I frowned. “Have you got sacrifices for us?”

  “I managed to get us some goats. When we are ready to leave, we’ll have to sacrifice some demons.”

  I cringed. “That means you’re expecting us to be attacked.”

  “Do you expect something different?” There was a slight thread of irritation in his voice.

  I guess he had a point. “The City on Fire would be the better entry point.”

  “Why do you think that?” He stopped pacing and looked at me. “No human normally treads there.”

  I leaned against the door. “Because that’s where I entered when I located all the seals. I know what to expect and I don’t think it has a gatekeeper.”

  “You’re right, the fire is the gatekeeper. It doesn’t have a living one or a demon attached to it.”

  “I know where it is, too. I’d tricked Lust into taking me there. I know that it was risky.”

  “But it helped. Let’s go then.” He held his hand out. “I’m proud of you.”

  I could only imagine what for, because it felt like I’d done nothing but screw up. “Thank you.”

  I put my hand in his and his warm fingers wrapped around mine.

  27

  The first time I had gone to the City on Fire, it’d been a cross-country road trip with the other Children of the Apocalypse. I’d never expected to return. Death and I stood at the road barriers that blocked the road going into the city. Death handed me a gas mask. “For your protection.”

  I put it on and tried to ignore the pressure that built around my face. The plastic fogged a little with every breath that I took. “I hate these things.”

  “You just need it long enough to take us to the portal and then you’ll need it when we get back.” He climbed over the barriers and I followed.

  The roadway seemed more cracked than it was when I was there last year. The middle pushed up like a miniature mountain range with smoke escaping through the crack. The city was built on top of old coalmines, and because of carelessness, the mines had caught on fire and continued to burn. The city had been an inspiration for several fiction stories, but it’d been abandoned as the government bought all the houses and offered incentives for people to move. Some people they had to force out by condemning the houses as unsafe to live in. The city was now uninhabitable.

  We followed the main roadway, passing the dilapidated houses. Some were half gone, while others just had roofs that were caved in. One house still had children's toys scattered in the front yard. The sight would have been eerie, if we weren’t in the middle of the apocalypse. The main road led to the pure white church.

  The church remained untouched from everything. Not a scorch mark marred the white painted siding, the big brass bell still hung high in the steeple, the doors were boarded up, but were also unscathed. I motioned to the alley next to the church.

  Dad waved his hand and two goats appeared. I stopped at the fenceline that had once held a gaping black hole for the gateway. Now the black hole swirled and spit with orange and yellow flames. The roar of the fire wrapped around me as we moved closer. Popping and crackling sounded as the fire ate up whatever fuel it was feeding from.

  The two goats bleated in fear as my father ushered them towards their death. The fire reached out and flames wrapped around the animals. Their painful cries rose over the roar of the fire.

  My stomach rolled at the thought of the animals being burnt alive. A food source for the gate that now started to die down, leaving an eerie glowing bed of coals for us to step over. I pulled my mask off and hung it on the fence before stepping through the portal.

  A hand on my shoulder told me that my dad stepped through right behind me. The fire rose up behind us again, but a loud cracking echoed. We spun around to see what caused it. Nothing but a stone wall stood behind us now. Gray with scorch marks climbing up from the bottom. I looked at Dad. “I don’t feel like that’s good.”

  “No, the gateway just collapsed. Which means once we find Famine, we’re going to have to find a new way out of here.”

  I put my hand against the wall. Warmth crawled around my fingers, brushing me gently with just a hint of the ability to burn me. “The fire is still there, but not the gateway?”

  “The City on Fire isn’t that stable, but it was the optimal one since it wasn’t guarded by an actual demon. It’s possible that it finally collapsed from all the pressure of the fire and gasses pushing up from under it. It’s one of the most dangerous gateways. Or was.”

  I pulled my hand away. “I know another gateway we can get through and hopefully without problems. Hag was a friend of my mother’s.”

  “Hag isn’t friends with anyone.” Dad followed me down the stone walkway. “But she did come to warn your mother so we might have a chance of her helping us.”

  If only we had luck on our side. I heard the jingling of coins. My body froze as I tried to figure out where the sound was coming from. The clinks bounced off the wall, preventing me from getting a location from the source. I took a deep breath and took a few more steps forward. This was Hell, the noise could have been a manifestation of my fears.

  I looked over to see where Death was. He stood frozen in place. His eyes were closed and his lips moved without sound. He gripped his scythe as his brows furrowed and his silent words fell faster.

  My heart pounded and my mind raced on what I should do. “Dad?”

  His eyes flew open and nothing but white looked back at me. “The dead here are screaming.” The words came out of his mouth in a deep growl.

  I took a couple steps back. He hadn’t reacted like this last time we were in Hell. “Dad?”

  “Sammy?” He blinked a few times and let his scythe disappear. “I’m sorry, I can hear the souls that were damned here. They scream out, calling for true peace.”

  “Let’s go get Pestilence then, so you don’t have to deal with the screaming and I don’t have to worry about what you might do when in a trance like that again.” I held my hand out and he took it.

  That familiar feeling rolled over me. The hair on my neck stood at attention and goosebumps covered my body. Someone was watching us and whoever it was felt like the same person from the college.

