Page 13 of The Fearless Witch

A panicked scream escaped my mouth when the sensations of agony, sorrow, and rage passed through the bond, making me double over. My feet buckled and as I fell heavily on my knees, the pain from scraping my knees against the wood barely registered. Shaking all over from the uncontrollable emotions we shared, I raised my head in search of Mathias.

I found him kneeling by the bed in a similar position, blood dripping from the runes on his forehead and neck while he crawled toward me. The moment I loosened my hold on his mind, relief cooled the fire under my skin and even Mathias let out a quiet sigh. Silence filled the room while we stared at each other, broken only by our ragged breaths and the crackling of the fire.

“You are… a fool,” he whispered, his voice hoarse like he had been screaming for hours. “You could have had… everything you wanted. All you had to do was… let me go.” He pushed himself up, trembling with effort. Once he stopped swaying on his feet, he squared his shoulders and looked down at where I was still kneeling. A tortured smile pulled on his bloodless lips as he touched the rune on his forehead, glancing at the blood and magic glistening on his skin. “Now you’ll die…” He rubbed his finger over his mouth, the white of his teeth flashing when his tongue slipped out to lick the blood. “So I might as well kill everyone you love… so they can keep you company in Heaven.”

Chapter 6

Beleth

‘On your left! Duck!’

I threw myself to the ground, hissing when infernal flames licked my skin and sent jolts of agony through every cell in my body. My shadows smothered them, but the pain lingered even as I got up to face the last one of them.

The beast rose to its full height, lowering only its giant bull head until its red eyes found me again. Blood dripped from its gaping mouth and massive horns, and as its hot, putrid breath shot out of its nostrils, the clustered black fur over its exposed bones bristled. A horde of those things lay at our feet, their bodies quickly melting into the endless fire that surrounded us, but that thing seemed more angry at me for still standing than at them for being dead.

Too bad for it because I had no intention of kicking the bucket today. This was my best chance—the trial was going to be reset tomorrow and who knew what new horrors were going to be unleashed in the next one? I had finally figured out the most efficient way to deal with the minotaurs and keep as much power as I could for the final battle. I wasn’t going back to square one.

‘He looks pissed,’ Cyrus said in a small, horrified voice.

“It’s an it, not a he.” I spat out the blood that had gathered in my mouth from when that thing backhanded me. The creature didn’t blink while it watched me rise, only puffing a cloud of steam out of its nose when I beckoned it with my fingers and smiled in a challenge.

I used to think the minotaurs were the dumbest of Hell’s creatures—neither too scary nor too strong—but that was before I faced an entire horde of them. Because the one thing that nobody warns you about is that beating one is easy when you have power. Beating fifty, however… it’s more bothersome than fighting a pack of hellhounds. These damn cattle just refused to die!

The minotaur let out a mighty roar and Cyrus yelled, ‘It’s coming!’

The shadows wrapped around my body, protecting it from the incoming assault while I willed the rest of my power into a long, black blade. The ground shook with each step of the beast, but I kept my feet planted until the last possible second before vanishing from its path. The monster fumbled in surprise, whipping its head left and right in search of its target, but it was slow, too slow.

I reappeared in its blind spot, my weapon already poised to strike. Its roar echoed through the Plains of Torment when the blade sunk into its back, the sounds of bones cracking and flesh tearing silenced the cries of the damned for a short second. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to take it down, even though I was sure I pierced its heart. That’s why I hated the stupid fuckers. They were too much work.

‘Uh-oh!’ Cyrus gasped. ‘Be care…’

The beast lashed out, swiping with its clawed hand as it spun around, but it was easy to avoid it now. I had been hit and thrown enough times to get used to its power and strength.

Stepping into my shadows, I emerged on the crumbling pile of bones behind it, rolling my eyes as the monster threw its head back and bellowed again.

“Such a dramatic bunch,” I grimaced. “Let’s get this over with.”

Cyrus stayed silent, knowing better than to distract me, while I charged, ignoring the skulls crushing beneath my feet as I prepared to jump. The minotaur crumbled to the ground when I landed heavily on its back, its roar sending a flutter of dust and sparks in the air. My sword came down on its neck, slicing through the impossibly thick skin and muscle. A moment later, its head rolled into a puddle of fire and black blood, mouth still moving but now blissfully silent.

The cries and woes of the damned grew louder, and I sighed in exasperation, pulling the remnants of my power back inside. Jumping off the corpse that was now quickly being devoured by the hungry ground, I wiped the blood on my pants.

‘We should hurry before more come,’ Cyrus suggested. With a nod, I headed toward the mouth of the cave that gaped like the maw of a mighty beast twenty feet above the Plains of Torment. Apart from the flames and the remnants of the dead, there was nothing else around its hulking entrance, as if whoever built the trial wanted to see every challenger’s approach from afar.

I started my climb, finding purchase with ease while ignoring the way the hot stone burned the skin of my fingers. This close to the entrance, the demonic energy of the prince who set this trap was making it harder to call onto my power—ordering my shadows to take me directly to the cave would have exhausted almost everything I had left. Even using them with the minotaurs had been a waste, but I had no choice when they were far stronger and much harder to kill than my human body.

‘The door to Hell’s Palace,’ Cyrus whispered with a mix of awe and fear when we finally faced the dark tunnel leading into the highest level of Hell. The cavern that awaited us was the singular way in and, of course, the only ones allowed past it were the princes and the Devil himself.

“Let’s go fuck up a prince,” I murmured with more bravado than I felt. I straightened my burned, dusty clothes and lifted my chin higher before striding into the cave’s dark mouth.

The fires soon died down and the cries of the damned faded, leaving just the sound of my footsteps to keep me company. Minutes stretched into foreboding silence, with only my steps counting the seconds. It felt like an eternity passed when I finally heard them—the soft conversations and wicked laughter, the voices I had learned to know all too well.

The moment I stepped into the giant chamber, their conversations halted. There were three of them today, and they all seemed comfortably lounging in chairs and stools carved from pure obsidian, surrounded by red pillows that suspiciously looked like they were made of human flesh.

Beaming in her favorite human form, Belphegor appeared as a beautiful golden-haired woman whose blue eyes dripped with innocence she so clearly lacked. Her lips curved into an amused smile as she leaned toward the man next to her and whispered something in his ear. Leviathan huffed a laugh in response, rubbing his scaled chin while studying me from head to toe. His long ears—longer than any Fae’s—twitched in what could have been excitement just as well as annoyance and when he caught me staring back, he smiled too, revealing two rows of sharp, black teeth.

‘Oh, no,’ Cyrus whispered while I bit back a curse. It was never a good sign when they were in a cheerful mood. If they were annoyed or impatient, they wasted no time chatting—and being in a hurry to get it over with sometimes caused them to make mistakes. When they were like this, though… it usually meant they were bored enough to torture for entertainment.

I didn’t recognize the third prince right away since he was sitting with his back to me, but once he turned his head to give me a sidelong look, my stomach dropped. Asmodeus lifted his goblet with a bored expression, staring down at its contents as if they were more interesting than the fact that I was here to steal the crown from one of them. Or try.

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