My trip through the portal was, surprisingly, harmless. I assumed my skin would burn off, or, at the very least, I’d hear screams pierce my ears as I stepped through. I expected that because of how red and evil the portal looked. Instead, it was as simple as stepping through a door.
One minute I’m surrounded by a demon army… and the next…
Well, I’m not experiencing much else different. I’m facing another army, although the members of this one are slightly less grotesque. They form a wall and look ready to attack. I’m about to slice off the head of the humanoid demon standing before me, but then he throws a dagger at the enemy demon crawling through the portal.
Vickal grabs my hand. I hadn’t realized he was beside me. “They’re with us,” Vickal says, dragging me through the wall of demons. “Xeres summoned them here, to take care of Belial’s minions, should they slip through.”
“He’s… fast,” I say, feeling adrenaline pumping through my veins.
Hell has a red sky with a horizon of jagged mountains. What else was I expecting? Fluffy clouds, butterflies, and daisies?
The air here is humid, hot, and makes me nauseated from how thick it is. I think I’m going to hurl, maybe not because of the atmosphere, but due to the amount of energy I’ve expended. I’ve stressed my abilities too much, and now my body wants to make me pay for it.
I start, “Sylver… get him…”
Vickal props me up. He hooks my arm around his shoulders. He’s sturdy and strong. “You need help too.”
Behind us, Belial’s demons are getting skewered.
“Not as much as he does,” I say. Sylver’s body is mangled and torn to shreds, but he and Xeres are gone from sight. I hope he heals soon. My chest hurts, partially from exhaustion, but mostly from mourning. Xeres and Vickal told me the oracles could bring him back, but in the battlefield, all I saw was a corpse. Tears prick my eyes.
He’s not dead yet.
“Where’s Jared?” I ask, searching the landscape for my brother. All I see are barren rocks.
“He followed Xeres and Sylver. Sylver will be fine. I promise.”
Vickal bends down to pick me up. His grip feels sturdy.
“W-wait,” I say, my voice raspy. “I… can…”
He cradles me in his arms. “You don’t have to strain yourself.” There’s a tenderness in the way he holds me, like if he pressed too hard, or didn’t show enough gentleness, I’d break. I’m not so fragile, yet my heart quivers. His arms are strong and his grip dependable, and despite how stubborn I am, I sink into his hold. His scent is all masculinity and spice, tainted by the smell of battle. I breathe it in, even though some part of me tells me I’m not supposed to.
He languidly walks along, his boots crunching on the rocky path. His presence is comforting. I hook my arms around his neck as he trudges onward. Silence falls between us. I hear his breathing, which comes and goes in a steady rhythm and is accompanied by the rise and fall of his chest.
My eyelids are getting heavy.
“Hell is… It’s… diff…” Damn. I can’t even form proper sentences anymore. Where did all that adrenaline go?
“That’s one way to put it.”
I look up at his face through my blurring vision, and it’s all sharp edges. It’s tense. He’s beautiful yet scary at the same time. He’s a demon, but in this strange moment, he’s acting as if he’s my angel.
Weird.
He catches me staring, and I would blush if I had the energy. I tear my eyes away and return them to my surroundings. It’s a lot of red, and some lava flows in rivers. It doesn’t look the least bit habitable, but there’s a certain awesomeness because of how surreal it is. I try to ignore how the place makes my head throb. Or maybe that’s just my tiredness. There are vultures circling in the sky, and so many lesser demons above us that there’s too many for me to count. Luckily, they’re the harmless kind, and mind their own business for the most part.
“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard,” Vickal says.
“I had… to,” I murmur.
“Yeah, but…”
“But?”
“I don’t like seeing you like this.”
I try to respond, even though the words will slur.
“You don’t have to talk if it’s too much of a strain. Your warmth is company enough.”
I’m surprised by Vickal’s gentle side. I assumed he was all about business and using people. I seem to have done my part—he has no reason to keep me around. And yet here I am, in his arms, a burden he doesn’t mind bearing.
He climbs a long flight of stairs. They’re cut into a rock, rough around the edges and growing what looks like moss, but brownish in color.
A dilapidated castle awaits us at the top. It has gothic trimmings, but many of them are falling off. The castle is huge and tall, with towers that creep up to the sky. The towers look chaotic, like they’re challenging each other at who can reach the red sky faster. A huge, dome-shaped building is in the middle of all those towers, and hugging it are black, thorny vines.
It’s beautiful and horrific all at once.
“Home,” Vickal says. He walks us closer to the monstrosity of a castle. “Welcome to the Nightshade clan, Valerie.”