Chapter 11

Bo briefly regained her consciousness when she was choking in cold water. During the short moment when she had her eyes opened, millions of shimmering blue lotuses flooded her vision. A sea of lamps that forced the heavy darkness to recede.

They reminded her of the small bouquet she had seen in the Ghost Chapel. The bunch of fresh blue lotus flowers that had been laid on top of the altar.

She could smell them. The scent smoothed her.

Though, soon her sense of smell - and all other senses - were drowned by the cold water. She struggled, gagging, sinking deeper.

Then, her head was lifted above water again. Someone held her from behind and locked their arms in front of her chest.

She was pulled towards a strong current, first by that person, then by the current itself. The strong swell swallowed her, tossing her into a swirling vortex of darkness.

It was hard for her to tell what exactly had awakened her: the direct, bright sunlight, or the cold water that she had been coughing out from her lungs.

She could barely keep her eyes open, for the sunlight was way too bright. The smell of fresh, sun bathed water struck her, stirring her mind.

Vaguely, she saw a vast wetland of tall, green reeds, with their spikes of florets swaying in the wind.

Am I dreaming? She asked herself as she closed her eyes. She had to, for the sunlight was so bright that it started to hurt her.

Vaguely conscious, she wondered why it looked like the hottest day in mid July but felt like the coldest day in late January.

Too exhausted, she surrendered to the bitter coldness and passed out for a while, drifting into darkness again.

No you'll never have it. Someone's voice rang in the arid air like a siren.

Give it to me. Another voice hissed. It was arrogant and full of hatred. It seemed strangely familiar too. Where had she heard that voice before? Whose voice was it?

Something exploded afar. Igniting at the same time was the odor of sulfur. Crimson flames roared, raining down from the sky.

In chaos, Bo heard chants with short bursts of gasps. It was in a language she had never heard before.

A bright ray of light, so bright that it blinded her. The flames, they were trapping her inside. She had nowhere to run, and the burning sky above her…it looked as if it was about to fall.

Bo groaned as she struggled in the scorching heat. The pain, the guilt, the distant memories and the visions…they were smothering her….

"Stop it," a whisper came to her as a pair of firm arms tightened around her body.

In a sharp gasp, Bo's eyes shot wide open. Embraced by the radiant warmth and a familiar, fresh scent, she allowed her eyes to wander for a while, taking in the soft contour of Tamsin's chin, her beautiful collar bones, and the strands of loose, blonde hair that were hugging her left cheek….

She wondered why it felt so cold yet so warm at the same time, as she succumbed to the darkness again for a while.

The next time Bo woke up, she found herself nested in Tamsin's soft, warm embrace. Her nose was buried into the side of Tamsin's neck, and her arms were loosely wrapped around Tamsin's waist.

She was sitting sideways on the Angel's lap. Both of them only had their underwear on. She also discovered that the two of them were buried under a pile of blankets while sitting right in front of a crackling fireplace.

In daze, Bo pulled back a little and raised her head. As she moved, Tamsin glanced at her. For a moment, Bo just stared into those light eyes silently. Those light eyes, they were softened by the reflection of the flickering flames, and the millions of untold things hidden deep down….

"Tamsin," she eventually called the Angel's name.

"Hmmm?" Tamsin just hummed lazily and raised her eyebrows a little.

"Why-why are we…naked?" Bo asked nervously.

"Oh, that," Tamsin drawled. "You know, your soul is really, really weak right now, so that little slutty sex demon inside you is practically on crack. You kinda made us have hot, steamy sex for hours before you insisted that we should cuddle."

Bo would have totally believed her, if Tamsin hadn't let a few chuckles escape.

Bo chuckled too as she pinched Tamsin softly. "I'm serious," she murmured. "I really don't remember much about what happened."

"What do you remember?"

"I remember the lake and the blue lotuses. I remember drowning. I remember…reeds and…and really, really bright sunlight."

After a brief pause, she added, "is it just me, or is it freezing here?"

She frowned at her own question. She shouldn't be freezing. She was under a pile of blankets and in Tamsin's embrace, unless…

"Are we in…Heaven?" She asked hesitantly.

"Turns out you are not as dumb as I thought you were after all," Tamsin teased.

"Why are we in Heaven? How did we even…get out of Hell?"

