Chapter 30
Lynx
Sable is a strong woman. A fucking special, beautiful, smart woman who deserves more than what I’ve given her. A lifetime of misery, trapped as a ghost with unfinished business, tethered to a house she grew up in with a demon-turned-human desperate to get her back.
Hell is no place for someone as amazing as her.
I was sent there because of my sins. Because I was a thief trying to save my little brother from poverty—regardless of the reasons, I stole.
All Sable did was steal the heart of her killer, and in return, she’s now in the very place that drove me to insanity.
No matter what, I need to get her back. Not for my own selfish reason of not being able to live without her anymore, but because Hell will ruin her.
They’ll be torturing her.
I know it. And by the expression on Tony’s face and the way he keeps pacing in front of me, he knows it too.
“You need to take me back.” A demand. Not a question. There are no ifs, buts, or maybes in this reality. I need to drag my ass back to Hell and save her.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He steps back. “You’re free to leave and go have the life you should’ve had years ago. But you want me to take you back there?”
“My brother is dead. There’s a large chance Sable is alive. And if she is, it’s likely she’s being tortured.”
“You’re human,” he points out. “I know you aren’t processing the significance of that, but you aren’t a fucking demon anymore. There is no tether. No voice. No demands. No fear. Me taking you down there is suicide.”
“She’s down there.”
Tony sighs, throwing his arms out. “What if I don’t want to?”
“Then I’d never forgive you.”
He clicks his tongue. “Damn, bro. You’d sacrifice yourself for some chick?”
“I think I love her.”
Tony grimaces. “If you didn’t love her, then you’d be on your way to freedom by now. Why exactly is it you’re still here?”
For a long, hard moment, I picture myself stepping over the property lines and toward my freedom. I could live. I could find out what’s happened since I was taken from my life. There are multiple things that I should do.
My main goal was to get out of here and search for my brother—or his family, now that he’s no longer alive. Assuming he lived long enough to have one. I can only hope he had a good life. One Sable also deserved before I took it away from her.
I swallow and bring my gaze back to my friend. “I need to find her.”
“Because you love her.”
I take a deep breath and nod.
Fuck. I’ve fallen in love with the girl I murdered.
Tony pats my shoulder. “Will we go save her, then?”
He could take me back, sneak me in somehow, and take me to her. I’ll figure out a way to get us both out, or at least her, before we’re caught. It’s possible.
“You need to make it believable,” I tell him, taking a deep breath. “If we get caught, you’ll be in deep shit. You can’t bring a human back and not expect to be questioned.”
He gestures to the wound on my side. “I could say I caused that wound and you cheated Hell, so I was returning you. I’d be praised for bringing you back, if anything.”
“That doesn’t explain why I left as a demon and returned as a human.”
“Then let’s make sure we don’t get caught. It would be embarrassing for me to be punished over something like this.”
I give a curt nod, filling my lungs with previous fresh air while I can. “How will you get us in?”
“You’re gonna need to ride me.”
Blinking, I stare at him for far too long, awaiting clarification. When it doesn’t come, my head tilts. “Excuse me?”
He shifts into Tidus effortlessly, and I flinch back from him instinctively. He’s huge.
“Ass-hole.” Tidus growls and crouches down, silently telling me to climb on.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I say with a sigh. But a moment later, I’m standing on his paw, pulling myself onto his back, and gripping his fur.
Never in my pitiful life did I think I’d be riding my furry friend into a portal to Hell on a rescue mission. Yet here I am, watching the ground open up in a vortex of flames, growing large enough to swallow us both.
Instead of materializing into the entrance, we drop so fast my stomach twists, and I need to squeeze my thighs and hold on for dear life. My eyes screw shut, and my face slams into his fur when we land.
Instantly, the heat is unbearable.
I always knew Hell was hot. Being a demon meant I was able to handle it and adapt, but even when I first arrived after being killed, I didn’t struggle to breathe the way I am now. It’s like inhaling smoke, and my eyes burn.
There are no guards here. We’ve come in through what Tony likes to call the back entrance. Only the hounds know about it, but since I’m friends with one, I got all the details. Tony talked far too much while we tried to sleep.
