The Devil: A Paranormal Vampire Romance Novel (Devil Series Book 4)

by Raven Steele

  Henry stepped where I had pointed to earlier. "What do you want me to do?"

  "Say these words when I tell you." I pushed the lines to Henry and Liane's minds, then dragged the sharp end of the knife down the length of my arm. Blood ran down my fingertips and to the concrete. The wound would stay open until magic closed it.

  "She's completely lost it," May whispered.

  Llona shushed her.

  I glanced at Henry and Liane. "Ready?"

  “Will you let me go after I do this?” Liane asked.

  “It depends upon how well you do.” I inhaled deeply. “Now say the words.”

  Together we chanted:

  "Beyond the veil exists a place,

  Deep and dark it hides its face,

  The path is narrow, the road is straight,

  Reveal it now, open the gate!”

  We repeated the phrase several times. I focused on each word and imagined the portal appearing before me. My body began to shake, as the First magic took over. I gasped and nearly collapsed. Dr. Han moved as if to steady me, but I raised my hand motioning him not to come any closer, afraid his touch might break the spell. I pressed harder and spoke the words more forcefully. The others followed my lead.

  A dark hole appeared at the center of our triangle. Water boiled out from with in. I said the words again, louder this time. The liquid began to spread.

  "It's working!" Llona cried.

  It continued to grow until it was almost ten feet across. As soon as it was done, I leaned over gasping for air. I was growing weaker.

  "Eve?" Henry asked.

  I straightened. "I'm fine. Now step back."

  I motioned Henry and Liane away from the inky water.

  From here, I was on my own. I recalled the words Erebus had spoken to summon the mirror. Using his exact language, I spoke loud, enunciating each word, all the while focusing on what I wanted. I talked about the mirror and its origin, followed by its purpose. The phrases didn't feel like the kind of spell I would've used. The words were formal and read more like a letter to a dear friend than poetry.

  The tar-like substance began to boil. Smoke twisted into the air. I kept speaking and raised my arms high using all the magic I could muster. The mirror was coming. I could feel it squeezing into our realm.

  "I can't believe it," someone whispered.

  The top of the mirror appeared and continued to rise, water bubbling all around it.

  A hand rested on my shoulder. "It's done."

  I blinked and my arms flopped to my sides exhausted. Blood from my open wound continued to drip to the floor.

  "You're expending magic too quickly," Dr. Han said and removed his hand. "You need to make sure you have enough to get you and Lucien back."

  I nodded weakly.

  Uncharacteristically, Henry pulled me into his arms and gave me a tight hug. "Please be careful."

  "Where do you think you're going?" May's voice said from behind me.

  I turned around. May stood in front of Liane with her arms crossed.

  "Out of my way," Liane snapped.

  Before she could use magic, I bound her with an invisible grip and slid her body to me. She struggled against the invisible restraints, even attempting to use magic, but her attempts were futile.

  I ignored the tightness in my throat, not liking what I was going to have to do to her, but it was the only way. "I'm not finished with you yet."

  "You promised not to take my magic," she reminded me.

  "And I will keep my word."

  Liam and Llona walked over to us. May followed.

  "Lucien's grown on me," Liam said. "Get yourselves back here safely."

  "That's my goal."

  Llona threw her arms around me. "Be so careful."

  "I will."

  May took her place and embraced me. "Your hair is cool. I think I like it better than Llona's." She glanced back at Llona and grinned.

  "Thank you," I said to all of them. "I couldn't ask for better friends. Lucien and I are very lucky."

  "Just come back," Henry ordered.

  Liane groaned. "Enough of the Kumbayas. Just let me go already. You people are so annoying."

  I took her by the arm. "Oh, you're going all right."

  Before she or anyone else could say anything, I jumped into the mirror, taking Liane with me.

  Chapter 14

  We landed on crusted, mud-like ground. The hazy sky was dirty as if a dust storm had just blown through. There was no sun or moon that I could see. I spun around. No plant life, all barren—except for a great city in the distance. The air was unbearably warm and smelled of sage and sulfur.

