“You think I’m in love with you? Are you insane?”
Hades raised his brows. “Insane? That’s a human defect. Still, a crazy person never admits that they’re insane, now do they?”
“No, but you’re mad if you think I’m in love with you,” said Alexa.
Still smiling, Hades began to circle her. “Don’t try to deny it, Alexa” he said, his voice low like a lover’s. “Why else do we keep meeting like this? I do have that effect on women. I’m irresistible to the opposite sex. Mortal females or demons, it doesn’t really matter. They all want me.” Hades pursed his full lips while he played with the gaudy rings on his fingers. “But you are a little on the skinny side, aren’t you? I like my women voluptuous, but I’d make an exception seeing as you’re an angel—”
“You’re delusional,” spat Alexa. “You know why I’m here. I want something from you. Can you guess what it is?”
Alexa wondered for an instant what it would feel like when she’d finally plunge the sword in Hades’ chest. Would he feel the pain or simply be dead in that moment?
“You want my Helm of Darkness?” said Hades, as he tilted his head to the side. The helm on Hades’ head pulsed with energy as tendrils of darkness coiled around him.
Alexa gave him a tight smile. “Well, I’m not here for a stroll in the park.” No, I’m going to slice you open with the bone sword, she said to herself.
“You can’t have it, of course, as it is mine and has always been mine.”
“Of course,” said Alexa and she almost smiled.
“And here I thought we’d make such a lovely couple,” said Hades, circling her. “You wound me, my dear, Alexa, Alexa—I like that name. It’s a strong name, the female form of Alexandre. Do you know what your name means?”
“I don’t care.”
“It means defender of man,” said Hades. “Fitting, don’t you think? Now, what’s really going to blow your mind later is whether your mother knew what you were to become, that she knew you were destined to become a defender of man—a guardian angel. That is precisely the reason why she picked that name, and none other.”
White-hot rage went through her. “I don’t know,” she seethed, “you took my memories away when you changed me.”
Hades watched her for a moment. “Right. The Change. Is that what you’re calling it? Because I could have sworn you didn’t change at all, but rather, you changed things around you… like the power of souls, for example.”
“What do you know of it?” Alexa’s voice was cold.
Hades stopped smiling. “More than you, I assure you, girl angel.”
Alexa could still hear the cries and shouts of the ongoing battle and prayed that Milo and Lance were safe. The Higher demons stood in a loose circle around her and Hades. Once she’d killed Hades, they would come for her, and part of her knew that she might not make it.
But there was no turning back. She’d accepted that fate when she’d decided to go to purgatory. She always knew defeating Hades might mean the loss of her life.
The bone sword was heavy and there was a leaden feeling in her stomach.
Alexa knew her window of opportunity was closing. She needed to do it now or join Hades’ throne of dead angels.
It was now or never.
“You can’t have my helm,” said Hades, his smile returning, “but I can give you something else. I know what women want—”
Alexa flew at Hades and plunged the bone sword into his chest with one explosive jerk. There was a faint thud, and a stinging reverberation in her hand as the sword struck something hard and unyielding. And then she stepped back.
For a moment, no one moved, shocked by the suddenness of her attack.
Hades examined the bone sword that perforated his chest. A smile was splayed on his sensuous lips. “Oh, that’s perfectly ghastly. I had this suit specially tailored to my godly body, and now you’ve gone and ruined it. Why? My suit never did anything to you.”
Alexa stood stunned. “Nothing’s happening. Why is nothing happening?”
Hades looked behind him as though he were expecting angels to pop from midair. “What’s supposed to happen?” he said as he turned back around. “Did you think you could get my helm by sticking me with this sword?”
Desperately, Alexa looked around for Milo and Lance. She squinted about in the deepening darkness, seeing no one, but hearing a commotion in the distance—the clash of steel. The Higher demons closed in on her, their leering faces all she saw.
Why hadn’t the sword worked? Why was Hades still standing? Why wasn’t he dead?
