Please, let this work.
“Remember Nanny Rowena, baby? Remember what you did when she kept you in the dark?”
Armageddon opens his mouth and his long tongue snakes out, the end burning brightly as a red-hot poker. My stomach churns as the broiling tip heads straight toward Lincoln’s right eye. Every muscle in my body contacts with fear.
“Maxon, baby. Do it! Do it now!”
Armageddon stands up; his long tongue retracts into his mouth. “What do you think this child can possibly accomplish?” He chuckles. “You didn’t come into your powers until you were eighteen. My son didn’t see a spark of ability until he was fifty.” The King of Hell stalks over to Maxon’s prison box and raps on the top panel. “Is the little-wittle prince afraid of the dark?” He leans in, his voice a snarl. “Because I’ll leave you in eternal darkness, too. How would you like that, you—”
Suddenly, massive bolts of lightning zoom in from every direction, the web of crackling light instantly converging on Maxon’s prison box. With an eardrum-shattering clang, the metal explodes, sending red-hot shards whipping out in every direction.
On reflex, I twist in my chair, trying to protect my body from the worst of the blast. Shards embed into my fighting suit, tearing it. A Leech Guard leaps onto me at the sight of my blood, and latches its stinger onto my neck. I struggle against my bonds; I’m still locked in place. My body turns cold as the life is literally sucked out of me.
The force of the blast sends Lincoln toppling over onto his side. Thankfully the worst of the shrapnel speeds over him. My vision wavers. At the bottom of the stairs, Anubis rips open the prison boxes holding Nefer and Kiya. They both leap free, looking relatively unharmed. I search for Armageddon, but it suddenly becomes a chore to stay awake. I’m aware that the Leech Guard is about to kill me, but all my attempts to fight back result in little more than body twitches.
My vision goes in and out of focus. Is that Kiya scrambling up the throne room steps? My sleepy mind tries to process what’s happening, but there isn’t enough energy left in my body.
In a dream-like haze, I see Kiya grab a sharp piece of shrapnel and hands it to Lincoln, who uses the knife-like bit of metal to cut away his bonds. Then, Kiya scrambles onto my shoulder. With a loud screech, he bites down hard onto the long needle-mouth of the Leech Guard. The demon stumbles back, its mouth detaching from my neck at last.
My mind instantly clears. Fuck that fucking leech! I’ll kill it with my bare hands. Lincoln hops to his feet, having used the shrapnel to cut himself free. In one smooth movement, he grabs Dad’s baculum, ignites it into a long-sword, and skewers the Leech Guard through the throat.
My brain focuses on a single thought. How is Maxon?
Craning my neck, I strain to see my son. His prison box is no longer an impenetrable square container set on the marble floor. Instead, it’s now a ragged shell of burnt-out metal with Maxon standing in the center. My boy wears a charred Rixa tunic, his black hair disheveled and mismatched eyes wild. His chest heaves with erratic breaths. I’ve never seen him so utterly out of control.
“I can make my own light!” screams Maxon. His little arms reach high. Long bolts of lightning crackle out from his fingertips, slamming into either wall, bursting huge holes in the smooth black stone.
I gasp with horror. Oh, no. He’s lost it completely.
“Maxon! Listen to me. It’s Mommy. You need to stop right now.”
“I don’t like the dark! Don’t make me stay in the dark!” Maxon swings his arms around violently. Two more shafts of lightning stream out from his hands, this time blowing massive holes in the ceiling. Chunks of stone tumble to the ground around Maxon, narrowly missing him.
Unholy Hell. He’s going to kill us all.
I scan the room, looking for Armageddon or any of his demon guards. Bodies lay all around. I don’t see the King of Hell, but I do find Anubis and Nefer standing tall and still at the base of the stone stairs that lead to Armageddon’s throne.
“We’re coming to help you,” says Anubis.
“No!” screams Maxon. Another blast whips off his arms, slamming Nefer squarely in the chest. She crumples forward; Anubis cradles her body in his arms. Kiya lets out a piercing cry and scrambles to her side.
Not Nefer. He can’t have killed Nefer.
Lincoln slowly steps toward Maxon. “You need to calm down, son.”
