When the roaring and crashing subsided, the ceiling was gone. A dark sky strewn with stars stretched above them, thin wisps of clouds sliding across the face of a gibbous moon. The beast turned, its snakelike neck whipping around to see them crouched in the shadows of the doorway. Elli, tears of joy streaming down her face, stepped out to rest a hand on one webby wing. “You’re free,” she choked. It dipped its head in a bow and crooned low in its throat. She patted it again. “Go,” she said, her voice more insistent. “Go. You’re free.”
Once again its head shook and the wing dipped lower.
“I think he wants to give you a ride,” Azrael’s own golden eyes looked wide with wonder. He looked over at Rue.
“Maybe it wants to give us all a ride?” Rue suggested. He vanished his blade and walked toward the beast. “Is that it? Can you see us to the center of the Labyrinth?” One corner of the dragon’s mouth tipped up in an unmistakable smile and its head dipped in a bow. “Well, I think that’s clear enough.”
Without another word he leapt on the dragon’s long neck and reached a hand down to help Elli up behind him. The ghost girl squealed in delight. “I love this!” She gave Rue an appreciative little squeeze. “I read every dragon book I could get my hands on when I was a kid. I remember wishing that Gandalf would come take me away when I was a kid.” Her arms tightened around him when the dragon launched. He felt himself clutch at the sharp neck ridges before him. The beast spiraled up in ever widening circles, showing a maze of corridors, pits and covered rooms below them. Eyes streaming in the cold wind, Rue peered ahead of them, hunting for the center of the Labyrinth. He could feel the vial of miracles ever warmer against him and he knew in his heart of hearts that he would find Serafina. Hope spiraled up with every beat of the dragon’s wings.
* * * *
She crouched behind a stalagmite, pressed to the slimy surface as a troop of small horned creatures marched past under the direction of a huge goat-hoofed monster with glowing yellow eyes and jagged teeth. “This way,” the yellow-eyed monster snarled. “It’s through here.” It peered into the shadows opposite Serafina’s hiding place. Seeming to find what it was looking for, it reached down and grabbed the first two little creatures in reach and shoved them through the wall where, instead of smashing as she thought they would, they disappeared before ever hitting the stone. She stifled a gasp with her hand. Where? How? The larger demon just kept shoving the little ones though an unseen hole.
“How’s it going, Hereg?” a cheerful voice called down the hall. Muttering and growling, the monster moved up the line of little creatures. Where they’d stood in ragged formation, they now smartened up, standing almost at attention. A shadow stalked down the hallway and formed into a man with blond hair and bright blue eyes dressed in a smart black suit, silver shirt and red tie. “Getting them through all right? Do I need to make it bigger?”
Unable to stop herself, she gasped and the man’s nostrils flared. His blue eyes narrowed and flashed red for a moment. “No, no, no,” she begged silently.
He turned and whirled diving behind the rock to fasten a hot hand on her wrist. “Where the Hell have you been?” he snarled, dragging her forward. “I’ve been all over these halls looking for you. Do you know the trouble you’ve caused?” She struggled to pull away from him, but his grip was firm as stone. A snicker from the line of imps behind him turned his attention from her for a moment. Without letting her go, he located the snickering creature and pinned him with a red-eyed glare. “Allow me to aid you on your journey to the mortal realm.” He picked the creature up with his free hand and hurled it at the stone wall where it splattered into a pool of black goo. “Oops,” he murmured, “I missed.” He raked the line with a look. “Anyone else have a comment?” Silence greeted him. He turned to the creature in charge. “Get this group through, then move on to the next hole. Azrael and Ruvan are sealing them as quickly as I can open them. The boss wants as many through as possible. So get a move on.”
