by Erin Zarro
The hellcat meowed again. Batted the air with a paw.
Rick glanced at me, an eyebrow raised. "What's it doing?"
"I don't know. But I don't wanna find out."
The hellcat let out a mournful whining sound and walked up to us. It looked almost...sad.
"I love cats," Rick said. "Maybe this one's okay. I tamed a feral cat once."
"Feral hellcats are never okay, Rick. They're nothing like regular cats," I snapped. "You're just asking for trouble. I just lost a lot of blood and skin to those things."
"I miss her so much," Rick said softly. He moved closer to the hellcat, slowly. No sudden moves. "This one looks a lot like her."
What was he –
He picked it up!
"Put that hellcat down right now," I said, my gut in knots. "It's gonna hurt you – "
"Listen," Rick said, moving closer to me with the hellcat resting comfortably in his arms. "C'mon, it's okay."
It was not okay, and he was a fool.
"It's purring," Rick said with a huge grin. He had a nice smile.
"Wait, what?"
"It – actually, I think it's female – she's purring," Rick said with a laugh. "The dangerous, lethal hellcat is purring." He put his hand on her head and petted her. Careful and slow. "Come see."
Well, what the hell? I moved closer until I was almost touching them. And listened.
Hellfire.
She was purring.
How about that? Apparently Rick had tamed a hellcat.
"Can we take her with us?" Rick asked, scratching her behind the ears. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she almost looked harmless.
"She could still turn on you," I pointed out. "Or me. And if something happens to me, you're not getting fixed."
"Am I just something to fix to you?" Rick asked. Hope, fragile hope lit in his eyes. "Or more than that? Leliel, do you care about anything? Anyone?"
Geez, I wasn't here for psychoanalysis. I looked into his eyes, trying to figure out a way to not hurt his feelings. "First of all, you should hate me for what I did to you. But you don't, and that's...not a comfortable feeling."
"You said it yourself – you made a mistake," Rick said. "And you're trying to correct it." He shrugged. "I can't be mad about that. You could have left me to...you know. But you didn't. So I figure you must be kindhearted enough to – "
"I'm feeling excruciating pain for this," I said, holding up my hand. The hellcat shifted position, ears perked. Great, a feline busybody. "I care, yes. But it's more about survival than anything else."
Rick's face went slack, his shoulders sagged, and the disappointment in his eyes made me feel like a jerk. A big one. "So you're saying...you don't...we can't –"
My eyes widened. Crap. Did he think we could be more than what we were?
Oh, hell no.
"No, I don't," I said, trying to sound like I didn't give a crap. "But let's stay focused, okay?"
But I did. Just a bit.
"Leliel..." Rick said, petting the hellcat. She seemed to keep him calm. She meowed mournfully again. Damn. Way to make a girl feel guilty. "I want to take the hellcat with me."
I waved my hand dismissively. "Whatever. We need to get moving, though. But if she turns on us, it's on you, not me."
Rick's expression softened, and did I see pity in his eyes? Pity?
"It's not about that," he said. "I have the sense that she...needs us. And yes, I'll take the risk. Sometimes it isn't about yourself, you know."
He should have hit me with a hammer. Because that was the effect his words had on me.
So he was a softie. A softie that might be in a world of hurt if he kept up the bleeding heart act. Maybe he was beyond help.
I had no use for animals. Especially a feral hellcat with dubious intentions.
But somehow, something in me cracked open. Just a tiny, little fissure, but enough.
I nodded. "Fine."
Rick smiled. "You like her. And you like me, too. I can see it."
I chose not to answer that, because the temperature lowered by about twenty degrees. I took a deep, calming breath and steeled myself for what was to come. "Let's get moving. The day is ending here."
Rick smiled. "Lead the way, milady."
We moved farther into the Underworld, and the air got even colder, and the hellcat growled at every shadow and twig that snapped and every indrawn breath. I didn't think she liked me much, but Rick? They were pals.
"So where are we headed?" Rick asked after we'd been silent for oh, twenty minutes. Just walking. Dodging all kinds of weird things. Some weird things I didn't know existed.
