“Scared?” He asked with a wicked grin.
“Cautious,” I corrected.
He turned and started down the alleyway next to the church. Our feet scuttled against the cracking ground. The further away from the street we were, the darker the scorch marks and the stronger the smoke became. A gaping black hole appeared in the side of the building, opening to the stone halls hell was known for. I gathered every bit of confidence I could find. I pulled off my gas mask and tossed it to the side before walking into the gateway.
My feet hit the stone ground and I wondered why no gatekeeper came to greet us. The hole closed behind us and I spun to face the two Sins. “What? Can’t take me directly to Lucile’s lair?”
“You can’t go there directly.” Lust grabbed my wrist. “So eager to sign your abilities away?”
I pulled away from him. “Stop touching me. I don’t like it.”
“Too bad.” He tightened his grip. “You’re up to something. I can see it in your eyes. You weren’t this determined the other night. The other night your eyes were clouded with thoughts of being free from this life.”
I held my other hand out and hoped all of our theories were true. I summoned my scythe and twirled it so the handle hit Lust in the side of the head.
He stumbled back and summoned his short swords. “You bitch.” He came rushing towards me, and I side stepped, flattening myself against the wall and sticking a foot out to trip him as he passed. His momentum carried him to the ground, his face skidding across the rough stone. I turned in preparation for Sloth to attack, but he was nowhere to be found. Lust’s arms wrapped around me from behind, pinning my arms to my sides, making my scythe useless.
I slammed my booted foot into his and threw my head back. My skull hit his jaw with a crack and he pulled away. I spun around and brought my scythe in front of me with the movement. I caught him across the stomach and blood dripped from my curved blade.
A shiver went up my back and I turned around expecting to see Sloth, but Ruthie held her arms out. “Just me.”
“Oh thank God, it worked.”
Lust snarled. “I knew you were up to something.” He twirled his blades and looked at me. “I’ll be making sure the Trickster gets your wings.” He took a step forward, but I swung my scythe out to stop him.
“Not happening.” I grabbed Ruthie’s arm, gathering what concentration I could and pictured Pestilence’s seal in my mind. I shoved all my thoughts to it. The world around us dissolved and rebuilt itself piece by piece. Lust was gone, but in front of us a swirling green and black seal made from different symbols moved over the stone wall.
“How did you know that was going to work?” Ruthie walked up to the seal. “I can feel him in there, he’s angry and terrified, but he’s alive and in there.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know it was going to work. I figured I’d be in a flat out battle with Lust at the moment and not standing in front of the seal.” I took a deep breath and lifted my scythe up, placing the blunt end on the floor. “This is where I was taken when I was having visions of my father being killed and having to step up into his place.”
She turned and put a hand on my shoulder. “You did well. Now we have a moment of safety, until Lucile realizes what we did. We need to figure out how to find the other two.”
“Did you know either of them? Can you tell me what they might have been like? What they might have feared?” I glanced around the room. “If I had some idea, something to latch on to, I might be able to find them and then we’d have locations to hand the archangels.”
Ruthie nodded. “I know both War and Famine. They are very much like their sons. War fears nothing, no man, or demon. Not Death or life. He used to joke that when Death came knocking at the door he’d greet him like a friend.” She shook her head. “He’s fiercely loyal and, like Aeron, he expects everyone to act the same way.”
I nodded. “He’s War though, he thrives off conflict doesn’t he?”
“And conflict is in everyone’s nature, which is what makes him and Wrath such powerful creatures.”
My eyes grew as the ideas started forming in my head. “Which means he’d be powerless in a place of peace.”
“Yes, but this is Hell, I don’t think he fears peace. I think he has to accept it and accept that he is weakened with it.” Ruthie looked at me. Both our heads snapped to the side at the sound of shouting.
I grabbed her wrist. “We’re about to find out if it’s fear Lucile is using or if she just needed them weak.”
Ruthie’s eyes grew wide and the world around us crumbled into darkness. When it rebuilt we stood in a field of green grass. A light breeze blew through, sweeping my hair to the side. I looked up and saw a gold and black seal floating in the sky. “It’s not fear, she’s trying to keep them weak and powerless.”
