He stroked his chin. “I’m surprised you still walk.”
“I haven’t seen him. I thought maybe you might have.”
He studied me closely, trying to decide if I was lying. I guess I passed his test because he answered. Yay for me. “No, I haven’t.”
“Have you heard anything about where he might be?” I asked. I even included the birdmen in my question.
“Why would I tell you even if I had?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.
I shrugged off the demons and stood upright in the center of their circle. “You might be interested to know who let him out.”
“I might.”
“The way I see it, this is an exchange. You tell me your information and I tell you mine. Then I’ll drive off your land and not come back.”
“Who says I’m letting you leave?”
“I do. Because you’ll want to see what he does to me for taking over his castle.”
Leviathan grinned. “True.” He studied me once more. “All right, then, I know nothing. I didn’t even know he was out until now.”
“He hasn’t come here looking for help with his battle with me?”
“No, but if he does I will gladly accept.”
“Big surprise there,” I said.
“Now tell me who set him free.”
“The big man himself,” I answered. “The Devil.”
“Lucifer?” he said, straightening a little and glancing at the demons at my side. An uneasy stir went through them all.
I nodded.
“Where is he now?”
“Haven’t seen him. According to my staff at the castle, Lucifer set Beelzebub free and then they both disappeared.”
“Leave now,” Leviathan ordered.
“What, no refreshments?” I called out.
Leviathan turned back in the center of his wide doorway. “If Lucifer has seen fit to become involved in whatever battle you have with Beelzebub, I want no part in it.”
My respect for Lucifer went up a notch in that moment. That guy knew how to instill some fear.
“Leave,” he ordered again.
This trip was pretty much a bust, so I headed back to the Jeep.
“Oh, and Renegade,” he called. “Allow me to repay the mess you left the last time you were here.”
There was no warning. I was once again surrounded by the demons who grabbed me by the arms and legs and then the fifth one made a solid roundhouse kick to my lower back. I heard it crack as my knees buckled and I fell onto the ground.
I groaned. The pain was so sharp I could barely draw a breath.
“Really?” I wheezed. “The same spot?”
They all went inside and I lay there writhing in pain as the drawbridge was drawn up, blocking the door.
Well, shit.
I army-crawled to the Jeep and managed to pull myself in. How did one drive with a broken back?
Not well.
Not well at all.
In fact, I hit a lot of demons, ran through a house, and nearly went over a small cliff. All of it by accident this time. Every jolt, bump, and demon I flattened made me call out in pain.
Finally, I came to a stop at the side of the wide expanse of black sludge. I didn’t think I was going to be able to swim across to the dragon’s lair.
I didn’t have a choice.
I opened the door and fell out of the Jeep onto the ground and then rolled myself into the water. It was thick, dark, and pulled at me like a greedy, hungry man. Demons came at me and I fought them off. I wanted to shift, but the pain was so intense I was afraid it would break me more.
My vision began to darken and blur. My head dipped under the water more and more until I couldn’t lift it above any longer.
I wasn’t afraid of drowning. Hellhounds couldn’t drown.
But I did start to feel afraid.
Afraid that I would sink down into the black depths, unable to find the surface and wallowing in pain until my body slowly healed itself.
No one would know where I was.
Would anyone even care?
The black sludge was going to swallow me whole and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Heven
Something tickled. Even before I was fully awake I started wiggling my nose, trying not to sneeze. I heard a deep rumble and I smiled, cracking my eyes open just a little so all I saw was a pair of honey-colored eyes staring back at me.
I reached up, pushing away what was tickling me, and it disappeared. “Careful,” Sam warned softly so I opened my eyes all the way to see a perfectly shaped red rose in his hand.
This time when I reached for it he handed it over, directing my fingers between the thorns.
“Happy Birthday,” he said as I brought the rose to my nose and inhaled its floral scent.
“It’s beautiful,” I told him, pulling it back to study it once more, but I barely got the chance to look at its silky red petals because he pushed it and my hand aside and lowered himself closer until it lay forgotten on the pillow beside us and he was kissing me in a way that made me forget my name, let alone my brand new age.
He pulled back too quickly and glanced at the door. “Gran’s making you breakfast,” he explained.
I pushed back the covers to immediately have them flipped back over me. I felt my eyebrows travel up my forehead. “Didn’t you just tell me to get up?”
“No, I said we didn’t have much time.” He lowered himself onto the side of the bed and I scooted over to make more room. “But I think we have time for presents.”
“Presents!” I exclaimed.
He grinned.
“But I already have this,” I said, picking up the rose again and holding it against me.
“Give me your hand,”
“Which one?”
He looked confused so I took pity on him and thrust my right one out. He took my hand with his left one and then with his right he slid something over my middle finger. I smiled and pulled my hand back. It was a super slim silver ring, a thin band with a silver U in the center. I looked at him, puzzled, not really sure what the U meant.
He chuckled and pulled my hand back, sliding something else onto the same finger. Then I pulled my hand back. It was another ring identical to the first but instead of a U there was a silver heart.
I looked up at Sam and smiled.
“One more,” he said, and I gave him my hand as he slid yet another ring on top of the other two.
This one was the letter I.
I pulled it back and stared down at my hands. I “heart” U.
I love you.
Three perfect silver stacking rings that spelled out the words I would never hear enough from him.