Chapter 28
I recognized Purgatory the minute we stepped out of the portal. No, I didn’t just recognize Purgatory, it was The Hearth that caught my attention. Beetee’s hostel.
Why the fuck were we here?
Beetee nearly squealed the moment she took in her large establishment. Everything about my time here flooded into my mind. The images that passed by were good, bad and downright traumatic, but they were things that would always stay with me. There was something about each of them that led me to where I was right now and I didn’t regret them. Would I have done things a little differently? Probably, but that wasn’t something to ponder on anymore.
The door to the hostel opened and Beetee’s moms barreled out, running towards their daughter. They were all talking at once and it was like everything they’d left out about her life didn’t matter right now. The pink-haired demon wiped under her eyes, removing some of the tears she let fall.
“I’m so happy you’re alright.” Beetee placed her hands at each of their cheeks.
The red head with the pixie cut, Louise, I think, smiled at her daughter. “We are just fine. We kept this place running while you were gone. We were a mess when you didn’t come back, but you’re a fighter my love. Always have been.”
Reese asked the question on my mind. “I am very much loving this reunion right now, but there was a plan in place here, yes?” He looked over at Elise, who had my portal key dangling from her fingertips.
“Yes, Blondie. It’s just a pit stop. Next stop Dani, okay ?”
Garrett hummed. “Let me guess you plan to leave Beetee here with her moms, while we go find Dani?”
Elise turned her eyebrows inward in frustration.
Beetee whipped around, her pink hair flying over her shoulder. “Ellie!”
Elise rolled her eyes. “Listen, just hang out with your moms. We’ll come back for you when we have pretty boy’s girlfriend back. It’s not up for discussion. It is happening and that’s that. End of story.”
I let out a short laugh, which surprised me since I was already on edge knowing that in some way Dani was so close. I leaned into Beetee, knocking my shoulder against her. “She cares, but don’t let her know you know.”
That made her giggle a little. Elise bared her teeth. “Do you really want to get on my bad side right now, Nicholas?”
“You have a good side?” Reese quipped, smirking at her.
Elise held out my portal key, making another circle that would ultimately lead us to Hell, or at least a prison in Hell. Beetee touched her wrist. “You are coming back for me. That’s that.” Her lilac eyes were wide and innocent. Something about her had me thinking that it wouldn’t take much for her light to come to fruition. Beetee was so inherently good that it was hard for me to consider she could shift into a menacing snake until it was happening.
“I’ll think about it.” Elise winked at her, then focused her eyes on the rest of us. “Hustle people.”
I nodded over to Garrett. “You don’t want to go find your family? I promise we’ll come back for everyone.” I side-eyed Elise, but she just glared at me.
He looked up at the trees and the sky that looked like a sunset, but it was always like that. Always an orange-red color that never changed unless it was the dead of night. “They aren’t here.”
“And you know this how?” Reese asked.
A ghost of a smile haunted his lips. “Leah and I are bonded. It’s special in marriages for Enchanters. It’s not a requirement but we wanted to do it for ourselves. I can sense her, feel her aura and presence. I don’t feel that here.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say. It was kind of beautiful when I thought about it. It wasn’t something they needed, but something they wanted. That kind of love floored me. I wondered if that was how my father felt about my mother. I let that thought morph into one that had me considering that my current love for Dani could become even bigger than it already was.
“We good?” Elise asked, bringing me back from my thoughts.
“Yeah.” My father’s whispered words to me earlier settled in my head.
We are so similar, yes, but you are also your mother’s son. You have her heart.
“Good. Now let’s go get your girl.”
Purgatory was a breeze compared to this. Elise had tossed me my portal key when we exited the glowing circle and the instant heat hit me. Purgatory was humid but you got used to it, it became palpable over time. My mouth was starting to go dry the moment we stepped into Hell. Everything had a red or coral hue to it and it smelled earthy, almost like clay. It was nothing to be disgusted over, but everything about this place made me uncomfortable.
