Page 40 of Hell-Bound

“Okay, Elf girl! Put on your sneakiest shoes, and let’s get going!” he said, jumping up.

“Wait, wait, slow down! How do we even get there? Do we, like, hop in a portal and sneak into the castle?”

Jester leaned back and kicked his feet, laughing. “Nooooo, silly girl. We can’t justappearin the domain of a High Devil! They can detect magic—then they will find us! Then they will tie us up or make our skin into leather for their couches!”

Ren ran her fingers through her hair, exasperated.

“Fine! Then how do we get there? Do you know the way?”

He jumped up and down.

“Ofcourse,I know the way. You didn’t think Azur would send us all the way to Castle Valdrock without a way to get there! But!” He put one finger in the air to stress his next words. “We will have to walk! Don’t worry though, it’s only about a day—”

“Walk?”

Renata balked.

“Yes, walk. It’s like a slower run—”

“Iknowwhat it is, Jester!”

Her legs were no longer hurting from her back alley encounter, but she wasn’t looking forward to striding through The Hells with a Devil that she had only just met.

“Be careful, Ren! You might accidentally summon acertainDevil with such sloth.” He giggled and winked at her. “Azur would give us a carriage, but there aren’t really anyroadsthere. I can get us closer, but Azur says the wards start somewhere in the forest.”

“Wards?”

“Sure! All lords have them in their domains. They will alert them if any unwanted guests arrive. Getting out is easier. I’ll leave an open portal here for a quick escape.”

He floated his long fingers through the air. A barely noticeable ripple opened near the window.

“Portaling and teleportation are quite different. I can portal to a known area, usually. But it takes a great deal of magic unless you’ve prepared the portal beforehand. Teleporting can only be done over short distances.

That should just about do it,” he said, dusting off his hands as if he had finished some kind of manual labor. “Meet you outside!”

In a puff of red smoke, he was gone.

Ren massaged her temples.

“No one said anything about a hike,” she grumbled,gathering her few belongings in her satchel and descending the stairs.

Fred was sitting at the bar, staring off into space.

“No luck last night?” he said, snapping back into reality.

Ren gave a grimace. “It uh…didn’t go as well as I had hoped.”

He scratched the scruff on his chin. “Well, yer look like ye still breathing. So that’s something.”

“Yeah.” She looked around, wondering if Jester was watching from a corner.

Fred cleared his throat.

“For the spirits.”

He slowly pushed the glass, the same from the night before, toward her, making sure to catch her eyes as she did. He put one finger over his mouth.

Ren tried to act naturally, taking the glass in her hand. It was still filled with liquid, but it no longer looked amber. It looked exactly like—but it couldn’t be. She lifted it to her lips, her confidence momentarily faltering.