Hells gate box set, p.33
Hell's Gate Box Set, page 33
part #1 of Hell's Gate Series
“She wants more than Earth,” I said.
She looked at me, eyes narrowing.
“Hell will be next.” She predicted, and a shiver danced over my skin at the surety in her words. “Hell is God’s creation, and she’s out to destroy every last piece of him. She’ll need your brothers for that. She’ll need you.”
“The power of three,” I said, breathless.
Ashliel nodded. “Your dad sent a warning.”
“She’s assuming I will side with her though. And I won’t. No matter what my father has done, he doesn’t deserve this. She imprisoned him for thousands of years, left him to rot. And in punishing him, she punished me, for like it or not, I love my dad.” I felt tears gather in my eyes and blinked to dispel them.
“We have to protect him,” I whispered for Dacian’s words came back to me. He was weak. He’d used precious energy to restore Heaven. He needed time to regroup. If Lilith realized he was vulnerable, she would strike now, take Heaven, and if she had my brothers with her, she just might pull it off.
“Do not breathe a word of this.” I ordered, striding to my desk. “This information cannot leak.”
“You think we have a leak?” She sounded surprised, but I shook my head. “No. I don’t. But if I was Lilith and I had plans as big as hers, I’d be planting spies, for while I was busy with plan a – calling the witnesses – I’d be wanting intel on the next stage, learn Hell’s weaknesses.”
“The key,” we said in unison.
Chapter Eleven
We were back on Fury Island. Even though I’d warded the island and the vessels containing the key to the gates of Hell, I had an uneasy feeling that Del, Jase, and Duke were in danger.
I could feel the connection I had with them, stronger now that I was close. It was like a rubber band stretched between us, pulling me toward them. And they’d feel it too, would know I was nearby.
“I wish you could feel what I’m feeling,” I said to Levi, clasping a hand over my chest. “It’s the weirdest thing.”
Levi was glancing around with narrow eyes as he squeezed my hand, tight. “Something is off.”
“Are you sure?” I frowned. “I don’t feel it.”
“I think your bond with the key is overpowering your other senses,” he muttered, dragging me down the dock and onto the sidewalk that ran the entire length of the shore. Shops were squeezed in side by side, catering to the tourist crowd. Only…there was no tourist crowd. The sidewalks were empty. Even the birds had stopped flying overhead.
We hurried along, peering into each shop as we went. It was as if everyone had simply vanished. Coffee cups sat half finished. Lights were on, doors unlocked, yet not a single soul was to be seen.
“Did Keres reach here before we stopped her?” Levi pondered.
I shook my head. “One of her arrows could have easily taken out the island’s population. But this quickly? And if that were the case, where are the bodies?”
“I can feel the key though. They’re still alive.” But barring that connection, there was a rising sense of panic. Where were the townsfolk of Fury Island? What had happened here? Something supernatural, I was sure of it.
Kicking at the pavement I spun and paced, “so many unanswered questions. I’m getting a damn headache”
“We should grab the key and get out of here.” He clenched his jaw. “This is a trap.”
“You think so?” That was one possibility I hadn’t considered. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. I really did have a headache, and there was a buzzing in my ears that was growing louder and more irritating by the second. “Do you hear that?”
“What?”
“A buzzing. A really irritating, loud, buzzing.”
“I don’t hear anything other than the ocean.” Levi frowned at me, and then looked around again, clearly on edge. “We should have brought backup. Or Dacian. Or both.”
“I can handle this,” I protested, stung that he thought I needed help. We were here to retrieve Del, Jase, and Duke, to bring them to Hell for safekeeping while all the madness was going on.
“I know you can. That wasn’t what I meant. I just have a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling.”
I tilted my head, and studied his expression, trying to read the lines of his face. “A psychic one?”
“Sort of. Not a vision. Not a message. But a sixth sense that something bad is about to go down. Something awful.”
