The Devil You Need Page 7

  We all looked at Gerch. He met my gaze and I realized he’d been nursing that thought for a while but hadn’t wanted to voice it. “He’d feel more comfortable there,” I whispered.

  Myra and my father shimmered into the room. When I looked at them I had to blink tears away. “What are the chances Dialle’s soul will survive a prolonged visit to Hades right now?”

  The air beside my father flickered and Emo shifted into the room. My father turned an angry look toward my friend and partner but Emo just returned it with a stoic expression. I knew that look. He was dug in. Nobody would be altering his decision. Whatever that was. I smiled when he turned my way.

  Myra touched my father’s hand as if to say let it be then answered my question. “If Dialle is in Hades that would be very bad. We need to get him out of there. As quickly as possible. He’ll not only lose his soul if he stays, he’ll most likely die. He’s not built for that kind of darkness anymore. Not after walking in the light for three years.” Her clear blue gaze held mine, carefully devoid of accusation. But she didn’t need to say or even think the words. They were in my mind anyway.

  What she meant was, after two years of being tied to me. And now he was set adrift, an empty vessel with a hole in him the same size as the one I harbored inside me. By taking himself to Hades he’d made sure only one thing could fill that void.

  Black, oily evil.

  I shuddered. Every minute he spent there would take him further away from the man I knew and loved. Further from the hope of a future together. “We’ll leave as soon as I’ve recharged my power.”

  Darma stepped forward, touching my arm. “Astra, you don’t have any powers. And we don’t even know if he’s there.”

  I glanced at my aunt. No one had told Darma about my temporary fix. “You’ll be my power, Darma.” My sister looked at me as if I was mad. “Think of me as a battery you need to keep charged. I’ll explain while Myra gives me what I need to get started. And as for Dialle’s location, I know he’s there—in my heart—but even if he’s not, we have to check that off the list of possibilities first because it’s the most dire one. He’s in the greatest danger in Hades. So that’s where we’ll start our search.”

  Gerch nodded. “I’ll return to the court and retrieve as many of my men as I can gather.”

  “Thanks, Gerch.” I touched his arm. “It means a lot to me…and Dialle…that you stood by him despite everything.”

  Gerch stared at me for a long moment, his craggy mouth thinning slightly. He looked as if he wanted to say something but he didn’t. He finally just nodded and stepped back.

  Slayer’s voice pulled my thoughts away from Gerch. “Do you want me to go to Olympus and get dragons?”

  I thought about this for a minute. It might come in handy to have them, but it would also make passage into the Hell dimensions more time-consuming. “I don’t think—”

  A horrendous crash sounded in the main part of the office and, in the blink of an eye, everyone in my office was in battle mode.

  Brina and Slayer clutched their swords at the ready, Darma had a ball of energy fizzing in each pale palm, and my father and Myra were exponentially larger, their combined glow of power pulsing against my skin.

  Gerch was already running for the door, his own sword clutched in his fist. I grabbed my knives and took off after him.

  I stopped in the doorway and gave the place a quick scan. I didn’t see anybody in the main part of the office, but it appeared to be raining in the center. Below where the skylight used to be.

  The window was currently lying in a shattered pile on the floor.

  Sorry, mother Tweener. My bad.

  I rolled my eyes and turned to the assembly still behind me in my office. “Stand down, everybody. It’s just Glynus.” Walking toward the watery mess in the center of the office greeting area, I craned my head to look up. A huge, elegant snout filled the space. Glynus’ head was tilted so she could fix a bright-turquoise eye on me.

  Why is part of the ceiling lying on the floor, Tadpole?

  I was just trying to see inside but I might have accidently stepped on it.

  She didn’t mean to do it, dragon fighter.

  I smiled. Glynus’ new mate was with her. Hello, Spence.

  Greetings, dragon fighter.

  I shook my head. I’d told the young dragon to call me Astra repeatedly but he insisted on the formal title. Why are you two here?

  I came to help you. You are upset and worried.

  But I didn’t—

  You didn’t guard your emotions, mother Tweener. I sensed your turmoil and came right away.

