To Hell and Back (Eternally Blooded) (9 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A
s promised they had located clean clothes in the washroom. It took Valerie a bit of digging through the drawers to find something that didn’t resemble a street walker’s work outfit. James laughed as she threw lace and leather aside, hunting for jeans and cotton. The shower was inviting and it was nice to wash the filth from Hell away. The putridness of Hell was rivaled perhaps only by Fresno, where pregnant woman were discouraged from even drinking the water.

The day’s events quickly slipped from James’s thoughts as he watched Valerie peel out of her clothes. Even filthy she was the most breathtaking creature he had ever seen. The sight of her climbing into the shower caused his pulse to race and his breathing to speed up. He stripped his own clothes, tearing his jeans in his haste to join her. He grew hard as he stepped his first foot into the tub. He tried to hold back his hunger as he gave Valerie time to soap herself. Every movement sending tremors of need into him. He moaned out loud as he washed himself, watching her bend over to scrub her legs and feet. Not grabbing her right there took every ounce of self-control he had. Valerie had no idea what she did to him, what the sight of her made him feel.

James had watched Mathius turn to mush around Linda when they first met. He saw how other immortals acted like pubescent teens when they met their blood mates. He always shook his head at them, telling himself if he ever found a mate he wouldn’t be like that. Yet here he was, in Hell, having just beheaded a rogue who shot Valerie with an arrow just hours ago, thinking of nothing but sating his need inside her.

Pure desire coursed through him, his need for her coiled into his gut like a hunger that demanded to be sated. James couldn’t avoid the temptation, staring at Valerie’s naked body, the warm water pouring over her in the shower was too much for a man to take. Reaching for her his lips crushed hers, his tongue exploring the warm riches of her mouth. Valerie moaned into him pushing his urge to claim her again and again to the brink. James took hold of her wrists, pinning them to the shower wall above her head. The movement caused her breasts to thrust forward, heaving with desire.

Valerie groaned as his free hand caressed her breasts, catching a nipple between his fingers and pinching it with a mix of pleasure and pain. James needed to taste her, her scent beckoning him. He leaned forward and clasped the erect nipple in his mouth, suckling it before grazing it with his fangs. The action sent a shiver through Valerie’s body.

Her need for him growing as her own lust wiped all reason from her mind. She rubbed her body against him, thrusting towards his growing hardness. James moved his mouth from her breasts to her throat. Licking, probing, grazing her pulsing vein with his teeth. He wanted to taste her in his mouth, her life force dripping down his throat. He waited for her to tilt her head, silently giving him permission.

Pure ecstasy exploded in Valerie’s body as she felt the fangs break skin. Pushing her body into James she wound one leg around his backside, rubbing against him as his length pushed against her most sensitive spot. She couldn’t control the scream that tore out of her as waves of bliss pushed her over the edge.

James broke the suction on her neck, moving back to her nipple before the tremors had even subsided in her body.

“So sweet, so hot, all for me.” He groaned as he released her hands, lifting her up against the shower wall.

Valerie panted in anticipation as he lined himself up to enter her. Slowly she felt him stretching her, moving in inch by inch. She dug her fingers into his back as he slowly filled her before pulling back out and repeating the process all over again. Pure need caused her to groan in frustration. “Stop teasing me James.”

James only chuckled, slowly rocking in and out, his tongue exploring her breasts and throat before closing his lips over hers. Valerie kissed him, suck
ing his tongue into her mouth, she was trying to express her desperation for release with her movements.

“Do you want me?” James whispered, breaking the kiss.

“Yes, please, yes.” Valerie panted.

“How do you want me?”

Valerie blushed; she was still new to this. “I don’t know, just please stop teasing me.”

James sunk himself all the way inside her and froze. “Tell me how you want me or I’m not moving.” He whispered, licking her nipple and sending shocks of heat through her.

“I want you inside me, thrusting in and out, faster, harder…” Valerie moaned, her desire giving way to wild abandon.

“As you wish.” James said before thrusting out and back in. As Valerie’s cries became louder James picked up the pace, slamming into her with pure need. Her velvet core pulling him in further with each thrust, gripping him with raw need.

Valerie licked his lips, flicking her tongue across them before making her way to his ear. She nibbled on his lobe, whispering her needs to him. Her hot breath almost sent James over the edge, but he wanted her there with him.

“Release for me.” He moaned pinching her nipple between his fingers.

“Almost, more James, please more.” Valerie panted.

James could feel it building inside her, thrusting deeper Valerie’s warm center gripped him as the tremor began to build. Crushing his mouth over hers she moaned into him as she spilled her sweet juices. James couldn’t hold out any longer and let go inside her. Clinging to each other as the warm water flowed over their bodies they forgot about Hell for at least a few moments.

Valerie began to giggle. “Do you think Bart heard us?”

