by Diem, J. C.
Squirming rapidly across the ground, the queen tried to cut us off. My hounds went on the attack, targeting her only weakness. My alpha bit into her gum and she reared up high in automatic defense. He went flying through the air, but disappeared and reappeared on the ground to attack her again moments later. They might not like staying in the nowhere lands, but they’d mastered how to use it to their advantage.
Another worm slithered towards us and my nightmare leaped over it without breaking its stride. Holding onto the hellhorse with my legs, I cradled Sam in my arms. I didn’t care if it put me in danger to take him with me. I wasn’t going to leave him behind.
Clearing the last of the holes and falling boulders, we galloped out of the canyon to the slippery hill where the carriage waited at the top. The raven was perched on the roof. Wet and miserable, it glared at me as if the rain was somehow my fault.
Glancing back over my shoulder as the surefooted horse reached the top of the hill, I saw my hounds still menacing the queen. They were having fun, so I left them to it. Water was pouring out of the holes, spreading out to flood the canyon. The rainclouds were localized to this area and I didn’t think they’d follow us back to the hellgate. The Hellmaster wasn’t powerful enough to sustain the punishment for that long.
A tapping sound drew my attention. I turned to see the raven pecking the roof of the carriage. It looked down at the door pointedly. Gripped with fear, I delayed the inevitable by sliding off the nightmare. It appeared in the traces a moment later.
Unable to put it off any longer, I looked at the door. The curtain had become partially dislodged and I saw that my image had changed again. My horns had grown even longer than a lord’s, but it was the stubs showing above my shoulders that made my blood run cold. Leaning in closer, my eyes widened when I realized that they were the beginnings of wings.
Only one type of demon had wings and horns that stretched further than halfway to the back of their heads. “I’m going to become a Demon Princess,” I said numbly.
With a caw that sounded far too much like sly laughter, the raven launched itself into the air.
Watching it fly off into the gloom, I’d never felt so bleak in my entire life. Yanking the curtain free, I wrapped it around Sam’s body then opened the door and gently lay him down on the seat. I climbed in and the nightmares took off.
Thanks to the prince destroying the bridge that led to the hellgate, we had to use an alternate route. I didn’t want to risk running into a trap in the worm’s tunnels that ran beneath the river of lava. It took us a few days longer and we travelled across roads that had long ago stopped being used.
Leaning my head against the window, I stared unseeingly through the glass throughout the entire lengthy journey. I could see Sam from the corner of my eye. The smell of rot was unbearable in the enclosed space, but I didn’t open the windows. It was small punishment compared to the agony that he’d endured.
I caught glimpses of the Hellmaster’s feathered spy as it shadowed us. Flying high overhead, the raven knew better than to try to hitch a ride again. If it landed, I’d shred the roof apart with my bare hands in an effort to try to kill it.
Completely exhausted, I wished I could sleep, but part of me was glad that I couldn’t. If I slept, I’d be drawn to the shadowlands of my mind where Sam would be waiting for me. The thought of seeing his disembodied soul imprisoned along with the others tortured me.
Taking the long way to the hellgate worked in our favor. We didn’t encounter any demons, beasts or traps that had been set to kill me. By the time we reached the gate, I’d assumed the full size of a Demon Lord. My horns reached halfway to the back of my head and my skin was now completely black.
Feeling a buzzing in my head, I clamped down harder on the mental door that I’d erected. I wasn’t sure who was trying to speak to me, but I knew I couldn’t deal with them just yet. I was still grieving for my friend and I didn’t need Morax to nag me about finding a way to set them free.
Reaching the gate, the nightmares stopped a short distance away. Eyes and a mouth appeared and the gate glowered down at me through the window. “Let us out,” I said dully.
“Us?” he replied slyly. “I do not see your little sidekick. Did you lose him somewhere along the way?” He knew exactly what had happened. The gates seemed to know everything that went on in the underworld. Somehow managing to wrinkle his non-existent nose, he made an exaggerated sniffing sound. “Ugh! What is that awful smell?” He peered through into the carriage at the shrouded form that lay across from me. “Oh, your companion is with you after all. It would seem that he has met with a terrible accident.” His tone was sickly sweet and falsely commiserating.
“Why don’t you shut your stupid metal mouth and open the hell up before I use my axe to chop you down?”
It came out in a deep growl and he widened his eyes in mock fright. “No need to be testy, dear girl. Threats will get you nowhere.” Sensing that what little patience I had was gone, a crack appeared in the middle of his face. “I am so glad that you made it back intact,” he said insincerely as my horses made their way through the opening. “It was such a pleasure having you here. I am sure your next trip to hell will be just as filled with fun and adventure!”
Flipping the hellgate the bird, I yanked the curtain shut to block him from my sight as he let out an outraged gasp. One of my hounds growled at him as they followed us into the shadowlands.
