Page 35 of Witch Queen

Violet hesitated. “Artemus did give me a piece of advice to pass on to you. I wasn’t sure if he was being serious though.”

Mae brightened. “He did? What’d he say?”

Violet made a face. “He said to treat Hell like an amusement park.”

Mae gave her a leaden look.

“I told you he might be pulling your leg,” Violet muttered.

Vlad scowled. “Does that guy have a screw loose?”

“There’s a reason we call him an idiot.” Violet sighed at their expressions. “I suspect he meant it. He said the best way to survive Hell is not to get bogged down by the tiny details and to focus on why you’re going there in the first place.”

Mae swallowed. Artemus Steele had forced his way into the Underworld to save his brother. Now that the time had come to put her own crazy plan in motion, she was feeling nervous. The disquiet churning her stomach had as much to do with the fact that she was going to be visiting a place only a handful of living humans had ever been to, as it had with the doubts she still harbored about the success of her mission.

It was a stab in the dark to hope that Armaros might be able to fix Hellreaver or that she would be able to locate Azazel’s whereabouts.

Do not fret, my witch,Brimstone said.Armaros was the best blacksmith in all of Heaven before he fell to Hell. And I am certain my master will feel your presence when you enter that realm.The fox wagged his tail.The Underworld can be quite an entertaining place once you get past the lava pits and the rivers of fire where the souls of the damned writhe in eternal suffering.

Mae grimaced. “You’re not helping, Brim.”

“What did he say?” Nikolai asked guardedly.

“You don’t wanna know.”

“By the way, be careful if you meet a purple helldragon called Vozgan,” Violet warned. “That guy has a tendency to want to eat any human he meets first and ask questions later.”

“Is that the helldragon who fought the undead chicken?” Cortes said flatly.

Violet blinked. “How’d you know?”

“Wait,” Roman whispered to Nadia. “There arehelldragons?!”

Miles straightened where he’d been putting the finishing touches to the spell. “Alright, I think we’re done.”

“You really sure about this?” Karin said in a brittle voice as Miles and Violet took up position at opposing cardinal points. “There’s still time to change your mind. After all, this might be a one-way ticket to the Underworld for all of you.”

Mae met her anxious gaze steadily. “My father is down there, as is my mother. Besides, I’m sure you’ll be glad to have me out of your hair for a while.”

“Oh.” Karin squinted. “You mean, we’re supposed to enjoy performing the bulk of your duties while you go traipsing about on a ridiculous adventure?”

Mae sighed. “I’m not sure traipsing is the correct term for what we’re about to do.”

Derrick muttered something under his breath. Gerard rolled his eyes.

Anya walked over to Cortes, clasped his face, and tugged his head down for a heated kiss.

“Those two should get a room,” Raven muttered after a full minute had passed. Her vine snake hissed where he’d coiled around her shoulders.

“Yeah,” Roman mumbled, his ears reddening.

Anya finally peeled her lips from Cortes’s, her face flushed.

“Come back to me,” she breathed shakily.

He took her hand and kissed her palm, his expression fierce. “I will. I promise.”

“Good luck,” Marlena said quietly.

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