Damned and Desirable (Eternally Yours Book 2)

by Tara West

  “Shadow!” I screamed as I lurched out of Callum’s embrace.

  “Don’t worry.” Callum’s low baritone was full of menace. “I think I burned him good on the way out.” He angled his head, looking up. “After Garf cleared a path for us.”

  “Garf, you helped us?” I looked up at the giant’s smiling face.

  Garf jutted a thumb in his chest as the chains rattled on his wrists. “Angel save Garf, and Garf save angel.”

  My face flushed. This giant obviously had low heavenly standards if he thought I was an angel, but I appreciated the compliment. “I’m no angel, but thanks.”

  Callum stood and held a hand down to me. “That was a pretty spectacular light display.”

  “Thanks. You didn’t do so badly yourself.” I took his hand, amazed at the little spark that lit between us.

  “Ouch!” he laughed, hoisting me to my feet.

  Though it was dark outside, I could tell we were on yet another cliff somewhere, overlooking the great flaming pit below. Garf walked over to the ledge and sat down, his heavy feet dangling precariously over the side as if hovering over a flaming pit of doom was no big deal.

  “I think we make an amazing demon ass-kicking team.” I tried to keep my voice chipper even as I was wiping sweat off my brow and backing away from the face of the cliff. “What do you think, Garf?”

  He frowned down at his dirty palms. “Garf no like demons. Demons beat and sting Garf every day.”

  I knew after years of captivity, it took a powerful act of courage for Garf to stand up to his oppressors. I was so grateful he’d done it now. I had no idea what crazy compelling force dared me to sit beside Garf on the ledge. Maybe I’d gotten a little too cocky after kicking a horde of demon butt, or maybe I remembered if I did fall, I could always fly back up. “Shadow would have overpowered us if it hadn’t been for you. Thanks.” I placed my hand on his, which was weird because his hand was about the size of my rear, minus the squeezable part.

  I was rewarded with an uneven smile. “Garf save angel, because angel save Nephilim.”

  There he goes, calling me an angel again.

  “We need to get going,” Callum said at our backs.

  “You’re right,” I answered. I had no idea how long those electrocuted demons would be incapacitated before they assembled their numbers and came after us.

  I was about to back away from the ledge, but I did something stupid and took a good look at our surroundings. Holy shit, we were high up! As in, higher than the Space Needle high. As in, if I slipped and fell, I’d be demon-splat-on-a-rock high. Yeah, we were that freaking high. Now the only question was how in the heck were we supposed to get down?

  Beneath us was a crumbling stairway carved into the face of the mountain. I stole a glance at Garf, worried the stairs wouldn’t be able to handle his weight. The wings that sagged across his back didn’t appear to be of any use, either.

  Sure, Callum and I could fly our way out, but there was no way I was leaving Garf behind to be captured and chained up again.

  I stood, cautiously backing up from the ledge. “Okay, now what?”

  “We keep moving before they catch us,” Callum answered.

  “Garf, can you fly?” I asked the giant.

  “No can fly.” He frowned. “Demon cut Garf’s wings.”

  I jutted my chin forward, eyeing the stairs as if they were no big deal. “Then we walk.” I ignored Callum’s grumbling behind me as I ushered Garf forward.

  He turned and went down backward as if he was climbing down a ladder, moving so quickly Callum and I had to fly to keep up with him. Maybe this escape would work after all.

  Beads of sweat dripped down my brow and between my shoulder blades as we neared the bottom of the cliff in record time. It seemed the farther we descended into the pit, the heavier the dark thoughts that weighed on my mind.

  Where would we go now that Callum’s den was no longer safe? Would he make good on his word and help me find a way out? Even if Callum somehow found a way to help me escape, what would happen to him? If my thunderbolt hadn’t been enough to kill Scorpius, he’d wake up one pissed off demon and go after Callum, probably imprisoning and torturing him all over again. I couldn’t leave him to face that alone.

  “Callum, do you have any idea where we’re going?” I asked as I hovered near Garf’s shoulder.

  “To the gate,” he said as he flapped his wings beside me. “We’re getting you on that damned elevator.”

