Page 47 of Wicked Ties
“That’s a tunnel of rock my ass isn’t bouncing along on again.” I hopped on the back of it just as Astrid manifested sleds for everyone and handed them out. I forced my chariot forward, and into the hole we went. Up ahead, I spotted Nova’s white, blond hair within the dark tunnel. Behind me, the others all hopped in on different size sleds. The tunnels dipped and twisted like a water slide and we all just rolled with it. In a different situation, this might’ve even been fun. When we popped out on the other end, we were once again on that hill overlooking Hades’s castle. From here we could see all the rivers of the underworld, the entrance where the souls lined up to get in, the Elysian Fields, and even the burning lava of Tartarus.
I spun around in a circle looking for any sign of Tilly or the Crone or even that obnoxious bastard Liesin. “Where’s Tilly and Liesin?”
Nova’s brows furrowed. “How do you know she’s with him?”
“I saw her draw his symbol on the ground and jump through it. We need to find him now.” My heart hammered in my chest. Tilly was strong but not that strong. The others popped out behind me and all landed next to me.
Astrid said the same thing I did. “Liesin? Where is he?”
Nova shrugged. “I don’t know where he goes all the time. Probably off with his latest skank. Why do you guys need him so bad?”
Astrid ran her hands through her wild hair and tugged at the strands. “Tilly dropped through that hole and went right to him.”
Nova scoffed. “Good. I hope she cock-blocked him.”
Grayson arched his eyebrow at her. “What is it with you queens? Never want a lad to get a leg over?”
We didn’t have time for this. I grabbed Grayson by the scruff of his neck and shoved him behind us. “I don’t care if his cock is blocked or whatever. We need to get to Tilly now. The Crone followed her.”
Nova held her hands up, making that calming motion. “Okay, okay. Deep breath. I can find him if I want.” She closed her eyes, and purple sparks of her magic danced over the ground. They bounced up and down, hitting her gloved hands and then dropping back down. Her eyes flashed wide open. “I know where he is.”
She just opened the ground below us and we all fell in. My stomach flew up into my throat as my back smacked into the hard-packed ground. I didn’t care. I was moments away from finding Tilly, and if anything happened to her, I would kill the Crone once and for all. Even if that meant going down with her. When we flew out the other end, it was not what I expected. We stood under a perfectly blue sky with rows and rows of flowers around us. The air was sweet and fragrant. There was barely a cloud in the sky, and a light breeze drifted over my skin. I’d never seen someplace so peaceful in my life. There in the middle of it all stood Tilly with that damn book. She wagged it at Liesin and said something.
“Tilly!” Her head snapped up at the same time Liesin’s did.
I marched toward her and Liesin held his hand out. “Stop!”
I froze. “What?”
“This is Persephone’s Garden. You do not trample the garden.” He bent down low and whispered something to the flowers. Leaves fluttered and the flowers rolled to the side, parting before us. “Now walk.”
Liesin glared at Nova. “What are you doing here?”
Nova sauntered over to the watering can on the ground and held it out to him. “Bubble letters. Very nice.”
His face turned bright red with anger. “You’re not allowed here.”
Nova chuckled. “So?”
“So, leave.” Liesin grabbed the watering can from her hand and tossed it to the ground.
Grayson chuckled. “Note to self: Liesin is a momma’s boy.”
“Why don’t you fuck off back to The House of Shade, vamp?” Liesin glared at him.
“Everyone shut up.” I whistled, silencing them. “Tilly why? Why did you disappear like that?”
“Here’s why.” She held up the book she’d taken from the Crone. “Your life is here.”
What? I didn’t care about that. This was about her, not me. “What are you even talking about?”
“These are the contracts which people have signed over their lives to her. It’s all here and dipped into the River Styx to make them unbreakable. I found them, and now I’ll destroy them and free you.” Her eyes were bright with excitement. “If Liesin helps, that is.”
My jaw dropped. No one had ever done anything like this for me. And yet here she was, giving up the most important part of her soul for me. “Tilly, I . . .”
Speechless.
“Oi, while I love this display of affection, tossing out love like Mardi Gras beads, I think we should be off.” Grayson lifted his hand and pointed to the sky in one direction, and a creeping black fog moved over the garden. In the other direction, a huge tornado the size of a field whirled toward the fog. Rows of the garden were ripped from the ground as dirt mixed with the whirling tornado. Lightning magic crackled within the tornado, and the fog grew to a towering height like a tidal wave. The wind picked up and an ominous feeling settled over us all.
