“She would be part of it,” I admitted.
“And the other part?”
“We’ve been screwed over by angels and humansfor thousands of years. I see no reason to be locked away in Hellagain if we don’t have to be. Before it was necessary to keep ourexistence secret because that was the way our world coincided withthe human world, but that isn’t necessary anymore. We no longerhave to live in secret. Granted, a good chunk of the humanpopulation still doesn’t know we exist, but I see no reason whythese desolate areas can’t become ours when this is over.”
“You’ll have demons around you all the time,looking to pass back and forth in order to feed and retain theirimmortality. You won’t be able to keep your gate open to allow usto survive on Earth. There are still things living within Hell thatshould never be allowed to roam free here,” she said.
Hunger seared through my veins and made mygut clench at the mention of feeding. I couldn’t recall the lasttime I’d fed. It had been longer than my customary week, but Icouldn’t stop now, even if it would only take a few minutes to findsome wraiths to feed from.
“There will be a lot to work out in thebeginning, but I see no reason why we should be denied a world oflight when we’re the ones helping to keep it that way,” I said.“Most will probably prefer to return to Hell, but some wouldprobably stay.”
“Most will probably stay here,” she saidquietly.
I glanced questioningly at her.
With a sigh, she rose up from where she’dbeen leaning against the door to sit straight in the seat. “Many ofus prefer it here. It smells better. The humans can be annoying,but a few of them are enjoyable, and you have to admit, Earth isjust an overall nicer place to be. We’re the monsters here, and I’mokay with that. Lucifer has to be stopped, the gateway has to beclosed, but afterward, many would stay if they could.”
“Why didn’t you express this opinionbefore?”
“I never believed you would ever consider it.You were always so adamant about defeating Lucifer and returning toHell. It is your throne.”
“It will be my throne here too.”
“What if the humans object?” sheinquired.
“They won’t have any choice as far as I’mconcerned.”
Bale’s mouth quirked in a smile. “No, theywouldn’t. We all would return to Hell with you if that was what youdecided, but I’d prefer to stay. Hell was the only home we’d everknown for centuries, but I actually like this planet. Our queen isalso here, and she’s one of the few humans I actually respect andadmire, as do the others.”
A muscle twitched in my jaw as we bouncedover another rut in the road. “If I could, I would take hermortality from her now, but I can’t try to do it until this isover. I can’t take the risk she won’t survive it while the gatewayis still open.”
“I know.”
I focused on the road again as the headlightsbounced over the broken asphalt before us. “We’re getting close toPearl’s.”
But would it be in time?
***
River
“Come on,” Corson said.
He kept his back against the building as wemade our way toward the trailer-less Mac trucks I’d seen parkedbeside the building when we first arrived. Slipping past the fronttires of one, we knelt by the bumper of a large blue truck tosurvey the parking lot while Erin, Vargas, and Hawk kept an eye onthe building behind us.
I could see our white pickup parked about ahundred and fifty feet away. It was so close yet so unbelievablyfar away. “Are we going to make a run for it?” Vargas inquired.
“They were right behind us inside thebuilding. We might be able to make it,” I said.
“And if they split up before entering thebuilding, or after they entered, and one of them is out front now?”Corson inquired. “Bullets hurt us, but they don’t stop demons, andyour abilities are too sporadic to rely on right now.”
“They’ve gotten better,” I reminded him.
“They have, but are you willing to run outthere and expose all of us to someone who may be waiting? Thesearen’t the same as the creatures we’ve seen so far. These areLucifer’s followers, and if one of them isn’t a lower-level demon,then he has abilities.”
I shuddered at the implication of his wordsand the calculation our trackers were probably using. One of themwould be waiting for us up front somewhere, and I had a feeling Iknew who it would be. I felt trapped, pinned to the spot, as Iglanced at the door behind us before turning back to look at ourpickup again. Why couldn’t I have a vision when Ireallywanted to have one?
“Do you hear or see anything back there?” Iasked.
