Opening the door, Hawk climbed out and I followed behind him. I stretched my back and cramped muscles before helping Kobal and the others pull out some of the supplies we would need for the night. After establishing a sleeping area, I sat and ate dinner with Vargas, Erin, and Hawk while the demons and Captain Tresden spoke near a copse of large elm trees.
The first star poked out in the sky when Kobal walked over to join us. Kneeling beside me, he tucked a stray wisp of hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek. He extended his hand to me and I took hold of it. Rising to my feet, I brushed the grass from my ass before following him over to the base of the elm.
“I have to go feed,” he said.
“I’ll go with you.”
“This may be something you’d prefer not to witness, even if you can see the wraiths, which is doubtful.”
“I should know more about what happens. I am part demon after all,” I said with a smile.
“More angel than anything else.”
“I think we both know that’s a lie.”
He chuckled, but I hadn’t missed the hint of sadness in his eyes. “It may look like absolutely nothing to you,” he told me.
“I’m prepared for that.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I won’t.” I wanted to ask him about what was upsetting him, but decided against it. My curiosity to see him feed was stronger than my need to question him, and if I pushed him, he might change his mind.
He kept my hand in his as we turned and slipped into the woods. Throughout the forest, I glimpsed fireflies flitting through the air, tiny pinpricks of light in the dark canopy of trees. One good thing about this trip, so far we hadn’t encountered overgrown insects looking to eat us. Bugs didn’t bother me, but the idea of man-eating spiders made my stomach turn.
The crickets chirruped loudly as he moved with confidence over the forest floor. His hand rested on the log of a fallen tree before he turned to me, placed his hands on my waist, and easily lifted me over it. I couldn’t resist kissing him when he settled me on the other side.
“Don’t distract me,” he murmured.
“I would never,” I replied and playfully bumped his hip.
His hand moved so fast I barely saw it before it was grasping hold of my waist and drawing me flush against his side. His fingers stroked over my flesh as he led me further through the forest. At the edge of the woods, he pulled me to a stop. Leaves dipped down from the trees above as I stared at the hill stretching before us.
The stars blinked to life through the inky canvas of the night. On the horizon, the full moon was a bright orange color when it peeked out from behind the hill. It looked so close, I felt like I could walk to the top of the hill, reach out, and touch it. The spectacular beauty robbed me of my breath as I watched its steady ascent.
Turning my attention from the orange globe, I realized Kobal’s eyes weren’t on the moon, but on something else within the sky. Something I couldn’t see beyond the canopy of trees hanging over us.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Wraiths,” he replied.
My eyes narrowed as I searched for whatever it was he saw. “What are wraiths?”
“They are what we call the souls who are sent to Hell,” he replied. “They become twisted and warped after years of torture, punishment, and our feeding from them.”
I knew he somehow fed off the souls sent to Hell, but I had no idea what it entailed. “Are they dangerous?”
“Some are more powerful than others as some spirits can retain abilities they may have had while human, but they cannot harm humans. Some of the wraiths left Hell when the gateway opened, but many of them still reside within its bowels. Wherever the wraiths are though, they can never escape a demon once we latch onto them.”
I tilted my head back to peer at the sky again. “Are they around us all the time and I just can’t see them?”
“No. Since we’ve entered your realm, they only come out at night. Their twisted bodies thrive on shadows and can’t handle the sunlight.”
“Where do they go during the day?”
“They hide in the earth, but they’re unable to stay there once the sun sets.”
“Are they out every night?”
“Yes.”
“So they’re kind of like ghosts?”
“Sort of, but whereas ghosts were already a part of your realm, even if you couldn’t see them, wraiths never will belong here and will only be visible to those of us who feed on them. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to stay here?”
“Yes.”
“Come.”
Tugging on my hand, he led me to the top of the hill. The orange glow from the moon illuminated the other side of the hill with every step we took, revealing more woodland. This area had somehow survived the war; the healthy trees towered into the sky, more so than any others we’d seen on our journey so far. I hadn’t seen so many large trees grouped together like this since leaving my home.
Kobal’s head tilted back and a rumble vibrated his chest. The muscles of his arms bunched and flexed. I’d never seen him look like this before; he was a hunter seeking his prey, but then he’d tried to keep the predator side of his nature from me as much as possible.
“When was the last time you fed?” I asked.
“It’s been a while.”
“Because you were trying to reach me?”
His gaze flickered to me before focusing on the sky again. “I was perfectly capable of waiting.”
Still, I hated to have been the cause for the depth of the hunger I sensed coming from him. My fingers squeezed around his. “I’ve drawn you into my visions before and entered your dreams, maybe I can see the wraiths through your eyes.”
“I’m not sure you want to see this, River.”
“I want to see everything that has to do with you. Everything.”
He hesitated for a minute; then his hand squeezed mine. Drawing me against his side, he clasped my neck, rubbing his thumb over my flesh as he kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes, taking comfort in him while my senses flooded with the force that was Kobal.
