Page 2

Chapter two

I lost track of time. The light, whether it was a sun or not, never set. I could feel my skin blistering under the unbearable heat. The princes didn’t seem to mind. They must have been used to the brutal climate, since it was their home.

Levi gave me his shirt, which I wrapped around my head for protection from the rays. The brothers only took small amounts of water, leaving the majority for me. I was even more confident in my decision to leave Frankie back home. I wouldn’t have wished that climate on my worst enemy.

My body screamed from exhaustion. Finally, we stopped in the middle of the desert and made camp. Mammon pitched our tents and we all gathered inside, taking comfort in the small reprieve from the heat and light. We nibbled on our rationed food. I wasn’t hungry, but I forced the food down, knowing my body needed the energy. Without a single word, we slept.

As my mind drifted into slumber, the memory of Deus’s death consumed me. The tenor in his voice just before he spoke his last words rang through me like a symphony. His lifeforce transferring into my body had felt like a warm wave crashing through every part of my being. And then, I saw his lifeless body again, only inches from me. How beautiful he remained … even in death.

I jolted awake, refusing to have those memories be our last. I would do whatever it took to get back the future we had been robbed of. Even if it meant I would have to cheat death itself.

It felt like we walked for days. God, how my body craved the crisp winter wind of Deus’s balcony. After this, I would shift there immediately and bury myself in a heaping pile of soft, white snow. I escaped into my own fantasy. Deus next to me, brushing the small specks of snow from my hair. His smile, and the way his dimples accentuated his beautiful, sensual lips. The feeling of those lips on my skin. God, how I missed the taste of him.

“Finally,” I heard Belz say.

I snapped out of my mind. A clearing of tall trees and vegetation lay before us, resembling a rainforest. The smell of soil and greenery replaced the scent of blood and ash.

“What the …” I said, not knowing what I was looking at.

“Hell shifted,” answered Levi. “We’re leaving one brutal climate and entering another. The Forest of Azlon.”

“I hate this part,” whispered Gor.

“Why? What’s in there?” I asked.

“Remember I told you there were demons and monsters that were hard to kill?” Gor asked. I nodded. “Well, that’s where most of them reside. Yay us.”

“Come now, brother,” said Mammon, pulling Gor into him. “I do recall a few good memories within those trees, back when we had just fallen.”

“And what, per se, would those be?” asked Gor. “The time you all used me as bait to catch a hashon, or the time you all left me inside the hive with the tremonite?”

The brothers began to laugh … even Levi.

“You’re all assholes,” snarled Gor. “Complete. Fucking. Assholes.”

“What type of creatures are those?” I asked.

“You don’t want to know,” answered Belz.

“Just stay close and try not to make a lot of noise,” instructed Levi. “They’re going to smell you regardless, but the less noticeable you make yourself, the faster we can get through this part.”

“Got it,” I said, removing the shirt from my head and stuffing it in my pack.

The forest was an oasis: one of the most beautiful and alluring environments I had ever laid eyes on. It reminded me of the rainforest Nonna had brought me to for my first birthday dinner that we had all shared together. God, how things had changed since then. That memory felt like another life entirely.

Leaves and branches crunch underneath my feet. No matter how silent I tried to remain, nature seemed to make it impossible. The air was moist and damp. My skin welcomed the drink of water. The trees stretched miles high. The green canopy of leaves and vines twirled and danced above us. Flowers in different colors and vibrancies opened as we passed, seeming to watch us.

Birds sang alluring melodies high in the trees. Light from above bounced through water droplets that ornamented the large green leaves of the rainforest.

Thunk.

I went still. Slowly, I brought my hand up to my neck, where a sharp stinging began to pulsate from my skin. I wrapped my fingers around a small, needle-like thorn and pulled. A yellow, sticky substance dripped from the tip of the black shard. My body began to warm. The light around me played with my vision, creating beautiful spectrums of colors and shapes.

“Uh, guys,” I managed to say, before the world around me began to spin like I was on a rollercoaster.

“Shit,” said Levi, rushing towards me. His beautiful pale hair and the sharp angles of his face appeared in front of me just before I plummeted to the ground. In an instant, Levi threw me over his shoulder and began to run.

“Where is it?” I heard Mammon yell.

“The fuck if I know,” answered Belz.

“It marked her,” added Gor. “We have to kill it.”

“No shit, little brother,” said Belz.

Faster and faster Levi ran. My numb body bounced against his back as I tried to regain control of my extremities. I looked down at my fingers. Rainbows of colors and little balls of light drifted across my skin like stars. I laughed, enjoying this peaceful high. I had never done drugs before, but this was what I imagined it felt like.

In the right corner of my vision, a large green shape burst out from the foliage, hurtling towards us. The creature was massive, with the body of a lion, but the skin of a scorpion. Black talons stretched from its paws, digging into the earth, lending the creature momentum as it lunged forward.

Its scales shimmered from green to blue and then black. It could camouflage itself. The creature’s teeth dripped with yellow venom as its jaw unhinged. Two more sets of razor-sharp teeth extended, growling and snapping. Behind its body, a tail thrashed and rose high in the air. A large black pod like a flower bloom opened, revealing hundreds of razor-sharp needles, undoubtedly laced with poison.

