Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Iknew we were being watched. Clearly, Kyrene realized it at the same time. Her body shifted back to the form she’d been in when I first saw her.
“Come, we must hide,” she hissed, waving her hand, impatience stamped on the childlike face.
I looked around us, trying to figure out which one of the damned was responsible for the threat I could feel coming.
“Thing of Creed. I implore you to come with me. I will not let any harm come to you. This I swear on my life.”
A glimpse of Creed and the creature playing together entered my mind before I could shore up my walls.
“Raina. My name is Raina, not Thing of Creed’s.” I hopped down from my place and stepped carefully over the charred remains. My boots sank into the softened ground.
“Hurry, they are coming.” Kyrene ran, her hand grabbing mine.
Without looking back, I could feel we were being stalked. Where we could hide, I had no clue. Heck, I didn’t know if this creature was leading me to the Devil himself. Like a lamb to the slaughter was a thought that blinked like neon lights in my mind, but I ignored it.
We practically flew across the ground, our feet leaving little indents in the black ash for anyone to follow. I’m not a hunter, and even I could track us. I expended a little energy, wiping away our tracks.
“What did you do?” Kyrene questioned at a rocky cliff.
I looked back, air sawing in and out of me. No way up and going down looked like a black abyss straight out of a horror movie, with fog shrouding my vision. Taking a step back, I tried to move away. Kyrene’s grip tightened. “We must go down. It is the only way.”
“Fuck that. Hell is down.” My heart threatened to beat out of my damn chest.
“No, Hell was straight ahead. Actually, it’s all around you. Down here is my home. Sanctuary, if you will. Come, I promise it’s not as scary as you think. Climb on my back.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. This childlike spider monkey creature wanted me to climb onto her back and descend further into the depths of Hell. Sure, and sign me up for a waterfront property while I was at it. Not!
“How do I know you aren’t taking me straight to him? Or luring me into a trap? Or just going to kill me?” Proud of myself for speaking in complete sentences, I waited for answers.
The last thing I’d expected was Kyrene to morph into the lovely woman and take my choices away from me. “I tried it the nice way,” she muttered, then she gripped me around the waist and jumped over the edge.
A terrified squeal escaped me as we fell—or rather as we jumped off the craggy edge into the pitch black.
Wind whipped past, the heat hotter the farther we fell.
I forgot to adjust my inner temperature.
Forgot I could see in the dark. In all honesty, I almost forgot to breathe.
Panic had me gripping Kyrene around the waist in a death grip that would have killed a human.
“You’re fucking insane.” I squeaked out before a bony hand covered my mouth.
The Johnny Cash song about falling into a burning ring of fire began playing through my mind the farther we fell, and I was sure any second I’d go up in flames. At the last moment, my two halves must have taken control. My body cooled of its own accord, for I had no recollection of doing it.
We landed on a surprisingly cool grey ground.
Kyrene hugged me, then stepped back. “You are very dramatic.” Sighing, she paced away.
“Poor Creed, getting stuck with a thing as drama-ridden as he himself is. I’m not sure this era is prepared for two of you.
What if you procreate?” She spun around. “Are you with spawn?”
I put my hand out as Kyrene looked ready to touch my stomach. “Come near me again, thing of whatever, and I will gut you from head to ass. We clear?”
Kyrene tossed her hands in the air. “That’s the thanks I get for saving your skinny hide?
Do you have any idea what those Gallo demons would have done had they found you?
Let me tell you so you don’t stress that little brain of yours.
They’d have first fought over who got the head.
That being your head. They enjoy brains, you see.
Then, they’d have had a free-for-all, splitting you between them.
Or should I say whoever was strong enough to rip bits of you away from the others?
Oh, did I mention they don’t care that Satan has claimed you as his next whore?
They are mindless things that search for their next meal, and you would have been a nice feast.”
“How about you? Why won’t they eat you?” I ran a hand over my arms. The scene’s imagery made goosebumps pop up.
She laughed, the sound held no mirth. “They have tried.”
The childlike image disappeared again, replaced by the woman. I wanted to know which was her true form and which was the facade. “Where are we?” I asked instead.
“Home,” Kyrene said, walking toward a cave.
With nothing else to do but follow, I surveyed the area. My vampire half ached, while my wolf scented predators close. Down here, neither half felt like it was the top of the food chain.
