Chapter 17

The stench of stale sweat, blood, and sex assaulted my nostrils as we crept through the dimly lit corridors of the Ridley Hotel. Pauli bobbed his head as he dangled from my shoulders. “I smell sex and caaandy...”

I clamped my hand over his mouth. “Shut it, unless you want to announce our presence to every Cupid in the vicinity.”

He wrenched himself free. “That’s the whole point! We’re trying to get their attention, remember?”

“Well, can you find a less irritating way to help? Besides, I don’t smell any candy here at all.”

“But you do smell the sex!” He cackled. I rolled my eyes, even though he was right. This place had been one massive orgy on our last visit.

We slunk into the ballroom, where all hell had broken loose before. Where Oblivion had abandoned my body and possessed Alice instead. The expansive room now sat empty and silent, but something prickled my witch senses. I felt the hairs on my neck stand up as I detected a strange magic.

“Do you feel that?” I murmured. Pauli shook his head, oblivious. I followed the unsettling energy to a small kitchen area behind the ballroom. The tiles had been blasted apart, revealing a gaping hole with a massive convergence swirling inside—a vortex leading to another world.

The dark tendrils of the portal twisted and curled like living shadows. I’d never seen magic like this before.

“Where do you think that goes?” Pauli whispered, uncharacteristically serious.

I shook my head. “We suspected there might be some kind of gate here. My guess is it connects to whatever world the Cupids came from.”

“But aren’t cupids creatures of chaos and servants of Oblivion? Wouldn’t they have come from the void—from non-existence itself?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Just because they enjoy chaos doesn’t mean they come from the void. Oblivion could have recruited the little bastards from God knows where.”

Pauli chewed his lip. “Do you think Oblivion and Alice could be hiding on whatever world is on the other side? Gathering an army or something to launch a final attack?”

My stomach knotted. “It’s not just possible, it’s likely. And if Oblivion still has the rest of the Underground captive, that’s probably where they are, too.”

I stared into the swirling vortex, considering our options. This changed everything.

“The magic here definitely resembles Alice’s breath,” Pauli said. Well, Oblivion’s breath. Unless she had a habit of eating life-destroying ass before Oblivion possessed her.”

I furrowed my brow. “Life-destroying ass? I don’t even know what that means.”

Pauli shook his snake-shaped head. “When all this is over, I’ll tell you all about my last Friday. I mean, he was cute, right? So I figured he’d be clean, neat, ready for a Pauli Pounding. But good lord. Ever hear of manscaping? He sure hadn’t. That’s for damn sure.”

I pressed my lips together. “A Pauli Pounding?”

“It’s trademarked, bitch. Don’t use it or I’ll sue your cold, dead ass.”

I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t in the mood for Pauli’s shit. “I think you can keep that story to yourself. Whatever’s going on here, it changes our plans.”

Pauli flicked his forked tongue, tasting the air near the portal. “I wonder if I could sneak through and do a little recon without being noticed.”

“Too dangerous,” I said firmly. “We do not know what’s on the other side. I won’t risk you getting hurt or trapped there.”

Pauli sighed but didn’t argue. He stepped back from the vortex, preparing to teleport us out.

But before he could, dark tendrils lashed out from the portal and coiled around my body. I cried out in shock as they yanked me toward the opening.

“Mercy!” Pauli tightened his coil around my wrist, trying to pull me back. I felt his magic swell as he attempted to teleport us both to safety. But a surge of... darkness, of nothingness... flowed through me and repelled his magic.

“It’s no use,” Pauli hissed. “I can’t break its hold on you.”

The portal’s pull strengthened. Pauli’s grip was tight, but I could tell he was losing the tug-of-war match over my body. Our eyes met, and in that moment, I knew what had to happen.

“Go,” I told him. “Get back to the others. Warn Hailey what’s happened.”

“No!” Pauli cried. “I won’t leave you!”

“You have to,” I said firmly. “They need to know. Please.”

Pauli’s slitted eyes bored into mine. Then, with a hiss, he released my hand. The tendrils dragged me backwards into the swirling abyss. Pauli’s colorful face was the last thing I saw before the void consumed me.

The portal swallowed me into freezing darkness. The tendrils released me, and I fell hard onto an icy stone floor.

Groaning, I pushed myself up and took in my surroundings. I was in a vast cavern dimly lit by glowing crystals jutting from the walls and ceiling. The air was frigid and stale. In the distance, I could hear the echo of dripping water.

I got to my feet, wincing. Nothing seemed broken, but I’d have some nasty bruises later. If there was a later.

I glanced around for an exit but saw only endless, twisting tunnels branching off from the cavern. Shivering, I hugged my arms around myself. My breath misted in front of me.

“Well Mercy,” I muttered, “you wanted to find Oblivion. Looks like you got your wish.”

