Kobal

I kept River close by my side when we returned to the main cavern to join with the other demons. They didn’t go to one knee again, but they all bowed their heads and stepped aside to create an aisle for us to walk through.

Looking at her, no one would know that her hand briefly trembled against the small of my back as she kept her chin high. She held the gaze of every demon whose eyes she met, and she stopped to speak with those who offered their hands to her.

A tree nymph dashed through the crowd to stand at the front of the gathering. Her blonde hair framed her pretty face and emphasized her green eyes. She practically bounced on her toes while she waved enthusiastically at River. A beautiful smile lit River’s face as she stopped before the nymph.

“Lena,” she greeted and clasped the nymph’s hand in hers. “I’m glad to see you here, and safe.”

“You also, my queen. Your highness,” Lena said with a bow of her head to me before focusing on River again. “I’m glad you are both well. My queen, we have a bathing area and some fresh clothes for you. If you would like.”

“I would,” River breathed.

“I will escort them to the bathing area,” Verin said as she stepped forward. “I could use a bath myself.”

“So could I,” Bale said.

River rose onto her toes to place a chaste kiss against my lips. My arm locked around her waist, holding her in place as I deepened the kiss until she became breathless. Reluctantly, I released her and stepped away. I almost pulled her back to me when she gave me a sultry smile.

“Come, my queen,” Lena said and tugged on River’s hand. “Our king will still be here when you are done.”

“Make sure no one else goes anywhere near her and that they all steer clear of the bathing area,” I said to Bale as I watched River walk away with the nymph and Verin. “I will send the hounds with you.”

“I’ll keep her safe,” Bale vowed.

The hounds followed at Bale’s heels as she stalked away to catch up with River. A few seconds later, demons filtered out of the side tunnel River entered.

“I will be taking my leave to find some mjéod and some tree nymphs. Many tree nymphs,” Lix said to me before vanishing into the crowd.

“You should go with him,” I said to Hawk as he gazed after Lix with a look of longing on his face. “You need to feed, and we need you at your best for this fight.”

“I think I would like some more leisurely activities myself before we go to war.” Corson slapped Hawk on his shoulder. “Come, canagh demon, let’s make some nymphs happy.”

“I bet I make mine far happier than you make yours,” Hawk retorted.

“I’m game for a challenge,” Corson said, and the two of them broke away to stride through the crowd.

Morax and Magnus stepped closer to me as Lopan and Calah walked with us to the end of the chamber while I greeted everyone within. Before the humans opened the gateway into Hell, Lopan and Calah had been two of my strongest allies and fighters against Lucifer. I’d ordered them to remain behind to continue the fight when I went above with the others.

As we walked, Calah filled me in on the events that occurred since my last trip into Hell. “Things had been quiet since you were last here,” Calah said. “There were skirmishes between the two sides, but nothing major, until recently.”

I contemplated his words as I left the chamber and started down the tunnel River had entered with the others. “It probably started to change around the same time Lucifer realized we had River.”

“From what I’ve gathered, it does seem that way,” Morax said as we walked down the empty tunnel. “He’s been preparing for us to enter Hell.”

Stopping, I leaned against the wall. I glanced back at the main cavern, but no one had followed us. “And we’ve brought River to him,” I said.

Not only that, but I planned to use her as bait to lure the bastard out. Every instinct I had screamed against following the plan I’d laid out. Everything within me said to get her out of Hell before it was too late, but she’d never know a second of peace, never be completely safe, if we returned to Earth with Lucifer still alive. He would never stop hunting her.

“From what Morax has told us about her, our queen can handle herself,” Calah said.

“She can,” I agreed. “We received a visit from the fallen angel, Caim, when we traveled through the oracle.”

“Truly!” Lopan blurted and set his caultin down to lift his hat and push his hair back. “Did you kill him?”

“Not yet. He stated he would help us against Lucifer and that he believes the angels in Heaven are trying to communicate with River.”

“What do you make of that?” Morax inquired, his tail flicking above his head.

“We can’t trust him, but I think he’s right about the angels trying to speak with River. Whether that means the angels will grow a set of balls and step into this fight or not, I don’t know. I do believe they’re trying to get some message through to River. However, unlike some of the other children of the angels, she can’t receive it.”

“Why did you not reveal this to the others?” Lopan asked and lifted his caultin.

“They accept her as their queen; they have no choice. However, it could make some distrustful of her if they learn the angels are trying to get a message to her and that one of the fallen has offered to help her. Some of our fighters have turned to Lucifer’s side before; we can’t have this information somehow finding its way back to him. No one else is to know about this.”

“They will not,” Calah vowed.

“Whatever is necessary to protect our queen, my liege,” Lopan said. “You will also note that none of Magnimus’s illusions remain in the cavern.”

Magnus’s eyes narrowed on Lopan. He shifted his feet as if he were preparing to kick the leporcháin down the tunnel. I placed a hand against Magnus’s chest as Lopan grinned at him, revealing all his flesh-rending teeth. The two of them had never gotten along, each believing their capabilities to conjure things superior to the other’s.

