Entanglement

“Azlynn, please don’t go,” Dante murmured. He traced his fingers lightly over her bare shoulder, marveling yet again at how soft her skin was. She smelled like cinnamon and wild roses; and her pale skin was softer than the finest satin.

“I have to,” she whispered, for probably the millionth time in the last three days. He and the others had been trying to convince her that it was too dangerous, but she was adamant about attending the Feast of Souls and challenging Leviathan.

He tried to hide it, but he was secretly downright terrified at the thought of her going down there alone. He knew she was strong, but he also knew she was vulnerable as well. She was like a delicate figurine made of porcelain, wrapped in walls of steel. He dreaded her descending into Hell and trying to take it on all by herself.

“Then take me with you,” he insisted. Azlynn shifted, rolling over to face him. Her dark hair fell across her face. She sighed. “I can’t.”

“Why not? You don’t think I can take care of myself down there. I’m not exactly weak, Azlynn.”

“You’re also not a demon,” she said evenly. “They’re not going to let you in, unless it’s in chains and they’re using you as a main course.”

“Who’s not going to let me in?” he demanded. “And what makes you think I won’t take their heads off and force my way in?”

Azlynn smiled faintly. “You can’t take on Hell, Dante.”

“And neither can you! I don’t care what the Hell you tell me, I’m going with you if you insist on going through with this madness. No pun intended.”

Azlynn looked thoughtful. “All right, I’ll think about it,” she promised.

“No. No thinking about it. I’m going with you. You can‘t stop me.”

She was about to reply when Dante’s cell phone rang. Grumbling, he answered it. “What?”

“Delia’s in the hospital.” Miller’s grim voice came from the other end. Dante switched it to speaker. “What?”

“She was in a car accident on the way home last night. She’s still in the ICU; she hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Walden,” Dante spat.

“We’re pretty certain.”

“That son of a bitch.”

“How’s Lawson doing?” Azlynn asked.

“Not good,” Miller said, voice low.

“That bastard. That’s incredibly fucking low,” Dante said. “Delia has nothing to do with any of this. Why does he have to drag her into it?”

“To teach Will a lesson,” Miller said bitterly. “Why else?”

“Because he’s a psychotic dick with a superiority complex?” Dante suggested. Miller snorted in reply. “You don’t even know the half of it. I’ll call you back later; I’m going back in to check on Will.”

“I say at some point we go pay Walden a little visit,” Dante said. “Drop in and say hi.”

“DeMarco…”

“Hey, we’re already in deep shit. Might as well swim in it before they line us up in front of the firing squad.”

“Now there’s a pleasant image.”

“Tell Lawson to hang in there,” Dante said.

“I will. Talk to you later.” Dante hung up. He and Azlynn stared solemnly at each other for a moment.

“This is some fucked up shit,” Dante remarked. She nodded.

“If Walden has a problem with us, why doesn’t he just come after us?” Dante fumed. “Is he really such a fucking coward?”

“He can’t come after us. He doesn’t know where we are, and besides, he knows exactly how powerful we are. He saw proof of that at the testing facility.”

“Yeah well he should’ve fucking thought about that before he kidnapped you.”

“People never think about anything until it’s too late,” she said quietly.

“Amen.” He grinned as Azlynn rolled her eyes.

“What?”

“Amen? Really? I hope you never say that in the middle of sex.”

“I just might,” Dante said, laughing. “Maybe I’ll clasp my hands and bow too, just to piss you off.”

“Please don’t,” Azlynn groaned.

“I’m going with you,” Dante said again. “Whether you let me or not.”

Azlynn looked away. “Fine,” she said, eyes trained on the window. Dante pulled her against him, kissing her as rain pattered gently against the windows.



When Dante reached out the next morning, he felt nothing but air. He sat up with a jerk. Azlynn was gone from her place beside him.

“Azlynn?” he shouted. There was no reply. The apartment was silent as a grave. Dante swung out of bed, checking the bathroom, the front room, the kitchen. She was gone.

“Dammit woman!” he yelled, slamming his fist against the countertop. “I should have known, now what the fuck am I gonna do?” He ran his hands through his hair. “Dammit woman,” he muttered again. “Why do you have to be so damned stubborn and noble?” He fetched his phone from the bedroom and dialed Miller.

“Hey Sarge, I’m gonna be unavailable for a few days. I have to take a little trip down South.”

“Georgia?” Miller asked, sounding tired and puzzled.

“Further south,” Dante said. “Azlynn took off for that Feast of Souls bullshit.”

