I grasped a small dagger off the wall with one hand, my other already grasping the scythe necklace from my throat. Tugging on it, I pulled it free as the clasp unsnapped. I swung it down from my chest as I plummeted into the portal, the world around me suddenly consumed by flames. The armory disappeared, burning before my eyes as the weapons on the wall melted with the extreme heat that was but a kiss of warmth on my skin. My scythe extended to full length as I moved, snapping my arm down to extend my elbow as the floor dropped out from beneath me, caving in the flames as the structure burned. Becoming a massive weapon that only the archdemons could wield, it swung out at my side, the blade curving behind me as I landed on my feet and dropped to one knee to absorb the shock of my landing.
Wrath was on fire, an eternal flame burning in the pits where the bodies of souls battled one another endlessly. I stood at the edge, gazing into the pit as I swung my scythe in a warning. The soul who had dared to reach for me retreated, eyes wide as I turned to the narrow path that Margot would need to take to reach the manor. The flames glowed yellow, but the waters of the canal that ran through the pit of souls ran red with the stain of blood.
The path was winding as I searched along it, hoping Margot had gone in the right direction. Given the state of the trident rejuvenating, she couldn’t have gotten far. I scanned the banks of the pit, my heart dropping into my throat when I didn’t immediately see her. I raced forward, heading in the direction of the manor in hopes of finding her safe on the path. Maybe she’d run, fearful of the creatures reaching for her. I couldn’t blame her. Their bodies were forever altered by the battles they fought. Faces were so swollen that eyes sealed shut, limbs hung limply at the sides of others. The symptoms of their violence were evident in every inch of their scarred skin, from the burns to the seeping wounds.
“Margot!” I called, stopping as I looked for her. I searched all over again, my breaths shaky. I licked my lips, slapping my hand over my mouth as I looked.
I couldn’t be too late. She couldn’t have succumbed to her anger so quickly, not because of me and what I’d said toprotecther. My own anger rose, drawn from me like poison in this place that fed from it. If she’d only fucking stopped to talk to me, I could have explained. I could have made her understand and we would have continued on together.
A scream tore through the air, the sharp and shrill sound of it making everything within me tighten as I raced forward. The sound was alive, the absolute terror in it the kind of fear that could only come from the living.
The dead had nothing left to fear, for the worst had already happened to them.
They’d already died and gone to Hell.
There.
I found her, a single arm swinging the trident for all she was worth. She’d managed to keep herself from being pulled into the pit, severing the arms of the first soul who’d grabbed her. His hand remained clutched around her ankle as she scrambled back, kicking at the hand with her other foot in an attempt to get the extremity to release her.
Her victim shoved his chest into the muddy bank, inching his way up to go for her a second time. Another soul climbed on all fours at its side, her head twisted backward as if someone had snapped her neck and she couldn’t find peace in another death. Margot screamed again as the woman reached for her, wrapping sharp nails around Margot’s thigh as she swung her trident.
It embedded in the side of the woman’s face, the resulting spray of blood soaking Margot as she sputtered and stilled in shock. Her horror gave the third soul time to reach her before me, grabbing her around the throat. She released her trident immediately, her hands flying to try to shove the creature that hadonce been human off her. He was too strong, yanking her onto her back on the path and dragging her toward the pit on the other side.
“Fucking sing, Margot!” I yelled, her head snapping to the side as her eyes met mine. I was closing the distance, but not moving quickly enough even as my wings pumped at my back, propelling me forward. She gasped, a strangled sound coming out as the soul pressed against the front of her throat, silencing the song she might have used to protect herself.
Her head dropped to the side as the woman at her legs yanked her in the other direction, Margot’s mouth opening with a silent scream as sharpened nails sliced through her pants and tore the flesh within. She was going to be torn in two before my very eyes, and I pushed my body to the limit as I launched over a gap in the path and swung my scythe down, cutting across the man’s throat and cleaving his head from his body.
Margot sucked back a huge lungful of air, her chest expanding with it as she clutched at her throat. There was no time to stop and consider the deep red marks already forming where he’d held her, nor the guilt that would plague me later for this being my fault.
All that existed in this moment was the rage coursing through me, boiling my blood like the lava churning in the pits. I spun my scythe around my back, my hands dancing over the shaft as I struck out with my foot, kicking the woman in the back of her head. It spun around on her neck with a quick snap, righting itself on her spine. She gave only a moment to look dazed before she withdrew her talons from Margot’s leg, launching herself at me. I swung my scythe again, cutting her across the chest as I stepped over Margot carefully, driving the souls back into the pit where they’d been trying to drag her.
The scythe was a torrent as I swung it over my head, dipping low in the next step to take out the first surge of souls at the knee.They pounced as one, jumping onto me in numbers too great even for me to fight off.
My wings spread behind my back, preparing to launch me into the sky to avoid the dangers of the souls who had been driven into a frenzy by the scent of Margot’s blood. Weight on my back pressed at my spine, a claw ripping down the very center of my wings where they joined to my back. I flinched, a roar on my lips as I spun to tell Margot to run, to get her to flee before it was too late.
Her eyes widened as if she knew exactly what I was about to tell her, her head shaking as her mouth opened into a scream. No sound came, and her hand reached to touch her abused throat.
I sank back into the fight, spinning with the force of a hurricane and tearing through flesh with my scythe at my side. Arms clamped down on it as they grabbed me, dragging me down the muddy bank and into the pit of flames. Fire burned my legs, the heat of the lava threatening to burn me alive if I didn’t get free. But the weight of those souls on top of me was too much, forcing me to sink deeper against my will. Claws tore at my flesh, rending the scythe from my grip and tossing it out of reach.
A hand was at my throat, talons digging deep as they sliced across the flesh, and I knew the end was near. Blood poured from the wound, spurting out into the pit and the hard press of bodies that surrounded me as the sound of Margot’s scream finally broke free.
My body went limp, the fight draining out of me with each fresh torrent of blood. In my last moments, I saw her face. Saw the smile transform her from a rare beauty to a goddess, heard the vibrancy of her song when she’d sung freely in the courtyard that night. I’d been doomed from the moment I laid eyes on her, seen the freedom in her face as the plants themselves swayed toward her, offering her the sanctuary she needed to be herself.
If I had to die for her to live, all I could do was hope she’d run.If she made it to safety, it would be worth the eternity plaguing me in the circle that wasn’t my own.
The song in my mind grew louder, the chords deeper and more meaningful the closer I came to death. It wasn’t until the weight lifted from my shoulders that I rose up to the surface of the bodies. Instead of forcing me beneath the surface, they raised me up to it. Warm skin touched my throat, Margot’s hand covering the wound as I stared up into her shockingly beautiful face. She glowed from within, her magic making her radiate as her lips moved in time with the song playing in my head.
Reality crashed back in with a sear of blinding pain, my legs burning and throat an open wound. Her voice was deep and husky, a commanding presence as her mahogany eyes pulsed with red light.
Consciousness faded away; her face was the last thing I saw as my eyes finally drifted closed.
The world went silent, her song fading as my world went black.
31
MARGOT
I froze, the song dying on my lips as I stared down at his too-still face. His chest rose with a haggard breath, the faintest bits of life clinging to him. I picked up my song again, desperate to bring him back. To break his immunity and tangle him up in my magic so deeply that he could not leave me, not even in death. His face didn’t change, life fading out from him as I watched his blood pump over the hands I held tight to his throat, trying to keep it within his body and applying pressure the best I could.
