Doomed Cases Box Set: The Complete Collection Books 1- 4 & Prequel

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

Demons liked spreading rumours about the head of Watchers. Some believed that he had horns on his forehead, others that he could change water into any potion. The energy that radiated from him was like nothing that I’d ever seen. My pores released the heat, and I struggled to remain on my feet for a split second. I couldn’t have been wrong. It was Berith.

  Magic circulated around me, heating up and increasing the temperature of my body. Demons were still staring at me, but I was too drunk to even care. I fixed my eyes on him and waited for an opportunity to talk to him.

  He obviously liked surrounding himself with beautiful female demons. He laughed, talked, and drank his wine. It seemed that others just wanted to be around him. A second later, a very tall female demon with tar-black hair and tiny waist placed her palm on his shoulder. She was the head of Astaroth faction. Paul had mentioned her once or twice. Apparently, she liked torturing sinister humans for fun, and was very creative. Berith glanced over to her and gave her a mischievous smile. Soon a few other demons joined him.

  It was time for me to make a move, but at the same time, I knew that others wouldn’t let me anywhere near him. Watchers from the other side of the room were eyeing me up. There was an answer to my earlier question. Berith had his people with him, but he probably told them to stay back.

  “Have you heard about Rodriguez? He’s losing his supporters,” a female demon said as she came up to the bar. She was with a very good-looking human man. She wore a peach-coloured dress, and I guessed that she was part of Lucifer’s faction. I was standing close enough to hear everything she was saying.

  “The royals are very precious to the dark lord, but Rodriguez has made mistakes. The disappearance of Prince George weakened his position,” the human pointed out. The man was aware of everything that was going on around him, so he must have had a relief license from Michaelstone. He was the only one who could grant papers like that in London. I didn’t dare move anywhere, knowing that soon this conversation might get interesting.

  “Surely he is going to pick himself up. There were other—”

  I wasn’t listening anymore, because I saw Berith leaving his tight group and heading toward the back corridor on his own. My heart skipped a beat, and I knew that this was my opportunity. He vanished behind the door, and no one went after him. The Watchers didn’t move; they continued to scan other demons around the room. I grabbed one more glass of champagne, drank it in one go, and then decided to try my luck following him. He was going to listen to me, because no matter what, tonight I would stand in front of the dark lord.

  Chapter 27

  “Don’t dwell upon the form their sufferings take.

  Think of what follows, and that, come the worst

  it can’t go on beyond the Judgment Day.”

  ―Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

  I was drunk, well, maybe not as much as when I was on liquid magic, but this was a close call. Scorching energy pumped in my blood, like a volcano that was just about to explode. Demons were staring at me when I crossed the room. They were all asking themselves how I dared to stand by them and act like I belonged here. I vanished shortly after that behind the same door that Berith had. I waited outside for several moments, but no one followed me.

  My head was screwed, and I had lost hope that my daughter could be reunited with me. Despite all, now I had a chance to face Berith and beg him for help. I started following the stairs, all the way to the ground floor.

  I heard voices outside and presumed that the door led to one of the club’s back entrances. Berith’s energy was overwhelming, crackling around the entire space and speeding up my pulse. I never thought that I would have a chance to face one of the legends, a demon who was feared by many and dismissed by others. Although something wasn’t adding up, because Berith would have never appeared on Earth without his guards. I didn’t understand why the Watchers didn’t keep a closer eye on him. Maybe he wanted to have some fun at humans’ expense tonight, and he asked them to stay back.

  “You have to admit, it’s such a dull party. Demonic sisters are clinging to you, trying to use you.” A voice was saying. The door was ajar, and I sensed two individuals outside. Berith was there, talking to a human or another demon. It was difficult to tell. Then I heard his deep, joyful laugh.

  “Don’t be so harsh, Dante. They are only trying to survive,” Berith responded with a positive chuckle.

