Chapter 2 Discord
DISCORD
Had we not been exposed in the open air, I could have taken her right there on the ground. I should have taken her inside the cave when I’d had the chance…kissed her then, at the very least.
I could smell her desire when I’d suggested we fornicate, and I had let a little magic slip, seeping discord into her psyche, attempting to loosen her rational thoughts and allow her emotions to guide her to me. Strangely, my attempt had brought clarity to her mind, and she’d handed me a firm no.
I could have pressed her, but trying to force Cinder to do anything she didn’t want to would be an exercise in futility, which I had no desire to attempt.
She would claim my attraction to her—my desire to protect and take care of her in every way—was due to the union placed on us against our will.
That this longing I felt deep within my soul meant nothing…
would be nothing when our marks were removed.
At first, I’d thought so as well. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
“Why did you summon me?” I asked.
She furrowed her brows over her deep honey eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I am not.”
She laughed dryly. “To find my parents…? Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “I know that.”
Confusion contorted her features as she tilted her head. “Then why are you asking?”
“I mean why me? Why not Chaos or Mayhem? Why did you choose me?”
She frowned and shrugged. “I just picked a name from the list. Can we get moving? I’m feeling anxious out here in the open.”
“The temple you described is on the outskirts of the barren land stretching out before us. This way.” I rested my hand on the small of her back to indicate she should walk beside me. She matched my pace, her legs moving unhindered in her modern pants and boots.
“Was my mark at the top of the list? Is that why you chose me?” I asked, though I knew better. None of this was a coincidence.
“It was at the bottom, if you must know.” Her face pinched as if she already sensed my assumptions.
“What made you skip to the bottom? You could have summoned either of my brothers just as easily.”
She caught the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth and blinked five times before she answered, “I don’t know. I guess the design of your sigil called to me. It felt like you were the one… The one who could help me, I mean.”
I nodded. “It’s kismet.”
She cut a sideways glance. “It’s a curse. A literal curse. If not for that, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Fair point,” I said, and we continued our trek in silence.
Black rock stretched out before us in every direction, and humid heat clung to my skin. The scents of pungent sulfur and smoky, acrid tar hung in the damp air, growing stronger the farther we ventured into the abandoned wasteland.
“I don’t believe the blood magic that joined us was accidental,” I said.
She scoffed. “I definitely didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Perhaps not consciously,” I said, “but the seer finishing the bond, your sisters summoning my brothers, you choosing my sigil out of the three… This is happening for a reason.”
“And the reason is that you decided to curse my bloodline.” She crossed her arms, continuing to match my pace.
“It’s more than that.”
She shook her head adamantly. “It’s not. Believe me.”
“Your sisters found my brothers. I saw them when they attempted to summon me.”
“They found them because I asked them to. I left a note for Ash to find if I didn’t make it back home. It’s not kismet or fate or even serendipity. They’re following a plan—my plan—which I put into place before I summoned you.”
“I felt their bonds. Three sisters for three brothers. Three powerful witches for three demon princes.” How could she not see that fate had a hand in this?
“Let me stop you right there.” She turned and held up a finger.
“If Ash and Ember are getting it on with your brothers, that’s none of my business.
But this…these feelings we have for each other…
? Magic fabricated them, and magic will undo them.
Think about that before you decide you’re horns-over-hooves in love with me or some other nonsense. ”
“Why you then?” I continued walking.
She followed by my side. “I’m the eldest daughter, the one who knew about the curse. It had to be me.”
“Why no one before you? Your ancestors have been in peril for centuries, yet you were the first to try and right the situation.”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask them.”
“It’s because everything is happening the way fate intended it to. We’re meant to be together, and not even your silver tongue could convince me otherwise.”
“Then, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.” She lifted her arms and dropped them at her sides, the look on her face indicating the conversation was over.
I could have pressed her further…circled back to her admission that she chose me because it felt right…
but I refrained. Once we found Hecate, the goddess would confirm that fate had woven this tapestry long before Cinder was born.
Possibly before even I came into being. Then, she’d have no grounds to deny it.
Cinder was my soul bride, not because of an accident that led to a series of unfortunate events, but because she was meant to be mine.
We continued in silence, walking until nothing but rock, dappled with slick patches of obsidian, stretched out as far as I could see. Cinder wrinkled her nose, the tar and sulfur aromas no doubt offending her senses. The smell and thickness of the air began to offend mine as well.
The orange moon hung still in the sky, as always, providing no hint of how long we’d been on our journey.
Months could have passed in the earthly realm, where here it had only been days.
Then again, with time behaving the way it did in Hell, we could have been walking for months while only minutes passed in the other realm.
It was enough to drive a man insane, and that was by design, of course.
“Good goddess, it smells like broccoli and egg dog farts.” Cinder waved a hand in front of her face. “Why would Hecate have a temple way out here?”
“She’s an ancient goddess, who was worshipped long before Lucifer came into rule.
This was her level of the Underworld until he took control of the realm.