  "Where are we?" Liane wondered, her eyes wide. She sat in the dirt.

  "Hell," I said and scanned the area again. The mirror was gone. But that was impossible. It had to be on this plane somewhere. I sent a wave of magic across the land. In less than a second my telepathic tentacles found it in the city.

  "Get up," I ordered.

  I needed to move quickly before Erebus and the other devils realized the gateway had been reopened. I glanced down at the cut on my arm. As long as it kept bleeding, the gateway would remain open, but if for some reason it stopped, then we would be trapped here.

  Blood dripped onto the scorched ground. I reached over to Liane and tore at her sleeve. It ripped from her arm.

  "Hey!" she cried.

  I used the material and wrapped it around my arm, not enough to stop the bleeding, but just enough to prevent its scent from filling the air. I was in Hell, after all, where blood was probably a currency.

  "I knew I should've killed you when I had the chance," she snapped. "Better late than never."

  She thrust her hands forward as if to strike me with magic, but nothing happened. She stared down at her hands, fear twisting her expression. "You said you wouldn't take my magic!"

  "I didn't. It just doesn't work here."

  "Are you kidding me? Then why am I here?"

  "Stand up. I'm going to teleport us into the city."

  She narrowed her eyes. "How come you can still use magic?"

  I snatched her arm and held on tightly, ignoring her question. She didn't need to know that the First magic could be used in all realms. A blink of an eye later, we appeared in the center of the city. Tall stone buildings rose into the air several stories high, many of them crumbled and in disrepair. We were near a massive rock fountain, but water had stopped flowing here eons ago.

  Rising up from the middle of the fountain was the statue of a muscular man in warrior attire. In his right hand, he held a great sword and in his left, a shield. The words "Parere seu Moriatur" were etched onto the top. My new powerful and all-knowing brain quickly translated the inscription: Obey or Die. All around the warrior were smaller statues of winged gargoyles.

  "I don't want to be here," Liane whimpered. "Take me back."

  For being such a huge city, the place sure was empty. No signs of life anywhere, yet I could feel an energy pulsing through the air. I closed my eyes. There was life here, lots of it, but—I concentrated harder—it couldn't be seen with earthly eyes.

  I took a second to gather information about this new realm. The knowledge came a bit slower than I would've liked, on account of my growing weakness. We were in Sheol, a place meant for the damned. On Earth, most people called this place Hell.

  Sifting through more knowledge, I learned the language. It held Latin roots, but nothing else was familiar. In the language of Sheol, I whispered, "He that hath eyes, will not be blind. Make this world clear, open my mind."

  I opened my eyes, and the city transformed in front of me. The buildings were no longer in ruins. With no sun in the sky, only an eerie red glow, the city was mostly bathed in darkness. A few lights bled from within a few of the structures, but I had the distinct impression that light was not favored here. Wandering through the darkness, I discovered life. Not the kind of life I was used to, however.

  All sorts of beasts roamed the streets. Demons wit
h great black wings and monsters with claws and fangs. There were humans there too, dark and loathsome creatures whose own shadows stretched and moved, as if they were trying to break free from their own bodies.

  Even worse than the beasts was the widespread violence. There was no direction I could turn without seeing some kind of fight, but it wasn't a typical bar brawl with fists and elbows. They were torture sessions all done out in the open. All manner of cruelty and strange devices were used on victims who cried out, begging for mercy.

  There was nowhere I could look to avoid seeing the horror. It was too much, and I bent forward and emptied my stomach. Liane stepped away from me, her own face pale.

  “Keep moving,” I breathed and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I stumbled forward and closed my eyes, wishing the barren city back.

  When I opened my eyes, the desolate ruins returned, but the things I had already seen would forever scar my mind. I pushed them to the dark recesses of my mind where I hoped never to see them again.

  "Please, Eve," Liane said again. "We need to leave."

