The Devil You Need (16 page)

Behind me Gerch gave a shout of alarm and I turned, seeing
him rolling around the water with something long and decidedly snakelike
wrapped in his arms. Though the thing blended perfectly with its surroundings,
I could see its long, black form where it was aligned with Gerch’s.

I was torn. I desperately needed air, but couldn’t quite
bring myself to leave Gerch to his fate. So I turned around and headed toward
him, my fingers glowing in the inky depths as power surged to spark at their
tips.

Gerch had the thing around the throat and was barely keeping
its snapping jaws from slicing into his neck, but he’d paid a price for
focusing there. The snake’s long form was tightly wrapped around Gerch’s chest
and middle, no doubt squeezing his very breath away.

Something floated downward from the thrashing pair, dropping
slowly toward the dark sand at the bottom. Gerch’s sword.

I reached for the snake thing with my energy-drenched hand and
sent a stunning jolt into it. The snake jerked, its form unfurling from Gerch,
and fell limply toward the floor of the swamp.

I started toward the light again but the water churned to my
left and something smacked into me. Fangs sank into my thigh and, before I
thought about what I was doing, I opened my mouth to scream. Water flooded my
mouth and I sucked it into my lungs, panicking as they compressed under the
inky substance.

I thrashed desperately but somehow didn’t drown.

The snake creature coiled around me and started to swim. I
struggled briefly but soon felt the world clouding as my lungs gave up their
struggle to find air and started to shut down.

As we speared through the inky water I listened with horror
as the
thump, thump, thump
of my heart slowed to an elongated
thump…thump………thump
and then stuttered, on the verge of stopping completely.

Suddenly we burst from the water, flying through the air,
and the thing released me. I dropped like a rock, hitting a hard but yielding
surface. The nasty snake creature that had transported me twisted like a fish
over the water’s surface and, at the last moment, dove back into the black
liquid.

I rolled over, coughed, and spewed about a gallon of water
from my lungs.

The water exploded upward again and Gerch flew toward me. I
was too drained to move out of his way. All I could do was hope he missed. He
hit the sandy ground mere inches from me, landing on his face with a grunt.

When I finally stopped horking up black water that tasted
like fish poop, I rolled over onto my back, panting and wiping my mouth with
the back of my hand.

Gerch pushed himself into a sitting position, panting
between his knees. “Remind me never to follow you into the water again.”

I laughed, shoving my hair from my face. “I didn’t ask you
to follow me. Besides, if I hadn’t had to save your sorry ass from that snake
thing I wouldn’t have almost drowned.”

He glared at me from under his red brow. “Save
my
ass. Who do you think that thing was going for when I grabbed it?”

I blinked. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh. Ripples, Astra.”

I stood up on wobbly legs and pain shot through my thigh.
Looking down, I grimaced at the bleeding fang wounds, quickly healing them. “It
doesn’t matter. I think this is where that creature lives, which means it’s
where Dialle is. Get off your lazy ass and let’s go find him.”

“It doesn’t bother you at all that those things delivered us
here like takeout food?”

I frowned. The thought had occurred. “If that’s true then we
just have to make sure we give that thing food poisoning before we die.”

“Har, Astra.”

“Welcome to my lair.”

We both jumped and turned at the melodic-sounding voice.
Surprise brought power spitting from my fingertips and I was immensely glad to
have it there again. Peering into the dim light at the back of the cave, I saw
something huge settled onto the sand, tucked into the shadows.

I increased the ampage on my energy and lifted my hand,
illuminating the back wall. The first thing I noted was the enormous, slanted
blue eyes. The rest of the thing seemed to be all body and no limbs, snakelike.
It had a massive head, a broad, flat snout, and tiny, pointed ears that stuck
upright from its head, like a cat’s. The snakelike body was silvery, its scales
glistening gold and silver in the spark from my magic. I couldn’t tell how long
it was, but it was long enough to give me pause. The circumference of its body
looked to be around twenty feet. When it lowered its head, wide, slitted
nostrils flaring, I saw a tiny set of wings fluttering on its back. They didn’t
look like dragon wings, more like water wings.

“Who are you?”

“You may call me Nestrada.” The creature’s voice was almost
too beautiful to bear. It slipped along my spine and made my stomach tighten
with fear. Melodic and rich, the tones felt magic-induced, meant to soothe
potential prey.

I frowned. “Okay. Let me try this again.
What
are
you? And what have you done with Dialle?”

The thing slid its beautiful blue gaze over Gerch, its wings
fluttering. “This one is ugly.”

Gerch scowled. “Bite me, bitch.”

I grinned. Dialle’s right-hand man had definitely been
spending too much time around me. The creature’s mouth opened, showing long,
curving ivory that gleamed in the light from my power. I decided I’d better
translate or Gerch would become fast food even more quickly than he’d
anticipated. “I don’t think he meant that literally.”

