Hidden Runes

by G. Bailey

  “Wow,” Connor whistles as he looks me up and down, but my attention strays to the stranger that gets out of the back seat. He has messy black hair and a white shirt that is undone except for two buttons at the bottom, so I can see all the black ink covering his chest. It stops just before his neck. I lift my eyes to his green ones that remind me of Trex. This must be the brother whose name I can't remember.

  “You didn’t tell me she was fucking gorgeous, Con,” the brother muses, eyeing me up like a snack. The door slams shut, just as Trex walks over.

  “That’s because she is working with us, Nix, not here to fuck us,” Trex says, making me laugh, and his eyes narrow on mine.

  “What is so funny?” he asks as I roll my eyes at his tight, dark-green shirt–the way every button is done up–and his black trousers. He still looks too formal, but it will have to do.

  “Your denial that you want me. I can see it,” I grin, and he scowls at me. “Anyway, boys, try to keep your mouths shut in here. Demons aren’t really fans of Protectors.”

  “It is our job to keep them in line, so I’d expect not,” Trex replies dryly.

  “Keep in line, yes. But you guys send them to Hell so often for just living, they hate you,” I tell them honestly. Most of the time, the demons are unfairly accused, and there is no trial to find out what happened. They are just sent back to Hell without questioning, or killed. Most of the time they are killed. I turn around, walking to the small gate and pushing the wooden revolving gate which lets us through the barrier.

  “Fucking hell,” I hear Nix curse behind me as the field disappears, and the demon underground appears. There are metal transport containers piled everywhere. The ones at the bottom are open with shops inside and the market in front of them. Other containers lead into diners, clubs, and other rooms. Music blasts from a nearby speaker, and people walk past us like we aren’t even here, dressed in similar clothes or cloaks. All sorts of people live here, but the demons run it. Mainly overlord demons who are meant to be banned from Earth. Let’s hope the Protectors don’t see any of those around. There are five demon undergrounds as far as I know. I should know because I grew up in them. When you are hunted by Protectors like demons are, then demons become your friends and allies.

  “Not a word about this place,” I warn them, though I know it’s likely they are going to die in Hell, anyway, and never get a chance to tell anyone, so I’m not too worried. I only want to get my ass back out of Hell with the princesses, not them. “This way.” I nod my head to the left and walk down the stone pathway. I keep my eyes down as I pass several people, not wanting anyone to know I’m here with these Protectors. I know too many people here, and so many wouldn’t take it well to see me walking Protectors into their homes. Hopefully, no one will notice they are something more than human. We finally get to the building I want. It’s the only one around here that is made from bricks and concrete. It used to be a school, I think, but it’s been changed and now houses a nightclub for the most dangerous demons.

  “Don’t drink or eat anything in here that I don’t give you, trust me,” I stop to warn them before walking up to the entrance. Two demon bouncers are outside, and one holds his arm in front of me to stop me. I can’t see their faces, only their cloaks and their red skin, letting me know they are likely very powerful demons.

  “Password,” the one who stopped me asks.

  “Sempiternum daemonum futurum oriri,” I say quietly, and he lowers his hand, letting me in with a glance. Connor walks closer to my side as we walk in the house and down the long corridor that leads to the club.

  “What did that mean? And how do you speak Latin?” Connor asks curiously.

  “All demons speak Latin, some more so than English, and I grew up with demons. Do you not bother speaking to them before you kill them?” I ask him, and he doesn’t reply. “I said ‘demons will rise’ in Latin, because the people here believe it.”

  “You think of demons as people,” he says as he figures out my feelings on demons. They are people. They have feelings; they fall in love, and they protect their families. Demons are better than humans in my experience. The only demons that I don't think of as people are overlords, and we are heading to see one. Overlords are said to be thousands of years old, but I don’t know if that’s true. I doubt it, it’s likely just a rumour.