The portal was still overhead, but I’d fallen so far that even with my vampiric abilities, there was no way to reach it. I tried to climb the walls, but they were too slick. I couldn’t make it more than a few feet up before I slid back to the cold cavern floor.

At least the crystals offered some kind of light. What magic powered them? Was it magic at all? I sensed nothing I could use.

Picking a tunnel at random, I started walking. The glowing crystals cast just enough light to see by. The tunnel sloped gradually downward, deeper into the frozen earth.

I quickened my pace, both to warm up and to get somewhere faster. The cold bit at me even through my kevlar. I couldn’t stop shivering.

What did I know about this place? Absolutely nothing. I guessed that Oblivion and Alice were there, and maybe my friends from the Underground. But I didn’t know for sure.

I wasn’t even totally sure that this was where the cupids came from. Convergences can change, they can shift. Oblivion could manipulate them. Just because the convergence at Ridley Hotel might have once brought the cupids to our world didn’t mean that’s where it took me.

But I had to start somewhere. I had to find answers and rescue my friends if they were here. And perhaps, just maybe, put an end to Oblivion once and for all.

As I ventured deeper into the tunnel, the air grew colder and the crystals dimmer. The walls became more jagged, as if nature itself had torn through the earth—or whatever world I was in—to create this labyrinthine underworld.

The sound of dripping water grew louder, echoing through the tunnels like a haunting melody. I deduced that there must be an underground river nearby. Water often led to civilization, right? Or at least something other than this desolate, frozen wasteland.

I followed the sound and eventually came upon a small subterranean river flowing swiftly through the jagged rocks. The water was crystal clear, but it radiated an icy chill.

Bending down, I dipped my hand into the freezing water. It sent a shockwave of cold up my arm, but it didn’t harm me.

That convergence pulled me in here... that means someone or something wanted me here.

The thought was jarring. If this was Oblivion’s base, if he and Alice were here, somewhere, plotting how they were going to unwind all of my world’s existence, they surely knew I was there now. They wanted me there.

I stood up, my hand still dripping with the chilling water. Determination surged through me, replacing the fear that threatened to consume me. I couldn’t let the unknown overwhelm me. I had faced countless enemies before and came out victorious. This would be no different.

Taking a deep breath, I followed the course of the river, using it as a guide through the winding tunnels. The echoes of my footsteps reverberated off the walls, creating an eerie symphony in this desolate place.

As I walked, I noticed subtle vibrations beneath my feet. The ground trembled slightly, as if there was some kind of immense power coursing through this hidden realm. It sent shivers down my spine, but I pressed on.

Suddenly, a faint glow caught my attention up ahead. Excitement surged within me as I quickened my pace. The glow grew brighter, illuminating the path before me.

Rounding a bend in the tunnel, I stood on the edge of a vast underground lake. The source of the icy river I’d found before.

As I approached the pool, I could feel the power emanating from it. It was so clear that while it might have been a hundred feet deep; it looked as though I could have reached in and touched the bottom. But it was what I saw at the bottom that sent shockwaves through my body.

The djinn’s lamp. Ladinas’s lamp. Was this the world Muggs took it to? If that was the case, why was the convergence at the Ridley Hotel linked to it?

“You think you’re so clever...”

The voice startled me so much I nearly slipped into the water. When I whipped around, Alice was staring back at me, Oblivion’s darkness filling her eyes and his scales covering her skin.

“What did you do? How did you get here?”

Oblivion laughed through Alice’s chapped lips. “I am a dragon, Mercy! Did you really think I wouldn’t sense where you went before? Wherever that druid’s portals took you?”

I clenched my fists. “You won’t get away with this.”

Oblivion laughed. “But I already did! You remember the good times we shared, don’t you, Mercy?”

I rolled my eyes. “The good times? You used me, you son of a bitch.”

“Perhaps I did. But you liked it. All those people we killed together. For once, you were free. You embraced your true nature. You were a vampire unfettered by the echoes of your pathetic humanity.”

“I don’t understand. Why did you bring me here, Oblivion? You know I’ll never give in to you again.”

“I came to make you an offer,” Oblivion said. “I might be powerful, but if you’ll remember, I was always happy to give you exactly what you wanted in exchange for full access to your... abilities...”

“You made a deal with Alice. She wanted Ladinas back...”

“And who do you think she blames for his loss? For consigning him to a century in a djinn’s lamp?”

I narrowed my eyes. “You aren’t as in control of all this shit as you’d like me to believe.”

Oblivion shook Alice’s head. “My victory is inevitable. You cannot defeat me.”

“Then why did you bring me here? You have the lamp. Or do you? Because there’s magic in this water. I can feel it. You can’t get to it, can you?”

“Your druid progeny was clever. I’ll give him that. He enchanted these waters to protect the lamp. I cannot retrieve it without his aid.”

I shrugged. “Well, he’s not here. And besides. Why do you need to give this to Alice, anyway? She’s still resisting you, isn’t she? She’s fighting against your influence.”