I felt an opening, a drawing like what I experienced when I’d sucked him into my visions those couple of times before, but this was more compelling. Now it felt like a dam broke within me as the power swelled forth, eager to break free of the cage I’d confined it to since my dream with Lucifer.
“The more you use your abilities, the stronger they’ll become,” Kobal whispered against my forehead.
My eyes flew open as his became the color of gold. He was all I could see at first, but I sensed something more beyond his broad shoulders. Turning my attention from him, I gasped when I realized I now saw the sky through his eyes and that thousands upon thousands of creatures swarmed in a giant mass above us.
Their bodies were the color of tar as they zipped about overhead faster than a hummingbird. Some of them were still rising from the earth, moving sluggishly upward in waves before me. Their hollow mouths hung open to reveal the pits of nothingness their souls had become.
I’d have bet almost anything these eyeless creatures with their long, twisted gray faces were the foundation for the grim reaper. The ends of their blackened souls looked like robes flapping in the wind as they rose in a swaying rhythm. Once they hit the sky, they moved as rapidly as their brethren through the air.
These things were hideous and so cold they chilled me to the marrow of my bones. I wanted to pull Kobal closer so I could share his warmth, but I couldn’t. He’d brought me here because he had to feed. I’d told him I could handle this, and I would. My teeth chattered, but I could do this. I could and would do anything for him.
“River?”
“I’m fine,” I murmured, wondering if my voice sounded as raw as the rest of me felt.
His hands slid over my flesh, but it did little to warm me. “We’re leaving.”
“No.”
“You’re freezing to the touch.”
“I told you I c
an do this, and I can. I’m not leaving until you’ve fed.”
He flexed his hands, but he turned away from me and lifted a hand toward the sky. Some of the wraiths screamed, their awful cries unlike anything I’d ever heard before. It was the sound of death.
CHAPTER 30
River
I didn’t see anything come out of Kobal’s hand, but I felt the power within his vibrating muscles. He separated one of the wraiths from the others, drawing it toward him as it writhed and thrashed within his pull. Its scream became a howl that made my stomach twist.
It was only three feet away when Kobal stepped forward and enclosed his hand around its throat. The wraith flailed about until it became nothing more than a black blur. Kobal’s eyes closed as whatever he did to the wraith caused his bronzed skin to darken and his golden eyes to glow in a way I’d never seen before.
The wraith’s jerking movements eased. Kobal released the wraith. It hung in the air before him, its face more twisted than before as its jaw had descended another inch and its eye sockets had expanded. I swore it stared straight into me and didn’t like whatever it saw there. Malice and hatred radiated from it as it floated closer to me.
“Get away from her!” Kobal snarled at it.
Ignoring the lethal undercurrent of Kobal’s tone, it crept closer to me. Kobal snagged hold of it, drawing it against his chest with a roar. I took a step back when the marks on his body vibrated and the wraith screamed so loudly I thought my eardrums would rupture. Unlike the ghosts who couldn’t be touched, the demons could inflict severe damage on these creatures.
Kobal’s marks deepened to a jet black. His skin became a darker brown color as his muscles swelled larger before me and the veins in his arms stood out starkly. With an abrupt thrust, he flung the creature away from him. It fell to the earth, flopping as it tried to take flight but only succeeded in dragging itself away.
He tilted his head back to the sky before he lifted his hand to draw another one down to him. I watched as he fed from three more, all of them wise enough to not bother me before returning to the sky.
When he was done, he turned to me, his eyes alight and his skin fairly glowing with whatever nourishment he’d taken from them. I didn’t know what to say to him, but I recognized the hunger for my body in his gaze when he took hold of my waist and drew me against him. “We need to get you warm.”
“The wraiths are so cold,” I murmured.
Swinging me up, he held me against him. Feeding caused his body temperature to rise and it felt like I was wrapped up in a warm blanket. I pressed closer against him as his hands ran up and down my arms.
“I should have stopped feeding sooner,” he said.
“I’m fine.” I nuzzled his neck. “How do you feed from them?”
“I take in their essence,” he said. “It’s excruciating for them. It’s the worst thing they can experience in Hell as it literally drains a piece of them. All demons feed from them in such a way.”
“What about the angels, how do they feed in Hell?”
“Angels feed from souls too. Whether it’s from their happiness and giving them bliss like the ones in Heaven do, or from inflicting suffering such as we do. The fallen angels adapted once they entered Hell.”
“Probably another thing that separated them further from their bond with life,” I murmured.
“Perhaps.”
“But only the fallen angels know what really caused it to break and they’re not going to tell me,” I said.
“No, they’re not.”
Leaning forward, I kissed his lips. “What other pain do the wraiths experience?”
“There are many torments in Hell. I’d prefer not to share them with you.”
He would if I asked him to, but it was a subject we’d both rather drop. He rubbed his hand over my back and down my spine when I released a contented sigh. “I feel better now.”
“Good enough to show me what you’ve been teaching yourself?” he asked.
I didn’t want to leave the warmth of his arms, but I’d waited long enough to show him what I was capable of now. “Yes. Stop here.”
