Veiled (Ada Palomino 1)
He sits on the edge of the bed. “You can put up walls, Ada.”
“But I don’t know how to do it. It just happens.”
“Exactly. Which is why you can’t do this on your own. I mean, how exactly would you wander down to Hell anyway?”
My brain is still fuzzy from the last few days and struggling to be used again. “Get Perry to make a portal?”
“It would be a portal to the Thin Veil and a dangerous one at that. She would have no idea how to get there and it would only harm her while endangering others. You have to go through a portal with me. And I know where one is.”
“And you’ve been in this portal to Hell before?”
He shakes his head, gives me a twisted smile. “I’ve never been to Hell before, as far as I know.”
“Then how do you know what to expect?”
He stares at me in that way of his, the one that says I just do.
I blink, feeling a rush of something new in my veins, clearing out the dreamy lust.
It’s hope.
“So you’re saying you’ll take me to this portal and come with me to Hell to get my mother back? Sorry, I just want to make sure we’re on the same page here.”
Jay nods gravely. “It’s the only option we have.” He pauses, gives me a steady look. “But it’s up to you. This is your choice. Your call.”
“Well then. I guess we’re going to Hell together.”
He doesn’t smile at that. Instead he gnaws on his lower lip, thinking. “This isn’t going to be easy, Ada. People say things are going to be Hell without even the slightest notion of what Hell is.”
“You said you’ve never been there.”
“Just because I’ve never been there doesn’t mean I haven’t seen it. It’s worse than your imagination can possibly allow you to comprehend. It’s like trying to think of infinite space. You can’t. Your brain won’t be able to wrap around what you’ll see. Or hear. Or smell. Or feel. It’s your worst nightmare, when you’re running from something but you’re slowing down and they’re catching up and it’s that moment before it’s on you, the anticipation of being ripped to shreds, and then actually being ripped to shreds. Then it’s fifty times that horror. Over and over and over again, burrowing inside every cell until you don’t even know who you are anymore and you’re certain you never had a soul. You’ll forget your name, where you came from, and who you were meant to find. You’ll forget everything until all that’s left is a pinprick of who you used to be and eternal damnation instead.”
My eyes have been held wide open this entire time. If he meant to scare me, he’s terrified me. But even so, I raise my chin and look him dead in the eye. “I’m going to get my mother back.”
A ghost of a smile graces his lips, something like admiration. “Okay. But first, I have a request.”
“Don’t speak to the Devil unless spoken to?”
“Yes, that,” he says. “Just like the Veil, there are specific rules we need to follow or it’s all over. But, we have to head up to Seattle. To see your sister.”
“Perry? Why?”
“Because of everything I’ve just said. Because you need to remember where you came from and who you’re there to find. Perry’s special, just like you, and your bond is just as strong as the one between you and your mother. You need to see her before you go. Even normal people feel comfort in having a loved one nearby. But you two aren’t normal. She’ll imprint on you for a few days, it’s part of your abilities and your bond, how close you are. Your mother will be able to feel her too through you. It will make things a lot easier, trust me.”
As weird as that all sounds, I know he’s right. After I spend some time with Perry, I often feel her with me for a few days after.
“Okay,” I say, picking up my phone from the bedside table and glancing at it.
A million missed calls and texts. One from Jacob, I’m assuming. Some from Dad. Most from Perry, even Dex.
I know I’m going to get an earful but I dial anyway. No way is she going to understand I haven’t been in touch because I’ve been having a load of hot sex.
She answers right away.
“Oh my god, are you okay!? Ada!?” Perry yells so loud I have to hold the phone at arm’s length for a moment.
“I’m fine,” I manage to say before she erupts again.
“You asshole! Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling and texting and calling and texting and you never answered! I was so worried! Fuck, Ada! I called Dad and he said that you were off with Amy somewhere and so I called Amy,” Oh no, “and she said you guys weren’t really friends anymore. So that was a fucking surprise! How come you didn’t tell me that? And then I started really freaking the fuck out because oh my god, what if you’ve been kidnapped. Or worse? So then I called Dad.” Oh no! “And guess who answered? Jacob. He explained what’s really going on, that you had to leave and Jay has you. Is that true?”