“I’m sorry. What?” Confusion is laced in her voice. Her fingers tighten in my fur.
“Do you know how many demons and humans try to take me down? None can make me bleed.”
“I have a question about that?” Abaddon nods.
“Stolas told me hell blades can kill any human, demon, soul, or supernatural being.”
“That is correct,” he replies.
“So how is it you’re still alive?”
Abaddon lets out a booming laugh. “Two very simple reasons. One, the blows that you inflicted weren’t life threatening. Not to me at least. Only the strongest demons guard the levels of hell. I am one of the strongest.”
“What’s the second reason?” Finley asks.
“Well, it wouldn’t be very wise to have my own blades be able to kill me. I forged those blades myself, and they are spelled so they can’t kill me. Now, I have a question of my own. How did you get my blades in the first place?”
Verkor comes running over, standing next me, trying to block Finley from Abaddon’s view.
“Oh, um.” I hear Finley clear her throat moving to the side. I move with her. “It was more of an opportunistic moment. I didn’t set out to take them, you just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time. I was doing a job, and I was surprised that you fell under the spell. I did the job; I got what I needed, and I was walking by you and I saw them there, on your side. You weren’t paying attention and I lifted them.” Abaddon throws his head back and laughs.
“Oh, I like you.” He holds a long-clawed hand out toward Finley. My body tenses, and I let loose a growl. “Stand down, Stolas. I promise no harm will come to your mate.” Finley moves beside me, running her hand up my back. She kneels beside me, hugging me around my neck.
“Be prepared, just in case,” she whispers, before standing, and placing her hand in his. I immediately return to my human form. Abaddon starts to guide Finley through the throng of fighting demons. I whip my gaze to Verkor.
“Where the fuck is Obsidian?” I ask through gritted teeth. Verkor points behind me. I turn seeing Obsidian killing demon after demon. He’s covered in blood. “God damn it.” I run my finger through my hair. “Go see if you can pull his head out of his ass long enough to help us.”
“I’ll try, but you know how he gets.” Verkor turns and takes off in Obsidian’s direction. I look back and take off in Finley’s.
Verkor
How the hell does Stolas expect me to get Obsidian’s attention? I stop a few feet from him, watching as he toys with a demon. He lashes out, drawing blood, but moves to the side right before the demon strikes, missing the blow. I watch him do this over and over again, until finally killing the demon. Obsidian turns and starts attacking the next demon.
“Obsidian.” I wait, but he pays me no attention. “Obsidian!” I yell. His gaze twitches in my direction before returning to the demon. “Abaddon has Finley.” That gets him to stop and look at me. Maybe Finley was right, and she is the key. “The guardian of this level has your mate, our mate. Are you just going to let him take her?” I point in the direction they all went. Obsidian turns his attention back to the demon, and I sigh. I guess I was wrong. I’m going to have to fight him. That might be the only way to get him to go where I want him to.
Obsidian takes the demon’s head and twists. A loud cracking sound penetrates the air. The demon falls to the ground, his neck twisted at an odd angle. I adjust my stance, sliding my right foot back and raising my fists. Obsidian stocks towards me. I’ll wait until he throws the first punch. But he doesn’t attack. Instead, he stops in front of me, leaning down, getting in my face.
“Mate,” he growls. For a moment, all I can do is blink at him and stare. “Now!” he bellows, jolting me out of my trance. I’m going to take whatever this is, whatever is giving him some kind of clarity, because that never happens. Not here, not for him.
I pivot and start walking toward the abyss. I see our bags along the way, and I grab them. It doesn’t take long for us to reach to the abyss. I stutter to a stop, not expecting to see the sight before me. Finley and Abaddon are laughing. He picks up one of the dead demons and tosses it into the abyss. I walk closer, curious what it looks like. I’ve never been this close before. I was expecting to see water or fire. Instead, the circular stone pit is filled with swirling fog. I walk toward Stolas who is standing close to Finley, arms crossed, and a frown on his face.