"Well…we went into the lake in Hell and we got pulled into the big whirlpool in the middle of the lake. The current carried us to another lake. Guess where that second lake is?"

A little shocked, Bo's eyes opened wider. "Wait…are you saying that the lake down there is connected to a lake in Heaven?"

"Mhm," Tamsin nodded. She brushed a lock of Bo's hair away from her chest because it was too ticklish. "Anyway…by the time we got out of the water, you were barely conscious. You were soaked and you were freezing, and I had to get you…ummm…warmed up."

She immediately cleared her throat. Bo found the subtle nervousness in Tamsin's voice very amusing. She chuckled quietly as she buried her face under Tamsin's chin and took a deep breath.

"I'm gonna charge extra for this, you know," Tamsin grunted, but she held Bo tighter.

"Where is Bilith?" Bo asked. She vaguely remembered seeing the little panther jumping into the lotus lake with them, but didn't remember seeing him afterwards.

"He got flushed into the second lake as well. He had someone smuggle him out immediately after that," Tamsin explained. "He's a pureblood Demon. He's more prone to Heaven's-"

"-Demon core penetrating divinity?"

Both of them laughed.

"Why couldn't we be out of Heaven, then? It's freezing here and…I figure we'd be much more comfortable in a bed, you know," Bo suggested.

Tamsin let out a soft sigh. "Souls heal faster when in Heaven," she explained. "We'll leave tomorrow when you can pull your weak ass up for a hike, so…shut up and get some rest, okay?"

Bo nodded as she snuggled closer to Tamsin. She pressed her face against the Angel's chest, so close that she could feel her fluttering heartbeat on her cheek. Then, there was the crackling fireplace, the sound of Tamsin breathing, and her own heartbeat…they became the lullaby that Bo needed the most at this very moment.

Slowly, she drifted into the soft, gentle darkness, relieved that she was no longer alone.

The next day, Tamsin escorted Bo out of Heaven and brought her back to her apartment.

By the time they got into Tamsin's apartment, Bo could barely stand by herself. Despite her grumbling stomach, she just wanted to sprawl on the floor and rest. However, after she had taken a whiff of herself, she grimaced hard and decided she'd take a quick shower first.

She stumbled into the shower and turned on the hot water. Her legs were too weak, and she slipped, knocking off the shampoo bottles. Then, while trying to keep herself straight, she hit her forehead on the glass wall.

"Can't do anything without me, huh?" Tamsin teased as she stepped into the shower. She helped Bo get up.

She stood behind Bo, and wrapped her left arm around Bo's waist. With her right hand, she took off the showerhead and rinsed Bo's hair.

Bo rubbed some shampoo into her own hair. As the bubbles built, she closed her eyes.

She found it difficult for her to breathe, for the air was too hot and steamy, for herself was too weak, for the fact that Tamsin's body was pressing against her back.

She could feel every curve of Tamsin's on her skin, and it turned her on like crazy.

She was shocked by how strong her lust had suddenly become, even though she was completely drained. In fact, she had noticed her raging desires the moment she had left Heaven, but was too embarrassed to voice it.

She took a deep breath as she rinsed her hair under the hot water while secretly telling herself to calm down and focus on something else, anything but the Angel's curves.

As Tamsin's fingers brushed along the back of her ear trying to get all the bubbles, Bo shivered hard, almost letting a moan escape.

Need to finish this damn shower asap. Bo thought as she applied body wash all over her body as quickly as she ever could.

Tamsin showered her back. Then, she commanded softly, "turn around."

Slowly, Bo turned to face her. She was fully aware of what she was about to see, but actually seeing Tamsin's shirt, completely soaked, clinging tightly to her body still made her swallow hard.

She stared at her cleavage like an idiot, then her exposed legs. Then, she moved her eyes up and met those concerned blue eyes of Tamsin's. Eventually, she laid her eyes on those enticing lips….

Putting her hands on Tamsin's waist, Bo shoved her to the glass wall and kissed her hard. Every cell of her body was screaming for her. Yes, yes, her, now….

The last piece of lucid mind that she had left forced her to pull back. Gasping heavily, she muttered, "I…I'm sorry…something-something's weird-"

Tamsin cradled her face. "I wasn't kidding when I said that your sex demon was on crack right now," she told Bo. "Your soul is too weak to control it."