The yellow-eyed creature snarled what could only have been an affirmative and began throwing the little creatures through as quickly as he could get his claws on them. Fina’s heart stopped beating for a moment at the mention of Rue’s name. She couldn’t think and mindlessly allowed the beautiful creature to drag her away. All she could think of was the fact that Rue was down here. Looking for her. She let him drag at her, closing her eyes for a second on a prayer. Of thanks.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It could have been worse, he decided as he dragged Serafina with him. There’d only been three souls given the hope of redemption. She’d only made two imps implode after stopping them from fighting and making them apologize to each other and one of his demon doors had sealed after she’d helped a demonkin who’d been stuck halfway through. Random acts of kindness closed those things faster than an angel’s blade. All that mattered was that he’d found her and no real mischief had been done. He rubbed his free hand over his face. He didn’t even want to think about what the boss would have done to him if he’d had to admit that he’d lost her.
“Where –?” She stopped after that one word.
Asmoday slowed his pace, loosened his grip. His anger had begun to fade. If he were ever honest, even with himself, he’d admit a grudging admiration for her spunk. He really didn’t think she had it in her. “Where am I taking you?” He flicked a hand, twisting the halls to make the walk last a little longer. The white streaked black walls peeled away to reveal red sandstone covered in hieroglyphs. He seemed to be partial to the Egyptian hall lately. Ammit didn’t come running to meet him. The little guy must be sleeping under Osiris’ throne. He tugged her closer, tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow as if he were escorting her instead of dragging her. “I’m taking you to the Labyrinth. The boss is waiting for you there.” He patted her hand. “Nothing personal, you know, just business.”
“The boss?” He could hear fear waver in her voice, scent the air with its perfume.
“Satan, Lucivar, the Fallen One, yeah. Whatever you want to call Him. He wants to see you. Wants to meet someone who can tempt a judge.”
Her voice went hard. “Rue was a man when I met him.”
He snorted a laugh. “Yeah, well, he still wants to talk to you.”
“Talk?” He could hear the doubt.
He stopped, turned her to face him. “Look. I’ll level with you, sister. We don’t want you around here anymore than you want to be here. Good souls just cause trouble.” He gestured at the twisting path behind them. “Look at what you did in only an hour. Could you imagine the kind of trouble you’d get into if we let you roam around here for longer than that?” He rolled his eyes. “Nah. The boss just wants you to play bait. Then you can go wafting on up to heaven on your own when you have to.”
He tugged her along the path. Sandstone shivered, becoming gray flagstone. He heard her gasp. “When I have to? You mean, I’m not….”
“Dead?” He grinned. “I’ll let you figure that one out when I send you back.” And that, he decided, was the last of the truth he was going to speak. What had come over him? He gave his head a sharp shake, like a dog coming out of a pool. She was insidious. Having the Deceiver spouting the truth like he was an oracle? The boss was going to fry his brains if he didn’t get his head on straight.
The minotaurs’ eyes glowed an eldritch green as he passed between them. A flash of green fire when those beams met sent them right into the heart of the maze where Lucivar waited.
* * * *
“Incredible.” The tall man in the sharp dark suit with the long black hair tapped the huge crystal sphere held up by a trembling imp. “Just incredible. Asmoday, come here and look at what they’ve done.” He moved away to wave the demon into his place. Asmoday dropped her hand and stepped forward.
Serafina felt nailed to the floor. Her limbs were heavy, her heart beat so quickly it felt as though it were going to leap from her chest any second. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her dry mouth. The man turned away from a
chuckling Asmoday and she got her first look at the face of evil.
It was a handsome face. Long, lean, with sharp cheekbones and a strong nose. Lips that were almost a little too full curved into a welcoming smile, but it was his eyes that caught her, pinned her like a mouse in a hawk’s gaze. His eyes gleamed silver as moonlight in the artificial light of the underworld. Gleaming streaks of gold spiraled through those moonbeam eyes and seemed to twist as she watched them, drawing her in. He blinked and she stumbled. He reached out, caught her with a strong warm hand. “My pardon, my dear.” His voice sounded low and melodious. She could listen to it forever.
