Page 28 of Hell-Bound (Pacts of the Infernal #1)

His hair was still gray, eyes still blue, but depravity was now present there. His smile was wicked, and his brows were perked up malevolently. The shadow of the flames underneath flickered about his face, giving him a ghostly halo.

Leo wrenched himself from Ren’s grasp, indifferent to the dagger, which trailed a shallow slice across his throat.

Ren didn’t move to pursue, too stunned by the scene in front of her.

Leo threw himself at the base of the dais, raising his hands in supplication.

“My lord, my king, I have been nothing but a loyal servant to you. I have brought you the girl—please have mercy!”

His voice shook, and Ren noticed the wet spots trailing down the back of his robes.

“You did nothing for me, Leonardo,”

Nainaur muttered, sneering.

“You begged me for a task, and you, of everyone, should know the consequences of being such a disappointment.”

“But—you told me—you promised a place near you in The Heavens!”

“Leonardo, I owe you no thanks or credit,”

he seethed.

“However, I have decided to show you the depth of my compassion. I will not kill you for your insolence.”

Relief passed over Leo’s face before Nainaur raised two hands in front of him.

“My savior, thank—”

But the words were cut off and replaced by a gagging sound. Leo’s body twitched and writhed.

Ren didn’t move. Her head swung back and forth between the god and the man. What should she do? What was right? Leo appeared to be a victim of the deity, but her heart clenched in rage when she thought of the deplorable choices Leo had made. She could kill him herself, it would be so easy, and she doubted she would feel even an ounce of remorse or regret at her decision. She might even enjoy the satisfaction of feeling her wrath manifest.

There it was again.

The question of whether these feelings or lack of feelings for this male teetered her across that line of malevolence.

A hard grip on her elbow stopped her wavering inaction as Azur stepped forward.

The two watched as Leo continued to writhe, golden light, like beads of sweat, began to trickle off his skin and float toward Nainaur. The god inhaled deeply, beckoning the essence, which swirled around his open palms and entered his nostrils. Nainaur’s skin began to glow. He smiled and exhaled—making a contented sound while the light began to dissipate.

Leo collapsed.

“Sloppy, that one,”

Nainaur said, taking two steps off the dais.

Though prone, Ren could still see Leo’s chest moving.

She pulled herself free from Azur and ran towards his body, turning him over.

His eyes were still full of tears, and they stared at Ren’s face, looking past her.

Leo was a sleeper.

“Ren, run,”

Azur said, pulling Ren from the ground and standing in front of her.

“I wouldn’t, my child. I will only kill you if you try,”

the other god laughed.

“It would behoove you to listen to what I have to say.”

He produced a large leather tome from behind his back.

Two more creatures emerged from the dais. They were unnaturally tall with gray skin and long fingers that curved into vicious points. They had no lips—only barbed teeth sticking out in every direction, and on their back were two large gray-feathered wings.

“Little brother, you remember Rafael and Michael, don’t you? My Angels?”

the god said, gesturing to the creatures.

“How did you do this?”

Azur spat, gesturing with his head to Leo.

“You really are the most witless of our siblings,”

he said, opening the tome lazily and flipping through.

“Almost as useless as those creations of yours. High Devils? That Xarek could barely string two words together. But the sleepers,”

he said, pointing to Leo.

“these creatures are perfect. They are my children.”

Azur blinked, confused.

“What are you saying? They are the product of my contracts.”

The God of The Heavens waved a dismissive hand.

“Your contracts always were foolish, as were your creations. You and the others—harping on free will. Well, what did free will get you?”

he queried, voice rising.

“They all turned their backs on you and preferred to worship me—not that I can blame them.”

Ren noticed that Azur’s hands were clenched and shaking with rage.

“So I improved on them. Once you signed your contract with me, all of their agreements were under my ultimate control. I decided these sleepers, as you call them, were more useful in Hell than in Heaven. Now they work, they don’t complain, they don’t clog up my Heavenly Plane with their souls,”

he said, with an expression of disgust.

“And most importantly, they bring me the vurmite. My power.”

“Y-you did this?”

Azur sounded breathless as he took one shocked step back.

“You did this to them—to Ahdan. To all of them. You didn’t let them move on.”

Nainaur’s smile twisted from ear to ear.

“I took particular pleasure in that one—Ahdan.”

He said, savoring the name.

“But I had to intervene. Love, as you have discovered since, is weakness, little brother. That bothersome Devil was a distraction. He stopped you from reaching your true devilish potential—”

Azur didn’t let him finish.

He flung himself at Nainaur, arms outstretched, clawless hands twisted to rip whatever he grabbed. But Azur, without his powers, could not compete with a god.

Nainaur simply flicked his wrist, and Azur’s body was shoved twenty feet into the air. His arms and legs snapped together as if by invisible restraints.

