by Diem, J. C.
“You were annoying before you began absorbing demons,” she said crankily. “You have simply become worse since they took up residence inside you.”
“At least I have a reason for being a bitch,” I countered. “What’s your excuse?”
“Nice one,” Leo congratulated me then leaned across the table to give me a high five. I nodded modestly as his twin sputtered. She was completely out of comebacks.
“Must you two act like children all the time?” Nathan said in exasperation.
“Yes,” I replied. “We are teenagers, after all. Brie might be an almighty angel, but she’s still trapped inside the body of a fourteen year old kid.”
“Do you think the age of our vessels affects us?” Leo asked.
I gave a half-shrug, half-nod. “I think so. The more time you spend inside them, the more attuned to them you seem to become. You two are way less mature than Nathan and Sophia reminds me a lot of my Mom.”
“How I wish we had chosen older vessels,” Brie muttered.
“Yeah, but you didn’t,” I said in false commiseration. “I guess it sucks to be you.”
“It sucks far more to be you,” she retorted then looked at me in horror. “Did I really just say that? I think you might be right. I am acting like a child.”
“Maybe that is why you and Violet do not get along,” Leo mused. “Teenage girls often fight, or so I have heard.”
Lowering her head, Brie thought about it then nodded. I could see it took a lot of effort for her to meet my eyes. “I will endeavor not to be as bitchy in the future.”
Sam elbowed me in the side when I gloated for a little too long. “Me, too,” I agreed. “And I really am sorry that I almost stabbed you in the heart.”
“Well, I did almost spill your guts over your shoes once,” she conceded.
There was something I’d wondered about and voiced the question. “Why didn’t you teleport yourself to safety when I was going to stab you?” It should have been automatic for her.
“I tried and failed,” she said dourly. “You somehow managed to stop me from escaping from your wrath.”
Startled looks went around the table. Clearly, this had never happened before. I wasn’t sure how long our truce would last, but at least it was one less thing for me to worry about. Right now, my focus would have to be on securing the next piece of the object of power.
“What do you know about the portal?” Sophia asked, getting us back on track.
“When I was in the bathroom, a picture floated into my mind,” I lied. “I guess one of the demons must have sent it to me.”
“What was the image that they showed you?” Nathan queried.
“It was a bridge in Central Park. I think the entrance to the portal is beneath it.”
“Are you sure it was not a bridge in another park?” Sam asked. Like me, he dreaded the thought of returning to the area where we’d been attacked by the undead raven.
“It was definitely Central Park,” I confirmed. The lesser demon had told me that much in my dream.
“The park has many bridges,” Leo said doubtfully. “Do you know which one it was?”
“I think so. It looked like the one Brie and I ran through during our training session.”
“The one with the large archway that is next to a stream?” she asked.
I nodded. “There was something strange about it, but I forgot about it until I just saw that image.”
“It will be dark soon,” Sophia said. “We should wait until morning before investigating.”
“I can’t wait that long. I have to go now,” I said. Standing, I dusted the crumbs off my hands. I’d managed to devour all six cookies along with my tea. They were the only food I’d have until I returned.
“What is the rush?” Nathan asked in concern.
“I don’t know. I just feel like I have to go now.”
“We should try to find a demon so you can use their blood just in case you need to draw some runes,” Sam said.
“We have already thought of that,” Leo responded and hurried into the kitchen. I waited impatiently for him to return. When he did, he was carrying an airtight container that was full of red liquid. “Brie had the brilliant idea of collecting blood, just in case you needed it.”
“You’re way smarter than you look,” I said to Brie in admiration.
“Thank you?” she said, uncertain whether it was a compliment or an insult.
“You might need these as well,” Sophia said and rounded the counter. She returned with a small backpack and some brushes that I could use to paint the symbols. Sam took the items and placed them in the backpack. He slung it over his shoulder, silently telling me that he was coming with me again.
“Thanks, guys,” I said with unfeigned gratitude. I apparently had the ability to kill demons when I was in hell. Leaving bodies in my wake if I needed their blood wouldn’t keep that ability a secret for long. I was afraid of what would happen once they found out that they weren’t immortal after all. Nothing would cause more desperation in my foes than learning that they could die. They would become far more dangerous when that knowledge began to spread.
“Can you take us to the bridge?” Leo asked Brie. “With luck, we can avoid being seen by the raven.”
“I will try.” We gathered together and she teleported us to the park. Apparently, I was no longer blocking her abilities. I wished I knew how to use the abilities that I seemed to be gaining. They only worked when I was in dire need, or when I was really pissed off.
“Did you know that demons can stop angels from teleporting?” I asked the group when we appeared beneath the bridge. I assumed it was my legion who were responsible.
“It usually takes several demons working together to stop us from being able to teleport,” Leo said.
“Violet has a large number of souls inside her,” Nathan pointed out. “They must have been behind her ability to block Brie’s power.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps it is an innate talent that she possesses,” Sophia said.
“But, I’m just a normal human.”