"Oh…" Bo nodded. "I'm…I guess I'm just-"

Tamsin smirked and leaned in. She pressed her lips on Bo's ear and breathed, "it's alright. I kinda have a thing for weak, horny little sex Demons…."

Then she took Bo's earlobe into her mouth and teased it with her teeth and her tongue. A soft moan was all Bo could give.

Bo's moan got louder as Tamsin trailed her lips along the side of her neck, to her collarbone, then to her chest. The Angel traced the contour of her breasts with her tongue, before she took her nipples into her mouth, one after the other.

Bo arched her back away from the glass wall as she begged for more. A loud, satisfied moan broke out, when Tamsin squeezed one of her hands into her legs and fondled her wet lips.

"I'd go down on you, but…" Tamsin whispered as she slid her fingers between Bo's bottom lips in a painfully slow motion, "I don't want you to fall…."

Just the thought of Tamsin running her hot, soft tongue over her clit made Bo shiver. She groaned impatiently as she ground her sex against Tamsin's fingers. "Please…" she begged, gasping hard.

Tamsin crushed her lips on hers, swallowing all her gasps and moans as she rubbed her clit.

Digging her fingers into Tamsin's shoulder, Bo broke the kiss and crooked her head under the Angel's chin. "Faster…" she uttered as she clenched and throbbed. "Faster…please…."

And Tamsin happily obliged, pushing her to an unbelievable orgasm while kissing her again.

When their lips parted, Bo almost collapsed. Tamsin caught her and chuckled.

"Can we…move to the bed now?" Bo suggested between gasps, and the Angel laughed.

They did move to the bed the next, then the kitchen where they enjoyed some strong liquor and chocolate fudge before more sex, then the couch, before they returned to the bedroom again.

As Bo rolled off Tamsin, she let out a few giggles before she leaned in and gave Tamsin another kiss.

"Feeling better?" Tamsin asked as she raised her eyebrows at Bo.

"Mhm," Bo hummed, smiling into those blue eyes. She was physically exhausted, but at the same time, rejuvenated.

She reached for Tamsin's hand and held it. Clasping their fingers together, she squeezed those long, beautiful fingers gently as she laid a kiss on them.

"Okay, that's just too clingy," Tamsin commented, though she moved closer to Bo to give her a kiss on her hair.

They both enjoyed the incredible intimacy in silence for a while, before Tamsin eventually asked, "so…where exactly did you find that map?"

"The map to the Dark Temple?" Bo frowned a little. "It was on my desk in my room. I thought Bilith put it there."

"No, it doesn't look like it was from him," Tamsin shook her head. "Someone made that map for you."

"What do you mean?"

"The map was made to look old. Whoever made it and put it there wanted you to find the Dark Temple. They wanted you to step into the River of Flames."

"Yeah, I was about to ask…what's the deal with that river? I thought it was dry."

Tamsin sighed. She pulled Bo's hand to her chest, before she answered, "it was never dry. It just appears that way. The River of Flames is also called the River of Guilt. Its purpose is to punish those souls with guilt. When a guilty soul steps into the river, it will see things it is guilty of. Mostly, the soul will see the person it has let down or hurt, but it is all an illusion. Nothing you see in the river is real. It is all in your head, but…it will feel so real that you will eventually turn back. When you do-"

"-you get burnt by the flames that appear out of nowhere…" Bo murmured.

"Considering that guilt is literally your middle name, it was really, really stupid for you to even go near that damn river, Bo," Tamsin hissed.

"I…I didn't know," Bo admitted.

"Your father had not mentioned it to you?"

"No, I mean…maybe. I guess I wasn't paying attention when he did."

"Well, maybe you should pay attention to this type of shit, you know, shit to watch out for so you don't damage your soul."

"Yeah, I know now," Bo murmured as she snuggled closer to Tamsin. "What…what about my soul? Is it still okay?"

"Very damaged but it will heal. Meanwhile, stop being so stupid," Tamsin demanded. After getting a nod from Bo, she added, "also, whoever left you that map can not be trusted, ever. The river could have completely destroyed your soul. Or, you could have been trapped down there forever."

"But, you got me out, didn't you?" Bo reminded her with a small smile.

