Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Justin wasn’t sure where to start when it came to opening a portal to Hell. He was half demon. Shouldn’t he know? Shouldn’t it be instinctive? Clearly, it wasn’t because it had been months, and he still didn’t have a portal.
Justin didn’t feel like a demon. He’d been raised as a human.
His father had told him what he could about demons, but he’d been human.
What he knew wasn’t enough, and it was one of the reasons Justin wanted to go to Hell.
Maybe if he could find his mother, he’d find out more about being a demon.
He’d never be a full-blooded one, but it didn’t feel like it mattered.
Or maybe it did. There was a reason his mother had left him with his father, after all.
He didn’t know what that reason was since he’d never met her, and he was a little afraid to find out, but he told himself that in the end, it didn’t matter.
Even if she didn’t want him, it didn’t mean no one did.
His father had wanted him. Caitlin had, too.
His brothers never said anything bad about him or treated him badly because of what he was.
In the grand scheme of things, his mother didn’t matter. He was just curious.
Or at least, that was what he tried to convince himself of as he walked down the street of the town where he’d taken a motel room.
He’d already visited five mages and seven witches, and all of them had refused to open a portal to Hell for him.
Some had said that it was too dangerous, while others had admitted that they didn’t have the ability to do so.
It was frustrating, and it meant that Justin might not be able to go to Hell.
He wouldn’t if he didn’t find a mage or witch who could help him.
Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. He needed a distraction, but he could probably find something to do in the human realm.
His curiosity was pushing him in Hell’s direction, but nothing bad would happen if he couldn’t find anyone to open a portal.
He could ask Calyx once they started talking again.
Calyx would probably tell him that it was a bad idea, but he’d help.
They hadn’t talked in too long. A few weeks had turned into a month, then two, and now summer was coming, and Justin still hadn’t gone home. He wasn’t sure why, but it was getting harder with every day that passed, and he needed a distraction.
Going to Hell sounded perfect.
He finally found the store he was looking for.
He eyed the front window, unsure what to think of the crystal balls and dusty herbs hanging there.
This felt more like someone who would try reading his palm or something like that.
He was tempted not to go in, but at the same time, where else could he go?
He was pretty sure he’d gone through all the mages and witches in this town, and while he could move over to the next town, he didn’t want to.
He didn’t want to go too far from home. He missed his room and his brothers.
He sucked in a breath and pushed the door open. The bell hanging above it chimed, telling whoever was inside that he’d arrived. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of dust and incense in the air. He didn’t want to sneeze into the witch’s face.
“Welcome,” a breathy voice said.
Justin turned toward the counter. Its surface was almost entirely hidden under big crystals and other trinkets. That wasn’t what got his attention, though, no—it was the woman sitting behind it.
She wore a flowy green dress. Her arms, fingers, and neck were heavy with jewelry, some of it big enough that Justin wondered how she could walk around with it on.
Her dark makeup was perfect, giving her a mysterious aura, and her long, dark hair framed her face.
She was looking at Justin like her next meal had just walked in through the door, and she wasn’t wrong.
“I don’t want to waste anyone’s time,” Justin said. “Can you open portals to Hell?”
The woman blinked. “You want to go to Hell?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
For a second, Justin thought he’d offended her, but she laughed. “You’re not wrong. It is none of my business if you want to get yourself killed. As long as you pay me, anyway.”
Justin hated the thought of spending so much money, and he felt guilty because of Calyx, but he nodded. “I’ll pay you whatever I need to pay you. This is important.”
The woman cocked her head. She was staring at Justin in a way that made his skin crawl. “You do realize that I won’t be able to open another portal to get you back, right? Not without you asking me to do so, and with no way to communicate, that’ll be impossible. Your phone won’t work there.”
“I know. I’ll find someone in Hell who can open another portal for me.”
“That easy?”
“I’m sure it will be.” He had no idea if he was right. He’d never been to Hell. He didn’t know what he’d find when he got there.
The woman stared at him for a while longer before nodding. “All right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Justin couldn’t believe it. He really was going to visit Hell.
He briefly considered warning one of his brothers, but he wouldn’t be there long enough for them to worry about him. He just wanted to wait until Yancey had calmed down, so staying away a while longer should be fine. They probably wouldn’t even notice he was gone.
“How do we do this?” he asked.
The woman arched a brow. “We? The only thing you’re doing is paying me. I’ll take care of the rest. Come on.” She turned and gestured toward the back room, which he could see through an open door. Red flimsy curtains hung around the door frame, but he pushed them aside as he followed the woman.
He couldn’t believe he was headed to Hell. He couldn’t wait to see his brothers again so he could tell them all about Hell and what he’d find there, and if he was lucky, about his mother.
Mynor hummed, the sound echoing against the stone walls surrounding him.
His cell was empty except for him, and it was the only way he had to distract himself.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been here, but it had been days, if not weeks.
He wished he could ask, just to know, but he wasn’t looking forward to another beating.
It was what he’d expected. Actually, it was easier than he’d thought it would be. He hadn’t been tortured yet. He’d been regularly beaten, and his entire body hurt, but he had all his fingers and toes still attached to his body, which he considered a win.
Mynor had no idea what Anya wanted from him. He’d expected her to come out with it by now, but she hadn’t. She hadn’t even come to see him. The guards beat him regularly, but Mynor wasn’t sure if it was because she’d ordered it or because they felt like it. Both could be true.
Apart from the beatings, his life was boring.
He had nothing to do and no one to talk to.
He’d even started counting the stones in the walls of the cell just to do something, but he felt like if nothing happened soon, he was going to go nuts before Anya could do anything to him.
That couldn’t be her goal, could it? No, there had to be a reason for her to want him to be jailed instead of killed, and eventually, he’d find out.
He was sure he wouldn’t like it.
Mynor hadn’t been in his cell for long enough to wish he’d die, but some days, he wondered if it was possible to die of boredom.
He’d even tried talking to the guards, but that had only earned him another beating.
Without Alphan there to play nurse, it was better if he tried to keep those to a minimum.
That meant not antagonizing the guards, unfortunately.
He looked around, like he’d done hundreds of times since he’d been locked up.
He doubted he’d ever stop looking for an escape, but so far, he hadn’t found anything.
The walls were solid, as were the metal bars on the other side of the cell.
The only time the cell was open was to drag him out for a beating.
It stayed closed even when he was given food—if he could call what he was given to eat food.
There was a tiny window, but there were metal bars there, too, so he wouldn’t be sneaking out through it.
The worst part was that he could see the key to the cell hanging on the wall on the other side of the central room. It was right there, yet there was nothing he could do about it.
Seriously, what was Anya planning to do?
She’d been angry because Myron had stood up to her, which was why he’d expected her to have him tortured and killed.
Hell, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d done the torturing and killing herself.
She was known to be bloodthirsty, which was one of the reasons people were so afraid of her.
She was also smart, though, and Mynor was sure she had a plan.
He just didn’t know what that plan was, and he didn’t see how he could find out.
He was stuck here, and he suspected that wouldn’t change anytime soon.
He’d probably die here eventually, which wasn’t something he was looking forward to.
His thoughts drifted to Alphan. Mynor had no doubt that Alphan was desperately trying to find a way to get him out, but knowing Anya, the security on the palace and the dungeons, especially, had been heightened.
She wouldn’t want to risk other prisoners being freed.
That meant that Mynor really was stuck here until his death.