  “That’s one of the biggest mistakes of your kind, that you don’t see them as people,” I sneer at him and walk faster so that I’m ahead of him. I push the wooden doors open at the end of the corridor and walk into the night club. The loud, thumping music immediately assaults my ears. I look around, seeing demon women dancing with human men on the dance floor. They are succubus demons by the looks of their blue skin, black hair, and tantalizing bodies as they seduce the human men in suits out of their money. A female waitress, a lower-class demon with red skin and black eyes, stops in front of us, offering us a drink from the tray she is holding.

  “No, thanks. Do you speak English?” I ask her, and she pauses, giving me a worried nod.

  “Good. I’m looking for Seth,” I ask, and her eyes widen. She moves to run away, but I grab her arm, stopping her.

  “Tell Seth that Evie is here. He will want to see me,” I explain to her and let her go, watching as she runs away.

  “Seems not just Protectors run from you,” Trex sarcastically comments. Asshole.

  “She will tell him I’m here. Seth usually has company, so we will have to wait,” I reply calmly, not rising to Trex’s taunts.

  “I think it’s time for a drink, and time we got to know each other better. We are going to Hell after all, we should at least know a few things about each other,” Nix says, walking to the bar without asking for my permission. I think I like him, he seems like an asshole. I follow him over, stopping him when he lifts a hand to order.

  “Let me order, unless you want to wake up in a demon’s bed with your soul missing,” I say, lifting my own hand, and the demon bartender runs over. The bartender is young, with big blue eyes and a tired expression.

  “Four normals, Jack Daniels if you have it. In fact, leave the bottle,” I tell him, and the bartender stares at me for a second before running off.

  “Has that happened to you?” Connor asks with wide eyes as he waits at my side for the bartender to get our drinks. I walk over to an empty booth with a table, sliding into a seat. The guys sit next to me, Connor on my left and Nix on my right. As suspected, Trex sits as far away from me as possible.

  “Not personally, but I know someone it did happen to. He died the next day; it was a shame. I liked him,” I say with a grin that seems to worry them all. Luckily for them, the bartender comes over with four shot glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniels.

  “I’ve opened a tab, pay later, assassin,” the bartender says, bowing low and walking away. I reach for the bottle, but Nix is quicker, grinning at me as he opens it.

  “Too slow, love,” he says.

  “Not another nickname. It’s bad enough what he calls me,” I point a finger at Connor, who leans closer, picking up a strand of my blue hair, twirling it around.

  “But, Blue, it suits you,” he says seductively. Then he asks in a more serious tone, “How did you get your hair like this? Is it dyed?” I pick up the drink Nix poured for me, downing it before answering him. I’m tempted to lie, but there really isn’t much point. These guys won’t survive long, anyway.

  “I’ve always had blue hair. I had a witch friend who said the only way to get my hair this colour was to use the blue rune when I was too young, and for far too long. I must have been almost killed as a baby or something, and I called my rune subconsciously,” I tell them, and Trex stares at me as he downs his shot, pouring himself another one. I feel them all staring, but I just hold my hand out for the bottle, waiting until Trex hands it to me. I don’t bother with the glass, just drinking straight from the bottle and slamming it back on the table, loving the burn of the liquor down my throat.

  “I’ve heard of a Pr
otector who has had white hair most of his life. He used the white rune when he was four years old to heal himself from a deadly attack, and it turned his hair white, and he couldn’t change it,” Trex says, and for a moment, we stare at each other. For a moment, I think he might be redeemable, and not a total asshole, but then he keeps talking. “It’s likely your parents knew what you were and tried to kill you for it.”

  “The blue rune is holy fire. Holy fire only kills demons, so I wouldn’t have called it to kill my parents or protect myself from them. It’s more likely demons tried to kill me and my parents, and I survived somehow,” I tell them, and a deep voice clears his throat from the end of the table.

  “You called for me, Evie darling?”

