by Cameo Renae
“So it seems that you do have had some help from above?” Lucifer asked in a snide way.
“Yes. When the Midway found out that the Nephilim were being slaughtered, they sent a few Guardians to help the last survivors. They put up a dome of protection to cover the house.” Samuel’s words flowed and there was no hesitation, only sincerity.
Lucifer glanced over to me and then back at Samuel.
“Well, I will make sure that Azzah and Bane are on full alert. Be aware that they are only going for the protection my son. No one else is of my concern. Not you, or your daughter, Samuel. Ash will be my eyes. He’ll alert me once Lucian is close. It has been a long time since I’ve seen or heard the name of that deceiver. This is something I will gladly take care of soon.” His eyes seemed to burn brighter, with a deep seeded hatred toward his ex-Fallen partner.
But look who was calling the kettle black. Wasn’t the whole Fall because he was just as, or even more, deceitful and treacherous? Whatever. He can keep his hatred and whatever else was buried in his shriveled, black heart. I never expected him to do this for anyone other than himself anyway.
I was surprised he even had an ounce of love left to take in his brother’s son and make him his own. Our whole mission was to get to him, and to have him help us defeat Lucian, and it worked. After this, I wanted nothing to do with him.
The door pushed open and Ethon came walking in with Azzah, whose hand was thickly bandaged, and another very large man. He was also huge, darkly tanned, with bulging muscles. He was bald but had black eyes, and a dark mustache and beard. He looked really scary. They all came walking towards us and stopped in front of Lucifer.
“Master,” they both breathed, bowed their head, and then knelt down at his feet.
These two men looked like they could kick Lucifer’s ass all over Hell and back, but they were bowing at his feet. Weird, but I guess that was their way of keeping things in order. There must be a very dark side to Lucifer that I had not seen yet. A side that had these two huge brutes cowering at his feet.
“I want you two to escort Ethon, Samuel, and his daughter Emma back to the mortal world. Lucian has issued an order of execution on all Nephilim. Keep a watchful eye at all times. He will strike at the most unsuspecting of times, and his goal is to wipe them from existence. These two will be your top priority. I will be assembling the warriors together, and awaiting Ash’s details. If you fail, and either of them is injured, you will feel the pain of my wrath for all eternity. Guard them with your life.”
“Yes, master,” they answered bowing a little lower. A few moments later they stood.
“Ethon,” Lucifer spoke.
“Yes, father.”
“It is imperative that you protect yourself, above all others. Do not put yourself in harm’s way.”
Ethon didn’t say a word, but just bowed his head.
I knew Lucifer was putting up a front, randomly throwing my name onto the save them list just to satisfy Ethon, and I was pretty sure that his goons already knew the exact reason they were going. It wasn’t to protect me. This was about Lucifer’s revenge, and keeping Ethon alive.
But, to Hell with them. I had my own Guardians back home, who I loved and trusted with my life, and who had proven themselves. I had no doubt that each one would do whatever it took to keep me and Alaine alive.
In my world, Ethon was getting the shorter end of the stick, but then again, he was also well trained to fight. I guess that evened it all out.
“Take the porthole in my chambers,” Lucifer said firmly.
“Yes, master,” the goons answered in unison, and then bowed again.
“Thank you, Father. I will see you soon,” Ethon said, placing his hand on his father’s shoulder, and in turn, Lucifer did the same. They regarded each other with a nod.
No hug. Wow. That sucked. But why should I expect anything more from the Devil?
Ethon glanced at us and gestured for us to follow.
I paused, not sure if I should say goodbye to Lucifer or just walk out.
“Bye,” I said, and then quickly followed after Ethon. I didn’t want to say thank you, because he wasn’t really doing us a favor, and his part in all of this came with a very high price.
Samuel followed right behind me, and I wasn’t sure if he even said goodbye. I really didn’t care.
We walked through the huge cavern, which looked way more enchanting than it should have, and stopped in front of a huge set of sparkling silver doors. Engraved within it were large snakes. Two large gargoyles sat on either side of the door, glaring at us as we stood there. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up standing so close to them. As we passed, I swore that I saw their eyes following us, but when I turned, they were still frozen. Creatures in their stone prisons.
As we entered the room, it was something I imagined a King’s quarters to look like. Black, silver, and red velvet was everywhere. It was gorgeous and breathtaking.
This was Hell?
I imagined Lucifer, forever burning in a lake full of fire, but this was plush and expensive. He was actually living in luxury, the totally opposite of what I’d thought. He was living a good life down here in the depths of the Underworld.
Ethon walked over to a large oversized mirror on the wall. It was about ten-feet tall by six-feet wide, and framed in the brightest silver. Ethon waved his hand over the mirror and it began to shimmer, and then started to take on the effect of water.
“Samuel, where is our destination?” he asked.
Samuel gave the exact coordinates to Alaine’s home.
Ethon began to speak in a different language, and within a few moments the water in the mirror began to shift, and swirl round and round.
“Samuel, you and Emma should go first since they’ll be expecting you. I’d hate to go through and get my head whacked off before I could explain.”
“That’s fine,” Samuel answered, and then turned to me, offering his hand. “Are you ready, Emma?”
