I tried to imagine teenaged Noah with a Beetles haircut and bell bottom jeans. The image was slightly frightening.
“I even ran away to Europe with my band.” Lifting his chin, he chuckled at the memory. “We were going to conquer the world. Instead, we ended up crashing at a drug den in the screwy part of town. My eldest brother, Bartholomew, dragged me back kicking and screaming. Best thing that ever happened to me, but I wouldn’t have known that at the time.”
Closing my eyes, I smiled at the sound of Noah reminiscing. It was nice to hear someone talk about their childhood with such fondness. I had enough heartbreak in mine to last several life times.
“Yeah, my brothers made me toe the line.” He kicked at a loose rock. “But that’s what big brothers are for, isn’t it? Keep the youngest in line. Do you have any siblings?”
I shook my head and opened my mouth to speak, when an unbidden idea popped into my head. Freezing in place, I stared at the wall behind Noah’s head. The wheels in my head were beginning to turn and I didn’t want to ruin it. Something inside me told me this idea was big. This was huge. Something to solve all our problems.
Noah’s eyes narrowed in concern. He waved a hand in front of my face and snapped. “Lizzy? Are you okay? This isn’t another one of your episodes, is it?”
“Shhhh.” I placed a hand over his mouth. “Something’s coming to me.”
My answer did nothing to erase the worry etched in the lines on his forehead. Still, he remained quiet as I dropped my hand.
Brothers. Noah’s brothers made him toe the line. They’d kept him from trouble in his youth. Prince Seth had brothers. Five to be exact. Five Princes of Hell. And from everything I knew about them, they didn’t seem to get along.
Seth had told me himself that he was going to wrestle back control of Hell from his brothers as soon as he’d conquered Earth. That was why he needed me. His key. The only person with access to Hell. The only person who could open that door.
“I’ve got to go.” I shot up to my feet, nearly knocking Noah over in the process.
He caught himself before he fell backwards and shouted. “Wait, where are you going?”
“I’ve got a plan,” I yelled over my shoulder as I ran down the stairs.
It was a crazy, hair-brained plan. A plan that could not only get me killed, but unleash a great foe upon the Earth. But it just might work.
All I needed now was a little backup.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Adam trudged through the woods beside me, his sword swinging at his hip. He scowled at me for the millionth time and wiped the back of his hand across his brow. I could feel his gaze burning a hole in the side of my head. Tired of the attitude, I swung his way with a questioning look.
“What?”
His scowl grew deeper. “Tell me again how this isn’t going to bring about the end of the world?”
“She’s going to sic the hounds of Hell on the naughty Prince,” Raquel offered.
She and Ashley were both covering our rears. We couldn’t be too careful with so many ferals running around the woods these days.
“Yeah, I get that.” He scratched the back of his head. “The five other Princes come and spank their little brother. That part makes sense.”
“Then what don’t you understand?” Ashley snarled.
It was obvious the two of them still weren’t getting along. I wished they’d just kiss and make up. Or at least ignore each other completely. This tension was giving me a headache.
“What’s going to make them leave when it’s all said and done?” he snapped back. “What’s going to stop all six of them from taking over the world together?”
“Faith.” I lifted my chin and kept hiking forward, with purpose in my step. “I believe that the Princes want to rein in their brother. They’ll do that, with our help. But once that’s done, they’ll have to go back and rule their homeland. It’ll fall apart without them. And they won’t want to be stuck here without their armies.”
That’s what I hoped, anyway. Nothing like taking a huge gamble with the entire world and everyone in it. Now, I could understand Gabe’s own risky maneuver a little better. Except, he’d gambled and lost. I couldn’t afford the same.
“Great. Faith.” Adam grumbled to himself. “That’s perfect...”
Surprisingly, we made it to the Hell Gate without incident. Prince Seth must’ve rallied his troops together and left the forests unguarded. It didn’t bode well for the manor. An attack was coming, sooner or later. Blood would be spilled. That was a promise. I only hoped to stem the tide.
