Page 3

Chapter three

T hirty minutes floating in the rough river and the numatra creatures finally gave up their pursuit. Thankfully, sensation was returning to my extremities, and we had yet to encounter Gor’s girlfriend.

We finally banked on the side of the river, where we made camp and took turns resting from the rigorous swim. I trailed away from the group, looking for Giana. It had been days, and I had yet to see any sign of her. I hadn’t just promised to save Deus, but also my former fiancé’s sister. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Gor towering over me.

“You shouldn’t stray too far from the group,” he instructed.

“I know,” I answered. “I was just looking for—” I cut myself off. I hadn’t told him my plan to bring Giana back to the living.

“For whom?”

I bit the bottom of my lip. “For … Giana. She was supposed to find me once we entered through the portal.”

“She crossed over?” he asked, surprise lacing his voice. “I thought she …” he trailed off, but his disappointment and sadness were plain.

I reached out, taking Gor’s hand in mine. “I’m bringing her home with us when we leave,” I said softly.

His eyes went wide. “What? ”

“She crossed over to help me find Deus. She’s going to help us all get out of here and she’s coming back with us. That was our deal.”

“Seren, you can’t just steal souls from this place. It’s already going to be challenging enough to get Deus home.”

“Are you telling me you don’t want Giana to come back with us?”

“Of course, I am not saying that, but … there is a process for a reason.”

“Gor, this place … this life has stolen enough from me already. Giana was an innocent. I don’t know why she ended up in this place, but I am not leaving her down here for eternity. Especially not after what I experienced back in that desert. I don’t care about the stupid rules anymore. As I’ve proven time and time again, they don’t apply to me.”

Being a tribrid—genetically witch, goddess, and demon—had done nothing for me except put a target on my back and endanger the ones I loved most. After everything I had endured and lost, the universe owed me. If I wanted to use my powers over death to create a gate and bring someone back from Hell, then that’s exactly what I was going to do, rules be damned.

Gor smiled, dropping his head. “I can see why Deus loves you so much.” He pinched my chin between his first finger and thumb.

“Save the complements until I get us all out of here. Then, you can stroke my ego all you’d like.”

Gor laughed softly, pulling me into a side hug. “Let’s get some rest. We’re going to need it for what comes next.”

“And what new challenges does Hell have in store for us?”

“We’ll have to travel through Satan’s territory. Wrath. A lot of killing, torturing, and brutality. It’s not a place for the faint of heart.”

“I would expect nothing less,” I said, wrapping my arm around his waist as we walked back to the others .

That night, I didn’t sleep. I had an eerie feeling I couldn’t shake. I tried to focus on Deus, reaching out through our mental bond, but I remained alone in the darkness. Over the past year, I had grown accustomed to his presence inside of my head, the soft caress that would push against the walls within my mind. The sound of his laugh. The softness of his voice. God, I missed him. He was my reason for being. My reason for breathing.

After an hour or two of sleep, Levi woke me and we continued our hike through the jungle. We stayed close to the shoreline and followed the river out to a large waterfall. I stepped up to the edge of what could have easily been a thousand-foot drop. Memories of my attempt to end my life flashed behind my eyes.

I looked over the waterfall, feeling a tightening in my stomach. The trauma and torment I had endured during my time of depression still haunted me. I shook my head, pushing those moments deep inside of a box I kept in the dark.

Across the horizon, Satan’s territory was visible. Black smoke and fog billowed high in the sky. The horizon looked like it had been painted with blood.

“How are we getting down?” I asked.

Levi pulled out a rope, wrapping it around my waist and then his own. “We’re climbing down.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I replied. My body was already weakened from the past few days of constant walking and fighting off the creatures of Hell.

“Father, I miss shifting,” Belz murmured before he began his decent.

“Deus owes us at least a few centuries of debauchery after this rescue mission,” added Mammon.

“If I don’t see you lot for a few centuries, that will be the best reward I could ask for,” said Gor, climbing down the side of the rocky cliff.

“Always whining, little brother,” said Mammon.

“Stop with the act and just admit that you love us,” added Belz.

“Not a chance,” Gor said, moving down the wall. Mammon and Belz chuckled.

I sat on my bottom, hesitant to take the first step down. Levi slid his hand comfortingly down my arm. “If you fall, I got you,” he said with a soft smile.

“You promise?” I whispered.

He nodded. “If anything happened to you on my watch, I don’t know who I’d be afraid of more: Deus or Frankie.” We both laughed at the memory of the two people we loved the most. I nodded, finding the first foothold as we began to descend the side of the waterfall.

The brothers all climbed at my pace, staying strategically positioned around me to assist if I missed a step and fell. We climbed forever. My arms were numb and my fingers cramped from the constant bending and strain they were forced to endure. Sweat rolled down the back of my neck.

Mammon sang almost the entire way down. I focused on the sound of his voice while my wobbly legs scraped across the rocks. My knees grew raw from the sharp edges of the stones. Warm blood seeped through the fabric of my pants, but I forced myself to continue.