  Eleven

  Evie

  I look over to the demon overlord leaning against the table, a smirk on his pretty lips as he watches me. Seth has always been pretty, but his pretty face doesn’t work on me, though he has tried many, many times. I know how much of a shithead he can be, and I don’t sleep with assholes like him. He has white hair, braided at his neck, and dark-red eyes that reveal how smart he is, but that’s hidden from most by their beauty. He is the very definition of deadly beauty, just like his brothers. His suit shirt is loose, and there are lipstick stains on his neck telling me he had been having a good night until I interrupted. He smirks, looking around at the Protectors, and then back to me.

  “Interesting friends you’ve got here, Evie darling,” he drawls.

  “We need to speak. Privately,” I answer, watching as he stands taller, and nods his head to the left.

  “My room then,” he says. Connor gets out of the booth, and I follow, looking back to see Trex pull the bottle of Jack out of Nix’s grip and glare at him. Clearly, there are some problems in paradise. We walk through the nightclub to a small set of stairs where two demons stand guard. They glance at Seth, who simply nods, and they let us all past. At the top of the stairs, Seth opens the door to a large room. It has a glass floor, so we can see the people dancing on the dance floor below, but it is a mirror for them so they cannot see up. Trex closes the door behind us, and I wait as Seth goes over to a little table, pouring himself a drink.

  “Do you want one?” he asks.

  “No,” I answer for us all.

  “So, Evie darling, are you going to explain why the fuck you have brought three Protectors into my home?” he asks, his eyes starting to glow from his anger.

  “It’s complicated, but I’m not here to talk about them. You owe me a favour, and I need to collect,” I say, and he chokes on his drink.

  “You’re kidding me? Right?”

  “No, not one bit,” I bite out.

  “What do you want exactly?” he enquires.

  “I need to get to the bottom layer of Hell, and for that, I need an overlord demon at my side,” I say, and he laughs, until he meets my eyes and realises how serious I am.

  “Fuck, Evie darling, that’s a death sentence, even for me,” he says and pulls his phone out.

  “I know someone who might go with you, but I can’t,” he says, and I swear under my breath. If I can’t get an overlord to come with me, I’ll have to fight to get into the third layer. No one is that strong, or that stupid.

  “I saved your child, does that not earn me a debt?” I say. Three years ago, his five-year old-daughter was kidnapped, and everyone was called to search. I was the one that found her and brought her back alive when no one else could have.

  “And I helped you by not warning every demon here that you walked in with three Protectors. One word from me, and you’d be dead,” he answers back. Asshole.

  “Unlikely,” Trex comments, and Seth narrows his eyes at him.

  “This is why we don’t treat demons fairly. They can’t be trusted to keep their word,” Connor spits out.

  “No, he is right. Bringing you here was a mistake, and in Seth’s eyes, we are even,” I say, frustrated.

  “You came to Seth, and didn’t even think to ask me? I’m offended, Vi,” a familiar deep voice says before he steps out from the shadows in the corner of the room. Azi. My demon ex, and the very last person I want to see. I take a step back, narrowing my eyes on his red ones as he stops in the middle of the room. Azi hasn’t changed a bit since I last saw him three years ago. Since he broke my heart, and I made sure he paid for it. His black hair is short, his pale skin still makes him look like a vampire or something, and his red eyes glow lightly. He has an expensive suit on, covering his muscular and impressive body that I used to love.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” I exclaim, my hand naturally going to my back where my dagger is.

  “I heard you had some new, dangerous friends. I’m here to help with whatever trouble you have gotten yourself into,” he says, grinning.

  “Who is this?” Connor asks, placing his hand on my arm to get my attention, and an audible growl comes from Azi.

  “Just an ex, who I sent to Hell and hoped wouldn’t return,” I comment.

  “Why did you send him to Hell?” Trex asks.

  “We had a mild disagreement, and Evie took it too far,” Azi drawls in an annoyed tone.

  “Wait, let me get this straight. You sent your ex-boyfriend to Hell because you fell out with him?” Nix asks me, and I shrug.

