29. Scream Me a Memory
Chapter 29
Scream Me a Memory
Jared
“ W ell, this is unexpected,” Marcus commented, making me grant him a sideways look that said it all.
“Yeah, a real turn of events,” I replied sarcastically raising a brow, knowing the fucker knew exactly what would happen here. That we would end up journeying to the Underworld with this gypsy fucker in tow.
“Yeah, a real band of fucking merry men,” my brother grumbled. No doubt not all that fired up to be working with Koro, the arsehole who we had come here to find with the sole purpose to torture. But now we were working with him at the request of his master. A meeting that clung to me as if my body had fallen into a giant web and I was still trying to rid myself of its sticky cocoon.
Shortly after King Nefartatul had left us, his second in command, Koro, had simply said,
“This way.”
We had no choice but to follow him out of the glamour of his castle, and back into the less gothic setting of the arena town. Because clearly Koro had known the plan all along, which meant that all that back at the arena had just been a fucking test! A fact that made me grit my teeth, because this had been nothing but a waste of fucking time.
“And women,” Marcus added in reply to my brother’s merry men comment. As he was now grinning when the Sorceress Sorina turned to look at us.
“Ah yes, how could we forget the sexy Gandalf that tried to kill us?” my brother muttered mockingly, making Marcus nudge his shoulder and say,
“Well at least we don’t have to merry men our way back through the caves.”
“I would take an underground pit full of snakes right about now instead of having to work with the biggest snake of all,” I sneered with gritted teeth.
“Technically, the balaur isn’t a snake.”
My brother rolled his eyes at this before punching Marcus on the arm, telling him,
“He’s talking about the gypsy, dickweed.”
And speaking of the devil in pirate clothing…
“The portal between realms is up ahead,” he said, nodding to a circle of bones facing us as we approached the edge of the city. The portal gate looked to have been regularly bathed in blood. No doubt as a way to keep it active, as unused portals were said to lose their power and die out if not used frequently. And clearly not many here had a reason to venture in the Underworld, whereas I had…
Every Reason.
A few of Koro’s men had escorted us here, as well as his sorceress.
Her creature, the balaur, could be seen circling in the distance and the earth rose in mounds as it travelled underground. Well one thing was for sure, that big bastard wasn’t fitting through this portal, as it was only about eight feet in diameter. So, one less thing to worry about. Although if it turned out that its Solomonar was on our side, then the big beast would certainly come in handy in a fight.
“Let’s get on with this shit,” I grumbled, storming pass Koro who I was making no attempts to hide my distain for. Something he seemed to find amusing, if his grin that I wanted to punch off his face was anything to go by.
I stepped through the portal, ignoring the jarring feeling but unable to help myself the moment I made it through to the other side.
Because at long last…
I was home.
Which meant the transition to overtake my mortal vessel was instantaneous, making me double over. I felt every part of my body growing larger as more of my HellBeast morphed my vessel as it drew in the power from the realm. My arms became engulfed in flames as my clawed hands curled into fists. Each of my fingers grew in length, with bones protruding past the flesh at my knuckles. They soon became weapons for fighting, as these too resembled jagged talons. The skin on my arms was like cooling lava, with molten magma running through my veins pulsating with every breath I took.
Each muscle expanded, cracking this demonic skin further as I rose to my full height, looking over the heads of everyone around me as they watched. My horns had also emerged, as well as spiked black bones at my shoulders, each one bursting through the scaled fur of my HellBeast, now covering the top half of my torso.
It was a good job I left my favorite jacket behind, for had I been wearing it, then it would have become ash in seconds just like my jeans had. Thankfully my HellBeast counterpart had good sense enough to provide me with some flame-resistant trousers. Which meant that I wasn’t standing here with my big cock out like I was ready to club someone to death with it. Although how that shit worked, I still had no clue. As it was more like a feeling of power manifesting the moment I thought of something I wanted or needed.
Hence why I was wearing the skin of a fire salamander who usually nested near the flaming river of Phlegethon. Its hide a dark red leathery scaled material, one that currently fit me like a glove and was tighter than I would have liked. Yet despite this, its skin provided a good amount of protection. As it was impossible to pierce with a blade and would not tear with my movements.
Even hunting them was tricky, depending on its size, as only its underbelly was weak enough to pierce with a weapon. However even then it had to be youngling, as a fully grown adult grew scales just as hard underneath as they were on top.
“Damn, now why didn’t I get the upgrade?” Marcus complained as I turned to look at my brother who had also changed due to his return home. His body was now as black as obsidian, with rivers of crimson lighting up his veins. Smoke emanated off his much larger body as he too had grown in size, with a set of horns not too dissimilar from my own.
