by Diem, J. C.
“Can you help her?” I heard the despair in his voice.
“This is far beyond my healing abilities. We will just have to see if Hellscourge is strong enough to survive.”
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sam held my hand as the war raged on. It felt like my insides were being torn apart and I had to bite back my screams of agony. Blessedly, I passed out and instantly found myself in the shadowlands of my mind where the battle was still raging on.
Falling to my knees in the mist, I shrieked in pain that I couldn’t seem to switch off. Demons spilled out of their black house and swarmed around me. “Let me through,” a young female voice shouted and Heather pushed her way through the crowd. She hunkered down beside me and was joined by Morax. “What’s happening to her?” she asked the Demon Lord.
Morax put his hand on my forehead and examined me with his own form of power. “She is dying,” he said harshly. “The Hellmaster’s spy has infected her with its master’s essence and it is too much for her system to take. She should not have been able to survive the Prince’s essence. No being could possibly withstand toxin from two powerful demons.”
“Someone has to do something,” Heather said and let out a sob. “Sy? Can you help her?”
I heard the scribe’s misery, even though I was in too much pain to open my eyes and look at him. “I do not know of any runes that can heal my master.”
Silence fell when he accidentally let that slip. Morax’s grip tightened for a moment then gentled. It almost felt like he stroked my hair as he withdrew his hand. “Get the angel,” he ordered.
“His door is locked,” one of the other lords reminded him.
“Hellscourge,” Morax said to me. “Unlock the angel’s door. If anyone can heal you, it will be Raziel. He has healing abilities that far surpasses most of his kind.”
It wasn’t easy to concentrate, but I managed to reach out and mentally unlock Raziel’s door. Demons spilled into his house and dragged him outside. I could hear his shrill protests at being manhandled even above my own groans of pain and the murmurs from the crowd.
He was forced down next to me. One of his wings brushed against my arm before he pulled them in tight around him. I found I didn’t need to open my eyes to see them. They were inside my head and I was all-powerful here. I could see and hear everything. I just couldn’t heal myself. That was an ability that was beyond me.
“Fix her,” Morax ordered the celestial warrior in a steely tone.
Raziel sneered and his handsome face twisted in derision. “You cannot force me to heal her.”
Crimson weapons appeared in the hands of every demon except one. Even Sy was holding a dagger. Morax was the only one who didn’t call on his axe. He regarded the far smaller angel steadily. “If she dies, we all perish,” he reminded him.
“Oblivion would be better than being trapped here,” the angel said stubbornly.
Heather reached out and took his hand. He was startled, but he didn’t pull away as she drew his hand to her chest and held it over her heart. “Please, Raziel. You’ve been inside Violet’s head for long enough by now to know she isn’t evil. She didn’t ask to become Hellscourge. This fate was thrust on her just like it was forced on all of us. I know you still care about what happens to humanity. She’s the only one who can stop the hellgates from breaking open. If that happens, all humans will either be torn apart or they’ll be burned alive.”
Staring into her eyes, he remembered the compassion that he’d been trying to suppress. Bowing his head, he nodded and released her hand. “I will do what I can,” he vowed quietly.
His hand came to rest on my head and his power flooded through me. He blanched when he saw the two different types of evil that Nathan’s essence was battling. If my guardian hadn’t given me so many infusions of his grace, I wouldn’t have survived the raven’s attack this time. Either its master no longer wanted me brought to him alive, or he didn’t realize that marking me a second time would have such a catastrophic effect.
“I cannot drive the toxins out,” Raziel murmured. “They are too strongly embedded in her. All I can do is wall them off so that they no longer tear her apart while they try to gain supremacy.”
“Do it,” Morax ordered.
Bright white light flared inside me. When it faded, the black essence that was infecting me had been compartmentalized. Nathan’s grace had been depleted while it had fought to save me. I wouldn’t have to exercise to rid myself of the extra energy this time.
Opening my eyes, I saw their concern. “I’m okay,” I said hoarsely. “Help me up.”
Raziel and Morax offered me their hands and drew me to my feet. Heather pushed between them and engulfed me in a hug. “Thank God you’re alive,” she said. Tears were still running down her face. She turned to Raziel next and hugged him as well. He patted her back in bemusement, keeping his wings clear so she didn’t crush them. She took one step towards Morax, but his frown dissuaded her from including him in her gratitude.
“I owe you one,” I said to Raziel. “That was a close call.” Death hadn’t just been circling me, it had been breathing down my neck that time. Nathan’s essence would have faded after a few more seconds and the warring toxins would have torn me apart.
“Find a way to release me from this prison and we will be even,” he replied. “I must warn you, this was only a temporary solution. The barrier that I have set in place will merely keep the two essences apart. I fear this addition of evil will mean that the toxin will spread through you faster. You must find a cure or you will surely perish.”
Even though I was technically unconscious, I felt the illness spreading through me again and I nodded wearily. “You did what you could and that’s all I can ask for.”
“There is something we must speak about,” Morax said and pointed at Sy. The scribe flinched away from his accusing stare. “Why did he call you ‘master’?”
