by G. Bailey
“Seems not just Protectors run from you,” Trex sarcastically comments. Asshole.
“She will tell him I’m here. Seth usually has company, so we will have to wait,” I reply calmly, not rising to Trex’s taunts.
“I think it’s time for a drink, and time we got to know each other better. We are going to hell after all, we should at least know some things about each other,” Nix says, walking to the bar without asking for my permission. I think I like him, he seems like an asshole. I follow him over, stopping him when he lifts a hand to order.
“Let me order, unless you want to wake up in a demon’s bed with your soul missing,” I say, lifting my own hand, and the demon bartender runs over. The bartender is young, with big blue eyes and a tired expression.
“Four normals, Jack Daniels if you have it. In fact, leave the bottle,” I tell him, and the bartender stares at me for a second before running off.
“Has that happened to you?” Connor asks with wide eyes as he waits at my side as the bartender gets our drinks. I walk over to an empty booth with a table, sliding into a seat. The guys sit next to me, Connor on my left and Nix on my right. As suspected, Trex sits as far away from me as possible.
“Not personally, but I know someone it did happen to. He died the next day; it was a shame. I liked him,” I say with a grin, that seems to worry them all. Luckily for them, the bartender comes over with four shot glasses, and a bottle of Jack Daniels.
“I’ve opened a tab, pay later, assassin,” the bartender says, bowing low, and walking away. I reach for the bottle, but Nix is quicker, grinning at me as he opens it.
“Too slow, love,” he says.
“Not another nickname. It’s bad enough what he calls me,” I point a finger at Connor, who leans closer, picking a strand of my blue hair up, twirling it around.
“But, Blue, it suits you,” he says seductively. Then he asks in a more serious tone, “How did you get your hair like this? Is it dyed?” I pick up the drink Nix poured for me, downing it before answering him. I’m tempted to lie, but there really isn’t much point. These guys won’t survive long, anyway.
“I’ve always had blue hair. I had a witch friend, who said the only way to get my hair this colour was to use the blue rune when I was too young, and for far too long. I must have been almost killed as a baby or something, and I called my rune subconsciously,” I tell them, and Trex stares at me as he downs his shot, pouring himself another one. I feel them all staring, but I just hold my hand out for the bottle, and Trex hands it to me. I don’t bother with the glass, just drinking from the bottle and putting it on the table, loving the burn of the liquor down my throat.
“I’ve heard of someone who has white hair. He used the white rune when he was four years old to heal himself from a deadly attack, and it turned his hair white and he couldn’t change it,” Trex says, and for a moment, we stare at each other. For a moment, I think he might be redeemable, and not a total asshole, but then he keeps talking. “It’s likely your parents knew what you were and tried to kill you for it.”
“The blue rune is holy fire. Holy fire only kills demons, so I wouldn’t have called it to kill my parents. It’s more likely demons tried to kill me and my parents, and I survived somehow,” I tell them, and a deep voice clears his throat from the end of the table.
“You called me, Evie darling?”
Evie
I look over to the demon overlord leaning against the table, a smirk on his pretty lips as he watches me. Seth has always been pretty, but his pretty face doesn’t work on me, and he has tried many, many times. I know how much of a shithead he can be, and I don’t sleep with assholes like him. He has white hair, braided at his neck, and dark-red eyes that hide how smart he is, but hidden from most with their beauty. He is the very definition of deadly beauty, just like his brothers, I’ve met, are. His suit shirt is loose, and there are lipstick stains on his neck telling me he had been having a good night until I interrupted. He smirks, looking around at the protectors, and then back to me.
“Interesting friends you’ve got here, Evie darling,” he drawls.
“We need to speak, privately,” I answer, watching as he stands taller, and nods his head to the left.
