The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set)

by J. D. Stonebridge

  “Come with me,” Mikaela told him. She stood up, brushing off the dust from her pants and climbed back down.

  Caelum watched her curiously. “What for?”

  Mikaela looked up to him and said, “I need you as my guinea pig.” Without another word, she disappeared into the house.

  Caelum turned back to the scene in front of him. The sun had gone completely, replaced with patches of clouds and scattered stars. He took in the beauty of the sky and breathed in the cool air. His chest felt lighter now that the sun had vanished, and he lifted himself up to fulfill his daughter’s wishes.

  The demon, Lili, returned bearing the souls she’d promised, fulfilling her end of the bargain. In her hand was the Soul Keeper jar Mikaela had lent her to gather the energies from souls. She appeared in the living room, carefully stepping around the Devil’s trap and hoping not to stumble onto another that may be hidden.

  “Hello?” she called. Footsteps came from the ceiling above and Caelum and Mikaela descended. Lili thrust the jar into Caelum’s hands. “There. Drink up, big boy.”

  Caelum looked down at the jar and felt the vibration of the energies it held. He muttered his thanks.

  “Don’t thank me, you know I’m not doing this for—” Lili stopped, eyeing Caelum strangely.

  “Oh, please don’t tell me you’ve just realized how attractive I am,” he teased her, and Lili returned with a smile.

  “I know you have always been pretty. But I didn’t know you’d be even prettier wearing some kind of trinket,” Lili said, pointing to the necklace that hung around Caelum’s neck. It was a simple thread necklace with a red pendant attached to it. The pendant was blood red, and the color changed as if there was smoke inside that constantly moved.

  Caelum took the pendant and stuffed it inside his dress shirt. “Let’s get to business and not be distracted, shall we?” He looked to Lili, then Mikaela, who nodded to him. Caelum opened the jar and the familiar dark and heavy fog of the souls spilled out. He took a deep breath and focused his remaining energy on them, guiding their power to his vessel and absorbing them all. It took no time for him to consume them, feeling their energy branching out from his center to his fingertips.

  He sighed, relishing in the power that coursed through his veins. He looked to the two women and smiled. He placed the jar on the table next to him and asked Lili, “Have you got a location in mind?”

  “Yup. Come with me, and we’ll be going home,” She announced, turning her back on them and heading for the front door. Caelum remained where he stood, however, looking at his daughter.

  Not used to such scenarios, Caelum found himself massaging the back of his neck. He looked away from Mikaela to the blonde demon waiting for him. He muttered a soft “Thank you” to the witch before moving a foot. He reached the door when Mikaela replied.

  “Don’t forget our deal, okay?” she told him. After a pause, she swallowed the lump in her throat and added, “Try not to die down there.”

  Caelum paused by the door, clutching the doorframe just as he had earlier when he’d come to talk to her in her bedroom. He took a deep breath, chuckling, and turned to her with a smile.

  “It takes a lot to kill someone like me, honey. Trust me.” He winked at her, then turned around and waved goodbye to her.

  Mikaela watched as the two demons met and disappeared in the darkness. Alone in her home, Mikaela clutched her arms, hugging herself tight and convincing herself that everything would be just fine.

  Chapter Thirteen: Into the Fire

  The scent of death and hatred filled the air when Lili pulled away from the shadows, revealing the location of the door they intended to enter. Racism, murder, assault, and arson; all were present in the land where they stood. Caelum remembered the battle, though he was not present during the events. But he’d heard about it, and he remembered he had laughed at the pitiful fights the mortals started. One kind of species, fighting over the color of skin. How shallow, Caelum had always thought.

  Lili led the way, walking with purpose in the streets, her blonde hair swaying behind her. Caelum watched the female demon, questions running through his mind. With all that was about to happen worrying him, he still had room in his mind for the conversation he’d had with Azrael, and the one thing she told him he could use against Lucifer. He wondered if it was pure coincidence, how the events had turned into this. Nonetheless, he intended all to go well and to his advantage.

  He moved forward, catching up to Lili quickly with his longer strides. He dared to speak one question that had his curiosity piqued. “Tell me again, why did you agree to help me when you came to us, seeking a way to get off Hell’s radar?”

