by Riley London
“It’s that one.” I nodded towards the room at the very back of the apartment’s shadowed hallway. “Just stay behind me, all right?”
“Will do,” Charlie confirmed.
I started to move towards the back of the hall, keeping my movements rational and measured. A part of me wanted to run away from the energy, while another part of me wanted to run right towards it, desperate to banish the energy back to Hell as quickly as I could.
I knew that I needed to keep my head in the game and keeping up my sense of logic was going to hopefully help me bring this to an end even faster. As we reached the end of the hall, I placed one of my hands on the hilt of my sword and used the other to twist open the doorknob.
The door opened without any resistance, and seconds later, Charlie and I were inside the apartment’s walls. The room was pitch-black, but not just because the lights were out. It was almost like the room was filled with a mist of pure darkness, something heavy yet reminiscent of smoke. I coughed a few times, the smoky substance threatening to coat my lungs. Every cell in my body fought to expel it.
“Auxilium.”
I drew my sword away from my side, as its golden glow lit up the darkness of the room. But as soon as its light shone through the darkness, there was something, wild and wide, gnashing its teeth into my sword.
Holy shit.
I’d never come across anything like this before.
“Celeste!” Charlie called out. “What the fuck is that?”
“Don’t know.” I struggled to keep my calm demeanor, as I fought the strange creature for control of my sword. Soon enough, the struggle came to an end, as its teeth pulled the weapon out of my hands. As the metal blade clanged against the apartment’s wooden floor, I knew that I had to act fast. Without thinking, I lunged towards the creature, wrapping my arms around what I assumed was its throat.
“Auxilium.” I whispered the prayer again, as my hands began to glow with the same light as the sword. The creature whined in my grasp, but I kept my hold, unsure of what it might do if it was able to get loose yet again. Then, there was an unholy growl that went out throughout the room, before I felt the creature lick the side of my face.
What the fuck?
Gross.
With that, I let go of the creature, moving a few feet away from it, just enough to see what it was.
It looked like a dog, except it had glowing red eyes, and black fur that resembled wisps of smoke. It was huge too, more the size of what I’d always imagined a werewolf might be. The creature sat down, right in front of me, as its tongue lolled out of its mouth.
“Hellhound. That’s a hellhound,” Charlie whispered, sounding shaken. “I’m looking at an actual hellhound right now.”
“Good doggie.” My words came out breathless, as I was still recovering from the fight for my sword. I reached for my weapon, before I brought myself back up to my feet. “Not the source of the demonic energy, though. I guess he’s just on lookout duty.”
“For who?” Charlie’s eyes went wide, as he looked over at me. “Do you think he’s working for your dad?”
“I don’t think my dad needs anyone on lookout duty.”
I proceeded to move through the rest of the apartment, until the nauseous feeling in my stomach nearly made me double over. I pushed past the feeling, pushing open what seemed to be a bedroom door, as well.
“You’re late.” A man stood beside an open window, appearing to look down over the city streets below “You were right though, in your assessment of the angels. Oddly enough, they never look above them.”
The man turned to face me, and his expression melted into one of curiosity. “Ah. You...are not you. Who are you?”
I looked the man up and down, taking in his frame. His face was strikingly handsome, like he’d been blessed with the best genes. Honestly, he reminded me a lot of Ashmedai. He wasn’t as well put-together with his clothing, although it was obvious that he was trying.
“Who are you?” I fired the question right back.
“I believe I asked you first, angel.” The man smirked. “But I’ll be polite, since you are a lady angel, after all. My name is Belphegor. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?”
“The demon of sloth...” my words trailed off. “You’re one of the Princes of Hell.”
Belphegor nodded. “And you are?”
“That’s not important.” In the moment, I realized that revealing my true identity could’ve led to something awful happening to me. “I’m just a student.”
“You’re just a liar.” Belphegor chuckled. “You think I don’t already know who you are? You look just like your mother, little angel. I just wondered if you knew it too. And it seems like you do.”
“Who were you waiting on?” I demanded, trying to redirect our conversation onto safer ground. “And why the hell were you waiting for them in the city?”
“You have no dominion over me, Daughter of Lilith.” Belphegor chuckled again, the laugh ending in a little growl. “You have no power here. Leave. Be gone, and I’ll let you live yet another day.”
“Yeah. Sorry. No can do.” I shifted my body into a fighting stance, with my sword held out in front of me. “You’re either going to leave right now, or I’m going to make you leave.”
“Are you threatening a Prince of Hell?”
“Are you disrespecting orders from your princess?” The words felt weird coming out of my mouth, even though I knew they were the truth. “Leave. Be gone, and I’ll let you do whatever it is you do for another day.”
“All right.” Belphegor sighed, as his eyes began to glow a fiery red. “Then it looks as if I will be the one to send you back to your parents, after all.”
Belphegor didn’t say another thing, before waving his hands in front of his face. There were wisps of black smoke that emitted from his fingers, blocking my view of him entirely. I could only see as far ahead as my glowing sword, and a nervous feeling began to build inside of my bones.
Shit.
I may have picked a fight that I wasn’t ready to win.
