by Diem, J. C.
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Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Do you remember the rune to create the black hole?” I asked Sy. Sam had passed on his ability to use camouflage to me, but he hadn’t given me his expert recall.
The scribe was already searching through one of his many sketchpads. Finding the correct page, he flipped it open. “This is it,” he said and held it up.
Looking around, I chose a spot on the wall. I hadn’t bothered to decorate Raziel’s house, so there weren’t any pictures to clear away. A paintbrush appeared in my right hand and a bowl of blood in the left. I’d have to make the hole large enough for the lords to fit through, which meant the rune would have to be far bigger than normal.
“I can help,” Sy offered. He held a hand out and I conjured up a brush for him. Heather came forward to take the sketchpad from him. She held it where we could see it and we went to work. Standing back when we were done, Sy examined it critically. “It is ready,” he pronounced at last.
That was the signal for Sam, Heather and the angels to scurry to safety. They crowded against the far wall of the living room. I didn’t need the blood or brushes anymore and made them disappear. Sweeping the furniture away with my mind, I created a magical barrier that would keep us safe, leaving a gap wide enough for me to squeeze through. Sy went to return to the others and I grabbed his arm. “You’re going with them,” I said.
His gaze went to the stacks of sketchpads that were filled with the runes that he’d created. “I would prefer to stay here, master,” he said humbly. “I may still be of some help to you.”
“You’ve already been more help than I could have ever imagined,” I replied and he looked down shyly at my praise. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, but you have to return to your own world now. I’ll try to get the sketchpads to you when I get the chance.” He nodded wordlessly and gave his beloved runes one last look before turning away.
Heather surprised him by rushing forward and giving him a hug. “I think I’m actually going to miss you,” she told him. He’d been her only company for a long time while she’d been trapped inside me.
Sy smiled and the expression looked strange on his demonic face. “You are the closest thing I have ever had to a friend,” he said. “I will miss you, too.”
Heather returned to Sam’s side and he put an arm around her shoulder. She was on the verge of tears and was barely holding it together. Sytry was different from the rest of the legion. He was a scholar rather than a warrior.
Kneeling beside Morax, I took his hand. It seemed almost small compared to mine. He’d been so huge and frightening when I’d first ingested his essence. Now he’d become someone that I felt compelled to protect. “It isn’t going to be fun once the black hole is activated,” I warned the lords. “You’ll be spun around like you’re in a tornado before you get sucked out.”
“I will endure whatever agonies I must if it means I will be free,” he replied. He squeezed my hand feebly, proving just how badly diminished he was. “Thank you for this,” he said barely loudly enough for me to hear him. “I will not forget the sacrifice that you are making.”
All eight Demon Lords watched me as I stood and walked over to the wall. Conjuring blood on my palm, I pressed it against the rune to activate it then hurried over to the barrier. I’d made it a smoky gray color so I wouldn’t embarrass myself by accidentally walking into it. Once I was safely through the opening, I sealed up the doorway and changed the barrier so it was invisible.
Nothing happened for a few moments, then a hole appeared on the wall. Wind rose and the tatters of the lords’ clothing began to flutter. Sy’s robe whipped around him until he grabbed hold of it and pulled it tight against his legs.
Much larger than the black hole that we’d tested, this one was also far stronger. Morax was the closest one to it. He slid along the carpet and made no effort to resist as he was lifted into the air. Flauros was next and she was grinning as they began to spin. One by one, all eight Demon Lords and the lone scribe were drawn into the air. Spinning and twirling, they crashed into each other and careened into the invisible barrier.
When the black hole reached its full strength, the first lord was sucked through. His shout of alarm cut off abruptly when he disappeared into the hole. I instantly felt myself weaken. Two more lords were drawn through, then it was Flauros’ turn. Her shriek was partly triumphant and partly frightened. Morax was next. He didn’t shout, but merely caught my eyes and stared at me until he was gone. Sy’s mouth was pressed into a grim line and his eyes were tightly closed as he went through the opening.
When the final lord disappeared, I swayed, feeling as if I was completely drained of power. Sam and Heather caught me. They were like children compared to my immense size, but they didn’t let me fall.
“How are we going to shut off the rune?” Raziel asked.
“Give me a minute to recover,” I replied wearily. “I’ll try to deactivate it when the dizziness passes.” Since I was the only one who could manipulate the barrier, they didn’t have much choice but to wait. My strength wasn’t going to return now that my power source had been reduced so drastically. I was just going to have to get used to it. The angels couldn’t lend me their strength while we were in this dimension.
When my legs no longer felt wobbly, I stepped towards the invisible barrier. Thankfully, I could still manipulate it. Maybe the angels were giving me some of their energy after all. I didn’t think it would work if I were to leave their house.
I created a box directly around the black hole to contain its fury. Now that we weren’t in danger of being sucked in, I made the larger barrier disappear. I walked over to the wall and called on my dagger. Erasing a section of the box that was just large enough for me to slide my hand through, I scraped the blade over the symbol. The black hole immediately winked out of existence.
“Do you think Sy, Morax and the other lords will be okay?” Heather asked.
