Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5) (21 page)

Darius closed his eyes and reached out with his senses.  He did not feel her presence, the
tremendous magnitude of her power.  “No, it isn’t her.  The Sola isn’t here,” he said and tuned into the impressive waves of energy traveling the span of the tunnels.  “But I feel powerful forces coming.”

Baal began scuffing a hoof against the tiled floor, and Lilith’s whip materialized in her hand, hissing and spitting like a charmed snake as it writhed and wound about her thigh. 

“Why wouldn’t the Sola be with them if they know you’re here?” Naberius asked as he struck his hand with his club. 

The sloppy demon had a valid point.  Whoever wandered the cavernous halls of the underground maze did not expect to find him.

“They must not know I’m here.  Why don’t we surprise them?” he said with a satisfied smile just before he tucked himself into a concealed niche along the rough tunnel wall.  Lilith and Naberius followed suit, as did Baal, though his compliance was begrudging. 

As Darius waited patiently and hear
d the approach of footfalls, a thrill fluttered through his stomach.  Perhaps Desmond would be among those who loomed.  Desmond would be a prize of epic proportions.  He would murder the nauseatingly divine looking warlock; perhaps even ruin his pretty face in the process just for sport.  Regardless, removing Desmond from the picture would irrevocably tip the scales in his favor.  Without Desmond, Arianna could never defeat him.  The battle would be won before it truly began, with him emerging the victor.  

He could hardly suppress the rush of adrenaline that
came with his eagerness when shadows, blacker than the inky tunnel, appeared.  Quickly and quietly, the intruders advanced, and Darius was able to see Leo and Sorath, two powerful warlocks, venerable elders in the circles they existed in.  To him, they were ancient refuse about to be disposed of.  With Leo and Sorath, another familiar face emerged.  Dane, the lovesick identical twin of Jason and brother to Avery, and Beth Parker, a feisty little package he’d had the pleasure of killing, stole toward him.  A pair of younger warlocks trailed, the weak thrum of their energy barely readable. 

As soon as the young warlocks passed, Darius slip
ped from hiding and blasted the two of them.  Veins of deadly garnet flowed from him in gory torrents, drilling their bodies with an unending stream of razor-sharp spines of energy until they dropped to their knees.  He did not relent despite that they’d fallen.  He continued until they flopped forward, their life force stripped from them. 

In his periphery, Darius saw that Lilith
was circling Sorath.  A powerful and seasoned warlock, he knew the elder would not fall easily, yet had every confidence in both Lilith’s bloodlust and mercilessness. 

With sharp, lethal grace, she stalked around him, her piercing azure gaze never wavering as tiny volts of electric power stormed in her hand like a miniature lightning storm.  Then without warning, she pounced, letting loose a smooth flow of energy as clear and cold as ice.  Sorath pivoted, surprisingly spry and lithe
, and brought his hands high, a lavender tide bolting from each and converging in a massive spout.

The magnitude of his spray
nearly knocked Lilith off her feet as the dueling powers collided, screeching in protest as they battled.  Embers rained like tiny shards of shattered glass, light catching and reflecting the prismatic flecks of color in each. 

So
rath, seeing that his opponent had been taken by surprise and was reeling, advanced a step.  Lilith retreated several more steps, her face unreadable.  Darius sensed, however, that her cunning mind had devised a plan, and that like a black window, she would ensnare the venerated warlock and strike. 

Drilling her with his energy so that her back touched the far wall of the tunnel, Sorath undoubtedly felt certain he would triumph.  A victorious smirk carved his features, the taste of justice on his tongue.  But
Lilith had other plans. 

When Sorath was arm’s length from her, she ceased launching her jet of energy.  Sorath stumbled forward and, before he could regain his footing, her whip was in hand, snapping and crackling to life like a deadly serpent.  She snapped it forward, catching
Sorath about his neck, her whip of fire a noose tightening around his throat. 

