Chapter 22

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

"And you're absolutely sure this is going to work?" Barnaby examined the tiny piece of tech that was going to decide his fate. "This will last the entire trip through the void?"

Dex flexed her tongue through a veil of gum and blew a bubble, snapping it with her teeth before answering the fretting incubus. Her iconic, stoic, oni stare was back in place after she had gotten her silicon coven fan-girling out of her system.

"If my numbers are right."

"How often are your numbers correct?" Barnaby teetered his hand from side to side as if to weigh his odds of dying. "Do you have an average?"

"I have a lot of repeat customers," she answered. "Hard to have that if my tech is getting them killed."

Barnaby gave our necromancy altar a worried glance and swallowed.

"Could you definitively say your success rate is in the nineties? High eighties?"

Dex gathered up her gum and pulled a bit from one of her tusks.

"I used a coven enchanted life magic container and piggy-backed off stolen tech from an insane multi-millionaire's facility while using secondhand, albeit high quality, tech in the basement of a black-market gang leader. I'd give your odds a solid fifty-fifty."

"Oh, Gods." Barnaby wrung his hands almost raw. "Gods, I knew I should have listened to my mother and gone into hospitality."

"Barns, she's fucking with you," I told him from where I was setting up. In order for us to set up a proper death altar, we'd had to relocate to a section of the club that still had some floor left we could write runes on. The main dance floor was too destroyed to use, so we had to make do with the beautiful jade mosaic tiles on the upper deck.

Marthas was not pleased.

"Plus, you'd be terrible at hospitality," I continued with Barns. "You called me a bloated tart for entering your store without knocking on three different occasions."

He summoned enough annoyance to overcome his fear.

"Well, it was rude, Dallas. Even barn animals knock."

"Uh-huh. Come hug your skull while we get the final pieces together. Dex, you got the kill switch ready?"

"You're damn right it's ready." She handed me her masterpiece, which looked like an electronic store had coughed up a hairball. Stripped wire coiled over a bundle of what looked like a hive of tiny batteries, all within a bundle of silver tape normally used to patch leaky pipes. In the center of said mess was a carefully constructed circuit board dotted with melted metal, the heart of which contained one of Malphie's teeth. Punched through the tape was a red flip switch capped with a solid piece of clear plastic.

"You'll have five seconds to throw it once you flip the switch," she explained as I looked over the mess of tech. "The radius should be ten feet, so try and funnel them together if you can."

"Ten feet?!"

"It's my guess," she defended. "It might go up to twenty, but I don't know without testing it, which we don't have the luxury of."

"What's the radius of the life wards you made for us?" Barnaby sassed, back to being stressed. "Does it only cover the top half of my body?"

Dex rolled her eyes, chomping her gum.

"It'll cover all of your body. It's a ward. That's how wards work."

"How long will it last in the void?" Austin took the device she held out for him, the repurposed flip phone case alive with the amber glow of life magic coursing through a contained system. The analog buttons were worn away from use, leaving faint ghosts of numbers over flickering rubber.

"My guess is five minutes, but I'm optimistic it's closer to seven."

Barnaby barked out a laughing noise that suspiciously sounded like hysteria.

"Five whole minutes? Well, thank God we're not strolling through somewhere dangerous! Dallas, should we stop for bloody ice cream on the way there?!"

"The pathway is open. It's a clear shot," I reminded him. "If we only have five minutes, I'll get us there in five minutes."

"You can stay behind, Barnaby." Austin pocketed his tech, refusing to be frazzled by the time constraint. "There's no reason for us both to risk the travel."

Barnaby straightened himself and inhaled his composure. His short, trimmed hair was smoothed back into place over his ram-style horns, and he fixed his bow tie that had gone crooked with his panic.

"No. I'll be joining you." He had the humility to look bashful. "Sorry for the theatrics. I was just…hoping for more allotted time for the ward, but I trust Dallas can get us there in time. I have no reason to doubt that he'll purposefully allow us to be swallowed by the infinite nothingness."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Barns." I couldn't have been more sarcastic if I had tried, my eyes nearly rolling back into my brain when he just nodded along, missing it completely.

