Hell to Pay (Blood for Soul Book 1)

by Alvin Atwater

  Then like Spiderman, I hustled down the three-story house. When I got to the ground, the man with the awesome afro landed a few feet ahead, silver rapier pointed at me. Heavenly-light surrounded him, in a two-foot thick wavy outline. I manifested a Japanese katana.

  We were in an opening, just a dozen yards wide, surrounded by woods. The cool, cloudy weather set a gloomy tone, almost as bad as the misthanger queen’s manor. No wonder the safehouse had been abandoned. This situation sucked. Without the cover of the city, I’d have trouble getting away.

  “Hold up, Xavs, you can’t hog the fun all by yourself.” Bronze descended beside him. A second later, Cellasia and Vor did too. I did not like where this was going.

  “Are you suggesting four on one?” Cellasia said. “Please tell me you’re not.”

  “Can we really not just capture and take him to Lord Conus?” Vor said.

  “You see, this is why I don’t like having Venus clan members among the hunters,” Cellasia said. “Even Lady Amelia, their star, hasn’t done her job.”

  “He’s her lover, bonded,” Bronze said. “And she’s not cold enough to waste her childhood boyfriend.”

  “I don’t care—this job isn’t about personal feelings,” Cellasia blabbed to him. “There’s no beauty in being weak.”

  “There’s no beauty in killing either,” Vor said to her.

  “There’s beauty in completing a job for the good of our realm, and rising to the elite,” Cellasia snarled. “Honestly don’t know why we have to deal with newbies like you, anyway. Your uncle’s an idiot if he thinks that he could—”

  “Enough!” Xavier and I yelled.

  “I’m not dealing with this,” I said then fired the Desert Eagle at everyone except Vor. The three hunters dodged, their supernatural speeds reminding me that directly challenging god or goddesses isn’t exactly smart. Still, I had to push on. I charged power into my legs and took off in a sprint. An arrow zipped past me, hitting a tree. Cellasia quick-ascended yards ahead, blocking my first path to the woods. She pointed a finger at me and I just knew to dive to the side. A millisecond later, a giant beam of green power, the size of a house, rushed by, vanishing seconds later.

  The flaming trail left behind made me flinch. I fired at Cellasia to get her moving and then took off in another direction. Arrows hit everything around me, as if Bronze missed on purpose.

  There was a taunting feeling to the way he shot. My hope of getting to the woods vanished as Cellasia appeared directly in front of me this time, smiling, a finger on my chest.

  “The gorgeous smile of death,” I said.

  “I know, right?” she said. That’s when I felt pain so intense, I gasped for breath. I felt myself falling backward but forced myself with everything I had to remain standing. The burning on my chest raged. Sweat came off me in waves. My vision blurred a little. “Well, I guess that’s it,” Cellasia whispered in my ear. “There’s no beauty in your disappointing show of being a coward. And here you were, about to stand up to Xavier. What a joke.”

  “And you find beauty in triple-teaming?” I said. “You’re the joke.” I pulled the trigger, smiling as she fell backward, realizing at the last second that she was just where I wanted her. I got up knowing very well that she wasn’t dead. There’s no deity-trapper to strip her immortality. Still, stunning the goddess was good enough and it gave me just enough time to dodge Xavier’s rapier. “Dammit, so close to the woods.”

  “You’re a fool if you think we can’t track you in the woods,” Bronze said as he walked up beside Cellasia. “Get up, you lazy buffoon. As if an ordinary bullet’s going to knock you down for that long.” The wound on her chest finished healing. She smiled, then opened her eyes.

  “Well excuse me for admiring the beauty of cleverness,” Cellasia said.

  “More like your over-eagerness, letting him get that close,” Bronze interjected.

  “Stand aside,” Xavier said. “This is my hunt.”

  “I don’t think so,” Cellasia said. “I’m starting to have fun.”

  “Punishing a criminal is not meant to be fun,” Xavier said.

  “Yeah, in your book,” Bronze said.

  “How about you go back and watch Vor,” Xavier said.

