by Diem, J. C.
My response was dull. “To teach me another lesson.”
“I can remove the blood,” he offered, staring at the jacket in pity. “But there is too much damage for me to be able to repair it.”
“That’s okay. Maybe I can fix it in hell.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can heal my clothes as well as my flesh when I’m there.”
“Ah. That would explain why your clothing only requires cleaning rather than darning when you return,” he said. Concentrating hard, he waved a hand and the disgusting sight and scent of blood disappeared.
“Thanks, Leo,” I said wanly. There was a good chance that I’d be able to fix my jacket, but by attempting to destroy it, my former allies had crossed the line. Zapping me with holy fire was one thing. Deliberately ruining something that I loved was unacceptable.
Stepping over the pile of shredded clothing, I drew the top drawer of my nightstand open. The blue rune stone that Nathan had carved himself had been overlooked. I found it at the back of the drawer and slipped it into my pocket. I knew it was pathetic, but I wanted to take something that my guardian had touched with me when I returned to hell.
A wail of anguish from across the hallway had both Leo and me rushing to see what had happened. Sophia and I weren’t the only casualties of the angels’ wrath. Sam stood in the living room, staring at what was left of the TV. Tears stood in his eyes to see the only thing that gave him joy destroyed.
Leo’s gaze was just as stricken. He looked at me and I couldn’t hide my pity. Only one other person was aware of Sam’s attachment to the device. “Brie was responsible for this destruction,” he deduced.
Sam wiped a stray tear away. “She hated me from the moment she first laid eyes on me,” he said in a broken voice.
“Sophia can buy you another TV,” I told him and moved to hug him.
“Seeing the television in this condition is not what has upset me. It is the fact that she despises me so much that hurts.” He turned to us and his anguish was a stab to my heart. “All I have ever done since you two rescued me from the portal was to try to help you and to redeem myself.” His eyes strayed to the electronic mess. “What did I do to deserve this?”
“You’re my friend and I rely on you,” I said wearily. “The angels see you as a threat.”
He blinked in astonishment. “Me? A threat?” He uttered a harsh laugh. “I am just a lowly imp. I am less than nothing. How could they possibly think that I am a threat?”
“They want to control Violet utterly,” Nathan said from right behind me.
I looked over my shoulder to see Sophia was with him. “Anyone who assists her stands in their way,” she said softly. “I am afraid that now includes all of us.”
“They’re no longer our allies, are they?” I asked.
Nathan was the one to respond. “No. I am certain that they now consider us to be their foes.”
I blew out a sigh. “Awesome. That’s just what I need. More enemies to add to the list.”
“I would make us some tea, but our milk was stolen,” Sophia said.
“I will get you some,” Leo offered. He disappeared and we headed downstairs. Nathan, Sam and I began cleaning up the mess. Nathan and Leo could probably restore everything, but doing so would sap their power. They couldn’t afford to weaken themselves right now.
Leo returned with milk and a few staple items and I took a break from cleaning. There was something I had to do before I left. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and sent a message to Zach. I told him that Sophia and I were going away for a while and that we might be gone for a few weeks.
He responded that he’d miss me, but he didn’t pry. I promised I’d send him regular messages then handed the phone to Leo. “I’m trusting you to send messages to Zach every now and then,” I said.
“Have I ever let you down?” he replied and took it from me.
“Not so far,” I admitted.
With that task out of the way, there was nothing left to prevent me from focusing on my task.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sophia made dinner for me just before night fell. It was a peanut butter sandwich. The rest of our food had been taken and this was all that Leo had thought to buy. It wasn’t fancy, but at least it wasn’t dry toast.
Our conversation was stilted and awkward as I ate. Nathan avoided looking at me, which made the others nervous. They knew that something had happened, but they didn’t know what it was.
Finishing off my tea, I carried my dishes into the kitchen. “Just leave them in the sink,” Sophia said. She’d followed me inside and I’d been too distracted to notice. She moved closer to me and cast a look over her shoulder before speaking. “Is everything alright between you and Nathan?” She spoke in a bare whisper.
I didn’t have the will or the energy to lie. “No,” I replied just as quietly. “I screwed up and he’s never going to forgive me.” Neither would she if she found out what I’d done.
“He cares for you a great deal, as do we all,” she told me softly and drew me in for a motherly hug. “I am certain that he will forgive you in time.”
I pulled back after a few moments and she frowned at my obvious anguish. “I don’t have that much time left,” I reminded her. “I’m probably going to die in a few months. Even if I somehow survive the toxin, he’ll probably never be able to get over this.”
Disappointment flashed in her eyes as she came to the wrong conclusion. “I see. Well, I suppose losing your virtue is something that cannot be undone.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to correct her, but it was better for her to think that I’d slept with Zach than to tell her the truth.
“Darkness has fallen,” Nathan said from the doorway. “It is time to go.”
Darkness had fallen over more than just the city. It had settled over my heart as well. “I’m going to need a container of my blood first,” I said. We didn’t have time to go hunting for a demon to bleed dry.
“That will weaken you,” Sophia warned me.
