“So that’s why you helped protect his human girlfriend.” I nodded. “I’m sorry you’re trapped here and can’t help them any more,” she said.
“If I had known you were in Hell I would’ve followed that Witch here in 1941.” But I hadn’t, and Stella had ended up all alone and in danger that whole time. “I’m sorry.”
“You couldn’t have known,” she reassured me, seeing the agony on my face.
“On that last mission I was distracted. I couldn’t wait for it to end so I could get back to you. I wanted to give you this.” I took the dog tag from around my neck and turned it in my fingers, embittered by the past that had been stolen from me. “It wasn’t much, but I wanted you to know how much you meant to me.”
“You can give it to me now.”
My eyes shot to hers. Stella pushed her hair to the side, encouraging me with her gaze. I moved closer to her until I felt her breath on my skin. “You’re not going to shoot me with another arrow?” I asked softly. I placed the dog tag around her neck and paused, suddenly incapable of moving away from her, of doing without the warmth of her breath so close to me.
She didn’t push me away. Instead she rested her hands on my chest. “I’ll try not to,” she replied in a whisper. I watched her lips curve into a slight smile. The yearning to touch them with mine was driving me wild. I brought my mouth to her neck, but didn’t touch it. I wanted to inhale my fill of her scent, so familiar to me. With my lips I brushed her shoulder, her chin, her cheek, and finally, nuzzled her nose with mine.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Our bodies were drawn to each other like magnets. A stronger force had held us apart up to that moment, but I was no longer willing to submit to that force.
“Drake,” she murmured, and brushed her lips against mine. Their warmth clouded my mind. It felt like I had been waiting for that moment for centuries. I grabbed Stella by the nape and pulled her to me, melding with her. I clasped her bottom and lifted her up, pushing her back against the wall. She surrendered, neither of us able to resist the hidden connection that united us, a connection she could no longer deny. I felt it in the warmth of her skin. I sensed it in her nails on my back, clamped so tightly I couldn’t move away. She was mine. She always had been. I entered her and her heat washed over me, surrounded me, annihilated me. I kissed her neck, trembling uncontrollably. She whispered my name, driving me wild.
Nothing could have matched the beauty of that moment, the emotions surging through me. I had been dead inside; only now did I realize it. My world had lost all its color. Finding Stella again had changed everything. It had changed me. I gripped her bottom and held her even closer as the grotto filled with her voice passionately calling my name and I exploded inside her. A tear slid silently down my cheek.
I continued to kiss her neck, nibbling it gently. “I’ll get you out of here,” I promised. She smiled. Our eyes found each other, just as they had in 1941.
Heaven wasn’t so far away after all.
8
The Queen of Hell
The poison glimmered on the dark walls like stardust. The grotto was illuminated here and there by the glowing stones floating on the surface of the tiny private lake. Stella was still there, clinging to me, like a dream that would never fade. She had tried to swim away but I’d kept her close. I wasn’t about to let her get away from me. I wasn’t about to lose her ever again.
Her gaze rested on the scar on my eyebrow. She knew it was a gift from Hell. She touched it with her finger. “I can’t do anything about this.”
I smiled. Her instincts as a Red Cross volunteer hadn’t changed. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve healed a much deeper wound.” I took her hand and drew it to my chest. “Right here.” I had been through hell with the Witches, but it was all forgotten now that she was with me.
“Were you with other women while I was gone?” she asked all at once.
“No one who mattered.” It was the truth. I’d had lots of women, but none of them had ever meant anything to me. My heart had always belonged to her.
“So yes,” she replied with a sly glance.
I stroked the wound on my chest. “You’ve already shot me once. We’d better not dredge up the past too much.”
“Relax, big talker. Angry jealousy is for the weak.”
“Lucky me, then,” I joked.
Stella shook her head. “You must be a terrible catch.”
“I’ve been told that too,” I admitted. Her laughter filled the grotto. I held her tight, watching the rhythmic shimmering of the rocks on the lake.
