Armageddon (Angelbound) (25 page)

Fear and determination combine for our greatest effort yet. We pull the blade through the metal, faster than ever before. As we make our slice, I can see Maxon’s peeping at us through the long slits in the steel. His mismatched eyes are red-rimmed and borderline hysterical. “Mommy, Daddy! Get me out! Hurry!”

The blade catches halfway through the metal. “One minute baby. We’re almost there.”

“One final haul and we’ll do it,” Lincoln says. “On my mark. Three, two, one!”

We start to make our final slice when a new sound echoes through the throne room. This time, it isn’t the din of demons and monsters at the door. There are no loud roars, screeching cries or thundering feet.

This is a ticking sound. And it’s coming from the helm.

My gaze snaps over to the shiny black helmet, which now starts to glow in ever brighter shades of red.

Unholy Moly. We’re out of time. I pull frantically at the baculum blade, trying desperately to make the last slice and free my son. Every cell in my body is focused on this final movement. My palms turn slick with sweat. Around my hands, Lincoln hauls harder than ever before. Whatever our blade is catching on isn’t giving.

We have to make it. There’s no other choice.

Suddenly, bright red light fills my senses along with an ear-splitting boom. A pain sharper than I’ve ever known slams into my chest. I’m vaguely aware of falling backward down the black stone steps, and then everything turns into darkness around me.

Within seconds, my consciousness fades into oblivion.

Little by little, my awareness returns. At first, only hazy shapes cloud my vision. I know that I’m sitting in a chair made of ice-cold stone. Shivers roll up and down my spine. I try to move, but my limbs are secured in place with heavy bindings. Slowly my vision clears, until a terrible realization slams into me. I’m not sitting in just any chair.

I’m bound to Onyx’s old throne, right next to Armageddon’s.

I press my eyes closed and try to conjure igni. I know Anubis warned me not to, but at this point, I’ll do anything. Where I normally hear their tinkling laughter or grating voices, there is nothing at all. Instead, an emptiness fills my soul where their precious presence would normally reside.

What’s happened to me? Where are my igni?

My heart pumps so hard, I think it could burst out of my chest. I crane my neck around, scanning the scene. Lincoln kneels before me, his hands and legs bound together, his head lolling forward onto his chest. His body armor is partially shredded. Beside Lincoln there sits Maxon’s prison box, the top panel still lined with our blade marks. My heart cracks. We came so close to freeing him. My son’s soft whimpers echo through the throne room; my chest constricts with grief and rage.

A drumroll of footsteps sound up the black stone stairs, each footfall growing louder as the figure draws nearer. It’s Armageddon. He pauses once he reaches the top platform. A pair of Leech Guards stand behind him—nasty humanoid demons with a nearly impenetrable outer skin and long dangling arms. Their tiny heads hold beady eyes and long, needle-like mouths.

“Look who’s awake,” Armageddon pauses before my chair, his mouth stretching into an impossibly large smile.

Damn, I knew it was too easy to kill that bastard.

Somehow, I muster a badass face. “You’re alive.”

“Obviously.” Armageddon chuckles evilly. “I’ve been in the tower at the Walls of Hell. You killed an enchanted double. Convincing, eh?”

“Actually, it wasn’t your best. I thought something seemed a little off.” I twist in my chair, trying to pull loose the bindings around me. They only bite more deeply into my skin.

Time for Plan B.

Squeezing my eyes shut tight, I try to conjure igni again. Can’t.

Armageddon watches my failure with amused interest. “You don’t think I’d be stupid enough to leave you with the power over igni?” He taps the bindings on my arm with his long finger. “See those bands tying you to your new home? I had them enchanted just for your sweet Scala self. No igni will come to your call unless I approve the summons.”

Hearing Armageddon’s voice, Lincoln shakes his head and looks around. He quickly gains his bearings and meets my gaze. Without words, our eyes say the same thing.

This is not good.

“And our noble King has awakened as well,” sneers Armageddon.

“Eat death,” snaps Lincoln.

“Such brave words.” Armageddon kicks a charred bit of Onyx down the stairs. “Especially considering that you just burnt Mumsy to a crisp.”

Like he gave a crap about his mother.
He killed her, became a greater demon and then enchanted her corpse. What a sick move.

“What do you want, Armageddon?” I ask.

