Lily squealed and hugged him tighter. When she sat back down in his lap, he looked at her, holding her little face in his hands. “Do you know I love you, Lily?”
“Yes!” she immediately answered.
“I have always loved you. I only wanted the best for you, and I’m so sorry for the times I failed you. Never forget that I love you.”
“Love you, too!” she said, jumping up from his lap to wrap her arms around him again. The swirls around them turned such a dark purple they could almost be mistaken for black.
“I have to go now, okay?” Lore asked.
“Okay. Her’s waiting. Be fast!” Lily said.
“You know where we are going, don’t you?” Lore asked.
“Yep,” she said.
Lore set Lily a little ways from him so that he could stand. He looked to Carolena and Carnage. “She knows more than anyone thinks she does. Let her heart guide her. Love her and allow her to come into her own. She’ll be fine.”
Carnage’s eyebrows came down in a scowl.
Carolena stepped forward. “Lore, you’re acting like you’re not coming back.”
“I plan to be back, but not all things can be anticipated. I hope that I’ll be here sooner than not.”
“You’d better take care of yourself. We need you, Lore,” Carolena said, looking at Lore with genuine concern in her eyes.
“And I have needed you all, so much. Thank you for being my family,” Lore said softly.
Carolena looked around for Lily and found her in Murder’s arms again. She had her hands wrapped around his horns and there was a slight purple mist swirling around them. “Lily, what are you doing?”
“Nuffing!” Lily answered. Then traced her fingers down to his temples and pressed there before tracing them across his neck and throat. “I done!” Lily announced, then struggled for Murder to put her down.
“Do you have the fire crystals I gave you?” Lore asked Lily.
“Yes,” she answered.
“I want you to put them under your pillow tonight and sleep with them there.”
“Okay!” she answered.
Lore looked to Carnage. “We’ll be on our way then. Thank you, Carnage. For everything. Take care of my girl,” he said.
Carnage grabbed Lore and pulled him in for a hug, the mists swirling about them both. “’Arnge look,” he said.
Lore looked at Carolena.
“He’s saying if you are missing, he’ll look for you,” Carolena explained.
Lore smiled. “I’ll be fine. Just stay here and watch over your family,” Lore said.
“We ready?” Destroy asked.
“Yes, we are,” Murder answered.
Destroy walked over and handed Boon back to Carnage. “Fine son, Carnage. You have a fine son.”
“Tank eww,” Carnage answered, taking Boon back from Destroy.
As they all left, Carolena stood at the door, waving them away.
They stood on her deck. Destroy and Murder stepped into Lore’s embrace, and the mists started swirling. Just before they all faded from view, Lily stuck her head around her mother who was crowding the doorway and called out to Murder. “I see you soon, Unca Murder!”
Chapter 6
“Hell? You brought me to Hell?” Destroy yelled.
“Yes. That is exactly where we are,” Lore confirmed.
“That’s not the best part,” Murder added.
“No, I’m sure it’s not. The best part is he wants me to steal some poor condemned soul and run with her. What did your mate do to get condemned to Hell?”
Lore didn’t smile. He looked right at Destroy. “She loved me. She trusted me. And now she’s here.”
“She’s not some poor condemned soul,” Murder started.
Lore hissed at them, pushing them back against the wall, signaling for them to be silent as a group of demons walked past. They were invisible, all three of them shrouded in his mists. He needed the extra boost from Lily so that he could make them all invisible. Making Destroy and Murder invisible was simple enough. Making his Evangeline invisible would be impossible. That would be when they were at their most vulnerable, after they’d freed her and were making their escape.
Destroy waited until there was no one in sight, then, he whispered to Murder. “If she’s not a condemned soul, then who the hell is she and why is she here?”
“You’ll see,” Murder answered.
“Come, I think it’s this way,” Lore said, waving them after him.
“You think?” Murder asked.
“It’s Hell. The layout changes constantly. It’s never the same. She’s always in the same cell, but sometimes it’s on the north end, other times the east. Sometimes it’s on the first level, other times the seventh. Just depends on the changes.”
“Makes no sense,” Destroy griped.
“Think of it as an hourglass. No matter how many times you turn it over and over and over, the grains of sand will always fall, and they will always be there, but they will always fall in a different order. It’s just the nature of it. Hell is similar. It’s always all there, but every time the Dark One walks through it, it changes shape, layout, dimension. Never the same way twice.”
“So we’re in a living, breathing, changing and evolving maze, trying to find your mate who may or may not recognize you?” Murder asked.
“Exactly!” Lore said, excitedly. Happy that someone understood.
“Holy Hell,” Destroy mumbled.
“Oh, it’s Hell, but it’s not holy,” Murder said.
“Shh! I have to listen for her,” Lore said. “Be quiet for a moment.” Lore stood with his eyes closed, ears piqued, listening. He cocked his head to the side and leaned to his right. A slight smile graced his face, and he opened his eyes. “I hear her.”
“Where? I don’t hear anything,” Destroy said, cocking his head to the side to try to hear for himself.
