by A L Fogerty
The dining room table had been set beautifully for the meal. The crystal chandeliers sparkled from the luminous magical candles flickering overhead. Kayla took her place at the head of the table, hoping for a better experience than she’d had at breakfast. Everyone except Riddick was already seated.
Regret tugged at her heart. She didn't want to fight with him. Every minute of contention was like torture. She thought of their trip to the City of Ghosts. All those many months ago, they’d found the spirit box and cleared Mist Valley of the souls of their dead. Riddick had always been the one who could lift her spirits and make her smile with a song or a joke. And she had always defended him from the admonishments of his more serious brothers. She'd even supported him in taking that ridiculous motorcycle to Dark Haven. It seemed like a lifetime ago. And now that they were fighting over who was at fault for Oksana’s kidnapping, it felt as if they would never get back their connection.
"Where is Riddick?" she asked.
"We don't need him here," Quinn said.
Kayla squinted at Quinn, pursing her lips. She understood that he was trying to protect her. She could feel it surging through their mate bond. But his quick dismissal of Riddick was wrong. Quinn of all people should know that. She needed all her mates. It was part of the prophecy. And they didn't get to pick and choose when the prophecy was true and when it wasn't.
"Riddick will be down in a minute,” Sid said, the subtle scent of alcohol gliding on the air as he passed.
She knew Riddick was in pain. She could feel a tense thread pulse with agony every second of every minute the entire day. She couldn't stand to be at odds with him a moment longer. Sid sat beside her, and the witches began to serve the meal. With her plate filled and set in front of her, she lifted her fork, ready to take her first bite.
Riddick walked into the dining room and sat in a chair down the table from her. He avoided her gaze, and she feared he was still angry. He had a right to be. But she did, too, and fighting with each other wouldn't help any of them or their daughter.
"We've gathered you here tonight for this special meal of foods gathered from our home village to discuss the next leg of our journey," Sid said. "Felix and I have been studying the maps and resources about hell all day.”
"What did you find out?" Jagger asked.
Kayla could tell Jagger was annoyed that he had been left out of the planning. But he'd been too busy to include, having spent most of the day saying goodbye to the troops and visiting the pack back in Mist Valley.
"From what we have determined, hell is made up of seven layers. But there's no telling how accurate the maps are,” Felix started.
"These maps and lexicons have been gathered and cataloged by our coven for centuries. It is the most accurate information available on earth,” Mackenzie said, the young witch’s curly red hair shimmering around her shoulders. “Dream-walking witches of the past journeyed in their astral bodies into hell to map and document their findings. It was not a safe exploration for them, since the astral body can be trapped in that dimension, but the travelers saw it as their duty.”
Kayla took a bite of her wild-boar ribs with the sauce they made at home, and a wave of nostalgia swept over her. She was tired and battle weary, and it seemed as if everything that mattered had been taken from her. But as she looked around the table at her mates and tasted the flavors of home, she knew deep in her heart what they were all fighting for. She threw a rib to Bane and thought of the many summers they’d spent hunting together in the leafy forests of her home.
"Each level of hell corresponds to a certain kind of evil. The first layer is a purgatory space where lost souls go before they are able to move on to the higher realms. The souls there have unfinished business and unresolved pain from their lives. The demons attempt to trap souls by tricking them into never resolving their problems.
“The next level is for people who have turned away from the light but were never exactly evil. Something in their life experience has made them not believe in the power of goodness and love. However, if the souls ever chose to turn to the light, they could instantly ascend to the afterlife. The demons that guard this level are more cunning than those in the first layer and more persistent in keeping these souls trapped.
“The third layer is a place for those who have been trapped by their addictions, greed, gluttony, and lust. They do not wish to ascend, as hell provides them fuel for their addictions. This is the first level of people who are mostly beyond redemption. The demons here provide souls with a continuous loop of hedonistic fulfillment, preventing them from ever wanting to leave.
“The fourth layer contains souls of liars, cheaters, and swindlers. The selfishness of the souls who live here is beyond that of the first three layers. The demons here facilitate a continuous game of backstabbing and a web of lies.
“In the fifth layer, you find murderers and rapists. These people are given looping scenarios of rape and murder.
“In the six layer, you find those whose crimes were even more egregious—serial killers, psychopaths, torturers. They live in a constant chamber of horrors. The demons here play out the roles of victims, allowing the evil souls to live out their dark passions, again and again.
“And in the seventh and final level resides the king of darkness himself. He's accompanied by those who have conspired to bring the most wretched darkness into the world—the people responsible for genocide, mass violence, and war.
“From the texts, we have deduced that the king of darkness lives in a castle at the center of the seventh level. And that is most likely where we will find him."
“Isn’t hell meant as punishment?” Jagger asked.
“That was the common human belief,” Felix said. “But the king of darkness has no desire to punish evildoers. He holds the souls in their level of hell and rewards them for their darkness. Eventually, these souls are so steeped in evil they cannot ascend to the afterlife.”
"And what about Oksana?" Riddick said.