  “No way, I’m not getting stuck with the ki—”

  The hunters were so cocky in their power that they failed to realize that my hand was on the ground, asking molecules to change. This move was risky, as the amount of time it required could take me out of the fight, but what choice did I have? Fortunately, the molecules obeyed. The ground beneath the hunters changed into lava. Xavier jumped, pushing Cellasia as he did with his free hand. Bronze, fell in.

  That’s what I saw as I hightailed it into the woods. Without the archer shooting arrows at me, I could take a breather. I mass-texted the others: No idea where we are, but— That text had no chance as a green beam of energy popped from nowhere and vaporized my phone. I sprinted harder.

  “Playtime is over,” Cellasia said...from right beside me. Yes, she was running beside me.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I hissed, then dodged to the side as she unleashed another beam. It grazed me, which hurt like hell. I unleashed a mound of force, but it had no effect—Cellasia didn’t budge.

  My tank was just too low.

  My heavenly-being senses triggered, causing me to dodge to the side just enough that Xavier’s rapier only grazed me. A double-grazing—this amount of pain threatened to take me out of the fight.

  There was just no way I could take on all of these hunters. I’d be dead already if Vor was less reasonable. I realized that I had no choice but to manifest Ruin. Either that or die here. Ruin’s deity-trappers would also kill my chances of any kind of redemption whatsoever. Not that I cared anyway. They paused, noticing that I was acting differently. I silently called Ruin. It instantly manifested into my grasps, like a puzzle, building up atom by atom. So much power rushed through my veins, tingling every part of my body—I thought I’d faint from the pressure of it.

  Xavier actually grinned. “Come on, you son-of-a-gun, let’s go.” His excitement surprised even his teammates as they looked at him in shock. He charged me with a speed I shouldn’t be able to see but time seemed to slow down. I easily dodged but didn’t counter.

  The twelve-minute time limit, wasn’t worth wasting on these fuckers. With a single hand, I expelled force in all directions. It smashed to them so hard, the hunters were sent flying and couldn’t stop themselves. I figured they’d go for at least several hundred yards or so. If I knew how, I’d use this time to break Michael’s anti-ascension barrier. I rushed for the house, moving at a speed that would make even a cheetah smile.

  When I entered, the first thing I noticed was Amelia’s friends tied up, unconscious. Smoke was everywhere as a result of the battle upstairs. Where’s Vor? I untied the women and shook them awake.

  “Get ready to be out of here,” I said, then manifested them M9 pistols. I also manifested a marker and hastily drew a few deity-trapper circles all over. Then I infused them with as light as touch of power as possible—in my current form, it would be too easy to make the guns accidentally melt or explode. “Stun them with the circles if you must.”

  I noticed the girl’s awed expressions. “What?”

  “Why do you look like that—”

  “We don’t have time, I’ve got maybe eight minutes or less left with this form,” I said then darted up the stairs toward the explosions.

  Chapter Fifty-three

  I rushed into a scene of Amelia struggling. She fell to one knee. The once-intense heavenly-light of her divine state dimmed. That didn’t stop both her and Michael from turning to me the moment I walked in. The lock one state must be a mesmerizing thing for the eyes. With silvery heavenly-light and supposedly the glowing eyes of Conus, I could only hope I was more than just an attempt at intimidation.

  “That form again,” Amelia whispered. “I totally forgot to ask you about it.”


  “I challenge you, Michael,” I said. “You won’t hear us out, so we’re down to this.”

  “I sure hope you don’t feel like you’re emerging victorious, criminal,” Michael said. “Because I can clearly feel that you haven’t damaged my hunters, not even a little. Cowardice will not get you anywhere.”

  Michael charged me, unarmed, well, except for his super strength. He moved so fast, I barely had time to react—his fist felt like a truck as it smashed into my gut. I recovered, and smashed the butt of my sword into his gut. He didn’t react like I hoped, instead countering with another soul-shaking punch—this one so strong, I felt myself fly backward before I actually did.

  “That strange circle will not work on me,” Michael said, his voice still cool, calm. So much for stunning him a bit. Without a full active deity-trapper, making the fight fair wouldn’t be possible. Fortunately, Ruin was covered with the symbols on his blade.

