THORN 001

THORN 001
Blood magic was the darkest. Fear pierced my chest. I could maybe counter it, but I didn’t have the time, and I had to keep our promise to Paige and Nate.
“Thorn, to me,” I yelled, landing back on the floor. Thorn wrapped his arms around me. I went to transport us out, but nothing happened. The floor beneath us vanished as Grace opened a portal straight to Hell. I gripped Thorn to me and floated above it. Demons surrounded us. I pushed them back magically, but more ran in. There was a pop—my protective bubble fell away. Three demons jumped at us before I could get us high enough. They locked their arms around our legs, and then there was a clap and we were being dragged into the portal.
Into Hell.
Blackness surrounded us as we kept falling. Thorn released his hold and pushed off me to wrap himself around a demon and sliced over and over with his claws at his chest. The demon screamed in pain and fury before exploding. He went for the next, all while we still fell, and I took on the last.
As our backs hit the solid ground with a grunt, the demons were dead. The blackness around us evaporated into nothing. The first thing that hit me was the heat; the next I noticed was the dirt-covered ground since a few jagged rocks pushed into my back and butt.
Groaning, I rolled to the side to find Thorn slowly sitting up.
I did the same, wincing from the pain in my back, chest, and ass. Glancing around, I took in the street we’d landed in.
Wait… Hell had streets?
My eyes widened; shock radiated throughout me. It seemed Hell had more than just streets. Hell looked a lot like Vegas. In the distance, there were lights flashing, music played, and I sensed the magic surrounding the city.
All in Hell.
Thorn and I were in the desert part of Vegas Hell. The heat beat down on me. I hated blistering warm days. I shielded my eyes and looked up into the sunny sky. Was all of this magic? An illusion? It couldn’t be because I could only sense the magic coming from the city area.
Glancing back to Thorn, I said, “Paige is going to kill us.”
He snorted out a laugh and stood, his hands going to his waist while he stretched. “Christ, you’re right. So we’d better find a way back to her quickly.”
Standing, I brushed at my clothes. “I have a feeling we’ll find the only way back in that place.” I pointed to the city. He looked behind him and cursed.
“Are we really going into a city full of demons?” he asked.
“We’ll have to.”
He cursed again. “For Paige,” he said.
I nodded. “For Paige. Hey, maybe Lucifer will be in there somewhere and take us with him since he wants to see Paige soon anyway.”
Thorn slapped me on the back as I stopped beside him. “Your optimism is outstanding.” I shrugged. He added, “Great fighting back there.”
I knew my cheeks were warmer than just from the sun; I didn’t do well with compliments. “I didn’t do much.”
He scoffed and slung his arm around my shoulders, as if he’d done it a million times before. We started walking before he said, “Not much… yeah, we’ll go with that.”
“Your fighting skills are… ah, amazing.” Which they were.
He glanced down at me and smiled. “Thanks.” He released his arm from around me. “You ready to jog?”
I hated jogging. “Sure.” I nodded as my lips thinned. For some reason, Thorn found it amusing and started laughing.

THORN:
Alex glanced at me again, after we’d been running for a little while, and after I’d kept him from tripping about five times. His good mood and optimism seemed long gone since he was scowling around the area. Finally, he got up the courage to ask, “Why are you smiling? We had our asses handed to us. Grace, with an extra boost of blood magic, is probably on the way back to the community to harm Paige. Selma is still God knows where. Your men weren’t even there. We’re stuck in Hell, running into a city where there will be millions of demons who would take great pleasure in killing us.”
“We’re alive. We fought well together. Paige will be protected with Asher and Nate. Plus, there’re all the people she’s charmed, even in the short amount of time she’s been there. Selma will reappear, and we’ll take care of her then.” My smile faded. “My men did their duty. They knew, like I did, what would be involved. Battles can be lost. It saddens me deeply this was one of them, and when we get home, I’ll grieve with the rest of my men for their losses. Now isn’t the time.”
“I’m sorry,” he blurted, and I knew he meant it. I could hear it and see it in his frown and furrowed brows.
Alex hadn’t meant it. He’d spoken without thinking, and I reacted. Their loss sat in my gut, churning painfully, but I had to push it aside. I had to think positive because it all counted to help us get home. So I offered him a smile—it was weak, but there—and he returned one just as weak.
I went on answering his concerns. “We may be in Hell, but Lucifer does want to meet Paige, and hopefully he wants an ally in her, so maybe he’ll keep us safe. We may have to fight again, but I’m confident in our skills.”
He harrumphed, unsure of my words, but I believed them. Alex was a powerful mage, one who kicked ass against three witches and demons easily, without even breaking into a sweat. I was glad he was on our side. If it wasn’t for the blood magic he seemed fearful of, then we would have walked out of that place.
“Who do you think that other demon was?” he asked, helping me push away the mournful thoughts of losing my men by changing the subject. I valued him for it. Alex was slightly puffing and sweating from jogging. We were miles away from the city, though, and I wondered if he’d make it. I would mention to Nate to up Alex’s physical activities. He caught me looking at him since I hadn’t answered him; he glared, but his cheeks were pink. “If I wasn’t sure they’d sense me using my magic, I’d transport us or float all the way there.”