“My sister,” he said, a little too loud and a little too harsh.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you say, sister?”
“Technically, half-sister,” he said, lowering his voice. He scrubbed the itchy whiskers on his jaw with one hand. “It’s a long story and we don’t have time, but she looked for me after Mom died. She’s…partly how I wound up with Hell Runners. No one knows, except your dad and Swift. I’m…illegitimate. It would look bad for Connie and the good Larkin name if anyone found out Mom strayed.”
She slow turned away from him, shaking her head.
Jesse could have left it at that, but her trust meant everything to him. Placing a hand on each of her shoulders, he caressed her gently and spoke down into her ear. “I would never have worked the moves on you if I was involved with someone else.”
“Then why did you push me away?” She twisted out of his light grasp.
Now he had to lie, at least partially, —and he hated it. “Because it was foolish. We can’t be partners and something more. Already we’re faced with one of Hell’s big tests. If we fail, we lose the soul, and we could be trapped.”
“Trust me. I won’t have any problems,” Prudence said, the fire returning to her eyes. “You’re right. It was foolish. And I’m over it. The Passion Pit won’t affect me.”
“No,” Niall interjected more forcefully. “You would have a bad time of it under normal circumstances. I can see and feel you’re in a heightened emotional state. As I warned you on the first day we met, those demon turnkeys will not recognize or care if you are alive. If you get caught…You. Will. Be. Imprisoned.”
“We won't be caught,” she said with defiance. “We’re the best team HR has, and we’re going to save Ellie. I owe her.”
She was right. They owed a debt.
“Can we avoid the Pit?” he asked Niall.
“Maybe. The rings are expansive, but there are worse pits.”
Pointing a finger at her chest, Jesse bore his gaze into hers. “We have to be solid down there. If I'm not confident we're a team, we're not going.”
“Are we still a team? Even when this mission is done?”
“Yes. Is that what’s been eating you?”
“Partly.”
“Shit, Princess.” He flung both hands up in frustration and paced around the barn. “How many times do I have to say it?” He kicked the sideboard of a stall, not hard, but the physicality let off some steam. “Listen. Closely. It's you and me for as long as you care to run. Man, I shouldn’t have to keep…” He stopped mid-sentence. There was one surefire way to remedy her doubts. He spread his arms wide in invitation. “Fuck it. Read me. It’s the only way to put last night behind us. To know I’m sincere.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I can’t. Let’s go.”
He held his vulnerable position. All her doubts needed to be killed. Forever.
“It’s not an offer. It’s an order.”
“You don’t give me orders.” She pointed a finger at his chest. “We’re equal.”
“All things equal, I want to live. Those bitches below will hone in on the smallest doubt. They’re cunning and cruel and fast as lightning.” Arms still spread, he advanced on her until she flattened against the slat wall. “If you won’t do it for me, do it for Ellie.”
With the tips of her teeth, she nipped the corner of her bottom lip, and he knew he’d said the one thing that would win her over. After a few more seconds of consideration, she broke down. “No throwing this in my face later. Understood?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
He saw it coming in her intense stare before the warmth of her empathic-reach slid over him. Closing his eyes, he let her wander, confident she wouldn’t go too far.
Tentative at first, she swirled inside his head. Like curious fingers of gentle heat, the virtual feel up freed Jesse of the need to find the right words. And, apparently, Prudence as well. Radiating emotion as much as collecting information, she infused him with what could only be her essence. Pulsing with a tenderness so intense, so pure, so passionate, he could only think of one word to describe it. A word he’d never heard spoken. At least not to him. His heart swelled at the mere possibility.
At last, she broke the metaphysical connection, leaving him feeling strangely fulfilled. He opened his eyes to find Prudence flushed and shyly avoiding his gaze.
Shame? Or something else?
“Are we good?” He dropped his arms, wanting so much to embrace her.
“Yeah. We’re good.”
