“He… he doesn’t believe I can,” I said frombetween my chattering teeth.
Kobal rested his hand on my hip. “Why do yousay that?”
“Because it’s… what he believes. He’d be herenow if he believed otherwise.” It was true and we both knew it.
“They’d be on our turf up here,” Bale said.“Where you humans can also help to fight them.”
“Plus the skelleins. They’re an easygoing,fun-loving sort most of them time. Just don’t piss them off.They’ll tear the flesh from your bones then,” Corson said.
“Yeah, kind of got that,” Hawk muttered.
I focused on the conversation as a way todrown out the sorrow from the pit pounding against me.
“Lucifer will wait for us to go to him. It’sbeen years since we’ve been inside so even if we have more demonswith us, and River, they’ll still have the advantage of whatevernasty surprises they have in store for us,” Bale said. “You humanswill be able to avoid going inside. None of you would survive inthere for long.”
“Will I?” I croaked out.
Kobal’s fingers dug into my waist as hestepped closer to me. The feel of his flesh against mine helped tofurther ease the emotions battering against me. I sought out hislife force, allowing it to envelope me.
“We’re hoping so,” Corson said.
“What if I’m not?”
“We’ll worry about you entering only ifyou’re unable to close the gate,” Kobal replied. “And if not, wewill figure it out then.”
CHAPTER 46
Kobal
It took me another half an hour, but Ifinally convinced River to concede to leaving the gateway for theday. Black shadows encircled her eyes, making them shine brightly.The way her shoulders hunched and her hand remained limp in minereminded me of an eighty-year-old woman, not a vibrant, powerful,twenty-two-year-old.
The music died the minute we stepped into thebar again. All laughter faded away as the skelleins turned towardus. The fact the drink and party-loving gatekeepers had built a bardidn’t surprise me. That they had distinguished themselves fromeach other was something I never would have expected to see. I’dknown the skelleins for over a millennium, and not once had theytried to differentiate their sexes or personalities from eachother. Thirteen years on Earth had changed that.
Their eyeless gazes latched onto River. “Itisher,” they said as one.
The one who had first approached us descendedfrom his barstool. His cane clicked across the floor as he walked.I may have worked closely with the skelleins for over a thousandyears, but I’d never learned any of their names. They’d neverattempted to change that.
The skellein tilted his head to peer up atRiver. “Do not fret, World Walker.” River’s head lifted, her handclenched on mine at his words. “It will get easier for you.”
“Why did you call me that?” shewhispered.
“Because it’s what you are. You can walk thethree worlds like no other living creature can, but the worlds arenot balanced the same as the mortal realm. For you to becomeaccustomed to another plane takes time, but you will grow to handleit.”
“We don’t have time.”
“We will have to find it for you somehow, myqueen,” the skellein replied.
The skellein turned toward me and though hisface held no expression, I felt sorrow from the creature, somethingelse I never would have expected from a skellein. I’d only everknown them to experience two things, fun and mayhem.
“It must have been difficult for you to bringher here,” he murmured to me. I remained silent as I studied theman before me. There was far more to the skelleins than I’d everrealized. The skellein rested his hand on River’s arm. “We havefaith in you, World Walker.”
“Back off of her,” I growled at him. “We haveno idea what is going to happen. Don’t pin all of your hopes onher.”
A flicker in River’s eyes was the onlyindication she gave to her uneasiness over his words. She glancedat me. “No pressure,” I told her.
The small smile she gave me caused some of mytension to ease. Wrapping my hand around her head, I pulled heragainst my chest and kissed the top of her head.
“Three worlds?” Hawk inquired.