“They’re survivors,” I replied. “They didn’t become lords by being wimps.”
I got rid of the barrier, restored the furniture and took a seat at the table while the angels exchanged hopeful glances. The demons were gone, but we didn’t know what shape they would be in. Until we saw their condition, they weren’t going to get their hopes up too high.
Even if the evacuation process had worked, it would be pointless to repeat the act for the angels right now. If they were evicted from me in hell, they would surely die. The gates to heaven were locked, so if I evicted them on Earth, they’d be drawn straight back inside me. For now, they had nowhere to go. They would have to remain inside me.
“This place feels so empty now,” Heather said with a sad sigh.
“You still have us,” Sam said. He was good company, but I doubted the angels would be much fun. Her gaze slid sideways to them as if she agreed with my unspoken thought, but she didn’t say anything.
“How are you feeling?” Raziel asked me.
“Pretty weak,” I admitted. “I wouldn’t be able to take on a Demon Prince now. I’m not even sure I’d be able to defeat a lord.”
“We will offer you whatever aid we can,” one of the other angels offered stiffly.
I didn’t point out that they couldn’t do much to assist me while we were in hell. The only reason they’d been able to heal me at all was because I’d fallen unconscious and had ended up in their house. They could interact with me directly while I was in their domain. When I was awake, they couldn’t assist me at all. The balance had been upset when I’d assimilated their grace.
Now that I no longer had the legion inside me, I was worried how it would affect me. Feeling a hand shaking my shoulder, I realized I was about to find out. Sam’s worried eyes stayed on mine until the dream faded and I woke up.
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Chapter Thirty-Eight
Dreading opening my eyes and seeing the Hellmaster’s triumphant face grinning down at me, I pretended to be unconscious. I sensed that I was surrounded, b
ut I didn’t know if they were allies or enemies.
“Shake her again,” a guttural female voice said. “I think I saw her eyelids move.”
Recognizing the voice, I opened my eyes to see Morax, Flauros and the other lords sitting around me. We were in a small cavern that was just large enough to contain us all. They were still withered and badly burnt, but they were already beginning to heal.
The crab beetle that had dragged me here was nowhere in sight. He’d probably retreated when the demons had suddenly appeared from out of thin air. Sy sat by himself a short distance away. He offered me a nod of gratitude that he was back in his own dimension again.
Morax offered me his hand and drew me into a sitting position. “What happened when you went through the black hole?” I asked.
“We were spat out in this cave in our true forms,” Morax replied. I’d expected them to appear as a cloud of essence before resuming their solid forms. Sy’s spell had to be the reason why they’d skipped that step. It was even more powerful than I’d realized.
“We are already growing stronger,” Flauros added. “We should be back to our full health soon.”
I was relieved that my hunch had paid out and that I’d finally freed them as I’d promised. “That’s good. I just wish I could say the same about me.” I felt pitifully weak now that I no longer had their power inside me. If they were going to turn on me, now would be the perfect time. Any one of them could conjure up their weapon and skewer me and I wouldn’t be able to stop them.
“You need to locate your soul,” Sy said. “Perhaps it will give you the strength to defeat the Hellmaster.” Proving that they were indeed my allies, the others nodded in agreement. None of the lords were showing any signs that they were plotting my death.
Sy’s words sparked a flash of memory and I frowned. “I’m not sure I’m the one who will be defeating him.”
“Who else would take on that task?” Morax queried.
“I think Satan is the only one who is strong enough to take his rival down.”
He looked at me intently. “Is that what he told you?”
Trying to dredge up the memory, I shook my head. “I can’t remember.”
“He has clouded your recollection,” he said. “I would advise you to remember this; Satan is known as the father of lies. He will say anything to get his own way. You cannot trust a word that comes out of his mouth.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep it in mind.” I’d have to remember what the Devil had said in the first place.
Hearing the scuttling of multiple legs, I turned to see the crab beetle approaching from a tunnel on the far side of the small chamber. It seemed wary and I couldn’t blame it. Its kind had been hunted almost to extinction by demons. “Thanks for dragging me away from the dragon,” I said. It moved its mandibles silently. “I know you can communicate telepathically,” I added. “You can drop the pretense.”
A sigh came from inside my head and it wasn’t from one of my few remaining friends or allies. Our queen advised us that you were more intelligent than you looked, it said. The voice was vaguely masculine.
Sam snorted out a laugh at the back-handed compliment. “Thanks,” I said dryly. “Is there something you wanted to tell me?”
The Hellmaster left shortly after he believed you fell to your death, but he left some of his underlings behind. If you wish to make him think you perished as he believes, you should avoid being spotted by his creatures.
“What sort of servants did he leave to keep watch?”
A raven, some hellcats and a stone gargoyle.
It was probably the same gargoyle that the hellgate had dispatched to warn Dantanian that I was coming. I wasn’t sure when it had turned up to join the party. I’d been a bit distracted after the dragon had caught me. There had been too many creatures surrounding me to identify them all.
“Are you the only crab beetle here?” I asked.
No. Several of my kin are hiding from the dragon in the tunnels.