Maxon’s head snaps in my direction, his arms pointing directly at my chest. “I don’t like the dark, Mommy!”
Damn. If he lets out another igni burst right now, I’ll get hit full-on, just like Nefer. “I understand, baby. No one will keep you in the dark.”
“The bad man did! The bad man said so!” He reaches out for me, fresh bolts of lightning crackling around his fingertips.
It’s an effort to keep my voice calm. “Maxon, put your hands down.”
More lightning bolts whirl around his arms. “I don’t like the dark!”
The room fills with a blinding bright light as Maxon expels his greatest electric charge yet. I brace my body, waiting for the impact. Just as the lightning bolts release from my son’s arms, Lincoln lunges at Maxon, aiming his little hands toward the ceiling again. The huge blast shoots out from his fingertips, slamming into the arched stone overhead. More chunks of rock tumble to the ground. Lincoln curls his body around Maxon, protecting him from any fallout. A hailstorm of rock slams into my husband’s back.
For a moment, everything is silent. I crane my neck, trying to see what’s become of my husband and son. My heartbeat is so strong, I can feel it in my throat. “Maxon? Lincoln?”
No reply.
“Please, can you hear me?”
A long groan finally sounds in response. Lincoln sits upright, Maxon clinging to his chest, weeping. They’re alive, both of them. I start crying too, great sobs tearing from my throat.
Anubis still holds an immobile Nefer at the bottom of the stairs. Kiya paws her face gently.
Lincoln wraps his arms more tightly around our son. “Don’t worry, buddy. Daddy’s got you.” With pained movements, Lincoln rises to his feet and limps over to me. He kneels beside my throne, ignites my father’s baculum into a dagger and starts cutting loose my bindings. Maxon’s face stays buried in Lincoln’s chest. Once I get free, my first order of business is to wipe the Leech Guard venom from my neck. That stuff is gross.
I spy the glisten of red on Lincoln’s upper arm. “You’re hurt.”
“I got hit in the shoulder and my lower back. Body armor took most of it. I’ve had worse.” He releases the last binding from my torso. “There, now you’re free.”
I leap from the chair and wrap my arms around Maxon and Lincoln. “Mommy’s here, baby. We’re safe.”
Maxon talks through sobs. “Where’s the bad man?”
His words freeze me in place. Good question.
I slowly rise to my feet and scan the throne room. Armageddon sits halfway down the stairs, his torso hunched over. He breathes in rough wheezes, his eyes fixed on us with an evil stare. A small cloud of dust and rock surrounds him, blocking a full view of his body. I slowly approach the King of Hell.
My mind snaps into battle mode, ready for his counter-strike. What is Armageddon playing at? Another booby trap? The dust settles around him, and I can see that this time, there is no game he can play.
Almost a full metal panel of Maxon’s old prison box is now embedded in Armageddon’s chest. Black blood pools around his seated form. I stalk closer, reaching for my baculum in their holster at the base of my spine.
A memory appears in my mind’s eye. Verus’s prophecy. Nefer has to kill the King of Hell and take his throne. I race to the bottom of the stairs. “How is she?”
Anubis shakes his head. “She doesn’t have long.”
“What happens if she puts on the helm? Will it heal her or kill her?”
“I don’t know. No one has ever taken the helm in a weakened state. It’s enough of a risk having someone strong make the change to greater demon.�
�� Anubis’s voice cracks. “She could turn evil.”
“She’s not going to turn evil,” I say, hoping I sound confident. “Now, let’s have her kill Armageddon before he bleeds out.”
“I don’t know,” sighs Anubis.
I fix my gaze with his. “Could you honestly live all eternity with yourself if you don’t try?”
“You’re right.” Anubis slowly rises to his feet, dragging a semi-conscious Nefer along with him. He hauls her to stand before Armageddon.
The King of Hell looks at Nefer and lets out a hollow laugh. “What will she kill me with, exactly? You fail again, Nefer.”
I turn to Lincoln. “Throw me father’s baculum.” I catch the weapon in mid-air, igniting it as a long-sword. “Hold this with me, Nefer. Together, we can destroy Armageddon. The prophecy says you strike the final blow, but it didn’t say you couldn’t have help, right?”