“Let’s get them and get out of here.” Spinning on my heel, I backtracked to the end of the block and headed inland. I knew the way to the Vet’s house like the back of my hand, only the closer I got, the louder the buzzing in my head roared. Soon, it was so loud that my teeth were chattering, and my eyeballs were in danger of popping clean out of my head.
“Argh.” I collapsed to my knees, pressing the heels of my hands against my temples.
“Lucy?” Levi crouched next to me, concern pouring out of him in waves.
“Head,” I groaned. “Explode.” The pain was so severe that I could barely speak.
“You’re bleeding. Fuck!” He ran his thumb across my upper lip, then pulled his hand back, revealing a smear of blood.
“You need to get out of here. Now,” Levi shouted, scooping me up into his arms, he ran back toward the foreshore, each step he took lessened the buzzing until we were back on the dock and it was nothing but a faint hum. That didn’t stop my brain from feeling like it had melted and was in the process of oozing out of my nose.
Laying me on the dock he leaned over, brushing my hair from my face.
“We’ve got to get you out of here,” he murmured, “Can you fly?”
“We can’t leave the key,” I protested. “And how did you know to bring me back here? And why aren’t you affected?”
“Typical, full of bloody questions. You didn’t hear the noise until we were off the dock. The farther inland we went, the worse it got. Therefore, it made sense to come back here. It was a guess.”
“A lucky one,” I muttered, flinging an arm across my eyes to block the overhead sun that was burning out my retinas.
“As for why I can’t hear it? I don’t know. Maybe it was targeted specifically at you.”
“Which means…”
“Your brothers or your mother”, he supplied. “And they knew you were coming. Which means I was right, it’s a trap.”
“We do not have a spy in Hell,” I grumbled, refusing to consider such a thing. “We simply do not. My people are loyal.” Nausea churned in my stomach and sweat broke over my skin.
“We need to leave.” His tone was more urgent, he laid the back of his hand against my forehead and frowned.
“I’m not leaving without the key.” I set my jaw. There was no way I’d leave Del, Jase, and Duke for Lilith. But, what Levi said was true. Someone had gotten past the wards I’d cast, set a trap here, someone had known I was coming, and as soon as I’d stepped off the dock, it had been triggered. I crawled to the edge of the dock to vomit out the contents of my stomach, worry consuming me.
“I’ll go get them and bring them to you. This trap was laid for you, not me. You wait here, I’ll be back soon.” I didn’t protest, wanting to focus on regaining my energy while he retrieved the key.
Chapter Twelve
The humming in my head was completely gone, and I was feeling marginally better by the time Levi returned.
Empty handed. I pushed to my feet so fast, he doubled back.
“Where is the key?” I demanded. “Levi!” I limped forward, my eyes wide with panic. “Where are they?”
He held his hands up. “I couldn’t find them. I couldn’t find anyone. This place is deserted. I’ve been running around all over and found nothing. There’s no one.”
My nostrils flared in irritation even though I knew it wasn’t his fault. It was stupid of me to send him off searching for the key when he had no way of tracking them.
“I’m feeling better. I’ll get them myself.” I headed back down the dock, gaze darting from side to side, waiting for the humming to return, but it remained blessedly absent. Even as I stepped off the dock and onto the sidewalk, nothing. Levi was right behind me, ranting that we had to leave, that it wasn’t safe for me. I ignored him. The key was important, and I wasn’t leaving the island without it.
“Wait here,” I told him, extending my wings and flying over the town, up the hill to where their energy pooled. I had a direct line to them, all I had to do was zoom in, carry them down to the dock, retrieve Levi, and we were out of there. I ignored the blood dripping from my nose, and the fact that my vision was slightly blurred.
I landed outside Del’s cottage on the hillside and sucked in a deep breath. All three of them were here. I could sense them. Opening the door, I stepped inside, and sure enough, they were huddled against the far wall behind a woman I’d never seen before. Dressed in a skin-tight silver camouflage cat suit, her hair was pulled tight in a high pony tail while white stripes were painted across her cheeks and forehead. I scanned her up and down, taking in the weapons strapped to her legs and across her back. Unable to help it, I smiled. She was badass, a war spirit, a Valkyrie.
