Chapter 32 #2
Nala’s white, wolfish fur flashes before my eyes as she pounces, her jaw crushing into his head and ripping it clean off, blood splattering everywhere and staining her fur.
Then her yellow eyes fall on me, and I wait for her to rip me to shreds—to end this suffering and my chance of saving Sable.
Instead, she sniffs at a presence who has yet to shift into a hound. Her companion snaps the shackles free from my wrists and catches me as I drop to the ground.
Rubbing at the tender, red flesh of my skin, I pause and look over at Tony’s body, slumped and unmoving on the ground. I hurry to him, but when I roll him onto his back, I let out a harrowing sound as his head topples from his body and rolls to my feet.
Unseeing eyes stare back at me.
“No,” I say, my jaw shaking as rage builds. Human anger is nothing to these demons, but my hands fist anyway, and I glare over at the army of guards hurtling toward us. Backup must’ve been sent, because the entirety of Hell shakes from the stampede across the courtyard.
Nala nudges my arm with her head.
“The castle,” she growls. “Your girl.”
No. She can’t be. If Sable is there, then the likeliness of her being alive is slim to none.
“She’s up there?”
Nala nods then pounces on the guard who’s reached us, sinking her claws into its face and yanking its head clean off. She’s out for blood as Tony lies dead on the ground.
All the hellhounds are shifting into their beast forms now and attacking the guards.
Screams pierce my ears, and I surge forward, blood splattering my face as a hound flies by me with a leg missing.
Fuck.
There’s a goddamn war going on in Hell.
A ball of flame misses me by inches, the heat singeing the hairs on my arm as I drop to the ground and cover my head. I throw myself behind a broken wall just before another ball of flame can hit me.
A roar follows, then a cry from a hound, and I look down to see a melee of bodies as the hounds fight for their fallen brother. A demon has a hound by the throat, readying himself to throw it at me.
Until Nala snaps him in half.
I slip away from behind the wall and continue running up the last of the stairs until the view of the dungeon below is gone. I reach the door—surprisingly, it’s unlocked and easy to push open. The sounds of screams and roars and flames swirling around Hell go mute as the door slams shut behind me.
And there she is.
Sable.
Wrists shackled to the ceiling as mine were, her eyes open but in a trance, sweat coating her skin as her body rattles, seizing in place.
A shadow looms over my shoulder, and I freeze.
Slowly turning around, I’m met with red eyes, a tall figure crowding the doorway with blood dripping from its black fangs and staining its chin. The rancid smell of rotting flesh fills the room—Its fur is matted and gray, singed from the inferno circling around It.
“Lincoln,” It says, deep and hollow.
The sound has me straightening, my body tense to stop my shaking.
Fear. Terror. My own nightmare about to restart as I look into the eyes of the Devil.
Now that I’m human, It towers over me as It steps into the small room, taking up most of it. Its claws retract, and It lets out a low growl. “You smell pitiful as a human.”
“Let her go.”
“I’ve watched you,” It continues, Its back a crooked arch, Its spine protruding from its flesh. “Lincoln Taylor. Son of Tabby, brother of Dylan. Human turned demon turned human, in love with the woman you murdered in cold blood.”
I stay in place as It draws closer, the smell of death burning my nostrils.
There’s a reason why everyone must fear the Devil. It has no heart. No emotions. No purpose other than to wreak havoc and instill fear in everyone who’s done bad in the world.
I know not to push back. No violence or words will win this for me.
Desperately, I fist my hands. “Please let her go.”
“You are the greatest sinner. The one who escaped his own prison. Tell me, how does it feel to be powerless? To no longer be enough for her? How much did it hurt to see your friend die in front of you and not be able to do anything?”
I avert my eyes to Sable. She’s sweating, trembling, and her eyes are still glued to the ceiling, trapped in her own torturous nightmare.
As soon as I feel the claw drag down my cheek, I brace myself for more, even though everything inside me is on fire. The simple scratch has my blood heating to a deadly temperature, and sweat coats my skin.
“P-please.”
My lungs seize, my airways closing, and I fall forward and grab my throat as pressure builds behind my eyes.
The world goes dark and light, and I concentrate on what I can hear—the sound of It circling me, Its claws clicking on the ground with each slow and harrowing step; chains rattling as Sable flinches—and I force myself to stand and fight against the mental strangulation.
It releases me with a dark chuckle.
Dragging air into my lungs is painful, and blood trickles from my nose. Everything in me wants me to give in and give up, but Sable is still chained up, and I need to get her out.
“Nothing in this world comes free, Lincoln. You know this.”
“Name your price,” I say in desperation, my voice croaky. My gaze flicks from the Devil to my girl hanging from the shackles. “Anything. Just let her go free.”
It grunts and turns away from me.
“Please,” I beg.
The heavy footfalls stop, and the Devil turns back to face me. The crooked smile on Its mouth becomes an evil grin. “Your soul.”
I’m certain my heart has stopped beating.
“What?”
“You escaped,” It says, dragging Its one claw across my chest. “Your soul is no longer mine, and I want it back, just as I want hers for a hundred years when she passes through the veil.”
“Done.” The word comes out before I have time to think—not that it would make a difference. Sable needs to get out of this place, and I’ll do anything possible to ensure that happens.
It steps closer, leaning down and sniffing, inhaling deeply, trying to smell any hesitation from me. It’s hard to make out the face—Its features are bathed in darkness. When It stops, Its eyes lower to clash with my own. Dark and beady and full of nothing but death.
“Say it.”
“Free Sable,” I reply, gulping, knowing this is it—my time with her is over. “And I will give my soul back to you. In exchange, Sable will be free to live her life and return for a hundred years when she dies.”
Not even a millisecond passes before the coldness sinks into my chest, my soul spiraling and thrashing like a beast in shackles deep within me—I feel it the moment it’s pulled from me yet again. This time willingly to save the girl I love.
Invisible manacles lock around my wrists.
I drop to my knees.
The deal is made. I can feel it sinking into my butchered, charred, soulless self. I can no longer leave here—I’m trapped for eternity. But being able to save my girl, even if I only get a second to tell her how I truly feel before she’s dragged back to life, means it’s all worth it.