River

The demons split apart as Morax led us through the crowd. Verin sauntered beside him, her hips swaying with each step. Curious eyes burned into me as I walked past the demons, but no one spoke to me again. All of them bowed their heads to Kobal once more, and he paused to speak with some of them before continuing. A few of the ones he spoke with fell into line behind us, while one of them turned and disappeared into the crowd.

I didn’t take an easy breath until we stepped out of the chamber and into a side tunnel barely large enough to fit the two of us walking next to each other. A glance behind me revealed Hawk, Lix, Bale, Corson, and Magnus also following us. The hounds created a wall at the back of the pack.

Morax stopped before a boulder blocking the end of the tunnel and stepped to the side. His tail coiled around the edge of the rock. The muscles in his tail flexed when he lifted the rock and set it aside to reveal the room beyond.

I peered in at the gray walls and floor of the room. Each of the four corners had a small Hell fire burning within a pit. The warmth of the room brushed against my skin and caused sweat to bead on my brow, but it was nowhere near as unpleasant as the heat from the Oracle.

Kobal led me inside and the others filtered in to spread out around us. A large, stone slab in the center of the room was set up like a table. It had half a dozen pink quartz rocks surrounding it. The rocks were at least two feet high with a flat top perfect for sitting. Six black goblets sat on the table, and more were displayed on the shelves lining the back wall. To my right, a narrow hall led away from the room, but no one moved toward it.

“What is this place?” I asked.

“Hell has many hidden chambers where demons reside. There is no way to uncover all of them. What one demon knows, another doesn’t, and so on,” Kobal replied. “This is one of those chambers.”

“Our world is always changing and evolving, even when it is staying the same,” Magnus murmured. “But Hell is a place for those who have perished and death always bring about change, does it not?”

“It does,” I agreed though his words gave me that whole feeling of falling through the rabbit hole again. Magnus had a way of making things confusing, at least to me and Hawk. All the demons understood what he said perfectly fine; he made my head ache. “What does Helka mean?” I asked Kobal.

“Hell king,” he answered.

“Oh.”

Behind me, the boulder creaked as Morax shifted it back into place and the entrance was covered once more. I glanced over my shoulder at the demons I didn’t know. They must be some of Kobal’s more trusted allies who had remained in Hell after the gateway opened.

“How many fighters have been lost since you left us?” Kobal inquired.

“About a hundred,” Verin replied. “We’ve taken out at least twice as many of Lucifer’s followers.”

“But then the lower-levels have always been stupid and weaker and therefore easier to kill. He’s keeping his upper-level demons restrained right now and only sending his weaker fighters after us,” Morax said. “We engaged with them yesterday, but it was a half-hearted attempt on Lucifer’s part.”

“Any idea why?” Kobal inquired.

“He’s plotting something. What it is, we don’t know,” a demon with three-eyes answered.

Stepping forward, the demon extended one of his hands to me. Every one of his different colored eyes dared me to take the hand that was easily the size of my head. The eye in the center of his forehead was a striking aqua blue, while the left one was orange and the right green. Easily eight feet tall, he was solidly built and handsome with his broad cheeks and wide jaw.

“I am Calah,” he said.

I took hold of his hand the best I could, considering I couldn’t wrap my fingers all the way around it. “River,” I replied.

He bowed his head before releasing my hand and turning to Kobal. “It is good to see you again, my king. It has been too long.”

“It has, my friend.” Kobal took Calah’s hand and squeezed it. Though Calah was taller and broader than Kobal, the amount of power Kobal exuded made him seem larger than Calah.

The other demons who had entered the room came forward to introduce themselves to me and to reconnect with Kobal before stepping back.

“We must figure out what Lucifer is plotting,” Kobal said when the last demon retreated from him.

“We moved everyone here when we realized he was trying to bait us,” Morax said.

“How was he baiting you?” Kobal inquired.

“He was keeping us busy by engaging us on one side, but with only a small number of lower-level demons. We destroyed them without much effort, but we know he has more troops centralized around the throne room and he is inside the room,” Calah answered.

