Page 45 of Knight’s Retribution

“Okay. You need to keep walking, baby. Don’t talk, don’t look at them when we pass. You leave that to me and T.”

She nodded and forced herself to keep moving.

“Right,” Scarlet said, which had them moving directly toward the voices.

Kyler’s heart was pounding so hard she felt dizzy, and with everything she’d physically been through the last couple of days, her legs were seriously shaking. The stench of demon grew stronger, and she glanced up. A group of them stood just ahead, bickering and shoving each other.

Rocco and Tobias didn’t pause. They strode forward with purpose, forcing Kyler to keep going when every instinct told her to turn and run the other way.

One demon stepped in front of them, a sneer on his face. “What are you doing here? Diemos called all of his soldiers to the main hall.”

“We’re here on Diemos’s orders, so how about you shut the fuck up,” Tobias said and shoved the demon out of the way and kept walking.

She glanced back, and the demon was watching them, eyes narrowed, then he turned and ran the other way. “He suspects something,” she hissed.

Rocco glanced back as well and cursed. “Faster.”

They moved more quickly, rushing along a cave that grew darker and danker the deeper they went. Several minutes ticked by and nothing—

A roar echoed from somewhere in the distance. A sound so filled with rage and hatred there was only one person it could be.

“Run,” Tobias bit out.

They sprinted toward the end of the cave, Scarlet taking the lead. She veered left and kept running until they reached a point where the cave widened.

“Here,” Rocco said.

Scarlet pulled a small wooden bowl from her satchel, not her healing bowl. This one was different. She’d seen it in Diemos’s room once when he opened the chest at the end of the bed. Tobias must have taken it when they came for her. Scarlet produced a small bone next, Kyler guessed it was ancient by how bleached it looked. She put it in the bowl.

Rocco pulled something from his pocket, a vial of dark liquid, blood, he added that and a small red stone as well, then his gaze slid to her. “We need your blood to activate the portal.”

She’d been beaten and tortured repeatedly. A cut from one of Rocco’s sharp blades was nothing. She held out her arm immediately.

“Gonna have to touch you, baby.”

She bit her lip, dragged in a steadying breath, and nodded. God, how fucked up was she that she was less afraid of having him cut her than of his touch?

He pulled a small dagger from the side of his boot—

Another roar came, along with the sound of boots thumping on the stone floor. They were distant but growing louder.

Kyler hissed as Roc dragged the blade across her skin, and he held her arm above the bowl, adding her blood to the mix. It started bubbling. “What’s happening?”

“The bone I put in that bowl is crucial for a Hell’s gate demi to open the portal, the blood and stone I added will give your powers a boost and should activate it.”

Light started flickering around them.

“It’s working,” Tobias growled.

“Once the portal opens, we need to run. We’ll only have a short time to get through,” Roc said.

She nodded as he herded her closer to the lights flashing against the rough stone wall, now growing in brightness and intensity.

Tobias gasped. “It’s happening, brother…just like Lucifer said. Fuck, I can feel it.” He drew his sword. “We’ve got this.” Scarlet shoved off her cloak and pulled her own weapon.

Kyler looked from them to Rocco. “What’s happening?” The thumping of boots grew louder, the roar so deafening her ears rang.

Tobias’s long blond hair was whipping around him, and his eyes changed, now glowing white. Diemos rounded the corner and Tobias threw up his hands as the portal flashed open.