Hades (38 page)

From his seat, I saw a smile of satisfaction cross Lucifer’s

face while Jake thrashed desperately against the demons

restraining him. Asia was biting her lip, but only to keep her

excitement in check.

The flames rose around me like a hundred hungry

mouths, quickly devouring the sticks and straw at the base

of the stake. I squeezed my eyes tight shut, waiting for the

suffocating heat, the inevitable agony to start. I sent a quick

prayer to My Father, not in the hope of being spared but

seeking forgiveness for al my failings. Then I waited for the

flames to do their work.

I felt nothing. Had the torture begun but I was in too much

shock to notice? Several more moments passed without

any change. I looked around to see coils of flame leaping in

every direction … only they weren’t touching me. The

flames rose and seemed to part around me so that two

columns of fire burned on either side of my body. But I was

not burning. Not even a strand of my hair was singed. Al I

felt was a warm prickling sensation as the fire snaked

around me. My flesh should have been melting from my

bones, but the fire refused to harm me. If it chanced to

touch my skin it seemed to bounce off and veer in a new

direction. It was as though I were wearing invisible armor.

For one fleeting moment, I thought I heard a choir of angels

singing. The sound was gone in an instant, but it was long

enough for me to know I hadn’t been abandoned.

It took a while for the spectators to realize what was

happening. Once they did the cheers changed to howls of

disappointment. Some shook their fists to indicate how

cheated they felt. In the VIP stand Jake had stopped

struggling and stared at me in open wonder. Lucifer looked

momentarily confounded and then rose slowly to his feet,

eyes flashing. Speculative whispers broke out al around

the amphitheater.

I couldn’t believe what was happening. Could this be the

work of Heaven protecting me? Had someone enchanted

the flames or was it my own powers keeping me safe? I

had no idea, but I murmured hasty thanks to whatever

higher power had chosen to spare my life. One look at

Lucifer’s face told me how humiliated he felt before al

those assembled. He’d intended my death to demonstrate

his power and I had unwittingly shown him up. The flames

seemed to be subsiding around me now.

“Cut her loose,” he commanded in a voice like steel.

The executioner obeyed, climbing the platform and

wielding an axe to hack through the ropes, which were too

hot to touch. Once free, I stepped out of the fire completely

unmarked. As soon as I did, the flames rose up to devour

the wooden frame, which was quickly charred to cinders.

“What the hel is going on?” Asia leapt forward, looking

wilder than ever. She whipped around to face Jake. “She

should be fried to a crisp! What did you do?”

“Nothing …” I thought I heard Jake’s voice tremble. “I … I

don’t know what happened.”

“Liar!” Asia screamed.

“Silence.” Lucifer held up a ringed finger. “Arakiel had no

hand in this. It seems the angel has been holding out on us.

Her powers are greater than we know.”

“What now?” someone asked.

Lucifer’s listless blue gaze met mine and this time I didn’t

flinch away.

“Arakiel,” he said tonelessly. “Kindly escort Miss Church

to the chambers until we decide what to do with her.”

As it turned out the “chambers” were Hel ’s version of a

prison cel block and they made Hotel Ambrosia look like

paradise. The bodyguards hustled me out of the arena into

a car and before I knew it I was being thrust into a space in

the wal barely large enough to contain me. It was made of

rough, cracked stone and rusted iron bars secured the

entrance. When I sat down, my elbows scraped against the

wal s and my legs began to cramp after five minutes. There

was total darkness in the chambers, but strange noises like

the shuffling of feet and the clanging of metal pipes filtered

through, along with mute cries of despair. The smel of

damp was overwhelming.

Once the bodyguards left I heard Jake’s voice through

the bars. Although I could barely see him I could hear the

mixture of relief and confusion in his voice.

“How did you do it?” he asked in a hushed tone. I heard

his rings clink as he wrapped a hand around the bars. “Tel

me the truth.”

“I don’t think it was me.”

“Wel , don’t admit that to anyone, got it?” Jake said

sharply. “It’s the only bargaining chip we’ve got left.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’l speak to my father—try and

persuade him to let you go. Maybe things wil be different

now he’s seen how special you are.”

I didn’t respond—I was too drained from the day’s

ordeal. “Leave it to me,” Jake said.

A few moments later I heard his retreating footsteps and I

was left alone in the darkness.

24

Tennessee Blues

WITH Jake gone, there was only one way to take my mind

off my physical discomfort. I shoved al troubling thoughts

out of my head and focused on projection. I squeezed my

eyes shut, wil ing my thoughts to shift away from this

nightmarish place. The transition happened easily, like

flipping a channel in my head. There was a rush of wind and

then I had the feeling of my body dropping away like a

stone as I rose in my spectral form. Before the darkness

cleared, a voice reached me, distant at first but growing

clearer. I could feel the familiar chug of an engine beneath

me and smel leather mixed with sandalwood. I would have

known that smel anywhere. It belonged to a certain 1956

Chevy Bel Air convertible. I felt the knot of tension in my

chest instantly unravel and I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I

was in Xavier’s car.

