She tossed Vitaly onto the mirrored floor beside me and squatted down in front of me. Before I could blink, her ebony hands snaked out and grabbed the super-heated barrel of the gun. Her fingers tightened, denting the metal before she twisted her hands like she was wringing out a dish towel. The scream of tortured steel filled my ears as the once pristine weapon was rendered completely useless.
“Now, maybe we can talk like civilized people.” She smirked at me. “After all, I come bearing gifts. I promise you’ll like your gift.” Her coy grin reminded me of the exact look I’d seen splayed across the face of my own demon. I’m not sure why, but it both relaxed me and terrified me.
“Gift?” I asked, hoping it wasn’t a live rattlesnake. Then again, if she wanted to kill me, I’d already be dead. Clearly that wasn’t the case, at least, not yet anyway. “You’re not Greek are you?”
“I am not Greek.” Her jagged teeth flashed as she spoke, and the image of her tearing into raw flesh filled my mind.
I pushed away the bloody image and tried to concentrate on what she’d said, especially since she had me up a creek at the moment. I wasn’t sure what her gift would entail, but the possibility of me enjoying it seemed slim at best.
As it stood, I’d yet to meet a demon that was entirely on the up and up from the get go, and the last time I’d met the Princess hadn’t exactly been sunshine and gumdrops. Still, it wasn’t like I had a lot of options at the moment.
Yeah, I could try to blast her into oblivion with magic, but I was pretty sure she could twist my head off my shoulders before I could even get one word out. I wanted to avoid that outcome if possible. Once I created some distance between us though, it was going to be on like Donkey Kong.
“Okay,” I said, letting out a long, slow breath. “I’m willing to hear you out.”
“Excellent.” The Princess of Mirrors pointed to the mirrored tree directly to my left. “That mirror will lead you straight back to Vassago’s bar. You won’t pass go or collect your two-hundred dollars, but you will be one step closer to being home, assuming he keeps his deal, of course.” Her mouth twisted into a psychotic grin that reminded me of Heath Ledger’s Joker. “There’s only one problem. You can’t leave with your mission incomplete. To do so would invite his wrath. While you may be able to withstand it eventually, I do not have high hopes for you as it stands now.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, confusion filling my voice. “My companions escaped a while ago.” A sudden realization filled me. Maybe they were on their way out but had been disrupted by Beleth’s death like we were. If that was the case, she had an excellent point. Leaving emptyhanded would be tantamount to suicide. It would be like leaping off a pirate ship filled with bloodthirsty curs and landing in shark-infested waters. It would also mean Jenna, Wendy, and everyone else could be trapped in a maze of certain death.
The Princess waved off my response. “I have a solution for your problem.” She pointed to my immediate right, and the crystalline tree swirled to life. An image of Jenna, Wendy, and the children making their way along a crumbling cliff face filled my eyes. “That mirror leads to your companions and your prize. All you’d need to do is reach through it and pull them here. Then they would be safe, and you could leave no muss, no fuss, and no coconuts.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I said, wondering about her definition of easy. Reaching through the mirror and pulling out nearly a dozen people didn’t seem easy. Well, okay, conceptually it seemed easy enough, but it still seemed like it might be a trick. “Aren’t you planning on killing me and playing jump rope with my entrails?”
“No,” she said, licking her lips as she spoke. “As appealing as it sounds, I don’t want to do that even a little bit. I’d get blood everywhere, and it isn’t like we have a cleaning service here.” She made a disgusted face.
“Okay,” I said, not sure how to take that. I sat up, and when she made no effort to stop me, I got to my feet because if she wasn’t going to kill me, I might as well stop sitting here like an idiot. Then if she changed her mind, at least I wouldn’t die flat on my back. She remained squatting before me as I stood, watching me like a hungry tiger. Even standing, I was only at eye level with her. “What are you planning to do?”
I watched her carefully. She didn’t look like she was going to attack me, but I still wasn’t sure what her game was. By all accounts, she should have already torn my spleen out. I mean, I was glad she hadn’t done that since I was sort of attached to my spleen, but yeah… this was getting weird.
