Page 14 of To Dwell in Shadows (Shadows of Aurelia #2)

S am gazed up at the towering doors of the Sanctum of Agonizing Rectitude with a mix of nervousness and excitement.

The massive stone fortress was bound in thick iron chains, as if straining to contain something monstrous within.

At the entrance stood a demon who resembled a statue more than a living being.

His body was chiseled like rock, with a heavy brow, a square jaw, and powerful legs.

His black hair was cropped short around small, antler-like horns, and his skin was gray-scaled, like that of the Drago race in Aurelia.

“Borias! Meet my son,” King Asmodeus said.

Since it looked as though Borias wore a permanent scowl, Sam was surprised when the big demon’s face broke into a grin. “So the rumors are true! Our prince is home,” he boomed. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Thank you,” Sam said.

King Asmodeus looked on proudly. “Borias is a Vengeance demon as well. He’s going to show you how he inflicts his gift on those who deserve it.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Sam said. Anticipation thrummed faster through him.

The opportunity to unleash all the rage and vengeance he had bottled up for so long was here at last. What would it feel like?

Intense, certainly, but would he be euphoric after?

Peaceful and sated? Or would it awaken something darker, making him ravenous for more?

“I will leave you to it then,” King Asmodeus said. He smiled at Sam, gave Borias a quick salute, and turned to walk away.

“Let’s begin!” Borias clapped Sam on the back so hard he stumbled slightly.

He led Sam through the doors of the Sanctum, where a jangle of screams, pleas, and whimpers hit him all at once.

They moved down a long hallway, passing door after door, until they entered a brick-walled room with a single chair in the center.

“This is the judgment room where we’ll be working.

And it looks like the Magistrate of Souls has brought us a full docket today,” Borias said.

The big demon scanned a long scroll that was tacked to the wall.

“More human murderers, a few thieves—” Borias was interrupted when the soul of a human male was pushed into the room.

He was old and hunched, dressed in a worn suit.

“Ah, we can start right away,” Borias said to Sam. He gestured to the wooden chair and addressed the human. “Welcome. Have a seat.” The human quickly obeyed. His beady eyes darted around, and he gripped the arms of the chair tightly.

“Is this Hell?” he asked. “Are you going to torture me?”

“Maybe. It all depends,” Borias said.

“On what?” the man asked.

“On what you’ve done. You wouldn’t be here with us if there wasn’t something you had to atone for.” Borias flashed a smile that made the man start to squirm.

“I haven’t done anything, I swear! I was a good person.”

“Oh really?” Borias said.

“I volunteered at a soup kitchen every Christmas and always bought Girl Scout cookies. That must count for something, right?”

“Doubtful.” Borias slowly walked around the man. His eyes closed for a moment before he said, “Hmm, there’s a lot here. ”

“A lot of what?” the man cried.

Borias ignored him and said, “Samael, why don’t you start us off? Tell me what you see.”

“Truly?” Sam said, rubbing his palms together excitedly. “I’m not sure how to even begin.”

“I’ve been doing this long enough to see into his soul through sight alone. But you could start with touch. Try his head.”

Sam approached the man slowly. Tentatively, he placed his hand over the man’s skull.

Fear.

It was the first thing he felt. Not the man’s fear but the fear he inspired. This man had done something—no, many things—to make others dread him. They feared the sound of his walk, the resonance of his voice, and the jingle of coins in his pocket.

“What do you see?” Borias asked.

“Many feared him.”

“Who were they?”

Faces began to flash behind Sam’s eyes. One and then another. And another, and another, and another.

Humans. Females. Mostly children, some older. All had the same fear of this man. They all tried to avoid him or flee when he was near, yet few succeeded.

Shame.

Humiliation.

Guilt.

More sensations were coming to him, faster now.

Sam saw through the eyes of the victims. The man stood before rows of children seated at desks in a large room. His tone was smug with authority. His demands for private instruction, inescapable.

Sorrow.

Pain.

Anger.

At first, Sam felt each emotion separately, but soon they gelled together. Their increasing speed made him gasp. He tore his hand away, trying to stop the flood of images.

But they didn’t stop.

The faces returned, more urgently this time. As if each soul demanded to be seen, to be heard. Sam felt the damage this man had done—not just in the moment, but across the lifetimes of his victims.

The agony and relentlessness of the impressions soon made Sam double over. The imprint of this man’s lust and need for power was as devastating as it was lasting.

Sam’s body began to ache. A violent urge swelled inside him, an impulse to harm himself. If there had been a knife in the room, he might have dragged it across his skin. Shadows gathered around him, but their attempt to soothe only intensified his inner turmoil.

He shook his head violently, trying to dislodge the pain. But it kept coming, wave after wave, until he collapsed to his knees.