“Maybe this is all just a dream. A mirage generated by madness,” she said.
“If it is, then I’ve gone crazy too. But never, ever do I want to be cured of you,” I whispered against her neck. Stella smelled like fruit, an exotic scent I could never get enough of. I sank my nose into her hair and she smiled.
“That tickles. Stop it.”
Her examination of me wasn’t over. It was as if she was renewing her memory of my body by discovering what had changed. She studied the tattoo on my arm as I gently nibbled her golden skin. Her fingers stopped on my chest, tracing another scar, one left by Kreeshna: the mark of her poisoned fingernails. “You never answered my question,” she said, her voice turning somber. “Were you subjugated to a Witch?”
“A Witch tried to use her charms on me, but you’re the one who’s bewitched me.” I tried to nibble her earlobe but she pushed me away.
“I’m serious. Have you drunk their blood?”
“I’m not a filthy vampire.” I sniffed her neck and slowly bit it.
“Seems like you’re practicing to become one right now,” she joked.
“Seems like you’re a willing victim.” I stroked her arms, enjoying the shivers of pleasure I could tell I caused in her. Pressed against mine, her naked body sent the blood rushing to my brain. “God, are you sexy.”
“There are no gods down here.”
“A goddess, yes. I’m looking at her right now.”
“You’re confusing me with the ones at the Castle.”
“They aren’t goddesses. They’re the foulest of harpies.”
“And yet you must’ve had lots of fun with the queens of Hell. I’ve heard they’re a bunch of capricious bitches in heat.” She locked her eyes on mine. It almost sounded like . . .
“You jealous, my little savage?” A smile escaped me.
She pushed me away and turned to swim off, but I stopped her. “Hold it. Where do you think you’re going?”
“Far from your stupid insinuations. I have no reason to be jealous. And wipe that dumb grin off your face.”
“I can’t. This is too funny.”
Stella sulked. “Always the big talker. Why didn’t you stay with them if you were having such a good time?”
I forced her to look at me. The smile had disappeared from my lips. “They were after you. That was enough to make me escape.”
She frowned for a moment, confused by what I had said, but a second later her expression grew serious again. “You should’ve stayed at the Castle. You were safer there. It’s more dangerous than you think out here.”
I brushed the hair away from her face. “Survival is easier when there are two of us.”
“I’ve gotten by just fine on my own.”
“I wasn’t talking about you.”
“You shouldn’t have come,” she insisted. “You were crazy to do it.”
“The longer I spent at the Castle, the more I risked forgetting who I was. But when I found out you were here I didn’t hesitate. Letting you slip through my fingers is the only act of insanity I’ve ever committed.”
Stella swallowed and looked at me steadily, her expression hard. “The Stella you knew is dead.”
She seemed convinced of what she was saying. I was the one who didn’t want to accept it. “No. I refuse to believe that. She’s still here. She just has a little ink on her face, that’s all.” I ran my thumb over her cheek, removing the last traces of color.
It was like seeing her again for the first time. Hell had changed her, but behind her warrior façade she was still there waiting for me. I could only imagine what she’d had to endure without me . . . I would never forgive myself for that.
Her dark, intense eyes penetrated me, touching my soul. All at once the idea of having survived on Earth without her seemed insane. That had been my true hell.
I interlaced my fingers with hers. “I just fell in love with you for the third time,” I whispered.
She looked puzzled. “When was the second?”
“When you shot me with that arrow, isn’t it obvious?” I winked at her and she laughed, but a noise in the next room put us on our guard. “What was that?”
“I’ll go check,” she said at once, but I stopped her.
“You stay. I’ll go.” Though she seemed reluctant to do as I said, she didn’t follow me.
I climbed out of the pool and advanced cautiously. Someone was in the cave. Given the rustling noise echoing off the walls, there was no doubt about it. At the water’s edge I put on my pants and picked up a large rock. When I went into the main room, though, the noise stopped. No one was there.
