Halfling (Black Petals Book 1) (28 page)

“Hurry, we don’t have much time. I’m sure someone one will notice you’re missing soon,” Forrest encourages and leads me down a rocky path. There are blackish grey rocks all over. I still don’t see where the orange light is coming from. “Don’t touch the white rocks,” he warns. “They’re so hot that they could kill you.”

Taken aback, I stop for a moment before continuing to follow him. As we walk, the orange glow gets brighter and brighter. Then he stops. He points into what looks to me like darkness. “This path leads to Halmo, right to gateway. We just have to get them down here, down the path, and through the gate.” He brought me all this way just too look down a hole?

I nod, sweating like a pig and wanting to go back up the hole. “What happens if you follow that glow?” I ask him and point to where the orange is coming from down the hall.

“You come to a bunch of hellfire and things that you would never want to see. The true
hell
is down there.” He nods towards the glow. “Don’t go there unless you’re prepared to die, and I don’t mean because it’s dangerous. I mean because you’ll see things that will screw you up so badly that you’ll want to die. You’ll pray for death. Trust me. I’ve seen people with souls come out of there. They never last long. That is a demon’s place.”

He looks at me so seriously that I cringe and step back from him. He nods back to the way we came. “Let’s go.”

I nod quickly. If I thought that climbing down the stupid ladder sucked, climbing up is far suckier. When we get to the top I’m out of breath. The other two look at me like I’m a child but say anything. We get back upstairs, and I take off to the kitchen while Forrest whispers something to the guard.

“Megan!” A deep voice calls thankfully down the hall. I whip around and meet Aiden’s eyes. “Where have you been? I’ve had half the place looking for you.”

“I was exploring…” I try quickly, hoping he doesn’t catch me in the lie. I can’t tell Aiden what Forrest and I are up to, because I know he’ll try to stop us, and he’ll probably succeed.

“What? Where?” he asks and cocks an eyebrow. “Why wasn’t there a guard with you?”

“There was. Forrest found me. He was showing me around. There was a guard with us. One.” I answer seriously. This isn’t exactly a lie. Well, actually it kind of is.

He nods one slow nod. “Forrest is trouble. You should stay away from him. He gets people in trouble
often
.”

Aiden’s voice is thick with something that I don’t understand. Is he mad at me?

“Where have you been?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “Working. I’ve been busy.”

The last time Aiden came here to hell, he came back in a daze. The evil entirety of hell got to him and influenced him. That time, he was only here for a few hours. He’s now been here longer than last time.

“Ah, how are you
feeling
?” I ask him carefully. Has he taken any breaks from hell yet?

“I’m fine. A little edgy but fine,” he answers sternly. There is no joy or light-heartedness in his tone which worries me.

I smile softly and point to the kitchen down the hall. “I was just going to get something to eat.”

“Okay. I’ll accompany you,” he promises, and we walk to the kitchen.

I eat some salad and call it good. I’m so nervous about the thing with Forrest that I can’t really eat anything. The whole time Aiden doesn’t say anything.

Afterwards, we go up to his new office, and he shuts the door behind us.

“My father was murdered,” he states blankly. “He left a letter. Someone was after him. He didn’t know who or why, but I’ve officially rules it a homicide.”

Worry spikes in my chest. Worry for Aiden. If someone killed his father, then that someone is probably going to go after him too. “But the hellfire thing…” I start, not sure how to phrase my question.

He shrugs. “I don’t know. I really don’t. Nothing is impossible. Thinking that things are impossible makes us weak and vulnerable. The only thing I can think of is that there could be…” He doesn’t finish. He glances up at the ceiling, turns, grabs a book from one of the many shelves around the room and sets it in front of me.

I stare at it. The thing looks so ancient that it might fall apart. On the spine there is one word scrolled. I can’t read it, because it’s not in English.

“Lucian confirmed in his letter that I am the only descendant of his that can use hellfire. This leaves me dumbfounded. There are legends though that claim there used to be a weapon that could utilize hellfire. It hasn’t been seen in…” he stops to shake his head. “…who knows how long? I asked Terry if he knew anything of it, and he had no idea. Terry is the oldest person I know.”

