‘No.’I can hear his frustration.‘I don’t understand how they could just slip out of our sight like that. It’s unheard of, which brings up another issue. What has been going on since we’ve been gone? Hell, how long have we been gone?
‘I do believe that was Robot’s job, wasn’t it? Figuring out how long we were gone?’I point out, finally turning a corner and spotting a leg of an end table.
‘I do believe so,’Knots confirms as I crawl out of the air duct into an open space where there’s a wall to my right, the end table is across from me holding a small lamp, and to the left, there are three different halls to choose from, but one only has a faint light at the end.‘So what’s really taking you so long?’
Ignoring him, just to get him riled up, I scan the floor and notice a slight depression by the wall. Betting it’s a trigger, I walk over and sit on it. The floor shifts, and the wall rolls back, revealing a shocked Knots.
‘Oh, I’m just chilling, waiting on some driftwood. You?’I tease, changing into my Lynx form.
“Just remembering I was a fantastic tanner at one point in my life,” he snarks back with a condescending smile.
Without prelude, I turn and start down the hall.
‘How close do you have to be before you can reach Levi?’I ask, giving the Doorknob something to focus on besides my hide. I can’t believe he hasn’t been on this like a cat with a laser pointer. Tracking down Levi like a sonar. Hell, isn’t it his job, after all? Is that the whole reason he broke up with my woman? He’s a“protector”and all that jazz. Hell, maybe that’s why he seems to be frantically losing his mind.
Instead of a smartass comment, he cocks his head as we continue down the hallway.
‘Huh. Yeah, I can connect now. It sounds like he’s trying to find out what they gave Rez, so we might have to stall,’Knots explains, and I stumble slightly.
‘Wait, you’re telling me we have to wait during a fucking rescue mission? Since when does that make fucking sense?’I sigh, but take the lead when we get to the opening.
The room is a decent size, and most of it is cast in darkness, only lit by a few candles. If it weren’t for the fact that I physically walked here, I would guess we are back inside a cave like I was in when I was with the Rebels. The rough walls and demonic pictures scream their presence. That and the fucking colossal pentagram etched into the stone ground. We came in from one tunnel, but I see two more on the right and a few smaller possible entrances at the back, though I’m not sure if it’s just how it looks with the dim light. Levi sits on a stool, head bowed,with his arms pulled tight behind him smack dab in the middle of the room. A typical bad B-movie plot. Can’t these Harpies do better? Even our Robot deserves better treatment than this. Pfft.
‘What do you think about creeping in the dark to Levi and doing a snatch-and-run?’I ask as I survey which harpies are in attendance.
It seems like it’s the same old ones except for the witch. She’s a new one, along with her familiar, the amphibian.
‘Sounds good to me,’Knots concurs.
As I move, I easily slip into a creature I’m sure no one has ever seen here in Purgatory, although a few have claimed it on Earth. Though what they call it is nothing close to what it originally is; it’s been modified from what the true purpose of the beast was.
I wonder who’s running around imitating the beast or who decided to mate with the damn thing before the original monster went extinct?
My body elongates and doubles in size as my muzzle flattens out and my eyes shift, so I lose the tapetum lucidum.Can’t let my eyes reflect what little light the room gives off.My front paws shift to accommodate opposable thumbs, and my knuckles thicken with pads to soften my approach.
‘What the fuck are you?’Knots asks as my tail waves in front of his face, pausing his approach.
‘A cross between a Werewolf and Bigfoot. So, let’s call me a Werefoot. You know what they say about people and their foot size, right?’I smirk, even though he can’t see it.
‘Yeah, they’re clumsy and often trip over their feet.’He tilts his head.‘Hmm. That explains so much now,’he continues, returning a smirk.
Have I mentioned how strong the urge is for me to sharpen my claws on this scratching post?
I almost gag as Emer kneels before Levi, mooning me with her bare ass. “Lied? Baby, why would you say that?” Emer pouts.
“I’ve done everything you’ve asked. I came with you willingly, didn’t fight you, and you still haven’t told me what you guys did to Nerezza,” Levi points out through a grimace.
Huh. Is he in pain? I don’t see any blood on him. What did they do to him?
Emer stands and looks at him with pity.
“That pain will go away once she’s out of your system and you're truly mine. Until then, any memory, talk, or thoughts of her will trigger pain for you, Leviathan.” Emer smiles at him before her eyes briefly flash to black. “I told you. You belong to me, but you forced my hand. I didn’t want to hurt you, but thathumanhas become harder to get rid of than I first imagined.’
So the pain he’s feeling is tied to Rezzi-bear? What the hell is going on?
Emer moves aside and waves at Angel. “Go ahead, Angel, have at it,” she tells her cousin as she takes a robe from one of her minions.
“Oh goody!” The little blonde devil claps and prances around Levi like the sociopath that she is. “Did you know that there are artifacts that Heaven held in high regard that they have lost and are willing to do almostanythingto get back?” She twirls around, looks at Levi’s blank stare, and cackles when he doesn’t respond. “Neither did I, until my father showed me this angelic dagger that once was in his possession to guard, but when he fell, he stole it. Can you believe there’s an Angel Blessed dagger in Hell of all places?”