  I couldn’t hear what the other demon or human said. He either whispered or lowered his voice. I waited, clenching my fists and contemplating going back upstairs.

  “No, the position is open. I need to get back up there. Speak soon, old bastard.”

  The other demon must have finally walked away, because his energy was slowly fading. They were done with their conversation.

  A few deep breaths later and, with a large amount of alcohol in my system, I stepped outside. The harsh wind ruffled my hair when I glanced around the back entrance. To my right I saw bins and several empty beer barrels. The smell was horrendous, and I wondered what the hell Berith was doing here alone. I spotted him leaning against the wall. He was smoking a cigarette and reading a leaflet that he must have picked up earlier on. I was stunned, seeing him in such a common pose, away from everyone at the party. Maybe I had made some mistake, maybe it wasn’t Berith, but everything else about him fit. Even his famous tan was real.

  He noticed me before I had a chance to say anything. Sudden power hit me hard, and I struggled to keep my balance.

  “What do you want? Everyone knows I like to disappear sometimes, and the instructions are always clear,” he said, not even lifting his head, but dragging more smoke into his lungs. I glanced around to make sure he was talking to me. Yeah, we were the only people standing here.

  “Are you Berith? The upper-level demon in charge of all the Watchers?” I asked, sounding like a complete idiot, but who cared? No one else heard me, and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t wasting my time.

  The demon (hopefully Berith) lifted his head and narrowed his eyes on me. Damn, from that close he looked even handsomer. Dark beard, dark hair, and those penetrating sapphire eyes. My heartbeat skyrocketed, driving the weakness from my limbs and filling my body with rapid fire.

  “I’m being questioned by a mongrel. That’s funny, even by human standards.” He chuckled, shaking his head. I approached him, aware that my stomach was pitched with nausea. Every inch of my skin burned, and I was struggling to breathe. Something odd was happening to my demonic power.

  “Listen, I know you’re very important in Hell, but I had to come here tonight. I need to speak to you urgently,” I blurted out, now standing at least a meter away from him. The concrete beneath my feet vibrated. The demon felt it but chose to ignore it. Maybe I finally hit rock bottom of my addiction and started hallucinating. Man, that was pathetic.

  “Walk away, girl, before I send you down to the pits. Everyone around here knows not to interrupt me during my cigarette time,” he snarled out, then laughed out loud at something on his screen.

  “I’m not leaving until you take me down to Lucifer. My partner is dying, and my daughter is being kept by a crazy bitch somewhere in the underworld!” I shouted, losing my patience. Then the Earth really shook, and I was certain I felt it. The demon lifted his eyes and exhaled sharply, looking disturbed and alerted. We both sensed the rising energy, and neither of us had any idea where it was coming from.

  He threw his cigarette to the ground, then stepped on it. His eyes gleamed with light, and I could tell he didn’t care one bit that I was trying to save people I loved.

  A second later he burst out laughing. My head spun around, and I gritted my teeth. He was humiliating me, having fun at my expense, and I slowly began to lose control. I came here willing to beg him to help me; instead he wasn’t even taking me seriously.

  “Lucifer?” he repeated, wiping his tears away and straightening his posture. “This is one of the most hilarious jokes I’ve ever heard on Earth. Who sent you? Mammon?”

&
nbsp; My ears were red, and probably my face too, because I was so pissed off. The air was vibrating with sizzling power, and I wasn’t imagining things anymore. I dropped a few flames from my palm; the heat licked my face. Something was happening, although I didn’t think I was the cause.

  “I’m not joking. My name is Maxine Brodeur and I’m a mongrel. My daughter was taken by a crazy demon. She wants to rip her heart out in order to heal herself in some satanic ritual. Please, you’re my only hope,” I begged, thinking that maybe this would change his mind. I felt humans nearby, but that didn’t matter. Berith was going to take me down to Hell, and then Lucifer would listen to what I had to say.

