“Eternity,” Niki added.
My lips curled in distaste. “Cooking for eternity? Totally worse.”
Niki rubbed his hands over his face. Clearly his patience was at an all-time low. “Well, this is Hell,” he stressed. “You have to be given a passkey to go to the Hole. The passageway is through the trash resort.”
I held up a hand. “Wait a minute. Resort? Come on, who named these places?”
“No clue, but it is the name of the dump. The Burrows live there.” He must have seen the doubt in my eyes because he kept explaining. “In our realm, there are beings who look worse than they are, and the Burrows definitely qualify. They open their mouths and everything disappears. If you don’t anchor yourself, you’re sucked up with the trash.”
“Ohhh-kay. So they’re industrial-sized vacuums. Moving on. I believe you mentioned a passkey?”
“It’s a code . . .” Niki thought a moment. “Well, a spell really, it bypasses the Resort. If no one’s changed it, the spell should still be the same.”
He quoted, “Transport now through space and grime, the Hell Hole is called for one hour of time.”
“Corny but efficient. Dad’s?”
Next to me, Malachi grunted. “Of course. Hopefully, the Bitch Queen hasn’t changed it.”
Niki stood and held his hand out for me to take. I didn’t hesitate to grip his fingers tightly.
“We need to get in, grab the king, and get out as fast as we can.” His yellow gaze cut to mine. “This is important. Can you obey my every instruction, Johnna? Enforcers aren’t allowed inside the Hole. Once you get us in, you do what I say, when I say it.”
“I know, I know. You say jump, I jump. Not a problem. What happens if enforcers do go inside? Am I there as a decoy or can I fight too?”
“If there’s a chance for you to manipulate their weapons, do it. Otherwise, stay out of the way—and let’s just say the outcome—if we’re there too long—won’t be pleasant. I don’t relish the idea of eternal torture.”
I didn’t like the sound of that at all, but I knew Niki well enough now to understand he would do anything for someone he cared for. “Inaction is boring, but if it saves my uncle . . . You do know I can do more than manipulate weapons?”
“Say the chant in your mind and concentrate on the Resort,” Niki stressed.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice neither of you acknowledged my last question. I will be bringing it up again in the near future. So, do I just keep mentally repeating the spell?”
Both demons shook their heads. “No,” Malachi answered first. “Repeating it won’t get you anywhere but here. Say the spell one time and keep the destination in your mind. Focus on the name ‘Resort’ and nothing else.”
“You’ll do fine. Just relax. Remember what your dad says?” Niki added.
“One thing at a time. Too many thoughts get you confused.” I grimaced. “Heard it so much, you’d think the advice would have sunk in by now.” I took a deep breath, clearing my mind, Niki’s smoky cinnamon scent reminding me of home. “I’m ready.”
We stood in a small circle but not close enough to touch. I closed my eyes and said the spell in my mind. Concentrating on something I’d never seen before was hard, but Malachi was right. If I focused on only the name, like big bubble letters, I could do it. The ring wasn’t a total dud either. The closer I got to Lucien, the happier the ring’s tones became. Similar to a homing device.
A lifting sensation rocketed through me, like taking off in a plane. The air rushed by us, pushing my hair and clothes behind me in a burst. Suddenly, my stomach dropped to my feet, and I found myself in total darkness. I blinked a couple of times, letting my new demon sight adjust. I saw everything as clearly as if I were wearing heat-sensing goggles. We were definitely in a small room, and lying on a cot to our right was an incredibly bright red mass.
I opened my mind to the metal’s song as I moved toward it. The notes were beautiful, like a regal symphony. As the melody swirled through my mind, invading my soul, another layer entered, and I heard Al's tinny voice humming off-key but happy. We’d found my uncle.
