A Rare Bird
Sunshine and Raum stumbled out of the hellgate into a dilapidated study.
The place had been ransacked. Papers were swept across the floors, and the desk drawers were tossed haphazardly around. Books had been pulled from the shelves, their pages torn out. Underworld graffiti decorated the walls—Sheolic curse words and a crude rendering of a monstrous phallus—and the windowpanes had been smashed out.
“How…charming,” Sunshine muttered, hugging her arms.
In Hell, the skin of an angel glittered like light striking diamonds. It wasn’t bright, but it was decidedly incongruous with the dingey environment, and it was unmistakable. Nothing else gave off that ethereal glimmer, and if anyone saw it, they would know immediately what she was.
Raum looked at her, golden gaze sliding down her form, and…snorted.
“What?” She tried not to be offended.
“Ever heard of Twilight?”
“As in…the time before dusk?”
“As in, sparkly vampires.”
She frowned. “Vampires do not sparkle. Angels do, and only when they’re in Hell.”
He shook his head. “Never mind. Just put the cloak on. And make sure you stay covered.”
“I have no more wish to be discovered than you do.” She did so, lifting the oversized hood over her face. The sleeves were long and covered her arms, and she tied the opening securely shut.
Before they’d left, she had changed her clothes into something more suitable for Hell, and she now wore heavy lace-up boots, jeans, and a fitted t-shirt, all of which were black.
Two long knives were holstered at her thighs, and two shorter ones were strapped to her calves and tucked into her boots. All her blades were consecrated, but unfortunately, consecrated weapons had no power in Hell. Still, they were sharp, and she was a skilled fighter. She could defend herself in combat, but she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
She had to admit, the cloaks were a good idea. Raum had donned one as well, and if anyone saw them, they would see only a couple mysterious strangers minding their business.
Turning away, he strode over to the smashed-out window and scanned the landscape. Sunshine followed, curious to see their surroundings.
He’d told her that the hellgate was taking them into a vacant territory that had belonged to Valefor, a Duke of Hell that was killed. As he’d predicted, a battle ensued to take possession of the territory. The fighting was chaotic and disorganized. Bloody brawling covered the land like a blanket, and there was even fighting in the air, winged forms silhouetted against the eerie red sky.
“By the Spheres,” she whispered. “It’s a massacre.”
“We need to fly around,” Raum said as if this was normal. She supposed it probably was. “We can’t go through that unnoticed.” He looked at her. “Are your wings as sparkly as the rest of you?”
“Yes.”
Raum scowled, turning back to the carnage below. “I’ll have to carry you, then.”
“Can you?”
He nodded.
“Okay, then. I trust you.”
His gaze sharpened and snapped to her face, and she flinched, swallowing back the urge to recant her words. She didn’t trust him, not even remotely, and she wasn’t sure why she’d said it. But she was too proud to correct herself. Nor, she realized, did she want to hurt his feelings.
She was well aware how foolish that was.
His mouth twisted into an expression that looked oddly like disgust. Did her apparent willingness to trust repulse him? Did he think her innocent and naive?
“I have to shift,” he said.
“Okay.”
