Red Blooded

“It could be centuries or it could be a matter of days,” I said. “I seem to unhinge the Prince whenever I’m around. Now that we know what the Princess is after, making sure she takes over, especially since she has already granted us some favors, seems like the best way to rid ourselves of the Underworld indefinitely. When we get back to our plane we’ll have enough to worry about. The sorcerers and the fracture pack aren’t going to give up.” I turned to the group, meeting everyone’s stare. “Now that we’re together, we can solve this once and for all—”

A shrill screech erupted and half a beat later something darted around the corner of the tunnel.

Selene had me by the throat before any of us knew what had happened.

16

Yelling and commotion surrounded us instantly. I wasn’t frightened that Selene could do any harm, since she barely had any power. But I had to admit I was a little shaken she’d managed to take us all by surprise.

She had literally come out of nowhere.

“Now you die, bitch,” she snarled in my ear.

“What… are you… doing?” I sputtered, batting her hands away from my face. We rolled on the ground. “You can’t take me on and win, Selene. You don’t have any power or magic.”

Before she could answer, she was plucked off me by a very angry Rourke. He tossed her against the other side of the tunnel, snarling, “Enough! We’ve already gone through this with you, Lunar Goddess. If we kill you here, you die for real, and I’m more than ready to do the deed for the final time.” He cracked his knuckles, positioning himself between her and me.

She rose to her feet in seconds, her features rabid. She seemed even more unhinged than she’d been a few moments ago.

“You can’t kill me,” she spit. “I’ve already tried it a dozen times myself and I keep coming back to life in this wretched place.” She turned her furious gaze on me. “Do you see what they’ve done to me?” She pointed at her face and hair. “I can’t die, but I won’t heal either! They’ve taken my magic and my power and this is all your fault.” She pounded forward, swinging her arms, only to be scooped up by Rourke again and tossed back. “You horrid mongrel, you made sure I’d rot in this place for an eternity. This was your plan all along!”

I brushed off my jumpsuit. “This had nothing to do with me, Selene. You kidnapped my mate, almost killed my friend, and then tried to kill me. You deserved everything you received and then some.” I clapped my hands together. “And don’t forget, I wasn’t the one who suggested you sell your soul to the demons. You did that all on your own. What did you think was going to happen? That Hell would be all unicorns and rainbows? The penance you’re serving is what you justly deserve, brought on by yourself.”

She deserved more, since she was still breathing. Rourke hadn’t relayed to me the horrors of what had happened when she’d captured him, but I knew it had been bad. When I’d found him, he’d been eviscerated. It pained me to even call up the memory.

“The Prince sounded like he finished you back there,” Ray helpfully added. “How’d you manage to slip away and recover?”

Selene shot him a malicious gaze. “He did kill me. But I told you, I always come back.”

Lili stepped forward. “That is not typical,” she said. “If the Prince of Hell kills you in the Underworld it is a true death… most of the time. It’s completely unusual for anyone to survive, especially after so many attempts.”

“Most of the time?” Tyler commented. “If you don’t die a true death, then what can possibly happen to you?”

Before the demoness could answer, I replied, “It seems some demons have a half death. Instead of going to the unknown, they go to the Sholls.” I eyed Selene. “When a demon dies a half death, they come back as their serpent selves. They call them wyverns.”

“I’m clearly no demon, and I’m not an undercover serpent,” Selene sniffed in her haughty tone. “But they can’t kill me and I know the real reason: it’s because I’m a goddess.” She looked accusingly at me. “You couldn’t take that away from me when you sent me here. A goddess doesn’t just simply lose her godhood, she survives.”

I took a step toward her. “But you’re completely changed. Your power is vastly diminished to the point of almost nothing and you’re not healing. You’ve become something else. Maybe you belong in the Sholls. At least there you’d be safe from further demon abuse, and the wyverns are nasty, but they can’t kill you.” She appeared aghast at the suggestion, but I ignored her and turned to Lili. “If we took her to the Sholls can she get back out herself?”

Lili studied the former goddess for a moment. “Perhaps, through a portal, but why would she want to? Her life right now in the Underworld is far worse than it would be in the Sholls.”

“Is there more to the plane than what we saw?” I asked. “Is the Sholls big?”

“Of course,” the demoness replied. “It’s as big as the Underworld. The wyverns occupy the city, but there are likely… other areas which can be utilized. To tell you the truth, no one knows. A demon doesn’t go willingly to the Sholls. I have ventured there, but have never taken the time to scout anything out.”

“Then that’s the perfect place for her,” I concluded. “As long as there are no portals to other planes there.”

“There are not,” Lili said. “The Sholls is tucked inside the Underworld, like the middle floor of a house. Any way you go, the exit is through Hell first.”

“Wait a minute,” Tyler said, shaking his head. “If we let Selene off the hook and send her to this place, won’t she just be plotting her revenge from a safer place? That doesn’t sound right after what she put us through.”

“Tyler,” I said. “Did you hear what Selene just told us? We can’t kill her. The Prince of Hell can’t kill her. I’d much rather put her someplace where she can’t do any real damage and can’t escape, rather than risk the possibility of her getting back to our plane from here.” I turned to peer closer at Selene. “But she’s not going to retaliate once she gets there, she’s going to settle in and make a life for herself.” I wasn’t going to describe the Sholls in detail.