Gates of Hell

by Zoey Woods

  “Last chance,” Rezar said. “Move out of the way and let us have the angel.”

  “Make me.” I straightened.

  Rezar let out a demonic whistle that brought ghouls and goblins crawling out of the shadows. Dozens upon dozens of them surrounded us. Even with my skills and weapons, I was outnumbered. There was no way out of this without blood and lots of it.

  I drew my sword, hacking off the chain that bound Elion’s hands. Even though he was my enemy, I couldn’t stand to think of him not being able to defend himself against these vile monsters.

  “Come now,” Rezar tsked. “Why did you do that? You know the second you turn him over to Lucifer he’d be dead anyway. Why prolong the inevitable?”

  “Because she knows you fight for evil and justice and good will prevail.” Elion unsheathed his sword. A few demons shrank back from its brilliance. Others only hissed and growled.

  “Sermons later,” I said. “Your words will do no good here.”

  A wave of demons dove for us. I swiped and sliced, barely making a dent in their numbers. As many as we cut down, more rose in their place. I feigned right, bringing my sword up in an arc. A demon landed on my back. His claws dug into my shoulders.

  Elion cut him down and I gave him a nod of thanks. His arrogant smile was brief before he turned back to the enemy.

  The black stone walls and floor crawled with demons. I slashed hard and fast, my arm growing sore. A devil burst at me from the throng and I kicked him in the face. He flew backward but three more took his place.

  “Watch my back and I’ll do the same,” I said over my shoulder at Elion.

  Together, we sliced and hacked at ghouls and devils. Sweat dripped down my back. I was covered in blood and gore. My arm shook so hard I had to switch hands. But the horde of demons was nearly gone.

  I switched sword hands, panting as I stabbed a double-horned demon that ruled over greed. Exhaustion pulled at me but I couldn’t give up. Not when doing so meant Elion’s death. The thought of him hurt or dead made my chest constrict.

  I plowed my fist into a demon. The creature went sprawling backward into a larger foe. Elion’s back pressed against mine as we fought our common enemy. When the tide of demons finally lessened, I made out Rezar’s retreating hide as he raced up the corridor toward my brother’s throne room.

  Fuck! The damn demon would tell everyone I’m a traitor because I fought my own kind alongside an angel. Lucifer won’t understand. No, my brother will be furious once he learns it’s true. Might as well sign own death warrant.

  Chapter 12

  My sword smashed down on the last demon, severing its head from its body. Blood sprayed out across the wall from my swing. Elion and I stand in a sea of limbs and dead bodies. The stench of sulfur chokes the air.

  One of Rezar’s fiends is still alive. His leg is twisted at an unnatural angle and his arm is cut off at the elbow.

  “Stupid bitch,” it seethed.

  “How did Rezar know I had an angel with me?” That was the only explanation as to why he was able to set up an ambush so quickly. No one else knew Elion was here but me I’d thought.

  Elion places his fiery sword under the demon’s chin. “Answer her.”

  The demon chortles, black blood bubbling up on his lips.

  “We can’t stay here.” I pull on Elion’s arm. “The demons will respawn soon.” Since my brother created devils from his blood, fire, and brimstone, they can rejuvenate. He wanted a creation that was self-sustaining and prove his superiority that his people didn’t die and decay as mortals did.

  “What about the demon?” Elion frowned.

  “Bring him with us.” I didn’t want to leave any witnesses to my crime and I had a feeling this one knew more than he was admitting.

  Elion grumbled under his breath, but sheathed his sword, and picked up the demon.

  “This way.” There was a door to my brother’s wine cellar down the next hallway. I needed to find out what Rezar knew and how before I tried to explain what happened with my brother. Besides, Elion had a wicked wound across his chest that needed tending fast. Demons had poisonous claws that could be deadly to Heavenly angels and I didn’t like how raw the flesh looked around the injury.

  We snuck down the hallway, pushing open the heavy oak door. The steps leading down were narrow and I kept my sword out to light the way.

  “Lay him on the floor.” I lit one of the torches along the wall with the magic from my blade. “Let me see your chest.”