Instead of galloping recklessly, the nightmares continued at a smooth canter. When we neared the narrow opening that led to the portal, the carriage disappeared and I was suddenly holding Sam in my arms and riding bareback. Again, I clung to the hellhorse with my legs.
Bracing myself to be thrown off when we reached the end of the portal, the nightmare instead slowed down and came to a stop a few yards away. Surprised that it hadn’t bucked me off as usual, I slid to the ground. Cradling Sam with one hand, I stroked its nose. “Thanks,” I said with genuine gratitude. Tossing its head, it turned around and trotted away. After a few steps, it disappeared.
My hounds had followed me to the end of the passage like a guard of honor. I crouched down and my alpha came forward. He nudged Sam with his nose and gave a whine as if telling me he would miss Sam, too. He allowed me to pat him then the pack disappeared to the nowhere lands.
Stepping through the opening was the last thing I wanted to do, but I couldn’t stay here forever. I had a job to do and I’d have to put aside my grief for now. Knowing how weak I would become once I entered Earth, I held onto Sam with my left arm and took the sapphire rune stone out of my pocket. Closing my hand around it, I cradled Sam in both arms again. Bracing myself for pain, I stepped through the portal.
₪₪₪
Chapter Forty-Nine
As soon as I crossed back to Earth, the toxin came flooding back and I resumed my normal size and form. My strength faded and I fell face first into the fountain that surrounded the statue of Prometheus. Rolling over, I floated on my back and held onto Sam’s body with a death grip. Concentrating hard and knowing I was going to pass out at any moment, I tried to summon Nathan, but he didn’t appear.
Panicked, I wondered if I’d lost my ability to call on my friends and allies. The angel that Leo had carved for me was in my pocket. I didn’t have the strength left to slide my hand inside to touch it. Darkness was encroaching on my vision, so I tried to reach out to him, hoping that just having the carving on me would work.
He appeared a moment later with a startled expression. His young face looked nearly haggard and I knew something was very wrong. Seeing the shrouded body in my arms, grief replaced his worry when he realized who it was.
“You have to zap me,” I whispered.
He shook his head. “I cannot do that to you. Use your bracelet to call on Brie.”
“Can’t,” I gasped as agony began to bloom inside me. The toxin was far stronger now and it was spreading through me rapidly. “Dying,” I managed and then everything went dark.
; Holy fire swept through me, burning the toxin away and pushing it back again. Gasping, I drew in a lungful of water. When the blinding light faded from behind my closed eyes, I opened them to see Leo crouched in the water beside me. Guilt and misery made him seem even younger than he looked. “Where is Nathan?” I asked hoarsely.
His expression turned bleak again. “We need to take care of Sam first. Then Sophia and I will tell you everything that has happened.”
Without Nathan’s grace to soften the barrage of holy fire, I felt dizzy and ill. Leo lacked healing abilities, but at least he could use his essence to burn away some of the evil that was inside me. I struggled to my feet and he picked Sam up. I put my hand on his shoulder and he zapped us to the store.
Sophia was waiting for us in the front room. Pacing up and down anxiously, she came to a halt when she realized we were there. Her gaze went to the body in Leo’s arms and she looked at me in sorrow.
“I couldn’t save him,” I croaked and began to cry.
Crossing the room, she folded me into her arms. I was soaking wet, but she didn’t care. “I am sure you did everything you could,” she said soothingly.
If she knew the truth, she wouldn’t be trying to comfort me. The prince had warned me that his death would come at a great cost to me. The prophecy that had been written about me four thousand years ago had predicted his demise. He’d planned for his Wraith Warrior to kill Sam as soon as I’d infiltrated his realm and he’d learned that I wasn’t alone. If I’d taken his warning seriously, I would have left Sam somewhere safe rather than taking him with me.
“It’s my fault,” I said miserably. “I got him killed. If it wasn’t for me…”
“Sam would still be cowering in the portal where we found him,” Leo finished gently. “If he was still here, he would tell you not to mourn him. He would tell you to celebrate his life. You gave him a purpose and a chance to redeem himself.”
Sophia felt my back go stiff and pulled away so she could see my face. “Did he redeem himself?” she asked. “Did his soul leave his body?” Looking down at the carpet, I nodded.
“Did you absorb him?” Leo asked. I glanced up to see he was wearing a look of hope rather than dread.
“Yeah. He’s with Heather and Sy.” Or so I assumed. They’d said that they would take care of him and he’d be more at home with them than he would with Raziel or the legion.
Sophia let out a tearful sigh. “I am glad that you could save his soul from an eternity of torment.” She looked over at Sam in Leo’s arms and her sorrow grew. “I will call Elijah and ask him if he will lay Samuel to rest.” She turned back to me and mustered a smile. “You should take a shower and wash the odor of sulfur away.”
