It had been his home once, many centuries ago, when he had been happy living under the same roof as his master.
The Devil had not been pleased when he had decided to leave the fortress and set about building his own castle in a wasteland far away, miles beyond his reach during the times when he was limited to the bottomless pit. He had accused Asmodeus of plotting to create his own realm, one that would challenge his reign.
Asmodeus had scoffed at that. He had no interest in running Hell. He had merely wanted a place of his own where he could do as he pleased.
He landed on a smooth section of the courtyard near the steps that led up to the fortress.
The tall twin doors opened a crack and the Devil stepped out, dressed impeccably in a sharp black suit with a patterned black tie.
Sometimes when Asmodeus looked in one of the tarnished mirrors in his castle, he could see this male in him. Those same golden eyes looked back at him, framed by the same long black lashes, from a face crowned by the same wild short black hair.
Asmodeus hated it. It was worse than seeing Apollyon staring back at him.
He was a clone of neither of those males. He was his own man, with his own history and his own destiny.
He was not a shadow.
“Asmodeus,” the Devil said, his smooth baritone filled with warmth that Asmodeus knew was false and placed there to make him feel the male was pleased to see him. “I half expected you to disobey my order again and remain in that mortal realm. I trust you found it to your liking and enjoyed the brief moment you had there?”
“I did. I will return to it when I see fit.”
“Will you now?” The Devil’s mouth curled into a wicked smile and his amber eyes flashed. “And how will you do that?”
The male meant to taunt him but it wouldn’t work. The Devil could restrict his power to use a portal to reach that realm all he wanted, attempting to control him and keep him in Hell against his will, but it wouldn’t stop Asmodeus.
“Under my own volition. I have discovered that I share another power of Apollyon’s that you failed to mention before.” Asmodeus allowed himself a small smile of victory when the grin on his master’s face faded and his expression soured. “I see you were aware of it. I can apparently create the rift between this realm and the mortal one, just as he can. I do not have to rely on the power of creating portals that you granted me.”
Discovering that power had led Asmodeus to consider what other ones he possessed that the Devil had kept hidden from him. It had only been a brief consideration. Liora had dropped into the rift he had created just as he had thought it and his focus had shot to her instead. When he returned to her at his castle, he would ask her about Apollyon to discover what she knew of his powers and he would ponder whether he could use them too.
“Very well. You may come and go as you please… when you have brought the female to me.” The Devil brushed the sleeves of his suit jacket and picked at something with his black claws.
“What do you want with her?” Asmodeus advanced a step, coming to stand at the bottom of the steps that led up to the fortress.
“That is my business. You have never questioned me before and it is unwise to begin to do so now. What I desire the female for will remain my business.”
Asmodeus lowered his hands to his sides and his fingers twitched, eager to feel the hilts of his blades in them. “If you want me to retrieve her for you, then you will tell me.”
The Devil smiled again, exposing short fangs. “You think to threaten me?”
He did. It was insane, but it was his only choice. He needed to know why the Devil wanted Liora so he could better protect her.
Something dawned in the Devil’s golden eyes. “Ah… I had wondered what had happened. You have been busy, Asmodeus… killing one of your own.”
“The male you sent was not one of my own. I have no kin. He showed me no respect and so I taught him a lesson. I removed his head.” Asmodeus straightened to his full height, flapped his black wings and furled them against his bare back, allowing none of the pain it caused him to show on his face. “He will not make the same mistake again.”
“And because of your impertinence, I am down a man. You know I should punish you for the crime you committed.”
Asmodeus laughed. “Crime? You taught me to gain the respect of those beneath me through showing them what would happen should they disappoint me, and you taught me well. I will not tolerate the disrespect of your men.”
“And I will not tolerate your disrespect.” The Devil flexed his fingers and black fire chased over them, fluttering across his knuckles. The power he constantly emanated grew in strength, washing over Asmodeus and pressing down on him.
