Carved (The Road to Hell Series, Book 2) Read online

  With the windows down and the others in the back of the truck once more, my stench wasn’t so overwhelming. Finishing off my trail mix, I crumpled the bag and shoved it into the glove box. I leaned back to watch the headlights bouncing across the pavement. Their dim glow did little to illuminate the way as the night pressed against us. I kept expecting the world to fall away and for us to plummet over the side into nothing.

  Or into Hell.

  CHAPTER 34

  River

  “Cold?” Kobal asked when I rubbed my hands up and down my arms.

  “No. It’s all so creepy. It’s like there’s nothing out there anymore, only this endless road carved through our country leading nowhere.”

  “It leads somewhere.”

  I inhaled deeply and turned to stare at the scraggly, barren landscape I barely recognized anymore. Before there had been green vegetation and life growing in and around the bombed-out and burned-down homes. Now there was life still, but it was nowhere near as abundant and none of the homes around here remained standing. Some of the life I sensed out there wasn’t life I was familiar with or could identify.

  After another couple of hours, Kobal pulled to the side of the road and parked the truck. “We’re far enough away from the akalia to stop for the night and I smell water,” he said.

  I leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek before opening the door and climbing out. I stood, inhaling the fresher air, but there was a strange cloying scent on the breeze that was neither pleasant nor unpleasant. It reminded me of honeysuckle at the same time it reminded me of fire. It was such an odd combination that I couldn’t figure out if I should pinch my nose closed or inhale eagerly.

  “What is that smell?” I inquired.

  “Nuclear fallout.” Erin smiled as she suggested it, but I could hear the anxiety in her tone.

  “Is it?” I asked Kobal.

  “No,” he replied. “It’s probably some plant life in the area.”

  Vargas leaned over the side of the truck to dig through the supplies in the back. He pulled out a yellow box with a metal handhold and turned it on before pulling out a black, handheld device.

  “It’s not radiation,” Kobal said impatiently to him. “We checked this area before.”

  “Don’t care,” Vargas muttered as he walked around the area with the radiation detectors.

  I watched him until he came back and put the devices away. “Everything is reading normal.”

  “Good,” Erin said and turned back to the truck.

  My thought exactly. “You said something about water,” I said to Kobal.

  “I did.” He gathered my bag of supplies before tugging his own from the truck.

  He slung his bag over his shoulder and kept hold of mine as he took my hand and led me across the small clearing, down an embankment, and through some small pines and oaks. I surveyed the woods as we walked, taking in all the details that were similar and different than the forests I was used to.

  The oak leaves were green, but they didn’t shine and were a more faded green than the vibrant ones I was used to. The pine tree’s needles drooped as we walked by and like the oak leaves, these were also a faded green color. Maybe this area was experiencing a drought right now, but something felt more off about this place than that simple explanation allowed.

  Stepping around a few of the trees, my concerns about the plant life vanished when I spotted the large lake. The moon shone on the water, lighting a pathway across its smooth surface. Lightning bugs zipped over it, their flashes of light reflecting in the water like shooting stars falling from the sky.

  Crickets chirruped and I heard the distant hoot of an owl from one of the trees across the way. The crisp smell of the water called to me, and I was about to strip when Kobal tugged on my hand and gestured toward a section of small willow trees hanging over the shoreline of the lake. They’d grown tall enough that their limbs bent over and their leaves skimmed the surface of the water to provide a natural, private canopy.

  I followed him around the edge of the lake toward the trees. Looking at the shoreline, I didn’t see any signs of drought as the water lapped high against the banks the lake had carved into the land. Reaching the privacy of the willows, I released Kobal’s hand to unbuckle the guns at my waist. I placed them on the bank before setting my katana beside them and eagerly pulling my soiled clothing off. Kobal remained silent as he stripped beside me and tossed his clothes aside. I grabbed my bar of lemon soap and small bottle of shampoo, before plunging into the warm water.

