Heroes and a Hellhound: Book One

by Eleanor Rousseau

  I shrugged. “I kept to the shadows, no one saw…” I hesitated. “Maybe one guy, but he appeared to be assaulting a woman who was unconscious.” A slow grin stole across my face. “I believe he soiled himself.”

  “No offence, Neva, but you are one scary demon spawn,” Rosa told me.

  I just laughed.

  6

  6 - Purgatory

  Nevaeh -

  Hell was not finite. Some might even call it infinite; it was always there, always the same. Fire, brimstone, yadda, yadda, yadda. However, the earth realm is far more malleable. People fuck with it. All. The. Time. And that was another thing they could fuck with on the earth realm. Time.

  One trip to Hell and you could end up coming back to find out that the Nazis had won the war because some doucheclaw had gone back in time to kill Hitler. People just shouldn’t fuck with time. That’s rule one in Time Travel for Dummies. And anyone who chose to time travel was definitely a dummy.

  Luckily, most humans were morons and time travel was beyond them. As I stared down at the object in my hands that Terra had given me, I decided to hunt down whoever had messed with time during the three years I spent down in Hell. Of course, I’d noticed before that things had changed during my brief vacation down under, but I’d never really pondered the atrocities that had occurred as a result.

  Sure, I’d apparently enrolled at a university, and had never reportedly actually been missing. Also, my time-warped counterpart had apparently been human. But those things had been minor inconveniences.

  “What is this shit?” I demanded.

  “It’s an iPod,” she explained patiently as she poured herself a cup of coffee. Demons didn’t need food, strictly speaking, but Terra seemed to ingest coffee as if it were the sole thing fuelling her.

  I pressed a button and the irritating noises that had been emanating from it ceased. “The woman who spoke in this is clearly possessed. Her nonsensical words seemed unrelated, but for the fact that they occasionally rhymed. Surely it’s witchcraft, witches like rhymes.”

  She smirked a little, raising her mug in an attempt to obscure the expression.

  “And what have they to do with a long reptile? Is it a spell to enchant an individual named Troy, or enslave the Alexander of whom she speaks?” I enquired.

  She laughed maniacally. “You actually listened to the words?”

  “Of course I did,” I said indignantly. “Why would you give me this?”

  “You like music.”

  “That’s not music, it’s witchcraft—evil, vile witchcraft.” I glared at the device for good measure. “No such infectious evil existed on my earth,” I said firmly.

  She shook her head, amused. “Are you sure? It could have existed and you just hadn’t heard it.”

  “If I knew that such an evil banshee existed, I surely would have hunted her down and slaughtered her,” I said confidently. Typically banshee’s screamed, they didn’t rap, but in this case, the effect seemed equally horrifying.

  She was trying her best not to grin, brown eyes glittering with dark amusement. Clearly, she was trying to corrupt me in some way. She opened her mouth to speak when her phone started beeping. She pulled it out and frowned as she stared at the screen. “Someone’s trying to build up enough power to open a portal.”

  “Urgh, can’t people just cut the crap for, like, one day?” I muttered.

  She glanced around absently, then focused on her phone. “Yup, it should be opening in five… four…” She glanced at me, then nodded to herself. “Three…” She took a step back and to the right, away from me. “Two…”

  There was a flash of orange light and I landed on my ass. “Bitch!” I cursed.

  “I do hope you’re not referring to me.”

  Startled by the voice, I span to the speaker, lifting myself into a crouch. He stood there in jeans and a clean white button-down shirt, the cuffs rolled up to reveal his forearms. He wasn’t human, that much was obvious, but he didn’t look like a demon or even an angel. Not that I thought an angel would want anything to do with me.

  I glanced around at the endless expanse of grey. I’d never been here before but I knew it well enough. Purgatory. I looked at the man again. In Purgatory one could only wear their true face. I drew my tongue across my teeth to find that my fangs were extended.

  He looked normal, but a living human wouldn’t have the power to drag me to Purgatory, bringing portals into existence took an immense amount of power.

