Debauched by Bella Klaus

Chapter Eighteen

Gasps spread across the room. Even Hades hissed through his teeth. Somehow, they’d managed to reduce the King of the Seventh Faction into… I had absolutely no idea.

All the color had leached out of Lucifer’s hair and skin and eyes, leaving him looking like a living, breathing statue. Every few heartbeats, he blinked, but apart from the slight rise and fall of his chest, there was nothing left of him. The white suit, shirt, and tie they’d put him in only made the effect more horrifying.

Tears stung the backs of my eyes, and my breaths became ragged. They must have taken advantage of his curse to get at him, but I still asked, “What did you do to him?”

The red-haired woman in the green wrap dress turned her head in my direction. Malice glinted in her green eyes, an emotion that reminded me of Mother. Her thin lips curved into a smirk.

“You must be Kora.” She even sounded like Mother.

“Who are you?” I asked, even though she’d already been introduced as Koritsi.

“The daughter I deserve.” Mother sashayed across the room and wrapped an arm around Koritsi’s shoulder. She stared down at the smaller woman with the kind of warmth I’d only recognized from my memories of being Persephone.

Preening at the attention, Koritsi fixed me with a challenging glare. This was probably some form of sibling rivalry, but she was too young and too brainwashed to realize that Mother wasn’t worth having as a parent.

I turned my gaze back to Lucifer, who stood a few feet from the doorway, his eyes staring sightlessly ahead.

“What did you do to Lucifer?” I asked.

Koritsi tossed her hair. “He’s under my thrall.”

“You can’t put another monarch under any form of control.” Azriel waved his computer tablet. “The Handbook of Hell clearly states—”

“Blah. Blah. Blah. Will you stop bleating about the rules,” Samael snapped. “They have more loopholes than a badly-knitted codpiece. Nowhere does the Handbook of Hell govern the activities of family members of its monarchs.”

Mother beamed at her new favorite, her eyes gleaming with pride.

“And Koritsi is the only member of our family who bargained her way into her throne.”

“Shit,”Hades said into my mind. “No one could have predicted they’d make another girl to ensnare Lucifer.”

I gulped. “They must have thought of a different way to get at him.”

He shook his head. “She was probably working on him the entire week I kept you recuperating in Hell.”

My chest ached, and I gazed at the shell of poor Lucifer, who looked even more lifeless than the women in his typing pool. What on earth had they done to him, and could it be reversed?

The other monarchs sitting around the table remained silent. I guessed they were waiting for Azriel or some other angel to strike, but nothing happened. Azriel stared at Samael, who stared back, daring him to speak.

I leaned into Hades’ side and murmured into our bond, “Should we do something?”

He squeezed my hand. “Not yet. We’ll swoop in when the time is right.”

Nodding, I turned back into the stand-off. Samael and Azriel stood three feet apart, their gazes locked. Mother and Koritsi hugged and preened at their side, while the other two children waited behind them, looking nearly as lifeless as Lucifer.

Azriel sagged, seeming completely and utterly defeated. “Why have you done this?”

Samael puffed out his chest. “As I said, I have control of five factions through my immediate family.”

The angel gulped. “Has Lucifer split his throne with Koritsi?”

“Naturally.” Samael flashed him a grin. “He’s completely enchanted by my darling daughter. And who can blame him?”

Koritsi clapped. “Oh, Daddy, you say the most flattering things!”

“Why is that one so normal compared to the others?”Hades muttered.

“Black magic?” I raised a shoulder. “Are you sure we should wait? Azriel looks like he’s going to cry.”

Hades released my hand and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “When you told me Azriel had set up this meeting and would waive the no-killing clause, I thought it was a ploy to trick me into inciting the wrath of Heaven.”

“Why us?”I asked.

“We don’t exactly get along, and having us killed would protect his dirty secret. If the angels caught him consorting with a demoness, he’d end up in a condition worse than Samael.”