  “Ignore it, let’s go.” Death whispered. I closed my eyes and imagined Famine’s seal. The green mixed with the black swirling symbols that kept him locked away. I took us there and opened my eyes to see the seal in front of me.

  Death reached for it and placed his hand against the symbols. They cracked under his touch, but the seal remained intact. He summoned his scythe and struck the seal in the middle. Bright light flooded from the slice. I threw my arm up to protected my eyes and squinted against it. Something wrapped around my middle, squeezing me as it pulled me away. The light and my father faded into the distance. I fought against what held me, only to be slammed into a stonewall. My mind and body tried to recover from the strange transportation. The world spun and my stomach threatened to revolt against me as the bile rose and burned my throat.

  Black wings filled my vision until the creature in front of me backed up a few feet. I snarled as I met the scared face of Zachariah. “You’re fallen.”

  “You say that like you actually know what it means.” He summoned a sword. “You have no idea what I’ve done to deserve my black wings.”

  I held my hand out and my scythe appeared. I wrapped my hand around it, taking comfort in the weight of the weapon. “Does it matter? You abandoned Mary on her own.” I kept him in my sight.

  “You think that’s where this all started? I sacrificed them to Greed.” He gave a wicked grin. “I made sure that I’d come out on top during this apocalypse. I’d deliver you to Lucile and sacrifice a chorus of angels.”

  The change in his wings had to have been delayed, I assumed because there still had been time for him to make the right choices. “That’s why you disappeared.” My eyes widened as it all clicked into place. “You came back wounded to make me think you’d been fighting.”

  “Yes.” He spread his stance and gripped his sword in both hands. “And now, I’ll make good on my promise to Lucile. Your father has no idea where you are, so even if he frees Famine, you’re mine, Little Death.” His foot shifted a moment before he shot towards me.

  I blocked his blow with the handle of my scythe and shoved him away. I brought my blade around to catch him in the side, but he moved too fast for me to wound him. He struck towards my stomach, but I sidestepped and brought my scythe to the back of his knees. The blade met empty air as he jumped over it.

  The sound of his feet hitting the stone echoed through the long hall. He spun to face me and grinned as he let his sword disappear. He summoned a bow and fear claimed my stomach. I’d forgotten he was able to switch weapons like Aeron. He raised up the bow and an arrow appeared as he drew the string back. I waited and drank in every movement he made, watching for a sign of him releasing the bow.

  His finger left the string and let loose the arrow. I ducked down and the arrow caught my shirt as it missed me and before he could summon another one I threw myself at his legs and tackled him to the ground.

  His head bounced off the stone and I summoned my scythe. “Let me go back.”

  He kneed me in the stomach and I grunted at the impact. “Never.” He threw me away and I landed on the ground in a crouch. “Your soul belongs to Lucile.”

  I heard snarling behind me and knew what it was. Hellhounds, and the clinking coins told me that Greed was also near. I was going to die in hell and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

  I summoned my scythe again and put my back against the wall so I could try to see all threats. Zachariah laughed. “Little Death, just give in. Come to the temptation of being a soldier of Lucile. Help us conquer the world and spread fear.”

  “You could be so powerful.” Greed’s voice came down the hall. “You could be Death for us. You could reap the souls that belong to Lucile. Never to know death yourself. Never have to worry about being bound to the rules that the horsemen are.”

  I could have everything I ever wanted. I knew that and I knew that Greed could give it to me. So could Lucile. Thoughts of being able to live out my life as a college student and without the responsibilities of Death filled my mind. I shook my head. I’d have to collect souls for Lucile and that wasn’t something I wanted. I didn’t want to corrupt the innocent.

  “No.”

  Zachariah stared at me. The snarling and the coins stopped, leaving the hall silent. I could feel my heartbeat speeding up. “I will not give in to the temptation.” I gripped my scythe and ran towards Zachariah. I sliced down and then spun the scythe so the blade was pointed up and I swung it towards his face.

  The two blows landed and made a bloody ‘x’ over his chest and stomach. He pulled out a throwing knife and flicked his wrist at me.

  I dodged it and kicked him in the chest to drive him back a few feet. He teetered before summoning his sword and rushing towards me. I widened my stance and waited for him. I counted his steps as he ran. His knuckles turned white as he gripped his sword. Behind me the nails of a hellhound tapped against the stone. I waited and crouched a little lower. The nails stopped and Zachariah went to strike. I dropped to the ground and the hellhound flew over me and his teeth locked on Zachariah’s arm.

  The fallen angel cried out and his body started to waver away as if he was stuck in a television with bad reception. I could hear the screaming of his soul as he and the hellhound disappeared.

  I turned around and met the other three that were now visible. Greed was still there in the shadows. I couldn’t see her, but I could still feel her temptation flowing through me. I took a deep breath and waited for her to appear from the shadows, but she didn’t. The small jingle of coins could be heard occasionally as if she was shifting her weight on her feet. Just an odd click or clang here and there, teasing me.

  The dogs didn’t move, they stood there at attention. The snarling only caused the massive gobs of drool to vibrate and roll closer to the ground.

