Page 24 of The Road to Hell

Hell wasn’t forgiving in any sense of the word, and my ten years away had left more of an impact on my physique than I’d realized. Every muscle ached, and I was pretty sure my legs were plotting a mutiny. Ah well, who needed functioning calves, anyway? Not me, apparently. If only I’d had the foresight to work out a bit more—orat all—while on Earth. Between the crumbling paths and the occasional nearby growl, it was a miracle we’d made it this far without one of us dying.

Poor Eliza had struggled the most out of the three of us, which didn’t surprise me. No one could prepare themselves for Hell without actually experiencing it for themselves first. And those who did were, well, dead. The terrain was treacherous at best, designed to break limbsandspirits. Twice, Eliza had tripped, her boots slipping on loose rocks. On the third, Rathiel had caught her arm before she’d tumbled into a canyon deeper than the Mariana Trench. By the end of the trek, she looked less like a gorgeous siren and more like a flambéed marshmallow—sticky with sweat, caked in dirt and ash, and clearly on the verge of losing her temper.

I didn’t comment on her appearance, though. Why bother when I likely looked just as pitiful? Rathiel was the only one of us without a hair out of place. A vampiric trait, if I had to guess. But we were all exhausted. Even Vol, who hadn’t made so much as a peep in the last hour—asleep in his bag, I suspected. At least we didn’t have much farther to go. The Blazing Cliffs—and the cave—were directly above us.

“Well, isn’t this just peachy?” Eliza muttered, her head craned back and her hand shielding her face from the heat.

We could have found shelter elsewhere, but fewer things flew in Hell than walked, slithered, or crawled. Other than my father, only his fallen and his hellwyrms had wings. Anything else would have to scale the side of the cliff, which took time and effort. It meant the chances of a sneak attack were slim. We would be safe up there. More so than down here whereeverythingcould find us.

I reached out and touched the rock, only to pause when Rathiel rested his hand atop mine. I glanced his way and watched as he removed his pack and unfurled his wings, careful not to strike Eliza with them.

I almost wilted in relief.

“I’ll fly you guys up. It’ll be quick so no need to climb. Once I have you both in the cave, I’ll return for our gear.”

Guilt flashed through me. Rathiel was doing all the work. But I didn’t have my wings anymore, so I couldn’t help with anything that required flying.

“Eliza first,” I said.

His jaw tightened and he shook his head. “You.”

Irritation prickled my skin, and I drew in a breath of sulphurous air to keep from sniping at him. “I have more experience with Hell. If something comes slithering out of the smoke, I can handle myself. She’ll be safer in the cave than down here.”

Eliza’s narrow gaze darted to me. “Excuse you. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, I know. But just take the win and say, ‘Thank you, Lily.’”

She did not, in fact, thank me. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and rocked back on her heels, staring me down.

I glared at both of them until Rathiel finally ran a hand through his pristine hair and nodded. “Fine.”

The three of us stripped off our gear and laid the packs at the base of the cliffs. I unclipped Purrgy’s carrier from the top of mine, which earned me a low, judgmental yowl.

“Calm down, fuzzball. I’ll free you in a few minutes, once we’re all settled in the cave,” I said.

I unzipped my pack and pulled out the folded duffel bag I’d stashed in there earlier. I handed it to Eliza. “Here—we’ll use this to transport our weapons.”

Her daggers were sheathed, so there wouldn’t be any risk of accidentally stabbing ourselves, but carrying a passenger armed with weapons wasn’t exactly comfortable. No one wanted a blade handle wedged into their ribs or spine at thirty feet up.

She nodded. “Good idea. But I’ll keep one on me, just in case.”

Practical.

Eliza stripped most of her weapons, keeping one tucked inside her boot, where it wouldn’t bother anyone, then slid the rest into the duffel and handed it back to me. She turned to Rathiel and grimaced. “All right. Let’s do this. But if you drop me, I swear, I’ll haunt you forever.”

Rathiel didn’t dignify that with a response. He simply snatched up Purrgy’s carrier, handed it to Eliza, then scooped her up in one fluid motion. I removed Vol’s satchel—sleeping imp included—and passed it to her as well. She tucked it against Purrgy’s carrier.

“Ready?” Rathiel asked.

He didn’t give her a chance to respond before kicking off the ground with a powerful whoosh of his wings.

“Don’t look down!” I called up.

She responded with a near instant, hysterical shriek. “I looked down!”

I smirked, then leaned against the rock face and watched them ascend. “That’s on you, girl.”

The wait felt longer than it likely was, but I didn’t like standing idle, especially not out in the open like this. I needed to shed a few weapons before our little flight as well. I kept Inferno’s Kiss strapped to my hip as a precaution—in case something grew bold and decided to attack me in the next few minutes—but removed the others and tucked them carefully into the duffel bag.

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