“So, you toss dead and alive demons and humans in the abyss. The ones that go in here are beings that will not be reincarnated because of the lives they’ve led,” Finley says.
“Yes, little human. I deal with the vilest of creatures. They don’t deserve to come back.” Abaddon walks to his throne, sitting in the high-back, black chair made of dried lava. It shines, and almost looks like it’s made of obsidian rock. He leans over to the side, picking through the pile of bones. He decides on one and starts picking his teeth with it.
“You don’t enjoy this, do you?” Finley questions, taking a few steps in his direction.
“Oh, I do. I get to make sure the evilest of creatures can never return to any realm and harm another being. I thrive on the violence and torture. I get to make them suffer for as long as I like, before disintegrating their souls. I like the power of controlling the punishments and I make sure it fits the crime. I do the absolute worst I can.” Screams of pure agony punctuate his statement. The grin that crosses his face is frightening. All sharp, pointed, yellow teeth. His eyes go pure white as he looks at Finley, before returning to their normal black color. “Don’t worry little human. You don’t belong here.” Finley sucks in a sharp breath. I see Obsidian move toward her out of the corner of my eye. I forgot all about him. Obsidian scoops her up, taking a few steps back.
“Mine,” he growls. I want to roll my eyes and palm smack my forehead. We’re going to have to fight off Abaddon because of Obsidian. But Abaddon doesn’t attack. He lets out a booming laugh that shakes the stone around him.
“Fear not hamrammr, I will not harm your mate. I quite like her.” Obsidian growls. If I thought it would do any good, I would hit him for being so reckless. Abaddon tilts his head to the side; his horns scrape the lava chair. His eyes go pure white again before returning to black. “I see. You don’t belong here either, hamrammr. I will say, if you confront your demons, you will no longer have an issue coming here.” My eyes widen, at that statement. I wonder what demons he’s talking about?
“You can see inside a person, can’t you?” Finley says with awe in her voice.
“Yes. It’s how I know what crimes they have committed and what punishments they deserve. It also tells me what type of creature they are.”
“Wait, could you tell me what I am?” she asks with hope in her voice. I see Stolas perk up at her question. All of us want to know.
“I could, but I’m not the one who is supposed to.” Tears are gathering in her eyes, and defeat settles into her body. “You will know when the time is right, little human.”
“So, I’m not fully human. Can you at least tell me that?”
“You are only half human. I will say you are special, so very special.” Finley nods. “Now, as much as I would like for all of you to stay, I have quite a mess to clean up.” Abaddon stands, closing the small distance between him and Finley, who is still in Obsidian’s arms. Abaddon kneels before her, gently cupping her face. “Do not cry, little human. You will find out who you are. You are always welcome to come and see me. Now, be on your way. I have a mess to clean up here.”
“Thank you,” she gives him a watery smile. Abaddon stands.
“You won’t have any problems getting to the gate.”
“Thank you, Abaddon,” Stolas says.
“It was truly a joy, hellhound. Make sure you bring your mate back with you.” Abaddon turns and starts gathering up pieces of demons and humans, chucking them into the abyss. Stolas walks over to me, taking two of the bags. It doesn’t take us long to get to the gate.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I say and walk through it.
Chapter 13
Finley
A part of me wants to protest and demand that we don’t go until Abaddon tells me what I am, but I know that’s a horrible idea. I know he likes me, but that will only get me so far. I’m destroyed. The answer to what I am stands on the other side of this stone gate. I was so close, so close to knowing, only to have it ripped away. The solace that I have is the fact that Abaddon said I will learn who I am. I guess that is what I have to drive and push me through this. I’m jostled and realize that Obsidian is still carrying me. I look up at him and see that his face is more relaxed and looks more like his usual grumpy self, only bloodier.
“You can put me down; I can walk.” Obsidian stumbles a step.
“I know. I just want to hold you for a minute longer.”
“Are you okay?” He sighs.