As my astral form took shape, I realized I was hovering in

the backseat of the Chevy between Xavier and Mol y. They

seemed to be angled as far away from each other as was

physical y possible, both gazing sul enly out the windows at

the passing landscape. Any rift mending that had occurred

in the last few hours had evidently been only temporary. Ivy

and Gabriel were sitting tight-lipped up front, clearly

relieved to be at some distance from whatever dispute was

in progress. As I watched the highway speeding by, I

realized that we were in unfamiliar territory. My family must

have already left Venus Cove far behind them. They sure

weren’t wasting any time.

“We’re almost there,” Gabriel said sounding like a parent

hoping to placate restless children. His voice, deep and

resonant, reminded me of a low chord strummed on a

guitar. Hearing his voice triggered a sharp pang of

nostalgia for the way life used to be before Jake showed up

and shattered everything. “We’re about to cross the

Tennessee state line.”

“I don’t see why we couldn’t have gone by plane like al

normal people,” Mol y grumbled.

“We weren’t going to fly to cross one state,” Ivy replied

calmly, though I could sense that her patience was wearing

thin. Mol y shifted and her elbow went right through my rib

cage. The sensation was uncomfortable like a bar of heat

spearing through my side. I guessed it was the life force of

her human body col iding with my spectral form. I

automatical y wriggled away from her.

“Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have eaten al those Junior Mints

on the way over here,” Mol y complained rubbing her

stomach. I noticed she was wearing pink sweatpants and a

matching cropped hoodie. Her auburn curls were pul ed up

into a high ponytail on top of her head and a hot pink duffel

bag had been shoved under the seat in front of her. I

couldn’t suppress a smile, knowing that Mol y would claim

she’d dressed sensibly for the occasion. Nobody

responded to her comment. I supposed there wasn’t much

to say about Junior Mints when your mind was preoccupied

with demonic kidnappings and apocalyptic signs. The

Chevy coasted along the highway and Xavier laid his

forehead against the window. He looked edgy, like he

needed to be doing something more than lounging in the

back of a car.

I peered through the window and watched the Georgia

countryside fly by. I was struck by how scenic it was. The

earth seemed to have a life of its own and lush forestland

spread out before us like a cloak. Vivid red maples grew

thick and fast, forming shady canopies where their

branches interlocked. I caught sight of butterfly weed and

delicate purple prairie clover among the velvet greenery. As

we traveled I watched as the earth became carpeted with

sycamore twigs. The sky above us looked vast and open,

only a handful of clouds scudded lazily across it, like lilies

drifting across a clear blue pool. Things seemed simpler

out on the open road and I felt close to the natural world. I

was reminded of my old home in the Kingdom. Something

about this place made me feel more connected to it than I

had in a long time. I let out a heavy sigh and Xavier, who’d

been resting against the window, sat up straight and glared

at Mol y.

“What?” she demanded when she noticed him staring at

her.

“Please don’t do that,” Xavier said.

“Do what?”

“Breathe in my ear like that.”

Mol y looked insulted. “What kind of freak do you think I

am? Why would I want to blow in your ear?”

“I said
breathe
.”

“Oh, I see, so I’m not al owed to breathe now?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You do realize, I’l suffocate if I’m not al owed to breathe.”

Xavier leaned forward. “Seriously, guys, let me drive,” he

implored. “Someone else can sit back here and be

tortured.”

“I’m not even talking!” Mol y protested angrily.

“You’re talking now,” Xavier groaned.

“We’d be there already if we’d gone by plane.”

“The pilot would have crashed after five minutes of

listening to you talk.”

“It’d stil be safer than driving around in this old bomb.”

“Hey!” Xavier could not have looked more offended had

someone insulted his manhood. He always got worked up

when people took shots at his car. “It’s vintage.”

“It’s a vintage pile of crap. I don’t know why we couldn’t

take the Jeep.”

I’d been wondering that myself. I got the feeling that

taking the Chevy had been Xavier’s idea. Maybe it made

him feel more connected to me. We’d shared plenty of

memories in that car, and maybe he’d wanted to take those

with him when he left his old town and his old life completely

behind. But Xavier wasn’t about to share that information

with Mol y. Instead he said, “You wouldn’t know a classic

car if you fel over one.”

“Jerk,” she muttered.

“Airhead.”

Ivy whipped around and glared at them both. “Were you

two born in a barn? Knock it off.”

Mol y looked sheepish while Xavier sighed loudly and

sank down in his seat once again. A few minutes of blissful

silence fol owed until Gabriel pul ed into a gas station.

Xavier couldn’t get out of the car fast enough and vanished

inside, almost before my brother cut the engine. I

considered fol owing him, but I knew he was only going to

fil in the time sulkily inspecting packs of gum and dated

magazines until it was time to pile back into the car. Mol y

threw him a dirty look as she trotted off to find the

restrooms.

I fol owed as my siblings made their way over to a man in