To Hell And Back: Hellscourge, #2

By J.C. Diem

Chosen by Fate to save her world from being overrun by demons, Violet Harper doesn't just have the Hellmaster's minions to contend with. She now also has to avoid a demonic creature that has been sent through the portal to spy on her.

Unexpectedly running into the boyfriend that she'd left behind in Denver, she must decide whether to renew her relationship with him. If she does, she will have to juggle seeing him with training and searching for the hidden entrances to hell. Keeping him a secret from the rest of the team will be far from easy. If Nathan finds out, she isn't sure what the consequences would be.

Her friends aren't the only angels who are trapped in the city. Violet meets two more celestial beings and it is hard to tell whether they are her allies or her enemies. Even with her personal life in disarray, she can't lose focus on her task. She must enter the eighth realm of hell, confront one of the Demon Princes and find the next piece of the mysterious object of power.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seize The Night Agency
• Release date: Jun 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533764966

Book preview

Chapter One

RUNNING FOR MY LIFE, a small cloud of frost was expelled from my mouth with each desperate exhale. I risked a look back over my shoulder, trying to judge how close my pursuer was. Her teeth flashed in a fierce grin when she sensed that I was getting tired. I gave a mental groan when I saw she was only about three hundred yards behind me. Hoping that I wouldn’t run out of steam, I put on a burst of speed in an effort to gain some distance on her.

Central Park should have been a bustling hive of activity at midday on a Saturday. Instead, the lawns and paths were only sparsely dotted with people. There was a good reason for the absence of humanity, but that wasn’t something I could think about right now. Survival was the only thing that I could concentrate on.

A much slower jogger let out a startled noise as I pounded past him. He wore Lycra shorts that left nothing to the imagination and a t-shirt that clung to him with sweat. Apart from my sneakers, I wasn’t dressed for running. I wore a ratty pair of jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a black hoodie. My hair was up in a ponytail rather than in the braids that I favored, but it was still distinctive. Long and blond, it was a beacon that drew my enemies whenever I allowed them to see me.

I’d been trapped in Manhattan for over five weeks now, but I still wasn’t all that familiar with Central Park. All I knew was that I’d entered from the southwest and that the chase had begun shortly afterwards. I was trying not to panic, but it wasn’t easy. I’m not going to die today, I told myself and kept running.

Following one of the many paths that were scattered through the park, I sprinted past trees that were devoid of leaves. Their nude branches reached for the sky, seeking the sunlight that was hidden behind low clouds. It was early December now and it was bitterly cold. They were predicting that snow would fall soon.

Seeing a large pond ahead, I left the path and veered across the grass towards it. A little old lady saw me coming and clutched a plastic bag full of bread crust to her chest in fear. She wore a black coat that came almost to her ankles. It looked far too heavy for someone so small. She was feeding the ducks despite the signs asking people not to. Her fear changed to relief when she realized that I wasn’t going to mug her.

Undecided about which direction I should take, I hesitated, then headed to the right. Checking behind me again, I saw that my enemy had gained some ground with my slight pause. Putting my head down, I pumped my arms as I bolted along the path.

Reaching an intersection that gave me several choices of directions, I went straight ahead. The path curved to the left, then angled downward. Shallow stairs were spaced out far enough apart to break me from my smooth stride.

Passing a short waterfall, I ignored the rocky path that climbed upwards beside it and headed to the right again. A narrow creek bubbled away beneath a stone bridge with a large archway. I wasn’t sure how deep the water was, but it would no doubt be cold at this time of the year.

The path narrowed as it ran along the right hand side of the creek. It led me into the dimness beneath the bridge. Sprinting into the short tunnel, a depression on both sides caught my eye. I whipped my head to the left to see the wall had been hollowed out on the other side of the creek. Artfully placed bricks created an archway over the tiny cave.

I had a brief sense that it was far deeper than it looked. Then I tripped on a stone and my attention snapped back to the path. Pin-wheeling my arms, I came close to going headfirst into the water before regaining my balance. A chuckle floated through the tunnel as my enemy caught sight of me. The damp stones magnified the noise so it sounded like she was right behind me.

