The Third Throne: Angel of Death

by Tabitha Barret

  Skylis retaliated by clawing Anjali’s leg. Anjali snatched Skylis’ other wrist to keep her from clawing her again. Pulling Skylis closer, she head butted the foul monster. Skylis howled in pain, but quickly twisted her wrists and broke free. She backhanded Anjali and dug her nails into the left side of her neck.

  Anjali screamed when the razor claws dug deep into her flesh. It reminded her of Hades’ knife attack. She lost control and her anger broke through her barriers. Standing in waist-high water, the word “ice” filled her mind. She lifted her arms to the sky and the temperature in the room quickly plummeted. The cold feeling of death claimed her body and she pushed the sensation outward. The water crackled and snapped as it froze. Anjali’s power didn’t stop until the entire hall was a solid block of ice. The ice was powerful enough to freeze the Hell Fire burning throughout the entire hall, plunging them into near darkness. The only light came from the broken windows over the dais.

  Talya had pulled Katarina’s head from the water just before the ice immobilized them. All of them were frozen where they stood. Skylis was motionless, her claws still embedded in Anjali’s neck.

  Anjali summoned her Hell Fire as she lowered her arms. She held the fire under Skylis’ arm until she withdrew her claws. Skylis recoiled in pain but had nowhere to go.

  “Bad things happen when I raise my arms too,” with her palms engulfed in fire, Anjali punched Skylis in the jaw, the eye, and the neck for good measure.

  Skylis slumped over onto the ice. Her body shook uncontrollably, clawing helplessly at the ice.

  “You guys okay, aside from being stuck and cold?” Anjali yelled back to Talya and Katarina. She extinguished the fire in her left hand to stem the bleeding in her neck.

  “Yes, my lady,” they said in unison. They both looked troubled by her magic trick with the ice. It was clear they now had a healthy respect for the Destroyer’s power.

  Anjali used the Hell Fire in her right hand to melt the ice around her, though it wasn’t very effective. It was like using a Bic lighter on a glacier. Talya followed her lead while Katarina groaned about the cold.

  Anjali could hear Hades swearing from the rotunda, but ignored him.

  “Had I known that you were going to turn my hall into an iceberg, I would have never left you in charge. Do you have any idea how long it’s going to take to fix this? They had a hard time reigniting the Realm of Fire after you froze it. This is Ice Age ice, it’s serious stuff. Of all the insensitive things, how could you? As if torching my belongings wasn’t bad enough, you had to entomb them in ice,” Hades bellowed as he crawled up the ice ramp through the doorway. As mad as he was about the ice, he was relieved to see that everyone was still alive and mostly in functioning condition.

  “It’s better than setting it completely on fire, as requested. Quit your complaining. Apparently, seaweed-breath doesn’t like the cold either,” she chuckled, looking down at a prone Skylis.

  “That doesn’t sound right,” Hades murmured as he slid across the ice. He was holding a ceramic jar in one hand and Celestial Bonds in the other. Using the light from the blue glowing bonds, he quickly approached Skylis.

  Anjali could hear voices in the rotunda, but knew Hades would have ordered everyone to stay back until Skylis was in chains and helpless to seduce them.

  Hades knelt in front of a dazed Skylis. He placed the jar on top of the ice and reached for her wrists to lock the Celestial Bonds on her.

  Skylis’ head snapped up, but she no longer had gills. Beautiful Skylis grabbed Hades’ arms and stared into his eyes, hypnotizing him.

  “Save me. They are going to kill me. Kill them and we can be together forever,” she pleaded with Hades to help her.

  Anjali frantically worked on the ice, trying to wiggle free, knowing that she was in deep trouble. She was still partially trapped in ice up to her waist.

  Hades grinned like an idiot. He dropped the Celestial Bonds and turned to Anjali.

  “Hades, we can work this out. We can charge admission to the ice skating rink. Who wouldn’t want to skate in Hell? We’ll make millions,” she said as Hades grabbed her around the torso and wrenched her from the ice.

  Anjali screamed when the ice sliced the front of her thighs and the bottom of her dress tore off. She was thrown through the air and landed face down on the unyielding surface.

