Ashley comes up beside us and interrupts our conversation. “Shayne, if you uncomfortable here, please join us back at the house,” I say.
She looks at Trevor’s door. “You are right, I have found comfort here.” She smiles at me as she walks away.
“Looks like the two of you kissed and made up,” Ashley comments.
“Does everyone know?” I ask.
“Pretty much,” he says. “What can I do for you?”
“I need to ask. I know that it is possible to go into Hell and escape bringing a soul back with you. I just need to know how it is done.”
“I’m a new Demon, perhaps you should ask one of the others.”
“No, please tell me what you do know,” I insist.
“Well, I have heard that you can enter through a reflection big enough to fit through. Lilith has to pull you in. When you are ready to return, you have to exit through the same portal. Only Angels have done this before.” I only smile at his comment. He notices. “Marion, no. This is too dangerous.”
“I have all the qualifications. Please, will you help me?” I ask. Jacob did not bother to warn the Demons not to help me.
“I will teach you what you want to know. The rest will be up to you. We will need a large body of water, preferably outside.”
“I know of a pond on the estate.”
“The moon is full so the reflection should work.”
“Do you have any weapons inside of you?”
“Yes,” I answer.
“You will need to remove those. The heat will burn the metal inside of your body,” he informs me as I immediately think of Malachi.
We arrive at the pond shortly after dark. Jacob will be looking for me by now. Ashley tells me to kneel over the pond. When I am in position, he tells me to look up at the sky and burn the images of the stars into my mind.
“Use them to navigate your way back. Feel their placement in the sky and notice the pull of the earth. Gravity feels different in different locations around the globe. Let the water guide you. Use your sense of smell. You control all the elements to every breed. I would not have helped you otherwise if I didn’t believe that you wouldn’t be successful. I take it you are fully charged from the sun.” I nod. “Good. You will have to use all of your light as well as any that Malachi has left to fly up through the fires of Hell. If you can learn to control the flames, then you will succeed. Good luck on your quest.”
“Thank you, Ashley.”
“Trust me; you will not thank me for this.” His voice starts to vibrate low in his chest. He is using another language that is not of this world, at least not anymore. The surface of the water starts to ripple. Moonlight distorts my reflection in the pond. I see myself warping out of shape. I hear my name being called from above. I look up and see Jacob circling with his black wings stretched out. When he sees me, he nose dives in my direction. I look back into the water and see Lilith’s face.
“Now, Lilith. If you want me, take me now.” I offer her my body and soul. Her talons grab my shoulder, piercing me by the collarbone and under my shoulder blades from behind. I do not scream so I will not take in water as she pulls me into the pond. I feel Jacob’s hand on my ankle trying to pull me back to the surface. I swallow as much water as I can without accidentally aspirating my lungs. Lilith is too strong for him. When we break through the realm of Hell, Jacob screams, and I see his arm amputate and fall into the burning flames.
“I did not invite you in this time Vampire,” Lilith’s voice shrieks almost birdlike. She closes the realm, locking Jacob out and entombing me in. “This is a pleasant surprise. Malachi will tell me everything I want to know as soon as he sees me touch you with his blade.”
I am such a fool. I never thought my torture would be in front of him and used to her advantage. I fear Malachi will break after all.
She protects me from burning until we reach Malachi’s tomb. He is chained to the wall and is in the same condition as I saw Jacob, naked and bloody.
“I brought you a present.” He looks up and trembles when he hears her voice. He screams when he sees me in her arms.
“Let her go, and I will tell you everything you want to know.” I close my eyes at his words. I have done this to him.
“Where is the fun in that? You’ll tell me, all right, but only after I am ready to ask my question again.” She makes a motion with her hand, and I see Demon spirits enter the room. Malachi tenses and grits his teeth. They turn on him and mark his flesh.
“He’s drawing them all to him. Isn’t that just precious? Look how much pain he would go through for you, yet you hurt him more by keeping him your second choice. Don’t worry, honey; he will be well rewarded for what you have done to him.”
I try to call the spirits to me. When half of them turn to look at me, I feel Malachi try to pull them back.
“You can’t handle them all,” I say to him.
When the first spirit is about to breach my flesh, Lilith stops them. I do not understand her actions but then I smile. “Your Demons cannot enter an Angel,” I say. “Good to know. Now I can keep them off of him as well. What else have you got planned?” Malachi sinks in his chains. He is too weak to even look at me. I hear someone enter behind us. When I see his face, a cold chill washes over me.
“I see you were able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” Arthur slaps me for my words. His eyes burn a bright red and his chest is tattooed in Lilith’s blood. He is nothing but Demon now. He is her creation, her resurrection. Jacob was right not to grant her access to our children.
“Tie her to the table. Clothes or no clothes, you decide.” She gives him the choice. I am surprised that I end up lying here with my clothes on.
“Wake her Guardian up,” Arthur says. “I want him to watch me burn her clothes away from her flesh.” So I guess that I am not that lucky after all. When I feel my clothes burning my skin, I hear Malachi name the location of the first set of bones. I close my eyes and do not scream. My noise would only make him talk faster. By the time he names the second location, I have got the flames under control. I use the water that I swallowed from the pond on the way here to extinguish the fire.