Refusing to give in to my panic, I raced along the path that was flanked by sparse trees until I came to a fork. Heading left this time, I pounded across a wooden footbridge that crossed the creek. A couple walking arm in arm turned in fear when they heard me approaching. My breath was ragged and a stitch was beginning to develop on my left side. They cringed away as I sprinted past them and I felt their stares boring into my back. I just hoped it wouldn’t be replaced by a weapon when my adversary caught up to me.

Leaves coated the ground on either side of the path as I fled into the North Woods. The trees were numerous, but they were thin, scraggly and just as leafless here. Even if fences hadn’t been erected to keep people out, they would have offered me little cover if I left the trail. I was already drawing too much attention to myself to risk going off the track. The deep drifts of fallen leaves would probably just slow me down anyway.

Through the trees, I caught glimpses of the buildings that flanked Central Park on both the east and west sides. They might as well have been a thousand miles away for all the help that they could offer me. I was in the center of a city that housed millions of people, but the woods were extensive enough to make me feel isolated and alone.

Coming to another fork, I made a rapid decision to head upwards. Seriously out of breath, I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to continue at this pace. I glanced back to see my foe was only a couple of hundred yards away now. She grinned in glee, knowing she would catch up to me soon. Her weapon had appeared in her hand. She was ready to skewer me once she was within stabbing distance.

Reaching the top of the hill, I didn’t have time to rest and kept going. My legs were beginning to feel wobbly and my breath was hitching. Seeing a break in the fence, I mentally crossed my fingers that it would offer me a shortcut. I left the path and entered a trail that had been made by countless tourists. Music blared from somewhere to my right. I caught flashes of a road and an ice skating rink next to what looked like a lake far below.

Debating about the wisdom of careening down the steep slope, I decided to stick to the trail instead. It had to end sometime. At that thought, I came to the end of the track and had a choice of turning left and heading uphill, or continuing downhill. Hearing my pursuer closing in fast, I knew she would be on me before I could try to slog my way up the hill.

Going downhill allowed me to gain some speed. Running as fast as I could, I saw a gigantic boulder looming on the left. The end of the woods just beyond the rock. If I could just make it back to civilization, it was possible that I could hide myself in the crowd.

Whipping my head around to look over my shoulder, I turned back just as a second foe leaped out from behind the boulder. My training took over and I pulled my weapon. Deflecting a blow that was aimed at my chest, I kicked my new opponent’s feet out from under him. I turned around to face my original foe, but I wasn’t fast enough to block her attack. Lunging at me, she stabbed me in the stomach.

You were too slow, Brie said as my breath whooshed out and I doubled over in pain. Now you are dead. Again. Her tone was both snide and satisfied. It was a combination that I wasn’t sure I’d have been able to pull off so easily. Then again, she’d had millions of years to perfect being snarky and I’d only had seventeen.

Leo climbed to his feet and dusted himself off as Sam and Nathan appeared from behind the boulder. Sam immediately hurried over to me when he saw that I was in pain.

I hate you both, I managed to gasp as the imp put a hand under my elbow and helped me to stand upright.

You do not, Leo chided, then spared a look at his twin. Well, you do not hate me anyway. I am not so certain how you feel about Brie.

She sent him a withering look, but he just grinned back at her. He was used to her surly nature, while I was still acclimatizing to it.

Are you all right, Violet? Sam asked me anxiously.

I’m fine, I replied and tried to muster up a smile. I was pretty sure the bruise Brie had just given me went all the way through to my spine. All three of us were using mock weapons for my training sessions. I’d improved vastly, but I still had nowhere near their level of expertise. It was too dangerous to use real blades during our training exercises.

Your fitness still needs a lot of improvement, Nathan said needlessly. We were all well aware of my human frailties.

Sorry I wasn’t born perfect like you guys, I said testily. As angels, they didn’t have a problem with running out of energy, or breath. They didn’t need to eat or sleep either. Even Sam was in better shape than me and he’d been stuck in hell for four hundred years. His frame was far too thin and his ribs and spine were too prominent, but he could run all day and night if he had to. Meanwhile, I felt like I was dying after sprinting the entire length of Central Park.

We were not technically born at all, Leo reminded me. God created us out of pure energy.