  A blissful sigh escaped me as the lake lapped and flowed around my skin. The water rose up high enough to cover my breasts before I ducked my head under the surface and came back up again. I scrubbed myself as I listened to the sounds of others trudging down to the lake from different points in the woods.

  Kobal stayed by my side, his naked body moving to block mine if anyone ventured too close. They wouldn’t be able to see us beneath the willows anyway. My eyes skimmed over my body, my brow furrowing as I realized that the numerous bruises I’d received from Azote were already fading. I should have had them for at least a week, probably two, but they looked as if they would be gone tomorrow or the next day.

  My hands fell into the lake as I turned toward Kobal. “My bruises are healing faster than normal.”

  He tore his attention away from making sure no one came near us to focus on me. His eyes skimmed over me before landing on the faded bruise running down my left side. It had been black yesterday. Today it already had a yellowish tinge to it and was more brown.

  “Like me, you are healing faster,” he murmured as he took a step toward me, rested his hands on my shoulders, and gently turned me before him to inspect the bruises on my back.

  “How is that possible?”

  He was silent as he studied me before turning me to face him again. “Our bond has made you stronger and you’re drawing on the life around you more.”

  “But I’m not.”

  “You’re doing it without realizing it. You always have. But now that you’re using your ability more, it’s growing and it’s powering you more. It has helped to accelerate your rate of healing.”

  “Huh.” I had no other response for that as I mulled over his words.

  “It’s a good thing,” he said quietly.

  Tilting my head back, I smiled up at him. “It is,” I agreed. “It’s just strange, but I’m okay with not being a walking bruise anymore, and maybe it will help heal broken bones faster too.”

  He kissed my forehead before releasing my shoulders and taking a step back. “I’m sure it will, but I don’t intend for you to find out.”

  “Me either.”

  I returned to bathing while he kept an eye on the woods. It was while I was washing the shampoo from my hair that it hit me the feel of everything here was different. I stood up in the water and stared at the ripples radiating out from me. Lifting my head, I spotted some people across the lake bathing close to each other. There were a few more a hundred or so feet to the left of them.

  Beyond them, I studied the sickly looking woods as my fingers skimmed over the surface of the warm water. I felt a pulse within the lake, but it was more sluggish than what I was used to. The smell here was different, the trees not as vibrant. We were getting closer to the gateway to Hell and the world was changing.

  “It feels different here,” I murmured.

  Kobal stepped in front of me and rested his hands on my shoulders again. The brush of his chest against mine caused my nipples to pucker as I moved closer to him. Beads of water slid over his body in rivulets I longed to follow with my tongue. I watched one trickle all the way down to where it dripped into the water. I licked my lips as my fingers slid over the carved muscles of his abs.

  “How does it feel different?” he asked, his voice husky as my hands dipped lower.

  I bit my lip when the head of his thick shaft emerged above the water line, swelling before my eyes. Unable to resist, I slid my fingers over its silk
en tip, rubbing the beads of water over the sensitive flesh before stroking my hand over his length. His breath rushed in, and his body jerked in my grasp. I smiled when I lifted my head to take in the rapt expression on his face as he watched my hand working over him.

  “How is it different, River?” he prodded.

  His hand caressing the underside of one of my breasts made it difficult to recall what we’d been talking about. “The flow of life here, it’s not the same,” I said. “Before, the world felt fluent and malleable. Now it feels stuck, almost like in sap or… I don’t know how to explain it.”

  The look on his face made me realize he was contemplating throwing me over his shoulder and dragging me out of here. I’d seen that same look a few times since we left the church. His hand stilled on me.

  “We can’t leave,” I said before he could speak.

  “I know,” he grated from between his teeth.

  “We’re close to the gateway to Hell now. The earth isn’t the same here. It makes sense that it wouldn’t be. I just hadn’t considered the possibility until now. We’ll get through this.”

