All Hell Breaks Loose (Hellscourge Book 9)

by Diem, J. C.

  Unable to put it off any longer, I crossed to the scorched demons. Kneeling beside the closest one, I saw the stubs of horns that had been almost destroyed. They’d once curled halfway towards the backs of their heads.

  “Morax?” I said gently. I recognized him even with most of his armor and half of his flesh burned away.

  Hearing my voice, he cracked open a scarlet eye. “Hellscourge,” he said in a bare whisper. “You survived the purge.”

  “So did you,” I replied.

  “Just barely,” he managed. “The rest of the legion did not make it.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said and started crying again. I gingerly took his badly damaged hand in mine. “I didn’t want this to happen to any of you.”

  “Did the purge work?” he asked. I could see that it hurt him to talk.

  “Yeah. The second Wraith Warrior is gone and the taint disappeared with him.”

  “Good,” he said in satisfaction and closed his eye. “Then our sacrifice was not in vain.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell him how badly diminished I was without the power that they’d given me. It was probable that Zach or Vepar were going to kill me before the day was out.

  Leaving the eight Demon Lords to rest, I stood and walked over to the angels. “Thanks for doing your part to purge me of the toxin, and for giving the demons shelter,” I said to them all.

  Raziel inclined his head. “I am just sorry we could not save more of your servants.”

  He seemed genuinely regretful and one of the other angels frowned. “We may all be trapped inside Violet, but they are still our enemies,” he said. All three angels wore white robes and were ridiculously handsome. Halos hovered above their heads and they kept their wings tucked against their backs where they were out of the way.

  “I do not think so,” Raziel argued in a low voice. “They stopped being our enemies the moment their loyalty shifted to her.”

  They all turned to stare at the charred lords. “They are bound to her now,” the other angel said. “They have been trapped inside her for too long.”

  “Her will is the only reason they are still alive,” Raziel said. “Only the strongest made it through the trial of holy fire.”

  “The hellscribe is not strong,” the skeptical angel said and flicked a look at Sy.

  “No, but he is loyal,” Raziel countered. “He also has friends who were determined to save him.”

  We turned to see Sam and Heather watching us. The demons who should have been our enemies had become our allies. While I still mourned how many of my legion had died, at least the strongest had survived. If they managed to recover, I was hoping their power would return as well.

  Crossing to Sam and Heather again, I took their hands. “Thanks for rescuing Sy,” I said. Sam had lost all traces of being an imp and probably hadn’t been in any danger of being burned.

  “We couldn’t let him die,” Heather said. “He might be a demon, but he’s not as evil as the others.”

  “He is actually a bit of a nerd,” Sam confided quietly. I sniggered and Sy glanced at us reproachfully. His hearing was still exceptional even when he was in spirit form in my head.

  Heather’s smile fell away and her hand tightened on mine. “I’m so sorry that Zach turned out to be evil.”

  “Yeah, so am I,” I said wryly.

  “I should have known what he was,” Sam said in anguish. “I should have been able to sense it.”

  “Were you ever close enough to him to pick up that he was a bad guy?” I asked.

  He thought about it then shook his head. “Not that I can recall. I always kept my distance to give you two some privacy.”

  “I can’t believe I fell for his act,” I said bitterly and shook my head. “How could I have been so stupid?”

  “He had us all fooled,” Heather replied. “None of us knew he was a Nephilim.”

  “He’s going to kill me for what I did to his father,” I said. I tried to speak quietly, but Sy and the angels all turned to look at me anyway.

  “You have to find a way to escape,” Sam urged me. My fears that he would hate me for stealing his soul had been in vain. He still loved me and was concerned for my welfare.

  “If you have any suggestions, I’m open to hearing them,” I said seriously. He looked at me intently then surprised me by leaning forward and pressing a long kiss on my lips. Something strange stirred in the back of my head, but I didn’t know what it was. There was nothing sexual about the kiss and he smiled sadly when he pulled back. “What was that for?” I asked in bewilderment.

