“You chose how to handle me. You chose to keep me in the dark, Hela. That is not something Genesis, or Lilith, or anyone else chose.”
She nodded. “We did choose that. Do you want to know why?” she asked me.
No, I thought. Her lips curved up. She must have heard it.
“Well, I’m going to tell you anyways,” she said, patting the ground beside her. I pressed my lips together but took a seat all the same. Pushing my legs through the railing reminded me of better times. Of the late nights we shared in her flat, sitting on a balcony grate that was far more uncomfortable than this. We used to talk for hours, watching the sun die in the sky and the moon be born. I bit my cheek because that wasn’t who I was anymore, and neither was she. Those memories wouldn’t do me any good in the coming battle. “I can sense your internal struggle, you know. While I was not an empath like your mother, your telepathy is so strong that you project your thoughts. I know you don’t want to hear it, but Sinumpa was right to mute it. If Lilith had realized what it is you truly do, she would have drained your body dry, and that very well may have taken your magic, even if Sinumpa could save you. As much as you hate us for what we have done, remember that we did not ask to be the rulers of Hell. We, like you, never chose this.” She waved to the people below us. “We were created and given a purpose. Similar to you in many ways, except we wanted more for you.
“The six of us made a pact when you were born. Your mother included, being the Sin of Lust at the time. We decided that while you were destined to save Hell, you were also only a child. A baby. We could not change your destiny, but we could alter the path towards it, so to speak.” She nodded to herself, her eyes staring down unseeing. “In Hell, you would never have had anything resembling a normal childhood, even for a demon. So, we chose a different path for you. One that gave you time to learn and to grow and to experience all that life had to offer. We gave you as long as we could on Earth, because time was all that we ever truly could buy you. It was our gift to you, though you may not see it that way.”
I sighed, leaning forward to rest my head on the rails. I didn’t want to feel sorry for her; for any of them. I didn’t want to feel anything for the Sins, but I did.
“Will I die?” I asked.
It was one thing the prophecy didn’t really cover. There were a lot of vague notions about me saving Hell. About the flames. About the Horsemen.
None of it ever said what happened at the very end.
“I don’t know,” Hela answered. I appreciated her honesty, but damn—it stung. “For a primordial to bond to a planet, a great sacrifice must be made. Sinumpa said that Lilith stabbed herself as many times as she did you, effectively bringing herself to the edge of death before bonding to the Horsemen so that they could act as an anchor for the beast.”
“Haven’t I sacrificed enough?” I asked, more to myself than her. That didn’t stop her from answering.
“You have sacrificed more than anyone should have to. Should you truly defeat her and survive the encounter, you will be worthy of so much more than the broken world you’ve inherited.”
“And the trials?” I asked. A light mist blew through the valley, spraying us on the elevated balcony.
“You’ve already passed them,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “We were going to tell you today, but then, well…” she trailed off, but the implication was clear. Then I stormed out of my first “training” session with Sinumpa.
“I meant what I said. I’m not training with her.” My hands fell away from the rails, crossing over my chest.
“I’m well aware,” Hela said. “But you still have much to learn and very little time. While the flames can handle many things, Lilith will have had her army consuming brimstone long enough now that they will be all but useless. Laran’s gifts now run in your veins, but I should know well enough that the power of the elements won’t be enough to bring Lilith down. The crossbow given to you is a Seelie weapon. Their magic is one of the only things left in this world that can still harm her.”
“I don’t want to rely solely on a weapon when she’s already proven to think ahead,” I said. The Sins were convinced the power Donnach had put in the little gauntlet crossbow was enough to kill her, but after what went down in the Garden…I wasn’t so sure.
She will plan for this. She had to. And I had to be ready for that.
“It’s better than relying on the flames as you do now,” Hela said reproachfully.
“That won’t be the only thing I plan to use when the time comes,” I snapped. I didn’t want to disclose everything to her. At this point I didn’t really know who I could trust, past those that were bonded to me.
“What do you mean?” Hela asked, sounding more curious than angered by my tone. Odd for the Sin of Wrath, but then again, our years spent together may have at least earned me some patience.
“I mean”—I paused, exhaling a breath—“there are other ways. Things that haven’t been considered. Lilith came out of nowhere last time. She already proved to be powerful and now I’ll have my own gifts to contend with as well. I have very limited time until she hears I’m still alive, and that’s assuming she hasn’t already. How long do you think it will take her to arrive?”
Hela grimaced, her head leaning side to side as she internally weighed the numbers. “Weeks at most. A few days, more likely.”
“Exactly,” I murmured. “That’s not enough time to train me on anything really. After months I’ve only just mastered the flames. It really makes no sense to put it all on me because ultimately, if I were facing her alone, I would fail. Lilith has been planning for thousands of years just how she might destroy me. I would be a fool to think I could train hard and that any one thing could save me and end this.”
The wheels had been turning since last night. The makings of a plan.
“What are you talking about?” Hela asked me.
