Road to Hell

by J. C. Diem

  “Well, well,” one of the demons behind me drawled. “After all our searching, I never imagined you would announce your presence to us quite so loudly.”

  I turned to face him to see he was grinning smugly. His companion was more stoic. All humanity had fled as I saw them for what they really were. Their skin turned black and their teeth became sharp and jagged. Red light flared as their eyes began to glow. Both men were holding daggers that blazed scarlet.

  “Ooh, be careful,” one of the men behind me said mockingly in a guttural voice. “She has one of our daggers.”

  I glanced down to see my weapon was glowing faintly. The orange light was far weaker than the bright crimson of their blades. I didn’t know why I’d bothered to draw it. Demons were immortal, after all. They’d just heal any damage that I did to their vessels.

  Approaching me confidently, one of the demons held his hand out. “Give that to me and I promise we won’t hurt you. Our master has ordered us to keep you intact.”

  “Sure,” I said, surprising him. “Here you go.” I stepped forward, pretending to hand the dagger to him then slashed it across his wrist instead. It sliced cleanly through his hand and the appendage fell to the wooden boards.

  Blood spurted from the wound and the demon roared in agony. I had enough time to think that Brie would be proud of me for maiming my foe, then he was slashing at me with his own weapon. Darting back a step, I narrowly missed being sliced across the stomach. It probably wouldn’t have killed me, but it wouldn’t have been much fun, either. Their master might want me to be taken alive, but they weren’t going to obey his orders to keep me intact. They were going to hurt me before they brought me before their leader.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gulping in fear, I backed away from the advancing monsters. A glance over my shoulder showed me the other two were closing in fast. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to chop the demon’s hand off. Doing so had enraged him and made them believe that I was more dangerous than I actually was.

  “Now would be a good time for a miracle,” I muttered. My palms were sweaty and I was afraid I was going to drop my dagger. Not that it was going to be much help against such overwhelming odds.

  “I’m going to carve my name on your forehead,” the demon that I’d wounded said in a low growl.

  “I hope you have a really short name then,” I said and sniggered weakly at my own joke. My laughter was fueled by terror rather than amusement, but it spurred him to an even greater rage.

  Letting out a snarl, he leaped at me. I braced myself for an impact that never came. Bright light flared and a young man maybe a couple of years older than I was appeared in front of me. Around six feet tall, he had black hair that fell to his chiseled jaw and a lean, but well-muscled body. I gaped at him, taking in the toga like garment he was wearing. He wore golden sandals that laced halfway up his calves and looked like he’d come straight from ancient Greece.

  A blue sword that was similar to the ones Brie and Leo could conjure, but larger, appeared in his right hand. He smoothly rammed it into the one handed demon. The hell spawn made a pained sound and the glow faded from his eyes. He slumped to the ground, down for now, but not dead. He would rise again as soon as he’d healed his vessel.

  The three remaining demons turned their attention away from me, accurately deeming me to be the lesser threat. I backed away, watching them slash and stab at the stranger who was so familiar to me. He moved with precise control, blocking their daggers and sidestepping their clumsy attacks. He cut a second one down and the two remaining demons redoubled their efforts.

  Still backing away, I stopped abruptly when I collided with something solid. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a wide chest that was clad in a police uniform. My momentary relief that help had arrived faded when I tilted my head back to see his face. Crimson eyes stared down at me from a face that was as inky as the night sky. Stubby horns grew from his forehead. Instead of wielding a dagger, he held a sword that blazed with an unholy scarlet glow.

  “I will be rewarded well when I bring you before my master,” he said with a fierce grin. He wrapped a hand around my arm and his filthy, overlong fingernails dug into my flesh.

  “Wait!” I said before he could teleport me away. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  Staring down at me, he tilted his head to the side. “Well? What is it?”

  “Just this,” I said and stabbed my dagger into his chest. In a stroke of luck, the blade slid between his ribs and pierced his heart.

  He staggered back and I lost my grip on the dagger. His surprise was almost comical as the strength left his legs and he collapsed into a sitting position. He stared at me dumbly as I crouched in front of him to retrieve my weapon. “I can’t believe you fell for that,” I said incredulously. “Really, how dumb are you?”

  Trying to speak, he couldn’t get the words out. He clawed weakly at the dagger, but didn’t have the energy to pull it out. The light in his eyes flickered and died and so did the glow from his sword. He slumped forward and I put my hand out to catch him by the shoulder. Taking hold of my dagger, it took all of my strength to pull it free.

  Using his pants to wipe the blood off the blade, I started back when dark sludge oozed out of the slice in his chest. “What the hell?” I said as it defied gravity and gathered in midair. The same color and consistency as an oil slick, it hovered in front of me as if it was sentient.

  Losing my balance, I fell backwards and landed on my butt. The motion drew its attention to me. I scrambled to get away, but it floated faster than I could crawl. I froze when it swooped down to hover only inches away. Then it began pouring into me and I discovered it wasn’t sludge at all. It was more like a putrid mist.

