by Jane Hinchey
The Devil Inside
Hell’s Gate - Book 2
Jane Hinchey
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Preview: Hotter than Hell - Chapter One
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Back of book stuff
About the Author
The Devil Inside © 2018 Jane Hinchey
This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Acknowledgments
Writing books is the best job I’ve ever had. Sitting in my PJs, barefoot, messy hair and no make-up totally works for me. However, as solitary as the writing process may be, putting a book out is a group effort.
Amy Allen-MacLeod, you save me from myself constantly with your editing. Thank you.
To my Little Devils, you rock so hard. Thank you.
And finally – my family – thank you. I love you more than words could ever express.
1
“What do you mean, the sword is gone?”
I spun, pinning Dacian with a glare. My fury at losing Levi had settled into cold, hard determination. Already, I was planning to get Levi back using the glowing sword my brother Gabriel had turned against me—clearly, a weapon forged in Heaven that could do me harm.
A powerful weapon. One that could be used to force our way into another realm.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Dacian returned my glare, unconcerned to be on the receiving end of my burning gaze. “I threw it to Levi as the portal closed.”
“So he has it?”
“I saw him catch it,” Dacian confirmed.
Well, that was good. Levi had a weapon and a way to get back through the portal— assuming the sword worked for him. He was a human, after all. At the very least, he could use it to protect himself from Zuska, the soul stealer who’d dragged him through the portal into another dimension.
“Wait!” It suddenly hit me. “How did you have the sword? Last I saw, Gabriel had it.”
We’d been in the caverns beneath Shadow Falls. The giant orb Gabriel had hidden there was powerful enough to wipe the humans from the planet. When we’d combined our powers to stop the orb, the whole thing had exploded, and we’d somehow been transported to the cemetery, to the portal. Gabriel had not.
“I called for it.” Dacian shrugged, as if I’d know what that meant.
“I don’t have time for this bullshit, Dacian.” My patience was thin, my thoughts consumed by Levi. I prayed he’d survived the journey through the portal. Goodness only knows what awaited him on the other side.
Dacian blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, fine. The sword is called the Sword of Angels. It’s Heaven’s ultimate weapon.”
“And my brothers have it,” I muttered. It figured. Two idiots wielding a powerful weapon, and all too happy to use it against their sister.
“They had it,” Dacian corrected me. “Now Levi has it.”
“But he’s human. Will it work for him?”
“Possibly.”
“Possibly isn’t good enough, Dacian!” My yell made him jump, and he frowned at me. “Tell me everything you know about the Sword of Angels—or whatever you called it—everything!”
“I only know what it told me,” he began. “The first time I saw it was when the ghosts used it against you. Apparently, Gabriel was the one who gave them the sword. He wanted to banish you from Earth and send you back to Hell.”
I wasn’t surprised. I’d guessed one of my brothers was behind the zombie ghost attack.
“Only he never thought the sword would end up in my possession. Once it was…it was like a connection. I knew where it came from. I understood its powers. It was like a psychic link.”
“Is it because you’re a Seraph Angel?” I asked. “A protector?”
“I think so. When I saw Levi being pulled through the portal, I thought, ‘If only the sword were here’…and then it appeared in my hand. It was reflex to throw it to Levi.”
“I’m glad you did. Thank you.”
I turned away, pacing in front of the headstones. We no longer had the Sword of Angels at our disposal. I couldn’t open the portal with my magic; I’d tried and failed. We needed brute force. And I could think of only one place where such power existed.
“We need to go to Heaven,” I decided. “My brothers are responsible for this, and if we combine our powers, we should be able to get the portal open. Long enough for me to retrieve Levi, at any rate.”
“You think they will help you?” The surprise in Dacian’s voice was unmistakable.
“If they want the Sword of Angels back, they will.”
It had been a few millennia since I last stood in front of the Pearly Gates, and to say I was shocked was an understatement.
“What’s going on?” For as far as the eye could see, there were souls, all milling around waiting for the gates to open. “The gates are locked? Why?”
“They have been closed for some time.” Dacian’s voice was grim as he studied the bedraggled souls huddled on the steps.
“But all these souls…displaced.” I couldn’t hide my shock. Why would my father not allow them into Heaven? If they had sins to atone for, they would have been redirected to Hell, so they were in the right place, Heaven-bound.
“Heaven isn’t what you remember, Lucy. What Gabriel said, about Heaven dying? It’s true. There’s a sickness pervading our realm, and I suspect the gates are locked because Heaven no longer has the capacity to house new souls.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Dacian shrugged. “It’s not your concern. Hell is your jurisdiction, not Heaven.”