Kneeling beside the cot, I touched his shoulder. My hand followed the curve of his arm, and I wrapped my hand around his thick bicep. I shook him, but he didn’t budge. I grabbed his arm with both hands, this time jerking his body back and forth harder. He still didn’t wake up. “Lucien? Come on, you gotta wake up.”
Niki startled me when he talked next to my ear. “She spelled him. While he’s here, he won’t wake up.”
“Well, that sucks. He’s too heavy for us to move, so what do we do now?”
“Malachi and I will carry him.”
“Oh. Well, good. Pick him up and let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”
“Bossy britches,” Malachi said in my right ear, then straightened. “Niki, move around to his head and grab him by his shoulders. I’ll grab this end.”
Listening to them argue, I noticed a slight change in the music floating through my head. I glanced back at Lucien, who was now propped between my cohorts, his arms wrapped around their shoulders.
I opened my mouth to tell them Lucien was conscious enough to know what they were doing when I heard something behind me. I froze as the hairs on the back of my neck rose in warning and the music became deafening. Sick, nauseous tones hurtled toward me, battling me senseless, and I almost missed Al’s warning to turn around.
Whirling, I gawked at the monster in front of me. How I wished I’d waited for them back in Lucien’s sitting room. The bulging shape took up most of the room’s cramped space, and the rumbling sound, filling every nook and cranny, made my heart stutter.
“Uh, guys? I think we’re in trouble.”
Johnna, concentrate on any metal he might be wearing. Try to delay him for a few seconds.
What is this thing?
That’s a Summoned demon. Focus, imp.
With fear pulsing through my veins and freezing my mind, it was close to impossible to separate the mammoth’s brutal tones from Lucien's. I took a deep breath and fought through the clashing sounds. One huge, grotesquely swollen hand hurtled through the air toward me. I jerked back and sidestepped it. My magic continued to battle; however, it couldn’t keep up with my extremely agitated nervous system.
In desperation, I lunged in the other direction and heard the hint of one single tone, fighting for life inside the deranged demon raging in front of me. I dodged his beefy hand again, knowing if the strike landed, I wasn’t getting back up. Ever. I’d be a squashed blob of goo on the floor.
I glanced back at Niki and Malachi and, with a sinking feeling, realized the giant never wanted to hit me. Instead, he’d separated me. I tried to run toward Niki, and out of nowhere a giant arm scooped me up. I was in trouble. I amped up my magic along with the adrenalin pumping through my veins, refusing to give up—
Until the room began to fade.
“Niki!” I screamed. Like a crisp breeze, his strength moved through me, attaching a quick web of protection, as if his arms were wrapped around me. The most wondrous feeling surged into my heart. It lasted for only a second, but it was enough. As Niki’s love settled into my soul, a renewed burst of reassurance flooded my mind, and a new surge of courage swelled in my heart.
Chapter 15
I was in deep doo-doo.
Literally.
The demon transported us into the universe’s largest toilet. If I wanted to delude myself, I guess it could’ve been a muddy field . . . or river bottom. Unfortunately, the only odor invading my nostrils was outhouse—on a really hot day. I gagged.
At least the monster demon still held me fisted in his hand. Now I knew what a giant chicken leg felt like. At the thought of food, I had to swallow a couple of times, barely managing to keep my lips tightly pressed t
ogether. I knew without a doubt, if my mouth opened, I would throw up. The odor was way beyond horrible. At this point, I didn’t care where I was. I just wanted out.
Demon, no think. Al whispered in my mind.
Why can’t he think? Is someone controlling him?
No. Rage eat mind.
Ewww. That’s just sick. Wait—I have an idea. Can you get Niki and bring him here?
No leave, I call.
Really? Calling works too.
The rage-filled demon seemed deflated . . . almost. Every minute or so he would let out a screech and clench his fists. Each time his fists tightened around me, I just knew my ribs were being pulverized. If his mind was gone, maybe I could outthink him, but I had no clue how to even begin. All scenarios for me ended up painful, or very stinky.
