Vindicated by Bella Klaus
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was like being impaled with a lightning rod in the middle of a thunderstorm and then getting struck over and over until every nerve ending burned to ash. A silent scream tore from my lips, and my legs collapsed.
Queen Hel wrapped her bony arm around my middle, keeping me pinned to her dead side. “What’s wrong?” she crooned. “Did you think that fucking a god would imbue you with his powers?”
My wolf howled her fury and pushed against our barrier. Clenching my teeth, I forced her back. Shifting now would only mean she also got stabbed. I had to break free from the mad queen before I allowed Wolfette to take control.
“Lydia,”Fenrir’s panicked shout filled my head. “You’re in pain.”
“I’m fine,”I lied. “Focus on defeating Marchosias.”
As I reached for the gun, the knife in my side discharged another surge of power, making every molecule in my body explode with agony. I cried out, my limbs going slack.
“I’m coming to you now,” Fenrir snarled.
My jaw tightened. It was nice that he was worried, but this pain was a minor setback in the larger scale of the battle. “I cut myself while freeing the hostages. I’ve also taken your sister’s ring. Destroy Marchosias and heal me later.”
Whatever Fenrir said next was lost as Queen Hel pressed her uneven lips against my ear. “Careful, girl.” Her breath stank of rotten meat. “I can dish out this level of pain all night.”
“How?” I said through clenched teeth.
She chuckled. “Did you honestly believe that idiot Thor when he said I was powerless? Poor, naive child.”
Bile rose to the back of my throat. “What do you want?”
“My ring,” she snarled. “It’s a family heirloom that holds sentimental value.”
A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat. Queen Hel was such a shitty liar. Someone sick enough to tie her own father to a rock and torture him for thousands of years with snake venom had no understanding of the word family.
The knife twisted once more, amplifying the pain. I tried to raise my hand but ended up jerking my foot. My stomach clenched. The wretched cow had scrambled my nervous system. Now I couldn’t even fight back.
“What will you do to me if I give you the ring?” I said.
“You’ll receive a merciful death, and I’ll even dispatch your soul to where it rightfully belongs: the Fifth.”
My nostrils flared. It wasn’t like I was negotiating with her because everything she said was untrue, starting with the easy death. She would probably keep me alive and in agony, just to prolong Fenrir’s suffering.
What I needed was to put as much distance as possible between myself and that knife.
Wolfette barked her agreement.
Geri and Freki stirred from the other side of the room, both crouching low and poised to pounce. I also needed to separate myself from Queen Hel and give the giant wolves a clear target.
“If you want the ring back, you’ll need to pull out the knife,” I said.
Her mocking laugh grated on my nerves. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
Actually, I did, but I kept that thought to myself. “The electricity is tampering with my motor functions,” I snarled. “You must know what your own knife does.”
“Fine.” Hel reached into my holster, pulled out the first gun I got from the twins and tossed it at one snarling wolf, then she extracted the second weapon and threw it at the other. “Do you have any more firearms?”
“No.”
She yanked the knife from my sides, sending a flare of pain across my ribs. I clutched my side and cried out. A torrent of blood spilled from my fingers and down my side, making my head spin.
“Well?” She held out her good hand.
I coughed a mouthful of blood. “Give me a minute.”
“For what?” She curled one side of her lip. “If you can put a hand over your stab wound, it means you can also take off my ring.”
Growls echoed from the far left of the room.
The pulse in my ears pounded hard, and spots appeared in front of my eyes. Blood bubbled up to the back of my throat and spilled down the corners of my mouth. Wheezing breaths grazed the tops of my lungs. If I didn’t think of something fast, I would lose consciousness and practically hand Hel the ring.
I staggered back, trying to distance myself from her, so the wolves could attack.
She stepped toward me and closed the distance. “You moron. Don’t you think I know Odin’s pets? As long as I stay within a foot of you, neither of them will attack.”
My gaze darted to the giant wolves, whose eyes glowed red in the dark. “Why are you doing this?”
