by Diem, J. C.
The six nags that were pulling the wagon strained beneath the weight as they reached the bridge and started up the incline. It was a steep climb and my added bulk increased their burden. Finally making it to the top, they had only a short break before they had to tackle the equally steep downslope.
Heat baked the underside of the bridge, but I’d grown accustomed to it. Surrounded by lava, the capital city was like a sauna. The heat didn’t bother the demons who were going about their duties.
I had an excellent view of the city from the top of the bridge. Four main roads split the city into quadrants, with the palace at the center. An industrial area with large warehouses was to the right. That was where the carts and wagons carrying cargo were heading.
Ornate buildings surrounded the palace. One of them had to be the Scriptorium. Large mansions came next and would belong to Demon Lords. The houses became smaller further away from the palace until they were small and somewhat shabby.
My gaze returned to the sprawling palace. It was only one level high, but it was far larger than any of the other palaces that I’d visited. A single spire reached high into the air. The scarlet light from the beacon shone down on the black edifices below. A shiver wracked me as I realized I would end up in that building eventually. The Hellmaster was seldom seen, but he had to be in there somewhere.
Once I had the final piece of the object of power, it would become the weapon I would need to take on my ultimate foe. Somehow, I didn’t think it was going to be an easy task to locate the missing fragment.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Three
Waiting until the cart was deep in the heart of the industrial area, I checked that no one was watching before jumping to the cobbled ground. I ducked between two buildings and blended in with a wall. A servant dressed in black sackcloth scurried past me a few seconds later. I reached out to touch her and assumed her identity. Heading in the opposite direction, I blended in with the thousands of other lesser demons that were going about their errands.
It was easy to maintain a disguise when there were so many demons within touching distance. I made my way to the ornate buildings that surrounded the palace. It took me a while to spot the Scriptorium. When I did, it was unmistakable. A group of twenty or so hellscribes was entering the building. Another pack of about the same size was leaving. Two soldiers guarded the doors and watched the servants mistrustfully. Dantanian was a secretive demon and he’d passed this trait on to his minions.
Walking past the Scriptorium, I followed one of the scribes towards one of the smaller houses. I caught up to him and touched him on the shoulder so lightly that he didn’t feel it. Wearing his face and robe, I turned back and hurried towards the building where I would hopefully find the answers that I needed.
“Did you forget something?” one of the soldiers said with a raised brow as I reached them. They were paying more attention than I’d realized.
Sy spoke up before I could panic. Tell them you just had an idea for a new rune. Dantanian has ordered all scribes to return to the Scriptorium immediately and draw any rune that comes to them.
“I just thought of a new rune,” I said obediently, thankful for his guidance.
“Well then, scurry inside and scribble it down before you forget it,” the second guard said dryly. Hellscribes were considered to be inferior to most demons. They were scholars rather than warriors and were therefore seen as being weak. I’d used some of Sy’s spells and knew how devastating they could be. Hagith and Orifiel had shown me a vision of what would happen to New York if the gates to hell broke open. Various types of fiery runes would destroy the city.
My disguise wouldn’t hold for much longer, so I hurried past them and entered a wide hallway. The passageway led to a gigantic room with scribes sitting at desks, bent over parchments. They used charcoal pencils to draw their spells. Their chairs and desks were made of petrified wood and were no doubt highly uncomfortable.
Take the doorway on the left, Sy instructed me. I brushed against a female scribe and took on her face. I might look like I was her size, but I had to be careful not to blunder into the desks that were spaced only a few feet apart from each other. Rows of desks stretched across the length and breadth of the room with scribes sitting at each one.
Anxious to find somewhere that was less populated, I entered the smaller hallway. I passed many doors and glanced inside to see shelves stretching up to the ceiling. Each one was filled with rolled up parchments. Are they all runes, I asked Sy.
Yes. Each one is tested by Dantanian, or one of his most trusted lackeys. Once their purpose has been determined, they are placed in a specific section.
Sy had created spells that varied wildly. Most were destructive, but some weren’t so bad. The one that created water had come in particularly handy. I’d used it to clean gunk off me after I’d taken a dip in a hellsnake’s pond to avoid a ravenous plague of flesh eating insects.
Where are we headed, I asked.
To the Head Scribe’s office so you can question Dantanian, Sy replied.
He directed me through a series of hallways until I reached a door that was guarded by a lone soldier. My disguise was about to wear off, so I let it drop. I blended in with the wall and peeked around the corner at him. How am I going to get inside?
Killing the guard would be a bad idea, Sy responded. The door is always guarded and the alarm would be sounded if he went missing.
Hearing footsteps coming from behind me, I pressed my back against the wall just as the demon I was coming to question appeared around the corner. Dantanian was in a rush and his hood had fallen back to expose his face. He swept past me close enough for his robe to brush against me.
Following my instincts, I hurried after him, making sure to stay as invisible as possible. The guard straightened up and stood at attention while Dantanian unlocked the door and pushed it open. Instead of stepping inside, the Head Scribe paused to speak to the guard.
