by Diem, J. C.
He immediately shook his head in denial. “It is far too dangerous.”
“It’s just as dangerous for you,” I replied, striving not to get angry. “Her other minions will probably be blanketing the area so they can stop you from teleporting away with her. I can create one of the magic doorways that can let us leave and they won’t be able to follow us. If you can incapacitate Vepar, we might be able to smuggle her out without her lackeys knowing about it.”
He wasn’t happy about my proposal. “You can activate the doorway for me. You do not have to stay and face the danger.”
“I can stop her from teleporting away,” I reminded him. “You can’t do that on your own.”
I had a point and he frowned, searching for a way to talk me out of it. “I do not like it,” he said at last. “Too much could go wrong.”
My response was firm. “We’re doing it.” I turned to the map and pointed at one of the buildings he’d circled. “I think they’ll search this place next.” They’d been methodically working their way up and down the side streets, testing each door to make sure they weren’t magically sealed.
He crossed his arms and glared down at the map. Leo leaned forward to study it. “Which building will you take her to?”
I pointed at the one that was farthest away. “Here will do. Her minions hopefully won’t be able to find her quickly.” It was already poised to become a deadly trap for anyone who managed to get in. From what we’d been able to see, Vepar was the only one who actually had access to the runes that enabled them to break through Sy’s spells. As a bonus, all of my friends’ blood had been mixed in with the symbols in this decoy building. They’d be able to watch on and help us if we needed their assistance.
Sophia made a suggestion. “If you can remove the brace that Vepar wears, she will be far easier to subdue.”
I smiled nastily at her suggestion. “That is an excellent idea.”
I looked at Nathan and he didn’t seem to be quite as annoyed now. He’d turned thoughtful again. “If we are going to do this, then you will follow my plan without question,” he told me.
“I love it when you get all bossy,” I said teasingly. His frown lasted for two seconds before sexual tension charged the air again.
“What is your plan?” Sam asked, deliberately interrupting us.
Tearing his gaze away from me, Nathan focused on our task. “Violet will create the magical doorway, just in case it is required. As soon as Vepar enters the building, I will restrain her and Violet will remove her leather brace. If I can teleport us out, I will do so. If not, we will take Vepar with us through the doorway and make our way to the next building.” It was only two streets away and we might not be able to travel out of range of her minions’ anti-teleporting abilities.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said in agreement.
“What if you cannot remove her brace?” Leo asked.
“Then I’ll stab her in the heart and take her essence,” I replied.
“What if she has a rune that protects her from being harvested?” Sophia queried.
That one stumped me. “I have no idea,” I admitted. “I guess we’ll just have to play it by ear.”
We all knew Vepar was our best bet at finding where her grace had been taken. She was torn between wanting us to be safe and hoping our dangerous plan would work.
“We need to get into position,” I said. It had been over an hour since I’d felt the last of the decoy runes being activated.
With a sigh, Nathan nodded and stood. “Leo, take Sophia and Sam and wait for us in the other building.”
Leo saluted him and they gathered into a small group. “Be careful,” Sophia said and I saw fear in her eyes. She and I had already lost our essence, but Nathan’s and Leo’s were still intact. If anything went wrong, they would either end up dead, or they could share our fate.
I already knew what would happen to me. I’d be dragged kicking and screaming back to hell. I wouldn’t find out who Vepar would choose to hand me over to until after we ended up there. It would either be the prince of the ninth realm, or the Hellmaster. Both choices would be best avoided.
“Summon me if you need my assistance,” Leo said then he teleported away with Sophia and Sam in tow.
“It’s just you and me now,” I said to Nathan. For once, I was too nervous to succumb to the temptation of kissing him.
He felt the same way and made no move to draw me into his arms. “If anything goes wrong, promise me that you will escape,” he said.
“I’m not going to leave you behind.”
He heard the steeliness in my voice and knew it was pointless to argue with me. “Why must you be so difficult?” he said without any real anger.
“Because I’m Hellscourge,” I joked. “I wouldn’t be much of a warrior if I was a pushover.”
“No one could ever describe you as being a pushover,” he said and brushed a finger across my cheek.
I was tempted to lean against him and bask in his nearness, but we had a job to do. “Let’s go grab Vepar,” I said before I could lose my nerve.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nathan teleported us to the building I’d chosen for us to lie in wait. It had once been an apartment building and had since been converted into offices. A small room sat to the right of the door. It would be a perfect place for us to hide.
“You should create the magic door before Vepar arrives,” Nathan told me. “There is a small parking lot behind that wall.” He pointed at an exit door that had been boarded over. The magical doorway would disappear once we stepped through it and it wouldn’t leave a trace.
Demon Lords could sense magic being cast. I had to get this done before Vepar turned up. I opened the backpack and took out the blood and paintbrushes. It only took me a couple of minutes to paint the rune. I activated it and a misty doorway appeared. The opening would barely be wide enough for two of us to pass through if we were facing each other and stepped through sideways. I wasn’t sure if three of us would fit if we had to use it.