“So you think that someone has a weapon capable of killing people using hellfire? Why wouldn’t it have been used years ago? Like why now?” I ask him, confused.

He shrugs. “What doesn’t make sense is that if they did it to gain power, they could’ve easily come after me. They’ve haven’t done that. They seem to have disappeared now that my father is dead.
Why
?”

“Maybe they were sick of your dad being in power and wanted to change shit up?” I attempt, a tad bit of humor in my voice.

He contemplates this. “Maybe, but what made them think I’d be any better at the job? I’m too young for this.”

“What is this book about?” I ask him, confused as to why he hasn’t explained it yet.

“It’s about the
mythological
weapon that uses hellfire,” Aiden explains as there is a knock on the door. It causes me to jump. Aiden opens the door and in comes Forrest.

“Mr. Castile,” he greets Aiden with a slight bow and a smile. “What is it that I can do for you?”

Aiden motions him in and closes the door behind him. Forrest’s eyes land on me, and his jaw tightens. He probably thinks I’ve tattled. I smile and shake my head in the slightest to reassure him I haven’t. He doesn’t seem so sure. Aiden motions for him to take the seat beside me across from Aiden’s spot at his desk. They both take their seats, and Aiden smiles at Forrest pleasantly. I am surprised by how stable Aiden seems after all this time in hell. It isn’t what I was expecting.

“Forrest, I have a task for you,” Aiden explains and slides the old book across the desk to him.

Forrest glances at Aiden and then picks up the book. “Talon?” Forrest opens the book and seems to skim the pages. I look over his shoulder. It’s all in another language to my disappointment. “
The
talon?” Apparently Forrest can read this mysterious language.

Aiden nods.

“It’s real?” Forrest asks, sounding surprised.

Aiden shrugs. “That’s what I want you to find out. You seem to be skilled in this area of expertise. See what you can find out, using whatever measures you need. If you find that it’s real, then I need you to bring it to me.”

Forrest looks intrigued and excited by this opportunity.

“I know I’m in no position to ask anything from you, but…” Forrest begins. “If I find this thing and bring it to you, will you grant my brother freedom from guard duty and slavery?” Forrest looks extremely hopeful.

Aiden seemed to expect this from Forrest. He is isn’t fazed by Forrest’s condition.

“Yes, of course,” Aiden answers. “Take the book with you. It might help you in your research and hunt. Be careful.”

Aiden stands and opens the door for Forrest. Once Forrest is gone, Aiden smiles at me.

“How is he okay with just risking his life like that?” I ask Aiden who begins rifling through papers.

“It’s his job. He’s insanely good at it too. It’s risky, but I need that weapon, he wants his brother’s freedom. I wish the best for Forrest and Maxwell his brother. It’s a win-win-win.”

“Unless he dies trying to get it,” I argue. “Then you don’t get the weapon, this Maxwell is still getting bossed around for eternity, Forrest loses his life, Terry loses his son. That’s a lose-lose-lose-lose.”

“He’s been doing shit like this his whole life. Five hundred years, Megan. Did he look worried to you, or did he look excited?” Aiden asks me.

He looked excited. I also had no idea that Forrest was so
old
. For some reason, I thought he was closer to my age. Why is everyone so damn old?

“He gets a thrill out of it. He’ll be fine. Don’t worry about him. Not even Terry worries about him.”

I nod. I guess Forrest is old enough to make his own decisions and things. Why should I be worrying? It’s not my place to worry about everyone.

“Do you think he’ll be able to get it?” I wonder. If this thing hasn’t been seen in forever…I just don’t see how it’s going to be found. It might be a myth. It might not ever have existed or might have been lost or destroyed a very long time ago.

“If anyone can, it’s him. He has his brother’s freedom for motivation which is a lot. If the thing exists, he’ll find it. Trust me.” Aiden shuffles through some papers. “Anyways, how are you, Megan?”