Reese patted his arms and legs. “Oh thank fuck, I thought I would burst into flames once we got here.”
Garrett and I both looked at each other and then back at my best friend. Reese looked confused. “What?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why would you think that?”
Reese pulled his blonde hair into a messy bun on top of his head. “Angels in Hell. You can’t tell me that this place isn’t just itching to swallow us whole. We are like delectable treats.”
Elise scoffed. “First off, angels don’t come to Hell. They strictly go to Purgatory. Even I know that, you idiot. Secondly, don’t ever call yourself delectable again, it makes me want to vomit.”
I pointed over to the grumpy demon. “Where to now?”
She looked around, surveying her surroundings. The way her shoulders tensed told me that she was familiar with this place, but it wasn’t somewhere she necessarily wanted to be. That made two of us.
Her eyes peered over our heads as she scanned the building behind us. “We’re at the back of the prison.”
“You portaled us right here?” Reese asked, looking around anxiously.
“Would you have wanted me to portal us inside, right in Dimitri’s lap?” She said, sarcastically.
I let my mind travel away from their arguing, feeling my skin itch. The back of my neck was licked with sweat, but it wasn’t that it was significantly hot, but something about this place felt like it wanted you to be on edge. It felt like the trees themselves were watching you and my anxiety was on a much higher level then I would have liked.
The ground was made of a red clay that kicked up easily and dusted around my ankles. There were pieces of gravel scattered throughout and it looked as if this place was on the outskirts of something larger. The building we were next to was wide, but had the same height as the castle-like structure of The Skies. The trees around us had no real leaves left on them, but their trunks were huge, providing cover for each of us, should we need it.
Broken and dead leaves were scattered at my feet and my thoughts halted when I heard a crunch. I noticed that none of us had moved, so I trained my eyes on various places it could have come from.
“What was that?” Garrett asked, trying not to make any sudden movements.
I was about to reach for my sword at the same time as Reese was about to take hold of his bow, but Elise held her hand up. A smirk played at her lips as she looked into the distance as if she was….waiting for something.
“The fuck are you doing?” Reese whispered harshly, looking at me as if to say she is clearly trying to kill us .
The crunch got closer and it was more constant as if whatever it was—was running.
The running was soon drowned out by the distinct sound of panting. Elise bent her knees a little and in a matter of minutes, a small black beast broke through the brush and jumped into her arms.
No, not a beast.
A hellhound.
Axel.
The little black creature licked her face rapidly as she stood up straight. Elise turned around to look at all of us. “You should see your faces. Priceless.”
Axel wiggled out of her hold and bounded over to Garrett. There was a slight whimpering noise coming from the hellhound. He nuzzled his little wet nose against the Enchanter's neck, while Garrett stroked his hand down Axel’s furry back.
“You knew he was here?” I asked, staring wide eyed at the hellhound.
Elise shrugged. “Yes. Axel likes to explore between Hell and Purgatory. He always comes back to me, well me or Beetee. He is mostly a good boy.”
Axel ripped himself from Garrett and nearly flew over to me. I caught him, allowing his tiny pink tongue to give me kisses. Even though his eyes were black pools of nothing, something like adoration could be found there if you looked hard enough. He missed us.
I wasn’t fast enough to keep my hold on him when he leaped from my arms to an unsuspecting Reese. My best friend awkwardly caught the small dog, tripping over a tree stump and landing on his back. Axel sniffed him, letting out soft barks and panting against his face.
“Why do we keep meeting like this!” Reese groaned, but his voice had no anger in it. He scratched behind Axel’s ears, causing the hellhound to lift one of his legs, kicking at the air as if the scratching felt good.
“ Mostly a good boy.” Elise repeated watching them with annoyance. “Axel come here.” She snapped her fingers and in the most dopey obedient way, he padded over to his mom. Elise got on her knees and Axel faced her, sitting down and puffing his little chest out.