“Now I guess we just have to wait,” I said and put the blood away. Nathan took the paintbrush from me and flicked it. The blood magically disappeared. It was the same trick I’d seen Leo use, but it was still impressive. Before I could comment, we heard the doorknob rattle. “They’re here,” I said in a bare whisper. We hadn’t had to wait long at all. I took the brush from him and stuffed it into the backpack.
Nathan pulled me back into the room so we were out of sight. I felt a telltale sensation at the back of my head that told me demonic magic was being performed. Only strong demons like lords and princes could tell when spells were being cast. I was disturbed that I could feel it even when I was in my human form.
I peeked out through the doorway to see the outline of a rune forming on the door in blood. It sank through the wood from the outside then scarlet light flared to life as it became active. I doubted the souls inside me were seeing this. I’d have to describe the rune to Sy the next time I saw him. I was sure he would be interested in it.
Nathan drew me back just as the door burst open and six demons entered. They were instantly taken down by the angelic spells that Nathan and Leo had cast. Their shrill screams increased in volume when acid poured out of the walls on either side of the entrance. The corrosive liquid soaked the hapless hell spawn and made their flesh sizzle and their clothes disintegrate. The spells had become active once the pause rune on the door had been broken.
Vepar leaped through the doorway and landed on the far side of her lackeys and the puddle of acid that was eating through the floorboards. She showed no sign of being affected by the angelic spells, which meant she was being protected from them somehow.
Before she could attempt to deactivate any of our spells, Nathan used magic to slam the door shut. Vepar spun around in surprise, but he was already leaping through the doorway at her. He landed right in front of her and she threw a punch at his face. Deflecting it easily, he stepped behind her
and pinned her arms at her sides.
“Unhand me!” Vepar snarled. She struggled, but she couldn’t escape from his tight grip. Even in her heels, she was a full head shorter than Nathan. She was stronger and faster than a human in this dimension, yet so was he.
Jogging over to her, I examined the leather brace on her right wrist. It was held together with crisscrossing leather bindings. Several runes were glowing and I recognized only one of them. It was the symbol that enabled her to identify the blue and red auras of angels and demons
Vepar grinned fiercely when she realized who I was. Brie’s spell was still in effect. Her runes hadn’t managed to circumvent that one yet. “I have found you at last, Hellscourge,” she said. “Now I shall take you to my master and he will reward me well.”
“You’re our captive just in case you haven’t figured that out yet,” I told her. The brace was tied too tightly for me to be able to remove it quickly. It had been knotted several times and I’d need to cut it off.
“That is what you think,” she said with a sly grin. “You are about to discover that you are very wrong about that.” She concentrated and another rune on her brace began to glow. Nathan gasped and went rigid. Stepping out of his embrace, her smile became sharp and smug when she turned to face him. “I was so hoping we would meet again, Nathanael,” she said in a near purr.
His eyes flicked to me and I realized he was helpless. Her spell had incapacitated him and he couldn’t even move a muscle.
Vepar circled him like he was a piece of art on display in a museum. Ignoring me completely, she obviously thought I wasn’t a threat. “What am I going to do with you?” she mused to herself. “Should I harvest your essence and slay you as my master instructed me to?” Shaking her head, she came to a stop in front of him and put her hand on his chest. My blood instantly heated at seeing another woman touching my man. “No,” she decided. “You are too handsome to waste. I have another purpose that is far better suited to you.”
I knew exactly what she meant and a red haze descended. She turned to me and a hint of alarm made her eyes widen when she saw that mine were glowing scarlet. “What do you intend to do with that?” she said scornfully and gestured at the dagger that was in my hand. It had appeared there without me consciously calling it.
“I’m going to carve your heart open and harvest your essence,” I told her. She made no move to avoid me as I thrust the blade at her chest. It bounced off her without even cutting through her shirt.
With a nasty laugh, she gestured at the leather brace. “Dantanian has taught me many runes. They have given me power that even angels do not possess. No weapon can evict me from this vessel.”
If I couldn’t evict her, then I only had one option. My dagger flashed out and her right arm fell to the floor. I’d severed it just above the brace. For a moment, she stared down at it dumbly. Blood spurted from her stump and her lips drew back in a snarl. I snatched her arm up then scraped the blade over the brightly glowing rune that was holding Nathan still. It flickered and died as it was deactivated.
Nathan’s paralysis disappeared and he turned to grab Vepar again before she could call on her sword. I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder and he tried to teleport us away. “It is no use,” he said. “Her minions are blocking me.” We’d already taken too long and her lackeys would be wondering where she was. I was surprised that they hadn’t opened the door to check on her. Then again, they could hear the screams of their colleagues that were still writhing in pain from my runes. They weren’t going to enter the building until the spells had been deactivated.
“We’ll use the doorway,” I said.
He manhandled Vepar into the small room and over to the misty doorway. “Hold onto me from behind,” he said and I was glad to comply. Having the lord sandwiched between us was something I’d rather avoid. Realizing I was still holding onto her severed lower arm, I stuffed it into the backpack. Then I wrapped my arms around him and pressed myself up against his back. A sharp intake of air was the only indication he gave that he was affected by my nearness.