An animal known as an ibex was the only living creature on earth that came close to having similar horns in shape and size. But whereas my brother’s pair arched back over his head, mine were shorter, came to a sharper tip, and started an inch over my brow line. This before curling upward over a foot above my head, not behind it.
His eyes burned crimson, just as my own were doing as we both took in our surroundings.
“Where are we?” I asked, ignoring Marcus’s comment and focusing on our new winter environment, which soon made sense when Koro answered,
“We are close to one of the four towns of Cocytus, the one known as Caina, I believe.”
I nodded at this, before asking, “And just what is the plan here exactly?” My voice was an octave deeper as my demonic side became more dominate in this realm.
“Our sources say that your woman was spotted not far from inside the gates of the Underworld.”
At the first mention of my Chosen, I felt my heart hammer within my chest, the heat on my skin nothing compared to the heat I felt growing inside me. Ella had made it through the gates.
“Last I checked, Cocytus was nowhere near the gates,” I gritted out, knowing that with such distance between us, I had even more time to wait until getting her back. And I would know, seeing as part of me had once resided at those Gates for thousands of years.
“No, it is not, so I suggest we get moving,” Koro said, dismissing me, making me reach out and grab him, my larger size now dominating his space as I growled down at the arrogant arsehole,
“I want my woman!”
The second my hand started to sizzle on his jacket, I felt my brother’s hand come to my wrist, a sure way to bring me out of my rage. Because being here once more was bringing my baser emotions to the surface.
“Brother, let him go.”
“I don’t trust him,” I snarled, yet when his sorceress looked to make her move toward me, Koro held out a hand to silently stop her. His guards had evidently stayed behind.
“I know, neither do I but you don’t have to trust him. For look where we are, brother, as we are here in the same Realm as your Chosen… just hold on to that.”
I took a deep breath and nodded before letting the arsehole go. Someone who hadn’t looked that phased by my actions to begin with, as he simply straighten his jacket and said,
“Shall we?” Then he turned his back on me and started walking.
Each of my footsteps singed the frozen ground, thawing it instantly and leaving charred footprints in my wake.
“So, this is Cocytus, eh…? What do you know, looks like Hell can freeze over after all,” Marcus joked, glancing around the vast frozen landscape that looked like we had just stepped into some Hellish version of Lapland. The demon Krampus quickly came to mind.
“The frozen lake of Cocytus still flows into the river of Acheron and is the heart of the land, but I don’t see what will come of searching its towns,” I protested but then Marcus pointed out,
“At some point, Cookie will need to find shelter and what better than a town with hot food and a warm bed?”
I gritted my teeth at the thought of her being in any bed without me and even more so at the thought of her going hungry.
“I am still unsure as to why we needed his help, we could have arrived at the gates and intercepted with Ella there,” I argued again, my demonic hands curling into fists.
“Then maybe you should find out,” Marcus suggested, nodding toward Koro who was back to walking ahead of us. I arched a brow at him, not needing to ask what he meant as my dark look provoked a response.
“We went to the Realm of Blood and Bone for a reason, remember?”
“Yes, and little good that did us,” I gritted out.
“Last time I checked, you still had someone to integrate,” Marcus said, nodding once more to the dickhead in front. Which was when the first real smile emerged on my lips before I pushed him out of the way and said,
“You’re right.”
Storming my way toward the Gypsy I came to an abrupt halt when his sorceress whipped out her hand in front of me. Long red tendrils of power started to snake from the sigils I could now see were carved into the palms of her hands, making them glow.
“Your powers don’t scare me, little girl,” I snarled down at her dangerously, a sinister grin gracing my lips as I felt scorching heat rise in temperature in my veins. Then I grabbed her neck, dwarfing it in my demonic hand, my own palm getting hotter and making panic fill her black and white eyes.
“Let her go, HellBeast, and I will answer your questions,” Koro said calmly.
Hearing this and knowing I had gotten my way, I winked down at her before letting her go. She hissed at me like some wounded cat, now beaten after facing an alpha. Because she may have been able to challenge me back in her own realm but as for this one, well…
This one was mine.
The very source of where I drew my supernatural essence from, meaning there wasn’t another place in all the worlds combined where I would be stronger. And Koro knew this. Which was why he would now answer my questions, the first of which being the most obvious to ask.
“What did you want with my Chosen?” I snarled, making him sigh before answering me.
“To save her from her fate should she find herself in Hell.”
I let my anger spike again, grabbing his jacket once more and forcefully whipping him around to face me.
“Bullshit, you were the one who planned her kidnapping!”