“Good luck.” Ashley pulled the sword from her side and held it up. “Anything goes wrong, we’ll defend you.”
“With our lives,” Raquel added, fingering the trigger of her gun. She smiled at me, but there were tears in her eyes. “You can count on us till the end.”
Their words of solidarity meant everything to me. I turned to Adam and smiled. He leaned against a pine tree, a stick in his mouth. When he realized I was waiting for him to speak, he shrugged and threw the stick. “Yeah, sure. What they said. Go unleash Hell.”
My lips curled into a disbelieving smile. Even here, at the end, he was still the same snarky jerk. Some things never changed.
Slipping down the crumbling hill to the base of the Hell Gate, I gazed upon the sight I’d hoped never to set eyes on again. Yet, here I was, again. With any luck and a bit of heavenly intervention, I’d only have to face this gate one last time. Taking a deep cleansing breath, I reached out to touch it.
At first, I felt nothing but a solid wall. My heart beat faster as panic began to course through me. Forcing myself to be patient, I pressed harder against the rough surface. Finally, my fingers sunk into something slippery, like the edges of a bubble. This was it. The way to Hell.
Pushing forward a little bit more, I emerged my face into the uncomfortably warm layer between Earth and Hell. This was as far as I would go. If my plan worked correctly, then the Princes would come at my call. I only needed to open the gate the tiniest bit.
My stomach twisted as I gave fear one last second to claim me. This was the craziest plan I’d ever had. If Luke were here, he’d surely yank me back and lock me away for even considering letting the remaining Princes on Earth. But something had to be done. We were desperate. I was desperate.
With a large inhale, I yelled out their names, one by one. “Prince Aita, Prince Arawn, Prince Iku, Prince Nergal, and Prince Han. You are the Princes of Hell. I am the gatekeeper. Come to me.”
My ears strained to hear any commotion on the other side. The slightest hint that I’d been heard. But nothing happened. My heart thumped in my chest as the seconds ticked by. This had been our last hope. We’d never defeat Prince Seth now. And I’d never see Gabe again.
Suddenly, what felt like a strong breeze shoved me out of the Hell Gate and back into the forest. It hit me so hard, I landed up at the top of the hole, flat on my back. When I pushed myself up on my elbows, I got a look at the cause. Five men stood in front of me. Each of them was as different in appearance as could be, but there was no mistaking their similarity: something terrifyingly evil glinted in their eyes.
“Who dares to call us?” the tallest asked. He had a large beard and a thick, muscular neck. A heavy cape with fur hung from his shoulders. That had to be Prince Arawn. I remembered him from my studies with Luke.
A second hissed, his spine bent beneath a black cloak. “Where is this gatekeeper?” His voice was snake-like and harsh on my ears. The dark hid his face, of which I was glad. Something told me he would be a horror to behold. He was the second oldest—Prince Nergal. A master of torture and pain.
“I do.” I scrambled to my feet. My friends stayed off on the sidelines, just near enough for comfort. They had their weapons at their sides, ready in an instant.
“You?” He looked down his nose at me and grimaced. “A child?”
“I’m not a child.” It was like defending myself in front of all the little ol
d ladies at church who would peer over their glasses and tell me I was too young to know anything. “And I called you here for a purpose.”
“Ha.” Another brother stepped forward. This one was deathly pale and bone thin in a black suit, with papery looking skin. He stunk of rot and I couldn’t help but shrink as he approached. This was Prince Aita. Purveyor of disease and filth. “No one summons us. The penalty for such arrogance is death.”
I swallowed and tried to maintain my composure. This wasn’t exactly a great start.
“Your brother, the youngest Prince of Hell, has come to these woods,” I said, spreading out my arms. “He means to conquer Earth and build his forces before returning to Hell. He means to defeat you all.”
The mood shifted suddenly. The brothers exchanged dark expressions, a silent conversation flowing between them. I exchanged expressions with Adam. He had his weapons in his hands, his face tense. We were all on edge, waiting for the Princes to come to a conclusion. They had to believe me. And they had to agree to what we wanted.