  Lili glanced at him, unamused. “You know me, Caelum. I’m always up for an adventure!” she claimed, without slowing her pace.

  “Even if it’s a little suicidal?” He asked her.

  “Especially when it’s a little suicidal!” Lili smiled. “That makes it more interesting,” she added, like a girl excited for a game to play.

  Caelum found himself smiling at her enthusiasm, though he knew where it was coming from. He kept up with her more energetic strides towards an abandoned warehouse where countless people had burned because of the hatred of others. Even from afar, Caelum could feel the dark energy exuding from the door-less entryway, beckoning him to enter. That’s as a welcome home sign.

  “So, are you going to tell me how to get inside the cage now?” Caelum asked Lili, who seemed to be ignoring his question.

  “Take it easy, sport. Let’s do this one thing at a time, shall we?” Lili told him. “We got company, anyway.”

  Caelum turned back to the building and watched as a dark violet mist began to secrete out of the doorway. The thick heavy smoke curled towards them, halting their progress. Caelum prepared himself, knowing full well what was coming. He looked to Lili, who seemed more excited than troubled. Gleeful, she waited for the chance to shed blood.

  One by one, demons spilled out of the abandoned building, rushing to meet the two who were wanted for their crimes. Caelum counted at least thirty of them, all lesser demons whom he figured Azazel saw as expendable.

  “Looks like the party has started, huh?” Lili said. “Just get past the pawns to enter the gate.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Caelum replied to her, his eyes fixated on the dark energy pooling from the entryway of the abandoned building. The moans and pleas of the souls trapped in Hell reached his ears, and he started running.

  He sped up his pace, aiming to meet the demon leading the pack. The lead demon pulled back his elbow just as Caelum got to him, but Caelum bent his knees and slid to the side to evade the punch. He spun around, kicking his leg against the back of the demon’s knee to make him fall. Caelum jumped back to his feet, stomping against the chest of the demon, then bending backwards to evade the sharp, black tentacle Lili had unleashed. The shadow-like blades impaled four demons while knocking out a few others.

  Caelum shot a glare at Lili, who laughed at him and said, “Oh, don’t stop now!”

  Something wrapped around Caelum’s ankle and he hadn’t even looked at it before he was pulled back. His clutched at the ground, but the pull on his ankle was stronger. He turned to take a look at the attacker, a lanky man pulling the black whip-like thing, much like Lili’s, attached to his ankle, a look of victory on his face. Caelum reached forward to grab the whip and tugged it back, forcing the demon to stumble forward.

  A throaty scream came from Caelum’s left; a demon with a machete stood above him. Caelum rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the machete. The wielder swung the blade again, and Caelum dared to swing his foot forward, bringing the whip wrapped around his ankle to meet the blade instead. The machete easily sliced through the whip, and Caelum jumped back to his feet. He crouched forward when the demon swung the machete for his head again. Caelum reached a hand up, gripping the demon around the wrist. He twisted the demon’s wrist, forcing him to loosen his grip on the machete. But the demon tossed the we
apon and caught it with his free hand

  Caelum jumped up, placing his feet on the demon’s shoulder without releasing his hand. The demon screamed as his arm was pulled to his back. Caelum let his body fall back on the ground, his knee carrying the weight of the other demon. He used the momentum to throw the demon over him, knocking another who tried to come to his aid.

  Caelum saw the opening of the gateway a few meters away from him. He looked around to see Lili still dealing with the demons in the front lines with her black tentacles. Her laughter was a haunting sound amidst all the ripping flesh and screams of pain.

  Focusing his eyes on the goal, Caelum leapt forward and ran towards the gateway. A few demons caught sight of him; they threw punches, grabbed at his suit, and sliced at him with their weapons. He was too fast for them, dodging their attacks and diverting their weapons back at them. Caelum neared the gateway, his hand outstretched to the darkness seeping out. Just when he was a mere few feet away from it, his body stopped of its own accord.