Everyone looks at me. My skin is untarnished but my black and crisp cloths cling to my flesh. Lilith waves her hand and the remaining fabric pieces float away. Arthur stares at my naked body. “Not yet, I told you that you could have her after I am done,” Lilith says as she walks over to Malachi. She forces him to open his wings. In his struggle to keep them folded in, I hear his daggers ripping into his back. She stretches his span out to the side and rips the silver from his bones. I hear them crack but they do not break. He does not fold them back in.
She pierces each each of my thighs one by one as Malachi shouts out two more locations. Tears are streaming down both our faces. I do not glow to heal myself nor do I try to push the silver out. I will need all my strength to get us out of the hell hole. The way is very confusing. She took many turns and dips. I try to focus on keeping my center of gravity in check as Lilith stabs my shoulder with the third dagger. I am not prepared and cry out in pain. The next dagger hits my lung and I spit out blood. Malachi names three locations. I do not know how he made it to all these different countries so quickly.
“Stop. That was the last location where I buried the bones. Let her go.”
Lilith raises the dagger above my heart and pauses. “I know that you cannot lie. You sure you haven’t left anything out? I will pierce her heart. Did you tell me the last place on Earth that you dispersed Charles’ bones?”
I see a slight smile curl in the corner of his mouth. “Yes,” he says. Is it possible? Did he just lie?
“Very well then.” Lilith lowers her hand from above my heart and throws the dagger on the ground.
Arthur looks at me and licks his bottom lip. He is going to rape me in front of Malachi. When he strokes his fingers down my body, I hear Malachi growl. “Stop,” Lilith commands. “I have another idea. It’s not every day that you
get to see two Angels make love. I hear it’s quite beautiful and majestic.”
“But Jacob?”
“What about him? I am on the committee. I can prove that you were unfaithful to him through my projecting capabilities. He will be forced to order your death as well as your Guardian’s. He will succumb to the grave like he was tempted to do in the past when you died. I will have his soul forever.”
“No,” I shout. “You cannot force us to make love. You have your information. There is nothing to hold over my head anymore.” She laughs as I say this to her.
“Should you tell her or should I?”
Arthur leans down and forces his mouth on mine. I bite his lip and feel the sting of his slap once again. “You seem to forget, my dear Guinevere, I know who your daughter is.”
“My name is Marion, and I will kill you for your threats.”
“I’d love to see you try.”
Malachi’s chains rattle and his manacles fall from his wrists. Lilith and Arthur step away from the table, giving him plenty of space. “I told you, Malachi. You will be greatly rewarded for your services. Here she is for your taking. She will say yes. I have no doubt.”
“Untie her so she can touch me,” Malachi requests.
“I am not a fool,” Lilith growls.
“I have longed to touch her ever since I lost her. Thank you, Lilith, for your offering. I do not care if the result is my death or hers. Jacob cannot follow us into Purgatory. He will be with you. Once he is not around, she will be mine and mine alone. Now untie her so she can touch me in return. I want her to find pleasure in my flesh once again. I will not invade her uninvited.” I stare at Malachi. “You wanted to see Angels have sex, then I will give you the best show you have ever seen, and I know you have seen it all.”
My lips part at his words. Dear Lord, I shouldn’t have told him that he couldn’t compete with what Jacob does to me. The look in his eyes tells me otherwise. I feel my chains fall aside. Malachi stands beside me and gazes over my body. My chest rises and falls with shallow breaths and I tremble.
He takes his dagger in one hand and grips it tightly. “Take a deep breath,” he says. Before my lungs are fully expanded, he yanks the blades from my shoulder and my thigh. He licks my blood from the wound closest to my right breast. Next, he pulls out the dagger in my right lung at the same time as the one in my other thigh. While he cleans my abdomen, I realize that he is licking while also suckling my blood in order to heal himself. I run my fingers through his hair and let out a soft sigh. When my wound closes, he comes around to the foot of the table. He briefly looks at our audience. I glance in their direction. They are behind my head against the wall. When I look back at Malachi, he is hard and ready to take me. He climbs up to join me on the table, but he stops as his head is even with the injuries to my thighs. He lowers to lick me clean once again. His hand caresses my abdomen as he suckles his dagger marks in my flesh. I almost start to cry as I realize how much it must have pained him to see his weapons dripping in my blood.
When he touches my mound, I open for him. He brings me to an orgasm before he shifts to replace his fingers with his mouth. It takes longer to build me up this time. I hear Lilith vibrating behind us with excitement. The noise is enough for me to whisper.
“Malachi, we cannot do this. You mustn’t enter my body.”
“I know. I have a plan. Can you get us out?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Did you say something? No communicating!” Arthur warns.
“Yes! Yes!” I cry as soon as his tongue touches me again.
“Oh, let them have their fun.” Her voice carries to my ears. She continues to speak in tongue.
When Malachi stops, I almost protest. “If I may, she really goes crazy when I buzz her with my energy source.”
“Do it,” she demands.
I look at Malachi as he smiles. He starts to glow and encases me in his light.