Zane placed my handy murder toy duffel beside me, freshly packed with all the weapons we could possibly want for our journey into hell. Sias had his stupid golden guns loaded with immolation bullets, while Austin had strapped all of his pilfered Saint's Army gear to himself.

"You don't have any swords?" I asked Marthas as he reappeared with a few sets of body armor, tossing a vest to each of us. I caught mine before it smacked me in the face.

"No," the big imp replied. "Because I live in reality and no one fights with swords."

Austin adjusted the sword strapped to his back, which further annoyed him.

"No one outside of insane, vampire hunting zealots fight with swords. Use a gun, like a normal person."

"But swords are way more badass," I said, like the amazing non-normal person I was.

"You'll live," Zane said as he helped Barnaby strap his body armor onto his chest. "Stop complaining. Plus, you have a sword in your bag."

"You're not the boss of me just because we're going steady now, butthole. I'll complain all I want, and I want two damn swords. Austin, I'll arm wrestle you for yours."

"Sure." He held up his right arm. "Look at that, I win by default."

"Gentlemen," Sias scolded coolly. "The clock is ticking and you're giving me a headache."

"You heard Daddy. Time to get rolling." I got my body armor on, looped my duffel over my shoulder. I picked up Funus from his place next to the altar and stuck him under my right arm. "Since Barns is going to be wrapped up in life magic for the ride, you gotta sit with me this time, Funus."

"I appreciate the lift. I'm a bit allergic to life magic. It gives me the terrible case of death." His eyes sparkled with the joke, quite proud of himself.

To make sure none of us spiraled away during the hopefully quick, and not at all deadly trip through the void, Austin attached a length of cord to each of our waists, threading it around our bodies and double knotting them for safe measure. Since I was the guide, the void train started with me and ended with Austin.

We were the worst looking parade you'd ever seen, and moved like a disjointed centipede that couldn't figure out which end was its ass.

(The ass end was Austin.)

"Barns, Austin. You ready?" I rotated to look over my two brothers, both unrelated by any biological tether but more blood than anyone I'd ever known. My army sibling had his soldier persona tightly in place, face placid and focused, weapons sprouting out from all angles. Beside him was my equally brave, but less capable of showing it, brother who was armed only with his ward and a look of solid nausea.

"I love you guys," I told them, which did nothing to change their expressions. "I can't imagine going into this without you."

Austin gave me a nod, touching his dog tags out of reflex. Barnaby burped a little from the turmoil in his gut.

I was incredibly proud of them both.

"Wilde," Marthas called as we stepped up to the altar. "You still owe me for all this shit. Come back alive or I'm going to take it up with your stupid fish."

"My fish will kick your ass, so be careful," I warned him. "But I'll make it back, Marthas. Thank you for everything."

"Fuck you, Wilde. This isn't charity. You're going to be working for me for a long time after this." He crossed his big arms and looked Austin's way. "Don't die, army boy. We got unfinished business too."

Austin didn't respond, but didn't argue against it either.

Dex and Kimi stayed near the stairs, curious enough to watch if the experiment was going to work but not sharing in the camaraderie enough to be part of the situation.

Ushen waved a goodbye from beside Marthas, holding the leftovers we'd had to politely decline to take with us.

"Good luck, Dallas Wilde. May luck follow you and keep your belly full."

Malphie came to Sias's side when he snapped, his fingers resting on the hound's big head.

He looked my way, eyes lilac with hues of silver. "Ready, pet?"

"I fucking hope so." I adjusted my duffel by shrugging my shoulder and held tight to Funus. Zane placed his hand on my shoulder, anchoring me into the moment.

"You're not alone," Zane said. "Don't get lost in your doubts. I'll guide you through the void like I've always done."

"Last time you ‘guided' me through the void, I was thrown around like I was being knocked through a pinball machine."

