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Absolution
Callie had been thrown from one prison to another. While she had been in a windowless cell in the mortal realm, she had books and sweets from Oliveira to keep her occupied. The Lords of Hell only cared that she was breathing and kept her fed and locked up in her bedroom. She wondered if it was even possible to die of boredom.
She couldn’t leave her room without the Hounds stalking her and making sure she didn’t try to make a run for it. There were minor demons around the castle who seemed excited about the breaking of the seals and Lucifer’s upcoming return. Word had spread through all the circles of Hell that the Great War was upon them. The Lords were busy with the remaining seals and making sure the castle was presentable for the King of Hell.She was just relieved not to have the Lords around and talking to her about conception and her damned purpose in the cosmos. Beelzebub relished in making her uncomfortable the most. She had nothing else to do butRelated chapters
Simmer Wilderness
Callie had never flown before and her landing was less than grateful. She stumbled onto the forest floor. Transforming back to her human force was an odd experience. She felt herself grow, her torso lengthening and expanding, her feathers disappearing into skin, her wings into arms. Her bones became denser and her hair grew back as a cloud of pale blonde around her head. She reacquainted herself with her old limbs before sitting up. She stared up into the canopy of trees above her and tried to map out where in the forest she was. The Forest of Torment was given its name for it gave illusions to those miserable enough to get lost inside. The forest could see deep into someone’s soul and find their worst fears and torture them with it until they either died or went insane. Most demons didn’t like to be in the forest for too long. The last time Callie had been in there she had been rushing to get to the gate and chose the forest as the best place to hide Lucifer
Simmer Tribulation
Beelzebub’s children flew above them like a cloud of darkness and their combined buzzing made it feel like the sky was vibrating. Callie stopped as Beelzebub flew down and landed in front of her. He smiled at her mockingly as he pulled out a knife from his boot. She stepped back as he moved closer, twirling his knife playfully.She kept walking backwards until she collided with somebody. She turned and saw it was Nicholas. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and glared at Beelzebub, his other hand gripping a spear. She hadn’t given much notice to the weapon earlier as she’d been too surprised at seeing him and the others."Did you invite all your friends here, princess?" Beelzebub questioned. "You could’ve just told us you were lonely. We could’ve arranged a play date.""I doubt that," she returned.He didn’t correct her and his smile dropped when he saw the spear Nicholas was holding. He demanded, "Where did you get that?"
Simmer Omnipotent
Callie explained to her friends about the forest and how it caused hallucinations. Everybody agreed they needed to get to the Tree of Ignorance and get out of there quickly. Callie tried her best to guide them to the Tree. The Forest of Torment did like to play tricks on people and could make them run around in circles for days if it wanted.It didn’t get its name for nothing.Nicholas walked with Callie at the front of the group, keeping the Holy Lance in hand. Beelzebub’s blood had stained the wood black and she tried to ignore it. She didn’t know how the Horseman’s blood would affect the spear. Would it twist it from being divine to damned?Or was the Messiah’s blood still more powerful? She didn’t know and it bothered her. Until they could get to Lucifer’s Grace, it was their best weapon against any demon they might come across. "Why are you so important?" Nicholas asked."What do you mean?""Beelzebub said
Simmer Disciple
They were quiet after they left Beelzebub sitting by the Tree of Ignorance. They held him down and forced the fruit into his mouth, his teeth biting into the red skin of the apple. He stopped fighting after the first bite. He ate the rest on his own and he stared unseeingly up at the sky as they walked away.Nicholas broke the silence by asking Callie, "How many are there like him?""There are four Lords of Hell," Callie explained. "As for demons, there are too many to count.""And these Lords are what exactly?""The Lords are Lucifer’s most favored. They have the most power in Hell and it’s six territories."Matthias questioned, "How big is Hell exactly?""About the size of a continent," Callie answered. "We’re at the western territory which was previously under Lilith’s control."Now that Lilith was dead, the whole western territory belonged to the Lords. Callie never was allowed to leave and see the other territories. All
Simmer Rapture
Matthias was contrite and chagrined after Callie woke him up from the sleeping spell. None of them wanted to talk about the illusion the forest created to mess with them so they continued walking until they finally made their way out. Callie was surprised to find two dune buggies waiting for them. “Where did you get these?” she asked as she got into the buggy with Nicholas and Finnegan curled up on her lap. Matthias slid into the backseat with Bishop and replied, “My dad knows a guy.”She stared at him in disbelief. Nicholas turned on the engine and began driving them away. Aubrey was driving the other buggy with Enoch and Nadia. They sped through the sand and would make it the gate in half the time on foot.Nicholas seemed to be a competent in driving the buggy. When she remarked on it, he explained, “Family vacation last summer. Aubrey and I went dunes racing.”Callie shook her head and turned away to hide her smile. S
Simmer Leviathan
Even the eternal optimist Aubrey could admit their chances looked grim. They were being chased by a colossal desert snake and they only had one dune buggy. They couldn’t hope to outrun the Leviathan but standing still and letting it devour them was not an option either. Callie tried to think of anything she’d heard about the Leviathan from Lilith and the other demons."That is terrifying," Nadia pointed out, her brown eyes wide with fear. "How are we going to take that on?"Matthias asked, "It has to have a weak spot, right?"Callie replied, "Not really.""It’s still a demon," Nicholas pointed out. "And demons have weaknesses.""Even if you could hit it with the spear, you would need to get close enough first and it could easily crush you or swallow you. Its venom would kill you in minutes."She went to Nadia and handed her Lucifer’s Grace. "You stay here with the familiars. I’m driving the dune buggy."Aubrey proteste
Simmer Perdition
The Blood Road wasn’t really a road. There was no pavement or stone. It was a trail of dried black blood that stained the ground. It was made from the blood of Lucifer after God had ripped his wings from him and he had been forced to walk through Hell to his cage. It had not faded over time. The black blood was still stark as the day Lucifer staggered then crawled through the realm. Demons had been known to kneel and pray to the Devil on the blood road. Lilith and the witches would light black candles on Samhain and walk on the blood road, following the path Lucifer had walked.They walked closely together in case of an attack. Nicholas tried to hide how vulnerable he felt without the Holy Lance but Callie could see through him. He still had the use of holy fire but the spear had been an ace that was difficult to lose. They only had one weapon to fight with and Lucifer’s Grace would attract more attention than they wanted.Callie clutched the blade closer
Simmer Paradise
Much to Callie’s relief, her friends followed her advice and stayed on the Blood Road. They didn’t run into more lost souls or demons as they continued on their journey. Their only concern were the ravens that followed them, circling above like an omen. Callie kept Lucifer’s Grace in hand lest one of the birds swooped down and tried to peck at them.The ravens flew away when they reached the edge of the city. Paradise was a small city with a population of more than fifty-thousand demons. It was the oldest city in Hell and was created by the Fallen when they were banished from Heaven. It started off as a small village and expanded over the years as more demons populated the realm.Callie could have gone unnoticed if she had been alone. She had enough demon blood for the city residents not to bother with her. Her human companions would be like fresh blood to a shiver of sharks. They would sniff them out within minutes.Callie borrowed the small knife A
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