Page 101 of A Match Made in Hell
Whispers and murmurs sweep through the crowd. I fill them in on the plan – leaving out the minor detail that closing the gates afterwards might be something of an issue – and tell them to go demon-hunting. ‘Go in groups. Recruit any humans you can find. Drag the demons to the entrance chamber; Sath and I will lead you to the gates from there.’
With a wave of my hand, a pile of swords and flaming whips materialise at my feet, but nobody moves to collect them. At best, I get a few feet shuffles. Some army. They’re eyeing Sath nervously, like they’re unable to break their old habits of expecting repercussions for all insubordination.
‘You have nothing to fear from him any more,’ I announce. ‘Or me. Change of management, change of rules. Which meansyou can fight. Show the demons there’s more of you than there are of them.’ I allow some of my power to come to the surface, feeling my eyes burn with fire. ‘Don’t you want them to suffer the way you’ve suffered?’
I rise from the throne. ‘They chained you up. They’re planning to tear you apart. Is that what you want? Or do you want to tear them apart instead? How many of you have seen a demon bleed?’ I flash a smile that’s all teeth and no humour. ‘How many of you would like to?’
They’re restless now, interested, but fear mixed with disbelief holds them back.
Fortunately for me, the antlered demon from yesterday enters the cave, dragging a host of new humans behind him. Still no Harper, but I’m not sure if that makes it better or worse. At least if she was here I could make her safe.
The demon pauses at the sight of me.
‘Come here,’ I order. Immediately, it lurches forward. My voice sounds deep, fathomless, like within it dwells all the rulers that came before me. Sath’s brow is pinched, and he’s watching me with narrowed, assessing eyes. He thinks I’m losing control. I give him the tiniest smile to let him know he’s wrong, then direct a smile altogether more cutting at the demon.
The whip of fire is round his neck in seconds. I focus my rage solely on him, on that whip. Sath and the humans swim in my peripheral vision, grounding me, reminding me that the rage isn’t everything; that rainbows can be found in the midst of a storm. I lift the demon into the air, drawing him closer, relishing his screams of pain. When I drop him to the ground at my feet, his neck is covered in pus-filled boils and one of his antlers is drooping, partially melted with the heat.
‘Shall I tell you a secret?’ I crouch before him, so we’re eye level. ‘I’m going to open the gates today. You’re going home. Aren’t you lucky?’
The demon trembles.
‘What’s the matter?’ I flutter my eyelashes, feigning innocence. ‘Is it only fun if Tartarus comes here? If you’re not the one at the bottom of the food chain?’ Flames turn to ice in my veins. ‘Too bad.’
I slam my hands into his chest, my power forcing my fist through flesh and bone. It reaches the empty space where his heart should be before punching out the other side, sending a spray of black over the floor. He crumples to the ground and I hold up my hands, allowing the humans to observe the blood dripping down my wrists.
Through it all, I’m calm. Peaceful. This isn’t about wrath or revenge, it’s about doing what needs to be done. Good Decision Willow has finally made an appearance, and her confidence is liberating. She’ll give this place the spring clean it needs, eradicating every demon like a cobweb that’s been allowed to linger too long, and when she’s done every corner of this place will be scrubbed clear of their infestation.
To the humans, I say, ‘Are you with me now?’
Finally, they nod. I set fire to the demon’s body, giving it a one-way ticket home, and step down from the dais. ‘Then go. Kill whoever you have to. We can toss the bodies through the gates before they rise again.’
They jostle each other to reach my pile of weapons first, tussling for the biggest sword, fire glowing in their eyes as they examine the whips. Once they’re all armed, they stream towards the doors in unison.
‘One more thing,’ I call after them. ‘If anyone sees the Sorter, leave her for me.’
37
We locate demons lurking on every floor. With every one we find, flames ripple from me, burning bigger and brighter. But not out of control – never that. I’ve resisted the sins before, and I’ll resist them now. Even wrath. I forge ropes for the humans to use, and they tie the demons up like puppets, marching them into lifts. Harper is among their captors – I found her hiding in her favourite paintball lookout – and now she’s at my side, poking a demon in the side with his own tail.
The demons flail and snap their teeth, clawing at their bindings. With four humans for every monster they don’t get far, especially when those bindings are made from the flames of Tartarus themselves, singeing their talons when they try to cut through.
Our congregation swells in number until finally we cram into the entrance chamber, ready to drag the demons to the gates. For those we’ve missed – includingher– I’ll have to hope the vortex sweeps them up before I lose control. Nerves tug at me harder than the demons pull at their restraints.
Given the size of this place – we barely covered a hundred floors before the chamber was stuffed full – the vortex is going to be open for awhile.
But Sath’s fingers are brushing my arm, and Harper is on my other side, her whole being vibrating with energy and hope. Ifthey believe this is possible, I choose to believe the same. I nod at Sath to open the doors.
The tunnel swings into view just as a familiar voice calls out behind us, ‘You’re making a mistake.’
Look who decided to show up. The Sorter shoves her way to the front of the group, nearby demons bowing their heads at the sight of her. I don’t see anything worth revering. She may have avoided capture, but she’s sweaty and dishevelled, gaze darting around the room in what I would delightedly describe asblind panic.
‘There’s no one here who can help you now,’ I tell her. ‘You’ve lost.’
Her red eyes lock on mine, and her mouth twists into an attempt at a smirk. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I told you, you’re making a mistake. Opening those gates is the last thing you want to do if you’re trying to save Asphodel.’
‘If you think this is such a bad idea, shouldn’t you be encouraging it?’
She doesn’t have an answer. Her silence feels almost as good as Sath’s faith, because with it comes a sense of glorious smugness that, unlike Sath, she didn’t believe in me up until this moment. She tricked me into taking the tasks because she thought I’d fall apart faster than Sath, or be stupid enough to manipulate into handing over the heart at the final hour. She thought I was weak, worthless, and now I get to show her how wrong she was.