I shrug. “I’m fine. Just bored. Do you have something I can do or something?” I ask. “Is there a training room around?”

“What are you doing?” Forrest asks, walking into my bedroom and eyeing me hanging upside down over the edge of the bed.

“Hanging out,” I answer, giving him a gentle smile. I’m so unbelievably bored.

“Literally.” He chuckles and stops just inside of the doorway. “Bored?”

I nod. “You have no idea. Aiden’s too busy to do anything with me. I have nothing to do. I asked him for some ideas, and he told me to read a book. There are only so many books a girl can read without going crazy. I think I know everything about demons now.”

“Well, why don’t you go explore the place?” he wonders, cocking an eyebrow and taking a step closer.

“I’m not allowed to go outside anymore, and I have to stay on this floor, the one below it, or the one above it. I’m stuck.”

Forrest laughs. “Wow, tight leash, huh?” He hesitates before continuing, “Well, I was hoping that we could do a test run tonight and get the human out of here in the process. If we can do it on this very small scale, then next time we’ll up the amount of humans we take.”

“Okay, when?” I wonder and sit up, before I get a headache from hanging upside down.

“I’ll come for you when the time comes. Be ready,” he warns and begins backing up.

“Any luck finding that thing Aiden has you looking for?” I ask him, before he steps out.

He smirks. “You bet. It’ll be in his hands tonight.”

Wow. That was fast. It’s only been like twenty four hours.

“I know what I’m doing.”

Well, apparently so. Forrest leaves my room, and I spend the rest of the afternoon and evening worrying about the night’s upcoming events. For some reason, I had it in my head that he would come in the middle of the night, but he enters my room without knocking just after supper. We’re quiet, so no one hears us who shouldn’t. As for the guards in the hallway, none of them move because the human dressed as a guard follows us.

We go down to the familiar slave and guardian quarters and hurry down the hall quietly to the room we went into the last time.

He again picks the lock. He ushers us in and throws open the hatch on the floor. The entire time my heart threatens to give out, because I’m so scared of getting caught. I know that if we get caught doing
this
, Aiden will have no choice but to show no mercy. The sentence for sneaking out servants is death, and I am no exception to this rule. If he made me an exception, then there would be an uproar.

Forrest pulls out a flashlight when we get to the bottom of the ladder and to the black hole in the wall. How far is this walk going to be?

Forrest goes first and I follow him, the human after me. We jog for a while, but the human can’t keep up, because he is clearly malnourished. We walk for what seems like hours, and it’s unbelievably hot. I feel like I’m suffocating. I’m not claustrophobic, but this little space is making me feel like I am. Finally, I see a very dim light and pick up pace. Forrest warns me to slow down, because he wants to check out the surroundings outside.

He peeks out of the small hole above us and listens for a moment before pulling me up onto the grass above. Then we help up the human together. We stand in a treed area. A familiar treed area. It’s the same place that Aiden and I came to when we first arrived in hell.

Forrest motions to the rock and hands me a knife. “Everyone hold hands. Megan, cut your hand and let it drip on that symbol, then I’ll say the words to open the portal.”

Inside I’m partially surprised that we haven’t gotten caught yet. I do as he says, wincing as my palm is sliced open. It stings like a fricken bitch. Holy chocolate blueberries.

Soon we are standing in sunlight. Well, a little. The tree canopies make it a little dark, but it’s the most light I’ve seen in days. A sharp breath escapes Forrest.

“I’ve never seen the sun,” he mutters to himself. A brilliant smile invades his face.

“Now what?” I ask him nervously. What are we to do with this human now?

He looks to me apologetically. “Megan, I’m sorry. I had to do what I did to get out of there. I needed your blood.”

I don’t get what he’s trying to say.