“What....” She swallowed and tried again. “What are you going to do to me?”
He led her to a low bench against the wall. She had no choice but to follow. “You are my guest, Serafina. I need you only to wait and watch.” He gestured and the stone wall opposite her rippled, turning into silvered glass. “And say nothing.” The bite of command in his tone shivered like ice water down her spine.
He turned back to Asmoday and the shining crystal globe. The room outside that shining window was a small stone chamber; round, made of rough-hewn stone with a pedestal in the center. A small stone statue of a minotaur stared back at her from its perch. She couldn’t figure out what was so important about that little room.
“How the hell did they manage that?” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Asmoday lean closer to the sphere.
“Kindness, compassion, acceptance are always the tools of goodness.”
The demon made a retching sound deep in his throat. The Dark Prince chuckled. “Yes, I know.” He crossed to the window, ignoring Fina as if she weren’t there. “They’ll be here sooner than I’d thought, but –” he turned and shot her a sizzling smile, “ –I’m ever ready to improvise.” He snapped at Asmoday. “Get Lilith.” The demon bowed and disappeared in a puff of acrid smoke. “Time to slip into something that Ruvan might be more comfortable with.” He shrugged out of the suit coat, hanging it meticulously on the back of a chair. He unbuttoned his shirt. “You’re wondering if this is what I really look like.” It was a statement, not a question. “You’ve been raised on stories of the red skinned devil with black horns and hooves.” He turned to her and Fina had to admit to herself that the devil was built. “I could change into that image if you would prefer, but this is what I truly look like.” He flexed and shadows unfurled from his back. Cold slithered to embrace her and she shuddered in the bone deep chill. The shadows coalesced into wings, huge wings that began white as snow at the tops, then faded into ever-darkening shades of gray to finish as the deepest black at the tips. He glowed with a faint luminescence, and Fina remembered that once upon a time he was the shining one.
“What would you like, my dear?” His voice echoed in her rib cage, hovering on the edge of pain. “Anything you want, anything you wish.” Those spiraled eyes of gold and silver seemed to catch her, drag her into their shining depths. “Do you wish health?” She felt her heart hammer in her chest at the words. Her pulse leapt like a frightened rabbit. “Do you wish to wake tomorrow in your own bed, hale and hearty, with no lingering shadows?” His wings spread, blocking even the uncertain light of the chamber. “Or does something else entirely whisper in your soul? Do you wish wings of your own? Would you like to shed this shell of yours and spend eternity flying at Ruvan’s side?” He reached out, taking her hand in his, his skin warm and dry against hers. “I can make it happen.” His words dropped to a sly whisper. “Speak the words and I will bend reality to my will. I can almost see your wings, a soft gold. You’re lovely.”
She could see them too: golden wings, glowing in the light of a perpetual down. A beach of pink sugar soft sand kissing the edges of a purple sea stretched below her. A rise of white mountains, trees with feathery leaves lining their slopes touching a cloudless sky. A feeling of freedom, of weightlessness lifted her. A laugh and she turned. Rue coasted beside her, his own hawk wings outstretched. His eyes, no longer sad, held joy and love.
“You can have it all. Here, in my realm.” That soft voice pulled at everything in her, made her yearn, made her unbearably sad. “Say the words, yield to my will, and I will reward you beyond measure.”
“At what cost?” She forced the words out. She longed to say yes, to bow her head and beg him for the world he’d shown her. The vision faded and she saw the rough hewn stone chamber again. It took every ounce of willpower in her to pull her eyes away from his. Over his shoulder she saw Asmoday with a woman at his side. The demon quirked one brow and nodded as if impressed. “At what cost?” she repeated, not daring to look at the Lord of Evil again. “I will play the cards I’ve been dealt.” She shrugged. “Thank you, though. It was a lovely dream.”
