All Hell Breaks Loose (Hellscourge Book 9)

by Diem, J. C.

  Taking him by the arm, I dragged him back towards the portal. By the time we reached the end of the passageway, he was able to stand upright again. We stepped out together and all traces of pain swiftly fled from his face.

  “How do you feel?” I asked anxiously.

  “I am my old self again,” he confirmed. “My power has returned.” He lifted his sweater up and we both examined his now flawless chest where an ugly red scar had been. Getting his grace back had allowed him to heal the signs that he’d been harvested.

  It was hard to say which of us was more relieved. “Thank God,” I said as he dropped his sweater again. “I was worried that something would go wrong.” Stealing the vial from Hag had been almost too easy, which had raised my suspicions. Nothing had been easy so far during my journey. Maybe something was finally going my way for once.

  “I will retrieve your soul now,” Nathan said. His eyes went distant and I waited in anticipation. I’d never been whole and now I was finally going to become the warrior Fate had intended me to be.

  Nathan shifted uneasily and I realized I’d been waiting for quite a while. “What’s wrong?” I asked with a sinking feeling.

  “It is gone,” he replied in a concerned tone.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your soul is not where I left it. Someone has found it and has taken it.”

  The blood drained out of my face at the implications. “Someone else has my soul? Can you find where they took it?”

  He shook his head and my dread increased. “I cannot locate it now that it has been moved.”

  “How am I supposed to fight the Hellmaster without my soul?” I was devastated by this news. Everything hinged on me getting it back and now we didn’t even know where it was.

  “We will think of something,” he said, but I didn’t feel comforted by his words.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Sophia’s judgmental expression lasted for only a moment when Nathan teleported us to the kitchen of our new base. Seeing our crestfallen faces, she knew something was very wrong. Elijah looked like he wanted to lecture us about premarital sex, but he held his tongue. Even Leo’s smirk dropped away. If the circumstances hadn’t been so awful, I would have been glad that he wouldn’t get a chance to tease me just yet.

  “What has happened?” Sophia asked.

  “Nathan tried to retrieve my essence from wherever he left it, but it’s gone,” I told them as I sank down onto a chair. I was sore from the unaccustomed exercise of last night and this morning, but I hid my slight discomfort from my friends.

  “Who took it?” Leo asked.

  “I have no idea,” Nathan replied. “When I tried to reach for it, it was not there.”

  Elijah poured a cup of tea for me and pushed it across the table. He nodded at my smile of gratitude. “Where did you leave Violet’s soul?” he asked.

  Nathan hesitated when my stomach rumbled again. Sophia motioned for me to stay in my seat and poured me some cereal. “I left it in what I thought would be a secure location in Denver,” Nathan said. Denver was where my mother had fled to after she’d escaped from the Collectors in Chicago. “I placed the vial beneath a cemetery a few blocks from Violet’s apartment,” he added.

  I was impressed with his ingenuity. “That was a pretty good hiding spot. Maybe a grave robber found it?” People were sometimes buried with their jewelry and it was possible someone had been desperate enough to desecrate the graves.

  “I highly doubt it,” Nathan replied. “It was at least a hundred feet underground. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing who took it, or where it is now.”

  If he’d placed it that far under the ground, it must have been discovered by an angel, or possibly a demon. It didn’t really matter who had it. My soul was gone and I wasn’t going to get it back. Not unless Fate stepped in and gave us a clue where to search for it.

  “What are we going to do now?” Leo asked.

  It was the question on all of our minds and there was only one answer. “I still have to find the final fragment of the object of power,” I replied. “It’s somewhere in the first realm of hell. I guess I’ll have to start looking for the portal that will take me there.”

  “The first realm must be vast,” Nathan pointed out. “Do you have any idea where the item is?”

  “Nope,” I admitted. “Usually, I have to torture the Prince of each realm before I find out where his segment of the object is. This time, I don’t have anyone to question. Finding it is just the first part. Once I have it, I’ll have to return here, break into Hag’s lair, get the other bits back then put them all together.” The only piece we had was in my pocket. The others were just across the road from us, but they might as well have been on the moon. They were too well guarded for us to be able to steal them back.

  “It will not be necessary for you to infiltrate their base again,” Nathan said with a small smile. He concentrated and seven tarnished silver segments of metal appeared on the table. “Hagith should have hidden their location, rather than leaving the box where she kept them on display,” he said in satisfaction.

  It had never occurred to me that he could use his special talent to bypass the spells and wards that had been placed on the box. “I love you so much right now,” I said with heartfelt gratitude.

  “The feeling is mutual,” he replied then pushed the fragments over to me.

  It was the first time we’d acknowledged our feelings for each other in front of our friends. Sophia broke the uneasy silence that fell. “Perhaps you should ask Dantanian where the final piece of the object is,” she suggested. “From what you have told us, he has been scheming for power for a very long time. If anyone knows where it is, it would be him.”

