THIRTY-TWO (RUBY POV)

"Ruby, my love, you have to do something for me: hug me like you're a baby koala holding onto her mother," Iselen whispers in my ear and I can feel her muscles getting tense under my arms. "I bet you know how to do it, you're from Australia after all... Don't let me go."

"But I'm not a koala," I answer scared, hiding my face in her neck because I don't want to look around. I hate this place: the horrible demons, humans crying desperately, their cries when they're dragged into hell, their torturers' laughter, the disgusting smell of demon soldiers... I just want to go home. I wonder if this is real for a second, if she's here to save me or I'm dreaming like I did many times these past hours before waking up disappointed.

"Of course not, you're even cutter, but you must stay next to me now, okay?"

"Yes, madam," I answer hugging her tighter while she talks to Terra about what we're going to do to get out of here, hiding behind a column.

The heat and perfume of my vampire's body soothes me, even under these circumstances, my pretty girls make me feel safe and protected. I also feel tired, I don't know how much time I've spent here, memories are blurry in my mind since Michaela dragged me through the door and brought me to this horrible place, hours seemed to tick by very slowly while I cried and dozed off sometimes. But I do feel weaker, I get the impression that those demons are feeding on my energy and, even though I never doubted Iselen and Terra and knew they we're going to rescue me, I was afraid I couldn't stay alive till they got here and knew I'd let myself go out of sheer exhaustion sooner or later.

"I don't belong here, I shouldn't be in hell, I'm a good person," I remember I cried at Michaela but she just laughed to my face dropping my body on the cold stone floor.

"And yet, here you are. You're the Key of Hell, Ruby Rose, and whether you like it or not the essence of this place is inside you, otherwise you wouldn't be able to open that gate. Maybe you're evil after all... or maybe a witch sold your soul while your mother was still pregnant." I stared at her horrified and she laughed again. "A friend of your family or a neighbor offered an innocent soul to hell in exchange of success, money or whatever else she wanted. Unborn babies are the purest souls in the world... Come on, don't look at me like that, you were lucky... You're the Key. Usually, babies like you are possessed by powerful demons to be able to be born in the human world and become psychopaths."

The bitch walked away to talk to Marsh about how to go back to Los Angeles but I didn't listen to them anymore, curling up against the column, trying not to look at the ugly creatures and miserable humans around me, praying for my girl to find me soon, hugging my legs... And that was when I remembered one day, when I was a toddler, I fell and my mum cleaned the wound on my knee. I still have the scar and could see it through a hole of my ripped jeans. My mother told me that she missed her old friend, a nurse working at a nearby clinic, but she also had knowledge of medicinal herbs and home remedies. What was her name? Eloise... She'd married a very wealthy man and moved abroad. What a bitch... I'm pretty sure this is all her fault.

"Ruby, listen to me, this is important," Terra's voice snaps me back to reality while her hands tie something around my waist. "If something happens to us, you have to run as fast as possible following this wool thread, it'll guide you back home while we deal with the demons so they can't follow you..."

"No!" I cut her off hugging Iselen tighter.

"Don't worry about us, baby, we'll kick their demonic butts and we'll get out of here, the tree of us together. I'm pretty sure of that, this is just a precaution, okay? We only want you to know that this is the safer way to go back to Los Angeles," the vampire whispers in my ear and smiles reassuringly.

"Michaela told me all the things she did in bed with you two just for fun, to see me clenching my jaw annoyed," I reply looking at my werewolf's gorgeous blue eyes and she opens them shocked. "She told me that you had great stamina for a soft plush toy with little experience pleasing women."

"The bitch is so vulgar and rude," Terra rolls her eyes hard, exasperated, while getting undressed and dropping her clothes on the floor. "I don't know what she told you, but it wasn't as special as she seems to think, and it wasn't as wonderful as being with you, of course... I adore you both and she can't compete with that... She's just a jealous demon. I don't know what I was thinking of when I let her dazzle me with her cheap glamour." Her tattooed hand cups my cheek and her lips graze mines for a second while Iselen smiles next to me, the heat coming from the wolf's bare skin feels good and, suddenly, I can't wait to go back home to lie in our bed next to her and sleep for hours in her arms.

"Are you sure about this, babe? That hellhound is very big and the fangs look dangerous," the vampire asks and Terra nods, winking at me before turning into a beautiful black wolf with shiny blue eyes. I can't help letting Iselen go to bury my hand in the thick and soft fur, feeling the strength of the muscles below. "Ruby, this is not the right time to play with the wolfish pet, you have to hug me now, hold onto me... Fuck! I think they've noticed that you've escaped. Let's go!"

Someone is screaming behind us, some demons are growling, I can hear footsteps and a stinky smell gets closer. Terra doesn't think twice and jumps on the hellhound, taking him off guard, both animals roll all over the floor, howling and fighting while the vampire kicks a demon out of our way and runs down an ice cold corridor holding me like I'm a big potato bag. My heart skips a beat when I understand that we're leaving the werewolf behind but my girl manages to get rid of the massive dog biting one of his legs so he can't follow us and runs very fast, passing next to us and getting into another big room.