“She what? She said a couple days ago that she would wait a while; see if we came up with a better plan.”

“Yeah, well, she lied, apparently,” Dante said dryly. “She split sometime during the night.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Fuck if I know. I just need to find her and make sure she doesn’t get killed.”

“Right, cause you can find her in Hell. How do you plan on getting there?”

“In a hand basket? I don’t fucking know yet, man.”
“I’ll be over with Charlotte in fifteen minutes. Don’t do anything stupid,” Miller ordered. “At least not until we get there to get you out of whatever trouble you get yourself into.”

“Sounds like a party.” Dante hit the end button and started pacing Azlynn’s apartment. He was suddenly struck with an idea. He couldn’t get into Hell, but he could get in with, say, an angel. Azlynn had told him she was good friends with that Gabriel guy, and if Dante remembered his Biblical shit right, he was one of the important angels.

“Okay, how the fuck am I going to do this?” he muttered. “Uh, hey, Gabe? Stuck between a rock and hard fucking place here; it’d be really nice if you could beam your holy, feathered ass down here and help me out. Amen, and hallelujah, and all that shit.” He did an awkward imitation of a cross in front of his face.

“Are you done making a fool of yourself?” Dante spun around to see a golden haired guy with matching wings leaning against Azlynn’s couch, arms folded across his chest and looking somewhere between amused and disgusted.

“No, I never am. What fun would that be?”

“What do you want, Dante?”

“How the Hell do you know-”

“Your name? Archangel, remember? I know a lot of things.”

“Oh, okay. That girl in Grand Rapids was over eighteen, I swear.”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “Did you call me here to make jokes?”

“No, actually, I have a big favor to ask you. One that you probably will be eager to carry out.”

“Oh?” Gabriel arched an eyebrow.

“I need you to send my ass to Hell.”

“Cute.” Gabriel turned to leave.

“I’m serious,” Dante growled. “Azlynn’s down there.”

Gabriel froze, then spun around to face him. “What?”

“She’s going to the Feast of Souls, to challenge Leviathan.” Dante hadn’t thought it possible, but Gabriel’s face actually paled and his gaze was stricken. “Why would she do that?”

“Because she’s Azlynn? I don’t know why she does half the shit she does.”

“I do,” Gabriel said, voice tight. “She’s trying to prove herself.”

“To whom?”

“The Archangels. Leviathan. Herself. She’s showing everyone that she’s truly a Guardian Angel.”

“Well of course she is. She’s always trying to save people.”

“You don’t understand.” Gabriel shook his head. “I have to go find her. I promised her mother I would keep her safe.”

“I’m going with you.”

The front door opened, and Miller and Charlotte filed in, freezing in the doorway and staring from Dante to Gabriel and back again.

“DeMarco, please tell me you have something in your fridge.”

“Yes I do. In my fridge. Azlynn’s is full of Hawaiian Punch.”

Miller scrunched up his face. Dante shrugged. “She’s addicted.”

“Why is there an angel in your living room?” Charlotte asked.

“There’s one in my living room too?” Dante feigned surprise. “The Hell?”

Charlotte gave him an acid glare.

“Why are you people so convinced that this is my place?” Dante asked.

“Because you have a drawer for when you sleep over,” Charlotte replied sweetly. Dante flipped her the bird.

“If you’re done behaving like children,” Gabriel interrupted. “I’d like to go find Azlynn now.”

“I’m going,” Dante and Charlotte said together. Dante scowled at her.

“You?” he said. “Why?”

“She saved my ass when McNitt kidnapped me. I should return the favor.”

“I’m going too,” Miller piped up.

“No,” Gabriel said immediately. “We have to go deep into Hell to find the Feast of Souls. You would not be able to survive it.” He looked at Charlotte. “You shouldn’t go either.”

“Fuck that,” Charlotte said. “If DeMarco is going, I’m going.”

“Who said he was going?”

“I did,” Dante snapped. “I’m a Weredragon; don’t tell me I can’t survive down there. I can take the heat.”

Gabriel sighed. “Heat isn’t the problem. Didn’t you ever read the Bible?”

“Did anyone ever really read the Bible? I’m going, angel boy. I’m not leaving her down there to be torn apart by a psycho on a power trip.”

Gabriel gave him a long, measured look. “You’re in love with her,” he said after a moment.

“So what if I am?” Dante grumbled. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Fine, dragon boy, you can come. But don’t get in my way. And I’m the one leading this…rescue mission. I know what I’m doing, so don’t question me. Understood? Or I’ll ship you straight back to the surface.”