I slip off his back and freeze when my feet touch the ground. I never noticed how soft it was before. It’s layer upon layer of skin, and the rumor is that Satan Itself lives and breathes and grows around here, that every inch of Hell is part of It.
The walls breathe. The flames grow taller in the distance, and I can hear the cries of people being tortured echoing toward us.
Hell stretches on endlessly. No true beginning or end because the number of sinners has only increased.
We walk toward the heat, my eyes watering in response. I run my hand across my forehead and spit out the saltiness coating my lips.
Lifting my gaze to the walls on each side of us, I try not to meet the pleading eyes of the people stuck there forever. Their skin is graying, splitting at the joints, their faces melting. They’ll be in agonizing pain, but they’ll deserve it.
The worst punishment for the worst kind of sinners. Their bodies are decomposing even though they’re still technically conscious—they can’t scream or beg or move while they’re eaten from the inside by maggots and whatever else is crawling in their veins and organs.
I shiver at the thought of being put on the wall. I’d rather cut my balls off and feed them to Tidus.
We turn a corner, leaving the Walls of Eternity behind, and move into what feels like a damn oven.
Being human has changed the way my body reacts to this place. It’s way hotter than I remember, and I’m building up a sweat.
Tidus prances forward, sniffing his surroundings—then he cowers, his ears lowering.
“What is it?” I whisper, hiding behind a black stone pillar when I hear the screams of someone being chased and dragged toward the fire pits.
They’ll be thrown in until their skin melts off, pulled back out, then dunked into a hole filled with cold water.
It’s not really an intended torture method—the guards just get bored, and if they aren’t abusing their position by attacking people, then they’re doing way worse.
What if they got a hold of Sable?
Tidus continues sniffing, and I follow him, careful of my surroundings and ducking behind pillars whenever I hear footsteps. The fact that they haven’t smelled me is a shock. Living humans don’t come here.
The cells are empty, except for a few unconscious people chained up in the darkness. I can’t get much closer than hiding in a dark corner while Tidus explores. I’ll get caught within seconds.
Where the fuck is Sable?
My heart pounds in my chest, and I’m pretty certain I might pass out at any given moment. Being human has its perks, but by fuck does it have its cons—if I don’t find her before my body gives up and I need to leave her rescue to Tony, I’ll be pissed.
Tidus shifts back into his human form, pulling on a nearby pair of pants to hide his nakedness—he’s not soaked from sweat like I am, and he seems far too calm.
“I think I know where she is,” he tells me, and I follow him into the main foyer, thankful it’s empty of guards. “She must be with the big dog.”
All the blood drains from my face. “No.” That’s worse than a Tor’Oth.
But Tony puts his finger to his lips to shush me. “Why are there no guards?”
I shrug, but he has a point. Usually, the place is crawling with them.
“We gotta hurry up,” he says, heading for the staircase made of bones. “Hopefully we see Nala on the way.”
“Why?”
Tony doesn’t reply. Why does he need to see his little fuck buddy while hunting for my girl?
I stop walking. “Tony. Why do you need to see her?”
“To say goodbye,” he replies in a whisper-hiss. “Maybe squeeze a blowjob in before they inevitably kill me.”
“Stop the jokes. You said you could get us down here without being caught.”
Tony rolls his eyes. “I’ll get you to Sable.”
“What about you?”
Huffing, his head drops back, and he glares at the ceiling.
“You’re going to make this a thing.” He lowers his gaze to me then advances until we’re nose to nose.
“Let me worry about my own safety. The longer we stand here discussing my sacrifice, the longer the big dog has Sable. So shut the fuck up and walk.”
Tony turns and storms away. It takes me a long second, a hesitant moment of wondering why I’ve loathed his friendship for years when he’s risking everything just to get Sable back for me.
I want to thank him, but all I can do is snap out of it and try to catch up to him.
He’s too fast, and I struggle to keep up, my human legs failing me.
Tony turns a corner, but before I can do the same, a hand wraps around my throat and slams me against the wall, demonic eyes burning into me. It squeezes hard enough that my vision blurs, and my chances of saving Sable lessen every passing second—Tony needs to stay hidden.
Out the corner of my eye, I can see him peering out from behind a pillar when a second guard shows up, and they lead me the opposite direction, my feet dragging behind me.
Find her, I want to yell. Find her and get her out.