"I got you there, didn't I?" the vampire snapped back. "Trust me, hunter."

"I do," I told him, holding back my smile so he knew I was being serious. "Completely."

"Good." Zane tugged my shoulder so he could steal a kiss. "'Cause I'll throw you in ass first if I need to."

"Promises, promises." I exhaled some nerves free through my nose and tossed a glance to Sias. "You got your threads all sorted, yeah? Keep us from sinking in case Zane's aim sucks?"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to either of you." Sias slipped his fingers into my hair at the base of my skull, and pulled me into a sweet, but quick kiss. "Now, stop arguing with us and listen to your vampire. We have a Goddess to save."

My heart fluttered like a nervous baby bird before it turned to stone, rattling around in my chest like a boulder tumbling down a mountain.

It was time to see if the Goddess was a deity who was trying to help, or if she was playing games mortals couldn't win. We were either going to open the void and fall to our deaths, or be thrown into a lair of nightmares.

You know.

Normal Wilde bullshit.

We had weapons, a kill switch, a basic plan that wasn't totally insane, and hopefully the blessing of a Goddess on our side. All that was left was to take the plunge.

And hopefully not die.

"Remember your mantra, acolyte," Funus said from my arm. "She's already opened the pathway for you. Now you just need to walk it."

I shut my eyes as Zane tightened his grip on my shoulder, Sias's fingers curling through my hair.

"Focus," Zane whispered, and I did what my vampire asked. I cleared my mind of the hive of doubt, the buzzing terror falling away as I followed my training. I repeated the mantra, searched for the crack into the void, and reached my hand out to take control of the magic.

The void waited like a boiling sea on the other side, crawling forward like a starving monster waiting to feed. Malphie's tooth sizzled as I felt the spider silk of magic trail over my fingertips, solidifying into heavy tendrils that wrapped themselves up the length of my arm. My fingers danced around the pull of the magic, tangling the strings around each knuckle before yanking them tight.

My eyes opened as a thunderous crack split from Malphie's tooth, ripping up like a tree sprouting from a seed. Funus's eyes flared as the tear splintered out in several directions, the branches of the tree reaching for the glass dome. The growing branches slowed and widened, folding back into the trunk so the tear could widen into a vertical split.

The magic wrapped around my arm pulled hard enough to make me jerk, my molars grinding as I fought against the surge of energy.

"Don't fight it," Zane whispered beside me. "Control it. You know the void, hunter. Remind it who's in charge."

That was a hell of a lot easier said than done, and I tossed out a few choice words about how I felt about the void, the Gods and especially Florence fucking Pierce for making us go through it. Icy tendrils tightened around my arm, squeezing until it was almost too painful to stand. My arm shook, sweat beading across my hairline, my jaw aching from how tight I was clenching my teeth.

Zane's fingers dug into my skin to anchor me further, and Sias's nails scraped down my scalp to remind me to breathe. In a breath, I had a bolt of clarity rip through me like a bullet.

The void was chaos. There was no such thing as bringing order to chaos. I would know, I'm also a chaotic, untamed asshole, and I only respond to the orders I want to. The void didn't want me to try and wrangle it into place like a controlling authority figure.

It needed to be treated as an equal. Treated with understanding and compassion.

It needed to be loved.

If the void needed someone to take care of it, I could be that guy.

I had some experience in what it was like to be taken care of.

My pulse calmed as I breathed, relaxing my grip to ease the burden and let the magic flow freely. The tendrils unwound themselves and slithered up over my shoulders, wrapping around my torso like a spider grabbing a fly. A chill shook me for just a moment, the pulse of the tear syncing with the calm rhythm of my heart.

When I opened my eyes, the tear had our pathway waiting.

"Well done, hunter," Zane whispered against my temple. "Well done."

"Stick close," I told my little parade. "I don't know how much the void is going to like what we do next, even if we do have an alliance right now."

