Angie Fox - The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers

“Wait. Where we going?” Pirate asked, as I scooped him out of the bag.

If I was really going to do this, controlling my dog would be the least of my problems. Pirate would need to be able to move.

“We’re going to figure out what the heck is wrong with me,” I said, setting him down. “And we’re going to learn what in Hades is going on here,” I added as Ricardo Zarro hit a high note.

Pirate eyed me warily. “O, biscuits,” he said, his collar tinkling as he shook off.

“Come on,” I said, looking Pirate square in the eye. “Let’s show these creatures what happens when they mess with a terrier.”

“That wasn’t very smart of them, was it?” Pirate said, his ears pricking. “And too bad for them, I think I’ve got some Great Dane in me too.” He snarled.

“I always suspected rottweiler,” I said as we crept down the stairway and under the stage. I braced a hand against the low ceiling as I took the steep, narrow stairs. The wooden beams of the stage hung low over the cavelike room. Extra props, junk and costume racks crowded the space.

This place felt wrong. I stood at the bottom of the staircase, unwilling to go farther, the excess energy from the demons prickling my skin. No way a couple of powerful succubi had any need for anything down here. There were no other exits. I wasn’t a gambler, but I’d be willing to bet we’d found their portal.

The small room under the stage reeked of sulfur. Miscellaneous stage gear crowded the place, stacked to the ceiling in some areas. We made our way past a cluster of microphone stands and around a pile of half-assembled scaffolding before I spotted the portal, shimmering among a collection of silk scarves.

No bigger than a soap bubble, the illicit pathway churned dark and menacing as a black hole.

I rubbed Pirate’s head as I gathered my courage.

“Oh, Lizzie. Oh, Pup-peroni.” Pirate’s claws clickety clacked on the hardwood floor. “I’d eat it if I didn’t think it’d try to eat me first.”

“You’re not doing anything, baby dog. You wait for me here.”

Pirate sniffed. “You know I’ll guard it for you. Shoot. That’s what guard dogs do.”

I braced myself. I had to see if this was our link to purgatory or hell or whatever held back the succubi. You’d think the 1936 handbook could have mentioned that. I held my breath and the bubble stretched as I stepped through.

Heat gripped me. It was ten times worse than sliding into a hot car on a hundred-degree day, but that’s all I could think of as I slogged through the ovenlike tunnel.

Steamy air scorching my lungs.

In an instant, I’d stepped out of the portal and straight into a world of ice. My sweat gelled instantly as frigid winds buffeted me. I stood in the middle of a maze of ice, the sheer white walls towering in every direction. Creatures moved behind the opaque barriers, their claws scratching into the frost.

My heart stuttered. I’d been here before. “Welcome to the first layer of hell.”

The portal spit fire and I leapt out of the way.

“It’s around the corner,” a voice hissed.

I ducked down the nearest passageway. Oh cripes. Last time, I hadn’t even gotten my feet cold before a demon sensed me. I glanced over my shoulder. The creatures in the ice had attacked me last time. They looked like white-scaled lizards and they could bite. Hard. No way I was going through that again.

Dimitri’s emerald flashed a brilliant green, and I nearly jumped with shock. “What the… ?” I held it away from my chest, but it had already faded to dull again.

Around the corner, a demon received her instructions.

“Assemble your team. Remain here until the portal turns blue. Then it’ll be cold enough to pass.”

I fought a shiver. They had entire invasion teams ready.

The portal crackled with energy, like a sadistic bug zapper that was somehow churning out superlocusts.

They had to sense me on their home turf. Unhitching a switch star, I braced for the attack of the remaining demon, hoping to heck the ice creature didn’t decide to charge at the same time.

I waited, ready, until my elbow stiffened and my fingers cramped around my switch star. “What the… ?” I ducked my head around the corner and found the portal deserted.

How would the demon let me go? Why? I’d never heard of a demon slayer walking around in hell and nobody noticing.

Unless… I sheathed my switch star and stared at the 6-6-6 glowing on my palm—I somehow belonged here now.

I was done blending. I wrapped my arms around my chest, braced myself and charged back through the portal. The heat clawed at me. This time, I didn’t care. Standing it, enduring it meant I had something good in me. That meant I didn’t belong in hell, even if the demons seemed to think so.

In less than a minute, I was back into the costume room and into a mess.

I could tell in an instant that the demons had left the building, yet Pirate crouched in attack mode, stranded on top of an overturned trash can, his tail quivering. The hellhounds paced back and forth in front of Pirate’s makeshift island, glowering at him.

“And those grizzly bears knew there was no shame in running away,” Pirate said, his nails scratching at the slick plastic, “on account of my utter fierceness.”

The trash can rocked as I scooped Pirate into my arms. The creatures didn’t stalk me, like they had Pirate. They darted back to the stairs—our only exit—and crouched, fangs bared, their saliva hissing as it oozed onto the floor.

“It’s bad, Lizzie. Bad, I tell you.” Pirate clung to me, shaking, his nails biting into my skin. “You disappeared and a minute later—zing—hellhounds. They don’t talk, they don’t sniff. And if you ask me, that’s just creepy.”

My breath hitched. “Something must have brought them back.”

As if I hadn’t endured enough surprises in the last five minutes, Dimitri charged down the stairs. He wore faded jeans and a clean black T-shirt, his hair still slick from a shower. “I don’t believe this, Lizzie.” He looked at me like this was somehow my fault.

“I told you to stay away.”

“And the emerald told me differently,” he said, his eyes catching the dead stone at my neck.

Lovely. It was too weak to protect me, strong enough to tell on me.

Dimitri towered at the edge of the stairs. “Exactly what have you been doing?”

“I’m surviving,” I said. And I’d continue to do so because it was the only thing I could do at this point.

Still, in spite of his accusation and, well, everything—I was glad to see him and reassured that no matter what it cost him, it seemed Dimitri would always be there for me.

The hellhounds glared at us, their eye sockets glowing yellow. I felt my pulse speed up. Omens or not, these things smelled evil. The one on the left wheezed out a breath of frigid air as Dimitri drew way too close.

The beasts snapped and Dimitri leapt back.

Pirate tried to clamber up to my shoulders and I pulled him down. “Easy, guy.”

Pirate whipped his head around. “Easy?” He snorted, peppering my shoulder with doggie snot. “You want me to take it easy? Because frankly, I don’t know what there is to relax about. We got demons after us and we’re trapped down in this room and you have a glowy hand and then you leave me alone with hell dogs.” Pirate managed a weak bark in their direction before he nuzzled his nose under the crook of my arm. “I thought they were going to eat me whole and use my toenails for toothpicks.”

Poor Pirate. He didn’t deserve any of this. I rubbed him on the head and stuffed him under my other arm to free up my switch star hand. The acrid scent of demons hung heavy in the air.