Queen Hel advanced toward me with her chin raised, one hand on her hip, and the other holding a knife that crackled with lighting. Her good eye glinted with malice and her broad grin told me she was looking forward to torturing me with that thing and hearing me scream.
The chamber tilted sideways, and my vision doubled. I backed toward the wall and worked out my options. If I shifted right now, would the ring fall off my finger? Or perhaps the ring wouldn’t even allow me to change my shape. There was so much I didn’t know about the artifact.
“What are you waiting for?” She stood a foot away from me, pointing the dagger at my eye.
I turned my head to the side and hacked another mouthful of blood. Pushing aside a surge of panic, I concentrated my magic into the nails of my right hand and made them lengthen.
“Stand aside,” I rasped. “Your breath is making me heave.”
She reared back. “You bitch.”
My hand shot out and clawed at her good eye. Warm liquid splattered over my face, filling my nostrils with a putrid scent.
Queen Hel staggered back and clutched at her face. “I’m going to kill you.”
Nausea surged through my stomach, but I held back the urge to gag or faint. I needed one hit. One good strike to knock her backward and give the wolves a chance to attack. Then I could work out what to do about the ring.
Forcing a deep breath into what was left of my lungs, I raised a leg, kicked her square in the midsection, and sent her flying across the room. She landed against the far wall with a crack and dropped to her knees.
Geri and Freki pounced on her carcass and dropped the rest of her to the floor.
“Stop!” Her screams echoed across the chamber walls and rang through my ears.
I fell onto my hands and knees, my vision turning black. Shit. I hadn’t expected to deteriorate so quickly. Wolfette pressed her paws on the barrier separating us, and barked at me to release my human form.
Fur sprouted from my skin, and the wound in my side knitted itself together as my limbs twisted to form the shape of my wolf. I closed my eyes and receded to the background.
The stench of putrid flesh burned my nostrils and my gaze darted toward the huge lupines tearing chunks off Queen Hel’s body. Right now, we were both in control, but I could still feel the pain in my side from where I’d been stabbed.
My stomach clenched. Wolfette had hibernated after breaking her wing and needing to wait for my bone to set before she could get healed. With the pain radiating through my soul, I understood why. Staying alert was an effort when my natural instinct was to rest and let her take control.
“Check your left paw,”I said to my wolf.
She glanced down to find the diamond-and-ruby ring had expanded to the size of a bracelet and was now glinting around her hairless ankle.
Relief whooshed out of me in an instant. “Good.”
“Lydia?” Fenrir’s concerned voice filled my years. “What’s happening?”
“Geri and Freki have pinned down your sister. I’ve got control of her ring, and I’m coming with you to fight Marchosias.”
“Stay where you are,”he growled.
Leaving the giant wolves behind, I bounded out of the room and to the top of the dais. Bone shards dug into the pads of my paws, but I ignored them and continued toward the throne.
Thor lay at the top of the stairs, surrounded by blood. The head of his hammer lay buried in his chest.
My breath caught. What if the hammer was like a battery that lost its charge over time? There had been enough power to break Fenrir’s wolf from the cage, but after Thor had thrown it through Marchosias and tried to use it again, it had been rendered useless.
A whine reverberated in my throat, and I padded toward him on trembling legs. He had to be alive.
I nudged his head with the tip of my nose.
Thor groaned.
I gave him a gentle lick on the temple, which I hoped would convey my thanks for his help in freeing Fenrir, and that I would get him help as soon as I could.
An almighty growl shook the air, making my fur stand on end. I tilted my head up and gaped at the battle still taking place above the throne room’s ceiling.
Fenrir’s jaws were clamped around Marchosias’ throat. His right ear was bloody and jagged, and his left paw hung at an awkward angle. My heart clenched. Even with his powers fully unlocked, Fenrir still couldn’t avoid getting hurt.
Marchosias was half his original size. The edges of his body formed a liquid that dripped down through the sky, forming an inky pool in the throne room that swamped Grog’s scrawny carcass. I wasn’t sure how to explain it, but his body twitched and spasmed as if returning to life.