  It was a very good suggestion. I nodded in agreement as I stuffed the metal items in my pocket. Fate had sent me a dream about my ancestor, Hannah, when she’d been kidnapped and taken to hell. She’d overheard Dantanian speaking to Vepar, not that I’d known who the Demon Lord was at the time. The pair had been in cahoots for four thousand years. He was a clever minion and had worked his way up to become the Head Scribe. He would be in the Scriptorium somewhere in the capital city of the first realm. “While I’m there, I’ll try to find out where your grace is,” I said.

  She took a sip of her tea, possibly to reign in her excitement at the idea of getting her essence back. It had been harvested before I’d been born and she missed it dearly. “It is not your main goal, but it could not hurt to ask,” she said with cautious hope.

  It actually was one of my main goals, but I didn’t want to get her hopes up too high only to fail her. Now that my essence had been stolen by an unknown entity, I knew how bitter the disappointment was to be denied being reunited with it.

  “Do you have any clues to where a portal to the first realm might lie?” Leo asked.

  About to shake my head, I hesitated when a memory came back to me.

  “You look like something has just occurred to you,” Nathan said. His grace had just been restored a short time ago, but he already seemed far more relaxed. The strain of feeling helpless was fading and his confidence was returning.

  “When the Wraith Warrior was driven out of me with holy fire, I could feel him fleeing southward before he disappeared through a portal,” I replied.

  “So, if we search downtown, we might be able to stumble across it?” Elijah asked.

  “Some of the portals are behind doors,” Leo explained to the priest. “The rest are just open doorways that only Violet can see.”

  “The ones behind doors are tricky to find,” I told him. “I usually need a clue to help me find them. Sophia sometimes receives a vision about them.”

  “It will not be easy to find the next portal without some guidance,” Sophia said. “Do you think you should wait for more information?”

  I shook my head. “My instincts are telling me I need to start searching for it tonight.” I’d learned to trust my gut and I wasn’t about to
ignore it now. With so many angels on the lookout for Leo, it wouldn’t be a good idea to search the nearby area during broad daylight. I’d have a better chance of remaining undetected at night. At least I had the ability to use camouflage now, thanks to Sam. If I got into trouble, I could always just fade against a wall and remain unnoticed.

  We were too close to our enemies here. My friends would be in danger if they accompanied me. “I think it would be best if I searched alone,” I said. Nathan and Leo both opened their mouths to argue with me, but I spoke before they could. “The angels can see your auras, but they can’t see mine. I’m not going to risk either of you being caught again.”

  Elijah shifted on his seat and we exchanged a quick glance. He could see his own version of auras. Demonic ones were black and angelic auras were white. I had one as well, but it was gray. “I will be happy to search with you,” he offered. “I don’t like the idea of you walking the streets alone after dark.”

  I almost refused his offer, but changed my mind. “That would be great. I could use the company.”

  Nathan and Leo weren’t happy that they couldn’t go with me. Knowing I’d have Elijah with me mollified them slightly. Sophia nodded her approval of my decision. “I am sure you will be able to summon either Nathan or Leo to you when you return,” she said. “But it will be good if Elijah can notify us of where the portal is, just in case.”

  There was always a chance that something could go horribly wrong and that I would need assistance when I returned. Now that I was no longer filled with toxin, I hopefully wouldn’t need urgent assistance when I returned from hell next. I didn’t have that particular threat hanging over my head anymore. Instead, I had the fate of the entire human population depending on me. “No pressure,” I muttered to myself.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  It was likely that I would be gone for a few months. Sophia was determined to send me off with a full stomach. Eating and drinking weren’t necessary when I was in the underworld. As I’d grown stronger and had begun to transform into a demon, I’d required less and less sleep as well. Now that I was the first Demon Princess to ever exist, I was faster and stronger than most hell spawn. Only two demons were stronger than me. Satan had been deposed and hadn’t been seen in two decades. That left the new Hellmaster as my only foe. My task was to take him down and stop the apocalypse before it could destroy mankind.

  After dinner, I retreated to the small bathroom to ready myself as best I could. I took a shower then dried my hair. I took the time to braid the sides and left the rest to flow down my back. The ritual helped to calm my nerves.

  Dressing in black jeans, t-shirt and hoodie, I pulled my favorite black jacket on last. The brass skull buckles on my chest gleamed in the light. Once I entered the shadowlands, my clothes would transform into armor. The skulls would become a protective breastplate.

  My boots would disappear and my feet would turn into cloven hooves, but I wasn’t going to walk through Manhattan in bare feet. I pulled on a pair of boots and shoved my sheath into the pocket of the right boot. All eight sections of the mystery object jingled when I shoved them into a pocket of my jacket. Finally, I slipped the carving of Nathan and the sapphire rune stone into another pocket. I’d be able to summon Nathan or Leo to me when I returned.

  Finally ready to leave, I opened the door and found Nathan waiting for me. He took a step forward and I stepped back to let him in. The look on his face warned me what he was going to do. I braced myself a moment before he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me senseless. Despite knowing it was forbidden for us to be together, my arms went around his neck. I kissed him back in desperation and the usual bliss flooded into me as he infused me with his grace.

