Chapter 17

 

 

The whirlwind swept around, dropping us in a dark, barren space. Instead of solid ground or soil, my feet landed on a bubble-like surface, my legs plunging deeper into this substance—as if I were in quicksand. The sky, or whatever it was, above was pitch dark, only the crimson magma of scattered craters shed some light. The air felt heavier, way more than in Inferno, and my heart started racing so wildly in my ribcage that I feared it might burst out. A quick look at the others showed me they weren’t doing much better than me. Aidan and Gordon had transformed into their lion and werewolf selves, somehow managing to stay on these strange bubbles above the ground. Raphael had connected to his magic, his purple-blue wings had popped up, spreading down the length of his body and he fluttered in the air, hovering closely above the bubbles. This was a cue for me, and I surrendered fighting the heavy and repulsive magic in here. Instead, I connected to the thread in my center, all my magic pouring into my blood, invigorating it. Lightness washed over me, and relief nestled in the pit of my stomach. My wings fluttered in the air, and I raised up, slightly above Raphael.

The only one unperturbed by the heavy dark magic here was Tarrence, of course. Yet, he’d transformed, too. His body had begun to shine with a dark glow, his face had reddened, and a set of small horns sprang up on his head. They were smaller than Lucius’ but still visible.

“Where to?” I asked Tarrence.

He looked around, confusion brewing on his repulsive face. Honestly, he looked like a caricature of how Hollywood portrayed the devil. He narrowed his dark-as-night eyes and pointed his finger forward.

The lion and werewolf sniffed the air and ran in the direction the demon had indicated, howling with low sounds. Raphael and I took after them, flying above, while the demon paced on the bubble surface with inhuman speed.

We moved in silence for the next few minutes, following the shifters’ lead in conjunction with the demon’s approval. The lion and werewolf kept running, their enormous bodies and fur glistening in the dark space. We passed through various burning lava spots—some bigger, some smaller—until we finally reached a massive stone gate. It glowed in fiery and dark colors, two brown columns flanking it. A multitude of runic symbols were carved in the gate’s polish, blazing in crimson. The columns were adorned with runes, too, though smaller, sparkling in dark crimson colors. The Black Court’s famous sigil—the inverted pentagram—was engraved in the center of the gate, glaring right at our faces as if it mocked us. There was no way to miss the sigil. The knot in the pit of my stomach clenched with dread: icy-cold chills crept up and down my skin, signaling something was afoul. Could this be a trap? My wings fluttered as fear fueled my spine and I landed on the burning bubble surface. No, this was a trap, but not for us: we were setting it up for Hades, not the other way around! I tried to reason with myself, convincing myself it was all going as planned. We needed to steal Lucius’ special object—the black diamond, which that weasel Sebastian had stolen—and teleport back to Inferno. Piece of cake!

Aidan and Gordon stopped in front of the gate and with a sudden white-glow explosion, they shifted into their human forms. I caught up to them.

“What’s going on? Is there a problem?” I asked. Raphael had just landed on the strange bubble ground, too, his wings sweeping down his back like a peacock’s feathers, occasionally setting smoldering lava spots on fire by his movements.

Aidan shook his head. “We can’t pass the gate. It has protective charms and spells. Even if we blast it, I’m afraid the most you can achieve is to attract Sebastian and Hades’ attention.”

I furrowed my brows, thinking about his words. Unfortunately, I had to agree with him.

“You sure Sebastian went inside this gate?” Raphael asked the shifters.

“Absolutely! His scent is unmistakable,” they said in unison, voices sharp and icy.

“Wait, guys,” Tarrence called from behind us. I turned to see him. The fella had to catch up to us, his pace brisk. When he came over to us, he added, “I think I have a solution for this little glitch.” An oily smile tucked at the corner of his lips as he took out a small pendant that hung under his shirt, around his neck. Small and black, the item depicted an inverted pentagram, an exact replica of the bigger one that glared boldly at our faces. Holy magic! I’d never been surrounded by so many inverted pentagrams in my life. Small wonder the thread in my center felt weaker than usual and I had a rotten taste in my mouth, my stomach growling as if I was hungry, though I wasn’t even the slightest bit hungry. I recalled a practical exercise I knew back from my Magical Academy classes to defend against negative, demonic, magical items. I visualized and summoned the mental image of a large pentagram, glowing in white. My skin relaxed, my breathing eased, and I gasped in relief.

“Wait! This won’t activate the protective spells?” Aidan stalled Tarrence, whose hand was dangerously hovering his small pendant to collide with the large sigil.

“This is a personal gift from the Dark Master. It can open any gate that has the inverted pentagram as a shield,” the demon said, indignantly, straightening his back.

“But what if Sebastian sees the gate when it opens?” Aidan persisted. “Wouldn’t he find this alarming?”

Tarrence bit his lips, anger pulsating on his veins. “He’s far away, he won’t notice. The whole opening will last a few seconds at the most.”

I glanced at the archangel. He gave me a slight nod, indicating that he trusted Tarrence. The latter took a deep breath and, calming his slightly shaking hand, he resumed his attempt to place his pendant onto the gate’s inverted pentagram. Just before the demon could place his amulet onto the sigil’s surface, the air darkened, a multitude of dark blue and gray sparks blazed throughout the space, blinding us. What the hell? Next, a dark shadow cloud burst out, engulfing the gate and the nearby space. The scent of repugnant magic mounted at the back of my throat, and I closed my eyes to protect them from the shadowy particles that were raining down on us. The gate cracked open, and three figures came out of it, then the stone gate closed with a bang.

“This is the last order from the Master, I’m telling you,” a deep, male voice barked in the space, followed by another, slightly softer, male voice. I pressed myself against the left column. We were invisible but didn’t want to risk being bumped into. As the shadow cloud gradually dispersed, I stared wide-eyed. The man in the middle of this trio was none other than Sebastian.

“When did he say to move the grand ritual?” the man left of Sebastian asked.

“Tonight.”

I clapped my hand on my mouth, suppressing a gasp when I recalled that the invisibility spell rendered us muted, too. The clock was ticking. We had no time, as we’d initially thought. Hades wasn’t waiting for the full moon; he wanted his ritual performed tonight.

“Drogo revealed our plans to the enemy, we have no time left to waste. We should do it tonight,” Sebastian added.

I glanced at the others. The shifters were pinned against the opposite column, while Tarrence and Raphael stood beside me, observing the three men. My magical sense told me they were all high-ranked demons, but the scent of blood and the tickling bloodthirst on my tongue suggested one of them was most likely a hybrid between a demon and a vampire.

“Did you bring it?” The demon to the right of Sebastian asked him.

The blond guy nodded and reached for his bag, taking out a diamond. It was the size of a brooch: black, polished, and glowing with a dark halo. Tarrence gave us a sign, raising his hand. As I read him, he wanted us to attack Sebastian and steal Lucius’ diamond.

Aidan and Gordon exploded, shifting in the air. Their large, furry bodies hit the bubble surface with a thud, their mouths twisted in snarls, and they hissed at the demons. In unison, they pounced at them, the demons oblivious of the danger. Tarrence’s spell still kept us invisible. I spread my wings and took off, charging at Sebastian, the diamond’s dark glow my focus. He held it above his chest, conversing with the other two, when the lion and werewolf landed on him, making him stumble down. It was now or never: the point of no return had arrived. The fate of the world depended on who possessed this diamond. I flew toward Sebastian, stretching out my hand to grab Lucius’ shiny black diamond from his grasp.