  What? Caelum tried to look down, confused, but not even his head would bend to give him a better look of his feet. His limbs were frozen in place, and his neck refused to move. He tried to speak, but his throat wouldn’t comply. Then, he heard the voice of the one that stopped his movements.

  “Don’t think this will be that easy,” a female demon said.

  He could tell without looking at her that she was the one who held him in place. The demon’s given power allowed her to stop his muscles; not even his eyes would budge. The shrill laughter of the demon ticked at his nerves, and he felt rather than saw more demons walking towards him. A demon reached for him. A patch of shadow was cast just as the demon beside him reached to take his arm. The position of the shadow had Caelum’s mind calculating.

  You stopped me from my movements, but I can still use my power. Caelum would have smiled if his lips would allow him to. He commanded the shadow he assumed to be under his feet to take him. He felt him whole body fall, sinking into the ground where the shadow was cast.

  The female demon was surprised, expressing it in a screech. Before she could make another move, Caelum appeared behind her, holding her under her arms and tossing her back. With the weight focused on her center, the demon crashed against the ground on her head.

  “Hey, slow poke!” Lili’s voice interrupted him. Caelum turned and jumped out of the way as Lili impaled the demons near him. When she retracted her shadow tentacles, he found her standing by the gateway, waiting for him. “What are you waiting for, Christmas?”

  Caelum rushed forward. The few demons who were still able to, chased after them. When Caelum reached Lili’s side, both of them leapt forward into the dark entryway. They felt their bodies being pulled forward, stretching their limbs and their skin. Soon, the air was snuffed out of them, replaced with the smoke from the flames of Hell. Heat washed over them and the sensation switched from being pulled to falling. Caelum opened his eyes and saw the land of Hell stretched out in front of them. He landed on all fours on the dry cracked ground, the roaring flames and pleading souls welcoming him home.

  Lili huffed her breath out and pulled herself up. “We made it,” she declared unhappily. But the celebration of their success was forced out of Caelum’s mind when the ground shook under a heavy stomp.

  Both demons slowly lifted their eyes to find themselves before the large three-headed canine of Hell. Three jaws snapped at them simultaneously, drooling and growling. Caelum flinched at the scent of their breaths.

  "You think they forgot where their post is?" Lili whispered to Caelum.

  As if understanding what she’d said, the beast howled. Three calls echoed all across Hell, alerting all who reside there. When the fierce heads were done, they turned back to the two demons and snapped their teeth at them. Caelum jumped to the side, avoiding the large mouth of the canine. He pulled Lili, dragging her out of its way. The beast barked at them and began the chase. Four giant paws galloped on the dry land, making wider cracks on it.

  "Please keep such comments to yourself next time," Caelum told Lili, who grinned at him.

  "They were gonna attack us anyway!" Lili argued. She pried her arm off of Caelum and skidded on the ground to stop. Caelum halted as well, looking at Lili as she stood still, the beast getting closer.

  "What are you doing?" Caelum yelled over the thundering steps of the beast.

  "If you want to get to Lucifer's cage, then you're going the wrong way!" she shouted back to him. The beast leapt forward, three mouths opened wide. Lili and Caelum jumped out of the way as the beast crashed to the ground. Its great body slid forward, then turned back, sniffing around for the demons.

  Caelum struggled with his balance, steadying himself by driving a palm to the ground. Lili landed beside him. "Where do I have to go to, then?" Caelum asked her. The beast caught his voice and was sped towards him before Lili could answer him.

  Caelum waited for the giant dog. It galloped towards them and swung a heavy paw at them. Caelum jumped out of the way, evading the claw easily, but the scent of dog breath filled him. One of the heads reached for him with its teeth. His feet touched the paw that was extended forward, and he kicked his feet to jump to the side. The giant's teeth grazed his leg, forming a long scratch on his skin.

  Caelum grunted in pain. He landed on the ground on his side, rolling out of the canine's reach. He clutched his wounded leg, feeling a burning pain on the skin.

  "Caelum!" Lili yelled. He looked up to see another mouth opened wide for him. Caelum struggled back to his feet and leapt up, just as the beast snapped its jaw. He landed atop its head, clutching the sticky fur for balance. The head thrashed around, trying to shake him off. Another head caught sight of him and tried to take a bite. But with the other head still thrashing around, it achieved nothing more than taking one of Caelum's leather shoes.

