by Diem, J. C.
“He’ll get a rude shock when he sees who he’s up against,” I said with more bravado than I felt.
“Will he?” the gate said cunningly. “Or will you be the one who gets a shock?” He chuckled and I decided I’d had enough of playing his games. The gates always knew things that they shouldn’t. Listening to him would only mess with my head.
“I am the key to every lock that exists in the dimensions that are connected to my world,” I told him. “That means I control you, which means you have to do what I say.”
His expression became bleak. “What are your orders, Hellscourge?”
“All gates that lead to Earth are to be permanently locked, unless I order otherwise. Demons, imps and hellbeasts can move freely between the realms and the shadowlands as they wish without needing to defeat the gates.” His expression became more sour with each stipulation. “Satan is to be confined to the first realm for eternity,” I added. He flinched at that, but he didn’t try to argue with me. “I’ll be sending the invading demons back through the gate that leads to the ninth realm. Once they’re all back in hell, the gate will close and remain locked. Imps are the only beings who will be allowed to leave the underworld. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Hellscourge,” he replied stiffly. “It is crystal clear.”
“Good. Oh, there’s one more thing.” He rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut. “You’re not allowed to create creatures to attack the travelers who pass through the shadowlands anymore.”
His mouth dropped open in outrage. “We are already almost insane with boredom. If you take this away from us we will be doomed! This will strip away any chance we have for any enjoyment at all.”
Thinking back on the weird personalities of his clones, I realized he was right. Demons would no longer need to challenge a gate to become captains or lords, which had been their only source of entertainment. “You can create arenas where demons can battle to gain higher ranks,” I suggested.
His eyes lit up at the prospect of amusement. “Tell me more about this arena,” he said eagerly.
I described the arena that I’d created for my legion and he peered beyond me. A structure identical to the one I’d created appeared. A hellcat formed out of the mist and prowled around inside. “I see many possibilities for entertainment with these arenas,” the master gate said in a tone that sounded almost happy. He switched his attention back to me. “I can see why so many demons and hell spawn switched their allegiance to you. Although you are half demon, you are not cruel and malicious. You have shown kindness and leniency where any other of your kind would not have.”
It was high praise coming from a creature that hated me. “I’m glad you approve,” I said dryly. “Have fun with the arenas.” With that, I teleported back to Earth and into the middle of a raging war.
Angels and demons still fought. Hellbeasts rampaged through the streets in search of prey. Able to live for only a limited time in this dimension, the leviathans and other critters were beginning to fail. I’d bested their master and he’d left them here to die. They were designed to kill and destroy, yet they hadn’t asked to be created. I didn’t have it in me to just let them expire.
Calling on my axe, I raised it high and concentrated on the power that lay within me. Drawing on my angelic grace, I sent out a blast of holy power. It radiated out in a circle until it reached the far ends of Manhattan. The demonic wards were gone, but the war had been confined to the city so far.
Flinching away in pain, the demons and hell spawn halted. Even the angels and humans turned to me. Reaching into the nowhere lands, I called the male crab beetle to me. I didn’t want to endanger his queen by bringing her here when she was pregnant. “I need you to translate a message for me,” I said to him.
I shall relay your words to the minds of everyone present, he replied.
Nathan and my friends gathered around as I hovered in the air where everyone in the nearby vicinity could see me. I made my helmet disappear so my face was visible. “I am Violet Harper, but my enemies know me as Hellscourge,” I began and heard the beetle’s voice repeating my words in my head. I appeared on the billboards that surrounded us, which meant that at least one news crew was filming me. Words appeared beneath my image. Everyone in the country would know who I was and what I was saying.
“I fought Satan and bested him in combat,” I reported. “I could have killed him, but I instead confined him permanently to the first realm of hell. The war is over and there is no point in continuing your battle.” Sounds of disbelief and protest came from the demons. I concentrated on the hellbeasts that had been drawn here that would shortly die. “If you submit to me, I will allow you to return to the nowhere lands. You will be able to travel freely to each realm of hell and will no longer be at the beck and call of demonkind. Unless you choose to help them,” I added as an afterthought.