“Risks, one day we’re going to have to talk about risks.” Ruthie pulled her arm from me.
I closed my eyes. “Who knew there was a place like this in hell?”
“Some people’s greatest fear is a peaceful world. Like all the corrupt people who profit from war and conflict.” She stepped a few feet ahead of me. “This is more like heaven for me.”
I looked at the ground. “I’m sorry, I know I’m the source of all the conflict in your job.”
“Don’t be silly, you’re not just a job any more. We’re friends, we’ve been through too much to be anything else.”
“Now, on to Famine. What do we know about him? You said he’s a lot like Kaleb, but that doesn’t help much.”
Ruthie closed her eyes. “He’s stubborn, rude, and extremely protective of Kaleb. Kaleb rarely left his side growing up.”
Maybe, just maybe, he feared losing Kaleb. “I went to a place where my mother was, when we were last in hell. Remember?”
She nodded. “You said there wasn’t a seal in there.”
“What if I was wrong? My own fear was projecting then, the walls were closing in which means I was stuck in an illusion as well.” I held my hand out. “Let’s give it a try.”
She grasped my hand and I closed my eyes. I recalled all the grief I felt when my mother was killed and tried to use that to tether me to the room where I had found her. What it must have been like for her to see me lying on the ground dead at her feet. My warm blood coating her knees and hands as she tried to cradle me to her chest.
Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes but I felt the world around us change. When I opened my eyes I found us surrounded by gold and black swirls, symbols moved past us, drifting on the air.
“You didn’t see it because the room hid the seal.” Ruthie breathed. “We knew where one of them was all along.”
The black floor under my feet slowly rolled into burnt corners and crumbled. “Ruthie, I think we’ve been found.”
She clasped my hand as the ground shattered beneath us and we fell back into a stone room. The seal of my father stood bright against the wall and I turned my gaze to the blood stained floor. I knew exactly where we were and I didn’t know how we were going to survive getting out.
“Lust said you wanted to make a deal. I’m guessing you’ve had second thoughts.” Lucile pulled away from the shadows in the room. “You’re such a silly girl, little Death. Your father would be beside himself if he realized you came back here after he sacrificed himself to free you.”
I leaned against my scythe and met her gaze. Two red lines moved through her pupils like snakes. “I had unfinished business, but now we’ll be on our way. If you’d just point us to the closest gate.” I tried to keep the shaking out of my voice.
“You think you’re just going to waltz in here, find the seals and dance your way back out?” She swayed towards me and her hands turned to claws. “I own you.”
She went to swipe at my face and I stepped back and swung my scythe to knock her hand away from me. “You own nothing.” I snarled. “You fed from my fear, but that is it.”
“By that fear I own you, every time you panic because the walls are closi
ng in. Every time you think you might have to take your father’s place and you know you’re not ready, I’m in your head. Tempting you. Whispering to you that I can make it end, that I could take all of this away if you would just let me.”
I nodded. “But by temptation, you do not own me.” I widened my stance. “You can’t kill me because Death is sealed away. I can’t kill you either. So we’re at a standstill at this point.”
“No, we’re not.” She snapped her fingers and Envy and Pride appeared in the room. “Envy almost had you several times, and Pride, he just wants to beat you down. The moment that you fail, you’ll be locked away in your hell and your angel? Her wings will be stripped from her broken body and hung on my wall. Like your mother’s are on Camille’s wall.”
Grief struck me hard and I went to strike at her. Lucile disappeared and the clang of my blade hitting metal sounded off the walls of the chambers. Envy laughed and a crossbow appeared in her hand. “Let’s see how well you can dodge bolts.”
I took a deep breath. Ruthie turned to face Pride. “Remember, you think better when you’re fighting. Remember what you were taught.”