My gaze met Jase’s, who was standing protectively in front of Del, the fingers of one hand keeping a firm grasp on Duke’s collar to keep him from lunging at the woman who had them trapped. I could see their mark’s glowing, marking them, identifying them. Could the Valkyrie see the marks too?
“Finally. I thought you were never going to get here,” the Valkyrie drawled, inching closer to me.
“Why? Why wait for me? Why the trap?” I stood with my arms by my side, relaxed, yet on the alert. She hadn’t drawn a weapon, but she didn’t need one. She could turn me against everyone and everything, and there was no use pretending I didn’t know that.
“You have something we need.” She stood with legs braced, hands on hips. Power and authority rolled off her, and I could picture her as a great general of wars past.
“We?” I asked, although I already knew. From the smirk that curled her lips, she knew I was stalling.
“Lilith.” Something like hunger danced in her eyes. “Your mother.”
Del gasped, but I kept my attention on the Valkyrie. “What is it you want from me?”
“Your sword.”
I blinked. Her response surprised me, I hadn’t expected her to want my sword, of all things. “What does she need my sword for?” It tingled from its hiding place between my wings, eager for action, but I hesitated, not wanting to reveal the one thing she was after.
“It is the sword of souls. Together with the sword of angels she can—” She stopped abruptly, clamping her lips together as if she’d revealed too much.
“She can what?” I snapped, taking a step closer.
She stiffened, and one hand moved to a pistol secured in a holster on her thigh. Bullets couldn’t kill me. They hurt for a moment, sure, but they wouldn’t slow me down much. Unless of course, the bullets were spelled. That would be a different story altogether, and one best avoided. Slowly, I began inching toward Del and Jase, keeping myself between them and the Valkyrie. She allowed it, swiveling her body to keep me in her line of sight. It was true then. She wasn’t after the key. But, their identity was compromised, and I needed to get them out of here, back to Hell where they’d be safe.
She sniggered. “I told you, I’m not here for them.” She waved an arm at the door. “Go. You can all go. You included Lucifer…once you hand over your sword.”
I glanced at Jase over my shoulder and gave him a slight nod. I’d accept the Valkyrie’s word that she would let them go, and the sooner they were out of the house the better. A battle was about to go down, because I had no intention of handing over my sword.
“Go to the dock,” I whispered under my breath as they passed me. The Valkyrie and I kept our gazes locked on each other as the trio tiptoed past. We didn’t blink until the front door clicked shut behind them. I sagged, releasing a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. They were safe.
For now.
Next thing I knew, I was looking down the barrel of a gun. I hadn’t seen her move. Just like Keres, she had lighting fast reflexes.
“Hand it over,” she demanded, motioning with the gun.
Slowly, I moved my arm up, reaching over my head to wrap my fingers securely around the hilt of my sword. She’d get it all right. Right between her ribs. With one smooth motion, I unleashed the sword and sliced through the air, missing her wrist by a hairsbreadth. Her finger pulled the trigger, and a bullet shot out of the barrel.
It was my turn to be fast, faster than I’d been against Keres and her arrows. I deflected shot after shot with the sword, its blade, made from the ashes of Hell, shimmered with my flame. Bullets ricocheted and embedded themselves into the walls and furniture.
Then, the humming in my head started again, the buzzing louder. I had to stop this now, for if I lost concentration and fell, the sword would be hers, and for whatever reason my mother wanted it, I couldn’t let it fall into her hands. Outside there was a commotion, shouting, a scream. I wanted to turn my head, to glance out the window, but daren’t take my eyes from the Valkyrie who was approaching, pistol aimed at my head.
The warm wetness of blood trickled over my lips. My nose was bleeding, probably caused by the infernal buzzing scrambling my brain. I planted my feet and focused my thoughts on ending the fight.
