Page 18 of Demanding Discord
My elbow buckled, and my shoulder slammed against the wall. Nausea churned in my gut, and an intense, dull pain formed in my right temple. “I sense myself blacking out soon if I don’t find a place to lie down.”
Concern creased her brow, and she clutched my arm with both hands, pulling me to her side. “Inside we go then. Come on.”
I stumbled forward. Cinder steadied me with a hand on my chest before placing my arm across her shoulders and sidling next to me, absorbing my weight.
Heat crept up my neck, a hollow pit forming in my stomach. What had become of the first Prince of Hell?
I wore a woman’s panties on my injured foot. Using magic I was born with had fatigued me beyond measure, and now my soulbride, strong as she was, struggled beneath my weight. I should have been the one carrying her. Never in my existence had I felt this weak…this defeated. I tried to pull from her grasp, but she held me tightly.
“Let me help you,” she said softly.
My face flushed, heat spreading across my cheeks and making my ears burn, my embarrassment refusing to allow her coddling. “I don’t need help. I am a Prince of Hell. I…”
“You are an injured demon.” She wrapped her arms around me. “And we are a team. Don’t make me scoop you up and cradle you like a baby.”
She stepped forward, pulling me with her. I wanted to protest more, but buzzing energy engulfed us the moment we entered the cave. A flash of soothing blue light filled the space, making stars dance in my vision, and a coolness washed over me, the scents of lilac and cinnamon replacing the sulfurous stench of the valley.
Cinder gasped, a sense of wonder filling her voice as she uttered, “Holy Hecate. Are you seeing this?”
“I…” The blue light tunneled. Searing pain seized my muscles. I saw nothing.
7
CINDER
Magic sparkled all around us like silver stars against a midnight-blue sky. It swirled and spun, dancing this way and that, a display of intricate choreography set to a silent song. Cool air caressed my skin for the first time since I arrived in Hell, and warm floral notes, laced with cinnamon, tamed the stench of Underworld funk.
The silver sparkles parted, creating a tunnel in front of us, and a trail of glitter spiraled down the path, beckoning me forward. My legs started to move of their own volition, my body accepting the invitation without a thought from my mind, but I paused.
It was time for a serious vibe check, because who knew what lay deep inside this cave. “Do you sense anything?”
I turned to Discord, but his eyes had glazed. His jaw hung slack, and his shallow breaths seemed labored. Blood soaked the undies tied to his foot, and a massive bruise marred the left side of his stomach.
Good vibes or bad, standing here wasn’t helping him in the slightest. I sidled closer, wrapping my arms around him and coaxing him forward, into the magical tunnel. Hecate wouldn’t steer a faithful witch wrong… I hoped.
On we went, following the spiral of magic. The air felt light and crisp, and it energized my body, replacing my fatigue with newfound hope. Yes, someone was holding the goddess hostage somewhere in the Underworld, which was a very bad thing. But she had communicated with me. Her messages had arrived in bits and pieces, a puzzle I couldn’t wait to solve.
First, though… I had to take care of the big, sexy oaf leaning on my shoulder.
I had a feeling demons weren’t meant to venture through this tunnel, and much like how Discord’s space-bendy magic drained me, Hecate’s goddess-level witchcraft affected him in a not-so-nice way.
But you should never ignore your instincts, and my gut said the only way out was through. I turned around to confirm my suspicion, and sure enough, the mouth of the cave had closed behind us.
The sparkling tunnel seemed to stretch into infinity before us, but after only five more steps, a wavering wall of blue-green magic appeared, blocking the path.
“The only way out is through,” I repeated my instinct’s mantra and dragged my demon into the portal. I passed the threshold easily, but getting Discord through was like pulling a two-hundred-pound bag of rocks through a massive gelatin mold.
I strained, forcing his body through until a loud popping sound nearly busted my eardrums. The air pressure shifted, lightening first, taking the breath from my lungs before the heavy, sulfurous atmosphere of the Underworld pressed in around me.
“I did not miss this smell.” I wrinkled my nose.
Discord sucked in a sharp breath. His knees buckled, but I managed to keep him upright.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Never better,” he rasped.
“Liar.” We stood just inside the tunnel exit, on the edge of yet another town.
