Road to Hell

by J. C. Diem

  “I didn’t realize you’d met angels before,” I said as I went about making a grilled cheese sandwich.

  “Your friends are the first angels that I have encountered, but I have learned much while hiding in the shadows and listening in to the chatter and gossip of demonkind.”

  “Demons gossip?” I said incredulously.

  “Oh, yes. It is their favorite pastime. Lesser demons often shirk their duties in favor of spreading rumors.”

  Flipping my sandwich over, I flicked him a sidelong glance. “What is hell like?” If our plan worked, I’d be heading there myself, but it couldn’t hurt to be prepared.

  “It is a dismal, miserable place that is utterly lacking in beauty.” His shoulders hunched and he wrapped his arms around himself. “I have only been to the ninth realm, but I have heard stories about the inner realms that would make your hair curl.”

  “Ugh, maybe you’d better not tell me then. I hate straightening my hair.” I smirked to show him I was joking and his frown smoothed out. He’d been locked away for so long that it was doubtful he even knew what a flat iron was. He hadn’t even known what a shower was until I’d shown him how to use one.

  To avoid the awkwardness of eating in front of the entire group, I ate my grilled sandwich in the kitchen. Sophia didn’t have a dishwasher, so I hand washed my dishes then returned to the front room with Sam following close behind me. The atmosphere around the table was tense and frustrated when we sat down.

  “I do not see how we will be able to defeat the Demon Lord before his minions will return,” Brie was saying to Nathan. “I am sure your prowess in battle is remarkable, but even with the three of us, it is doubtful we will be able to subdue him without our battle coming to the notice of humans.”

  “What other options do we have?” Nathan returned evenly. “It will be difficult to lead him into a trap where he will be isolated enough for our fight not to be noticed.”

  That sparked an idea and I voiced it before they could begin bickering in earnest. “Can you teleport a Demon Lord against their will?”

  Nathan thought about it then nodded. “I believe so.”

  I turned to Brie to see her watching me speculatively. She knew I had an idea, but she hadn’t guessed what it was. “Would the spell that knocked Sam to his knees have the same effect on a strong demon?” I asked.

  Her lips curved upwards when she realized what I was proposing. “It is doubtful that it would cause him as much pain as it did the imp, but it would at least disorient him for a few moments.”

  Leo smiled craftily and summed up the plan. “Wearing your guise, Samuel will lure the minions away. Once they are on his trail, I will teleport him to safety. As soon as they are gone, you will expose yourself to their leader. While he is distracted, Nathan will whisk him back to our base. Brie will teleport you back here and then we three angels shall subdue our foe. Have I left anything out?”

  “Well, ‘exposing myself’ to the Demon Lord sounds a bit wrong, but that’s the general gist of it,” I agreed. “Do you think it will work?”

  Nathan ran the plan through in his head again before nodding. “I believe we will be able to succeed.” I held my hand up to Leo. After a moment of staring at me blankly, he realized what I wanted him to do and obliged me with a high five.

  It was a fairly simple plan, but sometimes they were the best kind. The fewer details that were involved, the less chance there would be that we’d screw up. I just hoped the demons would be stupid enough to fall for our ruse.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  As the only one who needed to sleep, I eventually left them to tweaking the plan and headed upstairs. After taking a shower, I found Nathan waiting for me in my bedroom. My heartrate increased at being alone with him, but I forced out a scowl. “What do you want?” Just because he was breathtakingly handsome didn’t mean I’d forgiven him for letting my mother die in front of me.

  “I have caused you pain,” he said and moved past me to close the door. “I wish to rectify it.”

  “An apology isn’t going to take away my anguish,” I said and crossed my arms tightly.

  He looked down at the carpet in shame that he’d failed to save my mother. “I am not talking about the mental hurt that I have caused you.” Moving closer, he took my hand. “I am talking about this.” He gently ran a thumb over the bruise that he’d given me when he’d smacked the dagger out of my hand.