“Probably, but I am sure he enjoyed every minute of it love.”

“Oh god.” Valerie said, untangling herself from James.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Bart probably thinks this was tame in comparison to his sessions. That is something I will have to remedy later.” James said with a playful wink.

“Down boy, lets finish getting cleaned up. I am still starving and I can smell the food even in here.” Valerie chastised.

As if on cue Bart’s Voice carried into the shower. “Soups on!”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

V
alerie was too busy shoveling chili down her throat to pay much attention to the conversation going on around her. James and Bart had been debating Erra’s motives for sending a rogue after Valerie. They didn’t understand why if the god wanted her dead he hadn’t either done the job himself or hired someone other than a young rogue who was still considered a weakling. Valerie didn’t know who this Erra was but she was a bit curious as to why all these gods and immortals had taken an interest in her. From Karma leading her to the wood shed that fateful night, to rogues trying to sacrifice her, to James claiming her as his blood mate, and now the god of war from what she heard, Erra, wanting her dead, Valerie just wanted to crawl under a rock and hide.

“Marion had a vision of her.” James was explaining to Bart as he emptied a bag of blood, a sight Valerie was still not used to. He hadn’t fed since coming to Hell and she knew he had drained some of his own blood healing her.
She wondered what the blood to mortal food ratio was for their kind. Knowing she would be turned soon she figured her question would be answered in due time.

“Well what did he say was in the vision?” Bart asked.

Valerie resisted the urge to lick her bowl as James let out a frustrated sigh.

“You know Marion, no meddling with fate and all that bull shit he prides himself on.”

Valerie addressed both men as she pushed her empty bowl aside. “I know I am knew to this whole immortal and god world, but from what I gather Karma wants me to aid in some war that is coming, Marion probably saw that in his vision, and I am assuming Erra wants me dead because he is part of the war and afraid I might muck up his plans.”

Bart started laughing hysterically. “Simple as that huh, well since you put it that way let me point out that Erra would not be afraid of a mortal.”

James contemplated what Valerie had said instead of just laughing at her like Bart. “But she won’t be a mortal when the blood mate ritual is completed, she will be an immortal. Maybe that’s why he sent a young rogue. In his cockiness over the weakness of humans, no offense babe, he probably thought it wouldn’t take more than a weakling to do the job.”

“Except,” said Bart, “Erra would have known you would be with her, so again why send the rogue? I mean you take out rogues for a living.”

“Damn it,” James said, pounding his fist on the table hard enough to splinter it. “None of this makes any sense. I could choke the life out of Karma for this; she should have just kept her nose out of it years ago.”

While Valerie partly agreed with James’s statement, she also wondered if she would still be alive today if Karma hadn’t interfered. Her father’s abusive ways had been growing with age and who knew what would have happened to her if she hadn’t burned him alive. Karma told her it was her strength to actually end her father’s life that put a bulls eye on her for being ‘touched’ by the gods. Valerie wished she knew what in the hell that meant.

“When you head out tomorrow you are welcome to any of the weapons I have here.” Bart said.

James grunted. “Yeah, that’s all we need is me running around Hell with a fistful of silver. That will have the Judge on her like a pack of dogs on a three legged cat.”

“Don’t worry about the Judge. I’ll find something to keep him busy with tomorrow.”

“Not big foot again.” James said, rolling his eyes.

“Hold up.” Valerie interrupted. “I’ll buy immortals being real, I’ll buy gods being real, but big foot? You’re yanking my chain.”

Both men started laughing.

“Hardy har har, lowly human over here.” Valerie said waving her arm in the air. “Mind letting me in on the joke.”

This only made Bart laugh harder but James calmed down enough to explain. “Not big foot per say, a shape shifter named Lauren. Last time Barty wanted to have some fun with the Judge he had her shift into something that looked like big foot. Barty went screaming to the Judge about this mythical creature being real and running amuck throughout Hell, even claimed the beast had tied him up and done nasty things to him.”

Valerie almost choked on the water she was drinking. “Nasty things huh and the judge bought that?”

“The Judge may be an asshole but that doesn’t mean he is operating with a full deck.” Bart explained. “Plus everyone knows how irresistible I am, why wouldn’t big foot want to have a roll in the hay?”

Valerie was starting to wonder if all immortals were arrogant perverts, not that she minded that side of James. In fact it was something she adored about him, always so sure of himself, always so sexy. She wondered if that is how she would be when she turned. If she turned. She knew Hell was going to be rough, but truth be told she was starting to wonder if she would make it through alive.

Dealing with the circles of Hell alone was enough to test her resolve without having to worry about being assassinated along the way to prevent something she was supposedly going to do in the future.

Part of her wanted to ask James if they could just turn back, but then she remembered Dante had said the only way out of Hell was to continue going down. No matter what they were going to have to finish this trip, she just hoped she made it out alive.

