If we can stay together, we’ll be all right.
My body hits the ground with a shock of motion that I feel in every joint and vertebrae. The vines push Lincoln and I forward, through the wall and into a small chamber made of the same dark cords. Somehow, Kiya has managed to stay perched on my shoulder.
Nice work, Kiya.
I step around, inspecting the shifting walls. “Looks like we landed in a reception chamber.”
Lincoln kneels to the ground, touching the shifting vines under our feet. He pulls out a tuft of hair and rises to stand. “This is Anubis’s space, no question.”
On my shoulder, Kiya shrieks and points to a stretch of wall across the room.
The opposite vine-wall opens, and a familiar figure steps through. It’s Anubis.
His ebony face breaks into a white-toothed smile. “You made it. I was starting to worry.”
“The hike across the Plains of Fire kicked our asses,” I explain. “This place is hard to find.”
“That’s by design, I’m afraid.” Anubis’s bright smile disappears. “Are the two of you ready for Nefer’s prison block?”
“What guards her?” asks Lincoln.
“Insectus demons. They aren’t smart, but what they lack in brains, they more than make up for in number.”
“I remember,” says Lincoln. “I’ve fought them before.”
“I wish I could go fight with you,” says Anubis.
“Really?” I ask. “You seemed pretty convinced that this was the worst idea in the history of ever.”
“I still believe that, but if Nefer’s fighting, I belong at her side. Only, my powers end with gateways.” He inhales a ragged breath. “Well, you know the story.”
My heart goes out to the guy. I’d go crazy if Lincoln were going into serious danger and I couldn’t be there. “Hey, you’re helping her a lot right now.”
“I suppose,” says Anubis with a sigh. “Remember, after you free Nefer, I’ll transport you to the secret passageway to the throne room. Pass through the Veil of Fire, and you’ll reach your personal hells.”
Hard to forget that part.
“What about Nefer?” asks Lincoln. “Will she go through a personal hell too?”
“Yes, it’s the price of crossing the Veil of Fire.”
More of the adrenaline-buzz from our successful demon battle starts to wear off. I feel my Mommy-self returns, and she wants to freak the fuck out and cry for her lost child. Not helping. “Anything else, Anubis? Because I’m ready to go.”
“No, we’re done.” Anubis sets his warm palms on both of our foreheads. “Go and free her.”
Vines burst forward from behind us. Within a heartbeat, they’ve wrapped around our bodies, pulling us back inside the wall. Everything returns to darkness as we’re dragged off to Nefer’s prison block.
As I careen through the black space, I keep whispering one phrase, over and over: “We’re coming for you, baby.”
Chapter Seventeen
Growing up in Purgatory, I often heard mice scurrying about in the ceilings of our ranch house back on Dante Row. Every so often, I’d even catch sight of a tail hanging out of a particularly cracked ceiling tile, reminding me of the tiny crawl space that existed between the so-called ceiling and the floor above.
Right now, that memory stands out crystal-clear for one simple reason: the vines have just deposited Kiya, Lincoln and me onto a network of white plastic tubes that act as the ceiling for the large cement room below us.
In other words, we’re the mice.
I shift my weight, trying for a better view of the room below by peering through the gaps between the plastic pipes. The place is laid out in classic prison style; it’s two stories tall with an open central space and a wrap-around walkway along the second floor. The walls are lined with metal prison doors that have small barred windows. One long wall-panel extends from floor to ceiling, its surface covered in levers of all shapes and sizes. About a dozen Insectus demons rush around, their humanoid forms encased in shiny brown exoskeletons that look like plated body armor.
My heart starts pumping so hard, my pulse throbs in my neck. We’re here. Nefer’s Prison Block. Club Dead. One step closer to Maxon.
We need to break Nefer out of here. It’s crazy enough to take on Hell with just the three of us. Nefer trained for this over two hundred years.
Below, an Insectus guard steps to the far wall, pausing before the panel of floor-to-ceiling levers. The largest of these large metal switches sits at chest-height and is painted bright red.