You have to use Animus, she can cut through them.
And how do you know this? I tied her around my waist and unsheathed her.
She told me.
That brought on more questions, but there wasn’t time. It had been at least half a day since Satan left me here, maybe longer, and I had no idea when he was coming back. I pulled the chain on my right arm taut and started sawing. It took several strokes before Animus bit into the metal. Progress was slow, but noticeable.
After a minute, my muscles were getting sore, but I was almost there. With one more cut, the chain snapped, most of if swinging back to crash against the wall. A few inches still hung from the shackle on my wrist, but energy flowed into me. I only took a second to celebrate before switching hands to saw at the other chain. This time the sword bit in right away.
“Once I get this off, I’ll transform into a cat and slip the shackles off.” I needed full strength to try shapeshifting. It was definitely not my strong suit. “Is the Path far?” Another cut, and now I was halfway through.
Don’t worry, we can make it.
In a rush of fire, Satan appeared. I froze, staring at him as he glared.
“Where the fuck did you get that?” He took one step toward me.
Mew-Mew leapt at him with the most horrifying growl I’d ever heard from a cat.
“No, don’t!” I screamed at him.
Satan turned and Mew-Mew landed on his face, clawing and yowling. I lunged toward them, forgetting I was still chained. They were by the door, too far away. Satan pulled him off and flung him, fire streaking from his hand.
Mew-Mew didn’t even hit the wall, he burned in midair. The flames swallowed him up, and then he was gone.
Chapter 24
“No!” I stared at the place he’d disappeared, nothing but smoke and dust drifting down. Ashes… those were Mew-Mew’s ashes. My vision blurred.
“Did he bring you the sword?” Satan asked.
I shifted my attention to him and rage washed through me. I didn’t know I could be so sad and so angry at the same time. I gripped Animus tighter and considered throwing her at him. No, I needed the chain off first. He must have seen my intent because he came at me.
For once, I was faster. Even with my right hand, my weaker hand, I sliced through the rest of the chain with one stroke and spun to face him. He shifted at the last instant, my blade slicing across his upper arm. He hissed and grabbed the wound. Animus sang at the taste of his blood and I danced aside, putting myself between him and the door.
“So you want this the hard way?” A sword appeared in his hand.
“You killed Mew-Mew.” A tear slipped down my cheek, cool against my hot skin. “You killed him!” With Animus in both hands, I rushed him. He blocked, stepping back until he was pressed against the wall. Gritting his teeth, he used his sword to shove me away.
I charged him again and again. I didn’t care—I wasn’t even scared of him. He blocked every attack, but I kept him away from the door.
“This is getting annoying.” He hurled a stream of fire and I dropped to the floor. It roared past me and crashed into the door, sending it flying open.
As I was getting to my feet, he kicked me in the face and sent me sprawling. I rolled as his sword came down and just missed getting skewered. Throwing fire to distract him, I got up and looked for the next opportunity to attack. Satan backed out of the cell, broadsword held at the ready. It had a longer reach than my katana, but I had speed and maneuverability. The lessons from the kami made a huge difference. Even half-mad with grief, I was way more skilled than the first time we’d fought.
I froze his feet to the ground, remembering how it had worked twice before. He jerked to a stop and almost fell over. I ran, screaming, and aimed for his heart.
He met me with his blade, lips pulled back in a snarl. “All this for a cat?”
“He was my best friend.” I slashed again and our swords crashed together, throwing up sparks. Heat shimmered in the air around me, from just me or both of us, I didn’t know.
The ice around his feet cracked but still held.
“Attachments make you weak. You don’t need friends.”
My next attack slipped past his guard and I grazed him again, this time on his left side. He also got me, a burning sting flaring across my right shoulder. The pain only made me angrier, and another taste of blood made Animus more eager.
Fire rose up around Satan, hot enough to drive me back. When it cleared, he was moving down the hall, gaze fixed on me. I closed the distance in a heartbeat. We fought down the hall, rage driving me on. My arms were weighed down by the shackles and the few inches of chain still hanging from them. They kept smacking me as I fought and I wished I could get rid of them, but there was no time.
On either side were more cells, and behind some of the doors prisoners screamed. It was background noise. We reached a torchlit stairway.
“How long is this tantrum going to last?” Satan had regained some of his composure.
“This isn’t a fucking tantrum. It’s not a game.” Our swords clashed together so hard it sent us both stumbling back. I paused, wanting to make this clear. “I’m going to kill you or die trying.” It had taken Mew-Mew’s death for me to realize this was inevitable. There was no peace for me while he was alive. He’d go after my friends, he’d destroy my life, he’d never leave me alone.
Something passed over his face, and I dared to hope it might be fear. “You know where you’ll end up when you die.”
“What’s the fucking difference? I’m here already.” Along with rage, there was a kind of numbness inside me. I’d made my decision, and I was prepared for either outcome.
He growled and rushed me, and I just barely blocked his attack. “I guess I’m done playing, too, then,” he said.
My wrists jerked and rose. The heavy chains stretched toward the ceiling, pulling my arms up. I fought against it and kept a desperate grip on Animus. Satan was controlling the chains and my stomach dropped as I realized my arms were now useless. He had me trapped and if I didn’t think of something fast, he could take his sweet time carving pieces out of me.
