Page 107 of Endless Terrors
“Do you know why a demon prince would want me dead?” I asked.
“Do you know which demon prince, my lady? Be careful not to speak his name,” the soul added quickly.
“He rules the Fourth City.”
The soul pressed his lips together and went silent as he thought. Our shoes crunched over the hard earth. For a few seconds, it was the only sound between us. “I do know some history about the Prince of Solitude that most have probably forgotten. I’ve always found him a fascinating figure,” the soul admitted. “Over the years, I paid attention to the rumors and stories. Some claim that he’s not truly an original angel. Others have said he’s never taken a mate or a wife because he transforms into a flesh-eating demon every ellarian urileth. For a while, there were whispers that he pined for his brother’s lover.”
While all of that was interesting, it didn’t exactly answer my question. None of it was a motive for Samael wanting me dead. I pursed my own lips and focused on the ground, searching for any signs of danger while I kept trying to figure out why, exactly, Samael had been about to slaughter me on an altar of magic and fire.
We were nearing the First City now. I could see those dark towers off in the distance, lit up by red flashes. Once it struck me that we’d be parting ways soon, I realized something. I turned my head and mustered a weak smile as I said, “I don’t know your name.”
“I don’t have one, my lady. Not anymore. Many of us don’t remember our lives from before.”
“Why not give yourself a new one, then?” I asked. Up ahead, the gargoyles started making their excited noises again, and a moment later, I heard the tiny squeal of something dying.
The soul gave me a look I couldn’t decipher. “Most don’t find it so easy to let go of who they used to be, my lady.”
Lights appeared in the distance, distracting me from our conversation. We’d reached the outskirts of the city, but it wasn’t the same area where I’d first awoken. Instead of the sea of shanties, there was a barbed wire fence on one side and straight-edged, nondescript buildings on the other. Almost like military barracks. There was movement behind the fence. It was a work yard of some kind, I discovered as we drew nearer. The squeak of wheels reached my ears a moment before I saw the square shapes of several trailers, or carts, more accurately. Then we got even closer, and I saw the source of the movement. It felt like a hand was squeezing my heart.
Souls. They had souls pulling the carts.
Lucifer hadn’t let me see this during our tour, I thought darkly. I didn’t even entertain the possibility that he hadn’t known, because Lucifer knew everything that went on in his city. What else was he hiding?
“Best not to look, my lady,” the soul beside me said. He guessed what my next question would be, because he added, “We do have our own justice system, believe it or not.”
One of the souls was being whipped now. From the sounds of her screams, it was a woman. She crashed to her knees and raised her arms to protect herself. Her clothes were so ragged that most of her body was visible. The green-skinned demon only brought the whip down harder, and if I’d had my powers, I would’ve broken his mind with the most brutal hallucinations I could think of.
“You call that justice?” I asked tightly.
The soul beside me didn’t answer.
The tower was within sight now. It was taller than everything else. As we neared the block where it stood, my guide halted and said, “This is where I leave you. I wouldn’t want to catch the king’s attention.”
I faced the nameless soul. Just as I opened my mouth to thank him, something else occurred to me. “Wait. Before you go … can you tell me where it rains? Is there a certain region it happens in, maybe, or a time of year?” I pressed.
He bowed. “Rain doesn’t exist in this world, my lady.”
For a moment, I just looked at him, keeping my expression carefully blank. I didn’t want this kind stranger to see how deeply his response cut.
Lucifer had already confirmed it was impossible for him to send me back. I could still try to look for a magic user in this world, to go on a wild goose chase for another spell that could put my soul back in my body … but now I realized how idiotic that hope was. If there were a way for a soul to return, swarms would be leaving Hell.
I was never going home.
“I see,” I said finally. “Thank you, sir. I … I hope you remember your name.”
He looked at me with the same expression from earlier, but now that I was so close to seeing Lucifer, I was eager to go inside. I smiled one more time, giving my new friend a small wave, and turned to ascend the rest of the steps. I heard the soft thud of a walking stick as he went on his way.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I heard the skitter of claws on stone and wings flapping against the air. The gargoyles were probably returning to the roof. It meant they weren’t flying back to the Lowlands, at least not yet. Knowing they’d be nearby offered the same strange comfort I had felt back when I thought they were statues and I’d stood in the circle of pillars to ask them for advice or courage. I also owed them a thank-you for saving me from Samael’s goons. With that spot of warm reassurance in my chest, I wrapped my hand around one of the door handles and pulled.
Locked.
I raised my fist and drew it back to knock. Before my knuckles could make contact, an eye-level opening appeared—a hidden door I hadn’t known was there—and a demon’s dark eyes glared at me.
“The tower is closed today.” It was a guard I’d never seen before. Some of the demonic drug must’ve been lingering in my system, because I didn’t react to the sight of its face, which distinctly resembled a hedgehog.
“I live here,” I said, and hearing the words leave my mouth with such ease sent a jolt through me. I shook myself and continued, “My name is—”
But the guard had already started to pull the small door shut. I rushed to ram my hand inside. He swore at me in Enochian and I saw his hand move, probably reaching for a knife or a sword. I was about to blurt out my name when I heard a low, furious exchange. A new face appeared over Hedgehog Guy’s shoulder.