  I should have been overjoyed, but I wasn’t, knowing I couldn’t take him with me. Then I thought about Shadow. He’d somehow made it to Purgatory even though he’d been turned into a demon. Maybe I could sneak Callum up there. But what about Garf? He was too big to sneak into Purgatory. Would Garf wander Hell alone only to be captured by demons again, or was there a den of other Nephilim somewhere who could keep him safe?

  After Garf descended the last stair, Callum and I floated to the ground and we waited for the giant to catch his breath, though it was hard for any of us to breathe in the thick, smoky air. I paused to reassess my troubling thoughts. How would I make my grand escape past Cerberus? Sure, my powers had strengthened, but would my lightning be enough to defeat a three-headed beast? I wrapped my wings around me, nervously toying with a feather.

  “What about the dog?” I asked Callum as my wings fell to my sides.

  Callum clutched my shoulders in a strong grip, his eyes searching mine. “Ash, I’ve never met another demon with the power to shoot thunderbolts. If you can take down Scorpius, you can take down Cerberus. Besides, we’ll help you.”

  I heaved a frustrated breath. Why did the guy feel the need to comfort me when I was the one going to Purgatory, and he’d be stuck behind in this miserable existence? A tear slipped down my cheek as my lower lip trembled. I felt like the worst kind of friend imaginable for abandoning Callum. “What about you?”

  A look of annoyance crossed his features. “What about me?”

  More tears began to flow. My chest felt so heavy, the words came out on a wheeze. “I can’t leave you here.”

  His eyes darkened as steam poured out of his nose. “The hell you can’t.” Turning his back on me, he shot into the air, hovering above the smoke as he surveyed the landscape. From my vantage point, I saw grey, cracked earth surrounding smoking pools of lava. I shrieked as a thunderous sound erupted and the ground split open in front of us. Garf pulled me back just before a streaming geyser of fire shot into the air.

  “Thanks, Garf,” I said as I mopped sweat off my brow. Was this the only way out? How were we supposed to navigate through steaming lakes and fiery pyres?

  Callum whistled as he waved us forward. I glared up at him. He was so like his brother to lash out at me and then storm off, not just from further confrontation, but from facing his feelings. Callum was scared, though he did a good job masking it with lots of smoke and scowls.

  I shot into the air, the beating of my wings matching the thudding of my heart. “What will Scorpius do to you if you help me escape?”

  His nostrils flared and his eyes burned, his wings pumping wildly. “What do you think Scorpius will do to you if you become his prisoner again? You have to go, Ash.” The flapping of his wings slowed to nearly a standstill as something in his gaze softened. “Besides, I owe it to my brother.”

  He flew forward as Garf hopped over lava pools and quickly navigated around the geysers like a child playing a game of hop-scotch.

  With heavy wings, I flew after Callum. A protest died in my throat, and it felt as if my chest had broken wide open, exposing a raw and scarred heart. A plume of smoke rose from the ground, shrouding Callum in a charcoal haze, reminding me that soon he’d be nothing more than a memory, a casualty of his sins, lost in the underworld for eternity. Death was so unfair.

  My wings felt weighted down with a hundred years of regret and an eternity of sorrow. “You’re too good to be in Hell.”

  Though the smoke had dried up every last drop of moisture in m
y eyes, I blinked back the wave of anguish that washed over me. I wanted so badly to fly into Callum’s arms and tell him everything would be all right, but I knew it wouldn’t. Not for him, and not for me, either. Even if I found my way back to Purgatory, how could I go on, knowing my friend suffered? Suddenly, Aedan’s dark moods and depression made sense. He mourned the loss of his brother.

  Callum averted his gaze, looking out across the volatile landscape. “There’s an old adage we have in Hell. In life unchained. In death unjust.”

  I remembered hearing that same saying up above. I wondered if it was more than a coincidence that it was true for both dimensions. “They say that in Purgatory, too,” I said. Then I bolted straight up into the night sky as an idea struck me. I flew back down just as fast, pumping my wings hard as I faced Callum.

