When my vision returned, I was staring into the mouth of Hell.
SIXTEEN
I TOOK AN instinctive step back from the gaping stone maw in front of me, and my ass hit a sturdy metal railing. Traveling via demon teleportation didn’t jumble my senses as badly as traveling by Fae portal or ley line—presumably because of my succubus blood. Still, it was disorienting.
“Where are we?” I asked, trying to take in everything around me as I clutched my pitiful suitcase of belongings and balanced against the railing behind me.
“Calaveras County, California,” Nigellus answered. “Specifically, at the lesser-used of the two entrances of the so-called Moaning Cavern.”
As if to punctuate his words, a low noise emanated from the depths before me. It was distant and unearthly, like the pained cry of something not quite human.
The entrance to Hell is in California?” I couldn’t help asking. “Somewhere, a right-wing conspiracy theorist is punching the air in glee.”
Nigellus gave a small shrug. “What can I say? The Russians in charge of the Kola Superdeep Borehole wouldn’t return our calls.”
I shot him a sideways look to make sure he was joking, then went back to looking around our new surroundings. We were standing on a small platform enclosed by safety fence. A solid-looking gate blocked access to the gap in the stone leading into unseen depths below. Rigging was set above us, hung with ropes and pulleys.
I stared at the rigging. Then I stared at the hole.
“Please tell me the word rappelling isn’t about to pass your lips.”
“Indeed not,” Nigellus said. “This is merely the entrance least likely to have park employees milling around two hours before the area opens to tourists. There’s a second, larger entrance nearby with a staircase leading down to the bottom of the first chamber, but I’ll save you the climb down. The area we need is off the second chamber in the cavern, but I thought you might find it disconcerting to reappear without warning in complete subterranean blackness.”
My mouth went dry. “Uh... yeah. You thought right.”
“Now, though, if you’re prepared, we should go before the park employees arrive to prepare for the day. Not to worry—I do have a light with me.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. In for a penny...
“Okay, let’s do this.” An image of Rans’ face—of his expression just before I’d lost my nerve and broken eye contact with him—flashed across my memory. I shoved it aside ruthlessly.
Nigellus watched me for a long moment before nodding and taking my arm again. The craggy, brownish-gray stone and rusty metal rigging melted away, only to be replaced by... nothing. Vertigo assailed me in the pitch darkness, but the firm hand curled around my bicep kept me from swaying. The unearthly noises that had teased my hearing earlier sounded closer now.
An instant later, a white LED light flicked on, illuminating the surroundings with an eerie glow. A flashlight app, I realized. Stone walls loomed, their surfaces dripping with intricate limestone formations. The air was humid and surprisingly warm.
“There is a pit directly behind you,” Nigellus warned, swinging the light to illuminate a dark gap in the irregular stone floor. “Though it’s not very deep. Beyond it lies a rocky incline leading to the main chamber, which contains the staircase to the main entrance. The smaller entrance where we first appeared leads down through a thirty-foot vertical chimney into the dome of that same chamber.” He moved the light in the other direction. “Ahead of us lies a larger seventy-five-foot drop leading to a third chamber, but that area is blocked off at the moment.”
Panning the light around, he allowed me to get my bearings as much as possible in such strange and unfamiliar surroundings.
“If this is the gate, don’t you get the occasional unsuspecting tourist stumbling into Hell?” I asked.
“It has been known,” Nigellus replied. “Though not on any sort of a regular basis. The actual weak spot between the two realms appears as solid stone, until you touch it.”
The light moved to a section of wall above me and to my left. The pile of jumbled stones leading up to it looked climbable, but for the average person, there would be no motivation to do so—it was just a plain stretch of rock.
“So, we just go up there and walk through?” I asked, pushing aside my misgivings. “No magic needed, like with the entrance to Dhuinne?”
“Not on this side, no,” Nigellus said. “If you’re ready, I’ll light your way and follow right after you. The other side is also inside a cave, but a much shallower one. It will not be completely dark.”
“Will there be guards?” I asked.
“But of course.” Nigellus sounded amused. “They will not harm you, however.”
“Okay,” I said, trying to sound like I wasn’t having all kinds of second thoughts about this. Dad is on the other side of that wall. He needs you. Don’t turn into a selfish coward now, Zorah.
Without giving myself any more time to think about it, I climbed up the uneven pile of stone, awkwardly dragging my bag of belongings behind me. Lifting a tentative hand, I touched the section of wall where Nigellus pointed the light.
There was nothing there. My hand disappeared into the rocky surface as though it were a mirage, my skin tingling slightly as it passed through. Before I could second-guess it, I held my breath and stepped forward. The world went black, then gray. I steadied my balance and looked around, finding myself elsewhere.
The air smelled different. I worked my jaw against a sudden buildup of pressure in my ears, and they popped.
Holy shit.
I was standing in Hell.
Light appeared behind me, and a hand eased me a step to the side. I’d come to a sudden halt while still blocking the portal, I realized. Nigellus brushed past me without comment. Ahead, I could make out the cave entrance. It wasn’t large,
