The Road (The Road to Hell Series, Book 3)

by Brenda K. Davies

They may have heard what she was capable of, but they would not know how powerful she’d become over the past couple of months. To them, her mortality and non-pure angel bloodline was a weakness. Their underestimation of her abilities because of her humanity would be their downfall.

  “When I step to the side, you release that,” I said in a low voice only she could hear.

  She nodded her agreement against my back. I heard the staccato beat of her heart, but her power continued to swell against me. The breeze of the angel’s wings blew my hair back as it moved before us. It was only three feet away when I abruptly stepped to the side.

  A burst of pure, deep blue light shot by me. The angel swooped its wing down to protect himself from my fire when River’s blast hit him. Whereas my fire would have been deflected by the deformed, black wing, the stream pouring from River tore straight through it. Black blood spurted from the angel as it stumbled backward.

  I didn’t give it a chance to recover as I leapt forward to bring it down beneath me. Tearing its battered wing aside, I revealed the gaping wound in the angel’s chest and the blood covering his body. It was still alive, barely, but if he wasn’t dispatched now and he got away, he would eventually heal.

  Fire burned from my fingers when I closed them around the angel’s thick neck. The angel shrieked; his fingers tore at the flesh of my arms as fire scorched his throat and face. Beneath my fingers, his skin and muscle burned away until my hands were wrapped around his spine.

  Pushing down harder, my fingers hit the floor when his head popped off. It rolled across the floor in a flaming ball. I launched back to my feet and grabbed River. Pulling her against my chest, I threw my arm out to release the hounds within me. With a roar that echoed off the walls of the seal surrounding us, Crux and Phenex bounded into the fray.

  Above us, Corson finished eviscerating the angel before he released his hold on him. He fell from the sky in a wave of blood and guts to silently land on his feet thirty feet away from us. The angel’s body thumped against the ground when it fell beside him. Corson didn’t look at the angel as he swung his claws down, slicing the head from the angel’s shoulders in one smooth motion.

  Overhead, another angel swooped into the room and remained circling above. Bale, Hawk, and Magnus surrounded the one whose face I’d burned earlier. The angel leapt forward to knock Bale back. Magnus ran in low, his shoulders down and his hands out as he charged our enemy. He caught the angel by the back of his knees, lifted him up, and slammed him into the ground with enough force to snap one of his wings back.

  Bale lunged forward and sank her fangs into the angel’s jugular while Magnus grabbed his broken wing and bent it all the way back before tearing it free. The angel wailed in misery and clawed at the empty space where his wing had been, but he would never have a chance to regrow it this time as Magnus and Bale tore into him.

  Hawk trained his gun on the angel still circling over us. “Why isn’t it attacking?” he inquired.

  “His brethren aren’t doing so well right now,” Corson replied.

  “He’s waiting for more to come,” River whispered.

  “Most likely,” I agreed.

  I lifted my hand to the ceiling and released a wave of fire from my palm, catching the angel and driving him straight into the ceiling. Taking hold of River’s hand, I met her wide eyes as I flattened it against my cheek. Her touch increased the flow of fire erupting from me.

  Lifting her hand, River rested it over top of the one I’d trained on the angel above. The swirling pulse of her ability to wield life rose to combine with my flames until it pounded against the angel with the same ferocity as my fire. The crackle of the flames rebounded off the walls surrounding us as their intensity increased. The angel’s screams could barely be heard over the power battering his body.

  River didn’t move her hand away from mine as she fueled me as much as I did her. “Pull back,” I said to her before abruptly ending the flame.

  As her hand fell away, her body trembled against my side, but she remained standing on her own. I wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to do so. Without the flame and River’s ability to keep him aloft, the angel plummeted to crash into the ground five feet away from us.

  I reluctantly pulled my arm from around River’s waist and strode over to where the creature lay on the ground. The angel flipped over to reveal the hole in the center of his chest. Not from my fire.