This was a conversation that I’d hoped to avoid, but it was out in the open now. “It seems Sy’s allegiance has switched from Dantanian to me.”
Incredulous, Morax swept his gaze over the legion. “Who else feels that Hellscourge is their master?”
No one was brave enough to answer him. Shuffling their feet, they looked everywhere but at the lord. I knew he wouldn’t let it rest until he learned what he wanted to know. “Put your hands up if you have to obey me,” I ordered. Nearly every hand went up. Only Heather, the Demon Lords and Raziel were exempt.
“Interesting,” was all Morax had to say. I was pretty sure there were a few other choice words that he would have preferred to have used.
Feeling a hand shaking my shoulder, I started to fade. Heather gave me a huge, watery smile, then she was gone. Opening my eyes, I saw Brie and Sam still kneeling in front of me. Just like Heather, Sam was crying in relief that I wasn’t dead.
“How are you feeling?” Brie asked. She was the one who had shaken me awake.
She helped me to sit up and I put my back to the wall. I glanced around to see we were in an empty room. It had been stripped of everything but the musty brown carpet. The windows were covered by old newspapers and I couldn’t tell where we were. “I’ve felt better, but I’ll live,” I replied. For now anyway. “Raziel managed to stop the new toxin from killing me.”
“The angel offered you his assistance?” Sam said in astonishment. “I thought he hated you.”
“Heather persuaded him to help me. He still cares about humans. He doesn’t want them wiped off the face of the Earth like Hag and Orifice do.”
“They do not want humans to be destroyed,” Brie said, but she wasn’t very convincing. I wasn’t sure she even believed it herself.
“Take us back to the store,” I said. “I need to see if Nathan is okay.”
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Brie took us back to my bedroom, but it was empty. I raced downstairs to find Nathan, Leo and Sophia sitting at the table. My guardian shot to
his feet and I ran into his arms. He was still pale, but he was alert and he was already getting his color back. I couldn’t stop myself from shaking in reaction to how close I’d come to losing him. He stroked a hand down my back as I pressed my face against his neck.
Sam cleared his throat loudly and we broke apart at the not-so-subtle hint. Looking at Nathan’s face, I saw faint white marks where the ugly black scars had been. I pressed my palm against his cheek and he leaned into it. “You saved my life,” he said.
“It was about time I came to your rescue for once,” I replied with a weary smile.
“What happened?” Sophia asked. She poured me a cup of tea and Sam held my chair out for me. With great reluctance, I stepped away from my guardian and took my seat.
No one stopped Brie from sitting in her old chair. Clearly, she had no intention of leaving until she’d learned what had transpired.
“The raven was supposed to mark me, not Nathan. I wasn’t going to let him die, so I did the only thing I could think of.”
“You healed him?” Leo asked.
“No. I don’t have that sort of power. I drew the toxin that was infecting him into myself. I passed out and entered the shadowlands in my head. Raziel managed to wall off the two different toxins from each other. They were fighting for supremacy. Nathan’s essence was the only thing stopping them from killing me.”
Everyone was stunned to hear that. Brie was the first to speak. “You knew it could kill you, but you chose to draw the toxin inside yourself?”
“Of course.”
Her expression was confused. “Why would you do such a thing?”
I looked across the table to see Nathan staring at me. “She risked herself because she loves me,” he said softly. He felt the same way about me, but he didn’t need to say the words out loud. Hearing them would only cause me more pain. We could never be together, but I wasn’t going to let him die. I’d rather perish than lose him.
“I was wrong about you,” Brie said to me abruptly. I could see the admission galled her. “It would seem that I was wrong about you, too,” she said to Sam. The changes in his appearance were too obvious for even her to ignore. “I have been blinded by prejudice. I believed the things that Hagith has been saying about you both.” Leo was on the verge of tears and held his hand out. She took a deep breath then slipped her hand into his. “You have my apologies and I hope that you can both forgive me.”
“Does this mean you’ll stop acting like a snarky little teenager?” I said.
“I will if you will,” she shot back. “You are just as bad as I am.”
“That’s true,” I conceded with a sigh. “Neither of us is going to change, so we’ll just have to learn to get along.”
“Were you the one who attempted to destroy Violet’s favorite jacket?” Leo asked.
Brie flinched and looked down at the table. She nodded and couldn’t look at me. “Hagith ordered me to ruin her belongings. I had no choice but to obey her.”
“My jacket is fine,” I told her and felt a petty stab of satisfaction at her surprise.
“But, I tore it to shreds,” she responded. “No one could have repaired that much damage.”
“I can. At least I can when I’m in hell.”
My answer disturbed her, but she was wise enough not to say anything that would undo the tentative truce that we’d just established.
“I am glad that we are all reconciled,” Sophia said. “But I am concerned about how Hagith and Orifiel will feel about this.”
“It would be best if they do not become aware of Brie’s change of heart,” Nathan suggested. “She should stay among their ranks and warn us of any plans that they have against us.”
Leo was instantly concerned. He’d only just gotten his partner back. He probably felt like she was already slipping away again. “It will be dangerous. What if they discover that she is a spy?”
