Ruby Shadows (8 page)

“
That’s my favorite,” I told Grams gently. “Thank you so
much.”

“
Oh, child…” She shook her head, her eyes sad. “I can’t
believe I’m letting you do this. I can’t believe I’m letting you
go.”

“
We’ve been over this, Grams,” I said softly. “I
have
to go. This thing is relentless, and
while you and I might be able to protect ourselves,” (although I
had my doubts about that,) “If it came after Keisha…”

“
You’re right. You’re right…” She shook her head. “If only she
would have listened to my warnings. After all she’s been through, I
doubt she’s got even a hundredth part of the natural power she was
born with left.”

“
That’s Ray’s fault,” I said angrily, the old, helpless rage
rising inside me.

“
Not all of it. She went wrong long before she met him,” Grams
said. She frowned. “Just like you went wrong when you started
seeking to do that spell to get vengeance on him.”

“
It’s not just a vengeance spell,” I protested. “If it
works—”

“
It’s not going to because you’re not doing it.” Grams glared
at me. “You’re already putting your soul at risk enough.
If—no,
when
you come back from this
trip—I want you to put it all behind you. Keisha made her choice
and she’s just like your mama was—stubborn.”

“
But if—”

“
You can’t save those that don’t want to be saved, child,”
Grams said softly. She sighed. “Besides, she has no power of her
own left anymore and you know she was always so proud of what she
could do…before. Such potential and all of it wasted…” She sounded
sad.

I
thought about the fate of my little sister and shivered. Every time
a witch has sex without forming a soul-bond, her power is halved.
After the life that
Keisha had led, being passed from man to man…her power waning
with each loveless encounter…Grams was right. She wouldn’t be able
to help herself, even if she wanted to.

Was that going to be
my fate too? Would I lose myself and my power to Laish as he seemed
so certain I would?

No,
I
promised myself firmly. He’d said that he wouldn’t force me to have
sex with him. Instead, he seemed to think I would
want
to at some point. Want to badly
enough to not mind losing half my power and
all
my self-respect.

Well, he was wrong about that. No matter what else happened or
what else I let him do, I wasn’t going to let him do
that,
I promised myself. No matter how hot
he was or how it made my stomach flutter when he touched me. I
wasn’t going there. I just wasn’t.

“
If only your sister had waited for the right man,” Grams
said, interrupting my fervent promise to myself. “I knew when I met
your grandpa, you know. I knew he was the one I’d been waiting for.
And on our wedding night, when I finally gave myself to
him—”

“
Grams,” I said uneasily.

“
No, listen to me, Gwendolyn. On that night, when I gave myself
to him body and soul, I felt the bond form,” she said. “It was
like…like a golden cord, binding us together. It was so beautiful,
so
right.
I just knew we’d be
together forever.” She sighed. “And we would be, too, if his heart
had held out.”

“
Oh, Grams…” I put an arm around her shoulders. My grandfather
had died when I was just ten but I had plenty of memories of the
big, smiling man who used to ride me around on his shoulders and
tell corny jokes to make my Grams laugh. Grams still grieved for
him, all these years later
, and she had never even considered marrying again,
though she was still a very nice looking woman for her
age.

Just then the grandfather clock in the hallway began to chime.
This was it—my time was up and it was time to do what had to be
done. Grams and I looked at each other and her hand slipped into
mine. I squeezed it tightly as we waited together.
Bong…bong…bong…bong…
the clock chimed on and on.

Right on cue,
on the last chime, Laish appeared in a puff of smoke. He was
wearing another one of his expensive, tailored suits with a crisp,
blood-red shirt open at the throat. I couldn’t help thinking that
the color suited him. It was just a few shades lighter than his
eyes and it made his inky black hair even blacker. The shoulders of
the jacket draped over his broad shoulders impressively—he looked
like a Fortune 500 businessman.

I
couldn’t help looking down at myself, contrasting my own outfit
with his. I
’d had
no idea what to wear but since we were going to be traveling
through a strange region, (major understatement, I know) I had
decided to dress like I was going on a long plane trip.
Accordingly, I had on a pair of jeans, a dark green t-shirt, which
I had tucked in, and some comfortable black ballet flats I knew I
could walk in for hours without pain. Not that I thought we would
be hiking through Hell—at least I certainly
hoped
not. But I was prepared if I had to.

I
had an extra shirt and a pair of jeans as well as a
lined windbreaker stowed
in my leather satchel under the water bottle and Sponge Bob
sandwich container. I know Hell is supposed to be hot, but Laish
had made a comment to me before, that parts of it were terribly
cold and lonely. So I had made sure to bring the jacket along with
a change of clothes.

In the pocket
of the windbreaker was one more thing I thought I might need—two
antique silver coins from Grams to pay the ferryman. After Laish
had accused me of not being up on my mythology, I had done a little
research. I had no idea if the river Styx and its skeletal
ferryman, Charon, were real or completely mythical but I wasn’t
taking any chances. To the best of my ability, I was
prepared.

I hoped.

Laish’s eyes
flickered over me—was that a look of disapproval I saw on his face?
Or something else? He said nothing, however, except to ask if I was
ready to go.

“
As ready as I’m going to be,” I said. I gave Grams one last
hug. She held on so tightly, I was afraid she wasn’t going to let
go.

“
Come back to me safe and sound,” she whispered at last. Then
she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and finally released me. Her
eyes were bright with unshed tears as she looked from me to Laish.
“Take care of her,” she said, in a voice that trembled only a
little.