"Felix and I think she is most likely located here at the seventh level of hell in the castle of the king of darkness.” Sid pointed at a map.
"Why do you think that?" Jagger asked.
“They've taken our child for a reason,” Felix said. “It is logical that he would keep her close. Since we have defeated Veronica, I am sure a being as powerful as the king of hell would know we planned to close the rift.”
“Now we must decide who will go and who will stay behind,” Sid said.
Kayla glanced up from her meal and locked eyes with Riddick. They looked at each other for the first time since that morning. She could see the pain in his eyes, but she could also see the sincerity.
"I'm sorry," she mouthed.
“I'm sorry too,” he mouthed back.
A deep sense of relief flowed through her, and even though they still had far to go, it was good to have Riddick on her side again.
“We all go," Jagger said. “It's not up for debate.”
"Mackenzie and I are going," her girlfriend, Willa, said.
“I want to go too,” said Gloria.
"Are you sure?" Kayla asked, looking at the portal witch.
"Yes,” Gloria said. “I am committed to this mission.”
“I have always wanted to see what was beyond the rift," Malik said. “And I can’t stay here without my wife.”
“All right, then," Jagger said.
“Four witches and six wolves against all the inhabitants of hell," Riddick said, cracking his knuckles. “This should be easy.”
"I almost feel sorry for them.” Kayla winked at her roguish mate.
Chapter 6
Felix stared at the library full of books. He regretted that he’d have to leave most of them behind, but the party needed to travel light. More demons were emerging from the rift all the time. The destruction of Veronica's army was not the end of the demonic hordes—she was only their organizer.
Willa would cast an illusion spell to avoid all the monsters coming from
the rift. But Felix knew that he should be prepared to fight or run for his life. Once they made it into hell, there was no telling how they would fare.
He’d written a notebook full of the most pertinent information. He'd also copied all the maps, creating one master document that covered the many levels and details. If he’d had a lifetime to prepare for this journey, it would not have been enough. The rules of hell were different from the rules of the mortal plane. Reality could shake and shift, morphing like a dream.
Hell’s darkness had spread from the depths of the earth and infected every quarter of his life. Felix was not given to emotionality, and unlike Sid, empathy was not his strength. What he lacked in emotional insight he made up for with logic and reason. But witnessing Kayla’s despair about losing her child through the mate bond was the most heart-wrenching experience of his life. Not even the death of his mother and then his father had cut him so deeply.
His bond with Kayla was transforming him into a whole new person. Before he had gone to study in the library the day before, he’d hidden in the bathroom behind a locked door and sobbed for ten minutes. Felix had not cried since his childhood, and it was a most unsettling experience. He did not hope to relive anything like it anytime soon.
But he also knew that the emotions of his beloved mate, Kayla, were a thousand times more intense and persistent than those he'd felt that day. For the first time in his life, he truly empathized with another person. Felix knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter how much it hurt, it was good that he could feel her. He would do what he could to alleviate her pain. He loved the child in his own way, but his love for Kayla was the truest thing he’d ever known.
He packed his notebooks into his backpack, wondering if he'd missed something. As Felix was silently staring at the shelves, Malik walked through the door.
"You have everything you need?" the chaos mage asked.
"I think so, and you?”
“I have my basic tools. I performed a ritual last night for the success of our journey and the retrieval of the child. I created powerful sigils and burned them in the snow. I have done all I can do in preparation. But I’ve come to the library for one last tool.”
Malik reached up and grabbed the ornament hanging over the door, a golden Egyptian eye with an emerald iris. "This symbol should protect us from evil sight, at least to some degree. If Willa’s magic fails, then we will have a small amount of backup protection.”
"You can make predictions, can't you?" Felix asked.
"I can make small momentary predictions based on one trajectory. They are like a tiny window in time.” Malik shoved the eye into his bag.
"Have you made any predictions about this quest?"
"I have.” Malik smiled.
“And since you are still willing to come with us, I assume that it was a favorable outcome," Felix said.
“You could assume that," Malik said cryptically.
Felix squinted at the dark-skinned chaos mage, not sure what to make of his words. He quickly decided to take them at face value. There was no point in complicating things.
Chapter 7
Kayla sat on her bed, caressing the baby sock she'd carried with her since they'd left Mist Valley all those months ago. Bane dozed on a wool blanket in the corner near the fire. Kayla’s hopes had been so close to being fulfilled, only to be quickly dashed. She took a deep ragged breath and stood from the bed.
Sid knocked and peeked his head through the slightly open door. He smiled and nodded. She could feel, through the mate bond, that he was concerned about her.
"Thank you for everything you have done, Sid. You and Felix have really helped move us through a sticky situation. There was so much unbridled emotion rolling around, and this truly was a time when cooler heads prevailed.”
She walked toward him and let herself be enveloped in his arms. He smelled of pine and snow, and she took a deep breath of his masculine scent.
"There's no need to thank me," he whispered into the top of her head.
"But I want to thank you. I want to thank you for being so patient and strong and wise and for accepting me as I am.”
