by Diem, J. C.
My hand went to the newest bruise that Brie had given me. The twins were the perfect warriors to teach me how to fight, since demons were so similar to them in strength and skill. Brie might want to stab me with a real weapon, but she managed to restrain herself from hurting me too badly. Nathan rarely joined in on the sessions. He preferred to oversee my training. I was quietly grateful for that. Being near him made it hard to concentrate. I still wasn’t used to his overwhelming beauty and found him far too distracting.
“What do you have in mind?” Nathan asked.
She’d obviously put some thought into it and had a response ready. “I think we should lure a demon pack into a trap. We can dispatch the leader and most of the minions, but leave one or two for Violet to deal with.”
If it had meant just taking down the demons, I wouldn’t have had a problem with it. But she was talking about murdering innocent human beings who’d had the misfortune of becoming possessed. The vessels were completely helpless once they were taken over. Unfortunately, they remembered every evil deed that the demons made them perform. In a way, it would be a mercy to end their lives. Most ended up committing suicide once the demon was finished with them and abandoned their bodies.
Reading all this on my face, Nathan looked at me in concern. “I realize that killing humans is distasteful to you, but we are at war with demonkind,” he reminded me, not that I needed it. “Sacrifices will have to be made by us all.”
He sounded so grim that I wondered what sacrifices he’d made. Being locked out of heaven had to be at the top of his list. Angels couldn’t get in or out of heaven until the gates were opened again. The gates had only become locked after I’d entered Manhattan and had triggered an alarm. For reasons that I wasn’t privy to, he hadn’t been home for as long as I’d been alive. Some part of him had to hold me responsible and I wondered if he resented me for it.
“I know,” I sighed. Besides, I’d already committed murder several times, even if it had been an accident most of the time. I didn’t count the demon that I’d killed in hell. Stabbing him had been a deliberate act, but I hadn’t expected him to actually die from it. Angels and demons were supposed to be immortal. I still didn’t know why he’d died, but I only felt a twinge of guilt over it. It was apparently my destiny to battle demonkind after all.
“Do you plan to teleport the demons here?” Sophia asked. I could tell she wasn’t thrilled with that idea. We’d previously lured the Demon Lords here so Brie’s spell could disorient them. The room was large, but it would become too crowded with all of us and six enemies as well.
Brie shook her head. “I have somewhere else in mind. During my search yesterday, I located an abandoned building near a Lord and his lackeys. It would be a perfect place to lay a trap.”
Nathan mused about it then gave a reluctant nod. “I would like to see the building for myself before we attempt this.”
“We should all go and take a look,” Leo suggested. He wasn’t a fan of inactivity and was already pushing his chair back from the table. Brie shrugged to indicate she didn’t care whether we tagged along or not. It wouldn’t bother her to have an audience watching while she readied her trap.
₪₪₪
Chapter Seven
We formed a circle and Brie took us to our destination. I’d grown used to the blinding light that hit me every time we teleported. My inner demons had whisked me to safety when Brie had accidentally almost gutted me, but it had only happened once so far. It seemed that I had to be in dire straits before they could assist me. No matter how hard I tried, I hadn’t managed to teleport myself anywhere since then.
I examined the building where Brie would lay her trap, but there wasn’t much to see. The room had been gutted and only bare walls and a few concrete pillars remained. The floor was plain concrete and the windows had been removed. From the dust on the floor and piles of filthy blankets that meant homeless people had been bedding down here, construction must have ceased months ago. The developers had probably run out of funds and had abandoned the project for now.
Traffic roared somewhere outside, indicating that a main street was nearby. The building was situated on a curving street that ended at a cul-de-sac. The view was blocked by buildings on either side of us. A vacant parking lot took up the rear of the property. Even from here, I could see cracks in the cement and weeds growing in the crevices. There were no windows facing us in any of the other buildings. Brie was right, this would be an excellent location to set a trap.
“Will this building suffice for our needs?” the teen asked Nathan with exaggerated patience.
He didn’t take offense at her tone, proving that he had far more patience than I did. He studied the layout carefully before nodding. “You have chosen well, Briathos.”
She might not trust him as much as she did Leo and Sophia, but she was pleased that she’d met with his approval. “Good. I will begin the spell now. The Demon Lord has staked out his territory around the bend and half a block away, if you wish to see who we will be facing.” She gestured where a pair of double doors had once been.
Nathan nodded for us to follow him and we trooped out through the doorway. A building loomed beside us when we reached the bend. It shadowed us as we took turns peering around a shrub. Just as Brie had warned us, six demons were loitering about halfway down the block. The minions’ faces flickered, revealing their true visages to me. They were ugly, but they were nothing compared to their master. He had the typical horns, fangs and glowing crimson eyes of a lord. Although his vessel was average height, his inner monster towered over them, overlapping his host’s body in my eyes.
Returning to the gutted building, we watched as Brie walked the perimeter of what had probably once been a foyer. She chanted in what I assumed was the language angels used. It was both musical and beautiful. I couldn’t see anything, but Leo and Nathan examined whatever she was doing. Sophia looked a trifle sad. It must have been hard for her to be reminded of what she could no longer do after losing most of her power along with her grace.