“Was I?” he asked, unaffected by my outrage. I snarled again before letting him go, with a flick of my wrist being enough to push him back from me.
“I fail to see what you will gain here if every word I speak you believe is nothing but lies, for you will achieve nothing!” he snapped in return, now composing himself from causing him to stagger back a step.
“And you would achieve everything, for what reason do I have to believe you?!”
“You have none but then, ask yourself, what could I possibly gain for lying?” he argued, making me scoff condescendingly.
“So, what? Are you are trying to tell me that you have been playing both sides all this time?” The disbelief in my tone was unmistakable.
“Did my master not indicate as much… for am I not here now, granting you aid?” he said, trying to prove his point, but it meant nothing.
“You can’t be betrayed if you are not foolish enough to trust, how do I know that’s not what this is, as you seek to gain my…”
He didn’t let me finish, instead he interrupted me in a conceited way.
“Like I said, you don’t! But you are asking your questions and I don’t know how to answer them with anything but the facts I have to give you… for I will not lie just so as you may gain comfort in your continued vilification of me!” he snapped, and seeing the way he finally lost his composure was enough to have me questioning if I was wrong. If in fact his motives were indeed honorable, and maybe he wasn’t trying to double cross us at all.
“Remember, I have nothing to lose here but you have everything to gain!” he added when he saw some of my anger leave me.
“And Garmr, how would you spin your lies with him?” I asked. Watching the way his features grimaced when I spoke his name gave me some insight that perhaps it wasn’t all as it seemed. Just like his Master had told me. Was this what the King had been really referring to?
Koro released a heavy sigh before telling me,
“To truly understand, I must take you back to the beginning.”
“Great, well I would say we have time, wouldn’t you?” I bit out as the first town of Caina was still way off in the distance.
“My one true master Nefartatul received word of a threat stirring within the realms of Hell. Therefore, a great alliance was formed in secret. The Bloodstone Covenant.”
“Bloodstone Covenant?” I repeated, never even hearing whispers of it before. But then again, as everyone liked to remind me, I was still a young King. Which made me wonder if Dom had heard of it before.
“Many of Hell’s Kings signed it, the document was forged in royal blood, and it took place in my master’s realm. As his second in command, I was charged with its protection, hiding the powerful artifact it became, so no others would ever find it or gain the power forged from its very existence.”
“And is it still hidden?” He gave me a sideway glance and grinned.
“But of course,” the cocky fucker replied, giving me even greater reason to want to embed my burning fist into his skull. Although, even as I thought it, I had to admit the idea of killing him now didn’t hold the same appeal as it once had.
“However, this was only the first step in eliminating the threat, as pieces were moved around the board over time.”
“And you were one of those pieces, I suppose,” I guessed, making him nod.
“I was to hunt down the leader of this uprising and get close to him. But in order to infiltrate his rebellion, I first had to prove to him that I could be of use to him and work my way through the ranks to become a worthy second in command.”
“You became a double agent.”
“Yes, and with only one true cause… to cut the head off the snake,” he replied, and it was a coincidental choice of words, seeing as we had not long ago been referring to him as such.
“But before this, I knew I would have to get close enough and therefore engrain myself with his plans. I would need to learn all I could of his conquest to rule over Hell and the army he was building. So yes, I had my part to play, all the while reporting back secretly to the Bloodstone Covenant.”
“But yet you didn’t stop him, even after you had grown close enough to become his second, you still didn’t think to slit his throat in the night?” I asked, feeling my jaw tense just knowing of the difference that would have made had the fuck, Garmr, been killed long ago.
“Oh, I thought about it, even came close to doing it once, especially after he made me want to damn my own soul more times than I could count for the things he made me do. But he was not the only one pulling the strings, for we believe there has always been another.”
At this I jerked back an inch, shocked by this revelation.
“Another?” I asked, frowning.
“An unknown evil that was the actual driving force behind it,” he went on to say, making me snarl.
“Who?”
“I never discovered who, hence why my job here is yet to finish.”
I narrowed my gaze, looking off toward the frozen dark forest that framed the valley pass we traveled down. His words replayed over in my mind and kept coming back to one thing in particular he had said.
“You speak of damning your own soul, what did he make you do?”
The sigh that followed sounded as if it carried the full weight of that damned soul before he finally told me,
“He made me kidnap an innocent soul.”
My blood ran cold, knowing who he meant, making me quickly start snarling and before I could grab him once more, I growled out furiously…
“Ella.”
But as for my reply, this came in the form of a… Woman’s scream.
A scream that pierced a memory, as it was a sound I would never forget.
A scream I would never forget.
And one that belonged to only a single person…
“Lerna.”