Worried, I looked around. They must have hidden.
Gripping my weapon tightly in my fist, I advanced slowly and almost tripped over something. I didn’t know Stella’s cave very well, but I was sure the big rock in the middle of the room hadn’t been there before. I tried to push it aside with my foot, but it was too heavy.
I went back to call Stella. “Everything’s fine. Nobody’s—” Before I could finish my sentence something charged me like a battering ram, slamming me against the wall.
“What the hell?” I gasped, holding my stomach. It had been the rock. It wasn’t an inanimate object. It had opened up like a hedgehog and attacked me.
Stella came in, her bow readied, and scanned the room. I gestured toward the strange creature, which was now busy gnawing on something. Instead of shooting the enemy, she lowered her weapon and walked over to the animal.
“Stop! It’s dangerous!” I warned her. Like she would listen to me anyway.
She got down on all fours and caught its attention. The stone hedgehog turned and prepared to charge at her.
“Stella, look out!”
It leapt on top of her. I tensed, but she burst out laughing. It was tickling her. “Calm down, Drake. It’s just Tricu.”
The animal jumped down and came over to me. It was similar to the thing I had come across right outside the Castle, just a lot smaller. It sniffed me, jerking its head all over until it found what it was looking for. Snatching the rock out of my hand, it turned around to munch on it.
“What the hell is that thing?”
“He’s a Gork. And don’t worry, he’s harmless.”
“Tell that to my stomach,” I grumbled, still aching. “I didn’t think I would ever say this, but he’s even uglier than Iron Dog.”
“Iron Dog? What’s that?”
“A rat with a pig’s tail.” Tricu, on the other hand, was a cross between a hedgehog and a teddy bear.
“What a strange creature,” she mused.
I laughed. “I always said so too, but my friends thought I was nuts.”
“Do you miss them?”
“I miss you.”
Stella looked away, becoming cold again.
I was an idiot. I had to give her time to get used to me. By breathing down her neck I only risked driving her away. But there was nothing I could do about it. Patience had never been my forte.
Not wanting her to stop talking to me, I went back to safer ground. She seemed to like the stone hedgehog/teddy bear. It was a good topic. “So what is he, some sort of house pet?”
That got a smile out of her. “More or less.”
“You must be joking! Haven’t you seen how big they get when they grow up? Not to mention their breath! I ran into a giant one in the forest.” I still remembered the deafening shriek it had blown in my face.
“Size is an advantage, if he’s on your side.” Stella let out a whistle. On her command, Tricu turned to look at us. He grew bigger and bigger until he touched the ceiling of the cave. He opened his jaws and let out something that sounded like a yawn, then moved his snout toward me and began to nip at me, pinning me to the wall.
Stella laughed. “Don’t worry, he’s not going to eat you. Gorks don’t eat meat, just rocks.”
“You sure about that? He doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
She shrugged. “Well, he might munch on a few of your bones.”
“What?!” I said, shocked. I tried to break free, but the beast was enormous and there was no way to push him aside.
“Relax. For now he’s just cuddling you.” When Stella whistled again, the teddy-bear rock pulled away from me and grew smaller again. I covered my face with my arm as a cascade of pebbles scattered through the room.
“It’s always the same old story. You’re not the first little monster to hate me, you know?” I told him. Gemma’s pet, Iron Dog, hated my guts.
“It was Tricu who led me to you in the Gluttons’ cave. His grunt got my attention.” The beast let out a yelp, which echoed off the walls.
“Speaking of which, you should buy him some mints.” His breath was pestilential. In his defense, rocks can’t have been easy to digest.
The Gork went over to the entrance and came back wagging his tail. Something was in his jaws. “What’ve you got there?” I asked. The animal dropped four rodents at my feet.
“Our dinner,” Stella replied with a smile.