“If you’re asking if I’m back to my normal self, then yes. I don’t like who I am when I enter that level. I never wanted you to see me get lost to the bloodlust.” He sets me down on my feet, making sure I’m steady before pulling away.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It could be because I was trying to keep you and Stolas from fighting. There was also the demon who snatched me. Plus, I ended up sort of fighting Abaddon. I didn’t get a chance to see you, to see what you were doing. You and I both know that I would have tried to stop you and I would have gotten in your way. I would have done whatever I could have to get you to stop and come back to me. Don’t get me wrong, that level was more of what I thought I was going to see the moment we walked through the first gate. It may take a while to get the sounds of screaming out of my head, but I’m glad I didn’t see you lose yourself.” Obsidian tilts his head.
“Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”
I snort. “Would I do such a thing?” I grin.
“I think you would. Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that.”
“I’ll be fine,” Obsidian says, not quite meeting my eyes. I think he’s lying, but he’s not going to admit that right now. He’s too raw. Instead of pestering an answer from him, I tell him how I feel, to take the attention from him and hopefully help him relax a little bit.
“Look, I’m not going to lie. I’m upset. I was so close to having an answer about who I am, that I’m disappointed that Abaddon didn’t tell me. I know he said I will know in time, but I don’t understand what harm it could have done if he had just told me now.” I start pacing. “He said I was special, but why? What makes me so special?”
“I don’t know, doll, but we’ll figure it out.”
I stop and take a good look at Obsidian. He looks tired, drained, and in desperate need of shower because he’s covered in dried blood. It’s a mix of red and black and it’s caked and crusted on all over him to the point where some of his tattoos aren’t visible. His once white t-shirt is a deep crimson red and plastered to his body from being drenched in blood. My gaze sweeps up to his face, which is splattered with red and black blood. It’s even in his hair. Even as he stands before me covered in blood, I’m quite proud of him. He may have lost himself but for me he fought through it enough to come and protect me.
“Well,” I say on an exhale. “At least something good came out of this.”
“What’s that, love?” Stolas ask from behind me.
“We know that Obsidian and I don’t belong in hell. Well, at least not that level of hell,” I say, waving my hand in the direction of the gate. “And that if Obsidian faces whatever he needs to face, he’ll no longer have an issue walking through the violence level, and we just got confirmation that I’m not entirely human.” But what is the other half of me? Stolas slings his arm around my shoulders, pulling me tight to his body. I look up into his silver eyes. “There’s one other thing that I’m worried about.”
“What’s that, love?”
“How the hell are we going to make it back through all this these level with Lucifer chasing us? We won’t have time to stop and help Obsidian in the violence level or me in the anger level.”
“I’m not sure, but we’ll figure this out. Abaddon said so. We can also add this to the list of questions to ask my brother.” He leans down like he’s going to kiss me but pauses. He removes his arm from my shoulder, reaching up toward my hair. “You have a little something. You know what, I’m just going to get it out.” Stolas pulls a chunk of meat out of my hair, and I shiver.
“Wait,” Obsidian says, stopping Stolas before he can fling it. Obsidian walks over to us, digging through one of the bags on Stolas’ back. He pulls his magic meat carrying bag out. He moves standing beside us. “You never know, it might come in handy,” he says opening the pouch.
He flicks open one of the empty containers, and Stolas places the piece of meat inside. Verkor moves closer, peering into the pouch as well. We’re all waiting to see what name comes across the lid. All of us are shocked as Abaddon’s name appears. Obsidian peers up at me, grinning. In the next second, I’m being scooped up in his arms, being twirled around.
“You are amazing, doll,” Obsidian laughs. He sets me back on my feet.
“Like we didn’t already know that,” Stolas says. “She did just make friends with the King of the Abyss, after all.” Obsidian whirls, facing Verkor and Stolas.
“It’s more than that. When I left earlier, trying to gather my thoughts, I was thinking about how we are going to get inside the castle. Even if Finley manages to get a date with Lucifer, how are we going to be able to get in?” Obsidian holds up his pouch, and it clicks.