The creature’s flesh rippled in a shudder. “I am glad. I
think I would find him tough and repulsive.”

“You didn’t answer my question. What have you done with
Dialle?”

Nestrada dipped her head again, flaring her nostrils. I
realized that must be her way of sizing me up. “You are attractive. But small.
I have heard stories. I expected a much larger creature.”

I sighed. Why did this always come up? “I’m much bigger on
the inside.”

Nestrada seemed to be thinking about this for a moment.
Finally she lifted her snout, her elongated form beginning to unfurl. “Come, I
will take you to your handsome king. I know not what he plans, only that he
needs my help to accomplish it. And I also know the price he will pay for that
help.”

I glanced at Gerch. With her words, he’d lost some of the
vibrant-red color in his wide face. “What exactly is that price, Nestrada?”

She ignored him, unfurling endlessly as the first part of
her body slithered away and disappeared down a wide, low-ceilinged passageway.
As she kept uncoiling I realized with a pang that she was even more enormous
than I’d feared. She was covered in silvery scales that were darker along her
back and sides, turning the colors of an opal on her wide belly. Situated low
on her sides, two rows of jagged spines gleamed like knives, occasionally
scraping against the rocky walls as she slithered. When only her tail was
visible, it snapped sideways to propel her more deeply into the passage and the
two long spikes on the end ripped deep furrows into the heavy sand, sending it
into the air in a stinging spray.

I spit sand from my mouth and started after her.

“I don’t like this, Astra.”

“Ya think? Just be ready.”

“For what?”

I shrugged. “Expect the worst. I’ve learned the worst-case
scenarios usually find me first.”

The Monster’s Lair

So pretty standing there so still, so terrifyingly
real,

The monster’s dream he doth fulfill, a horrible fate
to seal.

The slashing tail before us in the passageway left an
indelible path to follow, a visual accompaniment to the heavy sound of
slithering that marked Nestrada’s passage into the earth.

The passage where we walked was unlit, filled with the
biting stench of rotted fish and other things that didn’t bear too close an
examination. I got the sense of climbing, as if we moved up a mountain through
its interior.

Gerch stayed close, his black gaze sliding continually
around the space. I used my power to sense the air around us, searching for
foreign auras. Between us I figured we’d be forewarned if anything approached.

After about an hour, the passage finally started to widen, a
soft, amber light giving the rough-hewn walls a fractured appearance and
creating shadows that made me jumpy.

A wisp of fresher air told me something was about to change.
A low, insistent roar sounded in the distance. “Sounds like water,” I told
Gerch.

He nodded, saying nothing. My companion was in full-out
demonic-soldier mode, his craggy face stiff and dark with intent and his big
hands clenched at his sides. I suspected he was wishing for the sword he’d lost
in the tumble with our snaky kidnappers.

Nestrada’s thick, deadly tail snapped sideways one last time
and disappeared. We rounded a curve in the passage and saw a wide, uneven
opening. The space beyond that opening was filled with light and vegetation. In
the distance a massive waterfall crashed down the rocky wall, ending in a
jagged pool big enough to accommodate a giant, slithering monster with pretty
blue eyes.

Around the pool, standing still and straight, were several
figures dressed in gold-and-silver robes. The figures stared straight ahead,
unmoving. Their silky hair, blond to midnight black, trailed over their
shoulders, down their bodies and pooled on the floor. Not one of them turned to
look at us when we entered the cavern. I wondered if the creature had them
under some kind of spell.

Heat pounded down on my head and I looked up. A stark blue
sky, devoid of clouds, held a golden globe of light, which beat relentlessly
against the ground. I judged the temps to be well over a hundred degrees. If it
weren’t for the fine mist caused by the waterfall, I figured the space would be
like a desert. Steep, rocky walls enclosed the opening where we stood, creating
a wide bowl that should have been airless. Yet a soft breeze lifted the tips of
my damp hair off my shoulders.

Apparently we’d found Nestrada’s hidey hole.

“Astra.”

I turned to find Dialle standing a dozen feet away. He
looked unharmed, yet his pretty blue gaze was filled with sadness. I started
toward him but didn’t get far. I brushed up against a barrier of some kind that
burned my skin and pitched me backward. Landing on my ass on the grassy
surface, I shoved off and brought power sizzling to my fingertips. “What is
that shit?”

Nestrada laughed and icicles danced down my spine. Gerch
reached for a nonexistent sword.

“He is in a prison of his own making, child.”

I frowned, addressing Dialle. “What the hell’s she talking
about?”

He sighed, looking down at his hands, which were folded in
front of him. He looked calm, terrifyingly resolved. “She’s right, Astra. I
have given Nestrada what she wishes so that you can defeat my father and the
witches.”