My jaw felt like it had been snapped in two. And it was going to get worse. "We're on our way to His Highness's palace where I'll have to throw myself at his mercy and beg for your soul to be restored to you. And there is no guarantee that will actually happen. He can be...fickle."
"No, I mean, right this second. What's up ahead there?" Rick pointed to the dense woods in front of us, and spider legs of fear went up my spine.
This was it. This was where most never returned.
I stopped, my legs feeling like jelly. If we didn't make it...if Rick didn't get his soul back...this was all my fault.
"Leliel?"
I couldn't look at him. Couldn't. "I want you to know..." Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat. "I want you to know that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do this to you."
"Why did you, Leliel? Why'd you take my soul so fast?"
I felt like I'd been sucker punched. "I thought you were dead, and it's my job to do that. To take it into the afterlife. But something went wrong. I didn't sense – " His eyes glazed over, and he staggered forward. The hellcat let out a strangled yowl.
Oh, crap. "Don't believe what you're seeing. Whatever it is," I said.
"It's my daughter," Rick said in awe. "She's...beautiful." He let go of the hellcat, who jumped down from his arms with a plaintive meow. Rick reached out to...nothing.
"You have a daughter?" I asked.
His hand stretched, strained, trying to touch thin air. "She passed away. Leukemia." He glanced at me, his eyes filled with tears. "So young, Leliel. So young."
I hated myself for what I was about to do. "That's not your daughter, Rick. It's an illusion. The Underworld wishes to ensnare you."
"No," Rick said softly, distractedly. "I can feel her skin. And her eyes are perfect. She's wearing a little pink dress – "
I shoved him, hard. Hoping that would shake something loose.
"Ugh!" He flailed about, his eyes distant. "Rachel...sweetheart...come to Daddy..." He reached out again, his hands shaking.
"Richard Ashton," I said in a warning tone. It broke my heart to say it, to hurt him. "Listen to me. There is no daughter here. There is nothing but fog and air."
"She's right here," Rick said through gritted teeth. Sounded mad. Well, mad was better than ensnared. He would thank me later. Maybe. "Can't you see her? She's beautiful."
And then I saw her. Damn, the Underworld sometimes did that. To up the chances that someone would be ensnared.
She had eyes the purest blue of the ocean. Golden hair in ringlets. A cute gap between her front teeth. She wore a pink dress. And held a doll. She was so cute –
"Hell, she's adorable," I said. Even as I said that, distantly I was cursing myself. Kids were not my thing. Well, reaping their souls was a necessary evil. But that was it. Why the hell was I –
I shook my head. Closed my eyes. Opened them. The kid was still there. Crap.
"Who do you have there, sweetheart?" Rick asked, pointing to the doll.
Rachel's lips moved, but no sound came out.
She was so cute.
Wonder if she was cuddly, too.
The hellcat hissed and growled at Rachel. Or...was it us?
What was happening?
"I feel odd," Rick said. "Like I'm in a dream and I don't wanna wake up. I can't wake up."
"That's the freaking point," I said with a sigh. "We need to
move on. Get away from the illusion."
Rick turned to me, eyes wide. "And leave my daughter? Hell, no! She's coming with us!" He reached out to pick her up, and she vanished.
"What? Where is she? Rachel!" The tortured, devastated look on his face made me want to conjure Rachel just to stop him from freaking out. But that wasn't in my skill set. And really...why prolong the pain?
Crap.
"She was never here," I said as gently as I could. "I saw her, too. But she wasn't real."
"But she was here. Right here," Rick protested, his voice quivering. "And I could have touched her. I could have heard her heartbeat. I could have...done so much." His shoulders slumped. "But now she's gone and I can't...I can't take the pain." His eyes, filled with tears, flicked to me. "Help me get through the pain, Leliel."
The hellcat meowed and nuzzled his knee.
I'd never comforted anyone. Nor did I know anything about losing a daughter. I was ill-prepared and frankly out of patience.
But...
Hellfire.
