Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
I t was late morning the next day when they reached the mine. Roan felt fortunate he’d made it this far on zero caffeine and zero sleep.
Who knew that holding the woman of your dreams all night, fighting off a hard-on while she slept trustingly in your arms, could be so utterly exhausting?
But as Roan followed Haven’s gaze to the mineshaft entrance, he knew his day was going to be even longer than his night had been. Because this place was…not impressive.
Honestly, it looked like the original workplace that made OSHA necessary. The only thing that kept it from looking like a natural cave were the three rickety-looking beams that were holding the entrance open. Their crookedness—and the multitude of rocks that had fallen on the top beam—didn’t really add much to the place’s appeal. Neither did the rusty train tracks that seemed drunkenly placed through the center. Well, center-ish.
He glanced over at Haven, knowing there was only one thing that could stop her from wanting to go in there, and sadly, it wasn’t the potential of running into a cattle-melting demon. “Bet there’s lots of bugs in there. Bats too, probably.”
She swallowed hard. “You think?”
“Definitely. It’s probably like that scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in there.”
He watched as the color drained from her face. He knew he should feel bad about using her only fear against her, but he didn’t. Hell, in the game of keeping her safe, he’d use every advantage he had. It was just his misfortune that he only had this one advantage.
But sadly, true to form, Haven Hall rallied like a boss. She straightened her shoulders, lifted her stubborn little chin in the air, and started marching into the center of her greatest fear.
This was why he loved her…and sometimes hated her just a little. She was wild and brave and free. He wished he was like her. And still, watching her put herself in danger so often and so willfully tore at his heart every time. She had so many people who adored and depended on her. Why the hell didn’t she realize how all of them would be destroyed by losing her?
This world was dark enough. Without Haven’s spirit to light it? It’d be unbearable.
So, he followed her into a mine that looked like it could collapse on them at any moment. Just like he’d always followed her into every dangerous situation she put herself in.
He was so fucking pathetic. Sometimes he even disgusted himself.
Sadly, the inside of the mine wasn’t any more welcoming than the outside. Dark, dank, and dirty. And those were the good things Roan had to say about the place. It was a deathtrap without a dangerous demon living in it.
“How far do you think this thing winds through the mountain?” Haven whispered.
He let a fireball fill his palm and took a peek into the darkness. “At least two miles. Maybe more.”
She sighed. “Guess it’s a good thing I’m wearing my hiking boots.”
He snorted. “We’re walking into a mine that looks like it’s about to collapse to find a demon of unknown origin and power against your parents’ direct orders. I doubt your footwear matters one way or the other.”
She was about to say something snarky back. He could feel it. But all she managed to get out was a squeak of alarm when what was either a giant moth or a small bat flew dangerously close to her face.
Roan eased her behind him. “Let me go first.”
For once, she made no protest. Just latched onto the back of his shirt and walked behind him, slightly crouched down, like he was a living, breathing shield. He rolled his eyes. If only he could get her to do that when the stakes were higher than a bat ruffling her hair.
As they walked (at the speed of smell so as to avoid tripping over rocks and busted tracks and falling to their deaths in this literal hell hole), he couldn’t help but think about how much he’d missed her over the past two years. Just having her near, hearing her breathing, feeling the warmth and sunshine that was her constant companion…it was nice.
Haven felt like home.
He’d never really had a home before. His dimension—and everyone in it—was awful. Other than his brother, he’d never known unconditional love there. No safety. Being with Haven and her family was as close as he’d ever come to any of those feelings, and he’d missed it.
Roan was sure he’d die missing it…and her. Especially after the stupid promise he made to leave her once this demon was found and dealt with.
You could just tell her the truth .
It was his brother’s voice he heard every time this thought crossed his mind. Gabriel had been squawking at him to tell Haven what he’d done for the past two years. But that would be more for him than for her. It would unburden his conscience, and honestly, he didn’t deserve that. Especially not at Haven’s expense.
Haven tugged at the back of his shirt. “There’s something here,” she whispered. “Close. I can feel it.”
One thing he’d learned about Haven long, long ago was that she hated being wrong—mostly because she almost never was. So, her words, along with the way her breathing had sped up and her ever-tightening grip on his shirt, made him uneasy. And since there was nothing in front of him, Roan slowly twisted around, looking over Haven’s shoulder….
And quickly realized that Haven’s track record for being right was intact in a big way.
A very, very big way.
Standing about ten feet behind Haven was the biggest fucking demon Roan had ever seen.