He and Brie had chosen vessels that were fraternal twins. Their hosts’ bodies were around fourteen years old and had short, curly blond hair and blue eyes. If they’d been the same gender, they would have been identical. Both were beautiful, at least to my eyes.

Nathan’s vessel was around nineteen and he was pure perfection. Just over six feet tall, he had black hair that fell to his jaw and the darkest blue eyes that I’d ever seen. His cheekbones were razor sharp and he could have stopped traffic with his smile. I wasn’t sure what other people saw when they looked at my friends, but I saw their holiness manifested as beauty.

Sam, on the other hand, was just plain ugly. Four centuries of bondage in hell had turned his human form into a twisted, black skinned horror. His forehead was too large, his eyes were squished together and his cheeks were hollow. He actually didn’t seem quite as hideous to me as he had been when we’d first met. I didn’t care what he looked like. He was my friend and he’d saved my life on more than one occasion.

Sam carried a few supplies in a backpack. He handed me a bottle of water and I drank it down gratefully. Breakfast had been hours ago, but it was threatening to come back up after the blow that my stomach had just received.

When you get your breath back, we will begin again, Brie said. Her voice didn’t show it, but her expression was gleeful. She didn’t like me and took great joy in causing me torment.

Awesome, I said with a marked lack of enthusiasm.

Something caught Sam’s attention and he tugged on my sleeve. Is that smoke? he asked in a concerned tone. Even though it was winter, the woods were dry. If a fire started, the trees would go up quickly. Anyone walking through the trails would be annihilated if they couldn’t outrun the flames.

Following his pointing finger to the woods, I squinted as a small black cloud came towards us. I knew what it was even before Nathan spoke.

That is not smoke, he said. It is a demon’s soul.

Chapter Two

THERE WAS NO USE TRYING to run from the demon’s essence. Once hell spawn were evicted from their vessels, they usually either returned to hell, or found another host. This one should have chosen a new vessel that was close by, but it had been drawn to me instead. Unfortunately, I was too tempting for them to resist. It seemed that every demon that was ejected from their vessel was lured to me.

I had quite a collection of souls inside me now. Morax, their spokesdemon, had told me that they found me irresistible because I apparently didn’t have a soul of my own. There was just a huge, empty pit inside me that was slowly filling up with evil.

Sam wrung his hands together as the black ooze surged around me. I closed my eyes in resignation as I absorbed the latest demon. Hit with her memories, I saw the usual barrage of information about her fall from grace and subsequent imprisonment in hell. She was just a lackey who had been brought to Earth through a hellgate by a Demon Lord. She didn’t have any information that could aid our cause, so I dismissed most of it.

Here comes another one, Leo said in surprise. I opened my eyes to see another cloud floating towards me.

And another, Brie added. She pointed with her stick as another displaced demon soul wafted in our direction.

More of them are coming, Nathan warned me. He put a hand on my shoulder in support as the souls descended. His touch anchored me as I became inundated. There were too many memories to be able to sort through them all at once. I felt simultaneously dirtied by their presence and elated by Nathan’s closeness. I tried to hide how much he affected me, but he removed his hand and took a step back as if he sensed my longing for him.

Nathanael had been tasked to watch over me for almost my entire life. He’d saved me from death so many times that I’d lost count. I’d always thought that the faint image I saw each time he wrapped me protectively in his wings was just my imagination. I knew better now. He was my guardian angel, which was so rare it was almost unheard of. Humans had concocted the idea that we all had a celestial spirit to watch over us.

He either couldn’t, or wouldn’t explain who had given him the task of protecting me. His cover had been blown when he’d come to my rescue a week after I’d arrived in the city. Now he was stuck here, just like the rest of us.

Are you all right? Leo asked.

Slightly dizzy from being invaded by nearly a dozen lesser demons, I nodded. They were just lackeys, I explained. There weren’t any captains or lords in the group.

I would very much like to know who ejected them from their vessels, Brie said. We should scour the city to see if we can find the culprit. They could prove to be our allies. She exchanged a look with Nathan and her twin and they nodded in agreement.

Nathan turned to me. I will teleport you and Samuel back to Sophia.

