That time it was Raksha’s turn to tear up. She nodded once, her lips trembling. “You’re a good kid, you know that? I tried not to like you. I tried to stay… detached.”
Before she knew what hit her, I pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. Every bruise in my body screamed in protest, but I squeezed her as tight as I could, knowing that once we went out there, we couldn’t act like friends, and this might be the last time I was able to truly show her what this meant to me.
When I released her, she had tears streaming down her face that she quickly wiped away.
“When you meet my wife, she won’t trust you. She won’t go with you, unless you tell her I told you to do this.” Raksha took her tan index finger, and ran it from my forehead down to the tip of my nose. It was an intimate gesture that the two women must’ve shared together.
I nodded in understanding.
“You grew up in Demon City, right? You know the apartment building off Rosecrans with the green canopy?” she asked.
I nodded. It was super run-down. “By the gas station,” I confirmed.
“That’s the one. She’ll be in apartment 3B.”
Now that I had an address, and two other people depending on me, it boosted my confidence and nervousness simultaneously.
“What about Sera? Can you help me get her?” I had to try.
She shook her head. “Your weapon is the key to Heaven. He guards it with his life. There’s no way you’re getting that today. I’m sorry.”
The surety of her words broke my heart. A physical ache exploded in my chest, doubling the pain I was already feeling.
‘It’s okay. We’ll be reunited. I have no doubt,’ Sera whispered.
‘I’ll come back for you. I’ll form an army and come for you,’ I promised my dear friend.
‘Don’t you dare. You go up there and live your best life. Don’t worry about me. I waited a decade alone in a cabinet for you. I can wait another decade until circumstances are better.’
At her words, I burst into tears because she was totally saying goodbye. She was giving me permission to leave her down here.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for this.” Raksha hauled me to my feet, forcing me to stand.
‘Don’t think about me right now. The best thing you can do for me is get yourself out of here,’ Sera encouraged.
“When we walk out those doors, you need to act like everything’s okay. You can’t cry or act jumpy. Our lives depend on it. Do you understand?” Her words were clipped, back in her typical Raksha mode.
Swallowing hard, I nodded. “I can do this.” Reaching up, I wiped the tears from my eyes and pushed down every single emotion I was feeling.
“Okay then. It’s time for you to take your bath.” She unlocked the door as though it were a normal day.
Lincoln, I’m coming home.
His blue eyes were the only thing I thought about for the next half hour.
After I was bathed and Raksha had busted out my old cane, we walked to the dining hall where the others ate their meals.
I had a slight limp from the bruising, but with each step my tired and creaking bones were getting more fluid. I had no idea how many days I’d been asleep after conjuring that Celestial ball and passing out, but the demon healing had patched up the worst of my beating.
As we walked past Lucifer’s office, I found myself drawing nearer to the door.
Sera.
Raksha quickly grabbed me under the armpit, and steered me into the dining hall with a firm hand.
I just had to let it go.
When we walked inside the busy breakfast hall, a hush fell over the group, and all eyes landed on me.
You bastards.
I’d never forget how they attacked me. Every single person in that room was a vile creature, hell-bent on doing whatever the Dark Prince wanted. No matter the cost.
With a clenched jaw and a prison-yard stare, I limped to the breakfast buffet. I wanted to reach out and throat-punch the Abrus demon nearest to me, but thought better of it.
I’m getting out of here. Today.
That was my mantra.
When we stepped up to the food line, Raksha paused, scouring the table to look at the different items.
When her gaze fell onto a tray of tough-looking hunks of ham, she loaded two of them on her plate.
“I’ll need a steak knife,” she told the chef behind the counter.
Looking up, the chef smiled at Raksha. “Sure thing.”
As she handed Raksha the knife, I saw a purple haze of magic slip out from Raksha’s palm, and jump into the chef’s.
Raksha quickly stuck the knife under her plate, balancing it with one hand, and smiled at the chef.
“Things going well, Mer? How have you been?” She asked her.
Meredith looked bewildered for a moment, shaking her head. “Oh, hi, Raksha. I’m doing okay. How about yourself?”
“All good.” Raksha responded, then glopped a heaping spoonful of eggs on my plate.
What the holy hell just happened? Did Raksha make that woman forget giving her the steak knife?
I didn’t have time to find out, because then we were moving. Raksha walked to the same table we always ate at—the one with the demon-gifted Dark Mage who’d attacked me. Raven. She looked worse for wear to say the least—if that was any consolation. I was surprised she was alive, to be honest. Half her face and the right side of her arm had been burned, both of which were now covered in thick bubbly scars.
So that’s what happens when you fall into a Celestial orb.
