Lord of Hell (Alex Holden) (10 page)

“Let’s go right now,” I said. “Where is this book?”

“I hid it deep inside a cave system. A natural labyrinth that would help keep it hidden.”

“Great. Can you teleport us there?” Not all demons had that ability. I suppose I didn’t need to ask since he was one of the originals, the fallen angels.

“Yes. But,” he said, “I put certain protective measures in place in case Satan or one of the others learned of the existence of the book and went looking for it. You must stay behind or beside me at all times. Never in front or you may trigger one of the defenses.”

This was sounding more and more like a trap. Still, I wasn’t going to back out. “All right, I won’t go in front of you. I’ll let you take the lead.” I put my hand on his arm. Like many of the demons down here, Semiazas was taller than me. Maybe that was part of the reason they had such a hard time believing I was stronger than them. I was a little under average height for my age, and many demons were six feet or more.

I looked up at him, wondering if this was a mistake. “All right, let’s go.”

The familiar lurch and the sensation that the world went inside out for a second. Then we were standing in deep jungle, just outside a dark, vine-covered cave entrance.

Semiazas said, “The first protection is here, right at the mouth of the cave. Just a minor emotional sensation. It gives anyone stepping into the cave a sense of dread. It keeps humans away.” He stepped up to few worn boulders just inside the shadow of the entrance. He bent and dug in the dirt, nearly half a foot deep, and came up with a smooth rock in his hand. Once he brushed the dirt off it, I could see a few strange symbols on the pale stone. Semiazas held it close to his face and whispered a few words. The symbols flared and then disappeared.

“There.” He tossed the rock behind us, into the jungle. “The protective measures get more powerful and dangerous as we go.”

I made an elaborate bow. “By all means, you first.”

His lips curled slightly before he entered the cave.

As we walked, the light faded behind us. I could see better than any human, better even than I’d been able to see as a demigod.
You’re a god now.
The disturbing thought ran across my mind. Many people wished for this kind of power, but all it meant to me was that I might be even less human than I was before. The cave got darker and darker. We went around a curve in the tunnel and now it was darker than a moonless night.

I summoned a small fireball and set it to float over my shoulder. “So why did he write this book? He had to know it was dangerous.” My words echoed off the stone walls.

“Calipher had a desire to chronicle as much of the war as he could. It was the most significant event since the creation of the world, and it changed everything for us. It was a way to make sense of our failure. Our fall.”

“So why did you save it?”

“A small bit of defiance. I also shared his desire to understand. I wanted to preserve his hard work.”

“So you locked it away and put all these protections around it just so you’d know it was there?” Not that I was judging him. I’d done things that weren’t entirely rational, too. Like following a demon into a dark cave full of booby traps so we could get a book to help me plan a war on Heaven.

“Yes.”

We walked silently for a while. “So why did you lose?”

He glanced back over his shoulder, eyes bright in the flames from my fireball. “Because we were destined to.”

I stopped, my shoes scuffing on the wet sand. “Destined? So you think there was no way you could’ve won?” Destiny. I hate that fucking word.

“Not with the odds against us the way they were. We were outnumbered. Our leaders were inexperienced. Lucifer could not think past his anger.” He shook his head. “No, we could not have won.”

“So what about my plan to attack Heaven and stop Jehovah from ending the world? Do you think we’re destined to lose? And if so, why would you agree to this at all?” The fireball grew larger, reacting to my anger.

“No. I believe we have a chance. I have to believe, because I need to believe things can change.” He turned and continued down the tunnel, walking around the huge stalagmites.

I followed him for a while until he held out a hand for me to stop. “The next protective measure is here. Stay back.” He went to the wall of the cave and I moved my fireball so I could see better. More symbols were written within a small circle drawn on the stone. Again he leaned close and whispered a few words, so quiet I couldn’t make them out. The words flared and disappeared. He waited a moment then nodded. “It is safe.”

“What was that one?” I asked as we went on.

“It would trigger a small cave collapse. The tunnel for several feet would have fallen in.”

I swallowed, wondering if he was planning to have me stumble into one of these traps. “Would that kill a demon?”

“A weak one, perhaps. Nothing more than a deterrent for someone with my strength.”

