by Rita Herron
The earth trembled, the entire mountain shaking, and behind them, the ground divided, the earth literally separating, rocks and dirt collapsing into the sinkhole.
“What the fuck?” Quinton growled.
“He’s called out all the forces,” Dante said in a hiss.
“Hang a left up there,” Vincent said. “We’ll meet the river and follow it.”
But as they did, another roar sounded, and an avalanche began.
“It’s a goddamn landslide,” Vincent shouted.
Dante hit the gas and speeded up, dodging falling rocks, ice, and tree limbs as they crashed down around them.
Another giant tree flew toward them, and Vincent lifted his hands and used his power to shatter it. The tree exploded, limbs flying and raining down around them.
Dante swerved, then suddenly the sound of rushing water rent the air, as the swollen river began to rise and overflow the bank. An ancient, rusted steel bridge loomed ahead, their only way across the river. But the water was rising as if a dam had just burst. They weren’t going to make it.
“Shit,” he barked. “The bridge will be gone in seconds.”
“Speed up, “Quinton yelled. “I’ll hold it off.”
The water surged upward, nearly meeting the bridge bottom, the steel shaking with the force of the winds and trembling earth.
But Quinton focused, ground his teeth, narrowed his eyes, raised his hands to both sides, his body quivering he focused his power on holding off the flood.
Just as the SUV reached the opposite side, the rive rushed up and swallowed the bridge. Dante continued to fly, outrunning the raging flood as Quinton used his power to hold back the river until they had crossed.
Vincent lifted his hands and flung rocks down from the ridge to form a dam, leaving them on dry ground until they reached the end of the road.
Dante threw the SUV into Park, they grabbed their gear, gloves, and coats, and the three of them strode into the forest.
No one except Vincent had ever set foot in the forest and survived.
Would they make it this time?
They had to.
No light existed inside those woods, no life except for the demons left in the Wasteland of the Lost Souls. Poisonous man-eating plants, snakes, lizards, monsters, werecreatures, and evil spirits roamed the land, hungry and ready to pounce.
Dante clenched his hands into fists, trying to ignore the hideous screech of the monsters, the killer plants, the demons screaming and shouting that fresh food had entered their realm.
Vincent led the way, fending off snakes and flinging his hands like hatchets to tear away the clawing foliage that sucked at their feet and legs. Dante shot a fireball at a monster-faced demon and he exploded, brilliant orange flames lighting the darkness.
Evil eyes glowed ahead, around them, behind them, as if following them, and slimy, vile creatures would around their feet and ankles. Dante spewed fire at them and sent them screeching for cover while Quinton used his power to ward off an attacking winged creature that swooped from above, its sharp talons bared and ready to pierce them with venom.
It seemed like hours that they hiked, fighting off the monsters and inhuman creatures. The suffocating heat and the foul stench of death and blood and carcasses grew stronger as they neared the cave of Black Rock.
The temperature soared to a suffocating well of heat that seeped through Dante’s feet and body, so intense it was if he had stepped through the gates of hell.
Zion must be nearby.
He was the most powerful firestarter of all, and Dante could smell him. The aroma normally would entice him, lure him to the fire, seduce him into using his own ability and flicking flames from his fingertips just to watch them spark.
Tonight it drew him as well. He was finally going to confront his father. He and his brothers would win.
And if he died—what the hell ‘did it matter? He had nothing to live for now, nothing except revenge.
Another creature slithered around his legs and grabbed hold, trying to trap him, but he flung a fireball at it and smiled as the creature burst into flames with an agonizing scream.
Sweat trickled down his jaw as he and his brothers reached the cave of Black Rock.
Vincent and Quinton both looked slightly haggard and were sweating, too, but their faces were chiseled with determination.
The earth rumbled and trembled again, the mountain parting slightly to reveal the entrance to the cave of Black Rock, as if Satan himself had opened the doors and invited them inside.
Dante glanced at his brothers, and they gave a collective nod, then stepped into their father’s lair, ready to vanquish him or die trying.
Dante’s heart lurched to his throat as he spotted another Satanic ring of fire, the infinity symbol.
But this time, Marlena’s body lay in the middle.
Grief struck him, along with the realization of just how cruel his father could be.
Suddenly the horrific smoky reek of charred ashes, death, and evil swirled through the cave, and Zion’s voice echoed low, menacing, taunting.
“Hello, my sons. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Dammit, the demons had found Marlena at his house and transported her here to torture him. What did he plan to do with her body? Feed it to his demons?
Chapter Thirty- three
Over his dead body.
Dante raised his hands to begin the war, -but Zion held up his claws in warning. “Wait.”
“Why? You’ve already killed Marlena and my child,” Dante spat.