Cold panic swept through her as she took a careful step back. Her stomach clenched in spasms, and she felt as if an invisible hand were constricting her throat.
“What?” laughed the pagan god as he pulled the bone sword out of his chest as though it were a mere splinter. “You look pale, my dear Alexa. Were you expecting something to happen? Swords can’t kill a god, little angel. I would have thought that was a no brainer.”
Alexa stumbled back, shaking her head. “But Sabrielle said—I went all the way—the bone sword—”
“The what sword?” said Hades, as he stared at the weapon, a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “Why would you think a sword with a name like, the bone sword, would have any effect on me? It’s a rather tedious name for a sword. Soulslayer and Horror’s Call are sword names, not the bone sword. Sounds more like a steak knife.”
Alexa’s body shook. “I went to purgatory to get this sword, this weapon, and it was all…” she couldn’t finish.
Hades stilled, and for the first time ever, Alexa saw what might have been fear flutter across his perfect features.
“Where did you say this sword came from?”
“Purgatory,” said Alexa, staring at his skin through the hole in his jacket as it began to tug and pull and stitch itself back together until there was nothing left but a small white scar.
“I don’t understand? It was supposed to vanquish you.”
Everything came crashing down, layer upon layer, shattering and breaking and crumbling.
She had failed. She had failed everyone.
Hades was silent for a moment. And then the sword shattered in a burst of hot fragments. Bits of bone and steel rained to the earth.
“You went to purgatory,” said Hades in a voice that was half impressed half apathetic.
“Yes, but what does it matter now—”
Tendrils of darkness hit Alexa and she went sprawling on the ground. A scream ravaged her throat as pain like nothing she had known erupted through her. Alexa heard a snap as the bones in her body shattered.
Blinking through tears she saw Hades standing over her. His handsome features contorted until he looked truly serpentine.
“You stupid little angel. Do you know what you’ve done! What you’ve brought back!”
Alexa had no idea what he was talking about, nor did she care. She just wanted the pain to stop.
She opened her trembling lips and said, “The sword—”
Another tendril of darkness struck her, lifted her up in the air, and slammed her on the hard ground. She thrashed, her scream caught in her throat. The smell of burnt flesh filled her nose as another wave of torturous agony rippled through her. She was being burned from the inside out.
“Alexa!” someone roared. No, not someone—Milo.
But Hades still neared. “You set him free and now he will come. He will come for all of us.”
Alexa was clearly dying because she thought she heard real fear in Hades’ voice.
The air rang with the sound of steel, and then she heard the clash of metal on metal. Then metal on flesh.
Alexa was beginning to black out. The sounds of yelling and roars from the angels were growing fainter as she struggled to keep consciousness. The sound of footsteps neared her. And through her fractured vision, she saw a blond head and a familiar handsome face.
“Alexa.”
Strong hands lifted her up with su
rprising gentleness, and she blinked into Milo’s worried face. He held her with that unrelenting strength. His face was so close she could see a faint white scar above his lips. And still he held her tightly, as though he felt if he let her go he’d never see he again. His face pulled tight with fear, his eyes too bright. But he held her tightly, crushed her against his hard chest. A delicious heat kissed its way up her neck and down her spine. Her face flushed as she realized she’d been staring at his lips for far too long, and he had noticed.
She clung to Milo, letting the safety of his strong arms wash over her like a tide. There was a sudden silence, and she looked to Hades, standing so still, watching, waiting.
When she looked to the Higher demons, all that remained of the creatures were crumbled bodies steaming in the wet grass.
Lance stood over next to a body of a Higher demon, his white fur covered in black blood and his canines gleaming in the dim light. He looked fierce and more wolf-like than Alexa had ever seen him.
Milo let Alexa go gently and drew away. “What happened? Where’s the bone sword?”
Alexa shook her head, and when she spoke her throat was raw. “It didn’t work,” she said weakly. She stood, fighting a wave of dizziness. Her legs hurt, her feet hurt, everything hurt.
