Page 16 of Sweet Violence
"Okay," I said decisively, putting away the shirt and hefting the bag back onto my shoulders. "Cover story time. Should we go with something classic, like I've just escaped a cult? Or something a little spicier, like I’m the secret mistress of a general in the devil's army and I've fled to give birth to our illegitimate child in secret?"
From what Dev told me about the Band of Umber, they didn't stay too in touch with the cities of Hell and preferred to keep to themselves.2It shouldn't have been too hard to come up with a good story; I doubted they even knew who the current generals were, let alone who was sleeping with whom.
"But do Ireallywant to play the scorned lover?" I mused, tapping my bottom lip and scowling when orange dust abraded my skin.3
I cast a look around to make sure I was headed in the general right area, and adjusted my course to carry me between two sharp, pointy mountains. If Dev was right, the valley that snaked between them was where the Band of Umber's caves were.
"Keep it simple," I whispered, not because I was being sneaky and quiet but because I was out of breath after walking for three fucking hours. I supposed I should have been grateful to walk out the front door of Dev's fortress instead of scaling the un-scale-able drop. Those mountains, at least, had the decency to be black rock and dust-less, butthesefuckers…
I glared at them, and turned over my new plan a second time, looking for cracks. No, this was the best one. Straight to the point, no frills, believable.
I've been raised to kill demons, and now I want to kill the biggest, baddest one.
Ego, ambition, and confidence. Anyone who spent more than five minutes in my company would realise I had all three in spades, and the story would check out.
"Good job, Avie," I said, and patted myself on the back where my skin still tingled.
I expected power to hit my core the closer I got to the valley between those two tall mountains—surely the band killed daily? From everything I knew of demons—including myself—they were a bloodthirsty lot, and killing was as enjoyable as fucking.
Maybe the band were pacifists? Wouldn't that be typical? I'd come all the way out here to find the bastards trying to kill the royal family—infernal family, whatever—and these guys were all-loving, peaceful, hippie sorts.4
My mood perked up when the shadow of the mountains fell over me. It had been a while since I'd hunted anyone; that knobhead in the circle's gardens on Earth didn't count. I never tried the Trojan horse method though. I usually crept in through a window instead of waltzing through the front door.
Wait, should I actuallywaltz?
My head spun with possibilities. Maybe I should salsa. No one had ever salsa'd through the front door—it would be an Avie special.
"Keep it normal," I murmured, shaking my head. "Just walk in the front—eeeek!"
I slammed my feet into the dusty ground, not daring to budge even an inch as a motley crew of weapons slammed into the ground around me, as if I triggered a trap. Spears criss-crossed in front of me, sharp slate tips embedded in the ground, and arrows ringed my body, interrupted every now and then by freaking broadswords. Not regular swords—no,broadswords.
When the barrage stopped, imprisoning me in a deadly cage, I reached out and ran my fingertip over the pommel of one of the massive swords, my covetous heart fluttering.
"Thank you for the gifts!" I shouted at the red mountains.
Stillness fell, eerie and complete, and I fought a shiver as I wrapped my hand around the sword's grip and yanked it out of the ground. Fuck, it sank deep. My muscles strained as I hefted it free, but I was glad for all the weightlifting and cardio I'd gotten in before I went to Orchid Vale.
I should have asked Dev for a gym in my suite; it would have come in handy.
An inelegant shriek left my throat as shadows suddenly detached from the mountains, yellow fire flickering along their edges as they came closer.
"Hey, guys!" I called, my heart thumping with excitement. Would I get to fight? To draw blood? "Is this where I sign up to kill the devil?"
They didn't reply in any language I knew, but seemed to chatter at each other like excited cats who spotted a bird. The yellow flames whooshed higher, and I startled, knocking my hip into the hilt of a sword and no doubt leaving a bruise. I couldjustabout make out people-shaped figures within the fire, but yellow flames licked over them from head to toe.
Cool. Totally normal.
"That's close enough," I said when eight fiery figures encircled the cage of weapons—and began pulling them out of the ground.
Oh, this was just great. I had nowhere to go, and no way to gain an advantage over these fiery guys. I'd have to fight—yay—but at a disadvantage—boo!
"Don't eventhinkabout touching the goods," I snapped when a massive, broad-shouldered column of fire tore the crossed staffs out of the ground.
I angled my stolen sword at him and severely hoped it was someone's favourite weapon. They were never getting it back.
"By any chance, are you guys the Band of Umber?" I asked hopefully, knocking a questing hand aside with the flat of my palm. When they chattered, I belatedly remembered to howl in pretend pain at the fire.
"Oh, the agony! It burns! I'll never survive this! So,areyou the Band of Umber…?"
