Lost in Time (Blue Bloods 6)

Mimi and Oliver gathered behind him at the window.

Oliver turned to Mimi. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes you can. You have to,” Mimi said. “I can’t leave the underworld without you,” she said, which was the truth, but not in the way Oliver thought. There was still the matter of paying Helda.

Ahead of them, the sound of the approaching train grew louder as a gust of air pushed its way toward them. Kingsley poked his head out the window to look. “You jump first, I’ll take Oliver,” he told Mimi.

The train was upon them; there was no time to argue.

Mimi leapt from the window onto the roof of the train. She glanced up and saw Oliver shaking his head. “JUmP!” she yelled. “HURRY!”

Kingsley pushed off from the brick, grabbed Oliver squarely by the shoulders, and propelled them both through the air until they landed not too far from where Mimi was crouching. To Oliver’s eyes it was all a blur, a quick flash of metal and brick, and then they were on top of the speeding train.

“We’ve got to move—look behind you!” Mimi yelled, the wind tossing her blond hair into her face. “Oh god, I think they’re Hellhounds.”

Oliver turned to see. Mimi was right. Those weren’t trolls.

The three massive wolflike creatures that were chasing them were far too large and frightening to pass for the troll underclass. The hounds moved swiftly and silently, running up the empty building to where the trio had made their jump. Oliver cursed as he scrambled behind Mimi and Kingsley, who were shinnying down the side and entering the train car through a window. He had no choice but to follow, and Kingsley and Mimi pulled his legs through the window to safety.

“What now?” Mimi asked. “If they get on this train, they’ll take us back to Tartarus for sure. We’ve got to run.”

Kingsley drew himself up to his full height, and his voice was angry. “The Duke of Hell isn’t about to run from a few mangy hounds. They will heel.”

Heavy thuds echoed from the roof of the train. Mimi backed herself up against Oliver, shielding him. Kingsley might not fear the hounds, but they could easily snatch Oliver.

The air seemed to shimmer for a moment, and then a pair hounds passed through the roof of the train and stood in front of them.

The hounds grinned at the three escapees. They had lupine faces, and unlike the lumbering trolls, they were sleek and swift and handsome. They wore the silver collars, but the chains attached to them were broken. Oliver thought he had never seen a creature as frightening. They were man and wolf, and their smiles were vicious.

“Going somewhere?” one of them asked.

“Go back to Leviathan and tell him I’ve left.” Kingsley’s nostrils flared, and his voice was commanding and thunderous, armed with the full power of his position.

r /> “Left? But we’re here to fetch you,” the Hellhound replied.

“You’re to come back with us.”

Mimi noticed that doubt had begun to creep into their rough, barking speech. They were still in Hell, and Kingsley was still their master, but they stood their ground.

“GO!” Kingsley roared. “NOW, I SAID!” The Duke of Hell unleashed his sword from his sheath and sent it flying through the air, where it struck the wall a hair’s breath away from the nearest hound. “Take that as a warning,” he said. “Mimi, hand me your blade.”

This time the hounds trembled, and they vanished, glim-mering through the walls of the train like ghosts fading from the light.

Kingsley threw himself down onto a bench and smiled at Mimi, who was glowing with pride from his performance.

They held hands across the seat. Oliver was just happy to be in one piece.

“Well, I think we just earned our one-way ticket out of here,” Kingsley said. “But Leviathan’s not going to be happy to know I’m leaving. I know too much about what’s going on down here.”

FORTY-FIVE

The Archangel’s Promise

“Darling.”Charlesstoodupfromthebreakfasttablewhen he saw Allegra. He looked invigorated, returned to his former strength. But his confident smile faltered when he saw the distress on her face.

Allegra strode forward and told the servants to leave them alone. Charles nodded and the room cleared.

“Last night—I thought I would give you one night so that you could be honest with me and tell me what happened. I believed you last night, Charlie. I believed everything you said.”