All Chapters of Christmas In Hell: Chapter 51 - Chapter 57

"How do you propose we find it?" I asked, leaning back against the cool marble of the throne, the stone offering little comfort. "A celestial graveyard isn't exactly on the Hell tourist circuit."Ava snapped her fingers, a sharp sound in the quiet. "Justin. He knows every back alley, every hidden path in the celestial realms. He's an angel, after all. He probably has a secret map of all the places God doesn't want anyone to find." A small, sardonic smile touched her lips. "And he owes me a favor.""You mean he's madly in love with you," Misha corrected, a faint smile playing on her lips, a brief respite from the tension. "He'll do anything you ask."Ava scoffed, but a faint blush touched her pale cheeks. "Don't be sentimental. It's purely transactional. I let him think he's charming, he provides reconnaissance. Basic negotiation tactics." She pulled out her phone, a sleek obsidian device that seemed to absorb the light. Her fingers flew across the screen. "Alright, Cupid, emergency. D

The chill spread, a deep-seated cold that had nothing to do with the infernal climate of Hell. My own personal winter had begun, a frost that seeped from the wound in my shoulder, coating my veins, frosting the edges of my thoughts. The world flickered. I clutched the arm of the throne, the polished obsidian biting into my palm, grounding me, if only for a moment.Ava's phone buzzed, then vibrated violently. A startled gasp, a flurry of hurried whispers, then Justin's voice, now a strained, breathless rush from the speaker."I have it! I found it! The location of the nexus point to the Maw. It's… It's a celestial anomaly, a tear in the fabric of the universe itself, not far from the remnants of the Aetheria galaxy. Hidden in a dead star's orbit." Justin's voice cracked, as if the words themselves were heavy, unwieldy. "It's called the Whispering Gate."Misha leaned closer to the phone, her hand finding mine again, a desperate anchor in the growing void. "The Whispering Gate? Why that

A faint warmth. A whisper of heat, deep within my chest. It was a faint echo of the inferno it once was, but it was there. I focused on it, tried to expand it, to push back the encroaching darkness.The void in my arm pulsed violently, a surge of cold agony. My vision swam. I clenched my teeth, a low growl escaping me."It's resisting," I grated out. "It's fighting back.""It's afraid," Misha countered, her eyes gleaming. "You're pushing it. Keep pushing, Damon. Don't let it win."Ava watched, her fingers hovering over her phone. "We need to move. Now. The window for this jump-point is closing."Misha turned to her. "Ready the jump-point. I'll make sure Damon is cloaked." She pressed her hand over my chest, directly above where I felt that faint spark of hellfire. Her own divine energy, warm and vibrant, flowed into me, a gentle coaxing, a subtle reinforcement to my faltering will.A shimmer began to form around me, a faint, almost invisible distortion in the air. It was a complex wea

Damon's POVThe path glowed, then vanished. The whispers grew louder, directed at us now, twisting Misha's words, turning them into taunts. She will fail. Her love will not be enough. She will abandon you for her children. They will be alone."Block them out," Ava commanded, her voice sharp, strained. She pressed her hand against my forehead, her demonic energy, cold and stark, momentarily overriding the insidious whispers. "Focus on Misha. Focus on her strength. Don't let them break her… or you."I closed my eyes, picturing Misha's face, her determined gaze, the fierce love that burned within her. I focused on the faint hum of her creative energy, a vibration I could sense even through the encroaching void. She was fighting. I had to fight too.The void pulsed, hungry, desperate to swallow me whole. But Misha's image, her resolve, was a stubborn barrier against its relentless hunger. I clung to it, to her, to the fragile thread of hope that she embodied.Seconds stretched into an ete