Usually when people die and go to hell, it's permanent. For Reilly Scara, however, dying isn't necessary and she doesn't have to stay . . . or does she? As the battle between Good and Evil escalates to a new level, will Reilly and her friends save the world, or watch it fall?
Reilly, Angel of Darkness ~ Vol II
Book Three- Ruler of the Fallen, Book Four- Heaven or HellBy Amanda R Boyer Ellen RitchieAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2012 Amanda R Boyer with Ellen Ritchie
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4685-8468-4 Contents
The Guardian..................................1Seventh Hell..................................7Mary..........................................12The Cure......................................16Fear..........................................19David.........................................24Nightmares....................................28The Return of The General.....................41A Horrible Mistake............................46Misplaced Hatred..............................63Blameless.....................................72Queen For a While.............................74Old Scars.....................................78Choices.......................................85Traitor Among Us..............................89Revealed......................................92Losing Control................................97Rage..........................................100Deal..........................................102
Chapter One
The Guardian
"Does anyone know where we are!?" Edward shouted. He'd been asking that question for the past couple of days. Ever since he, Charlie, and I fell through a portal and landed, quite literally, in Hell.
"Yep, everyone in Hell, thanks to you." Charlie stated, still sounding annoyed. Edward, being the coward he was, had volunteered me to jump headfirst into the portal to Hell. However, I would have gone anyway. Violante was planning to resurrect an army and there was one demon down here whom I had no intentions of having to kill again.
Plus, I was ninety-nine percent sure that she'd stolen the one thing that might be able to help me. A scroll that I'd found in a secret room in the late Jezaba's castle. I was pretty sure it contained a cure, or someone who had a cure, for a curse that my father, Lieam Scara, (who is the demon I don't want to see again,) placed on me almost two years ago.
"Look, what else was I supposed to do?!" Edward demanded, still defending his action of 'act first, think never.'
"Nothing, you could have kept your mouth shut. Or, hey here's a thought, you could have gone yourself!" Charlie shouted.
"I should've stayed with Keira!" Edward moaned.
"That's the smartest thing you've said in three days!!" Charlie yelled. I had been quietly listening to their pointless argument, (mostly because I was too busy worrying about being too late to stop Violante to say anything to them,) but their shouting was bound to attract attention this close to the Gates. If, that is, it hadn't already.
"Guys, if you both don't shut up, we'll be entering Hell as permanent residents before we can even reach the Gates." I said. (Ok, technically, we were already in Hell. But the actual city, and I guessed, the palace, were where we needed to go. And being caught was definitely not an option.) At my words they both fell silent ... for about three seconds. Then Edward spoke,
"Why haven't we seen any guards? Or demons patrolling?" he asked, I laughed, they didn't need demons to guard the Gates. They had something far worse.
"Trust me, when we get there you'll be wishing they had demons as guards." I said.
"You know you're going to have to explain that statement, right?" Charlie asked. I sighed,
"According to legend, the Guardian of the Gates isn't just a demon. It was made in the likeness of Satan himself, with only one purpose: to destroy anything that gets too close without an escort. Which, in case you don't comprehend," I glared at Edward, "means us. So shut the hell up." I said.
"Uh ... right." Edward said, not bothering to or not succeeding in, hiding the fear in his voice. I rolled my eyes.
"How do you know all of this?" Charlie asked. Edward said something about me being evil and then disguised it as a cough. I just glared at him and Charlie explained for me, "Oh, right, crazy-ass Demon Dad. Speaking of which, isn't he-"
"Yep." I said.
"Well what are you-"
"Don't know."
"Can I at least finish a-"
"Nope." I grinned at him and he rolled his eyes. (By the way, it was, 'here?' then,' going to do?' then, 'sentence?').
"Hello, still here!" Edward said, loudly.
"And still yelling, you really don't understand how very dead we will be if it catches us do you?" I growled. Edward said nothing.
We walked in silence the last couple of miles and about a half an hour later, the smell of brimstone filled the air. Ash floated around us and fell like snow, coating the ground with a blanket of black.
"The Gates of Hell, I presume?" Charlie asked, I nodded, not looking away from the looming black doors that stood atop the mountain.
