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Highway to Hell Chapter 14

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A scraping sound to my right brought me around from the stupor I had fallen into. I tensed and my muscles seized, pulling a wince from my tightly clamped lips. I shrank further into the rock, turning my head in the direction of the noise.

Shadows danced across the ground pulling my attention in different directions. With some effort, I pulled my knees into my chest, becoming as small as I could and I wished I had Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility.

“Where the hell could he have gone?”

“I don’t know, but when we find him, I’m going to personally feed that little brat to Leviathan.”

The second voice caused my insides to clench, anger and fear broiled inside my stomach, creating an acidic lining in my throat and I closed my eyes, swallowing back the bitter bile.

Promethis.

I thought I terminated that bastard in York.

When they rounded the outcrop into my field of vision, I held my breath, pretending to be just another boulder in the line of rocks I sat against. Their gaze passed over me and they kept moving. After they moved into the distance, I exhaled, wishing I was at home in bed and not here.

Nothing happened and I dropped my head to my knees remembering what Ben had said about the limitations in Purgatory. On retrospect, I wished for my knife instead. A familiar vibration filled the space around me and I looked at the ground at my side. There in the sheath lay the powerful weapon. I shifted, glancing in the direction the two reapers had wandered off, and chanced movement, clasping the knife around my exposed thigh, welcoming the soothing warning hums.

“I know,” I whispered, caressing the hilt.

The farther they went, the lower the warning cry of the knife got until it stopped vibrating all together. I kept my eyes and ears open and with every second that passed, the knots in my muscles loosened, relaxing until I finally stretched my legs out in front of me.

My stomach growled, but before I had a chance to wish up some chow, a fireball lit up in the distance and my knife started the mad vibrations. I forced myself to my feet and wrapped the non-existent cloak around me. It was like looking through a veil and I climbed over the rock, sliding to the ground on the other side.

I had been in such a hurry to put distance between the monster and the rocks that I really didn’t have a chance to study the landscape. Flat barren land, like a dry and cracked desert, lay before me. Cold. Unwelcoming.

I shivered and took a few steps toward the small squat building a few thousand yards away, repeating the mantra “invisible” over and over in my mind. The beast strained against a giant chain, focused on the direction of the commotion. I ignored the explosions behind me, keeping my sights on the building where Leviathan held my father.

My fingers clasped the hilt of the knife, but I didn’t dare take it out of the sheath. I couldn’t risk the exposure. Inching my way into the danger zone, I wished with all my heart that the invisible glamour I wore would last and whatever magic I was imploring would also mask my scent.

The closer I crept, the more the knife vibrated and even my soft assurances wouldn’t calm the metal. I stopped halfway between my rock hideout and the building, scanning the distance between where I now stood and where Leviathan lunged against his restraints like a mean junk-yard dog. I was now in range of the beast, but it was still focused on the events behind me.

I stared at the chain holding it in place, following it from the thick collar down to the anchor embedded in the ground, and an insane idea formed.

Would the beast turn on its captors if it was released from captivity?

I bit my lip, contemplating whether or not it was as loyal as a junk-yard dog. It was something to consider, but it would also mean getting within reach of Leviathan’s powerful jaws and its equally deadly claws. That was something I didn’t want to try, even with the invisible cloak.

I inched closer—aware that the pains in my body had lessened to the point fluid movement was possible, and I thanked God for the relief. I carefully plotted the course and when I reached the side of the building, I took a break. Leaning my back against the solid surface, I focused my attention on the flashes beyond Leviathan.

It certainly looked like Promethis had found a fight and I allowed myself a brief moment of satisfaction before slipping around the corner. The front of the barred cell looked like the same material holding Leviathan in place and I peered between the heavy bars.

My father was sprawled face down on the floor of the cell and I chanced a glance behind me again. Leviathan was still engaged with the distant scuffle and I turned back, studying the locking mechanism. I crouched down, looking at the ornate keyhole. My knife blade wouldn’t fit in the fancy entry and I pressed my lips together to stop the curse from tumbling out.

“Dad,” I whispered under the howling storm behind us and his head turned. A nasty black bruise covered the side of his face and his eye peered out from swollen skin. His gaze searched the darkness and then his eye closed and his head dropped to the ground again.

Crap, he can’t see me.

I bowed my head, contemplating whether I should drop the guise or not. I needed information just as much as I needed to be invisible.

“Dad,” I said and his eye opened again. “I’m here.” I shifted and planted the knife in the ground where he could see it.

His gaze widened and he crawled to the gate, looking beyond me at the occupied beast. His hand reached through the bar and stopped when his fingers hit my hand still clasping the handle. He pulled his hand slowly back, his beaten face registering shock and awe.

“Nick?”

“Yes, sir,” I whispered and pulled the knife back under the protection of my invisible cocoon. “Do you know where the key is?”

Confusion clouded his eyes.

“To unlock this cell door,” I pressed. When his gaze moved from the space in front of the cell to the beast in the distance, I shivered.

“How are you... doing... that?” he asked, his question stilted like he didn’t understand.

“You can thank Mom for making me read Harry Potter.”

He blinked and his eyebrows rose. His lips moved but he couldn’t seem to formulate words.

“I wished for Harry’s cloak of invisibility.”

“You... wished?”

“Can’t you?”

The slow shake of his head sent a shockwave through my form. “I thought...” Rumbling behind me silenced any words and I stared at my father.

“This isn’t normal, is it?” I asked, despite the sounds drawing closer.

“No,” he answered and moved away from the bars, his gaze no longer on me but on the spot beyond my shoulder. The huff of breath shifted my clothing and I moved lower, pressing my body against the metal bars, praying the thing wouldn’t step on me.

The roar of pain made me jump and I looked up in time to see the beast turn toward something in the distance. Another fireball hit its scales and it lunged, jumping at least a hundred yards. I caught sight of a reaper with a glowing ball in his hand. He wound up and pitched, hitting the Leviathan in the chest.

The familiarity of the move struck me and my heart jumped at the recognition

I turned toward my father quickly. “The key,” I whispered.

His finger pointed at the beast. “On the collar.”