I trusted her to have my back and I knew she could take care of herself. I took my stance and met Envy’s green eyes. Her skin seemed to glow with the same tint. She fired her crossbow and I spun my scythe, knocking the bolt out of the air. Two quick steps and I pinned her arm above her on the wall, forcing her to drop her bow. She punched me in the stomach and I doubled over.
I kicked my foot between hers, knocking her off balance before she shoved me away. She summoned a dagger and sliced at my stomach. The dull aching pain there told me I couldn’t afford another wound in the area. I spun away from her and brought my elbow into her spine. She stumbled forward and cried out. She flipped herself around and threw the knife at me.
I hissed as it embedded itself into my shoulder. My arm twitched as the blood dripped from the wound. I pulled out the knife and tossed it away from me. I wiggled my fingers to make sure that hand could still be used. To my surprise, they obeyed me.
Ruthie pressed up against my back. “I’m going to try something. I have no promise that it’s going to work.”
“What do you mean?” I gripped my scythe. “We can win this. They don’t have an advantage over us.”
“That’s Pride talking. I’m taking us to Death’s realm. If it works, I think we can get home.”
I shook my head. “We’re going to need a sacrifice for even that.”
“Nothing can be killed right now. I don’t know if those rules apply anymore.”
Envy smiled and her slick skin started to turn to a green hue and stretch out. A demon tail whipped from side to side from behind her. Ruthie went to grab my arm, but Envy’s tail caught her and threw her away.
I snarled and struck with my scythe, the blade caught the demon across the chest but bounced off, sparking as the tip ran down to the ground.
“You know the saying, ‘Jealousy is a green eyed monster?’” Envy hissed and her feet grew to taloned claws and leathery green wings unrolled from her back. “It’s not just a saying.”
I jumped away from her, trying to get to Ruthie. I risked a glance over my shoulder to find my angel pinning Pride up against the wall. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Envy’s tail move. I jumped to avoid it and turned towards Ruthie. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
I rushed to her and grabbed her arm. Pain shot through my leg, but I couldn’t let it stop me. I trusted Ruthie to do what we needed. The world around us switched from stone walls to dead fields, my momentum carried us a few feet into the dead plants and I fell to the ground, letting my scythe disappear.
I couldn’t help the crazy laughter that bubbled up my throat and spilled through my lips. I closed my eyes and lay on my back. “I can’t believe that worked.”
“Neither can I.”
I opened my eyes and saw Ruthie standing over me. “We can go home now and tell the boys about the locations. I’ll tell the archangels about it and we can stop the apocalypse.”
“Your leg is bleeding.” Ruthie knelt down by me.
“So is my shoulder. I’m not sure what happened to my leg, but my shoulder took a dagger.”
Ruthie tore my pant leg and looked down at it. “Can you wiggle your toes?”
I sat up and cringed as I put pressure on my shoulder. “I think so.” I looked at my toes and demanded that they wiggle. One toe twitched and it pulled on the muscle that had been wounded. Pain shot through me and stole my vision. The world swirled for a moment until I stopped trying to wiggle my toes. “It moves, but it hurts. A lot.”
“The bolt went through your leg.” Ruthie sat back. “I need Pete or Kaleb for this. Maybe even Aeron.”
“He doesn’t like me, do you think he’s really going to want to patch my leg up?” I lay back down on the ground. “Sloth wasn’t with Lust when we came here. Do you think he went and attacked the boys?”
“Probably, but I’m sure they could handle it.” She held her hand out to help me up. “Let’s get going.”
I took her hand and let her help me up. I leaned heavily on her. My body shook as the adrenaline faded from me and the pain took over. “This is going to suck to heal.”
“Yes, it is. Let’s just be glad it was Envy and not Sloth.” The world swirled around us and the human realm built back up. We both covered our mouths as we realized we were standing in the City on Fire. Smoke rose around us as the wind ripped through the deserted city.
“Lovely.” I started forward, limping away from Ruthie. “Couldn’t we have gone to the hotel?”
She shook her head. “Let’s just get out of here. If we hurry we can leave without any effects of the gasses. I’ll call the boys once we get to the barriers.”