My protest drew looks of pity from everyone, including Sam. “It is becoming more and more evident that you are in no way normal,” Leo told me. He broke it to me as gently as possible, but it was still a stab to my heart.
Nathan did his best to deflect us from the awkward topic. “Does this resemble the image that was sent to you?”
I looked around at the stone archway and at the creek that flowed past. It was dark beneath the bridge, but some light filtered through the opening from a nearby lamppost. It glimmered on the surface of the sluggishly running water. I saw a depression in the wall directly across from us. It looked like something had taken a deep bite out of the stones, leaving a circular opening behind. Staring at the depression, again I had the sense that it was deeper than it seemed. “Yeah. This is the place. I’m pretty sure the portal is through there,” I said and pointed.
They all squinted, but they couldn’t see through the illusion of a solid rock wall. “How are we going to get across?” Sam asked.
“I guess we’ll have to wade over,” I said with great reluctance. It was cold enough for ice to have formed at the outer edges of the water. “I just hope it isn’t very deep.”
“There is no need for you to wade,” Nathan said. “We can assist you to cross.” He pulled my dagger from within his jacket and handed it to me.
“How?” I asked as I tucked it into the sheath inside my own jacket.
Without warning, Brie took hold of my arm and tossed me across the creek. Although I could see a cobblestoned alleyway on the other side of the depression, the stone wall was solid. I bounced off it and fell into the water. As I’d guessed, it was icy cold. Soaked from head to toe, I struggled to my feet to find the water was only hip deep. “I really hate her sometimes,” I grumbled and turned to face my friends. “Thanks a million,” I said to Brie.
She inclined her head regally, looking supremely smug. “You are welcome.�
�� Leo was going red in the face from holding in his laughter.
Nathan merely sighed and took the backpack from Sam. “It would seem that you will need to break through the wards again.” He carefully tossed it to me and I was able to catch it before it hit the water.
Shivering from the cold, I fumbled it open and pulled out the container of blood. My hands shook from the chill as I started to paint on the rough stones that hid the portal. I recreated the same symbol that I’d used to unlock the door that led to the ninth realm. Recapping the container of blood, I stashed it away then washed the brush clean before sliding it into the backpack. Nicking my palm with my dagger, I pressed my hand on the rune and crimson light flared. The wall shimmered, but it didn’t disappear.
Testing to see whether the spell had worked, I put my hand on the rock and it passed straight through. “The portal is open,” I said and dumped the backpack onto the cobblestones. I heaved myself up onto the path, which wasn’t easy when I was weighed down with water.
“It is your turn,” Nathan said to Sam and took him by the shoulders. With far greater care than Brie had shown, he launched the imp across the water. Landing lightly on his feet, Sam gave Nathan the thumbs up then took the backpack from me again. I could easily carry it myself, but he’d taken it upon himself to be my pack mule.
There was no door to bar our way this time, but I stuck my hand through the illusion of the wall from the other side just to make sure we could get back through. It wasn’t solid, so there didn’t seem to be any need to draw a rune on this side of the portal.
Sam crowded in beside me and stuck his head out to take a last look at our friends.
“We’ll see you guys when we get back,” I said.
“Do not feel as though you have to bring me a souvenir this time,” Leo quipped.
“Aw,” I mocked. “I was going to bring you something pretty this time.” The last time we’d been to hell, I’d brought him back the corpse of a lesser demon. It had been anything but pretty.
“Good luck trying to find anything of beauty in hell,” Brie said with a sour look.
“Be careful,” Sophia said, ignoring our banter.
“We will,” I replied then looked at Nathan. He didn’t need to say anything. He just looked at me with dread reflected in his eyes. With a final wave, we started down the path.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Five
Gloom accompanied us as we walked along the narrow passageway. It was perpetually damp and sickly looking yellow lichen coated the walls. I shuddered at the thought of touching it and kept as far away from the moss as I could.
Sam crowded against my side. His eyes were wide with trepidation as we headed towards the exit. Fog swirled around our feet, obscuring our vision. I didn’t notice the exact moment when the portal ended and the shadowlands began. One second we were walking on cobbled ground, then it changed to hard packed dirt. I realized the walls were gone and were already fading behind us.
It was impossible to tell how far the shadowlands extended. It was still a mystery to me how the shadowlands and hell really worked.
Morax spoke up inside my mind. I’d almost forgotten that he could talk directly to me while we were here. Each realm of hell exists in its own separate dimension. The shadowlands act as a buffer in between. He showed me an image of nine different realms. They overlapped, so it was hard to tell them apart. They started off small and dark and grew larger and brighter until it was like looking at the sun.
“If all demons started out in the first realm of hell, why are there so many of them in the outer realms?” I asked. Most of them had been lower level demons who couldn’t get through a portal without help. Sam sent me a confused look and I pointed at my head. “I’m having a conversation with Morax,” I explained.
“Oh.” He seemed relieved that I wasn’t losing my mind.
We can only bring five lackeys through to Earth, but that restriction does not apply to the gates to the other realms,” Morax explained. The stronger we are, the more minions we can transport from one realm to another. Satan was able to take several thousand lower level demons at a time through the gates. He populated the outer realms and set them the task of building cities and tending to the souls of the damned.
