Page 134 of Spellbound
I leaned down and hugged her. “Take care of them,” I whispered in her ear. I didn’t know how to break the news about Aziel. I knew she liked him. At least I thought she did, going by the few interactions I’d seen. “Um, Nai, I need to tell you something.”
A screech sounded at the opening as a demon attempted to escape. It clawed through the fog, its snarling, black tongue and lips tasting the air.
“Later!” I lunged at the creature, falling back through the portal. “Close it!” I shouted out of the opening, and the cave sealed into a void.
The demon grabbed me, wrapping its slimy fingers around my arm as it tried to escape even though the portal had closed. Its matte-black eyes stared into mine, penetrating and soulless. “Goddess,” he spat, sensing my immortality. He was a lesser demon. From what Lucius had said, this creature didn’t strike me as a high demon or whatever. It reeked of desperation.
“I could wipe you from existence,” I said threateningly, a snarl escaping through bare teeth.
It retreated, slimed back against the rugged wall, and slithered away. I smoothed my hair down and sucked in a deep breath.
I sped in the direction of the castle but stopped between two barren trees in the wasteland. Silencing my pace, I moved slower but quieter toward the moat. There was no way I could walk through the doors again without Lucius being alerted. In the distance on the horizon of the wasteland were demons, stalking and searching.
I glared down at the bubbling lava, cringing at what I needed to do. Slowly, with vomit ready to climb up my throat, I stepped into the molten rock. Pain seared through me, but it was tolerable enough to keep going. I waded knee-deep, my eyes wide as heat prickled through my melting skin. It healed, then burned, then healed again in a vicious cycle as I moved through the moat. I looked down and saw one of the bones in my leg, then threw up into the lava.
“Careful,” Thalia’s voice whispered near me.
I whipped my head left, then right, but I couldn’t see her.
“Stay in there too long, you’ll stop healing eventually. It’s underworld lava, not normal lava.”
I looked around again. Was I imagining things? I moved through and tried to speed toward the edge, but I couldn’t run fast.
After wading as fast as I could, I made it to the stone ledge, feeling mortal again. I climbed out and vomited again, then looked back at the moat. I didn’t want to see my legs until they were healed again.
Thalia’s voice whispered again, “It slows your powers.”
I looked at the moat of fiery red-and-orange liquid. “You think?” I whispered back and looked around. “Where are you?”
She slipped out from the shadow of a stone. Her moonstruck gaze landed on me, and kindness creased the corners of her eyes. “You’re not the only one trying to save him, you know.”
I sighed with relief. “You’re okay.”
“I know how to hide here. I was goddess of the dead.”
“Aziel’s dead.”
Her expression dropped. “I know. I couldn’t get to him in time.” A tear hesitated on the edge of tipping from her eye. “Lucius will pay.”
“I think an existence trapped in here is punishment enough.”
“It is not.” Her mouth twisted in disgust. “He will pay with his life.”
“Then someone has to take his place here.” My stomach knotted. “I can seal this place so no one can ever leave, so he can’t leave.
“The underworld does not need to be sealed.” She spoke with an heir of regality. “It needs better leadership.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “You think Raiden can offer that?”
She evaluated my expression until a small smile tugged her lips upward. “Raiden loves your mortal realm too much.” She looked me up and down. “Immortality suits you.”
“I’m sorry you died,” I admitted. From my pocket, I pulled out the vial with the essence of the goddess of the dead. “I got this for you. You can come back.”
Her gaze flickered with uncertainty as she took it and placed it between her breasts, covered with white silk fabric flowing over her curves: a dress fit for an empress. “Thank you for this.”
“You need to come to the portal so Edmund and Naomi can join you with it again, and you can come back.”
She answered with a smile. “We must go help Raiden.”
