Chapter 5

5

A putrid stench wafted down the stairwell. I wrinkled my nose. Why did monsters have to stink? Like, was there some kind of rule that said they couldn't bathe? Or use some perfume?

Cain had taken the lead, and I followed his taut butt as we climbed the never-ending stairs. Vance followed my ass, and I gave it an extra wiggle with each step because he'd once told me how much he enjoyed looking at it.

When Cain abruptly stopped, I ran into his back and Vance smooshed me from behind. I couldn't help but sigh. "The sandwich I dream of."

Usually, the boys would stammer and spring apart when I pulled my flirty shit, but this time they remained in place.

"Shh," Cain shushed. "There's something just around the bend."

"Demon?" I softly queried.

"I'm not sure. We should proceed with extreme caution." His advice surprised. Usually, he just threw himself at danger and swung his great big scythe until he prevailed.

"If you're worried, I'll go first," I offered.

"Like fuck," he snapped before resuming his thudding steps.

Way to not advertise our arrival. Then again, it wasn't as if we could easily hide. While our coats might render us invisible to the humans on the ground—or should I say, the non-magically inclined—demons and other denizens from Inferis never had a problem spotting us.

Cain went around the curve first, and I heard him exclaim, "What the fuck," before I rounded the bend to see what surprised him.

I blinked.

Sitting on the landing, looking adorable, were three fat puppies with lolling tongues. Wait, make that one puppy with three heads.

I cocked mine as I muttered, "Is it me, or does it remind you of that Greek dog, Cerberus?"

"Don't get close," Cain warned.

"But it's adorable," I exclaimed, to which the puppy heads replied with the biggest, cutest eyes.

"It's not supposed to be here," Vance murmured.

"Most likely lost. Probably wandered over with the roc. You must be so scared," I crooned in a baby voice as I crouched and went to reach for it.

Cain shifted his weight to block me, and the puppies gave him a dirty look. I did, too, actually. How dare he stop me from petting them!

"Stand back," Cain cautioned. "I'll handle it."

"What do you mean by handle?" I asked, only to grasp his intent as he braced his feet and lifted his scythe. "Don't you dare!" I didn't even consciously use my magic, but Cain still froze in place. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that."

Cain's glare said otherwise.

I shook my finger at him. "Bad reaper."

He managed a growl.

"I mean it. You are not killing the puppies," I stated as I stepped around him and crouched once more to say hello to the babies.

It led to Vance murmuring, "You'd better be wearing a shield. Those things have a bite that will tear through bone."

No magical barrier protected me, but my gut told me I had nothing to fear. Me, the girl who used to be afraid of everything, saw a three-headed dog and just wanted to hug and squish it.

As I knelt in front of the pup, its three sets of eyes watched me, a subtle red glow in their depths. Around its neck it wore a thick collar and tied to it was a rolled piece of parchment.

I reached out, not to grab the note but rather to stroke the middle head, running my fingers over fur soft and hot, almost hot enough to scald. As I petted, the other heads butted against my hand. I rubbed two handed, doing my best to pet all three as they lolled their tongues in happiness. "Who's the cute puppies? Sweet babies. Just precious," I babbled and was rewarded with the pup flopping onto its back to reveal its soft belly—and the fact it was a boy.

"I'll be damned," Vance breathed at my back. "Only you would treat it like a real dog."

I shot him a dirty look. "Because it is."

"It has three heads."

"And?"

"It came from Inferis."

"I came from a shitty part of town, so what of it?" I countered.

Vance shook his head. "You are something, Sadie."

"That better be a compliment," I warned.

"And if it's not?"

My lips curved. "Then no belly rubs for you." My remark led to Cain making a noise. I fluttered my lashes at him and offered him the same rebuke. "Hurt my puppies and no honey for you."

With that warning, I released my magical hold on Cain, and he snapped, "It's like you want to get your face eaten."

"Please, these sweet babies wouldn't hurt me, would you?"

The lolling tongues and wiggles agreed.

"Maybe instead of getting attached, you should see what's in the missive around its neck," Vance pointed out. "Because I don't think this dog is here by accident."

