"All right, then, I'll go to Hell."

-Mark Twain

                                                                        ***

Rhys scrubbed a hand through his dark hair, then rolled his shoulders and extended his hand to none of them in particular. "So. Who wants to go first?"

None of them were exactly jumping at the invitation, until Sirius sighed. "Me. I might as well, since I'm going in first anyway."

No argument arose, and Sirius reluctantly took the witch's hand. Eyes flaring bright with magic, he traced a complicated pattern in the air with a glowing fingertip, then crushed the symbol in his fist. He opened his palm and silver dust whirled around them. Something like electricity tore Sirius apart at a molecular level. His stomach heaved and he turned inside out as the world turned upside down.

Then he was standing on solid ground and pushed away from Rhys as soon as everything settled into its proper place. His knees wobbled and collapsed as bile raced up his throat. He'd never understood why this made him sick when traveling between Hell and Earth—a much longer trip—barely gave him vertigo.

"Come on, Fido," Rhys said with a strained laugh. "Keep it together."

Sirius flipped him off and spit before he stumbled to his feet. Just as his knees stopped trembling, Logan appeared with Rick. The Hunter looked a little green, but to Sirius' chagrin, didn't so much as hiccup.

Then both witches disappeared and Rick crouched down, cradling his head in his hands. He spit twice, then whispered, "I fucking hate doing that."

"Makes two of us," Sirius grumbled, extending a hand.

Rick let him haul him to his feet, and then Sirius turned. Wind whipped his hair, tugging at his clothes. The rank, oily scent of the fires burning in Hell teased at his nose.

The portal was just like any of the others, he supposed. He couldn't so much see it as he could feel it. Strands of red and black flame danced around the edges—Hell trying to push out onto this plane. That was what had created the light show he'd seen from the bottom of the Tower.

The portal itself was sort of like a migraine aura. Every now and then he'd catch a black blur in his periphery, but if he tried to look at it head-on, there was nothing but air. Eventually, he turned away from the portal, making sure to stand in front of it so none of the others accidentally stumbled through it before they were ready.

Above him, the stars glittered like diamonds strewn across a blanket of deep blue velvet.

It was beautiful here, he realized, heart aching dully. He wanted Galloway to see it. Sirius let his eyes fall half closed, encouraging a phantom version of the woman he loved to stand beside him. Her head was tipped back, the starlight turning her pale hair to pure silver.

Sirius ached to kiss her beneath those stars that had been here in this universe for much longer than he had. After a moment, he shook off the wistful vision, looking at the Hunter.

Rick shuddered, hand digging into his pocket. He extracted a cigarette pack and lighter, offering one to Sirius. He shook his head, making Rick shrug before he lit up.

A stream of smoke left his nostrils just as Rhys and Logan appeared with the other two Hunters. Caleb bent over, hands braced on his knees as he dry-heaved. Sirius' stomach lurched again in response to the sound.

Alex—despite looking pale and clammy—cast a sharp look at her brother, who didn't meet her gaze as he put the cigarette to his lips again. She sighed deeply, but didn't reprimand him in front of the others.

Rhys prowled toward the portal, weaving around Sirius, but never getting too close to it. He stalked around like a hunting tiger. Then he turned back to them, eyes dark. "I'd say smoke 'em if you got 'em," he said bleakly. "But it looks like you're way ahead of me."

Rick's only answer was to let another plume of smoke escape before offering the pack to Rhys. The witch visibly hesitated before Logan hissed, "I told you, Rhysland. I'm done pulling that shit out of your lungs."

A small hiss came from between Rhys' teeth, but he shook his head and Rick crammed the pack back into his pocket.

"Do you know the way to Purgatory," Sirius asked, not looking at Logan. Instead, he was carefully approaching the portal. Those black flames reached for him, beckoning him home.

"Yes." Logan's answer was short and terse.

"Get to the center. It won't be hard, everything's drawn to the center. You'll find weapons—"

"There," Logan interrupted. "I know."

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Rick promised, chucking the cigarette butt toward the portal. It disappeared, making Sirius raise an eyebrow. Rick shrugged. "Well I wasn't gonna leave it here."

The Hunter waved a hand toward the pristine beauty of this wind-swept, wild place.

Alex snorted, then darted to her brother. Sirius turned away before he could watch their goodbyes. Well... not quite goodbye. The word was never said. Not in the soft exchange between brother and sister, not in the glance she shared with Caleb.

From the corner of his eye, he watched Logan put a hand on Rhys' shoulder and briefly squeeze, but nothing was said between them, either. Perhaps they had already said their goodbyes.

Maybe they didn't believe in goodbyes. Galloway hadn't—didn't. It was too much effort to hide the flinch that tore through him every time he accidentally thought of her like that... like she was something in the past.

"Bring her back."

Sirius turned as Logan's voice carried to him. The witch's dark eyes were still unforgiving. Flatly, he said, "You bring her back alive or I'll make sure you never die. I'll make sure you live with what you did for eternity."

A chill of fear slithered up his spine, but he didn't shudder. Instead, he nodded at the witch. "Fair enough." Turning back to the portal, he said, "I'll be just on the other side. It'll be rough, but it won't kill you. Just..." He smirked, the expression strained. "Think of England and it'll be over before you know it."