Asmodeus’s power rose to meet it, shielding him from the full force of the Devil’s. He wouldn’t be able to match the Devil’s strength if the male went all out on him, but he would do his best, for Liora’s sake. She was expecting him to return to her. If he didn’t, she would be stuck in this realm until Apollyon came for her.
That didn’t sit well with Asmodeus.
He would not allow his twin to be her saviour.
“You do not know what you are dealing with, Asmodeus.” The Devil straightened to his full height and black ribbons of smoke twined around his fingers, streaming from his obsidian claws.
“Then tell me what I am dealing with. Tell me what you want with the female.” Asmodeus wouldn’t cower before his master. The Devil meant to keep him in the dark and he would never allow that to happen. He needed to know why the Devil wanted Liora and what he would do to her if he got his hands on her, not that Asmodeus would ever allow that to happen.
“I told you, that is my business. I will only tell you that she is dangerous in the wrong hands.”
Dangerous? Liora was powerful but she was mortal. Her magic was strong, but her body was weak. It wouldn’t hold out in a battle against a strong demon or angel, and definitely not against his master.
“Dangerous in your hands, perhaps.” Asmodeus held his master’s gaze, unflinching even when the Devil narrowed his eyes on him and his power rose, the air growing thicker around him. “Tell me why she is dangerous and I will consider bringing the female to you.”
“Lies. You dare lie to me? I created you, Asmodeus, and I can destroy you just as easily. Remember that.”
Asmodeus glared at him and spat out a vile curse in the black language of Hell.
“Tell me, Asmodeus, is she worth the pain you will suffer?” The Devil’s tone dripped venom and his gaze gained a cruel edge, his wicked smile conveying his black thoughts and the pleasure he felt from thinking about torturing Asmodeus.
That pleasure would increase a thousandfold when he actually carried out the terrible acts he was envisaging.
“I have withstood torture before. Whatever you do to me, I will not break.” Asmodeus tipped his chin up and stared the Devil straight in the eye.
The male flashed his fangs in a grin. “Who said I would torture you? I have a feeling you will break when I take her from you and torment her before your very eyes while you are under my orders to watch in silence.”
Asmodeus stood his ground, unwilling to show fear to his master. His power rose in response to the anger beginning to boil in his blood, fuelled by thoughts of this wretched male harming his Liora.
“You cannot control me,” he said and advanced another step, closing in on the Devil where he stood at the top of the steps, looking down on him. “Not as Heaven can control their angels. I do not belong to you.”
“You do belong to me, whether you want to admit it or not. I own you. You will bring her to me, Asmodeus.”
He felt the tug of those words in his chest, yanking him to his right in the direction of his castle, beyond the rough jagged black spikes that enclosed the courtyard. He fought the command but he still wasn’t strong enough to deny the effect it had on his body. He shifted his right foot to brace himself as it pulled him towards Liora.
The Devil’s gri
n turned twisted and pleased, and Asmodeus’s stomach dropped. “I see. The female is already in Hell.”
Asmodeus called both of his curved golden blades to his hands and growled at the Devil. “I will not bring her to you.”
“Bring her to me.” The Devil raised his hands at his sides, black fire chasing over them, and the oppressive weight of his power increased, pushing down on Asmodeus.
Asmodeus readied his blades and drew in a fortifying breath. “I will never let you have her.”
“It is not a question of let, Maggot. You will obey whether you like it or not.”
The tug came again, stronger this time, pulling him towards Liora. Asmodeus ground his molars together and fought it, focusing all of his strength on denying the Devil’s command.
“Never,” Asmodeus roared and launched himself up the steps at the Devil.
The slender black-haired male flung his left hand forwards and shadowy tendrils shot from his fingers and slammed into Asmodeus’s chest.