  I placed my foot against his throat as my claws lengthened, and I knelt beside him. He opened his dazed black eyes to stare at me. This close to the injury, I realized it went all the way through to reveal the blood-covered floor beneath his body. The angels could heal with the same speed as demons, but I wasn’t sure he ever would have been able to completely recover from this.

  “He’s going to kill you,” the angel murmured. “You’ll never beat Satan. Not even our creator could stop him.”

  I shrugged as I dug my boot deeper into his throat. “But he’s never come across us before. I bet you never thought your day was going to end this way.”

  One of his wings swung up in a weak effort at fending me off. My hand shot out and grabbed hold of the rigid wing. I easily held it away from me. My smile only grew as I felt the angel’s black blood pulsing sluggishly through the veins beneath my palm. I drove my claws deep into his throat, sawing them back and forth until I succeeded in rending his head from his neck.

  Crux gulped the head down before the other hounds came forward to drag away the remains. I rose to my feet and wiped my bloodstained hands on my pants. Turning, I met River’s shadowed eyes. Her skin had become so pale I could see the small blue veins running through the corners of her eyes.

  Stepping forward, I rested my hands on her waist and began to lift her to carry her, but she shook her head. “I need to walk out of here.”

  “River—”

  “It must be done, Kobal. If there are more of them, they can’t know I’m weakened. I won’t refuse your help though.”

  Her fingers gripped my forearm; her steps were hesitant as she moved, but she kept her chin up. Slipping my arm around her waist, I took hold of her hand and pressed it against my chest. Exposing her to as much of my bare flesh as I could would help to revitalize her faster.

  “Where is the wraith?” I demanded.

  The others turned to look through the carnage as Crux and Phenex moved closer to flank me and River. Phenex pushed against River’s legs; her large head rubbed River’s stomach when she placed her hand on the hound’s head. I stared around the room, searching for the wraith amid the blood-splattered remains.

  Corson broke away from Hawk and strode across the floor. Bending down, his hand clenched around something and he pulled the deformed figure of the wraith from beneath the remains of the first angel who had fallen. River’s fingers dug into my flesh, and her gaze fell to the floor before she thrust her shoulders back and lifted her head once more.

  “What do we do with it?” Corson inquired.

  The wraith was as emaciated and weakened as one of them could get, but it could never be allowed to roam free within Hell again. Its ability to feed from the other wraiths meant it may be able to regain its strength.

  I studied River’s profile, noting the proud lines of her chin and jaw. She was one of the strongest beings I’d ever encountered; she’d endured so much, and though I wished I could spare her from it, she would have to endure more.

  “It has to come with us,” I said.

  A twitch in her jaw was her only reaction to my words, as if she had already known what I was going to say. Corson dragged the wraith closer, but stopped twenty feet away from River.

  “Does it make you as cold?” I asked her.

  “No,” she said, her gaze resolutely focusing anywhere but on Corson and what he held in his hand.

  “We have to go.” I kept her against my side as I turned her and walked with her back through the wreckage lining the seals.

  “Where are we going now?” she asked, her voice h
oarser than it had been moments ago.

  “We will return to the Fires of Creation and rest for a bit before continuing on. Morax should be trying to touch base with me soon. Once he does, I’ll let him know we’ve taken care of what was causing the seals to fall.”

  “Then will we go for Lucifer?”

  “We will rejoin the others and formulate a plan of action.”

  Her fingers caressed my skin as we stepped into the cavern where I’d ordered the skelleins to remain. Only five of them turned toward us, the other six had their remains scattered throughout the wreckage littering the cavern.

  “Lix?” River asked, her gaze focused on the skellein before her.

  “Yes, World Walker, it is me,” the skellein replied.

  I had no idea how she knew it was him, but there was much about River that would forever remain a mystery to me. River’s shoulders sagged, and a tired smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “You also, World Walker. Have you found who you are yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “You will soon,” he replied with confidence and turned away from us.