Azur roared in protest, gnashing his teeth, muscles straining. “Why?!”

he demanded.

“You just wanted control?”

“Tsk tsk, Azur. I can’t reveal all of my secrets now, can I?”

Nainaur trailed a finger along the spine of The Ultimate Truth.

“After all, secrets—”

his eyes flashed to his brother’s.

“are deeply personal.”

Nainaur sighed.

“It was all working perfectly—you made contracts, I made sleepers, and my power grew. For thousands of years! Until Faydir started to get ideas,”

he growled, ignoring Azur’s bellows of protest.

“His children were starving, Nainaur. He discovered you—the loathsome thing you had become. The Ultimate Truth needed to be told—”

“I am Truth,”

he bellowed, shaking the large cavernous room.

“I speak, and it is so! You think you are justified in your betrayal of me? You all turned your back on me, and for what?”

he snarled.

“These pathetic creations? The parasites that drained your powers, making you barely capable of sustaining your Immortality?”

He spat on the ground.

“You disgust me, Azur.”

“I will not let you destroy it,”

Azur said firmly, thrashing in mid-air.

Nainaur laughed maniacally.

“Oh dear. That isn’t something you can stop.”

“Let him go!”

Ren hollered, glaring at the god.

Nainaur’s soundlessly walked forward, closing the tome and tucking it under his arm.

“I would like to thank you, Renata. For leading me to Vutar’ka Zhartun. I knew that you wouldn’t fail me.”

“No-I-I didn’t-Leo, he—”

Ren looked up at Azur. He was staring at her in horror.

One of the Angels stepped forward and pulled a black dagger out of his robe, the counterpart to the one Ren still held.

“They are twins, these daggers, they call to one another,”

Nainaur said softly.

“I knew your innocence would be the perfect manipulation. I just had to give the dagger to that female near the tavern, and you would do the rest. Cursed objects are a wonderful way to make sure you always know where your quarry is. Almost like a brand,”

he said, eyes flickering to his brother.

“You led me straight here.”

Ren was horrified. She thrust the dagger from her, and it landed with an echoing clank on the stone floor. She hadn’t once stopped to consider that the dagger hadn’t been sent to her by Azur.

“You’re quite prolific, Renata. So young for one with Elven blood, and already you’ve murdered thousands of innocents. And so naive. Like a child, you flounder. Trying to speak to the sleepers.”

He scoffed.

“Is…that why you chose me? To find the tome? You could have manipulated anyone.”

She barely was able to croak out her words, shame filling her chest.

“I knew he would have a soft spot for you.”

Nainaur shrugged in Azur’s direction.

“I knew of you long before I sent Leonardo to you. You were so troubled that day, stumbling into my temple. So fragile and desperate. I needed only to show you the way to my brother. I knew he couldn’t resist your tragic little story and your desperate need for forgiveness and redemption—what he also needlessly craves.”

“Stop!”

Azur shouted from above, still struggling. “Don’t,”

he said, with a look of warning to his brother.

“Or what? You are powerless here, Pelegros.”

“I will end you,”

Azur fumed, wrenching his head from side to side.

“I will raise the planes against you and eradicate your presence from the known world. Then you will be nothing.”

“I am Immortal, Azur. No matter what you try to do to me, I am eternal!”

“And once I have ripped you from these worlds,”

Azur shouted over Nainaur’s words.

“I will obliterate all trace of you and your memory from the minds of Devils, Fae, and Mortals, and you will be what you’ve always feared—forgotten.”

A flash sparked in the elder gods’ eyes. He lifted the tome once more.

“To think that Faydir gave up everything for this, and you did nothing. Bah! Sloth truly is one of your sins.”

He opened to a page in the tome.

“And as Faydir says, ambition is mine.”

His hands, having once looked so soft to Ren, began to morph into golden talons and blazed with fiery light. His palms hissed as the brittle pages began to crackle and burn.

“No!”

Ren shouted, throwing herself at the god.

But she froze. Restrained by the same invisible force that bound Azur in the air.

The two Angels sniggered.

“So excitable this one,”

he mused with a sinister grin.

“Do not worry, my dear. You will be rewarded soon enough,”

he added, the edges of the pages curling as they ignited.

Ren could barely move her head, but she saw Azur floating only a few feet in front of her, eyes murderous.

“Right, a reward like Leo’s?”

she gritted out.

The flaming tome continued to snap and pop as vapor began to emanate, sizzling sharply. The vapor swirled, taking on a purple hue, twisting and shaping into something oddly humanoid.

“Faydir! Glad you could join us,”

Nainaur said, feigning excitement.

Indeed, a translucent, distinctively Fae male was before them. His robes were in the fashion of centuries before and were the color of The Hells’ violet sky. His hair was long and sleek, his eyes with the same ethereal shine as his brothers’ and purple, like his robes.

