“Pizza, you won’t find any better slice than ol’ Ben’s Pizza.” Death motioned to the dirty wooden door. “He’ll make sure no one bothers us. If anyone knows what’s going on in this town, it’s Ben.”
A bell chimed above our heads as the door swung open and we walked in. We stood in the lobby and started to strip our layers down. The smells of pepperoni, cheese, sauce, and dough filtered through the air and my stomach growled. The restaurant filled with low chatter as we walked further in. A man stepped up and started to speak, until he met Death’s gaze.
“Ah, I’ll let Ben know you’re here. Come, I have the perfect table for you.” The host led us back to a red leather covered booth. The single light hanging above the table cast an eerie glow over the corner of the room. The chatter of voices had dulled and we were left waiting for Ben.
Ruthie scooted into one side of the booth. “Who is Ben?”
“He’s a fallen angel, he was cast out for disobeying an order and infringing on his human’s freewill. He’s not a bad guy, he just made a bad choice.”
Ruthie shifted uncomfortably and met my gaze. I shrugged and leaned back in the booth. “If he can give us information on what, if anything, is going on at Devil’s Playground, then I’ll take it. My mom’s a fallen angel and she’s not all that bad.”
“You still don’t know what she was kicked out of heaven for though.” Pete pointed out. “Those mistakes are unforgivable for a reason.”
I locked my jaw and clenched my fists to keep from striking out at him. “She raised me and I turned out okay, she did everything she could to make sure that I had a good childhood and stayed out of trouble.”
Death chuckled and we all looked at him. “And yet, here you are, trying to stop the apocalypse, chatting with the other children of the horsemen, an angel, Death and soon to be a fallen angel. I think something might have gone wrong in your mother’s plan.”
He had a point. A shadow came over the table and I looked up at the tall man standing there. I could see a shadow of wings behind him as he met my gaze with his deep brown eyes. The slightest wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and on his forehead gave clues to his age, but he held himself tall and proud.
“Death, have you finally come to collect my soul?” His words poured out in a rough voice. “Is my time and punishment finally over?”
Death shook his head. “We’re here to talk about Devil’s Playground. Take a seat.”
Ben pulled a chair up to the end of the table. “Another angel, how nice to have you in my establishment.”
Ruthie smiled. “I hear your pizza is the best, you must have had a lifetime to perfect it.”
He jerked as if she’d slapped him. “You bring a group here to talk about Devil’s Playground. Is there something going on that I’m missing?”
“Only almost a hundred thousand deaths from the plague, the rising prices of food, and war threatening to break out.” Pete said. “Or do you not get the news here?” He added with a hint of sarcasm.
Death cleared his throat. “It was rude for me not to introduce them to you. The angel is Ruthanne, Ruthie for short. She’s been charged with locating and protecting my daughter.”
Ben’s eyes widened just a touch, stretching out those small wrinkles. Death motioned to Pete. “Pete, son of Pestilence. He’s been charged with locating his father who has been missing for the last couple of months. Along with Famine and War.”
Death put a hand on my shoulder. “And my daughter Sammy. Charged with aiding in locating the horsemen and stopping the apocalypse that is coming.”
When he put it that way he made it sound like the bulk of the mission was going to fall on me. A chill went through me at the thought. I swallowed the weird feeling and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“Mm, you say that now, but if you’re like your father it won’t be nice when you see what’s in my soul when it’s finally reaped. What did you need to know about the Devil’s Playground?”
Pete tapped the menu. “I’m starving, can we order first?”
“Of course.” Ben raised his hand in the air and snapped his fingers. A woman sauntered over, her tight leather skirt hugged her legs and ass and I was convinced it was only tension that was keeping it in place. As she moved, her red top, cut low enough to see the tip of her bra, gave glimpses of pale flesh underneath. She held a notebook in her hand and her pen was poised to write.