The ice in my spine spread to encompass my body, bringing
gooseflesh up along my arms. “What exactly is it that she wants, bud?”

He lifted his hands, smiling. “Me.”

“He is pretty, is he not?”

I turned to the slithery bitch and lifted a hand, intending
to power-smack the snaky smile off her evil face.

“Don’t, Astra. I have given my word.”

“Dialle, this doesn’t make any sense. Everything we’re
fighting for is lost without you. Your court will die. Even if I manage to
defeat your father and the two bitches on my own. It will all be for nothing if
you aren’t part of it.”

“No. You can hold the court alone, Astra. You are my queen.
If you mate again the court can remain whole.”

All the blood ran from my face and I staggered back. “No.”
Gerch’s earlier words suddenly made sense.
He never told you?
“I won’t
do it, Dialle. I won’t leave you here.”

“You must, Astra. You have no choice because I intend to
stay.”

Nestrada’s blue eyes sparkled with humor. I got the sense
she thought we were just adorable. And that really pissed me off.

I’d show her adorable.

What are you up to, Dialle?

His gaze held mine steadily.
There is no trickery here,
Astra. Nestrada has an item that will help you defeat your mother and Astis.

I noticed he’d left his father off the list. I wondered if
there was a message there.
What item?

“He refers to my venom. It has very powerful and deadly
properties.” Nestrada’s too-beautiful voice brought my head snapping around.
She’d heard our telepathic conversation? I turned back to Dialle and he
inclined his head slightly. His gaze widening in silent entreaty.

Okay. So we couldn’t communicate. Fine. It didn’t matter
anyway. I knew what I was going to do, and it didn’t include leaving Dialle
behind to be the monster’s plaything. “Fine,” I told Nestrada. “I don’t like it
and I can’t promise I won’t be back later to find some way around it, but I’ll
honor Dialle’s wishes on this. For now.”

The creature shook her head at the adorable naughtiness of
her toys and it was all I could do not to bitch-slap her with my power. “You
will not defeat me, child.”

“Probably not. But I’ll enjoy trying.”

Her bright-blue gaze sparked with delight. “You were
correct, Tweener. You are much larger on the inside.”

“Just tell me what you have and how I use it.”

* * * * *

An hour later I was clutching a cloth-wrapped package and
Gerch and I found ourselves climbing a set of steps cut roughly into one wall
of Nestrada’s hidey hole. I felt Dialle’s gaze on my back as I climbed, my
heart bleeding at having to walk away.

“We can’t leave him here, Astra.”

“I have no intention of leaving him here.”

“You’re currently doing a very convincing impression of it.”

“Just be quiet until we get out of this place. I have a
plan.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.”

Sighing, I murmured, “Neither can I.”

* * * * *

I sat at the base of a tree, staring into a fire that had
raged for hours on a couple of chunks of wood I’d found on the ground. The
flames leapt higher as the breeze soughed over it, seemingly nurtured by
nothing more than the contents of the air.

Judging by the sulfuric stench of the wind I wasn’t even
surprised.

“We need to make a move, Astra.”

I looked up at Gerch. He’d been pacing restlessly behind me
as I considered my plan to release Dialle. I thought it was foolproof. The
problem was I had no idea if I was strong enough to access the materials I’d
need to pull it off. That was what I was trying to figure out.

“Tell me what you’re thinking. Maybe I can help.”

I shook my head. “I doubt it. It’s pretty radical.”

“I can handle radical.”

I sighed. Maybe he was right. I wasn’t making any progress
myself. I might as well give him a chance. “Okay, here’s the thing. I noticed
that every place where Nestrada hangs out is tropical. She obviously likes—or
needs—heat. So I asked myself why. Then I realized she’s kind of snaky. What do
you know about snakes?”

He shrugged. “I know they give me the creeps.”

“Snakes don’t do well in the cold. If it gets cold enough
they die.”

“Good to know. The next time I’m attacked by a giant snake
I’ll throw ice cubes at it. But that doesn’t really help us here. There’s no
way to make it cold enough in Perdigo to kill Nestrada. She’s massive and
powerful. I’m guessing she’d need a mini ice age to die.”

I frowned. “That’s the thing. I don’t think we need to kill
her. We just need to slow her down enough to release Dialle and get out of
here.”

Gerch’s beady eyes disappeared under his wide brow as he
frowned. “So you just need a massive short-term cold spell?”

“Yeah.”

He snorted, lifting his hands to the sides. “Hello, Astra.
Hell environs. The climate here isn’t exactly glacial.”

“No. But I know a place that is, at least at the higher
elevations. And it’s winter there right now. I’ve cut a hole between the two
places once before, maybe I can do it again.”

His eyes widened. “Olympus.”

“Yeah. There’s just one problem. I just got my power back
and I’m not sure I have enough juice to pull it off.”