My arms were almost straight above my head. I threw fire and ice at him, and he stopped them with fire of his own. “This is my realm, my place of power. You’re nothing here.”
I braced for a stab, maybe a fatal one. Instead he used the chains to throw me into the wall. When I bounced off and hit the floor, I lost my hold on Animus. Through the ringing in my ears, I heard her clatter against the floor. Spots danced in front of my eyes and the headache came roaring back. I had to get the chains off, or I was gonna die.
It was pretty much the worst circumstances to try shapeshifting, but it was the only thing I could think of. I reached for Animus, wanting her boost of power. Satan took control of the chains again, dragging me across the floor. The oh-so-familiar feeling of his foot connecting with my side followed. Great, now I had to concentrate while getting beaten. At least he wanted to play with me for a while instead of going for the quick kill.
Doing my best to block out the pain, I closed my eyes. I reached for my power and focused on what it felt like to be a cat. An image of Mew-Mew appeared and fresh tears stung my eyes. Gone. He’s really gone. Satan kept kicking me, yelling things that I blocked out. Rage tried to distract me. I wanted to kill him more than anything.
No… more than anything, I wanted Mew-Mew back. I remembered playing with him as cat, running through the grass, pouncing on each other. The way it felt to be a cat, bone and muscle, fur and claws. A ripple went through me as Satan landed another kick.
Then in a rush, I transformed. Dazed and in pain, I forced myself to jump to my feet and run.
Satan’s next kick hit the floor. “Fuck!”
I made it to the wall and tried to change back. It didn’t work. My heart thudded in my little chest. One blow from him could break my back or crush my skull. Or he could burn me up just like Mew-Mew.
“Nice trick,” Sata
n said as he came at me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Animus. She was at the bottom of the stairs, where she’d skidded when I dropped her. I ran to her, put my front paws on the handle. Help me change back. Her power flowed into me and a second later I was human-shaped again. I had just enough time to grab her and stand up before Satan hit me.
His fist connected with my face and fire slammed into me. I screamed and called ice. Steam hissed between us and I struck out blindly. Satan cursed and backed away. Animus hummed with satisfaction, having wounded him once again.
The steam cleared and he stood there with his sword held at the ready and a bleeding gash on his face. Satan was between the archway back to the cells and the stairs, blocking me from both. I needed time, even a few seconds, to clear my head and recover from the beating.
I glanced up at the long, winding stairway. Could I get past him to the stairs? Then a better idea occurred to me—I could just go straight up. I summoned my wings and launched into the air, hoping it would take him a moment to react.
The motion of flying hurt all the places he’d kicked, which was pretty much my whole fucking body. I went past one floor, and another. Did this lead to a tower? The ceiling came into view and I veered for the nearest doorway. Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked and I shoved it open.
“Where are you running? There’s nowhere to go.” His voice got louder by the second. He was flying after me.
I went through the door into a huge, wide hallway. It was bright and white, not at all what I was expecting. I flew to the end of the hall and landed in a fighting stance, waiting for him.
Satan flew through the open door on wings just like mine. “Changed your mind about dying?” He landed halfway down the hall.
“No.” It’s not that I wanted to die, just that I didn’t care. Killing him was more important than surviving. This time, I waited for him to come to me.
Satan charged, and our swords slammed into each other again. Fire blazed up around him and I called my own fire. The different flames shimmered blue where they met. I watched his face, picturing what he would look like with his eyes glazed over. Dead.
He took a few quick steps back and threw a huge fireball at me. With Animus and my own fire I blocked the damage, but the force of it threw me into the double doors at the end of the hall. I crashed through into a room wider and taller than the hallway, but just as white. I got to my feet just in time to meet his attack, the clash of our blades echoing through the room.
We circled a few times, and I caught sight of a huge throne dominating the far wall. We were fighting in the throne room. I slipped past his guard to graze his arm. He kicked me in the stomach and I went sprawling.
“How would you like to have a piece of my son? I bet he’s delicious.”
I glanced around and realized we weren’t alone. From the shadows behind huge columns, demons crept out, licking their lips. I was at peace with the idea of dying if I had to, but the thought of being eaten alive filled me with cold dread.
I scrambled to get up, facing Satan but shifting to look around. The demons were of all shapes with horns, wings, claws, huge teeth, tentacles… the stuff of nightmares. No way I could fight them all. I’d have to try to take out as many as I could. I focused on Satan again.
He smiled. “One more chance. They can take you back to the dungeon, or they can eat you. Your choice.”
I won’t lie, I was terrified. But that smile pissed me off. By siccing his demons on me, he was cheating me out of my revenge. Why didn’t he kill me himself? The answer hit me so hard it made me dizzy. “Holy shit. You’re afraid of me.”
His smile flattened. “What?”
“You’re a fucking coward. You’re going to make your demons take care of me because you can’t do it yourself.”
“I’m not afraid of you. You’re nothing.”
“Prove it. Fight me yourself.” I lifted Animus a little higher as she hummed with anticipation.