Elise tilted her head to the side, her black hair swaying along with her. “Is she here?”
“How would he know that?” I narrowed my eyes at our surroundings, wondering how this would help us.
She ignored me and continued to stare at her pet. Axel let his tongue droop out, but then he was gone. A puff of black smoke took his place, leaving nothing else behind. Elise sat back on her heels. Reese was wiping red clay off his pants as he sidled up to me, confused.
Garrett, like Elise, didn’t look phased by what had just happened. Before I could ask any questions, the black smoke returned and so did Axel. Reese and I slowly walked over to them, careful not to make any sudden movements that could throw off whatever the fuck was going on.
Axel raised his head to stare at us, showing us his sharp canines as he happily panted. He sniffed the air, right before thin veils of smoke bellowed off of him. He slapped his tail against the ground as if he was pushing the smoke towards us.
“Elise what the hell is…” I started, but then something stopped me. The thin smoke floated right under my nostrils and I tentatively breathed it in and my breath caught.
It was cinnamon.
I nearly fell onto my knees with the way my heart started to constrict in my chest.
Axel started to whimper, pawing at Elise’s knee and then he pointed his snout over to Garrett. He pawed harder at Elise and then turned back to Garrett again.
“Leah? The kids? They’re okay?” Garrett bent down, placing his hand on top of Axel’s head. I was too stunned at everything to even consider the fact that we were all talking to a hellhound as if he was going to start speaking to us.
Axel nuzzled his face against Garrett’s palm and licked his skin. He did one solid hop and let his tongue connect with the Enchanter’s cheek. I was going to assume that was a yes to Garrett’s question.
“Can he..” I let my words trail off, not really knowing how to ask my question.
“Can he what, Nicholas?” Elise pressed.
I bit my bottom lip, readjusting my sword at my back. “Can he in some way let me know if she’s okay?”
Elise raised an eyebrow at me over her shoulder, but turned back to Axel. “Is Dani okay?”
Axel’s playful grin contorted quickly into a sneering growl. He snapped his teeth and his claws dug into the clay under his pads. Elise placed one of his hands under his chin, causing him to freeze and look at her. There was a small moment between them and then she huffed out a breath. “Shit.”
“What? What’s wrong?” I questioned.
Elise pushed up from the ground. “She’s in there, yes. Dimitri has her in a Hell locked cell.”
“Which would mean…” Reese pressed.
“Every cell in this prison is locked by Hell magic. Axel can move in and out of those cells in a shadowy form without issues. Dani’s cell is locked by Hell magic as well, but it’s also sealed with infernal fire.” She held her hand up to Reese. “And no I don’t have time to explain to you what that is.”
He rolled his eyes, but let her finish. “It just means, no entity from Purgatory or Hell alike can enter, unless he’s given permission. Axel can’t shadow in there, like he can for wherever Leah is, but he can waft her scent to us.”
“What in the demonic fuckery?” Reese muttered, pining his hazel eyes on the black dog.
Garrett stared up at the large building. “He can take us to her though? To all of them?”
Elise scoffed. “Of course he can.”
Axel wiggled his way around us, heading straight for the wide, ominous building that lay ahead of us. A breeze went by but instead of pushing heat towards us, it felt like ice. The sweat that was at my neck froze in place at the sudden disturbance.
The heat came back with a vengeance when the cold air had moved on. Elise followed her hellhound with Garrett right on her heels. I wiped my hand across the back of my neck, looking around at the trees, trees that acted as if I was an intruder. In some type of fucked up way, I was. I felt my insides wanting to rage against me.
The darkness I’d managed to place at a simmering level since we got back from Purgatory, it boiled inside of me. I swallowed hard, resisting the urge to let it ruin this for me. I knew when to ignore it and when to acknowledge it enough so that it didn’t think it had power over me.
I curled my hands into fists at my sides and took short breaths in, letting my mind adjust.
I wasn’t going to let it win.
Half of my heart was locked away in that building and I wanted it back.