On the other hand, every minute I waste here is another minute I’m taking a risk. A risk that they will find a way in here and get to her. Then they’ll have everything. Her soul. Her body.
And then what?
Is she gone forever?
I can’t think about that. Because I have a plan and I need to focus. Ever since I arrived at the Hive, things have been in Kraven’s control. But that’s about change.
When Valery arrives, I’m ready for her.
“I’ll be the only one attending training today,” I announce.
“Whaaa?” Blue stands up, his mouth stuffed with a flaky crescent.
I don’t take my eyes off Red. “I mean it, Valery. Take me to Kraven. Just me.” I square my shoulders, raise my chin, and wait.
She must realize I’m serious, because she nods. Conversation explodes behind me as I follow her out, but I just close the door and keep moving. I don’t have time to explain.
When we get to the training room, I ask Valery to leave. Her mouth pulls into a half smile, like she’s somehow proud that I’m making demands. I don’t understand this in the least, but I accept it.
She turns to go, and a few minutes later, Kraven saunters in. He’s wearing white pants and a white sleeveless shirt. There’s a green belt cinched around his waist, and I’m a bit thrown off because I thought Miami was allergic to color.
“We need to talk,” I say.
Kraven inspects the training room. “Where is the other liberator? Sector two training starts today.”
I lose my focus for a moment. “So, we passed the defense portion?”
Kraven opens his arms as if to say, you’re still here, aren’t you?
A smile hangs stupidly from my face. Then I shake it off, remembering why I wanted to speak to Miami alone. I straighten my spine until I can’t stand any taller. I may need a chiropractor after this. “I know the Hive is surrounded.”
“It’s hardly surrounded.”
“So you admit it.” I jab a finger in his direction. “They’re out there.”
“There’s nothing to admit. You already knew.”
I bring a hand to my hair and pull, trying to think this through. “Are they sirens?”
Kraven nods.
“You know about them,” I say. It isn’t a question.
“Valery told me. They’re soulless, you know. They were collected the moment they agreed to work for demons, even if they didn’t really know who they were partnering with. It’s what they agreed to do that matters.”
“The collectors have Charlie’s soul. We don’t have it.” I’m sure he’s already aware, but I need to hear him say it.
His gaze turns to the glass wall, to the ocean beyond it. “I know.”
“I’m going to get it back.” I close the distance between us so that we’re an arm’s length apart. “I don’t have time for this training sectors crap. You need to show me how to break into hell, steal her soul back, and return with it.”
His raises an eyebrow at hearing my plan, which for him is the equivalent of tearing off his clothes and running around buck naked screaming, “Oh, man! Oh, crap! You just blew my effing mind!”
“You’re going to go after her soul?” he clarifies.
I shrug like I do this crap every day. “Yep, I’ll take a tank full of weapons and blow them all to pieces if I have to.”
“You will do no such thing,” Kraven snaps. “Weapons were born of sin, and you will not use them. If you do, I can guarantee you won’t be wearing a cuff any longer.”
This certainly screws with my plan, but on the off chance I make it back, I’m going to need my dargon to keep kicking. I hold up my hands. “All right, don’t get your panties in a wad. No weapons. I’ll just use these guns.”
I show him my biceps.
Kraven ignores me and rubs a hand along his jaw. “Your current assignment is very important. You can’t abandon that mission.”
“Her name is Aspen, Cyborg. And I’ll liberate her soul as soon as I return. Hell, I may not even have to work that hard. Girl’s turning a corner, I think.” I pause. “Do you know why Aspen is so important to the dude upstairs? You must not, since you aren’t training her.”
“We have protocol. The sectors are placed in a certain order for a reason,” Kraven says, following his own train of thought. Nothing new to see here, guys. “You won’t survive in hell without the training.”
“Tell me you can teach me something valuable, and fast, or I’ll leave tonight.”
Kraven snaps his teeth together. “I can teach you things, but you have to commit to the timeline. Three days for each sector, five sectors remaining. I need two weeks. You need two weeks. And that’s without adding on Amplification, which you’d probably want to—”
“That’s too much time,” I growl. “Try again.”
“I need two weeks, or I can’t—”
I hold up my hand and, amazingly, he stops talking. Our eyes meet. “We’re done here.”
Every nerve in my body pulses as I stride toward the exit.
“Wait,” Kraven says.
I keep moving.
“Wait!” he yells.
I’m almost gone when he breaks.
“I’ll show you,” he whispers. “I’ll show you how to summon your wings.”
With my face still turned away from him, I smile. That is exactly what I was waiting for.
DESCENT
“Demons exist whether you believe in them or not.”
—Emily Rose
29 
Outside
I spin around and face Kraven. “How fast can you teach me?”
He turns his hands palm up. “That’s the beauty of it, Dante. That all depends on you.”
The way his voice rises, I can tell he likes this. That the ball’s in my court. I roll my head from side to side like Evander Holyfield, like I’m to go twelve rounds. “Bring it, Cyborg.”
Kraven eyes me. “Think you’re a big man? Think you got what it takes?”
“Damn straight.”
He steps toward me. “Let me tell you something. There are eight liberators, all who have trained to summon their wings. What’s more, those cuffs have seen a lot of ankles. Yesterday’s liberators aren’t always today’s. You know how many of them have learned what I have?”
I curl my hand into a zero and hold it up, because I know where this speech is headed.
He surprises me and holds up a single finger. “One other liberator besides me.”
Laughter bursts from my throat. “Oh, ho! Someone else is as awesome as you? Bet that twisted your panties right up.”
Kraven’s lips form a tight line. “You’re not ready to learn.”
“I am,” I say, swallowing my laughter. “I’m totally ready to wing out.”
He circles around me like a wolf, analyzing my build. “You could be strong enough.”
“I am strong enough.” My voice drops an octave. “I’ve already almost done it a couple of times.”
Kraven stops in front of me. “Let’s avoid fictitious tales while we’re training, yes?”
“You don’t believe me?”
He sighs so long I wonder if he’s got three lungs instead of two.
“I’m not lying, Cyborg,” I tell him. “It hurt like hell. Felt like something was trying to tear its way out of me. And it burned.”
Kraven cocks his head to the side. “I don’t believe you, Mr. Walker. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is you try to summon them now.”
I close my eyes and try to focus on growing Hercules wings. I’m doing a pretty good job imagining how wicked cool they’ll look when Kraven interrupts my thoughts.