Satan glared at me for a long moment. “Stay back, all of you.” The demons crept back into the shadows, but their eyes remained focused, watching.
“Come and get me,” I growled.
We took up the fight again. He threw fire at me, I threw fire and ice. Our swords clashed, throwing up blue-white sparks. He kicked at me and I dodged, dancing back and hurling a fireball. He sliced it in half. “I’m going to cripple you, and then I’m going to torture you in the square with all my demons watching.”
I charged, aiming for his heart. He blocked and we circled each other. “Really?” I said. “I figure I’ll stab you, and then you’ll run away. That’s what you always do when you think I’m—”
His sword scraped against Animus and went past, sinking into me. The pain stole my breath and I stumbled back, the blade pulling out. Shocked, I pressed a hand to my side and it came away covered in blood. Demons murmured from the shadows.
“Oh shit.” My knees gave out and I hit the floor.
“We’ll have a barbecue,” Satan said. “Tear you apart piece by piece and serve you to the crowd.”
I can’t die like this. Not on my knees, not turned into entertainment for demons and the devil. I tried to push myself up, but my hand slipped from the blood covering it. Satan’s shadow loomed over me.
“I’ll take your sword arm first.” His foot came down to step on my katana, but with a shout of effort I pulled her back and got to my feet.
He slashed at me and I put all the power I had into blocking. Our blades hit so hard that I knocked his flying. Before he could react, I took my chance. I sank Animus into his heart, through it, and she sang in ecstasy.
His wide eyes met mine, inches away. Satan whispered, “No,” like he couldn’t believe it.
“For Mew-Mew.” I poured my rage through the sword and fire erupted. It burned so hot and fast he hardly had time to scream. His face blackened, then the bones beneath, and finally he crumbled. I stepped away as what was left of him fell to the floor. The fire burned for a few more seconds, then went out.
Nothing was left but a pile of ashes.
Chapter 25
I knelt and set Animus down. Probably stupid in a room full of demons, but I wasn’t thinking. I stared at the ashes, then grabbed two huge handfuls and hurled them as far as I could. The black ash was a sharp contrast against the polished white floor. I grit my teeth against the pain in my side and threw another double handful. “Fuck you! Fuck you!”
I could kill him a thousand times and it would never be enough. It wouldn’t bring Mew-Mew back. Tears blurred my vision as I scattered the ashes as much as I could. I got up and kicked the remaining pile, almost slipping in it.
Soft noises drew my attention. The demons were creeping closer. I reached out and Animus flew into my hand. “You want to try me? Come on!”
A bright white ball appeared in the center of the room. I shifted into a fighting stance but had to shut my eyes against the glare. The demons hissed and growled. The light dimmed a little and I opened my eyes. An old man stood there, dressed in flowing white and with a long white beard. The demons were gone.
“Alexander, put the sword away.”
Jehovah looked like he’d stepped out of a Renaissance painting. How stereotypical. He could take any form he wanted, but of course he picked that one.
“What the fuck do you want?” I asked.
“Such language.” He tsked. “You killed the devil.”
Did I really? Even with the evidence all over my hands, it was hard to believe. “So?”
“So, Hell needs a lord.”
My stomach sank. “Oh, fuck no. You’re not bringing him back to life.”
He shook his head. “That is not my plan. Put the sword away.”
I didn’t trust him, but if he wanted a fight he could’ve just started kicking my ass. Reluctantly, I sheathed Animus.
He glided over to me, feet not touching the floor. I tensed, ready for some trick. He said, “Hold out your hand.”
“Why?”
“Do not question me!” His voice boomed, echoing.
“I just killed the fucking devil. I’ll question you if I want to.” My hand flexed, wanting to draw my sword.
He stared at me, took a breath. “You are a worthy successor.” Jehovah held out his hand. Sitting in his palm was a black key, the big, old-fashioned kind.
“What?”
“Alexander Holden, I appoint you the new Lord of Hell.”
I looked at him and repeated, “What?”
“Take the key.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want it.” I wasn’t my father, I didn’t belong here.
“You must take it. Without a ruler, the demons will run rampant and escape to Earth.”
“Why don’t you take over? You’re the one who loves sending people here so much.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “You alone must be lord. You are his son and heir.”
“No, I don’t want anything of his.”
“Then you condemn the Earth to chaos.”
Heat shimmered around me. “You’d let it happen, wouldn’t you?” Such a fucking asshole. “Fine.” Here I was, saving the world again. I grabbed the key from his hand and he flinched, just a little. “You got what you wanted, now leave me the fuck alone.”
“You truly are your father’s son.” Jehovah disappeared in a blinding white flare.
“Fuck you. No I’m not,” I shouted at the space where he’d been. Yet here I was, in charge of his kingdom.
I didn’t want any of this, I just wanted to go home. So I did.
***
I went straight to the bathroom to wash my hands. I looked like shit, dark circles under my eyes, my face pale between the bruises. I checked the stab wound on my right side. It had closed up, becoming an ugly scab. That was fast healing, even for me. Had Animus helped me heal? Had I absorbed some of Satan’s power when I killed him, or when I took over Hell?
Saint of Sinners Page 17