He reached for my arm, but Brie shook her head. They will be fine. We have not seen any demons in the park. If they continue to wear their bracelets, they will remain unnoticed by our foes.

What Brie is trying to say, Leo said when Nathan frowned at her, is that Violet needs the exercise. I stuck my tongue out at him and he grinned. Besides, Sam can camouflage them if any demons somehow manage to see through the spell.

Sam nodded eagerly. I will watch over her and make sure that she remains safe.

Nathan wasn’t happy with the idea of leaving us here. Running a hand through his hair in a very human gesture, he nodded curtly. Make sure she returns to the store without taking any detours, he instructed Sam. He sent me a stern look of warning, then he, Brie and Leo disappeared.

Let’s go before Nathan comes to his senses, I said to Sam. I retraced my steps along the path, heading back into the woods. It was rare for my guardian to let me out of his sight. If he hadn’t been so gorgeous, it would have been almost claustrophobic having him hovering around me all the time. He took being protective to almost stalkerish levels.

Who do you think is responsible for killing the vessels and expelling the demons? Sam asked as he scurried along beside me. He wore a cap and kept his head down so no one could see his face. His skin was unnaturally dark, but his sweater and jeans covered most of it. He wasn’t wearing gloves and shoved his hands into his pockets.

It could have been a rival group of hell spawn, I suggested with a shrug. Our enemies were territorial and tended to fight other demons who encroached on their turf. They didn’t seem to act this way in hell. Maybe because it was so miserable there that they didn’t want to claim any part of it as their own.

Now that I was walking at a normal pace rather than sprinting, I was beginning to cool down. Coated in sweat, I shivered when a gust of wind swept down the slope. We climbed the hill, backtracking along the shortcut until we were nearly at the highest point of the park.

Feeling eyes on me, I looked around, but I couldn’t see anyone staring at us. Can you feel that? I asked.

What? Sam said in a hushed tone, automatically cowering against me. He could be brave when he had to be, but he was fairly timid most of the time.

We’re being watched. I’d never been so sure of anything before, but I couldn’t see anyone stalking us. Turning in a slow circle, I caught a flicker of movement in a distant tree. A black bird poked its head out from behind a branch, then pulled it back again.

It is just a raven, Sam said in relief and smiled. It should have been a hideous sight, but I was used to him by now.

It might just be a bird, but the way it was peeking around the tree was disturbing. Uneasy without really knowing why, I tugged on his arm to get him back into motion. Let’s get out of here, I muttered. Something doesn’t feel right.

Despite my exhaustion, I broke into a jog. Heading downhill, I slowed once we reached the bottom and the ground levelled out. Taking a different path to the one that had led me to the North Woods, we bypassed the bridge with the archway and the waterfall. The route we took brought us back to the pond. The little old lady was gone and the ducks had moved on to somewhere else as well.

Where is everyone? Sam asked in a hoarse whisper.

My hackles rose when I realized we were the only ones left. The few people who had braved leaving their homes had disappeared, as if they’d sensed trouble. Maybe the news of nearly a dozen new deaths that had sent the demon souls to me had spread already. We always hid the slain vessels of the demons that I’d absorbed, but we apparently weren’t the only ones meting out death.

I’d stumbled across the body of a young girl the night I’d met Nathan in the flesh for the first time. She had been the first victim in a slew of them. Nine girls had been found dead now. All resembled me, at least superficially. In their teens, they were slender, pretty and had long blond hair.

Police had issued a warning for young women to stay in groups and not to go out alone. They’d advised the media that they had evidence that more than one person was responsible for the murders. Just this morning they’d disclosed that all of the victims’ hearts had been removed. They’d found DNA from at least five different people on the girls’ bodies.

A quiet hysteria had fallen over Manhattan once it had become known that there was a group of serial killers on the loose. That was why Central Park was so eerily quiet. Women were too afraid to leave their homes unless they absolutely had to. Their menfolk were staying close to protect them.

I felt guilty about the girls’ deaths even though I knew it wasn’t my fault. I’d been chosen by Fate to save our world from being overrun by demons. The master of hell was hunting me. He wanted me alive, but each time his minions found a girl