Finally, when they seemed to be done communicating, a third Prince pierced me with his bottomless black gaze. He had beautiful ebony skin and wore only a loin cloth. That had to be Prince Iku.
“And what is it you hope to accomplish here?” His voice was thick and syrupy, with an accent I couldn’t place. “No one does anything for free.”
Irritation rolled off of him in waves. Like a cobra, waiting to strike, he fingered a wicked blade at his side and watched me with a passive expression. I felt Adam shift closer. He felt it too. This peace was fragile.
“Prince Seth has threatened my people.” I lowered my chin in a little bow. “I wish to save them.”
“Is safety what you desire?” Prince Arawn demanded, his voice bellowing. “Have you come to make a deal?”
“Yes. Safety is what I desire, with the Princes all returned to Hell. And one last thing.” My stomach clenched with anticipation. This was my brilliant plan, in action. No time to screw it up now. “The soul of Gabe Cael, a recent new addition to Hell’s population. I’d like him returned to his body.”
I closed my eyes to their quizzical stares. They had to agree. Of all the million of souls in their grasp, what was one less?
I couldn’t take the wait. I needed to know their answer.
The sickly touch of bandaged fingers along my cheek made me gasp and open my eyes. The final and second youngest of the brothers, Prince Han, stood inches from me. I hadn’t heard him approach. His stomach was bare, but the rest of him had been covered with linen bandages. Festering wounds peaked out between the wrappings, the smell of which made my stomach turn in my gut. He didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. When he opened his mouth, I could see the stub of what had once been his tongue. It’d been cut from his head.
“Lizzy,” Raquel cried behind me. I felt her and my friends move into gear, ready to jump to my defense.
“Stand down.” I held perfectly still as Prince Han ran his finger down my neck and over the crest of my chest. He smiled wickedly, his teeth yellow and crooked. It took everything within me to not pull away in horror.
With a heavy and rasping sigh, he turned to his brothers and nodded his head. Before I could blink, he had disappeared and reappeared next to Prince Nergel. My body nearly collapsed in relief. I never wanted to be that close to a Prince of Hell again.
“We are agreed,” Prince Arawn said. He swung a heavy looking club over his shoulder and looked over my head into the woods. “You will have what you desire. Now, where is our brother? We must return him home.”
A smile crept on my face. We had the Princes of Hell on our side. Seth would never know what hit him.
The war had truly begun.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“What do you mean, you’ve released all the Princes of Hell?”
Luke trailed behind me as I made my way to the med hall. It hadn’t taken me long to let him in on the plan. He was as thrilled as I’d expected him to be.
“If anyone can rein him in, they can,” I replied calmly. “We’ve made a deal.”
His face was white as he opened the door for me, revealing rows of empty stark white beds. The hall was eerily quiet. Most of the Nephilim were preparing for war. According to our scouts, Seth’s troops had begun to march for the manor. It was the final showdown. Their numbers had grown to over six hundred ferals, many of them human-possessed. With just short of three hundred of our own warriors, we were sorely outnumbered.
“You made a deal with the devil?” Luke asked, taking a hold of my arm. “Lizzy, tell me you didn’t.”
“It was the only way.” I took his hand in mine and pushed away the urgency I felt in my veins. “Without them, we would lose this war.”
Fear burned in his blue eyes. “Just remember my child, these demons have a way of twisting your words. They won’t give up so easily. Don’t expect them to keep their half of the bargain.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek and nodded. It was something I’d considered. But we didn’t have time to rehash the plan. Like it or not, the Princes were here on Earth and war was minutes away. We had to prepare.
But there was one last thing I needed to do before the fight began. My feet pulled me toward the small private room at the end of the med hall. The door had been left slightly ajar and the soft beep of a heartbeat monitor came through. I pushed through the door and rounded the hospital bed. Gabe lay still upon it, the pallor of his face deathly white. His eyelids were closed and his dark eyelashes splayed on his cheeks. Someone had taken the time that morning to shave his chin. No doubt in my mind that it had been Georgia. I clasped my hand in his and brushed the stray hair off his forehead.
