CHAPTER 42
Kobal
Cresting the top of a hill, I gazed down at the wall spreading across the land. River’s breath caught and she slumped against my side. The houses in the town and the massive structure of the wall looked little different than the last time I’d seen them. However, there were more humans standing guard on top of the wall and far less of them training in the field than there would have been on a normal day.
I searched the entire structure before spotting a broken section about three miles to my right. From there, I spotted another crumpled section with smoke still rising from it.
“They’ve had an attack recently and sustained damage,” I said.
“My brothers,” River whispered.
“We will get them tomorrow,” I promised, “but I have to speak with Mac. We must learn what has happened here, what is going on with the humans, and how far Hell has spread. You also need a break.”
“I’m fine.”
She wasn’t fine. She tried to keep her discomfort hidden, but I didn’t miss her winces or the way she sometimes lagged and occasionally fell asleep while she walked. She refused to let me carry her on the journey, and wouldn’t spend any more time in the vehicles than the others. A few hours of rest would most likely heal most of her aches and blisters. I would make sure she took the time to recuperate, because she wouldn’t.
“Daybreak tomorrow, we’ll leave,” I promised her.
“Daybreak,” she murmured and trudged down the hill beside me.
We were halfway down the hill when vehicles emerged from the town and raced over the grassy field toward us. I nudged River a little behind me. We’d left here as allies, and I didn’t expect to be greeted with hostility, but things had drastically changed since we’d last been here.
Before the first truck skidded to a stop in front of us, Colonel Ulrich MacIntyre leapt out of the passenger side. He kept his broad shoulders back as he strode across the grass toward us. There were lines around his gray eyes and mouth that hadn’t been there before. His graying brown hair was grayer now, and a haggard air surrounded him, but he smiled at us.
“It is good to see you both,” he said as he extended his hand to me. I clasped it and returned his firm shake before he released it and took River’s hand. “It looks as if you’ve all had a rough go of it.”
“We did. It seems you’ve endured some attacks here,” I said.
“We have,” Mac replied. “Many attacks. Some we beat back, others broke through. We’ve endured a fair amount of casualties too, but from the info we’ve received from other sections of the wall, we’re faring better than most. Some areas of the wall have been completely demolished, and there are reports of some pretty horrific creatures causing it to happen.”
I saw the question in Mac’s eyes as I replied. “Most of those reports are probably accurate.”
His shoulders slumped before he straightened them again. “Was the gateway unable to be closed?”
“River was successful in closing it, but many things escaped before then. Despite our intention to return things to the way they were, there is no undoing what has been done. We have a lot to discuss. It would be best to do so at your place,” I said.
Resting my hands on River’s waist, I lifted her and settled her into the back of the pickup Mac had arrived in. I climbed over the side to sit next to her. The others all settled in with us or spread out through the rest of the vehicles. I kept my arm around River while Mac’s driver returned us to the wall.
The humans and demons we’d left behind came forward as we drove through the streets of the town toward Mac’s residence. Many had dark circles under their eyes, but they all lifted a hand in greeting to us.
“They’ve had a rough time of it here,” River murmured.
“They have, but we will work together to make it better,” I replied and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She smiled at me and leaned into my touch as a raven landed on the roof of the truck and ruffled its feathers.
“You may be better off staying in that form, for now. There’s no way to know how the humans will react to you,” River said to Caim, and he cawed in return.
The truck pulled to a stop in front of Mac’s house. My gaze went to the hill above the town and the tents the demons resided in. The canvas sides of the tents rippled in the breeze blowing over the land. Mine remained standing at the front of them all.
River stifled a yawn and rubbed at her eyes when the truck came to a stop. Rising, I lifted her and stepped over the side with her in my arms. “You will rest while I speak with Mac,” I told her.
“No, I am your queen. They all must see me as strong.”
“No one sees you as anything else. Most of the demons and all of the humans will be going to do the same thing as you.”
She opened her mouth to protest before closing it again and gazing at her clothes. “I’d really like a shower, some clean clothes, and food. I can shower at Mac’s.”
I glanced at Mac’s house before nodding. “I will have Bale gather some clothes and food for you while you shower, but you will rest after.”
“Okay,” she relented.
I hid my surprise over her agreement, but her capitulation was the true indicator of her exhaustion.
***
Kobal
It was nearing midnight when I finally left Mac’s house with Corson. We walked up the hill toward the tents. The bonfire wasn’t lit, but the faint sounds of music and moans of ecstasy drifted down from the area where the fire had once burned as humans and demons screwed with abandon.
“Do you need me for anything else?” Corson asked as he tugged absently on one of his pointed ears.
I ran a hand through my hair, which was still damp from the shower I’d taken at Mac’s. “No, go,” I said.
He didn’t look back as he broke off to lope up the hill toward the gathering. Bale emerged from the shadows outside my tent when I neared it. Caim strolled out from the other side of the tent. I’d asked Bale to watch over River, but I hadn’t expected Caim to be here too.
“River’s inside,” Bale said before I could ask. “She’s probably sleeping.”