“You can turn into Lucifer’s favorite demon.” Obsidian is grinning like a fool. It’s a little disconcerting if I’m being honest. I rather like my stoic, grumpy, hamrammr.
“Yes. This may have just made getting the map piece that much easier.” Obsidian turns to Stolas. “We need to get to your brother’s place and hash out this plan.”
“Well, let's get a move on.”
It’s then that I take in my surroundings. There is a downward, dirt slope in front of me, with stone, circular, funnel of rings around it. They’re filled with humans and demons. As I look closer at the rings, I realize the humans are being punished and the demons are serving it. I peer over at Stolas.
“This is level eight, fraud,” he answers my unspoken question.
“This is not what I imagined,” I whisper. “I know you said that the next few levels dealt with punishment, but this is not what I thought I would see.” One rings has demons whipping humans to keep them moving. Another ring the humans are being chased and bitten by snakes. One ring as humans being set on fire. Another has humans being weighed down with what looks like rope. That’s just the rings I can see. I don’t want to know what the lower rings look like. Stolas laces his fingers with mine, squeezing my hand.
“Just move quick and keep your head down.”
That’s easy for him to say. I already saw it. It’s like a train wreck and you can’t look away. But I do as he says, keeping my eyes on my black boots. I place one foot in front of the other. The screams are like nothing I’ve ever heard. They are heart wrenching and soul piercing. The screams sound like they’ve come straight from your nightmares, and I guess in a way they have. I walk faster, almost jogging. I don’t want to be in this level anymore. I have to force myself to keep my head down. What I saw will always be burned in my memory. I don’t think I could see more without it destroying a little part of me. I think everyone should take a trip to hell. It’ll be the fastest way to get your life together. If everyone came to see what awaited them for their wrong doings, I bet we’d have lower crime rates, and more decent beings across the realms.
“Almost there, Finley,” Stolas says from beside me, squeezing the hand he hasn’t let go. All I can do is nod because I don’t think I could talk right now even if I wanted to. You can do this Finley. Just a little bit further.
I take a deep breath and instantl
y regret it. My nose is assaulted with the smell of urine, sweat, copper, and burning flesh. I gag, unable to take the scents. I pick up my pace; I’m at a slow jog. Stolas keeps pace with me. He was right and we didn’t have much further to go. I know the second we pass through the gate and into the ninth level of hell. The screaming stops, and the scent changes to sulfur. I stop abruptly. Stolas walks forward not realizing that I stopped. Our hands break apart when the distance between us is too great. A body bumps into me from behind, but I don’t care. I need a moment to get through what I saw and heard.
“Finley?” Verkor says my name like a question. He’s the one who ran into me. “Are you alright?” I shake my head. I can’t seem to find my voice. I bury my face into my hands and weep. A pair of muscular arms wrap around me.
“Shh, doll, it’ll be alright. You’ll be alright,” Obsidian says softly.
I move my hands from my face to grip the front of Obsidian’s shirt. One of his hands go to the back of my head and his other arm stays wrapped around my body. I feel him lay his head on the top of mine. I don’t know how long we stay like that, but Obsidian doesn’t move. He just holds me, whispering soothing words the whole time.
When I can finally get some sort of control over myself, I pull back from Obsidian. He doesn’t let me go too far before he’s cupping my face and using his thumbs to wipe away my tears. He doesn’t say anything. He just looks deep into my eyes, letting me take all the time I need. I nod, letting him know that I’m okay. He nods back then leans down, placing a quick kiss to my forehead. I look over and see Verkor and Stolas standing a few steps behind Obsidian. I clear my throat.
“I’m okay. Well, maybe not okay, but better.” I turn my attention to Stolas. “That was…” I look away focusing on the dirt covered ground. “I wasn’t expecting that. It was a little more than I could take.” I shift from foot-to-foot. “I don’t understand why it was so hard to take when I was just stabbing demons. There were people being tortured in the violence level as well.” I look up, meeting eyes of each of them. “Why was that level so hard to take?”
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