Kobal
Tucked against my side, River had her head on her hands as she slept soundly, oblivious to the world around her. I’d realized she only felt this secure when she was with me. I saw the way her eyes constantly moved, the way she warily took in everything when I wasn’t beside her. My fingers slid over her golden skin and across the dusting of freckles on her nose before brushing against the small scar on her eyebrow.
“Stupidity,” she’d once told me. “I accidentally hooked myself on one of my first fishing trips.”
Fishing had once been her trade, the way she survived, and now her life was completely different from what she’d known in her youth. She’d gone from a young woman struggling to keep herself and her brothers alive to being the possible key to defeating Lucifer. I’d dragged her through the wilds beyond the wall—wilds full of horrors that most of the human population remained peacefully oblivious to. I’d brought her to a place that ate at her soul, yet she still faced it all with unwavering determination.
One of three things had to happen soon. One, she had to figure out if she could close the gate. Two, we went in search of her creator to see if, with her, we could finally defeat him. Or three, we returned to the wall.
With her ability to wield life, there might be a chance she could take out Lucifer. She’d stunned the fallen angel, Azote, in battle, and she’d only grown more powerful since then. However, getting her to Lucifer would be a huge endeavor, one that may leave her more exhausted and broken than prepared to fight.
The demons were itching for action, for resolution. They wanted to go into Hell to put a stop to what was happening with the seals, and confront Lucifer. They were tired of waiting, as was I, but I’d never been able to defeat Lucifer by charging at him head-on before. Unfortunately, there may be no other alternative.
I’d wait to see how she reacted today to entering Hell before making a decision on how to continue with all of this. Returning to the wall most likely meant certain death for all if Lucifer continued to break through the seals, but it may be the only option. I had to return to Hell; there was no choice for me. I had to know what had happened to the hounds I’d left to guard the seals, and stop the seals from continuing to fall, but I would make sure River was somewhere safer before I returned.
River stirred beside me; her sweeping lashes fluttered open to reveal her angelic, violet eyes. Her fingers slid across my chest before her palm flattened over my heart. I didn’t know how I’d do it, but I would find a way to keep those seals closed and her protected, even if it meant giving up my own life.
“I’m not so sure about you entering Hell today,” I said to her.
“I can do this. If it becomes necessary, I will enter and I will fight him.”
I brushed back a tendril of her midnight hair and tucked it behind her ear. “You may not be able to withstand Hell, River. We always knew that was a possibility.”
“I’m not giving up.”
“It won’t be giving up if you’re not able to do this. We will come up with something else.”
“It’s been thirteen years since humans accidentally opened the gateway and four years since Bale had her vision about the last of Lucifer’s descendants still being alive. I’ve been the plan for those four years.”
My hand stilled on her cheek. “This was the plan to try to prevent a full-blown war that may end the Earth, but if I can figure out what is opening the seals and put a stop to it, we can make a stand against Lucifer on Earth too. He will eventually come out.”
Her breath sucked in, and she bit her bottom lip. “So many people will die if he walks the earth again.”
“Those deaths and his rise will be unavoidable, especially if Lucifer keeps opening the seals.”
“I can stop that, or at least figure out some way to close the gate.”
“River—”
“Give me more time! I’m getting stronger every day. I may not have figured out the key to closing the gateway, but I will!”
“Fine,” I relented. “Another week, and then we will have to come up with something else.”
“You plan to go into Hell no matter what,” she said, “to stop what is going on with the seals, even if I can’t go with you.”
My fingers curled into her supple flesh. “I don’t like the idea of leaving you behind without me to protect you, but it must be done. The seals cannot continue to fall.”
“Then we will find out if I can withstand entering Hell.” She grinned at me and kissed the tip of my nose before rolling away. With fluent grace, she leapt to her feet before I could snatch her back against me. She’d redressed before going to sleep last night, but now she rushed about gathering her supplies for a bath.
“We should go now,” she said around the toothbrush clamped between her teeth. “I just have to get cleaned up first.”
“River!” I shouted and jumped to my feet when she darted through the forest faster than a wood nymph—creatures I hoped Lucifer would be smart enough not to release, but then, I doubted it. I stalked through the trees after her. Before she entered the water of the nearby stream, I caught up with her and grabbed hold of her elbow. “Don’t go anywhere alone!”
She barely glanced at me as she dropped her things on the bank. I released her elbow when she started tugging off her clothes. “There’s not much time,” she said.
Her eyes focused on the opposite bank. I followed their direction but saw nothing standing on the other side. She frowned as she tilted her head to the side.
“What is it?” I asked.
She shook her head and plunged into the stream. I watched as she dove beneath the surface before bursting up again. She scrubbed at herself with the lemon-scented soap from the camp. Shedding my clothes, I followed her into the water to wash beside her. Every once in a while, her gaze would go to the place where she’d been staring before she’d jumped into the water.
I kept expecting something to materialize there. Nothing did.
***
Kobal
River barely waved a greeting to the skelleins as she sped through the bar toward the door to the hallway. Corson, Bale, Erin, Hawk, and Vargas stared after her before turning to me. “What’s with her?” Erin inquired.
“I told her we would have to figure out a new plan if something doesn’t change soon,” I replied.
“Why?” Vargas asked.
“We cannot continue to sit here and take the chance of being discovered while supplies are running out. We might have to return to the wall, and prepare for a war before I return to Hell. I won’t continue to put her life at risk by staying here if she doesn’t possess the ability to close the gateway.”
Erin spun around so fast I had to abruptly stop walking or run the girl over. She folded her arms over her chest as she glared at me. “She can do this.”
My eyebrows shot into my hairline and my lips flattened as I glowered back at her. Erin’s arms fell away and some of the anger melted from her, but she didn’t back away as she would have done before befriending River. Actually, before then, Erin would have been too afraid to dare speak to me. Despite the fact I’d killed others for less insubordination than this, Erin had earned the right to speak her mind when she’d unfailingly stood by River’s side time and again. So had Hawk and Vargas; even now they both gave a brisk nod of agreement.
“We always knew there was a chance she wouldn’t be able to do it,” I replied. “It was a chance we had to take. With her abilities, she is still the greatest weapon we have against Lucifer and his followers. We can’t risk her further if we continue to get nowhere here.”
Erin’s eyes blazed with fire. Hawk placed a hand on her arm, pulling her back a step. “He’s right. We can’t stay here if it’s only putting us at risk. Come on, Erin, let’s go.”
She relented to his nudging and turned away from me. My heart plummeted when I realized River hadn’t waited for us by the first door to the hallway. I raced forward and crashed into the door to discover her almost at the end of the hall.
“River!” I bellowed.
She didn’t look back when she reached the far door and pushed it open. Pouring on the speed, I raced down the hallway. My feet didn’t touch the stairs as I leapt into the area surrounding the gateway.
A snarl tore from me when I spotted her standing at the edge of the gateway once more. “What were you thinking?” I demanded as I stalked toward her.
Her head was bent while she gazed into the blackness below her, before lifting her head to look across the pit. She stared in that same way she had been staring when we’d been at the stream earlier. I had no idea what she was looking at, but River often saw things far beyond what I could.
Behind me, the door crashed open as the others filed into the large room. River’s hand lifted, and before I knew what she planned, she brought a knife forth and sliced open her palm.
“What the fuck!” I exploded when the scent of her blood hit me.
I leapt at her as she stretched her hand out and held it above the gateway.