Life After: The Complete Series

by Julie Hall

The Chase

  Stalking through the smoke, I caught my breath at the sight that unveiled itself before my eyes. The red-scaled dragon—Satan in beast form—was twice the size of his previous incarnation. I wasn’t sure if he was more powerful without his chains or if he’d always been able to manifest into any size he wanted.

  Red-hot burning lava shot out of his unhinged, snake-like mouth toward a group of hunters who banded their shields together as a barrier. I swallowed a cry until the fire cleared and I saw the hunters were unscathed. Breathing a sigh of relief, I tightened my grip on the sword.

  Show time.

  “Hey you! Big ugly! Yo, slime bucket!” I gritted my teeth. Seriously, that was all I could come up with? But my insults did garner his attention. “You want me? Here I am!”

  The scaled monster twisted his neck in my direction. Slitted pupils dilated and then returned to straight lines. What might have been a chuckle bounced around the dragon’s chest.

  “And there she issss,” he hissed. “The one who made all thisss desstruction posssssible.”

  “You don’t belong here,” I yelled.

  Satan turned his massive body toward me, using his tail to bat away the hunters he’d been trying to barbeque—mowing them over like he’d swept his hand across a chessboard and scattered all the pieces. I winced but couldn’t spare them a glance. Hunters were made of tough stock; they’d bounce back.

  Satan lowered his oversized head to my level, his snout almost touching the ground, and I stared into the face of pure evil.

  “I belong wherever I want, little lamb. A large part of that isss due to you.” His scorching breath washed over me and blew my hair back over my shoulders.

  I hid a shudder.

  “I’ll sssee you in a bit. I have to grab sssomething before we leave.” Leathery wings pumped, and he lifted off the ground.

  Wait, what?

  “Don’t look so forlorn. I’ll be back for you. Promissse.” His forked tongue drew out the last word.

  His wings continued to flap as he hovered in the air a moment longer, clearing out the area of mist and smoke. Then he shot into the sky and headed toward the marbled city.

  No.

  There were people in that city. Non-hunter people that wouldn’t know how to defend themselves let alone fight off the beast.

  I did a speedy assessment of the area now that the smoke had cleared. Remnants of our ceremony lay like carnage across a battlefield. Broken chairs were everywhere. The gold aisle runner I’d walked down was shredded to ribbons and scattered like ash. I still couldn’t find Logan. The only people present were armor-clad hunters . . . and me, in my torn, dirty dress, gripping a short sword with stringy clumps of red-white-and-brown-streaked hair hanging in my face.

  I glanced back at the sky to watch Satan fly toward the city. His form grew smaller by the moment. I sprinted in his direction but skidded to a halt when a mass of golden fur cut me off.

  Battle Bear stood in front of me on his hind legs, razor-sharp claws out and fanged teeth bared. He wasn’t going to let me pass. I tensed to fight my way past him. Unreasonable animal.

  He growled at me once before dropping to all fours and presenting me with his side, crouching on the ground to give me access to his back. Huh?

  He turned his head as if waiting on me.

  “Was that growl because you were mad I left you behind when we went to rescue Logan?”

  He huffed and actually nodded at me, and my eyes widened.

  “Am I forgiven then?”

  He stuck his tongue out at me. Double huh. It slowly dawned on me that he understood everything I said.

  “You are a lot smarter than I’ve been giving you credit for, aren’t you?”

  Another nod. Well then, I wasn’t about to turn down the free ride. I fisted some of Bear’s fur and pulled myself to sit astride him. I grasped his pelt with both hands, anticipating the bumpy ride to come.

  Bear pushed up, readying for our sprint when my name was yelled.

  I twisted to look, and Logan was running toward me. He was safe. The knot in my chest loosened a notch.

  “Audrey, no. You’ll be taken,” he yelled. “The bond, it wasn’t completed.”