Pete licked his lips and I wondered if he was thinking dirty thoughts. It wouldn’t be hard with a woman like that in front of him. Death cleared his throat. “Two pizzas, one pepperoni, the other Canadian bacon and pineapple, please.”
She jotted the orders down. “And drinks?”
“A pitcher of cola.” He gathered the menus on the table. He handed them to her and bowed his head.
The woman walked away with an extra sway in her hips. I shook my head and tapped my fingers on the table. “She’s a demon.”
“She is.” Ben said. “A demon of high order even, she helps me keep the bar free from Lucile’s influences.”
I raised a brow. “And why would a demon help keep Lucile away?”
“Every creature has freewill, she simply chooses to help me.” He shrugged. “Neither one of us are good by nature. It’s a matter of teaming up to keep the Devil away.”
“So Lucile has been around here?” Death asked. “Has she said much about her playground?”
Ben shook his head. “No, there’s been a lot more activity around the area since the plague started, but since it’s too cold up here for rats and most people don’t visit during the winter, we haven’t had much of the outbreak here.”
“An increase in activity means that something could be going on over there though. Doesn’t it?” I asked and looked around the table. “I don’t think it would pick up in activity just because of the horsemen disappearing.”
“No one knows how the playground works, so it’s hard to say what would affect it and what wouldn’t.” Ben shrugged. “You never know what you’ll find up there. Corpses, demons, angels, it’s different every time someone visits. Just remember, to gain access to hell through it a sacrifice must be made.”
Pete gave a wicked grin. “It’s a good thing we aren’t preparing to actually enter hell then, isn’t it?”
“You never know when you have to use a portal to get into hell, Pete. If that’s where she’s keeping the seals, you’re going to have to use that information to your advantage. Who would you be willing to sacrifice to gain access? Who would you be willing to sacrifice to return home?”
Death shot a glare at Ben. “Stop trying to scare the kids.”
“I’m not scaring them, I’m preparing them for what may lay ahead. You know better than any of us that Hell is not a place you can just pop in and out of, and chances are Lucile is keeping the horsemen there.” The chair creaked under Ben as he shifted his weight. “We’re talking a full blown apocalypse here. Do you really think it should be trusted to the kids?”
“We’re sitting right here, you know?” I glared at him. “I don’t think you’re one who can judge on if we’re capable of taking care of this or not.”
He chuckled. “Because I’m a fallen angel?”
“No, because you aren’t a horseman or a child of one.” I snapped back. “We’ve faced demons and Sins, and have been living on the same campus as the Devil. I’m pretty sure we can handle ourselves.”
Death put a hand on my shoulder. “This is what they are here for. Our other option would be to meet with Michael and see if he’d be willing to lend us some of his Archangels for the battles.”
“He won’t do that and you know it. Michael doesn’t just lend his highest angels out. He keeps them waiting until the very last moment.” Ruthie shook her head. “That’s not an option. We’re talking three-fourths of the world’s population being wiped out before he even thinks about sending help.”
“Know him personally, do you?” Ben asked raising a brow.
Heat rose in Ruthie�
��s face and I wondered just exactly how she knew the other angel. “He’s a good friend of mine.”
The waitress came back with a tray balanced on each hand; she put two pizzas in front of us and then distributed glasses. She winked at Pete as she set the pitcher down. His gaze dropped to the pizza until she walked away.
“If we could just get my father free, that would head off some of the deaths and we could get a handle on this. With two horsemen and all of us, we can take the Sins and find the others.” Pete slid a slice onto his plate. “Worst comes to worst we send Ruthie to talk to Michael, but Death’s right. This is the reason we are here. To step in and release the horsemen if something happens. Lucile is a stupid bitch if she thinks she can get away with locking them up.”
And yet, we all knew that the possibility of her getting away with it was high. The damage was spreading worldwide and the death toll rose every minute. I picked up a slice and dropped it onto my plate. “What does all this have to do with Devil’s Playground?”