I’d grown so used to the smell that I was no longer aware of it. Now that she’d brought it up, I could smell it again. I trudged upstairs to grab a change of clothes and took a quick shower. A sick feeling was rising inside me. Neither Sophia nor Leo had mentioned Nathan yet. He’d never failed to be there for me before. The fact that he hadn’t come when I’d summoned him frightened me.
Drying my hair, I gave my reflection a cursory glance. It was enough to tell me the purge of holy fire hadn’t worked as well this time. My skin was dusky rather than pale and it looked gray. My cheeks were hollow and the dark shadows had returned beneath my eyes.
Putting my hair up into a ponytail, I pulled on a plain black t-shirt and jeans. Sophia was just hanging up the phone when I stepped into the front room. “Elijah has agreed to perform a service for Sam,” she said. “He is waiting for us at his church.”
Leo had used his magic to dry Sam’s clothes and the curtain that was his shroud. We walked over to him and he teleported us to the small church. Elijah was standing in front of the alter with his head bowed in prayer. He started when Leo cleared his throat and turned to face us. His expression was grave as he saw the form in Leo’s arms. “Come this way,” he said and led us to the door that Nathan and I had used to escape through. “I think it would be best to perform this service in private. This church has several unused crypts in the basement. I’ll lay your friend to rest in one of them.”
We were in a short hallway that had two doors. There was one on the left and another straight ahead. This time, he unlocked the door on the left. It led to a set of stairs that took us to the crypt beneath the church. It was dark, cool and spooky. The room was long, but narrow. Old stone crypts lined the walls on both sides.
There was only one light bulb and it cast a dim light to the far end where we were headed. Coming to a row of three stone crypts, he gestured at one with a lid that had been pushed aside. “Put Samuel in there,” he instructed Leo.
Leo did as he was told then slid the lid back into place, sealing the tomb. I listened with half an ear as Elijah performed the funeral rites. It was a short service and I felt numb when it was over.
“Your friend’s body will be at peace here,” Elijah said. “We can only hope that you will be able to free his soul from you so that he can ascend to heaven where he belongs.”
Tears welled and Leo put his arm around my shoulder. “You will find a way to release him,” he said. “I have faith in you.”
He might have faith in me, but I didn’t have any at all. I was doubting everything about myself right now.
We trooped back upstairs again and Elijah led us into the kitchen. It was small and cozy and we sat down at the table to drink tea. Sophia had clearly filled the preacher in on the fact that I had a bunch of souls inside me. I wondered how much he knew about us now and I had the sense that he was a firm part of the team. “How long were we gone this time?” I asked. It was hard to believe that Sam was dead and that he wouldn’t be going with me on any more adventures.
“Almost three months,” Leo said.
It wasn’t a shock. I’d been in hell for several weeks. That meant it was now early October. “Where is Nathan?” I asked next.
Sophia and Leo exchanged a look. “He was captured by Hagith and Orifiel a week ago,” Sophia told me. “We have spoken to Brie, Domiel and Jeduthun. They reported that he is being kept in one of the cells beneath their warehouse.”
That explained why he hadn’t come when I’d summoned him. The spells that they’d created had trapped him there and had nullified my strange ability to draw him to me. “Is he okay?”
They shared another look and Leo reluctantly answered me. “He is being guarded by angels who were hand-picked by Hag. Brie managed to see him once and he did not look well.”
Already in despair from Sam’s death, my spirits plummeted even more. “She’s torturing him, isn’t she?” Hag had threatened to punish him for defying her and now she’d come good on it.
“So it would seem,” Sophia confirmed. “We must find a way to rescue him before she goes too far in her quest for dominance.”
I didn’t even want to think about how far ‘too far’ was. Nathan was imprisoned in the same cells that I’d been kept in. Anger began to burn inside me. Hag and Orifice were supposed to be the good guys, but they were far from it. They weren’t worthy to rule over the angels who were trapped in Manhattan. They were more concerned with gaining power than in saving mankind from a demonic invasion.
My focus was supposed to be on taking down the Demon Princes and the Hellmaster and piecing the object of power together. That would all have to wait now. Nathan came first. He’d saved me countless times and now it was my turn to save him.
Titles by J.C. Diem:
Mortis Series
Death Beckons
Death Embraces
Death Deceives
Death Devours
Death Betrays
Death Banishes
Death Returns
Death Conquers
Death Reigns
Shifter Squad Series
Seven Psychics
Zombie King
Dark Coven
Rogue Wolf
Corpse Thieves
Snake Charmer
Vamp
ire Matriarch
Web Master
Hell Spawn
Hellscourge Series
Road To Hell
To Hell And Back
Hell Bound
Hell Bent
Hell To Pay
Hell Freezes Over
Hell Raiser
Hell Hath No Fury, the eighth book in the Hellscourge series, is due to be released on the 2 nd of December.
If you would like to be advised of any new releases, please visit my website: www.jcdiem.com and sign up to receive my newsletter.