Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3)(17)

I had an extra shirt and a pair of jeans as well as a lined windbreaker stowed in my leather satchel under the water bottle and Sponge Bob sandwich container. I know Hell is supposed to be hot, but Laish had made a comment to me before, that parts of it were terribly cold and lonely. So I had made sure to bring the jacket along with a change of clothes.

In the pocket of the windbreaker was one more thing I thought I might need—two antique silver coins from Grams to pay the ferryman. After Laish had accused me of not being up on my mythology, I had done a little research. I had no idea if the river Styx and its skeletal ferryman, Charon, were real or completely mythical but I wasn’t taking any chances. To the best of my ability, I was prepared.

I hoped.

Laish’s eyes flickered over me—was that a look of disapproval I saw on his face? Or something else? He said nothing, however, except to ask if I was ready to go.

“As ready as I’m going to be,” I said. I gave Grams one last hug. She held on so tightly, I was afraid she wasn’t going to let go.

“Come back to me safe and sound,” she whispered at last. Then she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and finally released me. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears as she looked from me to Laish. “Take care of her,” she said, in a voice that trembled only a little.

“I will,” Laish said simply. He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes. The expression on his face was so intense it sent a cool shiver down my spine. I couldn’t help remembering our bargain and wondering if he intended to collect on his debt the minute we landed in Hell. What would he do to me? What—?

“Fear not, Gwendolyn,” he murmured. “Just take a deep breath. We’ll be there before you know it.”

I opened my mouth to reply but just then I felt a hot wind rush over me, scouring my entire body from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

Then, abruptly, it ended.

“It’s over now,” Laish said quietly. “You can open your eyes.”

I hadn’t even been aware of closing my eyes in the first place but when I opened them, I saw we were standing someplace else. Someplace dark and hazy with a red tinge to the black sky.

Hell.



Chapter Eight

Laish





I watched my little witch with some trepidation, wanting to make sure she took the dematerialization and rematerialization all right. She seemed a bit shaken at first but she adapted quickly, taking a deep breath and moving away from me as soon as she could.

I frowned. I had hoped that being in such threatening surroundings would bring her closer to me, rather than driving her away. But she was wary of me—I could see the guarded look in her lovely green eyes. Inwardly, I sighed. Clearly I would have to work harder to gain her trust. Which wasn’t going to be easy considering the trip we were about to undertake and the way we were going to have to travel.

“Wow.” Gwendolyn gave a shaky little laugh and tried to straighten her long black hair, which had been blown about during our trip. “That was some ride.”

“It is the fastest and most efficient way to travel,” I told her modestly. “It is a pity we cannot simply dematerialize straight to the edge of the Abyss but there are laws governing movement through the circles of Hell which may not be broken, even by me.”

She sighed. “Of course—there are always laws. Anyway, it’s a lot faster than the way I usually get here.”


“How do you travel to the Shadow Lands?” I asked. I knew she had been here, on Hell’s front doorstep before, but I had never accompanied her on any of her trips.

“It’s a long, complicated spell with a lot of expensive ingredients. It’s a real pain in the ass because if you don’t do it just right, it doesn’t work and then you have to start all over again.” She shook her head ruefully. “I tried something like fifty times and spent two months income before I finally got it right the first time.”

“Fifty trials?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “You must have wanted to get here badly.”

“I had to,” she said, looking down. “There were…things I needed here that I couldn’t get anywhere else.”

“Things to work the revenge spell you’ve been trying to gather ingredients for?” I asked.

I confess I wanted to know more about that particular spell—specifically, who Gwendolyn wanted revenge on badly enough to risk her immortal soul in order to get it. What had they done to her to raise the little witch’s ire…or a better question might be what would I do to them when I found out? I felt a possessive growl rise in my throat and swallowed it with some difficulty. Why did she affect me so? I had no answer.

“Well?” I said, when she didn’t reply.

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped.

“Oh, I think it is.” I went to her, crushing the plentiful demon’s breath plants that grew in the arid soil under my feet and releasing their sickly sweet, rotten-ripe smell. “Let us have an understanding right here and now, Gwendolyn,” I said.

“What?” She wouldn’t look at me so I lifted her chin, gently but firmly, and looked into her eyes. “What?” She repeated, meeting my gaze at last. The look on her lovely face was half defiant, half fearful.

“You and I will be traveling together through difficult and dangerous terrain,” I told her, still holding her eyes with mine. “You will forgo your usual defiance and treat me with courtesy—the same courtesy I will show to you.”