“Stay with it, you’re doing well,” Borias commanded. “Tell me what he’s done.”

“Abuser. Rapist,” Sam gasped out. “He abused children. Many, many children. Girls. For decades.”

“Excellent. And you have the feelings of all those victims inside you now?”

“Yes,” Sam cried, his body trembling. It was difficult to hear Borias through the sounds of crying and screaming pounding in his head.

“Take all those feelings and send them out through your hands. Deliver them back to him. Make him feel everything!”

Sam struggled to inch closer to the man, still on his knees. Every movement was agony. He could feel not only the pain of the victims, but the echo of it rippling outward—their families, their children, and even generations yet to come.

Finally, Sam got close enough to clutch the man’s ankle.

With excruciating effort, he tried to transmute the pain into something else—a shadowy haze, thick enough to smother the man in the very torment he had created. But all he could summon were thin, flickering wisps of vengeance.

He gritted his teeth and moved his hands up to grip the man’s leg, envisioning dark jets of shadowy smoke pouring from his own body, seeking entry into the man’s flesh. But that wasn’t effective either.

“Borias, I can’t… It’s still within… ”

“Concentrate. This is what you were born to do.”

“It’s too much… ”

“Keep trying. His victims deserve it.”

Sam squeezed the human’s knees, using all his inner strength to project what he was feeling outward. But still, there was no relief. “I can’t expel it back. Please. It’s agony.”

“Take a break. Let me finish,” Borias said.

Sam fell back onto the floor.

Through half-lidded eyes, he watched as Borias simply tapped the man’s chest. Instantly, the human began to wail.

Tears streamed down his face, his body convulsing as he broke into violent sobs.

He screamed for forgiveness, shrieking apologies as every ounce of suffering he had inflicted came crashing back on him.

Boris watched him with a satisfied look before turning to Sam.

“The feelings will pass in a moment, Samael,” Borias said gently. “Vengeance will soon be fulfilled.”

Sam tried to sit up, but Borias touched his shoulder and said, “No. Just rest. Observe the process.”

Sam lay on the floor, consumed by helplessness and a crushing sense of ineptitude. What felt like hours passed before the man in the chair finally stilled. He slumped forward, as if he had died all over again, slack and unresponsive when Borias nudged his shoulder.

Borias sighed. “Now, what to do with you, hmm? You’re certainly not worthy of the Afterworld, but I hesitate to let you reincarnate so soon.

” He circled him with a contemplative look.

“Are you prone to seasickness? I hope so. Perhaps a few voyages sailing on Purgatory will make you more redeemable.”

Borias waved his hand. Instantly, the soul disappeared.

Slowly, minute by minute, Sam began to feel lighter. The physical pain he experienced was starting to fade, and the emotional pain dwindled, too.

He began to use the breathing exercises Eldridge had taught him, then focused on the feeling of his cheek pressed against the cold stone floor.

The strands of hair clinging to his forehead.

The feel of his feet inside his boots. Soon, Sam was able to fully sit up, and after a few more moments, stand.

“That was a rough one,” Borias said. “My apologies—I didn’t mean to start you so intensely.”

“That was nothing like I expected,” Sam said hoarsely.

“I’ll be honest, your reaction was… unusual. Being in the Sanctum is exhilarating for most Vengeance demons.” Borias paused. He rubbed the back of his neck, then said, “Prince Samael, I know it’s none of my business… ”

“What is it?”

“Do you have a vengeance that’s unfulfilled, perhaps? One from your own life?”

Sam considered his words.

Do I?

It was difficult for him to think clearly. Yet after a moment, the image of Zaybris’s face flashed through his mind. The shame Sam had felt when the vampire disappeared with Selene from the cave in Aurelia made him swallow hard.

“Yes.”

“Is this person still living?

“Sort of. He’s actually here… in the Underworld, but… ”

Borias’s head reeled back. “You have an unvanquished enemy in this realm? Why haven’t you addressed it?”

“I just got here,” Sam said defensively. “Wouldn’t it be best to hone my skills before delivering?— ”

“No, no, no. You need to do it as soon as possible. Vanthee can lead you to where he’s kept.”

Sam looked down at his hands, which were still trembling. “I’m not ready.”

“You must be,” Borias said. “It’s blocking you.”

Sam’s vision was still hazy as he met the demon’s eyes. The truth of Borias’s words cut through him to the bone. It was a comfort to have a potential reason for why he failed so thoroughly, yet reliving all his own pain, as he had just done with the pain of others, was terrifying.

“I will prepare myself to face him. But not today. I cannot bear any more today.”

“Rest up, then. Refresh yourself and we will train again tomorrow.”