“Does he have the same restriction of only being able to bring five servants to Earth?”
That is correct. Otherwise, he would have flooded this planet with our kind long ago.
If the restrictions still applied, then I was curious about the influx of evil in the city. “Do you know why there are suddenly so many demons in Manhattan?”
Are there? I am afraid I have no idea how this has occurred. He sounded sly and I had to remind myself that he wasn’t my friend. He was my enemy and he was only cooperating with me because he wanted to find a way out of my head. I was sure he had plenty of ideas about how so many of his kin were escaping from hell. He just wasn’t going to share them with me.
“What did he say?” Sam asked when my silence lengthened.
I relayed the conversation then pulled him to a stop when I saw motion. Something slunk past us about a hundred yards away. The mist was too dense to be able to make out what it was, but it looked big. We huddled together, afraid to move until it was no longer visible.
“Perhaps we should try to be quieter,” Sam whispered. “We do not want to draw attention to ourselves.”
“Good idea,” I replied just as quietly. There was nothing to guide our path, but I kept going in what I hoped was a straight line.
What was that thing? I sent the question out to my unwanted occupants.
It could have been a number of creatures, Morax replied. The hellgates created many monsters that wander through the shadowlands.
Why did they create them?
For the trials, of course, he replied as if I should have known. They roam free in the shadowlands until they are needed. Each time a gate is challenged, they call on their creations and send them into battle.
I remembered the trials that the master gate had put me through and frowned. They aren’t real, though. They’re just an illusion. Only the leviathan had been made of flesh and blood. Everything else that I’d fought had faded away the moment I’d killed them.
Even illusions can become real if they exist for long enough, Morax said mysteriously. I took that to mean the things that we could sometimes see on the periphery of our vision were dangerous.
I was tempted to call on a nightmare to carry us to the wall that surrounded each realm of hell. Knowing my luck, I’d draw something else instead. We’d find the gate eventually. All we had to do was keep walking.
Already knowing what I’d find, I checked my watch to see that it had stopped working. I estimated that an hour had passed before I saw black stone rising high into the air.
“There is the wall,” Sam said in relief. They were the first words he’d uttered since he’d cautioned us to be quiet.
“Finally,” I muttered.
We crossed the distance and found unbroken stone stretching out on both sides. Recalling my past experience, I didn’t waste time searching for the opening. “Okay, hellgate, show yourself.”
At my command, a section of the wall in front of us shimmered. It was replaced by a wrought iron gate. Around thirty feet wide, it stretched at least fifty feet in the air. Intricate patterns of human souls being tortured served as decoration. A rudimentary face formed and peered down at us. At the top of the gate, a pair of stone gargoyles swiveled around and glared down in hatred.
“Well, well,” the gate said in evident glee. He looked and sounded exactly like the master gate, but I sensed that he was different. “This is such an honor. Hellscourge herself has come to visit me!” He tittered and I pictured him holding a hand to his metal mouth delicately.
“I’m sure it must be a real thrill for you,” I said dryly. “Which realm are you guarding?”
“I bar the way to the eighth realm,” he replied, just as I’d hoped and expected.
>
“I believe that conquering the master gate means I have a free pass through all the other gates.”
“Alas, that is true,” he replied sadly. “I so rarely have any entertainment and it appears that I will be denied once more.” The gargoyles kept their beady eyes on me. One of them opened its mouth and hissed.
Sam surreptitiously rolled his eyes at the melodrama and I was hard pressed not to snigger. “I wish I had the time to go through the trials with you,” I lied, “but I’m afraid I have business in hell that just can’t wait.”
“I see,” the gate said grumpily. “In that case, what is the magic word?”
“What?” I said blankly. “No one said anything about a magic word.” For a moment, I teetered on the edge of panic.
“I think the gate is making a joke,” Sam leaned in to whisper.
I looked up at the gate to see him quivering in an effort to hold in his laughter. Surrendering to his mirth, he let out a gale of giggles. “You should have seen your face!” he said when he could speak again. “I cannot believe you fell for that.”
I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for it either and felt like an idiot. “Just open up,” I said wearily.
“As you command, so I shall obey,” he said and a crack appeared in his center. The gate swung open slowly and ponderously. The gargoyles shifted to keep their balance and turned around to keep watch as Sam and I walked through the opening. “Enjoy your stay,” the gate said. “I do hope you will be with us for a long, long time.” He winked grotesquely then the gates clanged shut and the face disappeared. The gargoyles turned to lifeless stone again, frozen in the act of glaring down at us.
Just like in the ninth realm, the ground was parched and was utterly without moisture. It was difficult to distinguish between the sky and the dirt. Everything was the same uniform shade of gray. It was a trifle warmer here and we caught occasional whiffs of sulfur despite the fact that there was no breeze. My clothes were already beginning to dry in the arid climate. There were more petrified trees here. They dotted the landscape, black trunks and leafless branches looking as if they’d never been alive at all.