The primordial demon’s wings were shorter and flapped at a more rapid pace. I guess he needed all his body mass in his jaws so he could fight.
“How’s it going?” I asked into our bond.
“He’s a persistent bastard,”Fenrir snarled.
I glanced at the lifeless pool. “Maybe it’s time to put him somewhere he can’t escape.”
Fenrir hummed his agreement. “He’s still too big for the pocket dimension.”
A shocked bark escaped my jaws. I hoped Fenrir wasn’t planning on continuing the fight until Marchosias was the size of a regular wolf. “So what? If you can stuff him in there, let him rot.”
The other side of our bond went silent, and Fenrir shook Marchosias like a rag doll. Thicker streams of foul black liquid fell to the chamber floor with sickening plops, and Grog pushed himself up on his hands before falling back down with a splash.
I edged back toward the throne. Thank goodness Fenrir had unlocked enough of his immense power to keep the primordial demon solid, but if he didn’t hurry and defeat Marchosias, Grog would rise from the dead again.
Claws clicked toward me, and Geri and Freki trotted out from around the corner, licking their chops. The two giant wolves dipped their heads the same way they had submitted to Wolfette in the cave.
“Your sister’s just been torn apart,” I said to Fenrir. “Open a portal. It’s time to put Marchosias away.”
Fenrir growled around his mouthful of demonic wolf. “The part I’m fighting is just about large enough for my pocket dimension. I want all of him encased, including the liquid.”
“Then command one of those red wankers to fly inside,” I said. “Hurry up because Thor is dying.”
“He’s immortal.”
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. Fenrir was enjoying this battle a little too much for my liking. Foul stenches assaulted my nostrils from all directions, a good ally needed urgent medical attention, and I needed to return home.
“Your sister stabbed me in the side,” I said, my voice flat. “I had to shift into my wolf to staunch the bleeding.”
Fenrir stilled. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“Now, can we leave?”I asked.
The red-skinned demons from earlier flew down from the open ceiling, keeping close to the walls to avoid the rivulets of black liquid pouring down from the aerial battle.
“One of them just told me Marchosias was kept in a pocket dimension of his own before part of him slithered out,”Fenrir said.
My jaw dropped, and I gaped from the huge black wolf in Fenrir’s jaws to the black liquid flooding the throne room. Grog rolled onto his back and floated, his mouth opening and closing but still showing no signs of progress.
“Wait. There’s more of Marchosias?”I shook my head. “Of course there is. One of the Supernatural Council wankers once said that releasing him would be like shifting the South Pole.”
Antelope Horns landed at my side in a crouch and bowed his head. “Your Majesty.” His voice grated with resentment. “We are here to do your bidding.”
Geri and Freki stepped forward, their coats bristling, but I snapped at them to stand down.
“What’s going on?”I asked Fenrir.
“I’ve ordered them to open a portal into his pocket dimension,” he replied.
“Oh.”I flicked my head toward the main body of the throne room and barked what I hoped was an order for them to drain the liquid into the portal.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Antelope Horns ground out.
The eight demons flew to the center of the chamber, clasped hands, and hovered in a tight circle. Black fluid poured down on their heads as the one-sided fight carried on up above, but they continued in formation and chanted.
I sat on my haunches, glancing from a barely conscious Thor to the pool, waiting for something to happen. With a loud gurgle, the liquid swirled around the room, transporting Grog toward the center of a maelstrom.
He blinked, his eyes widening. “What’s happening?” When he tilted his head to the side, our gazes met. “Lydia, where am I?”
I barked at one of the demons, ordering him to answer the question.
Antelope Horns hovered over Grog. “You’re floating in primordial evil in Her Majesty’s throne room and about to fall into a pocket dimension.”
“Lydia.” He stretched out an arm. “Fly over and pull me out. I’ll make it worth your while.”