Niall eyed them each suspiciously and then proclaimed the mission was back on. He gestured toward the fissure. “The forces will work to confuse and separate you, so stay together at all times. I will be with you as much as I can, but I cannot appear to be assisting in any way.” The shade backed up. “Count to ten, then follow me.”
The big ghost dived face first like a swimmer into the shimmering pool.
Prudence walked to the tear between levels and bounced on her knees twice. “I’ll go first.” She grinned nervously. “Try not to step on me when you land.”
“I won’t.” He grabbed her around the waist from behind.
“What are you doing?”
“Like the shade said, we have to stick together. You want to turn around and hold on or are you okay spooning?”
“I thought you said this was foolish.” She nudged him back so she could turn around.
“No. Kissing is foolish.” He grinned down at her and locked his hands at the small of her back. “This is survival. Now hang on.”
He didn’t miss the tremor that coursed down her back as she laced her fingers around his neck. Lifting her off her feet, he jumped into the void. She ground against him for security, and his groin tingled with desire.
He may never have the pleasure of Prudence beneath him in bed, but her fear of free fall made fissure jumping his new favorite form of travel.
Chapter Fifteen
The chute bottomed out, and Jesse landed hard on his feet, though he’d bent his knees to absorb the shock.
“Thanks for not dropping me,” Prudence said against his cheek.
“Thanks for not screaming in my ear.”
She unknotted her fingers, sliding her hands to his shoulders. “Trust me, I was screaming on the inside.”
Of that, he had no doubt. He was pretty sure the indentations of her fingernails on the back of his neck would be permanent, not that he minded. Her breasts crushed against his chest was worth the price.
“You know…” She leaned back, and her face glowed golden in the soft torchlight emanating from the walls. “You can put me down now.”
“Right.” Reluctantly, he bent forward and set her down.
Her hands lingered on his shoulders and then slid seductively down his arms. For a moment, he thought she was going to take him by the hand and say something. Instead, she turned away and pointed to the flaming wrought iron sconces. “This is not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“I don’t know. But not this. Looks like a medieval dungeon from a cheap movie set.”
“True that.” Stone floor. Stone walls. And dozens of tributary passages winding off the main drag. Cheap and predictable. Still, his gut clenched and his Blessed Eye buzzed from deep in in his brain.
The air shifted. Niall had buzzed by. “This way.” The shade materialized for only a moment and then swirled into a wisp of flying fog.
Mission on.
Jesse buried his thoughts, and they hurried after their cohort.
Relentless choruses of agony bleated from distant chambers of torture. Contrary to popular belief, torture didn’t punish the wicked. Hell rewarded the wicked—it was Heaven for assholes. Torture impeded redemption of those souls riding the fence.
He’d often wondered how the redeemed escaped damnation. Hell Runners never ventured lower than Ring One, the home of the lost and misguided. Who saved the repentant? How did the righteous finally attain peace? Did anyone in Hell
Runners know or care? Unfortunately, the Society didn’t have to answer to anyone. Except maybe Deschamps, and that slick son of a bitch conned Prudence into drinking Holy Water on the sly. No chance of obtaining revelations from him.
Once again, Niall materialized and stood before a stone archway where a staircase spiraled up behind him. “This is where I leave you. Ellie’s in a room at the top. I will be your lookout but be forewarned, when I whistle, you must leave immediately. No delays. With or without her.”
“You won’t get a chance to whistle,” Prudence said and then ducked through the archway and into the shadows.
The shade whispered to Jesse. “Far be it from me to meddle—”
“Then don’t.”
“But you would have been better off—and safer to have bedded Prudence. All this self-sacrifice is—”
“Sounds like meddling.” He warned him with a glare.
“Dangerous. And unnecessary.”
Jesse snorted. “Women are dangerous.” His gaze wandered to the place where his partner disappeared. “Especially that one.”