“I am not done with my setup,” she said, standing up. She was over a full head taller than me, and as she stretched, her breasts pushed her fire-engine red crop top to its absolute limit.
“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and glancing past her at the mirror. I might be able to make it before she caught me, but what then? “What’s your play?”
“Your friends are still within Beleth’s little section of Hell, only without the demoness to keep it together, the doors within her domain are leading nowhere. The whole place is disintegrating.” Mirrors flickered to life all around me, and as they did, I saw the rooms we’d passed through earlier turning into molten piles of slag as they sank beneath a sea of lava. “I don’t think they’ll make it out in time.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, barely resisting the urge to shake her into action. If the world around them was going to end, we needed to get them out of there now. We definitely didn’t have time for this.
Admittedly, I was pretty close to trying to go in after them. The only problem was, I didn’t know what I’d do once I got there. I’d just be trapped along with them. If there was a way to save them, I needed to make her tell me what it was. Unfortunately, I was also pretty sure that when it came to the Princess of Mirrors, honey would catch me more flies than vinegar, especially since I doubted I could rip the wings off this particular fly and make it eat whatever I gave it.
“I want to make you a deal.” She touched my blackened arm with one finger and her lingering touch sent a tiny static shock zipping across my flesh. “Whoever gave you this just destroyed two of the most powerful demons in all of Hell. I’m not sure how or why, and I don’t care.” She shook her head. “I’m only a very small minnow in an ocean full of whales and sharks. I try my best to avoid the whales and sharks when they tussle because people like me tend to get dead fast when they do.” She paused and stared up at the reflective sky. “When whoever gave you that arm comes for the rest of them, and if it is who I think it is, she will come, I want you to remember something, Mac Brennan.”
“What’s that?” I asked as a bad feeling settled over me like a funeral shroud. The Princess of Mirrors could have split my skull like a casaba melon with little effort. She’d obviously been formidable enough to knock Vitaly’s block off before I’d even gotten through the mirror, and as she spoke, I realized she was scared. Not of me per se, but of the demon within me. The demon who had eaten Beleth and Baphomet.
Sure, my demon was temperamental as hell and only helped me when she wanted to do it, but she had still killed the siblings with no more effort than it’d have taken me to crumple a napkin. Whoever she was, she was bad news, and the Princess knew it. Interesting. Terrifying, but interesting nonetheless. Maybe it was something I could turn to my advantage.
“I want you to remember I helped you,” The Princess of Mirrors said, and her words struck a chord in me. This demon wanted me to remember she helped me? She was willing to save my companions for that? It seemed crazy given what I knew about demons, and because of that it was terrifying. It meant the cat in my head was that fucking bad.
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “I will remember.”
“Good.” She reached through the mirror on my right as fire rained from the sky within and lava rose around Jenna and the others while they huddled beneath an outcropping of rock, looking desperately for a path that wouldn’t lead to destruction.
Silver mist explod
ed across the mirror’s face as the Princess jerked her hand back, shattering the mirror into giant chunks of shimmering glass. The smell of sulfur and brimstone filled my nose as the shards of glass melted together into a heap of molten slag.
“Holy fuck,” I said as Jenna, Wendy, and the gaggle of children rose from the melted mirror like T-1000 robots. In the time it took me to count to four, they stood before me with bewildered expressions on their faces. Still, the sight of them all standing there unharmed was enough to make me jump for joy. Until this moment, I hadn’t actually realized how scared I was that after everything Jenna and the others could die in an inferno.
“Remember this moment, Mac Brennan,” the Princess said, gesturing toward them. Her voice whipped through the crystalline trees and chilled me to the bone. “Please.”
Before I could respond, the Princess of Mirrors vanished into a cloud of silver smoke, leaving our pathway to Vassago’s mirror open and unchallenged. All we had to do was walk through it, and we’d be out of here. It seemed impossible and too good to be true, but then again, I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“I don’t know what you did, Mac,” Jenna said, staring at the spot where the Princess of Mirrors had been standing, “But let’s get out of here before she changes her mind. Which one leads back to Vassago?”