I pulled him into my arms, awkwardly. He cried. I patted his back, wanting to run away. I couldn't handle this level of emotion.
But then I found myself shedding a tear. Or two. Maybe three.
Humans, always complicating things.
#
After the cry fest, I stressed the importance of keeping in motion. The things around here loved to prey on the unwary and innocent.
Not that I was an innocent, but I could bet Rick was.
"So how did you become what you are?" Rick asked as we dodged some very large frogs. Rumor had it they could eat a human in one swallow, kind of like snakes. I wasn't about to test that.
I hated thinking about what happened. But I supposed it wouldn't hurt to tell him something. "I died young. I was given a choice. I chose to reap."
"I can understand that," Rick said, nudging me gently. "I'd probably pick that, too."
"It's a lonely life, though," I said, not meeting his gaze. "I don't typically talk to anyone topside. You were a fluke." Not a mistake, I reminded myself.
Rick chuckled. "Bet you didn't think you'd get someone like me."
I glanced at him, one eyebrow arched. "What? A biker guy with blue-streaked hair? Hell no. But I kinda like it."
What the hell was I doing?
"That's cool. I like it, too. My mother doesn't, though. She keeps threatening to kidnap me and dye it back to its original color." He winced a bit, and it piqued my curiosity.
"What's the original color?" I led us into the Forest of Too Many Trees. We were relatively safe there. The trees provided lots of cover – and shelter – if we needed it.
Rick chuckled, breaking into my thoughts. "Red."
I pictured him with red hair, and I could not help laughing. "Kinda ruins the tough-guy image, huh?"
The hellcat meowed. Yes, we'd kept her. In Rick's arms.
Rick glanced at her. "So does this. We should name her."
I dodged a large rock that looked sentient. And full of rage. "Um...go ahead."
"I think we should name her – look out!"
Something huge and heavy hit me, slamming me to the ground. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I kicked out with my foot, but didn't connect with anything. Rick helped me stand, but a wave of dizziness made me lurch to the side.
I hit a tree root. A crack as my ankle collapsed.
"Leliel, hang on!"
I glanced at Rick, panting from the pain that radiated up to my thigh. The rock kept hitting Rick, and Rick kept screaming and –
He was losing.
Crap.
I knew standing would suck, but I needed to get closer to Rick and the rock. Slowly, carefully, I eased onto my feet. My ankle wobbled, white-hot pain blurring my vision, but I pressed on. Rick was not going to die because I was too wimpy to handle pain.
Rick was down for the count. I tried not to panic. He was probably just unconscious.
The rock and I faced off, and I realized that I was at a horrible disadvantage. My screwed-up ankle would be a problem.
The hellcat weaved between my legs, coming to rest just in front of me. She cocked her head to the side and growled.
"What's up?" I asked her. As if she could answer.
She lunged, her claws scratching the rock's front. Blood spilled and coated her fur. For good measure, she bit the rock, too. The rock let out an inhuman scream.
She kept biting him and bleeding him until it could no longer stay upright.
The rock fell, becoming non-sentient once again.
The hellcat had saved us.
"Nice work, little one," I said as I petted her. Carefully. I avoided the rock's blood.
I hobbled to Rick, the hellcat following me. Slow going because of my ankle, but we made it. I knelt down in front of him, wincing. I checked his pulse. Rapid. His eyelids fluttered.
Hellcat jumped up onto his chest and licked his face.
"Leliel...."
He tried to sit up, but the hellcat wouldn't let him. "Hi there. What the hell happened?"
"Please get off his chest," I said to the hellcat. "I need to check him for wounds."
She stared at me for a few seconds, then jumped down. And stared at me some more.
Great. A feline chaperone.
Wait, what?
I did not just think that.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked as I gave Rick the once-over. "Some scratches, I see."
"Did I just fight a rock? Or was I hallucinating?"
I shook my head. "That was a sentient rock that had blood in its veins. I've heard of them." I put my hand on the worst of the scratches and sent healing energies.
"Unbelievable. You've hurt your ankle," Rick said. "Let me take a look."