  Looking up, she saw the jar that Hades had brought with him glowing in the light of the Celestial Bonds. She assumed it contained the dirt he had mentioned, though she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with it.

  Hades stalked closer, but slipped around on his expensive loafers. Zombie Hades wasn’t built for fighting on the ice.

  Anjali snapped her fingers and her boots disappeared. They were stiff from the cold and would only slow her down. She got to her knees and contemplated how best to deal with Hades. As much as she wanted to light him on fire, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She waited until Hades was right on top of her and threw out her hand, lifting Hades into the air and tossing him into the wall high above Talya and Katarina. He fell to the ground and was slow to get back up.

  She scrambled to get up and skated across the ice on her bare feet. She went to her knees and slid across the smooth surface, right to the jar.

  “What do I do with the dirt?” she yelled to Talya and Katarina, who were still trying to free themselves. Talya hadn’t made a dent in the ice. Katarina was shouting to Talya to hurry.

  “Pour it on her!” Katarina‘s teeth were chattering. She was still prone on the ice.

  Anjali opened the jar and was nearly knocked out by the stench. It smelled like rotting vegetation and fertilizer.

  Skylis hissed at her. “Grab the brunette,” she commanded Hades to grab Katarina.

  Anjali looked over her shoulder and saw Hades grasp Katarina by the hair and wrench her from the ice. He put her into a headlock and choked her. She was crying, begging him to stop. She was defenseless again him and frightened.

  “Use that soil on me and I will command him to kill her,” Skylis sneered.

  “Go ahead. I don’t like her,” Anjali smirked. She smashed the entire jar against Skylis’ head.

  The ceramic jar shattered into pieces, releasing the dirt. The Rusalka screamed as the dirt burned her. Flailing around, she howled and tore at her skin. Anjali quickly snapped the Celestial Bonds onto Skylis’ wrists before she could say another word.

  Skylis’ beauty faded and she turned back into the sickening creature, complete with a smell worse than the dirt.

  Anjali heard gurgling sounds behind her. She turned to see Hades still choking Katarina. Whipping around, she kicked her leg out and connected with Hades’ ankle. He crashed to the ground along with Katarina. Hades’ head cracked against the ice.

  Talya used the opening created by Katarina’s release and pulled herself free. She and Anjali went to Katarina. Talya pulled Katarina away from Hades while Anjali punched him in the face, hoping to break him of the spell.

  “What the hell? That was unnecessary; I was already free. Give me a moment to recover,” Hades growled. He sat up and rubbed his jaw and head. He was definitely going to release venomous snakes into the Hall of Mirrors when she least expected it.

  “That was for ripping me out of the ice, oh, and punching me, and let’s not forget attempting to crush me with your foot. I won’t even mention how many hard objects you threw me into,” she crossed her arms defiantly.

  “Those don’t count because I don’t remember them,” Hades huffed and got to his feet. He should have felt guilty for attacking her, but he had no control over himself. He was too mad about his hall to be concerned about her injuries.

  Anjali slumped down on the ice and took stock of her wounds. The bruise on her jaw was beginning to heal, as were the cuts on her thighs. The worst of them was the deep claw marks on her neck. She was grateful that her power aided in her healing, though she wasn’t happy that she had allowed it break lose.

  She waved her arms, fixed her
torn dress, and put her boots back on. She dried her hair, but had trouble getting the smell out.

  Ignoring the deluge of servants racing into the hall, she watched Lucifer stride confidently into the room holding a torch. His smug look let her know that he was pleased that Skylis had received an additional ass kicking.

  Malcolm and Vaughn ran to Skylis to make sure that she was safely contained. They frantically worked on removing her from the ice.

  Dorian walked around replacing the frozen torches with new ones to light up the room.

  Jared went to Hades to check on him, though Hades waved him off and told him to help Talya move Katarina into her room.

  Radek came to Anjali’s side and helped her up off the ice, though he didn’t look happy, which didn’t bode well.

  Aganon stood behind Lucifer, half-hidden by his Master, avoiding Anjali’s gaze.