“I stabbed him right in the chest… and nothing. Nothing happened. Sabrielle must have been wrong.”
Alexa turned and saw Hades. But the pagan god wasn’t paying any attention to them. He was looking around frantically as though he was expecting some god-like creature to strike him down at any moment. His helm was hanging crookedly on his head.
“Are you sure the sword didn’t work? Look at him. He seems lost.”
Alexa watched the pagan god as he paced around the Hellgate, tendrils of darkness shooting out of him like sparks from an electric outlet. “It didn’t.”
“I told you to wait for me.” Milo’s voice was angry, but the gaze that swept her face was tender. “You never think, do you? You just do whatever’s in that head of yours.”
“There wasn’t any time to wait. I had to act.”
Milo shook his head, his eyes full of pain. “If anything had happened to you… He could have killed you.”
Alexa’s chest contracted. “Well, he didn’t. It doesn’t matter anymore.” She balled her hands into fists so hard it was painful. “I failed. I disobeyed Ariel, the Legion, it’s Tartarus for me now. And it was all for nothing. We went to purgatory for nothing!”
“Not for nothing,” said a familiar voice behind her.
Alexa turned to see Markus standing behind them. He looked the same—same clothes and baseball cap—but now he was in color. He had pale blond hair, pink skin, but the same black eyes.
“Markus,” said Alexa carefully. From the corner of her eye she saw Milo stiffen and Lance trotting over to stand next to them. “How did you…” and then realization crashed over her. “You came through with us, didn’t you? But I thought you said demons couldn’t escape.”
“True,” said Markus. “But there was always a way out. You see, demon souls serve as locks in purgatory. It is how the archangels built it. The more souls, the greater the lock. The souls are equivalent to locks on a door, if you will. And you just unlocked the biggest lock there ever was.”
“Can’t be,” said Alexa in disbelief.
“You opened the door that was sealed, the door the archangels thought I could never escape from. But I knew when I heard of an angel with the power of soul channeling I could use you to open the door to my freedom.”
Alexa tasted the rising fear and rage in her mouth as she said, “Who told you?”
“I did.”
Sabrielle sauntered towards them in a long, sleeveless, black satin gown with a low-cut back and black gloves. Her brown hair was up with a diamante hair ornament, and strands of pearls hung around her neck, looking every bit like a movie star from the nineteen sixties.
“I told him everything,” said Sabrielle as she sucked on a long, black cigarette holder. She blew out the smoke with a smile.
Lance growled. “I knew I smelled something rotten on her.”
“Why?” was all Alexa could muster as rage pounded through her core and she trembled all over.
“Because he is the true Lord of Darkness,” said Sabrielle, and Alexa heard Hades hiss somewhere behind her. “My only lord, and I am his true servant. I do what he commands.” She smiled lovingly at Markus, and Alexa felt sick to her stomach.
“And he commanded you to lie to us?” said Milo, his voice full of anger and contempt. “To betray the Legion? To send us on a false mission?”
“He did,” Sabrielle smiled.
Milo drew his spirt saber and pointed it at Sabrielle. “I should kill you right now.”
“Oh, but you won’t,” answered the archangel, “the Lord of Darkness still needs me. He won’t allow harm to come to his most loyal servant, and especially not by you.”
Alexa had no idea what the archangel was talking about. When she looked over at Hades, he stood still, a cold sweat covering his pale face and his eyes fixed on Markus.
She gazed at the little demon boy, her fear increasing. “So, the trials… the bone sword… all of it was a lie?”
“I made them up,” said Markus. “You needed a weapon desperately, so I created one. But, would you have believed in the bone sword, if all you had to do was claim it without any effort? Without a trial? A test? No, I don’t think so. I needed you to believe, with all your heart and soul, that the trials were real. They needed to be convincing. And I do believe I’ve succeeded.”
Alexa stared at the face and voice that never truly belonged to a child. “Who are you?”
