Hellbound: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Thrice Cursed Mage Book 6)

by J. A. Cipriano

  “Nice dress,” I said, smirking at him. “You make quite a nice woman.”

  “Yeah, well.” He glanced down at himself in the dress and shrugged. “Persephone said if she brought more than one guy, things would be suspicious.” He turned a little to show off one long leg. “Besides, I look great in heels.”

  “I do not understand how you look so much like a girl,” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you even have a penis?”

  “Wanna find out?” he replied, a devilish smirk crossing his lips.

  “No,” I said, turning away from him, and as I did, Jenna stepped into the hallway looking every part the fucking sex toy.

  Her blonde cornrows had been taken out and now her golden hair cascaded around her ebony shoulders in a golden wave. Her sleek, black dress hugged her in a way that made the dress Vassago had given her look like something off the Walmart rack. The thin fabric strained to hold her ample curves inside, and as she moved, I found myself hoping the fabric would move just a little more so I could see…

  I shut my eyes and thought of baseball because I found that sometimes worked for horny druids with bad thoughts. It didn’t, but I tried and that was important.

  “Do you think I look okay?” she asked, and there was a tremor in her voice. Was she embarrassed?

  “Yeah,” I said, opening my eyes to find Persephone standing next to Jenna, grinning at us. She was dressed in a similar outfit, only hers was silver, and of the two of them, I wasn’t sure who actually made it look better.

  “Yeah, if I had to choose, I’d go with both,” Sam said, walking up beside me and elbowing me in the ribs. “He would too, but he’s too noble to say.”

  “Sam?” Jenna asked, one perfectly manicured eyebrow snaking up her forehead as she looked him over. “Do you actually have a penis?”

  “Wanna find out?” he asked, and I suddenly felt like I was stuck in a loop.

  “He does. Now let’s go. The party starts in a few minutes,” Persephone said, moving past all of us and heading toward the far door. As she walked, other ladies, all dressed like fantasy princesses, came stepping out of the doors on either side to flank her.

  “Admit it. Part of you wants to know how she knows. Am I right?” Sam cackled as he made his way after them, booty shaking in his tight dress. I sighed and rubbed my face with my hand. Sure, it might ruin my makeup, but I was a fucking guy and fuck this fucking shit. I had demons to kill and a girlfriend to go back to.

  “Not even slightly,” Jenna said, moving next to me. She touched my arm casually before following Sam down the hall. Her booty shake was much better, but as she walked, I got the impression she was trying very hard not to shake her ass at me. What would it be like if she tried?

  I pushed that thought out of my head and moved along. Nothing to see here, folks. Also, baseball is boring.

  A smirk crossed my lips as I reached the far end of the room in time to see Persephone swing open a door and reveal a white stretch limousine with blacked out windows. The girls filed out past her toward the car as the chauffeur, a demur looking guy with skin the color of chocolate milk, swung the back door open. “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers exploded from the interior of the car, thumping along the ground and rolling over me in a way the song had never before.

  A red haze filled my vision and the tattoos along my arm flared to life. I had half a second to glance down at my arm before everything fell into a swirl of void and I reached out, trying to grab onto the doorframe in an effort to steady myself, but I couldn’t make my hands work, let alone my fingers. My arm hit the jamb limply as I slid forward onto the ground beside the limo, and darkness overtook me.

  13

  Cold water hit me in the face, and I sat up sputtering in the back of the limo. Persephone stood over me, an empty pitcher in hand.

  “Wake up, sleepyhead,” she said, smirking at me as she dropped the pitcher on the leather seat beside me and stepped out of the vehicle, leaving me alone inside. I shook myself and rubbed my face trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened. The last thing I remembered was collapsing next to the limo.

  My right arm ached like I’d gotten attacked by a swarm of fire ants. I took a deep breath, fighting down the pain and pulled my sleeve up to look at my arm. What I saw, stopped me cold. My arm was totally normal. The blackness and tattoos were gone.

