Share
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?"Related chapters
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
Simmer Penance
Demons used Hellhound venom for torture. While it couldn’t kill a demon, it took a while to heal and it was painful. Callie had firsthand experience and Matthias hadn't said a word despite being in excruciating pain. She didn’t know if it was a guy thing or a human thing to be that proud or stupid.Nicholas, Aubrey, and Nadia carried the unconscious Matthias into Morgan’s house. It looked like a Victorian style home with ivy growing on the walls outside. Callie had always thought Morgan purposely tried to make her house more appealing as if to hide the terrors from within. The house looked the same since the last time she’d been there except for the overwhelming powerful cloaking spell around it.As formidable as Morgan was, wards and invisibility spells weren’t her expertise. The answer came when Callie saw Batibat was sitting by the fireplace wearing a plain black dress and her dark hair in a severe bun. The Great demon followed them as they
Simmer Atonement
Callie was surprised that Morgan didn’t throw them out into the street empty(-)handed. The Great demon weighed the odds of them actually defeating Allocen and decided to assist with the bare minimum. The only weapon she had in the house was an old battle axe Baba Yaga stole from the time of the Vikings. Nicholas didn’t complain and picked up the axe which looked heavier than it actually was."Don’t fail," Morgan reminded, glancing to where Aubrey was fussing over Matthias. "The consequences could be dire."Callie didn’t miss the less than subtle threat and glared at her. "It could be dire for all of us."Morgan gave Nadia one of the knives from her collection. The blade was dipped in a potent poison of Morgan’s own recipe. She handed them a few more potions that might be useful for the fight before declaring them ready. Aubrey gave them hugs and wished them luck.Enoch didn’t get up from where he was seated on the couch. Helena
Latest chapter