“Right.” Nefer grits her teeth and laces her fingers with mine.
Together, we raise the long-sword high. I call out in a loud, calm voice. “In the name of my father Xavier and all that is holy and good in the after-realms, we now sentence you to death.”
Armageddon slowly looks up to meet my gaze, his eyes blazing demon red. “I hate your family.”
“The feeling’s mutual, asshole.” Moving in sync, Nefer and I bring the sword down in a great swoop. The blade tugs as it slices through Armageddon’s neck. An electric charge jolts through my body as the power of the sword thrums through my nervous system. Nefer passes out cold.
Armageddon slumps forward, his head rolling down the black stone stairs.
Fire bursts out of Armageddon’s severed neck, a great geyser of flame that shoots toward the ceiling. His headless body shakes violently, and then falls silent. Seconds tick by before Armageddon is utterly destroyed.
His body explodes with an ear-shattering boom.
On instinct, I crouch down as the shower of goo that was once the King of Hell rolls over me. When I rise to stand, I find myself covered in his foul black blood.
Maxon peeps up from the safety of Lincoln’s chest. “Is the bad man dead?”
“Yes, baby.” I reply.
A low pulse sounds, like the beat of a base drum. The Helm of Hell sits empty beside what’s left of Armageddon’s skull. It throbs with a dark light, calling a new demon to become ruler of Hell. I scoop up the helmet and rush over to Anubis, who holds Nefer’s unmoving form.
“Is she alive?” I ask.
Anubis’s voice cracks. “I’m not sure.”
I raise the helm over her head and look at Anubis. “You still up for this?”
The demigod nods. “Do it.”
With a slow, gentle movement, I set the Helm of Hell onto Nefer’s head.
For a long moment, nothing happens. Then, long cracks form in the walls as bright red light seeps through in long, spidery arcs. Nefer opens her eyes. “Stand back!”
Red light bursts through the throne room, seeping into Nefer’s body, and turning her skin solid as stone. Her eyes glow the brightest shade of demon-crimson that I’ve ever seen. The helm that covers her face now melts into her skull, becoming part of her body. Power radiates from her skin.
Anubis cups Nefer’s face in his hands. “Are you alright?”
She kisses him, long and deep. “Never better.” Nefer hops to her feet. “They are coming. I can sense them.”
I look around the smashed-up throne room, wondering what could possibly happen next. “Who’s coming?”
“All of Hell, of course. They want to test my power.” Nefer inspects Maxon, Lincoln and me. “You won’t live through the battle that’s to come. You need to get out of here.”
“I’m all for that.” I turn to the broken doors of the throne room. Even now, I can see a demon horde racing down the main hallway. I’ve never seen anything like it. Crawling, flying, slithering…Every monster in Hell is heading straight toward Nefer. A mix of staccato chitters, deep growls and skull-piercing howls fill the air.
Nefer shifts her stance, pointing her arms toward the wall of demons. She calls out one more word.
“Move!”
The world freezes. The demons stop their running; the throne room turns silent. I know I should run or cower or scream, but I can’t move, either.
Suddenly, a burst of red fire rolls off Nefer’s arms and through the mass of demonic bodies, opening up a long tunnel through Hell. At the other end, I can see the familiar landscape of the Plains of Fire.
We start to haul ass, but the tunnel closes almost as quickly as it opens. The demons don’t come any closer, but we aren’t getting out, either.
“Damn,” says Nefer. “There are too many of them, and my powers are so new.” She kicks at the ground with her sandal. The marble shimmies, groans and crackles from her touch.
Anubis looks at her, his face brightening with a ten-thousand watt smile. “Want some help getting rid of these three? Gateways are my specialty, you know.”
“I did know that.” She steps closer to him. “And then?”
“We’re getting married.”
Nefer positively beams. “Right now, we’ve a demon horde to fight, and that’s what you want to talk about?”
“Actually, it’s what I’ve wanted to discuss for two hundred years.” He winks. “Besides, you don’t want to be sitting all alone when you have two thrones in here, do you?”
“No, I don’t, as a matter of fact.” Her voice cracks. “I never want to be without you again.”
