Broken Wings (Hidden Wings Series Book Two) (13 page)

“Whoa, this suit
is
magic.” Kade shot me a bewildered look. “It’s cold. The inside of this suit just got really cold,” I laughed, baffled.

“D
o you have room for one more?” he asked.

“You wish,” I s
aid, blushing. “Actually, it would totally make you feel better.”

“Yes, I’m sure it would. I
n more ways than one,” he winked. Damn. Even in Hell, he was charming. 

I
was really beginning to love this super suit. It was awesome. Yes, it had a few blood and dirt blemishes, but that’s what happens when you
need
to wear something like this. The blemishes gave it character. It seemed as if the longer I wore the suit, the stronger I felt. Even if it was a false sense of strength, at least it was something. Right now, I’d take anything. 

I was now a part of an entirely different world, and being a part of this new world,
I needed to rewire my thinking. I’d have to kill, or be killed. I’d have to watch loved ones die, and continue to live.

Kade squeezed my hand, reminding me that we were on a mission
.

Samuel and Danyel were just ahead of us
, quietly discussing our next move.

About a hundred yards away
, I noticed a solitary tree sitting in the middle of the vast barren land. It was massive and looked completely out of place. It had no leaves, but its large branches were charred and twisted. They appeared as limbs stretching, reaching, and trying to escape the constant heat and stench of this place.

Torment.

That’s the one word that came to mind as I observed the tree. It was a perfect depiction of Hell, and I actually felt sorry that this tree was doomed to spend its eternity here.

“So w
hat’s up with that tree?” I asked Kade. Curious to see if he knew anything about it.

“That
, Emma, is the entrance into Hell,” he answered, with his hand outstretched toward it.

“
That
tree
is Hell’s gate?” I replied, shocked. “I guess I thought that the entrance of Hell would have been a bit grander, but I could also see how the nightmarish, Tim Burton tree seems to fit.”

Kade laughed, but the longer I stared at it, the more anxious I became.

I seriously hoped that this tree wasn’t like the trees in the Wizard of Oz. The ones that came to life, spoke, and threw things at you. Yes, I did have an overactive imagination, but this was also Hell, and anything was possible. I’d already seen my share of the unbelievable, and I had a feeling that my world would never be the same.

Hell, h
ow many people, human people, actually traveled into Hell and came back to tell about it?

NONE!

At least none that I knew of. I actually never thought that this place existed, or even gave it a second thought. It was just a place they said evil people went to when they passed.

Samuel’
s voice broke the insanity swimming around in my head.

“Alright, this is the plan,
” he announced. “I’ll be taking Kade this time. The reason is because I’m supposed to be dead. If anyone notices me, my quest will be over, and that can’t happen. Emma, Danyel will be taking you. It’s our best bet. Lucian’s band of Fallen hasn’t returned to Hell since the rift between him and Lucifer, so Danyel should be safe from anyone recognizing him.”

“So what a
re we supposed to be doing?” I asked.

“You should appear to be unconscious
, like you’ve been put into a sleeper, and we will be the ones delivering you into Hell,” he said.

“Is that legal? I mean, taking someone
into Hell before they die?” I asked.

“T
here is a code. No one can go to Hell, unless they choose it, or deserve it. Sometimes, those bound for Hell, will pray to be taken before death. The Fallen are sent to collect them, then put them to sleep and deliver them.” Samuel explained.

I sighed.

“Emma, no one comes to Hell unless their hearts absolutely deserve it. This is where the worst of the mortal race live out their lives. In Hell, they re-live the horrors they put others through, over and over, and feel every bit of pain and terror their victims felt,” Danyel added.

I nodded
. I guess that was justice. I just wanted to get in, and get back out as quickly as possible. I didn’t care who was there. The only thing I cared about was making it out alive with Samuel, Danyel, and Kade.

“Emma,
Danyel will put the sleeper on you. Kade, you will need to stay awake just in case we need you,” Samuel said. Kade nodded.

“
Wait, can’t I just fake it? I don’t think I’d want to be sleeping if something happens. I’d like to be able to help, and not just be dead weight,” I said.

But as soon as the words left my mouth, and
I really thought about it… maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea…to die without knowing.

Samuel smiled. “Alright
then. When we make it past the guards, we’ll follow Danyel’s lead. He knows the best way to maneuver through Hell. Are you sure you can do this awake, Emma?”

“Well
,
my mom always called me a drama queen. This will be my chance to prove her right,” I admitted.

He smiled and
nodded in agreement.

S
o this was it. Our quest was officially starting. When we were about 50 feet away, Danyel swooped me up into his strong arms, and I rested my head on his muscular chest, letting my limbs fall limp.

“Just
try not to move. Our lives depend on it, drama queen,” Danyel teased. His mouth turned up into a wide smile. His black hair cascaded over his dark brown, almost black eyes. He was very handsome for an older guy.

He raised his head and began wa
lking, carrying me like I was a bag of feathers in his arms. I couldn’t believe that this was my father’s best friend, and that they were centuries old. They were around since the Fall…the FALL! That’s the part I liked about the whole immortal thing. They didn’t age quickly. I wondered how I would look in a few centuries.

I sighed
deeply and then glanced over my shoulder to Samuel and Kade. Kade looked like he was dead, perfectly limp and lifeless, and I wondered if I could pull that off.

“We’re al
most there,” Danyel whispered.

