Winged Passion, page 11
part #3 of Heaven's Heart Series
“There’s magic on the bars.”
She frowned, rubbing her palms against her shirt. “I couldn’t see it.”
“The Clear Sight spell must have worn off.” It was almost gone for him, too. He could just see the faintest shimmers of magic. If that damned gallery hadn’t been so bright, I would have seen the trap before we walked into it. But the combination of his fading spell and the room’s brilliance had been a deadly combination.
You got cocky.
What was done was done.
You should have known better. Arrogance gets you nowhere.
Like humility was any better.
“We don’t even know if the spear was in there,” Seraphina moaned the last half of the sentence. She took the three steps back to him, and slumped down against the wall, her hands held out as if burned.
Metal grated against stone, and the clomp of heavy footsteps approached. Trick held a hand up to his lips. If they were still invisible, then the guard might report no one had been teleported in...
It might give them a small window to escape and a small chance was better than no chance.
An armored Elock demon appeared, his massive horns protruding from a metal helmet, and fur wavering on his flat nose. He looked around the cell with beady eyes, before scratching his head and shrugging.
Trick held his breath until the demon turned away, lumbering back in the direction he’d come. He didn’t turn back to Seraphina until the sound of grinding metal reached them.
“I think we’ve just bought ourselves a couple of hours.” He thought of her disappointment and said, “Maybe we can find out if the spear was in the final gallery.” With one hand, he unstrapped the GoPro, and then swung his pack around. He quickly hooked the camera up to his tablet, and replayed the last few minutes of footage.
“You filmed it?” She scooted closer, her warmth like a brand against his side.
“Yep, just in case we needed to have another look at anything.” He zoomed in on the glass cases. While the labels weren’t legible, the artifacts were. “Sword, shield, dress, gemstones, basket, tea towel, and a bit of wool. Nothing that looks like a spear.”
“Let me have a look.”
He handed the fallen angel the tablet. She scanned the images with a frown of concentration. “You’re right. There’s nothing that looks like a spear.” She zoomed in on the wool fragment.
“What, you don’t believe my analysis?” He held a hand up to his heart. “I’m wounded.”
It’s better she doesn’t trust you. She’s less likely to sleep with you that way.
She never was going to anyway.
Great, now I am talking to myself.
Instead of arguing with his own mind, he should be focusing on a way out. But the thing was, no one had ever escaped Lucifer’s Tower of Tortures before. There was a reason it had the name it did, poor use of alliteration notwithstanding.
Pulling out his cellphone, he narrowed his eyes in surprise. He had one tiny bar of reception. Not enough to call out on...but maybe he could send an SOS to Hades?
Seraphina looked up from the tablet. “What are you doing?”
“I have reception.”
“You do?”
“I’ll message Hades.”
“No, message Raze, he’ll get us out.”
The hulking black-skinned angel with cloud-colored eyes? He thought not.
“Your fallen angel buddy will get us out? Of the Tower of Tortures?” Trick’s voice dripped with disbelief.
“Fine. Message Hades.” Seraphina folded her arms, the tablet resting in her lap.
“That’s what I was planning on doing.”
And he had to do it before his battery died. It was losing a percent a second, almost. Must take extra power to hold the signal here.
STUCK IN TOWER OF TORTURES’ DUNGEON. PLEASE BREAK US OUT. LUCIFER MAY NOT REALIZE WE’RE HERE.
Succinct and to the point. He hit send.
A few seconds later, his phone beeped.
I CAN’T BREAK YOU OUT. YOU KNOW THAT. (AND HOW’D YOU GET TRAPPED AND LUCIFER NOT KNOW?)
Disappointment arched through him.
“What? What did he say?” Seraphina tried to snatch the phone out of his hand.
He yanked it away. “You have a nasty habit of grabbing shit that isn’t yours.”
“Sorry,” she said, then under her breath added, “so not sorry.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Dru,” he growled. That was the sort of thing she’d say.
“Well?”
“He says he can’t get us out.”
“I said we should have messaged Raze.”
“Hush.”
He typed again.
FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN GET US OUT. WE ARE CURRENTLY INVISIBLE.
WHY DID YOU GET CAUGHT?
ACCIDENT WHILE LOOKING FOR THE HJS.
He got an eye-rolling emoji in response.
Fucker.
He sent an emoji back—despite his dislike of the things—with a finger flipping the bird.
I’LL DO WHAT I CAN.
WE ONLY HAVE FOUR MORE DAYS.
STUPID OF YOU TO GET CAUGHT. G2G, NEED TO SPANK SOME SOULS.
Trick didn’t know if that was literal or figurative, and he decided not to ask. His phone was down to twenty percent battery power anyway.
He relayed the messages to Seraphina, then asked, “Should I turn it off to conserve power?”
“I think I have a portable charger in my pack.” But she made no move to get it.
“I’ll turn it off.”
“But we might lose reception.”
“Either way, we won’t have it for long.”
She nodded, tiredness suddenly apparent on her face.
For good measure, he took a selfie of himself and Seraphina and sent it to Hades before shutting down the phone and rummaging through his pack for medical supplies. “When did you last sleep?”