The King of Hell sighs dramatically. “Must we start every conversation this way? I should have thought my goals more than obvious by this point. Maxon Bane was neither handsome nor particularly intelligent. As a son, he was an utter failure. But he was also the Great Scala, so that feeble-minded thrax held my unwavering interest for one thousand years. After that, we have Lady Adair, a boring and easily manipulated nit-wit who had but one redeeming quality. Can you guess what that was? She’d gone half-way through the initiation ceremony to become—ah, whatever could it be?—oh, that’s right, the Great Scala. And now I have you, a slow-minded lust bucket with a bad attitude. The only reason I’m interested in you is that I wish you to do my bidding. Whoever controls the Great Scala, controls the after-realms.”

His words slowly seep through my head. I’m trapped. Sure, I knew getting captured was a risk on this mission, but I had death potion in my backpack and a son to rescue. Imprisonment by Armageddon wasn’t even on my radar screen. My stomach sinks.

We were close, so close.

Armageddon exhales a dramatic sigh. “Admittedly, I would’ve preferred to capture you along with Xavier as part of a greater attack on Hell. War does bring out the worst in people, which is good for business. Still, you’re here in the end. That’s what counts.” Demonic fire glows in his eyes. “I’ve wanted to destroy your family for ages.”

I glare at him for all I’m worth; it’s really my only weapon at this point.

Armageddon makes a
tsk-tsk
noise. “Now, you’re making surly faces at me.” He strolls over to Maxon’s prison-box, pausing before it. My breath catches with fear.

“I’m glaring at you because I know something you don’t.” My only shot right now is to play the Nefer card and hope like hell that she’ll show up. “You and your guards are about to be massacred.”

“Nice try.” Armageddon snaps his fingers. “Bring them in.”

Along the back wall, the tall wooden doors slowly swing open, revealing a dozen more Leech Guards. The demons’ long arms link together like a sling to carry two metal prison boxes. Unlike Maxon’s, these two containers have thin steel bars so I can see who’s imprisoned inside.

It takes everything I have not to scream.

The first prison box holds Nefer, while the second contains Kiya. Both are awake and alive, but sad-eyed and silent. A pang of shock and agony thrums through me. They didn’t make it. Armageddon caught them.

The King of Hell waves his long gangly arm. “Bring them this way.” He turns to me, stopping when his face is inches away from mine. “You’re going to love this bit.”

“So you captured them. That was a dumb thing to do.”

Anubis will find a way to save Nefer.
He won’t let her fall to the torture pits.

Armageddon’s mouth winds into a too-wide smile. He chomps his teeth right before my nose. “How I’m going to enjoy this.” Spinning around, the King of Hell watches as the Leech Guards carry the prison boxes across the floor, setting them down at the base of the stairs. The Guards then line up to one side, revealing the figure that had been walking in their wake.

It’s Anubis.

Unholy Hell. This can’t get any worse.

Armageddon twiddles his fingers at Anubis. “Greetings, Gatekeeper.”

Anubis leans back. A series of crackling-sounds fill the air as his head changes into its jackal form. “Don’t push me,” he growls. “Or I’ll change my mind on our agreement.”

“A thousand pardons, Gatekeeper.” Armageddon steeples his long fingers under his chin. “Now, tell the Great Scala about our deal.”

Anubis turns to face me, his jackal-face set in serious lines. “I will block your father’s army from entering Hell.”

Armageddon rolls his eyes. “There’s more to it than that.”

Anubis bares his teeth. “I will use my powers to pull any who approach the Walls of Hell into the torture pits.” He turns to Nefer. “In exchange, Nefer will not be harmed.”

My mouth falls open with shock. “But my father expects you to open the Walls of Hell for him. Let him march through the main gate like you did when he came for Lucifer.”

Armageddon sneers. “I heard all about that invasion to grab Lucifer. Xavier led the approach personally.”

I stare at Anubis as my mind tries to process this. “If my father approached the Walls of Hell again, would you use your vines to drag him into the torture pits?”

“That’s the arrangement,” says Anubis, his voice dead.

“And guess what?” asks Armageddon. “Once your father crosses into Hell, his old vow to be my torture toy through all eternity goes right back into effect. Oh, I made a mistake when I invaded Purgatory, I’m demon enough to admit that. I brought Xavier out to show your mother and break her focus, and that allowed you to free him. Rest assured, once I have Daddy Dearest back in my realm, I won’t ever make that error again. He’ll be mine for eternity.”