  "Not yet." I turned to my left where I felt the mirror's pull most strongly. But that's not all I sensed: Lucien was close, too. My heart skipped a painful beat.

  In front of me rose a huge, gray stone building with long white, marbled columns and tall windows as big as doors. There must have been at least three-dozen stairs leading up to the entrance.

  "This way," I ordered.

  When Liane refused to move, I used magic to help her along.

  "I hate you," she grumbled.

  It wasn't long before we reached enormous double doors with carvings of stone gargoyles on the front.

  "Bisleth," I hissed in Sheol's language.

  The great doors creaked open, revealing a massive hall that rivaled anything I'd seen on Earth. Tall gray columns at least fifty feet high ran from the ceiling to the floor. There were a dozen of them throughout the grand entry. The floor was smooth stone, as if it had been cut from the same giant boulder. At the back of the hall were several steps leading up to a throne made of stone and metal woven intricately together.

  There were no signs of life, only the faint stirring of dust motes through the air. Everything looked dirty and broken, as if we’d discovered a lost civilization.

  "No one's here," Liane cried. "Let's leave this place already!"

  I glanced back at her and whispered, "Sleep."

  Her eyes obediently closed as magic worked its way into her. She slumped to the ground, hidden in the shadows. Liane didn't need to be awake for what was going to happen next. This place was far from empty.

  I whispered the spell to reveal the life of the underworld. The grand hall transformed into dark reds, purples, blacks and blues. Flames, the only light in the room, appeared along the base of the wall, burning ten feet high and filling the air with an unbearable heat. The seven devils, who all looked similar to Erebus with massive bodies and mammoth horns, sat at the rear of the room around a long table full of foods I didn't recognize. I didn't look at it too long for fear I might see something human on their golden plates.

  Slipping in and out of the shadows cast by the dancing flames, I hid behind the columns. I knew Lucien was here somewhere; I could feel his goodness radiating off of him like a bright light within all this darkness.

  One of the devils slammed his fist into the table, making food and dishes bounce. My flesh cooled when I recognized Erebus. He laughed aloud, the deep tone of his voice vibrating the bones in my body. The fact that he was laughing made me nervous. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes since I tossed him back to Hell by Earth’s time, but here he was sitting with his brothers as if nothing had happened. A lot of time must have passed in this realm. I pressed my hand to my mouth to silence a hitched breath.

  I drew as close as I dared before cloaking my presence. They might be able to sense my power, but it was a risk I had to take. I trailed alongside the wall, but not too close for fear of being burned alive. Flames lapped at my hair and back, and I had to keep wiping the sweat from my forehead. I was almost to the stone steps leading to the throne when I spotted Lucien. It took all my strength not to rush to him when I saw his condition.

  He was curled into a ball on the side of the steps not far from where the devils feasted. Scraps of food had been thrown on top of him, and beneath him the floor was stained in blood. He looked thinner, and his hair had grown a couple of inches past his ears. That alone told me he had been here at least a month or two. I grew nauseous at the thought of what he had been subjected to.

  I approached him slowly but froze when Erebus's head snapped in my direction. He snarled as his eyes passed over me. He tossed a gnawed on bone at Lucien. It hit Lucien's head and fell to the floor. Lucien didn't even flinch.

  I knelt quietly at his side and, while no one was looking, smoothed his hair away from his face. His complexion was jaundiced and lips colorless. He probably hadn't eaten the entire time. I glanced down at the material wrapped around my arm. Blood was just beginning to soak through. I carefully unwrapped it and dipped my finger into the crimson liquid to run across his lips. At first nothing happened, but after a little more effort, his tongue finally flickered out and tasted the blood. This seemed to spark a little life into him.

  I pressed my wrist to his mouth. He drank greedily, but when his hand moved to grab onto my arm, I jerked it away, afraid the others might notice.

  "What do we have here?"

  Too late.

  Erebus had come to his feet and was staring down at Lucien. "What is that smell?"