  “How the fuck?” I murmured, suddenly much more concerned with my sudden lack of power than with where I was or how I’d gotten here. Obviously the song had been some kind of spell designed to knock me out, and they’d brought me along, but had it also done this to my arm? How was that even possible?

  My heart pounding in my chest as I reached out for the cat demon. Not only was there no static, but there was no trace of her whatsoever. Profound emptiness filled me and a sense of nakedness settled over me as I stared at my arm. Where had the cat gone?

  I wouldn’t have gone so far as to say I needed her, but it was damned close because my body started to shake like a junkie jonesing for a fix. I clambered out of the car and tried to approach Persephone intent on finding out what she’d done to me. She had her back to me and was busy talking to a couple of bouncers wearing blue bowties and nothing else.

  “What have you done?” I whispered, barely able to make the sound come out of my mouth before my legs turned to jelly beneath me.

  The only thing that stopped me from eating a mouthful of pavement was Sam’s grip on my arm. He held me up with ease and threw my arm over his shoulder while Jenna sidled up under my other arm and supported me outside the nightclub.

  A line of people was wrapped around the outside, separated from the entrance by a red velvet rope and so many black-shirted bouncers, I wondered if they were having a job fair for the guys at the same time. The front of the building was a mess of highly-polished steel and black glass that stretched into the horizon so far I couldn’t actually see the end of it. Neon lights lit up the name “Place!” right above the silver door, and it was so bright, I could actually see the light cast from it against the Hellish orange backdrop of the sky.

  “Don’t make a scene,” Sam hissed, glancing around furtively. “Persephone hid your arm. It’ll wear off supposedly, but you can’t use your magic until it does.”

  “That’s fucked,” I muttered, sucking a breath into my heaving lungs. Nothing felt right. Every movement was like swimming through Jell-O.

  “Be glad she did,” Sam said as the two of them dragged me forward. “Otherwise you’d have never made it through the perimeter guards.”

  “He’s right, Mac,” Jenna said, her breath hot on my neck as she spoke. “We’re just lucky it worked.” She swallowed hard, and as I looked at her, I realized she looked different. There was nothing in particular I could place, just little things here and there that seemed off. It made her look like a totally different person.

  Even the sense of power that normally radiated from her was gone too. It was a little weird, but it sort of made sense. She was one of Asmodai’s seven, and I was pretty sure if she got anywhere near him, he’d know. Letting him know we were here was the absolute last thing we needed. After all, even if he was weakened, he was still a Prince of Hell.

  “Did she do something to you, too?” I asked, trying to calm myself as I pulled in another breath. It sort of worked. “You seem different.”

  “Yes. But I’m not Cursed so I’m not having withdrawals.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll do the heavy lifting, all right?”

  “How are you going to kill Asmo—”

  “Shut your mouth!” Sam snapped, clamping one manicured hand over my jaws and squeezing. “Do not say his name here. If you do, he will hear you. Trust me when I say you do not want that.”

  “We’ve got a plan,” Jenna said as Persephone turned toward us and waved us all inside.

  By the time I reached the front entrance, an elaborate affair done in gold filigree and flanked by anatomically incorrect Greek Gods and Goddesses, I was able to walk un
der my own power again. I was still twitchy as fuck, but I was getting better. Besides, I knew I had weapons, and that always made me feel like myself.

  The door opened soundlessly to reveal three-inch thick black shag carpet. The light was low, reminding me of a strip club as we entered. The mellow coo of Kenny G filtered through the air as we were led into a large room filled with people as extravagantly dressed as we were. They all stood at high top tables and chatted nervously while glancing around the room. There was an open bar at the corner and even though everything in me was desperate for a drink to take the edge off, I refrained because I didn’t want to wind up stuck in Hell because I’d had a shot of Jack.

  “Remember,” Sam said, glancing at me from a couple feet away. “Don’t eat or drink anything.”

  “Yeah, I got it,” Jenna said, shaking her head. “It’s too bad, ‘cause I could go for a couple bottles of wine right about now.”

  “Everyone seems nervous,” I said, glancing around the room as Persephone’s girls scattered to mingle with the crowd and we were left to stand at a high top by ourselves.