  “You know what? When I get to Heaven, I’m going to appeal to God and put in a good word for you.” For I certainly had to have earned enough credits to get to Heaven by now, right? Thwarting an apocalypse had to count for something. And if for some reason I still hadn’t earned my way into Heaven, I’d ask, no demand, Aeden go up there and appeal his brother’s sentence. God couldn’t let Callum rot in Hell forever. I refused to believe it.

  Callum’s smile didn’t mask the wells of sorrow in his eyes. “Thanks, Ash, but I doubt he’ll listen.”

  I thought to argue, but then my attention was drawn to the thousands of winged creatures flying in our direction. From a distance, they appeared to be bats, but, no, they didn’t move like bats. They moved more like birds: big, grey ugly birds that looked surprisingly like Garf.

  Callum had seen them too, because he let out a string of curses that would have made the devil blush.

  My wings shook as I hovered above Garf. “Callum, what the Hell are those?”

  Garf jumped up and down as he pointed to the sky, causing the pools around him to ripple and bubble. “Those Nephilim kin! We saved! We saved!”

  I sure in Hell hoped Garf was right. They flew so fast, it took only a few more minutes for them to reach us, and when they were just a few breaths away, I panicked, wondering where all of those Nephilim were going to land. The thunderous flap of their heavy wings rattled my eardrums and shook me to the marrow of my bones. My wings faltered beneath their heavy draft, and I fell to the ground next to Garf. Callum landed right beside me.

  We looked up at the Nephilim as their wings beat down on us, wondering how they were going to land in lakes of lava, but only a few of them descended. Before Callum or I had a chance to protest, they swept us into their arms and carried us back in the direction they’d come.

  I screamed, fighting against the hairy knuckles of the ape holding my waist in his grip. “Be still, angel.” His deep rumble in my ear was like a train driving straight through my skull. “Nephilim no hurt you. Nephilim keep angel safe.”

  We flew so fast, the wind whipped my hair in my eyes and battered my face, making it hard to see anything. All I knew was I was being “escorted” by about a thousand flying giants, and somewhere to the left of me I kept hearing dogs barking.

  What were flying dogs doing in Hell?

  And I sure as heck hoped it wasn’t that guard dog Callum had told me about. I would have been scared shitless during the flight if it hadn’t been for the sound of Garf’s audible laughter. He’d laughed when two huge Nephilim lifted him off the ground, and he’d been laughing ever since.

  The child-like sound was a balm to my soul.

  Garf was happy to be back among his own people. Hopefully, they’d never let him get captured again. He’d already endured too much.

  When we landed, I had to cover my ears and lean into the arms of my escort, fighting back a wave of dizziness as the booms of the other landing giants made it sound like the earth was splitting open. I opened my eyes when the buzzing of their wings died down and watched with a tightness in my chest as many of them took turns hugging Garf. Thankfully, my escort hovered near me, for I feared I’d be crushed by the throng. I searched the crowd for Callum, but it was hard to see much among the sea of giants.

  One thing I couldn’t help but notice, though, was the massive pyramid in front of us. My jaw dropped as I stared up at that thing. It had to have been taller than the Space Needle and wider than the Seahawks stadium. Where had a pyramid come from? I thought the bowels of the underworld were all caves and fire. But I’d encountered a lot of strange things since dying. I should have learned to expect the impossible and believe the improbable. We stood on what appeared to be a dried lake of lava. A horn sounded from somewhere inside the bowels of the pyramid, and then a draw bridge lowered over a moat of fire.

  I shrieked when a skeletal demon with red, glowing eyes and a heavy black robe slipped between the legs of a giant and bounded toward me. “Ash, you’re safe!”

  Oh, dear God, that demon sounds like Aedan. Could it be him?

  I turned away, craning my neck at my giant guardian. He nodded toward the skeleton with a smile.

  “Aedan?” I spun back around, looking up at the bony creature in front of me. He had to have been seven feet tall. “Is that you?”

  The hood of his robe fell back, revealing what looked like a charred corpse, leathery tendons hugging a skeletal frame. Ewwww. He was the most repulsive demon I’d met in this hell-hole, and that was saying a lot. Talk about a major mood killer.

  He nodded as a wide grin split his bones in two. “In the flesh.”