The Dark Prince chuckled, dropped her hand and stepped away. “You cannot imagine the tortures I could put you to, Serafina, my dear. I could have you screaming in agony, your mind a shattered shell in a matter of seconds.”
She swallowed the nausea that rose to the back of her throat. “I am quite certain that you could, sir. As they say, death’s the end of all, and from what I understand, I wouldn’t stay long in your hands after that.”
A charged silence sizzled across the room. Then Lucivar burst out in harsh rasping laughter. “I admire you, Serafina. I truly do. I am beginning to see how Ruvan fell.” He gestured the woman forward. “I admire defiance. I had enough of my own, so I will abide by my promise. You will come to no physical harm at my hands or the hands of any my minions.”
She heard what he didn’t say. “What about non-physical harm?”
He shoved the female forward. She had an odd, almost feline beauty with slitted catlike eyes in a piercing blue. “I make no promises there. Lilith, make it good.”
The female bowed. “As you will, my Lord.”
Those cat eyes studied her for a moment, then the woman’s face began to shiver. Bones melted and merged, her hair shortened, straightened from a riotous mane of black curls to match Serafina’s own sleek reddish gold style. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, Fina looked at her own face.
“Not bad.” Asmoday paced around the two of them. “If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t be able to tell you apart.” He reached out, grabbed the demoness and hauled her in for a deep kiss. “I wish there were enough time to tell Ruvan I had his woman.” He snickered. “After a fashion.”
“You’re....” the words dried in her throat.
“Evil?” the demon rolled his eyes. “Welcome to Hell.” He gave the demoness a pat on the backside, directing her to follow the Devil. “Now, you sit here and behave.” He pointed to the window. “Enjoy the show and –,” his eyes flared coal red, “ –keep your mouth shut.”
“Threats, Asmoday?” Lucivar sighed. “How childish of you.” Those gilt eyes pinned her. “I’m quite certain that Miss Kinnock can understand the severity of the situation. He snapped his fingers and a heavily decorated golden goblet appeared in his hand. “However, prevention is one of the few virtues to which I ascribe.” He handed her the cup. It was bitterly cold and heavy in her hands. “Drink, Serafina. It will not bind you here. You have my word.”
The word of the Devil. What choice did she actually have? Asmoday stood nearby, cracking his knuckles as if to show her that he was perfectly willing to pour the concoction down her throat. With both hands she lifted the cup. Colder than ice water, yet burning at the same time, the liquid coursed through her. She was awake. She could see, hear, understand, but it was as if she were viewing everything outside of herself. She felt no pain, no weariness and yet a peculiar lassitude spread through her being. She could do nothing as Asmoday, the demoness Lilith who adjusted her clothing to match hers, and the devil arranged themselves in the small room beyond the window. At a gesture from Lucivar, the chamber flexed and shifted, becoming much larger. From where she lay, she could just make out a sliver of murky sky.
* * * *
The dragon banked. Elli whooped in joy, slapping the creature’s s
ide, encouraging it to go faster. “There!” Azrael’s scythe pointed the way. “The center of the maze.”
Elli yelled, “That way, George!”
“George?” The shock of the name momentarily pulled Rue out of his contemplation of what he’d do to Asmoday when he got his hands around his throat.
“Yeah, George,” the ghost girl repeated. “You know those old Loony Tunes cartoons—‘I will hold him and pet him and name him George?’”
“Not a clue,” Azrael responded.
She shook her head. “Seriously, you guys are really deprived in heaven. Don’t even know Bugs Bunny.”
George banked right and pulled up, backwinging to hover over the huge circular chamber at the heart of the Labyrinth. Rue jumped off, unfurling his own wings to catch his fall, summoning his blade. Azrael landed at his side. George, with Elli still astride him, landed as far away from the figure leaning against the wall as possible.
Asmoday grinned. He flicked away his lit cigar. “Heard you been looking for me, Rue.”
“We’re on even ground now, demon,” Rue growled, stalking forward. “Will you meet me?”
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