  River glanced at me. The shadows under her eyes had darkened to a deep purple hue that emphasized the amethyst color of her eyes. I could feel the exhaustion within her slender frame. “Let me carry you,” I said as her gaze traveled over the carnage before us.

  “No. I will do this.”

  Sighing, I relented to her. I stepped into the chamber as River froze beside me. Her eyes became a pale violet color, and I realized she was staring at something beyond anything I could see. I went to grab her shoulders, to shake her from her vision, but color was already flooding back into her eyes once more.

  “He’s coming,” she whispered.

  CHAPTER 42

  Kobal

  I didn’t have to ask who; I knew who. “When?”

  “Now.” Her eyes were drawn to one of the other tunnels. I followed her gaze, but saw no movement in the dark recesses of the cavern. “And he’s not alone.”

  “He sent the angels in to weaken us, to weaken her,” Magnus said.

  “He sacrificed his own,” River whispered in dismay.

  “Shit,” Magnus whispered when the darkness gave way to reveal Lucifer striding toward us.

  I grabbed River’s other hand and flattened it against my chest. “Draw from me,” I commanded gruffly before bending my head and claiming her mouth.

  We only had seconds before he attacked, barely enough time to breathe, never mind let her replenish, but I would do everything I could to get as much life into her as possible. My tongue slid over her lips before her mouth parted. I dove in to taste the sweet recesses of her mouth as she swayed toward me.

  I locked my arms around her, drawing her closer while I funneled as much of my strength into her as I could right now. Her breath filled my mouth; I felt a spark against my chest before I broke the kiss. Anguish swelled in my chest when I cradled the back of her head and drew her to me. I would not lose her.

  I turned to face the one man I’d spent my entire existence trying to defeat. The one man I’d been born hating. My lips skimmed back at the amusement in Lucifer’s soulless black eyes as he stared at the two of us. The hounds prowled forward, spreading out around us. Phenex and Crux remained by River’s side as she lifted her head from my chest.

  “I thought it was customary to ask for the father’s permission before taking his daughter’s hand in marriage,” Lucifer said, and his wings rippled out behind him. The foot-long, silver spikes at the tips of his black wings flashed in the dim light of the cavern.

  The hackles on the hounds rose as they bent lower in preparation to spring forward. “Partka,” I commanded them gruffly and they remained where they were.

  “I’m not your daughter,” River said coldly.

  Lucifer grinned at her as he moved further from the shadows. I saw movement behind him, but no one else came forward, yet. The skelleins grouped together before River and lifted their swords high.

  “Would you prefer to have that pitiful creature as a father then?” he inquired with a flick of his fingers toward the wraith in Corson’s hand. “I think not, child. If it helps to ease some of your burden, know that I wholeheartedly approve of this match.”

  My hands tightened on River when Lucifer raked his gaze over her. I’d tear his eyes from his head before I destroyed him for looking at her like he couldn’t wait to use her for whatever plan he had.

  “I see the family resemblance, and I feel it, daughter,” Lucifer murmured.

  “Enough!” I commanded.

  Lucifer’s gaze slid to me. “We’re family now, Kobal. The feuding factions of Hell have been brought together.” Lucifer lifted his hands and his wings snapped in the air. “There can be peace between us now. We will all walk the Earth together and savor our power while we rule over the weaker human race as we should.”

  “I was created to rule,” I replied, adjusting River so she stood more behind me now. “You were created to follow. It is all you will ever do.”

  “So many of your dead ancestors believed the same, yet none of them are standing here before me.” He chuckled as his hands fell to his sides and his wings folded against his back. “If you wish to fight, then I cannot allow you to be with my daughter.”

  “Is he insane?” Hawk muttered.

  “Yes,” Bale replied flatly.

  I scoffed at Lucifer’s words and reluctantly released my hold on River in preparation of the battle I knew was to come. “You think you can take her from me?” I demanded. “That will never happen.”