“Three days ago.”
“Have a rest now.”
“No.”
“Fine. Show me your hands.”
He expected her to argue and was surprised when she held out her palms. The skin was reddened, but there were no blisters.
“Here, rub some of this on it.” He handed her a small packet of cream, careful not to make contact.
She did as instructed, before passing it back. “Thanks.”
He stowed everything away, but for the tablet, which remained in her lap. He shifted against the wall, trying to ease the discomfort in his arm while it healed. “What were you looking at? On the video.”
“The piece of wool. It looked gold. I wondered if it wasn’t wool, but one of Lucifer’s old feathers.”
“That alone would be worth a fortune. But it could be a piece of the golden fleece.”
“From Greek legend?”
“Yup.”
“For a demon, you sure know a lot about mythology and angels.” Seraphina passed him the tablet, careful not to smear cream on the screen.
“I told you, information is my thing. The more I know, the better off I am.”
It wasn’t just done for profit, although that was a motivating factor. Originally, he’d had to do it for survival. Hell was a harsh place, and he needed to know who he was working with, for, or against. One misstep and it would have been all over for him.
Now…now it was a slight addiction.
He liked having the scoop on his enemies, friends and lovers. It gave him a kick to work out people’s secret identities, like he had Baal’s. Knowledge is power. And Trick intended never to be weak again. He honed his mind like he did his body—until it was a weapon he could use to win any and every fight.
Seraphina tilted her chin down, so she was looking at the ground. “What did Uriel want?”
She must have been dying to ask that for days.
“To buy Z back.”
Her shoulders tensed. “Would you have sold him?”
That answer was easy. “Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Because Uriel is an asshole.”
She made a half-laughing, half-choking sound. “He is an archangel.”
“Doesn’t stop him from being an asshole. He offered to hand over an unfallen angel to take Z’s place.”
“What?” Her head turned to face him so quickly he thought she might get whiplash.
“He would have sacrificed some poor angel to get Z back. Why, though? To just banish him again?”
Seraphina stared at the ground. “They might have forgiven Z.”
Trick scowled. “You can’t believe that. They took your wings, and you weren’t even on duty at the time.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know how the Heart is guarded—two angels at all times. If Z was kidnapped, then the other angel on duty was probably also taken, and since you weren’t sold to me as a slave...” he let the sentence trail off.
“How do you know there are only two guards at any one time?”
“We’ve been over my love for information.”
She sighed. “Can that love break us out?”
Chapter 23
The cream Trick had given her had helped with the ache in Seraphina’s palms, but she could fight if needed to. She’d been trained to engage in combat while suffering all kinds of pain and injuries. Her masters had broken limbs, simply so she could be taught to hold a sword through the agony. Mildly burned hands were nothing.
She checked her watch. Just past midnight. Only three days left.
Standing, she walked the three steps to the doorway, and peered out, careful to keep the skin of her face away from the bars. More cells were spaced evenly along a corridor that blended into shadow at either end. There were no signs, and it didn’t look like there were any other prisoners. She couldn’t even see the door the flat-nosed demon had used to enter their cellblock.
“You sure we’re in the Tower of Tortures?” she asked over her shoulder.
“We aren’t in the Human Realm. They wouldn’t station an Elock demon out there, even with Lucifer’s approval. They have a penchant for human flesh—a lot of it. We must be in one of his four Hell residences. It makes sense we are in the Tower.”
She sat again, leaning her head against the cool stone wall. “If Hades doesn’t come through, then we’re stuck here. The invisibility spell will wear off in about ten minutes, and the next time the guard comes, we’ll be seen.”
“Did you pack any spells that can cut through warded doors?” Trick asked.
“No. I thought you guys were handling the breaking and entering.”
“Sylvester prefers to call it visiting and pilfering. And it was his responsibility to carry those spells. I didn’t think we’d get trapped and teleported to Sheol.”
We should have prepared for this eventuality, just in case.
She wasn’t ready to die.
I could try prying the bars apart. I have gloves in my bag.
But while Seraphina was strong, she couldn’t boast the brute force needed. Her fighting skills lay in her speed and agility, not her muscle mass.
The sound of a bell chiming loudly made her ears pound. Looking around wildly, she asked, “Where is that coming from?”
“It’s the signal that a Hell-lord has arrived in another Hell-lord’s realm.”
The noise was nearly deafening. I guess it ensures they can’t sneak up on each other.
She focused on Trick, noting the slight pinch of pain in his features. “Do you think Hades has come for us?”
“The timing seems coincidental, but Hades can’t get us out. And he can’t really admit he hired us to steal from Lucifer in the first place.”
Seraphina wanted to refute the demon’s logic, but it was sound.
“Hades can’t get you out, but I can.”
Seraphina glancing sharply towards the voice, which had come from within the cell.
A tall Asian woman stood there, her jet-black hair swept up in a loose bun with a tiny paper umbrella perched on the side. She wore nothing but a bikini, sarong and flip-flops. She was beautiful, with fine features and a regal bearing, but it was her power that hummed through the cell.
