Until, that was, I came up to my father.
My identity rushed back to me all at once. Unlike the other souls, this one was personal.
In front of me was the man who died to save me. The man I’d dreamed about intermittently for a decade. I couldn’t stop the wetness that welled up in my eyes, both from the agony that contorted his features, and from the knowledge that I’d get to free him from that suffering.
That realization led to another: There was a method to this madness. The souls I released weren’t picked at random. Each had arrived here unjustly.
My power gushed through me the moment I touched my father’s soul. The terrible agony that consumed him fled.
I ran my hand reverently over his essence as his form brightened and filled out. It didn’t take much energy to revive his soul completely.
A shimmering hand reached for me. I looked up, meeting my father’s gaze. I felt the brush of his spirit as he ran his phantom fingers down my cheek, gazing at me with stark adoration.
I leaned into his touch, and I smiled at him. “I’ve missed you, Dad,” I said, blinking back my tears. He moved his hand to his heart, then back to me.
I nodded, understanding what he couldn’t say. “I love you too.”
I released his soul from the fire, and stepped back to watch his ascent. My heart rejoiced as he floated up beyond the reach of the flames, where they could never get to him again. I stayed rooted in place until he joined the other souls gathered far above me.
When I resumed my work, I allowed my body to be directed by the power once more. I kept vigilant, however. My father’s release had reminded me that Andre was down here somewhere. With the same senses I used to locate souls, I searched the vast fields of flame for him.
I couldn’t feel him. Where was he? Could he still be … alive?
Hope flooded me, only to get squashed a moment later. He’d told me himself; he’d been mortally wounded. He might not die right away, but he was indeed dying. And that was a soul the devil would claim.
But as I continued to work, I didn’t sense him, nor did I come across him. My steps began to slow as I realized, ominously, that my power was coming to a close and I still hadn’t found my soulmate amidst the flames.
And then my feet dragged me forward one final time. I could feel it inside me—this soul would be the last I released.
I swallowed as I came to a stop in front of a reedy man with hollow cheeks and sparse white hair.
Not Andre.
I’d released thousands upon thousands of individuals. Among them I’d seen some vaguely familiar faces from Andre’s coven—an alarming discovery since I believed many of these individuals to still be alive—but I hadn’t come across my soulmate. Worse, I still couldn’t sense him.
I stared out across the roaring inferno that spanned as far as the eye could see. Despair curled around my heart like a lover.
My soulmate was lost to me.
Chapter 30
Andre
Andre stumbled down the persecution tunnel set into his library. He clutched a hand tightly to his chest, staving off the slow drip of blood through his wound. Now that he was moving, something beyond his own determination compelled him onwards. Fire burned through his blood. No longer could he feel the magic draining from him. No longer was the pain so horrible that it seized up his muscles.
Andre paused to lean against the wall and rub his eyes. His fingers came away with blood.
The celestial request quill hadn’t worked. Gabrielle had one chance, and she wasted it trying to save him. He hadn’t been strong enough to pull away, and now the quill was gone, along with the last of his hope.
The world would have to save itself. God wasn’t listening.
Ahead of him the ground rose where the iron hatch fit into the ceiling. It took far longer than it should’ve to shove open the metal hatch. A dying Andre had little more strength than a mortal man.
He hissed as he pressed a forearm against the iron and pushed, the position causing his wound to tear further. His lips curled inwards at the searing pain, but he pressed on, the need to be outside now singing through his veins. With a deep groan, the door released, smacking into the ground with a heavy thump.
Andre braced himself for more agony as he hauled himself up by his arms. It was all he could do not to cry out like a babe.
Bloody heavens above, that hurt.
Once he dragged himself onto the grass, he rolled to his back, took a fortifying breath, then pushed to his feet. His free hand went to the hilt of his sword as he scanned the horizon.
The fields surrounding his home were overrun with supernatural creatures. Among them were the Fallen, the devil’s most coveted demons because, like him, they were once angels. He caught sight of Lila, that hateful cambion, urging men on with her voice.
Distinctly fewer vampires were out here now. He had to press his lips together when he caught sight of the piles of clothes. They’d died defending him, knowing as they fought that if they fell, it would be to their doom. Had he ever doubted their loyalty, he did no longer.
Flashes of light arced across the sky as witches and sorcerers threw spells. Sparks flew as the swords of angels clashed against the claws of winged demons. The entire place looked like a swirling stew of light and shadow.
Chaos.
Andre could imagine it devolving further—each creature losing their form, creation unmaking itself until the world returned to the primordial place where it began.
He blinked and the sharpness of the landscape roared back to life around him. As soon as fighters caught sight of him, he’d become a target. And just about everyone out here wanted him dead.
He gritted his teeth as he pulled the sword from its sheath, the metal zinging as he did so. To die on the battlefield was a glorious death.