I gulped. “You might have a point. And now?”

“If Samael declares himself the leader of Hell, I can guarantee Azriel will forget about any plans to set us up and focus on destroying Samael.”

My breath grew louder, heavier, and I wished time would speed up so we could finally get to the battle. I glanced toward the doorway at Lucifer, looking for signs of life, but he continued staring straight ahead.

Those bastards would pay.

“Here’s how things will work.” Samael flicked his hand and turned one of the tables into a high podium, complete with stairs. He offered Mother his arm, and they strolled across the room as though they were walking through a masquerade ball. “I rule half the Factions of Hell via my family, and it’s only a matter of time before I install more members into the thrones.”

“You’re not coming near mine,” Shango yelled.

Samael chuckled. “Did I ever tell you my darling wife is a fertility goddess? She might carry around cornucopias, but part of agriculture is about ensuring the fecundity of the land.”

I rubbed my dry throat. Most Greek gods governed more than one aspect of life.

“What are you saying?” asked the King of the Ninth.

“That I can replace any member of your harem with one of my offspring, who will turn you into a thrall like Lucifer. Or I could leave you to the tender mercies of my wife’s flesh-eating plants.”

Shango turned to Azriel and snarled, “What were you angels doing while the Third was taking control of Hell? You foist all these rules on us, yet you allow Samael to murder my colleagues.”

Azriel shuddered. “The situation is under control.”

“How?” Hel snapped.

The angel remained silent.

I balled my hands into fists, my breath coming in shallow pants. “What’s Azriel doing?”

“He had better not be waiting for us to rush at Samael,”Hades muttered. “I want him dead more than anyone, but I’d be buggered if I let those white-winged bastards trick me into becoming cannon fodder.”

“You’re right, but Samael’s completely dominating Azriel right now.”

Hades pressed a kiss on my temple. “Patience, Kora.”

I gulped down a breath and forced myself to nod. This was probably all politics and posturing. The kind of verbal theatrics people used to size each other up for a fight. I sat straighter in my seat, tensed my muscles, and readied myself for battle.

Samael leaned back in his seat with his elbows perched on the armrests, and steepled his fingers. “As the controller of Two, Three, Four, Seven, and Eight, which constitutes over fifty percent of Hell, I can now send my demons to each of your Factions.”

“They will die,” Azriel rasped.

“You would slaughter half the beings who exist for the sole purpose of guarding the souls of the wicked?” His rasping chuckle made my skin crawl. “Why, without demons, those sinful spirits could split out into the living world.”

I turned to Hades. “Why haven’t they turned him into salt?”

He furrowed his brow. “I always wondered why they bothered to split Hell into nine divisions when they could have killed him. Maybe they tried and failed?”

Koritsi’s giggle pulled my attention away from Azriel and Samael. She tugged at Lucifer’s leash, making him stumble out of the doorway and back into the room. She flung her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss on his cheek, leaving a smear of pink lipstick on his face.

“What will we do about Lucifer?”I asked.

“We’ll take him to a healer as soon as Samael’s dead.”

“Is there anything left of his soul?”

Hades gave me a comforting squeeze. “Don’t worry about Lucifer. He’s a tough bastard.”

Footsteps thundered through the doorway, and a quartet of white-haired gladiators entered the room, each wearing bronze armor and holding glowing swords. Their wings were shorter than Azriel’s but looked thicker and more streamlined for combat.

“Are these archangels?” I asked.

He rose off his seat and pulled me toward the wall. “High-ranking foot soldiers. Those assholes came to earth just after the Great Divide, picking off dying gods and flying off with them.”

“Like Valkyries?”

“Only they weren’t taking them to Valhalla, and where they were going wouldn’t have any feasts.” Hades raised a hand, and the air surrounding us thickened.

The other monarchs also stood and backed away from their tables. Azriel stepped closer to us as the angels pointed their swords at Samael’s podium. With a blast of magic, they filled the room with white light.