  “What about him?” Elion asked, motioning to the demon moaning.

  “He’ll keep for now.” I pulled Elion closer to the light. My concern was his injury. Yellow pus oozed around the jagged lines on Elion’s chest. Shit! If we didn’t stop this now, it would kill him within the hour. My throat tightened. I wasn’t a healer but I knew where to get medicine to help him. Except that meant visiting my brother’s stash.

  The demon on the floor shuddered, wailing.

  “We need to shut him up before he brings more,” I said. “And need to find out how Rezar knew about you.”

  “My concern is you.” Elion cupped my cheek and my heart quickened. “Helping me means you’ve signed your death warrant. Your brother won’t tolerate a traitor in his midst…not even his own sister.”

  I stepped out of his reach though my body longed to press up against his. “I haven’t deserted Lucifer or his cause.”

  Elion cocked an eyebrow.

  “Saving you from being slaughtered isn’t betraying him or anyone.” I raised my chin, hoping he wouldn’t see through my facade of how I was falling for him. How I couldn’t bear the thought of Elion being hurt. “You’re alive so that I can figure out why Dad has suddenly decided to assassinate my brother and how we can defend the gates so more of your kind don’t get through.”

  “I see.” Elion’s full lips turned into a thin, white line.

  The demon shrieked again and I squatted beside him. “Tell me how Rezar knew about the angel being here and I’ll end your suffering.”

  His orange eyes went from me to Elion and back again. “Bite me!”

  “Wrong answer.” I slammed my fist into his side. “Let’s try that again, shall we? How did Rezar know the angel was here?”

  He spat up black blood, his eyes widening. “Soon all will be revealed.”

  An eerie sensation washed through me. “What do you mean?”

  Instead of answering me, the demon convulsed, yellow foam spewing out of his mouth. What the holy Hell?

  “What’s wrong with him?” I turned to Elion. “Your sword can’t do this, can it?”

  I’d seen demons struck from angelic weapons before and none had this reaction. Not with just the few cuts I saw on him.

  Elion shook his head. “This isn’t my doing, looks like he’s being cursed.”

  “Fucking-A.” I seethed, grasping the demon’s shoulders with both hands. “It must be Rezar and he knows we have one of his men.”

  Counter curses were tricky beasts. I had to figure out the right one or the spell could backfire on me and Elion. Beneath my fingers, the demon shook. “In quas maledicta congessi removere, resiliant a sitrens.”

  His body convulsed more.

  “It’s not working.” I tried another spell. “Conteram ait, ista maledictio!”

  Blood ran down his eyes and he moaned, pleading between spasms, “please end this.”

  “He’s in agony, let him go.” Elion knelt beside me, placing his hand on my upper back.

  “No, he knows something.” I gritted my teeth as tears burned the back of my eyes. Without this demon’s information, I had nothing. No way to know what Rezar was up to. No way to know why angels were coming over the gates to kill my brother.

  Nothing.

  I couldn’t go to Lucifer empty-handed. Not when there was evidence against me of harboring an angel—and not just any run of the mill one either—but one sent to assassinate him. My brother would throw me in a dungeon before I was able to utter a word
of protest. His judgments were swift and severe, just like father’s.

  “Tell me how Rezar knew about Elion!”

  He answered me with a gurgle, his face twisting into a grotesque grimace.

  “Rebecca,” Elion said my name softly.

  I shook my head, focusing on the next spell.

  “Let him go.” Elion’s fingers pressed gently into my shoulder, easing me back from the demon.

  When my hands slipped from the devil, Elion reached around. “Domine pater, in manus tuas.”

  The demon’s breath hissed out and then he was still as stone.

  “Why did you do that?” I sat back. “Pray for his soul to return to Dad?”

  Elion’s sapphire eyes saddened. “I gave his body and his soul peace.”

  “No, you took away his free will.” I raked a hand through my hair. “Which is exactly the reason me and my brother left Heaven. You can’t do this. Force a being to accept their afterlife, their god, their future or lack thereof.”