  “He shouldn’t have been such an asshole,” I reply, looking up see that very ex glaring at me from the other side of the room. I can’t stop the smirk that appears on my lips. I’m damn proud of that day. Nix bursts into laughter, and when he stops, there is a tense silence to the room. Seth walks over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

  “I cannot help you, but my brother can. Safe travels, Evie darling,” he moves closer, whispering into my ear. “Change your mind about going to Hell, that is not where you should be. It’s a death sentence for you.” Seth pulls away and walks out of the room as I keep my eyes locked on Azi’s.

  “Why do you need to go to bottom layer of Hell?” Azi asks.

  “None of your business,” I state.

  “It is if I’m taking you there,” he replies.

  “To rescue three very important people. Evie has made a deal, and the price–” I cut Connor off.

  “–is Hali. They have Hali,” I bite out, and Azi’s eyes glow a brighter red. If veins start crawling down his face, I know he has lost control of his inner demon. I’ve only ever seen that happen once, and it was when he fell into Hell.

  “Is she okay?” he asks, his hands in fists as he tries to calm down. I forget how much he cared for Hali. They were close before everything happened between us.

  “The Protectors have promised her safety. I don’t trust them, but we will have three hostages if they touch her,” I point a thumb at the guys, who glare at me.

  “Let me come with you, Vi. If not for you, then for Hali,” he asks me. I stare at him for a second, before nodding my agreement.

  “Fine,” I say, knowing I’m going to regret this. “Meet us tomorrow morning at my place.” Azi nods, before using one of his gifts to make flames smother him, and portal himself away.

  “We should leave tonight,” Trex demands as I turn and walk to the door.

  “You are not dressed for Hell, for one, and two, the top layer of Hell is the most dangerous at night,” I say, and narrow my eyes at Trex.

  “Why are you so desperate to go, more than Connor and your brother?” I ask.

  “One of the princesses is his fiancé. Did they not tell you that?” Nix says, laughing low.

  “Then we will get her back, but you have to do this my way,” I say firmly. “And no more secrets. Hell is exactly that, hell. We have to have some trust between us all,” I say and walk out of the room, swallowing the disappointment that the hot guy is engaged and off limits.

  Twelve

  Evie

  I pull my plait up into a bun, winding it around and using hair slides to put it in place. I spent well over half an hour looking for the tiny little things. I always seem to lose them when I n
eed them. I pick the leather corset belt up off the bed, put it on, and tighten it up. I slide the five knives into their hidden compartments and make sure they are all secure before stepping away from the mirror. I glance at my bedroom; the clothes all over the floor, and the messy sheets from where I couldn’t sleep last night. How did everything change so quickly? I fling the quiver full of arrows on my back, and my bag with food and water on the other side. I glance at myself in the mirror as I grab my bow and swallow the fear I have of going back to Hell. The last time was purely an accident, and I’ll never forget it. The memory flashes in my mind without me even wanting to think about it.

  I scream as I fall into the portal after the Protector pushed me, and I keep falling as I open my eyes and spread my arms out to grab something. Snow and mountains are everywhere I look. The harsh snow slamming against my face as I fall makes me close my eyes again and hold my head to my chest. My body hits the snow-covered ground with a thud, sending pain shooting through what feels like every part of my body.

  Where the hell am I? Antarctica? It certainly looks like it.

  I stand up when I can, looking around at the empty area around me. There is nothing but snow, and well, more snow. I look up at the sky, pausing when I can’t see the sun or the moon. There are no stars, just blackness with a blue smoky haze that gives off light. Right, time to leave. I pull my sleeve up, pressing my finger to my red rune and try to call a portal.

  Nothing happens.

  That’s impossible.

  The rune doesn’t even glow red. I move to my other arm, pulling the sleeve up in a panic and pressing my finger against the blue rune. My hand instantly burns with holy blue fire, though it doesn’t hurt me. So that rune works here. I close my hand, putting out the fire and looking around again. I spot a fire in the distance to my right, and I start walking towards it, crawling to get over the hill. When I get to the top, I freeze at the horror in front of me. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of demons walking in a line, with transparent-looking people in the middle of them. The people look human, but it’s hard to tell from where I am. They are see-through, though, and that’s not normal.