“Simple, you’ll find nothing but increased activity up there.” Ben shrugged a shoulder. “If you feel like getting zapped, by all means hike up there and dance with the lightning.” He stood and put the chair back at the table. “You should know that Lucile isn’t playing, she’s planning on destroying this world. She’ll own every soul because there’s nothing like tragedy to poison the souls of good men. Temptation around every corner will turn this into a dog-eat-dog world and we won’t be able to pull it back from the edge.”
He walked around the table and Ruthie gave a dramatic sigh. “Well, suddenly I’m not hungry.”
“So you know Michael, eh?” Pete asked with a grin. “Just how close are you two, because you blushed pretty hard.”
Ruthie snorted. “I don’t really want to talk about that. What I want to talk about is are we still going to the playground tomorrow?”
“We’ve come this far, so yes. Besides, I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t put my trust in a fallen angel that hires demons.” I took a big bite of the pizza. The cheese melted over my tongue, mixing with the sauce and pepperoni. The food was almost heavenly. Campus pizza had nothing on this place.
“Sammy is right. We go on as planned. You don’t trust second hand information. There may be something up there we can see that he can’t.” Death piled his plate. “If we don’t find anything, then we continue on.”
We ate in silence. The idea that we most likely wouldn’t make progress at the Devil’s Playground ate at me. We’d come this far, things were getting so dark, and we deserved a break in this battle. Something had to be there.
The next morning we started our trek. Devil’s Playground took up the side of a mountain. Black charred rocks climbed up the steep cliffs and the storm clouds crackled overhead with thunder trying to call up rain. We tried to stay on the worn path of dirt. The soft dirt gave way as we climbed up the hill and the sun warmed our backs despite the clouds moving above it. None of us had really wanted to do the hike this morning, but we needed to confirm or disprove what Ben had told us last night.
The soft dirt changed to hard rock as we reached the edge of the playground. Lightning struck a rock in the middle and a crash of thunder rattled my body. The light faded and my vision cleared. A figure rose on the rock. It jumped down and big bat-like wings stretched out as taloned feet clawed at the ground. A tail whipped behind it, smashing into the side of a boulder. The smoothness of its head was disrupted by two small horns sticking out of blue and white marbled skin.
It held its arms out, naked except for a tattered brown cloth tied around its waist, covering any indication of if it was male or female. It took another step forward and lightning crackled around it.
“Death has come to visit? With four children and an angel.” The voice hissed out as its white eyes scanned over us. “Come to enter hell, have you? Who is it that I shall be killing today?” It held out a sharp finger, pointing at Ruthie. “I do like angels, and it would be a delight to kill one of the supposedly perfect creatures.”
Death stepped forward. “There will be no death here demon, we simply came to see the scenery. We have no plans on entering Hell, so you can return to your gatekeeper duties. I promise we won’t disturb you.”
“Such a shame, Lucile has been hoping you’d step into her domain. She really wants to have tea with you.” The demon stopped just in front of us.
“Your daughter has your eyes, it’s amazing that you’ve been able to hide her for so long.” It reached out to touch me and I stepped back. “But if you are not coming in, then I’ll let you be to dance with my lightning.” Its wings folded against its back as it turned away from us. “I’ll give Lucile your regards.”
Lightning struck the ground and it disappeared. I looked to Death, he’d used lightning the first time to bring us to his realm and for a moment I wondered if he was a demon as well.
“No, Lightning just happens to be the easiest way to travel, because a storm weakens the veil between realms.” Death said as if reading my mind. “Most otherworld creatures can use it.”
Ruthie inched towards a rock. “I feel like he was much too calm if there was something here.” She screamed as the lightning struck a rock.
The buzz of electricity hung in the air as flashes of lightning filled the playground, striking rocks with sickening cracks. The booming thunder echoed through the silent mountains.
“We’re not going to be able to check every rock because of the nature of this place.” Death snarled. “Pete, do you sense your father? Because I don’t and if the seal is here then we’d both know it.” He growled. “Ben was right.”