"Just consider yourself damn lucky, will you? Most souls don't even make it all the way to the end of the river."

"I know that I shouldn't trust the person who left the map in my room, but…the Dark Temple was really there, exactly as marked on the map."

"Are you sure it's the Dark Temple?"

"I'm sure, but…it seemed dead. I mean, I don't know if that makes any sense, but when I stood inside the temple, I felt nothing."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all. No dark energy, no visions, though, I haven't checked the crypt. There was a trap door there but the pull ring was gone. Oh, and…I saw a sunk relief, a pattern."

"What kind of pattern?"

"It was a fine tooth gear inside a circle, and the circle itself has a pair of wings."

"Hmmm," Tamsin pondered. "That doesn't ring a bell…anyway, we will do more research before we go down there again, okay? And this time, you are not going alone. I mean it, Bo."

Bo nodded. "Wow, I didn't know that you cared so much about me."

Tamsin snorted as she rolled her eyes.

"Now can you tell me everything about how you and Bilith teamed up and rescued me from Hell?"

"Another time, sweetheart. I'm fucking exhausted."

"Exhausted from all the fun we just had?" Bo inched closer and taunted.

Tamsin rolled her eyes again. "Exhausted from dragging your ass across Hell and then in and out of Heaven!" She drawled. "I have to meet someone in five hours, so either you be a really quiet little sex demon, or get your cute ass kicked out of my bed."

With that, she held Bo to her chest and laid a kiss on her forehead.

Bo giggled, melted by the kiss.

After a quick round of early morning sex, omelets, coffee and a lot of kisses, Bo left.

Tamsin was getting ready to meet her client, but just as she was about to leave, her doorbell rang.

She frowned as she pulled out her loaded gun. After having looked through the peephole, her frown got deeper.

She opened the door, and there stood Lavina. The silver hair Angel gave her a big grin.

"May I come in?" Lavina asked.

"Sure, but why are you here?"

Lavina invited herself into Tamsin's kitchen and got herself a glass of purified water. "I came here to talk to you about that soul you wanted me to pull out from Hell."

"Okay?" Tamsin closed the door and put the revolver aside.

"I tried to locate her soul the other day, but…I couldn't find her."

"What do you mean you couldn't find her?"

"I mean exactly that, I couldn't find her," Lavina repeated. "Did you give me wrong info?"

"No, I don't think so," Tamsin shook her head.

"Well…" Lavina bit her bottom lip. "If your info is correct, then…there can only be one explanation."

"Which is…?"

"That soul must be somewhere an Angel couldn't reach."

Tamsin furrowed her eyebrows. "You mean…the soul is somewhere outside of the City of Damned? But…how is that possible? In order to reach those places, you have to be able to travel to the end of one of the four rivers, which…is impossible for a human soul."

"Actually, I was referring to the other specific place that no Angel shall reach."

Tamsin pondered. Then, her eyes shot wide open. "You mean…the dungeon?"

"Yep, I mean the dungeon, the Dark Lord's personal dungeon."

"Well that's not possible. That place is for his top enemies, you know, traitors, the resistance cult, people who dare to defy him."

"Your soul could be any one of them," Lavina shrugged.

Tamsin paused. Could that Kenzi chick be one of those people? She wondered. She had a hard time believing that a soul like Kenzi's would be important enough for the Dark Lord's dungeon, and she had no doubt that if Kenzi had done something like that, Bo would for sure have mentioned it to her, but…where else could she be if Lavina couldn't find her in other regular corners in Hell?

She remembered that Bo had mentioned that she had seen Kenzi's soul, but she wasn't sure where Bo had seen her. Did she see Kenzi in her father's dungeon? Would her father even let her into his dungeon at all?

"Well, why don't you figure it out first, before I do anything else?" Lavina told her. "Or nothing else, if she's really in the dungeon, because the dungeon is really out of my reach."

"Yeah…" Tamsin nodded with her eyebrows knotted. "Yeah…I guess I'll figure it out."

A/N: Mostly a chapter with Valkubus fluff. I hope everyone likes it!

The lake of lotus and the field of reeds are basic afterlife concepts from Ancient Egyptian myth, where the good souls will go through the lake of lotuses and eventually reach the field of reeds (heaven) to reunite with their loved ones.