by Diem, J. C.
“Let go!” I shouted at him.
As my servant, Sy had no choice but to obey me. He released the wall and fell just before the deadly fire swept over the wall where he’d just been. It wouldn’t have killed him, but he would have been in untold agony until he’d managed to heal.
His head twisted around to stare down at me and his expression was of calm acceptance. He trusted me implicitly and knew I wasn’t going to let him fall into the magma.
Praying that my wings wouldn’t fail me, I leaped forward and caught hold of his arm. He hissed in pain when one of his feet momentarily dipped into the molten substance. Flapping my wings hard, I made it back to the thin strip of land without dropping the scribe.
I set Sy down then landed behind him. Bellowing in rage, the dragon sent another blast of fire towards us. Propelling Sy in a limping run ahead of me, I ducked into the tunnel and sprinted for safety before the fire could melt my legs off.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Nine
We’d completed the main part of my mission. Now I just needed to escape from the tunnel without being seen. Neither the raven, nor the stone gargoyle, had witnessed Sy’s stealthy theft. They hadn’t seen me yet and I wanted it to stay that way. The dragon could be compelled for a short time, but it was too high up on the hierarchy to be a lowly messenger. It wasn’t about to fly to the capital city and report that I was still alive to the Hellmaster.
Safely in the chamber, I sagged against the wall in relief that I’d caught Sy. His foot had melted from being dipped in magma, but he’d already healed. The crab beetle spoke up inside my head. We should head to the surface now. Four hellcats are remaining and my kin are ready to flush them out to draw the dragon away again.
Morax stoically climbed to his feet. The others groaned in pain as they copied him. Their wounds were healing, but they still looked like they’d been roasted over a fire.
“Was there anything else in the dragon’s nest?” I asked Sy as we followed the crab beetle along the tunnel. In my dream, I’d seen a flash of silver metal and had assumed the beast was hoarding treasure. In hindsight, there really wasn’t anything in this dimension that was worth collecting.
“There were just a few eggs,” he replied. “They are about this big and are as black as the volcanic rock.” He held his hands a couple of feet apart. “They began to shake when I stepped between them to retrieve this.” He reached into his robe and handed me the section of metal. “To them, I am food and they reacted to my close proximity. I think they must be about to hatch soon.”
Closing my hand over the item, I made it disappear to join the other pieces that were in my now non-existent pockets. “Thanks for climbing up there to get it. I don’t think I could have made it all the way up there.”
“It was nothing, master,” he said modestly. “I am just grateful that you caught me before I landed in the magma.”
As if you would have let that happen, Sam said. You care about your friends too much to allow them to come to harm.
Sorrow stabbed me and he felt it. I let you die, I said quietly.
You did not let me die, he said firmly. It was my time and I would do it all again. I have served my purpose, Violet. I am at peace with my death. Do not diminish what I achieved by blaming yourself for my demise.
Heather added her opinion far more bluntly. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. We were supposed to die to help make you into the warrior Fate needs you to be. We’re okay with being ghosts in your head for as long as you need us.
It went unspoken that I would have to release them from their prison eventually. At least I now knew how to set them free. I just needed to find somewhere safe to release them first.
Following the crab beetle, it took us more than an hour to finally reach the surface. The dragon was still agitated. It was flying over the area, trying to find us. It knew we’d stolen the object from its nest and it wanted payback.
My brothers will flush the hellcats out of hiding now, the beetle informed us.
“Get ready to call on your nightmares,” I said to the lords. “The fewer carriages we have, the less attention we’ll draw.”
“Flauros and I will call on our steeds,” Morax said. The female lord nodded in agreement and we split into two groups.
Hearing the dragon roar, I peeked out through the mouth of the tunnel to see it flying away as it went on the chase. “Let’s go,” I said. Touching one of the lords at random, I assumed his face and form.
Two black carriages appeared with two pairs of nightmares in the traces. Morax and Flauros’ faces were depicted on the doors. We raced for the carriages and climbed inside. The hellhorses took off almost before we were seated. Sy made sure he was in my carriage. I couldn’t blame him for wanting my protection. The lords would probably pick on him if I wasn’t there to stop them.
Thanks for your help, I said to the crab beetle.
You are welcome and I will relay your thanks to our queen, he replied.
The nightmares didn’t need to be urged to gallop as fast as they could. They knew they were in dragon territory and were desperate to flee before they could be eaten.
Curiosity had me calling on the nine fragments of the object of power. I’d literally gone through hell to find them and now they were all finally gathered together. About the size of my palm when I was in my human form, they had jagged edges like a jigsaw puzzle. It didn’t look like a weapon. It was hard to believe it would be instrumental in fighting against the Hellmaster.
A frown drew my brows down when I tried to recall my conversation with Satan. As I puzzled over it, my hands began to move the metal pieces. After a while, two of the segments clicked together and a tingle went through my body. A voice was in my head, commanding me to stop, but I ignored it. I’d never liked being told what to do and this was no exception.