“Okay gentlemen, I am exhausted and need some sleep.” Valerie said, standing up and stifling a yawn.

“You should both get some sleep, take the back room. I’m going to stay out here and keep an eye out for unwanted visitors just in case.” Bart said.

James stood up, wrapping an arm around Valerie’s waist. “I am forever in your debt Bart. Thank you, at least even in Hell there are still good friends to be found.”

Sleep came easy for Valerie wrapped in the comfort of James’s arms but it was a restless sleep. Visions of a god dressed all in black flitted through her dreams. His clawed hands caressing her, his body taking hers, she could hear herself screaming as she tried to pull away but it was no use.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

T
he ground shook and it sounded like an earthquake. Valerie clung to James’s hand as she watched a sick game being played in front of her. They were in the pit of the hoarders and the spenders. It looked like an explosion had taken place in the middle of Walmart and everything ended up here.

The damned souls were scurrying around like rats in a cage, gathering everything they thought they could carry. When a few of them got a good armload and began climbing the side of the pit a winged demon, standing in a tower at the top, would push a button spinning the pit around in circles. Every poor soul climbing the side would go barreling back down into the rubble, their arm loads of stuff crushing them. The demon would laugh and the process would start all over again.

“That is just sick.” Valerie said, feeling bad for people who were driven by sheer compulsion to repeat their actions over and over again for eternity.

James only shrugged. “Even the demons need to have a little fun once in a while. For them this is their entertainment. Sick maybe, but it is far better then what happens in some of the other circles.”

James pointed to a walkway that followed the top of the pit. “That is where we are going, if you look across you can see a beacon in the distance. That is the lighthouse and where we will find the Goddess Styx. She rules over the river from there.”

“Do you think she will give us her blessing and allow us to make the oath?” Valerie was suddenly nervous. What if Styx didn’t want her to become an immortal either? With the way their luck was going Valerie wouldn’t be surprised.

James gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Of course she will. I don’t know what Marion saw in his visions, but I do know that if there is a war coming Styx would be on our side in this. Just because she reigns in Hell doesn’t mean she is evil.”

“Let’s get going then, I don’t want to sit here and watch this anymore.”

“You really do have a kind soul.” James whispered, lifting her hand to his mouth.

The walkway may have been outside the pit, but it still shook and rumbled whenever the demon sent the pit spinning. Valerie was focused on keeping her balance and didn’t notice an elderly woman who had somehow managed to keep a firm grip on the walls of the pit below. The woman was just breaching the top when she called out to them.

“Wait, please wait. I can’t hold on much longer, won’t you help an old woman?”

“Don’t stop.” James whispered in Valerie’s ear, but she had to stop. Hadn’t he just said she had a kind soul? She couldn’t just ignore this woman.

Bending down Valerie stuck out her hand to pull the woman up, but instead of the woman’s own hand Valerie was rewarded with a fistful of jewelry.

“Be a dear and hold those for me please.”

Valerie was shocked but did as she was asked. The woman, even in her battered state, had enough strength to pull herself up on her own. The minute she was standing firmly on the walkway she ripped the jewelry back out of Valerie’s hand, holding it to her breast, as if in fear that Valerie was going to steal it.

James snorted. “You could have at least said thanks instead of treating her like a common criminal.”

The old woman ignored him, staring hard at Valerie. “Why you’re a human, I can tell I see your sweat. Immortals and demons don’t sweat.”

Valerie glanced at her armpits, expecting to see sweat rings or something, but there were none to be found. “Yes I’m a human, my name is Valerie.”

“My dear lady you still have your clothes on, that means you are going to leave. Take me with you, please take me with you.”

James quickly positioned himself between the old woman and Valerie. “You know that she cannot or else she would risk being kept here herself. We will not alert the demon to your presence, you may rest on the walkway until you get caught, but that is all the help we offer.”

Valerie wanted to protest but James gave her a look that made her clamp her mouth shut. He knew the rules of Hell far better than she did after all and the last thing she wanted was a permanent residency.

The woman sat down, with just her feet dangling over the edge into the pit. She still had all the jewelry clutched to her breast and was murmuring something about immortals being selfish muppets.

“I have been called worse.” James called over his shoulder as he led Valerie away.

Valerie was still laughing about someone actually using the word muppet as an insult when she felt herself falling. Something hit her from behind sending her over into the pit, she watched in horror as televisions and broken lamps rushed closer to her. She closed her eyes bracing for impact, but all the air was sucked out of her lungs as she felt her body shooting up in the air away from the pit. A pair of arms were wrapped tightly around her but she didn’t open her eyes until she felt her feet safely back on solid ground.

She expected to see James standing in front of her but a scream tore out of her throat when she saw the winged demon instead. He was much taller up close then she had realized, standing around seven feet tall, his wings were massive. His entire body was covered in red scales.