“My room then,” he says. Connor gets out of the booth, and I follow, looking back to see Trex pull the bottle of Jack out of Nix’s grip, and glare at him. There are some problems in paradise, clearly. We walk through the nightclub, to a small set of stairs where two demons stand guard. They glance once at Seth, who simply nods, and they let us all past. At the top of the stairs, Seth opens the door to a large room. It has a glass floor, so we can see the people dancing on the dance floor below. Trex closes the door behind us, and I wait as Seth goes over to a little table, pouring himself a drink.
“Do you want one?” he asks.
“No,” I answer for us all.
“So, Evie darling, are you going to explain why the fuck you have brought three Protectors into my home?” he asks, his eyes starting to glow from his anger.
“It’s complicated, but I’m not here to talk about them. You owe me a favour, and I need to collect,” I say, and he chokes on his drink.
“You’re kidding me? Right?”
“No, not one bit,” I bite out.
“What do you want exactly?” he enquires.
“I need to get to the bottom layer of hell, and for that, I need an overlord demon at my side,” I say, and he laughs, until he meets my eyes and realises how serious I am.
“Fuck, Evie Darling, that’s a death sentence, even for me,” he says and pulls his phone out.
“I know someone who might go with you, but I can’t,” he says, and I swear under my breath. If I can’t get an overlord to come with me, I’d have to fight to get into the third layer. No one is that strong, or stupid.
“I saved your child, does that not earn me a debt?” I say. Three years ago, his five-year old-daughter was kidnapped and everyone was called to search. I was the one that found her and brought her back alive when no one else could have.
“And I helped you by not warning every demon you walked into here with three Protectors. One word from me, and you’d be dead,” he answers back. Asshole.
“Unlikely,” Trex comments, and Seth narrows his eyes on him.
“This is why we don’t treat demons fairly, they don’t keep their word,” Connor spits out.
“No, he is right. Bringing you here was a mistake, and in Seth’s eyes, we are even,” I say, frustrated.
“You came to Seth, and didn’t even think to ask me? I’m offended, Vi,” a familiar deep voice says before he steps out from the shadows in the corner of the room. Azi. My demon ex, and the very last person I want to see. I take a step back, narrowing my eyes on his red ones as he stops in the middle of the room. Azi hasn’t changed a bit since I last saw him three years ago. When he broke my heart, and I made sure he paid for it. His black hair is short, his pale skin still makes him look like a vampire or something, and his red eyes glow lightly. He has an expensive suit on, covering his muscular and impressive body that I used to love.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I exclaim, my hand naturally going to my back where my dagger is.
“I heard you had some new friends, dangerous friends. I’m here to help with whatever trouble you have gotten yourself into,” he says, grinning.
“Who is this?” Connor asks, placing his hand on my arm to get my attention, and a noticeable growl comes from Azi.
“Just an ex, who I sent to hell and hoped wouldn’t return,” I comment.
“Why did you send him to hell?” Trex asks.
“We had a mild disagreement and Evie took it too far,” Azi drawls in an annoyed tone.
“Let me get this straight, you sent your ex-boyfriend to hell because you fell out with him?” Nix asks me, and I shrug.
“He shouldn’t have been such an asshole,” I reply, looking up see that very ex glaring at me from the other side of the room. I can’t stop t
he smirk that appears on my lips. I’m damn proud of that day. Nix bursts into laughter, and when he stops, there is a tense silence to the room. Seth walks over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“I cannot help you, but my brother can. Safe travels, Evie darling,” he moves closer, whispering into my ear. “Change your mind about hell, that is not where you should be. It’s a death sentence for you.” Seth pulls away and walks out of the room as I keep my eyes locked on Azi’s.
“Why do you need to go to bottom layer of hell?” Azi asks.
“None of your business,” I state.
“It is if I’m taking you there,” he replies.
“To rescue three very important people. Evie has made a deal and the price–” I cut Connor off.
“-is Hali. They have Hali,” I bite out, and Azi’s eyes glow a brighter red. If veins start crawling down his face, I know he has lost control of his inner demon. I’ve only ever seen that happen once, and it was when he fell into hell.