“So if Satan sent a lackey to retrieve it—no more lackey,” I said.

“Yes.”

We went on. Another trap that triggered spears of fire. I was starting to think I’d stumbled into an Indiana Jones movie. “You said before that you don’t hate humans. That you never did. So why did you join up with Lucifer?”

Semiazas was silent for a while. “I didn’t want either of them to win, to be honest. I believed a change was needed, and Lucifer promised that change. I thought the war would force both sides to make concessions, that in time there would be peace. I didn’t realize Jehovah would be so… uncompromising.”

“You just wanted to shake things up?”

A pause. “Yes, that is a good way to put it.” He looked back at me, and for the first time I saw a real smile on his face. “You have no idea how pleased I was when you killed your father and took over Hell.”

“Oh.” I slipped a little on the wet stone and put a hand out to steady myself. The cave was very cold this far down, and my breath fogged in the air. “So you like me being in charge?”

“I have been very pleased with your changes.”

“And you think I can beat Jehovah? That’s why you’re helping me?” Maybe it wasn’t a trick after all. Or maybe it was a more elaborate trick.

“Hmm… let me put it this way. Many of the most powerful demons have challenged Satan for his throne. You are the one who killed him. You also saved the world and built a paradise for some of the condemned souls. I joined the rebellion because I hoped both sides would be forced to make compromises. I did not want either Jehovah or Satan as my master, but they were my only two choices. Unless you have a hidden agenda… you are the leader I have been hoping for.”

“That’s a hell of a compliment.” It made me uncomfortable, the way my cult made me uncomfortable. Satan had told me I charmed people because it was part of my power, that it would help me win over followers during my rise to power. It made me question if any praise like this was real or if people followed me because I had some kind of power over their mind. It even made me question my friendships.

Another silence fell between us. He disarmed two more traps, and I was too distracted by my thoughts to ask him what they were.

“What are you hoping to get out of this? If I manage to stop Jehovah and save the world, what do you get?”

“A more just world,” he said.

“Seriously? You want me to believe a demon has selfless reasons to attack Heaven?”

“My lord, you are a demon.”

For a second I got mad, but then I realized what he was saying. “So you’re a good guy? A good guy who will help start a war and cause some anarchy if it makes things better in the end?”

He flashed a smile. “You are insightful for one so young.”

My heart jumped a little. An ally, a real ally in Hell?

Semiazas stopped. “This is the last protection guarding the book, and I cannot disarm it.

“Uh… what?”

“I made this protection so powerful that even Satan could not get through it.”

“So what the fuck are we supposed to do?” Had he led me all the way down here to fuck with me?

“You must trigger it.”

I drew Animus, light from my fireball glinting off the blade. “Fuck, no. Is this a trap?”

“Not a trap, but a test.”

Something hard slammed into my back and shoved me hard. I stumbled, trying to turn around and push back against whatever it was. Before I could, I fell sprawling into the huge cavern.

And triggered the trap.

Chapter 12

Animus sang a note of warning as some kind of barrier hummed to life around me. In the center of the cavern, shadows coalesced into a deeper darkness. They became a shape, a winged being holding a sword made of the same shimmering darkness as he was.

“Who trespasses here?”

Ah, a guardian. “I’m Alex Holden, Lord of Hell, defender of the world.”

He studied me with glowing blue lights that served as his eyes. “I do not know this name.”

“I’m Lucifer’s son.” All the gods and most of the ghosts I’d encountered knew that name.

This guy did, too. The blue lights brightened for a moment. “Have you come on his behalf?”

“Fuck, no. I killed him. You’re guarding a book for Semiazas. I’m here to get it.”

The blue lights widened again. “I must not let anyone take the book.” With his sword held high, he attacked.

He looked like he was made of shadow, but I thought it was safe to assume he was solid enough to hurt me. I blocked with Animus, and when the swords collided, both of them glowed blue. I pulled her back and the light faded. For a second I looked at the shadow being and saw something that had to be surprise on his face. Well, in the deep shadow that resembled a face.

He glided back, putting distance between us. “What sort of weapon is that?”

