Descent - Tara Fuller Page 0,54
on the losing end. In the distance, the glow of the city faded and an icy storm raged. It wouldn’t be easy, but if we had Scout with us, we might have a chance at getting out and keeping Gwen safe. It wouldn’t take long to get to the Meat District. Less than a day. If we hustled we might have a chance at getting Tyler before the furnace blew again. And then this could be over. I could take Gwen home myself. Take whatever Balthazar had to give. I turned to Scout and Gwen, who were watching silently as if they were ready for me to snap. I brushed the ash from my hands onto my pants.
“Let’s go get the kid.”
Chapter 19
Gwen
“First you make me sneak out of that nightmare of a club by sliding my ass down a melting roof, and now you’re parading me through the streets like a freshly cooked turkey. I probably smell like a freaking rotisserie to these scumbags,” Scout mumbled behind me, hand on his blade, ready. “Jesus…I’m sweating. I definitely don’t miss sweating.”
He wiped his face on his shoulder, and Easton chuckled as I dodged a passing demon on the street. “This coming from the guy who possesses humans for fun on the weekends.”
“I like to smoke. I like to eat pancakes. I like climbing into the backseat of a 1969 Camaro with a living girl every now and again. I don’t like sweating my balls off in the pits of Hell.”
In front of me, Easton looked back over his shoulder. “You don’t have to be here. You could always go back and try your luck with Balthazar.”
Scout glanced at me and shook his head. “I pick ball sweat.”
Easton winked and returned to navigating through streets packed with restless demons and tortured souls. Steam and relentless currents of pain whistled as they escaped cracks in the street. I focused on each step, watching my ash-dusted boots skip and dodge the sweltering heat seeping up from the crevices in the ground. It was easier than looking at the horrors unfolding all around me. Not that the two reapers forming a tight barrier around me were giving much of a chance to see or be seen.
We followed Easton around a corner, and he came to an abrupt halt. A wall of chained souls stretched across the road in front of us, wailing as a band of mismatched demons drove them to their knees with whips and blades. They cackled as each fell to the ground, buckling under the pain. Needlelike sensations pricked my insides, making my stomach churn. I slapped my hand over my mouth and stumbled back. Scout caught me by the shoulders. Easton turned to face us, his lips pressing into a thin line. He nodded to Scout, and we backed up far enough to be swallowed by the crowd.
“This is your plan? Are you crazy?” Scout said, fear glazing his bright blue eyes. “Do you really want to end up like them?” He motioned to the line of souls, then wiped at a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. “They’re going to know what she is,” he said. “I mean…look at her!”
Easton holstered his blade. “It’s the only way to the Meat District.”
Scout laughed, pushing the hair off his forehead. “Do you even hear yourself? The Meat District? We are willingly driving ourselves deeper into Hell to get to the Meat District. For what? A kid who’s going to be the equivalent of ground beef when we get there!”
Easton shoved him back a step, a warning in his eyes. “We wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you.”
“Right,” Scout sneered. “Keep blaming it on me. I’m the one who dressed the boss’s daughter up like a sex kitten and dragged her to the pits of Hell on a suicide mission.”
Anger flared around Easton like an explosion, but I couldn’t hear the steady stream of words flying from his mouth. I only heard the crying. Small and innocent and youthful. A baby. There was a baby here. Horror and panic burned through the barrier of common sense telling me to stay put. The hollow sadness in the sound drew me in like a siren’s call. I turned away from the two bickering reapers and let it pull me through the crowd. I kept my head down, squeezing the leather-wrapped shard of glass in my hand so tightly it bit into my palm.
At the edge of the street, the crowd parted