  “And you thought you could come here and harass a demon like me without any consequences? The one and only great Berith?” he asked, moving closer. His power suddenly began suffocating me, and I couldn’t take another breath. The ground beneath my feet was shaking. It was getting unbearably hot.

  All of a sudden, I was seeing flames right in front of my eyes. The back of the club shifted into a cave, maybe the legendary pits. Berith was playing with me, trying to scare me. Tears forced their way to my eyes. He stared at me in silence, tracing my tears with his gleaming eyes. There was something in his expression, possibly fear, annoyance or apprehension, I didn’t know what I was seeing. The bottom line was that he didn’t care about my problems.

  I roared in frustration, and a storm of wildfire nearly knocked both of us from our feet. Berith’s expression shifted into irritation, and he took a few steps back. I had never begged anyone for anything, but right then I was ready to fall down on my knees and plead for him to help me.

  “Lucifer is your boss and I’m a living being. Take me down to him, and I’ll do anything for you,” I said.

  This was Hell, and I knew that he could end me with one word. I weighed the risks, thinking about Summer and knowing that I could see her again very soon.

  The great Berith finally snapped. He dropped his phone and fury flickered in his wide blue eyes. I shifted my weight to the side, swallowing hard. The silence was broken by a crackling sound of fire.

  Suddenly the Earth that had been shaking in the past several minutes began to split right beneath Berith’s feet. He glared at me, then waved his hand.

  “Stop preying on my power, mongrel,” he snarled, losing his balance. The pressure in my skull was mounting, and my voice of reason kept telling me to start running. The problem was that I couldn’t move. The ground was split between me and Berith. I glanced down seeing rocks and lava. It was exactly like the time when I saved Emma, and the time when I knocked Alexis all the way down to meet her destiny. The air was dry and warm, the energy began spreading between us equally. A ball of light appeared, heading in my direction. I clapped my hands and it stopped, breaking itself to a million different pieces.

  A moment later Berith was on his knees, his eyes went wide, and he was staring at me with an intense and consuming look.

  “I’m the greatest. A mongrel can’t possess such a power! Stop it or you will die out here,” he roared, but then the blood drained from his handsome face. A second later the ground descended further, pulling Berith down. Everything happened so fast that he didn’t even have a chance to react. The streaming light blinded me, then a strong wind knocked me back, and I landed on my arse several meters away, passing out.

  “Max! Hey, Max, are you all right?”

  That voice, I recognised it somehow, but didn’t want to open my eyes just yet. My body hurt, and I had a feeling that I cracked a bone somewhere around my hip. Someone was leaning over me. First, I saw a pair of blue eyes, then blond hair.

  A second later everything came back to me and I lifted myself up abruptly. I was on the ground, outside the exit to the Vortex. There was a large burned circle in the space where just a moment ago Berith was standing. Arthur was leaning over me; his eyes were wild and completely unrecognisable.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, realising that he was pale, and his heart was jackhammering in his chest. Something must have happened to him, because I never saw him looking so disturbed.

  Arthur stood up and then backed away from me like he was suddenly petrified to be close to me. There was a look of pure terror in his eyes. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

  I lifted myself to my feet, and a sharp pain passed through my hip.

  “You… You’re not human.”

  I blinked rapidly, feeling very sober all of a sudden. Where the fuck was Berith? He’d been standing in front of me just before this sudden energy embraced both of us. I told myself that I couldn’t have just sent one of the greatest demons in Hell straight down to the pits. No, even I didn’t have that kind of power.

  On top that, Arthur had witnessed it.

  “Arthur, calm down. Let me explain,” I began, trying to get close to him, but he was pacing around, shaking his head and muttering incoherent words to himself.

  “I saw everything…the flames. That man stood over there and then he disappeared,” Arthur shouted, and before I knew it, he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall.

  Shit, stupid Arthur must have followed me all the way to the club. There wasn’t any other explanation. He managed to get into the party. I didn’t sense him, I couldn’t have, and now he was standing in front of me well aware of the fact that I wasn’t human.