“Is she okay?” he asks, his hands in fists as he tries to calm down. I forget how much he cared for Hali. They were close before everything happened between us.
“The Protectors have promised her safety. I don’t trust them, but we will have three hostages if they touch her,” I point a thumb at the guys, who glare at me.
“Let me come with you, Vi. If not for you, for Hali,” he asks me. I stare at him for a second, before nodding.
“Fine,” I say, knowing I’m going to regret this. “Meet us tomorrow morning at mine.” Azi nods, before using one of his gifts to make flames smother him, and portal him away.
“We should leave tonight,” Trex demands as I turn and walk to the door.
“You are not dressed for hell, for one, and the top layer of hell is the most dangerous at night,” I say, and narrow my eyes at Trex.
“Why are you so desperate to go; more than Connor and your brother?” I ask.
“One of the princesses is his fiancé. Did they not tell you that?” Nix says, laughing low.
“Then we will get her back, but you have to do this my way,” I say firmly. “And no more secrets. Hell is exactly that, hell. We have to have some trust between us all,” I say and walk out of the room, swallowing the disappointment that the hot guy is engaged, and off limits.
Evie
I pull my plait up into a bun, winding it around and using hair slides to put it in place. I spent well over half an hour looking for the tiny little things I always seem to lose when I need them. I pick the leather corset belt up off the bed, putting it on, and tightening it up. I slide the five knives into their hidden compartments and make sure they are all secure before stepping away from the mirror. I glance at my bedroom; the clothes all over the floor, the messy sheets from where I couldn’t sleep last night. How did everything change so quickly? I fling the bag with arrows on my back, and my other bag with food and water on the other side. I glance at myself in the mirror as I pick my bow up and swallow the fear I have at going back to hell. The last time was an accident, and I’ll never forget it. The memory flashes in my mind without me even wanting to think about it.
I scream as I fall into the portal when the Protector pushed me, and I keep falling as I open my eyes and spread my arms out to catch something. Snow and mountains are everywhere I look, the harsh snow slamming against my face as I fall makes me close my eyes again and hold my head to my chest. My body hits the snow-covered ground with a thud, sending pain shooting through what feels like every part of my body.
Where the hell am I? Antarctica? It looks like it.
I stand up, when I can, looking around at the empty area around me. There is nothing but snow, and well, more snow. I look up at the sky, pausing when I can’t see the sun, or the moon. There are no stars, just blackness with a blue smoky haze that gives off light. Right, time to leave. I pull my sleeve up, pressing my finger to my red rune and try to call a portal.
Nothing happens.
That’s impossible.
The rune doesn’t even glow red. I move to my other arm, pulling the sleeve up in a panic and pressing my finger against the blue rune. My hand instantly burns with holy blue fire. So that rune works here. I close my hand, putting out the fire, and looking around again. I spot a fire in the distance on my right, and I start walking towards it, crawling to get over the hill. When I get to the top, I freeze at the horror in front of me. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of demons walking in a line, with transparent-looking people in the middle of them. the people look human, but it’s hard to tell from where I am. They are see-through, though, that’s not normal.
“What do we have here?” I hear a sickening sounding voice say from behind me, and I turn, seeing a demon that looks half snake and half human in front of me. I step back, missing my step, and I go flying down the hill.
The next three days the demons keep me, feeding off my blood and beating me up. It’s all a blur, but I have never been as powerless as I am now. The next real thing I am aware of is a red, a bright light…When I open my eyes, a red-eyed demon with black hair and a handsome face was holding me in his hands.
“You’re safe now.”
