Chapter 31 Archer
Chapter thirty-one
Archer
We walked for what felt like hours, the ash beneath our feet shifting with every step, small gray puffs that swirled around our ankles before settling back down to await the next doomed traveler.
Behind me, Delilah had kept up a running commentary, feeling the need to remark on every gnarled tree and twisted rock formation we passed.
She asked inane questions, ones that I didn’t have the mental headspace to answer, so I coldly ignored her, hating the despondent little sighs she gave when I refused to engage, but unable to give her any more.
How the fuck had Delilah of all people managed to land us here?
She hadn’t been wrong when she’d said that gatekeeping Hell had been the sole purview of the demon nobility.
Seventy-two demons who had been given ranks and titles after the Fall, the burden of those positions softened slightly by a marked increase in power compared to the lesser demons and wretched masses that made up the rest of Hell’s population.
In actual fact, even that was a stretch these days.
More and more of our abilities had been slowly deteriorating in the last two decades, with only the most powerful of us even still able to access the shadow paths.
It was why none of the others were able to open gates; I was the last demon in our contingent with that capability.
A worrisome problem, no doubt, but not as worrisome as how a fledgling witch had been able to accomplish something no noble demon had since Lucifer’s disappearance.
Even believing that the Fallen Key gave the bearer the ability to enter or exit Hell at will, Delilah didn’t have the Fallen Key, only a single piece. So how had she managed to bring us here, and by accident, at that?
I was still wrestling with the question, my mind wandering to places it had no business going, when a loud, screeching cry rang out across the desolate wasteland.
“What was that?” Delilah asked from behind me, and I turned to see her crouched down, that hideous dress bunched up around her body as she searched for the source of the sound. The trees had grown dense around us, making the view of the sky limited, but even so, I knew the cry.
It had been an age since I’d heard it, but it was one I wouldn’t soon forget.
“It’s a wyvern,” I offered, my own eyes on the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse.
“Like, a dragon?” she asked as she crept closer to me, her tone confused and still a little afraid.
I wouldn’t admit how the vulnerability she so rarely displayed pulled at my emotions while simultaneously turning me on.
“Not a dragon,” I corrected, trying to control the way my cock reacted to her big eyes as they looked to me for guidance. “A wyvern. Similar, but not the same.”
Before I could explain further, a shadow swept across the forest, darkening the area like an eclipse.
Above us, the sound of wings, heavy and slow, filled the air.
The long, sinuous body followed the sound, blocking out nearly the entire sky as he passed low over the skeletal tree tops, and the creature released yet another loud, shrill noise.
Delilah screamed as well, her hands reaching for me as she leapt, pressing her body against mine in search of protection. Instinctively, I offered it, my arms wrapping around her torso, my wings going wide, as though I sought to block her from the view of any nearby predators.
I refused to admit that I was the most dangerous predator in the area.
“It won’t hurt you,” I whispered, my fingers digging into the soft flesh of her body, loving the way she molded herself to me.
“We must be getting close. It typically doesn’t venture far from its master.
Now that it’s announced our presence, we might as well get on with it.
If we delay too long, Astaroth will send for us, and that would be infinitely worse than if we simply turned up unannounced. ”
She frowned, a small furrow appearing between her brows as she considered my words.
“You make him sound like a king.”
“In the Void, he might as well be,” I grudgingly admitted.
“I’d always thought if I met a king, I’d be better dressed,” she mused as we continued our long trudge through the woods.
“Hmmm,” I mused, glancing down at my own ruined clothing.
It almost seemed stupid to keep wearing them now that the pants were far too short and the shirt hung in tatters off my much larger frame, but I didn’t relish the idea of bargaining for my magic with my cock hanging out, so it would have to do.
“You look fine,” I rumbled, my gaze drifting to the dirty dress, stained with blood that was now dried and crusted to her throat.
Even filthy, she still looked absolutely fuckable.
Deciding not to acknowledge how her cheeks pinked at my weak compliment, I looked forward once again.
In the distance, I could just make out the silhouette of a massive structure, a smear of blackness against the slate gray horizon, and I rolled my eyes. Astaroth was a vain motherfucker, and apparently fancied himself worthy of a palace.
It was a pathetic waste of resources, but when you had endless souls condemned to eternal damnation, you could do what you wanted with them.
And forcing them to continuously add on to his home was apparently what he wanted.