“I need to climb up to the dragon’s nest to retrieve something. Can you and your kin distract the dragon and draw it away long enough for me to reach the nest?”
His mandibles moved and he clicked his claws softly as he conferred with his brothers. We can assist you, he confirmed.
“I don’t want you to put yourselves in any danger,” I added.
We will not be in any danger. Our plan is to drive some of the hellcats out into the open. They will rouse the dragon and it will go on the chase. Now that the Hellmaster is no longer here to compel it not to harm his creatures, the beast will hunt down anything that encroaches on its turf.
“What is the beetle saying?” Morax asked with a hint of impatience.
I relayed our conversation to him and he nodded thoughtfully in approval. “It is a sound strategy.” He assessed me closely and arched a brow in doubt. “You do not look strong enough to manage the climb to the top of the volcano. Are you certain you can do this?”
“What choice do I have?” I asked with a shrug. “I need to get the object and no one else is up to the climb.”
Sy put his hand up like a kid in school who wanted to ask a question. “I can climb up to the nest for you, master,” he offered.
The lords all stared at him with varying degrees of derision, but I’d learned not to discount someone just because they looked small and weak. “It’s a long way up,” I warned him. “Are you sure you can make it?”
“I believe so. It is not as if I am just a lowly human, after all.” He grinned slyly and I reluctantly smiled in return. He had a point. Even the smallest of demons were far stronger than a human. He would have enough stamina to make it to the top and back.
I turned to the crab beetle to ask a question. “Does this tunnel lead to the surface?” He’d found his way down here and should know the way back up.
It will take us to a series of passages that eventually lead to the surface, he replied.
The lords’ health was improving by the second. They would be able to walk out of here before too long. “Here’s the plan,” I said to my motley crew. “The crab beetles will drive some of the hellcats out so they can draw the dragon away. As soon as its gone, Sy will climb up to the nest. When he gets back down here, this beetle will guide us out of the tunnels. Once we reach the surface, I’ll disguise myself as one of you. A couple of you can call on your nightmares and they can get us out of here before the dragon comes back and fries us all to death.” Eight lords and one scribe wouldn’t fit into one carriage, let alone adding my bulk to the load. I hoped two vehicles would be enough.
Agreed, the crab beetle said.
“Agreed,” Morax said at the same time.
Sy sucked in a nervous breath, but nodded. “You can count on me, master.”
Flauros rolled her eyes at his sycophantic behavior, but obedience was ingrained into him. “I know I can, Sy,” I said. I might be half evil, but I was determined not to allow my personality to become as black as my skin. “You guys wait here and recover your strength,” I said to the lords. “I’ll go with Sy and keep watch while he climbs. The beetles can report in and warn us if it looks like the dragon is going to return.”
I stood up and was glad when I didn’t stagger. The angels had healed the injuries that the dragon had given me, but evicting the last few members of my legion had left me horribly weak. At least the lords would be able to guard me now if we ran into any trouble.
Sy followed me back along the tunnel to the bubbling pool of magma. We peered upwards to see the gigantic red dragon curled in its nest. It had built its home on the lip of the volcano. It was made of rock that it had melted and sculpted with its fiery breath. The nest jutted out over the pool of magma that was only feet away from us. The sulfurous vapors kept the dragon cozy and warm, but the stench was so strong it almost brought tears to my eyes.
I knew the beetles had embarked on our plan when the dragon stirred. Its head came up and it peered over the edge of the volcano. Spottin
g the hellcats, it lumbered to its feet and launched itself into the air. It gave a piercing cry then dove towards the beasts that were no doubt scattering in a panic right now.
“That’s your cue,” I said to Sy and he scrambled over to the wall and began to scale it.
The rock wall was slick, but there were enough handholds and footholds for him to climb. He went straight up and my heart was in my throat every time his hand or foot slipped. It took him about two hours to make the climb. The beetle that had dragged me to safety received frequent updates from his kin. He kept us up to date with the dragon’s location by speaking to us telepathically. It seemed he could communicate with all of us at the same time.
Just as we’d expected, the beast was determined to hunt down every hellcat that had invaded its turf. I just wished it could burn the undead raven and stone gargoyle to a crisp as well. The beetles had reported that the pair had flown into a cave that was too small for the dragon to fit into. They could wait out the danger and still keep watch as the Hellmaster had ordered.
When Sy finally reached the top of the volcano, he quickly scampered around to the nest. Looking nervously over his shoulder, he leaped down into the depression. My entire body tensed until he climbed out again. He held his hand up triumphantly and I let out a breath when I saw it was the final segment of the object of power.
The dragon is heading back in this direction, the crab beetle warned me. I frantically gestured to Sy to get moving. He’d heard the message as well and terror stole over his face. He shoved the fragment into a pocket of his robe and hurried back around the lip of the volcano. I was standing on the only spot that had solid land where he could climb down safely.
Slipping over the edge, he quickly began to descend. Nervously biting my talons, I mentally urged him to go faster when I heard the flapping of wings. A shadow flashed over us as the dragon circled the volcano. Sy froze for a moment, then descended even faster. The dragon saw him and roared in fury. Instead of diving inside the crater, it sent a blast of fire towards the scribe.