The moment we sat down, Raven stood, giving me an epic stare-down. “I’ve lost my appetite,” she declared, before leaving dramatically.
I stared at my food, not daring to look up and into the eyes of my enemies. I needed to play it cool for another couple hours, and then I was freaking out of here.
Raksha and I ate in companionable silence. With each bite of her thick ham, she moved the sharp knife back and forth, then set it next to her napkin. The others made small conversation with her, saying they’d heard the demons had fully taken over Inferno City.
Hearing about the war just made me think of Lincoln and my family. Was everyone all right? The last time I’d seen Lincoln, he’d had scars on his wrists and seemed in a pretty bad place. How much time had passed? Time was different down here, so I had no idea what was going on up there.
I was so stuck in my head that I nearly jumped when Raksha nudged my left thigh with the base of the knife. My eyes widened as I reached down and clasped my fingers over hers, taking the sharp serrated blade under the table.
What do I do with it? I thought, panicked.
‘Shove it in your boot, obviously!’ Sera instructed.
Oh yeah, right. It’d been so long since I’d had a weapon that I didn’t know how to handle it. The weight and feel was good in my hands—light and deadly, just like Sera. Lifting my leg under the table so it didn’t look like I was leaning down, I slipped the blade into my boot and pulled my sweat pants over it to cover it.
‘I don’t think I can leave you,’ I told her again. There had to be another way, something I could do.
‘Brielle, if you were to try and get me, and it cost you your chance out of here, I would never forgive myself.’
I sighed, and decided not to say anything more.
We sat there a long time, Raksha chatting people up leisurely like she wasn’t about to help bust me out of here. It was a weird feeling trying to act calm when I felt so frantic inside.
What would I say when I saw Lincoln again, or Shea? “Hey, I’m alive”?
‘That’s a start,’ Sera mused.
God, I was going to miss her in my head.
“All right, duty calls.” Raksha stood suddenly, grabbing her plate.
My heart cranked up a notch in my chest as I stood as well.
Please don’t let the knife fall out.
Raksha went over to the chef on our way out and handed her a fork—something she never did, as we usually put our utensils and plates in soapy buckets by the door. “Thanks, Mer.”
The chef nodded and took the fork, throwing it in a sink behind her, before carrying on with her duties.
I glanced behind me to see the entire table watching us.
They know. Oh God.
‘No they don’t. Calm down,’ Sera pressed.
The moment we left the cafeteria, we turned down the hall to see Lucifer coming out of his office. I actually jumped, a small squeak escaping me.
He looked up at me and sneered. “Brielle, how are you feeling?” His voice was like honey, and yet, I wanted to brandish the stolen knife and slit his throat.
“Pretty awful,” I admitted, trying to play it cool.
He nodded, giving my body a quick once-over. My palms started to sweat under his gaze.
“Well, I’ll see you for dinner tonight. I have a little business proposition for you, to make your time here more useful,” he purred.
Having your demon baby is a business proposition?
Gross.
“Okay,” was all I could manage.
He nodded and started to walk away before stopping and turning back to face us. “Where are you off to, Raksha?”
Raksha stiffened the slightest bit. “Daily chores, sir. The red door to fetch your packages, and then I’ll bring Brielle for her nap. I’m trying to build up her fitness endurance again after the downtime.”
He nodded curtly, waved at us in dismissal, and then spun back, disappearing around the corner.
The moment he left, Raksha booked it, with me hot on her heels.
My escape plan was officially in effect.
God help me.
Chapter Thirteen
As we made our way past Lucifer’s office, I tugged on Raksha’s shirt and stopped. “Wait. He’s not there. We can grab Sera.”
She spun, fury overtaking her face. “It’s magically locked. You have to let your blade go.”
I whimpered. “Can you magically unlock it?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked like she was about to smack me. “No. Then he’ll know it was me. I’m the only one powerful enough. Brielle. We. Need. To. Move. Now.”
‘Go, you idiot!’ Sera shouted.
Reaching out, I gave the handle a quick pull to find it was indeed locked.
‘I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,’ I cried.
‘You’re forgiven. Always.’ Her ease at letting me go, letting me leave her in this godforsaken place, made me love her a hundred times more. It’s what I would’ve done for Shea or anyone else I loved.
With a hard yank, Raksha pulled me away from the door. In that moment, I fully gave up on any notion that I might be taking Sera with me.
We walked in hurried silence for the half-mile trek through the maze of tunnels until the light began to shine ahead, signaling that we’d reached our destination. Raksha stopped about twenty feet from the red door and spun to face me, tears in her eyes.
“Tell my family I love them. Tell them not to worry about me, and this is all I’ve ever wanted for them. Promise me you’ll get them to Angel City.”