  “It was my final gift to you,” he replied far more seriously than I’d expected. “Hopefully, it will help you when you need it the most.”

  A hand shook my shoulder and my friends and allies began to fade. Sy looked up as if he’d just had an epiphany. “There is something I forgot to tell you, master,” he said. His words were hard to make out, but I struggled to stay asleep so I could hear the rest of it. “The runes on the necklace you gave to Zach are not your initials,” he told me. “They are a-”

  Pain snapped me awake. My cheek was stinging, indicating that I’d been slapped more than once. Opening my eyes, I focused on the handsome face that hovered over me. His blond hair and brown eyes were a rare contrast that had helped draw me to him when we’d first met. Now, I just found him to be repulsive.

  “Hi, honey,” Zach said with false cheer. “Did you miss me?”

  My gaze slid from his face to the necklace that I’d bought for him. It was just a cheap fire opal on a leather chain. I’d paid for two symbols to be engraved on the back to give it more meaning. Sy had shown them to me in a dream. The crafty hellscribe had lied about them being my initials, but it was a mystery why.

  His palm cracked against my cheek again. “I suggest you answer me when I ask you a question.”

  “You’re a psycho and I’m going to kill you,” I said, instead of answering him. Even when I was shackled to a bed and about to be tortured, I still didn’t like being told what to do.

  The dimple in his left cheek appeared as he gave me one of the sweet smiles that had made me fall for him. “Not if I kill you first.”

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Fourteen

  Zach didn’t use knives to cause me pain. Instead, he used his fists. My body was fragile in this dimension and broke easily. Filled with rage that I’d killed his demonic father, he unleashed his anger on my face first. My cheek and nose shattered under the barrage until I struggled to breathe and was on the edge of losing consciousness again.

  “You’re not so pretty now,” he said as he took a break. “I bet Candy would love to see you in this condition. Maybe I should take a photo and send it to her.”

  His taunts didn’t hurt nearly as much as my face. “Go ahead,” I croaked. “Even a skank like her deserves to be warned about what a soulless monster you are.”

  Using a handkerchief to wipe my blood off his hands, he stared at me in hatred. “You’re the one without a soul. Your ‘guardian’ stole it from you.” He sneered when he said that. “Vepar told me how devastated you were to hear that Nathan was the one who took it.” His expression turned sly as he twisted the knife as deeply as he could into my heart. “It must have killed you when his grace was harvested and she turned him into her newest sex toy.”

  “Even without his grace, he’s too strong for her to break,” I said. “She couldn’t force him to sleep with her. His body is still pure.”

  “But yours won’t be for long,” he said. His gaze travelled from my battered face down to my feet and back up again. “By the time I’m done with you, your precious Nathanael wouldn’t want to sully himself with your ruined, used up body.”

  Seeing his face twisted in anger and hate, it was hard to believe I’d ever fallen for his ruse that he was a good guy. He’d hidden his true nature from me, but I must have had some inkling of what he was. I’d had a dream about him and had seen him in his demonic form. I wished I’d heeded the
warning, but it was far too late now.

  Apparently, Fate wasn’t going to lift a finger to help me this time. I would rather die than let Zach violate me. He was already unstable and no one was here to heal me if he went too far. “Your father screamed like a little girl before I killed him,” I said with a smirk. Zach froze and his face went white. “I sliced Valac open and pulled his guts out. Then I tore his head off and kicked it across the throne room like a football. My hellhounds had a lot of fun chewing on his entrails.” I made up the last part, but the rest of it was true.

  Rage engulfed him and he launched himself at me. I had no way of defending myself as his fists connected with my face and body. One of my ribs broke and I felt something tear inside me. Coughing up blood, I began to choke.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Zach said coldly as he regained control of himself. “You’re not going to die yet. Not before I have my fun with you.”

