Chapter 8 #2
“Hellfire is the hottest substance in all the realms,” Luc said, fanning his wings to give us something of a breeze.
“No shit,” Logan said, his tongue lolling in an adorably puppy-dog way that made me giggle. He glowered at me in return before grabbing his stomach again and cursing.
“Why are you unaffected?” Orion asked the demon leader, looking positively green as he stumbled down the rocky path. “You ate more than all of us combined.”
“I am native to this realm,” Luc said, tapping his horns. “There are some benefits to being a demon.” He winked at me. “You probably could have eaten without ill effects, Princess, but I can tell you have already satiated your… appetite.”
I blushed. “I could say the same for you,” I snapped back, making Luc smile.
“Then why did you let the rest of us eat?” Hendrik complained. His stomach rumbled in agreement.
Luc laughed. “Because even if the food doesn’t agree with you, it’s still nourishment. And you all need your energy for this next layer. There are obstacles we will encounter and—”
A terrible feeling raked through my body, sending me to an abrupt halt. Logan slammed into my back and cursed, but went silent when Dante drew his blade.
“What is it?” Hendrik asked, his dark eyes scanning the tunnels that filled with red fog.
“Something’s coming,” I whispered just before the ground started to shake.
“It’s those damn witch spirits that I banished before,” Dante said, pushing me behind him.
I shoved my way around his overprotective nonsense. “Then we face them, together.”
“You want to fight those things? I have a better idea.” Hendrik flicked his wrist as he murmured a low chant. A dark portal formed, one similar to the magic we’d used in our guest chambers.
“Hendrik!” I exclaimed as I latched onto his arm. It was one thing to use portal magic within our mate-circle only a few feet apart, but anything else would use far too much power. “We’ve only just learned how to use this spell. Where do you think you’re going to portal us?”
“Straight to your mother,” he said with a bright streak of magic running through his gaze as he sketched a symbol in the air, bringing the dark portal fully into being.
“We don’t wait for whatever obstacles this demon has lined up for us to pick us off.
He said it himself. He’s bored, which means we’re his entertainment.
” He glowered at the bat-winged creature. “Am I wrong?”
Luc grinned and had a positively evil gleam in his red eyes. “You’re not wrong, mage, but go on, finish that portal. I’d like to see what happens next.”
That should have been enough encouragement to stop the Dark Mage from making a huge mistake, but he pushed on when the wave of witch spirits turned the corner.
I gasped, locking in on their haggard faces that danced in the air.
Their wild, dead eyes all homed in on me and I didn’t want to see what would happen when they reached us.
The ground trembled again as I crouched and extended my Demonspawn claws, although I wasn’t sure what good they would do me against translucent spirits.
All my Virtues gathered at my back, even though I knew they wanted to stand in front of me, I would not tolerate that.
This was my turf, my fight, and I would not cower behind my males like a pathetic coward.
Hendrik grunted as his portal jerked and fluctuated, stretching in and out as it lost its shape. “It’s turning unstable. Something’s interfering.”
Luc’s laughter boomed as the walls around us widened, opening the tunnel into a cavern and stretching Hendrik’s portal along with it.
“You idiots are so easy to manipulate. Portals are a demonic power. To create portals here is to open yourself up to Hell’s mercy, especially against a lower level demon such as myself.
” His grin turned wicked as he spread his arms and the portal made a horrible screeching sound.
Streaks of red that looked like blood struck through it until claws pushed through from the other side.
“Luc!” Jess cried. “These are my friends! What the hell are you doing?”
He laughed. “You claim that this little princess who doesn’t know anything about our realm is to save us all? She must be tested, just as I was tested.”
Hendrik cursed and fell to one knee, completely losing control of his portal as Demonspawn poured through.
The witch spirits swarmed around them, looking as if they didn’t have a preference in who they attacked. They radiated with anger and rage, looking only to seek vengeance for some long-lost grievances before they’d given up their souls to this realm.
Half of the horde turned to fight the spirits, using fireballs from their hands to disintegrate the wailing phantoms. I tested the power out for myself, knowing that any skill the demons displayed was something I should have within me.
Hellfire ran through my blood and a constant heat battled to the surface ever since I had become one with my Virtues.
Sparks formed at my fingertips, turning to blue flame before blossoming into a proper fireball that I lofted into my palm as my dark talons took shape to hold the flame steady. “Hell yeah,” I said with a grin.
Now “The Claw” didn’t feel so lame. The Claw… on Fire? Yeah, this girl was going to do some damage.
A group of witch spirits closed in on us, swooping around the Demonspawn to make their strike.
Luc fueled a shield around himself and Jess, sending the spirits pinging off as Jess screamed at him to stop.
I ignored them, launching my fireball as Dante moved in a blur to slash at the phantoms. Screams filled the air as the flames consumed the spirits, spreading through a small section of the group and sending their remains drifting as ash to the cavern floor.
“Your left!” Hendrik yelled as he summoned a spear that glittered like pure onyx. He didn’t need blood and suffering to perform magic anymore. He had our connection and my power ran through him, giving him all the suffering and darkness he needed.
I twisted as he thrust and skewered a Demonspawn that moved in on my side, nearly missing me with its claws.
The creature screeched as black blood shot onto the ground. It didn’t represent Luc’s underlings, looking less human and more… monster. Scrawny limbs and a mouth full of jagged teeth made it look like the very thing of evil I always feared I’d become.
