Page 57 of Legacy of Chaos

Azagoth seemed satisfied, though. “Harvester caused an ancient portal in Hell to open. It needs to be closed before demons discover it’s active. Gabriel is here looking for information.” Azagoth wandered over to a bookcase, where a miniature model of Sheoul-gra spanned an entire shelf. “The sorcerers responsible for creating the Gehennaportal also designed and built Sheoul-gra. Unfortunately, no one knows where they are or if they’re even still alive. That’s why it’s taking Hades so long to rebuild Sheoul-gra. But,” he said, “I do know that both Sheoul-gra and the Gehennaportal were fueled by eternal fire. If you destroy the fuel source, you destroy the portal.”

Gabriel thought about that. “There’s just the small matter of getting to the source. Most angels don’t do well underwater.”

“You might not need to get all the way to the eternal fire,” Azagoth said. “Unleashing angelic energy just inside the portal should work.”

“Maybe we could use Stryke’s drilling platform to reach it.”

Raika nodded. “You could drop an angelic power bomb down the shaft and extinguish the eternal fire.” Her eyes glittered with dark amusement. She was so like her father. “Brilliant!”

He tore his gaze away from her with great effort. “So, I need to get in touch with Stryke, and I need to get onto that platform. “Is he still Primori, do you know?”

“I’ve never known. I’m no longer in that business. But,” Azagoth said, “as powerful and influential as he is, I can almost guarantee he’s Primori.”

Which meant he was protected by a Memitim, a class of angel bred from Azagoth himself, and wouldn’t die until he’d fulfilled his fate or Heaven had no more reason to keep him alive.

“Knowing won’t help you,” Azagoth said, “unless you’re planning to kill him.”

“Actually, it might. Primori are crucial to the timeline of existence in some way. He may play an important role in this. He probably does, and from what I’ve seen, his alignment tilts toward good, so he might be willing to cooperate with me.” He might befatedto cooperate. “But he’s notorious for not responding to Heavenly summons. I had to wait an entire year for him to answer me once.”

Azagoth snorted. “You think a demon will besummonedby angels? That’s your problem right there. After dealing with me for so long, you should know better than that, Gabriel.” He glanced down at his drink as he spoke. “But Stryke isn’t your problem. Revenant, if he gets out of Hell…that’syour problem.” Azagoth raised his eyes and grinned, flashing fangs. “Heaven’s going to burn,” he growled, “and it’ll deserve it.”

Chapter 13

What the hell had she been thinking?

Cyan peered down through the tiny hatchway of the submersible that was supposed to take her to the enchanted glyphs that needed to be repaired. The pilot, a friendly blond human from Norway, had already squeezed into the underwater deathtrap.

Stryke laid his hand on her forearm, halting her as she zipped up the jacket Twila had loaned her for the icy temperatures in the vehicle. “You don’t have to do this.”

She appreciated his concern, although it was easy to say she didn’t have to risk her life when the truth was that it was their only option.

“You know I do.”

He heaved a heavy breath. “Just remember to control your fear. Don’t let it affect your judgment or performance.”

Right. He made it sound so easy. “I’m not afraid,” she informed him, although there was a bit of terror running through her. “I’m claustrophobic. And also, I work best under pressure. So, bite me.”

No doubt her irritability went far in proving how well she did under pressure.

The dudes standing around to help looked at each other, expressions ranging from shock to curiosity. Obviously, they couldn’t believe someone was talking to their boss that way.

Well, she didn’t give a shit. He wasn’therboss. She could speak to him any way she wanted to.

“Just be careful,” he said. “Kynan will be pissed if I get his head researcher killed.”

“I’m sure Kynan’s wrath terrifies you.”

Not waiting for a response, she lowered herself down the ladder and into the submersible. She took deep, calming breaths and concentrated on the buttons and gauges inside the vehicle instead of on how tight it was in there and how she was going to lose her mind in the tiny thing.

She focused on breathing as the pilot prepared for submersion, constantly speaking back and forth to the team on the rig. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the hatch closed.

She was locked inside, unable to get out, unable to escape. Anything could go wrong, and she’d die in the dark, wet, cold sea.

Oh, gods, this was a mistake.

“Hey.” Oskar, the pilot, gave her a look of sympathy. “Take a seat and buckle in. Close your eyes and play a song inside your head. Or recite a poem. Just keep your mind busy for a few minutes. We’ll be down there and back up before you know it.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “Okay.”

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