When Hag had been there the world around us had remained dark and shadowed, but now that she was gone, the stone walls and floor could be seen. Cracks moved over the walls, weaving through the gray mortar and stones. The place lacked the fire I always thought of when someone mentioned Hell.
“So where do we start?” My feet tapped against the stone as I followed my mother. “It’s not like there are going to be signs that guide us to the seal.”
“You think like Lucile. If you were to hide the horsemen of the Apocalypse where would it be?” She looked over her shoulder at me. “If we’re looking for Pestilence where do you think she would seal him?”
I shrugged. “Kaleb said hell was made out of your worst fears. So what was it he feared?”
“I don’t know.” She stopped in the middle of the path.
The ground shook under me and I closed my eyes as the world seemed to spin.
“Pest didn’t fear much, but he always worried about losing Pete. His son was his pride and joy. He went as far as asking Pete’s mother to raise him in the human world so that he could have more humanity than the others.”
I nodded, but Ruthie had mentioned most of us grew up in the human world. “He’d mentioned that, but he didn’t mention what it was his father feared or what it might be.”
“A parent always fears losing their child.” My mother’s voice sounded further off.
I opened my eyes and the world stopped spinning, but the ground still held a faint vibration. “Just like a child worries about losing a parent. But I don’t understand how that will help us find them.”
“Your mother is the only one that understands that fear so deeply. If anything she’ll be able to find him.” Death said and I looked around.
“Where did she go?”
Ruthie summoned her staff. “She got lost to the fear. She’s still here, but the way this realm works, her fear of losing you has separated us. Talk to her. Tell her that you’re still here, because chances are she’s seeing you dead somewhere.”
“I fear losing you, but I understand that everyone must die when their time comes. It’s different for everyone, but because I am Death, I’m more comfortable with the idea that you will meet the higher power at some point.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. I tried to reach out to any sense of my mother I could find. Just like when I took myself to Death’s realm, I willed myself to appear in front of my mother.
The world spun around me and I opened my eyes to find her in a closed room. The black walls gave the illusion that it slanted in and continued to get smaller. I knew it was my own fear projecting. I took a deep breath and forced myself to remember I was in control of my fear.
I found my mother hunched over a body. Red blood pooled around them and her sob wracked her body. The sound of true grief made my heart ache. “Mom?”
“They took you from me. My child, my only blessing, and they took you from me. All because you wouldn’t leave.” Her sobs broke up the words.
“No, they didn’t. Mom, I’m right here. I’m still alive. Don’t let them drag you into this hell.” I knelt by her and the warm blood soaked through my pants. “They can’t take me from you because I can fight them. I’m not a child any more. I’m your baby, but I grew up. I’m stepping up to my responsibilities because you raised me to always follow them. To do what is right.”
“I warned you they would take your life if you followed this path.” She shoved me away and I fell back on my hands. “Get away from me, demon. You are not my child.”
I searched my memories for something, anything that would convince her I wasn’t a trick of Lucile’s. “Remember when I was seven and the house was broken into? You were so scared because you thought they were going to hurt me?”
She sobbed and then scrubbed at her tears on her cheeks. “I found you hiding because you knew what to do. I was so proud, you had managed to call the cops and hide before I was even notified.” Her hand shook as she dropped them down to her lap.
I smiled. “I was in the top of the closet, because I didn’t think they’d look up. I climbed up there like a little monkey and the officer gave you such grief for leaving me alone.”
“He didn’t understand that you were such a good child.” She sighed and smiled and it relieved some of the grief in her eyes. “You are such a good girl.” She turned and hugged me. “You’d pull me out of hell even though I didn’t want you here.”
I wrapped my arms around her and relaxed. “I would go to hell and back for you. There’s no way I want you trapped in here.” I closed my eyes and held her. “You won’t lose me because of Lucile, you won’t lose me in this apocalypse.”