I looked out over the city again. To the children that clasped their parents’ hands. To the people that stuck to the shadows. To the shiny lake of flame. All the way to the volcano that sat at the mouth of the valley, acting as an entrance. I could hear the roar of the coliseum if I tried hard enough.
“Lilith has been planning this for an eternity. I plan to throw something else at her. Something she doesn’t see coming,” I paused, looking over at Hela. I wouldn’t tell her everything. Hell, I wasn’t telling anyone everything. Not even Laran. In my spiraling anger, I found the part of myself that survived so long, not on power, but something far simpler. “I was raised in the human world thinking that I was a demon with very little power, but surviving, nonetheless. I may never be that person again. But being her for twenty-three years taught me enough to know there’s a better way and I plan to find it.”
Hela went silent, her eyebrows slowly inching up her forehead. A laugh rang out and lightning arced across the sky.
“Ah, Blue,” she smiled. “You and Sinumpa are far more alike than you realize.”
I didn’t say anything as I looked over Inferna. I had no idea what she was talking about, but in that moment, I didn’t really want to know.
*Allistair*
The bitch’s cackle made me flinch internally, though my muscles no longer moved at my command. I was chained to the feet of her throne. It was a chair built from the bones of her own children.
Failures, she called them. Disappointments put to better use.
She was fucking crazy.
“Did you hear that, my sweet Famine?” she chimed. I wished I could stiffen. I knew what was coming.
“Yes, my love,” I answered, though not of my own accord. The beast thrashed, wanting to rip and slice and tear and kill. I had no doubts if she ever got free that she would end her for what she had subjected us to.
It would not be slow if the beast had her way.
It would be savage. Bloody. Ruthless. Brutal.
She would fucking destroy her.
As it was, she was caged. We all were. I prayed to Ruby for the tho
usandth time. I prayed that she hurried. I prayed that she was safe. I prayed that no matter what happened she got through this.
“Oh, how I just love you like this,” Lilith purred. I wish I could gouge my own eyeballs out when she let the thin fabric of her white dress slip from her shoulders and fall to the floor.
I tried to stop myself. To resist. But I wasn’t in control anymore. I was a prisoner in my own mind as she had me sit upon her throne.
I was unable to stop her from grasping my length and squeezing. Her hand jerked up and down and my revulsion reached an all-time high. This was not the first time she’d done this. It wouldn’t be the last.
My dick hardened against my will and she gripped the base, straddling me on her throne of pain and lies.
“Tell me you love me,” she breathed, placing herself directly over me. She slid herself down my cock, her wet cunt dripping with poison.
I’d never hated what I was until this moment.
I’d never wished to die.
I loved Ruby. I loved her so very much, but I didn’t know how much more I could take of this.
My lips parted and said the words she wanted to hear. “I love you, Lilith.”
She moaned, her breasts bouncing up and down as she clenched around me.
I hated myself when my hips jerked, and I emptied inside of her.
She cried out, climaxing around me and a small part of me died as she leaned forward, breathing in my scent. Her kama stank, invading my pores as she licked up the column of my throat and hummed merrily.
“Go back to your place, Famine. I want to play with Pestilence.” Internally I flinched as she pulled away and lifted her naked body from mine. The mess of her release and mine pooled into my lap.
“Yes, my love.” My legs stood, the liquid falling and smacking against the concrete surface, echoing in the silence of her throne room.
I couldn’t control a damn thing as I took my place beside Julian, watching Rysten as he was forced to sit upon the same chair.
I had no choice but to see and feel my brother’s despair as she climbed on top of him, her cunt still wet from Julian’s release…from mine…
If I ever got free…
I would rip her limb from limb and feed the pieces to Bandit. I would carve the Devil’s mark in her chest and pull out her still beating heart just to crush it with my bare hands.
I would let the beast flay the skin from her body, layer by layer until the damaged husk of that monster matched the person she was inside.
As it was, I waited.
I waited for Ruby.
I waited for freedom.
I waited for this to end.
The beast roared in fury.
But I could do nothing.
So, I held on to that small sliver of hope, and I waited.
**Moira**
He closed the door softly behind him, turning into what he thought was an empty hallway. I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head.
“Going somewhere, genie?”
“Moira.” It was all he said; my name coming out in an exasperated sigh.
“My question still stands, Jax. You’re wearing a jacket which means you’re headed outside, and the backpack leads me to think you might be leaving entirely. So…” I drawled out. “Are you?”
His purple eyes settled on me as I lifted my eyebrows.
“Don’t give me that look,” he groaned.
“What look?” I said sweetly, batting my eyelashes. He rolled his eyes to the clouds.
“That look…” he muttered. “Like you’re disappointed in me or something.”
“On the contrary”—I wagged my finger back and forth—“I expected you to leave much sooner than this.” He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You’re not mad?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“Mad?” I asked. “We fucked. It’s not a proposal, big boy. I had an itch and you scratched it. Don’t make this awkward.” He scratched the back of his head, looking perplexed. Like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with me.
“Alright, so, why are you here?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. I tilted my head to the side, listening to my surroundings. The howling wind and occasional errant breeze caught my attention, but it was otherwise quiet. Excellent.