“I noticed,” I said.

Lopan stared at Magnus before shifting his gaze to me. “They did well enough for simple illusions, and were good distractions while they lasted.”

“Good,” I said briskly. That meant Magnus had upheld his end of things. I already trusted him more than I had upon first encountering him again, but I wouldn’t take any chances when it came to River’s safety and Lucifer’s demise.

“I have a carnival you wouldn’t find so simple, and you would make a star attraction in it,” Magnus said.

Lopan turned away as if Magnus hadn’t spoken. Morax chuckled and all of Calah’s eyes rolled. Stepping away from the wall, I started down the side chamber again, stopping when River appeared with Verin and Bale. Behind them, the tiny nymph skipped along with River’s clothes in hand. The hounds brought up the rear.

River lifted her head and her amethyst eyes met mine. The black pants and shirt she wore hugged her slender frame. Her wet hair hung loosely against her back and over her shoulders. Watching the sway of her breasts in her shirt caused my cock to swell. Soon, we would be going to war against Lucifer, soon I would be putting her at risk, but before that happened, I would spend as much time with her as possible.

“Leave us,” I ordered the others.

Stalking toward her, I swung her into my arms and carried her back the way she’d come from. “Is there a place we can be alone down here?” I asked her.

“There is,” she said as she nibbled at my ear.

***

River

Kneeling in the shadows of the tunnel, I rested my hand on the cool ground. I breathed slowly in and out as I took a minute to rest. We’d been walking for what felt like hours, but we’d finally reached our destination. Finally reached the place where Kobal hoped to draw Lucifer into battle by using me as bait.

It wasn’t the most comforting of thoughts, but I’d do whatever it took to end this today.

“I keep waiting for him to declare that they’re magically delicious,” Hawk said as he knelt beside me.

I did a double take. “What?”

He nodded toward where Lopan stood beside Kobal, looking even smaller as he barely reached Kobal’s knee. “Lopan. I keep waiting for him to say that.”

“But why would he ever say that?”

Hawk rested his palm on the rock floor. “It was from this cereal that existed before the war. It had this… Never mind.”

“Oh.” I vaguely recalled something like that, but it felt like a lifetime ago now. “I keep waiting for a rainbow to sprout around him,” I admitted.

He chuckled. His skin and eyes fairly shone with vitality, and I could feel the swell of his power prickling against my skin. It didn’t take a demon to figure out that he’d recently fed.

“You’re growing stronger,” I commented.

Hawk’s indigo eyes slid toward me. “I’m becoming more of a demon every time I feed; I can feel it.”

“You have to feed to survive,” I said.

“I know. I just wish…”

“What?” I prodded when his voice trailed off.

His lips flattened into a thin line. “That I had a choice. And not a choice about being changed. Nothing could have stopped that, but a choice about what I have to do to survive now.”

“I see.”

“Do you? Because I don’t. At one point in time, I would have been thrilled to have an endless parade of women, but I’m not. Maybe that will change too as I become more and more demon.”

“Is that what you want to happen?”

“No.”

“You could meet your Chosen.”

“And feed from her?”

“I don’t know how that would work,” I admitted. “I’m sure there are other canagh demons who have met their Chosen before.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “I’m sure there are too.”

Kobal stepped away from the end of the tunnel and turned toward us. “We’ll do it now,” he said as he strode toward me.

Every muscle in my body tensed; a ripple of unease slid down my spine as Hawk and I rose.

“They’re never going to forget you,” Hawk said to me before walking down to join Lopan, Magnus, and Corson at the end of the tunnel.

Kobal had outlined his plan to everyone in Morax and Verin’s room, and I had agreed to it, but I was seriously rethinking my agreement now. If this worked the way he anticipated, he would be going for Lucifer, and I would be remaining here to fight off as many demons as I could.

I’d rather be in on the battle, but Kobal believed my presence below would only be a distraction to his fighters, and I couldn’t deny he had a point. Many of them would be more concerned with keeping me safe than killing. I was quite capable of raining down a fair amount of destruction, but if I was below, I could hit Kobal’s followers. From above, I’d at least be able to aim better and offer some cover for Kobal and the others.

To join the demons below, Kobal planned to scale down the wall, something I couldn’t do with any speed. He might give in and agree to carry me if I insisted on it, but it would only slow him and put us both at greater risk.

Kobal’s fingers slid over the back of my hand when he took it within his. He drew me a step closer to him. The flow of his power caressed my skin, causing the hair on my arms to rise. He hadn’t bothered to put a shirt on; it would most likely be burned off him as soon as he went into battle and would only be something for an enemy to grab. I’d noticed that most of the demons weren’t wearing shirts. The ones who were couldn’t fit a slice of paper between their shirt and their skin.

Kobal’s gaze burned into mine as he lifted his other hand to brush the hair back from my face. “Are you ready?” he inquired.

“As I’ll ever be.”

His fingers stilled on my cheek. He kissed the tip of my nose before turning and leading me to the mouth of the tunnel. I swallowed as I stopped at the end. My toes dangled over the edge while I peered out at the massive cavern for the first time.