Hell Bound (Hellscourge Book 3)

by Diem, J. C.

  He dashed away and returned a few minutes later with a demon that was taller and larger than him, but smaller than the prince. Her horns weren’t as long and her body wasn’t carved with runes. “Why have you brought me here, scribe?” she asked the robed lackey.

  “I overheard something that I thought you should know about,” Dantanian replied. He relayed the prophecy that he’d overheard, leaving out the part that I was an agent of Fate. He either hadn’t heard it or he was keeping it to himself.

  “What does this mean?” the taller female asked.

  “It means that we have an opportunity to escape from this prison,” the scribe replied slyly. I watched through my eyelashes, pretending to be unconscious. “When the new ruler rises,” he continued, “we will be free to wreak havoc on Earth.”

  That prospect made the female grin. “What is your plan?” She knew he was more intelligent than she was and that his mind had been working overtime.

  “We should spread rumors of the prophecy of this ‘Hellscourge’ to cause fear among our rivals. Meanwhile, we will keep the rest of what the witch said to ourselves. We will have to keep watch for the one who will overthrow Satan. If we pledge ourselves to him, he might make us his lieutenants. Instead of being low in the hierarchy, we can rise to positions of power.”

  She mulled it over then nodded in agreement. “What do you need me to do?”

  “You have only recently become a lord. I have heard that you have not yet taken an entourage through to Earth.”

  She eyed him mistrustfully. “It is forbidden for Hellscribes to become part of our entourage. Satan has another purpose for your kind.”

  “I am not the one I want you to take through the portal.” He pointed at me and the lord swiveled her head to look in my direction. “I want you to return her to where she came from.”

  “Why?”

  “She is tied to the prophecy. I have a feeling that it is important for her to live.” I had a feeling Fate had planted that idea in his head.

  “Fine,” the lord grumbled. “Place her in my carriage and try not to be seen.”

  He bundled me over his shoulder again and carried me to the wide doorway. No one was in sight, so he hurried over to the chariot that she called a carriage. It bore an image of the lord on the door. Her hideous face had been painted in extraordinary detail. He opened the door and dumped me on the floor then shut me inside and left.

  Moments later, the lord climbed in with me. She kicked me over to one side where I was out of the way. Curling into a ball, I passed in and out of consciousness as we travelled. I woke when we finally came to a stop what seemed like a couple of days later. The Demon Lord conversed with someone and I heard a great creaking of something metal. I caught a glimpse through the window of a gigantic iron gate as we passed through it.

  Another day or so later, we stopped again. I struggled awake to overhear the lord talking to someone. “What are the rules about taking a mortal to Earth as part of my entourage?” she asked.

  “Humans do not count,” a deep male voice replied. “Even if she did, from the state she is in I would say that she will not survive for much longer.” A gigantic eye made of iron peered at me through the window. It appeared that the gate was somehow alive and was responding to the lord’s questions. Under normal circumstances, I would have been terrified. I’d been through too much by now to find a sentient gate particularly disturbing.

  The carriage took off again, but it was only a short journey this time. When it stopped, the lord dragged me out and threw me over her shoulder. We walked down a dark, narrow pathway and stepped out onto the beach. Then red light blazed and everything shifted. When I opened my eyes, we were standing in the field where my entire life had changed. She dropped me to the ground and I came close to passing out from pain. Without a backward glance, she disappeared.

  I was unsure how long I lay there before gentle hands lifted me up. I opened my eyes to see the most beautiful man that I’d ever seen staring down at me. He had black hair that hung to his chin and dark blue eyes. His expression was conflicted as he seemed to be listening to a voice inside his head. Then he nodded and looked resigned. He placed his hand on my forehead and bliss swept through me as my wounds were healed. “Who are you?” I asked in a daze.