I suddenly felt a stinging sensation moving over each of my fingers, as if I was being attacked by a swarm of wasps. I screamed, dropping my sword to the ground.
Shit.
I definitely just picked a fight that I wasn’t ready to win.
The stinging wasps sensation migrated from my fingers to the sides of my throat, the pain so sudden and sharp that it brought me wretching to my knees. I reached for my weapon in the darkness, still able to see its glow a few feet away from my frame.
“Sana eam!” I cried out, and the pain of stinging wasps seemed to disappear, if only for a moment.
But a moment was all I needed, to get sword back into my grip. I took a second to think through my Latin lessons, before I yelled out a complete Hail Mary. “Solis ortus!”
A bright beam of light shot out through the room, appearing to emanate straight from my sword. Everything was touched by its glow, with every corner of the room being illuminated and revealed to me at once. The stinging sensations receded, and I had a clear path toward Belphegor. I rose to my feet, before I took my shot, plunging my sword deep into his abdomen.
Belphegor winced, looking pained as he watched my face. “Ah, little one. Your heart is strong, but you are so, so weak. What a pity.”
I didn’t have a chance to respond, as Belphegor’s hand wrapped tight around my throat. The tips of each demonic finger seemed to sear themselves into my very flesh.
I couldn’t speak.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t pray.
I closed my eyes, as the veins in my neck began to pop before they were crushed even further by his hand.
He was going to kill me.
This was how I was going to die.
I’d accepted my fate, as my lungs begged for air that I was unable to provide for them. I figured that I’d pass out before I died, which gave me some semblance of relief. At least I wasn’t going to be conscious enough to know I
was dying, whenever my body gave up its last breath.
As the world around me started to turn so, so warm, and so, so dark, my back landed with a spine-shaking crash against the apartment floor. I took in a desperate gasp for air, rolling over onto my side. I was too disoriented to do anything besides try to catch my breath.
“Auxilium!” A girl’s voice confidently rang out, soon followed by pained groans and the wet sounds of a blade sinking into someone’s skin, again and again.
As I continued to get my bearings, the nauseous feeling from being in the apartment seemed to lift right off me, until it had completely vanished. I turned my face upwards, trying to determine what the hell had just happened, and that’s when I spotted her.
Trinity.
She stood in the middle of the room, with two throwing knives, one balanced expertly in each of her palms. She looked down at me, with concern etched onto her expression.
“Celeste. Are you all right?”
“Sana aem,” I whispered, and my broken body felt whole yet again. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Trinity smiled, before she slid her knives back into their sheaths. “Did you come here alone?”
“No.” My eyes went wide. “Charlie. Shit! Charlie—”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” Trinity nodded, as she hastily left the room. I struggled to my feet, before I stumbled right behind her.
Chapter 5
Charlie was on the living room floor, gasping and thrashing around. Trinity crouched right beside him, her hand pressed gently into his arm.
“You’re hurt. But you’re going to be all right—”
Just then, a cloud of black smoke descended onto Charlie’s frame. Trinity leapt right into action, her throwing knives already back in her hands. All I could make out was the glow of her weapons, as she seemed to be fighting off the darkness itself, the cloud receding further and further into nothingness.
Once the cloud had completely dissipated, Trinity returned her attention to Charlie. “Sorry about that. Sometimes, demonic energy tries to take on an easy target. Have you been possessed before?”
“Yeah,” Charlie admitted, and his voice cracked as he spoke. “Were they trying to possess me? Again?”
“It’s easier the second time.” Trinity spoke to Charlie, a warm edge suffusing her voice. “But don’t you worry about anything like that. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“Thanks.” Charlie smiled back at her.
I finally had enough strength to approach them both. “What the hell just happened to us?”
“Just another Prince of Hell.” Trinity shrugged.
“You’ve seen them before?” I tried to make sure my question came out neutral, not wanting to tip her off about the fact that I knew who she really was.
“In textbooks, yes,” Trinity replied. “Belphegor is known for pulling stunts like this one. He uses hellhounds and smoke and mirrors, because he wants to appear more menacing than he actually is. He’s one of the weakest of the princes, which is why he needs all of this pageantry.”
“The weakest?” I choked out a hollow laugh “He almost killed me.”
“He almost killed me, too,” Charlie chimed into the conversation.
“Forgive me, but it seems as if you two might be in need of more training...” Trinity hesitated. “At the French Academy, we spend more of our focus on the realities of fighting demons. Meanwhile, the American Academy seems to care more about its history and traditions.”
“Don’t let Zachary hear you say that. He’d move to France right now.” Charlie laughed.
“Thank you for saving us.” I nodded towards Trinity. “Hey, how’d you find out where we were anyway? Did they already assign you a location to monitor in the city—”
“We should go,” Trinity cut me off, rising to her feet. “The others will be worried.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I rolled my shoulders, before letting out a heavy breath. “We should get back to Benjie and Zach.”
“You were attacked? By a Prince of Hell?” Mrs. Deveraux’s voice shook as she spoke. “Are you certain?”
Trinity, Zachary, Benjamin, Charlie and I all sat in Mrs. Deveraux’s office, filling the line of seats in front of her desk.