When he did, he claimed the eighth level as his kingdom because of the molten rivers.
Building there, flourishing despite the destructive nature of magma, proved his unparalleled power. ”
She scoffed. “So it was a flex.”
“If by that you mean a way for him to easily subjugate the denizens here, then yes. It was a flex.”
“Figures. What level is this then? How can you tell when you enter a new one?”
“Crossing the ravine where we did brought us into the fifth level. This barren land was once the epicenter of the Underworld. It’s where souls, escorted by Hecate and her psychopomps, would enter the realm before passing into their eternities.”
“And let me guess. Lucifer razed it as his first flex.”
I chuckled. “Not his first, but one of many.”
“And still she fell for him. I don’t get it.”
“Trying to understand the thought process of deities is futile at best.”
The terrain angled upward, and when we reached the top of the incline, a valley lay before us.
Geysers of fire erupted from sulfurous craters, shooting toward the sky, intensifying the stench in the air.
On the far side, a cave burrowed into the rock, and in the center of the valley, Hecate’s original Underworld temple lay in ruins.
Made of black stone and obsidian, the once magnificent structure stood crumbling, its columns having toppled, its walls deteriorated after millennia of neglect.
The triple moon, Hecate’s sigil, barely showed through the layers of ash and dirt on the pediment, and a line of statues, now headless and limbless, lined the path toward the steps.
“Wow,” Cinder said, her eyes wide with wonder. “I can’t imagine our goddess living here. Not even part-time.”
“Temples are structures where deities are worshipped, not where they reside.” I took her hand and guided her down the path, the foreboding feeling that had unsettled me earlier growing stronger with each step.
“Where does she stay when she’s in Hell, then?” She stopped at the first dismembered statue and examined it.
“Before she joined Lucifer’s court, I do not know,” I said, studying her intently. She must have felt the same hesitation as I did. “After they coupled, she resided in the palace. I’m not sure if she spent nights in this realm at all before then.”
Cinder rubbed her arms. “Do you feel that?”
“What do you feel?”
“Fresh magic. For an abandoned temple, it sure feels…alive.” She took three more steps and paused to study the torso of a woman in a Grecian robe. “She must be here.”
I caught her hand before she could continue up the path. “Are you sure it’s Hecate’s energy that you feel? The vibration I sense is too low. Focus on it.”
She chuckled. “Did you just ask me to do a vibe check?”
“If vibe is short for vibration, then yes. The energy feels demonic.”
Closing her eyes, she inhaled two deep breaths. “Everything has felt demonic since the moment I got here. I can’t tell the difference anymore.”
“We should leave.”
“And go where? So far, this is the only lead we’ve got, and if there is even the slightest chance Hecate is hiding in there, we have to check it out.”
I was loath to continue this journey. Whatever awaited us inside would not be the benevolent goddess Cinder hoped to find, but—against my better judgment—I agreed. We had no other option. “Proceed with caution.”
“Always.” She crept forward, one hand resting on the dagger at her hip, the other stretched outward as if she were feeling the air for magic. Her arm hairs stood on end, and tension rolled off her in waves. Instinct told her something was awry, but she chose to ignore it…a dangerous decision.
I followed her as she continued toward the temple, my stomach sinking further with each step. “Why do we assume Hecate is in the Underworld? If she were that angry with Lucifer, would she not have left the realm?”
Cinder turned toward me. “I don’t think she can leave.”
“She’s the original psychopomp. Of course she can.”
She pressed her lips into a line and shook her head. “Not without the amulet. Seraphine told me her magic is stuck inside it.”
I stopped abruptly, grabbing Cinder’s hand before she could ascend the steps. “What do you mean?”
“Apparently, that amulet was a token of their love. Lucifer infused it with his power to send beings across the veil at whim, and Hecate gave up her power of resurrection. Neither of them can send anyone to other realms…including themselves, I assume.”
Annoyance twisted in my chest. “Why are you just now telling me this?”
“I’ve been a little distracted.” She shrugged.
“We cannot survive this quest while withholding information from each other.”
“Now you know how I’ve felt since the moment I met you.” She tugged from my grasp. “I wasn’t withholding on purpose. You almost died. Then I almost died. Then you kissed me. Twice. Cut me some slack.”
I ground my teeth. She made a fair point. I hadn’t been the most forthcoming with her thus far, but our situation had changed. My feelings for this feisty woman had changed.
What irked me now was the fact that Seraphine, a mere witch, knew the true purpose of the amulet when I did not. If I had known the symbolism, the reason for its creation, I never would have wagered it all those centuries ago.
“You are forgiven,” I said, “and, technically, you kissed me the first time.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “We’re even then.”
“I promise to divulge any and all important information to you from this point forward,” I said. “Will you pledge the same?”
“Of course.” Her eyes widened as if the speed of her reply surprised her. “Like I said, I wasn’t keeping it a secret on purpose. Can we go in now?”
“Allow me to en—”
She climbed the steps and disappeared inside.