I would wait to confront her; right now, I had to worry about getting out of here before the avenging angel killed me himself. As I ascended the stairway, the hellhounds above me were howling with wild abandon. It was as though they spotted their prey and were on the hunt for us already.
It was as though they were awakened by the chaos.
The flames grew and licked at our feet as we ran. I ran hard because my very life depended on it. The hellhounds surrounded us, yipping and barking with excitement as the two of us sprinted in an effort to escape. In a show of power, I used my magic to push a heavy gust of air around us, throwing a number of the hounds back several feet. It wasn’t enough though. There were so many of them.
“Tituba, you have to work with me,” I exclaimed.
I pushed my arms outward, calling on my magic. I didn’t fully understand the limits of my power yet, but I would be damned if I died before I found them out.
The air swirled around me. I felt another sensation, like a finger poking at my back and the dusty air caught flame, circling us in a blazing barrier that protected us from the hounds. We rushed across the hall toward the gates, giving it everything we had.
The hellhounds yipped with excitement and pain as they fell back. One of them drew particularly close; I thrust my hand toward it and a blazing volley of flame propelled in its direction. The flames licked at his paws and he howled before finally slowing down.
I breached the gates of hell and Tituba followed not far behind me. I grasped at her arms and she grabbed desperately at mine before she started muttering words I didn’t understand once more. After that, the air started to rush all around us, and I felt like I was flying.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what was happening. I didn’t want to look down and see flames licking at the surfaces below but most of all, I didn’t want to look and see Abel flying up toward me with every intention of ending my life.
Finally, the air around us stopped rushing by and my feet slammed back onto solid ground. Tentatively, I opened my eyes, sighing in relief before I turned back to Tituba.
I took a deep breath and released her arms, before I placed the vial of Abel’s tears back on the table. I hadn’t trusted her from the start and now I had to know if my reservations had been correct after all. I had to know if she betrayed me.
“Finish the ritual and spell the collar, Tituba,” I started calmly. “Then, I want you to tell me how Abel broke free and what I need to do to stop him from killing me,” I said. I left no question that I was angry at the fact that he’d been released and that I wouldn’t hesitate to ensure that she would pay for her actions if she had been the one to release Abel.
She was quiet for several moments.
“It wasn’t me, Ruby. It was Lucifer. I swear on my life.”
“Explain,” I demanded.
“I had known it was a risk that Lucifer would free Abel once he realized who you were, but I hadn’t realized just how much of one it was when I took you with me,” she whispered and I was surprised to notice that her voice was shaking with her own fear.
“What do you mean?” I growled.
“The devil has seen something in you he wants. Your soul is purely innocent, but your body is now fully demon. With the release of Abel, it ensures that Lucifer has a chance to take it if he succeeds in killing you. Lucifer wants you in his clutches,” Tituba said softly.
She’d held back on her knowledge. That’s what I had sensed before.
“I see,” I replied softly.
“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen, Ruby,” she reassured me. I licked my lips, trying to decide what to think and what to do next.
She reached for me, grasping my fingers within hers and a soft warmth passed through me. At once, a vision of hell took over my mind and an icy shiver raced down my spine. The air rushed free from my lungs as a pair of red blazing eyes stared deep into my soul. A sinister laugh surrounded me, leaving me quaking with cold fear, but I did my best to swallow it down and not let it show.
“One day, you will be mine, Ruby, and I’ll cherish each and every scream that I tear from that beautiful body,” a very deep and gravelly voice reverberated all around me.
The vision ended abruptly, and Tituba gasped, clutching at her chest. A drop of blood dripped from her nose. She swayed to the side rather precipitously and I steadied her as quickly as I could, using a nearby white cloth to dab away at the blood on her face.
She whined quietly, eyes shut. She was trembling hard against me and I didn’t say anything as she slowly recovered. Her shaking slowed and her fingers gently relaxed against her chest.
“I shouldn’t have
done that,” she finally whispered.
“What happened?” I asked quietly, my concern for her growing by the second.
“I bridged a connection to hell. To do that requires an extreme amount of power. It’s one of the things that is at the very limits of my capabilities and Lucifer sensed it. He punished me for it by sending me a glimpse of what it would be like if he ever got a hold of me. He’s wanted me for a long time, although right now, capturing you would be far sweeter to him,” she explained, her voice hoarse and shaking with exhaustion.
“Why would you do that?”