To Hell and Back (League of Guardians 1.50)

Samael ignored her cries as he disappeared into the dark. The bitch deserved whatever the hell she got.

Demons parted as he strode toward the upper chamber. It wasn’t every day that Samael graced them with his presence. The demon was notoriously reclusive. Several cried after him as he passed, the tone reverent and filled with respect. He ignored them all.

Samael climbed higher until he reached a large opulent chamber. He entered, grabbed himself another drink, and slid into the empty seat beside Lilith. He wasn’t surprised to see Seth the Golden on her other side. Their hatred was legendary, but he supposed the unusual match between Santos and his son was enough to combat the mistrust—at least for now. And down here Lilith’s chamber held the best view.

Neither one of them glanced his way. They were both focused on the drama unfolding below. In the corner of Lilith’s chamber, Santos’s man Kraghten held a small human child. Interesting.

Lilith clutched a glass of wine, several flies buzzing around her fingers, when suddenly she leaned forward, spilling drops of crimson on her naked, creamy flesh. Her breasts swayed gently and Samael leaned back, enjoying the show. He hated her guts, but still, the woman had an amazing rack.

“There he is,” she said softly.

Samael followed her gaze to the right and watched as Logan made his way along the catwalk, his brother Zane a few feet behind. He glanced at Lilith once more, surprised at the look of hunger in her eyes. It was then he knew the hellhound had at least a small chance to win.

Any creature who had enough balls to refuse Lilith, even when all seemed lost and desperate, had the kind of balls needed to get the job done.

Samael settled back and signaled the server for another glass of scotch.

He hoped he was right. Because as much as he’d like to see the hellhound break Santos and send that fucker to the pit, there was nothing he could do to help. No trick up his sleeve to save him at the last hour. His hands were tied. He was here merely to observe.

Bill would understand. Some things just couldn’t be fixed. Some things were out of reach of the League.

The server brought Samael his glass and the demon lord drank the contents in one long draw. He asked for another as the fire settled. He let it burn in his gut and slipped off his aviators.

Logan stepped up to the door leading into the cage, his expression fierce, his eyes alive with fury, anger, and something Samael couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was that something that would give him an edge.

Samael just hoped it would be enough.

Chapter Eleven

* * *

KIRA ARRIVED AT the edge of Hill Valley at the break of dawn. It was nearly two days since Logan had been taken from her. Two days since she’d escaped Priest and Cale. Two days to reach this place. She was tired, cranky, and—a shiver rolled over her—cold as hell.

She watched a puff of exhaust roll from beneath the large van she’d just exited. It was crammed full of migrant workers on their way to the mines located in the mountains nearby. They’d been able to spare a seat for her at the last truck stop, and for that Kira had been grateful.

A small woman, probably no older than Kira, waved, her large, sad, brown eyes tugging on Kira’s heartstrings as she watched her disappear into the early morning fog.

Her name was Mary and she’d come north from Mexico to work and make extra money for her family. She’d left a small daughter behind with relatives, and on a trip that had taken less than an hour, the woman had shared her pain.

“I hope you get home to her soon,” Kira whispered.

She tugged the collar of her jacket up around her ears and shuddered. They’d passed a sign a few miles out of town that proclaimed Hill Valley as the “Diamond of the North.” The driver of the van had refused to take the road into town, mumbling something about it being out of the way and “creepy.” He’d dumped Kira on the edge of the highway and told her the walk was a good ten minutes but that he was going no farther.

Nothing would convince him to take her all the way in. Not even the offer of more money.

The air was crisp this early in the morning, and it was still dark. In the distance, small slivers of sunlight were just making their way over the tops of the trees that thickly lined the only road into town.

Kira glanced uneasily, trying to penetrate their depths. Was that a shadow there, lurking in the forest?

She whirled around, breath caught in her throat, small puffs of vapor falling from her nostrils as her heart sped up.

In the distance, the sad, lonely cry of a wolf split the eerie silence and she took off at a run, scared—terrified actually—and fighting a sense of abandonment she couldn’t help but feel. How had it come to this? Where was her hellhound?

The ache in her chest twisted. It burned and spread. Was Logan even alive?

She cried out as her feet flew over the loose gravel on the road. Had she been handed paradise only to lose it after a few weeks?

Kira ran like the very devil was on her heels. She forced all thoughts from her mind, save one—getting to Hill Valley and finding the lady in blue. Whatever the hell that meant.