Page 18 of Dead End

“Because of the island that disappeared, right?”

He cocked his head; I now had his full attention. Good, because the approaching rumble of footsteps told me I was running out of time.

“I found that island, Zhi Peng. I can show you how to get there. There’s an access point via my crossroads. Open a door to Fairhaven, Pennsylvania, and I’ll show you.”

The Chinese god regarded me in solemn silence. “This is a cruel trick,” he finally said. “You know I’m unhappy here and are trying to use it against me.”

I pressed on. “I swear it’s the truth. I was sent to the island by Lucifer as a part of a trial. Your brother opened a door so I could leave, and I think he’d want you to help me leave now.”

“How can there be an entrance to the island? I’ve tried countless times to craft a door that opens to it, but it’s never worked.”

I had no doubt someone in The Corporation was behind the deception. I was certain they’d been instrumental in giving Lucifer the location of the island, where an ancient tablet had been buried. This was another way The Corporation controlled their gods. Weakened them emotionally. Isolated them from their loved ones so that they felt too depleted and alone to question their actions. It was likely the reason they’d also tried—and failed—to keep my parents apart.

“Reunite me with my family, and I’ll reunite you with yours,” I said. “You were going to leave here anyway. What do you have to lose?” The muscles in my chest stretched across my frame as I heard the sound of rolling thunder.

The golden light of the doorway faded. “How do I know I can trust you?”

Desperation tainted my voice. “Come with me to Fairhaven, and I’ll prove it to you, but it has to be now. There won’t be another chance.”

His eye twitched. It was a small movement, but it was enough to tell me what I needed to know. My pulse fluttered with hope.

The god raised his hands and carved another outline of a door in the air.

“Stop!” Bossu commanded.

Not a chance in Paradise.

The door swung open, and Zhi Peng pushed me through time and space. I felt his body tumble through the doorway behind me. The door winked out of existence as quickly as it had formed.

I sat on the ground of the forest, momentarily stunned. It all happened so fast; I barely had a chance to process. I feltthe thrum of the Falls and the energy of the nearby crossroads. I scooped up a handful of dirt and breathed in its earthy scent. Home.

“Take me to my brother,” Zhi Peng ordered.

“I’ll direct you to the access point. The rest is up to you.”

The god grunted his assent.

There were no guards at the crossroads. Strange and mildly worrisome. I brushed aside my concerns and gave Zhi Peng instructions on how to reach the bolt hole that would take him to the lost island. “Don’t fight the current. Just go with the flow,” I said. “And tell everyone hello from me.”

Zhi Peng gave me a long look. “They will not rest until they have you, and once they do, they will not be so foolish as to allow you to roam freely again.”

His ominous words squeezed the air from my lungs. “If Apep has his way, I won’t need to worry about them anymore.”

The god’s brown eyes softened. “They cannot be killed, child, only hindered.” With those parting words, he disappeared through the crossroads.

I closed my eyes and inhaled the fresh Fairhaven air. I was free, but I knew in my heart that Zhi Peng was right. The real battle was only beginning.

CHAPTER THREE

The momentI was alone in Wild Acres, I let myself think of Kane. My previous efforts to liberate him from Lucifer’s long shadow had only made things worse. I’d endured three brutal trials arranged by the supreme ruler of hell. The contract stipulated that if I won, Lucifer wouldn’t drag Kane to hell for eternal damnation. There’d been no clause in the contract to stop Lucifer from torturing Kane in the mortal realm, so Lucifer had exploited that particular loophole by setting up camp in Fairhaven.

My immediate instinct was to launch a rescue mission, but a cooler head prevailed. I didn’t even know where Kane was being held. I needed intel so that I could formulate a plan. And weapons—lots of them.

I started toward the Castle. As soon as I had a working phone, Josie would be my first call. If anyone was keeping close tabs on Kane’s situation, it was the loyal vampire, assuming she’d avoided Lucifer’s wrath.

A large shadow passed overhead, blanketing the area around me in darkness. I looked up, half expecting to see a flying monster. The tension in my shoulders relaxed when Irealized it was a murder of crows. The birds flew in such a tight formation that their shadow appeared as a single winged creature. I wondered whether they’d sensed my return. Crows were highly intelligent, as I’d learned from Kane’s dear friend, Birdie. Pain pierced my heart at the thought of the older woman. She’d discovered the unholy alliance between The Corporation and Lucifer and paid the ultimate price for it.

I acknowledged the crows with a wave. A few of the birds separated from the flock and swooped down to greet me.

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