“There is no repairing the damage the humans created when they opened the gateway,” Kobal said. “It is only a matter of time before all humans learn everything that has happened, if they haven’t already.”
Some of the ghosts made sobbing noises. In the back, one of them threw himself down and started kicking and throwing his hands in the air like a toddler having a tantrum.
Daisy’s eyes went to the covered windows. “We’ve been hearing all sorts of things out there lately,” she murmured.
“And there will be more,” Kobal said.
“We’re stuck here, in this place?” Pompadour asked, and the sorrow in his voice tore at my heart. Some of the ghosts, like Daisy, were here because they’d been unwilling to leave their loved ones behind. Others had been too frightened to pass on. However, most of them were here as penance for things they did or didn’t do in life. Even knowing that many belonged here, I wanted to be able to do something for them.
“Yup,” Corson said.
“Get out!” Ethel shrieked.
“There’s the Ethel we all know and love!” Corson declared as he spun on his stool to face her.
“Get out! Get out!” Ethel shouted.
She swooped toward Lix when he tapped his sword against the ground. “Pardon me, Madame.” He held up a bony finger as he spoke to Ethel. “Before we go, could you tell me if you have any spirits here.” Lix glanced at the ghosts hovering nearby. “Of the alcohol variety, I mean? Preferably a malt beverage.”
Ethel looked mad enough to spit nails. “Get out!”
“I’ll take a look for myself,” Lix said and sauntered straight through her. Ethel gawked after him. The rest of the ghosts drifted out of his way as he pushed open one of the metal swinging doors separating the diner from the kitchen and warehouse beyond.
“It’s time to go,” Kobal said.
The ghosts zipped faster and faster around the room until they became a circling, gray ball overhead. Their distress became nearly palpable on the air.
“Can’t be stuck. Don’t want to be seen anymore,” many of them lamented.
Erin, Vargas, and Hawk headed for the door. Corson rose from his seat as the light coming from the bulbs overhead intensified to the point I was certain they would burst. Caim and Raphael looked as pleased with the ghosts as the demons did. Daisy floated closer to me while Ethel continued to shout for us to get out. Kobal pressed his hand more firmly into my back and nudged me toward the door.
“Is it true, World Walker, is there nothing you can do for us?” Daisy whispered.
“Wait!” I breathed and dug in my heels to stop Kobal. “There may be something!”
Kobal tensed at my words and the others all froze. The lights flared brighter before dimming as the circle of ghosts eased. Some of them floated down around us again. They pressed so close that they cooled my skin, but nowhere near as badly as the wraiths did.
“What?” many of them asked at the same time.
Tipping my head back, I stared at the lights before focusing on the see-through crowd again.
“We could use help powering the lights at the wall.” Enough ghosts together could generate a fair amount of light. “It’s true that ghosts will never be able to hide from humans again, but we can work together to make it better for all of us!” I said.
“Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say,” Corson muttered.
“They can help us, and we can help them!” I insisted.
Pompadour gave me a suspicious look as he floated closer. “How?”
“You can light things up and we can use that ability to help keep the wall lit, if it’s still standing. The humans at the wall already know about the existence of demons and angels, so ghosts won’t be much of a stretch for them. You can come to the wall and help us.”
“Aw shit, River,” Corson griped, and he looked as if I’d just told him he had to kiss an angel.
Kobal didn’t argue my words, but the expression on his face mirrored Corson’s. No one else said a word.
Lix kicked open one of the swinging doors, breaking the silence. He strolled out with a crate in his hands. “Jackpot!” he announced before setting it on the counter and heading out back again.
“You expect us to work for you?” Pervy asked.
“I expect you to work with us,” I replied. “If you do, you won’t have to hide. Helping others might also increase your chances of passing on from Purgatory faster.”
“We would have to go out there, in the dark?” Pompadour squeaked the last word.
