Page 50 of Demanding Discord
“That is not a level of Hell I’m familiar with.” Discord stepped back and slowly made his way toward the staircase. “It’s something entirely new.”
“Something Ruin created.” I followed him, inching along the outer edge of the crevice.
“Most likely.” He frowned, his eyes calculating. “Do you sense Hecate down there? Can you connect with her?”
“Between the scorching heat, the nasty stench, and the weird vibrations, my senses are on overload,” I said. “Anyway, I don’t think I ever did connect to the goddess. I think it was my mom the whole time.”
“It seems we’ll have to check it out ourselves.” He gestured to the steps.
I eyed the staircase and curled my lip. We’d used our newfound truth magic on Ruin’s tulpa. If it had worked on him like it had on Lucifer, he must be showing us the way to Hecate, but I couldn’t ignore the foreboding feeling settling in my stomach like a brick of leftover meatloaf. “It could be a trap.”
Discord laughed dryly. “It most likely is. Do you have a better plan?”
“Sadly, no.” I shrugged. “Down we go.”
He nodded solemnly. “Stay close, senses sharp.”
“Got it,” I said. “And kill anything that moves.”
We descended slowly, our steps cautious. It wouldn’t have surprised me if the staircase crumbled beneath our feet and we plummeted into the depths. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
Halfway down, the energy around us thickened. The crystals in the walls vibrated, creating a high-pitched ringing noise that felt like it came from everywhere, including the inside of my head. It rattled my teeth, and I ground them together to keep them from falling out of my mouth.
Discord stopped on the bottom step and ignited hellfire in his hand, illuminating the underground chamber. The walls were made of packed earth, with slabs of obsidian that reflected the firelight. Gnarled roots protruded from the dirt, snaking toward the sheets of volcanic glass and forming intricately woven frames around them.
Ahead of us lay a pool of dark purple water, so dark it was nearly black, its placid surface so still that it could have been another sheet of glass. A series of roots extended into the pool, their thorns humming in the same mournful pitch as the vines we’d fought above.
“It’s too still in here.” I rested my hand on Discord’s shoulder.
“Most traps are.” He placed his on top of mine. “The calm before the storm. Shall we continue?”
“What else are we going to do? The only way out of this mess is through.” Even though every cell in my body screamed danger! Danger!
The moment my demon’s foot hit the ground, the entire chamber lit up, the walls and roots glowing a greenish yellow that reminded me of the glow-in-the-dark wands we sold at our little witchy shop in Salem. Man, I couldn’t wait to get home.
Discord crept forward, toward the pool, and I stopped in front of a framed slab of obsidian, cringing at my reflection. My hair was a ratted pink mess, dark circles ringed my eyes, and my skin had taken on an ashen pallor. If I could perfect my Living Dead walk, I wouldn’t need a costume for Halloween.
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, I am definitely not the fairest one of all. Sheesh.” I brushed the hair off my forehead and joined Discord at the creepy pool.
“Is that water?” I asked, tempted to hop into it and have a little bath.
“Yes, but it’s been bespelled.” He pointed at the surface. “Look closely. Do you see?”
I peered down to find my disheveled reflection next to his. How did he still look so perfect? “I know I’m a mess.”
“Look deeper, beyond your reflection.” His gaze didn’t stray from the pool.
I squinted, trying to ignore the hot mess express squinting back at me, and sure enough, beneath the glassy surface, dozens upon dozens of ghost-like faces drifted in a nonexistent current.
I pressed a hand to my chest. “Those are people.”
“They once were,” Discord said. “Now they’re the embodiment of pain and torment. This water gives Ruin access to their deepest fears and regrets. He uses those, along with their guilt, to hold them, to torture them, to make them a part of his macabre garden.”
“I am so glad I didn’t dunk my head in there,” I said.
Discord looked at me with alarm. “That would be detrimental.”
“That’s why I asked first.”
