Chapter 20

20

I woke chained to a wall. Not exactly a good thing. Actually, I'd say it sucked and a whole lot of other words that my mind couldn't yet form. It took me a moment to blink the fatigue away and take a look around. Immediately, I wished I'd remained asleep because bleak didn't even start to describe my situation.

For one, I wasn't on Earth. A reddish glare emanated through a narrow window set with bars, the color definitely nothing like the golden rays from the sun I knew and loved. It didn't take a genius IQ to realize I'd been taken to Hell.

Inferis to be exact. But same thing.

My prison cell appeared comprised entirely of stone, the hard surface a swirl of red, orange, and black. Even the door appeared made of the same rock, its handle a groove but no sign of a lock. Not that I could check. I'd been tethered upright, arms and legs stretched, along with a chain across my midsection to keep me from slumping.

About the only good news? My wounds were gone. Healed but not forgotten. The blood had been left to dry on my skin, my mind still cringed from the pain, and my memories would never forget seeing myself as a piece of meat being sliced.

Fucking Nova. When I saw her again…

If I saw her again, I'd probably cry in relief because it would mean I'd escaped this place. How I wanted to cling to that futile hope, but being pragmatic, I didn't see how I'd manage to get away. For one, reference back to the whole tied up thing. Two, I was in Inferis, surrounded by demons. And three, I couldn't touch my magic.

Like at all.

Unlike the drug Nova fed me where I could sense but not grip it, now there was nothing. Not a hint of warmth or tingling. Nada.

I still tried. I wished the manacles to fall off me. I wished to be somewhere else. I wished I was back in my cave, snuggled between the bodies of my reapers.

Alas, instead I remained a fool. A fool who should have never trusted Nova.

What would my boys think when they woke to find me gone? I imagined they'd be upset, hopefully super pissed at Nova. I could see Cain especially losing his ever-loving mind, but all the emotion in the world wouldn't help. This time there would be no rescue. Nor should I expect one. It would be suicide for anyone to try.

Before I could wallow a bit more in self-pity, the door to my cell opened, and the man I'd once seen in a dream entered. Ethan remained youthful in appearance, if harder looking. Elegant even in his dark shirt and pants, his boots gleaming despite the dust clinging to them. His hair still a lustrous black, his eyes soulless pits to match his smug smirk.

"If it isn't the messovenata. How kind of you to visit."

"Fuck off." Given the choice between begging and sobbing or being docile, I chose bitch.

"Such spirit. I can see why my father didn't kill you when he had the chance."

So definitely a demon prince. The same one who'd betrayed Fay.

I cocked my head. "Your father tried and failed to beat me. You should have paid attention."

My brash statement had Ethan throwing back his head and laughing. "My father was a weak old fool. Those centuries spent in isolation sapped his strength while I increased mine."

"Yeah, but are you strong enough to go against your brother, the emperor?" When you have nothing, try and sow discord.

"I have no brothers," he admitted with a smile. "It took me centuries, but I've killed them all. Inferis and all the legions are entirely under my control. And soon, your planet will be too."

"You killed Leviathan?" That would suck because he'd been the one to get rid of Moloch. Ethan and the self-appointed emperor of Inferis fighting amongst themselves would have been useful.

"Why would I murder myself?" was his mocking reply.

My dumbass finally put two and two together. Ethan was Leviathan. Duh. Fay must have given him a nickname, or he'd never told her his true one.

"You won't succeed." My faint attempt at undermining his confidence.

"But I already have. Not only do I rule all of Inferis, I have you. And you have your Regina to thank. She jumped on the book I had planted. I knew she would. Envy is a wonderful thing. It made her desperate to take the glory away from you."

"You tricked her?" I'd not expected that.

"Brilliant, right? Given the curse that restricted my ability to cross over to your world, I chose to subvert your own people. It's easier than you'd think. All it takes is to plant an idea. Promise them wealth—or in the case of your Regina, glory—and they will do unconscionable things. Say, like bleed their only hope and open wide the conduit between Inferis and Earth."

"That's evil."

"I know." He smiled widely.

"If you got what you wanted, why steal me?" I knew the answer, but hey, apparently, I wanted to torture myself hearing it. To my surprise, he didn't say breeding.

"Earth isn't the only world I wish to bring under my command. It is only the start. With your ability to open doorways, I shall conquer every dimension, subjugate every living being. With your aid, I shall be the emperor of the universe."

"Why?" I blurted.

He frowned. "Why what?"

"What's the point of being the emperor of everything? I mean, good looking guy like you with a fortress and legions could have anything he wanted. Why go on a murder spree?"

"Because it's fun." He rolled his eyes and I struggled to grasp that level of depravity.

"I won't help you."

"As if you have a choice. Either you obey, or I hurt you until you do."

"What have you done to my magic?" Making threats failed so I changed the subject.

"Nothing. It's simply unavailable at the moment, courtesy of your chalum chains."

I'd heard the word chalum before. Something about it being a metal that could kill demons. More specifically, demon royalty, like Moloch and his princes. Guess the whole blocking magic thing kind of explained why it worked.

"I have to admit to being flattered. So many chains. Afraid of me, are you?" I taunted.

His lips split wide as he laughed. "Why would I fear you?"

"Your dad did, and with good reason, because the blood and power of his daughter runs in my veins." I threw that out there in the hopes of shocking him.

"Ah yes, Morrghan. My dear, gullible sister. I helped her to escape, you know. My first act of rebellion against Moloch. I had a feeling she'd come in useful one day. Ironically enough, when my father lost track of her, he ordered me to find her. It took me time because she hid so very well. By the time I located her, she'd become a woman full grown and had born a child, a female that started the line of witches in your world. But even better, Morrghan had become adept with her magic. As you can imagine, she posed a temptation to someone looking to get out from under an overbearing father's hoof. She was easier to seduce than expected."

