Page 51 of To Crave Deeply
“A word of advice: stay in your hound form and don’t stray from your companions. You’d be a useful vessel for a clever-minded soul,” Lucifer said darkly as his finger tapped his chest over the spot where his heart was. Of course, Alec wasn’t really alive and that meant he’d be the perfect place for a soul to hitch a ride back to the surface. I’d have to keep a close eye on him. I imagined there’d be all sorts of creatures who’d be keen to claim him.
Alec gave a final nod to Lucifer and then handed his coin to Fenris to keep safe while he was in his hound form. He shifted quickly, and in no time at all, the room suddenly felt far too crowded. Alec’s hound was a monstrous creature. He was easily twelve feet tall, pure muscle, and had a snarl that showed long canines that ended in vicious looking points. His fur was thick and black, the shine rippling in the light of the fire, and his paws displayed claws that looked like they could gut you with the ease of a hot knife through butter. He was intimidating and I certainly wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley. And I was a bloody vampire.
“Down,” Lucifer ordered, snapping his fingers. Alec obeyed instantly and was rewarded with a long scratch behind one ear. I could tell he was enjoying it; his amber eyes rolled back into his skull as Lucifer petted him like a giant house dog. The enormous hound flopped onto his side with a thud and presented his tummy for a scratch. My inner beast scoffed at Alec’s wanton display of affection, and the moment the hound’s tongue lolled joyfully out the corner of his mouth, I knew I had to take back control or we’d never leave. Saskia was already walking towards Alec with her hand outstretched to give the dog what he wanted.
“As much as it is amusing to see Alec pandered to, don’t you think we ought to be going?” I drawled, and Lucifer snapped his hand away as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.
“Of course,” he growled in my direction. “Stand together in the middle of the room. Rae, please stay behind me.”
We all did as we were told, and I was suddenly nervous. I’d never travelled further than Under City, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to face down there. What if, after all this, Iveri was nowhere to be found? What if she found the original witch first, and this was all just a waste of time? What if—
I had so many what if’s that it was momentarily terrifying. I think, deep down at the root of them all, was a fear that I might fail Lori and, in doing so, I’d risk destroying the world and everything in it. We couldn’t fail. It wasn’t an option.
With steely determination, I nodded my assent to Lucifer. We were ready.
He started to mutter words I didn’t understand, and his hands swirled in front of him. I caught the look of pain twisting his features as he poured his dwindling reserves of power into sending us deeper into Hell. The room blurred around us into a pool of colours, and wind wrapped around us like a tornado. There was a massive burst of light, and I had to shield my eyes against the intensity of it.
Then, just as the wind reached a crescendo, it dissipated, leaving me blinking to clear the white spots left in my vision. As my vision cleared, my surroundings became more distinct, and a shudder ran up my spine at the sight in front of me.
A river as dark as death itself lapped at a shore of bones, kissing the fragments of skeletons with a lover’s tenderness, and whispering a soft, silent reverence that spoke of dark yearnings and torturous thoughts. And there, sitting silently on a long thin boat, was Charon himself, waiting patiently to ferry us along the River Styx to the next circle of Hell.
I wandered over to the Ferry Man and held out my copper obol. There was no face, no discernible features, just a dark black hole beneath a hood where his face should be. A withered hand emerged from the folds of his black cloak, and I placed the coin into his open palm.
A green flame consumed the small coin until there was nothing left, and then he used that withered appendage to welcome me aboard. My stomach churned as the rest of my team joined me on the rickety vessel and, when Alec had finally manoeuvred all four paws into the small space, Charon lifted the long oar from the side of the boat, pushed us away from the shore, and deeper into the circles of Hell.
Chapter 18
IVERI
Hell sucked ass.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Under City was fine and, on occasion, it could be a good time, if you knew where to look, but down here in the Circles, it was rank. The air was musty, dank, and smelt like fucking brimstone and wet farts. It was vile, and I had only made it as far as the City of Waste, the Sixth Circle. I still had to get through the Plane of Fire before even thinking about entering the very Pit of Hell. If only Torsten could shadow jump us down there. It would be so much fucking easier.
I’d even had to negotiate with Charon, the miserable git. Turns out, he didn’t offer freebies, and I didn’t have a fucking obol. Do you know how difficult it is to negotiate with someone who doesn’t talk and only makes vaguely suggestive hand gestures? Clue, it’s very fucking difficult. I managed in the end, though, because I’m clearly a fucking whizz at charades. And turns out, all he wanted was some pizza and a beer. God, he was such a dude. But what did I care? It got me a crossing to the City of Waste and there was still no sign of anyone following me.
If I knew Lucifer, he’d send the best after me, and knowing my luck, it was going to be that vampire and his band of merry assassins. Not only would they be efficient in tracking me down, but they would also be determined in rescuing Lori.
I didn’t get it. What was so special about her? Why did she have all these men wrapped around her little finger?
There was a sharp pain in my head and my foot stumbled. Lori needed to calm the fuck down in there, or there was going to be an accident.
I turned my thoughts inward and saw her running around in the cage I’d put her in. Hopefully, she’d run herself ragged and then take a nap so I could have some peace and quiet.
“Calm down, Lori. You’re going to injure someone if you carry on like that.”
Calm down!she screamed, her voice frazzled.Calm down?! Don’t make me angry and then tell me to calm down. That’s like stabbing someone and wondering why the fuck they’re bleeding.
I snorted. She had a point.
“Look, I don’t like this any more than you do, so sit still and, for the love of Hell, please stop pacing.”
I could sense Lori stop, a stillness creeping into my mind, and was about to say thank you when she ran with all her might at the mental barrier I’d stuck her behind. The impact had me falling to my knees and Torsten was there in an instant to pull me back up. I brushed him off and stepped away from him, but I didn’t issue an order. Instead, I had a wonderfully awful idea.
“Lori. Stop it or I’ll start issuing orders to your Shadow Fiend. And they won’t be the fun kind.”
She instantly stopped and I grinned. Oh, sweet blackmail.
You wouldn’t dare.
