Hell Freezes Over (Hellscourge Book 6)

by Diem, J. C.

  My minion hadn’t quite made it to the ice. He disappeared into the lava without a sound. Huddled with my back to the wall, I realized the snow had stopped falling. The clouds were breaking up and the temperature was rapidly rising. A section of ice near what was left of my feet broke off. I gagged at seeing the blackened bones that my lower legs had become. There was no way I’d be able to stand up. With my wrath gone, my healing abilities had receded again.

  “Violet!” Sam called from high above. I heard the panic in his voice. “Are you there?”

  “I’m here!” I called back and heard him sob in relief. “My feet are gone, but apart from that, I’m okay.”

  “Can you climb up the wall?”

  At the rate the ice was melting, I didn’t have much of a choice. Can you get to the top, I asked Morax. I was in too much pain and shock to manage it myself. We only had minutes left before the ice would disappear.

  I believe so, he replied. I was happy to relinquish control again and he twisted around to face the wall. He reached up and rammed my fingers into the dry soil. Bit by bit, he hauled us upwards.

  Teetering on the edge of exhaustion, Morax managed to drag me up to the top before he lost his remaining strength. It always cost him to take over for extended periods of time. Thanks, I said to him gratefully and rolled onto my back. He was too tired to answer me, but I knew what his response would have been. I owed him and I would one day have to find a way to repay him.

  Something nudged my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see my nightmares standing next to me with the carriage. Reaching up, I patted the nose of the beast that had nudged me. I was surprised to feel it was as soft as a real horse’s. “I’m okay,” I told them. “You did what you could to keep me alive.” They almost seemed relieved that I didn’t hold them accountable for my legs being partially burnt off. Maybe they didn’t hate me as much as I thought they did.

  Hearing rapid footsteps, I looked up to see Sam racing towards me. He dropped to his knees beside me and stared at the blackened bones that protruded from my ragged jeans. “Does that hurt?” he asked in a hushed tone.

  My response was dry. “It doesn’t tickle.”

  Meeting my eyes, he struggled to remain solemn then ruined it by sniggering. “Sorry,” he said unconvincingly. “That was really funny.”

  “I’m glad you find this amusing.” I waited for his giggles to subside before gesturing at the carriage. “Can you help me inside?”

  He opened the door then looked at me doubtfully. “I am not as strong as I once was and you are far larger now. I do not think I will be able to drag you into the carriage.”

  He was right. I dwarfed him now. I’d caught a glimpse of my image on the door before he’d opened it and it had changed again. My horns and fangs were longer and my skin was almost black. My favorite jacket looked more like armor, which was a new development.

  With a sigh, I rolled over onto my stomach and dragged myself over to the door. It was easier than I’d expected to haul myself inside. Morax had used his strength rather than mine to climb to safety.

  When I was settled into my seat, Sam climbed in and sat across from me. “I hope that we do not encounter any obstacles on our way back to the hellgate. I fear that we have already been here for too long.”

  “It looks like the storm was localized to this area,” I said as the carriage rumbled into motion. “Hopefully, we won’t have any other problems like a collapsing bridge to deal with.”

  I had to give the Hellmaster points for imagination for his punishment this time. Hell had frozen over, or at least part of it had. His ways of reprimanding me had been different each time. I wondered what he’d have in store for us next.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Forty

  It was going to be a long journey back to the hellgate. There were too many rocks, petrified trees and streams of lava to make it easy to travel across the wasteland. We headed back to the main road that cut through the center of the realm. The settlements that had still been occupied were now empty when we passed near or through them. The demons had fled to the inner realms in an effort to escape from me and my dreaded wrath.

  Sam slept on and off, but my eyes never stayed shut for long. It was lucky that Sam had found a Demon Lord’s abandoned carriage for me to appropriate. With my increasing size, the smaller carriage of a captain wouldn’t have been large enough to accommodate me.

  It took several days for my legs to grow back and for my jeans and boots to be repaired. The pain finally faded once I was whole again. This time, Sam hadn’t been wounded during our mission, which I was very grateful for. I didn’t have the ability to heal him if he sustained any injuries. By rescuing me, he’d once again proven that he was still essential to my survival. Keeping him alive was just as important to me as killing the princes and finding the metal objects.

  It was a relief when we finally reached the hellgate. My hounds appeared as we came to a stop a short distance away. The gate was waiting for me and his expression was sour. His tone was surly when he spoke to me. “So, you have defeated the ruler of this realm.”

  Looking up, I saw my feathered nemesis perched between the twin gargoyles. “Did the Hellmaster’s spy tell you that?” I asked.

  “As you were told by one of my brothers, we see all and know all. I do not require a mindless bird to tell me the goings on inside my own realm.” His tone was decidedly snotty and he was unaware of the glare that the raven sent him. Clearly, it was far smarter than he realized.

  “I’d love to stay here and chat all day, but I’m afraid I have more important things to do,” I said. He remained stubbornly shut and I realized he wasn’t going to open until I actually said the words. “Open up and let us out,” I ordered.

  “This is so unfair,” he whined and a crack appeared in the middle of his face. He began to swing open with a metallic groan. “You have frightened away all of the demons. Now I will not have anyone to challenge me.”

  “Gee, sorry to take away your only form of entertainment,” I replied insincerely.

  “You could at least have the decency to leave your useless little human friend behind. You can even stay and watch while I call on my beasts and have them tear him to shreds if you like. The battle would be over in moments, but I am sure that his screams would be delicious.”

