Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(78)
Author: Cambria Hebert

He didn’t just get a sister, though. He got pulled into an entire supernatural world. His life would never be the same. “You cool with everything that’s been going on? It’s been pretty crazy.”

He sat there for a minute, his breathing slightly ragged, and I figured that while he was battling his pain and sickness, this wasn’t the best time to talk about this stuff. I got up and grabbed a clean change of clothes out of my bag, a pair of shorts and a dark-colored T-shirt, thinking a quick shower before dinner would help wash away some of the day’s worst.

“It’s kind of strange. Even with everything that’s happened, I still feel like I am where I belong, you know? Like this life was meant for me.”

I turned back to him. “Yeah, I do know.”

It was a little strange to realize that the person I’ve been hating for months turns out to have a lot in common with me. But what would happen now? “Now that the scroll is gone…” I said, “who knows what will happen.”

“What do you mean?”

I turned away from my suitcase. “I mean, Heven died. Airis gave her life back and in return we had to return the scroll, only we didn’t.”

“You think Airis will take Heven’s life back?” Cole said, alarm making his eyes wide.

“I won’t let that happen.” But if Airis wanted a life debt, she would take one. “I need you to promise me something.”

Cole’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“If something happens to me, you’ll take care of Heven.”

“You’re going to make Airis take your life instead,” he said flatly.

“If I die, she won’t be the same. Our Mindbond… when it’s severed, it might be too much for her.” I didn’t say what might happen. She might die anyway, and if she didn’t, she might go insane. Mindbonds weren’t made to be severed.

Cole’s chin lifted. “I’ll take care of her.”

I didn’t expect him to talk me out of what I planned to do. I knew he would sacrifice me for his sister, just as I would sacrifice him for her. I turned away, the answer I wanted mine, but instead of making me feel better, it made me feel worse.

The idea of being separated from Heven left me with an ache in my chest.

“What if we got it back?” Cole said quietly.

I turned around.

“If we got the scroll back? No life debt would need to be paid.”

Was it possible that I could correct what happened down in those catacombs? For the first time since we got back, I felt a surge of hope instead of just trying to accept what was.

Cole must have seen the change come over me and puffed up with excitement. “They probably took the scroll to Hell, right? Isn’t that where that witch lives?”

I nodded, thinking. “Hecate most definitely lives in Hell.” She reeked of evil.

“Going there might be hard for some people, but not for a hellhound.”

My eyes snapped up to Cole’s. “Exactly.” I might try to be better than the darkness in me, but it was still there and I would let it out if it meant saving a life. It wouldn’t be the first time—or the last.

I felt a smile curl my lips. “You’re pretty smart for an angel.”

“Supernal Being,” he corrected.

I waved his words away with my hand. “How will I get into Hell?” I said, already trying to formulate a plan in my head.

The door opened and Gemma came in carrying a small sack and a plastic water bottle. Her eyes went straight to Cole, but she didn’t waste time butting into the conversation. “Find a portal.”

“A portal to Hell?” I asked.

“They’re all over the place. How do you think those demons get around?”

I vaguely remember Airis mentioning the portals to Hell a while ago, but with everything going on, it had slipped my mind. The demons started coming around and I became too busy trying to rip their heads off. “But where?”

Gemma sat the small bag she was carrying on a small table in the corner and pulled out a white water bottle and unscrewed the cap. “I can’t see them. You should be able to feel them though, being a hellhound and all.”

“Here, drink this,” she said, handing the water bottle to Cole.

“What is it?” He eyed the bottle dubiously.

She rolled her eyes. “It will speed up the healing.”

Cole grabbed it and took a long swig then began coughing. “That shit is nasty!” He spat, setting the offending substance on the bedside table.

Gemma snatched it up and sat down across from him on my bed. “Don’t be a baby.”

“What do you mean feel them?” I asked her.

“Just think about it,” she said, holding the drink back out to Cole. “Haven’t you ever been anywhere that you have been drawn to for no apparent reason? That’s where it would be.”

Cole reluctantly took the water bottle then glanced at me. “Looks like we got ourselves a plan.”

I grinned. It might be a crazy plan, but I was good with crazy. “I’m taking a shower. I’m supposed to meet Heven at dinner in a few.”

“Fine.” Cole lifted the bottle and began drinking, my attention once more caught by the nasty scratches on his arm. Why were they so familiar?

I shut myself in the bathroom, but left the door unlocked in case Cole needed in here for something and submersed myself under scalding-hot water. I thought about our new plan, about getting the scroll back. It was my only hope to keep Airis from taking back a life—my life. I would still be here with Heven. With Logan.

I froze.

Oh. My. God. Logan.

Cole’s scratches. They were familiar because they were exactly like the ones I had seen before… that day in the second hand shop.

On my brother.

*   *   *

I chose a table away from the Mrs. Britt in the hotel dining room just as Heven walked in. I took a minute to enjoy the view, how truly beautiful she was to me. She was wearing a long, dark blue cotton dress that brushed her toes as she walked. It was sleeveless and her slender arms were tan from all the sun we had been out in. Her hair was down, brushing against her collar bone, and my skin tingled with the memory of how it felt when it brushed against me.

She caught my stare and smiled.

Hey, beautiful.

Handsome. But then her face cleared of the moment. “Where’s Cole?”

“He’s not doing so good, Hev,” I said, taking her hand and pulling her into the chair next to me. When I came out of the bathroom after my shower, Gemma had finally gotten him in a comfortable position lying down, but I knew he was still in pain.