  The other devils stopped eating and sniffed the air.

  I quickly wrapped the material back around my arm and stepped away just as Erebus snatched Lucien's ankle. In one fluid motion, he flipped Lucien into the air and slammed his body on top of the table. All kinds of food splattered everywhere. Lucien moaned but his eyes remained closed.

  I stepped closer to the table, still cloaked, but torn as to what to do. I couldn't let them hurt Lucien but exposing myself could kill us both.

  One of the other devils leaned forward, examining his face. "He's had blood!"

  Erebus whirled around and searched the area Lucien had been lying on. He spotted a few drops that had fallen to the stone floor.

  "We're not alone, brothers," Erebus said and casually walked back to the table. "I sense a witch nearby."

  A devil jumped to his feet and licked his black-leathered lips. "I love the taste of witches."

  My gaze flickered between Lucien and Erebus, my pulse racing.

  Erebus chuckled. "And I want to satisfy your craving, Abraxas."

  Erebus picked up a long butcher knife and dragged it along the table. Its pointed edge left a deep scar in the wood. "I know how to catch a witch." He ran the blade up to Lucien's stomach. "You hurt the thing they love the most." He plunged the knife into Lucien's gut.

  "No!" I yelled. I slammed both fists onto the table, sending a shockwave outward. The devils flew backwards, a few of them landing in the fire at the wall's edge.

  I scrambled up to Lucien, ripped off the material around my arm, and quickly removed the knife from his stomach. Pressing my wrist back to his mouth, my other hand hovered over his wound to heal it. In a matter of seconds, Lucien was gripping at my arm, sucking blood hungrily. His eyes remained closed.

  Erebus growled, rising to a terrible height. A few of the other devils had flames literally burning their backs, but the fire did nothing to their flesh. The devils charged, their hooved feet echoing in the great hall sounding like thunder. I stood tall in the center of the table, my mind and body weary, but I was fueled on by an insatiable rage. I shook with it, and the tremors rippled in great waves across my body. There had been too much sorrow, too much pain.

  In the language of Sheol, I ordered fog into the hall. It poured in from every opening, snuffing out fires and dampening my clothes. At the same time, I called upon the First magic. The air became electrically charged, and the first dev
il who reached me was struck by lightning directly through his giant skull. He fell backward into one of his brothers, who roared at the sight. He dropped his brother and sprung into the air toward me, great tusk-like teeth bared and sharp claws extended.

  I grabbed the butcher knife Erebus had used on Lucien and winged it forward. It sliced through the air and cut cleanly through the second brother's neck. His body collapsed to the stone floor.

  Unexpectedly, my body tightened and squeezed, the air forced from my lungs. One of them was trying to use magic against me. I brushed the sensation away, my eyes meeting Erebus's red pupils. He stood at the head of the table, his four remaining brothers grunting and snorting behind him, partially hidden within the fog. They were so tall that even as I stood on top of the table, I barely met their eyes.

  "You're weakening. I can feel it."

  I smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

  I hoped I sounded strong because the truth was my magic was waning significantly. I would need time to replenish myself, time I didn't have.

  He chuckled, his voice husky and deep. "You are a brave witch to come into the devil's lair, but you've overestimated your abilities."

  Near my feet, Lucien began to stir. His eyes flickered open. I risked a quick glance.

  "Eve?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

  "It's almost over," I answered, realizing that I had failed, and we would probably die here. Maybe the afterlife Dr. Han had spoken about actually existed, and Lucien and I could still be together.

  "It's not even close to being over," Erebus growled. He leapt onto the table, his weight nearly crushing it.

  I searched inside me. There was just enough magic to fight one more devil. I smiled at Erebus and motioned him forward.

  Chapter 15

  Erebus charged me. His heavy hooves shook the wooden table nearly making me fall. Before he could reach me, I pointed at him and whispered a command. A long carving fork shot from the table and pierced Erebus at the top of his sternum.