  Sam sent me a startled look at being described as human. He couldn’t quite hide his pleased grin. It fell away when he realized the implications. If he became fully human, he’d lose the gifts that I relied on so heavily.

  “I’ll pass, thanks,” I replied, sending him a glare that he ignored completely.

  We remained silent as the carriage rumbled through the gate. My hounds followed in our wake. They faded into the gloom of the shadowlands. We picked up speed until the nightmares were galloping. I was ready for it when the carriage disappeared and we were suddenly riding bareback on one of the hellhorses. Sam was in front as always. He looked like a child compared to me.

  Entering the narrow cobbled alleyway, I held onto Sam as we neared the doorway that led back to Earth. The nightmare bucked us off and we went flying through the air. The moment we entered our dimension, I reverted back into my human form. I’d turned us around so we landed on our sides rather than sprawling on our faces. A car screeched to a halt only inches away from my face. If it had been any slower to stop, I would have been crushed beneath its front tire.

  Becoming human again also brought back the illness from the Wraith Warrior’s toxin. Pain wracked me and I curled into a ball. Sam shook off his daze at landing on the road and slid his arms beneath me. He staggered to his feet just as the taxi driver opened his door. “Get outta here you crazy kids!” he shouted as Sam picked me up and we fled.

  We’d been gone long enough for the cops to have given up on patrolling the area. The barriers were gone and the streets were eerily empty. My watch would be working again, but I didn’t have the energy to check the time. All I knew was that it was nightfall.

 
Sam was gasping for breath after carrying me for only a couple of blocks. He stopped and sat me down on a wooden bench then collapsed beside me. Sweating and shivering, I didn’t know how long I’d be able to stay conscious. “You need to summon Nathan,” he told me.

  I managed to fumble the sapphire out of my pocket and thought of my guardian. He appeared in front of us a moment later. Taking in my condition, he scooped me into his arms and waited for Sam to grab his arm. I shut my eyes and saw the usual blinding flash of white light behind my closed lids.

  When I opened my eyes, I was lying on my bed and I was surrounded by my friends. I’d passed out, but it had only been for a few moments.

  “She looks bad,” Sophia said in a hushed tone. “She needs to be purged with holy fire.”

  “I cannot do that to her,” Nathan said in anguish.

  Leo was just as upset at the thought of causing me pain. “I cannot hurt her either,” the teen said.

  Sam stared at them both in disgust. “She will die if you do nothing!”

  Realizing I was still wearing my crimson bracelet, I used the last of my strength to call on Brie. Then I passed out again. I wasn’t sure how long I was unconscious before fire scorched me from the inside. I woke up shrieking as holy fire purged me and pushed the taint back.

  Gasping for air, I feebly tried to push Brie away. Her hand left my forehead and Nathan’s mouth came down on mine. A different kind of heat filled me and the pain receded.

  “That is enough,” Sophia said and Brie and Leo hauled my guardian backwards.

  “How do you feel?” Sam asked me.

  I blinked up at the ceiling, knowing that death had been circling me once more. Every time I came back from hell, the taint was worse. Soon, not even being purged with holy fire would be able to delay the inevitable. “I’m alive,” I said hoarsely. “That’s about all I can say right now.”

  “Do you have the metal object?” Brie asked then flinched at the accusing looks the others gave her. “You know Hagith and Orifiel only agreed to the truce as long as they gain possession of the items.”

  “It’s okay,” I said and struggled to sit up. I took the tarnished piece of silver metal out of my pocket and handed it over. “Anything to keep them off our backs.” She took it and I caught her eye. “Thanks for zapping me. Hopefully, it’ll hold me until the next time I enter a portal.” Somehow, I doubted it. I had two different toxins inside me now, which had increased the taint even more.

  “You are welcome,” she replied with a stiff nod. “Call on me anytime you need my assistance.” With that, she disappeared.

  The taint was so strong now that the combination of being purged and having Nathan’s essence barely pushed it back. I wasn’t filled with the usual strength and energy and I wouldn’t have to exercise to work off the grace.

  “How long were we gone this time?” I asked.

  “Seven weeks,” Leo replied. “Zach is growing very anxious about you.”

  Nathan frowned, but remained silent. He cared about me just as much as my boyfriend did. Now wasn’t the time to make snide comments about my complicated love life.

  If we’d been gone for nearly two months, then that meant it was now mid-July. According to Sophia’s vision, I only had a few months left before the toxin would kill me. Feeling weary to my very bones, I hoped I’d be able to survive long enough to finish the task that Fate had set for me. I still had three silver pieces of metal and three princes to kill before I took on the Hellmaster.

  I’d found one of the Collectors and had drawn his essence inside me, but I was no closer to discovering where Sophia’s grace had been taken. Vepar knew the answer to that question. Trapping her and getting her to tell me wouldn’t be easy if she was as clever as everyone said. I’d made Sophia a promise and I wasn’t going to renege on it.

  My mission to stop the demon apocalypse seemed to be an impossible task. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but I would have to summon the strength of will to keep going until I’d achieved my goals. Most humans didn’t even know I existed, but they were unknowingly depending on me to save them. It was a heavy burden for someone my age, but I wasn’t about to let them down.

  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

  Vampire 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, the seventh book in the Hellscourge series, is due to be released on the 2 nd of November.

  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.