“Hopefully,” I replied. “What are you doing here?” I asked Caim.
“Watching over my niece,” he replied.
I stared at him until he waved a hand at the tent. “I gave up everything I knew for her and all living creatures. I will make sure she is kept safe.”
“We’ll see,” I murmured, but I wouldn’t deny added protection for River, and Caim was powerful. He knew if he tried anything, I’d kill him. I turned my attention to Bale again. “Have Magnus, Raphael, and Shax returned?”
“Not yet.”
“We’ll be leaving at dawn tomorrow to retrieve River’s brothers. I already let Corson know to gather some demons, and you will join us,” I said to Bale. “Mac is assigning humans to come with us as well. We can’t risk leaving the wall vulnerable, but at least a hundred humans and demons will make the journey. If Magnus and Shax arrive before we leave, and you see them, tell them they will be coming with us too.”
“I will,” Bale replied. “How did it go with Mac?”
“He will send out messages to the other groups stationed along the wall to let them know the outcome of the closing of the gateway. Many of those groups will have already heard the result from the demons and humans who were with us and are returning, but there may be some who don’t know yet. I told Mac everything that happened in Hell with the seals and River, and at the gateway afterward. There were too many witnesses to it all to try to keep it a secret.”
“Do you think it will make the humans fear her more?” Bale inquired.
“It hasn’t so far,” I replied. “But large groups of panicked humans, who might be looking to blame someone for everything about to come, are far more lethal than smaller groups who witnessed her dying for them. I made it very clear to Mac to communicate to everyone that she is to be protected at all costs. If anyone tri
es to harm her, I will imprison all humans from the second they are born until they die.”
“That should keep them away from her,” Caim said.
“It will,” Bale stated.
“Mac also informed me that all communication with his government ceased three days ago,” I said. “He doesn’t know what happened, or if they still have a government, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Their old ways are over,” Bale said.
“Yes. After we retrieve River’s brothers, we will all sit down to discuss it further, but the humans will have to accept a new way of doing things, as will the demons. The humans will still have a ruler who will be the voice for them. I’ve asked Mac to take that position, and I believe he’ll accept, but I told him to think about it while we’re gone. Where is Verin?”
“Calah took her to my tent,” Bale answered. “I didn’t think it would be good for her to return to the tent she shared with Morax.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” I agreed.
“I’d like to come with you tomorrow,” Caim said.
“Fine.” I’d rather have him where I could see him anyway.
“I’m sure Raphael will also want to come, if he returns before we leave,” Caim said.
“Why?” Bale asked.
“He may not heal River again, but he will protect her with his own life. If she dies now, it means he left Heaven in vain. It’s why he protested leaving her at the truck stop. He wasn’t trying to start a fight, but he doesn’t believe himself to be your follower. He will follow her though.”
“Are you the peace negotiator now?” I growled.
Caim spread his hands before him as he spoke. “You may not know this about me, but amongst the angels, I was the one they came to when they had a problem to resolve. I am known as a good disputer.”
“I see,” I said.
“Or a smooth talker,” Bale said.
“That too,” he said with a wink at her.
She scowled at him in return. “Why didn’t you resolve the problem before the war broke out in Heaven?”
“I tried to settle the fight with Lucifer before it became ugly, but it got out of hand so quickly that I was incapable of stopping it,” he replied. “Truth be told, I never saw it coming. It was such a simple, stupid question, and it caused an all-out war. Raphael is unforgiving, often callous. You may not like him, I don’t, but he would lay down his life for her.”
“And why do you care so much about her?” I demanded.
“I chose this side. I will see it through, and I will make sure she is kept safe. She is kin after all.”
I didn’t know if he was the smooth talker Bale had accused him of, or if he was being completely honest with me. Either way, I believed him about Raphael, and he did seem truthful about his intent with River.
“You will come to trust me,” he murmured.
“We’ll see about that.”
I lifted the flap to my tent and ducked inside before either of them could reply. Kicking off my boots, I surveyed the small flames dancing in the lanterns on the side bar. A layer of dust coated the table, chairs, and other things I’d collected, but the inside of the tent remained otherwise unchanged.
The cot I’d slept on when River and I were fighting was still against the side wall. I didn’t know why she’d chosen the cot over our bed in the backroom, but she lay on it now. Her raven hair fanned out around her sun-kissed face, and her mouth parted as she slept. Now that she’d had a chance to shower, the fresh rain scent of her mingled with the lemon soap the humans used. Unable to move, I breathed in her fragrance and listened to the beat of her heart.
She looked so lovely and innocent, and she shouldn’t be here.
Her eyes fluttered open, their violet hue vivid in the dancing lantern light. A smile curved her lips when she spotted me. Sitting up, she swung her feet to the floor. “I’d planned to wait up for you,” she said. “I guess it didn’t work.”
I couldn’t respond as my gaze ran over her small scar, her freckles, the beautiful hue of her eyes. All things I knew so well, yet I absorbed the details like it was the first time I’d ever seen her. “You died,” I finally stated.