An explosion sounded across the room, accompanied by the thuds of debris landing against Hades’ barrier.

Squinting, I clutched the handle of the bident. “They remind me of thugs.”

“Enforcers,”he said. “And they’ll probably die.”

“But we won’t help them?”

Hades’ laugh rang through my head. “Samael is a problem of their making. If the angels think we’re going to do the heavy lifting for them after they destroyed our homes and tore apart those we loved, they can get fucked.”

As the light faded, I blinked away the glare. Samael drifted down on a pair of battered wings and landed on a black scorch mark on the floor. The only thing left of the quartet of angels were a few charred feathers and their bronze breastplates.

I sucked in a breath between my teeth. “What the hell just happened?”

Hades wrapped an arm around my waist. “You see why I said we should wait?”

With a silent nod, I turned to the room’s far left, where Mother stood with Lucifer and the three children. Agori brushed dust off his pristine white suit and pouted.

“That’s your opening move?” Samael drawled. “The willful destruction of furniture? You’ll have to do better because it’s only a matter of time before my family infiltrates Heaven.”

Azriel turned toward us and thrust his arm toward Samael. “Monarchs of Hell, seize him before he takes your thrones.”

As one, the Demon Kings and Queens folded their arms across their chests. Hades and I did the same. If the angels just died trying to kill Samael, the consequences for us would be the same.

Samael waggled his fingers. “If you expect my esteemed monarchs to lift a finger and help, they won’t. Each one of them has witnessed the pettiness of your wrath, and they’re afraid you will strike against them.”

The next quartet of angels to come in had to bend over double to enter the door. Each stood eight feet tall, wore silver breastplates, and carried tridents. They crowded the conference room and stood in front of Samael.

“This should be fun.” Hel, the Queen of the Sixth, clapped her rotted hand against her healthy one, the lips of one side of her face curled into a smile.

Before Samael could react to the newcomers, one of them lanced him through the stomach with their trident. Samael’s belly sprayed black blood, but he burst into a maniacal laugh. “You’re all so predictable!”

With a shudder, I turned my gaze to Mother, who hugged the larger of the children to her chest.

“Are these archangels?”I asked Hades.

“No,”he replied, his voice grim. “Archangels are extraordinarily handsome beings like Lucifer.”

My gaze darted back to Samael. “Those tridents won’t kill him.”

Hades didn’t reply for a few heartbeats. I glanced up at him to find his eyes burning with hatred. “I’m beginning to think he’s indestructible.”

Samael placed a hand on the trident’s handle and turned it to salt, making the giant angel step back. His three companions launched their weapons at him, but he reduced them to flame with a flick of his hand.

“How are you doing this?” Azriel cried from our side of the room.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Samael hissed. “I’m channeling the wrath of over fifty percent of Hell.”

One of the huge angels swung his fist. Instead of ducking, Samael held firm and let the blow land on his head and throw him against the wall.

I sucked in a breath, waiting for the others to charge, but the angel who had struck him roared with agony.

“Oh no,” I whispered out loud.

“Stupid twat,”Hades hissed.

The angel’s fist shriveled into bone, and all the flesh on his body rotted down to a blackened skeleton. I clapped both hands over my mouth and swallowed back a scream.

How did we ever think we could fight Samael?

He was unbeatable.

Samael flung off his cloak, revealing what was once pristine white armor, which was now stained with his blood. He stamped his foot, and three shadows snaked out from under him, wrapped around the massive angels, and made them vanish.

“Stop this,” Azriel hissed. “These were once your brethren.”

“Then cease the attacks.” Samael placed a hand on the breastplate, leaving a black smear. “I have enough power at my disposal to heal my wounds, defeat a legion, and reduce you all into sodium chloride.”

Six regular-sized angels piled into the room, firing arrows into his torso. Samael spread his arms wide and laughed.

“If they’re going to force us to watch, they may as well serve us drinks,” Isis muttered from our other side.