  And thank goodness for that. Logan and I had run out of time. I didn’t have to look at the veins wrapped around my body to know that. He wouldn’t be shackled to me for the rest of eternity. He’d be free to love someone else. It stabbed my heart to even think that, but leaving was the right thing.

  Logan would never allow me to get in the middle of the battle I had every intention of fighting. Water threatened to fill my eyes, but I stomped the sentiment down. This could very well be the last time I saw his face—the face I loved so much, currently twisted in anguish as if he already knew I wouldn’t heed his warning.

  He knew me pretty well after all.

  When he was only feet away, I spurred Bear on.

  “I love you,” I shouted and faced forward. I left a broken man in my wake. My last image of Logan was of him falling to his knees—anguish etched on every part of his face.

  Some signal must have gone out to the citizens of the city to take cover, because the streets were empty—not a soul in sight as we barreled past the pristine white buildings.

  Thank goodness.

  Like the last time I’d ridden Bear in search of Satan, my friend seemed to know exactly where he was going.

  The trip was short. Bear was headed full steam for a building I recognized. The Archives Building. The closer we got, the faster Bear’s pace became.

  “Whoa there, buddy. I think you may want to slow down a bit.”

  He half turned his head and snorted at me. O-kay then.

  I looked up—we were headed straight for the entrance. As in straight for the glass revolving doors.

  “Bear,” I cried and hunched over, flattening my body as much as I could to his side with my face buried in his fur. There was no stopping him now. He was going to go straight through the entrance without stopping—straight through several sheets of glass.

  I screamed as we hit the first wall of glass and hung on until the jarring noises stopped, along with the jolting ride.

  I looked up. We were in the solarium, covered in shards of glass, yet both amazingly free of injury. I slid off Bear’s back and landed on legs of jelly. I leaned against him until I was able to stand without help.

  After I gained my bearings, I marched in front of him and grabbed the fur of his cheeks in my fists. “What were you thinking? We could have stopped outside and entered like normal, non-insane beings.”

  He snuffed as though he were laughing. I backed up a step, and he shook his body like he was shaking off water. I covered my face as glass flew off in all directions like droplets of liquid.

  I pointed a finger at him. “You know, you can be a real pain sometimes.”

  Another maybe Bear chuckle.

  I sighed. “But yes, I still love you.”

  Something shattered in a different part of the building, and I jumped at the noise.

  Apparently we’d found the dragon. I looked down at my ruined outfit. This wouldn’t do.

  Closing my eyes, I concentrated to change my disaster dress into body armor. I waited until the change was complete to open my eyes and then just stared down at myself. I’d managed to materialize all my armor, including a baldric to hold my sword on my back for comfort and ease of use, but the armor was all white.

  What the what?

  Whatever, close enough.

  I set off on the same path Logan had taken me down only a week before. The loud thumping behind me said I wasn’t alone. “Bear,” I shot over my shoulder, “you stay here. It’s too dangerous for you.”

  He growled and then head-butted my back, sending me stumbling several steps forward before I righted myself.

  “Was that really necessary?” I asked

  He issued another growl.

  “Ugh, fine. You can come.”

  We crept forward along the tr
ee-lined path—well, I crept, Bear lumbered. I didn’t spy a single creature and hoped they’d found hiding places.

  We passed through a second set of doors, which Bear barely fit through, and entered the library. Completely vacant, the room was eerily quiet.

  Quickly moving through the center aisle, we reached the end of the room, and I grasped the handle that led to the next part of the building.

  The dragon wasn’t here—but a roar from somewhere beyond the room shook the walls in the library. Books rained down from all six stories of shelves, creating a tidal wave of sound when they smacked the floor. I surveyed the wreckage of the once pristine room with my heart in my throat. Those books were priceless. They contained the histories of all the living humans on Earth. And now piles of records lay in scattered heaps on the chairs, desks, and floor of the grand room. Something about that was very wrong.