“This way,” Lore said. “Stay within the mists, stay close.”
At that comment, both Murder and Destroy got so close to him they could have been one massive being. They followed him up and down every corridor he determined they needed to traverse until finally he stopped outside a huge iron door.
“This is it,” Lore said.
Destroy looked at the door. It was at least eight inches thick and had iron reinforcements at its hinges. There was a small set of iron bars at the top of the door and an iron handle with which to pull the door.
“How am I supposed to get through there?” Destroy asked, eyeing the door.
“We’re misting under,” Lore answered. Before anyone could ask anything else, he grasped each by the arm and misted them all beneath the door. Rather than let them go, he did as he always did and paused while still invisible, to sense for any others in the room. He felt none but Evangeline, so he let go of Destroy and Murder and allowed them all to become visible.
Evangeline was lying on the bed weeping. This was the time of day that she could hear the suffering of all the others kept here. She lived in fear that her keepers would hurt her just the way they were doing to the other people, but the worst part was hearing them suffering and not being able to offer them solace.
Lore stepped closer to her bed. “Evangeline? Sweet? I’m here.”
Evangeline hiccuped and raised her head. “Oh! You’re here! And look, you’ve brought friends!”
“I’ve come to free you tonight, Evangeline. My friends have come to help me take you back to our home.”
Evangeline’s eyes started to wander. He did not need this right now. He needed her cooperation.
“Do you like the sunshine, Evangeline?” Lore asked, hoping to grab her attention by mentioning the sunshine.
She focused on him. “What?” she asked.
“Sunshine. Do you like the sunshine?” Lore asked again.
“Yes! I love the sunshine. I miss it so.”
“Would you like to see the sunshine right now?” he asked, as he leaned over her and pulled the blanket from
her shoulders, exposing her to the room.
“Oh, yes! Can I see the sunshine? Would you please take me to see the sun?” she sat up in the bed, her huge white wings unfurling behind her.
“Holy fuck!” Destroy exclaimed. “She’s an Angel!”
Evangeline stopped moving and looked at Lore questioningly.
“It’s alright, sweet. You’re fine. These two males are large and strong because they’re going to help me get you out of here and to a place where you can see the sunshine every single day.”
“Every day?” she asked excitedly.
“Absolutely. All I need you to do is to stand up and come along with us. I’m going to cover you with this blanket so that no one can see you, and we’re going to take you away from this dark place.”
“Okay! Is it like a game?” she asked, slipping off the bed and standing beside Lore.
“It is. It’s a game. And if we win, you never have to be in the darkness again.”
“Let’s be sure to win!” she answered, clapping her fingertips together excitedly.
“We will, sweet. No matter the adversary, you will live in the sunshine again. I pledge it on my life!” Lore proclaimed.
“He wants me to steal an Angel from Hell,” Destroy whispered to Murder.
“Yup. Told you it got better,” Murder said.
“I’m going to burn in Hell,” Destroy said.
“Nah, you’re already in Hell. And you’re not burning,” Murder answered
Destroy just glared at Murder.
“Look on the bright side. If you free an Angel from Hell and return her to a place of happiness, surely there’s a god somewhere that will smile on you,” Murder said.
“Or one that will curse me forever!” Destroy hissed at Murder on a whisper.
“Nah, gods like Angels. Angels do not like the darkness. You're taking one from a place she’s been held prisoner in the darkness and putting her in the light. You're good,” Murder reasoned.
Destroy’s face wrinkled up, and his head quirked to the side as he thought about it. “You know? I think you’re right. Okay. Okay, let’s get this done.”
Destroy stepped forward, his voice loud and confident. “Hello, Angel. My name is Destroy. I’m here to take you to…” he stopped, trying to figure out exactly where he was to take her. To Whispers, to Lore’s home, to Carolena’s, to a church somewhere?
“The sunlight,” Lore supplied.
“Oh, yes, the sunlight. Let’s go see the sunlight,” Destroy said, smiling and fluttering his eyelashes. He’d learned the eyelash flutter from Lily. She used it when she was trying to charm someone into doing something she wanted them to do, whether they wanted to do it or not.
Evangeline looked at the creature that had approached her. He didn’t seem threatening. And her savior had promised that they were here to help take her to the sunshine. She turned to her savior and regarded him thoughtfully. He was familiar to her. He’d been here before — she was almost sure of it.
“Sir?” Evangeline started, speaking to Lore.
“Yes, sweet?” Lore answered, as he busily tried to wrap the blanket over her wings. They glowed, and he needed to hide them from view. Even if he wrapped her in his mists and attempted to move them all out of Hell, her wings would glow and give them away.
“Is there something wrong with his eyes?” she asked, holding her hand close to her chest and using only the tip of her finger to point toward Destroy. “He’s blinking them as though they hurt.”
Lore glanced at Destroy, who immediately stopped fluttering his eyelashes.
Lore chuckled. “No, sweet. He is fine. He thinks he is being charming.”
“Really?!” Evangeline asked, looking back at Destroy. “That’s fascinating.”