“If the wall still stands, we should be back at it in a day or two,” I said. “You can make it there faster than us. If you leave at daybreak you could arrive at the wall before nightfall. If you give us two or three days before you leave, we’re more likely to be there before you, and we can prepare the others for your arrival.”
“Do you really think they won’t be afraid of us?” Daisy asked hopefully.
“I’m sure it will take some getting used to you, but they will adapt to you as they have everything else.”
CHAPTER 41
River
The ghosts all turned to each other and started speaking over the top of one another again.
“Why should we help them?”
“We should go!”
“I’m not doing it.”
“Perhaps it will help us to leave this plane faster! I don’t want to be in Purgatory anymore, don’t want to hide anymore.”
“What if we go and the wall is gone and then we are trapped somewhere with nothing to protect us at night?”
“We can be of help!”
This time, I didn’t bother trying to follow their rapid-fire conversation.
“You have time to decide!” I shouted into the confusion. “If you decide to come, we’ll be at the wall. If not, then maybe we’ll meet again one day!”
“How will we know which section of the wall you’re at?” Daisy asked me.
I opened my mouth to respond, but I didn’t know how to answer that. “Go straight until you hit the wall,” Kobal answered. “There should be demons and humans at that section defending it; if it’s not us, you can ask the demons where to go.”
“They’ll never tell us,” Ethel snorted.
“Then you will at least be able to follow the wall until you find us,” he replied. “There was light at the wall the last time we were there.”
I gripped his arm and gave it a grateful squeeze.
“What if we decide to come to the wall and not help? The humans will adjust to us anyway,” Pervy said.
“That’s not right! No, not fair!” some of the ghosts shouted while others stopped to hear the reply.
“I hate ghosts,” Corson said.
“Then you’ll most likely be stuck in Purgatory forever,” I replied. “Thinking like that is what landed you here and why you’re still here now.”
Pervy shrugged. I bit my tongue to stop myself from calling him a bastard. Kobal stepped closer to me and leveled Pervy with a look that had the ghost floating back.
“I know of a place that destroys spirits. Didn’t think it was possible?” Kobal inquired when Pervy gave him a disbelieving look. “It is. And I am the only one who can gain entrance to it. No matter what happened to Hell, the Fires that gave birth to me still exist. I feel it in these.”
He lifted his arm and gestured at the markings on it. “We watched those fires destroy a wraith, and I don’t mean they drained the wraith until it could no longer function. I mean the wraith ceased to exist completely. No reincarnation, no chances of moving on. Push me and don’t think I won’t take you there.”
Pervy darted away from us. The other ghosts remained focused on Kobal.
“Impossible,” one of them murmured.
“Not impossible,” I said. “I saw it.”
Most of the ghosts zipped as far as possible away from Kobal.
Lix reemerged with another crate and plopped it on the counter. “Could someone ask my fel
low skelleins to come in?” he asked.
“We’re leaving soon,” Kobal said to him.
“And we will be prepared to do so,” Lix assured him before disappearing again.
“What if the wall is gone and you’re not there?” Daisy asked me.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “but it is worth the chance, or you can all come with us now. You won’t be able to have any light when we travel at night.”
“No dark!” many of them said at once, and Daisy glanced over her fellow ghosts.
“I think it’s best if we wait,” she said.
“I understand,” I assured her. “We have to go.”
“I will see you soon, World Walker,” she said.
Kobal opened the door and ushered me out. “Ghosts.”
I smiled at the disgruntled tone of his voice. “I think you put them in their place, and they could be helpful.”
“Most of them are so selfish they probably won’t show up,” Corson said as he fell into step beside me.
“I think you’re wrong about that,” I replied.
He quirked an eyebrow at me as he grinned. “Ever the optimist, my queen. We shall see.”
“They could be useful,” Kobal murmured before stopping next to one of the skelleins. “Lix requested your help inside. You have exactly five minutes or we’re leaving without you.”