Asmodeus flew backwards through the air, his wings streaming before him, the velocity of his flight so great that he couldn’t move them. The impact with the jagged basalt spires that lined the curved courtyard tore a scream from his throat. Fiery heat lanced his flesh and branded his bones. The rock shattered under the force of the impact.
An ominous crack echoed around the paved area.
Asmodeus’s head spun and darkness encroached.
He slid down the curve of the wall, shards of basalt spearing his back and his thighs, and fell forwards. The pain stole all feeling, leaving him numb and weak, his mind whirling and vision distorting. He rolled onto his back and a shadow loomed above him, growing larger. Unconsciousness?
His vision aligned again and his eyes widened.
Death.
He rolled onto his front and scrambled forwards, kicking hard at the fragmented pavement and beating his aching wings.
The enormous piece of one of the spires crashed into the ground behind him base first and shattered. Asmodeus flew harder, grimacing with each painful beat of his black wings, fire blistering his skin where each needle of rock penetrated his flesh. Small fragments of the falling spire caught his booted feet and his wings, but he pushed on, the thought of being crushed under the weight of the broken rock driving him onwards.
He made it beyond the fallout zone from the shattered spire and turned towards the Devil.
Another blast of black took his legs out, sending him face-first into the pavement.
Asmodeus growled and pushed onto his knees, and then cried out as claws grasped the back of his neck, digging into his flesh like fiery acid. He arched forwards, yelling his agony at the black vault of Hell, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.
The Devil lowered his mouth to Asmodeus’s ear. “I had expected a better fight than this. My daughter and her consort gave me a harder time than you have. You disappoint me.”
The male shoved him forwards and released him and Asmodeus hit the flagstones again. He lay on his front, breathing hard and struggling to shut down the pain blazing through every inch of his flesh and his bones. If he could just lay here for five minutes and catch his breath, he could give the Devil the fight he desired. He was sure of it.
His master didn’t even give him five seconds.
He stepped around Asmodeus, slid his right foot under his left shoulder, and flipped him onto his back, twisting his wings beneath him. Asmodeus groaned and held his right hand out, willing one of his blades to come to him. The Devil stepped onto Asmodeus’s throat and pressed down. He choked, all of his agony focusing in that one spot, driving him close to the edge of oblivion again.
Asmodeus gave up trying to call his blade as darkness encroached, crowding like shadows at the corners of his vision. He wheezed, desperate for air, and weakly lifted his hands to the Devil’s foot. He fumbled with it, too tired and dizzy to grasp it and push it off his throat.
His master stood over him, cocked his head to one side, and stared down at him.
“Such a disappointment. Bring her to me, Asmodeus.” The Devil’s eyes brightened, a corona of crimson encircling his golden irises. “Do not disappoint me again.”
Black shadows streamed from the Devil’s shoulders, rising and shifting, becoming dragon-like wings. His eyes burned red, his lips twisted in a sneer that exposed his vicious fangs, and he shoved his foot down hard onto Asmodeus’s throat.
Darkness claimed him.
CHAPTER 8
Liora strolled through the black-walled corridors of Asmodeus’s castle, enjoying the cooler air inside and tailed by his hellhounds.
Well, she was hobbling and snooping, but it made her feel better if she pretended she wasn’t doing anything wrong.
When he had left her, disappearing through the black vortex that she presumed teleported him elsewhere in Hell, and closer to his master, she had pottered around the grounds of the imposing castle. Romulus and Remus had tracked her every move, keeping close to her heels. Clearly, they took their duty seriously and were determined not to fail their master. She had tried to lose them, but they were quicker than she was in her somewhat battered, bruised and shaken state, so she had given up.
She had actually begun to feel safer with them around. Hell wasn’t a particularly quiet place. Every few seconds there was a distant shriek or piercing cry of something that sounded big and armed with rows of sharp teeth and even sharper claws.