  “But it will,” he replied. “You took my family.” He flicked his fingers at the wraith once more. “You took my ally, the one who opened the seals for me, away. There must be a replacement. We can all work together and you can keep her, or we can continue to fight and I will take her from you.”

  “That’s not going to fucking happen, Lucifer.” A muscle in his cheek twitched at hearing his despised, angelic name.

  His wings shot forward, and the lethal silver tips on the bottom pierced through the rock six feet before him. “And when I take her from you, Kobal, I will use her to make you my slave. Let’s not deny that everyone in this cavern, that every one of your followers, knows there isn’t anything you won’t do for your Chosen.”

  His gaze turned to River, and a smile curved his mouth as he spoke. “I couldn’t be more pleased with you, child, if you handed me his heart. Which, in some ways, you have.”

  River recoiled from his words as if she’d been slapped. I growled low in my throat. Magnus stepped forward to stand near my side; I knew he would attempt to hold me back if I went for Lucifer. He would fail. River’s eyes followed every movement Lucifer made, as from behind him demons emerged from the shadows.

  Most of these demons were lower-levels. They were easy to differentiate from higher-level demons with their grotesque forms, more animalistic features, and distinct lack of power. I could sense that a few were stronger than others were, but not by much. Behind them, some upper-level demons fanned out into the room followed by the barta demons who entered last.

  They outnumbered us, and River was not ready for a battle. I could feel the fatigue pouring off her. If I could somehow get her back to the vast power of the Fires of Creation or to the wall of the intact seal, she’d replenish faster, but we’d never make it to the chamber in time, and I couldn’t take the risk of us being trapped against the seals.

  I took hold of her hand and slid her other one to my back, keeping as much of a connection with her as I could as I moved to stand before her.

  “You must know that he has telekinesis,” I said to River. “Telecommunication, visions, he can also cast an illusion to warp reality and make the world appear distorted.” It was possible Lucifer was capable of other heinous tricks I was unaware of, but I’d fought him so often over the years that I doubted there was anything I’d yet to see.

  Her palm flattened aga
inst my back as she watched his every movement. “Kobal—”

  “Be prepared for anything from him.”

  “I will be,” she said firmly.

  Taking a step forward, Lucifer stopped at the edge of the carnage littering the floor. “Bring me the girl, keep Kobal alive, but kill the others,” Lucifer commanded and with a flutter of his wings forward, the barta demons and all of the lower-levels charged forward like lambs to the slaughter.

  The hounds all released a simultaneous howl and leapt forward. They toppled the first wave of lower-levels as more demons moved forward to stand behind Lucifer. I spotted more silver tipped angel’s wings waiting in the recesses behind their leader.

  The crunch of bone and the sound of muscle being torn from flesh filled the air as the hounds descended on the barta and other lower-level demons. Fire burst from the tips of my fingers; it flared up to my wrist and moved swiftly to encompass my arm and shoulders.

  Around the room dozens, of illusions appeared, some were of us, others were of the hounds and skelleins. It was enough to keep Lucifer’s demons guessing, but it wouldn’t keep them guessing for long. I turned to Magnus, whose face was changing before my very eyes. His hair lengthened and darkened as his body shrunk to become something much more feminine and smaller in stature.

  River’s hand flew to her mouth. She took a lurching step back as an exact duplicate of herself materialized beside her.

  “Holy shit!” Hawk blurted.

  Magnus’s now violet eyes reflected the light of the room when they met mine. He’d always been able to change his appearance, but before it had taken hours for him to complete the mirage to the point where it was impossible to differentiate between him and what he copied. Somehow he’d just done it in a matter of seconds.

  “I told you there was a reason I retreated into my world,” he said. His voice sounded more feminine but not quite like River’s, not yet anyway. I had a feeling that would also be changing soon. “If they manage to get to us, they’ll have to take us both because they won’t be able to tell us apart unless she uses her powers. If we’re taken, I’ll keep her as safe as I can.”