Just then, a drop of water fell from the ceiling and landed on Tricu, followed by another. The animal let out an annoyed growl and began to shake himself like a wet dog.
Stella’s eyes went wide. “Look out!” she cried, warning me, but it was too late. A shower of pebbles shot toward us like bullets. I turned to Stella and covered her body with mine while my back was machine-gunned. She let me shield her, hiding in my arms.
When Tricu finished shaking, my eyes locked with hers. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, inches from my face.
“It was worth it,” I said with a wink. I would have let myself be hit by a thousand stones if it meant I could be this close to her.
Stella cleared her throat and changed the subject. “We’d better go out and get some firewood. Those rats need to be cooked. Unless you want to share Tricu’s food, that is.”
“My stomach’s been through enough for today. Better rats than rocks.” I shook my head. I would never have imagined saying something like that.
Stella took out a large pot and filled it with water from the well in the middle of the room. “Do you like stew?”
I smiled at her. “I’ve had worse. You stay here. I’ll go out and get the firewood.”
“Wait.” She rummaged around in a chest and tossed me something. “Put this on.”
It was a green sleeveless shirt. “Why do you have men’s clothes in your house?”
“None of your business.”
I didn’t like her answer. “Where’d you get it?” I insisted.
“Just put it on, Drake.”
I grumbled. I would find out later. “Afraid of giving in to temptation?” I asked her, grinning.
She rolled her eyes. “Do what you want, but if I were you I wouldn’t go around half-naked. Hell is a dangerous enough place even without all the infernal creatures.”
“Or I’m too good-looking and you’re afraid you won’t be able to resist me. Again,” I teased her, one eyebrow raised.
“Hurry up, you idiot, before I eat these rats raw.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Stella shot me a sly look. “Don’t try me.”
“Okay, I’ll go get the wood. You, don’t pull any pranks.” I put on the shirt and moved the rock blocking the entrance to one side, wondering how Tricu had managed to slip inside. It wasn’t a big mystery, actually, since he could change size.
The cool air of Hell hit me full in the fa
ce. The cave was much warmer and the change in temperature gave me goosebumps. “Good thing I’m wearing this shirt,” I said to myself. Or maybe it was the idea of leaving Stella all alone that had given me goosebumps. I had to hurry. I made my way into the Copse and picked up a long stick. I broke it into smaller pieces and went looking for others.
A sudden noise made me freeze. I scanned the forest with my eyes. Who knew what monsters were lurking in the eternal twilight. It happened again: the sound of a twig snapping. I spun around and he was in front of me. A Damned Soul. We stared hard at each other. He didn’t move a muscle, but his dark eyes probed mine. His head was shaved on both sides. In the center was a crest of dark hair that he had braided and bound into a ponytail. It looked like he was just a kid, but I knew he wasn’t.
The Soul tilted his head to the side, sneered, and vanished as swiftly as a ghost. My eyes chased him: a black patch darting through the forest. I dropped the firewood, grabbed a thick stick, whirled around, and struck my adversary, thwarting his attempt to attack me from behind. I was well aware of how Souls like him operated. I had faced lots of them in the Opalion.
He crashed to the ground, caught off guard by my speed, but he didn’t leave me with the upper hand for long. Nimbly shooting to his feet, he grabbed another one of the sticks.
“Hey, those are for dinner.”
The Soul attacked me, black blood oozing from his cheek. Maybe he didn’t speak my language, but one thing was clear: to him, I was dinner. I dodged his blows and counterattacked, quickly bringing the duel to an end. He was strong, but I had been trained for combat, first during the war and later—even more gruelingly—at the Witches’ Castle, where battles to the death had forged me. I blocked his stick with mine and disarmed him. Shoving him back against a tree, I pressed the weapon to his throat. He glared at me defiantly. He didn’t look like someone who had just been defeated.
“Okay, buddy, I don’t mean to eat you. If you promise to do the same, I’ll let you go.”
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