if you tell me to.”
“Thank you,” he sighs. He kisses her forehead before pulling back. Stolas walks back around the table, reclaiming his seat. Finley glances toward the kitchen doorway.
“How long do you think he’s going to be mad at me?” she asks, never looking away from the direction Obsidian left.
“I don’t think he’s mad at you at all, baby.” Finley focuses back on me. “I think he’s mad at himself and the way he acted. He knows what this level does to him and he doesn’t want you to see him that way. I think he’s more afraid of your reaction than anything.”
“Why would he think I would think less of him? He didn’t of me after what happened in the fifth level.” Finley raises an eyebrow.
“You’ll understand when we get there. Seeing is believing.”
“Come on, love. Let’s go make sure our bags are packed. We’ll make sure Obsidian’s is ready to go as well.” She sighs, clearly seeing the blatant change of subject. All of us stand. I might as well make sure I’m ready to go as well.
“You know, why is it every time we try to make a plan, something happens and it doesn’t get done?” We follow Finley into the living room.
“Maybe we’re not meant to right now. We should probably wait until we can talk to my brother. He may have an idea on how to get you a date with the devil.” Finley groans as we walk up the stairs in a single file line.
“Ugh, don’t remind me. I’m hoping he’s going to be a gentleman and not get weird, or do,” she waves a hand around, “demon-y things.” Stolas burst out laughing and I chuckle.
“Oh, love. He’s the King of the Underworld. What do you think he does?” She whips around once we reach the top of the stairs.
“Honestly, I don’t know why I even said that,” she says exasperated. Stolas wraps an arm around her shoulders, guiding her toward Obsidian’s room.
“Let’s worry about that later. We still have plenty of time. Let’s get everything ready so we can go the moment Obsidian returns.”
I don’t follow them. Instead, I go to my room, quietly shutting the door behind me. I hope for Finley’s sake Obsidian keeps his shit together. As much as she says she won’t treat him differently, she hasn’t seen what violence can do to a person, not in this sense. She hasn’t seen the true evils of that level. If anything, it might change her.
Chapter 12
Obsidian
My bag was packed and ready to go after I returned. All of them pretended that nothing happened, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t look Finley in the eye, too afraid of what I would see there. Instead, I’ve kept quiet, walking behind everyone. The dread growing inside me the closer to the gate we walk. I know what’s coming, but Finley doesn’t. She’s too good to see the true horrors of hell. I’m so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t see them stop in front of me, and I run right into Finley’s back. She stumbles forward a step, but I reach out, grabbing her arms to keep her from falling. When she’s steady on her feet again, I move my hands. She turns, looking up at me with so much life and sparkle in her gray eyes. A smile crosses her lips.
“Thanks.” I nod, still not able to speak. She places her hands on my chest, one right over my heart. “You know you’re not alone, right? We’re all here for you. I’m here for you whenever you’re ready to talk.” She turns, standing right next to me, and laces our fingers together. “How about we walk through together.” I know it’s a bad idea, but I’m weak man when it comes to her and I can’t say no. I simply nod. Finley squeezes my hand, and we follow Stolas and Verkor through the gate.
“Welcome to the seventh level of hell, violence,” Stolas states.
“Holy. Fucking. Shit,” Finley exclaims from beside me. I see unshed tears welling up in her eyes. I turn, looking at the scene before me, trying to see it with new eyes.
There’s blood everywhere. It’s splattered across the ground and the surrounding rock walls. There are limbs of demons and humans alike littering the ground. There are various fights happening all around us. I watch as a black demon with yellow eyes and equally yellow teeth and claws, rips the head off of another demon, letting out a mighty roar. My heart starts to pound. I want to join. I want to feel the warmth of blood as it splatters across my skin. The sound of agonizing screams is like music to my ears. I close my eyes, letting it all sink. The sense of belonging, of home, fills me. A growl escapes my lips.
“Obsidian,” Finley calls out to me. I open my eyes, looking down at her. “Please, stay with me. Don’t gi
ve in to it.” Her voice wobbles as she pleads with me. I don’t want to give in. I want to be strong for her, but it calls to me. It calls to my soul.
All my life I’ve been the prey. I was hunted and sought after. I had to work hard to make people afraid of me. There are still those who try to capture me. Who try to kill me. But here, in violence, I’m not prey. I’m the hunter; the predator. I’m not weak, not anymore. I’m not the one being tortured for being who and what I am.