  “Nephilim?” I asked, eyeing him warily.

  He grinned. “What gave it away?”

  “The shirt. No self-respecting member of Hell’s army would wear white.”

  He chuckled. The dude practically had ‘nice guy’ stamped across his forehead. “Yes, we may have similar powers to daemons but our attitudes do tend to vary.”

  It was a little-known fact that Heaven and Hell weren’t where everything ended. Despite common belief, if you were a bad person you didn’t have to suffer for an eternity. You’d suffer all right, but eventually you might be granted the opportunity to become a demon. And if you worked your way up that ladder you might even be given the chance to go to Valhalla, or even Folkvangr, where you become either a daemon of Hell’s army or a nephilim of Heaven’s army.

  Heaven had pretty much the same deal going. Neither of the armies was good or bad; they were neutral, like a policing force of the universe. After they served a particular number of years in either army they could even petition to be reincarnated as a human again.

  Basically, there were a lot of fucking hoops for one to jump through if they wanted to achieve anything. I was glad I was excused from that particular clusterfuck due to my mixed heritage.

  But what the hell would Heaven’s army want with me? No pun intended. Technically, I was out of their jurisdiction. I was a grey area, the metaphorical man without a cause, Switzerland—and I liked it that way.

  “So…” I prompted politely. No need to poke the bear, not yet anyway.

  He smiled politely back at me.

  I guess he was waiting for that poke. “Dude, what the fuck do you want from me?”

  “I would like to extend an invitation to one of the warrior realms.”

  What the shit? I blinked. “You’re fucking with me,” I accused, grinning.

  He blinked, surprised, and shook his head.

  “Did Terra put you up to this?” I demanded.

  He shook his head again. “The offer is genuine. You’ve proven yourself capable of saving people and dispensing justice, and with the powers you’ve been born with, you’d be quite formidable.”

  I actually contemplated the offer for a moment. After all, signing up came with a lot of perks. You had the power boost, teleportation, immunity to any poisons and disease, a bunch of other nifty tricks, as well as some badass custom armour and weapons that any sane, vengeful person would drool over.

  Unfortunately, that awesome package also included a lobotomy. It was the only way they could let a demon become a nephilim, and it kept them from dwelling on their torment, and the way they tormented others. Always read the fine print.

  “Okay, so, no offence, but no way am I taking that offer, generous as it is.” Generous my ass. I’d rather light myself on fire and cut off my right arm than allow divine beings to screw with my head.

  He sighed softly and shook his head as if failing to understand. “But it would mean that you could no longer be trapped in Hell, as you were for a number of years, and you would no longer feel the blood lust.”

  Those were good perks. The blood lust had been the bane of my existence for a while, but that didn’t change the fact that it was a part of me, a part which I had learned to live with and that had made me stronger. Of course, if I’d explained that to him he may have mistaken me for a rational creature.

  I certainly couldn’t allow that. “Realm hopping makes me nauseous,” I said, deadpan.

  He stared blankly back at me. “You wouldn’t be realm… hopping too often,
” he finally offered.

  “All the same, it’s a no.”

  He frowned a little. “You know that Wrath is after you, he wants you back in Hell. He thinks that he can break you this time around if he gets the chance.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “How do you know this?” I demanded, now suspicious.

  He shrugged. “I hear things, and because I was sent to make you the offer I listened carefully to those things that included you.”

  Only a little bit subdued by his response, I glared at him for good measure. “Wrath can bite me,” I said, baring my teeth.

  Looking a little bereft, he nodded and pulled out a large gold metal hoop—flat and about an inch thick. It connected around the back with a thin chain. “Here, at least take this.”

  I snarled loudly at him. “You really think it’s a good idea to give a hound a collar!” I growled, incensed.

  He glanced down, then his expression turned guilty as if only just realising what an insult that might be. “It’s to keep Wrath, or any of the other Seven, from feeding on your emotions.” He let out a pulse of magic and the necklace transformed into two metal wrist guards. He tried offering them again.