"So, where's this monster? I want to kill it, go get Violante, and get out." Edward declared. A black shape rose up from behind the gates and flew toward us.
"Be careful what you wish for, Edward." I muttered as the shape gained speed and clarity.
"Damn it. I changed my mind, is there another way in?" Edward asked, his question was directed toward me.
"Yeah, but we'd never get there in time. We can't out-run it." I said.
"But we're demons!!" Edward whined, panicking now.
"Yeah, and that thing was spawned to catch demons, it guards Hell, remember!?" I said.
"Reilly!!" Charlie shouted, dragging me backwards, suddenly. I realized why as the creature descended over the very spot where I'd been standing.
"Thanks." I breathed, unable to take my eyes away from the grotesque form that now stood before me. It was dressed in ragged clothing and from what I could see of its skin, it was definitely not in the best of health. Huge gashes ran along its body, streaking its skin, or rather scales, with a dark, almost black, substance that I guessed was its blood. Its eyes glowed a deep burgundy and were sunk back in its dragon-like head. Its pupils were slits, barely visible in its eyes because they were an almost reddish color, like old, dry blood. I shuttered as that lovely thought crossed my mind.
"You," the beast growled in a voice sounding like a mixture between nails on a chalk board and gravel grinding in a blender. It paused, taking a long, ragged, breath, "do not belong." It finished, taking a stumbled step toward us. All three of us practically jumped backward, not wanting to find out what the creature was capable of.
"I don't suppose you'll turn the other way and pretend you didn't see us?" Edward asked the creature. I didn't dare turn away from the demon-catcher, but I waved my hand in Edward's general direction, motioning for silence. The creature acted as if Edward hadn't spoken at all, continuing to address me.
"This place is not meant for any of you." It stated, sounding slightly better than it had seconds before. I eyed the creature suspiciously, but it still appeared as close to death as when it had first landed.
I weighed my next words carefully, knowing what they would cause. But I didn't have a choice, my father could not be freed. Not again. So, taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and faced the monstrosity before me," We are not leaving here until we accomplish what we came for." I stated, and all hell followed.
The beast seemed to double its height and weight, gaining another seven feet and at least twenty pounds of solid muscle. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, Reilly, damn you, shit, shit, shit!!" Edward stammered as the three of us began back-pedaling away from the now colossal creature.
"Ok, new plan." Charlie said.
"We didn't have an old plan!" I stated, not taking my eyes away from the new threat. The beast roared, the sound nearly deafening to my super-sensitive hearing.
"I have a plan!" Edward shouted over the ringing in my ears.
"What?" Charlie and I demanded.
"Let's kill it." Edward said, sounding demonic.
"Fine with me." I agreed, (wow, I agreed with Edward.)
"Stigmata." Charlie warned.
"Horns." I replied, glancing at him. He rolled his eyes.
"Reilly, you distract it!" Edward said, speaking quickly as the beast began building energy. With one blast it could wipe out all three of us and most of the mortal world.
"Well that shouldn't be too hard considering I'm the one who pissed it off in the first place!" I stated. Then, before I could think better of the idea, I launched myself at the creature's face, now nearly nine feet above me, and flipped over its head. The beast turned and, without fully looking at me, swiped me out of the air before I could land, sending me crashing off to the side. "Oh that was such a bad idea." I muttered, picking myself painfully up from where I had landed. At least the beast's attention was now split in two directions.
As it continued to build up energy, it shifted its eyes between Edward and Charlie, and me, never focusing on one place for too long at a time. "We're going to have to do something fast." I stated, Edward moved away from Charlie until we were spaced out equally surrounding the creature. It began to turn in a circle, not willing to keep one of us behind it for long.
"Anyone else have a plan?" Edward asked.
"Well, we could all three attack it at the same time." I stated.
"Ok." they agreed.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Yep." Charlie agreed, Edward hesitated,
"Edward!!" Charlie and I shouted.
"Fine." he groaned.
"One, two, three!!" I counted. At'three' we attacked with everything we had left. It barely made a scratch.