At the cave entrance, Kyrene stopped and chanted. The words came out too low for even my enhanced hearing to pick up, then a veil seemed to lift.
“Come quickly, thing of Creed’s.”
I bit my lip to keep from snapping and followed. Once inside, my eyes took a moment to adjust to the light. The saying Creed had muttered about being in Kansas popped out, making Kyrene smile.
“Not what you expected? I may be a demon, but I do like my creature comforts. Make yourself comfortable.” The demon disappeared behind a sliding door.
Low, comfortable-looking chairs in hues of blues and pale pinks were so at odds with what I’d expected. I was still standing when Kyrene returned.
“I am sure you are hungry, but I don’t think my blood is good for your kind. I also can’t get any for you. The best thing to do is wait for Creed. He will come for you.” She flopped onto a huge chair, one that swallowed her small frame and looked as if she used it a lot.
“How do you know he’ll come for me?” Taking the seat across from Creed’s sister, I waited.
Kyrene smiled, a chilling expanse of her lips. Her teeth looked human. “Palease. You are here. He will come. The question is, how did you get here? Which I happen to know the answer to. Why haven’t you asked that one?”
“Alright, I’ll bite. How did I get here, and how do you know the answer to that?” If she were the one who brought me here to lure Creed back, I would kill her, and to hell with the consequences.
“Ah, I can see the wheels turning in your head. Yes, I did facilitate your return. You see, I, too, am a dream walker like you. I didn’t know you were my Halfling’s Chosen when I snatched you from your dreams. Old Satan Dearest left that little tidbit out, the bastard.
I was to take you straight to him, but something had me stopping for a chitchat with you first, luckily for you.
” She flicked a piece of lint off her shirt.
I unclenched my jaw. “So, you are his what…errand girl? You do as Daddy says?”
Kyrene’s eyes flashed to an eerie shade of red. “Watch your mouth, or I’ll send you to him without a backward glance.”
Standing, I glared down at the other woman. “Go ahead and try it.” I allowed my body to partially shift, readying for battle. No way in all the realms would I go without a fight.
“Fuckidyduck, I hate being good. It’s so much better just to snatch and kill. But no, I have to grow one of those conscious things,” she mumbled.
“You mean a conscience?” I watched as Kyrene began pacing, prepared to battle if the need arose.
Nodding, the demon waved her hand. “Whatever the word is, I don’t like it. Creed has been a very bad influence on me. My mother said he would be the death of me.”
“Your mother sounds lovely,” I muttered.
“She is very far from lovely. Trust me, you don’t want ever to meet her.”
I shuddered, knowing the other woman’s words were probably true.
I had been in and out of Hell for thousands of years, but usually of my own volition.
The only time I’d needed help leaving was the last, and I’d never tried to enter without alerting anyone.
I was the bastard son, feared by just about everyone, and with good cause.
Now, I was taking in three beings who were so far removed from ones who should be there, most likely on a deadly mission, yet I truly gave less than no fucks.
Yeah, I was a bastard. The only thing I cared about was finding Raina and securing her safety.
I’d then do my damnedest to ensure the men with me made it out alive, if not a little worse for wear. I owed them at least that much.
“Alright, men. Don’t talk to the locals. Don’t eat the locals. Don’t let the locals eat you. Any questions?” I asked once our feet hit solid ground.
Lucas raised his hand, but Kellen placed his palm over his face. “Shut it, or so help me, I will not be responsible if only one of you can make babies in the future.”
The man placed his hand over his dick. “I thought we were friends.”
Kellen shrugged. “I haven’t killed you yet.”
Damien looked up at the black sky. “Why?”
Fed up, I began walking. “Try to keep up and shut up for the love of all.”
Through my bond, I searched for traces of Raina. The fact we were unable to exchange essences pissed me off, making me damn everything I’d come from, all because of the fear of what my blood would do to her. My mind reached for hers.
Frustration ate at me. “Can either of you reach her?”
“Let me try?” Damien’s eyes swirled with power, flashing red.
Lucas jerked next to him, his body the exact replica of Damien’s. “What the hell is a Gallo demon?”
“She is with a being named Kyrene, but she isn’t sure if she is friend or foe. They escaped the Gallo but said they were searching for them.”