“This is going to be a long, tedious battle,” Hades muttered for everyone else’s benefit.

Isis leaned her head on her husband’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind, but we were in the middle of a candlelit dinner on the Nile.”

While Hades chatted with Isis about hiring one of her barges for a romantic meal for two, I tuned back into the one-sided fight. Each time an angel would shoot an arrow into Samael, it would remain lodged in his body until the former angel resembled a pincushion.

“You cannot harm me.” His voice echoed across the room, making pieces of plaster fall off the walls. “I have absorbed the magic of every Faction under my domain.”

Mother gave him a resounding applause and nudged Persephonia and Agori to do the same. Koritsi bounced on the balls of her feet and squealed, while Lucifer stood lifeless at her side.

“She’s an empty-headed puppy,” Hades muttered.

“Koritsi?” I asked.

“Demeter,”he snarled. “Without her powers of creation, Samael would have remained the same pathetic, lowly creature clambering to regain his absolute leadership of Hell.”

I turned to him and frowned. “I thought Samael got all his power from demons like Belphegor.”

“Demeter’s monstrous plants were what brought down two Factions. And she produced three perfect minions to help him secure three sets of thrones.”

“All because we got married?”

“Don’t forget she’s going to have a grudge against Heaven for what happened to Mount Olympus.” He kissed my temple. “And to you.”

“Abysmal.” The arrows and spears lodged in Samael’s body trembled before they caught fire and burned like struck matches. He rolled his shoulders, loosening them from his body and folded his arms across his thin chest.

“Your next move?” he rasped. “Please, make it more interesting. I fear I may die of boredom while waiting for you to concede defeat.”

The angels raised their palms and bathed Samael with white magic, but it soaked into his armor. He jogged on the spot with his arms outstretched, making the angels snarl. They blasted more power through their hands, engulfing Samael’s entire body.

“Sublime,” he said. “Keep smiting, and perhaps you might succeed.”

“It’s not working.” I clutched at my chest.

“He probably worked out a way to counter their power.” Hades chuckled. “I hate the wretched bastard, and I can’t wait to tear him to pieces when the angels have worn him down, but even I can’t fault him for his style.”

My lips formed a tight line. “We’re not supposed to admire him.”

“Of course not.” He kissed me on the cheek. “But watching him succeed against the angels will make tearing him down all the sweeter.”

“Do you have any ideas? Because from where I’m standing, he looks invincible.”

He rubbed his chin. “Everyone has a weakness.”

I turned to Hades with my brows raised, waiting for him to elaborate, but he only smirked.

“Thank you sincerely for this infusion of angelic power. It is most invigorating,” Samael said from within the flare of blinding magic.

“Stand down,” Azriel said to the archers.

The angels withdrew their white magic, revealing a much-healed Samael. He barely looked eighteen with a button nose, rounded cheeks, rosebud lips, and startling blue eyes framed by thick lashes. Even his hair had changed from inky black to pretty blond curls.

My mouth dropped open. He was even prettier than Azriel.

“How the hell did that happen?”I asked Hades.

Hades spluttered. “Shit. He found a way to use their attacks to heal his curse.”

“What have you done?” Azriel screeched.

Samael turned to Mother and unfurled a pair of golden wings. “Demeter,” he said in his usual sinister voice. “Did they restore my beauty?”

Mother’s eyes bulged, and her features slackened. Her shock only lasted a millisecond before she offered him a tight smile. “You’re the perfect angel.”

“Oh, Daddy,” Koritsi said with a broad smile. “You’re even more pretty than Mummy.”

Hades bowed his head and suppressed a snicker. “Demeter preferred him when he was decrepit.”

I raised a shoulder. “He was more masculine.”

With a flick of Samael’s hand, all the angels who had attacked him turned into salt. Holding my breath, I glanced at the door.

“Any more legions willing to risk themselves in an attack?” Samael asked with a grin.

