I dig out my water pouch and let a few drops spill into my cupped hand before rubbing the water over my cheek. The burning lessens, and I sigh in relief. The acid from the soul manifestations would just keep going until it reached the other side. I need a hole in my head like, well, a hole in my head.
I pick up my weapons, leave the imp behind, and jog down the dune.
Wait… was I going left or right? I hesitate for a moment, turning in a circle. I’ll just go left for a bit and see if anything looks familiar.
Sweat drops into my eyes, and I wipe it off with the back of my hand. Weird. This part of Hell is usually pretty arid. As I walk a while longer, my stomach starts to cramp like I haven’t eaten in hours. But I just had the granola bar. Right?
I rifle around my backpack for another one and find only the paper Daniel wraps them in. Huh, I was sure I had two. I take a few sips of water instead. The water pouch is feeling suspiciously light as well.
I should probably head back to Abaddon. So what if I return without having dispatched any manifestations—the burn on my cheek will prove I at least stood myown in a fight.
Now, where is the Phlegethon? I just have to follow it back, then turn left and…
But this doesn’t look like the area around the molten river. I somehow wandered into a ravine with tall cliffs surrounding me on every side. How did I get here?
I try to bring up an image of Hell’s topography in my mind, the maps Corson has been shoving under our noses for months now. Did I somehow walk past Abaddon and end up in the mountains above it? But… no. The sky isn’t dark and decorated with an aurora. It’s still a dusty orange, though it feels murkier, like maybe I’ve been away from Purgatory for whatever passes as a whole day in the Underworld.
“What is happening?” I breathe, spinning in a circle and taking in my surroundings. “Why do I not remember getting here?”
I wince when the hot wind blows sand and ash onto my cheek, irritating the burn there. My hand goes to it automatically, and I hiss when I find it wet and raised.Quoi?How did I not notice this before? Is it infected or… am I poisoned?
Mon Dieu.I’m lost in Hell with no food and very little water.
I’m going to die out here.
7
ASMODEUS
Iwatch the little mortal, Simone, stumble around my brother’s territory for half a day, protecting her from critters small and more formidable. I’m not sure how the swamp imp ended up on the banks of the Phlegethon, but it did, and it got her good. Her bright eyes have been dull for hours, her body seemingly just going through the motions. Her long, chocolate brown hair has come undone, cascading down her back. And she’s been wasting her throwing stars on shadows and tree stumps, slowly leaving herself defenseless.
Finally, after hours of frustration, she finally enters a narrow ravine that leads to my territory.
Just a few steps more, little fairy.
I can hear her stomach rumbling, see the way her lips are cracking in the heat—she’s starting to falter, the toll of the poison and exposure to the harsh elements visible to any predator watching. Lucky for her, I’m the biggest predator for leagues, and while I want a piece of her, I won’t spill her blood to get it.
It feels almost cheap, noticing the way her leather armor molds over her ass while she’s obviously incapacitated, but if I learnedanything from living for millennia, it’s that you can’t fight your nature. I’m not Simone’s guardian angel, though I’ve almost been acting as one since I first laid eyes on her. Countless times, I shadowed herteamon theirmissions, eliminating the most perilous threats before they got close enough to do harm to her.
I didn’t intend to take her today. I told myself I’ll watch her from afar, watch the way she is when she’s not surrounded by her boisterous teammates. See that quiet nature play out when she’s alone with her thoughts. But as she sets foot into my domain, and I’m free to take her without angering Ashtaroth… Well, there’s only one path open to us both now, isn’t there?
Simone stumbles forward, landing on all fours, and I’m there by her side before she can blink, reaching out my hand. She looks up at me, confused, uncomprehending.
“Hello, little fairy,” I murmur in greeting. When she just looks right through me, ignoring my hand, I move it to cup her delicate chin. I click my tongue at the sight of the burn on her cheek. Up close, I see every swollen, pus-filled blister. “You’re a mess, aren’t you, Simone?”
“W—” she slurs. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”
I tilt my head, considering. She’s in no shape to run away from me screaming. But a part of me doesn’t want to see the disgust in her eyes, the fear that comes with knowing you’re face-to-face with an archdemon.
“You need help,” I say instead of answering her. “Food, water… somewhere safe to rest.”
“I…” Simone hesitates, squinting at me. “I need to get back to Abaddon. I think I’m late.”
I nod at her. “Very late. They’re already looking for you.”
She raises one perfect dark eyebrow. “They are?”
When she tries to look around like she might spot them in the walls around us, she loses her balance again and nearly meets the dusty ground.