“I’m doing this for you,” I whispered in his ear. “This is all for you. You’re coming back to me, you hear me?”
Tears clogged my throat as I tried to speak. I could feel Luke’s gaze as he lingered in the doorway. My fingers gripped Gabe’s cold hands and I leaned forward to brush my lips across his cheek.
“Just hold on,” I whispered, glancing at the heart monitor. “Don’t you give up on me.”
A long, low horn sounded throughout the medical ward and the rest of the manor, warning the manor of impending intruders. Regretfully, I disengaged my hand from Gabe’s and followed Luke out onto the yard where the Nephilim had gathered their weapons. There was a somber peace among them. Grief stricken faces told me that many of them had said their last goodbyes.
“Where are the Princes?” Adam appeared next to my shoulder, worry etched into his face. “Shouldn’t they be here by now?”
“They’ll show up,” I said, the muscles in my jaw twitching. At this point, I was living on pure faith. Hopefully, the Princes kept their words.
They’d agreed to intersect the youngest Prince and drag him back to the Hell Gate with whatever means necessary. I had no doubt in their combined strength and the methods they would use. Still, that left an army of ferals bearing down on the manor and a battle yet to be won.
The warning horn sounded again and then the first ferals appeared on the edge of the great lawn. They came striding out of the forest in army formation, unlike their usual chaotic form. Human shapes with red flashing eyes, they growled and hissed at us. Their numbers were a frightening thing to behold. I’d expected six hundred ferals, but it was nothing compared to seeing them appear before me. My heart thumped loudly in my chest as they swallowed up the green grass. It was an infestation of the hellish kind.
At the forefront of the ferals strode Seth. He wore his customary black wool suit and looked out of place on the battlefield. His lips curled into a soft smile that didn’t reach his eyes. At the wave of his hand, his army of ferals halted and he stepped forward to address the Nephilim.
“My children, this is your chance,” he yelled in a pleasant baritone. Stretching his arms out, as if to embrace us, he smiled again. “Join my armies. You shall be rewarded in ways you cannot even imagine.”
A murmur went through the N
ephilim. Someone shouted out their refusal and he was quickly joined by a dozen others cursing the Prince.
“Very well,” Seth said, dropping his hands. “Death is what awaits you who scorn my mercy. You shall all suffer on this day.”
My legs strode forward at that moment and I pushed through the crowds to reach the front. Seth’s gaze fell on me and his face lit up with recognition. He held out his hands and grinned.
“My child, have you come to your senses?”
“I have,” I answered through my teeth.
“I’m so glad,” he cooed. Sweeping into an elegant bow, he tilted his head toward me. “My lady key. You shall be forever rewarded.”
“Oh, I hope so.”
Flashes of Gabe, laying lifeless in his stark white bed made me clench my jaw. I hated this devil with all my heart. He’d brought so much pain into my life. I wanted him gone, forever.
I could feel three hundred eyes drilling into the back of my skull from the silent Nephilim. They stood taut and ready for action. My friends and family. It wasn’t the first time we’d fought, side by side. But this time, we were one united front. Desperate to save the world from this Prince and the scourge of his armies. We were the last line of defense. I could only hope we were enough.
“I’ve recently made some new friends,” I continued, keeping a healthy distance between myself and Seth. The ferals behind him were straining against their orders to attack. I could see the bloodlust in their eyes. “Someone you happen to know. They’re interested in your newest escapade.”
“Really?” He clapped his hands together. “And who might these mysterious guests be? Bring them out, so we can play.”
“It was time for a family reunion,” I said with a smirk. “There’s nothing like family to put you back into your place.”
A strong breeze entered the manor grounds, sweeping up dirt and debris. A cloud drifted over the sun and the skies darkened. A chill ran down my spine and I shivered against the odd feeling. Seth’s eyes narrowed as he stared at me and the pleasant smile melted from his face.
Death of a Demon Page 14