She pulled away and the room melted away, revealing the stone path with Death and Ruthie waiting for us. Ruthie smiled and bowed her head and I knew she thought I did a good job.
“Was there a seal in the room?”
I shook my head. “No, just black walls, my dead body and us.” I wrapped an arm around my mother. “But that’s okay, that might not be his hell.”
“Are you trying to find Pest?” A high-pitched voice drew our attention behind us.
I spun around and summoned my scythe, so did my father. A tall woman slunk out of the shadows. Draped over her red skin was a sheer black dress, leaving nothing to our imaginations. My first thought was Lust, but that didn’t feel right. This wasn’t a Sin, but one look at her sent shivers down my spine. I ran a hand over my arm, trying to take the chill away.
“Camille.” Death stepped backwards towards me. “I didn’t think Lucile would send you.”
She smiled and swayed towards us. “She thought it’d be nice for you to see me. She knows how much history we have together.”
I glanced at Ruthie who shrugged. Death blocked me from Camille’s view.
“You’re trying to hide her, that’s cute.” She laughed and the sound shot through my eardrums and pierced my head.
I made a note to make sure to start traveling with earplugs. Death shot forward and the sound of clashing metal echoed off the walls. Ruthie summoned another staff and threw it to my mother.
I tightened my grip on my scythe and watched as my dad fought against Camille’s swords.
A wicked grin crossed her face as she fought Death off with ease. Twirling and moving to music only she could hear. Her feet skimmed across the floor with every attack.
She spun around and knocked Death away with two swords against the handle of his scythe. I shot forward, bringing my scythe across her stomach, but she blocked me and laughed as I skidded back on my feet. I switched my footing and moved back towards her. I jumped, bringing my scythe down at an angle. She jumped back and my blade missed her.
I landed in a crouch and Death came behind her, she spun and kicked him in the side, sending him to the ground. Pivoting on her toes, she turned back to me and smiled. “Shall I summon some of my pretties to keep you busy?”
Black, round shadows appeared on the ground, but Camille raised her hands and the shadows turned into black, mangy looking dogs. Each one stood nearly to my chest and the red glowing eyes were the only spot of color in their black fur. They opened their mouths and snarled, letting drool drip to the ground.
My heart pounded as the five dogs leaned forward and their ears flattened. I widened my stance and tightened my grip on my scythe. They wouldn’t take me down. Ruthie came to my side and took a similar stance.
“Hellhounds. Don’t let them get ahold of you or they’ll drag you through hell and to Lucile.” She spun her staff. “Your mom and Death are keeping Camille busy. Let’s focus on these.”
I watched as the legs of the first one tensed and he pounced. I brought my blade down and caught the neck of it and cut cleanly through it. The head of the dog bounced off the floor with a crack. The body collapsed and a second one came at me.
It dodged to the side to avoid my scythe and I kicked it, shoving it away from my body. I snapped my leg back to me as its teeth tried to aim for my pant leg. I spun a
nd brought my scythe down, cutting the hellhound in half. Black blood dripped off my blade and pooled onto the stone floor.
Ruthie snarled and flung a hellhound from her staff and against the wall. I brought my blade across its head before it could get back up. My scythe was yanked out of my hands. It disappeared and I called it back, but found a hellhound in mid-air. I wasn’t able to bring the blade around at the right time. My breath left me as my back hit the floor and my head bounced off the stone.
The paws dug into my shoulders as the hound’s teeth gnawed against the steel of my scythe. Drool left a slimy trail over my cheek as the creature snarled above me. Red eyes bore into me and my body tried to freeze in fear, but I couldn’t allow it. I wouldn’t let my mother’s nightmare come true.
A blade sliced through the hellhound and I saw Death staring down at me. I gave a nod of thanks and flipped back to my feet. Ruthie stood over the body of another one and we all turned to Camille. She smiled and twirled a sword in each hand and tilted her head to the side.