“Yes.” Trinity nodded. “I’m certain. It was Belphegor.”
“Belphegor...” Mrs. Deveraux’s tone dropped to a whisper. “The weakest prince...able to escape Michael’s chains...”
A look of sadness crossed over her expression, before she steeled herself and spoke again. “We will have to alert the council.”
“And what happens then?” I leaned in towards Mrs. Deveraux’s desk. “Are they going to help us fight him?”
“No,” She replied. “It is our job to fight off the demons. The council will simply provide us instructions for what to do next.”
“Isn’t there protocol for something like this?” Benjamin asked. “And what if it isn’t just one Prince of Hell? What if it’s all of them—”
“Then we will do what we must.” Mrs. Deveraux lifted a warning finger, signaling that it was time for Benjamin to be silent. “Even if that means calling on every last angel on Earth. We can’t let the princes reign over humanity. They’ll convince them to destroy each other, and then they’ll convince them to destroy us, too.”
“And God will punish us all for failing him,” Zachary replied in a low tone. “And maybe they’ll come for Heaven next.”
“They can’t do that, can they? Come for Heaven?” Charlie looked back and forth between Zachary and Mrs. Deveraux. “There’s no way that’s possible, is it?”
“They’ve tried it once before,” Mrs. Deveraux replied, her voice flat. “That time, they lost. That time, we had Michael on our side and they did not. This time...”
Mrs. Deveraux rose up from her office chair, before she turned to face the nearby window. “Without Michael, we have no assurance of victory over their darkness.”
“So, what? The hellish rebellion might actually win this time?” Charlie’s words came out nervous. “What happens then?”
“Nightmares come true.” Mrs. Deveraux folded her arms behind her back. “And it will be impossible to scrub all the blood out of the streets.”
I stretched in the middle of my bed, waiting for sleep to come.
It wasn’t working. Maybe it was the fact that I’d just been choked out and brought to within an inch of my life, but I just wasn’t in the mood for sleeping tonight.
I had no idea where Zachary was, but I was grateful for the alone time. Besides, I was feeling a little embarrassed by the entire situation. I’d genuinely been training my hardest, and I still almost got killed by the weakest Prince of Hell. I wasn’t ready for Abaddon. I wasn’t ready for anything.
I needed to get back to the training room.
But as soon as my feet touched the ground, I heard the room’s door fly wide open. Zachary stepped into the room, locking the door behind him.
“You almost died.” His tone was accusatory, as he crossed the distance from the door to the edge of my bed.
His voice cracked. “You almost fucking died tonight.”
“Yeah, did I not tell you that?” I asked, knowing full well that I hadn’t given anyone that information besides Charlie and Trinity, who were both eyewitnesses to my defeat.
“No. You didn’t.” Zachary seemed pissed, as he folded his arms against his chest. “What the hell were you thinking? Going after a Prince of Hell by yourself?”
“I wasn’t all by myself. I had Charlie.”
“Yeah, and how did that turn out for you?” Zachary scoffed. “You might as well have brought along a pet goldfish.”
“You don’t have to be such an asshole about it.” I snapped, before I looked back at Zachary. “I get it. You don’t like me. You think I’m an idiot. And you really don’t like Charlie. Can I just go to the training room now—”
My words were cut off by Zachary’s lips against mine. He mo
ved his body close to mine so fast it left my head spinning. The electricity from the interaction immediately flowed through my veins, and I turned my head to break off the kiss.
“What the hell? What is your deal?” I demanded. “Didn’t we already go through this?”
“Did we ever reach a conclusion?” Zachary retorted, his voice a not deeper than usual.
“God! You are so—Ugh!” I pushed Zachary away from me. “What do you want from me, Zachary?”
“I want you to stay alive.”
“Why? Why do you care?” I shook my head. “It’s not like Mrs. Deveraux has you watching over me anymore. If I die, it’s my own damn fault, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is. Because you keep making stupid decisions—”
“Then why the hell do you care?” I flung my question at him again, my voice getting louder. “Why do you give a fuck whether I live or die? Why are you goddamn invested in a girl that you just want to fuck—”
“Is this what you really want to do right now?” Zachary sighed. “You want to get into a screaming match?”
“No,” I admitted, raising my chin as I lowered my tone. “I don’t want to fight with you at all, Zach. I just want to get back to the training room. Work on my shit.”
“Cool. Then, I’ll go with you.” Zachary held out his hand. “Let’s go.”
I shrugged, accepting Zachary’s bizarre version of a peace offering, before heading resolutely toward the door.
“How did it happen?” Zachary asked, as he stood a few feet away from me in the training room. He wasn’t holding onto any wooden weapons, just keeping his green eyes locked onto my gaze. “How did the demon get the upper hand on you?”
“Uh, well...” I considered my words, as I stared back at Zachary. “He just kind of...choked me out.”
“Was that the first thing he did? Just grab you by the throat?”
“No. He did something that felt like wasps stinging me first? Something with smoke?” I struggled to explain the sensations that washed over me “It’s hard without the visuals to tell you what it was like, but basically, it felt like I kept getting stung, over and over and—Shit!”