“I’ll be fine once I’m in the shadowlands.” My blood would be replenished and the cuts on my hand would heal.
She took an airtight plastic container out of the cupboard and held it for me as I sliced my hand open again. The wound was deep and I held in a groan of pain. I felt lightheaded by the time the container was full. I swayed on my feet and Nathan was there to catch me. By reflex, he bent to kiss me and I jerked my head back. “You’d better not,” I said.
“I am aware that you will begin to heal once you step through the portal, but surely you would rather enter at full strength?”
“I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to be infused with angel grace when I enter the shadowlands.”
Leo stepped into the doorway and backed me up. “Violet is right. Our kind are not meant to cross into that dimension. I would not recommend that she attempt it when she is carrying your essence so strongly.”
It seemed that I always had his essence inside me now, but it was dormant. My eyes only tended to glow blue when I’d been freshly healed.
“Then let us travel to the portal so that you may begin your journey,” Nathan said. He was being far too formal and distant, which gave me another small stab of hurt.
Sam entered the kitchen carrying a backpack. He already had some paintbrushes inside, as well as my torn jacket. I handed him the warm container of blood and he added it to the contents.
“There is no need for us all to journey to the portal,” Nathan said to Sophia and Leo. “You two remain here and continue cleaning up the mess. I will escort Violet and Sam there and I will return shortly.” They nodded without arguing, still shaken by the damage that had been inflicted on the store.
Leo stepped up to hug me while Sophia folded Sam into her arms. “Stay safe,” Leo said.
“I’ll try.” We shared a wan smile then he hugged Sam and I hugged Sophia.
“I will bring her back whole and sound,”
Sam promised.
Nathan took us both by the shoulder and whisked us to Tudor City. It wasn’t very late, but the street was deserted. A streetlamp illuminated the sidewalk near the portal, but the magical doorway sat in a pool of dimness.
Sam took my container of blood out of the backpack and held it for me. I quickly painted the rune that would cancel the wards and allow us to leave. I then placed my still bleeding palm on it and scarlet light flared to life. Unable to face Nathan, I didn’t bother to say goodbye, I just took Sam by the hand and walked through the illusion of the rock wall.
Trotting to keep up with me, he sent me sidelong looks as I hurried away from the opening. When I estimated that we were halfway along the portal, I stopped so Sam could put the lid back on the container and slip it into the backpack.
“Are you going to tell me what is wrong?” he asked.
He was my best friend and everyone knew you were supposed to tell your bestie everything. I had to talk to someone about it and he was less likely to judge me than the others. “I didn’t tell you guys everything that happened when I escaped from my cell.”
Settling the backpack on his bony shoulders, he waited for me to continue.
“An angel caught me after I left the building. He was going to zap me with holy fire and I defended myself.”
His eyes widened in alarm. “What did you do?”
I flinched at his tone of dread and looked down at the cobbled ground. Mist swirled around our feet. The air was damp and smelled like sulfur. Yellow lichen covered the moist walls that stretched high overhead. “I stabbed him in the heart.”
Taking me by the shoulders, he waited for me to lift my gaze to his. His expression was fierce rather than accusatory. “Did you ingest his soul?” he asked and I nodded miserably. “Then he deserved it,” he declared.
“You don’t think I’m a monster for stealing his grace?”
“His soul is safely inside you, is it not?”
“I locked him up in a tiny cell so the demons can’t tear him apart.”
He smirked a little at that. “Then he has nothing to complain about.”
“He’s trapped inside me with no way out.”
He shrugged in complete unconcern. “You will find a way to evict the souls. Until then, he will know what it feels like to be held against his will.”
“There may be one small problem,” I said before he could continue walking. “Angels can’t enter the shadowlands, let alone hell.”
He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. “The holy fire that they burned you with did not affect Heather or Sytry since they are inside their house. Perhaps the cell that you constructed for the angel will shield him from harm as well.”
We hadn’t quite entered the shadowlands yet, so my mental squatters couldn’t speak to me directly at the moment. The only way I’d be able to know if the cell would keep Raziel safe was to keep on going.
Bracing myself for internal screams of agony, I kept walking. A couple of minutes passed and we had to be more than halfway along the narrow passage by now. I didn’t hear any shrieks coming from inside me, so that had to be a good sign. Then we were walking through knee high mist and the walls were gone.
“I take it the cell worked?” Sam asked.
“I guess so.”
The angel is safe, Morax said into my mind. I only wish you had made his cell soundproof.
His tone was sour and my curiosity wouldn’t let me ignore him. Why?
He whines constantly, demanding to be released from his confinement.
I sniggered and Sam raised his eyebrow, patiently waiting to find out what was going on inside my head this time. It seemed I could only hear the legion when they spoke directly to me. They gossiped constantly and I never overheard their mindless chatter. Are you listening, Raziel? I sent the thought out, knowing he couldn’t possibly miss it.
I have little choice but to listen to you, the angel responded in a sulky tone.
If I make your cell bigger, will you stop annoying the legion?
I demand you release me from my confinement immediately! I am a celestial being, not a rat to be caged!
