The Devil's Backbone (A Niki Slobodian Novel: Book Five) (3 page)

“I can’t be gone for so long,” I said. “I need to be more responsible.”

He reached for me, grasping my waist with warm hands under my shirt. “Why?” he said.
 

“Because of the souls,” I said, my voice hardly more than a whisper. I could feel the heat coming off him, echoing the same heat coming off of me. “They need me.”

“I need you more.” He bent down and kissed me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

This isn’t real. It’s just a dream.
 

He pulled away, and stared at me, still holding me close. “Let’s go away. Anywhere. Let’s run away together.”

I laughed, but he didn’t flinch. “Are you serious? We can’t.”

“Yes we can,” he said. “I’m sure of it.”

“What about Erebos? And the souls? We can’t just leave…”

No, not a dream. A memory.

“Who will stop us?” he said. “The Creator? It’s not as if He cares one way or another. I’ve heard He’s already left Briah again. I have people I trust that can take over here. The souls will wait. There will always be souls, Niki. They’ll never stop for you.”

“Where would we go?” I said, my heart racing. I couldn’t go away, could I? “Anywhere in the World isn’t possible. I feel them all there, pulling at me all the time.”

“Outside of Erebos, then,” he said. “Or Briah. You’ve never been there, but you’d love it. It’s beautiful up there. And no one would bother us. Just you and me, alone. No distractions.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“What’s to think about?” he said. “Come away with me.”

“Why?” I said. “Isn’t this enough?”

I felt his grasp tighten. “It’s never enough, Niki.”

I didn’t leave.

* * *

I woke with the tang of the memory sharp in my mind, I touched my lips, remembering the taste of Lucifer in my mouth. I should have gone with him. I shouldn’t have hesitated. I should have told him it was never enough for me, either. But I didn’t know how to say it.

The bed seemed cold without him and I rolled out and pulled my shirt on over my head. The thought I’d fallen asleep to reverberated now and a feeling like blind panic started to expand in my chest. Something was very, very wrong.

It was time to talk to Ash.

CHAPTER FOUR

I found him in the hall, walking determinedly towards the meeting hall where I had first met the lords of Hell. He stopped, looking distinctly irritated at my presence, though he bowed his head just as all demons did in my presence. He wasn’t as large as some of the demons I’d met, though he towered over Lucifer. His shoulders were at least as wide as two of me, though he had never achieved the imposing horns the other demons had, something he seemed self-conscious about.
 

“I’m sorry,” he growled. “I’m in a hurry. The lords await.” He fixed his yellow eyes on me, as if willing me to move out of his way. I frowned, trying to decide if I could trust him. He was a demon, but he wasn’t like the lords. He had always been a vocal supporter of Lucifer, even during his absence. Ash’s nostrils twitched as we stared each other down.

“Was there something you wanted, Niki?” he said. “I really am in a hurry.”

“Something’s wrong,” I said. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice level.
 

He stopped twitching and his expression changed to somber and intense. He ducked his head to look at me eye to eye. “What is it?” he said, his voice low. He glanced behind me, making sure no one was listening. A girl was scrubbing floors at the end of the hall and Ash took hold of my arm and pulled me into a nearby room, shutting the door behind us. It was a servants' quarters, the only light coming through a small window set near the ceiling. There were small beds set against the walls, a fireplace with the dregs of a morning fire burning out. It smelled of woodsmoke and earth.
 

“Tell me,” said Ash. “What do you know?”

“Maybe it’s nothing,” I said. “I’m probably overreacting.”

“Lucifer?” he said. I nodded. “He’s been gone too long. I was going to propose to the lords that we send a party to search for him.”

“The lords would love that,” I said. “They’d all have a good laugh.”

Ash nodded. “I know. But I have no other options. Why do you think something is wrong?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know how to explain. I can’t feel him like I used to.”

“Feel him?” he said.

“There’s this connection. All the Archangels have it. They can sense each other, wherever they are, always. I can’t feel any of the others, but I felt it with…another angel. And I can usually feel it with Lucifer.”

“You felt it with Samael,” said Ash. “No need to be coy.”