  Sighing, I realized she was right. I had assumed our connection would be broken with the loss of my power. But apparently my borrowed energy was enough to fuel it. I’m fine, Tadpole. You and Spence can go on home.

  You’re not fine and I’m not going home. I clearly heard the new note of haughtiness in her tone. My Tadpole was quickly assuming the mantle of royalty she was destined for.

  I glanced at Slayer. He’d spent a lot time around the dragons and knew their ways much better than I did. I knew he would have heard our telepathic conversation.

  He shrugged. “They might as well come with us, Astra. They could be a big help.”

  When I still hesitated, he added, “She’s not going to take no for an answer anyway. That dragon is more queen than her mother is.”

  I knew he was right. “Shit.”

  Mother Tweener, do you still have the swear jar?

  Glynus’ voice warbled with good humor and I smiled. No matter how regal my dragon got, some things would never change. I got rid of the frunkin’ thing, it was sending me to the poorhouse.

  Glynus giggled in my mind.

  “All right, you can come with us,” I shouted up to the hole in the ceiling.

  Snoopy’s coming too.

  I expelled a frustrated breath. You really shouldn’t call him that, Tadpole.

  Spence’s elegant white head showed behind Glynus’ in the opening. I don’t mind, dragon fighter. It’s a term of endearment.

  Let’s see if you still feel that way when your enemies start calling you Snoopy.

  I felt Glynus bristle in my mind. They wouldn’t dare, mother Tweener. If they did Snoopy and I would have to kick some major ass.

  I laughed, shaking my head. I’m sure you would. In the meantime, feel like returning to Dialle’s castle in Hell?

  Glynus and I had spent some time there one Christmas, trying to find out how the green dragons were escaping Hell. She’d made some good friends among the greens while she was there.

  I felt her frown in my mind. Of course. What will we be doing there?

  We need to find Dialle and bring him home.

  It would be an honor to serve you, dragon fighter, Spence told me in his usual stoic, careful tone.

  Stop sucking up, Snoopy. She already loves you because of me. You don’t have to kiss her ass.

  I grinned. Now who needs the swear jar, Glynus?

  It’s not my fault, the prophet told you not to swear in front of me when I was a baby.

  Yeah, but she didn’t tell me why.

  Well, now you know.

  Chapter Six

  Hell no!

  Into Hell young miss must go, to save the man she loves,

  But stranger things than she could know, may bitch-slap her from above.

  We entered the Hell dimension through a rift we’d discovered in the mountains that had once spilled green dragons into Olympus in huge numbers. The dragons had been trying to escape a steady buildup of sulfur in the air of Hell that was killing their young.

  The result was that Olympus now had several new colonies of green dragons and Hell had lost most of its transport animals.

  Sucketh to be them.

  Slayer flew behind Glynus and me on a huge red dragon, compliments of Queen Persuis, the red queen. He’d been her dragon slayer for a couple of years and, as Glynus had informed me at the time, he had the queen wrapped.
Apparently she’d still do anything for him because we currently had ten of her finest warriors flying with us.

  Darma rode beside me on Spence and Emo rode an enormous red on Glynus’ other side.

  Myra and my father would meet us inside the castle. They needed to speak to Hades Corporate before they could enter the Big Red Guy’s toasty environs, even on a rescue mission. The new regs had something to do with recent infighting between Heaven and Hell about porous borders.

  Politics sucked.

  I firmly shoved the niggle of guilt about the porous borders thing to the back of my mind. I might have had something to do with that.

  Glynus headed toward the massive castle Dialle’s father had built on top of a craggy black mountain in the center of Hell. The castle seemed much the way it had when I’d been there before. I looked down and immediately regretted it. The ground beneath us boiled and smoked, like the inside of a volcano. The fiery liquid that served as the center of Hell’s foundation flowed around the wide, black mountains dotting its surface. That was where only the wealthiest and most powerful inhabitants of Hell built their charred, soaring castles.

  Those who had come to Hell without power lived in caves, which were more like pockmarks on the sides of the mountains than actual caverns, and did their best not to go mad from the heat and the smell.

