Kobal
“Lucifer won’t stop until he’s opened all of the seals, will he?” Corson asked.
I didn’t want to think it was true, that he wouldn’t be so stupid to open all of the seals, but I knew he wasn’t going to stop.
“The seals?” Hawk asked.
“The seals holding back the worst of Hell. The creatures even demons don’t want to deal with, but they have evolved over the years within the pits of Hell. Creatures that weren’t allowed to roam freely in Hell because of what they could do. My ancestors began locking them away hundreds of thousands of years ago, and now Lucifer is setting them free. You humans believed there were only seven seals, but there are a couple hundred of them.”
Hawk blanched, Vargas kissed his cross, and against my side River trembled. “And all of those things are coming here?” Vargas asked.
“With the akalia vine, we know at least the first six seals have been opened. I’m not sure how many more could have fallen. Some of the seals housed things that would never be able to survive up here as they thrive on shade and fire, but many of the others can survive here.”
Erin planted her hands on her hips as she stared at me. “Why would Lucifer open the seals?”
“If he can open the seals, he won’t have to come to Earth until it is completely overrun with the horrors of Hell and there is little opposition left to him here. Once he arrives, this world would be his for the taking. He knows the mess he will create; he simply doesn’t care. Part of the plan with River had been to try to lure him out of Hell. He won’t be lured out now. These creatures will wreak havoc on Earth and destroy as many humans and demons as possible before he rises,” I said.
“Won’t they destroy him too when he rises?” Hawk inquired.
“Not if he’s the one setting them free,” I replied. “They’ll follow him.”
“Son of a bitch,” Hawk muttered and ran a hand over the stubble on his head.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Corson said. “The gateway has to be closed.”
River thrust out her chin when Bale and Corson looked toward her. Hawk and Vargas exchanged a glance with each other.
“You can close the gateway?” Hawk inquired of her.
“I don’t know,” she said. “They think I might be able to, but no one knows for sure.”
“If she can’t close the gateway and she can’t enter Hell…” Bale’s voice trailed off.
I clenched my teeth to rein in my temper when River glared at Bale. I didn’t want River taking one step into the pit of Hell, but the alternatives weren’t any better, perhaps worse.
I could take her from here now, return her to the wall, and we could make a stand there. However, I had to admit not even I could protect her from every abomination of Hell. Eventually, they would outnumber us and everything would be lost when they did.
I may not care much for most of the humans, but looking back at Verin and Morax as they ran toward us, I knew I couldn’t sacrifice all of those who had depended on me just to keep River alive for a few more years, if we were lucky. Thousands upon thousands had died over the years to fight for me to take my place as the rightful king of Hell, and no matter how badly I wanted to keep River from what she was about to face, I could never turn my back on those who had been lost and the ones who still fought.
River had become the heart I’d never realized I could have, but the demons gathered around me had been my friends, followers, and fighters for centuries and some, such as Corson, for over a millennium. They would never turn their backs on me in such a way. They would all die to protect River for me, and I would fight to the death for any of them.
River wouldn’t walk away from this either. I would have to drag her kicking and screaming back to the wall. I’d seen the love she had for her brothers; she would do everything possible to ensure they had a future.
She was growing stronger every day. Her fire ability was increasing. With her ability to draw on life, she’d tossed Azote onto his ass and heaved me into a tree, even though I’d been prepared for it. What would she be able to do with more time? But time was something we were running out of, and I had no way to get more of it for her if the seals continued to fall.
“We will stop him, no matter what it takes,” I said.
“Should we turn back?” one of the humans asked, drawing my attention to the fact they’d all gathered around us as the church fire continued to grow and billow into the sky.
I could feel the eyes of the demons boring into me. They would agree to whatever I said, but I knew they had already weighed our options too. Continue onward and still have a small chance of success, or turn back and face a turbulent future and near certain death.
“There is no turning back,” I grated through my teeth.
“We don’t know what’s out there!” I recognized the speaker as the same woman who had become hysterical over the gargoyles. “We’ve already lost half our numbers, and now you’re saying some of the worst of what resided in Hell is here and more of it could be set free any day now.”
“There’s nothing worse than us,” Bale said with a flick of her red hair over her shoulder. “There is simply more mindless, but as you can see, we beat the gargoyles, the akalia vine is burning, and we leveled the revenirs. Keep your eyes open, stay alert, and you will survive.”
“You beat the gargoyles,” the woman said. “We were decimated.”
“Enough, Jackie,” Hawk said brusquely.