What is she?
Whoever this woman was, she was someone to avoid.
“Asha?” Trick said in a strangled voice.
“The one and only.” She twirled a pair of sunglasses in her hand.
Trick’s eyes roved over the newcomer. “You do realize you can’t teleport out of here.”
“That’s why I brought this.” A bag appeared in her hands.
“I’m sorry, but who is this?” Seraphina turned to Trick.
“This is Asha Himm.”
Hades’ PA.
Asha shot Trick a glare. “And I’m currently meant to be on holiday. You’re messing with my time off, and I am serious about my annual leave.”
He held out his hands, palms up. “Ooops?”
She sighed. “Follow me.”
Turning to the bars, she studied them for a moment, before rummaging in her bag. “This should work.” She threw a fistful of powder toward the entrance. The scent of hot, sizzling metal rose in the air, competing with the stench of rotten eggs. The bars disintegrated within seconds.
“That is going to be noticeable.” Trick frowned.
“You want me to break you out or not?” Asha demanded, hands on hips.
“We want out,” Seraphina said quickly.
Hades’ PA turned back to the steaming pile of molten metal. “Thought so.” Stepping over the debris, she waved at them to follow. Out in the corridor, Asha looked left, then right, before counting on her fingers, and pursing her lips.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Trick queried.
“Of course.” She drew her chin up haughtily, before staring at her toes.
Trick came up next to Seraphina, and leaned down to whisper, “This does not fill me with confidence.”
His breath sent a small shiver down her spine, her skin coming alive, craving his touch.
That isn’t good.
“I heard that,” Asha said. “We go left.”
They had only made it four steps before the Elock guard thundered down the hall. The demon skidded to a stop in front of them, dark eyes wide in his sunken face. Without warning, Asha lashed out with a side kick, breaking the demon’s nose in a crunch of cartilage. She followed the blow with three well-placed punches, knocking the creature out cold. The Elock demon crashed to the floor in a scream of armor.
“We should kill it,” Seraphina said into the silence that followed.
“It is a he,” Trick muttered. “And if you think Lucifer will be angry now, wait till you kill one of his guards.”
“The guild master is right,” Asha said. “We leave him as is.”
“But he’ll recognize us.”
Trick shook his head. “Elock demons don’t have the best memories. We can chance it.”
All her training rebelled at the thought of leaving a witness alive, but she kept her protests to herself. This Asha woman and Trick had been living and working in Hell for hundreds of years, no doubt. They knew the protocols better than she did.
They stepped over the Elock’s body and hurried down the corridor. Shadows seemed to stretch and reach for them as they approached the end.
Asha turned to them. “Stay close. Once we get out of the dungeons, I should be able to teleport you.”
“I can teleport,” Trick said, almost defensively.
Asha looked at him askance. “It takes a fair bit of power to get out of these wards, but you can try.”
Instead of looking put out by the insult, Trick appeared contemplative. No doubt assessing how much more powerful Asha is, compared to him.
The few times Seraphina had met Trick previously, she hadn’t thought he was that…well, intelligent. Handsome, yes; brutal, of course. But she had been lax in assuming he didn’t have a keen mind under that pretty exterior. You didn’t get to run—and stay running—a mercenary guild with just brute force.
At the end of the corridor, the shadows swallowed them. For a moment, she struggled to breathe—malevolent evil swirled in the air currents. Then she was through the swarm of darkness, and in a well-lit stairwell.
“Where now?” Trick asked.
“We go up. But be careful.”
“Wait.” Seraphina withdrew a small dagger, and sliced her forearm, hissing slightly at the pain. It took a lot of magic to create invisibility spells, but she could manage two in a day. That would be it, though.
She’d be almost useless after.
She smeared blood in a glyph on her chest.
“Oh, that’s great! I need you to teach me that spell.” Asha’s eyes searched the small area, homing in on Seraphina’s location by the blood that appeared on Trick’s shirt before he too vanished.
Seraphina ignored the hard muscle tone under her fingertip.
Turning to Asha, she said, “Your turn.” She then drew the glyph on the demon’s bare belly. Cold zapped up her arm at the contact, the chill almost painful. Once the spell was in place, she jerked her arm back. “What are you?”
“I’m a cambion.”
And I am an archangel.
“We’re still going to need to see each other,” Asha said, and Seraphina could hear her sorting through her bag. “Here.”
A fumbling hand reached out and poked Seraphina with something. Grabbing the item, she realized it was a makeup case. Opening it, she saw it contained the same dark powder as Sylvester had used earlier.
“You brought Clear Sight?”
“I’ve got all sorts of goodies in here.”
Seraphina smeared it on her eyelids, before handing it to Trick, whose gaze, she could now see, was skittering about the room. His hand engulfed hers for a brief moment, before he applied the enchantment.
“Okay. I see everyone.”
“As do I,” Seraphina said.
“Why don’t more people have these?” Trick asked.
Asha stowed the case away in her bag. “Because they are super expensive. You just put on about five hundred bucks worth each. Now, we need to get up to the main floor, so move quickly, quietly, and follow my steps.”