  Wait…it’s not fully charged, but now is my chance.

  And so, I supercharged Ruin in an instant as I stood up. The sword’s blade changed, shifting from a metallic to what appeared to be a glowing diamond-like substance. Even Michael’s eyes widened along with mine.

  This morph was not intended.

  It felt like somewhere deep down, the sword had developed a will of its own. Or at least that’s what humans called things like this in movies.

  “At this point, I’m not sure if nature surprises me anymore.” He slowly walked over to me. “I was hoping to never see another unnatural blade again.” Michael manifested a golden sword of his own, almost hastily. What did he mean by, again? I pushed the thought away, aware that my time was slowly slipping.

  “Come on, you bastard,” I said, then charged the archangel. When our blades collided due to Michael actually blocking, a maelstrom of black, silver, and gold power and electricity raged at the collision point.

  I pulled back and we went blow for blow; however, even in my lock one state, Michael was just too much for me. Not only did he have the raw power, but his skill felt nearly impossible to keep up with—hell, if it wasn’t for this treason shit, I’d ask him to train me in place of Amelia.

  And speaking of Amelia, she fired an arrow.

  Michael blocked my oncoming attack, then caught the arrow with his other hand, snapping it in two. I continued my rush on the archangel, forcing him to cautiously block my blade.

  Amelia unleashed a volley of arrows that should’ve killed him. Michael quick-ascended behind the goddess then kicked her forward, Bruce Lee style. I thought he’d go for the kill, but he rushed me instead.

  Once again, there was speed I shouldn’t be able to see, but thanks to my state, I managed to block Michael’s strike. He…smiled.

  “You actually have no idea how to use that sword, do you?” he said, then chuckled. “And here I was, worried over nothing. A novice. And a waste.” Before I could answer, I found myself dodging a strike that I wasn’t supposed to see. “You won’t be able to weasel your way out of everything.”

  I quick-ascended over to Amelia—Michael flinched as he wasn’t expecting me that. I grabbed hold of her and then quick-ascended downstairs.

  Amelia’s friends were ready.

  There was still no sign of Vor. And the hunters were still either flying or believed me to be in the forest.

  That’s when it hit me—I could ascend despite Michael’s barrier. That’s why he was froze, surprised. This state negated his effect on me. My original plan was to use the forest as cover while Amelia broke Michael’s barrier.

  “Grab on, quick!” I said. They did. I ascended us just as Michael walked downstairs. The last thing I saw was the grin on his face.

  Chapter Fifty-four

  We landed in Amanda’s living room, alive somehow, and damn did I feel relieved.

  “What the hell, why would you bring us here? He’s going to wreck my house,” Amanda bellowed.

  “I couldn’t ascend us in the chapel or in the middle of the street where everyone can see us,” I said. “Come on, let’s get out of here before he appears.”

  “Well, it’s not like we can stay in the same place anyway,” Jade said.

  We piled into Amanda’s car and took off to the chapel. My state dimmed, its amazing power wearing off, even with Ruin sheathed. Gee thanks, Mom, you couldn’t let me turn it off and on to conserve energy.

  As soon as we arrived at the chapel, Sin, Amony, Devante, and Elly came from across the street, joining up with us.

  “What the hell took you so long?” Elly said.

  “Well, excuse me for trying not to die.Michael’s great judgment,” I said, slightly waving my arms in an exasperated motion.

  “So, THE Michael has come to personally kill you,” Amony said, as she walked over. She patted my shoulder. “Just how notorious are you?”

  “That’s my question.”

  We turned around to see a familiar raven-haired girl approaching us, as if appearing out of nowhere.

  “Oh no,” Amelia muttered under her breath. Selina quick-ascended to her and caught Amelia in a tight hug, squealing the way all human girls seemed to do when they haven’t seen each other in a while. “I’m surprised you’re not drunk.”

  “Who’s that?” Sin whispered.

  “A death goddess,” I said in nonchalance. Amony flinched. Sin sighed. “I’m pretty sure she’s not going to cast some death voodoo like they seem to do in every book ever.”