“Is it possible retreating is what Lucifer intended for you to do?” Lix asked.

“If it is, then he didn’t expect us to move here. Few know of this place, or at least few used to know of it,” Morax said and clasped Verin’s hand. I realized this had been their private chambers.

Kobal led me over to one of the quartz seats and maneuvered me onto it before taking the seat beside me at the head of the table. Lix sat on my other side and Calah moved to sit beside Kobal. Corson took a seat near the end and Morax helped Verin sit before stepping behind her. All the others spread out to stand behind those seated at the table.

Kobal opened his mouth to start speaking when a solid knock sounded on the boulder blocking the entrance. Morax strode over and pulled the rock out of the way. He stepped aside to allow someone entrance, but I couldn’t see who entered over the top of the table. I glanced at Hawk as his eyebrows shot into his hairline. His lips compressed into a flat line and he looked as if he were trying not to laugh or gawk.

I went to rise to see who had entered, but Kobal seized my hand and flattened it on the table, holding me in place. I frowned at him as Verin rose from her seat and strode over to stand beside Bale. A scraping sound filled the air, and I thought the seat Verin vacated was pulled back, but I couldn’t be sure.

Straining to try to see what was going on, I nearly toppled out of my seat when a forehead and eyes popped over the table. A pair of deep-set chestnut eyes met mine over the slab separating us and a bulbous nose with a reddened tip rested on the top of the rock. A gnarled hand rose and plopped onto the table beside the eyes, which twinkled with amusement. The demon hoisted himself onto the rock seat before leaping nimbly onto the table.

I understood Hawk’s reaction as I tried not to gawk at the three-foot creature striding across the table toward me. His red outfit reminded me of Santa’s suit, only the belt was green, as was the top hat he wore slightly askew. A red belt ran around the middle of the top hat.

The man’s brown hair hung in ringlets, and with every step he took, they bounced against his shoulders. Due to his knobby knees bowing out to the sides, his gait was awkward and hitching. If he’d been wearing shoes with bells on them, I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from laughing, but his hairy feet were entirely bare and his pink toenails neatly trimmed.

Stopping in front of me, he tilted his head to the side to study me and set down the small, black pot he’d been holding. I blinked at the yellow liquid swirling within the pot as a wave of steam wafted from it.

It can’t be! My mind screamed at me. However, when I lifted my head to take in the little man as he crouched before me and rested his hands on his knees, I couldn’t deny I was waiting for a rainbow to sprout somewhere behind him.

“River, this is Lopan,” Kobal said.

Lopan the leprechaun. I almost laughed, but I had a feeling this little leprechaun would tear my throat out instead of granting me wishes or giving me his pot of steaming yellow stuff.

“It is good to see you, Lopan,” Kobal said.

The little man’s eyes darted to him. “You also, my king. You have been missed. There are still five leporcháins on your side.”

Leporcháins? That must be what type of demon Lopan was, but were they pulling my leg with this? Was this one of Magnus’s illusions? I glanced at Magnus, but I knew he wouldn’t try something like that right now, and Kobal wouldn’t play along with it. Not while they were discussing how to kill Lucifer.

“The other five leporcháins remain on Lucifer’s side?” Kobal asked.

“Four. I killed Dragsi,” Lopan replied.

When he spoke, he revealed his mouthful of razor teeth. He may not look overly intimidating, but this leporcháin could inflict a lot of damage. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t a formidable opponent.

“I am sorry for the loss of your friend.”

“Dragsi stopped being a friend when she chose the false king over our true king,” Lopan replied. “Jumping Jehoshaphat! She has angel eyes, my liege.”

I somehow managed to keep my shock hidden over this abrupt shift in conversation and his choice of words.

Rising, Lopan extended his tiny hand to me. “Howdy!” he greeted. “What’s cracking?”

“Ah, I’m not sure,” I replied and glanced at Kobal. He’d propped his chin on his palm and conveniently placed his hand over his mouth to hide a smile. I stretched my hand out to take Lopan’s. “Hello.”

