sound like Jake’s authority would be questioned any time soon. Tucker nodded his thanks and took me by the arm, steering me back through the club. I assumed he knew how to find the Wasteland and followed obediently.
Before we left Club Hex I caught sight of Asher again. He was at the bar talking to Asia and leaning in close. I saw his tongue dart into her ear as his hand traveled up her thigh and guessed what she must have used to barter the information from him.
It occurred to me how devoid of trust or loyalty this place was. Everything was built on a foundation of lies and deception. It was impossible to tell who was working with, sleeping with, or manipulating whom.
I realized at that moment that even if I lived in luxury as Jake’s queen, I was never going to survive here.
18
Portal
“YOU should go back,” I said to Tucker as we trudged through the dingy tunnels. “This was my idea. I shouldn’t drag you into it. Tell Jake I ditched you and you lost sight of me. Asia will back you up.”
Even as I spoke the words I knew it was too late for Tuck to turn back. If he returned to Hotel Ambrosia without me, Jake would unleash his fury on him.
He must have known that too, but all he said was “You’re not goin’ out there alone.”
“I won’t let Jake hurt you,” I told him. “No matter what happens.”
“Let’s not think about that now.”
Tucker set off ahead of me at a swift pace. I had no choice but to follow.
We didn’t have to go much farther than the club district before the terrain started to change dramatically. The air became suddenly sultry and the landscape barren as a desert. It seemed as if all color and life had been sucked away, leaving nothing but an empty gray husk. Fog swirled overhead, blotting out whatever it was that passed for sky down here. We had left the confining tunnels behind, but we were still trapped in a strange dimension that had no beginning or end. The worst part was the ever-present sound; all around us the air was filled with the muffled wailing of lost and wandering souls. I could feel their presence as they moved past us, like a ripple of heat in the already-stifling atmosphere. I couldn’t see them, they were nothing more than a passing shimmer in the air, but I knew they were there and nothing could drown out their preternatural cries. A horrible, suffocating sense of desolation washed over me, as if my soul were being tugged from my body. My heart beat faster and I felt an overwhelming urge to stop. In response Tucker took hold of my hand and picked up his pace.
“I’m tired, Tuck,” I heard myself say.
“Don’t slow down,” he whispered. “This place has that effect on people. We have to keep moving.”
The Wasteland didn’t seem to affect Tucker in the same way. Maybe it was because his time in Hades had lent him immunity. Or maybe it was because I was an angel and could sense the acute despair of every soul around me.
“If we linger too long the Trackers have a much better chance of picking up your scent,” Tucker added.
I’d forgotten all about them. I knew as an angel I gave off the crisp, clean scent of rain that might be camouflaged in the smoky atmosphere of the clubs but would be unmistakable out here in the open.
“Are you going to tell me who the Trackers are?” I was still having problems regulating my breathing. Tuck took one look at my face and shook his head.
“Not right now.”
“Come on,” I urged. Tucker seemed to have assumed a protective role since leaving the hotel that he wasn’t about to relinquish without a fight. “I’ll be better off if I know.”
Tuck sighed. “Trackers hunt down souls that have wandered off into the Wasteland.” He kept his explanation succinct as if there was already too much to focus on without the added effort of conversation.
“Do the souls end up back in the clubs?” I asked naively.
“Not exactly.”
“They’re thrown into the pit, aren’t they?” I said. “It’s okay, Tucker. I’ve seen it.” I was on the verge of elaborating, telling him to stop trying to spare me from the harsh realities when Tucker stepped lightly in front of me and clamped his hand over my mouth.
“Do you hear that?” he asked.
“Hear what?”
“Listen.”
We stood in silence for a moment until I too heard the sound that had made Tucker stop short. It was a voice, breathy and high-pitched, like it belonged to a young girl. It was calling my name. “Bethany!” the voice wailed. “Bethany, it’s me.” The childlike voice drew closer.
I waited with baited breath as a gust of hot wind swirled around me. Tuck’s hand dropped to his side.
“Who are you?” I asked shakily. I felt a presence in the wind, caressing me with long tapering fingers.
“Don’t you remember me?” The voice sounded forlorn and yet there was something oddly familiar about it.
“We can’t see you,” Tuck said boldly. “Come out of the shadows.”
“It’s okay,” I encouraged. “We won’t hurt you. We’re on your side.”
I watched openmouthed as the figure of a girl emerged out of the swirling fog and began to take shape before me. At first she was just an outline, like an artist’s rudimentary sketch that hadn’t been properly filled out, but as she came into focus and I looked more closely, I knew exactly who she was. The powdery blond hair, the pert upturned nose, the pouting lips were all achingly familiar. Her hair was matted and her cheeks hollow, but there was no mistaking her. Her blue eyes were still luminous, their brightness a sharp contrast against the grime smudged across her face. She stared at me with such despair that I felt all of her sadness seep into me and thought my heart would break.
“Taylah,” I whispered. “Is that you? What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” She smiled absently. Taylah was dressed, much as she had been in life, in a fitted top and tight denim shorts. She was barefoot and through the dust I could still make out chipped nail polish.
“Were you kidnapped too?” I asked. “Did Jake bring you here?”
Taylah shook her head. “I was judged, Beth,” she said softly. “And my soul was sent here.”
“But how?” I said in a hoarse whisper. I was having trouble grappling with what she was trying to tell me.
“After I died on the floor of the girls’ bathroom, I heard voices all around me. They were weighing up my sins, calculating my good deeds. And then I was falling.”
I wanted to ask what had happened in her past to land her in this place, but I couldn’t get the words out. It would have been tactless in the extreme. But I knew it had to be some kind of mistake. Taylah was just a girl. She could be shallow, catty, and competitive sometimes, but those weren’t exactly heinous crimes. She was capable of being cruel to those who didn’t inhabit her glittering world of tanning and Pilates, but I’d also seen her capable of kindness. I couldn’t imagine her doing anything seriously immoral.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said, looking shamefaced. “You’re wondering what I did to end up here.”
“You don’t have to say anything, Tay.”
“No, it’s okay,” she said. “I’m here because I was never taught to believe in anything. I didn’t understand what was important in life.” She hesitated, her blue eyes glazing over. “I only cared about having fun; I never cared about anything real. I sinned and never thought twice about it.”
I looked at her expectantly but it took some minutes before she mustered the courage to speak again. “I did something terrible. Well, I didn’t exactly do it, but I did stand by and let it happen.”
“Let what happen?” I asked.
“A couple of years ago there was a hit and run in Venus Cove and little Tommy Fincher was killed. He was out playing catch in the street. It was all over the papers but they never found the driver. Tommy was only ten