  “It’s a pity that the creature was hurt during an attempted escape. Vaughn, take her back to the Hall of Shadows and make sure there is a female guard at all times,” Lucifer said indifferently as he watched Anjali with curiosity.

  Vaughn and Malcolm acknowledged Lucifer’s orders, but it would take time to thaw the ice and drag the dirt covered Skylis back to the Hall of Shadows.

  Hades sneered at the state of his hall while limping around. It was obvious that he was in pain, but tried to hide it. “You’re going to help me fix this even if you have to chisel it out one ice cube at a time,” he snapped at Lady Black.

  “We’ll make margaritas, it’ll be fun. By the way, you’re welcome for saving your life. Oh, I had nothing to do with the stained glass windows this time, that was all her,” she snickered.

  Hades rolled his eyes and walked toward his demolished throne, trapped in the ice.

  Anjali approached Lucifer and bowed her head slightly to acknowledge him. Lucifer was unnerving her with his unyielding gaze. “You wanted to see me, my lord. I apologize for being detained.”

  “I know you have been busy. Regardless, I called you because I want to know who are the Spirit Experts are, and why you are so interested in keeping them alive?” Lucifer’s eyes reflected the torchlight, making him look demonic. She knew she was in trouble. She should have let the Rusalka eat her.

  Chapter 10

  Anjali saw Radek wince at the mention of the Spirit Experts. She wasn’t mad at him for telling Lucifer where she was and what she was doing. It wasn’t as if she was going to lie to Lucifer, but she too could omit things, just as Lucifer often did.

  “I found Alazar in Romania. He has crossed paths with a group of mortals looking for proof of the afterlife. I have been trying to keep them alive and away from Alazar. I don’t need yet another set of suicides to feel guilty about because I can’t control my angel,” she replied matter-of-factly. She saw Hades turn his attention from his frozen and demolished chaise to stare at her.

  Lucifer’s shoulders relaxed a bit, proving to her that Radek too had omitted a few minor details, like her getting it on with a mortal.

  “You can’t let them find any proof of our existence,” Lucifer replied, satisfied with her explanation.

  “Of course not, my lord. I know better,” she bowed her head slightly.

  “Now, what of Alazar? I assume that he has not submitted to you since he isn’t here. I told you that you would have to force his compliance. Do not let him get the upper hand, or you will regret it,” Lucifer growled while pacing. He hated the thought of Alazar hurting her.

  Anjali tensed knowing that Lucifer would hunt Alazar down if he knew Alazar had used his power to try to kill her.

  “No, my lord, he has not submitted to me, though I am trying to get through to him. He’s angry with me for not coming to him sooner. He also mentioned his undying disdain for you. I want to know exactly what you did to him, all of you. I need to know what happened in my absence so that I can deflate his anger and make him listen to me,” she said, adding Hades to her a withering look.

  Hades had the intelligence to avert his eyes. She knew Hades would have played mind games with Alazar and probably beat him for fun, but Lucifer was capable of much worse.

  Lucifer stopped his pacing and sighed deeply.

  Oh, this is going to be good, she grimaced to herself.

  “It’s true that the Predznak were not treated like pampered guests while they awaited your arrival, but do not fool yourself into thinking that they quietly sat in the corner and behaved. They didn’t pine for you. They didn’t act as a friend to anyone in my domain. In fact, they tried to kill everyone here at one time or another. I was forced to do what was necessary to keep them under control,” Lucifer gritted out as he stared at the ground.

  This was the moment he’d feared for centuries. He knew that the Destroyer might take issue with his treatment of her angels. At the time, he had delighted in making them suffer, but seeing her anger rise made his glee short lived. Perhaps he should have been a bit kinder to them.

  “What did you do?” she growled each word. She doubted he would confess the secret that Aganon had alluded to, but it was worth a shot.

  Aganon made himself very small next to Lucifer, closing his eyes and waiting for the impending beating.

  “They may have suffered in the Realms of Torture occasionally, when they disobeyed my orders. I may have strung them up in the Hall of Torment or the Hall of Mercy, when needed. Then there were times when I gave them to Serena to play with,” Lucifer mumbled the last part, a bit incoherently.