“I want the servants to be freed, don’t get me wrong, but I also had to get out of hell,” he explains slowly, a frown growing on his lips. “You can’t compel someone to open the portal or use their blood to open it without them. That person has to be truly willing. When you showed up in hell and I saw how much you cared for the servants, I knew you were my way out. I gave Mr. Castile the weapon he wanted for my brother’s freedom, but little did anyone know that my brother, like me, has never been affected by compulsion. It was just a ruse. He pretended to be compelled, pretended to be a loyal guard.”

My breathing catches in my lungs. Oh my god. I’ve been set up by Forrest. A cuss escapes my lips in a rush, and I clench my teeth. He’s used me to get out of hell. I just helped him escape. I helped two demidemons escape hell. Aiden is going to
kill
me.

“This is my brother Maxwell.
We are going to go now
. Again, I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal. I actually like you, Megan,” he apologizes. I don’t know what to say. My mouth is basically hanging open in shock.

Why did I ever trust him? What reason did I have to trust him from the beginning? Aiden has warned me time and time again not to trust anyone in this new world, and here I am. “You can drain her now. Strengthen yourself for the trip ahead. You need to be strong,” Forrest says to the Maxwell. “She’s a halfling. She’ll live on.” They both turn and look at me. What is he talking about? Draining me? I know this can only mean one thing but I don’t understand how it’s possible unless demidemons survive off of souls. Do they? Is it possible? I guess it could be, seeing as they are more like demons than they are like humans, the opposite of how halflings are.

At this revelation, my jaw drops even further. Holy crap on a stick. This can’t be happening. “
No
! I won’t say anything. I don’t care if you run,” I stutter, scared.

“I like you, Megan. I like you a lot. I think that in another life we could’ve been great friends, but I have to look out for myself and my family. I’m sorry. It won’t hurt, not much anyway. Maxwell here is frail, they don’t feed the guards or servants much in Tartarus. I’m sorry.” Forrest looks genuinely apologetic, but it doesn’t make a difference. I’m not about to give up my soul without a fight. Even if I know that I don’t have a chance. It’s two demidemons again me, a halfling who has hardly any training and no demonic characteristics. I’m flipping screwed.

Maxwell dives at me, knocking down. I kick him in the shin, and he throws me down harshly to the ground.

“Easy now, brother. You don’t have to make it painful for her,” Forrest warns ad steps forward.

I can’t move. This is it. I wait for it. I wait for him to start sucking out my soul. I even pray. I don’t know who I pray to, because I don’t believe in god, but I pray. Then I feel it. It feels like someone is pulling something from my brain, down my throat, and out my mouth. It’s the most disgusting feeling that I’ve ever felt. It sends chills down my spine. My vision begins to blur then finally it fades out completely, and I’m left lying on the grass passed out.

When I awaken, I am so extremely pissed off that I have trouble keeping a handle on myself. I stand and take in my surroundings. Everything is so damn bright that it makes my eyes hurt. Where is that asshole? He’s gone. I don’t have a clue how to get back through the portal to hell, I don’t know the magic password so to speak, so I begin walking through the field in the direction I came here from days ago with Aiden. In less than an hour later, I make it to Aiden’s house without getting lost.

Walking up to the gated house, I nearly bust down the door in rage.

“Megan?” a male voice asks, sounding concerned. It’s Terry. The man whose son just tried to suck out my soul and turn me into a demon.

I stop dead in my tracks and stare at him, shooting him daggers although I know that it’s not his fault.

“What’s going on? Is Aiden alright?” he asks, sounding genuinely worried. Does he not know where his son is, and what he’s been up to?

“Where’s Forrest?” I ask him, ready to tear the guy apart.

“In…hell…I would assume,” he says slowly and takes a step towards me.

“He used me to get out of hell,” I tell him, expecting him to give some sort of clue that he was part of Forrest’s plan.

Terry’s eyes widen. “That little shit. Aiden’s going to kill him.
Shit!
” Terry slams his fist into a wall, sending drywall flying every which way. I’m not sure if he’s angry because of Forrest’s actions or because he knows that if and when Aiden finds him he’ll kill his son.

