Red Blooded
Page 49

I raised an eyebrow at Lili. “Is this space yours?” The bed was made. It appeared not to have been touched in a while, so that was a relief.
“Yes,” Lili said. “It was… ours.”
Doing the nasty with the Prince of Hell sounded like the most detestable thing I could possibly think of. But I reminded myself I wasn’t a demon. Or even a half demon. I needed to get some perspective or I might start gagging. “How do we get to the Prince’s rooms?” I asked.
“These rooms are mine,” Lili answered. “We have to travel a bit farther to get to his quarters. Down the next hallway we’re going to come up on a big door made of iron.”
Rourke moved through the room, pacing around the huge bed, motioning for us to follow. We passed through another beautiful space decorated in plush scarlet couches, and chandeliers that hung from smooth stone ceilings.
I noticed something peculiar about this space that made it different from the others I’d seen in the Underworld. “The interior here looks like it was made from human textiles and furniture, not like the other smooth, glossy stuff I’ve seen,” I said. “Whatever is manufactured in Hell is all weird and shiny.”
“Our raw materials are much different from those found on your plane.” Lili nodded. “We use pure minerals only found here. Everything that grows in Hell is alive, even the metals, and it makes them smooth and somewhat moist.” She glanced around her old rooms wistfully as we passed through. “I much prefer human decorations, so the Prince spared no expense. They were last updated a century ago, but I will miss them.”
“How far underground are we, by the way?” Ray asked as we entered another hallway, this one with walls resembling polished granite. “These walls are solid rock.”
I hadn’t thought about that much. The buildings I’d first seen were obviously on the top, but my suspicion was we were deep underground.
“Demons have always lived below the surface,” Lili answered. “We are cave dwellers by nature. The sun above burns our skin, so it is out of necessity as well. We are about six levels under right now. This level is called the Hodoseod Dyjyd and is reserved for Demon Lords and their accommodations only. That’s why you don’t see any low-level demons milling around. Only their servants are allowed to come here.”
Rourke finally stopped in front of an imposing door.
“Sweet, another door for us to bust through,” Tyler quipped, coming up behind us. “That one looks easy enough.”
“Once we open this, it will alert… whoever resides in there,” the demoness said quietly. “The doors and walls are very thick, so they likely can’t hear us, but once we break the seal they will be able to both hear and scent us.”
“Unless the Prince has spelled the area,” I countered. “Or has it booby-trapped.”
Selene interrupted, surprising me by shaking her head and saying, “There are no spells here.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked. I didn’t want any golems to jump out at us.
Selene looked at me like I was a moron. “I may be dead, but I know how to detect a spell, especially if it was one of mine. I sense nothing in the air or on the door.”
“She’s right,” Lili said, appraising Selene. “I detect nothing as well.”
Rourke placed his hands gently on the door, testing. Nothing zapped him, so that was a good sign. “This door is thick,” he said. “But to bust it open will make a lot of noise.” Instead he grasped one of the two big handles and depressed it.
It didn’t move.
I asked Lili, “How did you two lovebirds go back and forth? You didn’t have to come through this locked door every time, did you? Shouldn’t there be a key in some secret cubbyhole or something?”
“There is no key,” Lili sighed. “I used magic, of course. He has found a way to block me already, but I will try.”
She moved in front of Rourke and placed her palms on the door, caressing it as she pressed one cheek to it listening for something.
Then she sprang back. “There’s something on the other—”
Before she could finish, the door burst open in front of us.
“Looking for me?” a very bored and familiar voice intoned.
19
The fake Selene stood sentry, dressed in her predecessor’s former glory. She wore a black leather corset with metal studs and a pair of the tightest leather pants I’d ever seen. Her hair was long, gorgeous, and bright red, and there wasn’t a mar on her perfect porcelain skin. She had the balls to cross her arms and lean up against the doorframe like it was no big deal that three shifters, one former goddess, and one witch-demon were standing there waiting to take her out. “We knew you’d try to come here, Lili. You are so very predictable.” She shook her head with a pitying expression.
Lili’s power jumped and cold fury whipped off her. “Of course I came back.” Lili calmly placed her hands on her hips, belying the inner turmoil I knew raged inside her. This had to burn. “I left some of my most cherished treasures here and I can’t leave this plane until I retrieve them.” Then, without so much as flinching or signaling her intent, Lili sprang, grabbing the doppelganger by the throat with one hand and by the hair with the other.
Hair that came out in Lili’s fist as they went down.
They were on the floor before anyone could blink. The clone struggled, but Lili was too quick. We all watched, our mouths slightly agape as they rolled twice more, and then, with one swipe, Lili tore out the doppelganger’s jugular and plunged her fist down her throat.
There was an awful sucking noise, followed by gushing and gurgling.
None of us had moved from the doorway.
“Well,” Ray chuckled, “I didn’t see that one coming.” He angled his head to the side. “That demoness has good form. Selene Two never had a chance.”
“Lili has good form because she’s a cold-blooded killer,” I commented. “This is another reminder that’s she’s dangerous.”
“You got that right,” Ray said.
After a few more seconds the clone went totally still and Lili rose, clutching something slimy in her hand. Before she could explain how she’d gotten the jump on the clone so quickly, the real Selene grabbed her own throat and stumbled forward, gasping for air.