“Idjit.” The shade huffed and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
She’d waited for him at the bottom of the stone staircase. Placing a finger to her lips, she motioned with her other hand for him to stand beside her and listen. A woman’s whimpering voice rose above the indecipherable chatter of demon speak.
Prudence took one step up and then leaned forward to whisper into his ear. “She’s hanging tough, but two demons are torturing her.”
“How? Can you tell?”
She shook her head. “Her fear blocks out everything except the joy the bastards emote every time she cries out.”
“Let’s go see what we’re up against.”
The rock steps corkscrewed up in a spiral so steep and tight he couldn’t see, couldn’t anticipate what might be around the bend. He counted the steps as they crept up to mark time. Sixty-six, just over a minute. They’d need to cut their time by at least half on the way down and not fall in their haste.
The ascent ended at an alcove outside the main chamber. Without a door blocking their view, they could see right inside. And be seen.
He removed his hoodie and tossed it over a sconce. The flame went out. At least they wouldn’t be spotted right off. They flattened against the far wall and peered inside the chamber from the shadows.
Bound to a bed by leather straps, the lost mother squirmed in terror. Twin humanoid demons dressed in redneck flannel lorded over her. Jesse wondered if their identical faces and bulging muscles had been intentionally molded to resemble Ellie’s ex-husband. Though he’d never seen the man, Hell ruled royal when it came to details.
One extended a thick arm, ripping the sleeve of his worn shirt right off the shoulder. His clawed hand arched until one talon extended and turned into a tiny curved blade. In only a few strokes, he shredded her blouse and then began tormenting the delicate skin of her bare belly with the sharp tip. She trembled with fear, begging for him to stop.
Nothing more than an automaton for the bosses, he didn’t register her pleas. The first shallow slit set her mewling, and Jesse admired her for not losing it right off. But the demon didn’t bother to play around. He quickly dug deeper until she gave in and screamed—bloodcurdling, heart-wrenching howls that turned Jesse’s stomach and galvanized his determination to pull her out.
Like a storm cloud, a black mist formed high above Ellie’s body.
Prudence buried her face against his shoulder, and he felt a shudder rock through her. He could comfort her for now. Protected by his shirt from direct skin contact, he didn’t need to push her away.
After a second she tilted her head up and whispered. “How’s it possible? She’s nothing but spirit.”
“Down here many of the condemned are returned to their human form. It’s comforting and familiar, which breeds temporary reassurance, and then ultimate vulnerability. Torture is extra effective when your victims have more to lose.”
“But what do the demons get of it? All this torture?”
“What all bullies crave—power.”
Over the top of her hair, Jesse watched as they started cutting Ellie in tandem. Instinctively, he wrapped his hand around the back of his partner’s head and pulled her close, in case she was tempted to get another eyeful. She nudged his arm, and he shook his head while the duo destroyed the poor woman’s torso. “You don’t want to see.”
Ellie shrieked, so loud and long it drowned out every other sound, every thought from his brain. Her head ratcheted back and forth as if she were being slugged across the face, and her body bucked against the restraints. The black cloud hovering over her swelled until it filled the room, engulfing both demons and their victim.
With the room a hazy mess, Jesse let go of Prudence.
Still clinging to him, she turned to peer inside.
“The smoke overhead is the by-product of her fear and suffering. They will feed on it then start the torture process again.”
“We should go in there now while it’s dark. While they”—she looked at him and then wrinkled her nose and grimaced— “feed.”
“They won’t feed here. They’ll share it with others. Plus they’ll want her to heal before they start fresh. We’ll go in when the lumberjack brothers leave.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Niall. He laid out the gruesome details last night.”
“Glad to see you changed your mind about him.”
“You didn’t leave me a choice.” He groped in his back pocket with two fingers. Slipping out his army knife, he flicked open the blade. A piss-poor weapon against the likes of these two, but he had a demon-burning partner beside him, so he wasn’t all that worried.
