Page 95 of Hell-Bound

Azur tossed him aside, and he landed inelegantly, skidding across the floor.

The king hastened to Ren and grabbed her limp hands. “Come back to me, Ren,” he whispered, looking into her eyes.

But she couldn’t. She had to allow him to use his magic on her and Xarek had made sure that couldn’t happen. She was buried too deep for even her thoughts to reach him.

Her body reacted on its own, recoiling from his touch.

“I have been waiting for this moment,” her voice said clearly. “I will not allow you to victimize any more innocents,KingAzur. Xarek is the rightful leader of The Hells, and even if I die, I will die knowing that my voice has been heard, the voice of the Mortals!”

“Oh, Ren,” he said, almost inaudibly, his eyebrows tucked close together. “I’m so sorry.”

“You have to fight, Azur,” Xarek said, standing and flattening the wrinkles in his doublet in an attempt to salvage some dignity. “If you do not fight, you surrender your throne to me and admit to making false accusations against a Lord of Hells. A crime punishable by death, or in your case, imprisonment for eternity. I wonder how it feels to starve and not be able to die?”

Ren, or the body of Ren, kicked off her shoes and marched to the center of the chamber.

“No more delaying, Pelegros. Fight me or surrender.”

Xarek approached and handed her a gilded dagger, almost identical to the one Azur had destroyed. Another symbol of how futile any combat would be against the god. Her avatar was unfazed by the metaphor, and she ripped the red dress’s fabric up to above her thighs, revealing the piccolo strapped there. She made two practice swipes with the dagger before taking an attack position, knees bent.

Azur did not take his eyes off Ren. He strode carefully towards her, and as he did—she lunged, stabbing towards the god’s torso. Azur didn’t even need to react as her dagger glanced off a purple shield that flickered in front of him. Her body was breathing hard, and she could feel her facial muscles flex with anger.

Azur clenched his jaw, his breathing ragged as wrathwelled within.

“You’re weak, Azur.” Her voice was low and gruff. “Only a real male can lead this plane to its true potential. God or no, you have failed. It’s time to let go.”

Azur’s eyes darkened, infernal rage shining through.

Ren then bellowed furiously as her body darted, swinging around to try to stab at his ribcage. Azur did not move his body to face her, and her dagger veered off his impermeable shield. This time, her body froze as a current of energy from the shield blasted through her. Ren’s true self could not feel the pain, but her body convulsed, and she saw as her hands lost grip on the dagger before she was thrown back, crashing to the floor.

Azur’s face winced.

He took one step forward, but Ren’s body scrambled towards the dagger, swiftly retrieved it, and sprang up to standing.

“Hmm,” Xarek’s voice came. “I didn’t realize she was so feisty. This might be more entertaining than I thought.”

Azur ignored Xarek and the uncomfortable laughter of his citizens, red eyes burrowing into Ren’s as if his piercing gaze could break the spell.

Ren began to circle Azur. Her breathing was rapid, but her hands were steady. But the Ren within was whimpering with terror.

“Please stop,” she pleaded with herself. “You’ll kill us.”

Azur reached out a hand, approaching her as if she were a rabid animal. Xarek allowed her to wait in an attack stance, curious to see Azur’s next move.

He leaned close and seized the side of her face, holding her in place.

“Ren. I have to do this.”

His strong grip tilted her head to the side, examining her.

“It would be so easy to end you now. But I need you to know that I did believe in you,” Azur said, his lips only awhisper away. “I hoped that you would find redemption—find peace. I can’t tell you why you did it. But that’s why I agreed. I wanted you to carve your own path—to be free from guilt and the burden of grief. To live to be the person you always wanted to be and should have been. I still believe you can find it, Ren. You are worthy of redemption. Even if it’s just in the eyes of the irredeemable.”

Ren had no soul. The part of her that existed wailed in pain. Heartbroken and mind in pieces. She pushed against the Xarek’s bind, lashing every ounce of strength in a desperate attempt to signal to Azur that she had heard. It was in this chaos of internal strife that she saw her arm shoot out as she buried her dagger, to the hilt, into Azur’s stomach.

He gave a small start of surprise before looking down. Black blood seeped through the wound. Azur lowered his hands and wrapped them around hers, which were still clutching the dagger, and gently caressed the pad of his thumb across her fingers.

“I would let you kill me, Ren. If it would even matter, if it would make a difference. But it doesn’t.”

His hands moved up to her shoulders, and before Xarek could command her again, Azur lifted her and hurled her at the wall.

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