"Ok, new, new, plan." Edward stated, Charlie and I glared at him. "Run!!" And he took off like a bat out of, well, hell. The creature was not fazed by this turn of events, it simply shot a bolt of energy at Edward's fleeing form, knocking him twelve feet in the air. He landed in a crumpled heap half a mile from where he'd started.
"Is he dead?" I wondered aloud, Charlie shook his head, still focused on the creature that was now facing the two of us.
"We can go make sure after we kill this son of a bitch." He snarled, I glanced at him then and noticed how close he was to losing control of himself.
"Hey!" I shouted at him, he looked at me and his expression softened, "Don't die." I stated, and then flung myself at the beast again.
The demon-catcher laughed as Charlie and I tried, unsuccessfully, to destroy it. After ten minutes of nothing, we hastily retreated to a safer distance. "We can't beat it." Charlie stated, I nodded, agreeing." But maybe we can distract it enough to get passed it." He finished, I looked at him.
"You mean like Edward? No, let's avoid that." I said, he shook his head,
"No, more like I run away and you run the opposite direction and whoever doesn't get followed makes a be-line for the entrance ..." He trailed off when I gave him a mortified look.
"What if it follows you?" I demanded, he grinned,
"I run faster." I elbowed him but was kept from saying anything against his plan by another deafening roar.
"Damn it!" I hissed when the beast was quiet again, "It's not worth losing you, we'll find another way around it."
"There isn't another way around it, you said it yourself. The only way we're getting past that thing is either as welcome guests or if we split up." Charlie said, "We can make it." He assured, I glanced again at the Guardian. It was still building energy, but it was almost ready to attack again. Trying, and failing, to think of a better plan, I shook my head and met Charlie's gaze,
"When it follows me, run to the wall." I stated, then, before he could protest, I kissed him and ran toward the creature. I flipped over its head again, this time pushing off of its massive shoulder and changing my direction enough that it couldn't anticipate my landing. I rolled when my feet hit the ground, and when I stood again I was mere feet away from the Guardian. I had enough time to see Edward, alive and well, dragging Charlie in the opposite direction before the beast focused solely on me.
"Reilly Scara, heir to the Throne of Darkness, welcome to Hell." The thing said, then lunged forward, tackling me to the ground. However, before it delivered the killing blow, the beast stopped. I don't mean hesitated, I mean stopped, as if it were a bad movie and someone had hit pause. I didn't dare move for fear of waking the thing back up, but seconds after it had me pinned to the ground beneath its weight, ready to destroy me, the creature stood and backed away from me. I looked around for Charlie and Edward but didn't see them. Fear seized me, but I had no time to think about what had happened to them, because at that moment a chill went down my spine and I spun to where I sensed seven demons approaching from behind me.
"Well, well, what have we here? If it isn't the princess of darkness herself." The girl in the middle said as she stepped forward. Then she said something highly unexpected, "Reilly Scara, you're under arrest."
Chapter Two
Seventh Hell
I thought of and rejected several responses before settling on "What exactly did I do?"
The leader shrugged, "Would you like the whole list?" I shook my head, "You are trespassing in The Land of the Dead, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you are not dead. We don't have many laws here, but breaking the few we do have is not a good way to stay out of trouble." I listened to her speech and recognized it for what it was, complete bullshit. She didn't care what I was doing or why I was here; she only cared about who I was and apparently, the fact that she had been ordered to bring me in.
I didn't put up much of a fight, there was no point. And fighting them would've drawn attention to my presence, something I was trying not to do. The fewer people who knew I was in Hell, the better. Plus I had no hope of finding Charlie if I was actually dead.
I followed my captors silently as they led me through a labyrinth of slave mines and, finally, through a side opening in the wall and into the City of The Dead itself.
"Where are we going?" I finally demanded. One of the guys laughed, but the leader gave him a stern look and he was instantly silent. No one answered my question and I was getting visibly annoyed.
"Chill out, Shadow-Queen." someone behind me said. I didn't turn to look at who had spoken, it didn't matter much at that point anyway. I did pick up on the name he'd used, however.
"What did you call me?" I asked. We had entered a tunnel and darkness was everywhere. If I hadn't been a half-demon, I'd have been as good as blind.