It took me a second to put two and two together. "Ew, you seduced your sister?"

"What do humans like to say? Keep it in the family." His smirk churned my stomach. "How better to ensure there is no dilution of power than by keeping the bloodlines pure."

"I'm confused. I thought the person you betrayed was Fay."

"My sister took a new name in the human world. Morgan le Fay. There are legends about her I'm told."

I could have slapped myself for being dumb. Then again, in my defense, Fay hadn't been entirely honest, and who would have thought she'd end up in Arthurian legend. Those stories never mentioned demons and reapers.

"I can't believe Fay trusted you."

"Why wouldn't she? I aided her in hunting the demons that kept traversing words and killing her precious humans. Helped her teach the reapers she'd gathered to fight. A bunch of farmers, for the most part. It amuses me to see them still using the scythe that once sheaved their fields."

"She eventually figured out you were the villain, though," I stated. I hated my curiosity, but if he could give me answers, then at least maybe I'd understand how the fuck I got screwed.

"She did, but not before she locked Moloch away, leaving the throne open for the taking."

"And then you killed her."

"Actually, I'd planned to keep her alive. Would have made her my empress, but once she realized my plan for domination, she chose the coward's route and killed herself, using her final breath to cast a curse. A curse that sealed off all the permanent passages between the worlds."

"But not the wild doorways," I pointed out.

"Even those were few and far between at the start of the curse. Over time, as her spell began to lose its power, forays began into your world. Fresh females were brought to seed what you call the vampires. Many were sent over to sow discord and report back."

"Why not go yourself?"

"Without an army or a way home?" He arched a brow. "As if I would be so foolish. But I didn't lose faith that one day I would be able to conquer. I just needed someone with the right blood. Someone like you. The strongest messovenata since Morrghan. By design, I should add, daughter. "

My heart stopped as I stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"I am your father. I would have thought you'd have guessed when I sent you the hellhound as a gift. Only royals are allowed to own them."

"Impossible. You can't be my father. You said it yourself. You couldn't cross over to Earth."

"No, but females descended from my sister, carrying pieces of her gift, could be brought to Inferis. The difficulty was in locating wild doorways. Not to mention, the drones didn't always bring back adequate candidates or living ones. Always hungry. But eventually, one of the females I seeded and returned to your world bore fruit. Although, it took me a while to realize it. My father found out before me and had you hidden."

I wanted to puke. "No, you are not my dad."

"You should thank me," he cajoled. "Because of me, you are stronger than the rest. Protected too. As my daughter, you won't be passed around to my soldiers and bred without care. Can't have any threats to my rule, after all. Later, perhaps a few progeny might be allowed so as to place them in strategic locations, but only if they are loyal to me."

"I'd rather die," I whispered.

"So melodramatic. I blame your human mother. She was a witch, you know. A strong one. Hence why I think she bore a daughter rather than another useless vampiric son."

Nothing like finding out you were demon spawn. Oh, and the fact I had vampire brothers. Fuck me. I had to be having a nightmare.

Only I couldn't seem to wake up, so I asked questions. "How did your father know about me?"

The query brought a scowl to his face. "A message to me from your world was intercepted by a traitor. It told of the pregnancy and thus did Moloch plot his escape using you."

"How ironic, your father double-crossed his treacherous son." I laughed. Kind of hysterically, because at this point shit was getting ridiculous. To find out I'd never been nothing more than a pawn… It kind of sucked. As for Clover, I guess I should have looked deeper into the gift, but what can I say, those big eyes sucked me right in.

"But in the end, he still lost. I am greater than he was. Will be greater than anyone has ever been," he declared, before turning his smug smile on me. "The start of my domination begins today. Are you ready?"

"For what?" I'd like to say I was past the point of fear, but the knot in my tummy said otherwise.

"It is time Earth bowed to my might and you shall be by my side to witness the carnage as I bring them to heel. Time to put your blood to use."

He unstrung me from the wall but kept a chain of chalum around my neck as he led me like a dog down to a throne room vast in size, undulating with demons. He stood us atop a massive dais, a hundred times the size of the one in the cave. The biggest difference being it didn't glow and it also appeared fresh, as if recently constructed.

Knowing what made the last one wake, I wanted to puke.

I sat on that hard floor, shivering and shaking, as Leviathan launched into a speech. There was mention of slaughtering, raping, pillaging, and the egomaniac assertions that he would be supreme ruler of all, to which the gathered demons—an ugly, blood thirsty bunch—cheered.

Terrifying and I remained helpless to stop it.

At the end of his monologue, Leviathan removed the chains from me. I got one glorious second where I felt my magic before I screamed as he slashed me across the arms. I bled into the massive dais, the fluid jetting from the cuts, filling the grooves which began to glow as the inert dais became a portal to Earth.

When I felt myself growing weak from loss of blood, Leviathan put a hand on my shoulder and fed me strength. The fucker kept me from dying, but at a cost. It was at that moment I noticed a row of humans on their knees in front of the dais. They keeled over, one by one. He used their lives to keep me bleeding. My numb shock kept me from crying, but I knew later, if there was a later, I'd grieve for these strangers. Grieve even more for the horror of my new life.

When the entire disc glowed, the bleeding stopped. A collar went around my neck before I could even think of using my magic.

Leviathan hauled me to my feet and shouted, "Onward to victory."

With that battle cry, we crossed, not through the cold of the Continuum, but via a heat so stark I emerged gasping and dry on the other side. It didn't help we'd landed in a desert, barren but for the matching stone disc, cleared of sand.

As Leviathan and I stood atop a massive dune, I could only watch as wave after wave of demons emerged from the portal. I inwardly wept as I watched the doom of my world.