Sweet Revenge (Dueling with the Devil) (25 page)

“
Good girl
.”
Isis tone quieted Bell’s turmoil
.“
This is your body to control. Do not let the power consume you
.
”

Power? There was no way she could harness the intensity of the blaze burning in her body. The idea of inflicting the agony she experienced on someone else scared Bell. But if she could manifest this gift in a useable for
m,
she could protect those she loved. At this though
t,
her body cooled to normal.

Bell opened her eyes. Angel stood and offered her a hand
.“
Welcome bac
k
,
”
she laughe
d,
as Bell stumbled to her feet
.“
No
w,
the real work begins
.
”

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Sweat trickled down his back. His shirt clung to his body with wet desperation. The others trudged up the hilly landscape behind him. The fact they had not run into Ziz surprised Xavier. The demon should sense when others entered his territory. Why hadn’t Ziz come for them?

“
How much further
?”
Jacque shouted in a straine
d,
dust -filled voice.

Xavier wiped the moisture from his brow
.“
Over there in those cliffs. Maybe five miles
.
”

“
It’s actually hotter than hell here
.
”

“
You got that right
.”
If circumstances hadn’t beaten the humor out of hi
m,
Xavier might’ve laughed at the pun.

Behemoth strolled past Xavie
r,
as if he caught a secret breeze unbeknownst to the younger demons
.“
It’s actually cooled some since my days here as a child
.
”

“
You g
r
e
w up here
?”
Xavier questioned.

“
Yes. This was our land. I don’t know how Ziz managed to find it. We thought it was destroyed
.”
Leviathan answered
.“
It was very different when we lived here. A lush land filled with life and vibrancy. This is the mess Lucifer created when he came here. Wel
l,
that is not exactly true. This is what our people did to our lands with Lucifer’s trickery. He played brother against brothe
r,
feeding their lust for powe
r,
dangling meaningless trinkets as bait for our simple communal world. Greed can be
a
powerful weapon in the right hands. Lucifer uses them with expertise
.”
A sad reverence tainted his voice.

Xavier stopped at the ridge just below the mouth of the caverns
.“
Do you think he’s in there? I’m surprised we were able to make it this far without an encounter
.
”

“
He is here. I feel him
.”
Behemoth sniffed the air
.“
His scent lingers in this place
.
”

“
Why hasn’t he come for us
?”
Jacque looked to the elder demons.

Leviathan shrugge
d,
as he toweled the sweat from the back of his neck with a small cloth he carried in his back pocket.

“
Something’s not right. Be cautious as we enter his lai
r
,
”
Xavier warned.

They continued the journe
y,
quickening their stride as they drew near the cave. The daunting red-orange cliffs rose like skyscrapers into a dusty sky of the same hue. It painted a monochromatic background suitable for the sons of Hell.

Xavier welcomed the drop in temperature in the cavern. Heavy sighs from the others marked their relie
f,
too. Xavier’s eyes adjusted to the darknes
s,
as he scanned the shadows for Ziz. The overwhelming smell of sulfur and the pungent aroma of something dying permeated the area. Blood trailed into the darkened tunne
l,
leading further into the mountainside. Ziz must be injured. Maybe the hounds caught up to him. Xavier couldn’t be that lucky.

He followed the line of black liquid. As he maneuvered the narrow channel
s,
the acidic taste of the vapors escaping the depths of the passageway caught in his throa
t,
constricting his airway. Xavier glanced behind him to ensure the others still followed. Jacque struggled to catch his breat
h,
but his father and Behemoth were not impacted by the change in the atmosphere.

Sounds of combat echoed below. The group slowed as the
t
u
nn
e
l
o
p
e
n
e
d
i
n
t
o
a
f
i
r
e
l
i
t
r
o
o
m
.

Ziz lunged forwar
d,
sword firs
t,
toward a winged demon with deadly talons.

Jacque and the others posed for battle. Xavier examined the room for other monster
s,
but saw none.

The creature caught their scen
t,
red eyes zeroed in on them. Taking advantage of the distractio
n,
Ziz attacked. Behemoth and Leviathan unsheathed their weapons and followed suit. The three brothers worked in unison to destroy the winged adversary.

Xavier gaped in awe of their precision. They moved as one being with long fluid motions. The brothers fought as a uni
t,
anticipating each other’s moves. Understanding each other’s thoughts. Xavier envied them.