It wasn’t as easy as I expected to piece the object together. By the time we’d reached the outskirts of the capital city, only the last two pieces were waiting to be added. An elbow dug into my ribs painfully and I snapped out of my daze. “What?” I said to Morax in an annoyed tone.
“Finally, she speaks,” he said dryly. “We have been trying to get your attention for several hours.”
“Why?” My eyes went back to the object that was so close to completion. Long and narrow, it was rectangular and didn’t resemble a weapon at all.
“We need to allow the nightmares to rest for a short time. It will be a long journey to the hellgate and they cannot gallop the entire way there.”
I was surprised that he cared about the welfare of his steeds at all. Then again, he knew that running them ragged would only delay us in the end. “Fine,” I replied. “Is there somewhere we can wait without being spotted by the Hellmaster’s spies?”
“We can pass the time in one of the stables. The servants will not bother us if I tell them to leave.” Hopefully, word hadn’t spread that Morax was one of the demons that I’d ingested. If it was common knowledge, then the gossip that he was here would surely reach the Hellmaster’s ears quickly. He would send his minions to capture us, which would result in a bloodbath.
Keeping hold of the metal segments, I had to force myself to pay attention as the carriage headed for a stable. Flauros’ carriage pulled up beside ours when we came to a stop. Morax climbed out and told the lesser demons who came running to tend to the horses to leave. The rest of us waited inside the coaches. It wasn’t normal for so many Demon Lords to be travelling together. They usually had their own vehicles and an entourage of lackeys.
When the servants were gone, we disembarked and headed for a room in the building next to the stables to wait. Now that I’d snapped out of my daze, I realized the lords had healed completely. Where Morax had once towered over me, he was now a full four feet shorter than I was. As if sensing my thoughts, he glanced up at me with a wry look.
I was glad the furniture was made out of sturdy petrified wood when I sat down at the table. Placing the metal fr
agments in front of me, my hands went to work again. The voice in my head was screaming at me to stop and it was hard to ignore it. Sam, Heather and the angels didn’t seem to hear it.
When the eighth piece finally clicked into place, I felt another tingle sweep through me. The sensation didn’t hurt, but it also wasn’t particularly pleasant.
I now had only one more piece to connect. My hand moved the ninth piece towards the slot where it belonged, but a voice came from the shadows, startling me into halting.
“Excuse me,” the timid voice said. “Are you Hellscourge?”
Morax and the other lords called on their weapons and surged to their feet. Sy remained seated, but he pulled a scarlet dagger from within his robes. The bright blaze from their weapons illuminated an imp who was crouched in the corner. “Don’t hurt him!” I said and they froze. I knew how much courage it would have taken for the imp to draw attention to himself. “I’m Hellscourge,” I confirmed and moved to kneel next to him.
Taking in my size and the long blond hair that flowed from my demonic skull, relief swept over him. “You have to save them before it is too late!” he said then burst into tears.
“Save who from what?”
“The imps who rebelled,” he said around choked sobs. “A female called Rashida and a male called Max marched on the palace. They entered the throne room with hundreds of my kin. They demanded to see the Hellmaster. They were going to try to have all imps released from their servitude.”
I felt a swell of pride for them, but it was mixed with dread. “What happened?”
His voice dropped to a bare whisper. “The Hellmaster came, just as they wished.” He shuddered and shrank back against the wall. Thin, black skinned and hideously twisted, he drew his spindly legs up to his sunken chest. His loincloth was made of black sackcloth and was tattered with age.
“I have never seen anything as monstrous as that creature,” he went on and put a hand over his eyes to block the view that was only in his memory. “I cannot remember much about him, but I recall his words. He commanded his minions to imprison the imps in a pit along with human souls. They have been there for several months now and have been tortured horribly. I heard that he plans to dismember them. Their body parts will be scattered so that they can never be whole again.”
That was the punishment Morax had foretold that the imps would receive. He and the other lords shuddered in reaction. Kept apart like that, they wouldn’t be able to piece themselves back together. It would apparently work on imps as well as it did on demons.
I needed to get back to Earth before the Hellmaster invaded, but I couldn’t leave the imps to suffer. I owed them too much and I had to try to set them free.
₪₪₪
Chapter Forty
I made the metal objects disappear then stood up. Morax frowned at me. “You are not seriously going to waste your time rescuing lowly imps?” he said in disbelief.
“They saved my life and helped me take down the Prince of the second realm,” I reminded him. “They deserve better than the fate the Hellmaster has planned for them.” I turned to the imp and held my hand out. He took it gingerly and I hauled him to his feet. “Where is the pit that they’re being held in?” I asked.
“It is on the far side of the city.” He pointed beyond the scarlet beacon that rose above the palace. “It is the only pit that has a grate over the top.”
“Why does it have a grate?” Flauros asked. “The pits are eighty feet deep and have slick walls. There is only one ladder that should be constantly guarded. Nothing can escape from the pits.”
“Several of the imps apparently have developed talents that allow them to climb up even the slickest of walls,” he replied with a hint of a smirk. His kind were deemed to be insignificant, but some of them had gained abilities over time that made their dismal existences slightly easier.