“Amazing, really, the hound didn’t drag one of you to Lucile.” She looked around at all the corpses. “But I can’t allow you to leave without you paying for what you’ve done to my babies.”
Her body split into four copies of herself. My eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What kind of demon is she?”
“A trickster.” Dad answered. “Stand your ground, fight hard and don’t lose focus.”
This wasn’t a demon I wanted to face. I shifted my footing and waited for her to attack. Her legs tensed and she rushed towards me, I sidestepped and swept her feet from under her. She flipped and recovered from the trip and she spun, throwing one of her swords at me.
The weight of the scythe felt like nothing as I spun it and it reacted to my commands and wants without a thought. Running on instincts only, I blocked the sword and the force embedded it in the stone wall. I took a deep breath as she rushed me with the second one. I brought the scythe down, the weight of the blade carrying the strike.
The tip of the blade bounced off the floor as I missed and I turned too late as Camille’s blade cut me across the side. She skidded to a stop and twirled around to face me. My blood dripped down the blade and onto her hand as she held it up.
The wound stung my side as I took a deep breath, but I couldn’t let it faze me. I needed to stay focused. The sounds of the others fighting behind me echoed through the stone walls. I wanted to risk a glance back, but I didn’t dare. The wound would slow down my reactions and I needed to make sure it wouldn’t affect me.
Shadows appeared around me and they grew into hellhounds. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I swung my scythe in a circle around me, taking out a couple of the hounds, their bodies collapsing at my feet. The two left both jumped at me at the same time. Dad’s scythe came flying towards them, taking both of them out. I jumped over the corpses and attacked my copy of Camille.
My mother’s scream echoed through the area, bouncing off the stones. I jolted to a stop and spun around. My gaze searched the area for her. Pinned against the wall, her wide eyes met mine as tears started flowing down her face, leaving a trail in the dirt and blood that had been caked on it.
My heart pounded and I realized what was happening. I rushed towards her copy of Camille as she raised a sword.
“No!” I raised my scythe, but a weight hit me. My face met the stone and the impact rattled my head. And I tried to fight the weight on me as my sight tried to focus on my mother. The only thing that mattered was taking out that copy of the demon to save her life.
The screams came again, this time a deeper agony and they ripped through me and stopped my heart and my breath. My gaze focused and her body slid down the wall, leaving a blood smear from the stab wounds from Camille’s swords. The weight on me disappeared and the copies of Camille flowed back into one figure swaying towards me.
“She’s gone, little Death.”
I jumped to my feet, the world spinning around me from the blow to my head. I stumbled as I tried to swipe my scythe at her. She raised a hand and tossed me back with an invisible power.
I fell at my father’s feet and Ruthie appeared at my side, blood dripping down her cheek from a slice by her left eye. I couldn’t breathe past the grief and pain from the battle. I gripped her shirt tightly as she helped get me to my feet and steady me.
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from my mother’s corpse, lying on the stone. Her wings spread out flat with no life to help lift them. The blood stained the stone, spreading slowly out from her.
Death stepped in front of me. “Open the gate. We’ll take leave of this place.”
“Uh uh,” Camille moved a slim finger from side to side. “You need a sacrifice to open the gate. You didn’t bring me anything.”
“We brought Hag two goats, and now you’ve claimed the life of a Fallen. Open the gateway.” He slammed the handle of his scythe down.
A pale light rose from my mother’s body and I knew it was her soul. Death held his hand out and it came right to him. He closed his eyes and hissed as the soul faded away. “Open it, Camille.”
She tossed her hair over her shoulder and the ground rumbled. A crack split below me and I couldn’t muster enough give-a-damn to make sure I landed in a crouch. Ruthie held onto me in the darkness. I could still hear my mother’s painful screams echoing in my head as we fell through the gateway.
Ruthie landed back in the human plane and I found my footing even though the ground still spun. The cries died down, but they would always be in my memories, right alongside the dead people. The death toll of one was my mother, not me like she feared.