  Taking a key out of his pocket, he unlocked my shackles and rolled me onto my side so I was facing him. He bent over me and held me steady as blood poured out of my mouth. The necklace that I’d given him hovered only inches away from my face. Suddenly realizing what Sy had been trying to tell me, I came up with a desperate plan. Fate hadn’t abandoned me at all. She would always give me a way out. Wiping my hand on my mouth until blood coated my palm, I whispered something unintelligible.

  Falling for it, Zach leaned in closer. “What did you say?” he asked.

  “I said, ‘It’s time for you to join your father in death’,” I repeated loudly enough for him to hear me. My bloody hand shot out and closed over the fire opal. Scarlet light flared from the runes on the back as the spell Sy had created became activated.

  Zach straightened up and stumbled back as the silver that surrounded the fire opal spread up along the leather cord. He tried to tear the necklace off, but it wouldn’t break. The necklace had become a trap just like the leather bracelet he’d made for me.

  Panic flared on his face as the chain began to shorten. He turned to make a run for the door, but I wasn’t going to let him get away. Ignoring the pain of my broken bones and internal injuries, I launched myself at him and we both tumbled to the ground. The chain tightened around Zach’s neck and his face turned red.

  “Help me,” he gasped and held out a hand beseechingly.

  “Screw you,” I replied coldly. Sitting back on my haunches, I watched him without emotion as the chain sawed through his flesh. He tried to scream, but he couldn’t catch his breath and he could only utter a garbled noise. His hands clawed at the chain and his feet drummed on the ground. He gasped a few more times and his eyes rolled back into his head.

  He was much stronger than a mere human and it took a long time for the chain to saw through his neck. Finally, his head came free from his neck and rolled away from his body. His eyes seemed to stare at me in shock.

  Staring at the boy that I’d once loved, I realized I was glad that he was dead. He could never hurt me, or anyone else, ever again. He was proof that Nephilim were evil and that our kind shouldn’t be allowed to exist.

  When an oily looking black substance began to pour out of his body, it was my turn to scramble backwards. I hadn’t attempted to evict him from his body, but it was happening anyway. He had enough demon in him for his essence to break free from his flesh. It hovered in the air for a moment, then it was drawn to me just like all the others had been.

  Disgust filled me at the thought of having Zach’s dark presence inside me. Acting on instinct, I stood and held my hands out. I called on the power of the three angels inside me. Pure, blinding white light shot from my palms and hit the roiling mass of evil. It flinched away, but the holy fire was relentless. Striding forward, I maneuvered the mass until it was pinned to the ground then blasted it into oblivion.

  When just a black stain on the ground remained, the holy fire cut off, but the angels weren’t quite done. I’d opened myself up to them and they took the opportunity to heal my body. It would exhaust them, but they were willing to make the sacrifice to keep me alive. As my body was repaired, my pain receded until I was whole again.

  Suddenly exhausted, I staggered when their power began to leave me. Tottering over to the stainless-steel table, I pushed the torture implements aside and looked at the shiny surface. My face was reflected at me. Blue light shone from my eyes. I was filled with angelic grace, but it was already receding as Raziel and his friends withdrew their power.

  Vepar or Bob could be back at any moment and I knew I had to get out of my cell. Crossing over to Zach’s body, I felt no guilt at all that I’d killed him. He’d deserved his fate. Candy might be a spoiled brat, but she would be safe from him now. Somehow, I doubted she’d thank me for this if she ever learned the truth of what he’d been. She was too snobby to stoop to that level.

  Bending down, I picked up the necklace and wiped the blood on his expensive sweater before slipping it into my pocket. I searched his pockets until I found the key to the door. Putting my ear against the wood, I couldn’t hear any noise on the other side. I unlocked it as quietly as I could then shut the door behind me and locked it again. The door didn’t have a window, so Vepar and Bob wouldn’t know what I’d done until they stepped inside.

