Page 36 of Hell Gate

“No,” Valerian says. “This was a low-rank reaper. Possibly one in training.. It was a bad coincidence he wandered in at the same time. We need to change tactics. If there are so many demons in the mortal realm, it will be difficult to avoid them in populated areas while you learn to use your power.”

His bitter smoke scent chokes the car, blending with the sharp and musky scents the other two put off as Alder drives away. I pick his out as the same scent the last two times we were under attack, using it to read his frustration. It’s far different than the warm hickory scent whenever he has me pinned at his mercy.

Valerian’s grip on my nape doesn’t fall away, even several minutes after we get away.

CHAPTERTWELVE

LILY

Near dusk and two state lines later, we finally stop when we find an abandoned theme park Matthias knew of in Maryland. Alder melts a hole in the fence for us to slip through. Past theKEEP OUTsigns, the rusty attractions with chipped-paint inside the park are partially swallowed by wild overgrowth.

“I’ve always wanted to go to an amusement park. I walked by a small carnival one summer when I was growing up.” They stop when I linger in front of a kiddie coaster. My reminiscent smile falters. “That foster placement was one of the few I thought would stick. The following week, they sent me back because I had another nightmare and they decided I was too much to deal with. Just like the others.”

The three of them flash me fierce looks that stir a flutter in my chest. It expands into a hum in my blood that wants to split me in three different directions. Shaking my head to clear it, I move on, craning my neck to look up at the ferris wheel.

“Think any of these still work?”

“Doubt it.” Matthias scratches his stomach, pushing up the black t-shirt he threw on when we were far enough away from the last demon we encountered. While it was off, I got an eyeful of his trim, tattooed body. I watch while trying not to. He catches my eye with a dirty smirk. “But I’ll take you on as long of a ride as you want, babe. We won’t stop until you’re screaming.”

“Matthias,” Alder growls.

He dodges with a cocky laugh when Alder swipes at him. We continue walking through the park. I picture it lit up and bustling with people rather than the eerie silence interrupted by the tread of our feet on the pavement.

“Think we’ll be safe here?” I ask.

“Long enough to rest and regroup,” Alder says. “We’ll remain on guard until then. No training while we’re here. I think the hellhounds found us because of the strength of your magical signature. The more you use your power, the stronger it is to sense. Let’s not find out if I’m right tonight.”

“Good with me.”

I press my fingers against my eyes, rubbing weariness away before raking my fingers through my hair. I’d kill for a shower, my short red locks feeling too greasy for my taste. We’ve been on the go nonstop and I didn’t expect two demon encounters in the same day throwing us off our planned course. I’ll have to endure it because I doubt there’s running water here, and I’m not touching any standing body of water.

Alder motions to a faded striped tent. We duck inside, taking in the worn wooden floor strewn with straw and the tiered benches that circle the space. It must have been used for a small circus show.

“Rest,” Alder says. “I’ll go set up a perimeter to ward off anything that could be in the area.”

I sit on a bench, plucking at the snag in my fishnets from when I fell in the pizza shop earlier. Hard to believe that was this morning. “Never thought I’d miss the shitty motels you guys picked out. We don’t have to go full off-grid, right?”

Valerian studies me with a sidelong glance. He’s kept close after we got out of the car, hovering over me. “We need to plan out our next move. You’re not in control of your powers, so we can’t go to the underworld yet.”

“We’re going there?” My head jerks up. He towers over me, the corners of his eyes tight.

“Eventually. We can’t run forever from those hunting us. We don’t belong here. Neither do you.”

I twist the material of my fishnets around my fingers. The one thing I’ve kept at bay in my mind after learning I have a secret power hidden away inside me is that they were right about me. I’m not human. If I’m not human, then the mortal realm isn’t my place. It’s not like I’ve ever fit in. I never imagined it’s because I wasn’t part of this world to begin with.

Matthias sits next to me, offering one of his charming dimpled smiles. “You’ll like it. Our home is unlike anything you could ever imagine. The shifting mountains of the Whispering Highlands that reach so high you can see for miles across the realm when they appear. Vast caverns lit by magic gemstones that create kaleidoscopes on the cave walls. Midnight falls that spill into pools of starlight beneath the blood moon.” His eyes crinkle at the corners and he covers my hands, stopping me from worrying my ruined fishnets. “After we’ve sorted this mix up with the demon council, I’ll take you there.”

My heart stutters, then beats harder at the way he saysour home. Like I could belong there without question. A long-buried wish for my own place to fit in rises from the depths where I hid it.

There’s also something familiar about what he describes, like in the dreams I had the week after I opened the gate.

I tuck my hair behind my ears, peeking at both of them through my lashes. “How will we get there? The Brim Hills gate is blocked.”

“First, we must find out how to break the seal that’s kept your power buried away.” A muscle jumps in Valerian’s cheek when he clenches his jaw. Some of his dark hair falls in his face as he gazes down at me. “There are many gates. It’s harder to access them without being the guard with the incantation key, but we’ll deal with that when we get to it.”

I take in the troubled shadows in his drawn face, resisting the desire to reach up and smooth the rigidness in his features until they’re gone. “Do you miss your gate?”

“No.” His curt response is immediate and for the first time since he pinned me to the column in the rest stop, he turns his back on me, his spine rigid.

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