Pretty Dark Sacrifice (30 page)

In the center of the hex, Jeff’s blood spilled dark red across the wooden floor. With his sword, Azrael etched a triple spiral in the dried blood, symbolizing Quinn’s essence. West of Quinn’s symbol and between two of the points, he used the marker to draw a rising crescent moon, and on the east, a setting sun.

“But doesn’t the sun set in the west?” Reese pointed out.

“In your realm, yes.” Azrael didn’t add more, and Reese seemed to take that as a sign to be quiet and let him work.

For the next step, Azrael raised his golden sword and brought the tip down hard, the boards shuddering with the impact. He then scraped a wide circle around Caleb, Reese, and Marcus, digging a deep groove into the floor with the tip, connecting each tip of the six-pointed star. When the circle was complete, it flashed with orange flame, and then winked out, leaving a scorched outline; then he nodded to Quinn.

Using the star-blade, she carved four curling shapes into each corner of the circle. Harmony, love, faith, and protect—the four opposites to chaos, fear, doubt and forsake. Each curl glowed blue before fading. Around them, Caleb traced the outer markings of the circle with thick lines of salt, reinforcing the protective barrier.

“Reese, you sit at the moon; Marcus, at the sun.”

Reese eyed the four-poster bed and shook her head. “I’m not putting my back to that. There’s something under there.”

“You wanted to come—insisted, in fact. You must find the courage now to continue. If you stay in the circle, it will not hurt you.” Azrael took Reese’s hand. Once she nodded, he guided her to her spot.

And they will be safe?
Quinn asked Azrael privately.

Safer in this circle than they would be out on the street right now. You should say your goodbyes, but make it quick.

Quinn put her arm around Reese and leaned her head on her shoulder. “I love you.”

“Don’t even say it that way, like this is goodbye or something. Don’t you dare say that, Quinn.” Reese grabbed her and held on tight. “I love you too. I can’t finish senior year without you, ya know. This will work; this has to work.”

“No, of course it will work, but I needed, wanted, to tell you.” Quinn swallowed and forced a smile, pushing the last of her doubts back into the depths of her heart. “I’ll be gone for a blink of an eye. You won’t even have time to miss me.”

Reese gave Azrael a pointed look. “You better take care of her.”

“It is my duty.” He bowed low, wings expanding up and out until they touched the ceiling.

Quinn felt the weight of Marcus’s muscled arms join her best friend’s as he squished them into a bear hug. “You better bring my bro back with you. I’m tired of all this girl talk and chick flicks.” Quinn and Reese laughed.

“Yeah, I need to meet this Aaron guy, see if he’s worth all the trouble.” Caleb stood before her, brown eyes bright.

“I think the two of you are going to get along just great,” Quinn assured him.

“Let’s just get this over with, okay?” Reese squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and sat cross-legged on top of the moon symbol.

“Agreed,” Caleb said.

Marcus knelt in front of Reese and kissed her forehead. “Caleb and I will be with you the whole time. Nothing to be afraid of; we can do this.” He smiled at her, and she hugged his neck.

Marcus winked and settled himself across from Reese, leaving enough room from the edge of the center of the hexagram so they wouldn’t be sucked into the portal or whatever might happen when it opened. Azrael passed Caleb a lighter. The lighter clicked and ignited. Caleb held the flame to each wick until it caught. Orange light flickered and danced across the walls, deepening the contrast between shadow and glow.

“Caleb, you stand at the southern pinnacle, and Quinn will stand here.” Azrael pointed to the empty spot next to him.

“Well, Blondie, I guess this is it.” Caleb stared at the Qeres dagger in his hand. “You sure you don’t want to take this with you?” He offered it to her.

“You’ll need it more than I will.” Quinn wrapped her hand around his. Warmth spread from his skin to hers, and she smiled. “Promise you’ll take care of them?”

“I promise.” Caleb cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. She let his lips say goodbye. A soft, lingering peck, bittersweet. “Good luck, Blondie.” A quick hug, and he took a step back and into his place.