He drew her closer and kissed the top of her head, taking a deep inhalation. “How did you get so patient and understanding, Sid?"
"Lots of practice standing between Quinn and Jagger.” He laughed. “They’ve always been such opposites. To keep the family together, I needed to bridge that gap."
"You make it sound so easy."
She turned away, knowing that she could never have his kind of quiet persistent strength that always seemed ready to support everyone else. Kayla's tendency was to run away and hide.
Her feelings were as intense as Quinn's, but she did not like to share them. She’d learned from an early age that if she did, she would have to pay for it. Her father had not been kind, and after her mother died, Kayla had been left to process her powerful feelings on her own. That was why she spent so much time in the woods with her familiar. Bane always understood. Bane always cared. Bane always felt her feelings and helped her work through them. She petted her wolf on the head, and Bane looked up at her with big amber eyes full of love and devotion.
"You're stronger than you think, Kayla,” Sid said.
"Someday, I will fully realize it. I thought I had done that time and again. When we won the battle against Veronica, and Riddick rescued Oksana, I thought that all my hard work had finally paid off. Now, finding her gone again, I don't feel any stronger than that girl I once was who was afraid of her father and afraid of her own power. But with the strength of my angelic lineage and the will of my mother's heart, I have the perseverance to press on, even if we will most likely fail."
“You can't think like that. We won't fail.”
"That is why I need you so much, Sid. Your belief is so strong. You believed in Quinn’s prophecy even when your alpha didn't. You’ve carried us all at one point or another. Right now, you carry me.”
"We are here to serve you, Kayla Redclaw, alpha queen of the shifters. Your reluctance is understandable. But you must rise and claim your birthright. We are all counting on you.”
"I know. I know to the depths of my soul. That’s why I told you all that I would go to hell alone.”
"You aren't going anywhere without me." He turned her so that she faced him. “I will be with you to the end. Come hell or high water. I have faith in us. I always have, and I always will. I believe in my brothers, and I believe in you. I believed my mother's prophecy, and I believe in the words of Wolf Mother. We will defeat the darkness and bring light back to the world. But, my girl, you must believe in you too.”
Kayla let out a shuddering breath, knowing the truth of his words. Guilt surged in her. She had been indulging in negative emotions for days, and it was bringing down the entire compound. If she could not pull herself together, she would never find her child, let alone drive the darkness from the world. She smiled up at Sid. It was time to stop wallowing in her weakness and accept her strength once and for all.
"You are so right, Sid. I'm done being foolish. It is my duty and my birthright to overcome this darkness, and it will be done. Perhaps I needed to wallow in self-pity to finally come to this realization. I thank you for pushing me to reach that understanding. We will find Oksana, and we will defeat the king of hell. I know the odds are stacked against us. Any rational person would believe we were all going to die. But the prophecy brought us this far, and we've made it to the final stage. We have everything we need to complete this mission, and I will not let you down now.”
He gripped her shoulders and smiled. Kayla met his eyes and felt the love and strength in his heart. He was like a lion silently watching over his pride. She felt the light of love stirring. The power of her angelic wings pulsed at her back. With the light of Sid’s heart radiating into hers, her wings burst from inside her.
She arched her back, levitating from the floor, ecstatic, as the light flowed through her body. How had she forgotten this strength, this
power, this clarity of light, love, and absolute goodness? She let out a rapturous groan as she descended back to the floor.
"I am ready to walk the light into the darkness."
Chapter 8
The winter sun rose cool and gray over the fortress. Snow flurried over the barren ground out in the courtyard, and a violent chill ran up Kayla’s spine. The pep talk she’d received from Sid the night before had done much to fortify her for what lay ahead. But fear still lingered like a taunting curse at the edges of her consciousness. She would pay any price to escape the constant sense of dread. The world depended on her courage, her light, her love, her strength and her fortitude, and she was ready for the task at hand. But that did not stop the lingering apprehension that always tickled at the back of her mind.
She stood from her bed, glancing back over her shoulder at Sid, who lay sleeping quietly in the rumpled sheets. He'd come so far with her and had given so much. She walked to the window and stared out at the breaking day. Her heart longed for spring, when the bright blooms would bud and warmth would melt the winter chill from her bones.
In the courtyard, Jagger was already up, preparing for the trek ahead, saddling horses and double-checking their supplies. He spotted her in the window and raised his hand in greeting. She placed her palm on the cool glass in response as his handsome face stared up at her. Their eyes locked. His expression seemed to ask, Are you ready? She nodded once, and he nodded in return before turning to walk into the barns.
She turned to the bed, where Sid stirred. He opened his eyes and stood. With the blanket wrapped around his waist, he walked to her and kissed her cheek. The smell of their lovemaking clung to his skin. She inhaled the scent of him, lingering in that moment.
“I see Jagger is already busy.” Sid smiled, holding her close.
“You know how he is.”
The warmth of Sid’s body was a blanket for her soul that soothed the chill of the room. “I should join him,” Sid said, releasing her from his embrace. He sat on the bed and pulled on his pants.