I felt the sting of irritation dance over my skin. Grabbing his arm I forced him to look at me. “This was my home. My father is here, my brothers…my family. Of course it’s my concern. You should have told me.”
“Perhaps. It was not my call to make. I’m just a Seraph Angel. I don’t make the decisions.”
“Fine. Let’s talk to the person who does. Can you get us past the gates?” While we’d been talking, I’d touched the gates, tried to open them, but they wouldn’t budge for me.
“I can. Take my hand.”
He held his palm out to me and I slipped my hand into his. A mem
ory from eons ago flashed into my mind, of the first time Dacian held my hand, and the silly little skip of delight I’d felt. How things had changed.
In more ways than one, it seemed. Inside the gates, I glanced around and my breath caught in my throat. Heaven looked…dirty. The once white buildings were now a dull grey. Some of them were crumbling, and debris littered the streets. Broken-down vehicles had been left, abandoned, on the roads.
“Remind you of anything?” Dacian spoke softly behind me.
I nodded. “Yes. This is just like before Hell was created, before the evil souls were banished.”
“Exactly.”
“You think that’s what’s causing this? Has evil taken hold of Heaven again?”
I was puzzled how that could be. Originally, when God created Heaven and Earth, he hadn’t accounted for the fallout of the free will he’d gifted to humans. When their mortal time was up on Earth and their souls arrived in Heaven, the evil ones had tainted Heaven. As a consequence, God had created Hell and given me responsibility for it, an honor I gladly accepted.
“It could be that, or…” Dacian trailed off, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
“What?” I knew he was avoiding telling me, which meant it was bad.
“Maybe Heaven is like this because God is sick.”
I absorbed his words. God was immortal; we all were. But we had weaknesses. There had to be a balance, and as much as it pained me to admit it, maybe Dacian was right. That would explain why my brothers were getting away with such outrageous behavior. There was only one way to know for sure.
Find Dad and see for myself exactly what was going on.
2
Heaven Central was as busy as ever as we pulled up in our sleek, silver vehicle. Thankfully, the transportation system was still functioning well, and driverless vehicles zipped around the streets, catering to the humans who had ascended after their time on Earth was over. They didn’t have wings, so they needed transportation.
“I’m getting a really weird feeling of deja-vu,” I muttered, stepping out of the vehicle with Dacian close behind me.
“Same.”
It was eerily similar to that time, thousands of years ago, when we’d come to the Angel Towers building on Golden Wing Avenue to confront my brothers about the deteriorating state of Heaven. And even though we’d managed to rectify the situation then, I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach that this time things were going to be very different.
As I strode across the foyer, I changed my outfit from the designer jeans I’d worn on Earth to a black, figure-hugging Prada dress and red Louis Vuitton heels. My hair twisted itself up into a French braid at the back of my head, and my favorite gold bracelet appeared on my wrist.
“Power dressing?” Dacian inquired.
“You bet.”
The elevator opened as we approached. We stepped inside and rode it up.
Dacian broke the silence. “Who do we see first?”
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “Dad. I need to check that he’s okay, that this latest problem with Heaven isn’t to do with his health. And I had a thought—he can retrieve Levi from the Xoelax dimension. I don’t need Michael or Gabriel for that.”
“Good point, but will he interfere? He never has before now.”
“I think he can be persuaded. After all, it was Gabriel who was negotiating with the Xoelax people to bring the orb to Earth in the first place. As Vice President of Invention, he’s supposed to make sure no alien technology ever makes its way to earth. This is a direct conflict. The least Dad can do is retrieve one human, and then see that Gabriel is reprimanded.”
“That’s a reach,” Dacian muttered, moving in behind me as the elevator stopped and the doors opened onto the boardroom of Angel Towers.
“Lucifer.” Gabriel stood, pushing back his chair from the head of the table. Why was he sitting in Dad’s seat? To his left lounged Michael, who didn’t greet me at all, just stared. Nothing had changed, I saw.
“I take it you were alerted to my arrival.” Striding over to the opposite end of the table, I placed my palms against it and leaned forward. “Where’s Dad? I need to talk to him.”
Gabriel and Michael exchanged a look. “He’s…indisposed right now. You’ll have to make do with us.”
“Not going to happen. I’m not leaving here until I see him.” I pulled out a chair and sank into its plush depths, crossing my legs and idly studying my fingernails. I was prepared to wait them out. I could be as stubborn as them when I wanted to be.