Markus’ smile turned wicked. He threw out his arms and slowly rose a few feet off the ground, his black eyes sparkling. His head rolled back, his blond hair flapping away in a gust of wind. His body twisted and elongated until he became as transparent as smoke. And then the smoke coiled and spun until it was solid.
And in place of the boy, stood a man. Towering and heavily muscled, clad in black armor that moved over him like liquid oil, his pale skin radiated light so brightly that Alexa had to cover her eyes until it subsided a little so she could see. A long ancient-looking sword hung at his waist. He was beautiful, with a face crafted from the light of the stars. His eyes beheld light and dark together, in moving spectrals.
His handsome face held no emotion, no hint of a smile curved his lips, there was nothing of the shadow of the boy demon, Markus.
Alexa had never seen this demon before, but somehow, even though a stranger, he looked familiar to her.
Alexa turned to Milo, and she saw the flicker of astonishment and then real fear in his eyes.
“Who is that?” she whispered.
“My father,” said Milo, “Lucifer.”
CHAPTER 31
ALEXA’S MOUTH FELL OPEN. Fear, repulsion, and guilt all hit her at the same time until she felt nauseated and about to collapse. Her body throbbed with a dull ache and then came the shock that ignited her rage—rage at her own stupidity.
Milo turned and looked at her, his eyes still glazed with real fear, and whispered, “What have we done?”
Alexa heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and turned to see the archangel Ariel and a group of angels. Their eyes were transfixed on Lucifer.
The archangel Ariel looked from Sabrielle to Lucifer, and then to Alexa and Milo, and Alexa saw the realization dawn on her as her lips quivered.
Alexa’s gut twisted in shame. She’d really screwed up. This was much worse than releasing a pagan god into the mortal world. Lucifer was the ultimate bad guy, the most powerful archangel that ever was, who’d created the demon race, and she’d just set him free.
Lucifer, thought Alexa. Out of purgatory because of her… because she’d broken the rules… again.
“No. It cannot be,” said Ariel, a look of terror spreading across her face. “It’s… impossible.”
Alexa moved her hand to her w
aist for her soul blade. Rage pounded through her as she seized it by the hilt, jerking it out of its scabbard. She would kill him while he didn’t expect it.
Milo caught her wrist and pulled her back. “Don’t. You can’t defeat him. No one can—”
“I will not let you get the credit for all that I have done and conquered!” shrieked Hades as he barreled forward, throwing tendrils of darkness at Lucifer as he approached.
They hit their mark, but Lucifer barely noticed.
“I have no master!” screamed Hades. “I am a god! A god! I will not bow to a fallen angel. You are nothing. Nothing! I have the Helm of Darkness. What do you have? An archangel whore, a traitor to her own kind. I am all powerful—”
But the Lord of Darkness merely lifted his hand and Hades’ face distorted in pain. His scream was lost as his body burst into flames. It only took a few seconds, and then all that was left of the pagan god and his helm was a pile of ashes.
“Is anyone else scared?” said Lance, and Alexa felt him shiver next to her.
Alexa barely heard him as she stared at the pile of ashes, waiting to feel something different about herself, for her memories to come pouring back to her. But as she stood there, she didn’t feel a change. Her mind was just as empty of her mortal life as before. There was nothing but a cold and empty feeling inside her chest.
Lucifer’s attention turned on the angels, and his grin twisted wickedly.
Alexa flinched as light flared suddenly in the darkness, lighting the park around her. Lightning flashed in every direction, lacing its angry fingers into the sky and into the dark clouds.
And then, there was a hard impact to the air, like a clap of thunder with no sound. Dust lifted around them, spreading outward in a ring. The needles on pine trees shuddered and fell, and the grass shook in a wave, radiating outward from Lucifer.
Alexa turned to Milo. “What’s happening—”
Pain gripped her, a violence that made every joint in her body cry out in sharp pain. “Milo,” she groaned and fell to her knees.
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