Dangerously close to death, the hellbeasts didn’t need to think about it. The leviathans were the first to drop to their knees in submission. They might be stupid, but they wanted to live. Every other critter lowered themselves to the ground subserviently, switching their allegiance to me.
My power swelled with the influx of new servants. I reached out with mental hands and sent them all back to the nowhere lands. A sigh went out from the demons when the hellbeasts shimmered and disappeared. Knowing they’d lost and that to face me would mean death, they made their weapons disappear and dropped to their knees in defeat.
The eight Demon Lords who had been trapped inside me were the only ones that remained standing. Landing on the ground, I crossed to them. “I believe I still owe you a favor or two,” I said to Morax.
He inclined his head in agreement. “What did you have in mind?”
“Satan can still reign over the first realm, but the other realms need new rulers.” Sly grins stole over the lords’ faces as they realized what my intention was. “In repayment for your assistance, I am delegating you to be the Princes and Princess of the eight outer realms.” I had bested Satan, which meant I had control of hell whether I liked it or not. That didn’t mean I had to rule there. It was up to me who would be in charge and the choice had been an easy one.
Flauros whooped in joy and high fived one of the other newly promoted princes. Morax retained his dignity, but I could see he was moved by my gesture. “We accept your proposal,” he said. I knew better than to try to hug him. He wasn’t the same evil being he’d once been, but he’d never be warm and fuzzy.
Catching sight of Sy, I crooked my finger at him. He sidled through the crowd and stood before me humbly. The other scribes were staring at him in hatred, aware that he’d turned traitor. I had to find a way to keep him safe and knew how I could make that possible. “Now that Dantanian is dead, the Scriptorium needs a new leader,” I declared.
Sy’s head shot up and he stared at me in wild hope. If he became the leader of the scribes, he would be able to test all of the new runes that he’d created. “What are you saying, master?” he asked.
“I’m appointing you as the new Head Scribe.”
Bowing his head, he couldn’t hide his grin at my answer. “I accept this position, Hellscourge,” he said formally then turned to Morax. “I have no wish to return to the Scriptorium in the first realm. I seek permission to build a new Scriptorium in your realm, Prince Morax.”
Looking at me for my reaction, Morax sighed in defeat when I gave him the thumbs up. I would visit Sy in the second realm when he was settled in and give him the sketchpads that were still locked inside my head. I didn’t think I’d have any trouble bringing them out intact now that I had my essence back. “As you wish,” Morax said with a minute bow at me. “I will send orders for the scribes to migrate to my realm. It could take some time. They cannot traverse through the hellgates unless they are part of an entourage.”
“They can now,” I said and had everyone’s attention again. “I have control of the hellgates,” I said and pointed at the key that had become embedded in my armor. The crab
beetle was still relaying my words to the demons who weren’t within hearing distance. “The gates that lead to Earth will be permanently locked. Only one will remain open and only long enough for you all to return to the ninth realm of hell. The rest of the gates that lead to the shadowlands, and the other realms, will remain open. Demons, imps and hellbeasts can come and go as they please.” A surprised murmur went out from the demons. I’d let the arenas and the new way to gain rank be a surprise that the gates could pass on.
I had one more thing to say and then I would be done. “Any imps who wish to seek redemption and return to Earth can do so, but they have to be supervised.” I looked at Elijah for his agreement and he nodded. He was smiling so hard that his cheeks had to be hurting. Rashida, Max and the other imps were staring at me with shining eyes. If I hadn’t been their hero before, I was now.
“It’s time for you to leave,” I said to the demons. “Anyone who stays here will face my wrath and will join Dantanian in death.” Unwilling to face that fate, they quickly turned towards the only portal that would take them home. Herding them like sheep, the angels made sure none of them were stupid enough to remain behind.