  “It’s the beginning of an orgy. It’s always a little,” Persephone waved her hand in a gesture I couldn’t discern. “Awkward.”

  “Isn’t an orgy supposed to be more, you know, naked?” I asked, glancing at her as she slid between Sam and me and leaned her elbows on the table. It was sort of comical because she was barely tall enough to do it.

  “It will be once the prince arrives.” Persephone licked her lips, causing some very uncomfortable things to happen in my pants. “That’s when the fun begins.”

  “Awesome,” Jenna muttered. Glancing around the room as a bald guy wearing an expensive looking tuxedo came over and stood next to her.

  “I’d buy you a drink, but they’re all free,” he said, grinning. “So do you just want the money?”

  “Oh, sweetheart,” Jenna cooed, moving close to him before she grabbed his crotch with one hand and squeezed. “I don’t think you’ve got what it takes. Sorry.”

  “Rawr, this kitten’s got claws,” Sam said in a way that struck me as very familiar. I could almost remember Martin saying something almost exactly like it when we’d first met the douchebag what felt like forever ago.

  “Sorry,” the guy squeaked as Jenna let go of him and turned pointedly away from him.

  “Don’t be sorry. Just go away,” she said, not looking at him as he scurried away. Instead she met my eyes and gave me the “do we really have to put up with this shit?” look.

  I opened my mouth to respond when the lights went out, leaving us in pitch black darkness. Twin blue flames burst to life in the center of the room, followed by more and more of them until the entire pathway to the back of the room was filled with dancing blue fire. As they reached the far wall, a solar flare of sapphire light split the air to reveal a man standing with his back to us, arms outstretched to either side in a way that reminded me of how Persephone had appeared before.

  A hush fell over the crowd as he stood there in a glittering silver shirt and leather pants. He spun, one leg swinging out in an arc that left him facing us. He was bare-chested beneath his silver button down. Golden hair spilled down around his shoulders as his gaze fell across the crowd.

  “Welcome,” he said, gesturing out at the crowd. “For those of you who don’t know me, I am Asmodai, Prince of Lust and your host for tonight’s extravaganza.” A grin spread across his otherwise plain face as he took a few steps forward, a spotlight falling over him as he moved in the otherwise darkened room. “Now, let’s get this party started.”

  The words brought a sense of foreboding into me. I wasn’t sure exactly what was about to happen, but I instantly knew it would be bad. There was too much hunger in those words, too much need. Worse, Asmodai felt even weaker than I expected. If this party was to empower him, he was going to suck all of us dry long before he recovered what the cat demon had stolen from him.

  “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred began blaring from the speakers as he grabbed the collar of his shirt and tore it from his body in one smooth motion before tossing it to his left. A woman clad in a silver cat suit caught it, and as she did, her entire body seemed to shake and her eyes rolled back in her head. She collapsed into a writhing heap on the ground, soft moan leaking from her lips. Asmodai stepped past her, his skin growing more vibrant with every moan.

  That was when I realized I was right. This orgy was meant to feed Asmodai, and judging by the people around, they all felt pretty powerful. Energy and magic practically seethed in the room. If he fed enough to get back to full strength, I had no idea how we’d be able to stop him. Well, we couldn’t have that.

  I pulled my guns and shot him.

  The sound was deafening as I unloaded the two modified Glock 21s. Red symbols flared across their black composite bodies as the .45 ACP rounds tore into Asmodai’s exposed chest, throwing him backward in a spray of blood and gore. The demonic prince crashed to the ground, blood pooling around his body as people began to scream.

  I ignored their cries, intent on ending this as quickly as possible. Moving forward, I popped the empty magazines from the guns and reloaded them. Security surged forward, and as they did, Persephone’s girls went absolutely ninja badass on them. They leapt from everywhere, producing all manner of knives from beneath their skin-tight clothing and slashing outward. Limbs went flying as blood splattered across the walls.

  Patrons screamed as a group of girls herded them into a corner while the rest lopped limbs, heads, and various other body parts off of security and the random hero. In seconds, the room had been subdued, leaving my path to the demon prince clear of obstruction.