  “I wonder,” Elly said, shaking her head.

  “Is she here because she’s expecting us to die?” Devante whispered.

  “I hope not,” I said. “She’s supposedly here to drink me into a stupor.”

  “You’re not…”

  I glared at Sin, halting that sentence. “Even if I were that stupid, it’d never be with a death goddess.”

  “I’m kidding,” Sin said. “We all know that you’re smitten and bound to your—”

  “So, what’s the plan?” Selina said, interrupting all conversations. She released Amelia. I noticed that Jade, Keisha, and Amanda kept their distance from the death goddess. Did Amelia…tell them to do so telepathically? They are her followers, so maybe she could speak directly into their heads. There was no other way that could explain their cautiousness, unless it was some ridiculous “magical” human instinct.

  “There’s something in the chapel that even Michael can’t ignore,” I said.

  “I don’t sense anything,” Selina said.

  “I think that’s the point,” I said. “Whatever’s in there cannot be detected by ordinary means.”

  I flinched, as what I just said hit me in a revelation like never before. The feeling of wrongness this morning, the black feather with no traces of power, Mom’s warning and…the emptiness of this street. Was this a coincidence?

  Before I could rack my brain any further, my heavenly-being senses triggered. They appeared; three hunters and one Chuck Norris-like archangel. Michael’s silver heavenly-light appeared to be even brighter than before and outlined the shit out of him—a yard thick. It reminded me of the glow that appeared around Dragon Ball Z characters when they powered up. Yes, even I watched that show, sue me.

  “I guess Vor’s the only reasonable one in your group,” I said.

  “The little twerp disappeared somewhere,” Cellasia said.

  “Never been able to sense him,” Bronze said. “But it’s good he went home. This isn’t a job for Venus compassion. You need a heart of steel to do the Realm’s most difficult work.”

  “So, your strategy was to get reinforcements,” Michael said. “This won’t help. I’m not sure what happen to that strange power of yours from earlier, but without it, you’re nothing to me. I’ll give one chance to surrender. A clean, instant death and your friends who aren’t my targets, alive. Choose.”

  “We’re not going to let you do whatever you want,” Amony said.

  “Witch,” Xavier said. “Very distasteful lifestyle for a human.”

  “Says the afro mur
derer,” Amony said. “You call yourselves hunters to sleep at night.”

  “And that is where you’re wrong, unknowing human,” Bronze said. “There is a difference between a soldier and a murderer. A big difference. It’s like honor and dishonor.”

  “If you kill Epex, it will be murder,” Amelia said. “All of the things that happened are not his fault.”

  “We don’t care,” Cellasia said. “A job is a job. We do our assignments and move on. Now enough. One thing I hate is stalling.”

  “Why do you insist on making this difficult?” Michael said.

  “Your answer is in this chapel,” I answered.

  “Really, now,” he said. “Very well, then, stand aside. I don’t play along very often to stalling, but I will give credit where it’s due, seventh son of Conus.”

  Michael used force to open the large door. Well, more like break it down. I hope he planned to replace it, the douche. Just then, the feeling of wrongness hit me like a truck. I found myself backing away from the chapel door.

  “What’s wrong?” Sin asked.

  “There’s something in there,” I said. “Something wrong. I don’t how to explain it, but—”

  “How come we can’t feel anything?” Bronze said. “Master Michael, are we really going to play this stall game?” He stormed toward the door.

  “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,” I warned.

  He didn’t listen, stepping inside of what we saw as darkness. My hands began to shake. The wrongness called out to me. Well, fuck that, I’m not into being a bitch of the unknown.

  “Bronze,” Cellasia called. As expected, there was no answer.

  “I have no time for this,” Michael said, then pointed at the chapel.

  “Are you seriously going to blow the whole thing up?” Selina said. “What are you thinking, great archangel? What if you kill your comrade?”

  “Silence,” Michael said, then released a large beam of heavenly-light. It didn’t even so much as penetrate the darkness. Something dripped on my arm. Then, my head…then multiple drips. I thought it was rain but when I looked at my arm, a dark crimson substance caught my attention.