“The spell is complete,” Brie said when she finished her circuit of the large space. “All we need to do now is to bring our foes inside so that I can activate it.”
“I will lure them here,” Sam offered and reached for my arm. With one touch, he could transform himself to look like anything or anyone he wanted. He shimmered then became an identical twin to me, right down to the clothes that I was wearing.
“The demons are aware of our ruse by now,” Nathan pointed out. “Both you and Violet should allow them to see you. Step around the bend then pretend to panic when they see you. Then return here as quickly as possible.”
Our enemies could easily teleport themselves to us, but they’d need to see which direction we were going to run in first. Sam and I removed our bracelets and slipped them into our pockets. He could only maintain his illusion for about three minutes after he lost contact with me. When he maintained contact, he could hold the image indefinitely.
Trotting back to the bend, we strode into view side by side. I didn’t have to pretend to be afraid when the demons saw us. I knew help was only a short distance away, but only a mad person wouldn’t be terrified at having six hell spawn racing after them.
Sam grabbed my arm and we spun on our heels and ran as the group headed towards us. Even their master gave chase rather than staying behind and letting his team do all the work. Bloodthirsty howls followed us back to the abandoned construction site as our enemies rounded the bend.
Thinking they were clever, all six of them teleported in front of us just as we entered the gutted out space. We skidded to a stop as Brie and the others stepped into view from behind the concrete pillars. She chanted a few words and the demons began to shriek in pain when the spell took effect.
All five lesser demons immediately became incapacitated. Far stronger than his minions, the Demon Lord called his weapon into being. The gigantic sword looked barbaric as he swung it around blindly and bellowed in pain. Natha
n allowed the blade to swing past him then coolly stepped in. Sensing the attack, his adversary brought his blade around in time to deflect a strike to his heart that would have taken him down.
Their swords clanged and sparks flew from the metal in a bright shower. Even without the spell incapacitating him, the lord wasn’t a match for Nathan. He gracefully knocked the larger blade away and rammed his sword into the demon’s chest. Leo and Brie cut down three of the lackeys, leaving two of them for me to deal with.
Stabbing a vessel through the heart was the only way to forcibly dislodge a demon. Black ooze squeezed out through their shredded organs and hovered in the air. Sensing my soulless body, all four of them floated in my direction. Well used to absorbing their evil essence, I braced myself for the onslaught. Images from nightmares assailed me as I saw flashes of their memories. None of them gave me any further insights into finding the missing objects.
Sam’s hand on my shoulder steadied me and I gave him a grateful smile. He’d resumed his own form again now that he didn’t need to act as a decoy.
“Ready yourself,” Brie said, inadvertently sounding like the master gate to hell. “I will now cease the spell.” She chanted a few words again and the two remaining lackeys stopped screaming.
Looking around warily, they froze when they saw that they were surrounded. Flicking glances at the fallen vessels that their kin no longer occupied, their expressions turned bleak. “What are you waiting for?” one of them sneered. “Attack us already.” Both of their vessels were in their teens, which made it harder for me to fight them. Their hosts would have families who loved them and they would shortly be stolen from them forever.
“Go ahead,” Leo urged me and gave me a small nudge.
Reluctantly taking my dagger out, it immediately began to glow. The two lesser demons didn’t even attempt to lift their weapons. Their arms hung limply at their sides. “Don’t just stand there,” I said. “Conjure up your daggers.”
“We are forbidden to harm you,” the second minion said. “To do so would mean punishment the likes of which you could not even conceive of.”
“ I can conceive it,” Brie said coldly. “And you will suffer much worse if you do not do as Hellscourge commands.”
I made a face at being called Hellscourge by one of my allies then stepped towards my foes. They shuffled to keep me in sight as I circled them. Huddled together, it was clear that they weren’t going to comply. They were far more terrified of the Hellmaster than they were of me.
Growing frustrated, I sliced one of the lackeys’ arms open. He yelped and cowered away, which instantly filled me with contempt. “Fight me, you cowards!” I shouted.
Eyes going wide and blank, they took up combat stances and went on the attack. Startled at their abrupt turn around, I came close to being stabbed and danced back a step. I sensed Nathan hovering behind me. Ever my guardian, he was ready to step in and save me if it became necessary.
Deflecting the glowing red dagger, I kicked the hell spawn in the stomach. He let out a whoosh of air and doubled over, but his companion was now coming at me so I couldn’t finish him off. It took all of my concentration to avoid being cut open as he swung his weapon at me wildly.
I parried his blows just as I’d been taught, but I wasn’t quite fast enough. Pain blossomed when he sliced my left arm open. Cold rage seeped into me and everything seemed to slow down. Deflecting his next blow, I grabbed hold of his arm with my left hand and twisted hard. I heard his wrist snap, but my blade was already sinking into his heart. It cut off his scream before it could begin.
Turning to my second adversary, I was ready for it when he lunged at me. My dagger was faster and bit deep into his wrist. Blood spurted as the appendage fell to the floor. Clutching the wound, he fell to his knees before me with his head bowed in defeat. Pulling his head back by the hair, I stared into his eyes as I rammed my blade home into his heart.