  I tried to ignore the carnage strewn about me as I plodded across the bloody carpet. The squishing sound turned my stomach as I stepped close enough to Asmodai for the prince to get a good look at me, but not close enough for him to get to me before I pulled the trigger.

  “Hey, remember me?” I asked, pointing one of the guns at his forehead.

  “You cannot be here!” the demon cried, fear filling his voice as his eyes went wide with terror. The wounds on his chest were already starting to close, pushing white hot bits of molten metal out of his flesh. The smell of burnt meat and sulfur hit my nose, but I ignored it.

  “You know, I get that a lot,” I said, giving him my best used car salesman smile. “So here’s the deal. You’re going to release Jenna from her contract. If you do, I’ll kill you, nice and easy.”

  “That’s no deal,” Asmodai said, surging upward like an eel. I shot him long before he got to me, putting a round right between his eyes. The blast blew out the back of his skull causing a bunch of the gooey bits inside to hit the tile.

  The Prince of Lust collapsed to the ground amidst his own blood and bone, but even as it happened, I knew it wouldn’t be enough to kill him because even though he was missing most of his head, blood, bone, and brains were already flowing back into his skull like he was one of those liquid metal terminators.

  “Here’s why it’s a good deal,” I said, emptying the gun into his chest for good measure. Then I dropped the glowing Glock and knelt over him. Part of me was glad it was dark. If it wasn’t, he might have seen my lack of tattoos and that would blow my bluff. I had one shot at this, and one shot only.

  “My demon wants to eat you, and I’m guessing you don’t want to be eaten.” I let the words flow out of me, cold and empty as Jenna strode up beside me.

  “Mac, you don’t have to do this. Just kill him and let’s go.” Jenna pleaded with me, but I ignored her.

  “What, cat got your tongue?” I asked the demon who glanced at Jenna for a moment before turning his wide-eyed gaze upon me.

  “I cannot just release her,” he said, swallowing hard.

  “Bzzt! Wrong answer,” I said and ran my right hand down his bare chest, hoping he couldn’t sense the fact that I couldn’t call upon my cat. If he did, we were screwed. “If you want to eat him, here’s your fucking chance.�
��

  “No!” Asmodai cried, and the word left his malformed lips, blue light erupted from the center of Jenna’s chest. She stumbled backward as it tore free from her with a sound like someone trying to wrench the leg off an alley cat.

  A bloody cry ripped from her lips as she collapsed to the ground. Her head struck the tile with a wet thud and her eyes rolled up in the back of her head. Another cry exploded from her and dark, malevolent power erupted from her open mouth like star fire. It swept upward like a geyser, sizzling through the air before slamming into Asmodai.

  His entire body erupted in sapphire flame as he convulsed, and I stumbled backward in shock. As his skin regained some of the luster it’d lost from healing all those bullet wounds, I pulled the trigger on my Glock.

  His arm shot out, incredibly fast and grabbed me around the throat. He squeezed, cutting off my air supply and causing my blood to hammer in my temples. His laughter filled my ears, pulsing like bass drums as I fired until the Glock was empty and the slide hung open like the mouth on a used prostitute.

  “How about I just eat you instead?” Asmodai asked as the bullets hit his chest and fell emptily to the ground around him. A grin spread across his face as he rose to his full height, still holding me by the throat. He hoisted me off the ground and I hung there in his grip, feet kicking as I gripped his wrist with my hands. “What’s the matter, Mac? Cat got your tongue?”

  14

  Asmodai flung me across the room. My back slammed into the shelves behind the bar with a crash, and I tumbled to the floor amidst broken bottles and alcohol. The smell hit me like a punch in the face as I tried to shake the cobwebs from my brain.

  I crawled to my hands and knees, my vision still blurry and far off as moans filled the air. By the time I had gripped the bar and pulled myself to my feet, I realized why. Asmodai had one hand stretched toward Persephone. The demi-goddess stood defiant, one hand with a white knuckled grip on her katana.