“How do the demons get through the grate to torture the souls?” I asked.
“A small gate gives access to the ladder. It is only unlocked when there is a change in shifts.” Demons grew bored with nothing to do, so they alternated their duties so they could all have a turn tormenting the former humans.
“You guys wait here,” I said to my allies. “I can use camouflage to cross through the city without being seen. I’ll be back after I set the imps free.”
Morax shook his head. “This is folly. We should leave before the Hellmaster discovers that you are still alive.”
“We’re not going anywhere for the next few hours,” I reminded him. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”
I left before he could form another argument. Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned to see Sy following in my wake. He spoke before I could tell him to stay behind. “You can take on my guise, master. No one dares to interfere with hellscribes. You will be able to pass through the city far more quickly if we travel together.”
He was right. If he was with me, I could brush against him to renew my camouflage before it could run out. “Good idea,” I said and touched him on the arm to assume his appearance. We pulled our hoods forward to hide the fact that we were identical then hurried from the stable.
Leaving the town behind, we crossed the open ground to the nearest bridge. I made sure to bump into Sy whenever I was in danger of losing my camouflage. The stones looked slick, but had been treated with something to make the footing less perilous as we made the steep climb.
Once we were in the city, we hurried towards the palace with the intention of skirting around it. When we neared the Scriptorium, a compulsion came over me. I turned towards the doors rather than continuing on past the building. “Where are you going?” Sy hissed and grabbed my arm.
“I have to go to him,” I replied in a dreamy tone. “I have something he needs.” The voice in my head had returned. It was now so loud and insistent that I couldn’t block it out. It was telling me to return to the cage that was beneath the city and I couldn’t resist it.
Sy sucked in a breath and swore. “Satan is compelling you. He wants the object that you have painstakingly gathered together.” He tried to steer me away, but I resisted him. We drew a few stares and he gave up trying to force me to leave.
Together, we joined a group of scribes as they entered the Scriptorium. Sy lowered his head so the guards didn’t see his face. Once we were inside, I veered towards the hallway that would take me to Dantanian’s inner sanctum.
A different guard was on duty. Dropping my illusion, I conjured up my dagger and stabbed him before he could raise the alarm. Sy opened the door and sighed in relief when the room was empty. I dragged the guard inside and dumped him on the floor. The compulsion in my head was so strong now that I could barely think. Sitting on Dantanian’s chair, I reached beneath the desk and pushed the button to open the secret door.
Sy’s eyes were huge and terrified as he followed me inside. This was the last place he wanted to be, but his loyalty to me drove him to stay. He remained a few steps behind me as I hurried along the passageway to the chamber where Satan waited.
As soon as I stepped into the cavernous room, the compulsion to obey him faded slightly. He’d drawn me to him and he knew he had me within his grasp. Calling the metal fragments to my hands, I approached the cage. I slid the small window open and winced at the too bright light that spilled out. Sy moaned in pain and backed away. The angelic grace was harmful to a lesser demon like him. It was no wonder Satan had been stripped of most of his power.
“Ah, you have returned,” the original master of hell said in a melodic voice. “Throw the nine segments of the object to me,” he commanded.
I frowned and looked down at the items in my hands. Now that I was standing before him, I remembered his orders. He’d told me not to construct the strange device and I’d defied him. Now there was only one piece left to add to it before it would be whole.
“Why do you hesitate?” he said in annoyance. “Throw the pieces to me!”
My inner rebel balked at the order and I
stubbornly decided to defy him one last time. I couldn’t see how it could possibly matter if I threw it to him when it was whole or if it was still in pieces. Shifting the final fragment of tarnished silver metal to the correct position, I touched it to the rest of the device.
The moment it slid into place, I doubled over as pain swept through my entire body. It felt as though my skin was being branded by red hot pokers. Bracing myself against the door, the spells stopped glowing and I heard a click as the door unlocked. I dropped the object and my eyes were too blurry with pain to make out much. I could see that it had changed shape, but not what it had turned into.
“What have you done?” Satan said ominously. I looked through the window to see him rising to his feet. Using sheer willpower, he forced his way through the angelic grace over to the door. I backed away from his malevolent presence. He pushed on the door and it swung open. The angelic grace that was trapped inside tried to surge through the opening. They flinched back when they realized what awaited them on the outside. The demonic spells that had held them trapped had also kept them from bursting into flames. Without that protection, they would surely perish.
Satan stalked towards me. With each step that he took, he began to grow. Long black horns sprouted from his forehead. They curled backwards over his skull and crossed over at the tips. His feet became cloven hooves and his skin changed color until it was as crimson as his eyes. He wore metal armor only on his lower half, leaving his upper body exposed. His body was muscular and his skin was as thick as a hide. Unlike the princes, he didn’t have any marks on his flesh. It seemed to be his own form of protection.
He was fifteen-feet-tall when he stopped growing. It was a full three feet taller than I was and the same height as his usurper. Black leathery wings flared out behind him. He stretched them out wide, as if they’d been cramped up for too long. I had a feeling his human form had just been an illusion all along.