“Obsidian, we need to go. We need to move now.” Finley’s voice breaks through the haze, not fully, but enough that I start to move when she tugs on my hand.
Chains are rattling off to my right. I turn seeing a naked human male, chained to the stone wall. He grips the chains as whips are repeatedly wacked against his dick. I smile. He must be a pedophile. That is one of the many ways they are tortured, and they deserve all of that and more.
“Oh, fuck,” I hear Finley say.
Right before us is Abaddon, the guardian of the violence level, the King of the Abyss. There is no mistaking who Abaddon is. He’s the only demon with four horns. He’s a legend and one of Lucifer’s favorites. Finley moves to behind me, peeking around my arm just enough to see Abaddon.
“I don’t want him to see me. What if he remembers who I am?” At first, I don’t know why she would think Abaddon would know her, but then I remember she took hell forged blades from him. I reach around, pulling her closer to my back. No one will touch her. I will protect her. So, I give in to the violence that has been clawing at me.
Finley
I know the second Obsidian gives in. His whole body relaxes for a second before tensing up. Our bags that he was carrying are long forgotten. I don’t know even know when he slid them off his back, but they’re at my feet. I lean down, quickly going through my bag, looking for the belt they gave me to hold my daggers. The belt makes sense now that I think about it. They all knew I was pregnant. It’s why they insisted that I wear t-shirts instead of my corsets. I wish I could be mad at them for it, but now is not the time. Get your shit together Finley. Rummaging through my bag, I finally find the belt at the bottom. Hastily, I shove everything back into it. I stand, placing the belt around my waist.
A laugh I’ve never heard before erupts the silence. I look up and see that it’s coming from Obsidian. I stand behind him with my mouth open wide. I glance over to Verkor and mouth ‘what the hell is that?’ Subtly, Verkor shakes his head. He doesn’t want me drawing any attention to myself. I know the second I can safely run that’s what him or Stolas is going to tell me to do. I want to stay and fight, and I think they would have let me if I wasn’t pregnant. But I do have to worry about more than just myself now. If I can run, I will. I’ll protect myself and our baby and hope that all three of them come back to me.
“Stolas,” is the only word that booms from Abaddon.
“Abaddon,” he replies. There is a tug on my arm. Glancing over, I see Verkor.
Keeping my voice as low as possible, I ask, “How the hell does Abaddon know Stolas?”
“Everyone knows about the family that guards the gate to Lucifer’s castle. They do an extremely good job,” he whispers back.
“I see that you have brought your friend back. He’s good for business,” Abaddon states, drawing my attention back to the eight-foot-tall, black demon.
“Yes, well we really can’t stay that long today, and I was hoping we could just breeze on through,” Stolas says.
Abaddon doesn’t get a chance to reply, because my scream rents through the air. There is a tight grip in my hair, pulling me back away from my guys. My hands go to the hand pulling my hair. I start clawing at it, trying to loosen the painful grip, as my feet drag on the ground.
“Finley!” Stolas yells.
In a puff of smoke, Stolas transforms into his hellhound. The big black creature takes off running in my direction. He starts to blur from my unshed tears. There’s another figure running towards me and have to blink a few times to clear my vision. It’s Verkor. I see the dark shadows clinging to Verkor’s hands. He has called upon his shadow magic. I look over to the spot where Obsidian was last standing, and I don’t see him. I fight harder against the thing that’s pulling me. Obsidian can’t be left alone. I scramble with feet until I can find my footing. When I do, I twist, turning myself to face the back of the demon pulling me. The motion pulls on my hair, my scalp is stinging, but I need to get free.
I grab one of my daggers from my belt, thrusting it forward, digging it into the spine of the demon. It does what I want and let’s go of my hair. I stumble forward a few steps before catching my footing. I straighten, meeting the demons rage filled face. It takes everything I have not to wince at the sight. This thing has seen better days. One eye is swollen shut, a horn is broken off, almost every inch of exposed skin in black, blue, purple, or cut open. The demon leans its head back and roars. It doesn’t get a chance to do much more than that because Obsidian comes from out of nowhere, jumping on the demons back, cutting its throat wide open. Black blood sprays everywhere. It coats Obsidian’s face and hands, and a small portion hits me in the chest. Obsidian gracefully lands on his feet as the demon crumbles to its knees before falling over.