“It is a risk that I am willing to take,” she responded. She squeezed his hand then let it go.
Feeling something move inside me, I hunched forward and grabbed my stomach before I could stop myself.
“What is wrong?” Sam asked. He couldn’t hide the fear in his tone.
Everyone had witnessed my reaction. I couldn’t pretend that nothing was wrong this time. “It’s the taint,” I said when the slithering sensation stopped. “Every now and then I can feel it inside me.”
“Are you saying that it feels as though it is alive?” Leo asked.
“Yeah. Something like that. It’s hard to explain.”
“Now you have two different evil essences inside you,” Sophia said. “I fear this is why I was sent the vision of what will happen to you in a few short months.”
I grimaced at the reminder that I was soon going to blacken and die. “I need to find the next portal to hell before Brie’s blast of holy power fades,” I said.
Brie sent me a sharp look. “You promised me that you would not give me away.”
“She did not tattle on you,” Leo defended me. “I guessed that she allowed someone to purge her and I knew you were the most likely person behind her recovery.”
“I did not enjoy causing her pain,” she said stiffly. “I thought it was necessary so I agreed to assist her.”
“Aw, come on,” I teased her. “Don’t lie. You enjoyed it a little bit.”
“Perhaps I felt a tiny amount of satisfaction,” she conceded. “But only for a moment. It is not easy to watch someone writhe in pain.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to zap me again,” I told her. “I’ll be in pretty bad shape when I leave hell. It always hits me hard when I return to this dimension.”
“Call me to you and I will offer you whatever assistance I can.”
Leo swiped his sleeve across his eyes. We all pretended that he wasn’t crying in happiness that his sister was back on our team. I might not like her much, but this was where she belonged.
“You should return to your headquarters before you are missed,” Nathan suggested. “Domiel and Jeduthun are also on our side. We should meet with one of you periodically so that we can impart any important news to each other.”
She was surprised to hear that and gave him a pleased nod. “They are a sensible pair. I am relieved that I am not the only spy among the host.” She stood and Leo stood as well. “I am sorry that we were at odds for so long. I should never had sided against you.”
“You were just doing what you thought was right,” he said. They shared a hug then she stepped back and disappeared.
Weariness came crashing down on me. It took all of my energy to drink the tea that Sophia had poured for me. Nathan was staring at me as if there was something he wanted to say. Sophia took the hint and gestured to the two boys. “We should leave Nathanael and Violet alone for a few minutes and allow them to talk.”
“We will be in the kitchen,” Sam said.
“Standing by with a bucket of cold water,” Leo added not quite quietly enough.
They left, closing the door after themselves. I knew they could hear us and I didn’t burst into tears like I wanted to. Nathan left his chair and came to sit beside me. I could feel the bond between us now. It was an ache in my heart where my soul had been torn from me. By drawing the toxin out of him and taking it into myself, I’d strengthened the link between us. We didn’t speak at first. He simply folded me into his arms and I leaned against him. “I almost lost you,” I said in a low voice at last.
“I am right here,” he replied just as quietly. “You saved me. I will never leave you. Death itself will not be able to keep me from your side.”
I wanted to put my hand over his mouth to stop him from saying those words. He’d rescued me from death too many times to count, but not even I would be able to avoid it forever. Fate wanted me to win the war against the demons, but she’d never said that I wouldn’t lose people that I loved along the way.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Leo took me out on patrol the
next morning after breakfast. He nervously kept watch for the raven and I couldn’t blame him for his wariness. Nathan had nearly died because he’d been compelled to save me from harm once again. Leo hadn’t been tasked with watching over me, but I knew he would do his best to keep me safe.
“How much longer do you think Sam will be able to retain his abilities?” he asked me after we’d been randomly walking the streets of Tribeca for a while.
That was something that had been weighing on my mind for a while now and I didn’t have an answer for him. “I’m not sure. He’s changed so much in the past couple of months that it’s hard to believe he was ever an imp at all.”
“He is becoming more human every day,” he agreed then sent me a sidelong look. “There may come a time when he will lose his camouflage abilities.”
“I know.”
“It will break his heart if he can no longer accompany you on your missions to hell.”
“Let’s worry about that if or when it happens,” I said firmly. I was getting stronger every time I ventured into the underworld. Yet even if I turned into a Demon Lord, as the image on my carriage seemed to indicate would happen, I wouldn’t be able to fight my way through thousands of hell spawn to reach the princes in their palaces. If I didn’t have Sam to sneak me inside, I’d be in serious trouble.
He was about to respond when he turned his head to stare into a narrow alley. “Did you hear that?” he asked.
“Hear what?” All I could hear was the sounds of traffic on the street beside us.
“I heard a muffled scream.”
A sinking feeling hit my stomach and I took off at a run down the alley. I pulled my dagger from its sheath in mid-stride. Reaching a sharp corner, I hurtled around it and stumbled into a pack of demons. I took in the sight of a body lying on the ground and I knew who it had to be. Young and pretty, she was slender and her hair was blond. Another of my distant cousins had been slaughtered and I hadn’t been able to save her.