Being a douchebag isn’t going to get you anywhere, I told him flatly. Sam and I are in the shadowlands and we’ll be entering hell in about an hour. My watch had stopped working the second we’d stepped through the portal. It would miraculously keep time while we were here, but it wouldn’t start working again until we were back in our dimension. Angels are banned from coming here, I reminded him. I saw how badly Leo was affected just by being in the portal. If I let you out, you won’t like the consequences.
I will take my chances, he sneered.
I shook my head at his stubbornness. Sam was almost dancing on the spot with his need to know what was going on.
Let him out, Morax suggested. I didn’t need to see his face to know he would be smiling in anticipation. Allow him to see for himself what will happen.
After a short debate, I decided it would be the quickest way to resolve this. Fine. Brace yourself, Raziel.
That was all the warning I gave him before I made his cell disappear. I hadn’t even known I could affect the shadowlands of my mind when I was awake until I tried it. My innate magic was much stronger when I wasn’t on Earth.
The moment the cell was gone, Raziel began screaming.
What’s happening? I sent the thought to Morax, wincing at the shrill noise that reverberated inside my head. Now that I was aware I’d been suppressing the chatter of the legion, I could hear them muttering amongst themselves.
The angel is writhing on the ground in agony, he responded with a chuckle. Sniggers and chortles came from the rest of the legion. Smoke is emanating from him. I believe he will soon catch on fire.
A frantic thought came from Heather. Put him back in the cell! His wings are starting to burn!
While Raziel had intended to torture me, I didn’t have it in me to intentionally cause him pain. I constructed another prison around him, but I made it larger this time. It was a smaller version of Heather’s house, but with less furniture.
It took Raziel a few seconds to recover before he spoke. You did that deliberately. It just proves that you are as evil as the foul creatures that I am forced to exist here with.
Morax came to my defense, which was a surprise. It was your decision to leave your cell, Raziel. You brought this pain upon yourself. Hellscourge showed you what would happen if she set you free from your cell. Instead of blaming her for your agony, you should be thanking her for sheltering you from harm.
Raziel subsided into a sullen silence. Clearly, thanks were the last words he’d ever send my way. Let me know if he causes any more problems, I said to Morax. I wasn’t sure what I could do about it if the angel continued to be a pain in the butt, but I was sure I’d think of something.
₪₪₪
Chapter Forty
Suppressing the demons’ voices again until they faded to the background, I filled Sam in on the internal saga. He shook his head in wonder when I was done. “Are all angels so arrogant?” he asked.
“Nathan and Leo aren’t. The rest of them seem to be.” Sophia had lost her grace before I’d been born, so she was more attuned to her vessel than they were. Then again, Nathan had been using his vessel for thousands of years. He was more in tune with his chosen human than any angel had ever been before.
“How is your hand?” he asked, changing the topic.
I made a fist and discovered that the pain was fading. I opened my hand and the wounds were starting to heal. It gave me hope that my jacket might be able to regenerate as well. I reached for the backpack and pulled my jacket out. My hope faded when I saw it was still a tattered mess.
“Maybe it will begin to repair itself if you wear it,” Sam suggested.
“I guess it can’t hurt to try.” He helped me to don what was left of it over my hoodie. Then we continued to trudge through the gloom, keeping watch for anything that might be stalking us.
“Where are your hellhounds?” Sam asked after a while.
“They’re somewhere close by.” I could sense them out there. They were following us, but chose to remain unseen. They’d followed me through a hellgate and had become part of my entourage. Now they were tied to me and were forced to keep me from harm.
Eventually, the slick black walls that encased hell appeared ahead. We reached it without incident this time, for which I was grateful. “Are you there, gate?” I said. They were magical so there was no need to shout.
A section of the wall right in front of us shimmered. A gigantic wrought iron gate that was thirty feet wide and fifty feet high appeared. Black and rusty, the bars held decorations that had been shaped to depict human souls in various stages of being tortured. A rudimentary face took shape and glowered down at us. “Of course I am here,” the gate replied in a surly tone. “Where else would I be?” He sounded exactly like all the other gates that we’d encountered, but their personalities were always different. This one was grumpier than usual.
“I’ve heard you guys can be anywhere that you’re needed. For all I know, you could have been somewhere else, letting demons through into another realm.”
“How little you know about this dimension,” he said mockingly. “We hellgates can appear in several locations simultaneously,” he said in a lecturing tone that instantly set my teeth on edge.
Since he was answering questions, I had another one for him. “Do we have to return to this spot when we want to go back to Earth? Can’t I just call you up from the closest spot on the wall that encloses this realm?” It would make things a lot easier for us if we could. It would at least shorten the time we had to spend here.
“Do not be ridiculous,” he replied scornfully. Perched on the top of the gate, twin gargoyles had swiveled around to glare down at us. They were made of stone, but resembled real gargoyles from their ape-like faces to their leathery looking wings and long, arrow-tipped tails. “You will need to return to this general location if you wish to re-enter Manhattan through me,” he continued. “If you were to call on me from the other side of this realm, you would most likely end up in China.” His answer had raised more questions, but his patience was already strained and I was sick of his condescension.