  “I don’t like gold,” I said, just to be contrary.

  He sighed and suddenly they were a dark silver.

  “Oh, pretty,” I murmured.

  He smiled, just a little. “They are yours, free of obligation—just a taste of what you could have.”

  I quirked a brow. “Like a first month’s free trial?”

  He blinked, confused. “No, you can keep them.” Clearly, the guy had never gotten Netflix. What did he even do in his free time? Though, I didn’t imagine nephilim automatons took many personal days.

  “I’m no Wonder Woman,” I warned seriously.

  His expression was still blank. “If you say so.”

  I guess I couldn’t blame a centuries-old being for not getting modern references but, damn. Who didn’t know about Wonder Woman? She kicked ass, in the comics and at the box office. “I still don’t want to join your armies,” I informed him, even as I reached for the pretty wrist guards.

  He smiled charmingly. “Just think about it, we’ve got eternity.” He winked and suddenly I landed on my ass. Again.

  This time I was back in my chair. I blinked up at Terra, clutching my new accessories to my chest.

  She sipped casually at her fresh cup of coffee. “Have fun?”

  “Fuck you, and the horse you rode in on!” I growled. She just laughed.

  7

  7 - Flashback

  Nevaeh, Many Years Ago -

  “Well, I never thought you’d be one to drink straight from the tap,” murmured the sardonic voice of the demon who was responsible for my torment.

  I pulled my fangs free from the bloody cow carcass to glare up at him. “I’m so hungry. All the time,” I told him, my voice hoarse, the gnawing hunger a constant companion. Whenever I slept, I awoke half-crazed with it and ready to kill anything that came too close. Luckily, I’d managed to avoid doing irreparable harm thus far, but I didn’t kid myself—I might not hold out for much longer.

  He smiled, the look insufferably smug. “That’s what it’s like for your kind here. You’ll learn to control the hunger after the first hundred years or so. That’s why they call you hellhounds because, if we offer to feed you, you’ll come running like loyal dogs.”

  Bastard. “I can feed myself.” I was nobody’s dog.

  “What if I throw you into a desert? Souls roam through there, but they’re human. You don’t eat humans, do you?”

  I licked the carcass, then stopped when I realised what I was doing. “What do you want, Wrath? You here to threaten me? Because I’ve got a newsflash for you, I’m already in HELL!!” I pushed myself to my feet, fists clenched. “So come at me, give it your best shot, make me another broken soul in a long, long line of broken souls. And maybe, by the end of it, you’ll say jump and I’ll ask how high. But just know, you stupid son of a bitch, that if you keep a bitch on a short leash, she’s close enough to sink her fangs into you.” I bared my teeth as I spat the words at him.

  “There it is! That’s not just anger, and it’s not fear talking—it’s pure, unfiltered wrath.” The gleam in his eyes was almost manic.

  “Oh, I’m glad. Does it make you feel good to be so powerful? Aren’t you a special snowflake? You riled up a girl who doesn’t have a fraction of the power you do, and it only took you six months. You feel good about yourself? Wrath, he’s so powerful, he can do all of this even with his head stuck up his own ass. Guess what? Anyone can make someone mad. You’re not powerful, you’re just a leech, a parasite. And even if you should gain my obedience you will never earn my respect!”

  Wrath glared back at me, his eyes dark and pitiless. “That’s a nice speech. Are you done? Because I think it’s time for a trip to the beach.”

  The world around me changed from the slaughterhouse I’d come to know. It had taken months of searching the landscapes of hell for me to find a place where I could stave off starvation, and the place disappeared before my eyes.

  Sand settled around my feet, sinking between my toes, and a blinding light lit the sky which was suddenly clear above me. Reaching up to shade my eyes, I looked around. There was nothing but sand as far as I could see in every direction, and there was no shelter from the unrelenting heat of the sun.

  Wrath was gone, as was any sign that he’d ever been there. I bared my teeth and screamed in fury.