Right in the middle of the melee, the devil slashed through beings indiscriminately with Andre’s sword, a maniacal smile on his face. He must’ve felt Andre’s stare because he turned and his gaze locked on the vampire king.
The devil’s eyes narrowed.
Straightening his stance, Andre stalked forward. The devil should’ve taken his head when he had the opportunity. Andre was going to make him regret it.
Only he never got the chance.
Gabrielle
I searched the fire for my soulmate, used every sense I could to probe the vast reaches of hell.
Nothing.
Despair was giving way to panic.
“Andre!” I shouted. My voice got lost in the roar of the fire and screams of the doomed.
Above me, the souls I’d released were descending back towards the flames. Why were they returning? My power rushed over me, pushing my selfish thoughts back, urging me to lift my hands to these souls and embrace them.
No.
I dug my heels in and fought against the instinct to give in.
“Andre!” I shouted again, moving away from the souls.
They followed me, closing in from all sides. I tried to push past them only to feel their phantom hands latch onto me. I shrugged them off only to feel more grab me.
They’d done this before, but then I’d had no real reason not to follow them. Now I had plenty. I forced my way through them, noticing absently that the fire no longer had the ability to burn them.
I managed to slog several feet before too many had hold of me. I called on my power, seeking to magically force them off, only to feel it shy away from me.
Traitorous thing!
My feet left the ground as the souls lifted me up.
“Wait, stop!” I struggled against them.
The spirits wouldn’t let me go, and together we rose high above the flames. The souls that remained tethered to the fire screamed louder, echoing my own thoughts. “Let me go!”
A familiar soul brushed against my cheek. I opened my eyes, and my father stared back at me. He shook his head then tilted his face to the darkness above us, where thousands upon thousands of souls floated. He to
ok my hand, and with a small smile, led me up.
His message was clear enough. We were all leaving this place.
“N-no,” I sobbed out.
This should’ve been joyous. My father held my hand, and we were rising from the pits of hell. But the farther away we moved, the more certain I was that I would not be returning. I couldn’t save Andre if I never came back.
Then and there I made myself a vow: I’d see this through. And despite whatever came to pass, I wouldn’t rest until Andre was in my arms again. Only then did I stop fighting and allow these souls to sweep me away.
The darkness above us receded as thousands of glowing spirits illuminated our surroundings. So many surrounded me that I could barely see beyond them. I caught the barest glimpse of the Underworld’s cavernous roof.
It struck me then just how finite this place actually was. The land of the damned really wasn’t so big. It might stretch on for leagues and leagues, but it had a floor and it had a ceiling. No wonder the devil was so eager to leave this place.
Souls crowded around me, their faces upturned. All these people had been bound unfairly to hell, all so that the devil could gain a bit more strength. I’d righted his wrong and freed them. That counted for something. More than just something. That counted for a lot.
I reached the ceiling and, like before, the earth parted to make way for me. I could still feel my father’s hand in mine. Beyond all that peace that suffused his touch, I could feel his deep love. It was all going to be okay.
Unlike the other times I’d pushed through the earth, this time the ground didn’t fight me. I flowed through it, gaining speed along with the specters. Together we rose higher and higher until I could sense vestiges of life.
All at once, we burst through the ground, and then we were on earth.
Chapter 31
The ground shook as angels, humans, demons, and everything in between fought. In the sky, underwater, on land. With swords and guns and claws and fangs and talons. Red blood and black blood and blood that seemed to be weaved of light all spilled. Beings that stared eternity in the eye fell alongside mortals.
The elements stirred themselves into a frenzy as good and evil fought for dominance. Waves crested hundreds of feet high, swallowing up ships and crashing into coastlines. Gale force winds tore at buildings and swept away homes. Fires blossomed in thick forested areas and spread like a disease, descending upon entire towns. As worlds fought, the earth rebelled, ripping apart like all the prophecies feared it would.
The ground trembled, so subtle at first that it couldn’t be told apart from the quakes that already shook it. It was just enough to scatter pebbles and further disturb the already agitated bodies of water.
A high pitched noise sounded in the distance. It rose in volume as the earth’s tremors built on themselves. The noise grew louder and louder, until battle cries could no longer be heard over the sharp whine.
All at once, the sound cut out.
Fighters lowered their weapons in the silence.
And then, with a cataclysmic boom, the dead rose.
Gabrielle
I emerged from the earth alongside the souls I’d freed. They lifted into the sky, their forms taking a warm golden hue. Beyond them, I could make out Bishopcourt.
I’d surfaced in the middle of the battlefield. I only had a moment to take it in, soaked with blood and broken bodies. Those that hadn’t fallen on the field watched me and the souls rising. My skin hadn’t stopped glowing, and now it shone as bright as the angels that hovered in the sky.
My entire life had led me to this moment, and my one true purpose was to return these souls to their rightful home. I realized that now as they continued to ascend.
My father brushed a kiss against my cheek, just a whisper of contact, and then he let me go. I felt the loss deep within me; I would see him again, but not for a while yet. But he had his fate and I had mine.
