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Sarah’s laughter still ringing in his ears and a
    feeling of foreboding burning in his stomach. Hell was a dangerous place at the best of times.
    Heading there in hopes of flushing out a killer was a death wish in the making. Gray hoped
    that any death involved with their trip wouldn’t be his own.

    * * * *

    Travel to Hell was surprisingly easy, a fact that Gray was extremely grateful for. All it
    took was a bit of privacy and a few muttered words from Dreo and, before he knew it, they
    were standing in a marbled courtyard under a hazy black sky. It only took a moment for a
    wave of sticky heat to settle over them, practically suffocating Gray with its weight. Gray
    was grateful he had dressed in light clothes and left his jacket at home, as moisture was
    already beading on his skin. He struggled at first, gasping and choking for air. It was similar
    to trying to inhale in a sauna, magnified by a thousand. Taking a few deep gulps, he sighed
    in relief when he eventually settled back into a normal breathing pattern.
    No longer in danger of asphyxiating, Gray allowed himself a moment to take in his
    surroundings. At a glance, the Underworld didn’t appear that different from a normal
    human town. Homes and storefronts lined the streets and littered the landscape. Men,
    women and children wandered freely, running errands and just going about their lives.
    Everything was just so…normal. It was almost too easy to forget the fact that this wasn’t a
    regular neighbourhood and these weren’t ordinary people. Any doubts he had about that
    were quashed when an explosion sounded, shaking the ground and rattling windows.
    Instantly alert, Gray focused on finding the location of the disruption.
    Trusting his senses, Gray turned his gaze towards the outskirts of the civilised little
    mecca. When the glowing flames of the Pits came into view, there was no doubt in Gray’s
    mind that they were the source of the disturbance. They sparked and hissed as hellfire broke
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    through the cracked earth, erupting in fountains of molten flame. It would have been a
    beautiful sight if Gray didn’t know the true purpose of the Pits. Even as the thought crossed
    his mind, he could swear he could hear the echo of screams in the distance.
    Raised voices sounded off to his left, tearing his focus away from the landscape.
    Turning his attention to the disruption, Gray’s eye caught on two Demon males locked
    together in some kind of altercation. Shouts and curses fell from their mouths as a feeling of
    unease swashed over Gray. He was about to say something to Dreo when one of the men
    roared and sent a ball of blue flame hurtling towards the other man. In a move almost faster
    than Gray’s eyes could track, the other Demon threw himself to the side, just managing to
    miss being barbequed alive, as the fireball crashed into a vacant storefront. As it was, the
    smell of scorched hair filled the air. The downed man pulled himself to his feet, his
    expression a mask of rage. The man’s hands erupted into yellow flames as he bore down on
    his attacker. Casting a worried glance up at Dreo, Gray was surprised to see nothing more
    than irritation colouring his face.
    “Don’t you think you should stop them?” The sound of another fireball making contact
    with a building had Gray cringing.
    “There is little point,” Dreo said dismissively. “This is only the beginning of the chaos
    that will ensue if we cannot find the guilty party soon. The Demon Council has been forced
    to put up wards to keep the Underworld on lockdown since Lucifer was found dead. It is
    impossible for anyone to come or go without approval from the Council. While some
    Demons are happy living so close to others of our kind, there are others who prefer seclusion.
    Forcing so many Demons to be in such close proximity for any period of time is like lighting
    a stick of dynamite and waiting for it to explode. It is inevitable. Our only