“That does not look like it is worth guarding,” Leo said doubtfully.
“It must be important or why else would the Hellmaster have chased after us?”
“He came this close to catching us,” Sam said and held his thumb and finger a fraction apart. His skin was ashen and he looked like he was going to faint. I had a feeling I looked even worse than he did.
“How many more pieces are there?” Nathan asked.
“Eight, I think,” I replied. “Morax and the others have heard rumors that a piece is hidden in all nine realms of hell.”
Leo’s face reflected his dread at that news. “Does this mean that you will have to enter hell eight more times?”
“It sure looks like it,” I said unhappily. “If no one has any objections, I’m going to take a shower then pass out for a few hours.” When no one spoke, I dragged myself upstairs and retrieved a change of clothes from my room.
I examined myself in the bathroom mirror. Just as I’d suspected, I looked even worse than Sam. My hair was filthy and matted and the braids were coming undone. My face was pale and was smeared with dirt. I bit back yelps of pain when I peeled my clothes off. My wounds were healing, but I was afraid I’d have more horrible scars to add to the one that already marred my chest. The punctures stung when I scrubbed my body a little too vigorously.
After taking the longest shower of my life, I wasn’t surprised when I saw Nathan waiting for me in my bedroom. He crooked his finger at me and I was helplessly drawn to him. I had enough sense to close the door before I crossed the room.
“I want to see your wounds,” he said then knelt in front of me. He drew my sweatpants up and took my calf in his hands. The bite marks from the grotesque hellrat were red and inflamed, but they weren’t as bad as they had been. “Are you injured anywhere else?” he asked me tightly.
I debated about lying, but remembered the tortured souls that had been sent to hell for their petty sins. “Yes,” I said instead.
“Show me,” he demanded. Already blushing, I lifted my sweater and t-shirt to show him my side. Sorrow flashed across his flawless face. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the wound. It made my stomach flutter, but the contact didn’t fix the injury. He looked up and met my eyes and I was instantly enraptured. “Will you allow me to heal you?” he asked.
It wasn’t possible to deny him, not that I wanted to. I’d have done almost anything if it meant he would kiss me again. “Yes,” I repeated.
Standing up gracefully, he slid a hand around to the base of my neck and I tilted my head back. We stared at each other for a moment that seemed to last forever and I saw longing in his cobalt eyes. Then his mouth descended on mine and I knew what it felt like to be in heaven. Pure bliss filled me and I felt my flesh knitting back together.
I wanted the kiss to last forever, but Nathan pulled away with a regretful sigh. His fingertips trailed wistfully down my face, but when I opened my eyes, he was already gone.
I’d managed to defeat the master gate and had found the first piece of an unknown object of power, but my mission had only just begun. Even if I did collect all nine pieces and somehow put them back together, I had no idea what the object was or what it would do. Until someone had a better idea, I would just have to keep on this path and hope that it wouldn’t end in the destruction of the entire human race.
I knew that defeating the hordes of hell should have been paramount, but my fingers went to my tingling lips where I could still feel the touch of Nathan’s mouth on mine. I was in danger of losing more than just my life. I was in far greater peril of losing my heart to the angel who had been tasked with saving me from death.
Titles by J.C. Diem:
Mortis Series
Death Beckons
Death Embraces
Death Deceives
Death Devours
Death Banishes
Death Returns
Death Conquers
Death Reigns
Shifter Squad Series
Seven Psychics
Zombie King
Dark Coven
Rogue Wolf
Corpse Thieves
Snake Charmer
Vampire Matriarch
Web Master
Hell Spawn
Hellscourge Series
Road To Hell
To Hell And Back, the second book in the Hellscourge series, is due to be released in June.
If you would like to be advised of any new releases, please visit my website: www.jcdiem.com and sign up to receive my newsletter.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four