  “Mortal.” The word was said in such a ragged, desperate tone of voice that it tore at my heart and my hand stopped moving on him. His eyes had turned amber at the word; they blazed with life and the wildness of the hounds within him.

  “I always have been.”

  He dragged his hand through his wet hair. His anguish and uncertainty beat against me as I used my body and hand to maneuver him back toward the bank.

  “River,” he growled when I bent to run my lips over his chest and my tongue slid out to lick away the water on his flesh. The taste of the lake water on his fire-scented skin filled my senses and kicked my desire into hyperdrive. “We must talk about this.”

  “Later,” I murmured as I slid my tongue over one of the hard ridges of his abs before lowering my head to lick over the deep line carved down the center. Sparks danced across my fingers as I traced his rigid muscles with my fingers. They lit his silken, damp flesh in a golden glow.

  I couldn’t get enough of his taste, of his scent, and the feel of him straining within my hand. Bending lower, I ran my tongue around his belly button, but it was the enticing head straining out of the water toward me that beckoned to me the most. I’d yet to touch him or taste him in such a way, not because I didn’t want to, but simply because it hadn’t happened yet. Now, nothing would stop me from knowing him in this way.

  His hands gripped my shoulders, and he stopped breathing when my lips hovered over him. Ever so slowly, I ran my tongue across the head of his shaft. Within my hand, his erection swelled and strained toward me. A smile curved my mouth before I licked over him again.

  ***

  Kobal

  “Shit,” I hissed when River’s mouth slid over the top of my dick.

  Her tongue trailed over the sensitized flesh as she moved, tasting me with an eagerness I’d never experienced before. There was something we should be discussing, but for the life of me, I couldn’t recall what, nor did I care to, as I watched her.

  Bracing my elbows against the bank, I lifted my hips out of the water. Her smile deepened before she slid further over me, her tongue lapping away the water dripping down me as she worked her mouth and hand over my cock. Pleasure spiraled out through me as my fingers dug into the mossy riverbank.

  I almost shouted aloud when her other hand slid down to cup my heavy balls and she rolled them within her grasp. When a strand of her hair fell forward to shield her features, I pulled it back to expose her face to me once more. Her eyes fluttered open, their violet depths met and held mine as I slid my hand over her cheek and down to cup her full breasts. A small moan escaped her and her eyes closed again.

  I couldn’t stop my exploration of her body as my hand dipped over her side and back up to rub her hardened nipple. She moved forward, her breasts brushing over my thighs as she pulled me deeper within her, sucking and licking me in a hungry way that had me on the verge of exploding.

  I gritted my teeth against the urge to come. Not yet. The hotness of her wet mouth on my flesh was almost more than I could bear. Her other hand fell away from me to trace over my side before her nails dug into my ass and she pulled me deeper into her.

  My free hand shot out and seized a root of the willow tree exposed by the water. I watched her head bow and dip and lost myself to her tongue and lips. My fingers threaded through her hair, holding her closer as my hips rose and fell with her movements, and I resisted thrusting harder into her mouth.

  The pressure built steadily within me until I neared my breaking point. “River, I’m going to come. Must… stop.”

  Her eyes flew open when I tried to draw her away. Their amethyst depths burned into mine, but she didn’t pull away as she watched me. “River…”

  Releasing my ass, her hand came forward to cup my balls once more. Unable to take anymore, a guttural shout escaped me as I came in a rush. Her tongue slid over the head of my pulsing cock, taking all of me into her, before she pulled away from me.

  My eyes latched onto her as she licked her lips and rose from the water. Beads of liquid trailed over her delicate flesh and into the lake. I’d just found my release, yet I grew hard again as I watched the water sliding enticingly over her lithe body.

  Rising out of the water, my hands fell on her waist before I lifted her against me. “Did you like that?” I demanded hoarsely as my tongue ran over her ear.

  “Very much so,” she whispered. “You taste delicious, like fire and salt. Addicting.”

