Page 67 of I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell

“Wait,” Luke says before I can make the dash to another container. We crouch behind the steel wall as he points to the roof of the fortress. “Beliar’s guards are out.”

I had put my contacts back in for optimal eyesight, but I still have to squint to see the faint outline of people standing on the roof. They’re huge and still as statues, with bows clutched in their hands. Archers. “Does that mean he’s expecting us?”

“Not necessarily.”

“How do we get by them?”

“The darkness helps.” Luke nods at the sky. Since leaving the van, the clouds have gotten even lower, alluding to the potential of another Reckoning. I resist the temptation to reach up and try to grab the deep purple puffs. “And also the fact that they’re blind.”

“Blind archers?”

“But their hearing is superb. Make a sound once we’re within earshot and you’ll be skewered in an instant.”

“Is this your way of telling me to shut up?”

All I can make out is the white of his teeth as he grins. “Way to take the hint. Getting past them won’t be the hardest part. Getting in will. Making it in and out undetected by Beliar is preferable. I’m guessing he’s keeping Krystal and the women in one of the bedrooms on the top floor.”

While a soft glow emanates from every other window, the entire third floor is in darkness. If I were a heartless demonic kidnapper, that’s where I’d keep my victims. “So, no dungeon?”

“Houses in the desert don’t have basements. Sorry to disappoint.”

“I’m devastated,” I deadpan.

“I’ve been in Beliar’s estate before,” Luke admits. Before I can ask how or why, he goes on. “There’s a back door leading to the butler’s pantry, which holds the entrance to a servants’ stairwell. He’d never stoop so low as to use that or even venture to that side of the house. If we can get there—”

“What if we climbed the trellis?”

Luke frowns. “What do you mean?”

I point to the garden framing the right side of the estate and the trellis that reaches all the way up to an open window on the second floor. It’s marked with brilliant yellow buds that stand out despite the darkness. “We climb that trellis, get in on the second floor, find the nearest staircase to the third, get our girls, take the servants’ staircase down to the first floor, out the back door, and we’re in the van before Beliar knows we were here in the first place.”

Luke is silent for a long moment. Long enough to make me itch. “Never mind, we can go—”

“That’s genius,” he interrupts, a prideful gleam in his eyes. “Risky, but let’s do it.”

We slink closer until we reach the last row of shipping containers below the ridge. Luke pauses, pressing a finger to his lips.

I have a much better view of the archers, which does nothing but unnerve me more. They’re as still as statues because they are statues. Made of dark gray stone, they hold tight to their bows, waiting. Their helmets are pulled low so I can’t see their eyes, if they even have any.

Luke makes a motion to continue moving. I follow him from behind the safety of the shipping container, racing to the ridge. Taking the steps would put us right in line with the front door, so we make quick work of quietly scaling the dusty slope. Luke’s faster than me, but I push myself to keep up as my feet slide over the loose soil. We left the majority of our things in the van, but Luke insisted on bringing his backpack and swapped out the plethora of soul jars for weapons. Now, it thumps against his back with each pound of his feet, the sound dull but still sound.

I skid into the garden surrounding the estate, trampling everything my feet touch. Before I fully face-plant into the trellis, Luke grabs my arm, slowing my momentum.

You alright? he mouths.

I nod, trying to catch my breath as quietly as possible. He turns to the trellis, testing its wooden lattice to make sure it holds.

I take in the stunning garden I just mowed down. Most of the plants are unfamiliar, but I recognize the blue buds winding up the trellis amid the yellow as moonflowers. On the exterior wall beside it is a row of bushes with plump dark berries. My boots sink into the moist dirt. It’s all so out of place and strange amid the arid climate.

Luke taps my arm, dragging my attention back to the trellis and motioning me to go first.

The climb is tedious. My hands and feet move almost of their own accord, spurred on by the adrenaline pumping through my blood at the realization that we’re here. We’re going to save Krystal and the other women, and everything is going to be okay.

A morbid piece of me—the slice that keeps unceremoniously looking down—wonders what will happen should we get caught. Would Beliar immediately off us? Would he still want me as a final sacrifice, or did he replace me? I shouldn’t be offended, but the notion that even a demon might deem me replaceable is a new low.

Luke climbs beneath me, which doesn’t provide much comfort. If I fall, it’ll be impossible not to take him with me.

So, falling isn’t an option. My arms shake with the effort of ascending. I’ve never had an explicit fear of heights, but the farther we get from the ground, the more I start to question that.