I strained to hear Tally’s answer. “Demons are fastidious about their persons, as you saw with the Prince of Hell. No hair is out of place, no button undone. They go to great lengths to keep their home life as sterile as possible. But they generate a fair amount of trash. We’ve figured out, over time, that they bring it to one single area. It’s approximately ten miles wide and twenty miles long from what we can gather. It’s also well away from their normal habitats. It’s the best chance she has.”
“Fine,” Rourke answered. “If that will keep her off their radar, it works for me. She can hide in the garbage until we get there.”
“It’s not exactly like that.” Tally hesitated. “We were going to arm her with spells. The area is still watched. I’m not sure if it’s the best—”
“Hello!” I called. “It’s not like I have a better option, and I hate to tell you this, but we’re out of time.” The circle quaked so hard it rattled my bones. “Tell me what to do and you’re going to have to yell it because my head is filled with a shrieking noise.”
I heard her shout to others in the room and I could sense movement. “We’re going to try and direct you to the garbage dump,” she called, “but be on the lookout because there are demon beasts that eat the trash. I’ve never seen one, but I’ve heard they are formidable.”
“What kind of… beasts are you talking about?” I asked.
Small ones, I hoped.
“The common term on our plane is chupacabra, a mix between a reptile and a dog, but in the Underworld they are simply referred to as hell beasts.”
Lovely. My teeth had been clenched so long my jaw ached. The waves of sound and motion began to overwhelm me completely. My body was now shaking with enough force it felt like I was going to break apart, and the noise in my head sounded like a high-pitched siren. “How do I get to the dump?” I shouted, unsure my voice was being heard.
Outside the circle there were frantic calls and more footsteps. Tally’s voice rang out. “Join hands,” she ordered to someone, likely her witches.
The ground undulated beneath my knees like a roiling ocean. Tally’s voice came in and out as she yelled, “… try to… deserted lands… farthest from She’ol… demons’ prized city.” Then Tally’s voice addressed me directly, shouting, “Jessica, we will act as a beacon! When you fall, push your magic back up through the circle and search for us. We will try our best to show you the way!”
Time was up.
The crashing vibrations consumed me in one huge powerful wash of energy. My body shook and my teeth rattled. I plunged my hands deep into the earth one last time, hoping it would keep me rooted in this world.
But nothing I could do would stop the tide now.
I was going whether I liked it or not. A tornado of power swirled around me, lifting me up before it sucked me into a vortex, sending me spinning end over end. I was on my way to the Underworld.
“Jessica!” Rourke roared. “We will be right behind you!”
The last thing I heard before I popped out of existence completely was a small voice that cried, “Bye-bye, wolf.”
3
The pressure inside the vortex was so intense it felt like a vise was clamped around my entire body. While the crushing force came from outside, my insides felt like they were going to bust out of my skin.
As I fell, I tumbled in circles, my wolf emitting a low, continuous keening howl.
I tried to calm her. We have to focus on sending the magic back up to Tally. I’m sure the travel time will be short and I really need you to focus. This is not a great time to lose your mind. Her ears were still pinned back, her eyes unfocused, and she didn’t respond at all.
Shitsocks. Landing us in the right place was going to be up to me. The air was weighty and it gave the strangest feeling—like experiencing g-force in a cloud. I pulled on my power and immediately realized my wolf had pushed it all outward instinctively like a shield. I had to give her credit. She’d obviously prepared us the best she could before she checked out. I couldn’t bring my arms down, but her focusing our magic outward might have been the only thing keeping our vital parts inside my body. Tally had told us a supe had to be strong enough to make the trip; maybe this was what she’d been talking about. Without enough power, this vortex would rip you apart.
The problem was I had no idea how to send magic up when we were using it to protect us. I grabbed a single strand of muddy gold in my mind and unraveled it from the outside as quickly as I could. A small portion was going to have to be enough. Can you get it together and help me? We need the witches’ help and this is all we can spare. I’m going to shove it outward and hope we reach them. Without it, we risk landing in the middle of the demon city hall. My wolf blinked and shook her head. Snap out of it! I yelled. If we arrive in their most populated place, we lose our only chance to find cover. She clicked her jaws at me and growled. Good, glad you’re back, now help me with this.
Together we shoved power into the strand and sent it out into the vortex. We were still spinning, so it was almost impossible to know which way was up.
After a moment, a small tug pulled along our senses. Did you feel that? In the next instant a grid spread out in my mind with a yellow blinking dot in one spot. The witches were scary good. We’re going to have to home in on that one spot. Any idea how to do that? My wolf rose and took a step forward, her nose lifted, scenting.
The air current began to change.
Strange smells and sounds started to creep into my consciousness. We’re getting close. We need to pinpoint a landing place quickly. The pressure pushing on my head made it hard to stay focused. My wolf’s ears perked up and she growled. We needed to send more magic into the vortex to get a better read on the grid. The only choice we have is to weaken the magic shield protecting us. My wolf had shaken off her fear of falling and was now on high alert as we both gathered magic by reeling it back into us, and as we did it, the shield diminished and the crush of the vortex pressed down like an anvil on our chest. My wolf took over as I struggled to breathe. Don’t take too much more, I gasped, or we won’t be able to take in any more air.
Passing out now was not an option.
In one heave, she shot all the magic we could spare forward in a rush.
It plunged into the vortex, seeking a clue to our destination. Concentrate on the dot in our mind. We need to link the two together. The witches’ directions were still clear, glowing like a three-dimensional hologram in my mind. I had no idea if we were linked to them through magic or if they’d burned the map into my mind with a spell. It didn’t matter. We had what we needed.