  Glynus’ wide, black body swayed and dipped as she flew steadily forward. I felt the tingle of her protective magics as a constant force against my skin. Without it, I’d have burned to a pile of ashes within seconds of entering the fiery place.

  Despite Glynus’ protective bubble of magic, the heat throbbed against me like a living thing, pulling moisture from my body like a succubus and leaving behind a shaky, husk-like feeling.

  We couldn’t get to the castle fast enough for my comfort.

  A distant shout brought my head snapping around and I felt Glynus’ big body tighten with tension. We have company, mother Tweener.

  I sighed. Arrayed in an arrow formation, a small army of enormous, winged creatures flew toward us in the distance. They looked like some kind of dragon-gargoyle hybrid, with massive, brown bodies, wings that looked too small to be effective, and huge heads sporting oversized, tusk-like teeth. Each monster had a warrior devil riding its back. The red-and-orange flash of the fire below glinted off the long, deadly looking blades they held. Let’s head them off. We aren’t going to be able to outrun them.

  I glanced back at Slayer and he nodded, pulling his dragon up and turning it as Glynus veered off. Emo shouted back to Gerch, Brina slipped into place beside Spence, and our small rescue party turned in lumbering formation to meet what to all appearances was a hostile force.

  I fought back concern for Dialle. Every minute in that place was another moment closer to madness. I only briefly considered ducking out the back and letting the others fight the approaching army so I could go to him. But I couldn’t do that to my friends. Even for Dialle.

  Badly outnumbered and prepped for speed rather than battle, our chances of winning against the ugly horde winging its way toward us were small. I couldn’t make it worse by leaving.

  Spence turned his head toward Glynus and the two love-dragons shared a glance. I added a new worry to my long list of concerns. If either young dragon was killed—

  Stop it, mother Tweener. Spence and I aren’t worried.

  I frowned. How the frunk did she always do that? I don’t want you to get hurt.

  We fight battles like this every day on Olympus. We know how to fight. Concentrate on making sure you kill riders, Spence and I will take care of their beasts.

  Knowing she was right, I did the only thing I could. I relayed the information to Darma.

  Darma’s face looked a little pale as she viewed the approaching mass. “What are those things?”

  I shrugged. “My guess is the Big Red Guy had to come up with something to replace the green dragons. ‘Goyles thrive in sulfurous air but they can’t fly for crap. Dragons can fly just fine. It looks like he just meshed the two.”

  She wrinkled her pert nose. “Bleurgh.”

  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

  “Astra!” At Slayer’s shouted warning I yanked power into my hands. The air sizzled as an enormous ball of fire dived out of the sky toward my head. It hit Glynus’ protective bubble and exploded, spraying fire in all directions. In her surprise, Glynus wobbled sideways a few feet and, just for a second, her protective magics thinned enough for me to get a furnace-like blast of unfiltered heat.

  I gasped under that heat, and pulled the fiery air into my lungs. It seared through me, the sulfur making me cough.

  Another shout went up and more fireballs dropped from the sky. I looked up and saw the dark shapes high above our heads, hiding in the cloaking sulfur smog. “There are more of them.”

  Slayer urged his dragon forward with a shout. “Half of you with me!” They shot skyward, followed by several of Gerch’s men.

  Brina glanced at me. “Go with him,” I told her. She nodded, urging her dragon forward to catch up with Slayer.

  Dialle’s Captain of the Guard turned to his remaining men. “Forward and fan out, protect the queen at all costs.”

  I opened my mouth to argue as Emo moved in on the other side of me, where Slayer had been. “Don’t bother, Astra. Their duty is with you and Dialle. Right now you’re in the most immediate danger.”

  I sighed, knowing he was right. “I guess we’ll need to shake them then, partner.” I grinned at him and he returned the smile, making my heart flutter with happiness. For that moment—that tiny slice in time—my Emo was back with me.

  Emo jerked his head toward a mountaintop coming up fast on our right. I knew what he was thinking and nodded in agreement. Tadpole, we’re splitting off from the rest.