With a mighty swing, I made contact, severing her hand, the pistol, with her fingers still clutched around it, fell to the floor. I wanted to enjoy the look of surprise on her face, then her scream as she clutched her stump and tried frantically to stem the bleeding, but time wasn’t on my side. I needed to send this asshole back to her own dimension. After another spin and kick, she crashed to the floor, landing on her back. I stood over her, my blood dripping down. Raising my sword, I brought it down hard into her chest, piercing her heart. She vanished, her startled cry echoing into nothing.
The buzzing didn’t stop, though. Dropping to my knees, I hid my sword back between my wings, and clutched my head in my hands. The Valkyrie didn’t set this trap; she wasn’t doing this to me. It was Lilith. And I knew why. She wanted both. The key and the sword. She’d sent the Valkyrie after the sword, while I left the key unprotected.
Groaning, I crawled across the floor, and then leaned on the windowsill to peered outside.
An angel took flight, the key in his grasp.
“You,” I muttered, slamming a fist into the glass. My brother, which one, I had no idea. If they were taking the key, that meant they were working for Mom.
The most dangerous goddess in all the realms had the key to the Gates of Hell. I’d fallen for her trap, and now I risked losing it all.
Chapter Thirteen
“It’s…amazing.” Levi’s voice was laced with admiration and awe.
I grinned at him.
Shaking his head, he was oblivious of the fact that I studied him closely. “More than amazing. Breathtaking even. I had no idea.”
“No one ever does.” The Gates of Hell weren’t what you’d expect. They stood majestically at fifty feet tall and had an outer black marble circle with a rotating inner band of red marble. In the very center, a void of shimmering blue, continually moving, changing, neither water, nor air, but a substance born of the universe. That blue was the beginning of creation itself.
Levi raised a hand, fingers reaching out. I knew the pull the Gates had. They mesmerized you, lured you in with their unique beauty and the sense that something beautiful would be revealed if you just touched it.
I snagged his wrist and held firm. “I wouldn’t. Touching the Gate is a direct invitation to the pit.”
His eyebrows slammed together. “Seriously?”
“Deadly.” Anyone who tried to mess with the Gates of Hell got a one- way ticket to Hell.
“What do the symbols mean?” He pointed to the sigils engraved in the slowly rotating circle. Nine different shapes, each keeping its own secret.
“Part of the combination.” The Gates energy thrummed as the blue material arched through the air toward me, wanting my attention and touch. “I know,” I soothed, stepping closer, reaching in, and letting the substance encase my hand and arm.
“You’re immune?”
“Yes. See the blue? It’s the first molecule Hell was built upon. It’s also in the mark of the key, connecting us all. It makes me immune.” To destroy the gate was to destroy Hell itself. And I’d never let that happen, no matter what my mother threw at me, I wouldn’t let her have this.
“It’s so different to Heaven’s.” Levi stood mesmerized, and his words backed me from the edge of my anger and back to him.
“Yes. The Pearly Gates are more symbolic than anything else.” Sucking in a calming breath, I closed my eyes to communicate with the Gate. Strengthening our bond, I delivered a warning.
They’re coming.
“Does she know? Does Lilith know how stunning the Gate is? The power? For it has to be powerful right?” He held up a trembling arm. “I can feel it…look, the hairs on my arm are standing on end.”
“Yes. It’s very powerful,” I agreed, running my hand over his skin and soothing down the hairs that were indeed standing upright. “And no, she doesn’t know.”
“What?” His eyebrows shot into his hairline. “how did you keep that from her?”
I shrugged. “It never came up. The Gates are sacred. They are the heart of Hell, the essence.”
“And the key? Obviously, the key isn’t a conventional key and the Gates aren’t conventional gates. What happens when the key and the gate come together?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“You’ve trusted me with this, Lucy. Trust me a bit more and tell the truth. What happens?”
I opened my mouth to answer, and then clamped it shut. I could feel Ashliel’s energy searching for me. She’d never been here, I’d kept the Gate’s exact location hidden from her, and I wasn’t about to change that.
