“I’m a warden in the 4th Ring, and you”—he seized her by the throat—“you are an intruder.”
“No,” she gasped, and then she just tried to breathe because he squeezed harder, cutting off her voice and her air.
His lips peeled back from blackened teeth and a wicked set of fangs as he put his face in hers. “The 4th and 5th Rings are in chaos, and do you know why? There are reports of unauthorized beings in the Inner Sanctum, and it looks like I caught one of them.” He grinned, and if she hadn’t been struggling to breathe, she’d have screamed. “Do you know what we do to intruders, female? I dare you to imagine the worst because I promise the reality will look far, far more horrible.”
His meaty fist filled her vision, and then there was blackness.
Hades was balls deep in a demon horde. The 5th Ring had literally been set on fire, and all around, smoke and flame erupted from crude bombs and fire arrows.
He and every 5th Ring warden had been fighting for hours, and they hadn’t come any closer to finding the human. Reports of violence were coming in from the 3rd and 4th Rings, as well, and just moments ago, Silth had brought extremely troubling news.
He’d found a weak spot in the membrane that separated the Inner Sanctum from the rest of Sheoul-gra. If the spot wasn’t shored up, and fast, demons would overrun Azagoth’s realm, which could result in a catastrophic destabilization and allow the souls to escape, flooding human lands.
At least Cat was safely ensconced in his home, although he’d come to realize there was nothing “safe” about her. She might have been an angel once, but he wouldn’t be surprised if there was a little succubus in her family tree.
He whacked an ugly-ass demon on its scaly head with his battle-ax and shot a lightning bolt at another. The bolt bounced around the crowd of demons, taking out another dozen before it fizzled away. Shit, this sucked. He’d always liked a good fight, but this was on a scale he hadn’t seen since...well, ever.
Panting with exhaustion, he took advantage of the brief reprieve from charging demons. They were all around him, but they were busy fighting wardens, so he figured he had about thirty seconds to breathe.
“My lord!” A towering warden from the 4th Ring powered his way through the crowd and jogged over, his sword dripping with blood. “Malonius sent me with a message. He needs you at the Rot right away.”
“Do not tell me we’re dealing with prison riots, too,” Hades growled.
The warden, Rhoni, wiped grime out of his eyes with the back of his gauntleted hand. “No, sir. He captured an intruder.”
He frowned. “Someone else was able to get into the Inner Sanctum?”
“Apparently, sir.”
Yes. The portals must be operating again. Azagoth must have realized something was wrong and had people working on the problem from his side. Finally. Now he could get Cat back where she belonged.
An uncomfortable sensation caught tight in his chest. He wasn’t ready to give her up yet. Sure, he couldn’t have her, not in the way he wanted, but now that he’d gotten a taste––so to speak—he wanted more. Her bravery and impulsiveness fascinated him, and her unique blend of artlessness and seductiveness enchanted him. He loved the way her kisses were eager but unpracticed, and her emotions were so unguarded. Such a rare thing for a fallen angel.
Yes, she was newly fallen, and no doubt she’d lose that innocent patina eventually, but only if she was exposed to ugliness. Something inside him wanted to protect her from that ugliness, the way he’d protected humans back when he’d been an angel.
Back then, he’d gone too far in his desire to protect the innocent, and it had cost him his wings and his soul. But how far would he go to protect Cat?
He knew the answer immediately. He’d stop at nothing. Which meant that, if the portals were open, he had to send her back. With only one exception, the Inner Sanctum was ugly, and Cat deserved better. She deserved to not lose her shiny.
The whisper of a spear passed too close to Hades’s ear for comfort, jolting him back to the ugliness around him. The kind he needed to protect Cat from.
“How are things in the 4th Ring?” he asked.
“They’re bad,” Rhoni said, “but not this bad.”
Hades clapped the guy on the shoulder. “Get back to it. I’ll head to the prison.”
Extending his wings, he launched into the air, spinning and diving to avoid projectiles. The icy burn of some sort of weapon ripped through one wing, but a few heartbeats later, he punched through the portal and was striding down the Rot’s dark, damp halls to the processing center where all guests were interrogated before being sent to either a cell or a torture chamber. When he arrived in the chilly antechamber, Malonius greeted him.