"Saint bless me, keep me within your light…" Austin was praying as we stepped forward. "Do not let us falter from your path, keep us from falling into madness."

"Madness is exactly where we're going." I cracked my neck. "On three," I warned my group, pulling Funus to my chest. "One…"

"Goddess welcome us into your arms, may darkness shield us…" Zane squeezed my shoulder.

"Say one for me too, Zane dear." Sias curled his fingers into my hair. "I'd like to meet this Goddess."

"Two…"

"Funus!" Barnaby called out. "I know we promised not to discuss what we were until after we survived this, but I must confess?—"

"Three!"

I rushed the tear and dove inside, Barnaby's voice warping as he screamed, "I love you!"

The shock of falling into darkness nearly knocked my breath from my lungs, the pathway before us tilting like an unstable bridge with too much slack. My feet kicked like a cartoon trying to race back to a ledge, the chill of the void sinking into my bone like viper fangs.

Zane's grip on my shoulder vanished, sending a sharp stab of panic shooting up my spine. My amicable alliance with the void slipped from my fingers, little pieces of myself starting to peel away as death picked at me.

The pathway started to fall away, a sideways picture of hope fading as my legs began to slow down. It wasn't until a golden thread yanked tight around my ribs that I managed to get my feet back under me, a figure with twisted gold horns curling dark claws through the thread keeping me alive.

Floating like two amber eggs near me was Barnaby and Austin, pulling their way toward me using the cord connecting us. I motioned for them to stay back because I was sure that if they got too close, I'd be turned to dust, and then everyone would be extra fucked.

The beautiful horned creature—Sias—set me back on my feet, a tangle of thread pouring from my chest like he had sewn gold through my ribcage. It flowed like a tapestry between us, reflecting against the shattered void in all its dying splendor.

My heart vibrated against the threads as a set of glowing red eyes opened beside us, sparkles of gold disappearing through its smoky body. The shadow being, my dark guide with crimson eyes, placed his hand back on my shoulder.

Zane.

His grip wrung itself into my shirt and yanked me forward, pulling me down the pathway faster than I could comprehend. My feet pounded against the path that wasn't truly there, running as fast as I could as Zane fired us through the fractured void. The cord around my waist tugged, the glowing amber eggs behind me bouncing along like cans tied to the back of a car.

I was thrown forward like a football, flying out into a slap of humid air and the shrill sounds of cheerful songbird. Landing face first on the soggy soil of a cemetery was one of the best feelings of my damn life. I gasped through the mud in my mouth and stared up at the cloudy sky, amazed with how beautiful it looked when freshly arrived from the land of the dead.

Funus let out a cackle from my chest, grass stuck to his teeth.

"I'll admit, acolyte, I was getting a touch worried there!" the old skull admitted. "Goddess bless, I feel like my heart stopped beating—and I haven't had one of those in centuries!"

Barnaby and Austin had come flying out with me, landing with just enough grace to not end up with mud on their faces. Their life ward flickered like a dying light bulb and fizzled out with only seconds to spare.

"Five minutes my ASS!" Barnaby raged, standing to knock dirt from his knees. "Oh my days. I never want to do that again. I may have vomited in the void and I don't know if that means I'm cursed."

Austin was smiling like a fucking maniac, and we attempted a brotherly high five but missed because we were a little too dizzy from landing on our heads.

Malphie came bounding out of the tear after us, quickly sniffing around the cemetery for a good spot to mark his territory before the last remaining void creatures escaped the darkness.

Zane's body was still materializing into a solid mass as he stepped out of the void, glowing eyes of molten red finding me as he pushed his long hair back. Sias stepped through as the tear snapped shut, horns resetting and second set of eyes sealing shut as he smoothed down his vest with one, wide palm.

I knew that I needed to get into character and get ready for the fight of my damn life, but they had this whole "too cool to look back at the explosion" energy going on as the tear snapped shut, and I was so weak for that. Not to mention they were still a little scary looking from the void, and that was starting to be a real turn on for me.