"Fine. Let's see what it says." I gave the middle pup a chin rub before snaring the rolled paper tube. I unfurled it and upon seeing the signature, my blood chilled.

I scanned the missive quickly and muttered, "It's from the new Emperor of Inferis."

"What's it say?" Vance and Cain both leaned over me but saw nothing as the paper turned to ash in my hand.

My good humor evaporated. "It didn't say much other than the dog is a gift."

"To you?" Cain exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"But why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It just said: The gift I promised."

"Why is this Leviathan sending you presents?" Cain asked almost suspiciously.

"Maybe he likes me," I huffed. "How the fuck should I know?"

"You can't keep it," he further claimed.

I snorted. "That's not up to you."

"I doubt this Leviathan sent it out of the kindness of his heart," Cain pointed out.

"Or could be he's extending an olive branch. After all, he did get rid of Moloch for us."

"The dude is a demon," Cain huffed in exasperation.

"And? Maybe he's not a truly evil one. Because this sweet baby certainly isn't. It's a puppy in need of love and snuggles, aren't you?" I crooned as the dog leaned against me.

"Shouldn't we argue about this later?" Vance interjected. "We still have a roc to deal with." As if to punctuate his reminder, a godawful screech sounded.

I grimaced. "Yeah. Good point." I eyed the pup. "You coming with, or waiting while I handle business?"

The three heads bobbed and yipped. Not sure what that meant but I took it as a positive sign it responded to me.

I rose from my crouched position. "Let's go pluck the giant turkey."

Cain sighed. "Must you joke about it?"

"Would you prefer I revert to the bitching and moaning of before?"

"No."

"Then zip it, Grumpy. You fight your way, I'll fight mine." I found it made my task easier to keep it lighthearted and sarcastic. Better than the bone-chilling fear that used to sap my strength before.

As we moved further up the tower, my new puppy followed. Was Cain right about it being a monster? I mean, yes, it came from Inferis, and yes, a demon did give it to me, but those big eyes? Those sweet faces? I couldn't murder it in cold blood. If it tried to eat someone, then we could revisit the issue, but for now… looked like I had a dog.

I'd never had a pet before, unless the goldfish that I won at the fair counted. Poor Bubbles. I put him in the window to get some sunshine… Let's just say that wasn't a good idea.

"I'm going to name it Clover," I announced.

"Er, what?" Vance sounded confused.

"The dog. Clover, as in three leaf, three heads. Get it?"

Cain made a noise. "You're insane."

"Yup. It's what makes me so interesting."

"Nova will never let you keep it in the castle." Cain kept raining on my parade.

"Then guess I'll be looking for new digs."

He cast me an incredulous look over his shoulder. "You'd leave a safe haven over a monster?"

"Not a monster, my new baby. So get with it or I will make a choice and you won't like it," I snapped, tired of their negative attitudes.

"Can we argue about this later? Or have we decided to just bellow our existence to whatever waits above?" Vance interjected.

"It knows we're here," I retorted. "Being quiet won't change that."

"Fine, then how about we focus on the mission and not on the fact you've decided to adopt a demonic dog."

"It's not demonic," I exclaimed.

"I hope so for your sake. I'd hate to find you with your throat torn out."

"Clover won't hurt me," I stated with way too much assurance. Should I be more cautious? Logically, the men made sense, but my heart and my gut? They told me I had nothing to worry about.

The stairs didn't seem to end and the burning in my thighs had me wishing we could have taken the elevator. I heaved in each breath of air, my chest tight and aching while my legs screamed at the abuse. But we made it to the top.

The restaurant, of which I'd seen pictures online, had been trashed. The linens on the tables were either torn off or soiled. Dishes lay broken on the floor. The smell of wine couldn't quite cover the stench of death, a rank smell that came from the bodies everywhere. Or should I say, pieces of. It appeared as if people had been torn limb from limb, and even cracked in half. This in turn meant blood, lots of it. To my relief, Clover didn't treat the carnage as a buffet but stood at attention by my side.

Good dog.

A bit of a breeze came in through a broken window, the hole quite large, most likely because of our roc culprit who was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is it?" I swiveled my head left and right but didn't spot a giant bird.

