Page 29 of Going to Hell
My heart stutteredin my chest as I raced down the stairs, one hand on the wall for balance and support. I didn’t look back to see if C’adon was following me, or worse, if the creature could see me and was giving chase too.
Frantically, I looked for an opening to the next, hopefully dark, level but it never came. Down and down I fled. The slap of my bare feet hitting the stone mingled with my increasingly harsh breathing. I didn’t slow. Panic wrapped me too tightly in its irrational grip.
I could beseen.
My lungs burned for air, and sweat gathered on my skin. I thanked the gods I’d chosen to run down instead of up, which would have been infinitely harder.
The stairs ended abruptly, and I stumbled out of the opening into a vast cavern. Wisps of hair stuck to my face as I faltered to a stop and stared. Each ragged gulp of hot air I struggled to consume only made the landscape more real.
Across the expanse, a molten river flowed along the back wall. Though it churned a fair distance away, the heat radiating from it flushed my face and added to the sweat coating me. There was nothing else in the cavern other than the massive shelf of bedrock on which I stood and the river of liquid fire. No other opening. No escape. The only way out was the entrance to the stairway that a creature might even now be descending.
I was trapped.
Chest still heaving, I slowly turned to face the opening, careful to keep my gaze aimed at the ground. Several yards from me, the familiar human-looking feet and tattered pants filled my vision.
C’adon was alone.
A silent, relieved sob tightened my throat.
He closed the distance between us, and I itched to lean forward and rest my forehead on this chest. But I knew not to push my luck. Instead, I kept my gaze steadily locked on where he had been. It didn’t seem to matter that I didn’t acknowledge him. He lifted his hand and brushed back some of my hair.
“She hates it down here. Hates the heat. The sweat.”
His chest expanded as he breathed deeply.
“I love her sweat. I want to taste it.”
If I had my voice, I would have yelled, “Why?” At the very least, if I still held the torch, I would have thrown it. That’s how close my frayed control was to breaking completely.
I was so gods damned tired of all his weird talk about my skin and tongue and now tasting me as well as all the bullshit doubts and fears I felt because of it. Couldn’t he just be normal for five seconds so I could pull myself together? Was that too much to ask?
My hands twitched with the need to swat his fingers away from my face.
Be smart, Ashlyn, I reminded myself. His crazy is keeping you safe for now. Don’t do anything to wreck that.
Turning my head, I dislodged his touch and pretended to look at the river.
“Look at the flush in her cheeks. Does she flush everywhere?”
Not happening, I thought, quickly stepping away from him as if moving toward the river. At the last second, I changed directions and headed back for the opening to the stairwell. It wasn’t like I had much choice. I’d die from heatstroke if I stayed in this cavern.
Carefully peeking into the tower, I checked for movement on the stairs above. Although it was hard to tell how far I’d descended and how much of the spiraling stairs I could see from here, the path of my escape seemed clear.
I’d been a fool to run in the first place. The light shouldn’t have mattered, not when I’d been walking around with a torch for the last few days. As long as I was with C’adon, light or darkness, I was safe. Hopefully.
The tip of a finger trailed from the base of my neck to the top of my one-shouldered dress, making my pulse jump and causing me to question the definition of safety.
Motivated, I stepped into the stairwell and started climbing. Despite my already tired legs, I kept a steady, cautious pace, always looking up and watching for the opening. Moving was good. A little distance from C’adon was good.
When I reached the first opening, which lead to the floor I already explored, I hurried past and continued upward. The next opening wasn’t far from that one. Knowing Mr. I-want-your-skin was behind me, I entered the hallway with only the briefest of checks to make sure nothing lay in wait.
At the first door, I stopped and listened.
“Blood will rain if she enters. Why does she play this game? Punishment. Blood. Pain. So much pain. I don’t like pain. No, I love pain. No, I…is this real?”
Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I tugged the key from between my boobs and scored the surface of the door.
C’adon groaned and crowded closer to me.