Gerch dropped onto a log beside me, looking thoughtful. “The
last time you did it you tapped into Dialle’s power.”

“Yeah.”

“Can’t you just do that again?”

I shook my head, touching the spot on my throat where my
daemon hickey had been before that bitch Crisanne had magic-raped me. “We
shared the mark then. I don’t have a way to tap into his power anymore.”

“Are you sure? Maybe there’s some residual connection
there.”

“I’ve been trying to connect. It’s not happening, I’m
afraid. Either the mark is truly gone or Nestrada’s barrier is stopping us from
connecting.” I fixed the big soldier with a look. “Do you think we can get my
sister or Slayer here? Or even my aunt Myra?”

“Only the king could transport them. I can’t bring them over
and you aren’t of these environs. Without your connection to Dialle, Hell won’t
recognize your transportative magic.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes while I continued to
consider my options. Finally I sighed and stood up. “I don’t see any way around
it. I’m going to need help.”

Gerch stood too. “Help? From whom?”

I shook my head. “You don’t want to know. How do I contact
someone in the inner circle?”

Gerch narrowed his beady gaze. “Whom do you want to
contact?”

“I told you. You don’t want to know. Just tell me how,
Gerch. The longer we stand here arguing, the longer it will take to get Dialle
out.”

The big devil sighed. “Generally you would use a sulfur-core
cell phone but we don’t have one.”

“There has to be another way.”

“There is, it’s archaic, but it should work.”

“I’ll try anything.”

“Basically you need to perform a summoning.”

“Like witchcraft?”

“Devilcraft actually. But yeah. You need to cut your hand
and dribble three drops of blood into the fire. Then say the name of the person
you want to see three times.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“You asked.”

Shaking my head, I found a sliver of rock and sliced the tip
of my finger with it. Then I stood next to the fire and squeezed the wound,
letting the blood drop into the flames. It flared high, nearly singeing my
eyebrows. I jumped back. “Frunk me!”

Gerch grimaced. “Sorry. I should have warned you. Blood has
power in Hell. In fact, blood and fire are the two most powerful substances
here.”

I murmured the name I didn’t want Gerch to hear and then
repeated the process two more times. We waited as the fire crackled happily.
Nobody appeared.

I looked at Gerch. “It didn’t work.”

He opened his mouth to respond as the fire exploded upward,
sending wood, flame, and dirt in a wide arc. I shrieked as a flaming tinder
burned through my clothing and into my skin. Gerch jumped back with a curse.

A tall, dark figure unfurled from the spot where the fire
had been, fixing me with a sexy, velvet gaze. “Well, well, well. Astra Q.
Phelps. You’re the last person I ever expected to summon me.”

I glared at the infuriating royal standing a few feet away.
“King Nerul. You’re looking disgustingly vigorous.”

Nerul laughed, pulling the sides of his robes back to place
his hands on his hips. I was relieved to see that he wore tight, leather pants
under the robes. Though his buff, golden chest was bare. Nerul liked to run
around with all his parts bouncing around. Nakies. Suffice it to say I wasn’t
in the mood for that kind of entertainment at the moment.

“Have you lost your frunkin’ mind, Astra?”

“Probably.” Gerch’s outburst reminded me that I needed to
get my business underway. It was getting darker by the moment and Hell after
dark was a place you did not want to be unless you had some serious protection.

Nerul took a step closer and my hands came up, fingertips
sizzling with power. “Don’t move, asshole.” Gerch reached for his sword, only
to grimace when he realized it wasn’t there. I needed to remedy that. He wasn’t
much good to me against the nasties in the Hell environs if he wasn’t armed.

Nerul crossed his arms over his chest and smiled down at me.
“You called
me
, Astra.” He was well over six feet tall, slim and
elegant, with smooth, black hair that he’d cropped short. No more sexy
deviltail at the base of his strong neck. Pity. Nerul’s velvet gaze was fringed
in thick lashes that were almost too pretty for a man. He was very
good-looking. But I knew the evil in his soul and it dimmed his appeal
considerably.

“Yeah. Unfortunately I’m aware of that. I need your help.”

He lifted a slim, black eyebrow. “What’s in it for me?”

“I’ll speak to Dialle about letting you back on the court.”

He threw back his head and laughed, genuinely amused. “You
are so delicious, Astra. I’ve heard how Dialle treats his court. I’ve also
heard he has a lot of vacancies at the moment. I don’t think I want to serve
under him.”

Good news apparently traveled fast in Hell.

“He had nothing to do with that slaughter. That was his
father’s doing.”

Nerul stepped closer and I gritted my teeth, barely
containing my urge to send power smashing into him. “You truly believe that? I
guess you haven’t gotten any smarter since last we met.” He reached out and
tugged a strand of my hair. I jerked my head to pull the hair from between his
long, tapered fingers.