  “It’s nothing,” I shrugged. “It’ll be fine in a few days.” I didn’t want to admit it, but it was still throbbing in pain.

  I tried to pull my hand free, but he tightened his grip. “It is unacceptable that you should suffer when I can heal your wound.”

  “How are you going to do that?” I asked warily.

  “Like this,” he replied and put a finger beneath my chin to tilt my head back. I froze in shock when he bent and brushed his lips lightly against mine. A jolt went through me from my head to my toes. Then he kissed me and bliss swept through my whole body. It only lasted for a second or two, but I felt dazed when he pulled away. Lifting my hand, he examined the now unblemished skin and smiled a little. “Your flesh is perfect once more,” he said almost to himself.

  I flexed my hand and the pain was gone. “How did you do that?” I asked in astonishment.

  “I sacrificed a small amount of my power,” he replied nonchalantly. “I will leave you to rest now.” With that, he strode over to the door and opened it.

  Sam appeared just as the door opened. He started in surprise when Nathan emerged and looked at me uncertainly. “I will guard your door while you sleep,” he offered when my guardian brushed past him without speaking.

  It was a bit weird to think that he’d be hovering right outside my door all night, but he seemed to need a purpose so I didn’t argue with him. “Thanks. But this time, don’t try to stop anyone if they want to talk to me.” God only knew where I’d end up the next time I was teleported away by my inner demons if Brie tried to stab me again.

  He nodded and settled down on the floor. He seemed content when I shut the door. Wearing a t-shirt as pajamas, I climbed into bed and stared up at the shadowed ceiling. It felt almost cave-like without any windows in the room, but I was used to it now. If the room had been smaller, it might have been a problem. The one thing that frightened me above all others was being confined in a small space.

  Nathan’s kiss still burned on my lips, but the bliss was slowly beginning to fade. I couldn’t help but compare him to Zach. Not surprisingly, my boyfriend didn’t quite measure up. I’d never felt anything close to this type of contentment before. I guessed that was the difference between kissing a mortal and locking lips with an angel. I could easily become addicted to the wonderful sensation.

  Eventually, the euphoria faded and I drifted off to sleep. I woke at a knock on my door the next morning. “I have made tea,” Sophia called through the door.

  “I’ll be right down,” I said, feeling groggy. Nerves made my stomach flutter as I dressed. Sam was waiting for me in the hall. He followed me downstairs when I was finished in the bathroom.

  Sophia had prepared breakfast and it was waiting for me on the table. She’d made toast and cereal as well as tea. My nerves were growing worse by the second. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep the food down, but I didn’t want to insult her by pushing it away. I ate more slowly than usual and the meal actually helped to settle my stomach.

  Nathan waited for me to finish eating and for the dishes to be cleared away before he ran through the plan one last time. They hadn’t changed any of the major details while I’d been sleeping. “Are we all clear on our roles?” he asked when he was done and sent a particularly hard look at Sam. It couldn’t have been easy for the angels to trust an imp.

  “We’re clear,” I said on behalf of everyone. “When are we going to get this show on the road?”

  “Now is as good a time as any.”

  My nerves returned with a vengeance. My plan t
o bring the Demon Lord here had seemed brilliant last night, but now it seemed like a terrible idea. So much could go wrong and then we’d be back at square one again.

  “Be careful,” Sophia urged us as we huddled into a small circle. Without her grace, she wouldn’t be able to help us and had opted to remain behind.

  “We will,” Leo promised. “We will see you soon.” Her smile was strained as we disappeared in a flash of light.

  Blinking the spots away from my eyes, I saw that we were standing on a busy sidewalk a couple of blocks away from Times Square. Nathan had reconnoitered the area and had found another group of six demons to target.

  “How will I be able to tell if I’m seeing a Demon Lord?” I asked. Sam cringed against me, still unused to the noise, cars, electricity and general bustle.

  “Based on how you perceive the lesser demons and their Captains to be, you should not have any trouble discerning one of their Lords,” Nathan said.