Judging the distance between the scribe and the doorway, I held my breath and edged past him while he was distracted. Everyone inside my head held their breath as well. I managed to fit through the opening without brushing against his robe, but it was a close call.
“Has anyone attempted to gain entry while I was gone?” Dantanian asked the guard.
The lesser demon shook his head. “No, my lord.” The Head Scribe wasn’t an actual lord, but he was important enough to be given the honorific.
I glanced around his office to see more floor to ceiling shelves on all four walls. They were filled with scrolls. Since they were in the Head Scribe’s inner sanctum, they were probably the most powerful spells of all.
Seeing a door over to the left, I hurried over to it and blended in with the black wood just as Dantanian stepped into his office. A gigantic desk stood in the middle of the room. A collection of empty vials was clustered to one side, waiting to be used to hold angelic essence. Apart from a few blank sheets of parchment and charcoal pencils, the desk was empty.
Closing the door, the scribe locked it. He then called on a dagger and cut his palm. Pressing his hand on a rune on the door, he activated a spell that would keep everyone else out. It was an added precaution that meant he was up to something. He didn’t want anyone to walk in on him. I felt the tingle at the back of my head that happened whenever magic was being performed.
Fishing in a pocket, he pulled out a vial. Bright white light blazed from it and illuminated the entire large room. He flicked the glass with a talon and grinned slyly. “Time to add you to the collection,” he said almost too quietly for me to hear him.
He crossed to his chair and took a seat. Bending down, he felt beneath the desk and I heard a click as he pressed a hidden switch. A section of shelving behind him swung open, revealing a hidden hallway. Excitement surged inside me as I realized I was about to discover where the harvested grace had been taken.
Dantanian stood and entered the passageway. The secret door swung shut before I could follow him
. My hearing was acute enough to hear his footsteps as he continued along the hallway.
Waiting until I could no longer hear him, I sat on his chair. It was a tight squeeze with my bulk. I ran my hands over the underside of his desk until I found the switch then flicked it. I was on my feet even before the shelves swung open again. Completely forgetting about the rune that he’d activated, I tried to enter the dark passageway and ran into an invisible barrier. Staggering back a step, I cursed silently at being delayed.
You will need to construct my rune to break through his spell, Sy told me.
I’d already figured that out and was rummaging around inside the backpack. Sy sent me the image of the symbol and it floated into my mind. It was the same spell that allowed me to unlock the doors to the portals. It also enabled me to slip through the wards that had been placed around Manhattan. I’d need to find one of the symbols that surrounded New York before I’d be able to disable it and leave. The problem with that was that I’d set it off as soon as I touched it. The demons had hidden the runes so well that I hadn’t managed to spot them so far.
Shelves covered most of the walls, leaving me nowhere to paint the rune. I removed some books from a shelf and stacked them on the floor. Quickly painting the symbol, I activated it then tested that the barrier was gone. It was, so I shoved the books back into place. I’d deactivated Dantanian’s spell, so anyone with the key to his office could enter now. Curiosity would drive them to investigate if they saw the hidden door standing open.
Darting inside, I saw a switch on the wall and flicked it to close the door again. The passageway began to angle downwards almost immediately. I had to hunch down so my horns didn’t scrape on the ceiling. There was barely enough room for my shoulders to fit. The floor was made of dirt and I moved as quietly as possible as I hastened after my quarry. He was far ahead by now and I couldn’t see the light from the grace that he was carrying. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, but claustrophobia began to close around me in a suffocating weight.
We are with you, Sam reminded me. It was comforting to know my friends were there, even if they were just spirits inside my head.
It was tempting to try to close the distance between myself and the Head Scribe, but I didn’t want to give myself away yet. I had no way of knowing what I would find when I finally caught up to him.
Rushing into a room full of Demon Lords would prove to be very bad for my health. Morax and the other survivors of my legion were still far too weak to come to my aid. I couldn’t call on any backup and my dagger was a pitiful weapon when compared to swords, spears and axes. Until I knew what I was heading into, I would have to maintain my stealth.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Four
By the time the ground levelled out, I was no longer beneath the Scriptorium. The passageway had taken many twists and turns, with tunnels branching off every now and then. I sped up until I saw a faint glimmer of light ahead. Dantanian had remained on the main pathway. The glow from the vial drew me in his wake, like a moth flying helplessly towards a flame.
Reaching the end of the hallway, I saw a large chamber ahead. I crept forward to see Dantanian slowly approaching a huge metal cage. The ceiling was much higher here. It was over thirty feet high. The cage reached almost all the way up to the ceiling and was around forty feet square. Just looking at the metal prison gave me the creeps. The hairs on the back of my neck tried to stand up. My instincts told me something evil and dangerous was trapped inside. They were screaming at me to flee.
Dantanian was also struggling against the urge to run. He forced himself to walk to a door that was covered in glowing runes. The spells were keeping the captive from getting out. He slid a small window aside and flinched when blinding white light erupted from the opening. Wincing and turning his head away, he opened the vial and held it to the window, being careful not to put his hand inside. He lifted his free hand to shield his face as the grace flowed in through the window. He wore a leather brace on his wrist. It was covered in runes and some of them were glowing. It looked a lot like the brace that Vepar had worn for protection.
