Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(73)
Author: Cambria Hebert

It was cold down here. Without windows or light, warmth could not get in. There was also no sign of life and I had a feeling if a person stayed here long enough, this place would suck the life out of them too. I never imagined that crypts were so sad.

“Maybe we should go. Maybe we are in the wrong place,” I told Sam, my steps faltering.

He pulled me against his body, wrapping his arms around me. Warmth from his skin seeped into me and I sighed.

“Up here!” Cole called from ahead of us and we went running.

Cole was standing in some sort of alcove in the crypt. Like everything else, it was made of rough, dirty rock. Inside was another archway, but there was no body resting on the ledge. The feeling around this little corner was different than the rest of the catacombs. It wasn’t depressing or sad. I felt better in here, like this place really was blessed and was the resting place of the most sacred of men. The air wasn’t warmer here, but it didn’t have the chill of the other areas, and it brushed against my skin in welcome. “This is the place,” I murmured.

Sam and Cole looked at me. I stepped further in the room, as if being called. Along the top of the archway were words written in script in what I assumed were Italian or maybe Latin. “I wonder what they mean.” I said, studying the words.

Here lies hope. The words drifted into my mind and settled. I repeated them out loud and knew it was right.

“How do you know that?” Cole asked.

“This place told me.”

“Let’s leave the scroll and go,” Sam murmured, unzipping his bag and pulling it out. I grabbed it and felt it begin to vibrate in my hand.

“It knows it belongs here,” I said.

“Where do we put it?” Cole asked, looking around.

Why were they in such a hurry? Couldn’t they feel the power and peace of this place?

“Heven, we need to go. It isn’t safe here,” Sam said, tugging my arm.

“Of course it is,” I said. He gave me a little shake and I looked up. His eyes were filled with concern and maybe a little fear. I reached into our Mindbond and felt his anxiety.

“I’m all right,” I promised. “We’re fine.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“Okay, let’s get this done.”

We spent the next several minutes looking for a place to leave the scroll. There weren’t many places in this tiny alcove. “Just leave it on the ledge and let’s go,” Cole said restlessly. “People are going to start looking for us.”

It felt all wrong. We couldn’t just lay it there and go. “Maybe there’s a trap door in the stone,” I said, walking to the arch.

All three of us began tapping on the stones and feeling for loose ones. I pushed on one in the center of the archway. I heard the softest of clicking sounds before the stone came out, falling to my feet. From the wall a blinding white light shone out. It illuminated the space and infused us with warmth.

“Here,” I murmured, reaching my fingers into the light.

There was a great cracking sound behind us and we turned. The alcove was empty, but as we looked, the floor began moving and crumbling. From beneath the floor rose a demon. Its eyes were red and its teeth were black. It crawled out of the floor, bringing with it thousands of black bugs. The bugs began scattering everywhere, up the walls, across the floor and onto my shoes.

I screamed and began stomping on them.

The demon launched itself at us, teeth barred. Sam and Cole attacked it, sending it backward, only to have it come at us again. In one swift move, Sam hit the demon, sending it backward into the hole it climbed out of. It didn’t appear again.

Cole walked over to the hole and looked down. “That’s a long way down.” Sam joined him and they both stood staring down into the pit.

“I wished it had taken these bugs with it,” I screeched, stomping on another. “Come away from there,” I ordered, bending to pick up the scroll, which I dropped in the chaos. A large black bug was crawling on it and I flicked it, sending it into the air.

It morphed and turned, landing as a snarling demon. I swore and turned to run, but the demon was fast and caught me around the waist and hefted me up to rush out of the alcove. Bugs all around us began turning and twisting into demons, blocking Sam’s path and keeping him from following.

I fought as hard as I could as the demon ran through the crypt. In one swift move, I hit him upside the head with the very scroll he was after. He screamed and dropped me. I landed hard, but scrambled to my feet. I was trapped against the wall and he came at me. I backed up, bumping against something. I turned to see one of the robe-wrapped men fall to the ground. He hit with a sickening thud and I watched as his head detached from his body and rolled away. Thinking fast, I scooped up the head and threw it at the demon; my aim was good and the head smacked into the demon’s face.

The demon stumbled as Sam appeared behind it, clutching a dagger in his hand, and rammed the demon through. It dissolved into ash before us. “Did you just throw a head?”” Sam asked, shock in his voice, but there was also a hint of amusement.

“Well, no one will give me a dagger, so I had to be creative,” I said, trying to rush past him and back into the fight.

Before I could get very far, he grabbed my arm and pulled me around. Without saying another word, he handed the dagger to me, handle first.

I looked up at his face. “I was wrong to keep you from trying to protect yourself.”

“Yeah, you were.” I took the dagger. It was heavy. “But I forgive you.” I smiled.

“Remember that next time you think about throwing a head.”

I laughed and held up the scroll. “Come on, let’s get this in there and go.”

His smile fell away and we rushed back toward the alcove.

The place was crawling with demons. Some more dangerous than others, and there were still so many of those bugs, promising even more if we fought too hard. The bright white light was like a beacon in the dark, leading us back to where we needed to be. When we rounded the corner, what I saw made my blood run cold.

Cole was covered in demons. He was throwing punches and trying to shake them off, but there were too many. I watched in horror as one bit him. His scream echoed around us.

I felt the familiar tremor course through me as Sam prepared to shift to save my brother. He ran forward and leaped, only to fall out of the air onto his knees. I watched him writhe in pain.

“Sam!” I screamed.

Run, Heven!

I looked down at the dagger in my hand. I wasn’t running anywhere but into the fight. I turned to go help Cole and ran right into Kimber.