Zion’s evil grin lit the darkness. “I am the most powerful demon in the world, the lord of the underworld. I can bring the woman back to life.”
The air collected in Dante’s lungs. “What?”
A vile grin twisted Zion’s face. “Yes. I can raise her from the dead, and you can spend eternity with her and the child she carries. All you have to do is embrace your dark side, and we will rule the underworld.”
Zion’s words echoed in Dante’s head, tempting him. He could have Marlena and his child. See his own baby grow up.
He could have the family he hadn’t even known he’d wanted until he met Marlena.
But the price? Was it worth it?
He’d lived in the darkness for years as a child. He had an appetite for evil, a hunger that once fed only escalated.
But he’d just found his brothers. And they were family,, too. They had defied Zion’s tests and won.
“Dante, don’t give in,” Quinton murmured in a low voice.
“Think of Marlena.” Vincent’s tone resonated with authority. “What would she want you to do?”
Dante whipped his head around ‘to glare at both of them. They had the loves of their lives, their mates, hadn’t lost as he had. They had no idea how he felt.
“Marlena fought against evil,” Vincent said, reminding him of what Marlena had stood for.
Quinton’s tone was hypnotic. “Don’t dishonor her by giving in to Zion’s demands and becoming the very thing she abhorred and spent her life trying to stop.”
“But she’s dead,” Dante said. “And it’s my fault. What honor is there in letting her die because of me?”
Vincent gestured toward Zion. “What honor is there in bringing her back to walk with the very evil souls she tried to save?”
Quinton’ placed a hand on Dante’s shoulder. “Do you think she’ll thank you for that, or will she hate you instead?”
“Your brothers have turned soft because of those women,” Zion roared in disgust. “But you, Dante, you are like me. You are a firestarter. The dark heat runs through your veins, and you will be my right hand man. One day you can rule ‘the underworld yourself.”
Dante pictured himself in the underworld, commanding his minions to carry out heinous deeds, to corrupt lost souls, to tear families and lives apart, to inflict pain, and wreak havoc, and destroy the world.
Then his gaze fixed on Marlena’s who was kind and good, who was kind and good, who had
tried to find a way to help those suffering from disorders and violent behavior.
Marlena, who believed in the good in him.
If he agreed to his father’s terms, he would have her back, be able to hold her, touch her, taste her. Raise his child.
But he if cut a deal with Zion, he would not only be trading his soul but hers as well; Then Zion would raise his child in the ways the evil demons had raised him.
The ones he had hated and left because he abhorred the fact that they’d lost any trace of humanity.
Then Zion would have won, and he would have failed
again. --
Pain stabbed his chest, and emotions crowded his throat. He couldn’t do that to Marlena or his child, not to the only two people he’d ever loved.
And he did love them.
“Please forgive me, Marlena,” he whispered.
Zion walked to the center of the fire and laid a hand above Marlena’s heart. “Now, son. Agree and she will live again.”
“But she would live in misery,” .Dante growled. “And you must pay for what you’ve done.”
Every nerve in his body screamed to life, sending fare shooting through his body, an energy that threatened to implode within him if he didn’t release it.
He raised his hands and threw a fireball at his father. Zion roared in protest and hurled one back.
The amulet on his chest suddenly burned against his skin, the crystal stone glowing. He glanced at Vincent’s, and his glowed a dark red. Quinton’s sparkled as well, with a goldish hue.
With a silent nod, the brothers formed a united team.
The war suddenly broke out. Dante and Zion shot
fireball after fireball across the cave of black rock, Vincent shattered rock and sent it tumbling down on Zion, and Quinton used his mental energy and hurled the fireballs back at his father.
“Together we stand,” Vincent said.
“Together,” Quinton said.
“Brothers.” Dante hurled a stream of fire toward Zion, moved his hand in a circular motion until it encased him completely. Their powers seemed to grow stronger, connected, growing as they teamed up.
Vincent flicked out his hands, and suddenly Zion’s body started to tremble. Using his mental energy, Quinton focused on vanquishing Zion while Dante made the fire engulf Zion.
A horrific screech echoed in the air, and Zion’s human form exploded, shooting sparks off the black walls of the cave as he crumbled into charred ashes and the embers crackled and popped.
A roar rocked the cave floor and walls, black rock tumbled down, the ground opened and swallowed Zion’s remains into a burning inferno. Zion’s protests resounded through the cave, the horrific sound of monsters and demons screeching from below.
A second later, the hole in the underground closed, the trembling stopped, and a quiet peacefulness descended over the cave. Even the flames shooting up around Marlena died, the oppressive heat tapering off as the stench of their dead father’s charred ashes faded.