  Yes, mother Tweener. Are we going with the surprise flank attack?

  We are.

  That’s what I would do. Glynus and Spence shared a look and I figured they were communicating on their own wavelength. Glynus hadn’t just been trying to comfort me. The dragons spent a large part of their time in battle, enforcing boundaries and fighting off potential usurpers. They understood battle plans like few did.

  As Gerch and his guards flew forward, swords drawn and a variety of other deadly looking bludgeon-type weapons clutched in their fists, I gave Emo a nod and we slipped quietly off to the right. We used our forward guard as a buffer as we flew hard and fast toward the nearby charred peak. We glided into its shadow just as the sounds of battle ensued in front of us.

  I glanced at Emo. “We need to move fast. Gerch and his men are badly outnumbered.”

  “Agreed.” We sliced through the thick, heated air, circling the black rock peaks with a plan to slide in behind the attacking forces. The thunderous sound of roaring had me jerking my gaze skyward as Slayer’s forces met up with the creatures bearing Satan’s guards. I said a silent prayer for Slayer. He was a damn fine warrior but they were probably as outnumbered as we were and he didn’t have a flank plan.

  I fumbled for the cross around my neck and held it to my head, thinking Myra’s name.

  After a moment, my mental drawers stirred and I heard her strident, ever-cranky voice in my head. What is it, Astra?

  Where are you? We’re being attacked.

  Damn. We’re still in negotiations. Can you hold on for a while?

  If by a while you mean three minutes, then maybe. We’re pretty much hangin’ by a string here, angel.

  Silence throbbed across our mental pathway and then finally she said, I’ll get there as soon as I can, and broke contact.

  Darma had apparently seen me use my cross. “Are they coming?”

  I shook my head.

  “There,” Emo shouted over the battle sounds. A huge green dragon, looking exhausted and miserable, flew by a half mile away, pulling some kind of container behind it. If we were careful, we could all fly behind the container and dive out to attack once we’d passed Satan’s guards.


  “Go!” I squeezed my thighs and expected Glynus to go shooting forward. She didn’t. I frowned. “Glynus?”

  It’s not necessary, mother Tweener. Spence and I have been working on a special cloaking magic. I can make us invisible.

  Are you sure?

  We’ve used it several times at home. We’re very good at it.

  I looked at Emo and realized he wouldn’t be able to cloak.

  “What’s going on, Astra?” Darma, who’d been suspiciously quiet since we’d entered Hell, was visibly antsy. I ignored her, knowing I was quickly running out of time. If Emo gets behind us will he be hidden? I asked Glynus.

  Glynus frowned in my mind, seeming to confer with Spence. I’m not sure, but we can try it.

  Emo was staring at the quickly growing distance between us and the green, frowning. “Astra? We need to move or we’re gonna lose our opportunity here.”

  I chewed my lip, undecided. It would certainly allow us to get into the battle more quickly if we could head directly toward it. Seeing one of Gerch’s soldiers go down, his red dragon screeching in pain as its wing was nearly severed, I made my decision. “We’re going with Plan B. Glynus and Spence are going to cloak us. You need to stay between and behind us.”

  With years of working together under our belts, Emo didn’t even argue. He just held his dragon until we’d passed and then fell in behind us.

  Okay, Tadpole. It’s up to you and Snoopy now.

  A silver sheen coated the air around us. It seemed to pulse and quiver, reflecting the smoky sky above and the fiery chasm below. I looked around, enjoying the way the light diffused into billions of tiny, silvery squares through the magic.

  It’s very pretty, Glynus.

  Thank you, mother Tweener. Snoopy and I came up with it ourselves.

  The extra layer of magic also gave me some respite from the intense heat for a couple of minutes, allowing me to breathe deeply for the first time since we’d maneuvered through the rift to enter the furnace-like dimension.

  I glanced toward Emo and was relieved to see the love-dragons had managed to encompass him within their enchantment.

  He grinned at me, his dark eyes sparking with good humor. “Frunkin’ cool.”