"Great," Rhys muttered. "I just got over the last time Hell fucked me."

This provoked a weary snort—one born of understanding—and then Sirius stepped through the portal. For him, it was like stepping through a sheet of warm water. The portal's magic tingled over his skin, welcoming him home.

Welcoming him to the place he belonged.

Sirius shook away the liquid magic slicking his skin and blurring his vision. He didn't move, eyes scanning the narrow obsidian cave in front of him. The floors were treacherously smooth, nearly slick. The walls were made of sharp ridges, aching to slice any who passed to ribbons.

Black and red flames flickered dully in the cracks and crevices of each wall, providing enough lumination for him to see clearly. He didn't think it would be enough for the others.

It was dead silent, the air still and heavy.

His nostrils flared, but he couldn't smell anything beyond the general stench of  Hell—the oily fires, the tang of Soul blood, the rot of tormented Souls. The tar-like smell of demon blood, and the sulfur scent of Hellhounds put his teeth on edge, but they were far from the main levels of Hell.

As far as he could tell, they were three levels up from where Galloway most likely was. He took a step forward just as Rhys fell through the portal, landing on his hands and knees.

Tears splashed to the shiny floor, and the witch moaned, shaking as he wrapped his arms around himself, hand pressing into his chest above his heart. Sirius wondered what he'd seen as he dragged the witch to the side of the corridor. 

"She lied," Rhys breathed in Sirius' ear. "She lied and then she killed me."

"It wasn't real," Sirius said flatly, waiting for Rick and Caleb to come through. "Portals to Hell are made of magic that deals in mindfuckery. Whatever you saw was just whatever was best guaranteed to ruin your day and make sure you were nothing more than a trembling mess when the next beastie came strolling through."

Sirius put his hand on the witch's shoulder, just to find himself flying backwards into the opposite wall. The sharp projections of stone sliced into him, making blood trickle down his back as he lay on the floor, trying to decide why that had just happened.

He lifted a hand to realize his claws had been out when he'd touched the witch. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and pushed himself to his feet, just as Caleb came flying through the portal.

The Hunter landed on his feet but didn't make it far before his breath hitched and he sank to his knees, hands covering his face. "Please," he whispered. "Please don't leave me."

Sirius was sure he didn't want to know who the Hunter was talking to.

Rhys was now leaning gingerly against the wall, eyes red-rimmed as he looked at Sirius, then Caleb. "Sorry," he croaked. "I thought you were..."

"Doesn't matter," Sirius said. "Hell sucks. I get it."

"I don't remember my last trip being like that," Rhys admitted.

"Probably because the demon bitch you played with brought you through the front door instead of sneaking you in through the back," Sirius replied. He rolled his shoulders, skin twitching unpleasantly as the cuts on his back sealed up.

Caleb was still a trembling mess on the floor when Rick came flailing through the portal, knife in one hand, gun in the other. His eyes were blank, his mouth twisted in an ugly snarl. Rhys dove over Caleb, slamming him to the floor.

Sirius should have known the portal's magic would hit Rick the hardest.

"Shit," he breathed before a bullet slammed into his shoulder, blood spraying the black wall behind him. He stumbled backwards but kept his feet until Rick tackled him.

A blade was through his throat before he could bring his arms up. Rick snarled, "I'm done, you bastard. I'm done slaughtering for you."

Then Rick yelped as he was thrown straight up into the air. The knife was dragged out of Sirius' throat, and he gaped up at Rick as the Hunter swore and struggled in the air. He threw the knife at Sirius, who rolled to the side, blood pooling beneath him as it gushed between his fingers.

He staggered to his feet with Caleb's help, the Hunter gripping his arm as he stared up at his friend, who had been reduced to little more than a raging, snarling beast. Sirius' eyes wandered down to find Rhys staring fiercely at the Hunter, his lips moving soundlessly until he shouted, "Finite!" 

Rick dropped to the ground lifelessly. Caleb scrambled over to the other Hunter, letting Sirius fall to a knee, still trying to figure out how to breathe with a hole punched through his throat.

Caleb pulled Rick into a sitting position, propping him up against his chest. Rick was pale, his eyes barely open. 

"You're all right, brother," Caleb muttered, fingers fisting into Rick's jacket. "That's not you. That was never you."

Sirius stared at the two until Rhys knelt down beside him. "I'm not as good as Logan," the witch muttered, "but let me see."

Distrust raced through him, and his fingers didn't loosen around his throat. His eyes returned to the Hunters. Rick's posture was slumped and defeated, his face hidden against Caleb's shoulder.

Pain raced through him as fingers probed gently at his shoulder. His lips peeled back and he snarled quietly but didn't pull away as Rhys pressed his palm against the wound.

A dull orange glow flared and he bit clean through his lip as Rhys cauterized the bullet wound. Rhys then prodded at the wound in his throat, swearing as he tried to get the flesh to knit back together properly.

"Definitely not as good as Logan," Sirius hissed, as he touched the ugly, still-tender knot of half-healed flesh Rhys had left. The witch just shrugged, acknowledging that observation.