  Unable to stop myself from claiming her, my fangs sank into her shoulder. Her legs wrapped around my waist as she opened herself to me and I felt the heated wetness of her sex against my cock.

  ***

  River

  The piercing pain of his bite rapidly faded to be replaced with the euphoria it always caused to wash over my body. My arms encircled his neck, drawing him closer as his tongue licked my shoulder with his fangs still within me. His lingering taste on my tongue and lips was like an aphrodisiac. I hadn’t been lying when I said he tasted of fire and salt and I wanted more.

  I needed him inside of me with a desperation that had me clawing at the slick, taut skin of his back. The strength of his reaction to what had just transpired between us, and the thrill of power that reaction gave me had me aching for him.

  The heady evidence of his arousal rubbed against my wet center before he thrust upward and into me. He drove in so deeply, I swore he touched a piece of my soul. I nearly keened in ecstasy, but managed to keep it suppressed as my teeth sank into his shoulder. Sparks arched from my fingers to play across his flesh. The water rippled and flowed around us as he braced his legs apart and I began to ride him.

  CHAPTER 35

  River

  “We have to see how your power is working,” Kobal told me as soon as he finished buttoning his pants.

  I pushed back a strand of my damp hair and shoved it behind my ear before bending to tug on my boots. The katana shifted on my back with the movement and my guns bounced against my side. Glancing up at him, I tied my boot as I watched him shove our things into our bags. Normally, he relaxed at least a little after sex, but not this time.

  “I’m sure it’s fine,” I said. “I still feel the connection.”

  “But not as strongly.”

  “No, it’s… different here, but look at how quickly I’m healing. It can’t be that different.”

  “The fact you’re healing faster could be from the life you drew from the earth before reaching here. It could also be from the life you harvest from me and the strength of our Chosen bond.” He turned toward me, nearly spilling the contents from my still-open bag. “Your ability to harvest life is because of the life around you. If you’re not able to feed from it in the same way, it will affect your power.”

  “You mean it will affect me.” The realization made my fingers slip away from my shoelaces and my heart sink as a fear blazed to life within me. “Like Lucifer.
”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “But it’s what you’re thinking.” I now realized where all of this pent-up tension was coming from as a hollow feeling spread through my body. I accepted I could die. I would die if it was necessary to save my brothers and so many others, but I was not willing to accept that I could become anything like that bastard ancestor of mine.

  “No, River, that’s not what I’m thinking. You still feel the connection. We have to make sure you can still use it in the same way.”

  He wouldn’t lie to me. If that was what he was worried about, he would say it, but now the idea was embedded in my head.

  Deep breaths. One day at a time, one minute at a time; that’s the only way you’ll get through this.

  “Well, you just had my power sparking pretty good,” I reminded him, hoping to coax a smile from him and ease the mood. It didn’t work as he stared resolutely back at me.

  “I haven’t changed, but you’re feeling the world around you differently. We have to know how that will affect you.”

  “Okay, we’ll find out.”

  “Now.”

  Now all I wanted was sleep, but I could tell from the look on his face, he wouldn’t get any rest until he knew. If I was somehow defunct in this land of strange smells and stranger life pulses, he’d never sleep again, I was certain of it.

  I took a deep breath and rested my hand on the ground. Beneath my fingers, the pulse of life within the earth swirled up to meet me. A small smile played across my lips as the intricate bond worked its way over me. It may not feel the same in this area, but it was still there and the life force was like a familiar, comforting blanket as it slipped over me.

  “It’s sluggish,” I muttered. Lines formed around his mouth when his lips compressed. “But I can still feel it and draw on it.”

  That reassurance didn’t have the anticipated effect as he remained unmoving before me. Closing my eyes, I dug deeper, pulling at the slower pulse beneath my fingers and drawing it upward. It slithered through my hand and up into my arm. I looked down, half-expecting to see black running through my skin, or over it as it almost felt like tar, but all I saw were golden-blue sparks shooting from my hands instead of golden-white ones.