The Necklace: The Trial Realm

Chapter Twenty Three: Lucifer's Son

"So what do we do?"

Raven, the strange demon boy who has agreed to at least attempt to help me, turns to look at me. Those dark eyes wide with uncertainty he shakes his head. "I don't really know." He admits. "Hiding a lost soul from the reapers has never been done before."

"Those aren't great odds."

"No." He shakes his head. "No they aren't."

He sticks his neck out into the darkness of the realm I will never forget, if I even get the luxury of forgetting Hell. According to Raven, I might just be stuck here as a tortured soul for all of eternity. My whole body shakes just thinking of it.

"What if they find me?" I agonize the details. "What will they do to me? I can't get stuck here, I've got people who need me, and I want to go back to the Hub and I need to rescue Tawny and Mags somehow. Plus I never even got to finish training, I-."

Raven's hand slaps over my mouth, pulling me back against him and keeping me from speaking. "Shut up." He whispers close to my ear, pulling me further back into the cave.

Maybe it's the fact that I've already been blindsided by a murder attempt within the last twenty minutes, or maybe I've just never been a fan of being told to shut up or being man handled, either way, my body snaps into control.

I jut my elbow back into the soft part of his stomach, holding in the cringe when that part isn't soft at all but hardly muscled, then when he caves in I twist his arm down from my mouth, trying to bend him into the hold I've used on so many before, but he doesn't budge.

"What are you doing?" He looks down at where I'm holding his arm and trying desperately to break it. He's doesn't even really look that annoyed. "Hide over there and don't say a single word. Don't even breathe too hard, or think about anything. Try to minimize yourself." I'm so taken aback by the turn that I just stare up at him. I've never been stumped on a maneuver before. He jerks his head towards the mouth of the cave and then back to me, pushing on my shoulder. "Go, you can try to kill me again later, but not if you get caught right now."

He pushes a little harder and I go over to the side of the cave, taking a wide berth around the lava pond that's already tried to melt me once today, and I duck behind an awkwardly shaped boulder. For good measure I close my eyes and try to make myself feel small like Raven had said. I gulp hard once and then focus on being anywhere but here. I don't want to think or draw attention to myself but the moment I hear footsteps approaching the cave I want to vomit and my heart is beating so fast I'm afraid someone might hear it.

Someone like a bad demon or a reaper, which I assume to be one of those scary ass shadow things out there. I try to keep my eyes shut, but the not knowing is just as bad while I hide.

"Do you feel that, boy?"

I hold my breath as the deeper than seems real voice booms into the space.

"I do, father." Raven comments, less enthused.

Father? This cannot be good.

The man chuckles and I imagine he looks as evil as sin itself. "The reapers will be giddy at this added hunt. You know how bored they grow." He pauses and I hear him moving again, with a shock of fear I realize it's in my direction. "My, it is potent." He sounds like he's sniffing the air. "It smells so sweet it burns me, yet it's so...enthralling?"

"Yes, father." Raven says formally again. "Very appealing."

His father laughs again. "Appealing?" His laugh cuts off sharply. "Get your head on straight, boy. You should be out there, enjoying the fun. The souls of the dammed are raging this hour. They too can feel the pull. It smells like freedom to them. Go out with the other tempests and whisper."