I bared my teeth, wishing my human side wasn’t on the brink of death because I really wanted to ask him how much mercy he had shown us when he’d killed me to sacrifice Wolfette to Fenrir. Instead, I blew him a fiery fuck you.
“No!” Grog’s scream would have curdled my blood if I gave an actual shit.
I tilted my head up to check on the progress of the giant wolf fight. Marchosias hung limply from Fenrir’s jaws, and he was now about a third of his original size. The primordial demon’s wings stopped beating so quickly, and they were both sinking toward the vortex.
A jolt of alarm hit me in the chest and forced me to my feet. “Don’t let him pull you down.”
Fenrir shook his head. “My wolf won’t fit through the ceiling.”
“Just be careful.”
He grunted his agreement.
The pain of staying awake with a wound tugged at my soul, and my eyes grew heavy. Every instinct screamed at me to fall asleep, but I clenched my teeth and growled.
Geri and Freki glanced at me with frowns to ask what was wrong, but I shook my head. They couldn’t help me. Nobody could until I was certain that Marchosias was locked away where he could no longer invade my dreams or make bargains with other supernaturals.
“Lydia Gerrison,” Grog yelled as the black fluid swept him to the eye of the vortex. “I should have fucked your ass when I had the chance.”
My wolf snarled. Fine words for a man who had never been with a woman. As he vanished down the hole, some of the tension around my chest loosened. This was a fitting end to the shaman who wouldn’t stay dead.
Several moments later, enough of Marchosias’ liquid had drained away to clear the marble floor, revealing a thirty-foot-wide hole.
“Could you tell them to get rid of the black carpet?”I asked.
Fenrir chuckled. “Anything else?”
I paused, letting one of the demons break from their circle, roll the carpet and toss it in the hole. My gaze rose to the rapidly shrinking wolf. “Let go of him and make sure none of that shit remains on your fur.”
“With pleasure.” With another vigorous shake of his head, Fenrir opened his jaws and threw Marchosias down.
The black wolf tumbled toward us at an alarming rate, his red eyes bulging. Out of instinct, I stepped backward. Just as Marchosias was fifty feet above the throne room, wings spread from his back, and he swooped away.
My stomach plummeted, and my jaws parted with a gasp.
“Fuck you,” Marchosias yelled. “You can have that bitch. I can always make another.”
Fenrir’s snarl made my insides tremble. He lunged at the black wolf, catching him by the middle, and crunched down on him with his mighty jaws.
Black liquid cascaded down on the demons, making them flap their wings even harder against the deluge. Elation surged through my insides, filling me with air. I barked my encouragement and blew out a stream of fire.
When the fluid stopped flowing, Marchosias became the size of a regular wolf. He slipped through Fenrir’s jaws and fluttered toward Fenrir’s belly.
My veins burned with enough fury to launch me off the dais. Leaping into the air, I unfurled my wings, and gave chase.
“What are you doing?” Fenrir asked.
“A small piece of him is flying in your blind spot.” The throne room’s metallic walls blurred as I charged up toward Fenrir, my wings slicing through the air.
Fiery structures floated in the distance, from huge worm-like shapes that seemed to stretch for miles, to out-of-control Ferris wheels that spurted clouds of sparks. Giant demons floated among them, some holding pitchforks, others grinning and blowing fire.
I would have spent time taking in the sights, but all I could focus on was Marchosias.
“The demons will capture him. Return to Geri and Freki.”Fenrir said.
Ignoring him, I continued beneath Fenrir’s body with my gaze on the black wolf. Marchosias turned his head to the side and snarled. Just as he had once told me, we were identical, from the leathery wings to the hairless faces.
“Lydia?”Fenrir snarled.
“Do you really expect me to stand down?”I asked.
His annoyed growl reverberated like thunder. “I suppose not.”
The demons flew ahead of me and trapped Marchosias on all sides. Antelope Horns held up a palm. “Return with us to your banishment.”
“What?” Marchosias squawked. “It was you who approached me to work with Queen Hel.”