Time moved strangely—with no actual sun in the sky it was difficult to try and assess how long we’d truly walked for—but eventually we emerged out of the woods to find ourselves standing at the base of a low hill, Astaroth’s home rising above us into the gray aether.
“It’s a castle,” Delilah whispered, her tone filled with awe. “I’ve always wanted to see a real castle.”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. It wasn’t a castle so much as it was a mockery of one.
Obnoxious turrets rose from random places, the windows laid out asymmetrically and the walls far from square.
It looked as though it had been designed by a drunk toddler, and in the real world a strong wind would have probably knocked the fucking thing over.
But this wasn’t the real world, and I knew for a fact that the main portion of the grotesque monstrosity had stood since before humans had started building similar structures of their own, most of which had long since crumbled to ruin.
“Come, witch,” I said, gesturing us forward. “Let us bring our business to a close.”
“Why do you talk like that sometimes?” she questioned.
I paused, wondering what she meant. When I said nothing, she continued.
“You all talk differently—you and the guys, I mean.” She smiled shyly.
“Vine talks like a drunk college kid most of the time, and Mal, when he does talk, speaks like a Gothic poem. It’s just…
interesting.” She shrugged, her cheeks warming as her confidence faltered.
I could feel my lip twitching at how deliciously pink they were turning the longer I stared.
It amused me, the way my speech shifted between ages. Old habits died harder than grizzled warriors, and I was more difficult to kill than most.
Deciding to put her out of her misery, I answered honestly.
“We’ve lived a long time, Delilah. Seen the rise and fall of civilizations, watched wars fought, lives lived and lost, and everything in between.
I’ve watched cities burn, choked on the smoke while the prayers of the innocent went unanswered.
I have been to every corner of the world, conversed in every recorded language—and some that have been long forgotten. ”
The weight of my words settled over us, and Delilah stared in undisguised awe.
How could I possibly explain the vastness of all that I had seen to a woman who was only at the dawn of her life?
How could anyone comprehend what it was to see a society bloom and flourish, only to witness it destroy itself through ugliness and greed?
Realizing that I could never truly make her understand the breadth of my existence, I offered a small smile and said, “I’ve picked up some phrases along the way that I’m fond of using—even if it makes me sound like a pretentious jackass.”
A smile broke across her face, and for that brief moment, the sun shone in Hell once more.
Placing my hand on the small of her back, I turned her toward the castle once more.
Above us, the wyvern circled again before settling down on one of the taller towers, letting out another almighty roar before folding its wings and glaring at us as we walked the path to the gates and passed beneath them.
“Wings, scales, and a ton of razor sharp teeth. That’s totally a dragon,” Delilah teased, and I let out a shocked snort-laugh before I even realized I was doing it.
“Fair enough, witch,” I conceded, a chill snaking up my spine as we moved through the echoing, empty halls of Astaroth’s palace, our footsteps sounding ominous in the relative silence. “Now, when it comes to negotiating, let me do the talking.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, her eyebrows going high as she swiveled her head to stare at me.
“Spare me your feminine outrage.” If anything, her eyebrows rose higher, the color on her cheeks deepening from pink to red, and I secretly reveled in my ability to evoke such passion in her.
I wondered how else I could get her heated. The thought had my cock twitching in the shredded remains of my pants. I would do just about anything to see my feisty little witch all hot and bothered for me.
“I have no wish to debate with you.” I raised a hand to stall her protests, willing the thoughts of her naked and waiting from my mind.
“But you may find yourself out of your depth here. Astaroth is a very powerful incubus, and he has a long history of convincing people to do things they wouldn’t normally do in order to get what he wants.
I’ll get us out of here, but I will need your cooperation in all things.
” I looked at her, hoping my gaze conveyed the seriousness of the situation. “Do you understand?”
She glared at me, her eyes saying the things she wasn’t, but that didn’t matter; I was being completely serious. Astaroth would demand a lot from us, and while I’d do my best, there really was no way to get out of this mess completely unscathed.
I only hoped that she’d forgive me when it was all over.
“Do you understand, witch?”
Delilah rolled her lips together, pressing them into a firm line as she struggled to keep what were probably very sharp words inside. I could see how hard she fought against herself, and I could see the moment she decided to give in.
I nearly crowed in victory.
“I understand, demon,” she relented, but then smiled. “But I hope you understand...payback’s a bitch.”