He could look after himself. She only hoped he had the sense to go back to earth before his magic grew too weak and the monsters found him. She walked through the ruins of Munich. The second circle of hell was even further removed from the real world than the first. And now that she was really, completely here—not just wafting between realms—it hit her harder. Only about half of the city remained. Hell’s wilderness had claimed the rest. Trees and vines twisted up the husks of buildings. A spicy sweet taste hung thick in the air, mixed with the stench of overly ripe fruit. The red moon blended into a sky that had bled over. She hoped that wasn’t an omen of things to come. Naomi plucked the bond that linked her to Makani. She felt him close by. He was somewhere in the city. He hadn’t waited for her. Typical. Not that she was surprised. She followed the thread of magic that linked them, passing a crumbled field of former buildings. She recognized the sight from her last flashes of him.