He was the last one to leave me. I watched his form grow smaller and smaller as the heavens finally claimed him.
“Consort!”
The devil’s voice shattered the peace. He stalked forward, his face twisted in anger. That fury had no place here.
Even though the souls had released me, I kept rising, my toes skimming the grass only for a moment. The magic within me drew me off the ground and into the air. I could feel it crawling beneath the skin, burning, burning—
“Consort!” he yelled again.
Power was filling me up. Too much of it. The blinding light of it obscured my vision, but I made out the devil’s form. He stalked towards me, deep shadows shrouding him.
The pain of so much power dug its claws in me. I could barely focus on him over it. And conscious thought … that was going too.
Still a vessel …
The devil stopped in front of me, his inhuman rage mingling with a yearning so deep it shone out of his eyes. I reached down for him as I rose, beckoning him to take my hand. I was still low enough to grab his if he gave it to me.
He stared at my outstretched hand. His yearning won, and he reached for me.
I realized what was going to happen an instant before it did. And in that instant, I hesitated—briefly.
Even after all the carnage and destruction he’d wrought, a part of me didn’t want to see this being hurt. But I was just a vessel, and a far more generous being steadied my hand.
The devil grasped it, and his eyes locked on mine. For one earth-shattering second, everything else fell away.
I saw the future.
A lifetime of endless night. Years and decades of coaxing kindness from whatever this being had left of his heart and nurturing forgiveness from mine. Then centuries of affection given freely between us. Finally, an eternity spent creating something else out of his prison beneath the ground and the worlds he’d conquered, something that seemed closer to paradise than damnation, something closer to happiness than hate.
Amidst all those nights of change, I was there, in his arms, in his mind, in that slowly healing heart of his. All those nights he cradled me close, whispered words of wondrous praise. And I came to love him, and he came to love me. Together we vanquished the monster within him, and hell as we knew it became nothing more than a horrific nightmare of a time before forgiveness.
I almost screamed as the vision cut off. That future was the future the fates had plotted all those centuries ago, one that would change worlds and lives and afterlives. I’d held that future in my grasp. But now, now it slid through my hands like grains of sand.
Even no longer mortal, I couldn’t handle life on the scale of gods, love on the scale of gods.
I was just a vessel. A vessel nearly used up.
The world came back into focus, and for one terrible moment, I saw Asiri staring back at me, the benevolent god of the dead. Hope brightened his eyes an instant before he realized the future we saw would never be his.
With a loud clap of thunder, my connection to the devil snapped. That strange, inhuman presence that had filled my heart was now shoved out.
Reflexively, I loosened my grip. The devil’s hand slid from mine, and the earth opened beneath him. His lips parted, but no words or screams came out. We shared one last piercing gaze, and then he was falling, falling farther and farther down that chasm in the earth. The entire time he made no noise, but his eyes—his eyes said a million things.
The ground sealed up above him, and the devil, for the second time in his long existence, fell to the pits of hell.
Andre
Andre staggered at the sight of his soulmate. She’d always been unearthly, but rising from the ground, her skin shining brighter than he’d ever seen it, leading countless souls from the earth … in that moment she truly was not of this world.
His broken heart sang at the sight of all those glowing souls. The devil had banished Gabrielle to hell, and instead of following orders, she’d coordinated some sort of widespread prison break. For once Gabrielle’s rebellious streak was causing someone else grie
f. A smile wavered along his lips.
That’s my girl.
The entire field watched raptly. Everyone, save the devil. His chest rose and fell, rose and fell.
“Consort!” he shouted. The shadows around his form expanded, and energy poured off him. He wasn’t masking his otherness like he always had. And an angry Lucifer wasn’t good. It fed right back into his power. “Consort!”
Andre began striding forward, gripping his sword tighter.
Gabrielle reached for the devil, her body levitating off the ground.
The devil grasped his soulmate’s hand. Something about the embrace made Andre halt his progress. He couldn’t see the devil’s face, but he could see Gabrielle’s. For the first time in a long time, he couldn’t read her. She was utterly devoid of expression. This woman of his, he finally caught a glimpse of what she might look like after the eons chipped away every last piece and parcel of her humanness. She would’ve been nothing like Andre. Time would’ve fashioned her into a distant but humane goddess. Someone far loftier than him.
Andre swallowed. This had always been above and beyond him. He could see that now. Gabrielle rode the power; the power didn’t ride her. She was the sun, and the devil that held onto her was the deep blackness of the universe.
And then the electricity that filled the air, the magic that coated his tongue, something about it … changed. A clap of thunder echoed in the dark sky. Below Gabrielle, the earth split open, and she released the devil’s hand.
The dark god fell silently, and even from this distance, this angle, Andre could tell that the devil hadn’t looked away from Gabrielle. The ground resealed, and Andre’s soulmate had done away with Satan as though he were the mortal and she the goddess of old.