The creature was bent slightly at the waist because he (clearly a he , as the dick swinging between his thick thighs nearly touched his knee) was probably eight feet tall in a seven-feet tall mine. His dark purple skin looked leathery, and his fingers were tipped with ten-inch talons that’d put an eagle to shame. Hooked, razor-tipped horns, blazing red eyes, jagged fangs…yep. It looked like it’d just escaped a fucking nightmare.
And it only had eyes for Haven. It was gazing at her, unblinking, like she was the center of its universe. While Roan could relate, it definitely didn’t make him feel better about this guy, the one who could melt cow flesh, being anywhere near her. So, when the demon reached a talon toward her, Roan yanked her behind him and hurled the fireball he’d been holding at the thing’s face.
He did not react well. The roar it let out shook the ground beneath their feet.
Sadly, though, Roan’s hellfire had absolutely zero impact on the monstrous creature. He just swatted it away like it was an annoyance, of no more consequence than a gnat, and grabbed Roan’s wrist.
The pain was damn near crippling. Roan couldn’t bite back an angry growl as he felt and smelled his flesh sizzling under the demon’s grip. His skin was way tougher than the average human’s (or cow’s, as the case may be), but not even he could hold up for long under this kind of heat. “Run,” he ordered Haven through clenched teeth.
“I’m not leaving you!”
The demon bellowed his rage when Roan kicked him in the balls, but he didn’t let go. “Fucking go , Haven!”
She moved around him, looking the demon over, trying to determine how she could help. Roan knew she was seeing exactly what he was seeing, too. The thing was invulnerable.
That didn’t stop her from trying. Haven took a swing at it with her machete. But the second the metal of the blade hit the skin of the demon’s back, it melted. She tossed what was left of it aside as her panicked gaze found his again.
When the demon looked back at Haven, Roan threw a punch with his free hand. It connected soundly, snapping the monster’s head back. And still it didn’t let go. In fact, with a growl that rumbled like thunder, it shifted its grip on Roan’s wrist to his throat, lifting him a foot off the ground.
“Go,” he hissed at Haven, barely even able to utter that much while he was choking on the smell of his own burning flesh.
She didn’t listen, of course. Just started throwing rocks, dirt, and whatever else she could find on the ground at the demon, to no avail. Roan punched and kicked and fought as best he could, too, and barely managed to make the thing loosen its grip.
That’s when he realized this moment might be it for him. He supposed he’d had a good run. Had lived a fairly full life. Figured he would’ve died long before now, so if this was how he went out, he could accept it.
He couldn’t take Haven down with him, though. “Haven…please…go…”
Her struggles ceased for a split second as her eyes locked on his. The moment she realized this was it, that he was going to die and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it, her eyes filled with tears. He’d always been able to read Haven like a book. That’s how little she tried to hide her emotions. And now?
Pain. Unbearable, unfathomable pain.
He’d do anything to spare her that pain. He wanted to tell her he loved her and about a million other things he should’ve said to her over the years. But maybe this—all this—was his penance for what he’d done to her. And if that was the case…
He stopped struggling. If it was fate’s will to take him now, so be it. At least he’d die looking at her beautiful face.
But that’s when everything got…weird.
Haven’s face shifted from panic, pain, and sadness to pure, unadulterated rage. Her gaze moved from his to the demon, her lip curled back in an angry snarl, and she let loose a scream of rage that shook the mine walls…and tore a blast of white-hot energy from her chest.
The force of it knocked the demon off his feet, breaking his hold on Roan. With another scream, Haven kicked the beast in the chest, putting the full force of her newfound power behind it, knocking him down the mineshaft, out of sight.
Or maybe she’d driven him back to his own dimension. It was hard to tell.
They stood there for a long moment, staring dumbly down the mineshaft at nothing in total silence. Eventually, Haven glanced over at him, eyes wide, and whispered, “How the hell did I do that?”
He had a good idea how she’d done it. But that was a bigger conversation than he was ready to have at the moment. “Are you OK?” he rasped.
Her gaze shifted to his neck, which he imagined looked pretty awful. It sure as hell hurt like a motherfucker. “Are you ?”
He was breathing, which meant he’d be completely healed in a day or two. One of the benefits of being a demon. “We need to go,” he said. “Now.”
With a quick shake of her head, she snapped out of her stupor and eased a shoulder under his to help steady him when he listed heavily to the left. Apparently, almost melting was more draining than he’d imagined. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you changing the subject,” she said with a frown. “We will be talking about this later.”
Not if he could help it.