Romulus and Remus snapped to attention whenever the call echoed around the distant black mountains that surrounded the featureless basin below her. Sometimes they bared their own black fangs and closed formation, pinning her between them. Remus had even licked her hand when the cry had sounded closer and she had tensed, her heart beating wildly, sending adrenaline rocketing through her veins.
Differentiating between the two immense black hellhounds hadn’t been hard once she had realised that Remus had a floppy ear. She smiled again at the memory of how Asmodeus had corrected it for him, his air that of a doting but frustrated father. It did wreck the hellhound’s deadly and frightening appearance, and that had softened her initial feelings towards them both, making them less scary and threatening.
When she had reached the far end of the walled grounds, she had peered over the edge. Her head had turned and her stomach somersaulted at the sheer drop to the valley far below. Romulus had moved between her and the wall and nudged her backwards, forcing her away from the frightening drop. The hellhound hadn’t stopped nudging her until she had been a good five metres from the wall.
Liora had turned then and paused, frozen by the sight of the black castle. It was strangely beautiful and enchanting, made of tall cylindrical towers topped with conical roofs that reached high into the thick hot air. She had drawn such castles as a child. It had a fairy tale air about it.
The enchanted castle of a dark prince.
Where was her dark prince now?
Liora ran her gaze over the black walls inside his home. They were unadorned. She had walked through several empty rooms and through endless bare corridors. She could hardly call it snooping when there was nothing to peek at.
Romulus and Remus stalked behind her and she had the feeling that she was slowing them down. She hobbled on and focused on her magic. It was still weak and it would be a while before it was strong enough for her to use on her sprained ankle.
“Maybe I could ride one of you?” She looked over her shoulder at her two dark guardians. They were as large as she had pictured, their ears easily reaching her shoulder, and were thickly muscled too. “Could you support my weight?”
They stared blankly at her, red eyes not giving away if they could understand her or not. Asmodeus spoke English. She shook that thought away. He had said they understood him when he spoke a demonic sort of tongue. They hadn’t understood her earlier. She should have pressed Asmodeus to teach her a few commands, just in case she needed them. They seemed complacent and hadn’t shown any sign of wanting to attack her, but she still co
uldn’t bring herself to trust them one hundred percent.
They had dark auras and unnaturally strong energy. It set her magic on edge and she was having a hard time convincing herself that they wouldn’t harm her so it would relax and she could focus on recuperating.
She doubted they would obey her even if she did speak their language.
Romulus trotted on ahead, loping down the dark dimly lit corridor. Remus huffed and followed, and they turned left and disappeared from view. Growls filled the silence and she hurried forwards, afraid that Asmodeus had been wrong and there was an intruder. Her limited magic sparked around her fingers, draining her strength as she tried to use her natural energy to enhance it.
She rounded the corner and sighed, her magic fading again.
The two hellhounds rolled around in the corridor ahead of her, growling at each other and trying to grab each other’s scruff.
It wasn’t the first time they had done this.
They acted like puppies sometimes, bounding ahead of her and shouldering each other, snarling and growling at the same time. It made it difficult for her to believe they were several hundred years old.
Liora smiled as she watched them playing and her thoughts turned back to Asmodeus. He had raised them from puppies, saving them from death. It was proof of the good in him that he hid so well from others. If Apollyon were aware of what Asmodeus had done, he wouldn’t view his twin as evil at all.
Romulus and Remus got to their paws and came to her. Surprise claimed her when they pushed under her palms, causing her to rub their heads between their tall pointed ears.
Liora petted them as Asmodeus had, stroking their short satiny black fur.
“Do you love your master?” she whispered and they both lifted their heads, looking up at her with bright red eyes, and wagged their whip-like tails with enthusiasm. Liora smiled at them. They definitely loved their master and she had a feeling that he loved them in return.
They moved off as one, scouting the corridor ahead.
Liora followed them, allowing them to lead her deeper into the castle and up a set of stone steps to the next floor.
Her Angel: Eternal Warriors Complete Series Box Set Page 83