“Dacian, report to HR. You disobeyed us and there are consequences,” Michael ordered, continuing to ignore me.
As Dacian spun to obey, I stopped him with a hand on his wrist. “Don’t go to HR. Wait for me downstairs.”
I kept my voice low, trying to convey to Dacian without words why I didn’t want him reporting to HR. I was pretty sure my brothers had employed some sort of mind-altering program on Dacian, and it was entirely possible they conducted it via HR. Dacian inclined his head slightly and left.
Michael finally turned his attention to me. “He isn’t here.”
“Who?”
“God. Father. Dad. He isn’t here.”
“What do you mean, he isn’t here? As in, at Angel Towers?”
“No, as in, not in Heaven.”
“Where is he, then?” If he wasn’t in Heaven, and he wasn’t in Hell, where exactly was he? Visiting Earth?
“We don’t know. He’s missing.” Michael’s voice was cold and flat, devoid of any trace of emotion. I, however, had enough emotion for the both of us. Anxiety, anger, worry—they all danced through me, raising goosebumps on my arms and making my stomach churn. This was bad. And what they were about to tell me next was really bad. I could feel it. I wanted to puke, but swallowed and did my best to hide my reaction from my brothers.
“How long has he been missing?” I applauded myself for keeping my voice so calm, when all I wanted to do was scream and shout and rant at them.
“Since you left,” Gabriel said.
I shifted my attention to him. He too was cold and calm. It was all starting to make sense, in a horrific and sick way. How Earth was falling apart. How the humans were not only destroying themselves, but the planet along with them. I’d often wondered why Dad never intervened, but now I understood—because he wasn’t here. He was missing. He’d been missing since Hell was created. And that was a long time ago.
“Is that why Heaven is dying? Because Dad…” I had to stop and clear my throat. “Because Dad is?”
Gabriel shrugged, exchanging a look with Michael.
“How could you!” I exploded. I was so angry there must have been fire in my eyes. “How could you keep this from me? I’m his daughter. You aren’t the only ones this affects!”
“See? I told you she’d have hysterics,” Michael said to Gabriel.
I couldn’t contain myself. I darted around the table and pressed a flaming wing to his throat. He shrank back in his chair, horrified, as I let the fire dance across his skin. It wasn’t enough to burn, but I could change that with a mere thought—and oh, how I dearly wanted to let my flames burn until he was consumed by them.
“Lucy, settle down.” Gabriel didn’t sound concerned, merely bored, as he watched. “This is precisely why we didn’t tell you. You tend to overreact.” I could taste the untruth in the air. It was thick, heavy, and dark. I almost choked on it.
“Since when do we lie in Heaven?” I put my wings away and arched a brow at Gabriel, my voice deadly calm. Gabriel shrugged. “This is why everything has turned to shit on Earth, isn’t it? Droughts, famine, war, violence. You’ve let it all go unpoliced, totally unconcerned. Why?”
I caught that look again between Gabriel and Michael, and I was fed up with it. Sick of their bullshit and plotting and planning.
“Same reason you planted that orb from Xoelax, isn’t it?” I guessed. “You want Earth for yourselves, and with dad out of the way…you figure you’ll
let the humans destroy themselves.”
“She is smart, I’ll give her that,” Gabriel drawled.
I pinned him with my gaze. “But you were too impatient, Gabriel. You wanted to hurry things along, bring in the orb to wipe out the humans. And that was your mistake, because with the soul stealer running amok on Earth, that got my attention. And here we are. You’re busted.” I crossed my arms over my chest. Wriggle out of this one, asshole.
“And tell me, Lucy, just what are you going to do about it? Dear old Dad doesn’t give a crap about any of us, clearly.”
Damn it, he had a point. What was I going to do about it?
“Find him, of course.” It was obvious.
Michael scoffed. “You don’t think we haven’t tried?”
“Oh, I’m sure you gave it a half-hearted effort, but no, I don’t think you seriously looked. I don’t think you put all your resources into it. You’re the Vice President of Defense, Michael. You could have an army out looking for him. Do you?”
The silence spoke volumes. It was as I suspected. My brothers didn’t want our father found. Were they responsible for his disappearance in the first place? Surely not.
Surely they wouldn’t stoop that low.
“Why did you want to see him, anyway?” Gabriel asked.
“I need his help to retrieve a human from a pocket dimension.”
“Ah, would that be the same human who was helping you on Earth? The psychic?”
“What do you know of Levi?” My brows pulled together so tight they hurt. Had this been another of Gabriel’s plans, to take Levi from me because I loved him?