“Yes,” I answered. I was excited that we were finally going back to Alaine’s, and out of the Underworld. Out from this constant nightmare. I took in a deep breath and grasped tightly to Samuel’s hand.
Chapter 19
We stepped closer to the mirror and I started to see the front doors of Alaine’s house. They were unmistakable. I’d never seen another set of doors with Angels carved into them with such detail or precision, and it actually warmed my heart.
Samuel stepped forward pulling me closer, and I remembered what Kade told me. One step will take you from one world into the next.
I squeezed Samuel’s hand and I took that step.
We landed on the front driveway of Alaine’s home. It was daytime, and the sun was shining brightly above us. A few seconds later, Ethon was standing behind us with the huge raven on his shoulder. He immediately sent the raven into flight.
After a few more seconds, the two goons appeared. I figured I’d nickname them the goons because that’s exactly what they looked like. I definitely wouldn’t say it out loud or around them, because they could easily smash me with a finger, or… at least Azzah could with his stump.
The thought of it made me laugh inside, but hey, at least his hand was re-attached and could heal back. He was lucky. He totally deserved losing it for trying to kill us.
“Let’s go,” Samuel said, walking up to the front door.
I suddenly became nervous, and wasn’t sure why. My stomach twisted and turned, and although I was glad to have made it back, and couldn’t wait to see Alaine or the others, I was anxious to see Kade.
As we walked up the stairs, Henry opened the front door.
“Oh, for goodness sake! You’re home!” he said in his awesome English accent. His hand covered his heart, and he was gaping at me like he’d just seen a ghost. He stepped forward and hugged me tightly. “I’m sorry. We were all beginning to worry, and were thinking that something horrible had happened to you. It’s been such a long time.” He peered behind me, and a sudden loo
k of bewilderment flooded his face.
“What are you talking about Henry? We’ve only been gone a few days,” I giggled. He had to be joking, although he didn’t look like the type that would make jokes.
“No, Emma. You’ve been away for a little over four months,” he answered. His face was dead serious.
“What?” I laughed out loud, but when he didn’t laugh back, I glanced over to Samuel.
“He’s joking right? We haven’t been gone that long, have we?” I asked.
He nodded slowly.
“But how?” I questioned.
This had to be a crazy joke. There was no way that we were gone for four months. I knew we’d only been gone for a week, maybe two, tops.
I quickly recapped the events.
The first day we’d traveled to the porthole, and then made it into Hell. That’s the same day that Kade was injured and sent home. The next day we’d traveled through most of the levels and when Samuel and I were injured, we spent a few days at the gate of the Grimlocks. Then, we battled the Hell Hounds, and rested there for a day. Then, it was through the gates and back home.
Just thinking about all we’d been through seemed like some weird twisted dream, but as I glanced at Ethon and his goons standing behind us, the proof was there. It wasn’t just a dream. It was just the continuing nightmare in my twisted reality. I was glad I would be seeing Alaine and Kade again and have some type of normalcy back in my life.
“Emma, time here in the mortal world is much different from that in the Otherworlds. Time slows there, and runs at a much faster rate here. Haven’t you heard the term - a thousand years is like a day?”
“Yes, but I didn’t think it was true,” I exhaled.
I was beside myself. Four months? We were gone for over four whole months? Now I knew why Henry’s face went pale when he saw us. He was genuinely shocked.
But if four months had gone by here, then that meant that Kade was probably well into his healing. At least I hoped he was.
“Come. Come inside,” Henry motioned. “I will immediately alert Alaine of your presence.”
We all entered the foyer and then into the large front room. I glanced up the stairs, and just as I did Courtney rounded the corner.
She froze, her eyes wide with wonder and confusion. Then her eyes found mine, and they widened even more.
“Emma!” she yelled, bounding down the stairs, heading directly for me. I didn’t know what to do so I held out my arms to welcome her.
She was really excited to see me, and I had no idea why.
She jumped down the last three stairs and ran to me, wrapping her arms around me, practically sent me flying backward.
If Ethon didn’t put his hand on my back, pushing me forward, I would have ended up on my backside. But his touch also sent an electric jolt through me. Thankfully he pulled his hand away as soon as I regained my balance.
“Emma! You’re alive! Oh my gosh! Caleb and Kade told me the whole story! The story of how brave you were. I was so worried that you weren’t going to come back. We were all beginning to think that you and Samuel had been killed,” she said hugging me tightly, and then she pulled back with a scrunched up nose.
“What?” I asked.
“You really need a bath,” she whispered.
“Tell me about it,” I answered. “Apparently, I haven’t had one in four months.”
“You mean you didn’t bathe since you left?” she gasped.
“Courtney… there are no public showers in Hell,” I huffed.
“Ooooooh,” she sighed, glancing behind me. “Who are they?”
I turned around and my eyes caught Ethon, smiling.
“This is Ethon,” I said, pointing to him.
He bowed his head slightly and held out his hand to Courtney. She giggled and offered him her hand, and he gave it a light kiss.
“Hi Ethon,” she said batting her eyes. I watched her face blush. Ethon glanced at me with a smile and gave me a wink.