“A … gg—ru,” I tried to warn Levi, but my mouth was numb and uncooperative. I patted him on his back as hard as I could, which must have felt like a friendly tap.

“What?” he yelled.

“Looouuuuuoook,” I slurred, now drooling on myself. Levi slid his eyes over his shoulder.

“Fuck!” he yelled, “Shields,” he ordered, dropping me down in front of him. The princes formed a protective barrier around me, slamming their hands up in front of them. The small needles released from the creature’s tail, slamming into the invisible wall of the princes’ magic.

The beast slid to a halt on the other side of their shields. It lowered its eyes and growled, pacing slowly in front of us. Through my fuzzy vision, I watched it arch its long, scaled neck into the air before a barking sound echoed through the air. It repeated the action again.

“Fuck,” growled Levi.

“We need to kill it, now,” demanded Mammon. “Before his pack finds us.”

“We can’t use any more of our powers,” said Gor. “The shields are small, but it could still be enough for Lucy to find us if he was looking, and we all know, he probably is.”

“We only used a small portion,” said Belz. “He doesn’t know we’re here. Not yet, at least.”

Mammon unsheathed a sword from his belt. “Well, I guess we do this the old fashion way.” He stepped up to the barrier and nodded at his brothers. The shield lowered and before I could blink, the creature attacked. Talons ripped and tore through the air. Mammon swung confidently, severing one of the creature’s arms clean off. The thing yelped, raising its tail, dozens of little black needles zipping through the air.

The princes threw up their shields. Levi stayed close, protecting me with the small amount of power he was able to use. Belz and Gor joined Mammon, finally killing the thing before it could fire another batch of poisonous needles. Levi hauled me over his shoulder as we continued to run through the jungle. My lips buzzed and tingled, but my vision began to clear.

“We need to find shelter and clear our scent,” said Belz.

“And how do you suggest we do that without using our powers?” asked Gor sarcastically.

“Well, what do you suggest, brother ?” spat Belz.

“We need to get to water,” answered Gor. “That way, they will lose our scent. We need to travel downstream for a while.”

“You do remember what are in those waters, don’t you?” asked Mammon, sporting a devilish grin.

“How could I forget,” snapped Gor.

The other three brothers laughed while continuing to run. The faint crashing of water in the distance grew louder. Levi set me down by a large boulder.

“Can you move anything yet?” asked Levi.

“My … my feeenguurs,” I slurred, wiggling them slowly.

“On it,” said Mammon. He and Belz gathered broken logs near the edge. Levi pulled rope from his bag and threw it at Gor. He wove the rope between each log, creating a small raft.

The princes snapped their attention to the clearing along the edge of the shoreline. The trees and bushes began to rustle. Something was coming.

“That’s our queue,” said Mammon, hauling the raft over his head .

“Up you go,” said Levi, pulling my numb body from the ground.

He placed me on the raft as the brothers each entered the water, holding onto the corner of the logs. The water was rough and rapid as the currents carried us down stream. Four creatures, similar to the one the princes had just slaughtered, barreled through the tree line, stopping before their paws hit the water. They raced down the shoreline, pursuing us from land.

“What are they?” I asked.

“Numatras,” answered Gor. “They hunt in packs and are known to tear apart their prey limb by limb.”

“I think I prefer just a normal lion to that thing,” I replied.

The brothers laughed.

“Welcome to Hell, goddess,” said Mammon.

“Where your worst nightmares are surely going to come to life,” added Belz.

“How long will they track us?” I asked.

“Not sure,” said Levi, dodging a boulder. “They won’t jump in after us though.”

“And why is that?” I mumbled, still trying to wake my lips up.

“Because there’s something far worse and bigger in this river,” answered Belz. “The hashon.”

“And if I recall,” added Mammon, “it has a taste for Gor.”

Levi, Belz, and Mammon started laughing.

“I despise all of you,” spat Gor.

“Which leg did it take again?” asked Belz. “The right?”

“It was my left arm, but thank you for your concern,” replied Gor. “The damn thing hunted me for a week and none of you even attempt to assist. You just left me, per usual.”

“Oh, we didn’t leave you,” answered Mammon.

Gor froze, forcing the whole group to stop and look back at him.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Mammon and Belz snickered to themselves.

“Leviathan?” asked Gor.

Levi grinded his back teeth together, attempting to hold in his amusement. “We were up in the trees,” he finally answered, “watching the show.”

Mammon and Belz lost control into a fit of laughter.

“Oh Father,” Mammon gasped, “When that thing almost bit off your ass on the third night when you were sleeping. I almost gave away our position. I couldn’t contain my laughter. Thankfully, your scream covered any other sounds.”

“At that point,” said Belz, “we were unsure of if it wanted to eat you or fuck you.”

“Deus swore the thing wanted to mate with you,” added Levi. “The way it toyed with you and took its time.”

“It probably kept your arm as a reminder of your time together,” Mammon said softly, reaching over and pinching Gor’s cheek.

Gor swatted his hand away. “After this, I never want to see any of you again,” he growled.

“And how many times have we heard that?” asked Belz.

“At least a few times a decade,” answered Levi. The brothers continue to laugh together, sharing stories and memories as we drifted down the dangerous river, Gor’s lover lurking somewhere beneath.