  “That was clever.” Greed finally spoke. “But you haven’t dealt with me before. I control the hounds and I control the souls ruled by greed. I can raise them from the depths of Hell.”

  She’d demonstrated that before. I recalled the shadowy figures with claw-like hands reaching out. I kept my fear squashed down. I’d taken care of Zachariah; I could face Greed. “You don’t scare me.”

  “Well, I should. You’re here alone with me. Your father is wandering around Hell trying to find you, Famine at his side, but they both keep getting trapped in their own fears. Hell will do that to them.”

  I knew what my dad feared, it was what Lucile had used against him. His greatest fear was losing the daughter he’d just learned he had. Lucile had threatened to kill me, and had my father not agreed to be locked up, the wounds I endured would have killed me.

  The only way he could save my life was to make Death disappear from the world. I shook my head. “They’re close by, I can feel it.”

  And if it came down to it Ruthie would be at my side, but if I could avoid dragging her into Hell, I would. I didn’t want to have to worry about losing her as well. I took a step forward and one of the dogs launched itself at me. I took it down with one swipe. It disappeared and another one came right after.

  I spun and cut it down, the third one following right on its heels. It disappeared as I killed it or sent it back from whatever realm it had crawled out of. Sharp claws dug into my legs and I cried out and backpedaled. My movements only caused the claws to drag further over my skin. The shadow thing crawled out of its spot on the floor.

  “My damned souls don’t care about your blade. They don’t fear or hesitate like the hounds do.”

  I needed to find where she was coming from. The shadows that shrouded the hall started to climb the walls. Forms of damned souls came from the darkness, reaching out towards me. Fear choked me at the idea of all those clawing at my body. I harnessed that fear and used it to drive me forward. The shadows reached out and crowded around me. I swung my scythe in a circle around me, the blade slicing through the souls. They may not have been afraid of the scythe, but the blade certainly worked when it came to banishing them.

  They screamed as they disappeared from around me and the walls. I panted and tried to control my breathing as the shadows disappeared. I was fueled by fear and anger, everything else faded with those two emotions flooding through me.

  Greed stood in the middle of the hallway. Her gold hair was pulled back and I could see now that her irises were coins of silver. She shifted her hips and the coins on her skirt jingled. I went to strike, bringing my blade down, but she blocked with a single gold strand of wire.

  My blade bounced back and the vibration went through me. What the hell was that all about? I growled and went to strike again, but she blocked it with that same strand.

  I backed up a few feet and tried to think about how to get past the strand. All she had to do was move her hands and it appeared where she needed it. The shadows started to creep in again and I took a deep breath and prepared to focus on them first. Take care of the immediate threat and then focus on Greed.

  Clawed hands wrapped around me from below, and I tried to drag my scythe across them. I wobbled on my feet as they started pulling. Slices appeared on my legs as they continued to pull me down. My body sank into the ground of shadows. I couldn't move, I couldn’t pull loose.

  I reached out and tried to grab anything I could as my heart pounded in my chest and panic closed my throat and took over all rational thought. Something with white wings shot past me and into Greed, knocking her to the ground.

  The claws around me loosened and I pulled myself up and out of the murky depth that I’d sank into. The ground closed up and the shadow that was once souls became stone once more.

  Ruthie shot backwards and to my side as Greed shoved her away. “You okay?”

  I stood and despite being covered in cuts and slices, I was steady and feeling okay. “For the time being. I was separated from dad.”

  “And you found Greed, you have the worst luck.” Ruthie summoned her staff. “I swear, I can’t leave you alone for ten minutes.”

  I held my hand out and my scythe appeared. “It had to have been at least an hour.” I rushed forward and watched Greed’s hands. The moment they spread apart, I switched my attack angle to avoid the thread. The blade sliced across her shoulder, leaving a bloody path in its wake.

  She cried out and stumbled back. Black blood dripped from my blade and I found something small and evil inside me that savored it. I’d hit her and she thought that she was untouchable.

  Greed touched her shoulder and glared at me. “How dare you.” She flung the blood off herself. The slice healed up and she stalked towards us. Gold threads slithered from Greed’s hands, snaking under our feet and up the walls.

  “Shit.” Ruthie grabbed my arm, but whatever she was planning didn’t work. “Go to one of the seals.” She demanded.

  I tried, but the world didn’t change. It didn’t shift, nothing happened. I glanced at Ruthie’s wide eyes and saw the panic there. Whatever was about to happen, she didn’t think she could save me from. Her gaze studied the threads closing in.

  I didn’t have time for her to try and logic her way out of this. I rushed forward and struck. Greed laughed at me as I headed towards the threads. I switched the grip on my scythe, spinning it in my hands so that the blade faced up.

  I hooked it under her wrist and pulled up. Her hand fell to the ground and half the threads disappeared. My heart pounded and I went to repeat my attack, but a soul grabbed me from behind. Greed met my gaze and tightened her other hand. The threads closed around Ruthie, slicing through her body. Blood splattered from the pressure, coating everything near. Chunks of flesh and muscles clung to the threads, dropping to the ground with little patters. Blood stuck to my face, disrupted by the tears streaming down my cheeks.