“No, not enough! Don’t think everyone hasn’t noticed how you three have ingratiated yourself to them, earning extra protection and following her around.”
The malicious glance she gave River caused the hair on my nape to rise and my lips to skim back.
“Who picked this girl?” Bale demanded, her gaze scathing as it raked over the young woman.
“I was picked because of my fighting skills,” Jackie said. “Skills I have no chance of using against monsters such as you and your kind, and whatever she is.”
Again, her eyes burned into River. Releasing her, I stepped toward the girl. “I’d suggest you stop looking at her like that; otherwise, you’ll be making your way back to the wall. On your own.”
“That would be death,” she whispered, her lower lip quivering.
“I’m a monster. I don’t care.”
“Kobal,” River said from behind me. Her hand encircled my wrist as she stepped beside me. “We’ll get through this,” she said to Jackie. “We all knew there would be casualties when we left the wall, but this has to be done. It’s the only hope any of us, or our loved ones, have of being able to survive. The wall isn’t going to hold out forever. If we turn back now, all will be lost.”
“Of course you’re willing to keep going. You’re one of them, or whatever you are, and you’re sleeping with him, so he’s going to protect you more!” Jackie retorted.
River’s hand tightened on my wrist, but she couldn’t stop me from advancing on the girl. “Not the head!” she gasped.
Jackie took a step away from me, then another. Shax moved forward to stand between us before I could reach her. He lifted his hands in a conciliatory gesture.
“I’m not going to kill her!” I snarled at him.
“Frightening her isn’t helping,” Shax replied calmly.
I focused my attention on Jackie again. “You can cry and carry on. You can think what you will of us, but you ever talk to her in such a way again, it won’t be your head I tear from your body in order to silence you.”
Jackie’s jaw dropped open before she closed it again and slapped both of her hands over her mouth.
“Nice,” Shax muttered. “Diplomacy is not your thing.”
“Fuck diplomacy. We’re the only thing standing between her and certain death. If she doesn’t like it, then she can go back.” My gaze shifted to the rest of the humans gathered behind Jackie. “You may have as many as another five years before it ends or as little as tomorrow, but Lucifer’s followers will only gain in strength, and they will make it to the wall. Not only will most of you die when that happens, but so will most of the millions of other humans who have managed to survive for this long. The ones of you who are killed outright, will be the lucky ones. Those unfortunate enough to survive will be enslaved and tortured. There are more humans and demons making their way inland to help us. We will meet up with them at the gateway and find more protection.”
At least, I hoped they were still coming. They most likely wouldn’t encounter gargoyles, but there were other obstacles out there now that the seals were collapsing so quickly.
“Everything contained behind those seals won’t be in this area either. They would have spread out to claim their own territory, something they’ve never been allowed to do before. If we’re able to close Hell again, many of them will die,” I continued.
“And those that don’t?” another human asked.
“We’ll kill them.”
“How long have these seals been open?” another asked.
“Not long,” Corson answered. “The revenirs move quickly as they can spread through the dead, and the gargoyles can fly. The akalia vine is slower than they are, but still faster than some others, and we’re only a couple of days away from the gateway we seek. I’d say it’s been a month at most since the first one fell, but most likely only a couple of weeks.”
The other humans shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot. Captain Tresden finally stepped forward; I eyed the man, not at all liking his unwillingness to take control of his people. Sweat beaded across his forehead and trickled down his cheeks as he stared at the people gathered around him. He was keeping his slowly unraveling composure hidden better than Jackie, but it was only a matter of time before he cracked.
We’d done our best to pick only those we believed would survive this journey with their minds still intact, but there had been no way to completely guard against picking someone who wouldn’t do well out here.
My gaze slid to Erin, Hawk, and Vargas as they stood near Corson and Bale. All of their faces were composed of stone, their eyes unrelenting. One of them would be the best choice to take over for Tresden when it became necessary, maybe even before, but that discussion would be better to have someplace away from the burning building behind us.
“We have to go, now,” I commanded brusquely as the fire snapped loudly in the air and a breeze pushed the smoke toward us. “The flames will only draw attention to this area.”
Taking hold of River’s hand, I kept it clutched in mine as I hurried back to the truck and opened the door for her to slide inside. The others climbed into the back of the truck and settled in. Turning away from the church, I slid behind the wheel, started the vehicle, and shifted into drive as the sun lowered in the sky. We wouldn’t cover much distance before we had to stop again for the night, but we had to get as far from here as possible.