The skellein turned and gestured to the others before running for the diner as fast as their bony legs would carry them. Kobal leaned against the pickup as Raphael took to the sky and Caim shifted into his raven form. Kobal pulled me against his chest and held me there. Erin had given me the only spare shirt she had to replace my ruined, bloody one. Still, even without all the blood, I knew I stunk. Kobal didn’t show any sign of caring.
I inhaled the fiery scent of his flesh while I rested my fingers on his chest. His breath warmed my ear when he ran his tongue around it before nipping it.
“I can’t wait to get you somewhere we can be alone,” he said.
My toes curled in response to the promise behind his gravelly words. “Neither can I.”
The door to the diner opened and the skelleins exited, each of them carrying a crate. I smiled when I saw the clothing and accessories they’d uncovered and put on, most likely from one of the many boxes stacked in the warehouse.
Once again, they each wore something to differentiate themselves. Lix sported a pink shirt with flowers and birds on it and a straw hat. Some of the others were wearing T-shirts, necklaces, a yellow sunhat, and two had on baseball caps, though one wore his hat backward.
“We are good to go, my king,” Lix said when he stopped next to Kobal. Shax, Magnus, Corson, and Bale moved closer to us.
“What’s in the crates?” Bale inquired.
“Beer!” Lix declared and the other skelleins all clattered their teeth excitedly together.
“Of course,” Shax muttered.
“Won’t it be bad?” I asked.
“Who cares?” Lix replied.
With a finger, Magnus lifted the top of one to peer inside. “Where do you plan to put the crates?”
Lix pushed the lid of the crate back down and smiled at Magnus. “In the trucks of course. People can sit on them.” To prove his point, Lix stood on tiptoe to set his crate in the back of the truck. He swung himself over the side and settled on the box. Leaning against the cab, he crossed his legs and shook his foot back and forth in the air.
Before anyone could respond, Raphael landed beside me. “There are some humans following us. I saw them the other day, but thought they’d broken off to go another way. They’re back and on the road behind us.”
“Just humans?” Kobal asked.
“Yes.”
“How far behind?”
“About fifteen miles,” Raphael answered.
“Armed?”
“Yes.”
Kobal rubbed his jaw as he glanced at the road we’d traveled to get here. “Should we wait for them to catch up?” I asked.
As if in response, something that sounded like it could peck my eyes out and eat them for dessert screamed in the distance. Kobal rested his hand on my waist. “If they wanted to catch up, they would have already. They’re most likely trying to flee what escaped Hell, but we can’t allow them to keep following us until we know what they’re up to.”
“It might be Wren and company,” Shax said.
“Who?” Kobal inquired.
“Wren’s group were the humans who tried to ambush us on our way to the gateway. We left them tied up in the woods,” Shax replied.
Kobal’s face darkened, and anger grew within me. I’d never met them, but I knew they’d shot Kobal. Immortal or not, no one was going to hurt him while I was around.
“Why would they be following us?” Kobal grated through his teeth.
Shax held his hands up and took a step back. “Wren arrived at the gateway with some of her friends while you were in Hell. They helped us, and they fought with us, but I haven’t seen her since River closed the gateway. I assumed she fled when she saw you. They’re not a threat.”
I recalled the blonde woman I’d seen by the gateway. I hadn’t known who she was, or seen her before, but I suspected it may have been Wren, or one of her friends.
“If they’re not a threat, then why are they following us instead of making their presence known?” Kobal demanded.
“She probably still wants to help, but is concerned about what you’ll do to her,” Shax replied.
“With good reason.”
“She’s a fighter, Kobal, and so is the rest of her group. They lasted in the wilds when most humans died. They may have hated us before, but when we left them alive they realized that not all demons are out to slaughter everything in their paths. With their knowledge of the wilds and survival skills, we could use their help in what is to come.”
