Evie
I wave once more at the guys, seeing their annoyance, but luckily not being able to hear what they are shouting at us. Connor nods his head towards the gate, making me look away from the guys. The gate is literally a huge gold door, that glows. There is a line of souls being led into it like they can’t go anywhere else, souls that are not meant to be in hell for long. They will be reborn, lucky for them. I doubt my soul will be.
“We can join the line, no one controls this gate, or protects it like the next one,” I tell him. We walk the few steps to the line, sliding in between a gap, and walking towards the floor. The soul in front of me is an old lady in a long night dress, and her long hair is down. She looks so peaceful as she glides along, not even noticing me behind her.
“Who protects the next gate? Or do I not want to know?” Connor whispers as we walk.
“The three triplet guard dogs of hell. They aren’t dogs, but they can turn themselves into massive creatures that look like dogs,” I explain. I haven’t met them myself, I only know what Azi has told me. He said they are immortal, and bound to the gate, knowing they will die if they try to leave the gate unprotected. He also said they are assholes with appealing faces. And that the appeal was that he wanted to punch them every time they opened their mouths.
“How are we meant to get past them, exactly?” Connor asks, and I glance him expecting to see fear, but he just looks curious.
“Basically, by having Azi with us. They are forbidden to stop him, and anyone he wishes, from going into the third layer,” I explain what I’ve heard. It’s not like anyone asks to go down to hell, anyway, so I doubt the guard dogs will stop us.
“Why?” Connor asks.
“It’s his home. Azi said he, and his brothers, were born there,” I say quietly, and we finally get to the gate before Connor can ask any more questions. The soul in front of me walks straight into the gold wall like it’s not there, disappearing on the other side. I step through, feeling like a warm breeze hits me and smile as I open my eyes at the second layer of hell. It’s a desert, the snow quickly changing to the open sands, and the large pyramid in the middle of it. The gold tip is shining in the sun. The distance catches my eye, and I know that’s where the next portal is. I look around, seeing nothing for ages. I know it’s getting dark, and we need to find somewhere to hide before we try to make it to the next gate in the morning.
“That’s weird, and this place is not what I was expecting,” Connor says behind me, and holds his hand over his eyes as he looks around.
“We need to find shelter for the night, somewhere the others can find us,” I say, and Connor puts his hand on my shoulder, turning me.
“That looks good,” he points at a small section of rocks, one is big enough to have a ledge that casts a shadow, and we can use it for a shelter for the night.
“Let’s go,” I say, walking to the rocks. I keep an eye out, but there would only be demons here, and most will be near the pyramid. I doubt they will bother us. Souls can’t be in here, they disappear once they go through the gate. We get to the rocks, and I instantly pull my bags off, and then my cloak, my jacket and just leaving myself in a vest shirt that is see through. Connor does the same, and I turn just in time to see him pull his shirt over his head. I trace my eyes over his muscular, toned chest, the rune name I can see written over his heart. I move my eyes up to his, seeing him staring at me with just as much desire as his eyes sweep down my body. I walk over, watching how he stays very still, but doesn’t move away. His rune name just looks like symbols to me, all different ones that make no sense. I gently place my hand on them, tracing them with my finger, and making his breath hitch.
“I should push you away,” he whispers as I lock my eyes with his. I smirk, leaning up, so our lips are inches apart.
“You should, but you won’t. It will feel so much better because it’s not allowed,” I tease him, brushing my lips against his. He loses control quickly, grabbing my hips and pulling me into his arms as he harshly kisses me. I didn’t expect his kiss to be like this. Demanding, harsh, controlling, and utterly amazing. It’s always the quiet ones you should watch out for. He walks us backward, pushing my back against the rock wall, breaking away from my lips to kiss down my neck. I open my eyes for only a second, seeing red ones glaring at me from a few feet away. I don’t stop Connor as he sucks on my neck, and Azi’s eyes glow as he storms towards us, grabbing Connor and sending him flying away from me into the sand.
“You. Are. Mine!” Azi demands, stepping into my space, and grabbing my arms, pinning them above my head. I could fight him off, but I don’t when I see how close he is to losing control.
“Like fuck I am! You’re a cheating bastard!” I seethe, not scared of him one bit.
“You never let me explain! You just walked away, you left!” he growls right back.
“I don’t need an explanation, I know what I saw!” I shout back.
“You don’t know fuck. The woman you walked into the room to see in-between my legs was sent as a present from my brother. I didn’t even know she was in my apartment as I walked in and sat down. She practically ran to me as the door was unlocked, and everything happened so fast,” he tells me, and I don’t breathe as I think it through. Could that have happened? I was so angry, so upset that I didn’t give him or her a chance to say anything to me before I called a portal to hell. “You know what I think? You wanted a reason to run . . . you can’t stand the chance that someone is actually on your side. That someone cares about you, and that you’re not alone.”
“You really expect me to believe that?” I eventually say, but my voice comes out in a whisper because I hate how right he might be with his statement, how I usually run from anyone that is close to me because they will leave or die, anyway. I’ve had twenty-five years of people doing that, starting off with my parents who left me. I keep my eyes locked on his, with more emotion than I ever wanted to show this demon.
“I have never lied to you. Never, Vi,” he says firmly, and lets me go, stepping away as Connor runs over to us. I spot Trex and Nix walking over the sand hill in the distance and know I have to focus on the mission. I have to get the princesses back, so Hali is safe, nothing else matters.
“I can’t deal with this, not here, not now. I can only think of Hail, she needs me,” I tell him, trying to make myself forget everything between us for now. I hate the fact he can scare me so easily by being truthful.
“I know, that’s why I’m not pushing you . . . but don’t push me,” he warns.
“Everything okay, Evie?” Connor asks, moving closer as he wipes sand out of his hair, and keeping his eyes on Azi the whole time.
“Yeah, everything is fine. Azi got the stupid notion that I belong to him when I don’t. I don’t belong to anyone, and I can do as I damn well please,” I say, moving away from them all, and going to my bag. I look over my shoulder once at Azi, seeing him watching me as he talks quietly to Connor, who watches me, too. I shake my head as I look back at my bag. I can’t trust him, I can’t believe him, and I can’t risk thinking about my ex while I’m literally in hell.