Some of the color faded from her face. Her hands gripped the edge of the cot before she released it and rose. “Kobal—”
“And there was nothing I could do to stop it. I could only stand there and watch as you plunged a sword into your heart.”
She took a step toward me. “Kobal—”
I strode toward her before I thought of doing so. Grabbing her hand, I pulled her against my chest.
CHAPTER 43
River
I lost my ability to breathe as Kobal claimed my mouth in a searing kiss that rocked me to the center of my soul. The desperation in the kiss, the hunger, the love were all things I’d felt with him before, but never on this intense of a level. A wet heat spread between my thighs as his desire fanned my own.
His hands were on my face before they entwined in my hair. He wrapped it around one of his wrists and cinched it in his hand. My mind spun. I couldn’t think as his claws sliced down the front of my brown shirt. The thin material fell back and cool air flowed over my skin.
My flesh became electrified by his touch as he grazed his claws around the underside of my breast before brushing one over my nipple. I was still trying to catch my breath when he cupped my breast. Moaning, my hips surged forward to rub against him. The heady evidence of his arousal pressed into my belly as his thumb stroked my nipple until it became taut with anticipation.
His tongue slid over my lips before plunging into my mouth. His fiery scent and the delicious taste of him overwhelmed me. Unable to stop them, my hands pawed at the shirt he’d donned, but I couldn’t get it off him fast enough. I tore at the shirt, ripping the fabric down the front of it to finally expose him to me. Sighing into his mouth, I flattened my palms against his chest and distantly heard the crackle of sparks.
He propelled me backward until my ass bumped into the table. Releasing my breast, his hand slid between the two of us to slice off the button holding my pants together. I wriggled against him when he slid his arm under my ass and lifted me onto the table. Breaking the kiss, he stepped back to tug my pants down my legs before tossing them aside.
The hand wrapped around my hair pulled my head back. My back bowed as his other hand slid between my legs and he pushed my thighs apart. His gaze held mine as he glided his hand up my thigh, scraping his claws against my flesh. I tried to squirm toward him, but his hold on my hair kept me in place.
I stopped moving. My breath came in small pants when his eyes trailed away from mine to run hungrily over my body. Everywhere they touched on me, it felt like his hand did too as my skin prickled with sensation. He retracted his claws when his hand traveled between my thighs to stroke me.
His eyes watched every move he made as he spread my wetness over me before giving my clit a leisurely stroke that nearly had me coming undone. If I’d been able to form words, I would have begged him to put me out of my misery as he stoked the fire in me until I could barely take it anymore.
My legs opened wider. His gaze came back to mine when he pulled my hair back until I couldn’t do anything but follow his hand down to the table. He pinned my hair there and held me with my body spread before him. His other hand went to his pants, and he tore the button off them before pulling them down over his waist and thighs.
His erection sprang free, thick and hard with precum already beading on the head of it. I couldn’t help but lick my lips in anticipation when he gripped his shaft and guided it toward my entrance.
He teasingly rubbed the large head up and down me, but didn’t enter. I squirmed on the table as he continued his leisurely torment of me, but he kept me restrained in a position that made it impossible for me to impale myself on him.
“Too long,” I whispered. “Too long without you.”
One of his claws stroked my nape. He gave a small tug on my hair that caused me to cry out with my ne
ed for more.
“What is it you want, River?” he demanded.
“You,” I panted. “Inside of me.”
“Like this?” He pushed his head against me, parting my folds but going no deeper. “Or do you crave more?”
“More,” I breathed, unable to tear my eyes away from the savage beauty of him as he stretched me until his head fit inside me.
I lifted my hips to take him deeper, but he placed his palm in the middle of my belly and restrained me. Sweat beaded his brow and upper lip from the self-control it took for him not to thrust into me, but he continued to hold back. I didn’t know how he could stand this when all I wanted was him inside me while he remained unmoving.
“Kobal,” I groaned.
He bent his head to run his tongue around my nipple before drawing it into his mouth and sucking on it. My fingers threaded through his hair, drawing him closer as his fangs grazed my breast. Sparks flashed across my fingertips, illuminating his markings and bronzed skin.
“More!” I cried out.
Releasing my nipple, he swirled his tongue over it and lifted his eyes to look at me as he slid his thumb over my clit again. “Tell me what you want more of, River,” he commanded.
“I want you inside of me.”
“I am inside of you.” My fingers dug into his back when he moved his hips in a way that caused his head to rub me in all the right ways, but it still wasn’t enough. The demon stilled within me again. “What do you want me to do to you?”
“I want you to fuck me!” I gasped.
“Your wish is my command,” he growled.
Before I could blink, he released my hair, withdrew from me, and flipped me over on the table. I was still trying to process what had happened when he pushed my thighs apart from behind and buried himself in me in one thrust. I cried out at the exquisite sensation of finally having him filling me and possessing me again.
His hand clasped my hair. He lifted my head up until my back bowed and sank his fangs into my shoulder. Withdrawing until only his head was inside me again, he wrapped his other arm around my chest and clasped my breast as he thrust back into me. He pinched my nipple before rolling it through his fingers.
Into Hell (The Road to Hell Series, Book 4) Page 25