  “You mean the pirate Captain who took Sam to hell is also a Captain in hell’s armies?”

  Scanning the small group who stood halfway down the street, he nodded. “Like any society, demons have a hierarchy. Imps are the lowest, as they are not true demons.” Sam ducked his head in apparent shame as Nathan continued. “Then there are the lesser hell spawn, who perform labor and other menial tasks. Just above them are soldiers. Captains command a regiment of a thousand soldiers each. They reach this rank when they have defeated five hellgates.”

  Their hierarchy wasn’t too complicated and I nodded to indicate that I was paying attention.

  “Next are the Demon Lords. These are the demons who have managed to conquer a hellgate in each of the nine realms. They were the first to fight their way out of hell. Satan has given them command of battalions of around fifty thousand troops. Lords, and the Captains who have conquered a hellgate in the ninth realm, can move freely between hell and Earth, but lesser demons cannot. The Lords and these particular Captains can bring five lackeys through the ninth realm to this world.” That last part gelled with what Sam had told us. With the wards in place, it seemed they couldn’t leave the city unless it was through the one and only portal that was operational.

  “Then there are the Demon Princes, who rule over the second to ninth realms. They are the strongest of the hell spawn, barring only the Hellmaster himself, who resides in the first realm. Each of the eight Princes rose to their position through battling their rivals. They can come and go from hell as they please and they can also bring a larger entourage with them. I am unsure how many lackeys they can transport to Earth at a time.” A line formed between his brows. “If what you have told us is true, then Satan has been overthrown and another has risen to take his place.”

  “Who could have that much power?” Leo asked.

  “It must be one of the Princes,” Brie surmised. “If so, I would very much like to know how he managed to defeat his master.”

  “As would we all,” Nathan murmured.

  It was interesting to learn about the hierarchy in hell, but I turned my attention back to our task. The small group of hell spawn were idling outside a fast food restaurant. Five lesser demons were standing in a loose circle around a sixth. She was nondescript to look at, but then her face morphed into something far more hideous than anything I’d ever seen before. She only lost control for a moment before she became a normal looking human again. It was long enough for me to see her for what she truly was.

  “That has to be a Demon Lord,” I said in awed horror. While her vessel was average in height and size, the creature that was possessing her was huge. I’d only caught a glimpse of her face and the horns that jutted out from her forehead, but it had been enough to know that she was powerful.

  Leo squinted hard at our enemies. He nodded when he found her. “I wish I had your talent for seeing our foes. All I can see is that her aura is stronger than the others.”

  She lost control again and this time I saw her far too clearly. She had the same inky skin as the rest of her kind, but long fangs sprouted from her mouth. They were aged ivory in color and were almost large enough to be classed as tusks.

  Her eyes glowed scarlet and were cunningly intelligent even at a distance. Long, black horns curved up over her forehead. They stretched halfway to the back of her skull. Even though she was female, I couldn’t think of her as a Demon Lady. There was nothing ladylike about her.

  “I see her,” Brie said, squinting at the small group. “She is in the middle of the posse.” Their bracelets enabled them to tell our enemies apart from humans, but it didn’t show them their true faces.

  Nathan pointed at the street corner closest to the group. “Leo, take Samuel to the corner and make sure the demons see him. Briathos, stand ready to come to Violet’s aid when she removes her bracelet. It is probable that the Demon Lord will act swiftly once she sees her. I will remain close by so that I can seize our enemy.”

  Butterflies began fluttering around in my stomach and I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. I checked my jacket to make sure my dagger was easily accessible, but I didn’t draw it. I wouldn’t be the one fighting today. My job was simply to distract our enemy.

  Sam took my hand and shimmered as he became my exact twin. Knowing that we had limited time to pull this off, Leo teleported the imp to the corner. Sam removed his bracelet and turned in a circle as if he was lost. He paid no attention to the demons when they spotted him.

  As we’d hoped, their master pointed towards the fake me. They knew my description and they weren’t about to let me escape. All five lackeys moved towards our decoy. Hidden from the demons by his bracelet, Leo gestured for Sam to follow him then trotted down the street. The imp hastened after Leo and they both disappeared from my view.

