Free Forsaken by Daniele Lanzarotta Page B

 
    “Took you long enough!” says Samael.  
    “You piece of—”  
    Chase interrupts me, “Where is Kayla?”  
    I look at him with disgust.  He watches me but doesn’t say anything.  I launch toward
     him but my body goes through his.  
    “What the hell?” I ask.  
    “Yeah, about that… I’m dead.”  
    “WHERE IS SHE?”  
    “Look, I’m here to help you get to her, okay? But chill out.”  
    I know he didn’t just tell me to calm down.  
    “Is she okay? Is she hurt?”  
    “She is fine and I can tell you how to get there, but Chase won’t be able to get through
     and neither will I.”  
    “But I will?” I ask.  
    “I’m not sure.  You’re different than any other beings I know.  I’m not exactly sure
     how the rules of Hell apply to you exactly.”  He pauses.  “There’s a building there.
      It’s the only one you’ll see, but it’s warded.  Also, there are a lot fires around
     and the lost souls are a bit more aggressive than the ones here.”  
    “How do I get past the wards?” I ask.  
    He shrugs.  “I honestly don’t know.  For all I know you could get in there but just
     not be able to get out.  Worst case scenario, you’ll be her motivation to break out.”  
    “She hasn’t tried to break out before?” I ask.  “I know her.  She would have.”  
    “She did at least once, but things are not that simple.  There were other obstacles.
      Not to mention that fear can block what we can do.  Our abilities were already limited
     because of Ezra’s wards, but some of her fears made things worse.”  
    “Fear?  You are talking about Kayla?”  
    He nods.  “For one thing, she is afraid too much time passed and that you moved on.
      God knows I have no idea what she sees in you—”  
    “Enough. Stop wasting time.  How do I get there?”  
    He points to the side.  “Keep moving that way.  You’ll see the fires soon enough.”
     He pauses.  “I was only given a limited amount of time to help.  I have to go, but
     Chase should follow you for as long as he is able to.”  
    “Where are you going?” I ask.  
    “I can’t say, mostly because I don’t know it myself.” He hesitates.  “Before you go,
     you should know that some things have changed, but they won’t be what they seem.  Please
     help her make things right.”  
    I give him a puzzled look.  
    “Time to go,” he says as he vanishes and we are in darkness again.  
    Chase and I don’t say a word.  We practically run in the direction he pointed.  
    We run until Chase abruptly stops.  “This is as far as I can go,” he says. “We must
     be close.  I’ll wait here.  If things don’t go right, just rush back.”  
    I shake my head.  “I’m not coming back, Chase.  Not without her.”  
    Chase nods.  
    I take a step forward and I can see the flames and feel the heat on my skin.  In a
     blur of movements, three of the lost souls appear and advance toward me.    
    “Step out of my way,” I order them.  
    They look at me as if they didn’t understand what I just said.  They keep moving forward
     and so do I.  One of them, a male, reaches me.  I try to shove him out of my way,
     but my hand goes right through him.  He screams in pain, but doesn’t stop.  I look
     at Kayla’s dagger and having no other ideas, I launch forward and as soon as the metal
     of her dagger touches him, he shrieks and fades away.  The others watch in horror
     before they turn around and start to walk away.  They take a couple of steps at a
     regular pace then they just disappear.        
    I hesitate to go any further, but only for a split second.  The heat is strong, but
     bearable.  I wonder how much worse it will get, and then, I see her.  Her hair is
     dark, but even from a distance, I know it’s her.  I would find her anywhere.  She
     sees me too.  She is with two others and they seem to be protecting her, but as soon
     as her eyes lock on mine, we run