  The demon clung to the canine's head, then slid down its back. He rolled over when he’d reached the dog's back and landed with his feet on the ground, He ran forward, his eyes searching for his blonde companion. "Lili, tell me how to get there!"

  Another paw crashed close to him, Caelum dodging easily. Lili extended her dark shadows against the giant canine, but the dark spikes merely shattered against the body of the beast. "Well darn..."Lili muttered, turning on her heel and making a run for it. Caelum followed her towards the great gates of Hell where the tower of Azazel stood tall.

  "Lili!" Caelum yelled to her again, his voiced drowned out by the heavy steps of the beast chasing after them and the moans of the unlucky souls in the pit. "Tell me, now!"

  "The pit!” Lili yelled back. "You have to go through the pit!"

  "What?!" Caelum looked at her with wide eyes. The flaming pit of Hell was in front of the tower, along with the souls it was burning. Caelum opened his mouth to ask if she was kidding, but a heavy force suddenly swept him off his feet.

  Caelum was thrown to the side, rolling on the hard ground. The beast pawed the ground, growling at him. Caelum got back to his feet and watched the giant dog ready itself to pounce on him. But one of Lili’s tentacles hit its face, shattering into shrapnel. Lili threw another of her black shadows at the dog to distract it, and the beast turned all three heads towards her. The beast swung its thick tail towards Lili, but the female demon leaped over it, only to be grabbed by its paw and thrown over.

  Caelum rushed forward while the beast was distracted. He ran fast towards the pit and the voices of the souls trapped inside screamed in his ears.

  The fire of the pit roared with the souls swimming in their torture. A few of the souls found him, and they gathered around, begging him to free them from the fiery pit.

  Caelum looked back around to see Lili handling the giant dog on her own. She fought furiously against the beast despite her weapons’ uselessness against it. When she landed on her feet, she looked at him and yelled. "Go!"

  Conflict tore at Caelum's mind. The possibility of it being a trap still lingered in his thoughts and forced him to back
away. The souls beneath his feet screamed in agony, creating a human form with their disembodied souls, reaching up to him with faces melting in the fire. The heat prickled his skin and the smoke and smell filled his lungs.

  Here goes nothing, he thought. Caelum backed away a few steps. Taking one deep breath, he ran forward and kicked his feet upon reaching the ledge. Caelum felt as though he were in flight, his legs dangling above the souls that reached up to him. Without warning, he fell.

  First he felt the heat. The flames of Hell burned him, though no marks appeared on his skin or the fabric of his clothes. It was as though he was being burned from the inside. He opened his mouth, then quickly shut it tight when the fire entered his body. The flames stung his skin and every part of his body. He wanted to scream, but he clenched his jaw tight in fear of letting the fire enter his body.

  Caelum dared to open his eyes and regretted it almost instantly. Souls with their tormented faces gathered around him, their cries filling him. Ghostly hands reached for him, clawing at his skin and pulling on his limbs. Pain shot up as his muscles were forced to stretch at awkward angles, and the tortured souls kept on pulling. Caelum struggled to free himself, thrashing around to shake away the desperate souls. But their grip only tightened around him, begging him to release them from the fiery pit.

  Let me go! Caelum wanted to scream at them, but he gritted his teeth. He pulled on his limbs, fighting through the formless beings. He freed his right arm and pulled it back against his torso. His eyes saw the souls and dared to reach out to one, covering its face with his palm. Caelum swung his arm around and used the soul he grabbed to drive away the others. He felt them release his limbs, and he struggled towards the bottom of the pit.

  The souls gathered around him again almost immediately, and he swung his arms and legs against them when they did. He bit the inside of his cheek, ignoring the pain of the fire on his skin and in his chest as he climbed down, using the souls to move him deeper into the pit. The fire began to dim, darkness slowly creeping in as he went deeper. Caelum reached for a protruding rock. He extended his arm and kicked with his legs to push him forward.