Nothing but an increase in activity and nothing to do with the horsemen. I turned to start going down the mountain trail. I didn’t want to be near all the electricity in the air. My mind was still back on the idea of entering hell.
I paused and turned around. “What if it’s here, but on the other side, actually in Hell?”
“Then we’re in trouble because we’re all forbidden from taking human lives when it’s not their time.” Death said. “We can’t just sacrifice a human to get into hell.”
That complicated things. “So then what?”
“We talk to the Archangels or we find a demon to sacrifice to get in.” Pete came up to my side. “Or we can find a gatekeeper who will accept animal deaths.”
Kaleb laughed. “I don’t think he’d be too keen on taking another demon’s life. He’d rather have Ruthie and there’s no way we’re sacrificing her.”
“So we send her to talk to the archangels?” Pete asked. “That could take months.”
Aeron caught up to us. “Not so fast, we can’t send her to them without evidence that the seal is there. For now, we do our due diligence and we keep looking and keeping our cover.”
Back to college, pretending like I knew nothing about the coming apocalypse. Sound crackled at the playground. Death stepped up with us, a smile on his face. “Oh my daughter, so smart. Lucile would most likely put them in hell, but that demon will not budge. It’s probably why he greeted us so swiftly. They were expecting us to want to travel to Hell. All four of you need to avoid that if you can. I do not want you in her territory. There’s no telling what she would do.”
“What’s with all the invites to get together to have tea?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. “Are you and Lucile friends?”
He walked forward and we all followed, our feet slipping in the soft dirt as we made our way down the steep path.
“We’re enemies, and friends. It’s more like she keeps trying to tempt me. She’s a creature of power and can seduce even the strongest of men. I was hoping she would change her mind once you came into the picture.”
A sick feeling crawled through my stomach. “She wanted to bear your heir.”
“She did, because imagine a world where Death was birthed by the Devil. It would have been perfect for her plan of drowning the world in sin.”
Pete fell and slid down a few feet w
ith a curse. “But you still had a child with a fallen angel. She could have been a tool of the devil without you knowing it.”
“Sammy’s mother hid what she was from me and I from her. So I doubt it was some part of a master plan.” Death said and went to help him up. “You have to remember that every creature has freewill. Those choices guide our destinies.”
Pete dusted himself off. “I know that, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t Lucile’s plan.”
Ruthie slid past me. “We really need to rethink hiking when the ground is soft and slippery. Or chance going off the path and climb the rocks.” The change of subject was welcomed.
“Well, next time there’s an apocalypse, we’ll put in a request for it to be in summertime.” Kaleb stepped sideways past me, his feet leaving footprints in the ground.
I ran a hand over my face. “Are you saying this can happen more than once in our lifetime?”
“Anything is possible. They were able to stop it from getting this far last time.” Aeron clapped me on the back and I nearly fell over. “You’re young, I bet you see at least three before you retire.”
I swiped his feet out from under him so that he fell in the mud. “I may be young, but I can still hold my ground.”
Aeron grabbed my foot and pulled me down, we slid a few feet past Death and Pete. Aeron laughed as I got up and stumbled to find my footing.
“Children.” Death growled. “Now is not the time to horse around. Sammy, if you want to show Aeron your skills, wait until we’re back at the cabin.”
“Challenge accepted.” Aeron grinned. “Death vs War, who’s going to win?”
“Death.” Ruthie, Pete and Death said at the same time.
“War,” said Kaleb. “War always wins, it’s not about the number of lives taken, but the damage to the world around. The fear, the scars, the economy, anything that War touches it destroys.”
He was being entirely too serious for the moment. I shook my head and continued forward. “It’s just a sparring match.”
But we knew that Kaleb was thinking about the war that was coming. Tonight we’d enjoy the cabins and cook some camp food. Tomorrow we’d return to the college, empty handed and defeated.
Children of the Apocalypse Complete Trilogy Page 11