Lopan lifted his other hand and clasped mine within both of his as he leaned forward to peer more intently at me. “Much power, much strength, a fine queen, for a mortal,” he said as he patted my hand.

I was saved from having to think of a response when he released me, turned away, and bent over his pot. He waved a gnarled hand across the top of it before dipping his hand inside and pulling out a perfect, golden rose. My mouth dropped and Hawk’s breath exploded from him when Lopan extended the rose to me.

“Unlike Magnus’s tricks, you’ll find this will remain intact when touched,” Lopan said.

“I’ll show you a trick,” Magnus muttered.

“For you, mah rejant,” Lopan said, ignoring Magnus. “Please, take it.”

I stretched my hand out and took the stem of the rose. Solid beneath my fingers and cool to the touch, the rose looked so real that I was tempted to sniff it.

“It’s beautiful,” I murmured. “Thank you.”

“A rose for a flower,” he replied, and I couldn’t figure out if he didn’t know the saying, or he didn’t know any other flowers. Either way, it didn’t matter. Lopan bowed his head and lifted his pot. He tottered back to the other side of the table and set his pot down. Settling himself on top of the slab, he sat crossed legged as he gazed at all those within the room. “Now, where were we?”

I kept the rose in hand as I drew it closer to me. Kobal leaned over to whisper in my ear. “The leporcháin do not often part with their treasures. That is a rare gift from one such as them. I think he has also tried to learn some human sayings for you and might be confusing them.”

“It’s sweet that he tried,” I murmured.

A smile curved Kobal’s mouth as he leaned closer to me. “I’ve never heard another refer to the leporcháin as sweet. Murderous fiends, yes. Bloodthirsty, most definitely, but never sweet. Lopan is a strong ally.”

“You sent the demon in the cavern to find him and bring him here,” I said.

“Yes. When I learned Lopan still lived and had simply been elsewhere engaged when we arrived, I wanted him here for this.”

He’d been with the nymphs most likely, or some other demon, I realized. I turned and pressed my lips to Kobal’s ear as I spoke. “Is he really a leprechaun?”

“Yes and no.” Kobal clasped my hand within his. “The leporcháin certainly aren’t friendly creatures who have a pot of gold and chase rainbows, but they most likely spawned the leprechaun myth amid humans.”

I looked from Lopan to the rose and back again. “What’s the stuff in the pot?”

“It’s not a pot but a caultin. They carry it with them wherever they go, and it is the source of the leporcháin’s magic. Their magic keeps the caultin bound to them when they carry it, but it is possible to steal it if they set it down. If it’s ever stolen from them, so is their source of power.”

“So that’s where the myth of a pot of gold came from, and that if you steal one from a leprechaun they have to do what you ask.”

“Yes. The leporcháin will do almost anything for their power back; it’s their main defense. They can conjure anything from within, as long as it’s the size of the caultin or smaller. It’s where their clothes come from; for some reason they enjoy wearing those things. I think one of them saw the myth the humans had turned them into and decided to have fun with it, or they are trying to make themselves look even less threatening to demons by wearing the outfit. Though, those who cross a leporcháin know just how lethal they can be.”

“Amazing.”

I ran my fingers over the rose. A single, midnight blue spark flickered across the tip of my finger to the rose.

“A child of the angels,” someone in the room murmured.

I lifted my head to find everyone staring at me. Lowering the rose, I placed it carefully on the table.

“What is the next step, my liege?” Lopan inquired.

Beside me, Lix uncapped his flask and took a swig before turning it over. Not a single drop fell out. I expected him to complain; instead, he recapped his flask and folded his arms over his chest.

“We go after Lucifer,” Kobal said.

“No one fighting Lucifer has made it into the throne room since he seized control of Hell,” Calah said.

Kobal tapped his fingers against the table. “No one has been able to lure him or his followers out of that room once they hole themselves up in it. We will be able to do so now.”

“How?” I inquired.

A muscle in his jaw twitched when he turned his eyes to me. “Bait.”

Slowly, he outlined his plan to draw Lucifer into a battle.