I was concentrating on my breathing, moving to the tempo of Mammon’s song, when a massive gust of wind slammed me against the hard edges of the rocks. I flattened my body against the surface, a cut ripping on my face with a sharp sting. I looked over my shoulder to see a massive bat-like creature soaring through the air, circling around towards us .

“Move now!” demanded Belz.

The five of us climbed faster down the mountain. My body yelled in protest, but the adrenaline quickly kicked in, bypassing my sore and tired muscles. The creature screeched and flew towards us. It had the legs and arms of a praying mantis, but the physical body of a bat, covered in short, black hair. Its eyes were yellow, and it had sharp pointed ears. Its wings looked to be made of leather.

The creature slammed into me, causing my grip on the rock to falter. I fell back away from the wall. I went to yell, but the rope around me cinched on my waist, causing a flash of pain to ripple through my body. Levi secured himself to the side of the wall, bracing my weight. Mammon reached down, pulling me up by my arm, holding my sore body against his.

“Keep moving,” Mammon instructed.

I forced myself back against the wall and obeyed. The creature circled back around, closing in on our group. In a flash, Gor pulled a sword from his belt and swung, taking off the flying bat’s arm. Black blood splattered across my face, but I didn’t stop moving.

We finally made it to the ground. Levi and I detached the rope that connected us before falling into a circle with the other princes. I turned my focus to the sky. A dozen bat-like creatures now surrounded us above.

“Weapons!” yelled Belz, pulling his sword and taking a stance. I pulled a gun from my hip, but Levi shook his head.

“The sound will attract more of them,” Levi explained. He handed me a spare sword and I hunched down, my palms beginning to sweat. In the blink of an eye, they soared to the ground. One landed in front of me, slashing and nipping at anything it could get its claws and teeth into. I swung, but it backed away.

Another creature flew low, attempting to grab hold of me, but I ducked, rolled on the ground, and sliced the leg of the creature in front of me. It yelped, and I brought the blade through the air, down its wing, cutting the leathery material in half. Blood sprayed my face. I closed my eyes, only for a moment. Two claws buried into my shoulder and I was hoisted into the air.

I flailed, screaming from the pain. If he got me any higher off the ground, I was a goner. I wrapped my hand around the gun at my hip, pulling it free and pointing it towards the creature. I fired twice, hitting it in the chest. It let go, sending me crashing back towards the hot, brittle dirt. Gor opened his arms, breaking my fall before I hit the ground.

“I’m sorry,” I gasped, fighting the pain that radiated from my shoulders. “I had no choice.”

“I know,” Gor said. Another dozen creatures appeared in the sky. We readied ourselves for battle. My mind refocused. I pushed the pain aside, just as Mal had taught me, and swung.

Creature after creature. Limb after limb. I no longer felt or thought. All I did was act. We were surrounded by their black leathered wings and hairy bodies. The sound of their thin, membranous wings would haunt my dreams forever. My skin bore repeated slashes from their talons, but I didn’t stop, not even for a moment to catch my breath. I didn’t know how long we fought, but time no longer mattered. All the mattered was surviving.

When the last of the creatures retreated in the air, I took a cleansing breath and looked at the destruction before us. At least three dozen of those things lay at our feet, motionless. I collapsed to my knees from sheer exhaustion .

“Looks like were having bat for dinner tonight,” Belz joked. We all laughed, breathing heavily.

“Are you alright?” asked Levi, making his way towards me.

“I’m alive, so that’s a plus,” I answered.

“I’m very impressed with your sword skills,” commented Mammon. “Who taught you?”

“Malphasia,” I answered, pressing my hands to my shoulders. I was still bleeding. Levi pulled some cloth from one of the packs and wrapped my wounds.

“Mm, she is an exquisite demon,” replied Mammon. “And that beautiful red hair of hers is—”

“Not the time to get a boner, brother,” interrupted Gor.

“Just reliving a delightful memory,” Mammon said with a wink.

“Can you walk?” asked Levi.

“Yes,” I answered. “Just needed a minute.”

“There are caves up ahead,” said Belz. “About four hours from here. Let’s head that direction and make camp there.”

“Agreed,” said Levi.

I forced myself up and followed the brothers, leaving the wake of our destruction behind.

Satan’s territory was barren, a lot like the desert. The soil was made of some type of red clay. The air was hot and thick, and the tangy smell of blood stung my nostrils. We found a cave on the outskirts of his land and made camp. I was exhausted, too tired to even eat. I found a corner of the cave and passed out without a single word.

Too soon, I felt Levi’s hands shaking me back into consciousness. I opened my eyes and his beautiful face tensed. He brought his finger to his lips, signaling me not to speak. Night had fallen in this territory, and we were surrounded by darkness. The cool embrace was something I had missed. Mammon, Belz, and Gor were standing towards the mouth of the cave silently.

“Scouts,” Levi whispered.

“Shadows would be nice about now, goddess,” whispered Mammon.

I let a small trickle of my power go, folding us within the darkness. Two reptilian creatures on their hind legs entered the cave. Their eyes were offset to the sides of their heads. Only holes appeared for ears. They had razor-sharp teeth that hung out of their mouths. Their bodies were lean and looked fragile, but they were armed.