I was swooning a little too hard and forgot to care that we needed to actually find the crypt and you know…save the world or whatever.

"This looks familiar," Zane said, ignoring my pining. "We came this way when we left the Silent Steps the first time."

"That's how we'll get in," Funus agreed. "Only the council knew about that exit. I doubt they would have gone in that way."

I pulled myself up straight and held Funus forward so he could give us directions, spitting more mud from my mouth as we walked.

"The last time I was here, I left this place with a killer headache and some extra trauma." I hopped over a gnarled root peeking out of the ground and made my way to Zane. "And we had our first kiss here."

"We did." He furrowed his brow at me when I wiggled mine at him. "You have mud in your teeth, hunter," Zane scolded. I sucked the mud free and spit to the side, and he wrinkled his nose.

"Better now?" I showed off my squeaky-clean smile, which should have absolutely worked but he was being a stingy jerk.

"Focus. Now's not the time."

"Uh, now is the perfect time. We're going into what could be our last battle together, at the same place we connected for the first time. This is exactly when we're supposed to have a glorious make out session to get the blood flowing for a fight."

"The blood flowing in the wrong direction." Sias didn't even look a little ashamed as I tossed him a sharp look. "Keep your head in the game, pet. I'd like to survive so we can pamper you properly later."

"Without so much mud." Zane motioned to his mouth.

"Buzzkill and prude," I pointed to Sias and Zane respectfully. "This is prime romance shit and you're passing it up. Just sayin'."

As we made the trek through the old cemetery, the clouds above us cloaked the sun and cast a dreary shadow over centuries' worth of tombstones losing their grueling battle with gravity. The trees growing among the peaceful dead refused to sprout leaves, ignoring the emerging spring just outside the gates. Soggy earth stuck to our shoes and the moisture hanging in the air stuck to our skin and frizzed Zane's pretty hair. This godforsaken place was unpleasant no matter the time of year, which had to be a miracle of nature that rivaled bringing the dead back to life.

The only one enjoying the horrible nature hike was Malphie, who was so delighted to run through the mud and chase squawking ravens that he was often just a black blur of manic fur zipping around graves.

He was a puppy trapped within the terrifying body of a void touched hellhound, and he reminded us of this fact multiple times.

Carved into the earth of a jagged cliffside, a hauntingly ancient mausoleum sat like a fossil exposed to the elements. The building was the color of smooth slate, flanked with teeth of banded rock that gnawed on the edges. Whatever prayers, blessings or warnings that had been carefully etched into the stone above the entrance were long gone, leaving behind only the vague notion that what lay within was not meant for the living.

A studded iron door barred the outside world from peeking inside, the simple looped handle held a spiderweb at the center.

"This is it," Funus announced as we arrived. "The passageway of the Thralls."

"Cheery name." I scanned the door, thrown off by its simplicity. "Is there a puzzle for this one like there was with the mural?"

"Of course," Funus said. "Only Thralls can open it."

"Ask a stupid question," I muttered to myself, feeling a little like a jackass for not navigating that one myself. I pulled my duffel from my shoulder and turned to Barnaby. "You remember the plan?"

Barnaby was very busy pulling at a strap on his body armor, face set in a mess of worried despair.

"Plan? Yes. Yes, set the concussion wards in case something tries to get out." He gave the side pocket his wards were in a pat, then shook some clarity back into his mind and asked, "What if you need to get back out this way? Isn't this the only way out?"

"I'll send Zane out first," I said, dodging him trying to swipe at me. "I'll knock three times on the iron door, then wait for you to deactivate the wards."

"Alright." Barnaby tugged at the strap like he was hoping it was going to pop out a prize. "Do you mind if I have a moment with Funus? Just a second. I swear."

"We don't really have time…" Austin started but passed Funus over.

"Say whatever you need to say, Barns. Then we have to go."

Barnaby took Funus with both hands, holding the skull up to face him eye-to-eye. No amount of squaring his shoulders seemed to help steel him enough to summon his words, and he swallowed so many times I thought maybe he had gulped down his tongue.