  The demon had been ejected from his vessel and now his evil spirit was invading my entire body as he tried to possess me. Gasping in shock, I inadvertently drew the twisted essence in deeper. Countless years of the hell spawn’s memories flooded into my mind. I saw him when he’d been an angel. I witnessed it when he took sides with Lucifer and was cast out of heaven. I saw him and a host of rebel angels fall and then their subsequent descent into hell. He’d been locked up in the fiery pit for a thousand years before he’d broken free.

  Satan had rounded up his escaped followers and had tasked them with causing misery and chaos. This arrangement had lasted for thousands of years. Then, not quite two decades ago, their leader had suddenly disappeared and a new demon boss had risen. Sending messages through emissaries, he’d changed their orders. They were now working towards breaking the rest of their brethren free from hell. They hated and feared their new leader, but were too afraid of his power to defy him.

  When the flood of memories finally died, I lay on my back staring up at the dark sky. It was a cloudy night and the stars were hidden. I waited for the demon to take me over, but nothing happened. I’d somehow ejected him from his vessel and he’d tried to possess me. When his spirit had poured into me, I’d been certain that it would take over. It was both confusing and a relief to realize that he’d failed.

  Hearing a shout of pain followed by the thud of a body falling, I struggled to sit up. Dizzy and weak, I turned to see my rescuer surrounded by five unconscious bodies. Another reinforcement had come, but they hadn’t been skilled enough to take him down.

  Seeing me staring at the bodies, his sword disappeared and he walked towards me. His toga was still pristine, as if blood didn’t dare mar its perfection. I climbed to my feet and leaned against the metal barrier. Coming to a stop a couple of feet away, he examined me for injuries. Finished with his inspection, his gaze came to rest on mine.

  Familiar dark blue eyes looked down at me. His face was perfect, with high cheekbones and sensual lips. I’d only ever seen a faint impression of him before, but I’d know that face anywhere. “I know you,” I said in a near whisper.

  He blinked in astonishment. “You can see me?” Even his voice was beautiful. It was a deep baritone.
If he sang, birds would be sure to gather around to listen.

  “Of course I can see you. You’re standing right in front of me.”

  “This should not be possible,” he said and saw the dead vessel lying a few feet away. Noting the wound in the hell spawn’s chest, he looked at me in dread. “Please tell me you did not ingest the demon’s essence.”

  “If by ingest you mean I somehow absorbed it into myself, then yes,” I responded. His eyes turned bleak, as if this was the worst news he could have heard. Still dazed from being invaded, I couldn’t believe the man from my imagination was real and that he was here. “You’re my guardian angel, aren’t you?” I said.

  He hesitated before nodding. “I am, but you are not supposed to know that I exist.”

  “I’ve always known that you exist,” I told him, to his astonishment. “I’ve been seeing your face ever since I was a little girl.” I managed not to babble about how beautiful he was, but I had to bite my tongue to keep the words inside.

  Before he could respond, my dizziness increased and my legs buckled. In a swoon that any Hollywood actress would have envied, I went down. My guardian moved like lightning to catch me. He swung me into his arms and cradled me against his chest. His expression was hard to decipher as he stared down at me. I saw tenderness and sadness before he clenched his jaw and his face went blank.

  He started to chant in the same language that Brie had used to create the bracelet that helped to hide me from demons. Shifting in and out of consciousness, I saw white wings sprout from his back and wrap around us both. Peace and safety swept over me as we disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

  When I opened my eyes, we were standing outside Sophia’s store. My rescuer’s wings disappeared as he reached out to knock on the door. It was snatched open by Leo seconds later. Brie was right beside him and both were brandishing their swords.

  Sophia appeared behind them and stared at him in shock. “Nathanael? Is that really you?” Their vessels might look like normal humans to them, but they clearly had some way of identifying fellow angels.

  “Yes,” he replied. “May I come in?”

  Gathering herself, she seemed almost flustered. “Of course.”

  The twins stepped aside and he brushed past them, carrying me as if I weighed nothing.

  “What happened to her?” Leo asked as Sophia led the way upstairs. I was touched by his anxious tone.

  “I am not sure,” Nathanael hedged. “She was attacked by several lower level demons. I arrived in time to save her, but the shock might have been too much for her to bear.”

  He reached the top of the stairs and Sophia hurried into my room ahead of him. I’d left clothing strewn all over the bed. She shifted them onto the dresser as he gently placed me on the bed.

  “What are you doing here?” Brie asked baldly. “Why did you come to Violet’s rescue? How are you even aware that she exists?”

  My eyelids fluttered open to see him staring at me pensively. “I was tasked with keeping her safe. I am called to her side whenever her life is in peril.”

  Sophia and the twins looked shocked at that news. “Are you saying that you are her guardian?” the clairvoyant asked. At his nod, she seemed disturbed. “This is almost unheard of. Guardian angels are a myth that was concocted by humans.”

  “Now that I have delivered her to your care, I must take my leave.” He turned to go, but paused when he saw the uneasy glance between the two young angels. “What is it?” he asked.

  Leo broke the unhappy news to him. “You cannot leave Manhattan. The demons set a trap to capture all angels. Once our kind enters the island, we become imprisoned here.”