  This whole situation was wrong. Those fallen books represented the consequences of my actions. They represented lives that would be disrupted, broken and ruined by my moment of anger. The burden of my transgressions weighed me down.

  Another ear-piercing roar made the earth tremble beneath my feet. Maybe I couldn’t right my wrong, but I could do everything in my power to stop further damage. My soul might have already been damned, but if I was going to spend the rest of my existence in Hell, I was bringing that dragon back down with me.

  I blew out a lungful of air and pushed through the door in front of me.

  28

  Artifacts Room

  Bear shrank to his normal dog size to fit through the doorway this time. Just as I remembered from my visit with Logan, we entered a small room with two doors. The one on the left led to the room full of beautiful pictures. The other door led to what Logan had called the Artifacts Room. That was the one place I hadn’t been before, and the place I expected Satan to be. Although why, I had no idea.

  “Bear, you’re staying here.”

  He huffed at me and took a few steps forward. I curled my hands in his fur and forced him to stop.

  “Seriously, I mean it. You are not to go in there. He’ll rip you to shreds.”

  Bear let out a low growl, and the hair on his back stood on end.

  “Don’t even think about pulling an attitude with me. Stay.” I pointed a finger at him.

  He let out another low growl but plopped his butt on the smooth floor. I pressed my lips together. He could be as mad at me as he wanted, but I wanted him safe.

  I placed a quick kiss on Bear’s head before sprinting to the door. Glass shattered on the other side and I sped up, stretching for the knob . . . and then slammed right into the smooth surface.

  Ouch.

  The stupid thing was locked.

  Rubbing a hand under my nose, my glove came back bloodied. Great, I’d probably just broken my face.

  I stepped back and put my body weight into a few solid kicks. The door didn’t so much as groan, but I did.

  I turned to look at Bear, who was sitting with what looked suspiciously like a smile on his furry face.

  “A little help?”

  He cocked his head at me.

  “Seriously?”

  He got up and trotted over to me. More glass smashed behind the unopened door. A vicious roar shook the building. This wasn’t the time for games. Whatever Satan was doing in there, I was running out of time to deal with him before more hunters showed up. I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me. Logan was most definitely searching for me and could appear at any time. He had to be flipping out, knowing my intention was to face Satan alone.

  I rolled my eyes. “Bear, will you please help me get past this door?”

  He inclined his head, and then before my eyes, my sweet, goofy, lazy dog transformed. He let out a bark that turned into a thunderous growl as his teeth elongated and his head expanded. His ears shortened, but everything else grew in length and girth. After a few blinks, Bear was no longer just Bear. He was now Battle Bear.

  I patted his oversized belly. “We gotta get you some armor, buddy. You’d look good in it.”

  Bear shoved me to the side with his massive head. Once I was out of the way, he backed up several steps before ramming the door and the wall around it. He tore at the barrier with his razor claws and sharp teeth. When he backed up, the door wasn’t just open; there was a full-on hole in the wall three times larger than the previous entrance had been

  “You are truly frightening. Okay, thanks. Now stay here.”

  I ran through the opening, followed by the sound of claws clicking against the floor. Why did I think he’d obey?

  After several steps, brightness blinded me.

  What the what?

  I threw a hand up to shield my eyes and skidded to a halt. Bear rammed into my back, sending me sprawling.

  That did not tickle.

  I struggled to my feet and shot a scolding look over my shoulder. Bear was up on two legs, towering over me . . . He shrugged.

  How did he know how to do that? Whatever, not important.

  With momentary blindness abated, I tilted my head up and saw . . . the sky? Most of the ceiling in this part of the building had been ripped clean off, and light shone straight in. The museum-like open room where I stood might once have been beautiful but was currently in a state of complete disarray. Debris from the hole in the roof littered the area, along with smashed display cases. Glass, wood, chunks of marble, sheet rock . . . pieces of the room were everywhere. Interspersed in the mess were books, artwork, ancient weaponry, weird contraptions I didn’t recognize—all the things that must have held some sort of value. If the Creator was all-powerful, why was He allowing this destruction?