I glanced at Death when he landed next to us. “Did you know?”
“I knew it could have been her time, but it was all her choices that led to her death.” He came to me and tried to take me from Ruthie’s support.
I shook my head and pushed away from them both. “I have a concussion and I can’t focus. She’s gone, my heart feels like it’s been ripped in half.” I cringed. “She shouldn’t have come with us.” I touched my side and blood coated my fingers. I rubbed my thumb over the slick liquid. “I forgot that Camille managed to get me.”
“She was toying with us.” Death came to stand in front of me. “We all need to get back and tend to our wounds.”
Ruthie put a hand on my cheek. “The emotional and the physical.”
I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of her hand on my cheek, but nothing could pull me away from the grief that numbed me. “And we just move on?”
“You will always grieve, she was your mother, but we must press forward.” Death said. “She may not have wanted you in this battle, but now Lucile has made it personal.”
A strange smile crossed my face. “She wanted to make sure I’d come to her seeking revenge. Clever little devil.” I took a step and stumbled a little. “This is nothing.” Took another step, one foot in front of the other worked for the pain and I needed to deal with the grief the same way. I had no choice.
Ruthie tucked me into the couch after she attended to the slice in my side. With the concussion I wasn’t allowed to sleep, so I leaned my head back on the couch. The pounding echoed in my skull and I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead. “So now what? We got our ass kicked by a trickster. She’s not even a Sin, how are we supposed to face them?”
“Not alone and not in hell, they are stronger there.” Ruthie walked back into the living room with an ice pack. “Your head should feel better by the time we’re back home.”
I closed my eyes and tried to focus on her words. “Back home? Back to Mesa? What about my mom?”
“You don’t have a body for a funeral. If you want, I’ll take care of the other affairs, the house and such.” Death offered and sat down in the oversized chair. “I don’t know how to comfort you.”
At least he was honest. “I don’t know how either. She was all I had until I discovered what I was, but that doesn’t make it hurt
any less. She was my mother, perfect or not.” Tears gathered in the corners of my closed eyes. “No more holidays here, no more late night television with her. I can’t call her from college to tell her about my first date or if I hate a teacher.” My voice cracked at the idea of never hearing her voice again. I curled against the back of the couch so I wouldn’t have to face Death or Ruthie.
Ruthie stroked my hair. “I’m right here if you need me. I know no words will take away the pain.”
I didn’t know if I wanted anyone with me right now. “Thanks.” I pulled the blanket over my head. “How long am I not allowed to sleep?”
“You’re a Child of the Apocalypse, so you should be okay to sleep once the pounding stops in your head.” Ruthie moved her hand. “Sleeping on the train tomorrow will probably be a good idea.”
I shook my head. “I’ll take my mom’s car. I might as well, since mine is still in the shop.”
“I’ll make sure to take care of everything. I have my ways and I don’t want your mother’s name dragged through the mud, so I’ll make sure they know she didn’t abandon her job or her clients.” Death’s voice came from my side.
I pulled the blanket off my head. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do. I just wish I could do more.” He met my gaze. “You’re going to pull through this. You had no way of knowing the death toll number belonged to her.”
I nodded. “I thought it belonged to a demon. I never thought I’d lose her in a fight like that. In hell.”
“Demons have the advantage there.” He moved back to the chair. “We have the advantage in this realm. If you want, you can come stay with me during breaks so you don’t have to face the grief alone.”
I didn’t even want to think about other breaks. Thanksgiving was bad enough at this point. “Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say at this point. I didn’t feel anything but physical pains, the emotions were all drained from me when we left hell. At one point I wondered if hell had literally sucked the emotions from me.
Ruthie sat down at the other end of the couch and clicked on the television. I zoned out to the pictures on the screen while we sat in silence. A night of reprieve and back to the world of demons tomorrow.
Children of the Apocalypse Complete Trilogy Page 16