  “You will not remember me, but my name is Nathanael,” he replied. Then he faded from my sight, taking my memory of my abuse and journey to hell and back with him. I had a fleeting thought of pity for my distant relative who would be chosen by Fate to save the world. Then everything went black.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Sam put his hand on my knee, jolting me awake. For a moment, I was still lost in the memories that had happened to Hannah thousands of years ago. Fate had sent me back in time to witness what had happened to her. Now that I’d seen the events that had brought on the prophecy for myself, I knew that I was descended from her. It had been a shock to see Nathan arrive and heal her. He hadn’t mentioned the part that he’d played in all this and I couldn’t help but wonder why.

  The Hellscribe who had been so subservient to the prince seemed to have gotten his wish. His plan to rise up from being just a lowly lackey to holding a position of power had worked. Sytry had said the Head Scribe’s name was Dantanian. It just proved how clever and treacherous demons could be.

  “It appears that we have arrived at our destination,” Sam informed me.

  Shifting the curtain aside, I looked out to see the usual desolation of the wastelands. From this angle, I couldn’t see anything of interest. The carriage had stopped, so I guessed we’d gone as far as we could go via wheeled transport. “Let’s see what horrors are in store for us this time,” I said.

  He opened the door and we both climbed out. I’d barely put my feet on the ground before the nightmares disappeared, taking the carriage with them again. “Geez, they couldn’t wait to get out of here,” I murmured.

  Looking around at what used to be a large city, I could see why they’d left. Only broken walls remained of the buildings that had most likely once housed tens of thousands of demons. A hideous stench permeated the area. We stood at the edge of the marsh that had risen up to consume the dwellings. “Eww. That reeks,” I said, putting a hand over my nose in a futile effort to block the smell. Unlike the other cities that we’d seen so far, this one didn’t look like it had been built on a hill.

  Sam stared at the boggy ground in distaste. We were used to the small pits that housed one or two snake-like creatures. The swamp spread as far as the eye could see, which meant the area was probably riddled with them. “I can see why the demons fled from here,” he said. “Whatever caused the marsh to form had a catastrophic effect on their homes.”

  “It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving bunch of hell spawn,” I replied with a wan smile.

  “I wonder if this used to be the equivalent of their capital?”

  In the first two realms that we’d been to, the palace had been surrounded by large cities with smaller villages scattered around it. This was the first abandoned city that we’d seen. Peering around at the ruins, I could see a large open area in the middle. “If it was, then the palace was most likely over there.” I gestured and Sam nodded. “The Prince said he had the object thrown into a place that I wouldn’t be able to retrieve it from. I’m guessing it’s in the middle of the ruins.”

  The flapping of wings drew our attention and we saw the undead raven circling overhead. It must have followed our carriage here and had only just caught up to us. It flew over the swamp and came to rest on a crumbling wall near the center of the marsh. Its caw sounded mocking, as if it was daring us to come closer.

  I toyed with the idea of turning my dagger into a spear, but I knew the bird would fly off before I could throw it. It wasn’t worth the risk of possibly losing my one and only weapon.

  Although the ground was covered in sludge, I didn’t think it was very deep. We could see the partial remains of buildings and I cou
ld make out the floor in some of them. The swamp had to be fairly shallow.

  “I guess we’d better start searching,” I said with great reluctance and stepped into the goo. As I’d suspected, it was only calf-deep. Breaking the surface had the same effect as lifting the lid on a container to let the stench out. The noisome odor became worse and rolled over us. Biting back the urge to gag, I pulled my dagger just in case. It began to glow softly, indicating that danger was near.

  Sam slogged along behind me, holding his steak knife ready. His eyes searched the bog, on the lookout for threats. Tugging on my sleeve to get my attention, he pointed between two decrepit buildings. I turned to see something moving through the sludge. Arrowing towards us, it left a wake behind it that spread out to slap against the crumbling foundations. The gentle waves brought more of the snakelike creatures to investigate.