  “We were created for a purpose.” Elion gestured to the demon’s body which was now turning into ash and floating away on an invisible breeze. “His time was over. He’ll get another chance to be reborn.”

  “What if he doesn’t want to be reborn? What if you just sent him to his version of Hell?” I stood, wrapping my arms around myself.

  Why had I thought that Elion would understand me? He was an automaton sent here to complete a mission…nothing more. Lucifer was right. Once the great war had happened, the angels chose their sides and there was no going back for any of us. I shuffled to the door, listening for any guards marching past. The faint sound of hooves echoed down the hallway. We’d leave as soon as they passed.

  “I made a mistake sheltering you.” I stayed by the door, I couldn’t face him and see the hurt expression on Elion’s face. Best I could do now was drag him to my brother and beg Lucifer’s forgiveness. Tell him that I’d wanted to interrogate the angel, find out about what father had planned. Not that Elion had distracted me or that I’d started to have feelings for him. Lucifer would punish both of us if he knew the truth. Maybe I could help Elion escape—send him back on a one-way ticket to Heaven. I’d have to trust that Dad wouldn’t kill him for failing his duty but if I could make it where Elion had no choice, then he might be safe.

  My brother couldn’t hurt Elion if he was in Heaven and Elion couldn’t attack Lucifer if we weren’t here. Of course, I still needed to figure out how Elion crossed the barrier into Hell in the first place.

  “Let’s go,” I said, turning the doorknob and checking the hallway to ensure it was clear. One thing about my brother, he had to have the biggest castle compared to anything on earth. It was twice the size of Edinburgh Castle.

  When Elion didn’t respond, a chill slithered down my spine. I turned, my heart throbbing in my throat, to find him laying on the floor, his skin a pale silver.

  Chapter 13

  I rushed to Elion’s side, skidding to a stop on my knees beside him. His is hot, feverous to the touch, and his breathing raspy. My insides tighten. I should’ve healed him before trying to get the demon to talk.

  “Elion,” I whispered, my hand trembling over his wound. If I left him to his fate, I could regain honor with my brother. Tell him it only appeared as though I was fighting with the angel when in fact I was toying with him until the other demons arrived. Elion’s dead body would be proof. But I find that idea repugnant and souring in my gut. I cannot let him die. He saved me when he didn’t have to. The least I can do is heal him.

  My magic isn’t powerful enough without my brother’s herbs to heal him. But I can’t leave hm here in this supply closet. Someone is bound to find him and finish the job of the demon’s poison.

  “Venenum, ad vulnus sanandum est,” I murmur, placing my hands a hair's breadth over the wound.

  His breathing slows and his eyelids flicker open. “What happened?”

  “Your injury, it’s getting worse, I staunched the flow for now but it won’t hold.” There was another chance to heal him. “I-I think you should return to Heaven. Father can heal you…make you whole again.”

  He sat up, his face going ashen from the movement. “No, I cannot return in disgrace. I made a sacred vow to stop Lucifer.”

  “What difference does that make now?” I helped him stand, placing my arm under his shoulder. “You’re injured and my magic isn’t strong enough to heal you. If you face Lucifer now, he will destroy you.”

  My heart hurt at the thought. I didn’t want Elion to die but I didn’t want him to harm my brother either.

  “Please,” I plead. “Go back to Heaven. Say whatever you will to keep yourself in father’s good graces.”

  “I will not lie.” Elion frowned down at me. “Don’t ask me to tell the God and Mother of all creation an untruth.”

  “Then go back and heal. Beg for another chance.” I secretly hoped that father would send someone else in Elion’s place. Two or three angels even. Strangers whom I would gladly dispatch to keep my brother safe.

  “Perhaps I will.” He stumbled, leaning heavier against me. “Unless you want to come with me, you best stand back.”

  I gave him a crooked smile and lead him to the door so he could lean against it if he needed. “I’m sure father and Mother would love that.”

  “Never know.” He shrugged, his face pale. “They might just accept a pardon for Lucifer or eternal imprisonment.”