Then, oddly, a sliver of light seeped into the darkness, then another sliver, as if the storm of evil had been lifted and extinguished, as if light had been restored to the Black Forest, with the death of the evil creatures.
Dante stumbled forward and dropped to the ground beside Marlena, emotions choking him. She lay limp, stiff, on the stone mound, dry blood staining her blouse, her face ashen and cold.
He laid his head on her belly, draped his arm over her, his chest heaving with anguish. “I love you, Marlena. Please forgive me.”
Tense seconds passed in the ensuing silence while he mourned her loss.
Suddenly her body jerked, her limbs trembled, and the sound of a choked breath ripped through the air.
“Dante,” Vincent whispered.
“My God,” Quinton muttered.
Dante lifted his head and stared in shock as Marlena opened her eyes and came back to life.
Marlena gasped for breath, warmth seeping through her, replacing the icy chill of death that had claimed her earlier.
Death—had she really died and come back to life? Or had she been in some near-death state, not alive but not quite dead yet?
Her stomach fluttered, and the whisper of the angel’s voice came to her. -
Your son is a great healer. Dante saved him from Zion. Now your son will save you.
“Marlena?” Dante’s voice creaked out a low, anguished croak. “Marlena, are you really alive?”
She nodded slowly, unsure what had happened. But a faint memory like a dream flowed through her head. She’d been stabbed, had seen the white light and reached for her mother’s and sister’s hands. But a beautiful angel had appeared and whispered that she had earned the right to go back.
That it wasn’t her time yet. That she would give ‘birth to one of the greatest, most powerful healers of all time.
Then she’d heard Dante talking. And two other men. And Zion.
She shuddered. He’d wanted Dante to bring her back and walk with him, but Dante had refused.
She looked into Dante’s eyes, saw the tortured expression. He hadn’t brought her back, because he loved her. Because he knew she wouldn’t want to be evil. And he’d wanted to save’ his son from being possessed by the demons.
“I can’t believe it.” Dante pressed a hand to her cheek, his look confused but hungry, filled with shock. “How? I don’t understand. I refused Zion’s agreement.”
“I know,” Marlena whispered. “Your strength, your unselfishness, your love—that’s what saved me.” She reached down, took his hand, and placed it on her stomach and felt the fluttering again. “That and our son.”
“Our son?”
She smiled through her tears. “Yes. Apparently he’s going to be a great healer. And he carries the blood that could cure evil, the cure I’ve been looking for all along.”
Hours later, Dante and Marlena left Vincent and Quinton at Vincent’s and headed back to his house. He could hardly believe the change that had been wrought by recent events., Raysen had been killed, so the deaths would end. Zion was destroyed, restoring the balance to the underworld.
The elements had pulled back, the flooding, the tornadoes, the hurricanes, the avalanches—the world had suddenly calmed, as if peace had fallen over the land.
It was temporary, but it was a victory nonetheless.
Other demons had been unleashed upon the Earth, demons who would raise their own kind of evil. Another leader would be named for the underworld and he would have his own plans. He needed to meet with Mortimer and BlackPaw and see if they could form a secret society to protect the town.
But for tonight, he and his brothers, and the women they loved, were-safe.
Marleirn still seemed weak and had fallen asleep, so he carried her inside. She stirred and glanced at the blood still dotting her clothes. “Let’s shower,” she whispered.
He nodded, determined to wipe the stench of death, of evil, off them before he carried her to his bed.
As they bathed, he paused to stare at the puncture wound where Marlena had been stabbed, and a curse rolled from his lips.
His hand stilled, his gaze meeting hers. “I can’t believe I lost you, and that you came back to me,” he said gruffly. “You know part of me will always have that pull toward evil. But I couldn’t kill you that day when you were child.” He pressed a kiss to her neck. “I couldn’t. .
“I know, you saved me,” she whispered.
“No.” He traced a finger along her cheek. “You saved me that day, Marlena. You gave me back my soul.”
They dried each other off, his movements gentle but hungry, and then he carried her to bed, crawled in beside her, and cradled her in his arms.
“Thank God, it’s over, really over,” Marlena whispered as be hugged her to him.
He nodded and gazed into her eyes. “The battle with Zion is over, but our life together is just starting, Marlena.”
She lay back on the covers, naked and beautiful, his scars and hers a reminder of
the evil that had nearly torn them apart, and the hope that brought them together.
He cupped her face in his hands. “I love you,” be whispered. “I never knew what that was, Marlena, not until I met you. But I love you and our son.”
Marlena feathered his hair from his forehead. “I love you, too, Dante. I always will.”
He slid his cock inside her, then kissed her deeply, hotly, a kiss full of promises; then they made love with a passion that would last forever.
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