The creature fell to the floor. Its right claw twitche
d,
as Ziz buried his blade into its chest. When the beast moved no mor
e,
Ziz jerked his sword from its flesh and slumped to the ground. Blood seeped from several gashes on his battered torso and limbs. He clutched his arm to his sid
e,
probably broken from the swelling and pain.

“
If you came to kill m
e,
get it over with so the pain will go
a
w
a
y
.
”

B
ehemoth raised his sword. As it slashed downward toward Ziz’s bent nec
k,
Leviathan blocked the blow with his own weapon. The sharpened edge of the blade poised inches above the base of Ziz’s head. Xavier cringed at the near miss. No one dared to move. Except for Ziz’s heavy pantin
g,
the cave sank into a hushed silence.

Behemoth’s roar shook the rock walls. His foot slammed into Ziz’s chest. The impact barely rattled the demon. A loud crack echoed through the room when the back of Behemoth’s fist slammed into Ziz’s jaw. Blood oozed down his fac
e,
dripping onto the dust covered floor.

“
You killed my son
.”
Behemoth landed another blow on Ziz’s chin.

A
s
a
d
i
s
tic laugh erupted from the battered beast
.“
O
h,
life is such irony. I did not harm your son. If anyone did any damage to
y
o
ur
s
o
n
,
i
t
w
a
s
y
o
ur
d
a
ug
h
t
e
r
.
”

Behemoth launched another powerful blow. Leviathan intervened
.“
He is no good to us dea
d
,
”
Xavier’s father sai
d,
forcing Behemoth away.

Ziz glared at the
m,
eyes red with bloody rage
.“
It was your daughter’s uncontrollable anger
that
injured your son. I brought him back here and was healing him
.
”

Everyone stared at Ziz. Xavier’s heart raced with hope.
I
f
L
a
u
r
e
n
t
s
t
i
ll
l
i
v
e
d,
B
e
ll
c
ou
l
d
b
e
m
a
de
w
h
o
l
e
.
“
W
h
e
r
e
i
s h
e
?
”

“
That is a little difficult to answer. I brought him here. He was getting better from the electrocution your female administered. The
n,
we were attacked
.”
Ziz wiped the reddish black liquid leaking from the gash under his eye
.“
Lucifer has Laurent. We fought as hard as we could. The damn winged army seemed endless. That was the last remaining
.”
He pointed to the dea
d,
winged assailant.

“
Is Laurent still alive
?”
Behemoth demanded.

“
Last time I saw him he was. I can’t speak to now
.”
Ziz rocked back on his haunches
.“
I’m not sure how Lucifer found me. I’ve been here for half a millennium without him showing up
.
”

“
You’ve used the portals too muc
h
,
”
Leviathan answered
.“
They create a signature each time you travel through them. Eventuall
y,
someone was going to pick up on it
.”

“
Revenge is turning out to be more of a problem than a solution. Why haven’t you killed me yet? Behemoth clearly wanted to. And where the hell have you bee
n,
Behemoth? I thought you were dead. I figured Levi and Luc did you in for
t
h
a
t
c
r
a
z
y
L
i
l
i
t
h
.
”

“
No. Only Luc helped he
r,
so he didn’t have the power to end me. We figured you had gone mad and offed yourself
.
”

“
Not until I’ve had my vengeance
.”
His glare swept over Xavier with disdain.

“
I can’t let you hurt my son. He has some issue
s,
but it’s Luc you want
.”
Leviathan towered over Ziz.

Xavier’s stomach fluttered at his father’s words. A feeling of belonging washed over him. He was no longer invisible. His father acknowledged him as his son. Xavier longed for this day. He hadn’t realized just how much until now.

Behemoth lifted Ziz under his arm
s,
helping him to his feet
.“
Can you stand on your own
?
”

“
Yes. I should be fine. We need to get out of here before Lucifer sends in reinforcements
.”
Ziz stumble
d,
still weak from the battle and loss of blood. Leviathan steadied him. Jacque and Xavier each gripped an arm to assist the demon.

Jacque cleared his throat to speak
.“
We have to move fast. We have to free Lauren
t,
before Lucifer has a chance to do anything to him
.
”

“
Do you think he’ll be that stupid
?”
Behemoth questioned.

“
Not stupi
d
,
”
Xavier’s father answered
.“
Arrogant. He thinks he’s infallible
.”

“
We have to get back to the females. Who knows what Lucifer will try next
.”
Jacque adjusted his hold on Ziz
.“
What’s the fastest way out of here
?
”