Surprise lit his eyes, the attack so sudden he didn’t have time to raise his hands and retaliate.  His stream of force dripped before drying like a hose that had been deactivated.  His eyes bulged, the veins in them bursting so that his eyes glowed like firelight.  Lilith tightened her grip
until finally Sorath’s neck snapped. 

Their attack, happening in an instantaneous squall of
fire and death, caught the attention of Leo, and Dane.  The two would be tricky to deal with, though still no match for Darius’ unrivaled powers. 

Leo struck first at Baal while Dane and Naberius circled each other. 
A blast of pearlescent flames exploded like cannon against Baal’s chest, shaking the ground beneath them.  Powder-fine silt rained from overhead and Baal stumbled backward, temporarily disoriented.  But soon he regained his footing, as well as his focus, and charged the aged warlock.  Unleashing an unearthly howl, Baal moved with speed that betrayed his heft and closed the distance between him and Leo, swinging his arms like a deadly windmill, alternately raising them high overhead before bringing them crashing down against Leo’s body.  The elder hardly had time to conjure his energy.  Thin, anemic trickles of fire leaked from his fingertips several times before he collapsed to the ground, Baal atop him, pummeling with his massive fists. 

Darius, refusing to be denied the pleasure of being thrown into the mix
, saw Dane as an opportunity. 

“Stand down, Naberius,” he ordered the bludgeon-wielding clod just as he started to launch his attack.  Naberius froze, his club poised in his co
cked and ready arm, his rounded features sharpened with deadly intent.  “Dane and I are old friends, aren’t we Dane?”

Dane glowered at him
unrelentingly.  He was unbothered by the show of rampant rage and quickly produced a pulpy clot of fire.  Burbling and pulsating like an immense artery, the sphere of flames grew to the size of a basketball.  Darius volleyed it between his hands, his eyes never leaving Dane as he toyed with him.  

“Yes, indeed, we go way back, don’t we?  We even pined for the same girl.  Of course, your feelings for her were genuine,” he spat the last word of his sentence with revulsion.  “And mine were, well, nonexistent.”  He snickered cruelly.  “But she doesn’t want me, does she?  You, however, are a different story.”

Dane’s penetrating gaze wavered almost imperceptibly; almost.  Darius immediately capitalized on the moment and began infiltrating Dane’s mind.  While he couldn’t read his thoughts outright, he could make out images, snippets of memories, of hopes even.  Most warlocks were difficult to read, their will nearly impenetrable once they became aware of what he was attempting, but Dane was practically an open book. 

Instantly, images and thought
s rushed forth.  A sensation of overwhelming, heartrending love coated his mind, gummy and insubstantial like cotton candy.  Darius wanted to scream, the love-struck warlock’s hope exploding through his brain like a spike.  He bit the inside of his lip as he fought the urge to vomit.  All the while looks of longing flashed like a strobe light, dizzying and wretched.  Dane yearned for Arianna’s love while she ached for another.  All of it was pathetic, laughable!  He’d never witnessed a more sappy display of emotion. 

His read of Dane had occurred within a fraction of a second, leavin
g him no time to attack, but giving Darius a considerable advantage. 

“Oh Dane,” he shook his head and chuckled.  You can have her if you really want her.”

“Shut the hell up,” Dane growled.

“O
oh, the man-child’s balls have descended since last I saw him,” he addressed his audience.  “I know you love her,” he said and tried his best to keep from gagging.  “And she could love you too.”

“I said shut up!” Dane hissed, but Darius knew he was chipping away at his defenses. 

“I’m trying to help you.”

“And why would you do that, I wonder?”

“To help me, of course!  Is there any other reason?” he admitted.  “I have no reason to lie here, Dane.  Think about it.  You’re outnumbered.  Your friends are dead.  What possible reason would I have to blow smoke up your ass?”  He allowed his words to settle in Dane’s brain, to take root.  “I don’t give a damn about you.  You would be a pawn in my game.  But you’d be a live pawn who gets what he wants more than anything else in the world.”

Darius wanted to clap for himself. A little applause was certainly in order.  He could feel Dane’s will bending. 