Cain tapped me on the arm and pointed overhead. "It's perched on the roof."

Well, shit. That might make my job a tad harder. I pursed my lips as I debated how to get it somewhere I could blast it with magic.

I chewed the tip of my thumb. "Any ideas on how to get its attention?"

The boys shrugged, but Clover decided to help by yipping and barking by the broken window, its three heads tilted back, maws wide open, while its single tail wagged hard.

"Tell your mutt to shut it up," Cain warned.

"Why? I do believe Clover got the big bird's attention." Indeed, I heard thumping overhead and the scree of claws on metal. I headed closer to the window for a peek in time to see the roc springing from the tower and extending its wings to glide.

"It's getting away." My lower lip jutted. I'd been looking forward to the new challenge. A chance to exercise what I'd been learning.

"More like it's swinging around to come back," Vance warned, stepping a few feet from me and pulling his guns.

Indeed, the giant bird tucked its wings tight to its body and dove for an unshattered section of window right close to where I stood.

"Move away from there," Cain barked.

"And show it fear? I think not." I raised a shield just in time for impact. Glass shattered and exploded into the restaurant only to ping harmlessly against my magical barrier.

Cain stood by my side and rather than thank me for saving his rugged mien, complained. "Out of the way, woman. I can't swing properly with you there."

Before I could take a step, Vance fired. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Ping. Ping. Ping.

The bullets hit the floor as they bounced off the roc's hide without so much as leaving a scratch or dent.

"Damn," I breathed. "That's some tough skin."

Neither my remark nor what just happened stopped Cain from going on the attack. The battle-hungry reaper went running for the armored bird, scythe extended.

Cain yelled, "Die you fucker," as he leaped and swung.

Bong.

His scythe hit and rebounded, sending a stunned Cain off balance.

The roc moved fast. Its head darted, the beak pecking at Cain who hit the ground and rolled before getting gored.

As Vance peppered it with more useless bullets, Cain sprang to his feet and held his scythe in front of him as a shield.

"How do we kill it?" Vance yelled to Cain.

"Aim for a soft spot. Like it's eyes."

A great idea, except just as Vance fired, the bird blinked, and a shield of sorts came down over its orbs.

Ping. Another bullet hit the ground.

I pursed my lips. "Stand aside, boys. This calls for magic."

While I didn't need to, I spread my arms wide and thought of a big ball of electricity, the kind that would zap this monster's muscles into jelly. I threw out the magic, and it hit the roc, a wave of rippling and crackling blue and white that smacked it in the middle of its chest and scattered in all directions. The mini lightning bolts exploded back out like tiny bright missiles, and Vance yelped as he got zapped. Cain grunted. Me? It tickled because my own magic couldn't hurt me.

Or the roc, as it turned out.

I narrowed my gaze on it. "Okay, you oversized turkey. What's your weak spot?"

The big bird eyed me with glowing red and baleful eyes.

"I don't think it likes me," I commented a second before it cawed and extended its neck in my direction so it could stab me with its beak.

Instinct had me grabbing it in a magical muzzle before it could touch me. To my surprise, and relief, it worked. While offensive spells broke against its skin, wrapping it in power had an effect.

So I bound it some more, twining strands of magic from all the elements around it: green for earth, blue for water, red for fire, gray for spirit, and yellow for wind. Don't ask me why wind was yellow.

The roc screeched, extremely vocal in its discontent about its confinement. Not a pleasant sound, so I added a sound-deadening layer to its magical cage.

"Tada!" I said, presenting my accomplishment, but did Cain compliment? Nope.

He scowled. "And what are we supposed to do with it now?"

Usually, we killed the monsters from Inferis, and once dead, their bodies poofed into nothingness. However, since the roc proved impervious to weapons thus far, it did pose a dilemma. We couldn't carry it out. The staircase was too narrow, not to mention what would we do with it on the ground that we couldn't do up here? Tossing it out a window might kill it on impact or set it free to terrorize again.

The lightbulb hit me hard, and I exclaimed, "We'll portal it out."

