by Diem, J. C.
Tears filled my eyes and I leaned against his palm for a moment before pulling away. Drawing him into my arms, I hugged him as gently as I could. “Be careful, Nathan. Don’t make me have to come to your rescue again.”
He smiled then took a step back. “After all the times that I have saved your life, I think you owe me a few.” With a wink, he stepped through the door and began to slog through the sewage.
I left the door open and watched him until he reached the end of the tunnel. Looking both ways, he decided on a direction then turned to wave. I stuck my face and hand out just far enough so he could see me and waved in return.
Fate, if you’re listening, I promise I’ll save as many worlds as you want as long as you keep Nathan safe. I didn’t hear a response to my heartfelt plea. I could only hope that it had reached her and that she would grant me my wish.
₪₪₪
Chapter Forty-Four
It was hard to tell how fast or slow time was passing in the damp passageway. I left the door open to keep watch. Eventually, the noisome odor of sewage ceased to bother me. It had mixed with the stench of sulfur that already permeated my entire body.
Sitting with my back to the wall, my legs were too long for me to stretch out. My knees were bent at a sharp angle and my hooves rested against the far wall. I leaned my arms on my knees as I stared at the lichen. If I looked at it long enough, it almost seemed to be moving.
I’d never been so bored in my life, but worry gnawed at me. If anything happened to Nathan, I would let this world and every other version of Earth burn. As if heeding my unspoken warning, I finally heard a noise somewhere in the tunnel system. Coming to my feet, I called on my axe just in case it was enemies approaching. Three familiar faces appeared at the end of the tunnel and I sagged in relief. I made my axe disappear as Nathan, Dom and Jed slogged through the muck towards me.
“Is that the portal?” Jed asked and pointed directly at me without realizing it. “All I see is an old metal door.” The door was open, but the illusion that it was closed was still in effect.
“Violet is there,” Nathan replied confidently. I stuck my hand out and waved and he grinned. “You see? She is waiting for us.”
“Exactly how big is she now?” Dom asked. He’d noticed that my hand was far larger than normal.
I stuck my face out and the angels started back in fright. “I’m huge,” I said in answer to his question. “Step through the portal if you want to get a good look at me. It’s probably the only time you’ll ever get to see what a Demon Princess looks like.”
Sharing a wary look, they steeled themselves and followed Nathan inside as I stepped back to give them room. Their heads went back and their eyes widened. Rendered speechless, all they could do was stare at me.
“You should hurry,” Nathan urged them. “Hagith and Orifiel will expect you to return soon.”
Snapping out of their daze, Dom and Jed stepped back into the tunnel. They would become ill if they tried to go any deeper into the shadowlands. “We are ready to purge you once you leave the portal,” Dom said. “I just hope it will be enough to keep the toxin at bay.”
I stuck my face out long enough to give them instructions. As long as I kept most of my body in the portal, I remained safe from the poison. “Make sure you give me a good long blast of it,” I told them. “It’ll hurt like hell, but I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you guys again.”
“We will visit Sophia’s store the next time we are sent out on patrol,” Jed said. “We will sustain the holy fire for a slightly longer period when we purge you this time.” Neither of them were looking forward to what they were about to do, but they knew it was necessary. It was going to take both of them to stop the poison from overwhelming me.
“I’ll be with you in a minute,” I said. “I just have to talk to the legion first.” They nodded and I drew my face back inside the portal. Dropping the barrier in my mind, I spoke to my inner dwellers. I’m not sure how much you know about my plan, I said to the demons, angels, Heather and Sam.
Morax was the first to answer. We have caught glimpses of it, he said in disapproval. What you are planning to do will endanger not just yourself, but it will put us in peril as well.
I know, I said with a sigh. At least I was no longer harboring thoughts of letting myself die. Does anyone have any alternatives? Silence was my only response. That’s what I thought. I hope you guys will be safe when Dom and Jed purge me. Just make sure you stay in your houses. Don’t leave them under any circumstances. You don’t want to be caught outside when holy fire sweeps through me.
Take care of yourself, Heather said. Whatever you decide to do, you have our support.
You will succeed, master, Sy added and I tried not to wince. You are the most tenacious being that I have ever met.
One more voice spoke up before I could close the barrier again. I believe in you, Sam told me with quiet confidence. You have always been stronger than you realize. Remember that you will never be alone. I will always love you, no matter what happens.
I took a shaky breath and tried not to descend into tears. I’d ruined his only chance to go to heaven, yet he still loved me anyway. I love you, too, Sam. I promise that I’ll find a way to get you all out of me.
Make sure that you do, Morax said gruffly, shattering our tender moment. You still owe me several favors.
Thanks for the reminder, I said dryly. Bringing the barrier back into place in my mind, I hoped it would shield them from the pain that was about to rain down on me. Relishing my health for a moment longer, I forced myself to step through the portal.
In the blink of an eye, I became human again. Shrinking back down to my usual size, my clothes turned back to normal. Pain immediately radiated from my core as the taint sprang back into being. My skin changed from pale white to black again, almost as if I was still a Demon Princess. A horrible smell rose from me. It was the same odor that had emanated from Sam after he’d died from the toxin.
Nathan caught me before I could fall face first into the sewage. He held me as Dom and Jed placed their hands on my head. A different kind of pain from the toxin hit me. Holy fire swept through me with blinding white light. I realized I was screaming and I was helpless to stop it. Every part of my body felt like it was being bathed in flames, but the taint was finally driven back. I could feel the malevolent Wraith Warrior lurking deep inside me. He was a festering wound that needed to be lanced. Unfortunately, it was going to take more than a few seconds of holy fire to drive him out.