But that wasn’t me. I was no longer a creature lost to the bowels of Hell. That was a life still locked away in my mind before I’d embraced my true heritage as a tribrid.
Logan shifted, bones cracking as he seamlessly took on his wolf form. It made me so happy that he no longer had to suffer the pain of his transformation, but my heart tightened when another wave of Demonspawn crowded him and he mercilessly tore through them, all teeth and snarl.
Just like I expected my Virtues to understand that I could take care of myself, I had to trust them to stay alive.
Fueled by all the power running through me, I summoned another fireball, this time with both hands as another wave of witch spirits came crashing down on us.
The sounds of battle and screams of the wounded and dying drowned out any room for thought.
I launched my attack and wiped out an entire section of the dusty hags just as they blocked out the ceiling, sending ash raining down over my head.
“Yes!” Luc shouted, laughing as he stretched his wings. “Spectacular!”
I glowered at the bastard as I spit soot out of my mouth. He’d get his due once we survived this.
The ground trembled with a steady beat and I snapped my attention back to the portal.
“What’s that?” I asked over the roar of the battle all around us.
“Nothing good,” Orion said as he swung his massive arm, taking out three Demonspawn with one swoop.
Two red eyes peered through the portal, followed by a set of two more.
A snout came through, then teeth, and finally the three heads of the guard dog of Hell made his appearance with all three of them holding a massive bone in their jaws.
“Logan!” I shouted. I couldn’t see my wolf, but I felt him with my bond somewhere in the mass of the Demonspawn. “I hope you are alive, because Cerberus came to play!”
I got this, Princess, came the smug reply in my head.
Cocky ass wolf.
Cerberus dropped the bone and one of the heads released a howl that made me cover my ears. “Shit! That’s loud.”
All of the Demonspawn around us broke into chaos as the witch spirits giggled with manic laughter.
If Hell was always like this, then this was one crown I didn’t want. My mom could keep it.
A silver wolf flashed in the sea of black, heading straight for the terrifying three-headed dog. Cerberus jumped and stuck his butt in the air, wagging his massive tail.
Now I’ve seen everything.
Logan barked and jumped over the bone as a wave of Demonspawn and witch spirits trailed behind him. Cerberus took the cue and lifted the bone, sending it flying with a wide arch of its neck. A wave of Demonspawn went down like bowling pins.
“More!” Luc shouted with hysterical laughter, clapping his hands as Jess sank to her knees, defeated as she stared at me and mouthed “I’m sorry.” She wound her finger around her ear and pointed at the demon leader.
I smirked. Yeah, well if I had been stuck in this place for centuries, I’d be bat-wing-shit crazy too.
Cerberus chased after Logan, bulldozing down massive hordes of the Demonspawn until the creatures decided to go for the retreat.
They ran toward the black portal while the witch spirits hissed and ventured back into the red glow of the pit.
I saw why when Cerberus dropped his bone to snap at them, eating a mouthful of screeching phantoms like a snack.
Orion, Hendrik, Dante, and Kaito formed a circle around me as we watched Logan and Cerberus play.
Once I realized the danger was gone, I took a moment to appreciate how incredible my Virtues really were.
The portal shimmered when the last of the Demonspawn entered it, then puffed into a pile of ash.
Cerberus barked, absolutely gleeful while Logan nipped at his heels. The two played until Cerberus rolled onto his back, allowing Logan to pin the neck of one of his heads.
It was hard to believe, but size didn’t matter when it came to a pack. Logan really was an Alpha.
Luc began a slow clap, stepping forward. “Fabulous. Just fabulous, Princess. You have chosen your Virtues wisely, it seems.”
I growled and formed another fireball, aiming it at his face. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t end you right here for pulling that shit.”
The demon grinned and spread his arms. “You could kill me, if you like, but you need me, Lilith. I am the leader of the army that will push your precious Conduit of Calamity into the bowels of Hell. If you think you can do it without me, be my guest.” He sighed and closed his eyes.
“At least I would die from a royal’s fireball instead of boredom. ”
Rolling my eyes, I dismissed my flame and kicked the ground instead, cursing when I hit a stone.
“We’ll find another way to punish him,” Kaito interjected as he took my arm. “Just because you show him mercy doesn’t mean he won’t have to deal with consequences.” His tattoo flashed with a metallic silver sheen. “Everything comes with a price.”
“That’s my line,” Hendrik said as he brushed ash from his robe. “And yes, I should have known summoning a portal here would be a mistake.” He glared at Luc. “One I won’t make again.”
Logan yipped with excitement as Cerberus rolled onto his haunches, setting his heads down on his paws as he blinked at us with puppy-dog eyes.
We’ve wasted too much time, Logan said in my head, and by the way my other Virtues went still, I knew they could hear him too. Good thing I got us a ride down. You ready to hop on?
I stared at the Hell hound. “Ride?”
Orion whooped and sprinted to the dog, making me catch my breath when he startled the creature.
To my relief, the hound didn’t bite off his head when the demigod climbed onto his back.
Normally Orion was a giant, but on Cerberus, he fit without a problem.
Orion gathered a fistful of fur and steadied himself, then patted the spot behind him.
“Come on, little star. It’s not every day you get to ride Cerberus into the pits of Hell. ”
He was right about that…
“Is this my life now?” I grumbled as I shuffled through ash toward the massive dog.
Dante chuckled and tucked an arm around my waist, lifting me up once I got to the hound’s giant paw. “It is, and you better get used to it, because it’s only down from here.”