"Cut them off!" Marsh yells behind us but Terra is stronger than the useless soldiers and rips hands and legs off with her powerful jaw, Iselen is very fast and dodges our enemies, punching them, holding me against her torso with her other arm till I have to close my eyes since I feel dizzy because of all the shaking.

"Terra, be careful with Mr. Toad!" the vampire shouts and the wolf stops abruptly, skidding on the stone floor, narrowly dodging a disgusting demon with green skin that tried to jump on her from the ceiling. The creature hisses angrily and saliva drips from his fangs while he gets ready to attack. "Ruby, help me. There's a golden metal ball in my jeans pocket, a very small one, like a marble... take it, please." I obey as fast as I can while Terra jumps back and forth, trying to avoid the demon's sharp fangs, the skin is slick and the wolf can't bite it. Iselen kicks several demons that try to get closer but never lets me go and, for a second, I almost drop the ball that managed to take from her pocket finally. "Throw it at that disgusting creature, you need to hit him so take your time to aim at him, please."

I'm good at playing darts but I've never thrown anything feeling so much pressure and, in addition to that, the vampire doesn't stop moving to dodge enemies and Marsh and Michaela are getting closer. I take a deep breath and focus on, throwing the ball at the demon and hitting one of his legs before it falls on the floor, rolling away. The guy stops, bewildered, watching the ice covering his skin on the spot the ball touched. Suddenly, he starts screaming and shaking while the ice crystals spread all over his body, getting closer to his chest, but we don't wait to see him collapsing with his heart frozen because Terra barks at us and Iselen starts running again, crossing the room at vampire speed.

"Mirabelle gave me that ball but didn't tell me what it was going to do," she grumbles in my ear. "I have more like that, keep rummaging in my pockets and take some more to be ready, just in case. Terra, are you sure this is the right way? I don't recognize this room." The wolf stops for a second, breathing heavily while Iselen checks the thread that's still tied around my waist before shrugging. "Yes, it seems that we're following this wool ball's instructions... Maybe the hell rooms change positions or maybe the thread is guiding us through the shortest way back home. The fog looks suspicious but we can't stop now. Remain on alert, babe."

The werewolf nods and turns around to cross a narrow wooden bridge, only there's no water below it, the entire floor is covered with a pearly white fog that gently ripples with the breeze coming from the corridor. My girls walk slowly, cautiously, despite we can hear the cries of our enemies getting closer again, they both seem to be expecting some kind of trick and they're not wrong. Suddenly, several skinny arms appear from below the fog and the hands try to grab our legs. Terra jumps back, surprised, and shudders with disgust when the fingers manage to graze her soft fur.

"Zombies?" I ask socked and the vampire nods, watching the faces distorted with awful grimaces that are watching us from the sea of fog, they're groaning and fighting each other to get closer to us.

"These are evil humans condemned to hell for the eternity, probably. We have to move on..." Terra tries to dodge them but zombies are crowded both sides of the bridge and shake their arms, blocking our escape route. Iselen jumps over them, kicking heads out of our way while I hold onto her neck, when a slippery hand manages to grab my leg.

"Let me go, moron!" I growl angrily, kicking to get rid of him. The metal ball I was holding in my hand falls on the bridge, hitting it before rolling towards the fog. The wood under our feet turns into ice and the werewolf's paws slip on the surface for a few seconds before stopping. Luckily, zombies can't grab the bridge wooden planks anymore because their fingers slip too and they growl furiously, jumping and falling back in the fog again and again.

"Come here, adorable plush toy, your four paws are not practical to walk on ice." Iselen chuckles, putting her arm around the wolf's body while holding me tight at the same time, and walks slowly across the bridge, cautiously, but she never slips thanks to her vampire skills and powers, till she manages to carry us to the other side and puts Terra on the floor again.

"Here they are!" Marsh shouts behind us and the three of us turn our heads, startled. Our enemies are crossing the door and the producer turns immediately into a hellhound to be able to jump on the bridge and follow us. Unfortunately, his paws slip on the ice and the big animal falls on his butt, hitting his ribs hard too while letting out a whining and Michaela looks at him in disbelief.

"Ouch! That must've hurt," Iselen chuckles. "Let's go before the red-haired bitch remembers she can fly to the other side of the room."

My girls run down the corridor and across several rooms, fighting stinky demons, Terra bites and the vampire kicks them while I use the ball to freeze spiders and beetles. They're not the smartest kind of demons, luckily for us, and we soon reach a smaller room with stone walls that heads to some steeps stairs, there's light at the end and a fresh breeze that smells of vegetation graces my face.

"Ruby?" I hear a voice in the distance and can't help smiling.

"Maeve, we're here!" I answer relieved while Iselen drops me on the floor with an abrupt movement and points at the stairs.