“Violet,” a voice said from far away. “Are you alright?”
Opening my eyes, I saw Nathan’s worried face hovering over me. “I’m okay,” I croaked. My voice had cracked from screaming.
Dom and Jed straightened in relief and helped me to my feet. My jeans were soaked by the sludge, but my jacket had been spared. “We thought we went too far that time,” Dom said with a worried frown.
I wasn’t filled with the same type of energy that I felt when Nathan gave me his grace, but I would be okay for a few days at least. “You gave me just the right amount,” I assured them.
“Come,” Jed said. “We will take you to Sophia’s store, then we should be on our way.”
They placed their hands on our shoulders then teleported us to the place I now thought of as home. To my surprise and relief, Sophia and Elijah were sitting at the round table. They surged to their feet and Sophia engulfed me in a hug. “You were gone for so long,” she said. “I thought we had lost you forever.”
“How long was I in hell this time?” I asked.
“Nearly seven months,” Elijah replied. He gently nudged Sophia in the side and she stepped back to let him hug me. “It is the last week of April now,” he added as Sophia moved to wrap Nathan in her arms. She didn’t hug him quite as desperately. He must have already visited them while he’d been searching for help. From her sorrowful expression, she was aware of what he’d lost.
If it was now April, that meant my eighteenth bi
rthday had come and gone five months ago. Somehow, I’d never imagined I’d turn into an adult while I was in the underworld. “I’m glad to be back,” I said and took a seat at the table. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Before you go,” Sophia said to Dom and Jed. “Could you possibly do something about Nathan and Violet’s clothes? I do not think I will be able to wash the sewage out of the fabric.”
Shaking her head that they’d been relegated to such menial tasks, Jed waved her hand at me while Dom took care of Nathan. They also fixed their own clothes so they were also pristine again. “Thanks,” I said with heartfelt gratitude. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you both again soon.”
Nathan sent me a frown that I pretended not to see. My tone hadn’t been as casual as I’d aimed for and he’d heard my tension. I hadn’t filled him in on my plan yet and now wasn’t the time. I wanted to find out about what I’d missed while I’d been gone before revealing my idea to my friends.
Dom and Jed disappeared and Sophia and Elijah headed to the kitchen to make tea and snacks. My stomach clenched uncomfortably at the thought of food, but I knew it was necessary for me to eat. Feeling Nathan’s stare on me, I turned to him.
“What are you not telling me?” he asked quietly.
“Lots of things probably,” I shrugged. He frowned harder and I reached out to take his hand. He didn’t hesitate to entwine his fingers with mine, which reassured me that he wasn’t repulsed by what I’d become. “I’ll tell you everything soon,” I promised.
“I hope so,” he replied. “Keeping secrets has not turned out well for any of us so far.”
I squeezed his hand, silently telling him that I didn’t hold him responsible for stealing my soul. Fate had been behind it. She’d secretly been directing us all. We were all her puppets and she’d use us any way she saw fit to ensure humanity would survive the coming apocalypse.
I’d now been to eight realms and had killed all of the princes. I’d also found eight pieces of the mystery object of power. Now I had only one realm left to visit and one piece of the puzzle left to find. I would have to reclaim the other pieces from Hag and Orifice before I would be able to use the mysterious object. Once it was whole, I would then be able to use it against the Hellmaster. Or that was the prevailing theory anyway.
Nothing had been easy during my journey so far. I would have to find Nathan’s grace so he could retrieve my soul from wherever he’d hidden it. I was also going to search for Sophia’s essence in the scriptorium in the first realm of hell.
Once again, I felt the weight of the world settle on my narrow shoulders. I had so much to do and my time should already have run out by now. Sophia had been sent a vision that I wouldn’t last until the end of the year. I’d proven that wrong, but I had a ticking time bomb inside me that could go off at any time.
There was only one way I could evict the malevolent Wraith Warrior that was lurking inside me. Once I told my friends about my plan, they would do their best to dissuade me from it. I’d realized that I was going to have to come up with my own cure for this affliction. If I wanted to live to take down my ultimate foe, I’d have to suffer through more torment than I’d ever felt before.
If what Lexi had told me was true, then Nathan would be my reward for saving humanity. As incentives went, it was the best one that Fate could have come up with. She knew that I would do whatever it took to keep the man I loved safe. I’d go through whatever hell was necessary to keep him alive. To me, saving humanity would just be an added bonus.
Titles by J.C. Diem:
Mortis Series
Death Beckons
Death Embraces
Death Deceives
Death Devours
Death Betrays
Death Banishes
Death Returns
Death Conquers
Death Reigns
Shifter Squad Series
Seven Psychics
Zombie King
Dark Coven
Rogue Wolf
Corpse Thieves
Snake Charmer
Vampire Matriarch
Web Master
Hell Spawn
Hellscourge Series
Road To Hell
To Hell And Back
Hell Bound
Hell Bent
Hell To Pay
Hell Freezes Over
Hell Raiser
Hell Hath No Fury
All Hell Breaks Loose, the ninth and final book in the Hellscourge series, is due to be released on the 2 nd of January.
If you would like to be advised of any new releases, please visit my website: www.jcdiem.com and sign up to receive my newsletter.
