Red Blooded (Page 43)
We both snapped our heads up at the same time.
She carried no scent.
For the first time, Selene appeared a little flustered. “I… I,” she stuttered. “I don’t remember. The Prince killed me again… and when I woke up, I heard your voice, so I followed it.” She brought a hand to her forehead for a second. Ray dropped his hold on her waist and stepped back, surprise lining his features, which certainly mimicked our own expressions. “But I can’t be dead. I’m not supposed to… die. Dying is for humans and… weak supernaturals. I’m above that. I am immortal.”
There was a shout in the distance.
“We can’t linger here any longer,” Lili said. “It’s only a matter of time now.”
Rourke prodded the small of my back. “Come on,” he said. “We need to move.” He ushered me forward, glancing at Selene as we passed. “If you know what’s good for you, you will follow us. Of your own accord. We can decide what to do with you when we have more than a minute to spare.”
Lili started down a new tunnel and we all followed. Including Selene.
I had no idea what we had just uncovered, but I was certain it was a one-of-a-kind situation. And to be very honest, I was damn tired of one-of-a-kind situations. They were sticky and hard to deal with. But the good thing was that nothing surprised me any longer. Unique experiences seemed to follow me by the truckload and I had to make my peace with it or go crazy. Do you know why this happens to us? I asked my wolf. Why do we attract all these unexplainable things? My mate is one of a kind, now so is Ray. Lili and Selene. Naomi is the only vamp I know without a bond to another vampire, and Danny is the only wolf on the planet whose Alpha is female. Things in my life are always complicated. I had to believe this was all working toward a purpose. I just had no idea what it was. My wolf shook her head, flashing a picture of us surrounded by our family. I know, I feel the bonds too. I guess we’re just going to have to wait and see.
“Where are you leading us?” Rourke interrupted my thoughts as he asked Lili. We had gone down several tunnels and a few stairways, each one seeming smaller and more remote than the last. “We need to move faster.”
“We are heading to the Prince’s private quarters,” she declared airily, not entirely pulling off unaffectedness.
“What? Are you kidding?” I exclaimed. “How could you possibly take us into his home? How will we not be detected? That doesn’t sound like safe haven, that sounds like a hijack.”
“It’s not a hijack,” she assured me. “You’re talking to someone who is intimately acquainted with Hell and its ruler. Going to his personal rooms will take us far under their radar. Once there, I will be able to get a message out to the Princess. It’s literally the only place that will give us cover where no one will look.”
“If we’re in his quarters, and the Prince comes back, how do we flee?” Tyler asked. “I’m not letting my sister in there if there’s no way out.”
“There’s a secret passageway, known only to me and very few others. It will keep us concealed if need be,” the demoness assured us. She stopped, glancing around the group. “You’re going to have to trust me or this is never going to work.”
“Lili,” I said patiently. “Trust is earned and you aren’t there yet.” Everyone’s face was set. “But we don’t have another choice at the moment, so we will follow you. But be warned, if you’re leading us into danger we will retaliate.”
“I have no doubt you will.” She eyed Ray specifically. “But the warning is unnecessary. I’m not about to screw this up.” She started to move again, this time she began to jog.
We followed. The tunnels kept meandering. How did the demons ever remember how to get from one place to the next?
The last tunnel we turned down abruptly changed scenery about halfway through. Ray was ahead of me, his head swiveling. “What is this? Some kind of funhouse? One minute you have rock and the next it looks like we’re walking through a tree?” It did look like we were in a tree, if bark grew on the inside.
“We are passing through the living parts of Hell,” Lili said as she ran. “They are scattered within the demon-made parts. There are a number of levels and areas that grow organically and this is one of them.” She made a quick turn at the end. “We just need to go about five hundred yards more—”
The demoness stopped in her tracks so abruptly we all had to pull up so we didn’t crash into her. Once I saw the reason we’d stopped, I gaped.
There, standing at attention at the end of the hallway, was the biggest dog I’d ever seen.
It had two heads and a tail that hissed.
17
“What in the good goddamn is that?” Ray bellowed as we all peered at it. “And whatever it is, it’s blocking our path.”
“That is an orthrus,” Lili answered calmly. “And it was left to guard the Prince’s chambers.”
The thing growled at us, swishing its snaky tail around in circles. The tail actually flicked its tongue, arching over the dog’s back to stare at us.
“So,” I said. “This plan is turning out to be awesome. You guys have a run on scary beasts here, but this takes the cake as far as I’ve seen. That thing is huge.”
“I can take care of an orthrus,” Lili said firmly. “I just need a few things first.”
“Like what?” Tyler asked. “A one-way ticket out of here? Or a rocket launcher? That beast looks like it can tear us apart by breathing on us. It’s as tall as the damn hallway and just as wide.”
“It won’t attack unless we move forward and try to gain entrance,” she assured us.
Which was exactly what we were trying to do. “Well, that’s comforting,” Ray retorted. “I’m sure we can just stay here for a while and nobody will notice. And why wouldn’t that thing charging us? We’re an obvious threat. This place is backwards.”
“It’s trained to guard the entrance to the Prince’s private rooms and nothing more. It actually can’t see very well,” the demoness replied. “Which is why I need something like a blanket to cover its eyes.”
“A what?” I cackled. “You’re going to bring the scariest beast I’ve ever seen to its knees by covering its eyes with a blanket? It looks like Cujo there could eat us all for a bedtime snack.”