"You want to take it to the castle?" Vance sputtered.

"No. I'll ask the voice to send it somewhere it can do no harm."

Cain stared at me for a second before shaking his head and offering a rueful, "That's actually a decent idea."

"Awesome. I'll take it into the cold place while you guys go and tell Mizuki and Barron what happened. I'll meet you back at the castle."

A pair of disapproving stares let me know I'd said something they both didn't like.

"What now?" I huffed.

"I don't like you going with it by yourself." Vance actually pulled the macho man act first for once.

"Did you miss the part where I single-handedly caught it?" I waved a hand in case they hadn't noticed.

"What if your binding on it fails once you enter the portal?" Cain objected.

I rolled my eyes. "And if it does? It's not like it can hurt me in that nothing place. I don't even have a body when I'm in there."

"What if the voice doesn't help you?" Vance piled on.

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Because it's pissed at you."

I bit my lip. Cain had a point. "The voice knows I'm working on a solution."

"And will it wait, or will us using the talisman without you embolden it to take one of us?" Damn Vance for putting that terrible thought in my head.

"It better not." Still, just in case. "Maybe you guys should stick around and make sure we didn't miss anything. I'll come back for you when I'm done with the roc."

"Fuck that. Mizuki and Barron are more than capable of doing cleanup. We're coming with you." Cain had tucked away his scythe just so he could cross his arms over his chest and look stubborn.

I began to see why he found it annoying when I used to do it to him. "It's not like you can help."

"You're not going without us," Vance reiterated.

"If you both come with me, who's going to tell Mizuki and Barron?" I pointed out the flaw in their demand.

Cain held out his hand in a fist and said, "Rock, paper, scissors."

I blinked as the boys played three rounds, with Cain losing as Vance covered his rock with paper.

"You will go straight home when you're done with the roc," Cain growled as he loomed over me.

"Yes, Grumpy." Then because I'd bugged him enough, I grabbed his shirt which was his signal to lift me for a kiss.

A fierce one that left me flushed. Oddly enough, Vance didn't look away. On the contrary, his gaze practically smoldered.

Was he finally getting on board with the threesome idea? Cain stomped off, leaving me alone with Vance, the roc, and my new puppy who slobbered on my shoes.

Vance arched a brow. "Do I also get a kiss?"

"Do you need one?"

"Fuck yeah, I do." He dragged me into his arms and kissed me long enough Clover began to howl.

A very horny reaper witch finally had to step away, and in a breathless voice said, "I really hope you and Cain figure this shit out because, damn."

His lips crooked into a smile. "I'm working on it."

The best thing I'd heard all day. "You ready to get rid of our big bird?"

"Sure."

A glance showed Clover currently sniffing at the bound bird. My puppy cocked a leg to piss on it.

Vance neared our captive and murmured, "Smart thinking, binding it with your magic."

"More like dumb luck. I simply reacted since I didn't have a real plan." I grimaced. "Guess I need to be a little less cocky with the unknown."

At my comment, Vance grabbed his chest. "I must be dying. You just admitted you might have been wrong."

"Not wrong, brash," I corrected. "And still woefully uneducated when it comes to monsters."

"We all are," Vance replied. "The things we've been seeing of late haven't been around for centuries."

"But they have been here before, so there has to be information about them somewhere. I wonder what happened to that knowledge," I mused aloud. Not that it mattered right now. I'd prevailed using my quick wits, but I might not be so lucky next time. I eyed the large bird. "Maybe I should take it into the portal alone, just in case."

"I told you I'm coming with you." Vance pulled a stubborn.

I made a face. "I'd rather not as I am worried the voice might send you with the roc to somewhere godforsaken by ‘accident' to punish me. I'll only be a moment." I hoped. The last time I'd gone in for a chat, it took hours. Here was hoping this time the portal behaved.

"Sadie!" Vance's voice took on a warning tone that I chose to ignore.

Taking in a deep breath, as my nerves rattled, I put a hand on the roc, which hissed silently behind its gag shield.

I clutched the talisman. At the last second, I felt something against my leg and saw three cute, furry faces peering up at me just as the portal took me to the cold place.