That was my warning
to play dead. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and tried to relax. Deep inside I wanted to see the entrance of Hell, and what we’d be facing, but even though my inquisitive mind wanted to know…there was no way, in Hell, that I’d risk my life to appease that curiosity.

After a
nother minute of walking, Danyel stopped. We must have been at the tree. The suspense was killing me, but I stayed as still and as lifeless as I could.

I listened to the slow and steady beating of his heart,
and felt the steady rise and fall of his chest, and it helped to relax me. He was extremely good under pressure.

All of a sudden, Danyel started speaking
loudly, in a language I didn’t understand. It didn’t sound like any language I’d ever heard on earth. Maybe it was the language of the Angels. But, whatever language it was, it was breathtaking. Then suddenly, there were loud booms that shook us. Boom! Boom! Boom!

I quickly realized they were footsteps.
Holy crap! Those were huge!

“I am Danyel, and this is Vassago,” he spoke in a low, authoritative tone.

Vassago? He must have been referring to Samuel.

“
We’ve been sent by Beleth. We bear two human souls for delivery. Murder suicides,” Danyel added.

There wa
s a pause My heart beat wildly, and my mind instantly painted a picture of a huge troll like creature with sharp teeth. Danyel gave me a slight squeeze and I realized that I had tensed. He adjusted and I relaxed into him.

Butter. A vision of a block of butter, slowly melting, shrinking
, and turning into a liquid began to play through my mind. Why butter? I seriously had NO clue, but it helped.

“Let me see your marks,” a v
ery deep, voice growled. It sounded like it belonged to something very horrifying. My mind then flashed back to the Darkling on steroids that attacked us the other night, except the one in my head was a lot bigger and a lot scarier. Danyel bent slightly to the left, and then soon straightened back up. “And you.”

He must have been referring
to Samuel. There was silence for a few moments, and I began to feel the thump, thumb, thumping of my heart, pounding loudly like a drum. But just before I could conjure up any more horrifying visions, I heard three words that instantly settled me down.

“You may enter.” The voice
behind the words didn’t sound happy at all. But who would be happy guarding the gate of Hell? Not me, that’s for sure.

I felt
Danyel walking, but dared not open my eyes or move. He didn’t say a thing either and I figured if the coast were clear, he’d give me some kind of indication. I tried to listen to the surroundings around me.

At first I could hear voices in the distance, but as time went on, I
realized that they were cries. Tormented cries that made my stomach churn. My pulse began to race again, and the air around us was hot and suffocating. It felt like I was sitting in a car, on the hottest summer day, with the sun beating down on us, while all the windows were rolled up. It was torturous.

The places on my body that were covered with the
super suit were somewhat cool, but every other place that wasn’t covered felt like it was going to melt off. I didn’t know how much longer I could take it. My lips were dry, my mouth parched, and my windpipe was taking heat... literally.

Suddenly
, I felt a blast of cool air over my face, followed by instant relief. I wondered how, but felt Danyel’s chest rise, and then fall again with another cooling breeze. His breath was unexplainably sweet, and felt as wonderful as a cool winter’s breeze, breathing life back into me. Just in time.

After a few more minutes we stopped, and I heard Danyel’s voice whisper in my ear, “Emma, you can open your eyes
now.”

As soon as my
eyes popped open, they began to burn from the heat and they took a moment to adjust. Samuel and Kade were to the left of us.

We were in an underground cave.
Great. Out of one scary cave and into another. I concluded that I didn’t like them. Caves were creepy and filled with things that wanted to kill me, but this particular cave had surpassed every other cave in the universe. We had entered the Underworld. We had just passed the first gate of Hell and were on our way to see the Devil himself.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Crap
! If I had my iPhone I would have totally snapped some photos of this journey and Instagramed it when we got back. Well, maybe not Instagramed because the mortal world would completely freak, or would think it was a fake. It would have made an awesome photo journal. Emma’s Descent into Hell. Yeah, come to think of it, I probably wouldn’t like flipping through those pages, or taking a trip down this memory lane.  

I silently vowed to myself
that when this was all over, I’d never set foot in another cave. Unless I had to…to save someone’s life, like this time.

I was surprised at how easy it was to get into Hell. But then again,
wasn’t Hell the easier path to take?

“Hey, how
are you holding up?” Kade asked. He took a seat next to me.

“Hot, but alright I guess
,” I said with a smile. “And, you’re looking pretty hot yourself.”

He
caught my little joke and laughed. I noticed trails of sweat down the side of his face. His hair was damp, and his face was a bit red and flustered. He was probably feeling the same torment I was being mortal now, except he didn’t have my super suit.

“Don’t you have one of these things?” I
asked him.

“No,” he laughed
. “Angels don’t need those garments. Those suits were created to mimic what the Angels already have, with the exception of a few magical things that only the wearer can call out. Like you with the invisibility. There were only a handful created, and the humans that were given these suits were carefully selected. A chosen few. This suit was given to Alaine, and Alaine possesses the gift of invisibility. Because you are her daughter, you were able to pull out the same gift from this suit. Now, the automatic cooling system is something that is part of it. If you look at Samuel and Danyel, they don’t look flustered, and aren’t even breaking a sweat. It’s part of being an immortal, withstanding many things, especially temperatures.”

“Really? Wow,” I breathed, completely astounded.   
             

“Here,”
he said, handing me the blue vial. I noticed that it was only half full, which wasn’t much. “You should take a sip,”

“No, I’m fine,”
I said, pushing it back at him. “You need it more than I do.”