  “I will explain everything, but first you have to calm down. Security might hear us and that might not end well for either of us,” I pointed out, aware that there were a bunch of demons on the first floor, demons who worshipped Berith, who was now gone because of me. I couldn’t comprehend how I had done that. My energy was in pieces, and my abilities had let me down many times. Then I remembered what Morpheus had said. He made me open the gates before. The party and Alexis’s sister Bianca. He’d said the anger triggered it, and earlier on, Berith had made me furious.

  “Our daughter—I heard everything. You were begging that man to help you. She was kidnapped. You lied to me! You have been lying from the very beginning.”

  “All right, I have lied to you, but I had no other choice,” I shouted back, losing my self-control. “We can discuss this somewhere else. It’s not safe. There are other demons upstairs.”

  Arthur was reacting exactly how I’d expected. He wasn’t coping with what he just saw.

  “Leave? I’m not moving from here. You’re a monster. How could I not see it before?” He tangled his hair with rage. The demons were alerted that something was going on downstairs. They could show up here at any minute, and I had to get Arthur out of here fast.

  “I’m begging you. I’ll explain everything, but we need to leave now,” I said, but he was having none of it. He started shouting even louder, so I did something that I was probably going to regret later. I knocked him out with a stream red light. I needed to get the hell out of here before Watchers found the future king unconscious and their boss down in the pits.

  Chapter 28

  “Through brute swine, firstly, who far more deserve acorns for food than any human dish, it points the channel of its meagre path.”

  ―Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

  I quickly moved an unconscious Arthur behind the bins, franticly searching for my mobile phone. My heart was speeding away, and with shaky hands, I finally managed to dial Zach’s number.

  “What? I have been trying—”

  “Zach, shut your mouth for a second and listen to me carefully. I had to knock Arthur unconscious. He knows everything. I need you here now,” I said, cutting him off. First Zach asked me to calm down, then asked for my location.

  A moment later, I sensed Watchers outside and hung up the phone, praying that Zach would hurry. I quickly whispered the formula that masked my abilities. My heart raced like crazy. The smell of burning coal was wafting through the air, and those bastards most likely already knew that someone had opened the gates of Hell. Berith’s energy was strong, but he wasn’t around anymore, and that
must have stirred their suspicion. My spell worked only for a minute or so, and I waited for them to walk away; otherwise I was going to be very screwed.

  “The boss was here, but I haven’t seen him go back upstairs. Should I alert his partner?” one of them asked with a deep raspy voice. Arthur was slowly stirring back to consciousness, so I covered his mouth with my palm. A bead of sweat ran down my face as I kept the masking spell active. They were hesitating, and in about thirty seconds, they would discover that I was hiding behind these bins. They would easily recognise Arthur—the man’s face was plastered all over the media in the city. Rodriguez would rip me to shreds this time around.

  “That mongrel girl at the party; she was watching Berith. Maybe she is still upstairs,” the other one suggested. My spell stopped working a couple of seconds before they vanished behind the back doors. I rubbed my face and exhaled with relief.

  Arthur started to move, and I had no idea what else to do, so I treated him with another spell. He had witnessed everything and called me a monster. Well, that was to be expected. I kept lying to him, thinking he would understand that my options had always been limited. Now I realised that this would never happen.

  I needed to transport him outside the building unnoticed. Zach assured me that he was going to get here in half an hour. After my outburst with Berith, I began to understand that I was much more powerful than the whole bunch of demons upstairs.

  Zach indeed showed up within forty minutes. He had to play around with the lock at the back gate before he found me. My stomach was in knots, and my fingertips were sparkling like crazy when I saw him approaching. This wasn’t going to end well, unless we got the hell out of here right away.

  The issue was that Arthur was immune to any memory spell that I’d tried to cast on him in the past. Now he knew the whole truth, and he was going to be problematic. I had no idea how I was going to fix this.