Obsidian walks over the demon and straight to me. I hold my ground, because no matter what he thinks, I know he will never hurt me. He proves me right, because the second he’s in front of me I’m being pulled flush against his body and he’s kissing the shit out of me. I should probably be grossed out by the fact that he’s covered in demon blood and kissing me, but I can’t find it in me to care. The kiss ends abruptly as I’m yanked away from him. The sudden movement makes me drop my dagger.
“What…” is all I get out because Verkor is standing in front of me, trying to push me back. I peek over at Obsidian and see the rage in his eyes as he stares Stolas down. I guess between Stolas and Verkor, Stolas would be more evenly matched against Obsidian, but if Verkor used his shadow magic I don’t think either of them would stand a chance.
“Why did you take her?” Obsidian growls, stalking closer to Stolas. I don’t want to see any of my mates fight each other, and if I can stop it, I will. I charge from behind Verkor, surprising him with the move. Honestly, he really shouldn’t be surprised. I run, placing myself between Stolas and Obsidian. I hold a hand up, a palm out toward each of them. My gaze falls to Obsidian.
“He didn’t take me. He thought you were going to hurt me, so he moved me out of the way,” I say to him. He inhales deeply, growling lowly. “We need to get going. Okay?” I hold out a hand towards him.
He studies me intently, but I give him all the time he needs to try to assess the situation. Just as he’s about to place his hand in mine, a demon attacks him. Obsidian grunts as he falls to the ground tangling with the demon. I turn to yell at Stolas and Verkor to help him, but they are fighting with demons of their own.
Shit!
I reach for my daggers in my belt, but only come away with one. Fuck, I dropped one. I frantically look around me trying to find it. I see a glint of metal a few feet from me. I take off at a run, but Abaddon steps in my way, standing right over my dagger. I don’t have enough space to stop from running into him, so I do the only thing I can think to do. I baseball slide between his legs, grabbing my dagger at the same time. I see him reach down for me but he’s too slow. I guess being short does have its advantages. I scramble to my feet, hold both of my blades in front of me. I drop down in my fighting stance. Abaddon turns, facing me.
“I remember you, little human,” he says. “I want my blades returned to me.”
“Not a chance in hell,” I say with a grin. I know picking a fight with the demon that guards this level of hell isn’t the smartest thing to do, but Abaddon is tall and bulky. He lumbers around and isn’t too fast. He has brute strength. I just need to make sure he doesn’t catch me.
Stolas
My heart drops as I see Finley running right toward Abaddon. Right before she runs into him, she drops down
sliding between his legs. The move is impressive. A kick to my side takes me by surprise, and I roll. I know better than to take my attention off of my opponent, but the flash of Finley out of the corner of my eye distracted me. I need to end this fight fast. The need, the urge, the instinct to protect my mate and pup surge through me. I stand, lowering my head and growl.
I charge, jumping at the last second, digging my claws in him. My mouth wraps around his throat, and I bite. The demons warm blood fills my mouth as I pull, ripping out his throat. I use my claws shredding him to pieces. I turn seeing Obsidian just killed his demon, and Verkor has a handle on his. I leave both of them as I run toward Finley. My paws pound against the ground.
I’m only a few feet away from Finley when she whirls behind Abaddon, cutting his thigh in the process. There are very few demons or humans who can say they drew the demon’s blood. Finley doesn’t stop there. Oh no, she reaches up as high as her arms will go, stabbing him in the back. I watch as she drags the daggers down, stopping right above his loincloth, before twirling out of the way. Abaddon lets out a mighty roar. Fear twist my insides. I push myself to run faster. I slide to stop in front of Finley, bumping her leg with my ass. Smoke puffs out of my nose with every breath I can take. I push my ass against her legs, pushing her back, trying to put as much distance between her and Abaddon as possible. A burning starts in my chest, threatening to burst from me. I rarely use my hell fire, but I will in this case.
Abaddon stands before me, laughing. “Relax, hellhound. I won’t harm your mate.” I don’t believe him. I feel Finley’s hand on my back, near my tail. “You have earned the right to keep my blades, little human.”
Stolen Fire Page 15