“
I
will,”
Laish said simply. He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes.
The expression on his face was so intense it sent a cool shiver
down my spine. I couldn’t help remembering our bargain and
wondering if he intended to collect on his debt the minute we
landed in Hell. What would he do to me? What—?

“
Fear not, Gwendolyn,” he murmured. “Just take a deep breath.
We’ll be there before you know it.”

I opened my
mouth to reply but just then I felt a hot wind rush over me,
scouring my entire body from the top of my head to the tips of my
toes.

Then, abruptly, it
ended.

“
It’s over now,” Laish said quietly. “You can open your
eyes.”

I
hadn’t even been aware of closing my eyes in the first place but
when I opened them, I saw
we were standing someplace else. Someplace dark and
hazy with a red tinge to the black sky.

Hell.

Chapter Eight

Laish

I watched my little
witch with some trepidation, wanting to make sure she took the
dematerialization and rematerialization all right. She seemed a bit
shaken at first but she adapted quickly, taking a deep breath and
moving away from me as soon as she could.

I
frowned. I had hoped that being in such threatening surroundings
would bring her closer to me
, rather than driving her away. But she was wary of
me—I could see the guarded look in her lovely green eyes. Inwardly,
I sighed. Clearly I would have to work harder to gain her trust.
Which wasn’t going to be easy considering the trip we were about to
undertake and the way we were going to have to travel.

“
Wow.”
Gwendolyn gave a shaky little laugh and tried to straighten
her long black hair, which had been blown about during our trip.
“That was some ride.”

“
It is the fastest and most efficient way to travel,” I told
her modestly. “It is a pity we cannot simply dematerialize straight
to the edge of the Abyss but there are laws governing movement
through the circles of Hell which may not be broken, even by
me.”

She sighed. “Of
course—there are always laws. Anyway, it’s a lot faster than the
way I usually get here.”

“
How do you travel to the Shadow Lands?” I asked. I knew she
had been here, on Hell’s front doorstep before, but I had never
accompanied her on any of her trips.

“
It’s a long, complicated spell with a lot of expensive
ingredients. It’s a real pain in the ass because if you don’t do it
just right, it doesn’t work and then you have to start all over
again.” She shook her head ruefully. “I tried something like fifty
times and spent two months income before I finally got it right the
first time.”

“
Fifty trials?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “You must have
wanted to get here badly.”

“
I
had to,” she said, looking down. “There were…things I needed here
that I couldn’t get anywhere else.”

“
Things to work the revenge spell you’ve been trying to gather
ingredients for?” I asked.

I
confess I wanted to know more about that particular
spell—specifically, who Gwendolyn wanted revenge on badly enough to
risk her immortal soul in order to get it. What had they done to
her to raise the little witch’s ire…or a better question might be
what would I do to them when I found out? I felt a possessive growl
rise in my throat and swallowed it with some difficulty.
Why did she affect me so?
I had no answer.

“
Well?” I said, when she didn’t reply.

“
That’s none of your business,” she snapped.

“
Oh, I think it is.” I went to her, crushing the plentiful
demon’s breath plants that grew in the arid soil under my feet and
releasing their sickly sweet, rotten-ripe smell. “Let us have an
understanding right here and now, Gwendolyn,” I said.

“
What?”
She
wouldn’t look at me so I lifted her chin, gently but firmly, and
looked into her eyes. “What?” She repeated, meeting my gaze at
last. The look on her lovely face was half defiant, half
fearful.

“
You and I will be traveling together through difficult and
dangerous terrain,” I t
old her, still holding her eyes with mine. “You will forgo
your usual defiance and treat me with courtesy—the same courtesy I
will show to you.”

“
You mean the courtesy you showed me when you told me I would
have to…have to ‘yield’ to you while we were here?” she
demanded.

I
sighed. “So
that
is the
crux of the matter. Of course—I should have known.”

“
Yes, you freaking well should have.” She crossed her arms
protectively over her breasts and I couldn’t help noticing that
there were two spots of color high on her cheeks. “If you know
anything about witches you know I can’t really ‘yield’ to you. At
least, not all the way. If I do…”

“
Your power will be halved. Yes, I know,” I told her gently.
“But I am not asking you to give yourself to me simply for my own
gratification,
mon
ange.
It is a
necessary sacrifice if you wish to travel through the Infernal
Realm.”

She shook her head.
“How can it possibly be necessary for me to have sex with you just
to travel through Hell? I don’t understand.”

“
No,” I said, cupping her cheek—which felt hot in my palm.
“But you will.”

Her cheeks got even
darker and her breathing seemed to quicken. She pulled away from
me. “Don’t do that. Don’t touch me.”

“
You must get used to my touch,” I told her grimly. “Before
this trip is over you will feel my hands over every inch of your
flesh.” I knew she wouldn’t like that part and sure enough, she
opened that lush little mouth of hers to complain. I raised one
finger, cutting her off. “Again, it will be a necessary sacrifice,”
I told her. “As will the fact that while we are here, you will be
traveling as my concubine.”

“
Your
what?”
She
shook her head. “Oh, no—I don’t
think
so. What the hell are you talking about, anyway?”

I was rapidly losing
my patience. “What we are talking about is the fact that I am
smuggling you—a living corporeal being with an intact and
non-damned soul—into Hell,” I told her. “The only way anyone will
believe I am doing this without suspicion is if you travel as
someone of consequence to me—specifically, my concubine.”

“
Look, Laish, I don’t care what kind of bargain we made—I
am
not
going to be your sex
slave the whole time we’re here.”

Her eyes were wide
and angry which didn’t surprise me. I had known she wouldn’t like
this little detail—which is why I had purposefully left it out
before.