The woman cocked her head. She was staring at Justin in a way that made his skin crawl. “You do realize that I won’t be able to open another portal to get you back, right? Not without you asking me to do so, and with no way to communicate, that’ll be impossible. Your phone won’t work there.”
“I know. I’ll find someone in Hell who can open another portal for me.”
“That easy?”
“I’m sure it will be.” He had no idea if he was right. He’d never been to Hell. He didn’t know what he’d find when he got there.
The woman stared at him for a while longer before nodding. “All right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Justin couldn’t believe it. He really was going to visit Hell.
He briefly considered warning one of his brothers, but he wouldn’t be there long enough for them to worry about him. He just wanted to wait until Yancey had calmed down, so staying away a while longer should be fine. They probably wouldn’t even notice he was gone.
“How do we do this?” he asked.
The woman arched a brow. “We? The only thing you’re doing is paying me. I’ll take care of the rest. Come on.” She turned and gestured toward the back room, which he could see through an open door. Red flimsy curtains hung around the door frame, but he pushed them aside as he followed the woman.
He couldn’t believe he was headed to Hell. He couldn’t wait to see his brothers again so he could tell them all about Hell and what he’d find there, and if he was lucky, about his mother.
Mynor hummed,the sound echoing against the stone walls surrounding him. His cell was empty except for him, and it was the only way he had to distract himself. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been here, but it had been days, if not weeks. He wished he could ask, just to know, but he wasn’t looking forward to another beating.
It was what he’d expected. Actually, it was easier than he’d thought it would be. He hadn’t been tortured yet. He’d been regularly beaten, and his entire body hurt, but he had all his fingers and toes still attached to his body, which he considered a win.
Mynor had no idea what Anya wanted from him. He’d expected her to come out with it by now, but she hadn’t. She hadn’t even come to see him. The guards beat him regularly, butMynor wasn’t sure if it was because she’d ordered it or because they felt like it. Both could be true.
Apart from the beatings, his life was boring. He had nothing to do and no one to talk to. He’d even started counting the stones in the walls of the cell just to do something, but he felt like if nothing happened soon, he was going to go nuts before Anya could do anything to him. That couldn’t be her goal, could it? No, there had to be a reason for her to want him to be jailed instead of killed, and eventually, he’d find out.
He was sure he wouldn’t like it.
Mynor hadn’t been in his cell for long enough to wish he’d die, but some days, he wondered if it was possible to die of boredom. He’d even tried talking to the guards, but that had only earned him another beating. Without Alphan there to play nurse, it was better if he tried to keep those to a minimum. That meant not antagonizing the guards, unfortunately.
He looked around, like he’d done hundreds of times since he’d been locked up. He doubted he’d ever stop looking for an escape, but so far, he hadn’t found anything. The walls were solid, as were the metal bars on the other side of the cell. The only time the cell was open was to drag him out for a beating. It stayed closed even when he was given food—if he could call what he was given to eat food. There was a tiny window, but there were metal bars there, too, so he wouldn’t be sneaking out through it.
The worst part was that he could see the key to the cell hanging on the wall on the other side of the central room. It was right there, yet there was nothing he could do about it.
Seriously, what was Anya planning to do? She’d been angry because Myron had stood up to her, which was why he’d expected her to have him tortured and killed. Hell, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d done the torturing and killing herself. She was known to be bloodthirsty, which was one ofthe reasons people were so afraid of her. She was also smart, though, and Mynor was sure she had a plan. He just didn’t know what that plan was, and he didn’t see how he could find out. He was stuck here, and he suspected that wouldn’t change anytime soon. He’d probably die here eventually, which wasn’t something he was looking forward to.
His thoughts drifted to Alphan. Mynor had no doubt that Alphan was desperately trying to find a way to get him out, but knowing Anya, the security on the palace and the dungeons, especially, had been heightened. She wouldn’t want to risk other prisoners being freed. That meant that Mynor really was stuck here until his death.
He didn’t want to die, but sometimes, he wondered if that would be preferable to what was waiting for him. As long as he breathed, though, he’d stand up to Anya. He didn’t care that it meant he’d die. He’d rather not, but someone needed to stand up to her, and no one else was. She was allowed to continue terrorizing innocent people, jailing them just because she felt like it or because they’d broken one of her stupid rules that shouldn’t exist. Well, Mynor had definitely broken her rules, so he supposed that for once, she’d jailed someone who actually deserved it.
Unfortunately, that didn’t help much.
Justin eyedthe portal the witch had opened. It was pink and blue, the colors swirling at the center, calling for him to step through. It was beautiful, but terrifying at the same time.
He didn’t know what was behind it. He didn’t know what he’d find there, if he could find his mother, or how he’d go about it.What would the demons think of him? Would they reject him because he was part human? Would they try to kill him?
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all.
“I can only keep it up for a short amount of time,” the witch said. “Of course, you don’t have to go through it.”
Justin snorted. “Considering how much money I paid for it, you can bet your ass I’m going through it.”
The witch arched a brow. “Will you?”
The challenge was evident in her voice. Justin didn’t like it, but she wasn’t wrong. Hehadpaid a lot of money to have this portal opened. He’d feel bad if he didn’t use this opportunity.
Did it matter that he was scared? Anyone would be scared in his position. He didn’t know what he’d find, so of course he was afraid, but he was sure everything would be okay. He wasn’t human. In part, he belonged in Hell, and no one would be able to tell him otherwise. Besides, his being part demon meant that he was more than capable of defending himself if he was attacked.