Azriel’s eyes unfocused for several moments, seeming like he was listening to someone in his head. I thought Samael might attack while his guard was down, but he only tilted his head to the side and offered Azriel a soft smile.

My gaze darted to Hades, who held his features in a mask of calm. “We just betrayed him, and he’s won the first battle,” I said. “Should we be worried?”

Hades shook his head.

Azriel cleared his throat. “We are ready to hear your terms.”

Samael held his hands behind his back and rocked forward onto his feet. “I want to reunite the factions into one large mass and resume my place as the ruler of Hell.”

“What else?” Azriel.

“And I want a seat at the table.”

“Impossible,” Azriel rasped.

Samael narrowed his eyes. “I wasn’t asking you.”

“What’s the table?” I asked Hades.

“Lucifer was always cagey about it,” Hades replied. “From what he implied during his drunken rants, it was a cross between a family and an inner circle.”

“Anything like the table in the war room?”I asked.

He shook his head. “Far more intimate. Only those angels blessed enough to have a seat ever saw their god. The other poor bastards had to bask in the glow of the lucky few.”

“And Lucifer was one of them?”

Hades nodded. “And if I were a betting man, I would say the person responsible for his fall from grace wanted to take Lucifer’s place.”

“Wow.”I turned back to Azriel, whose features tightened. “Do you think he has a place at the table?”

Hades scoffed. “Hell, no.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He would never have risked something so wondrous to have consorted with a demon.”

“The answer is still no,” Azriel said.

Samael bared his serrated teeth. “Fine, but I want access to all parts of Heaven.”

“All except the table,” the blond angel said with a sigh.

“Very well.” Samael turned to where we stood with the other monarchs and grinned. “Those of you who didn’t betray me may serve in Hell as liege lords or return to the Supernatural World with the clothes on your back.”

My stomach lurched. It sounded like Hades and I were the betrayers. Or maybe that was just me.

Isis placed a hand over her chest. “That’s it? One lousy skirmish has decided the battle for dominion of Hell?”

He shrugged. “This is the way of angels, my dear. So quick to concede the moment they anticipate failure.” He clasped his hands together. “Your decisions, ladies and gents?”

“Fuck it,” Hel said. “It sounds like you’re going to shake things up. I’m in.”

My mouth dropped open. I hadn’t expected things to fall into place for Samael so easily.

Isis glanced at Osiris, who shrugged. They both turned to Samael and nodded. Now that the First Faction had agreed to concede to Samael, Shango also stepped forward and muttered something about joining them.

A boulder of dread plummeted through my heart. Hades and I were screwed.

“Should we retreat?”I asked into our bond.

“Not when Samael is about to make himself vulnerable,”Hades replied.

“Are you sure about this?”

He nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Wonderful,” Samael drawled. “You may return to your palaces and await my instruction.”

Koritsi jogged across the room and stopped in front of Samael, towering over him by several inches. “What should I do, Daddy?”

He gave her a cold smile. “You’ve served your purpose. Now it’s time for you to—”

“No.” Mother lurched forward, leaving Persephonia and Agori with Lucifer. “You can’t destroy her.”

Samael frowned. “But this accelerated offspring has a limited lifespan. You knew that from the start.”

Mother’s lips trembled. “I can’t let them go. Use the power you absorbed from those angels to prolong their lives.”

He reared back. “But we already discussed this—”

“You can’t expect me to bring children into the world and not want them to survive.”

“Mother’s going to fly in a rage,”I said to Hades. “We should use this opportunity to escape.”

“This is our best chance of defeating them both,”he replied.

My gaze darted to Azriel, who stood in the corner of the room with his back against the wall. It looked like he also anticipated something explosive.

“Demeter,” Samael said with a long sigh and threaded his fingers through his blond curls. “If it’s children you want, I will fill your nursery with strong infants. But these weaklings—”

“They’re not weak,” Mother snapped.