Vepar struggled and cursed, but she didn’t scream for help as we stepped through the doorway. We appeared in a tiny parking lot and Nathan dragged our captive towards our next destination. She was far too proud to shriek like a helpless human. Her wound had already stopped bleeding, so we didn’t leave a blood trail for her minions to follow us. A block later, we moved out of range of their anti-teleporting ability and he was able to zap us the rest of the way to our destination.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Five
Leo, Sophia and Sam broke off their conversation when they saw us. The building had suffered fire damaged sometime in the past. The walls in the foyer were still charred. The place was scheduled to be demolished in the next few months.
“You actually managed to capture her!” Leo said in amazement.
Vepar’s eyes narrowed and she glared at them all. “So, these are your minions,” she said to me. “They are even more pathetic than I had expected.”
She didn’t seem to be at all frightened about being kidnapped. I was beginning to think that capturing her might not have been such a great idea after all.
“Try to evict her soul,” Nathan instructed Leo. He pulled the lords arms behind her back, leaving her vulnerable to attack.
Leo called on his sword and approached her. She stared at him malevolently and laughed when his blade failed to penetrate her chest. “I told you, no weapon can force me to leave this body,” she said scornfully.
I took her limb out of the backpack and examined the brace. Up close, I saw it was covered in runes. They’d been etched into the black leather and blood had been mixed into the symbols. I deactivated all of the glowing runes and nodded at Leo to try again. He stabbed her once more and the blade bounced off her uselessly. She must have other runes somewhere on her body, but I wasn’t about to strip her down and search her.
“What are we going to do with her if we cannot drive her essence out of her vessel?” Leo asked.
I shared a look with Nathan and saw the indecision in his eyes. He had no idea what to do with her now.
“My master has been searching for you for a long time,” Vepar said to me. A cruel smile played around her mouth. “He is growing very impatient. You should surrender to me before one of my colleagues captures you. Some of them are planning to take out their frustrations on your helpless body before they turn you over to our master.” She saw my slight flinch and her smile widened. “I have no interest in causing you harm. I would merely deliver you to the Hellmaster without inflicting any damage on you.”
She might not want to violate me like Bob planned to, but I highly doubted she’d hand me over without paying me back for cutting off her arm. “I guess the deal you made with the Prince of the ninth realm is just a sham,” I said.
Her eyes widened a fraction. “What deal?” she said too nonchalantly.
“He said he’d make you a Demon Princess if you took me to the dungeons beneath his palace.”
“How do you know about that?” she snarled.
“From the legion,” I said and it was my turn to smile widely. In reality, it was Sam who had overheard this conversation, but I wasn’t going to rat him out to her. “I’ve learned all kinds of things from them. “I know you’re Dantanian’s lover and that you’re playing him, the Prince of the ninth realm and the Hellmaster off against each other.”
A hint of fear crossed her face before she mastered herself. “Lies and speculation,” she said and tossed her head dismissively. “You cannot prove anything.”
“It proves that you can’t be trusted. You’ll promise anyone anything if you think it will gain you power.” I thought about our options and looked down at the severed arm I was holding. “I think we should cut her head off and keep it separated from her body,” I said to my friends. “She won’t be able to leave her vessel, but she also won’t be able to cause us any more mischief.”
Her exp
ression changed and I saw the cunning everyone had warned me about. “I will make you a deal, Hellscourge.” Her tone was sly and the hairs on the back of my neck tried to stand up. “Let me go and I will cease hunting for your lair.”
Keeping a dismembered demon at our base didn’t appeal to any of us. Yet making a deal with a demon was always tricky. I would have to come up with an agreement that wouldn’t give her any wriggle room. “Your captains and soldiers will stop searching for us as well,” I said and her lips tightened in annoyance. “You and your minions will stop evicting demons from their vessels so you can try to follow them to me.”
Mulling over her options, she nodded once. “Agreed. Now give me back my arm and let me go.”
“We should behead her,” Sam said nervously. “She is too dangerous to be allowed to roam free.”
“Vepar will leave us alone from now on, won’t you?” I said as I approached her.
Her vessel was around my height and we stood eye to eye. “My minions and I will no longer make any attempt to locate you or your base,” she said, binding herself to our deal.
“I’m glad we could come to an agreement,” I said as Nathan released her.
I handed her back her arm and she glowered at me. Holding the stump to her arm, it became reattached in seconds. I kept my face blank, hiding my surprise that she could heal so fast. I’d been under the impression that it took time to reattach severed limbs. Making a fist, she made sure it was in working order before she smirked. “You may have bested me, but I am certain that we shall meet again. Nathanael and I have unfinished business to attend to. The time will soon come when his debts will need to be repaid.” Her gaze was malicious and lingered on him.
We all turned to stare at Nathan and he avoided our eyes. There was one more question I wanted to ask Vepar before I let her go. “Where do you take the souls that have been harvested?”
