Ruby Shadows Read online

  “I…” She bit her lip, her eyes uncertain.

  “Come.” I took up Kurex’s reins again and tugged to get the horse moving. “We have a bit to go yet before we are in sight of Baator and it is an uphill climb.”

  * * * * *

  Gwendolyn

  I followed Laish silently as we climbed up the steep hill that led from the banks of the Styx to the city we were aiming for. Could it be true what he had said about me having feelings for him? And what about all this “we belong together” crap? I mean it was just that—just crap—right? It was crazy, a witch couldn’t belong with a demon because a demon has no soul to bond with. Which also made them completely incapable of long term relationships.

  But if everything he’d said was a lie, why had he promised not to take my virginity unless he really had to? Why had he promised to wait until the end of our trip, so I didn’t have to fear being powerless (or nearly powerless) in Hell?

  Something was definitely going on and I didn’t know if I bought what he was selling—that he was honestly just helping me because he liked to spend time with me. But if he wasn’t doing this to take my virginity, then why was he doing it?

  My thoughts spun like this, in dizzying loops, until we reached the top of the steep hill.

  “Behold,” Laish said softly as we looked down onto the other side. “The great city of Baator. Also known as the Sinking City.”

  “The Sinking City?” I stared at the vast rat’s nest of buildings and roads far below us. Even from a distance it looked squalid and dirty. Or maybe that was just the effect of the dull green sky above our heads. Rising high above the skyline was one building that dominated all the others—a vast black spike that pointed like an accusing finger into the dirty gray clouds.

  “The city is built in the middle of a marsh on immense iron pillars,” Laish explained. “It is constantly sinking into the quagmire.”

  “But…then, why hasn’t it just sunk all the way down and disappeared by now?”

  “Do you hear that faint sound? Coming from the city?” Laish asked.

  I cupped a hand to my ear and concentrated. After a moment, I heard it. A deep moaning or groaning sound that could almost be mistaken for the wind.

  “You do, don’t you?” he asked and I nodded. “That is the sound of the damned souls working to keep Baator above the marsh. There is a complicated system of pulleys and dredges attached to the iron pillars it is built upon. The souls labor endlessly just to keep the city where it is.”

  I shook my head. “But…why build a huge city in the middle of a marsh in the first place? That would be like putting Miami in the middle of the Everglades.”

  Laish shrugged. “Tiamat the Exacting, the ArchDemon who rules here, has also been called Tiamat the Mad. When Lucifer granted him this circle of Hell to rule, he picked out this spot and declared it the perfect place for his capital city. He would hear no arguments to the contrary and since he has managed to make it work, none can gainsay him again.”

  “He makes it work by forcing the poor people to slave for eternity, you mean,” I said indignantly. “That’s torture!”

  “Gwendolyn, the laborers he uses are the souls of the damned,” Laish pointed out. “They are here to be tortured. Besides, the souls in this circle are those who abused or neglected children. They deserve whatever torture Tiamat can devise for them.”

  “Oh.” I shivered. “Well, in that case…”

  “Yes.” Laish stretched and sighed. “We will stop here for a bit to eat and relax before we go on.”

  “Shouldn’t we get a little closer to the city?” I looked up at the dark, sickly green sky overhead. “I mean, is it safe to be out here at night?”

  “It is not,” Laish said. “But don’t worry, mon ange, we have plenty of time to get there. Once one gets to the Iron Spike, the city is reached very rapidly.”

  “The Iron Spike? Are you talking about that huge black building?” I pointed at the vast pinnacle looming over the rest of the city.

  “Not at all.” Laish was already settling down on the short, scrubby grass. “Although that is our destination once we enter Baator—it is the Hotel Infernal. The Iron Spike is simply a landmark that lets one know Baator is close. We should reach it shortly once we begin traveling again. But first, let us have something to eat.”

  “Fine.” I sat down in the grass beside him and reached into my leather satchel.

  “What would you like to eat?” Laish asked. He had pulled out a small, sharp dagger with an elaborately worked ebony handle and had it poised in midair, as if he was about to carve an invisible ham.

  I frowned. “Um, nothing, thank you. Grams packed me some things.”

  I got my plastic Sponge Bob sandwich container and my Zephyrhills water bottle out of my bag while Laish looked on, apparently amused.

  “This is what your grandmother packed you?” he asked as I took out half of a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich and prepared to take a bite.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “You got something against PB&J?”

  “No. But it doesn’t look like something one would want to eat on a regular basis.”

  “It’s fine,” I said stolidly, taking a bite. In fact, it was delicious even if Grams had gone a little heavy on the jam. It was gooey and so sweet it made my teeth ache, exactly the way I had loved it as a little girl. The adult me, however, had to admit that it wasn’t something I would probably want all the time. Tough titty, though—I had better get used to it. It was either PB&J every day or a permanent vacation in Hell. I could eat a million gooey, too-sweet sandwiches if I had to.

  Laish shrugged and pulled an apple out of the air for Kurex and another for himself. He used the black handled knife to cut himself a piece and ate it. Kurex munched his own apple in one bite and then dropped his huge head to crop at the dry, grayish-brown grass at our feet.

  I looked a bit enviously at the apple—it looked like a golden delicious with warm yellow skin and pale, crisp flesh on the inside.

  “Would you like a bite?” Laish cut another piece and held it out to me temptingly.

  “No thanks.” I shook my head. No matter how good it looked, there was no way I was even going to take even the tiniest nibble. I took another bite of my sandwich instead and a big glob of jelly squirted out and slid down my wrist. “Oops!”

  I held out my hand, not wanting to get the jelly on my dress—mainly because I was afraid that if I ruined this outfit Laish might come up with something even more revealing for me to wear.

  “Careful mon ange.” Laish caught me by the wrist. “Look what a mess you’ve made,” he murmured. Before I could say a word, he lifted my hand to his mouth and licked the jelly off my skin with one long, slow swipe of his tongue.

  I bit back a gasp at the warm wet heat of his mouth on the ticklish inside of my wrist. My pulse was pounding but I didn’t want him to know it—didn’t want him to see how much his touch affected me.

  “Are you done?” I asked, trying to make my voice sound impatient.

  “For now. Delicious,” Laish murmured, releasing my hand at last. I had a feeling he wasn’t just talking about Grams’ homemade jelly.

  “I’m full,” I said, rising on unsteady legs. I walked over to Kurex and offered him the rest of my sandwich. I didn’t need to save it for later because the container was always spelled to be full. The next time I opened it up, there would be another sandwich waiting for me. And the time after that and the time after that…

  The thought of so many gooey, too-sweet PB&Js looming in my future was a bit depressing but I tried not to think about it. Kurex could always eat anything I couldn’t finish. From the way the huge animal inhaled the little bit I had in my hand, spare sandwich disposal was not going to be a problem.

  “It looks like we have a long way to get to the city,” I said as Laish came to join me. “Should we ride for a while?” The minute I said the words, I wished I hadn’t. Riding was going to put me right up against him again and I re