Covenant (14 page)

“The water in those pools.” Troy pointed at a little outcropping of rough stone. A tiny puddle of water had settled in one of the crevices. “That will be safe.”

Angela nodded and crept toward the crevice. Trying not to look pathetic, she sniffed at the water, drank, and sat leaning her head against the stone. Angela rubbed at the sapphire pendant she shared with Sophia.

“How much longer do you think we'll be traveling?” Angela finally ventured. “Do you know where we are?”

“We could be anywhere,” Troy said. “The maze will be self-contained, and the demon that owns it will have control over space and direction to some degree. Hell has many levels, but do not think that these levels follow the same rules of existence as on Earth. It took centuries for me to explore the mere part of Hell my Clan calls home. But eventually, all levels lead to the city of Babylon, and finally to the Abyss.”

“What is the Abyss?” Angela said, staring into the darkness.

“The beginning and end of everything,” Troy said shortly. She turned to her left.

Fury strutted over to Troy with a scrap of fabric in her beak. Troy took it and examined it, sniffing. Then she tossed the scrap at Angela.

Angela caught it. She found the cloth stiff. Blood had dried on the fabric.

She shuddered and dropped it hastily. “Whose is this?”

Troy's expression became grim. “It belonged to Nina's half brother. It seems the demon who helped him was not so keen on protecting him here.”

Then Camdon really is dead. He threw everything away to bring Nina back.

Angela stared at Nina who continued to sleep peacefully, one arm over her eyes.

“Can you determine how he died?” Angela said, trying to stay calm. But she choked down the desire to scream and her vision blurred over with tears. She had hoped, despite everything, that Camdon had survived, that they might have bumped into him, even though he'd tortured them all by stealing Sophia. He wasn't evil at heart. Lucifel or one of her servants had merely taken advantage of his grief. Angela could still see the emotion on his face when Nina had appeared before him. “Do you think he . . . suffered?”

Troy shook her head but didn't speak. Her eyes searched the darkness warily.

“Then again, I don't know what's better,” Angela continued. She looked at Nina again, and her heart ached. Losing a sibling was one of the worst feelings in the world. “Who could survive in Hell? I can't imagine what an ordeal like that would do to a human like me after a while.”

Troy studied Fury as the bird tussled playfully with Juno. Her stare was always like a lion's watching a mouse. In a mesmerizingly predatory way, Troy was beautiful. It was only when she smiled that her sharp teeth broke the spell. At quieter times like these, her proud bearing always surprised Angela, until she remembered that the Jinn descended from angels and surely some of their elegance and beauty forever remained.

“There are some who survive Hell's second death,” Troy said softly. “But they are the strongest and most noble souls among your kind, and often my people find them, and they are given a second life as servants. Fury was and is such a rare soul.”

Angela watched Fury more closely, trying to picture her as a human girl who had hoped and loved. Now her beautiful soul had been trapped in a crow's body. But at least it had survived. “So then why did you kill and eat humans in Luz last year if you respect some of us?” Angela said bitterly.

“Because Earth is our Hell,” Troy snapped back at her. “The mortal world sickens Jinn over time and we starve slowly. I wouldn't have touched a single one of you—but I had no desire to die. Fury had the same resiliency, and as a Jinn I respected it. She suffered in her human existance much like you suffered, but she had also died sacrificing herself for a friend. Her compassion ensured her immortality, and I was able to resurrect her as my servant. Believe me—many of the humans I killed in Luz were far from noble.”

Angela stared at Troy, almost hypnotized by the Jinn's glowing eyes.

A sense of honor was something she'd never expected from Troy's kind—but looking at Troy's expression now it felt right.

Kim had painted Troy as a villain, and their strange violent relationship and the circumstances had done little to say otherwise. But now it bothered Angela. What if she saw Troy as a villain because that was what Troy acted like in human terms? There was the key: Troy
wasn't
human. Humans called her a devil, but she was really a creature who lived in another world: one increasingly revealed as harsh and merciless. She didn't live by human rules, nor could she ever.

I suppose everyone is innocent at some point in their lives. Even Troy was like Juno once upon a time. Kim, too.

