Mine, Astaroth said again, and he threw me. I slammed against the wall of the circle, and then screaming, I fell…
And fell…
And fell…
The ground had disappeared and the abyss lay below.
I heard Dastien screaming off in the distance, but there wasn’t anything he could do.
It was too late.
I fell…
And fell…
And fell…
Into the dark abyss that was Hell.
Twenty-Five
The longer I fell the more scared I got until all I could smell was the sickly sweet stench of fear. My own fear. The smell turned my stomach worse than the stinky potions, and all I could do was scream…
And scream…
Until finally my screams were pulled from me.
My body slammed into the ground and bounced three times before I landed face first.
My breath sounded harsh in my ears, echoing like my brain was hollow. And it felt hollow. I couldn’t think. What was I going to do now? How was I going to get the fuck out of here? Was I dead?
I sure as shit hoped not.
One step at a time. I had to move. I had to get up.
It took me a second to stand, but I eventually managed it. Everything ached from the fall, but nothing was broken. Blood dripped from down one arm, where I’d scratched against the ground. The shock would wear off soon, and I’d be healed in a few minutes.
I turned in circles, but it was the same as last time. I was in Hell. Except this time I knew my body wasn’t with Dastien. I’d fallen here. The scratches proved that my body has physically come here. I was here. This wasn’t a vision.
I tried to think of one thing that was positive and the best I could come up with was that at least I had the benefit of what I’d learned the last time I’d been here.
Trying to find a way out of here wasn’t going to do any good. There was no way out, so I wasn’t going to tire myself by running all over the place.
He was going to mess with me. He was going to use that creepy as fuck voice, so I couldn’t let it freak me out.
I needed to break out of here, which meant I needed some magic. Strong magic.
Don’t even try it. Astaroth popped in front of me. He wasn’t in the form of the boy anymore. He was tall and made of shadows. Lines of reddish orange peeked through the shadows in spots. His red eyes burned through me and I tried to look away, but was frozen. Trapped by his gaze.
His too-large mouth grinned at me. I screamed before I could slap my hand over my mouth.
You’re never breaking out of here. Good thing you saw Samantha. She gave you her blood.
Samantha said she didn’t know Astaroth, but apparently he knew her. If I ever got out of here, I was going to have to have another chat with her.
My heart skipped a beat and my eyes burned as they widened. Forty-eight hours. She’d said don’t get sucked into hell for forty-eight hours. Because I’d be here for real. I could exist in both planes because of her blood, but not for long. If I died here, I’d be stuck here.
Be glad I haven’t dismembered you for your power. Yet. A chill ran through me. I’ll be back. He ran a fingertip down my face and I had to fight not to stumble back. If I thought that Luciana’s magic was slimy, then I wasn’t even sure what to call his.