I ignored that. “That connection with Sam is completely gone,” I said. “He’s dead, unmade, and there’s no connection at all. But Lucifer is different somehow. It’s weak, but it’s there. Like he went somewhere where I can’t feel him. Or maybe he’s hurt. I don’t know.” I looked at Ash, feeling a sense of helplessness I hadn’t felt since Sofi died. I felt like my stomach had filled with ice. “He’s still alive. I’m sure of it now. I wouldn’t feel anything if he was dead. But something’s wrong.”

“How long has it been?”

“Since a few days after he left. But…”

“But?”

I looked away. “I thought he was doing it. I thought he was shutting me out. Or else I would have told you.”

“You had an argument,” he said, his voice gentle.

“No,” I said. “Well, yes. I’m not really easy to get along with.”

“You are Death,” said Ash. “And therefore complex.”

“Not so much complex as, kind of an asshole.”

Ash squared his shoulders, looking toward the red coals in the fireplace. “This is a very bad thing. Very bad indeed.” He looked down at me again. “You do realize where he’s gone? Did he tell you?”

“No,” I said. “He just said he needed to go to the Wastelands to take care of something.”

“Have you ever heard of the Grace?”

“No.”

“If you had, you would never have permitted him to go.”

I raised an eyebrow. “He’s the devil. You think I could stop him from doing anything?”

Ash didn’t blink, but he narrowed his eyes a little. “I think Lucifer would do anything for you. I think he would move worlds to keep you happy. And, given the chance, you would do the same.”

I stepped back, overwhelmed by Ash’s intense stare. “You don’t know that.”

“I know what I see and I know love.” A dark look crossed his face before he recovered. He attempted to smile, but it wasn’t in his nature. “And from what I hear, the two of you are the most powerful beings left in the worlds. Except for The Grace.”

“Who is the Grace?” I said.

“Not one creature. Many. Witches,” said Ash. “Powerful magical beings that have transcended their humanity. The story goes that they traded their souls to the devil in exchange for immortality. Of course that's ridiculous. Lucifer has never bartered for souls. However, it may be possible that they purchased it...somewhere else.”

“Where?” I said.

“They were known to be obsessed with a certain Greek deity. A dangerous obsession.”

“So they are immortal,” I said.

“They are very old,” said Ash. “They have not been seen for hundreds of years. I assumed they died in the Pits.”

“They were in the Pits?” I said.

“Yes. They were banished there by Lucifer himself.”

“They couldn’t have been that strong, if he sent them away. Wouldn’t they get weaker being locked up all that time?”

“I cannot say,” he said. “But those that have the Sight have seen them. And they are not weak. They are frightening. I do not know how they rose from the Pit, but it would take extraordinary power to do such a thing.”

“Power like Abaddon?” I said.

“This is no Summoner trick,” said Ash. “The Grace would have to rise of their own accord. There is no Summoner for humans.”

“Okay, so a bunch of freaky witches are on the loose in Hell, and Lucifer is missing.” I sighed. “Shit. I don’t even know where to go from here. Who are the Seers? Who saw them?”

“The first was the Soothsayer. But he was very old and very sick. He died two weeks back. The other, I did not speak to. One of the lords talked to her. A Seer from one of the Wasteland tribes. Dorinda or Delilah…”

“Dorana?” I said, surprised.

“Yes, Dorana. Of course. Do you know her?”

“She was the necromancer’s wife,” I said.

“Before you made her into the necromancer’s widow?” said Ash, a bit of admiration in his voice.

“Believe me, I did her a favor. Who did she talk to?”

“The youngest lord. The one who now rules Blood House.”

I stared at Ash. I tried very hard to control my voice so I wouldn’t scream. “Eli Cooper told Lucifer about The Grace?” I said quietly.
 

“Yes,” said Ash. “He spoke to the Seer. She told him of a vision. He said The Grace were at the Devil’s Backbone. It’s a strange place. Some say it’s haunted. It lies beyond the Wastelands.”

“Eli goddamn Cooper? And Lucifer believed him?”

“He apparently had some evidence. Lucifer took a group of demons with him. Soldiers. He should have been safe.” Ash was watching me try to control myself, and not succeeding very well. I forced myself to unclench my fists.
 

“Where is he?” I said. “Take me to Eli. Now.”