“Faydir,”

Azur whispered.

“You’re alive?”

“Brothers,”

he said, his voice hoarse from disuse.

“I placed my essence within the tome, the only way to protect its truth.”

He looked sorrowfully at Azur before turning his violet eyes to Nainaur.

“Don’t do this. Once upon a time, Naina, you were the sweetest of brothers. We lived together, loved together, and never wanted for anything.

“You helped Ziemia create the first gentle streams, taught me how to let the wind whistle through my glens. Why have you turned away from beauty? My soul suffers every minute I await The Ultimate Truth to be told. Suffers for what we have lost as a family. But, my sweet Naina, even you can change your past. Even you can make it right.”

The heavenly god paused. His brow creased.

“My sweet Faydir,”

he said slowly.

“Do you think I can be redeemed? That I deserve forgiveness after all I have done?

Faydir remained motionless, unblinking.

“I’m not sure I can answer that, for I do not know the true nature of redemption. Is this a power that the gods alone possess? The ability to look upon our creations and forgive them of the mistakes that they make? That is what they pray to us for. And yet, if this is so, who forgives us? Or is redemption always in the possession of the victim? If you asked the sleepers, could they forgive you? Are they even capable? In the end, I’m not sure it matters, Naina. You are my brother, and I will always love you, no matter the path you have chosen. We can fix this. We can find a solution together. That, I think, is the first step to absolution.”

“No, Faydir!”

Azur cut in.

“Nothing on any plane of existence or in the power of any god could redeem what you have done, Nainaur,”

Azur snarled.

Nainaur’s head snapped to him.

“At least you’re honest, Azur. They say Devils are deceivers, but I’ve always thought that was too simplistic. I find that I’m much better at spinning a tale.”

Ren was surprised that Azur didn’t combust with all the wrath that was radiating off him.

“I believe you’ve both given me a lot to think about,”

Nainaur said, looking at each brother individually.

A pulse went through the air, and Azur landed on his feet beside Ren, who had also been released from her binds. Ren was sure Azur would have tried again to tear at his brother if a sudden crackling hadn’t begun to emanate from Nainaur’s fingers.

“Naina, no!”

Faydir shouted, reaching for his brother.

“Our creations—my people, deserve The Ultimate Truth! True Salvation!”

“You would have destroyed me!”

Nainaur thundered, countenance all fury.

“You lie to me, Faydir! You wrote this to kill me, to wipe my name from existence! And now, I will do the same to you and the pitiful remnants of your creations.”

They watched in horror as the white flames spread from the tips of the pages and began to consume the tome. Faydir screamed in pain as his ethereal body began to erupt in white flame.

“Noooo, Naina noooo, it’s not too late!”

he shrieked, face melting from the burning radiant light.

Nainaur’s expression was passive—stoic as he watched his little brother’s god-essence be smothered in flames.

Azur pivoted to charge, but the two Angels lunged in front of him, blocking the path to his brothers.

Faydir continued to shriek, ripping at his face and robes, the inferno crawling up his hair, consuming his form completely.

Ren couldn’t watch. The destruction of such a holy creature was too terrible. A violation of nature itself—incomprehensible.

The Angels released Azur as he stepped back, folding Ren’s trembling body into his arms protectively. She could hear his heart beating erratically.

The sharp sounds of agony seemed to last forever as they echoed and ricocheted through every room in the volcano. When Ren finally looked up, there was no evidence that the tome, or Faydir, had existed. There were no robes piled delicately on the ground nor ashy remnants from The Ultimate Truth. Only the unmistakable smell of burned flesh lingered in the air.

There was the answer, Ren couldn’t be evil. Not like this. If evil was a spectrum, she’d never come close to this—this absolute depravity. No matter what she encountered in life, she could never—would never, be this. To hurt someone for selfish reasons, to gain power, or to demonstrate authority. She couldn’t know where Renata was on this spectrum, but it didn’t matter. She—Ren—would not be this person.

Nainaur was standing with his hands laced in front of his stark-white robes.

“I hate that it had to end this way, but it really was his time. As it is yours.”

Ren swung her head towards the Devil.

“What is he talking about, Azur?”

“He wants to kill me,”

Azur said, brown eyes wet and full of hatred.

“Oh dear boy, you think so small!”

he drawled.

“I am going to kill everyone on this plane.”

His face twisted with sinister pleasure.

Ren was reeling.

“What?! You can’t!”

“He can, Ren. He has the power of two gods now.”

His voice was quiet but strong.

“Learning, I see,”

he said, tapping his nose.

“I know you’re ambitious, but why kill everyone?”

Ren’s face was reddening with panic.

“Don’t you want to…rule it or something??”

she asked desperately.

“Too much work. I don’t rule, I receive.”

He sighed.