  I stood in a hallway that stretched off to the left and right. Doors exactly like the one behind me were staggered out on both sides. I had no idea where I was, other than that it was somewhere in New York. From the cool temperature and lack of windows, I figured I was underground.

  Picking a direction at random, I turned left. Fate had come through for me once again. I was still alive and I no longer had the toxin inside me to weaken me. My legion had nearly been wiped out, but at least some of the lords had survived. I had a feeling they would remain weak until I travelled back to hell where they could be in their own environment again. It was inevitable that I’d end up back there. First, I had to escape from this place.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Fifteen

  It wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped to escape. I was in a maze of hallways that all looked exactly alike. None of the doors had numbers to help guide me and I couldn’t find any exit signs to point the way.

  Glad my boots had soft soles that made my steps almost soundless, I trotted along taking hallways at random. Hearing a bellow of rage echo from what I presumed was the room where I’d been tortured, I froze.

  “Find her!” Vepar shouted. Two sets of footsteps sounded as they spread out to search for me.

  Darting over to the closest door, my hands shook as I used Zach’s keys to unlock it. The room was dark and the light didn’t work when I flicked the switch. Pushing the door open wide, I saw old broken furniture stacked around the room.

  Hearing one of my pursuers getting closer, I stepped inside and quietly locked the door. Claustrophobia instantly closed in on me as I was surrounded by darkness. I knew the room was large, but that didn’t stop panic from grabbing me by the throat.

  Holding my hands out, I walked blindly forwards. Bumping into something, I almost screamed and only managed to choke it off at the last second. I could hear the doors being opened systematically as each room was searched. They would find me and finish the job that Zach had started if I didn’t find an adequate hiding spot.

  Trying to remember what I’d seen before I closed the door, I angled towards a standing wardrobe. It had been resting against the wall to the right over towards the corner. Finding it, I flinched when I heard heavy footsteps drawing closer. It had to be Bob. Vepar’s steps were far lighter than that.

  My foot touched something and I bent to feel the object. It was a cardboard box and I stepped over it carefully. I found the wardrobe and discovered that there was just enough room for me to squeeze into the corner. Praying that it would hide me, I pressed my back against the wall and waited.

  I was shivering in fear by the time Bob opened the door. Light flooded into the room from the hallway, momentarily hurting my eyes. I hoped he would just glance inside and leave. T
o my horror, he walked inside until I could see his scarlet eyes glowing in the dimness. His demon had manifested and I could see the outline of his stubby horns as he swept his gaze around the room.

  Futilely wishing I could fade into the wall, my breath caught in my throat as Bob stepped over some cardboard boxes to search the room more thoroughly. Crimson eyes passed over me and my heart stopped. Instead of roaring in triumph that he’d found me, he cursed in disappointment and turned on his heel. He left the door standing open and moved on to the next room.

  Shaking in relief, I couldn’t understand how he’d failed to see me. Remembering the kiss that Sam had given me, I looked down at myself and gaped in shock. Instead of seeing my black hoodie and jeans, all I saw was the gray concrete wall. The gift that Sam had given me was the ability to camouflage myself.

  Knowing Fate had to be responsible, I sent her a silent apology for ever doubting her. Every time I’d thought all was lost, she’d found a way to save me. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. She’d chosen me to be her champion and I wasn’t going to fail her.

  Vepar and Bob searched the rooms for over an hour before they gave up. “I do not know how she managed to kill Zachariah and escape,” Vepar said in a vicious tone that carried through the hallways. “But we know where her lair is now. We will find a way to get past the holy blessing that is keeping us out and we will have our revenge.”

  Bob remained silent as he followed her through the labyrinth of passageways. He wasn’t the smartest of demons, but maybe he was finally getting a clue that hunting me down would be bad for his health. Clearly, Vepar wasn’t getting the same message. While it was a relief to know our base was still secure, it was unsettling to hear the Demon Lord wasn’t going to give up on trying to capture me.