Now that I no longer needed him to pass on my words to anyone, I sent the crab beetle back to the nowhere lands. His queen would choose a realm to make their home and would gather her followers together. I trusted her to stick to her word not to over breed and start eating demons. She knew I could kill her kind if she reneged on our deal, but I didn’t think it would come to that. She might be a hell spawn, but she had her own kind of integrity.
₪₪₪
Chapter Fifty
Waiting until most of his kin had left the area, Morax extended his hand to me. He and the other lords were already getting bigger. They would assume the size of the princes that I’d destroyed, but they wouldn’t receive the strange markings that were branded on my skin.
“It was a memorable experience being trapped inside you,” he said with a hint of a smile. “I can honestly say I hope I am never again imprisoned inside the mind of a teenage girl.”
My reply was just as dry. “And I can honestly say I hope I never have another soul inside me ever again.”
“You do not need us now that you have your own power.” He rapped a knuckle against the silver key on my armor. “Use this wisely, Hellscourge.” With that sage advice, he turned and walked away with the other princes and one princess following in his wake.
“Is it finally over?” Leo asked. “Can we relax now?”
“Not quite,” a familiar and hated voice responded. I whirled around to see Bob lunging at me. His sword was aimed at my vulnerable and exposed face. He moved so fast that I didn’t have a chance to teleport away.
A blinding flash of white light came as an angel appeared. His blazing blue blade knocked Bob’s sword away. White wings obscured my rescuer’s face, but my heart stuttered in recognition when he spoke. “That is the last time you will ever attempt to harm my friend,” he said in tones of finality. His sword flashed out again and Bob’s head went sailing off through the air. It shimmered and disappeared and his body followed it back to hell.
Gaping at the angel, I couldn’t grasp what I was seeing at first when he turned to face me. About seventeen, he had brown skin, short black hair, warm brown eyes and he was grinning up at me happily. “Sam?” I said in disbelief. “Is that really you?”
“Yep,” he said with a smirk. “Do you like my wings?” He turned to show them to me and I reached out to touch them. They were as soft and silky as Nathan’s. Unlike the other angels, he didn’t have a halo and he wore a t-shirt and jeans.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered as Sam threw his arms around my waist and hugged me hard. “Humans can’t become angels.”
“Sam is a special case,” Elijah said. Again, power seemed to seep from him, but it was much stronger than usual. Nathan gasped and went down on one knee, as did Sophia and every other angel that had gathered around.
Feeling the presence of a higher power, I sank to one knee as well. The preacher’s hand came to rest on my head between my horns. A sense of profound peace swept through me. “Rise, Violet Harper. You have earned the right to stand after the service you have provided for my planet and its people.”
Staggering to my feet, tears of awe blinded me. “Are you God?” I asked. “I thought you’d abandoned us.”
He smiled and sighs of pure happiness rippled outwards. “I allowed you to believe that I had left, but I was with Elijah the entire time.”
I felt a small stab of betrayal at his deception, but I understood why he’d let us think he’d left. Fate had guided me to become the warrior she needed, but she’d been working on his behalf.
“Samuel was once a pitiful, wretched creature like these imps,” Elijah said and pointed at the twisted, hideous beings that had taken down a leviathan. “Through his actions, he attained redemption. His only wish was to remain beside his closest friend and to assist you however he could.”
Sam looked down bashfully and Leo put his hand on his shoulder. Brie copied her partner and Sam looked at her gratefully. She’d finally accepted him as her equal.
“I have restored Samuel to his earthly body, but I have also imbued him with grace,” Elijah continued. “He will remain with you for as long as you need him.”
“How does forever suit you?” I said to Sam. He nodded and had to wipe away a tear of happiness.