I snap out of the first time I met Azi, and the only time I’ve ever been to hell. I saw a lot of it as the demons dragged me around as their slave. They claimed my blood was worth more than anything they had seen, that’s the only reason they didn’t kill me. I walk out of my bedroom, closing the door. Azi may have saved me, but he broke me far worse than any demon did in hell. He should have left me there. I stare around at the empty apartment; the stillness of it, and hate it. I hate being in my home without Hali, it’s too quiet, it’s too messy. Hali was the neat freak, and I tend to forget to pick my stuff up. I used to get annoyed when she moved stuff to clean, and I couldn’t find it, but now I miss having her do that. It’s only been two days, and I will get her back. I have to keep telling myself that or I might lose the plot and try to rescue her instead of doing this plan. I go to the kitchen, reaching into the fridge, and getting out my five packets of bacon when I smell a familiar smoky smell, and then I sense him. I turn around to see Azi stand in my living room, only the faint trails of smoke still surround him to tell me he used a portal to get in here. He is dressed for hell this time, no more suits like he usually wears. This time he has a North Face jacket on, similar to mine, but his is blue. He has a bag on his back, two swords, and I’m sure plenty of other weapons hidden underneath. I hate the first moment I see him, my body instantly warms, remembering every moment we spent together like it was yesterday. He was my first everything and being with him was the first time I felt safe. But he ruined it, and I have to remember that.
“Have you heard of knocking?” I frown at him, pulling my bag off my back, and shoving my bacon inside the container inside. It won’t last more than a couple days, but the freezing land should help keep the bacon fresh.
“Bacon? I see you haven’t changed much in all these years,” he chuckles as I close my bag, and chuck it on my shoulder. I ignore him, going to walk to the door, but he steps in my way, making me arch my neck to look up at him.
“Get out of the way,” I snap, and he steps closer, close enough that I can smell his peppermint scent. I never knew if it was a cologne, or something he put on that made him smell that way, but I always loved how he smelt.
“We need to talk, what happened–”
“I don’t want to talk about it. You fucked me over, like everyone said you would. Demons like you can’t be trusted, can’t love anyone but themselves. So, get the fuck out of my way before I do something that you will regret,” I threaten him as his eyes burn with anger, and he goes to reply when there is a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I say, stepping back, and Azi steps aside.
“This isn’t over, and if I have to tie you down to make you talk to me, I will,” he states firmly, crossing his arms with a determined expression. I hate how he knows I like being tied up. Can’t believe the bastard actually just used t
hat against me.
“You can try,” I harshly whisper just as the door opens and the Protectors walk in. They have cloaks on again, this time with rucksacks on their backs, and weapons everywhere to be seen. I notice straight away the two axes on Trex’s back, the shiny black metal looks awesome. Connor has swords, and when he walks over, I spot the dozens of daggers, and two guns on his belt. Nix is the last one through the door, and he doesn’t look impressed, but he does look hot. He has a bow, similar to mine, attached to his back along with arrows.
“Here, these are for you and Azi. They have advanced Protector’s technology in them, making them stay as warm as you need them,” Connor offers me the folded-up cloaks. I nod, accepting them and chucking one at Azi, who catches it.
“Where is it safe to make a portal around here?” Trex asks as I take everything off and clip the cloak on. I put everything back on and pick up my bow.
“There is a basement under the building, it’s big enough, and no one goes in it,” I reply, pushing past them all and towards the door. They follow me down the steps, and I wait for them to leave the house before locking the door. I walk around the building to the alleyway, unlocking the basement door with my key and walking down the steps. I wait until we are all in the middle of the dark basement, with Connor using the flashlight on his phone to see. The others don’t care, and Azi can see in the dark, anyway.
“Are you ready for this?” I ask, pulling an arrow out my quiver and holding it at my side. They all nod, pulling their weapons out. Azi doesn’t, just stands still.
“Are you opening the portal, or me?” Azi asks.
“Me. Just keep an eye out, we can’t have any souls escaping. You know how much trouble souls cause humans. People don’t like ghosts, and we haven’t got time to call a reaper,” I comment, and pull my sleeve up, pressing my finger to my red rune, and thinking of hell. I open my eyes as my rune glows bright, blasting red light into the room. A second later, a red portal burns into existence, getting bigger and bigger until it’s about the size of a door. A soul rushes out almost instantly, and I load my bow, shooting it in the chest, and sending it back through the door.