"Go up following the thread," the vampire orders with a harsh tone of voice, pushing me behind her body to hide me from view. "I said go up!" I flinch when hearing her, my girl has never talked to me like that before, but I don't dare to disobey her and hold the thread between my fingers, climbing up some stairs towards the light. I stop for a second, hesitating, looking back over my shoulder till I understand what's going on. Leviathan's friend, the demon with disgusting grey skin, is standing in the middle of the room looking at us with rage and my girls are ready to fight him, making sure that they're giving me enough time to go upstairs. Iselen rolls up the shirt sleeves, cracking her knuckles, I can't see her face from this angle but I'm sure she's smiling smugly, she can't wait to start punching him.

"Stupid bloodsucker, do you really think you can fight me and win?" the demon hisses angrily.

"That's a wrong question, it's the opposite, jerk. Do you really think you can fight my awesomeness?" Iselen answers laughing amused and my stomach turns with concern: I love my vampire and know she's strong and powerful, but I don't understand why she has to piss off our enemies even more. One day, someone will rip her head off because of an arrogant comment, I'm sure of that, I only hope it's not today. "Terra, baby, can you deal with those assholes? I have a skinny butt to kick here."

The wolf jumps to one side and starts fighting the demon soldiers, biting them mercilessly and using her big body to push them till they fall on top of each other in the narrow corridor, blocking the way. Marsh and Michaela cry angrily and ask them to move away but there's no room and Terra is doing a great job keeping our enemies stuck. In the meantime, the vampire is watching the demon, trying to predict his next movement. The horrible creature waves his tattooed arm and sends a blue-colored ray towards my girl but he's unable to touch her and an invisible barrier stops it.

"Magic won't work, ugly face, I'm carrying lot of protective charms. We'll have to do this in old-school style: I'll punch your guts and you'll cry in pain..." My girl doesn't finish the sentence because she moves at vampire speed, jumping and leaning her foot on the wall to gain momentum and hit the demon with her closed fist even harder. The disgusting guy roars furiously, staggering and seems about to fall on the floor. "Wow... that's not fair!"

Our enemy has turned around and almost stabbed Iselen with a tail that's tipped with a sharp stinger, he kept it rolled under his body to hide it, the horrible creature tries to skewer the vampire again and again but she's too fast and agile and dodges him every time, she even manages to kick him once. Terra is still fighting demons and keeps the corridor blocked, I can hear Michaela shouting and getting angrier. I look up, towards the light and safety, I can see the faces of our friends in the distance but I can't run up leaving my girls behind.

"Iselen is going to get mad at me if I disobey her," I think while climbing down a couple of steps cautiously, holding a metal ball. The grey demon moves too fast and I don't think I'd be able to hit him, but I can help the wolf. "Terra, move away!" I yell and the gorgeous animal turns around, startled, but obeys. I throw the ball against the demons in the front row and they turn into ice statues, blocking the corridor completely in a few seconds.

"Fuck, Ruby, I told you to go upstairs!" Iselen shouts, squatting down to avoid the stinger. The werewolf gets closer and bites the demon's skinny leg while he's too busy trying to kill the vampire.

"I'm not a member of your clan which means you're not my queen, you can't boss me around, bloodsucker," I reply climbing up two steps again when I realize the three fighters are getting closer to me.

"I'm going to spank your human perky butt till turning it red!" The vampire answers and her clenched fist hits the demon's jaw breaking several bones judging by the way our enemy is howling in pain.

"Do you promise, kinky bat?" I ask laughing despite the situation. Iselen stops for a split second to look at me and nods.

"Good idea, babe." Suddenly, my girl disappears in the blink of an eye because she's turned into a massive bat, I stare at her with my mouth open wide in shock while she flies over the demon and uses her sharp claws to scratch his eyes. Our enemy steps back crying and hits the wall with his shoulders while covering his face with his hands, Terra brings me back to reality licking my hand before running upstairs, I follow her feeling the bat fluttering above our heads and Marsh and Michaela scream insults behind us. I think they've managed to break the ice barrier finally and they're all following us.

"Hurry up!" Maeve cries and I try to move faster even if I'm running out of air and my legs hurt, I'm exhausted but make a last effort and cross the door before collapsing on the floor right next to the wolf who's gasping for air too while Iselen turns into a beautiful girl again and kneels down by my side.

"Damned bitches, you'll pay for this!" Michaela yells angrily but she can't finish the sentence because my guardian angel slams the hell gate hard in front of their faces before they can get out. Ru turns around and smiles, waving her hand.

"I'm happy to see you again, Ruby Rose."

"I'm happy to see you too. Thank you..." I answer taking the bottle of water Raven is giving me and drinking anxiously. "I'm sorry, I'm too tired to celebrate this reunion right now," I whisper hugging the wolf and leaning my head on the soft and warm fur of her back.

"Don't worry, babe, your angel can take us back to the Wind Rose in half a minute. You'll have a shower, some delicious dinner and will take a nap with us," Iselen strokes my hair and I smile, closing my eyes, feeling sleepy.

"Thank you, Batwoman."