I’d only ever seen fae use elemental powers. “What are you doing?”
“Using aether to create a glamour for you guys. Hoping that someone will think you’re cambions just isn’t going to work. Now stay still. It’s hard to make these so fast. We’ll have to tag-team it.”
Light poured from the Torna sisters as they worked. The blaze they directed at me made me squirm a little because it reminded me of the day I’d almost died and the tunnel of light, but I allowed them to create the glamours. Even though every cell in my body wanted to barrel forward and save Alex, we had to be smart. Who knew how many thousands of demons were in Hell? If spending a couple extra minutes on a disguise meant the difference between success and death, I’d bear it. We needed all the help we could get.
I knew the exact moment the magic settled over me. It felt like I’d slipped a glove over my body. “Will this hinder our magic in any way?” I asked as the sisters moved on to glamour Eva.
“No,” Luvon answered because the girls were sweating with how much energy they were exerting. “Your magic will work as it always has. The only difference is you no longer look like yourself.”
“What do I look like?”
Volwin offered the demon blade I’d given him, and I angled it at a street lamp. The lighting was low, but I didn’t need much to see the changes.
A seductive succubus with red eyes, crimson lips, moon white skin, and raven-black hair stared back at me. “I look like a demonic Snow White.”
“Yeah, well, check me out,” Eva quipped.
I looked up to find that my best friend had grown at least six inches and was now the most buxom of blondes.
“Like a playboy bunny,” I said, almost laughing despite the direness of the hour as Eva suggestively swung her new, wider hips.
The twins learned to work faster with each glamour they applied. Once they finished, our group was comprised of two succubi and five lesser demons.
“We weren’t able to make you all beautiful,” Sana said, throwing an apologetic glance at Diana and Amethyst. “It would be too suspicious if a bunch of greater demons were together. Even two succubi might be pushing it, but—”
“It’s better than five witches and two vamps,” I cut her off, not about to let them apologize for disguising us.
“True, and we made sure to differentiate the wraiths.” Ayla pointed out that Diana had black hair while Amethyst’s was more gray.
Hunter was a daeva, which generally looked human-like but had a distinct gray tinge to their skin. While at first glance, his glamour seemed to have been simpler, it wasn’t. Actually, the twins’ magic was even more astounding where Hunter was concerned because when he opened his mouth wide green gas floated out of it to mimic the noxious fumes daevas produced.
Simone and Francis were also easy to identify because the twins had transformed them into imps that looked like small, ugly versions of the vampires.
“You guys did great. Thanks for giving us a leg up. In fact, thank you all for coming with us.” I gave the fae, shifters, remaining vampires, and Crucible-years a grateful smile—a smile that I hoped was not my last. “It’s time for us to go.”
I turned to my team. “Those who are going to Hell, place a hand somewhere on me. Everyone else, stay way back. I don’t want to bring you on accident.”
Everyone did as I said, and once we were in position, I gripped my totem. I hoped that between it and the Realm Slicer, I’d get where I needed to go.
My eyes closed as I thought back to de Spina’s conjuring of Hell. In my mind’s eye, I zeroed in on the center circle—and the ominous thrones of bones. When it was cemented in my mind, I took the Realm Slicer and sliced open my shoulder. Alex’s blood was already on the blade, and I added mine to the mix. Only once the blade was absolutely covered with blood, I knelt. Gripping my totem tight, I begged for help, for it to take me to the throne room—to Alex.
And then, I placed the blade’s bloodied tip to the ground, and everything around me vanished.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The moment we reappeared, the stench of sulfur made me gasp. I coughed as greenish steam infiltrated my lungs, and heat pummeled my skin. And yet, despite all the distractions, everyone in my crew fell back on their training and went on alert.
The vampires crouched and bared their fangs, while the witches thrust their hands out in front of them, prepared to strike. If anyone had been around, the reflexive actions would surely have given away our true natures.
But no one was there.
No one, that is, except for Alex.
I dropped the Realm Slicer and the sound of metal hitting stone reverberated through the room as a sob wrenched out of my throat. Alex was sprawled out on the black stone floor in front of the thrones of bones. A thin moat of lava ran around the thrones just inches from his body. Even from where I stood at the entrance to the throne room, I could see the deep gash on his chest and how blood pooled around him. His beautiful blue eyes were closed.
Was he already dead?
No. Surely not.I would feel that,I thought as I rushed toward him, jumped over the lava barrier that separated the thrones from the larger chamber, and fell to my knees. The gash was deep, making me wonder if they’d been trying to reach his heart. He still breathed, but shallowly.