Kobal looked to the road again. “Shax, Raphael, and Magnus, take a group of demons and a small number of humans with you to investigate the group following us. If it is Wren and company, and you feel you can trust them, bring them to the wall. If it’s stragglers, see what they’re doing and make a decision about their fate. If you feel they could become a problem, kill them.”
“Kobal,” I whispered.
“There are far too many threats right now, Mah Kush-la. We must eradicate as many of them as we can, whether they’re human, demon, or angel.”
“Ghosts and humans who possibly hate us. Plan to add any more fun things living with us at the wall?” Corson inquired.
“Ghosts are coming to the wall?” Bale asked.
“River invited them to join us,” Corson said. “She thinks they could be helpful in keeping the wall lit.”
“Joy,” Bale muttered.
“They will be helpful,” I insisted as a drakón roared in the distance.
“The three of you should leave now,” Kobal said. “If you don’t catch up with us again, we’ll see you at the wall.”
Magnus and Shax broke away, but Raphael remained. “What is it?” Kobal demanded of him.
“I am not one of your followers to order about,” Raphael stated.
Kobal set me behind his back and released me before I could blink. He stepped so close to Raphael that their noses nearly touched as he gazed down at the angel. “You will either do as I say, leave, or I’ll kill you. Those are your options. I doubt you’ll survive long on your own. There aren’t many who are fans of the angels here, not even the golden ones.”
My breath caught when Raphael’s hand fell to the hilt of his sword. Golden-white sparks danced across the tips of my fingers when I rested them on Kobal’s back and drew on his life force. I couldn’t pack the punch Raphael could, but I would unleash everything I had on him if he attacked Kobal.
Everyone around us stopped what they were doing to watch the unfolding scene. Behind me, I heard the clatter of Lix’s foot hitting the truck bed. Corson and Bale had walked away, but they stopped where they were and edged back toward Kobal.
<
br /> “You won’t get that sword out before your head is in my hand,” Kobal promised Raphael.
Raphael’s jaw clenched, Kobal’s muscles tensed, and I could sense Phenex and Crux stirring within him. Kobal could kill Raphael, but it wouldn’t be an easy fight, and it was an unnecessary one.
“We are all on the same side here,” I said, but neither of them looked at me.
Caim landed next to them and shifted into angel form. Stepping forward, he rested a hand against Raphael’s chest and another on Kobal’s. “Easy, fellas, fighting each other solves nothing. You’re both giant dicks, that’s been established. No reason to go at each other again. Besides”—Caim looked pointedly at Raphael—“You were losing to the varcolac when I intervened before. You will lose now.”
Raphael stared at Kobal for another minute before releasing his sword and shoving Caim’s hand away. “Don’t touch me again,” he spat before stalking away.
“Raphael,” Caim said, and the angel stopped to look at him over his shoulder. “The varcolac is the rightful king of Hell, and Earth is more Hell now than not. The varcolac rules here, and you know it. You were a follower in Heaven and you will be one here too.”
Raphael stared unblinkingly at him before walking away again. I inhaled a ragged breath and lowered my hands from Kobal’s back.
“He will come around,” Caim said, his gaze still locked on Raphael’s rigid back.
“He has no choice,” Kobal replied.
Leaning over the side of the truck, Lix plucked a feather from one of Caim’s wings. Caim gawked at the grinning skellein tucking the feather into his hat.
“Fallen or not, your feathers are much prettier and more colorful than that one’s,” Lix said and pointed his thumb at where Raphael stood with Shax and the group he was organizing.
Caim continued to gawk at Lix as if he didn’t know what had happened. Ruffling his wings, he clasped them fully against his back while he glowered at the skellein. “Don’t ever do that again,” he commanded.
Lix saluted him before leaning against the cab of the truck again. The metal clanged when he slapped his hand against the side of the bed. “Onward, good man!” he commanded, though no one sat behind the wheel yet.
Into Hell (The Road to Hell Series, Book 4) Page 24