Seventh Seal - Jacquelyn Faye Page 0,88

apart, reaching out with their free hands, and pulling the doors open for us. I thought we were home free until they pulled them shut behind us and brought up the rear.

Which way? Dar hissed the question in my mind, panic tinging his mind speech.

I don't fucking know! Left! Go left! We had a fifty-fifty shot of guessing right.

The angels shouted angrily behind us. I chose poorly.

The sound of gunfire echoed in the stone hallway as Chief fired off two rounds, one in each of the angel's faces. It didn't drop them, but they screamed in agony for a moment while their wounds healed. Their silvery blood stopped spreading across the front of their white garments. Long enough for me to pluck my scythe from my neck and slash them from shoulder to hip in two swings.

Blood splattered the walls beside us, but still they didn't fall.

Aim for their necks! Dar managed to shout before a hell hound leapt over all of us and encircled one of their heads in its massive jaws. Ignoring the crunching going on, I took another swipe with my scythe. It went in, but it didn't come out, getting hung up on its spine. Growling, Yuki circled around it and latched onto its back, finishing the job with her hands, and throwing its head against the wall with a frustrated snarl and a dull splat.

Their bodies kept quivering even as the blood from the rest of their bodies poured out onto the floor. It was kind of pretty in an obscenely morbid sort of way. "Drinking unicorn blood will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price," I whispered.

"Shut up, Firenze," Yuki giggled and shook the blood from her hands.

Dar shifted back into his more angelic form. "So, keep going left, or go the other way like we were supposed to?"

I almost said right, but something was tugging me in the opposite direction, something in my heart. "Left," I said blankly and pointed.

Hugging the walls and wishing for shadows, I led the way until the narrow hallway opened into a giant cavern complete with pits of flame and scattered bones. And two more angels guarding the door at the opposite end of the cavern. Two angels who had seen us before we had seen them. There was no time to redon our shackles and pretend to be prisoners. Screeching like banshees, they swept across the room, spears leading the charge.

The fireball that Nana set off right in front of them filled the cavern with fire, knocked us all on our asses, and singed off my eyelashes.

"Holy fuck," Chief groaned as he stood slowly.

I was quite content lying on my back against the cool stone beneath me. It felt like I had opened the oven door to grab the brownies and forgot to give the heat a second or two to dissipate. Times a thousand.

"Everybody okay?" I swear I saw smoke come out of my mouth when I spoke.

There was a chorus of disgruntled affirmations.

"Oops," was all Nana offered by way of apology.

"Holy hell, Mother." My mother stood and put out a few smoldering spots on her silky black wrap.

I just stared at the two charred heaps that hadn't even made it halfway across the cavern, reminded once again why I never wanted to piss off my Nana.

"Now I want chicken wings," Jimmy said as we moved closer, starring at the crisp stumps protruding from their backs.

"There is something really, really wrong with you. I hope you know that." Yuki stared at Jimmy, shaking her head.

"Oh, come on. Who doesn't like chicken wings?"

"Me."

"You don't count. You'd like them if you could eat them."

"I could just eat you."

Jimmy paled and backed away.

"Come on. Let's find your father," Nana said and moved toward the door. "I really want a nice cold shower."

"Cryogenics isn't safe, Mother."

I just shook my head and followed the two most dangerous weapons in our arsenal and tried to ignore their banter.

The staircase led down, and I decided to take that as a good sign. Every castle had a dungeon. Every dungeon was down. Dungeons were also where they kept prisoners. Hopefully, the castle wasn't inverted, and he was in the highest room of the tallest tower, waiting for his true love and his true love's first kiss.

I looked over at Jimmy. At least we brought our donkey.

After one spiral, the circular staircase opened into a pit going down and down and then down some more. It