As touching as this scene is, we need out of Hell already. “Can we move this along, guys?”
Anubis nods, turns to face the hallway, and raises his arms parallel with the floor. From his outstretched hands, vines curl into a corkscrew shape that grinds through anything before it. The slithering cords drill through the demon horde, leaving behind a green, shifting tunnel in their wake.
“Goodbye, little Scala,” says Anubis. “We’ll see you soon.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to see either of you for a very long time.” Anubis chuckles, and Lincoln and I don’t need to share any further goodbyes.
Gripping Maxon to my chest, I haul ass toward the tunnel, Lincoln at my side. Together, we race down the shifting channel of snake-like cords. Every so often, demonic arms break through the vines, grabbing at whatever they can get their hands on.
We’re about halfway through when the snake-like head of a Viperon demon bursts into our makeshift tunnel, flashing its long fangs. My tail tightens protectively around Maxon. Viperon are incredibly toxic. Fast as lightning, Lincoln wraps his right arm around the creature’s thick neck. The long demon writhes and snaps in his grip. Twisting his body to the right, Lincoln cracks the demon’s spine with one quick motion.
“Keep running!” he cries.
I don’t need to be told twice. Gripping Maxon ever tighter, I haul ass toward the exit. I’m pretty sure I lose a chunk of hair and Lincoln adds a sprained ankle to his list of injures, but the adrenaline keeps pushing us forward.
There’s no time to think or worry, there’s only me, Maxon, Lincoln, and the red landscape that grows larger and larger before us. With one final burst of effort, we rush through the last steps in the dark, slithering tunnel, emerging onto the dusty heat of the Plains of Fire.
We collapse onto the ground, panting for breath. There we lie for who knows how long, half-conscious and almost entirely out of our minds. I barely notice the wall of vines closing up behind us, sealing my family away from Hell, at last.
“We did it, Lincoln,” I say in a low voice as I kiss Maxon head.
“That we did.”
And those are the only words either of us can say for a very long time.
Chapter Twenty-Two
As soon as I catch my breath, I climb to my feet again. We might be out of Hell, but we’re certainly not out of danger.
“No more dark, Mommy.” Maxon burrows into my shoulder, shivering.
“Shh, baby.” I run my
fingers through his hair. “Everything’s going to be alright.”
That’s a major Mommy-lie if I ever told one.
Every demon in Hell probably knows that we’re out here. Nefer’s holding them back, but how long can she keep doing that with untested powers? And even then, how in blazes are we getting home? Walker said he’d keep a look-out, but we also stowed some flares in our backpacks to signal him. Those are long gone now.
My adrenaline high starts to wane. All of a sudden, I want a pass out like it’s my job. My mouth turns dry as sandpaper. Every pulled muscle and scratched patch of skin starts complaining for attention. A stinging sensation prickles on my neck.
Lincoln sets his hand gently on my shoulder. “You alright?”
“As good as can be expected.” I lean over, craning for a look at Lincoln’s back. His gashes are still open and bleeding. “How about you?”
“I’ve had worse on demon patrol.”
“Wish we still had our first aid kit.”
“If we can get out of here, there’s a whole palace infirmary waiting for us.” He eyes my throat. “What about that bite form the Leech Guard?”
“I think I got all the venom out.” I pat my neck.
“Let me know if you feel dizzy at all. Leech Demons have a sting that can hit with a wallop.”
“Sure will.”
Lincoln takes a few hobbling steps away from the wall. “I’ll scope out the perimeter.”
“Let me do it, I’m more mobile. You know, in case we want it done this week.” I whisper in Maxon’s ear. “Baby, go sit with your father while Mommy takes a walk.” Maxon crawls into Lincoln’s lap.
“Done this week, eh?” Lincoln wraps his arms around Maxon. “Glad to see your sass made it through Hell unscathed.”
I wiggle my hips at him. “You love it and you know it.” I gesture to a nearby line of hills. “I’ll climb over there. See what I can find.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
As I walk away, I get a better look at Lincoln’s wounds. My breath catches with shock. The torn skin on his back now has an odd, purplish hue.
“Did one of the creatures get you on the way out?”
Armageddon (Angelbound) Page 21