Shocked silence filled the battleground, then their essence was flowing into me. Only minor demons, they barely affected me as they joined the growing throng that were trapped inside my body.
My rage fled and I turned to see my friends staring at me with various degrees of astonishment. “What?” I said.
“What did you say to them?” Sophia asked me.
“I told them to fight me.” Didn’t they understand plain English?
“Actually, you said ‘Fight me, you cowards’,” Sam corrected me.
“You understood her?” Leo asked.
Sam nodded, looking disturbed. “It was necessary to learn the demons’ language when I became trapped in hell.”
Now it was my turn to be shocked. “Wait a minute. How could I possibly speak their language? I haven’t spent enough time in hell to have learned it.”
“What language did you think they were speaking when we were in the ninth realm?” he asked me. Speechless, I couldn’t answer him. I desperately hoped that having the unholy hitchhikers inside me was responsible for my ability to speak their language.
Brie’s expression turned even colder, if that was possible. She already thought I was one short step away from being evil. This new development didn’t exactly bolster her trust in me. Her eyes dropped to my right wrist where the bracelet that she’d made for me rested. She must have seen that it had changed color during the fight. I just hoped that she didn’t realize that it had turned completely scarlet.
“You gave them an order and they were forced to obey you as if you were their master,” Nathan advised me. He was almost as disturbed as Brie by what he’d just witnessed.
“I think Violet has had enough combat practice for one day,” Sophia decided. I felt a small stab of hurt when she kept her distance from me. Sam was the only one who didn’t seem to care about the strangeness that had just happened. He crowded in close beside me as Nathan whisked us back to our base.
₪₪₪
Chapter Eight
Pain radiated up my left arm, reminding me that I’d been wounded. I was glad I’d decided not to wear my favorite jacket. My flesh would eventually heal, but sewing wasn’t in my skillset.
I headed upstairs as soon as we appeared in Sophia’s store. Concerned for me, Sam followed me to the bathroom. I gingerly peeled my sweater off and hissed when it tugged on the wound. The cut was long and deep. I used my sweater to stem the flow of blood so I wouldn’t make a mess on the floor.
“It looks bad,” Sam said, wincing in sympathy. “Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t tickle,” I responded and pointed at the medicine cabinet. “Can you get me the antiseptic cream and a bandage?”
Nathan stepped into the doorway, instantly filling the room with his presence. “I will tend to Violet,” he said. Realizing that he’d been dismissed, Sam waited for me to nod then left the bathroom. I heard him walk into the living room down the hall. The TV came on almost immediately.
Closing the door, Nathan gently took my arm and examined the cut. My heartbeat kicked into a higher gear at having him standing so close. “It will take at least a week for you to recover from this.” Still holding my arm, he studied my face. Our eyes locked and tension sprang up between us. “I can heal this, if you wish.”
We both knew what that would entail and my heart raced even more. “How does it work when you heal me?” All I knew was that he transferred some of his power to me.
“I tap into my grace,” he explained. “Doing so depletes my strength for a while, but I deem it to be worth the sacrifice.”
“I don’t want you to put yourself in any danger.”
He shrugged in apparent unconcern. “This will only require a small amount of power. I will return to my full strength in a few hours.” Already craving the pleasure that would sweep through me, I didn’t protest when he put a finger beneath my chin and tilted my head back.
My eyelids fluttered shut and my whole body tensed in anticipation. His lips brushed against mine and I barely managed to hold in a moan of longing. I opened my eyes briefly to see that
he was even more perfect up this close. His eyes were closed as he slid a hand behind my head and deepened the kiss.
Bliss, safety and contentment spread through me and I tingled from my head to my toes. Our kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime had passed when he pulled away. “How do you feel?” he asked.
Dazed and still full of joy, I didn’t even try to quell my huge smile. “I feel fantastic.”
He stepped back to put some distance between us and examined my arm again. “Good, there is no trace of a scar.”
This was the third time he’d kissed away my wounds. They’d all healed without a physical trace, but something inside me felt like it had changed. It almost felt like we shared a spiritual connection.
Trembling on the edge of blurting out my feelings for him, I came to my senses. He was a celestial being and I was just a lowly human. I wasn’t sure what Nathan felt when he kissed me, but I doubted he felt even a fraction of what coursed through my body.
Brushing past him, I crossed to the sink to wash off the blood. My wrist was unblemished, as if it had never been sliced open at all. “Thank you,” I said.
“You are welcome. We cannot have Hellscourge at less than peak condition.”
My smile soured as he left the room. Being a pawn of Fate had me wondering whether anyone in this building was actually my friend, or if I was just a tool to them all.
Sam poked his head in the door and brightened when he saw that I was alone. At least he didn’t have an agenda. He was just grateful that I’d rescued him from the shadowlands. He caught sight of my arm and frowned. “What happened to your wound?”
I tugged my sleeve down and put a finger to my lips to caution him to be quiet. “Nathan healed me,” I whispered.