  Nobody heard me; this place was a wasteland.

  * * *

  Nevaeh, Present Day -

  “Are you sure about this?” Terra asked. We stood together on the roof of the asylum. I couldn’t tell how long I’d been staring blankly out at the town, but it was fully dark now. What did it say about me that I found the darkness a comfort?

  I gave her the blandest look I could muster. “I don’t fear him.” And I believed that. He had tormented me for years, but that didn’t mean he should be feared. All it meant was that he was a bully and a coward who liked to prey on those weaker than him.

  “No, you’re mad at him, and that anger only feeds him. You shouldn’t go in; I definitely shouldn’t go in,” she said. She had a temper, which was unsurprising given that she was also a demon and, in angering her, he would only make himself stronger.

  I gave a casual shrug. “I can control my emotions.” It was true. I had perfect control over my emotions. To prove it, I grinned. I just had to think of the demon of Wrath as prey. This was my territory, I had power here. He was trying to cause trouble, but I was no longer the young girl I’d once been. He was nothing more than a pest. I’d been right when I’d called him a parasite.

  And I had something he wouldn’t anticipate—a gift from a soldier of Heaven’s army, something to keep him from feeding off of my emotions. Even if I did lose my head, I wouldn’t be giving him power.

  I touched the cool metal at my wrists. I’d been wearing them for hours, but they didn’t seem to conduct heat the way they were supposed to. I wondered what that meant for my powers, which typically ran hot. Maybe it would suppress them, or maybe the wrist guards themselves would just be immune to my fire.

  I was hoping for the latter. I would need every power I had if I truly wanted to defeat Wrath, and Envy. Envy, I didn’t know so well. She was a more subtle creature; she’d whisper doubts and insecurities in your ear until it drove you mad.

  Apparently, Wrath’s tactic was just to prod and poke at someone until they went mad with fury. I’d foiled his first plan by escaping hell, so he’d found a new way to fuck with me. I should have known better than to think I was beyond his reach because I’d made it back to earth. He wouldn’t let me go as easily as I’d let go of my anger. Well, I liked to tell myself I’d let it go. And I was very convincing.

  Staring back out at the lights of the town, I let myself get lost in thought. When Wrath had first come upon me I’d been, for all intents and purposes, human. I’d crave
d blood and couldn’t be burned, but I’d just been human. It was hard to articulate the differences between who I’d been then and who I was. Some might call it a loss of innocence; I called it an education.

  I’d been human, but that had been a lie, a carefully crafted illusion. I could pretend to be normal, even now I could probably pull it off if I felt so inclined. But I didn’t want to, pretending was exhausting. Worrying about what people think all the time, acting like you give a damn about pointless shit and dressing like everyone else…

  Yes, I hated Wrath, because of who and what he was, but I’d also be lying if I said that he hadn’t made me what I am. It seemed past time that I introduced Wrath to the person forged in the fire he’d lit.

  8

  8 - Ghost Stories

  Nevaeh -

  I felt strangely at peace as I stared up at the night sky, the flames of a fire flickering off my skin. We all sat around the fire, Terra, Rosa, Juliette, Dee, Jason and I. I closed my eyes, listening to the conversation but not actively participating. Feeling peaceful was an entirely new experience for me. Who knew it could feel so… nice.

  Pete rested his head against my abdomen, just as relaxed as I was. It was good. Ever since my kidnapping and conversation with the nephilim, something in me had been wound tight. Truth be told, I’d been waiting for the demon Wrath to jump out of the shadows at me and drag me back to Hell. Who wouldn’t be tense?

  It wasn’t a rational fear, not anymore. I’d been weak when our paths had first crossed. I’d been living as a human, barely touching my powers. I was stronger now, and even when I had been stuck in Hell, I’d carved out a place for myself. I’d survived. In some parts of the Underworld I was even known as the Black Diamond of Phlegethon, a title I’d earned through blood sweat and tears, although mostly blood.