"Gods, I had this all prepared in my head," he exhaled, color blooming over his cheeks. "A grand speech, a well-crafted confession with immaculate prose and heartfelt exposition. I even wrote a poem, and I can't remember a single word of it."

Thank God, I thought, but I kept it to myself.

"I have no doubt it would have moved me to tears." Funus's eyes shone like polished topaz, voice as gentle and sweet as a springtime breeze. "May I speak, since you're still gathering your mental notes?"

Barnaby adjusted his shoulders again, readying himself.

"Please do."

"Barnaby Dractovon the Third, I am devastatingly in love with you," the skeletal head of the necromancy council said, without a hint of poetry or doubt. "And whilst I cannot promise what the future holds once we enter this crypt, I can vow that I will carry you with me until the Goddess sees fit to let me dissolve into obscurity within the void."

A wall of tears stacked in Barnaby's eyes, breaking past the levy and streaming down his cheeks once he found his breath again.

"Oh," he managed, sniffing back the threat of a sob. "That makes me so incredibly happy, and heartbroken that we're doing this in a muddy cemetery."

"We rarely get to pick the right moments to fall in love," Funus laughed. "But even in a muddy cemetery, I'm happy to say it again and again."

"I will demand you say it every day," Barnaby promised. "Every single day once you're back in my arms. I will wait right here for you, in this horrible place, destroying my nice shoes, until I see you again."

Funus's eyes danced like a shooting star streaking over the sky as Barnaby placed a gentle, chaste kiss on his forehead.

I took Funus back as Barnaby held him out for me, the pain in his eyes at feeling Funus leave his grasp almost too heartbreaking to see.

"I'll keep him safe, Barns," I promised. "I give you my word."

"Keep everyone safe, Dallas, yourself included." He dashed a tear from his cheek. "I'll set up the wards once you're inside."

"Once we're back, we're talking about how you never told me you're a ‘third.' I have to tease the crap out of you for that," I tossed over my shoulder as we approached the door. "I can't imagine a whole linage of Barnabys."

"Feel free to leave that charming attitude behind on your way out," he called after us.

"He loves me," I told Austin, who rolled his eyes. "Sias? Ready to go?"

Sias snapped his fingers and summoned Malphie, the dog trotting over with manic puppy energy until his master signaled for him to calm. The happy, bright glow of his eyes dulled into a serious hue of smoky gray, and he was once again a beast of the void. Sias's cheeks grew two lines as his magic stirred, the same darkness cooling Malphie rising to the surface.

"Yes, pet." His eyes settled into hammered gold sizzling with red around the rims. "I'm at your service."

I was starting to develop a kink for seeing him ready to rip someone apart while dripping in black magic, and I made a mental note to ask about coming up with a void themed safe word if we made it back alive.

"If you tell me to ‘focus' right now I'm going to kick you," I told Zane as he inhaled through his nose. "You know that he's hot right now."

"Whatever you're thinking right now, I agree. But we need to make it back alive to explore it," Zane said. "So…pay attention."

"Cheeky," I drawled, then rolled my shoulders and refocused back on the task at hand, pushing sexy Sias thoughts to simmer next to daydreams of kissing Zane in the cemetery. "Can you do the honors, Mr. Thrall?"

Zane moved to the door and grasped the handle, then hesitated.

"Hunter."

"Yeah?" I pushed around Austin to try and see what was causing the delay. "Is it stuck?"

In the doorway to death, standing under the forgotten prayers of long dead necromancers, my vampire kissed me. For just a few seconds, my world was grave flowers and rain dancing on the edges of a memory of when I held him close under a bright, full moon.

"Never say I'm not romantic again," he whispered against my lips.

I swallowed like a nervous Barnaby. "Got it."

Zane jerked the door open, the metal screaming in protest from being disturbed from its long slumber, and we descended into the unknown horrors waiting for us.