The priest turned to the imps and they quailed beneath his stare. Only forty or so had accompanied my lords to Earth. The rest would be here in another couple of days. “Like Samuel, you have all sought redemption,” God said. “Through your actions, you have earned my mercy.” With a wave of his hand, he restored them back to their human forms. Even wearing a filthy, tattered sackcloth tunic, Rashida was as beautiful as she’d told me. She still looked fifteen even though she was hundreds of years old.
“Elijah will create a program that will help integrate you, and any other imps who leave hell, into society,” God added.
“Thank you, Lord,” Rashida said with tears pouring down her face. She gave me a tremulous look then turned to Max. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed against his chest. Still stunned that he was a human again, he awkwardly patted her on the back. He looked like he was in his twenties and was kind of cute, with light brown hair and hazel eyes. He’d been an accomplished thief before he’d been taken to the underworld. He’d honed his skills during his captivity. I hoped he’d learned his lesson enough not to backslide. Something told me Elijah wouldn’t let that happen.
Examining the crowd of kneeling angels, the preacher pointed at one who was trying to hide in the throng. The air shimmered and a second angel appeared. It was his partner in crime. Brie and Leo had defeated Hag, but God had restored her strength so that she could face him now. “Hagith and Orifiel,” he said in a harsh tone that made us all gasp in dread. “Come before me and receive your judgement.”
I almost felt sorry for Hag when she and her sidekick teleported over and knelt in front of him. The sick expression on her face said she knew she’d screwed up big time. “I beg your forgiveness, my Lord,” Hagith said hoarsely. “I defied your orders and will humbly accept whatever punishment you choose.”
Orifice kept his gaze on the ground and nodded wordlessly. He knew following her had been wrong, but at least he’d changed his mind at the end.
To my surprise, Elijah turned to me. “What would your sentence for them be if it was up to you?”
Staring at the two angels, I wasn’t surprised when Hag sent me a poisonous glare. Orifiel flicked me an apologetic glance then dropped his eyes again. “Orifice, er, I mean Orifiel, might be able to be saved.” Sam and Leo sniggered at my slip and Brie glared at them both for their lack of control. “But Hagith is beyond redemption,” I added coldly. “She knew exactly what she was doing when she handed the key over to Dantanian. She wanted mankind to suffer and die.” Hag opened her mouth, but a warning glance from her
creator had her biting back whatever she’d been about to say.
“If it was up to me,” I continued, “I’d strip Orifiel’s rank away and make him a soldier. I’d order him to assist humans for the next thousand years or so.” Orifice flicked me a surprised look at my leniency, then seemed ashamed of himself for having such a low opinion of me. He’d clearly expected me to condemn him to death.
My gaze went to Hag and hardened. “I’d strip Hagith of her rank as well,” I added, “but I wouldn’t inflict her on helpless humans. I’d turn her into a demon and send her to the first realm of hell.” She stared at me incredulously, but I wasn’t done yet. My idea of payback was extreme, but she’d earned it. “Satan is going to be bored now that his plan to take over Earth has failed. It’s only fair that he has a plaything to keep him busy.”
Silence reigned for a moment before God spoke. “So it shall be.” With a clap of his hands, he sent the angels back to heaven. Nathan tried to reach for me, but he disappeared before I could touch his hand. Sophia, Leo and Brie were drawn away as well. All of my friends and allies were sent back to their home until only one remained.
“Please,” Hag begged me. “Have mercy!”
“I have shown you mercy,” I said icily. “You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
She wailed in terror and despair as her power and grace were stripped away. Her skin darkened and her eyes turned scarlet as she became one of the hideous creatures that she’d allied herself with. She disappeared and I sensed her being sent to the first realm of hell.
“What’s going to happen to the humans that were possessed by angels and demons?” I asked the being who was speaking through Elijah.
“They will begin to wake up shortly,” he replied. “I will not erase their memories, but I will take away the guilt that the innocent victims who were possessed by demons would normally feel.” His expression turned stern. “The men and women who willingly gave themselves over to evil will present themselves to the police.”