  Nathanael’s brows drew down in a frown. His eyes went distant as he presumably tried to use his angel power to zap himself away. Realizing he was caught, his shoulders slumped. He’d come to my rescue once again and now he’d become imprisoned right along with us.

  My dizziness grew worse and I gratefully sank into darkness. I was glad to escape from my guardian’s unhappy stare.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Fourteen

  Waking early the next morning, I stared up at the ceiling. The events that had happened last night seemed to have been a dream, or more like a nightmare. Being invaded by the demon’s essence was something I wished had just been my imagination.

  Feeling decidedly unclean, I rose and gathered a fresh change of clothes. Locking myself in the bathroom, I took a long shower, but I couldn’t rid myself of the sensation of being soiled. Witnessing the things that the demon had done or had made people do to each other sickened me. I doubted I’d ever be able to forget the images.

  Clean, dry and dressed in comfortable sweat pants and a t-shirt, I headed downstairs. The kitchen was empty, but I heard voices coming from the front room. I fixed myself some cereal then pushed the door open.

  All conversation instantly cut off when I stepped into the room. I stared in surprise when I saw Nathanael seated at the table. “What are you still doing here?” I blurted.

  “I have nowhere else to go,” he said simply.

  The table seemed smaller with him sitting at it, but there was still plenty of room for us all. Sophia poured me a cup of tea when I sat down. They all watched me eat as if I was offering them entertainment. Halting with my spoon halfway to my mouth, I scowled. “Don’t stop talking on my account.”

  “She hates it when we watch her eat,” Leo confided to our newest arrival.

  My guardian’s eyebrow rose in a perfect arch. He was so handsome that it was almost painful to look at him. I belatedly realized he’d ditched his toga and was now wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. It was a relief that his body was now covered. It would have been hard to tear my eyes away from him if he’d still been half naked. Who was I trying to kid? It would be hard not to stare even if he’d been wearing a sack.

  “There must be some way to break the spell that is holding us captive here,” Nathanael said.

  “Demon magic is different from ours,” Brie pointed out. “We do not have the knowledge or the skills to break through the barriers.”

  “It felt like I’d been struck by lightning when I ran into the barrier last night,” I said and they all turned to stare at me.

  “Maybe you should tell us exactly what happened,” Sophia suggested.

  My shoulders hunched when I remembered that I’d failed my mission. “The girl who I was supposed to meet was already dead when I got to St Andrews Plaza,” I told her. “The demons got to her before I could. They cut her heart out.”

  She looked at me blankly. “What girl are you referring to?”

  “The one you sent me to find,” I explained. “She looked a lot like me. We were about the same age and had similar hair.”

  “I did not see a girl in my vision,” Sophia said uneasily.

  It was hard to say which of us was more disturbed by this. “Who did you see then?”

  Her gaze shifted to the latest addition to our group. “I did not see his face, but I believe Nathanael is the one you were supposed to encounter.”

  Nathanael shifted uneasily, but he didn’t speak.

  “How did you come into contact with the barrier?” Leo asked. “St Andrews Plaza is not close to any of the wards that surround the island.”

  “I panicked when I saw that the girl’s chest had been hacked open,” I said. My appetite fled when I pictured her mutilated corpse again. I pushed my cereal around with my spoon, avoiding their eyes. “I took off and saw the Brooklyn Bridge and headed towards it. I almost made it to the archways when I hit an invisible wall and was thrown backwards.”

  “Touching it must have set off an alarm,” Leo said. “Nathanael told us that four lower level demons were sent to investigate the disturbance.”

  “Another one arrived when I was in the midst of battle,” my guardian said. He flicked a glance at me. I interpreted it as a warning not to mention the bigger demon who I’d stabbed in the heart and had then somehow absorbed his spirit.
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  Now that I knew he’d been watching over me, I belatedly realized something. “It was you who saved me when Bob’s car hit the tree,” I said. I remembered strong arms and wings wrapping around me. As had happened so many times before, I’d caught a glimpse of his inhumanly beautiful face before I’d passed out.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “I saved you then as I have done every time you have been in dire peril.”

  Brie’s lips twisted as if she’d tasted something bad. “It is not our duty to babysit humans. I cannot understand why you were set the task of watching over her.”

  “Violet will be the savior of the human race,” Sophia said with exaggerated patience. I had the feeling they’d already had this conversation several times. They’d probably been up all night arguing about me.

  “Why her?” the teen asked in distaste. “She cannot even fight. She has no skills at all as far as I can tell.”

  “Fate told me that I’ll learn the skills I need,” I said sullenly and the room went dead silent.

  “You have spoken to Fate?” Nathanael said in complete disbelief. I shrugged one shoulder and took a sip of tea. I didn’t really care if they believed me or not.

  “When?” Leo asked. “How?” His eyes shone in awe. “What did she look like?”

  “I saw her in a dream while I was travelling here by bus,” I explained. “She’s the same height and build as me, but she wore a black cloak with a hood that hid her face.” I suppressed a shiver at the memory of her dark hair reaching for me.

  “What did she say to you?” Sophia queried.

  “She said she chose me to be her champion and that I’m supposed to save the world. She showed me what would happen if I failed.”