“Okay, fine, whatever. Just open the door, or dig a hole, or do the hokey pokey or whatever the fuck you do to get down there.”

“I’m going too!” Charlotte snapped. “I’m a skin walker; I’m sure I can find something that will let me survive down there.”

“A winter horse won’t survive Hell,” Dante said mockingly. “Neither will a skunk. What are you gonna do, stink the demons to death?”

“Shut the fuck up, fire breath.”

“I have something that will allow you to walk into Hell,” Gabriel cut in. “But the tiger stays.”

“Like Hell I am!” Miller burst out. Charlotte placed a hand gently on his arm. “Stay, Drew,” she said softly. “Stay with Will and Delia; look over them. I’ll be fine.”

“Fine,” Miller agreed through gritted teeth. “But you two better not let her die down there.”

“Duh.” Dante rolled his eyes. “Have some faith, people. Hello, we’re going down there with an angel.”

“God grant me strength,” Gabriel huffed. He disappeared from the room with a beat of his wings.

“Hey!” Dante shouted. “You said we could go-” Gabriel appeared again, holding something black and furry in his hands. He handed it to Charlotte.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“It’s the pelt of a Hellhound,” Gabriel replied. “In this form you’ll be able to walk through Hell.”

“Sweet.” Charlotte took the pelt with a look of fascination. She draped it over herself, and in a few seconds, a large black dog with glowing red eyes was standing in her place.

“You’ll need to shift into your dragon form,” Gabriel said to Dante. “But not here; you’ll destroy the building. I’ll take us to the entrance first.”

“Be careful,” Miller said to Charlotte, resting a hand gently on her head. “And you too, DeMarco.”

“Aye, aye sir.” Dante saluted. Gabriel flapped his wings, and Azlynn’s apartment faded, to be replaced with a dreary grey mist. Dante could barely see his own hand in front of his face.

“Shift,” Gabriel commanded, his golden angel glow piercing through the fog. Dante summoned the power to change, dropping into a crouch as fire literally skimmed across his flesh, engulfing him. He gritted his teeth against the pain as his human form smoldered away. His bones snapped and stretched, rearranging themselves. He felt his torso stretch, then his legs. Claws grew from his hands and feet. Wings extended from his back and horns from his head.

When the flames finally cleared, he was a dragon with dark bronze scales and long black claws protruding from all four feet. Giant bat-like wings unfurled from his shoulders as he stretched, trying to readjust to being in dragon form. Silver and bronze horns extended from his forehead, and he knew that his eyes would be long and slit like a crocodile with red glowing faintly in the pupils. In dragon form, he was approximately the height of a full-grown bull elephant and the length of a sixteen-wheeler.

He looked at Gabriel as if to say, “well, now what?”

Gabriel’s weird glow increased, and he drew two massive swords that glinted silver even in the grayness. He lifted up into the air, them hurled himself back towards the ground. He pointed his swords downward, ramming the blades against stone. The ground shook, and then opened below them. Dante’s wings started to beat, and he fought the instinct to fly upward.

“Follow me,” Gabriel instructed. The three of them made their descent into Hell.

They went much farther down than Azlynn had taken them the first time. Everything was dark and the very walls seemed to pulse with a living, horrific vibe. This place was one of pain and torture.

“We’re about to enter the ninth circle,” Gabriel said, swords still gripped in his hands. A black door engraved with ancient symbols appeared before them, carved into the smooth black rock of the wall.

Cheery place, Dante thought. He didn’t like the narrow space; it made him feel too confined. He hated cages.

“Follow my lead,” Gabriel said. “They’re going to be alerted to our presence as soon as we walk through-” He was cut off as a horrible screeching filled the air. Charlotte snarled, flattening her ears against her head to block it out. Dante swung his head back and forth, searching for the source.

“Never mind,” Gabriel said. “They already know.” He raised his head, looking up. Dante followed suit, staring up into the shadowy recesses of the cave. He saw shadows moving against the vaulted ceiling. They finally came into view and he snorted in disgust. They were about five feet tall, with gray skin and giant white eyes in their flat-nosed, bulbous faces. Thin black lips peeled back to reveal rows of incredibly long, needle-like teeth. They crawled down the walls like spiders, emitting those piercing noises.

There had to be several hundred of them scurrying down from the ceiling; maybe even a thousand. They hovered on the walls, eyes trained on the trio.

“Say hello to your welcoming committee,” Gabriel said, tensing to fight.

The demon horde screeched again, and leaped on them.