“Yeah, Maxwell too. They’re both out,” I explain, when I realize that obviously he has nothing to do with any of this. If he did, then Aiden would have been aware of Terry’s sons’ plan, because Terry is loyal to Aiden. Even if that mean betraying his sons.

I ignore his little fit and storm into Aiden’s library where he keeps all of his books. I pull one from the shelf and sift through it until I find what I need. I find a scrap piece of paper and scribble down the words that’ll get me back through the portal. I have to find Aiden and… And what? Apologize? I’m still in the wrong here. I still snuck two demidemons out of hell. Sure, I thought I was helping human slaves escape, but that’s still
illegal
.

A hand lands on my shoulder and turns me around.

“Ma’am you need to get back under Mr. Castile’s protection. Does he know about your current situation?” Terry wonders, obviously he’s regained his composure. “You’re not safe here unguarded.”

“No, he doesn’t,” I admit. He’s probably worries sick about me. How long have I been gone anyway?

“I will inform him. Do not go anywhere,” Terry warns me sternly. He’s never talked to me so harshly, so demandingly. He’s Aiden’s servant. He’s a servant. He
can’t
talk to me like this. Well, actually he can if I do something that Aiden would disapprove of. Terry is Aiden’s servant not mine. He has to listen to Aiden no matter what. If I am in some sort of danger or he thinks that Aiden needs to know something, he has to tell Aiden. If Aiden told Terry to do everything in his power to keep me safe, which I’m sure Aiden did, Terry has to do just that.

Terry must know that I’m not about to listen to him, because before I have the chance to reply, Terry is subduing me. He holds me in a grasp so firm that I can’t move a muscle. Then my neck makes the most terrible cracking pain imaginable, and a splitting pain climbs my back.

I wake up in a cell in Aiden’s basement, Aiden standing over me.

“Megan,” he states evenly.

“Aiden,” I say in a rush. I suddenly feel like all of the air in my lungs has been kicked out of me.

“How did this happen?” he asks me, no emotion on his face whatsoever.

“Forrest tricked me to get out of hell. He told me we were…helping some servants escape,” I mutter truthfully and struggle to stand. My legs are weak and wobbly, and I’m starving. How long have I been in here?

Aiden stares at me for a few very long seconds, agonizing seconds. “I will be back. Hang tight.”

“Where are you going? Let me out! Terry threw me in here,” I explain. God, why am I so edgy? So angry? Yes, I should be pissed at Forrest, but seriously, I’m having an absolute freaking fit.

Aiden looks to me sadly. “I am going to speak with someone in hell. I’ll be right back.” Without another word, Aiden is up the stairs, and I am alone again. If only all demons carried cell phones. If only cell phones worked in hell.

While he’s gone, I focus on calming down and steadying my breathing. No harm’s been done right? I mean besides the possibility that I could be in a whole lot of trouble, but hey, I’m going to die in a few months anyway, right? Oh my god. Who am I trying to kid? I’m not okay with this. I’m not okay with dying. I’m terrified of dying.
Crap
. This really sucks, but what did I expect? Not this, but I knew that there was a chance from the beginning that I could be caught.

Aiden returns nearly an hour later, a grim expression on his face. “Forrest will be found and taken care of, Megan.”

“Don’t hurt him,” I beg. Forrest’s actions are punishable by death as per law. I don’t want him to
die
from his actions, even if he did piss me off and nearly cause me to turn into a demon, my worst fear. Anxiety overwhelms me. I feel a panic attack coming on.

“The council will decide what becomes of him, Megan. How are you feeling?” he asks, staring me in the eyes. He’s cold. Icy cold.

I gulp, squeeze my eyes shut tightly for a moment and then slowly open them. “I’m fine. I’m just really hungry,” I admit, the hunger becoming impossible to ignore. “What is going to happen to me? Are they going to have to kill me for breaking the law?”

One side of his mouth curls up into a half grin. “No, I won’t let them touch you, Megan. Of course not. If I say that Forrest kidnapped you, then that’s what happened. I won’t be questioned. My word over a criminals will easily be taken.”