24. Who Made You Like This? #3
“Peregrine, please, I swear I meant no harm! He told me he could bring back my sister!”
“The one who you killed? The one you slaughtered? The one you betrayed to become ruler of your Layer? Your list of betrayals just gets bigger and bigger!”
Isadora quivered. “I, I didn’t-…?”
“I will hear no more of this.” He snapped his fingers, which made two demons appear instantly. “Take her to path twenty.”
“Maximum sentence?” Decimus gulped, finally blurting something.
Peregrine’s eyes were now crimson again. “It is deserving of her crimes.”
“Peregrine, please, I’m sorry! Please don’t do this!” Isadora cried as the demons dragged her back into Gehenna. She fought against them desperately, but they were powerful and did not budge at all.
Once the portal closed, Peregrine turned back to me with a lifeless expression. “I will command her Layer while she is out of commission.”
“I, I see…” I heaved in shame.
He finally answered my burning question. “Your father was sentenced to a hundred years in Decimus’s Layer for his violent crimes. It will be equivalent to a years’ time in your Realm.”
“A y-… WHAT!” I went to fling myself from my bed, but the crushing weight of my wounds sent me back into the sheets.
Evris and Arabella jumped up to try and help me, but I shoved back against their hold and wheezed until I could breathe again.
“You sentenced him… to a hundred fucking years in that shithole?” I barked out, reaching for my oxygen mask to help me stumble the words out.
Peregrine held on firm despite my overwhelming anger. “Yes, we did. Crimes like his cannot go unpunished, Nicodemus. I am sorry that things have worked out this way, but we were as lenient as we could be…”
“Set him free, now,” I commanded.
Elias looked to Peregrine, unsure of what to do, but Peregrine only stood and moved to sit on the edge of the bed.
He placed a hand on my knee, trying to be sympathetic, but it wasn’t working.
“You are not our God yet, young Elemental, and though I respect you as one, you cannot have the final say this time. Atlas Crawford dug his own grave this time. You need to respect our command over Gehenna and over this matter. Be lucky we punished him and not Caelum; the beings there are much angrier than us, and would have sent him our way regardless.”
I gripped his shirt sleeve tightly. “Please, Peregrine, don’t torture him like this. He’s already been through so much in life… I don’t want to do any more damage.”
“Did he consider that when you were killed and sent to Gehenna? He was too scared to come down and find you himself, and instead, let you and Odysseus suffer. He is good at keeping his nose clean, and has weaseled out of many situations that should have been a grander event than they were. We all must face our actions when they bite us in the ass. You faced yours, and now, he must face his.” He stood and conjured another portal to leave.
“I will let no harm come to him, but my decision is final. You may be cross with me now, but in time, you will understand why I have done what I have. I hope this does not damage our relationship.”
Aloysius departed with him, as did Arabella, Elias, Phillip, and Beatrix.
Evris and Decimus lingered a moment longer, both riddled with guilt as they watched me weakly sob into my casted hands.
Decimus tried to lay a tender hand on my head but I jerked away, making him flinch.
“Nick, you know I would never do this if I had a say…?”
“How could you torture my father, after all he did for you?” I choked out.
Evris hugged my shoulders. “This has nothing to do with Decimus. He and I tried to convince the others to let him free, but Peregrine is our strongest ruler, and his word cannot be overridden. He is the first being of Gehenna; it is his way or the highway down there. He is dead set on Atlas fulfilling his sentencing. If you couldn’t convince him, I don’t think anyone can. ”
“This isn’t fair!” I wailed, choking on a mixture of weak cries and pain, “He can’t be down there for a hundred years! I need him! I need my dad!”
“I know, I know. I’ll do whatever I can to make this better, Nick, I swear.
At least, if he’s in my Layer, I can control what happens to him.
I’ll do my best to keep him safe.” Decimus knelt beside me and peered at me from under my hair.
“I know we have our problems, but I swear, I won’t let Atlas suffer.
You need to trust me right now, more than you ever have before. Can you do that?”
“Do I have a choice!” I sniveled out.
“No, not really.” He poked my nose once. “Try and rest. Once you’re feeling better, I’ll come give you an update on your dad. Right now, you need to get better and help us with damage control. Give Peregrine some time; he might change his mind once he’s cooled down.”
“Don’t be sad, sweetie. Things will be ok.” Evris kissed my hair before she and Decimus went through their own portal, leaving me to sob uncontrollably for much of the night.