“Thanks, all of you, for believing in me.” Quinn swiped at a tear. “I couldn’t do this without you.” Quinn looked at her friends, selfishly wishing they could come with her. Her knees wobbled, and sandpaper coated her tongue. Would she ever see them again?

“No time for crying. You’ve got demon butt to kick.” Marcus winked. “We’ll be right here when you get back.”

“It is time,” Azrael said.

Quinn stepped within the circle, legs vibrating with excitement and fear, and stood at the northernmost tip of the hexagram. She looked down at the dark stain of blood beneath her purple sneakers.

“How long will the portal stay open?” Quinn asked.

“Until your blood dries. Fifteen minutes, twenty maybe,” Azrael answered. “And then it will close behind us. Time moves differently in the Underworld than it does here, slower. What may seem like hours or days would be only minutes here,” Azrael said. “If everything goes to plan, you will not even have a moment to miss us.”

Quinn checked her watch. Eight fifty nine, the eclipse would start in one minute. Holding her breath, she waited for the second hand to tick the last few seconds, not sure what to expect. Exposing her palm, she dragged the Qeres blade across her lifeline and winced at the cold sting as metal bit into her flesh, and then handed the sword back to Azrael. He slid it into the scabbard at his left hip, and then they waited.

The candles burned brighter as the air stilled around them. Blood pooled dark and red in the creases of her skin, and she tipped her hand up, letting her vital fluid spill down, a waterfall cascading from her hand onto the floor. Fresh blood collided with the dead, and the wood crackled as her blood ate away at the floor like acid, turning the edges black.

As the door to the Underworld opened, something thrummed beneath them, buzzing. Quinn stepped back from the expanding hole and glanced at Azrael beside her. His wings trembled, every muscle tense as he crouched, fists tight, swords poised over his head, ready to strike. Reese covered her ears and closed her eyes, Marcus inched a little farther away from the edge, and Caleb raised his dagger, ready for a fight.

When the air exploded up and out, Quinn ducked. A swarm of giant wasps, each the size of a fist, erupted from the depths of the Underworld. Azrael didn’t waste any time, he twisted and flourished his swords, movements flowing like liquid, one into the other, as he cut them down one by one before they had a chance to attack.

Demon dust rained down upon them, and Reese coughed, waving a hand to fan away the smell of rotten eggs.

“That was dramatic,” Caleb wheezed.

“Yeah, remind me never to get on your bad side, Azrael,” Marcus said.

“Was that all of them?” Reese stammered.

Azrael cocked his head and listened. “It is quiet. Almost too quiet.”

Quinn chewed on her thumbnail. “She must not see me as a threat.”

“She doesn’t know you as well as we do, Blondie,” Caleb joked.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m going to need it.” Quinn wondered what going through a portal to the Underworld would feel like. By the looks of it, it would be a short journey. She’d expected an endless pit yawning below, but it wasn’t a hole at all: the ground itself had changed. Volcanic rock replaced the wood floor, revealing a piece of the realm that existed alongside her own. More like walking from carpet to tile, or stepping from one room into another, than falling down the rabbit hole.

“We have to go. Now, Quinn.” Azrael held out his hand, but before Quinn could take it, a gust of wind snuffed out the candles, immersing the room in night.

Reese gasped. Scurrying. Claws on wood. A faint
click-thump-click-thump
behind them. A shadow slithered from under the bed. Not a shadow, a person, on its stomach, arms bent at odd angles, but not really a person. Azrael drew his blades once again, their light illuminating a monstrosity. All loose tendons and muscles, it looked like a man stripped of his skin. Empty sockets stared out of an angled face, veins pulsed up its fleshless neck. It stared at Reese, its target, and licked blood from its lips. Its breath rasped through a half-decayed throat. Spit bubbled and gurgled at the corner of its mouth.

“Don’t move,” Azrael warned, but it was too late. In fear, Reese had stumbled outside the protective circle. She let out a scream as the thing grabbed her ankle. Marcus reached for her, wrapping his hand around her arm as Caleb slashed with his dagger, but the thing started dragging Reese under the bed. Marcus grunted, using all his weight to pull her back.