“Don’t you dare,” I warn him. When he is at full charge, I know that he has not wasted his energy protecting or trying to heal himself. With me being guarded by his light, they do not notice that I too have started to glow. Just when I think we are ready to bust out of our prison, he looks at me.
“Where would you like me to go” he asks me. He is really going to do it. He knows I will not be able to think clearly. When he lowers his mouth back to my center, I shatter inside when he shocks my flesh.
“Higher, up, go higher,” I shout as I convulse. I close my eyes and summon the rocks above us to break and fall to the ground. The fools believe this is the result of our lovemaking. Malachi sees my intentions as he plows through the dirt ceiling. I’m glad he did not fold his wings back in his body. I know that my movement of the earth is not sufficient enough for his large wing span but he does not complain when he is jostled and bumped on the way upwards through my mind-made tunnel.
When we emerge through the top of the cave, I see flames and Demon spirits heading our way. Lilith growls and reverberates from down below. She is commanding our chase. Malachi’s feathers start to wilt in the heat. I am busy trying to keep the ghosts away from his body. When he drops several feet in altitude, I look up and see that his wings are sparked with red and black embers. He is on fire.
I call my wings out and take over our flight. I close my eyes to get my bearings and head northeast. I remember Ashley’s comments to control the fire and I will be successful. Malachi grows weak in my arms.
“Drink,” I say.
“No.” He strains the word through his voice.
“Malachi, you are dying.”
He latches onto my throat and pulls in my blood fast and with great suction. My vision blurs for a brief moment. I blink my eyes as tears flow down my cheeks. Jacob could not cry or even spit in Hell yet here I am sobbing like a baby. I remember Malachi’s tears as well during my torture. Angel tears are a powerful water source in this realm.
When my eyes clear enough for me to see, I notice the flames have died down. I see the portal approaching. “Hold your breath,” I yell at him. He does not let go of my jugular but I no longer feel his air moving across my neck. We hit the water so hard that I almost lose my grip on him. If his teeth were not in me, he would have slipped back down below.
Lilith is following fast through the realm and will be here any minute. When I break through the water’s surface, Jacob grabs my arm and pulls us to shore. He drags Malachi off of my naked body. His fangs gash my throat open. Ethan straddles me and lifts my head to his neck.
“I have plenty to offer you. Drink all you can,” Ethan whispers. In my haste, I make two bite wounds. One is slightly higher than the other one on his jugular line. The higher marks bleed down into my mouth as I drink fast from the lower wound. Malachi took much more from me than I realized. I need to replenish.
“She’s coming after us,” I say to Jacob as I lick Ethan’s wounds closed.
“I know. We are prepared. Do you have any charge left?” I shake my head no to his question. Neither would Malachi.
When the water ripples behind us and grows into tidal waves, I expect to see Lucifer’s devil creation herself. Instead, a slew of Demons and ghosts stream out of the pond and into the air.
“Take them to prepare for battle,” he yells at David.
“I am ready,” I say before I look down at my naked body. I guess I was wrong about facing the Demons in only my bra and jeans. I remember also that I do not have a single weapon on me.
“You are too distracting. Do you want me to get killed?” Jacob says.
“Fine.” David returns from talking with Malachi. He takes my arm and scurries me away. The first Demons and ghosts start to land on the grass. I hear the clanking of metal behind me. I turn and see Malachi’s wings are still burning red against the dark night sky and his spears are extended past his wing tips. I guess he is staying to fight naked. Now I will be the one who is distracted. Jacob will not be happy to find out what went on between the two of us in Hell at Lilith’s deman
d.
Chapter 16
The fighting continues until the first rays of light start to break through the trees. Most of the Vampires have retreated and only a few Demons and ghost spirits remain. David, Erin, Malachi, and I fight what few adversaries are still above ground. Jacob had refused to retreat, saying that he will not leave me here to fight his battle. He fears that I might fall to death, and he will not be here to defend me. When the last two Demons are slain and the other three sink back into the water portal to Hell, we all take flight towards the house. I am flying higher in the sky and Jacob hovers close to the ground, trying to stay in the shadows. Malachi glides over him to provide some shelter. His wing span is larger than mine and can cover most of Jacob’s body. Still, I know that no one can completely hide from the sun.
At the house, we are welcomed with bagged blood. Live donors will be too dangerous in the weakened state that we are in. Jacob and I will feed later from each other in order to be able to link during the battle tonight. I will have to talk to him beforehand. I do not want him to find the truth in my mind instead of my lips. I will be too distracted to block him out from invading my thoughts. I finish several bags of blood but do not notice the cold bile taste until the third bag. I quit drinking and look at Malachi, who is watching me.
“We need to charge,” he says.
“First, I need to shower and talk to Jacob.”
“It can wait. Your health is of more importance.”
“Fine,” I say. I walk up to Jacob, who is still drinking. He has consumed twice as much as I have.
“I’m going out to recharge. I have nothing left. We used everything we had to escape.”
His hand brushes my cheek. He leans in to kiss me, but I back away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just haven’t showered or brushed my teeth.” I try not to look at him.
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