  Another angry roar sounded to my left, shaking the room and forcing my attention. Satan. He was over there somewhere, still in his gigantic dragon form.

  I had no idea what he was looking for. I only knew my mission now was to keep it from him. But what could Satan possibly want? What could be so important to have gone through all this trouble to obtain?

  I glanced back at Battle Bear and motioned for him to drop to all fours. At least that way he was a little less conspicuous. The Artifacts Room was just one large room the size of a small warehouse. The only places to hide were behind the artifacts or cases holding them.

  The element of surprise was the only thing I had going for me. This was a flimsy plan—scratch that, this wasn’t a plan at all. I’d followed the monster to this place with the blind determination to stop him, but what could I really do against him? I didn’t have a magic sword anymore. I was just me. And there was no way I was going to be enough.

  Crouching down, I peered around a fallen bookshelf. A giant membranous wing snapped out from the far side of the room and tossed what looked to be a wooden trebuchet against the wall. Satan was about a hundred feet away. My gosh, that ancient weapon had to weigh a ton, and he’d flung it out of the way as if it were no more than a tin can.

  I sat down with my back against the bookshelf and buried my face in my hands. All I had to go up against him with was a burning desire to right my wrong and protect my loved ones. I was going to fail.

  But I steeled my resolve. I would give whatever I could. It would never be enough, but it was all I had.

  I bowed my head in a silent prayer of thanks to the Creator for what I’d been given and asked for His forgiveness of my part in releasing this abomination.

  When I lifted my gaze, I was ready. Ready for the fight I was sure to lose. Ready to do whatever I could—even if I only managed to weaken the beast for my fellow hunters. Ready to face the embodiment of pure evil. And most of all, ready to face my end.

  29

  Face Off

  What I wasn’t ready for was a fight with my overgrown bear-dog. I’d commanded him to stay put. The big, stupid, lovable, terrifying butthead would not stop tailing me as I tried to creep closer to where Satan was searching in the back of the Artifact Room.

  “For the last time, you overgrown ball of fur,
will you please stay put?”

  Bear growled low and shook his head at me. At this point, I liked him better when he didn’t understand English. He had been way more obedient on Earth.

  Grabbing the fur on the sides of his giant head, I looked into his big chocolate eyes. “Listen, buddy, you know I love you. And I know you are one fierce fighter. But right now, you are too big to be following me around. That crazy unhinged dragon over there is gonna discover us any minute if you keep trying to follow me. And now that you’re here, you’re too vulnerable to shrink back to regular Bear size. So I need you to just stay put, okay?”

  He blinked at me twice. What did that mean?

  “When the other hunters arrive, you can join the fight, okay?”

  Another blink. Geez, was this how Logan felt when he was trying to keep me from danger? Because if so, it explained his general grouchy attitude those first few months of training.

  “Listen, boy, you are so important to me, and I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt. That dragon over there could seriously injure you. So I need you to obey me and wait for the rest of the hunters to arrive . . . please.” I wasn’t above begging at this point.

  His furry head dipped and dropped to my shoulder. The move was so like what he used to do when he’d give me hugs on Earth. I felt a prickle behind my eyes. I was going to miss him so much, but he was letting me go. I breathed a sigh of relief. When he lifted his head, there was a strange shininess to his eyes. Almost human-like.

  He nudged me with his giant snout. I had to go, and I couldn’t tell him everything would be all right and that I’d see him soon, because I didn’t know how the next few minutes would play out. So I placed a gentle kiss on his furry nose and whispered my love to him before scurrying over to an overturned bookcase I could hide behind.

  Pushing Bear out of my thoughts, I refocused my attention on my enemy with one goal in mind: Keep him from obtaining whatever artifact he was looking for, at any cost.