I gathered the remnants of my courage and trained my talent on the few pieces of metal he wore. His chest was bare, marred by a hideous scar from his right shoulder to the bottom of his ribcage. For anyone other than a demon, it would have cleaved him in two. I’d listened enough by now to realize, as a demon, he should have healed without a scar. So what had happened to him?
The metal buckle’s agony made my stomach churn worse. The surrounding stench wasn’t helping either, so I changed tactics. I closed my overly sensitive nostrils and breathed through my mouth instead. Much better.
The buckle’s banshee screams vibrated my body like the strikes of an ax chopping through my head. I concentrated harder than I ever had, managing to soothe the agonized notes, smoothing them out. Once the notes calmed down, their volume and tone were closer to normal, or at least I hoped they were. I could only make an uneducated guess since I wasn’t exactly sure what a Summoned demon actually was.
I held the music at a medium volume with heavy bass tones, almost like a suspenseful resonance. I tackled his wrist cuff next. The hammered gold’s sound blended well with the other low tones and created a melodious combination.
Since my train of thought had been on what I was doing and not on the behemoth still gripping me in his fist, it took me a minute to realize the stench had grown stronger. I now smelled it through my mouth, even worse. I leaned my upper body over the fingers, which I hadn’t been able to do before, and peered at the dark sea of gloppiness below. The ground seemed to be closer than it had been. My heart rate tripled its beat per minute.
We were sinking. Not a cheery thought.
Glancing back at the scar, I followed the jagged flaw upward. I met the demon’s gaze, now closer to my face, and smiled. Or tried to, anyway. It probably came out more like a grimace since I was on sensory overload. His black eyes bore into mine. I couldn’t stop the shiver as it ripped through my upper body. The edges of each of his large irises glowed red.
“You look better.” I held my breath, hoping my words didn’t set him off again. “My name is Johnna. What’s yours?”
“Feel better. Still monster.”
I was sure of my smile now. “We can all be monsters at times. I’m new to Dark World and don’t know a lot about the different people here. Are you like this all the time?”
“No change anymore. Summoned. I stay ugly now.”
“Well, I don’t know what you used to look like, but when you aren’t a five-story wall of roid rage, you’re not bad.” I tilted my head and studied him. “You really don’t look half bad now. Of course, it’s only my opinion.”
He stared at me for so long, I began to dread his response. He surprised me when his grip loosened, and he jostled me to his shoulder like a parrot.
“Thank you . . . little one.” His speech sounded stilted, as if his tongue wouldn’t work quite right. “You are first to talk to me. No treat like monster.”
“That’s okay, big guy. Would you like me to help you some more? I can’t promise it will work, but I can at least try.” I patted his cheek when his face turned ruddier than it already was. “I can’t promise you a miracle—”
“Make me smart again—not dumb anymore?”
My stomach flipped and tightened, and the skin from my arms to my neck tingled. I hoped I hadn’t just volunteered to do something impossible. “Well, again, I don’t know what you used to be like, but I don’t think you’re dumb. My friend, Al, told me your ability to reason is based on how angry you are.” I held my breath, hoping I hadn’t said the wrong thing. The bad thing about roid rage was, you never knew what would set someone off.
“Who Al?”
“My imp. He helps me.”
“Don’t see imp. Gone?”
“No, he’s here. Would you like to meet him?” I prayed letting him see Al wasn’t a mistake.
Al, can you come out here. Please? A second later, he popped onto my shoulder. I was glad no one could see us. We probably looked like mismatched Russian nesting dolls, which had to be comical. Al and the demon stared at each other. I waited, apprehension beating at my chest. At its accelerated rate, my heart would give out before Niki could rescue me.
“He no talk to me,” The demon growled.
I smiled. The grip around my heart loosened. A tiny bit. “That’s normal, at least from what my . . . my mate told me. Niki said Al could only talk to me. Inside my head.”