  “Isn’t that what has already happened?” My words dripping with sarcasm. “Put him in charge of the dead human souls that Heaven doesn’t want?”

  “Forgivness is—”

  “Is something father doles out to his precious humans but never has given to us,” I interrupt. “Lucifer is right as he always has been. Our father cares more for mortals than he does his divine family.”

  A boom echoed from down the hallway. The demon-guards. Sounded like they were headed this way. Rezar must have told my brother that an angel was here and I was helping him. They’d search everywhere until they found us.

  “Quick, get out of here,” I said to Elion.

  His wings unfurled halfway. Then a flash of pain crossed his face and he fell to his knees. “I can’t get my wings to work.”

  Fuck! The venom was hindering his return to Heaven. I couldn’t take him. Knowing father, he’d have safeguards to keep me from returning and I couldn’t leave Lucifer empty-handed. Maybe if we were closer to the gates…Elion could jump the expanse regardless if his wings were working. Say a prayer and perhaps my father would think he’d succeeded in his quest and pull him the rest of the way over.

  “Come on, we need to get to the gates.” I placed his arm around my shoulder.

  “If you get captured, tell them I forced you,” Elion said.

  “What?” I teased. “An angel telling a fib…I think I’m rubbing off on you too much.”

  He let out a laugh that turned into a cough and I cringed. Time to get him out of Hell. Opening the door, I peeked out to ensure the demon-guards had passed. We’d have to weave our way out of the massive castle back to the gates.

  Luckily, there was a shortcut that would get us back without going through too much of the castle. Lucifer had been fascinated with secret passages when he visited human palaces. Places where lovers could come and go without being seen or in mine and Elion’s case, flee the castle without too many seeing us. We just need to make it to a guest bedroom ahead.

  “Just hang on,” I said to Elion and helped him down the hallway. When we entered the bedroom, I shut the door, bolting it and let out a small breath. I pushed aside the thick curtain. The lever to open the secret portal was a knob near the window. Yanking it down, the hidden doorway creaked open.

  Elion’s face was ashen but he leaned used his hand along the stone wall to help ease some of the burden of me carrying him. “You know you could always come back with me to Heaven.”

  “It is beautiful there from what I remember. Streets of gold, pearl-crusted gates a
nd all light and glowing.” Opposite of Hell which was dark, hot and full of depravities. “But this is my home. I can’t leave my brother. Everyone in our family turned their back on him. I won’t do that.”

  We weaved through the passageway as spiders and beetles scurried away.

  Elion’s breaths have grown more rapid. His weight is pressing down on me more. I grit my teeth and push forward.

  “Nearly there,” I said in what I hoped was an encouraging tone.

  We stumble but Elion manages to stay on his feet. His skin is burning mine where we touch. At the fork in the path, I take the left one until we reach the exit.

  I twist the lock and the door opens up to Hell. It’s only a few yards now to the gates. They shimmer and feel both welcoming and foreboding at the same time. I want Elion to be healed but part of me doesn’t want him to leave. He can’t stay here. Either Lucifer will kill him or he’ll slay my brother.

  Elion seems to be concentrating on staying up right, putting one foot in front of the other. His breathing is labored as he shuffled forward with me helping hold him up.

  His words earlier ring in my mind of going back home. What would father do if I showed up? If I could get him to call off Lucifer’s assassination it would be worth it. But at what cost? I could be trapped in Heaven and never able to see my brother again. He wouldn’t know that I saved him, only that I abandoned him like the rest of our family had. My stomach clenched. If I did go back, I could save Elion from getting punished for not killing Lucifer.

  “Ho! Who goes there?” Talon, one of the gate keepers shouted.

  Shit! I hadn’t thought ahead to the patrols. “It’s Rebecca. I’ve got a captive to bring to the higher level of Hell.”

  One good thing about the gates, they merged all the realms of the underworld with Heaven at the top. We couldn’t pass that far but Elion as an angel could.

  “Don’t look like he’s your prisoner, looks like you two are close friends,” Talon answered.

  “Please don’t send me deeper into Hell,” Elion groaned, playing along with me. “I promise I won’t fly away.”