  At Nathan’s nod, I took my bracelet off and walked towards the Demon Lord. Catching sight of me, she froze. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and she looked around for her lackeys, but they were gone. She hesitated for a moment then started towards me. Instinct told her this was a trap, but she couldn’t resist the lure.

  Pretending to notice her, I let panic flow over my face. She grinned, revealing a forked tongue as she sped up her pace. Nathan appeared behind her just as she reached for me. They disappeared with a flash of light then Brie was suddenly standing beside me. She put her hand on my arm and we teleported back to our base and into sheer chaos.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  When my vision cleared, I was relieved to see that everyone had made it back safely. Sound assailed me as the Demon Lord bellowed in pain and rage. She wasn’t quite as incapacitated as I’d hoped and swung a gigantic sword around blindly. Bright scarlet light blazed from the weapon. It almost seemed to be on fire, but I felt no actual heat coming from it.

  Clearly in agony from Brie’s spell, the hell spawn wasn’t going down without a fight. Nathan, Brie and Leo had her surrounded, but her wild swings were effectively keeping them at bay.

  Sam cowered behind Sophia, who wisely stood a safe distance away. I joined them, fighting the urge to cover my ears with my hands. “Stab her already!” I shouted at Nathan.

  Hearing my voice, the demon snarled in rage and lunged towards me. Brie swung her sword down low and it cut through the creature’s leg. Falling on her face, the Demon Lord lashed out with her weapon. Brie leaped back out of reach while Leo darted in and stabbed their foe in the back.

  Struggling to her knees, the demon threw her head back and bellowed in frustration. Nathan seized the opportunity to strike and coolly ran his sword into her heart. Her bellow cut off and she looked down in shock at the sword that impaled her. Her eyes found me and she spoke in a thick, guttural voice. “You will not win, Hellscourge. You and your pitiful band will be crushed beneath my master’s heel!”

  My response was snide. “Yeah, well at least you won’t be there to see it.”

  Nathan pulled his sword free. The demon gasped and slapped a hand over the wound, but she couldn’t stop the inevitable. Dark
sludge oozed out from between her fingers. Coalescing into a shapeless blob, it hovered in the air.

  Sophia put her hand on my back and pushed me towards it. With a grimace, I moved closer until the evil essence sensed me. With apparent glee, it settled over me like a noisome fog then sank into my pores. I shuddered when the essence invaded me. As usual, I was hit with a barrage of memories. One stood out from the others. It had been fleeting, but it filled me with hopelessness.

  When the onslaught ended, I sagged in relief. The vessel that had been chosen to be a receptacle for the Demon Lord slumped lifelessly to the carpet.

  “I will take care of this,” Nathan said and gestured at the corpse. Now that she was just an empty shell, she looked harmless again. I’d seen the things she’d been made to do and I didn’t pity her for losing her life. No one would have wanted to remember the atrocities they’d been forced to perform. Death would be easier to bear than that.

  “I think some tea would be in order,” Sophia said.

  Nodding in agreement, I took a staggering step and my knees buckled. Leo and Sam caught me and helped me into my chair. “Thanks, guys,” I said weakly. Absorbing the Demon Lord had taken more out of me than I’d expected. I could almost feel her rampaging around inside me right now.

  Brie used her power to remove the bloodstains from the carpet while Sophia made tea. Nathan returned, saw how pale I was and frowned. “Are you well?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said and waved his concern away. “What did you do with the body?”

  “I placed her in a construction site and covered her with concrete.”

  “Have you ever worked for the mob?” I joked.

  “I do not work for humans,” he replied with a curl of his upper lip. Sam’s assessment of angels was correct. They did look down on humanity, but I couldn’t really blame them. We tended to be greedy, selfish and petty. We bred like rabbits and had overpopulated our planet to the point where our resources were sorely depleted. In short, there wasn’t much to admire about our species.