Good, he was afraid of her. “This is Animus, made just for me.” There was a weird kind of hum coming from her, like she was trying to tell me something. “Let me pass. We don’t have to fight.” I wanted to look behind me to see where Semiazas was, but I didn’t want to take my eyes off the shadow thing. There was a barrier around the whole cavern that I could sense, and I hoped it meant nothing could get in. Even if it also mean nothing could get out.

A stream of shadow shot out from him like a tentacle and headed straight for me. I made a quick slash with Animus and she severed it neatly. The end I cut off hit the ground and wiggled for a moment before disappearing. The shadow thing hissed and retracted the rest.

“Fine. If that’s the way you want it.” I threw a fireball at him.

He dodged effortlessly, gliding to the side. The fireball hit the cave wall behind him. He rushed me and our swords clashed again. And again they both flared with blue light. Like fucking lightsabers. She’d glowed with red flame before and sent up blue sparks if she hit something powerful enough, but she’d never
glowed
blue.

He broke away and the swords faded. He held his weapon out, ready for the next attack. Animus hummed louder, sensation vibrating up my arm. “What kind of sword is that?” I asked the shadow thing, turning his own question back at him.

“This is the sword I died with.”

“So you’re a ghost.” Maybe that’s what she was reacting to. A ghost guarding a book written by a demon about the War in Heaven. A ghost that had huge dark wings… “Were you a demon?”

His shadow body rippled, almost like fire, and the blue lights of his eyes narrowed to a sliver. “I was an angel! I died in the war. I never Fell.”

A rebel angel who would have been a demon if he’d lived. Something between an angel and a demon, then. And a ghost. “Shit, maybe that’s what she’s reacting to. Animus is built from my power, plus bits of power from animals and ghosts.”

The humming turned into a pulsing warmth, as if she was telling me I was right.

“You stole this power from them?” the ghost of the not-quite-demon said.

“No, they offered their power to make the sword.”

“Why would they do such a thing for the son of Lucifer?”

“Because they like me. I’m nice to them and sometimes I help them.” The thought of help made me remember I was stuck in a booby trap. “Hey, did Semiazas trap you here? Is there a way I can help you get free?”

The shadow being floated backward about a foot, quickly, like he was trying to get away from me. Or shocked. “Semiazas is my friend. He did not trap me. He asked me to guard his book.”

“He turned you into a watchdog?”

“No!” His form rippled again. “He gave me a purpose. I cannot return to Heaven, and I refuse to go to Hell. I am in limbo.”

“Would you like to go to the Eternal Gardens? It’s part of Hell, but it’s a peaceful, beautiful place. You wouldn’t have to be stuck here anymore.” Two minutes ago I was fighting this guy, and now I was trying to help him.

His eyes narrowed again. “This is a trick so you can get the book.”

“I do want the book, but it’s not a trick. What are you guarding the book from, anyway? Anyone?”

“I am charged to let no one pass.”

“So I have to kill you to get it? And you’re already dead.” Maybe there was a way to do it, tearing him apart or banishing him somehow. “Semiazas, could you tell your buddy to let me through?” I risked a glance behind me, but he wasn’t there. Either he’d left or the barrier obscured him somehow.

“Fight me or leave here.” The edges of his shadow body danced.

I gripped Animus tighter and her hum turned unhappy. With a sigh, I sheathed her. “Fine. That jackass pushed me in here to trigger the trap, but you’re not a monster guardian. You’re just… sad. I really wanted that book. I thought it could help me defeat Jehovah, but I’ll find another way.” I wasn’t going to tell his shadowy friend over there, but what I really wanted was to kick Semiazas’s ass for trying to kill me. This had all been some weird plan to make me face the shadow demon. Maybe he couldn’t be killed. Maybe he had some special power against demons that would give him an edge over me. Semiazas said this trap was meant to keep Satan out, so it was strong enough to keep me out, too.

“You give up?” The shadow demon stopped rippling.

That made me sound weak and I clenched a fist. “It’s not worth it. Either you’re unbeatable, which means Semiazas brought me here so you could kill me. Or I can kill you, which means he put me in here knowing I could kill you, and that makes him a fucking shitty friend. If you get tired of being his watchdog, my offer still stands.”