Oblivion crossed Alice’s arms and turned her back to me. “She is compliant. Did I not also promise you everything, Mercy? I’m more than a destroyer. I’m also a lover.”

I huffed. “Bullshit. You never loved me. You only promised me what you thought you could use to make me do what you wanted. If the stick doesn’t work, you dangle the carrot. Well, I didn’t bite. And if Alice knows what’s good for her, she won’t either.”

“But she already has!” Oblivion looked at me with a smile so sinister Alice couldn’t have made it herself. “When we found where your druid hid the lamp, and discovered we could not access it, who do you think came up with the plan to lure you here?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“We took your friends!” Oblivion laughed maniacally. “That’s your weakness, isn’t it? You’ll always come for your friends. Even if you have to risk the entire world for their sake. I mean, we’d hoped to capture your druid, but when we realized that wasn’t happening...”

“I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “None of this tracks. When Muggs sent us back to the Underground from the lamp realm, he took care of business and showed up seconds later. You’d already attacked our friends.”

Oblivion laughed. “Because I’ve been a dozen steps ahead of you all this time! Do you think I wasn’t watching you the whole time you were in the lamp, watching, waiting for you to make a move? I guessed your druid might not be keen to leave the lamp unguarded in this dimension. I knew we’d need leverage. So, before he even brought the lamp here, Alice and I paid your friends a little visit.”

“And you breathed them away... where are they, Oblivion?”

“When I get the lamp, I’ll release your friends. A simple trade.”

I crossed my arms. “So you can earn Alice’s trust, so she owes you, so you can use her totally and finally destroy our world? I don’t think so, scales!”

“You intend to call my bluff, Mercy? Do you think that’s wise when the existence of your friends hangs in the balance?”

I took a hard step forward. “I’ll tell you what I think. I think you have nothing but a goddamn pair of deuces in your hand and you think you can manipulate me when I’m the one holding the aces. You need me, and you as much as admitted it. You can’t make Alice do what you want, and you can’t give her what she wants without my help. Well, I can’t help you either. Not without Muggs. But here’s the truth...”

I gulped. If I told Oblivion this, I really was calling his bluff. Everything hinged on my faith in... Alice of all people. “Ladinas agreed to come here, to spend a century in the lamp on another world so that he could finally be powerful enough to be with you, Alice, at the end of it.”

Alice’s lip quivered. Her hard gaze softened. She was in there. I knew it...

“He loves you, Alice. And we’re fighting like hell to free you from Oblivion so you can be with Ladinas. You two are meant to be. It’s always been the case. And damn it, Alice. I’m sorry I tried to get in between you two. I’m sorry I was jealous. What you two have is real and if you can fight this bastard... I promise... I’ll fight or die trying to bring you and Ladinas back together.”

Alice’s eyes flickered with recognition and a glimmer of hope. The darkness that shrouded her receded, revealing her true self. “Mercy,” she choked out, tears streaming down her face.

She whipped around, hiding her face behind her hands. When she turned back to me, her familiar countenance was replaced with rage. “How dare you!” Oblivion screamed. “You try my immortal patience! If you will not do as I demand, I told you the cost! And I’m going to make you watch, so your friends know it was your insolence that killed them!”

Oblivion’s voice rose in a furious scream. “How dare you defy me! You are testing my eternal patience! If you refuse to comply with my demands, then you have been warned of the consequences! And I will make sure that your friends watch as your insolence brings about their demise!”

I narrowed my eyes. “You can stop this, Alice. I know you can.”

The next thing I knew, the back of her hand struck my cheek. Alice was as strong as me already. With Oblivion in her, it was like someone had driven a bus into the side of my face.

I stumbled backwards, stunned by the blow. My ears were ringing, and my vision was blurry. Oblivion was cackling with malicious delight, but Alice’s eyes were still filled with pain.

“If I can’t stop you, Alice will!” I spat, trying to gather my wits.

“I’m not Alice anymore,” Oblivion snarled. There was no trace of her former humanity or even vampirism left in her voice, but she was in there. I could see it in her eyes. “I am chaos! I am Oblivion!”

My face burned as if the last strike had ripped my flesh from bone. Maybe it had. But I stood strong. Oblivion talked a big game, but his anger betrayed his fear. His pompousness was a thin veneer meant to disguise his weakness.

“I won’t let you hurt my friends,” I insisted. “And Alice won’t let you do it, either.”

Oblivion released a deep growl from his throat. “We’ll see about that. In the meantime, let’s see how much longer your world can survive my cupids.”

With a flourish of his hand, a thousand more winged bastards—more than I’d seen before—blasted through the room with quivers on their backs, bows in their hands.

“I might not be able to destroy your world completely without Alice’s compliance,” Oblivion admitted. “But when my children are done sowing their chaos, will your world be worth saving at all?”