The revelation shocks me to the core, causing me to stumble back and slide down the side of the bed and onto the floor. Besides the soft cries of Lynx and Moni, the room is silent as we sit in dismay and absorb what Lynx said.
Rez sacrificed herself for us.
Who in the world asked her to do that?
Emotions that were once locked away within me easily bubble to the surface and pour out of me. Confusion, sadness, frustration. More importantly, anger surges through me. Anger at Asmodeus, L.A.M.B., my mother, my father, and even—No… I won’t go there.
If Asmodeus didn’t want power and shut down the portals, we wouldn’t even be here. If L.A.M.B. had better control over Hell, they wouldn’t have had an uprising and could have run this Trail instead of us. If Lilith hadn’t had beef with Adam in the very beginning, none of this would haveeverhappened to start with. We wouldn’t be marked as the next Four Horsemen.Rez wouldn’t be tied to us, hunted, and brought to Hell in the first place. She probably wouldn’t have even come to Purgatory, where my father set her up for school and paired her with me. Because of my father, he set me on the road to meet my mate and lose her within weeks. How fair is that? How cruel is the world I live in?
Who am I kidding? Who I’m mad at right now is Rez. Who asked her to sacrifice herself? How selfish can my mate be? She didn’t just leave me. She left all of us.
The rough tongue along my cheek pulls me out of spiraling self-destruction to realize I’m also crying. Peering down at a whining Reaper, I robotically pull him to me and comfort him the best I can. The others have paired up to comfort each other over the loss of Rez, and even though my heart is shattered in jagged pieces, I need to pull myself together and lead this group.
Unfortunately, we came down here for a bigger reason and must continue on. This is precisely why I was named the Robot, how I come off as unfeeling, and I desperately wish I could say that I’ve shed the exterior. But for these reasons, I have to keep it. If my family is having thoughts like I was just having, I would rather them hate me than Rez. They should direct that hate away from someone they love.
“It will be okay,” I whisper to Reaper before kissing him on the forehead.
Standing up, I pull out my notebook from my S.I.N. box—even using Rez’s nickname brings a sharp pain to my soul—and walk over to the kitchen area. Catching sight of my watch reminds me to do a quick calculation of our time. Flipping to the right page, I add in the three hours of our safe house. Keeping track of our time down here has been a fucking nightmare within itself, and I’m normally the one to enjoy this stuff.
Reading over my notes on the levels, I familiarize myself with Seir, the level seven prince. He’s not considered good or evil butone that will show the truth. With the way this trail has been, I don’t consider this an easy task at all, especially with my family broken and on the edge of complete devastation. Honestly, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to get their heads back into this so that they’ll attempt to finish what we came here to do without quitting as soon as we’re expelled from this safe house.
It’s essential that we have our game faces on with this last level. Not only are we this close to finishing but level seven eats up more than two days for every house that we’re there. From what I can tell, if we get through this, we will probably be able to return to Purgatory by the end of the current school year.
CHAPTER 36
Level Seven- I Belong in Hell
Levi
Idon’t know how long I’ve been in deep thought when a howl breaks through, and I find Fluffers trying to rip through the film that’s blocking us from the barren landscape we were just in. Reaper trots over and sits next to Fluffers, his long tail wrapping around the wolf as he howls along with him, their howls of mourning. JP and Zeke are holding each other by the fireplace, which someone lit while I was having my inner musing. Moni has taken Lynx into her mourning group with her and Chester. He’s back into his Lynx form and curled up into a ball that Moni is petting as she’s snuggled into Chester’s lap. Knots and Ryker sit next to each other in silence, occasionally whispering with faint smiles and watery eyes.
My watch states we have less than forty-five minutes before we need to pack up and go, yet we haven’t even discussed what is next. My stomach churns at the thought of what I have to do and what my family will think of me. Robot, monster, heartless, and worst of all, they will feel as if I never truly loved Rez. I love her more than the breath I breathe. That’s why I know we mustmove on. Because I refuse to believe she’s trapped here. If we open the portals, then L.A.M.B., Lilith, and the Leaders of Nova can come and help us find a way to free her. I refuse to believe she’s dead or lost to this world. Hell, if she’s dead, then I will forfeit my life as well and stay here with her. That’s probably why that film is even on the door, not to keep anything from coming in but to keep us from leaving. But I wonder why…wouldn’t Beleth love to have us all as his toys?
Enough of this. I need to get us ready.
“Guys, we have forty-five minutes before the next trial, and we need an action plan,” I announce. As I predicted, the room goes silent as all eyes focus on me with cold and calculating stares.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Knots stands up and approaches me, getting right in my face. “We just lost Nerezza, and you want to continue?” His wings flare at his back, reminding me of his power, but I, too, have power of my own.
“Did you forget the reason why we are here?” I keep my emotions out of my reply and look around at my family. “Weneedto open the portal to save not just Hell but the rest of Purgatory. If Hell falls and Asmodeus takes over, nothing will stop him from going for Purgatory,” I explain.
“So the only thing you care about is your ‘duty’ once again,” Zeke spits out. The contempt in his glare would be enough to make a lesser man regret every life choice they’ve ever made, but I’m right, and I’m not a lesser man.
His words do sting at the wound I’ve been carrying since I was a young boy, but I don’t blame him. It’s been my persona for most of my life, but that’s not who I am anymore.
“I know that’s what you must think of me, and I understand and will never take away that right for you to have it. But you are wrong,” I say confidently, meeting Zeke’s stare. “With the portal open, the power can be restored to L.A.M.B. before we can gettheir help to come back here and rescue Rez. It’s obvious. We can’t do it now, but nothing says we can’t find another way. So, we stay the course, save Hell so they, in return, can save our girl.”
Zeke continues to stare at me without blinking or offering any words. And here I thought we were making strides.
“I’m with you, Levi,” Moni calls out as she stands, wiping away her tears. “Rez would be so disappointed if we gave up and didn’t do the right thing.” Her bark flashes between blue, pale white, and her natural greenish brown, giving away her confused emotions, but she’s made her stand.
“I’m also with ya,” Chester agrees.
“We made a promise to help, and therefore, we need to keep it,” Knots says, tucking his wings behind him. I give him a grateful nod and look over the rest of the group, where they continue to sit in silence.
“I’ll give you a few more minutes to think it over,” I tell them before pulling Knots, Moni, and Chester over by the kitchen and begin reviewing the information that I saved about Seir.
“So we really don’t know what to expect?” Moni asks, pulling on her tail.