  Someone yanked him away from me and I staggered back. Leo stepped between us with a scowl. “You know the effect being in the shadowlands and hell has on angels,” he said sternly. “It is dangerous to give Violet your grace.”

  My hand went to my heart and I knew exactly what he’d done. “He was just restoring our bond,” I said. I could feel him inside me again. He hadn’t given me much of his essence. I doubted it would affect me when I was in the shadowlands.

  Nathan smiled and put a hand on his own heart. “I could not let you leave until I renewed my link to you. I will now be able to find you wherever you are when you are in this dimension.”

  Now that our bond was back, I realized how much I’d missed feeling him inside me. I never wanted to lose that sensation again. When this was all over and if I managed to survive, we would probably have to part ways. It would be unbearable to be so close to each other and to never be able to act on our feelings again. If word spread that he was involved with a Nephilim, we would both be hunted down by the angels.

  “Are you ready?” Elijah asked cheerfully. He carried a backpack over his shoulder. It was no doubt holding paintbrushes and a container of demon blood.

  “As I’ll ever be,” I replied. I hugged Nathan and Leo then stepped into the hallway to embrace Sophia as well.

  “Be careful and come back to us safely,” the clairvoyant said.

  “That’s the plan.” I tried to sound confident, but I was shaking on the inside. My power had been greatly reduced when most of my legion had been wiped out. I had no way of knowing how badly their annihilation affected me. I’d find out when I found the next portal and stepped through it.

  Our friends watched us until the elevator arrived and the doors slid shut. It was too warm to wear a hoodie, but I felt safer with the hood drawn up to hide my face. Elijah was still unknown to our enemies and it was more comforting than I’d expected to have him with me. No one would ever imagine Hellscourge would be accompanied by a preacher.

  “Are we going to walk, or should we take my car?” Elijah asked.

  “I think we should drive for a few blocks then get out and walk.” I had a feeling the portal wasn’t close by. It wasn’t fair to make him walk the entire distance.

  His car was parked in a small lot behind our building. It was the only one left now that everyone had gone home for the night. We climbed inside and he handed me the backpack. I cradled it on my lap and buckled myself in before he pulled out of the lot at warp speed.

  Leaving the quiet side street, we zoomed along the far busier avenue. We drove a few blocks and Elijah flicked a look at me. I motioned for him to keep going. I didn’t know the exact area where the Wraith Warrior had disappeared, but I knew it was further away than this.

  After a few more blocks, I pointed at another side street. We were downtown and were nearing the south-western end of the city. The streets were much narrower here. “I think the portal is around here somewhere,” I said. He obligingly pulled over and we climbed out. I was glad we’d made it without crashing. His driving style was frankly terrifying.

  Hearing the flapping of wings, I automatically pulled the priest against the closest wall and made us blend in with it. Overhead, I saw the mangy wings and skeletal form of the undead raven as it swept beneath a streetlight. I’d hidden us just in time and its milky eye passed over us without seeing us.

  Highly suspicious that the raven just happened to make an appearance now, I let go of Elijah and hurried to the next intersection. Peering around the corner of the building, I watched as the bird headed towards the west. The Hudson River was nearby. I was pretty sure we were close to where Nathan had laid the harvested bodies of two angels to rest.

  “Wait here,” I whispered to Elijah and shoved the backpack into his arms. I took off running before he could protest.

  Following the bird for a few blocks, I saw a flash of its dark wings as it dropped down out of sight in what looked like a small park. Circling around the park, I came to a sign that said I was standing near Shadbush Hill. Lights illuminated the area well enough for me to make out a couple of paths. Taking the one to the right, it led me to a set of stairs that marched upwards over gigantic mossy rocks.

  I couldn’t see or hear the raven, but
I was certain it had landed somewhere around here. Following the pathway towards the mossy boulders, it led to a short concrete tunnel that gave access to more of the park. The tunnel was dim and gave me the creeps, but I cautiously moved closer. I could see a light recessed into the ceiling of the tunnel, but the bulb had blown. Thick shadows gathered and almost seemed to be daring me to enter.

  Drawn closer despite myself, I was unsurprised to see a magical doorway in the concrete wall to the left. The raven had already gone through it. My nemesis had unwittingly shown me the way to the first and final realm of hell.

  I wasn’t going to be able to pass through the opening as easily as the bird had. The wards that had been erected around the city had also blocked the portals. The raven and Wraith Warriors could enter and exit without any trouble, but I would need to paint the rune to unlock the doorway before I could use it.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Returning to Elijah, I found him pacing the sidewalk with worry. He gasped in fear when I jogged over to him then relaxed when he saw it was me. “Did you find the portal?” he asked when I reached him.

  “Yeah. The raven led me straight to it then disappeared inside.”

  “How ironic that your enemy has aided you without realizing it.”

  “This isn’t the first time the bird has helped me find a gate.” I described how Sam and I had seen it following us once. We’d had to walk the streets at random while waiting for Nathan or Leo to come and find us. I’d discovered a door that hid a portal then, too.

  Elijah’s brow crinkled in thought as he followed me to the portal. “Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence at all that the raven has led you here,” he mused.