Chapter Forty-Three #2
I heft the duffel bag in one hand. It’s heavy but
nothing I can’t handle. My heart races as Dante slams his door shut and turns
on his halogen flashlight. My boots crunch the gravel beneath my feet as we
make our way to the door of the warehouse. The air is cool at this time of
night, and I pull my sweater closer.
Dante goes first, pushing the heavy door aside and holding
it open. He holds his free hand out. “Let me carry that for you. Come on. It’s
my last chance to be a gentleman.”
Holding the bag out, I allow Dante to take it. I exchange it
for the flashlight. He slings the bag over his shoulder and follows me into the
darkened recesses of the warehouse. It’s different from when we visited earlier
in the afternoon. There’s a gloom over the whole place that seems very
foreboding. I take a deep breath and force myself to continue moving forward.
“Wow, I really don’t like this place,” Dante says. “I want
to leave.”
I look back at him. His face is pinched and tight with fear.
I sympathize. If I didn’t have to be here, I would probably be running right
now. “It’s the doorway. I’m sure there are wards to protect it. Don’t worry.
I’ll be fine. You don’t have to come in with me. I can make it on my own.”
His eyes narrow, and even in the shadows, I can see I pissed
him off. “Just lead the way, sister. I might not be a vampire, but I can handle
it.”
“Of course you can, Mr. Dellacourt,” a silky voice says from
the shadows. I nearly jump out of my skin as the light reveals we’re not alone.
A Planeswalker stands on the steps leading to the second floor. He turns his
head away from the light. “If you please, Your Highness, that is intrusive.”
I direct the flashlight away from his face. My hands shake
as I face the demon. Is this the same demon who brought me here? I think I
recognize the voice. “Are you here to stop me from going home?”
The demon’s laugh fills the space. “No, Your Highness. I’m
here to use the door. I walk these planes on a daily basis. I gain strength
from crossing through the veil. My body requires that energy to function. I
also take contracts and receive payment to access the doors from those less
intelligent than yourself and the great Mr. Dellacourt.”
Dante snorts. “Yeah, I’m great. I almost peed myself when
you started talking. Is he going to kill us?”
The last bit is whispered my direction.
“As I haven’t been paid to do so, I will forego any murders
this evening,” the demon promises, proving his hearing is excellent. “I was
looking forward to a very dull passage. Now I have a bit of excitement. It was
clever of you to find the door, Your Highness. The hag is going to be somewhat
upset to discover you’ve found the way back to your kingdom. I believe her
employer will be upset as well.”
“Torin,” I surmise.
The demon smiles, showing jagged teeth. “Yes, the pretender
is terrified of the warrior king. He should be even more frightened now. The
philosopher king has a bit of the warrior’s rage since the bonding. He could
prove even more formidable than his twin.”
“Beck isn’t sure he even wants the throne anymore,” I
explain. My warrior husband is tired of fighting.
The demon studies me for a moment. “I doubt he’ll have a
choice when the time comes. As for you, Mr. Dellacourt, your choices are just
beginning. There’s a whole world open and ripe for the plucking. I think you’ve
made the first choice that will take you on the road to greatness.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” There’s an odd
look on Dante’s face. If I didn’t know better, I would swear he looks guilty.
“Don’t listen to him,” I say, grasping his hand in my own.
He’s shaking slightly. “He’s a demon. I don’t think they’re known for their
honesty.”
“On the contrary, Your Highness,” the Planeswalker says with
an offended air. “I never lie when the truth is so deliciously awful. But Mr.
Dellacourt’s future is neither here nor there. It is your future that is at
risk. I’m looking forward to seeing if you can save those boys of yours.”
“They’re in danger?” I ask the question, but I know the
answer. They would be weakened without me there to bridge their minds. They’ve
been in danger since the minute I was taken from them.
“Oh, yes,” the demon says smoothly, as though we’re
discussing some juicy gossip. “The hag managed to catch one of them with her
spell, but the intellectual half evaded her. I’m afraid she didn’t ask the
right questions. She asked for a spell that would shift the warrior’s magic.
She assumed it would shift into her. That was a mistake.”
“Cian absorbed it.” I know exactly what’s happened. “Then he
was strong enough to run with Beck?”
“Oh, yes, Your Highness. King Cian was able to flee with his
brother on his back. His own poor body, however, could not handle the strain of
both their powers. He had to find safe haven. Both he and the warrior are
currently in a fugue state. They sleep, waiting for the one who can set them to
rights.”
Tears pool in my eyes. “I have to get to them.”
The demon nods sagely. “Yes, I suspect you do. The hag was
getting close to breaking through the barriers to their haven when I moved
through yesterday. If you could kill her, Your Highness, I would be grateful.
She signed her soul over to me, you see. As she should live a very long time, I
doubt she was worried she would have to pay up. I could use her skills on the
Hell plane. There’s much going on here on the Earth plane. A new power is
rising, and I could use the hag’s skills.”
I’m not doing this to help the demon. I have own reasons for
killing the hag. And I won’t feel an ounce of regret when the demon drags the
bitch to hell. “I promise I’ll kill her the minute I get the chance. I have a
plan, you see.”
My plan is currently in a shoulder holster under the sweater
I’m wearing.
“Excellent,” the demon says.
There’s the slightest feeling of air moving through the
warehouse, followed by a quiet pop. The demon’s eyes widen, and his body seems
to swell. “Ah, the veil is open. It’s time to go, Your Highness. Now, now, I
see the suspicion in your eyes. You found this place yourself. I’m merely
offering to travel with you. The door is in an unusual space. It might take you
a moment to find it, and then it would be closed again. You would have to come
back tomorrow night.”
“I’m not signing a contract.” I need to make that perfectly
clear. I don’t intend to be separated from my husbands ever again. Not even in
the next life.
“And I’m not asking for one,” the demon replies. “I believe
you will kill the hag. I’m helping you entirely for my own selfish purposes,
dear.”
I turn to Dante, who hands me the duffel bag. I settle it on
my back and hug him. “Good luck, Dante.”
“You, too, Meggie.” His hands tighten around my waist, and
then he backs away. “I hope everything works out for you. Look me up if you
ever come back this way.”
I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. I’m going to miss
this version of Dante, but it’s time to go home. I follow the demon up the
stairs, aware Dante is watching me the entire way. The stairs creak and shake
under my weight.
“Hurry, dear,” the demon calls from the darkness above. “You
don’t want to miss it.”
I brace myself and take the final step. The demon looks out
over the railing. He points to a spot just below us. “There it is.”
No wonder it’s so hard to find. It’s in the middle of the
air. I’ll have to jump. If I miss, I’ll break my legs at best and my neck at
worst.
The demon gracefully leaps onto the railing. “Follow me.”
He jumps from the railing, feet first, and disappears
completely.
“It’ll be all right, Meg,” Dante says from below. “It’s
fate, right?”
“Yes.” I climb on the railing. It shakes and rattles under
my weight. There’s nothing stable about it. Moonlight filters in from a window
above, illuminating the ragged warehouse. My hands shake as I make the mistake
of looking down.
There’s another popping sound, and I know my time is running
out. The door will close, and I’ll have to wait another full day before it
opens again. I can’t risk it.
I close my eyes and take a leap of faith.