Sirius wiped away the blood on his lip with the back of his hand, then got shakily to his feet. Caleb was still holding onto Rick, who was whispering apology after apology, along with a few other things that had made Caleb turn white as a ghost.

Truth forced by horror.

"What did he see?" Sirius asked Rhys, who was standing just at his right shoulder. He had a hunch, but he also liked to know the specifics when these things happened and he ended up being punched full of holes.

"You neglected to mention why he was the lioness' pet," Rhys muttered. "How long did Set have his hooks in?"

"Too long," came the ragged answer from Rick. He pulled away from Caleb, tears rimming his eyes like quicksilver as he staggered to his feet. Sirius was watching Caleb as he rose to his feet as well. 

The Hunter's mouth was grim when he said, "What happened, Rick?"

That struck even Sirius as cruel, when Rick had already spilled his guts—incoherent as that might have been after the brain-scrambling magic of the portal.

A shuddering breath collapsed Rick's chest and he lowered his head. Something like sympathy stirred in Sirius' chest. Slavery—of mind or body—was something he was intimately familiar with. Something he hated with every wicked fiber in him.

"Four years," Rick rasped, looking at Rhys because he obviously couldn't bear to look at Caleb as the confession was torn from him. "That's how long. How long he made me kill people who didn't deserve it. Torture people because he told me to. Hurt people... just to hurt them."

Caleb's expression was somewhere between sickness and fury. If Sirius had realized the portal would force Rick to explain a past he had tried so hard to hide, he would have made sure the Hunter was the second one through the portal. 

There were just some things that shouldn't have to be shared with anyone, not even those people who loved you the most.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Caleb asked, the sound of his voice nearly tragic. "Why didn't you at least tell Alex? You've been breakin' her heart for four years, man."

"Sekhmet took my heart five years ago. There was no other way to break the curse." Rick was now watching Caleb with an expression that bordered on fearful. "That's where I disappear to. I know it scares Alex. I know it scares you, but I just... I couldn't..."

"You could have told us," Caleb hissed. "You could have told us what had happened to you! You know how many times Alex has told me she's afraid you're gonna bolt again? How afraid she is that you don't want her in your life?"

"No." Rick shook his head violently. "No you don't get it. It's not—I couldn't... It wasn't because I—"

"The goddess wouldn't let him tell you," Sirius jumped in, unable to stomach watching the man struggle and wanting to hurry this whole uncomfortable situation along. "Sekhmet's, well, possessive is perhaps the nicest way to put it." He scowled. "And when a goddess like her tells you to jump, the only question you ask is how high. If he didn't tell you, it wasn't because he didn't trust you. If he leaves, it's not because he wants to."

Rick was staring a hole in the floor of the cave, while Caleb was gaping at Sirius. 

Silence reigned until Rhys cleared his throat. They all looked at the witch, who had been watching the proceedings with grim eyes. When he had their attention, he said, "As therapeutic as I'm sure this all is, do I really need to remind you that we're in Hell? I would imagine lingering anywhere probably isn't the best survival strategy?"

What he realized was an inappropriate urge to snicker grabbed a hold of him, but Sirius just nodded, grateful that the witch had taken it upon himself to stop this—whatever this was—in its tracks. He had wanted to say nearly the same thing, but something had stopped him.

He didn't know what as his gaze went to the wet streaks down Rick's face.

Rick heaved in a rattling breath and nodded, still not meeting Caleb's eyes as he began to trudge down the cave's passageway. He only stopped when Sirius grabbed his elbow. 

"Much as I appreciate the pathological need to fall on your fucking sword," Sirius growled, "I'll go first, thanks."

He wanted to be the one to meet any challenge first anyway, and there was a shell-shocked quality around Rick that Sirius didn't trust as well. The last thing he wanted was for Rick to get killed because he didn't have his head on straight.

Fumbling for some way to snap the Hunter back to his usual pain-in-the-ass self, Sirius said, "It's better." Bleakly, he added, "Secrets get other people killed."

Rick didn't respond, and Rhys winced slightly as he edged around the Hunter. 

"Serves you right for snooping around in peoples' heads," Sirius muttered as they began to walk.

"They're freakin' screamers," Rhys replied, rubbing at his temple. "All these damn Hunters. Galloway practically shoved her thoughts at me, and these two really aren't any better."

Sirius growled, still hating the sound of her name on his lips, despite the truce they seemed to have found. The witch sighed, but didn't say any more as they traveled along the passageway.

Time didn't stretch as weirdly in these tunnels at Hell's periphery, so Sirius knew they hadn't been walking for long—maybe around an hour—when he caught a familiar scent.

Selene.

Rage and bloodlust glazed his vision, and he nearly stumbled under the desire to hunt her down. To make her scream like Galloway had—to make her beg for her worthless life.

Theron first, the darkness chided. Our blood first.

Sirius gritted his teeth, nearly panting as he struggled to deny the impulse that raged through his blood. He growled under his breath, making Rhys give him a sideways glance.

Not yet. 

He couldn't wreak the pain and carnage he wanted to.

Not yet.