“What I want more than anything in the world is to see you die,” Dane said through his teeth.

“Blah, blah, blah!  Such tough talk when in your heart you know that if Desmond was out of the picture sh
e would fall into your arms just as she almost did last time.”

Dane looked as if he’d been slapped.  Darius knew he’d struck a chord. 

“I could kill you right now, you know,” he told Dane.  “Right now, while you’re imagining a life without that self-righteous, goody-goody asshole always getting in the way, I could end you.  But I haven’t, yet.”  He made a clucking sound with his tongue. 

A cobalt orb glowed hotly in the palm of Dane’s hand, brightening briefly as his eyes narrowed and his brows lowered. 

“Arianna could be yours,” Darius pressed.  “I would let the two of you live.  You could spend the rest of your lives together.”

“She would never be with me.  She has Desmond,” Dane enunciated each word for emphasis. 

“That’s why I want you to kill him,” Darius retorted in the same tone.

Dane’s head reared, his upper lip curled over his teeth.

“Don’t look so surprised and offended.  You’ve thought about it.  I saw it.  And now I’m giving you permission to do it.”

Dane shook his head like a stubborn child.  “She doesn’t love me!” he shouted, his eyes wild and glassy.

“She does.  Having Desmond around, constantly sniffing at her heels, makes it impossible for her to explore her feelings.  She does love you, trust me.”

Dane’s will was against the ropes now.  He could feel it faltering.  He sniffled.  “I can’t, I can’t kill Desmond,” he stammered. “‘Cause if I do you’ll kill her.”

“You can!” Darius rallied.  “You can kill Desmond, and I will not kill Arianna.”

“No, I can’t,” Dane replied weakly.

“If you don’t, I will kill you now, and you’ll never know what it’s like to have her love, to feel the satiny smoothness of her firm skin beneath your fingertips, her plump, pink lips against yours.”  He let his words paint a picture in Dane’s mind.  “Kill Desmond and paradise is yours.  You’ll live happily ever after with Arianna.”

Dane’s eyes darted from left to right, the orb in his hand dimming considerably as his attention was diverted elsewhere. 

“If you don’t, I will kill them both anyway.  You’ll be saving her life,” Darius added.

A long pause passed between them. 

“My offer expires soon, Dane.  Choose your fate: the woman you love can live and be with you, or I’ll kill her and her blood will be on your hands.  Make up your mind now before I make that choice for you,” Darius warned and knew he had him. 

Closing his eyes, Dane blew out a breath.  When he opened them, he said, “I’ll do it.”  His expression was pained, a tortured glint glimmering in his eyes, but as Darius gazed deeply, into the depths of his soul, he saw that he told the truth.

Releasing a crimson tennis ball sized sphere that promptly exploded against Dane’s chest and sent him reeling backward, Darius waited until he regained his balance and brushed the sooty residue from his shirt before he spoke.  “Now get out of here and do what I’ve told you to do, what you’ve committed to doing.”

“H-how will I explain that I lived?” Dane asked with eyes so wide and guileless he wondered how the young warlock had managed to live as long as he had. 

“I don’t know,
think
of something!” he shouted.  “Now go!”

Dane disappeared, sifting back to wherever the Sola was holed up, no doubt, after a quick wounded look. 

With him gone, Darius clapped his hands together loudly.  “It looks like this is going to be easier than we thought,” he said to Baal, Lilith and Naberius. 

He then turned and faced the section of air that quickened.  The edges glistened as he warred with time and space. But before long, the shimmying air became unstable, molecules bumping one another furiously as a hole between realms was punched. 
The iron-rich aroma of blood pervaded and visions of merciless slaughter bombarded his brain.  They were comforting sensations that reminded him of home. 

A shiver passed through him as the portal burst open and demons came rushing through. 

He held the portal open for as long as he could, allowing many access to the earthly plane.  He managed to stay on his feet the entire time.  And when the time to sift to the next portal came, he turned to his minions and said with arms outstretched at his sides, “Two more to go and all of this belongs to us.”