“And anyway, these Devils are too lost. Too dedicated to their king to give me the worship I deserve.”

“Wait.”

Azur paused as though something had occurred to him.

“You won’t do it.”

Ren looked between the two males, utterly confused.

“Tell her what you really want, Nainaur. Tell her what you want for saving me and my people.”

Nainaur looked pleased.

“Ah yes, you see, deals are your specialty, and I simply couldn’t help myself.”

He smiled a toothy grin.

“It’s very simple, really. I want Renata to go home, and in exchange, I will give her memories and allow the Devils to live.”

“Home? To Vergessen?”

she asked, voice heavy with skepticism.

She freed herself from Azur’s embrace to look at the god full-on but kept a firm hold on his hand.

“Exactly, my dear! Back to Vergessen.”

Ren felt Azur’s grip tighten. The knot in her throat began to grow, sensing the trickery.

“I’m not falling for your lies, Nainaur. You would turn me into a sleeper!”

“Renata, Renata! There’s that naivety again! I don’t need to lie to you. If I wanted to turn you into a sleeper, I would.”

He tutted.

“What I want is for you to leave—I want you to remember, and lives will be spared in exchange. It’s that simple.”

His grin did not falter.

“To further demonstrate my benevolence, I’ll even keep the more unsavory parts of your memories. Some of those you gave up. I wouldn’t want to cause you any undeserved pain.”

His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“All you have to do is go. Right now.”

“And my family!”

she blurted.

“you will make sure they are safe?”

“It’s always perplexing me,”

he said, tilting his head.

“the way Ziemia created you Mortals to care so much about such trivial matters. But to answer your questions, yes, your family is already safe. They won’t even remember their harrowing encounter.”

Ren let out a shaky breath in relief. But she couldn’t puzzle it out—it didn’t make sense. What was he hiding? She couldn’t see how this could possibly benefit him.

Then it dawned on her. Her family was safe. The reason she was determined to leave no longer mattered.

“Tell me why he wants this,”

she asked pleadingly, turning to look into Azur’s brown eyes.

The expression they held was so much more excruciating than the acid burns. But those eyes, they knew something, and she wished she could read their language.

“I can’t, Ren. Not yet,”

he whispered, voice cracking.

Ren’s heart felt the insurmountable weight of this decision. She wanted to rage against Azur. To demand that he reveal what he knew. It was the end of the journey—she had to go back, back to being someone she didn’t even know, and she deserved to understand the truth—to understand why she had to go through with this, to give up another part of her. A decision that, in an instant, no longer became hers. She was once again blown by the winds of the desires of others. Saving a Plane? Someone she cared about? It wasn’t a decision at all. It was the only option.

And as much as she wanted to unleash her wrath upon Azur, to push him away in an act of self-comfort, push him away and deny that anything they had was real—she couldn’t bring that anger to the surface.

As she gazed at The King of The Hells, she noticed then that he was, without his horns and wings, really just a man. The same pain, love, and regret existed within him. She thought in that instant that—perhaps in another life—on another plane, if he had been Mortal, she could have loved him. Perhaps they could take their sins and let them dance to the music of a life spent together. Accepting one another and maybe even someday growing strong enough to accept themselves.

“And,”

she rasped.

“Azur will be okay?”

“I’ll be fine, Ren,”

he said, lifting her hand to his lips to place a soft kiss there.

“Oh, he’ll be fiiiiiine,”

Nainaur whined.

“If I let him leave this chamber, he will get the powers he sacrificed back. I do appreciate that, by the way.”

Ren wasn’t looking or listening to the older god, only Azur, who gave a weak smile and inclined his head in encouragement.

“But I’ll…never see you again!”

she blurted, her hands beginning to tremble.

“You don’t know that, darling,”

he said, voice soft as he reached up and stroked her cheek.

“Your life is very long, and mine is…infinite. Our paths could certainly cross. Just try not to forget me? A third introduction sounds quite tedious.”

The slight quirk of his mouth could not hide the grief on his face.

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was desperate and inelegant, but it might have been the most painfully beautiful thing she’d ever do. Tears were running down her face, and she couldn’t tell if they were hers or Azurs.

When they finally broke apart, she did not look at him again. She thought that if she did, her entire chest would crack open.

She walked up to Nainaur.

“I’m ready.”

The god didn’t acknowledge her words. He simply flicked his wrist, and a portal appeared.

“You will arrive in your hometown with your memories intact.”

The fiery portal burned brightly and gusted hot air, blowing her hair back.

“I will bless your path,”

the god said.

“Go fuck yourself,”

was the last thing Ren said before she turned, sparing one last, longing glance at the hard expression of King Azur Pelegros.

“That single second was unbearable before she threw herself into the portal.

“But in the fraction of a moment before her vision blurred, she could have sworn that the sad smile on his lips revealed two striking dimples.