Page 70 of Queen of Darkness
If the Vampire Queen was as strong as Aaron said, our job would be near impossible. I did my best to radiate calm and control, but internally, I was slowly concluding that we were going to die. I’d known from the outset that wecould, but more and more, I felt like that was my destiny.
The wind rushed over us as we descended swiftly. Leaning forward, peering through the cracks, I spied the walls of Hades’ stronghold approaching. We were there already. A major commotion drew my attention next.
“Something’s going on,” I said as figures streamed from the castle, pouring out through the main gates.
The others rose, eagerly peering around. I followed the column of demons—what else could they be—but I lost them somewhere in the hills on the far side of the citadel. Abaddon’s thick finger blocked my view.
“A battle,” Fred observed. “I can see fighting.”
“Vampires?” I asked.
“That would be my assumption, but too far away for me to tell. All I can see are two lines marching toward one another. Too hard to know for sure, but I can’t imagine anyone else would be so bold. Whoever it is, it’s a major strike. Probably a thousand or more, at least.”
I grinned, hope sparking in my stomach.
“Why are you so happy about that?” Aaron asked.
“Don’t you see?” I said, looking at him and the others with me. “She’s attacking. We got here at the perfect time. He’s going to be extra pissed at her and hopefully more willing to go with our plan.”
The shock of Abaddon’s landing dropped us to his palm. Moments later, we were spilled to the stone ground as rank upon rank of demons marched past, covered in an assortment of arms and armor.
On the wall over the gate, a lone figure stood, observing the activity. He wore nothing but black pants and a matching black vest pulled tight across his powerful frame. His hair was black and curled, clinging to his skull. I couldn’t see his eyes from here, but I remembered them from when I met him in his spire. They would be dark brown, capable of piercing you to the soul in a heartbeat.
“My lord,” Abaddon rumbled. “I have returned with the interlopers.”
“You should have killed them,” Hades snapped, his voice easily carrying down to us. He did not turn away from the battle.
“They say they come to bargain,” Abaddon replied, unfazed by his master’s tone. “I thought it wise to hear what they had to say. They were aware that returning was unwise, so there must be a reason.”
“Oh, there’s a reason,” Hades said, turning at last, his eyes miniature blazing suns, visible even from this distance.
Casually leaping from the wall, he landed in front of us, the fires even more intense this close up.
“Look,” he snapped, glaring up at Abaddon. His hand stretched out and waved in a circle. A sphere in the sky turned opaque, revealing a party of demons carrying a limp figure away from the fighting.
“Azazel,” I whispered, recognizing the teleporting demon from my last trip.
“Yes, Azazel,” Hades raged. “Look closer.”
The image zoomed in, and I gasped. Azazel was covered in cuts. From head to toe, the wounds were open, black blood trailing behind the group of demons that rushed him away.
“Corvis’ work,” Aaron growled. “They must have gone toe to toe. I guess we didn’t kill that bastard after all.”
“Indeed,” Hades snapped. “How convenient for Corvis thatyouhappened to arrive at just the right time to siphon my best warrior away. Now Azazel will be weeks in recovery, if not months. Do you have any idea how much work he does? This is all your fault.”
My jaw dropped open. “Myfault? We had nothing to do with this. Nothing at all. Bad timing, that’s all, nothing more. We’re here tohelpyou with this.”
Hades snarled, leaning in close to me. I scurried backward as the heat of his eyes singed my skin.
“You could help me by having never come back as you were told. I warned you that there might be a hot reception. Now you will reap the consequences of your actions.”
He clapped his hands, and four demons that I’d never seen before simplyappearedaround him. No blinking, no poof of smoke. One moment they weren’t there, and the next, they were.
Each one was seven or eight feet tall. They walked on reverse canted legs and had four arms, each one ending in fingers that looked like they could curl in either direction. One hand per side held a traditional sword blade, while the other held shorter, thicker blades. I didn’t know their name, but they were perhaps eight inches long and six inches wide, with a zig-zag along the blade side.
Two black eyes watched us while they waited for their master’s command.
“Take them to the dungeons,” Hades ordered. “Let them sweat out the truth. Eventually, they will admit that they are secretly helping. At least one of them. Probablyhim.”
