Page 44 of Widow

Chapter 11

We were standing somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I looked around and wondered how on Earth standing in the middle of an open field would get us to another realm. I couldn't even believe I was standing there thinking about going to Inferna in the first place.

We had run out of options in the past week. The archangels were of no help and suggested I be brought to Inferna.

"Are you sure this is safe? For a human?" I was holding onto the straps of my backpack to try to stop my hands from trembling. Picard was squeaking from the side pouch where a water bottle would have gone.

We had decided he would hitch a ride with me in case Ric had to shift suddenly. I didn't even want to know why we were already considering being attacked.

"It's safe." Lucifer held out his hand to me, and I took it. "Just don't tell my daughter that being a human has no bearing on going to Hell."

"What do you mean?" Ric asked, grabbing onto my other hand.

"When she was nine, she was obsessed with going to Hell with me. So, I took her, and when we got there, I made her feel sick. She never asked to go again." He chuckled, and I shook my head. "It's not like I had much of a choice."

"Even if it's safe physically for Lia, there are lots of things that could kill us there." Ric was not helping with my worry.

I squeezed Lucifer's hand as fear coursed through my veins. He'd protect me, wouldn't he? He was notorious, surely that had to count for something.

"Sure, but she'll be safe enough with us." What Lucifer didn't say was that my very own hitchhikers would protect me in a pinch. I wasn't certain, but I had a gut feeling that if it came down to life or death, they would defend me.

Hopefully.

"Hold on tight." Ric squeezed my other hand and gave me a reassuring look. It didn't do much to quell the queasiness already churning in my belly.

I shut my eyes. There was a whoosh and a pop in my ears, and it felt like something had been snatched out from underneath me. I felt the difference in the air. It smelled faintly of burning firewood, and the warmness of the air kissed my skin.

I slowly opened my eyes to see that we were standing in what appeared to be a forest. The trees looked burnt but had darkened leaves on their limbs. It was quiet wherever we were, and I shivered at the sense of desolation it brought me.

When we had discussed coming here to Inferna, I had expected fire and brimstone. Really all it looked like was a peculiar forest. It didn't look that much different from Earth.

The sky was dark, and through the trees, I could see a giant moon in the sky. Was it the same moon as Earth?

"Stay alert. We don't know who exactly is in charge now. It should be the Infernal Council, but we can't be certain." Alaric started walking, the leaves crunched under his feet.

Lucifer kept hold of my hand as we walked through the trees. His hand was warm and comforting. I looked up at him, and he turned his head and looked down at me.

My heart fluttered under his gaze. As soon as the moment had happened, it ended as he looked forward and clenched his jaw. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but the words were lodged in my throat.

We walked through the forest without incident for what seemed like an hour. I didn't see much in the way of animals as we walked. Lucifer said that a lot of the animals came out at night, and it was the daytime. Could have fooled me.

At night, the air got cooler, and the sky turned a little darker. Inferna was forever dark.

"We're getting close to the royal village. Stay alert." Ric and Kai were walking ahead of us when a growl stopped us in our tracks.

Seemingly coming out of nowhere, a pack of wolves stalked towards us. Ric held up his hands in front of himself as the wolves approached.

"What's happening?" I whisper screamed as Lucifer pushed me behind him.

In the blink of an eye, Ric morphed into his wolf form. This time he didn't look so sweet and cuddly, though. His hair stood up, and he bared his teeth at the approaching group of wolves.

"They're going to maul him." I looked around Lucifer in alarm and tried to move to the side, but he kept me behind him. "There's too many of them."

"He'll be fine. He's an alpha."

The posturing between the wolves continued, the growls filling the silence. After several minutes, the other wolves finally backed away, and then as quickly as it started, it was over.

The wolves all morphed back into their human forms. Or should I say their demon forms?

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