When the vial was empty, the Head Scribe hastily slid the window shut again. While he was blinking to clear his vision, I entered the chamber and quietly snuck away from the passageway. Pressing my back against the wall, I barely dared to breathe for fear of giving myself away. I wasn’t afraid of Dantanian. Even in my weakened state, he would be no match for me. I just didn’t want him to panic and run. There were too many passageways down here for him to disappear into. It would be best to confront him in his office.
I was in full camouflage mode when he swept past me and disappeared into the dark hallway. I needed to question him, but my curiosity wouldn’t let me leave the chamber without investigating the cage first.
Listening to the fading footsteps of the scribe, I waited until he was long gone before I took my first step towards the cage. Trepidation rose and I had to force myself to continue. Stopping a couple of yards away, I realized my hands were shaking. I’d faced some dangerous and frightening monsters during my journeys to the underworld, yet the thing that was inside this prison topped them all. I sensed its malevolence at the deepest level of my very being.
Open the window, Morax urged me. He was just as curious as I was. So were the rest of the gang. They waited in anxious silence to discover what was behind the door.
Crossing the remaining distance, I reached out and grasped the window. I slid it aside before I could lose my nerve. Blazing white light blinded me and my eyes instantly teared up. Blinking the tears away, I squinted and peered inside, being careful not to touch the door. There was no telling what spells had been cast on the cage.
My breath caught in my throat when I saw the essence of hundreds of harvested angels floating around inside. Beautiful and graceful, they moved in a circular motion around the edge of the cage. They kept a careful distance from the crimson runes that covered the walls.
Now we know where Sophia’s grace is, Sam said in a disturbed tone.
I wonder what their purpose is, Heather said next.
A figure sitting in the middle of the cage caught my gaze when my eyes adjusted to the light. A man sat with his knees drawn up to his chest. His face was pressed against his legs, hiding it from my view. Dark brown hair hung to his jaw. He was so reminiscent of Nathan when I’d seen him in Vepar’s dungeon that my heart almost went out to him.
Do not pity that creature, Morax warned me. He is someone you should fear and despise.
Who is he?
He is our former master.
His answer shocked me into gaping for a moment. “That’s Satan ?” I whispered.
The figure twitched at the sound of my voice and lifted his head. Instead of being a hideous, twisted creature like the rest of the hell spawn, he looked human. He was even more handsome than Nathan. His eyes were the only thing that gave away his true nature. They blazed scarlet and widened when he saw me staring at him. “Ah, you must be Hellscourge,” Satan said in a voice that was as beautiful as his face. “I am so very pleased to finally make your acquaintance.”
Thrown by his courteous greeting, I could almost forget the aura of evil that oozed from him. “Don’t you want me dead?”
He shook his head and smiled almost reprovingly. “Of course not. I need your assistance.”
“With what?”
He gestured languidly. The movement was so graceful that it was mesmerizing. “I need you to locate something that will enable me to escape from this prison.”
“You have to be joking,” I said incredulously. “Why the hell would I try to help you?”
“For the sake of mankind,” he replied seriously. “I have seen what will happen when the new Hellmaster unleashes our kind on Earth.” His upper lip curled slightly at using the title he’d once held. “I am the only one who can defeat my usurper and prevent the coming apocalypse.”
“I thought that was my job.” This entire conversation was confusing m
e. Satan was nothing like what I’d expected at all. “Don’t you want to destroy humans? Isn’t that your master plan?”
He laughed and a flicker of desire unexpectedly heated me from the inside. “Not at all,” he replied smoothly. “Why would I wish to destroy humanity? They give me endless entertainment with their depravity and cruelty to each other. As for what I require from you, I want you to find the final segment of the object that you have been seeking. I can sense the other eight pieces and know that you have them.”
“What does the object do?”
“It has the power to allow me to break free from my confinement. You do not need to know more than that right now.”
Fog was creeping into my mind, making it hard to think. “I don’t know where the last section is.”
“Dantanian is a trusted lackey of the new Hellmaster,” he informed me. “He occasionally taunts me with his knowledge. He mentioned that the final fragment is being guarded by the most fearsome creature in this realm.”
“Isn’t that you?” I asked in all seriousness.
He grinned and another stab of desire went through me. It was impossible not to be attracted to someone so inhumanly beautiful. “Do I look dangerous to you?” he said then sighed dramatically. “Alas, the grace of the angels has weakened me to the point where I am a mere shadow of my former self.”
“What will happen when I put the segments together?”
His eyes narrowed and my legs almost buckled as a wash of power swept over me. “Do not attempt to assemble the object,” he ordered. “You will bring the pieces back here and give them to me.” Crimson and compelling, he stared into my eyes for a long moment. Then he cocked his head to the side as if hearing something that eluded me. “You must leave,” he said urgently.