She came to my side and I summoned my scythe, using it to lean on. “If we’re attacked again, I need you to be able to fight, not having to hold me up.”
“Fair enough, let’s hope that everyone is regrouping right now.” We followed the cracked road back to the barriers. The car was still parked a few feet away. My heart pounded, the four doors were open and a pair of booted feet dangled from the back passenger side door.
My breath hitched and I flung myself over the barrier and rushed to the door, adrenaline once again shooting through my veins. Pete laid back in the car, blood had soaked his chest and I tried not to panic. Death couldn’t happen right now, but if his body wasn’t able to heal the wound then he’d die the moment Death was free.
I tried to keep tears from forming in my eyes as I lifted his shirt to see how bad the wound was. The fabric resisted, sticking to his skin with the seal of drying blood. He put a hand over mine. “Hey stranger, I thought Lust killed you.”
Something lifted my heart at the sound of his voice. “No, why would you think that?”
“I saw your head roll away.” His eyes flickered open and he met my gaze. “Boy, do you look odd in your Horseman form.”
“I’m a skeleton.” I glared at him. “What do you mean you saw my head taken off? Lust sucks at fighting.”
“Sammy, heads up, Sloth is around.” Ruthie’s voice came through the car.
It clicked then. Sloth had poisoned Pete. “It’s okay. I’m alive and we’re all getting out of here as soon as we figure out where the others are. I’m going to sit you up.”
He tried to help me to get him sat up, but he was just a bunch of fumbling limbs and not able to hold his own weight. I got him sat up and closed the door. The moment the door connected to the car, his weight fell on it, but at least if we needed to make a quick escape he was in the car.
I turned with my scythe and my gaze scanned the area. Ruthie stood at the front of the car, her staff at the ready. Footsteps and cracking branches could be heard in the area. I could make out Aeron’s voice calling for Kaleb. My heart pounded in my chest and the tension mounted as I waited for someone to break through the surrounding tree line, but no one came.
The dead trees p
rovided more cover than I thought was possible for a bunch of chemically dead branches. With cracking sounds and a grunt, Aeron came flying through the trees and connected with the pavement. He lay on the ground, stunned for a moment. I jumped in front of him as Sloth came rushing forward. I brought my scythe down, catching Sloth across the shoulder.
He met my eyes with black holes. “Hello, little Death.”
“Hello Sloth, I see you found my friends. Guess you guys are a bit more clever than I thought.” I flicked the scythe so that his blood splattered off the blade and on to the ground.
“The one in the car, he’s a goner. I heard he was your favorite.” His voice came out more like a hiss. “You’re next. What a world this will be without Death.”
A smirk pulled my lips up and I shifted my hold on the scythe. The pain in my leg faded as I focused on my target. “Come get me.”
He held his hand out and throwing knives appeared. He flung one after another and I ran to dodge them all.
Aeron stood and summoned his bow. He gave me a slight bob of his head and I assumed he was thanking me for covering his ass. “Ruthie, Kaleb’s in the woods still.”
“Got him.” She called out and sprinted to the trees.
“You’ve got my back, little Death?” Aeron called and drew his bow back. An arrow appeared and he took aim.
I twirled my scythe. “Until the end, little War.”
“Don’t.” He took aim.
I rushed Sloth from behind as Aeron drew back the arrow to the fullest reach. Sloth turned to me, more knives in his hand, but his body jerked and the knives fell from his hands when the arrow shot through his chest.
The momentum of the shot drove him forward a few feet. I licked my lips. “Aeron, follow my lead. I have an idea.” I ran towards a large tree, the bark just now flaking off from the death that climbed through it thanks to the chemicals in the air.
Sloth followed me, a knife whistled by my ear, taking a few strands of hair with it. I spun when I reached the tree. “Come on…” I whispered and saw Aeron tracking Sloth with his bow and arrow, ready.
Sloth rushed me and I slid under his parted legs. I pinned him to the tree using the handle of my scythe. He snarled in my face, spit flying from his pointed teeth.
Children of the Apocalypse Complete Trilogy Page 24