  Well, not exactly, I thought wryly, but I kept that opinion to myself. It took a moment for the shock to wear off, and for me to step into his outstretched arms. Not that I didn’t believe Skeletor was my boyfriend, but I had to work up the nerve to let him hug me.

  “I can’t believe you came for me,” I said as he wrapped his bones around me and pulled me to his chest. His ribcage pressed against my cheek, which would have completely repulsed me if I hadn’t been so overwhelmed with gratitude that he’d actually come.

  If he had only wanted to be with me because I looked like Mar, he wouldn’t have risked his soul to save me, right?

  I pulled away, distracted by a giant who nearly knocked us over as he stomped past us.

  “You’re my woman.” Aedan puffed up his skeletal frame. “I would travel all thirteen hells to save you.”

  Weird, because I distinctly remembered him telling me he wouldn’t.

  Then he frowned down at my chest. “What happened to your shirt?”

  “Oh.” Heat flooded my cheeks as I glanced down at my missile tit bra, once a creamy pearl, now a crusty brown. “It fell off when my wings sprouted.”

  Aedan’s hollow eye sockets narrowed. When his ugly features contorted, I wasn’t quite sure if he was admiring my girls or scowling at them.

  My jaw dropped when this other beast bumped into Aedan and held out his arms to me. He looked like The Hulk on steroids, with glowing green skin and eyes, a spiny ridge down his back, and one clawed leg. “Sarge? Is that you?”

  “Affirmative.”

  He hugged me so hard, I gasped as the wind was knocked from my lungs. Aedan swore and grumbled behind us, which only made Sarge hug me harder.

  A mixture of shock and gratitude overwhelmed me when I realized what my friends had gone through to rescue me. Then I screeched when a black two-headed beast thundered up and barked. I had no time to react before both of his slobbery tongues licked my face, and by licked I meant bathed my entire head in dog spit.

  Ewww. I shielded my face against the assault before ducking behind Aedan.

  “Easy, boy,” Aedan said, holding up a hand.

  Though the dog’s barks were deeper and more bone-jarring than I remembered, if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that demon dog was Jack. But that had to be impossible. No way would my friends risk the safety of my best buddy by bringing him to Hell. Then I noticed that the dog favored one of its legs, its paw looking mauled and bloody. Poor thing. What had happened?

  “Aedan.” I pounded his back. “Please don’t tel
l me that’s Jack.”

  He turned to me, his charcoal lips frowning as he grasped his neck with skeletal fingers. “He’s already saved my skin a few times.”

  “But look at his foot, Aedan,” I cried.

  Callum appeared behind Jack, admiring my dog with a low whistle. “He’s almost as big as Cerberus. You’ll definitely be able to escape now.”

  Time seemed to stand still as Aedan stiffened beside me. The Nephilim’s joyous cries as they hugged Garf faded, the imposing pyramid blurred until it was merely a background, and even the ground shaking beneath my feet was hardly noticeable. The only thing that mattered were those two brothers locked in a stare-down; Aeden looked ready to knock out his brother and Callum issued him a challenging glare that said, “I’d like to see you try it.”

  And before I could think to stop them, they were on each other like two snarling dogs. Aedan got in the first punch, a solid hit for a skeleton, that knocked Callum back several paces.

  “That’s for stealing my woman!” he roared.

  “What are you talking about?” Callum snarled as steam poured out of his snout. “I saved your woman.”

  Oh, great. Just what I needed, two Neanderthals fighting over me as if I was a piece of meat. I wasn’t “Ash” to either of them, just a woman. Next they were going to break out the clubs, whack me over the head, and fight over who got to drag me away.

  “Did you bed her?” Aedan’s fists made cracking sounds as he balled them up in front of him.

  “Omigod, Aedan!” I threw up my hands, stomping between them. “Nothing happened.” Well, not nothing, but I’ll keep my hormone water dream to myself. I was so angry, I was seeing stars. What gave him the right to cause a scene and accuse us of sleeping together? And so much for any semblance of trust he had in our relationship. Again, disregard the fact that I came onto Callum more than once. It was the water’s fault!