  Hades saw the exact moment when the image of Serena “playing” with Alazar appeared in Lady Black’s mind. He actually felt sorry for Lucifer, having felt her wrath personally. He might not have to worry about unfreezing his hall. It looked like fire might spring forth from her at any second.

  “You did what? That explains why Alazar attacked me when he saw the dress and confused me with Serena. Stupidly, I had hoped that the dress simply reminded him of Hell, but now I understand why he wanted my head. Torture is one thing, but you gave them to Serena? You’ve told me about some of the things she used to do. Given Alazar’s reaction, it went beyond the rotting in the mirror trick, didn’t it?” Anjali could feel her power snaking past the binds of her ring.

  Lucifer was smart and didn’t answer her. It never failed to amaze her how many secrets Lucifer kept from her.

  Hades stepped forward and scowled at Lady Black. “In our defense, they had stopped listening to us and you were nowhere to be found. You may not like our methods, but we had to do what was necessary to survive. Any one of them could have caused the downfall of Hell without a master to subdue them. They weren’t meant to serve us, so we did the best we could while we waited for you. Take issue with Gabriel for keeping you from them, if you want to place blame.” Though he understood her anger, he couldn’t let her admonish Lucifer in front of everyone. She could tie him up to her bed and whip him in the privacy of her own room until he cried, but out in public she couldn’t make him look weak.

  Anjali was surprised to see the look of warning that flashed across Hades’ face as he spoke. She gulped, realizing that she’d forgotten the first rule of Hell: Don’t reprimand Lucifer in front of the Fallen. Bowing her head to Hades she let her anger slip away, at least visibly. Inside, she was still fuming.

  Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “Of course, Lord Hades. You both had to do what was necessary to keep everyone safe. I merely questioned the extreme methods used by Serena. I know that she was not sane and was considered highly dangerous. It will be difficult for me to undo the damage that she wrought with my angels. You’re right, Lord Hades; I should have been here to watch over them.”

  Hades was thankful that Lady Black wasn’t dimwitted and understood his warning. He wished that he could have watched her kick the shit out of Lucifer, but knew it would have to wait. At least the girl was finally learning her place.

  “My lord, if you will excuse me, I have to seek out Alazar. Perhaps we can discuss this at length when I return,” she spoke mildly an
d bowed her head, but she knew that Lucifer would understand the undercurrent of animosity in her final statement.

  Lucifer nodded to her and started yelling at Vaughn to get Skylis out of the ice.

  Anjali carefully skated out of Hades’ hall. She made her way through the group of Fallen who were trying to melt the thinner layers of ice in the rotunda. Stepping over them, she entered the Hall of Mirrors.

  Mark paced in front of Lady Black’s throne. He was disturbed by the fight he had witnessed between Lady Black and Skylis. He did not want the Council to have yet another reason to be mad at her. He was confused as to why Hades had attacked Lady Black, but he assumed that Hades was trying to follow the Council’s orders and force Lady Black to leave Skylis unharmed. Hades was notorious for doing everything within his power to stay out of trouble. Of course, if Skylis had broken free from the Hall of Shadows, even the Council could not argue with Lady Black for detaining her through any means necessary, as was allowed.

  He would have a hard time explaining Lady Black’s reason for using her power against the creature. He was not sure why the Rusalka flooding Hades’ tower with water would cause Lady Black to resort to that kind of devastation. He could feel her power from where he stood. It was violent, wild, and completely terrifying. It reminded him of why she had been sent off to the Mortal Realm to learn from the sins of the mortals. Unfortunately, once Hades had summoned Lucifer and the other Fallen, he had been forced to retreat back into the hall, lest Lucifer find him snooping. If Lucifer caught him, he would probably bite his wing again and throw him back into the Realm of Fire. No, he could not go back there. Better to let the Heads of Hell have their secrets than be tortured for uncovering them.

  “Lady Black, are you all right?” Mark asked quickly when she strode into the hall. He was surprised to see that she was cut on her neck and legs. She looked tired and distressed.