  Putting on a burst of speed, I raced over to the nearest structure and leaped up onto the uneven floor. Sam scrambled up next to me and we waited for the creatures to strike. They arrowed in on us and the lead snake leaped straight up into the air. About five or six feet long, it’s slimy body was covered in black scales. Its teeth were long and needle sharp. A ridge of wicked looking spines ran the length of its back. Gills opened and closed on its neck, trying to breathe air instead of sludge.

  I sliced it in two and the head and body fell back into the water. More and more of them launched themselves upwards. I took as many of them down as I could until they gave up. The survivors speared off through the ooze in search of easier prey.

  “That seemed a little too easy,” Sam said, voicing the same concern that I had.

  “I’m sure they won’t be gone for long,” I predicted. “They’re probably going in search of backup.”

  The raven watched us expectantly as we slowly made our way through the quagmire. It didn’t occur to me that there could be deeper holes until Sam fell into one. One second, he was walking along beside me, then he disappeared from my sight with a plop. He popped up a few seconds later, gasping for air. Panicked, he scrambled for the edge of the hole that was hidden beneath the sludge.

  I felt for the hole with my foot to make sure I didn’t fall in with him then bent down and hauled him out. A snake came after him, but I kicked it away before it could latch onto his legs. Frantically wiping his face with one hand to clear the sludge out of his eyes, he brandished his knife with the other.

  “Are you okay?” I asked. Usually, he was the one asking me that.

  “That water tastes even more vile than it smells,” he said and gagged. I wasn’t sure the ooze could really be classified as water, but I was secretly glad that he’d been the one to discover the sink hole.

  The disturbance had brought more of the hellsnakes. They were zooming towards us from all sides. My dagger became the double headed axe that I was so used to now.

  “Head for that building,” I said and pushed him towards a nearby ruin that still had a solid floor. He slogged his way across the bog, being careful not to fall into any holes this time. Reaching the building, he jumped up onto the rocky floor.

  Waiting for the snakes to close in, I spun in a circle, decapitating several of the reptiles when they leaped upwards. Splashing around in the ooze, I was soaked and reeking by the time the survivors turned tail and ran.

  Changing my weapon into a spear, I prodded the ground, searching for holes as I made my way over to Sam. Covered from head to toe in muck, he looked miserable. He took the backpack off and rummaged around inside. He handed me the container of blood and several paintbrushes. Sludge poured out when he upended the backpack. It was doubtful Sophia would be able to salvage it when we returned it to her.

  When the raven gave its version of a chuckle again, Sam flipped it a very human gesture that he’d picked up from watching TV.

  “Do you realize you just gave a bird the bird?” I asked.

  He looked surprised then giggled. “I wish we could catch it and feed it to one of the snakes.”

  “We can only dream.”

  The bird was too smart to allow itself to be caught so easily. It was perched well out of reach. The snakes could only leap about five feet into the air and it was roosting at least eight feet from the ground.

  We were about a quarter of the way into the ruins now. Using the tip of my spear, we walked in single file with me in the lead. Moving slowly drew less attention, so we took our time to make our way through the marsh.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The closer we drew to the center of the ruined city, the fewer attacks I had to face. It almost seemed like the snakes were avoiding the deepest part of the swamp. It was eerily quiet when we finally reached a building that only had a few walls standing. The floor seemed stable enough, so we walked over to the edge to peer out into the gloom.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Sam said uneasily.

  I knew what he meant. The raven was still watching us expectantly. Its beak was open as if it was grinning and getting ready to laugh. No doubt, its amusement would be at my expense.

  Examining the center of the ruins, I was pretty sure it had once housed a palace. The entire building was gone and nothing remained. If I hadn’t been paying close attention, I might have been tricked into thinking that the ground was solid. Only the tiny ripples in the surface of the sludge gave away that it was a swamp.