“I needed to ask you a couple of questions before you left,” I said. “Like, where are you going?”
His eyes widened for a moment at my straight-forwardness and then he coughed. “Typically, girls don’t ask that if—”
“I’m not looking for a hookup,” I rolled me eyes. His cheeks darkened from a blush. “Don’t get me wrong; you were good and all. I’m just not looking for any sort of relationship—not even a casual one. The world is ending and I’ve got enough people to keep an eye on as it is.” He nodded as if he understood, but there was something in his eyes that I pretended not to see.
“I see,” he muttered. “If you must know, I’m meeting up with someone.”
“Sin?” I asked. He blinked twice.
“Possibly.”
“She was the Sin that called in a favor to escort us to Inferna, right?” I brushed a hand over my sleek green braid, flicking the tail over my shoulder.
“She was.”
“And your debt is paid now, yes?”
“It is.”
“Good,” I smiled, clapping my hands together once. “You see—the thing is—I hear things. Lots of things. And a little birdie told me the most interesting thing about Sinumpa, but it seems that every time I manage to track her down, she simply disappears. Why is that?”
“I’m not sure,” Jax said, blowing out a rough breath. “You’d need to ask her.”
“I plan to,” I nodded.
Well,” he started as he went to sidestep me, “if that’s all—” The words caught in his throat.
Jax started coughing. “Not…possible…” His eyes bulged in alarm, shocked by what was happening. I sighed, taking my time to stroll to a stop in front of him. I leaned down, putting us at eye level.
“Enigmas are only immune to magic from those beneath them in power, Jax. I’m a legion; the familiar to the strongest primordial to ever come into being. You heard it yourself. So, let’s make this easy.” I blinked, and the pressure fizzled out as he found himself able to breath. “I want to know where Sin is and where you are going.”
“Can’t…tell…you…” he managed to choke out between coughs and heavy panting.
“There, there,” I patted him on the back. “You know how rough I can be in bed, enigma. And I know you like it. Do you really want to push this—”
“Blood…oath…”
I sighed and clenched a fist, choking him again. It didn’t escape my notice that he was hard, and I couldn’t help but find it rather amusing.
“You were looking for me,” a voice whispered through the shadows. I smiled, letting Jax have another couple of seconds to sweat it before loosening my grip. He collapsed onto his knees, leaning into my right thigh.
“You’re…going…to be…”—he coughed hard and cleared his throat—“the death of me.” I winked at him and patted his dreads for a moment before turning to spare Sinumpa a glance.
“You’re leaving with the enigma,” I said. “Where are you going?”
Her silver eyes glowed like the light of a dying star. She was the most beautiful being—male or female—I’d ever seen, and she was appraising me with interest.
“I get the impression you already know,” she answered.
“Earth,” I whispered.
Sin nodded.
“The borders are closed.” I swallowed hard and looked down the corridor at nothing in particular. “How is it possible that you can portal between worlds?”
“How did you know where I would go?” she asked, ignoring my question entirely.
“You’re splitting town and nowhere in Hell is safe. That doesn’t leave many places…” I trailed off, but it was only a partial truth.
“Tell me.” S
in strolled forward, her leather boots silent on the stone floors—even to my ears. “Do the dead talk, green one?”
I looked to the ceiling, the corner of my lips turned up. Yes. Yes, they did. Incessantly, really. But just as I could shush the living, so too could I silence the dead if I so chose. Usually I just let them chatter away. Never knew what stories you might hear.
“Sometimes,” I admitted. “But this did not come from the dead.”
“Then who?” she asked. There was a sharp edge to her tone and I didn’t like it.
“I’ll make you a deal, Sin,” I said boldly. “I want to know why you’re leaving Ruby to face your mother alone. If you can tell me that—and tell me the truth—I’ll tell you how I found out.”
Sinumpa grinned as she stepped right up to me with a swagger, starlight shining in her eyes. She extended a hand, and I swear my heart damn near jumped out of my chest.
I didn’t hesitate for even a second. Our hands joined, and I saw it. In my mind, I saw the truth…
If Sin stayed, we would all die. Lilith had bound her so tightly in blood oaths that her presence would end us all. The Sins. Bandit. Me.
The only one who could end this was Ruby.
Sin was leaving because there was no other way for Hell’s humanity to recover should she stay. It was a risk—the largest one of all—because it left the weight of the world on one woman’s shoulders. But it was also a gift.
The only gift she could give for what she had already done.
Chapter 22
My footsteps were silent as I padded from one room to another. I’d left my boots next to the door so that I could be as quiet as possible and not disturb the sleeping raccoon. He was sprawled on Laran’s chest, drooling everywhere. Laran had conked out as well, but I wasn’t as worried about waking that one. He was sleeping like the dead since we’d returned here. Said it was something about the land returning him to full strength. I didn’t dwell on it, or his reasons. He needed his energy for what was to come, and I needed to be ready.
Brimstone Nightmares (Queen of the Damned Book 4) Page 19