Quinn lunged forward to help, but Azrael stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

“Let me go!” Quinn screamed and pounded her fists on his chest.

“There is no time. The portal will close soon, and all will be lost. Go. I will get her back.”

“Screw the portal. Azrael, I command … ” But before she could direct him, he lifted her up and pushed her through the open portal.

Quinn landed hard on her side, elbow scraping against the sharp black terrain of the Underworld. Rage jolted her to her feet, and she ran for the shrinking doorway, but it was too late. Her blood was almost dry, and the edges of the portal narrowed so only a small six-inch crack remained.

Ragged breaths escaped from her mouth, and she pressed an eye to the crack. On the other side, she could make out Azrael fighting with all his might against the zombie creature stalking the room, but she didn’t see any signs of her friends. They had gone quiet, and Quinn feared the worst. Azrael said he would take care of them, and she needed to trust him. Trust, the thing she struggled with most, the reason her life was such a mess in the first place. Maybe she could squeeze through the shrinking crack or use her blood to open a new doorway home.

“If something happens to them, I’ll never forgive you!” she screamed at Azrael seconds before the portal snapped shut, cutting her off from the human realm.

If they were dead, knowing would tip her over the edge; destroy the thin wall keeping the grief and fear at bay. There was nothing she could do to change it. Hope was what she needed, not doubt, and without a true answer, she could choose which one to hold onto. One answer would destroy her, the other give her strength. The best thing she could do was put them from her mind, focus on the grim task ahead, and deal with the truth later.

Cool fingers of moonlight kissed the barren landscape. Nothing moved, not an animal, not a speck of dust. It was the most lifeless place she had ever seen. Even the air felt dead, stagnant. Tortured pockmarked rocks, like the surface of the moon, stretched desolate and empty in every direction.

Quinn paced, curling a short strand of hair around her finger. The plan hinged on Azrael bringing her to Lilith as his prisoner. Without him, she wasn’t sure where to go or what to do next. She was alone and lost in a foreign place.

Quinn.
She turned to the whisper of her name.

On the distant horizon, the unblinking eyes of an ominous castle tower watched her every move. Lilith.

Quinn.
The voice whispered again.
We are waiting. Aaron is waiting.

An iron chain pulled tight around her heart. One girl against the Silver Queen and all her minions. A laugh bubbled from her lips. All of this was absurd, and yet it wasn’t.

Don’t lose it now,
Quinn said to herself.
The whole world is counting on you.
She was Eol Ananael, essence of Eve. She’d opened a portal into the Underworld, and she could banish demons with a thought. Wish it and it will be. Believe you can do it and you will. She couldn’t go back, only forward. If she didn’t go forward, there would be nothing to go back to. Drawing in a deep breath, Quinn balled her fists and began walking.

Stay strong. Believe. I am the essence of Eve. I have the power to stop this. Me.

Quinn.

Quinn.

Quinn.

Quinn.

Whisper overlapping whisper, name overlapping name, a drumbeat, a death march as she strode onward, the shadow of Lilith’s palace reaching out like a hand. Sorrow and agony crushed her lungs, and she struggled to breathe. She wanted nothing more than to fall to her knees, curl into a ball, and release the aching wail growing in the very depths of her soul.

Her shield pulsed, flickered, and then faded like a flashlight with a dead battery. Panic gripped her as she searched for the spark of power that kept her protected, but it was suffocated. Doubt and darkness were too strong here; they ate away at her defenses until there was nothing left.

She walked for hours, days, minutes—time held no meaning. Hopelessness filled the empty spaces inside her, weighing her down. She stumbled, got back up, and stumbled again, grim determination the only thing keeping her moving forward. Her sneakers scraped across the rock, shoulders ached, eyes burned. This was torture, worse than fighting a horde of rabid demons. Endless trudging, endless thinking, an eternity to ponder every mistake and bad decision and the realization that no matter what she chose, the odds of getting out of this alive were slim to none. She couldn’t imagine a truer hell.