Wicked Road to Hel (League of Guardians 1)

She watched them walk through the crowd, murmuring amongst themselves as they wrote notes on their clipboards.

“We’ll take over from here.” Ana tore her eyes away from the prisoners and glanced at a tall guard. His uniform was different than hers. The same crest adorned his left shoulder, but he was dressed head to toe in crimson. He smiled at her and she caught a glimpse of serrated teeth. They were platinum gold.

Declan nodded. “Have fun. They’re a pathetic bunch.”

The demon laughed and shook his head. “Aren’t they always?”

Declan indicated she should follow him. They made their way through the room and paused before two large steel doors. There were several guards in line ahead, waiting. It was a checkpoint and she watched, a sick feeling in her gut, as each of them paused for a full body scan.

“You’ll be fine,” Declan whispered in her ear. “The serum is active and the chip Seth implanted underneath your forearm is good.”

Ana remained silent and when it was her turn she walked forward calmly. The crimson guard looked bored as hell, but he activated the scan while she held her breath and prayed.

Ana DeLacrux had found religion. It had taken only three hundred years.

A tingle of electricity sizzled along her skin as the scan slid over her body, lighting up her flesh in a warm glow. It was over in less than five seconds. The guard pressed a button and shouted, “Next.”

A door slid open and Ana moved toward it like a good guard would do, and when it shut behind her the sound reverberated inside her head. The brightness that assaulted her was nearly blinding. She felt the warmth of it on her cheeks and winced as she blinked her eyes in an effort to see clearly.

“You’re new here.” His voice was harsh and belonged to a guard with the same uniform as she. He was tall, well built, and like so many of the demons she’d met, his facade was human. His eyes, however, were a deep shade of crimson and the intensity of his gaze as they rested upon Ana put her on edge.

She shrugged. “It’s been a while.” Her eyes widened and though she tried to remain calm, Ana wasn’t sure she was successful. She was standing in a freaking meadow, with blue sky and a blazing sun overhead.

She’d not walked in full sunlight. Ever. The closest she’d gotten was an overcast day in the jungles of Belize.

She whirled around and panic clogged her throat. There was nothing but long grass and blue sky for as far as she could see. Scratch that. In the distance a tall tree stood proud, its branches outstretched and full of green foliage.

Was she dead? Had one of the wraiths grabbed her, sucked her dry, and she didn’t know it? Where the hell was Declan? Her scan had taken maybe five seconds. She’d been standing here for at least a minute.

“You coming?” the demon asked.

“Uh, where?” she asked hesitantly. There was no way Ana was heading anywhere without her sorcerer.

“To Succubus Blues, the queen’s place. I’ll buy you a drink and we can have sex.”

He would have grabbed her arm but Declan was there, appearing from nowhere.

“She’s with me.” His voice was curt.

The demon flashed a sloppy smile, “I don’t mind sharing. In fact it makes things more interesting.”

“Maybe some other time.” Declan’s hands slipped around her shoulders and he nodded toward the tree. “Let’s go.”

A second demon appeared from thin air and the tall guard dismissed them, immediately propositioning the male. Guess the dude swung both ways.

“What is this place?” she asked quietly. “I’ve never in my three hundred years experienced what I’ve just seen.” Ana closed her eyes and drank in the sunlight. “For some, this would be Heaven, not Hell.”

“Don’t worry,” Declan whispered, “this is the only slice of Heaven you’ll find down here.” They were halfway to the tree.

“It’s like the opposite of everything I’ve ever read or imagined Hell to be.”

Declan snorted. “This whole place is a warped version of Lilith’s mind and she is fucking psycho.”

“What happens to them? The newbies we just brought down?”

“They’ll be evaluated and sorted for whatever needs Lilith has. If they’re lucky, they won’t catch her eye. They’ll be sentenced to grunt work in the bowels of District Three for eternity.”

“That sounds pretty harsh.”