  The smell was particularly bad here. My olfactory senses had shut down in self-defense some time ago, but I couldn’t quite ignore this stench. Sam’s eyes were watering in protest. He squinted at the quagmire. “Are you certain that the piece of the object is somewhere in there? It does not seem like a very secure place to hide it.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s in there somewhere,” I said with a mental groan. The thought of slogging around in the muck didn’t fill me with joy. Snakes would be drawn to us in droves and we’d have a constant battle on our hands. I had no idea how we were going to find the object in the ooze. “I guess I’d better see how deep it is.”

  Leaning forward to insert my spear into the sludge, it didn’t meet resistance as I’d expected. I lost my balance and fell headfirst into the quagmire. I made two mistakes when I landed. I opened my mouth to scream and I let go of my weapon. The bright scarlet light of the blade faded almost immediately as it sank down into the gloom. The ooze was so thick that I was effectively blinded.

  Kicking my legs hard to propel myself upwards, I burst up onto the surface and coughed up the sludge that I’d accidentally swallowed. Several thoughts went through my head at once; I hoped I didn’t catch some kind of bug from swallowing the crud, my favorite jacket might be ruined forever and how the hell was I going to get this crap out of my hair?

  Sam gaped at me then doubled over in laughter. He leaned against the wall for balance, pointing at me and giggling hysterically.

  “Nice,” I said with heavy sarcasm, moving my legs in the thick sludge so I could stay afloat. It wasn’t as easy as treading water. “I didn’t laugh at you when you fell into the hole.” I’d kept my amusement to myself.

  He managed to gain enough control to respond. “You should have seen your face when you realized you were going in.” He mimicked my horror and resignation so well that I had to grin.

  Reaching out, he offered me his hand then alarm flitted over his face. I looked over my shoulder to see a gigantic ripple working its way outwards from the center of the swamp. I’d drifted a few yards away from safety and I instinctively knew that I wouldn’t make it back in time to avoid whatever disaster was coming for me.

  Turning to meet my best friend’s eyes, there were a thousand things that I wanted to say to him, but I didn’t have the time. Something huge erupted beneath me, launching me high into the air. Spinning head over heels, I saw a wide throat that led down into darkness and razor sharp teeth that were longer than I was. It was another snake, but this one was monstrous in size.

  Reaching its peak, gravity took over and it began to fall backwar
ds. My stomach flopped over as I free-fell towards its throat. I banged into its teeth and they sliced my legs open to the bone. Landing on its gigantic black tongue, I lay on my back, bleeding and stunned.

  The mammoth sized snake was about to descend beneath the surface when Sam did something that was both heroic and stupid. He jumped in with me. Before I could scold him for his actions, the teeth closed tight and the beast swallowed. We were sent tumbling down its throat and into its stomach.

  Landing in fluid that was waist high on me, I floundered to my feet. Gagging at the acidic stench, I didn’t have anything in my stomach to bring up and dry heaved until I managed to regain control. My legs only burned in pain for a few seconds before the cuts healed.

  “Are you crazy?” I said to my companion. It came out as a croak. My throat was too clogged to be able to yell at him like I wanted to. “What were you thinking?”

  “I promised Nathan that I would protect you,” he said simply as he climbed to his feet. “Besides, you would have done the same thing for me.” That was true. I wouldn’t have just stood there and watched while he’d been swallowed up by the behemoth.

  Sam peered into the darkness, holding the steak knife in a white knuckled grip. I wished I hadn’t dropped my weapon. As if reacting to that thought, crimson light blazed to life about fifty yards away. It didn’t just illuminate the darkness, it also highlighted the fact that we weren’t alone down here. Creatures stirred, drawn by the glow.

  We slogged our way through the gut juice over to my dagger. Holding my breath, I bent down and became momentarily submerged again until I grasped hold of it. Wiping the noisome fluid off my face with my hand, I moved closer to Sam as the stomach dwellers moved closer.

  Thin, haggard and covered in sores, a hundred or so lesser demons closed in around us. They stared at us dully. Their sackcloth had long since rotted away in the gastric juices that were even now eating away at my clothing and skin.