Free Apocalypse: The Lords of Deliverance Compendium by Larissa Ione Page B

had been there. She read to Thanatos a lot, and he didn’t think he could ever thank her enough for that.
    So why is it about to get worse?
He wanted to scream at them, could feel his left hand, which was concealed at his side, begin to curl into a fist.
    “Last week, Pestilence claimed Australia in the name of Sheoul.”
    Oh, shit. Demons who were normally bound to Sheoul—what humans called hell—could now occupy Australia. A country that size could host millions of demons and allow for them to set the stage for a massive global attack. Demons had, since the beginning of time, desired to kick off the Apocalypse in order to defeat mankind and take the Earth as a trophy, and with Australia in their pockets, they’d just lobbed the ball that much closer to the end zone.
    What about the humans?
    Limos, who had always been in sync with his thoughts, answered as though she’d heard him. “Any humans who didn’t evacuate are… lost.”
    “We got a few out.” Ares’s voice turned bleak. “Kynan, Limos, Arik and I got a few.”
    “It’s bad,” Limos said. “But the good news is that The Aegis found a way to close the hellmouths. It’s temporary… the magic they’re using is being eaten away by demon countermagic, but it’s slowed mass demon movement.” She patted his arm. “Be patient, Than. Only a couple of weeks left to go, and we’ll release you.”
    A couple of weeks? Why then?
    Ares squeezed Than’s foot. “Someone will be here in a couple of hours for your next injection. We’ll be back when we can.”
    He and Limos left, and hell, no, Thanatos wasn’t planning to be around for the next injection. For some reason, he could move again, and he was getting the fuck out of here.
    Summoning all his willpower, he rocked his body until he built up enough momentum to roll out of bed. Hitting the floor hurt like a son of a bitch, but the pain only spurred him on. Something was tugging at his insides. Danger. Death. Both. Except the pull toward danger was a different sensation than anything he’d ever felt. It was almost as if
he
was the one in danger… but the feeling was distant. Whatever it was, it called to him, and he had to go.
    He ripped the IV catheter out of his hand and dragged himself to the sliding glass door. Grunting, he shoved onto his hands and knees and crawled outside. Death and danger still yanked at him, two distinct ropes pulling him in opposite directions. The danger rope seemed more… urgent, but in his current, weakened state, he couldn’t risk dropping himself into what could be one of Pestilence’s traps. Death, however, filled him with energy.
    Right. Death first, danger second.
    Letting the tug to death guide him, he opened a Harrowgate and lurched through it. Instantly, hot, humid air hit Than like a furnace blast. The stench of rotting flesh and burning wood stung his nostrils. Weakly, he lifted his head and frowned at the sight of scorched earth and fallen trees. Than’s internal GPS was telling him he was Down Under, but he’d never seen it like this before.
    So much death.
Explained why he’d been drawn here.
    “Hey there, man.” Thanatos jerked his head around to the shirtless male in skin-tight pants that kept shifting colors to blend in with the smoky gray and black background.
    “Hades.” His voice sounded like he’d swallowed shards of glass. “Is this… Australia?”
    “Yeppers.” Hades strode several feet, his boots crunching down on charred bones that appeared to be both human and demon. “Since it’s been claimed in the name of Sheoul, I can hang out here.”
    Of course. Hades was as bound to Sheoul as a demon, although for a very different reason. A fallen angel, he’d been forced to run Sheoul-gra, the place where demon and evil human souls were kept, unless Azagoth, also known as the Grim Reaper, allowed him out.
    “Azagoth let you… leave Sheoul-gra?”
    “He gave me an hour,” Hades said, his voice degenerating into a sarcastic drawl.