Oh, God, where is he in here? Is he dead like Camdon? I don't see how Kim could survive in a labyrinth like this alone.

“Troy?” Angela whispered.

The Jinn glared at her, seeming to anticipate her next question. “
What?
”

“Do you really need to kill Kim—”

“
Yes,
” the Jinn hissed. Her wings rustled angrily. She stretched her wounded ankle, biting back pain.

“But Kim said that his father—your uncle—was abusive, that he had no choice but to kill him. And if you find that wrong—wouldn't it be just as wrong to kill him out of revenge?”

Troy laughed, turning aside. “You would judge me? You know nothing.”

“I guess not.” Angela breathed hard, swallowing back her fear and smiling at Juno as the little Jinn interrupted to hand Angela some pebbles.

“You and Auntie are friends,” she said to Angela. “I'm glad.”

I don't know if I'd go that far
.

Angela glanced at Troy, but Troy pretended not to hear a word Juno had said. Only her flicking ear gave her away.

“Auntie is the greatest Jinn hunter,” Juno continued. “She has made more kills than any Jinn in the Underworld. Well, other than Mama . . .” Juno's ears flipped back, and she appeared sad. Soon, she perked up again and said excitedly, “Do you see these bones in my hair?”

Angela noted the two tiny bones tied into Juno's hair. They were nothing compared to Troy's collection, but Juno wasn't humble at all.

“I got these on a hunt with Auntie,” Juno said. “This one was from an angel, and this one was from another Jinn Clan.”

Juno prattled on, doing everything but practically worshipping the ground Troy sat upon.

Troy listened with the slightest smile.

“You shouldn't worry,” Juno said, finally winding down. “With Auntie, we'll be safe no matter what.”

“Hush,” Troy said.

Juno took another breath, eager to continue. Troy clapped a hand over her toothy little mouth.

“
Quiet,
” Troy hissed. She froze, her ears flicking to catch the slightest sound. Fury stiffened beside her. Nina cracked an eye open but didn't move, questioning Angela with a fearful expression.

Angela froze with them, hardly daring to breathe.

She saw nothing.

She strained her ears, struggling to catch suspicious noise over the tumult of the water.

Faintly, beneath the rush of the rapids, low and earnest snuffling could be heard. It approached them steadily. A cold sweat broke on Angela's forehead. Troy's wings shivered and her face took on a fearful paleness.

Juno hid behind her aunt, her eyes the size of saucers.

Out of the mist, three immense leonine shapes slunk closer to their group. The creatures snuffled more and lifted their heads, searching the darkness with shining eyes.

Hounds.

Angela glanced at their nearest escape—a tunnel on the opposite shore. But that meant crossing the lethal water.

Horror tightened Angela's insides and twisted them into knots.

This is what Troy got for refusing that demon's help.

Angela moved her hand as subtly as possible, aiming to take off her left glove. In her mind, she saw Sophia somewhere ahead of them tormented or worse. For her sake, Angela had to try to stay alive.

She exchanged a meaningful nod with Troy. As Angela had hoped, there was no apology in the Jinn's eyes. Troy, at least, felt certain of their fighting chance.

All right, Angela was ready.

But before she could act, the three Hounds snarled coldly, emerged from the darkness, and pounced.

Eighteen

No one wants my help. But when it arrives, the last word a soul whispers is “No.”
—P
YTHON

Troy must have known Angela was about to summon the Glaive—and that it would make her disastrously weak.

She gripped Angela tightly by the arm and wrenched hard.

Angela crashed into the wall. She howled in surprise as stars of pain speckled her vision. Nina was by her side immediately, lifting Angela up again by the shoulders. But Troy and Juno faced off against the triple threat of the Hounds. One of the horrid creatures was smaller than the others with ragged wings. It looked like a baby.

Troy growled at it in a terrifying display of wings and teeth.

The two other Hounds stepped in front of their offspring, baring their own fence of teeth.

Faint laughter seemed to come out of nowhere. An odd purple mist began to mix with the fog from the rapids. Angela struggled to see, finally standing despite the pounding agony in her head.

She tried to rip off her glove again, and Nina clamped down on her hand.

“Let me go!” Angela screamed at her. She spun and tried to toss Nina sideways.