* * *
 

They were bickering among themselves when I pushed open the door, letting it slam against the wall. My eyes searched the demons around the table until I found Eli, who glared defiantly back at me. The others didn’t know what to do, but they flinched when I looked at them. At least they had the sense to be afraid. I stepped up on the long table, feeling the wood shudder with each step, ignoring the gasps of the other lords. When I reached Eli I looked down at him. He looked like a full-blooded demon now. His eyes and nose were slits in an alien face, his arms appeared covered in barnacles or stone.
 

“Is it true?” I said quietly. So quiet. My mind stilled to make room for my rage. It happened more often than I cared to admit, though it had been a very long time. The last time was when I had watched Uncle Naz shot down by his men in an old warehouse. It had not ended well for those boys. Eli seemed to sense the danger, and glanced at the other lords, seeming to quail under the looks on their faces. If he was expecting them to stand by him, he was mistaken.
 

“Is what true?” he said, his expression changing from rebellion to confused fear.

I jumped down from the table and he pushed away from his chair, falling on the floor and quickly picking himself up and backing away from me.
 

“Is. It. True?” I advanced slowly. Eli had to know that if Lucifer was hurt, his life and the lives of everyone in his House would end quickly. Violently. Eli backed into the wall, looking like a cornered animal.
 

“Niki,” Eli said. “You can’t believe I would do anything to hurt you.”

“I can’t?” I said. I wanted to scream at him, to rip him apart, to tear his soul from his body, as I’d done to his father for trying to send Lucifer to the Pit. “You’ve done nothing but try to hurt me, Eli.” I stepped toward him and he pressed himself against the wall. I heard Ash clear his throat behind me, but I ignored him.

“Niki, he came to me. It was my duty to tell him. I didn’t know he’d go there himself.” Eli was practically trembling under my stare.
 

“
What in the goddamn hell have you done?”
I was screaming now. My body shook, though I wasn’t trembling in fear. I was trying my absolute hardest not to kill him. Eli had once meant something to me, but if he had caused Lucifer any harm… I didn’t know what I would do, and I was afraid to even think about it. I had no doubt I would take a page from Sasha Slobodian’s book, and I wouldn’t be able to hold back.

“Nothing! I didn’t do anything, Niki, you have to believe me.”
 

“Do you know who I am now, Eli?” I whispered. “I’m not the girl I was. I am Death. And you do not want me as an enemy.” I grabbed his throat and his eyes bulged. He was bigger than me, but I was stronger. I let the images come at the contact. I’d seen most of them before, the last time Eli and I had accidentally touched. I waited until I saw what I needed to see. Dorana’s face, whispering, looking frightened. A meeting with Lucifer. Shaking hands. I let go of Eli’s throat before I went too far and he fell to the floor, gasping. I stepped back from him, breathing hard.

I glanced behind me at the wide eyes of the lords, all staring at me. I waved my hand, exhausted.
 

“Leave. Please.” They were gone in seconds, all scrambling to escape Death in her crazed wrath. It was almost funny that these powerful demons were afraid of me. Funny if they didn’t have perfectly good reasons. I was certainly not the docile stalker Death that Samael had been. And I wasn’t afraid of them, which I was pretty sure what scared them most of all. They didn’t know what to do with someone who didn’t fear them. Fear was all they had.
 

Ash lingered at the door, looking unsure. I turned to look at him. He was staring past me at Eli on the floor.
 

“It’s okay, Ash,” I said, my voice tired. “I’ll be okay.”

“Will he?” he said, gesturing to Eli. “If you harm him, it could start a conversation with the lords.”

“I’m not going to kill Eli,” I said. “I just want to talk to him.”

If Ash had eyebrows he would have raised one.
 

“Promise,” I said. “Cross my heart. I won’t hurt him.” I looked at Eli. “Much.”

Ash turned to go, closing the doors behind him, but he stopped just short. He looked at me. “You’re very frightening when you’re angry,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” I said.
 

“It’s a compliment,” he said, looking at me with something like approval. “If anyone can help Lucifer, if he’s in as much trouble as I think he is… Well, I’m glad to have you on our side. I fear that if the tables were turned and you were against us, we would lose. Badly.”
 

I didn’t know how to respond, and just stood there staring at him. But he didn’t seem to expect an answer, simply nodding at me and closing the doors behind him with an echoing clang.