A warm tear rolls down my cheek. “Anubis, no.”

“The deal is made,” says Anubis, his jackal features still as stone.

My gaze locks with Lincoln’s. The ache of despair that I feel in my own heart is reflected in his eyes. Xavier, Lincoln, Maxon and me, all trapped with Armageddon for eternity. Our failsafe plan to have Nefer rescue us is a total loss. And the only powerful being that could have helped us—Anubis—is now on Armageddon’s team.

My face turns pleading. I don’t need to say a word and Lincoln knows what I’m asking.
Any ideas?

Lincoln shakes his head.
Nothing.

My body freezes with shock. Armageddon did it. He’s trapped us all in Hell. It’s only a matter of time before he has all the after-realms at his feet.

“You understand now,” says Armageddon slowly. “I’ve done it at last. Destroyed your entire family.” He raises his fist. “How beautiful.”

“You can’t destroy us,” I say, but my words seem hollow, even to me.

“Ah, but I already have.” Armageddon slips into the throne next to mine. “And I see that’s not the only family destroyed today. You killed Aldred and Adair, too. What a pity. They were so much fun to torture.”

Lincoln glares at the King of Hell. “Stop it, now. You have something you want, so ask for it.”

Armageddon keeps talking as if Lincoln hasn’t said a word. The old demon is enjoying prolonging his moment. “You know, when Aldred first arrived in Hell, I didn’t give him much thought. But then, news came that you were pregnant and Aldred simply begged me for a private audience. He insisted that he had something to offer in exchange for his eternal comfort.” Armageddon rises to his feet and steps over to Maxon’s prison box. My insides tighten with fear and dread.

The King of Hell slowly sets his palm atop my son’s metal prison. “I finally decided to meet him. That’s when Aldred told me all about his deal for your sweet boy. And no longer was this exchange for some possible future child, but it held sway over a real babe soon to be born. How thrilling.”

Armageddon slowly runs his fingers across the top of Maxon’s prison box. My mouth turns dry with panic.

“The deal was perfect,” snarls Armageddon. “Once your spawn inherited your powers, I could make him mine. I would have the Great Scala irrevocably in my grasp. But then, Connor went and hired the little monopsyche. A few more days and she could have protected your boy.” He rolls his eyes. “Ah, Connor. Always trying to do the right thing. Always failing miserably.” Armageddon’s palm flares red with fire. The metal around his hand starts to bubble and smoke. “Now, it will be you and me through all eternity, little Scala. Your son isn’t so important any more, is he?”

“Answer Lincoln’s question,” I cry. “What do you want with my powers right now, Armageddon? Out with it.”

Maxon starts to pound on the walls of his metal prison. “Smoke!” His breath comes in little gasps. “Mommy, Daddy, I can’t breathe!”

The Leech Guards chitter with glee. That pisses me off.

My eyes flare demon red with rage. “He’s only a child. Stop that, now.”

“What a coincidence! I’d love to stop as well.” Armageddon leans his weight onto his hand, causing the box to glow orange around his skin. “Why don’t you send Verus to Hell and I’ll take a little break? She and I have unfinished business.”

His words echo through my mind. Bring Verus here? She’s an oracle angel and one of the most powerful forces in the after-realms.

“If I bring Verus here with my igni, she won’t be able to leave. Ever.”

“Oh my, that would be the case, wouldn’t it?” Armageddon bares his teeth. “How someone with your feeble mind evaded me for so long is a mystery.” His eyes glow a brighter shade of red. “Bring me Verus. Now.”

My heart sinks. If I deliver Verus to Armageddon, he could use her to foresee any plots against him. My eyes bead with warm tears. I look to Lincoln, seeing the despair on his face as well. He shakes his head once again. I know we’re thinking the same thing.

“I can’t do that,” I say quietly. “Ask for someone else.”

“Verus only.” Armageddon grinds his palm onto Maxon’s box; the metal turns bright red. Maxon screams in terror.

“Mommy, Daddy, no!”

I writhe in my chair, trying to pull free of my bindings. “Stop it, now. Leave him alone.”

“Give me what I want, then!” Armageddon howls. “Look, it’s only a matter of time. I can see it in your eyes. You’re so close to giving in and I haven’t even started on lover boy yet.” His mouth winds into another impossibly large grin. “I think he’d look better without ears and a nose, don’t you?”