Nina held on, fighting with her. “You can't, Angela! It's too soon—the Grail would kill you—”

Angela ignored her and fought back harder. Fury screeched in terror above them.

Troy rolled out of the fog, snapping in a maelstrom of wings and blood at the Hound that had lunged for her wings. A nasty cut on her shoulder dribbled blood down her chalk-white arm. She lunged at the baby Hound again, threatening the worst. Turning, she advanced on one of the defensive adults, successful at striking a blow to one of its immense wings.

A long and deadly howl of pain erupted from the monster.

Juno emerged from the fog, leaping for one of the adult's eyes.

Troy stiffened in horror. She turned and grabbed Juno in midair, flinging her aside as another Hound clamped down on the spot with its enormous teeth.

There was a sickening
crack
—the sound of bones breaking. A sharp smell of blood saturated the air.

The mist thickened and Angela lost sight of Troy and Juno.

Nina pushed Angela toward the stream, screaming, “Hop to the opposite shore!”

Angela fought against Nina more, digging her boots against the pebbles at the shoreline. Her arm glove tore near the elbow.

NO. I have to save them. Troy would do the same for me. She IS doing the same for me.

The eerie laughter around them had faded. Now incredibly loud hisses echoed against the rocks until they became ear shattering. Angela covered her ears without even wanting to. The pain was unbearable.

A gigantic snake with a triangular feather-plumed head reared out of the fog, snapping lethally at one of the Hounds running for Angela and Nina. More bones cracked and broke. Snarls of fear and howls of agony reverberated against the rocks.

Another Hound advanced, breaking from the fog with its flanks streaming blood. Troy and Juno were still in the mist, shrieking and growling.

Nina clutched Angela's arm and froze. The Hound galloped to within a few feet of them.

The giant snake shot out of the fog, grabbed the beast by its torso, and tossed it backward into the rocks. It hit the tunnel wall with a sickening
thump
.

“
Go,
” Nina said, pushing Angela hard toward the stream.

Angela staggered, one of her boots hitting the edge of the water. Steam erupted from the toe of her shoe. The leather cracked and melted.

The giant snake's tail smacked into the walls of the cavern, sending a spray of rocks to the ground. A large and sharp rock hit Angela's hand and she cried out in pain, but she held on to Nina tightly. The question was how they would reach the opposite shore together. Angela's legs were long enough to help her reach the other side without touching the water. But Nina would be a problem.

She might never make it.

More rocks tumbled from the ceiling. Enormous chunks fell, blocking off a much smaller and tighter escape route near Troy and the Hounds. The force as they hit the hard ground shivered through the entire cavern.

“Hold on!” Angela gripped Nina tightly by the hand. Blood slicked her palms.

Nina lost Angela's hand and grabbed it again. Angela pointed hurriedly at the water and Nina nodded, understanding she might not make it across, but that she had no other choice. Angela clasped Nina's hand even more fiercely as the rain of rocks continued.

Together, they jumped.

Together, they made it across. Their feet hit the opposite shore. Angela dared to smile at Nina, allowing a moment of triumph for them both.

A large rock smacked into the side of Nina's leg, wrenching her from Angela's grip, shoving her sideways. Nina stumbled out of reach, one of her legs slipping into the water.

Her scream was agonizing. Nina yanked her leg from the water and collapsed on the shore, but the damage had been done. The smell of acid burning skin soured the air.

“No!” Angela grabbed for Nina. She could barely see through her tears.

Nina rocked in horrendous pain, clutching at her leg. She grasped for Angela's hand again, her face red as she sobbed.

Another enormous rock fell directly between them both, blocking Nina off completely.

More rocks fell, building the great barrier between them in an earthquake of noise. The world disappeared as purplish mist returned, blinding Angela to the fate of her friends. She climbed the barrier, heedless of the falling rocks as they hit her like a rain of knives, cutting her skin all over. Maybe—just maybe—she could reach everyone again. To hell with the pain. The violet mist surrounded her in a thick cloud.

She cried for Nina one more time, receiving only Fury's faint screech in reply.

Before Angela could make any more progress, a strong pair of hands reached from behind her and dragged her away screaming into the blackness.