Oh man. I was in trouble.
“And who are they?” Courtney asked. She looked upward at the two towering goons behind Ethon.
I had to pause, because I almost referred to them as the goons.
“They are with Ethon. Their names are Azzah and Bane, and they’ve come to help protect us,” I said in a nice way.
“Azzah and Bane?” she squeaked, with a twisted face.
“Yep, Azzah and Bane,” I repeated, and she giggled again.
“Samuel! Emma!” Alaine’s voice carried from down the hall. Her face lit up as soon as she saw us, and tears began to fall in waves down her cheeks. She ran and then wrapped her arms around Samuel in a tight embrace, and then me right after. “Oh thank God. I’d thought I’d lost you both. When Dominic and Malachi came back, they said that you had gone past the gate to see Lucifer. It’s been over a month since they returned. I started to think that maybe you were -,” she paused, and then suddenly noticed Ethon and the goons.
“I’m so sorry. Forgive my rudeness. I didn’t notice you brought guests. And you are?” she asked, holding her hand out behind me.
“I’m Ethon. And they are Azzah and Bane,” he replied, taking her hand and giving it a kiss. At least he had manners, and I could tell that she was mildly impressed.
“Alaine,” Samuel said, clearing his throat. “Ethon is Lucifer’s son.”
Her eyes then steeled onto Ethon with a look of confusion.
“Lucifer’s son? And why would Lucifer’s son be in our midst?” she answered in the nicest way possible.
“Lucifer sent him back with us to help protect Emma, until he gathers together his warriors. They are here to make sure that Lucian does not fulfill his evil deeds,” Samuel noted.
“Well, this means that our shield of protection is now down, and that we have no defense against the Fallen since they are already within our perimeter,” she said with a voice of concern.
“We understand your concern, and we will take watch your perimeter ourselves. We will not be in your way, and will make sure that everyone is alerted when Lucian is near. I am here to help make sure of Emma’s safety.”
“And, why would Emma’s safety be of any concern to you?” Alaine pushed.
“Because she and I have been bonded,” he answered.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
That was waaaay too much information to dump on Alaine all at once. I noticed her eyes widen in confusion. She turned and looked at Samuel and then back at me. I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. I had nothing to add to that.
“Courtney, maybe our guests are hungry or thirsty. Why don’t you escort them back to the kitchen and see if Miss Lilly can whip them up something to eat, and please offer them something to drink?” Alaine asked.
“I’m hungry,” a deep voice muttered.
I turned to see Bane raising his hand, and heard a deep sigh come from Ethon.
“Fine, follow me,” Courtney huffed.
Ethon paused and looked at me, as if he was asking for my permission. I nodded, and then he followed after her, with Bane and Azzah in tow. That was odd.
“I’d like to speak to you both in my study,” Alaine said wrapping each of her arms around Samuel and me, and leading us back down the hall towards her study.
“Where’s Kade?” I asked.
“I was wondering when you’d ask me that question,” she turned with a grin. Kade is doing well. It was a bit of a fight in the beginning, but he is starting to heal nicely.
Krystal Kross, a nurse friend of mine from a burn ward at the city hospital, came to stay with us for a while. The wounds were so extensive that they will still need a few more months of care before they will completely heal. But, all-in-all, he’ll live,” she smiled. “He’s on the second floor, in one of the guest rooms. You can go and visit him as soon as we’re done.”
“Thank you,” I said with a bit too much happiness in my voice.
She and Samuel smiled. They knew. They knew the connection I had with Kade.
“It’s really a long story,” Samuel admitted. He was right. It was a very long story. “How about I give you a completely detailed version later, because I am sure that Emma wouldn’t want to relive it so soon.
“The short version is that we made it through, but we did lose Danyel along the way.” He paused and I could tell that the realization of his best friend’s death was kicking in.
The thought of Danyel made emotions run wild again, and I soon found myself sobbing, remembering the last look on his face before his life was taken. That vision would haunt me for a very long time. Probably for the rest of my life.
“I’m so sorry, Samuel. I knew how close Danyel was to you,” Alaine said. She walked over and hugged him. He didn’t cry but I was crying enough for the both of us. “Come here, sweetheart,” Alaine said, opening her arms to me. I found myself automatically wrapping my arms around her. She reminded me so much of my mother, and that thought made me cry even harder.
I sobbed and sobbed and couldn’t stop. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore, until there were no more tears to be shed. I cried for what seemed like forever, but she stayed put, holding me, stroking my hair, saying that everything would be all right.
I never really had a chance to mourn my parents like this, and now Danyel had been added to the list. It felt good to release all of the sadness, anger, and confusion. I needed this. I needed to get it out of me. Mourning my life, a life that was forever changed. It would never be the same. It would never be normal.
At times, I even felt Samuel’s hand gently pat my back, and that was something my mortal father would do. They weren’t too different. They both loved me.
After I cried myself out, we all sat around Alaine’s desk.
“So now, tell me about this craziness with Ethon, and him being your mate?” she questioned, with a raised brow. I paused and had to figure out the best way to explain it to her. Explain to her what I myself didn’t understand. But, she waited patiently.