“Here we go,”said Hades.

“Did you know this was going to happen?”I asked.

He nodded. “Children born through accelerated means live accelerated lives, especially when one of the parents was castrated with the sole purpose not to procreate.”

As Samael tried to reason with Mother, she grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a hard shake. The smaller man wrapped his hands around her wrists, trying to dislodge her grip, but she held on tight.

Hades slid his arm from around my shoulders and placed a palm on the small of my back. “Get ready.”

I gulped.

“Won’t he kill Mother?”

Hades snorted. “Not when her magic is the only thing letting him keep Zeus’ cock.”

“Demeter.” Samael’s teeth rattled with the force of her rough handling. “Please, be reasonable.”

“How can I when you refuse to help my children?” Mother howled.

I placed a hand over my chest and cringed at my rapid heartbeat. It wasn’t like Mother was my favorite person right now, but I had tens of thousands of loving memories with her.

Mother hadn’t always been an ogre. Before my abduction, she had been my mentor, my best friend, my protector. It had taken me centuries to realize that I’d been coddled, and part of me didn’t want her to end up like those angels Samael had slaughtered.

“You will save our children.”

Samael hissed. “As your husband, I command you to cease this nonsense.”

The same shadows Samael had used to kill the giant angels snaked from his hands and wrapped around Mother’s wrists.

“No,” Mother shrieked, her eyes blazing. She was too far gone in her rage to notice the magic about to consume her body.

My heart slammed itself against my breastbone, urging me to do something, say something to help Mother. Blood roared through my ears, muffling Hades’ growl for me to stay. His arm tightened around my shoulders, holding me in place.

“Watch out,” I shouted.

The magic wrapped around Mother’s fingers, lifted them off Samael’s shoulders, and gently ushered her back to the wall, where Persephonia stood with Agori and the dead-eyed Lucifer.

Samael dusted off his armor and turned to Azriel with a tight smile. “Please excuse the interruption. My wife is a spirited creature, but in time, she will learn her place.”

The taller angel clutched a tablet to his chest and swayed on his feet as though he was going to faint. It looked like his colleagues had designated him the spokesperson for Heaven and wouldn’t be sending anymore backup.

“We can’t let Samael win,” I said to Hades.

“He won’t,”Hades growled.

Samael held out a hand. “I will accept two copies of the keys to Heaven. One for me, and the other for my wife—”

With a blood-curdling scream, he staggered forward, bending over double to expose a dagger of pure light between his gray wings.

I sucked in a breath between my teeth and turned to Hades, who shot me a satisfied grin. The Soul Stealer dagger remained lodged between his shoulder blades, making Samael’s wings spasm and flap. Black blood spilled down the back of his armor, but it was no different from when the first angel had skewered him with a trident.

Hades rubbed his chin. “I thought something he’d spent two thousand years crafting would be more explosive.”

“So did I.”

“You bastard,” Mother shrieked. “How dare you put your ambitions before our children.”

Straightening, Samael turned to face Mother. “How disappointing,” he said. “I thought a goddess might differ from other treacherous females, but you’re all the same.”

“What are you talking about?” She stepped back.

“The Soul Stealer is a real dagger, capable of killing anyone, but what I showed you was a well-crafted replica.”

All the color leached from her face, and her features fell slack. “No.”

“Bloody Hell,” I muttered out loud.

“Shit,” Hades hissed.

Samael shook his head from side to side, his lips turning down with genuine sorrow. “I left the replica as a test to see if you would betray me.”

Mother’s lips trembled, and she stepped backward with a hand clutched to her chest. “If you hadn’t dismissed our children as disposable—”

“You knew my ambitions,” Samael snarled. “You knew that I would have exalted you to become the earth mother, yet you threw it all away for worthless, replaceable, defective offspring.”

Mother swallowed. “And you knew I always put my children first.”

Samael bared his serrated teeth and snarled, “Now, you will watch them die.”