I sat down carefully and moved my ankle into his lap. He poked and prodded it, rubbing his thumbs on the worst of the pain. "I think it might be broken, Leliel."
"Well, that just sucks," I said. My heart dropped. If I couldn't walk...things could get dicey. I was the only one who knew the lay of the land. Well, so did the hellcat, but she couldn't speak.
Rick didn't let go of my foot. "Can't you heal it?"
"Hell, no. Reapers can't heal themselves. We may be immortal, but we can be injured like humans."
Rick's eyes danced with mirth. "I'll just carry you, then." He hoisted himself up, wincing a bit, and held out his hand for me to take.
Crap.
I did not want to be carried.
Or...be that close to him.
But what choice did I have?
Hobbling, possibly making the injury worse? The pain?
I took his hand and let him pull me up gently. Then, in one smooth motion, he had me cuddled against his chest.
I let out a breath.
He was warm. I could feel his heartbeat. He smelled of soap and grass, and cologne, maybe. His hair shone unnaturally bright. Maybe there was some kind of shampoo that did that.
But his eyes.
So much within. Hope. Fear. Courage.
I knew with utter certainty that I was safe with him.
#
As Rick walked with me in his arms, it felt as if our destination kept moving farther and farther away. That we'd been walking for days. Maybe even weeks.
The Underworld was tricky like that.
The hellcat continued to follow us, meowing and batting at every shadow. I didn't care. She'd saved us. And we could use the help.
The Three Moons were rising, and it was one of the prettiest things about the Underworld. Each moon was a different color: red, purple, and mauve. They sent out shimmering waves of color, illuminating the ground beneath us.
"Wow, that's neat," Rick said, stopping. "Never seen anything like it." He set me on the ground carefully. "We should dance."
"Dance?" I asked. "Here?"
"Sure, why not?" Rick reached for my hand. "Well, not so much dancing as swaying, I guess. I don't wanna hurt your ankle worse."
I blinked at him, n
ot comprehending. "You want us to sway together under the moons?"
Rick smiled. "Yeah. It'd be...fun, I think."
"There are dangers here we need to be aware of," I cautioned. He was treating this like an exotic vacation, not a dangerous place.
"I'll keep a careful eye on things, I promise," Rick said. His eyes met mine. "Please, Leliel. Do this for me."
I sighed. What would it hurt? We'd keep an eye on things. He looked like a lovestruck teenager. Oh, hells.
"Okay, fine. For a couple of minutes."
"Just a couple?" Rick moved closer to me until we were touching. He put his arms around my neck, pulling me even closer. "No more than that? How do I get more?" His voice was husky, and it sent shivers through my body. His smile was a wicked one, and I had a feeling he was trouble.
But hell, the good kind of trouble.
"Just a couple," I replied with an evil grin of my own. "We'll see about more."
"Fair enough, milady," Rick murmured. He started to sway me, very gently and only slightly, so he didn't hurt my ankle.
I found myself relaxing, closing my eyes. Rick's arms around me felt nice. Comforting. Pleasant.
And then he started singing.
I could swear he was an angel. He had the purest, most beautiful voice I'd ever heard. It thrummed inside me, stirring up feelings long since buried and forgotten.
My family. My death. My baby brother whom I never got to meet. Three hundred years of reaping souls, and no feelings. No happiness, just duty. Darkness instead of light. It coaxed me back to life.
He was calling to me with his voice.
And I felt compelled to answer.
I pulled his head down toward me, stopping his beautiful song. Then I pressed my lips to his, gently, softly.
"Thank you," I said when we parted. Rick was staring at me, open-mouthed. "Thank you for...everything. You have an amazing voice."
Rick blinked at me. "Did that just happen? Because I think you just kissed me. But I'm not sure. Maybe I need to get closer..." And his lips met mine and our tongues tangled. My body was strung taut, electric like a live wire. I needed him. I wanted him.
Hellcat let out a whining meow.
Something was wrong.
We broke apart.
I felt bereft, like part of me was missing.