One sniffed. “Smell that?” It said in a deep voice.

“Ya … magic,” the other replied.

Mammon and Belz surged forward, tackling the creatures to the ground. They slashed and fought, but before the scouts could harm the princes, their heads were removed from their bodies.

“Time to go,” instructed Belz.

I gathered my pack and fell in line with the others. At night, Satan’s territory roared. Firearms and cannons exploding in the distance. Bright bursts of light sparked and flashed over the horizon. Pillars of fire sprung from the ground into the air, forming funnels like tornadoes. We headed towards a grouping of rundown buildings.

“How fast can we get out of here?” I asked.

“Our goal is to find some horses,” answered Gor. “That should cut our travel time in half. So, I would say a few hours if we don’t run into any problems.”

I peeked inside one of the windows of a building. Souls, in the shapes of people were huddled together, cowering in the corner. One of the figures looked to be no more than thirteen years old. An elderly woman looked up at me, her mouth quivering.

“Please,” she gasped. “Please … help us.” I was frozen, unable to formulate a sentence. She crawled across the floor, reaching out, taking my arm in her hands. Before my eyes, the elderly woman turned into a decaying shell of a human. Her cheeks hollowed out; her eyes turned black. Blood stained her wrinkled, loose skin.

She smiled wickedly at me. “Here!” she yelled. “I’ve found something the prince would—”

A hand slammed into her neck, grasping the woman’s throat.

“I don’t think so,” Belz said. He opened his mouth wider than I had ever seen one of them do before. His eyes blazed orange as her soul turned into a black fog, funneling into his mouth.

The other two souls attempted to make a run for it, but Mammon and Levi stopped them, doing the same. Gor placed a soft hand on my elbow. I jumped, confused and terrified by what I had just witnessed.

“They absorbed their energy,” Gor explained. “Their very essence. A mercy really. They no longer exist. No more pain or suffering. The ultimate end.”

“Then why not do that to all of them? Why leave them here to suffer?” I asked.

“Hell needs them to exist, and we need Hell, remember? If we did that to all of them, there would be nothing left. It’s all a system of checks and balances.”

“If Hell has checks and balances, then why is Lucifer more powerful than the rest of you?”

“It hasn’t always been that way,” said Belz, making his way over to us.

“In the beginning,” said Mammon, “when we first fell, we were equals. Our realms were balanced. We weren’t forced to trick or tempt people into committing travesties to fuel our realms. Everything worked in unison.”

“There was a natural peace,” added Levi, “for Hell, at least.”

“When Deus broke away from Lucifer,” continued Belz, “and we began to go our separate ways, Lucifer sought ultimate dominion over this plane. I think it was some pathetic attempt to keep us all close, to make sure we could never truly leave him. But it threw off the balance we had known.”

“Pride’s territory began to expand into each of ours, consuming and possessing what it could,” said Mammon. “But Hell still demanded a balance.”

“Thus, our venture into the earthly plane,” Gor chimed in. “Tempting Father’s precious creations was easy enough. All they seemed to need was a little push, and over the edge they would go, helping us balance the needs of our home in return.”

“So,” I said, still processing the history lesson, “if Lucifer was eliminated, returning his territory to its normal size, Hell wouldn’t be so … horrific?”

A deep laugh rattled in Belz’s chest. “Hell will always be a place of torment where the worst of mankind will spend eternity for refusing Father’s love and grace. But yes, in a way, if things could return to the way Father had originally intended, I suppose the necessary torment would lessen. Though, no one can interfere with another’s free will. There are some souls that are beyond saving … even for you.”

Come on,” said Gor, extending his hand out towards me. I took it, allowing him to pull me along.

I tried not to focus on the war that surrounded me. The brothers quietly scurried from hiding place to hiding place, going unnoticed. Souls were caged, being tortured by creatures so hideous, I couldn’t find the words to describe them. Bodies were impaled on long wooden spikes, Vlad-style. People were being cut apart with swords, chainsaws, and other sharp objects. Wrath was a constant war zone. Day and night. There was no peace, no rest, no surrender.

It took everything I had inside to remain silent. At times, I wanted to scream in fear. My instincts yelled to save those being castrated and chopped limb from limb. As we knelt behind a massive stone wall, I buried my face in Gor’s chest, trying to block out the living hell that surrounded us.

As we made our way into a barren section of the territory, we stumbled across four horses that were tied to wooden post. The horses were black and gray, but they were … decomposing. I could see the flesh falling away from their hides. Their manes were patchy, and I could see holes that went clear through one of their necks. One of the horses huffed and turned its face as I approached. I stumbled back in shock. There were two empty eye sockets where there should have been eyes. Half of the creature’s jaw was missing, exposing his teeth fully.

“Hell,” whispered Gor, “remember?”

“How could I forget?” I mumbled. Gor got onto the horse, reaching down to help me up. I settled in behind him, wrapping my arms around his lean waist as we took off through the night. We rode hard and fast, not stopping for anyone or anything. I closed my eyes, resting my head on his back, trying to tune out the cries and pleas for help that I knew would haunt me for eternity. Small tears escaped my eyes.