I bared my teeth and snarled. Any pity I might have had for them about Fenrir stealing away their free will now evaporated into the ether. Queen Hel didn’t deserve her stupid title, anyway. The Supernatural Council had ordered her to confine Marchosias, not use him as muscle.
“Out of my way.” He blew a stream of fire in one of their eyes.
The demon clutched at his face and bellowed.
I flapped harder, closing the distance between us. Wind blew through my fur, and flames of fury curled from my open jaws. Let that bastard try to attack me with fire. We shared the same power—I would be immune, and I would drag him into that portal.
Marchosias powered ahead, but the other demons grabbed him by the wings. He thrashed from side to side, hurling plumes of flame at his captives, making them release him.
“Shit,” snarled a demon with horns like a bull. “He’s impossible to catch.”
“Tell them to grab him from behind,” I said to Fenrir as I caught up.
“Damn you all,” Marchosias screamed as he tumbled into the abyss.
Antelope Horns snatched his tail, another clutched his hind paws, and the rest surrounded him out of firing range.
“They’re waiting for you,” Fenrir said.
Marchosias blew fire in my face, but the flames swept over me like a breeze.
“Let me go.” His voice shook. “You don’t know what it’s like to be confined in that pocket dimension, being used as an anchor for Hell. I’m no danger to you in this diminished form.”
“What’s he doing?” Fenrir asked.
“Begging for his freedom,”I said.
“What’s left of him,” Fenrir muttered. “Bring him in.”
“Please.” Marchosias held up both paws.
I flew past his guard and clamped my jaws around his muzzle. A foul taste invaded my mouth, but I was careful not to break the skin with my sharp teeth.
“Got him,”I told Fenrir.
Marchosias wept and whined as I flew him back toward the throne room beneath the wide expanse that was Fenrir’s wolf. This action would commit him to a situation worse than my mate had suffered for two thousand years, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel an ounce of compassion.
Part of Marchosias had already escaped his pocket dimension—he could have enjoyed the same existence in Hell as the other demons, yet he had wanted to exist in the world of the living at the cost of my life.
Bugger that.
I flew through the ceiling of the throne room, still clutching the final piece of the primordial demon. Three of the others held him by the tail and hind legs, while the other five joined hands to open a small portal.
Our eyes met—his burning with a mix of fury and betrayal, while my insides burned with triumph. I released my hold on his snout, and let the others toss him in the portal.
“Fuck you all,” Marchosias flew toward the abyss, flames burning in his open maw. “One day, enough of me will escape, and I’ll make you all pay.”
“We’ll be there to stop him,”Fenrir said into our bond.
The demons released their hands, making the portal close with a snap.
Exhaling the longest relieved breath, I drifted back to the dais, to where Geri and Freki stood beside Thor’s fallen body. The hammer now lay at his side, but apart from some heavy bruising across his skin, he looked as though he’d never had a blunt instrument rammed through the chest.
Fenrir transformed back into a man and floated down toward us as though carried in by the breeze. The fire illuminating the throne room made his hair shine like polished gold, and his turquoise eyes glowed with the force of his power.
My heart melted, as did every remaining ounce of stress from my muscles. We were finally free. Free from the tyranny of his sister, free from Grog, and now free from Marchosias.
Something moved in the corner of my eye. I spun around to find Queen Hel crawling on her belly, tracking in smears of black blood.
Baring my teeth, I snarled. Geri and Freki whirled around and bounded toward the weakened goddess. Of course, she would regenerate. Queen Hel was immortal, just like Fenrir, Thor and the rest of their kind.
I barked at the giant wolves, who paused.
“Lydia?”Fenrir floated toward us.
“Your sister is being persistent,” I replied through our link.
Fenrir appeared at my side and placed a gentle hand on my head. “Time to open the portal,”
“No.”I pushed my head into Fenrir’s side.
He stared down at me, his eyes wide. “What?”
“You want to save your parents?” I asked. “Well, here’s your chance to free Loki and get revenge on your sister.”
