After several hours of running, Haru had finally slowed and was keeping pace with Belial. The others floated overhead, and Azazel drifted between us all.
“Listen to me carefully,” he said, the croak of a raven’s tones in his voice. “The Between will play with your mind, twist it like putty until you don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. It is a place of the memories of the gods.”
“We stay together,” Tascius said firmly.
“It’s not enough.” The raven made a harsh, disapproving sound. “Once you step inside, you cannot leave until you’ve passed through entirely. There is no turning back. Everything is twisted in the Between, because it was never meant for us.”
Haru flicked his tails, showing a flash of teeth. “Don’t tell me twice, old man.”
Azazel just rolled his eyes, his beak snapping. “You will see for yourselves. Good luck to you, if you think you can handle it alone.”
I sat up a little straighter, even though the hot wind whipped my face and brought tears to my eyes. “Bad time to start fighting, everyone. If we’re going to make it through the Between, listen to Azazel and don’t get cocky.”
The raven overhead let out a rasping laugh. “It’s cocky just to imagine you can pass through.”
I smiled at him, even though I didn’t feel much like smiling at all. “Let’s call it blind faith.”
He swooped low, brushing the top of my head with his wingtips in a soft caress, and soared back up into the sky. “Don’t believe anything your eyes show you. The memories can’t hurt you, but getting lost… well, you will never see the real world again.”
I nodded, taking his words to heart.
Evening fell, and still we ran. The sand eventually became rocky soil, and we were forced to slow. Even with Belial’s rapid healing, the cuts to his paw pads would leave a trail of blood behind, and no one wanted to see what might be hungry enough to sniff us out.
I shifted my seat, adjusting with the roll of his shoulders. “I can fly,” I said quietly, leaning forward to stroke the edge of his ear. It was soft as silk, tickling my palm.
Belial snorted and flicked his tail, almost setting fire to Haru. The kitsune snarled and hopped away, casting a venomous glare his way.
“YOU WEIGH NOTHING,” my Prince informed me. “LIKE A FLEA.”
“Thank you for that comparison.”
“YOU’RE WELCOME.”
I sat back, scrubbing my fingers through his fur to scratch him. His purr was as loud as thunder.
“Will you shut it?” Azazel asked with asperity. Belial dropped his timbre, but he didn’t let up with the purr. Maybe he knew I liked it, the gentle roar that vibrated right into my bones.
Both Tascius and Michael dropped low, the wind from their wingbeats sending my hair flying back, but it was necessary.
With the sun gone and the shadows deepening, they both gave off a clear glow. Tascius was pale silver, and Michael was hot, red light, both of them essentially flying beacons.
Hours later, they finally dropped to the ground on Azazel’s command. Belial paused, waiting patiently as the Watcher shifted back into his usual form.
“We go on foot from here,” Azazel said, his tone now crisp instead of croaking. “The angels are too bright, and I’d rather not put out a welcome mat for any intruders.”
I nodded, but the spot between my shoulder blades was beginning to prickle with a warning sign.
It was the same feeling I’d gotten when the assassin had been eyeing me in Dis, a distinct sense of malicious intent. But everything around us was barren rocks and bluffs, with no sign of life besides ourselves.
“I feel like we’re not alone,” I said, dropping my voice so only they could hear me. If someone had followed us, I’d rather they not know they’d been caught sneaking up behind us.
Azazel frowned and looked out at the stony expanse, his eyes narrowed, but he finally shook his head. “I don’t feel anything. That doesn’t mean much; I’m expending as little energy as possible, and I don’t feel it’s worth looking harder. All of it will be necessary to open the doors, but we can take on anyone who follows.”
I glanced back out. Nobody would be stupid enough to go in the Between just to kill one of us.
Maybe they’d get lost and die in there. The thought cheered me a little.
“I’VE GOT YOU, ANGEL.” Belial strode past Azazel, walking up a dry creek bed. I felt bad for riding on him