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Phrygia moved quietly down the corridor. She’d heard something; she knew she had. She stopped every few feet and listened. There it was again. And now she knew what it was. It was ‘him’. He was back again to visit the Angel. She hurried to the Angel’s cell and peeked in through the barred window in her door. Yes. There he was. Only this time he wasn’t alone. Her eyes drifted over the males, stopping on the larger black skinned one for just a moment. She inhaled deeply, then closed her eyes. A single tear fell from her eye as she turned and walked away, leaving them to do whatever they would.
Phrygia had been aware that this male was visiting with the Angel for some time now. She’d never sounded the alarm. Her heart hurt for them, or it would have if she’d still had one. She’d stood outside the door and listened many times as he tried to speak with the Angel. He’d tried to remind her of who he was. He’d told her silly jokes to make her giggle. He’d painted pretty pictures with his words of the worlds he’d take her to see. He’d professed his love and devotion unendingly. She’d heard the desperation in his voice as the Angel’s attention left him, and she became lost once again. Phrygia didn’t like the fact that they kept an Angel as a prisoner in Hell. It shouldn’t be. And he genuinely seemed a much different male than he’d been before — all those years ago. So when she discovered him visiting with the Angel trying to comfort her, she’d turned a blind eye. Just as she would this time.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
“That’s not working, Lore,” Murder finally said after watching the male struggle while trying to contain her wings.
“I know that!” Lore snapped.
“Here, let’s try this,” Murder offered. He walked over to the bed and took the pillow case from the pillow. “Angel, can you hold your wings closer together?”
Evangeline raised her head, looking up at the huge, dark-skinned male. “I suppose,” she answered, looking at him with awe in her eyes. He was really intimidating.
“The situation is that your wings glow in the darkness. They will give us away as we try to slip out of here. So, if we can cover them, it may reduce the glow that comes from them and allow us to slip away undetected,” Murder explained.
“Oh! Like hide and seek?” she asked. She turned her back to them and watched over her own shoulder as her wings shook, extended to their full size, then folded back in on themselves again, only tighter and more compact. “Like that?” she asked.
“Perfect!” Murder answered. He slipped the pillow case over the top of her wings and shimmied it down as far as he could.
“Now, drape the blanket over them, Lore,” Murder said.
Lore did just that.
“Turn around, Evangeline. Let me look,” Lore said.
She turned, a spark of delight in her eyes he’d not seen in centuries. “You’re having fun,” he said.
“I am! I love games! And I get to see the sunshine!” she did a little dance in place.
“Now, the rules are, you cannot make a sound, not a single sound. If you speak or make a sound, we are disqualified. Do you understand?” Lore said.
“I do.” She mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key.
“Destroy will follow me, you will follow Destroy, and Murder will be our protection at our rear while we sneak away. We must move to a place near the edge of the darkness so that I take us all to the sunshine. Okay?”
Evangeline nodded, pointed to her lips, and with a smile on them, shook her head to indicate she wasn’t going to say a word.
Destroy couldn’t take it. “Why can’t we just mist from here?”
Lore turned around and looked at him like the problem child of the group. “Because, as I told you, the perimeter is always changing, nothing is ever located in the same place. To get out is just as tricky as to get in. I’m exerting an extreme amount of energy, all of the extra I borrowed from Lily, just to keep us here. I can only transport once more. It must be away from this place, not to another location down here. I need be near the outer edges in order to be sure that I move us out of Hell, rather than deeper inside if it changes whilst we travel.”
“Oh,” Destroy answered, fingering his tiny bottle of protected earth and rain subconsciously. Then he remembered. �
�Lore, the bottle Rowan gave you!”
Lore’s eyes widened. “Yes! Thank you!” He reached into his pocket and withdrew the small bottle attached to the length of leather strip. “I’ve brought you a gift! It will help protect you.”
Evangeline grinned and lifted her long, heavy curls for him to fasten the gift around her neck. He did so, then stepped back, admiring it. “Beautiful,” he said simply.
She looked down at it and nodded, smoothing her fingers against the tiny vial. Then she mouthed the words, ‘thank you.’
“You are most welcome. Now, let us be away. Evangeline, close your eyes. Do not open them until I say you may,” Lore stepped closer to Evangeline, putting one arm around her and bringing her to him, then Destroy and Murder both stepped into his embrace as well. His mists swirled, and they all gradually faded away.
Chapter 7
The mists moved beneath the door and when they dissipated, they found themselves in the corridor.
Evangeline dutifully stood there, her hands clutching both Destroy and Lore, but her eyes remained closed.
“You may open your eyes now, Evangeline.”
Her bright blue eyes popped open, and she grinned at them all before looking around the corridor. Her smile slowly left her face, as some instinct inside her told her where she was.
“Evangeline! Look at me! Who am I? Do you know?” Lore asked.
Slowly her eyes came back to him, and she shook her head sadly.
He had an idea. “You may speak, but only a whisper. Do you remember what you learned about your love?”
Evangeline searched her memory, fragile as it was, and suddenly the words were there. “My love wants to save me, not hurt me,” she whispered.
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