“Mate? You have a true mate? I know only one Niki—the head enforcer.”
“He’s the one.” This was the second time I’d heard about a true mate and made a mental note to ask Niki what it was when he rescued me. I hoped it meant the same thing as a regular mate, but I’d go along with it, if it helped keep the demon talking instead of screaming. “It’s a long story, and I’m still not sure about the details. If you don’t mind, may I ask you a question?”
He answered with a single nod.
“I told you my name, so what’s yours? I’d like to know if we’re going to be friends.”
“Markus. Name Markus.”
“Okay, Markus.” I sat on my hands, helping me balance better on his shoulder. “Which would you like to do first? Talk about why you brought me here or let me try to make you better?”
“Me want better first.”
“Good choice. All you have to do is stand there, and I’ll do the rest.”
The giant demon immediately became like a statue. I didn’t see his chest move at all. “Markus, you can breathe.”
His bushy brows rose high. “Really? All right.”
I decided a more literal approach probably would be better. I opened the center of my mind and listened. Drawing a small amount of reserved power from my necklace, I combined the thin stream with the notes floating inside my head. Their music joined, and the melody became purer. Rising then lowering like a ribbon floating through the air, the notes soared around me, carrying me with them.
Closing my eyes, I delved deeper within his body, wherever the power led me. The chorale sang inside my head, and all I could do was listen, drowning in the flowing tides. A huge shudder tore through me as Markus healed, almost knocking me from my perch. I pulled back my magic, imagining it growing smaller. For some reason, it didn’t seem to understand what I wanted it to do.
Suddenly I hurt everywhere, and my blood sizzled as it flowed through me.
My lids cracked open, but I saw only purple. I sat up and pulled Al away from my face, scowling at him. “What’s wrong with you?”
When I looked back at Markus, I found myself staring into his eyes. They were still pools of darkness, but the fiery rings around his irises had shrunk so thin, I almost couldn’t see them anymore.
I knew without having to look, we were even closer to the muck-covered ground. “Please tell me we’re not sinking?”
He shook his head, now about the size of my own. I rested my cheek against his shoulder, thankful I was cradled in his huge arms and no longer precariously sitting like a parrot. I tried to ignore the stench, pulling in one
long breath after another through my mouth until my nerves quit rattling. “I guess a better question would be what happened?” I muttered quietly to myself, trying to remember something. Anything. All I could remember was the sensation of being swept away.
“You are better, little Johnna?” Markus no longer sounded so harsh and guttural. Instead, his words flowed, thick and rich. I was so confused. My mind turned to succulent, gooey chocolate cake. My stomach growled. Great, now I was hungry. Only I could get hungry in a cesspool.
I gave him a shaky smile. “How do you feel?”
“Better than before. I’m still a monster, but my head is clear.” His eyes were so sad, staring down at me. “My insides no longer feel like they’re on fire.”
“Markus, how wonderful.” I rubbed his tree trunk-sized arm. “If you start to hurt again, you need to let me know.”
“It isn’t safe—you’re not safe healing me. My pain hurt you too much. It put you to sleep.”
My frown returned. “You mean I passed out?”
Markus nodded. “Al and I were worried. Your little imp bounced everywhere. Mostly on you. He screams very loud.”
I looked at Al, my eyes wide open in amazement. “Seriously? He’s never done anything like that before.” I picked Al up and tickled his chin. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
Al smiled at me and grabbed my finger, squeezing as he pulled it to his chest. I so worried. You fell fast but Markus quicker. I had to make noise—he was in lala land with you.
“The big guy saved me? Thank the gods. I wouldn’t have wanted to wake up to a poo facial.” I glanced down at the bubbling brown mounds, now way too close for comfort. Al wrapped himself back around my neck. Markus still stood a foot or two taller than a normal demon. His mind definitely seemed better, but his body? He hadn’t changed as much as I’d hoped.
In Mage We Trust (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 1) Page 20