He set me on the ground and I took a reluctant step away from his embrace. Taking a deep breath, I knelt to rest my fingers against the earth. I closed my eyes and tried to rid myself of all other thoughts as I concentrated on the ground beneath my fingertips.
The life teeming within the earth flowed into me, further defrosting my bones. My eyes opened as sparks of golden-white light danced across my fingers. I kept my hand against the ground as I lifted my other palm before me and allowed the ball of energy to grow.
I flipped the ball over before me, circling it through my fingers. The golden-white glow of it illuminated Kobal’s face, making him even more radiant as he watched me. The last time we’d worked together on this, I’d barely been able to form something the size of an apple, and I hadn’t revealed I could do much better than that when I’d worked with Corson and Bale.
The light pulsed further within my fingers, growing until it reached beyond my palm and became nearly twice the size of a basketball. “What I did to Azote earlier was the first time I’d ever done anything like that. The life burst out of me in a stream of energy with him, instead of a ball.”
“I saw. Hit me with it,” he commanded gruffly.
I did a double take as my eyes looked from the ball to him, then back again. “No!”
His eyes lifted to mine, and I could see the glimmer of pride within their depths but also his steely determination. “I’ll be fine. I’ve fed and I need to know some of what you are capable of. Hit me with it.”
“No.”
He grabbed hold of my wrist, causing the ball to swell larger as his life flooded me. Before I could do anything to stop him, he spun my wrist around. The ball followed the abrupt movement. I tried to jerk it back as he thrust my hand forward, slamming it against his chest. An explosion lit the air around us, momentarily blinding me. His grip on my wrist was torn free.
“No!” I shouted as he shot five feet backward and into a tree. The impact of his body caused it to splinter down the middle. I launched to my feet and raced toward him. “Kobal!” I gasped, falling before him and clutching his cheeks between my palms. His head turned toward me; he blinked as he tried to focus on me. I tore his burnt shirt back to reveal the puckered and blistered skin beneath it. Tears filled my eyes as I gazed at the wound I had created. “Why did you do that?”
“You pack a punch, Mah Kush-la,” he murmured and gripped my hands.
“Why did you do that?” I demanded again, my concern for him fading to exasperation when he smiled at me.
He pushed himself up against the tree. “Because now I understand more of what you’re capable of, and your powers are still growing. More practice will only strengthen your abilities. I was prepared for the blow and still look at what happened.”
“I hurt you.”
“I hurt me.” He pressed my hands against his chest on either side of his reddened skin. Already some of the blisters were fading. “And I heal fast. Far faster since you’ve become a part of my life.”
My lower lip trembled. “Really?”
“Yes.” He wiped away the tear spilling down my cheek before clasping the back of my head and drawing me down for a kiss. “Don’t cry. I’m fine.”
“You still shouldn’t have done that.”
“Believe me, I won’t do it again.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as he smiled against my lips. “You know you bring out the force of life in me more than anything else.”
“And I thrive on that. I’ll fuel you for the rest of our days.”
I flinched at the reminder that my days were far more numbered than his were.
“Don’t think of it,” he breathed against my lips, guessing at the direction of my thoughts. “Focus on the here and now. On me.”
That was so unbelievably easy to do when his teeth were nibbling on my lower lip. “You’re injured.” I tried to pul
l away, but he didn’t release me as he kept brushing his mouth over mine.
“I could be near death and I’d still crave you.”
I glanced at his chest. His shirt still had tendrils of smoke curling from the charred sides, but his skin wasn’t as red anymore.
“Don’t you know you can kiss it and make it better?” he teased.
His words made me laugh, but I resolutely pulled away from him and settled against his side. My hand fingered the still-warm edges of his shirt when he draped his arm around me.
“When you connected with me so you could see the wraiths, was that the first time you’ve connected with someone since your dream with Lucifer?”
“Yes,” I admitted and stifled a yawn. “I couldn’t take the chance of connecting with him again in a dream so I worked to shut the ability down.”
“I don’t want you to fear any of your abilities, River.”
“I don’t fear them, not anymore. I actually enjoy them, most of the time, but I don’t want to see him again.”
“I understand,” he murmured.
“I feel like it’s inevitable that I will see him again though, no matter what I do.”
Kobal didn’t respond. He didn’t have to; we both knew I was right.
CHAPTER 31
Kobal
I watched River as she nestled against my side, her black lashes sweeping her cheeks. Even with all of the bumps and ruts we went over as we drove, sleep held her captive. I brushed my knuckles across her cheek before focusing on the road again.
In the back of the truck, the others bounced around and muttered curses, but they had all insisted on riding with us again. River had filled me in on what had occurred while we’d been separated, and I realized she’d made some friends, or at least earned their loyalty and trust by trying to keep them safe from Azote.
Some of the humans had finally stopped being assholes and recognized she wasn’t an object of their fear and was worth following to Hell itself.
My hand stilled on her face. She snuggled closer and pressed her lips against my throat. I glanced over at Hawk as he eased the truck over a series of potholes in the road. The angel on the dashboard clattered against the windshield, drawing my attention to it.
Carved (The Road to Hell Series, Book 2) Page 21