“That one,” Wendy said, pointing at the green-tinted mirror a few feet to my left. The sad thing was, as I looked at the mirror knowing she was right, I was strangely happy to go meet the demon. Yeah, I know. I was happy to return to the demon and tell him we’d succeeded. I’d fallen a long way, but I also had succeeded and it was time to see my family. After everything I’d been through, I deserved it.
Chapter 23
Vassago was sitting at his bar with a cloth napkin tucked into the collar of his shirt when we walked through the mirror and appeared in the center of his bar. It looked pretty much like it always had, but at the same time, it didn’t seem crowded even though it’d always seemed cozy before and now over a dozen people were standing alongside me next to a tournament caliber pool table.
“You made it,” he said a hint of admiration in his voice, and if he seemed surprised to see us, he didn’t show it. “All of you.” He had a bone-handled steak knife in one hand, a fork in the other, and was leaning over a huge porterhouse, mashed potatoes, and cheesy broccoli. He ignored it, grabbing his beer as he turned on his stool and held it up to us. “Good job.”
“Was there ever a doubt?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. While I wouldn’t be surprised if the demon had sent us into certain death, I’d have also been surprised if he hadn’t thought we’d succeed. After all, he’d put together our mod squad.
Admittedly, part of me wanted to punch him in his smug face for sending us into near certain death, especially since he’d tried to deliver me as a prize to Beleth. On second thought, I didn’t know if that was actually true. Something told me asking Vassago about it might make him take offense, and that would likely end very badly for me. Then again, for all I knew, Vassago had figured out who my demon was. He seemed like the type of guy who not only could do that, but the type of guy who had done it and was now keeping it under his sleeve for use later.
Knowing that, I was going to keep my damned mouth shut, finish this thing up, and head home. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I got there, but kissing my girlfriend and taking a shower were high on the list. Also eating. I was starved.
Before that though, I needed to have a talk with Jenna about my past as awkward as it might be. Aside from my family, she was the only one who knew me before, and call me crazy, but I was fairly certain my sister and nephew didn’t know about the more sordid details of my past. At least, I hoped not.
“Yes, actually,” he said, taking a long pull of his beer. “I gave you fifty-fifty odds.” He put his beer on the bar and clapped his hands as he got to his feet. “That’s why I bought some options to hedge against it.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Never mind.”
Vassago snapped his fingers. There was a blinding flash of light, and as it faded, a doorway shimmered in the open space between him and us. A half a second later, a well-dressed man and woman in their mid-forties walked through it, stopped, and looked around bewildered.
“Why if it isn’t the Prescotts,” Vassago said right before a shrill cry filled the air.
“Mom! Dad!” Angela Prescott cried, tears spilling from her eyes as she sprinted past our little cadre. She leapt onto her parents and wrapped her arms around them as they sank to their knees, also crying.
“Angela!” they cried, smothering her in hugs and kisses.
I turned away from the spectacle, and as I did, I realized the others had too. Vassago watched them for a moment longer, and I could have sworn longing flickered across his dirty emerald eyes.
“Wendy, would you be a doll and return the rest of these children home?” Vassago asked when he finally broke his gaze from the reunion and settled it on the girl. “I’d appreciate it.”
“That wasn’t the deal,” she said, swallowing hard. From the look on her face, it looked like she was steeling herself for a slap. It was a little strange because I’d never gotten the impression Vassago was the type of guy who would slap a girl for mouthing off, much less confirming the details of her deal with him, but then again, how well did I know him. After all, he was a demon. Who knew what went on in his head?
“I know, but I have to pay for those options since I won’t need them now,” Vassago said, holding his out to her. “If you do it now, I’ll make good this instant. Deal?”
Wendy stared at his hand for a long time before taking it. “Deal.”