What sounded like a thousand clamoring voices rose in revolt from somewhere below them. He didn’t need Niall to explain the meaning. The hungry hordes from the depths of the dungeon demanded sustenance. Ellie’s keepers clattered, and in seconds, the black mist and her two torturers disappeared through a passageway on the other side of the room, leaving the woman in tatters strapped to the table.
Certain they didn’t have much time, Jesse slipped into the room. He didn't bother slicing the bonds at the mother’s hands and feet. Stabbing the knife into her clavicle, he ripped wildly into her belly. Her soul sprang free from the sliced body, her terrified face instantly breaking into a smile at the sight of Prudence.
“You didn’t forget me.”
“Of course not. Now hurry”—she waved the spirit toward her— “before they return.”
Ellie collapsed into his partner, and Prudence strangled a cry.
“You okay?”
“Never better.” She smiled at him like she’d been relieved of a load instead of carrying one. He hadn’t noticed the rollicking shouts from the depths of the castle had subsided until it was too late. From the shadows where the pair exited, he heard the warning of feral growls
“Shit.” He nabbed Prudence by the back of her shirt and jerked her toward the stairway.
They barreled down the stone steps without looking back. A hidden door burst open to their left and two flat-faced fiends emerged, grabbing at his partner with filthy, bloody hands.
“Let go,” she demanded.
It took Jesse a second to realize she meant him, not the beasts. He complied.
She shoved both her hands into the demon’s chests, burning them with her special touch. They instantly recoiled, confusion clear on their ugly mugs.
Quick to react, he flicked a roundhouse kick at the closest monster, knocking one into the other. They dropped, but one determined bastard latched onto Prudence's ankle, intent on dragging her down.
She kicked it away, stumbling backward into the wall with a hard thwap.
Knowing it would burn, he seized her sweaty wrist one-handed and kept her from a full-on roll down the stairs. His palm hurt, but he didn’t dare let go. He yanked her to her feet, and they tore down the spiral steps in a dizzying flig
ht.
At the main corridor, he quickly checked both directions.
The battered fiends had disappeared.
And so had Niall.
He could hear the swell of an angry crowd gathering close by.
“I should have known that son of a bitch would save his own ass first.”
Gripping his partner’s hand like it didn’t blister, he linked their fingers.
“I can run on my own.” She jerked to get free.
“No.” He gritted through the pain. “They’ll want to separate us. And no one knows we’re down here.” He hauled her to the left and started them running. “Hit full speed, and I’ll manage to keep up.”
They charged back the way they came in—every inch of the corridor before them identical to the stretch behind. The bellows from the pits offered no clues. All the guttural pleas sounded the same.
Had they passed the fissure? He didn't dare stop to second-guess. The demon brigade charged behind them.
“Niall,” he yelled. “Where the fuck are you?”
The corridor ahead split into a cross intersection. Dammit. They’d definitely passed the fissure.
Three options—left, right or straight. They needed a quick and correct decision.
“This way.” The shade materialized, waving them to the right.
“’Bout time,” he snarled.
“Couldn’t be helped.”
“The demons. Niall,” Prudence panted. “They’re too fast. We can’t ditch them.”
“I’ll take care of it,” a new, yet familiar voice broke in.
Hoodie strings pulled so tight only his eyes and nose showed through, Swift dashed past them, carrying what looked like a plastic soaker gun.
Jesse couldn’t resist looking over his shoulder to see what he would do with it.
Swift aimed at the angry fray and then lowered the muzzle and cut a wide, wet swath on the stone path, emptying the bulbous stock. The liquid sizzled, and thick steam rose like a wall of white between them and their pursuers. The demons screeched and pulled up short, clearly terrified to touch what could only be Holy Water.
He tossed the toy to the ground and pulled the hood open to his mouth. “The line will hold them off long enough for an escape if you hurry.”
Rule Breakers, Soul Takers (Hell Runners Book 1) Page 17