"Silence." the leader ordered, and I knew my chance for answers had passed.
I stopped trying to figure out exactly where we where and instead focused on memorizing specific landmarks we passed. Which was made difficult by the fact that there wasn't much uniqueness to the dark, stone tunnel. Finally, we came to a large, elaborate door set into the tunnel as if it had been carved from the rock itself. "Mathias, open it." the leader ordered, Mathias, I guessed, was looking, actually, staring, at me. "Lust!" the leader hissed, Mathias spun around and growled,
"Pride!" I was beginning to get a very bad feeling about who my captors were ... and who they worked for.
"Lust, Pride, let's see here, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, and Greed, right?" I said, Pride glared at me.
"Very clever, princess. You've figured us out." She shrugged, "Oh well, I guess you would have learned our identities at some point or another. My name, by the way, is Calyn, not Pride." she glared at Mathias and continued, "You know who and what Mathias is." She nodded in Mathias' direction. He was still staring at me and I was beginning to get extremely uncomfortable with the intensity in his green-eyed gaze. He had longish brown hair that fell to just passed his chin. He was, well, extremely easy on the eyes. Of course, being Lust, that was pretty much a given. I did my best not to squirm under his intense stare, wishing I could lash out at him but not daring. I focused on Calyn instead. "This is Sloth, his name is Cole." she said, Cole had blonde hair cut short and startling blue eyes. He was taller than the other sins with the exception of one, who appeared to be around six-six. He nodded in my direction and Calyn continued, "this is Gluttony, his name is Burt and this is Wrath, his name is Sam." Burt appeared every bit the glutton. He had a chicken leg clutched firmly in one meaty hand and what looked like the rest of the chicken in the other. He was the tallest of the Sins. His hair was a mousy brown and also cut short, almost military style. His eyes were closed in pleasure as he chomped on his meal. Sam, who was standing next to Burt, was about Cole's height, with raven-black hair and eyes that almost appeared grey in color. I looked away from the two of them and focused on Calyn, who was introducing the last two of the Sins.
"This is Envy, her name is Julie; and this is Greed. She doesn't share her name with us, so we call her Greed." Julie, standing next to Cole, had auburn hair and hazel eyes that appeared to glow. I took a moment to wonder why her eyes weren't green before looking away from her and focusing on Greed, who was standing next to her.
I almost gasped. Greed looked like a Charity from hell, down to the pigtails. She wore a black dress that looked like it should have been in Cinderella's closet. If, that is, Cinderella had been a problem-child rather than a princess. Her hair was brown and the bows holding it in pigtails were solid black. She looked at me with a smile, deceptively sweet, and her golden eyes sparkled. I ignored the feigned innocence and re-focused on Calyn.
With hair that was such a deep red it was almost black and bold, blue eyes, Pride was perhaps the most intimidating of the Sins. I guessed that was partially why she was their leader. She smirked evilly and I rolled my eyes, unwilling to engage in what was, for all intents and purposes, a pissing contest.
"What do you want with me?" I asked instead, still trying to gain some information.
She shrugged, "My master wishes to speak to the person who single-handedly upset the balance of the Underworld." I looked at her suspiciously,
"Your master," I emphasized the word, seeing how much she hated it, "doesn't strike me as the type that likes to discuss things civilly." I stated. "I think I'll pass." Julie stepped forward,
"You mistake this for a request." she said, then she added, "Are you not concerned about what you have done to the Underworld, and by consequence, the Surface world as well?" I rolled my eyes,
"Yes, I'm all torn up about it, can't you tell?" I asked.
"You soon will be. Upsetting the balance is not something that is taken lightly. The punishment is severe, that I will be sure of." Calyn said, the very real edge of a threat in her words.
"Of course you will ..." I muttered, Calyn turned to Mathias, the conversation over.
"Open the damn door." she ordered, Mathias obeyed quickly, seeing how angry his leader was, making him jump to fulfill her orders. As the locks clicked open and the door swung forward, there was no mistaking my location.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Reilly, Angel of Darkness ~ Vol IIby Amanda R Boyer Ellen Ritchie Copyright © 2012 by Amanda R Boyer with Ellen Ritchie. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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