As they shook hands, Marvin screamed at the top of his wooden lungs. The backpack on Wendy’s shoulders exploded into emerald flames, and Marvin tumbled out of it, landed on his head, and bounced a couple times. He lay there, staring at the ceiling in a daze as an empty Gatorade bottle hit him in the head, which was when I realized he wasn’t a doll anymore. He was a real boy.
“Don’t make me regret paying you early,” Vassago said, eyeing the boy carefully.
“Thank you!” Wendy gasped, dropping down next to her brother and checking his pulse. It hardly seemed necessary because even though Marvin’s eyes were closed, his chest was rising and falling. “Thank you!”
“Do not thank me.” Vassago walked past her. “Just extend me the courtesy of taking these children out of here.” He bent down and looked at the little black girl who had gotten hit by the stray bullet during our escape. “I don’t like them much. They smell.”
He waved his hand at the girl, dismissing her as he stood to look at us. A thin tendril of emerald fire snaked out from his index finger and landed lightly on the puckered flesh of the gunshot wound. The girl shrieked, pulling back, but as she did, the torn flesh vanished before our eyes, leaving behind perfectly pristine skin.
“Thank you,” the girl whispered, rubbing her eyes in disbelief.
“What did I just say?” Vassago asked, glaring at her hard enough to make me flinch and the look wasn’t even aimed at me. “I mean, seriously, it was less than thirty seconds ago.”
“Okay,” I said, moving between him and the girl, shielding her from his ire as best as I could. “Can I go home now?”
“Not yet,” Vassago said, shaking his head as he walked by me like I wasn’t even there and stood in front of Vitaly. “You made good on our deal, Widow Maker.”
“Y-Yes,” Vitaly said, staring down at the demon. It was funny because I could see Vitaly struggling to keep his knees from shaking as he towered over the smaller man. “I trust you have fulfilled your end of bargain?”
“Indeed,” Vassago said, pulling a small green bottle out of thin air. He held it out to the big man. “This is valuable. You should do a better job of keeping it close at hand.”
“I cannot believe…” Vitaly said, trailing off as tears filling his eyes. He took the bottle from Vassago and held it up to the light. I cou
ldn’t make out what was inside because it just looked like a silver fog. “You must let me buy you a drink some time.”
“Done,” Vassago said, turning away from the big, sobbing Russian and glancing at Wendy. “Why are these children still here?”
“Sorry, sir,” Wendy said, pulling herself to her feet, and as she rose, Marvin’s eyes fluttered open.
“Did it work, Sis?” he asked, barely coherent as his words slurred together. “Because if it didn’t, I don’t think those hookers are going to give my deposit back.”
“Yes,” she said, nodding at him. “Now you rest, I’ll be back in two shakes.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Marvin said, and his eyelids slid shut like they weighed a thousand pounds.
“Let’s get on with it. I swear if my steak gets cold, there will be hell to pay.” Vassago’s eyes flashed with emerald fire as Wendy swallowed hard.
“Okay,” Wendy replied, her voice steady as she ushered the children over to her. “Where do I take them?”
“Home,” Vassago said, and as he uttered the word a shimmering door appeared in front of her. He made a “now go away” gesture.
Wendy opened her mouth like she was going to ask a question that was probably something like how do I get a bunch of kids home through one door, but evidently she thought better of it because a second later, her mouth slammed shut like a steel trap.
“Let’s go,” she said, nodding to the children as she reached out and took the closest one’s hand. “Everyone hold hands.”
The boy she’d grabbed, a redhead with copper-colored eyes, clasped her hand like it was the last lifeline in a storm. The others followed suit, and a moment later, she marched them all through the glittering doorway like a reverse pied piper.
“That just leaves one of you,” Vassago said, glancing at me before settling his gaze on Jenna. “Are you satisfied, Keeper?”
Jenna broke his gaze and stared at me, sadness etched into every line of her dark face. Very carefully, she shut her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When she opened them, I could just see the barest edges of darkness fading back beneath the surface.
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