Dominion (32 page)

Sela gave a sharp command, and the angels in the sky divided into two halves. I wondered what Daligo said when Sela came for the war angels, or if he even knew.

I flew up to command my assigned party of angels. As soon as they saw me, they put space between us.

Below me, half of the war angels hovered together with Sela.

“
Is there really going to be a war? Is Tristan going to be all right?” I heard Abigail ask Valoel.

“
Yes, dear,” she answered. “Yes, there is.” Then she focused on the war legions. “Remember, nothing you see in the Underworld is truly real,” Valoel shouted into the air, and her voice was as powerful as any true leader.

Sela led the way, and half of the war angels flew after her.

“
Gideon! Be careful!” Abigail called. One of her hands clenched the medallion I gave her. Valoel flew in a wide arc and zoomed after Sela. My eyes met Abigail’s for a brief second before she put on a brave face and sped off after Valoel and Sela.

“
Anyone who finds Tristan should let me know,” I commanded the frightened angels. “I’ll kill him myself if he’s still alive.”

INFERNO

*Abigail*

“
Politicians start wars.

Men fight wars.

Governments win wars.

But the innocents loses war

For it is them who hurts the most.”

Melody Manful

š›

A
bigail, breathe in!

You can do this. You are doing this for Tristan!

My father once said, “The greatest dangers you can get into are the ones you see coming. The ones that just happen are merely roads waiting to be crossed.”

Well, Dad, I literally just walked into a very great danger—how was that for a lesson?

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

I almost hurt Gideon. I didn’t mean for him to look at me as if I were dangerous. I just wanted Tristan back, and he wouldn’t quit talking about how weak he thought I was!

How did I even get here? I had been a good girl. Okay, maybe not perfect, but did almost kissing my boyfriend’s nemesis merit this? I was on a flying horse, in the middle of oblivion, and I was afraid of heights.

When Gideon asked to take me home, I almost jumped at the opportunity, but I remembered what my father once said: “Cowardice isn’t a dereliction of duty but rather a part of our humanity. However, only the brave ones are known for their humanity.”

Gideon thought I was weak. That I would see lost souls in the Underworld and feel bad for them. What he didn’t understand was that no one was innocent once you were in a war—you were there to either kill or die.

The warriors speeding in front of me were all dressed in black. Back at the palace when I first saw them, none of them wore a smile. They looked menacing. I didn’t want to turn around to see what was going on behind me. Frankly, I didn’t want to see Gideon. At the moment, he scared me more than the idea of actually heading into the Underworld.

I didn’t know what lay ahead of us, but I knew from the look in Gideon’s eyes earlier that the trip was going to be dangerous. I knew if I wanted to help Tristan, I would have to stay and fight. But would I survive? A part of me wished I wouldn’t, not after I took part in the deaths of my father and Felix, and then there was Tristan. I was positive that if we hadn’t almost kissed, he wouldn’t have left.

“
Your father and Felix’s deaths weren’t your fault.”

I had no idea how Valoel ended up beside me, but she startled me when she spoke.

“
And Tristan going to the Underworld wasn’t your fault, either.”

“
I almost kissed him, and—” I held tighter unto the horse.

“
It’s not your fault,” she said once more.

I didn’t know what came over me. “I love him,” I whispered and then bit my tongue.

“
Who, Gideon or Tristan?”

My heart skipped a beat. “I love—” Without waiting for an answer, she flew away. I tried to continue my speech to myself, but I wasn’t sure which name was supposed to come out.

“
I’m a murderer. A liar. And a soon-to-be heart breaker,” I said to no one.

Pain gripped my heart, but I didn’t know if I was upset because of how I felt or if I was mourning for what I was about to lose.

“
We’re here!” Valoel shouted, and I looked down at a labyrinth. Underneath us, in front of an iron gate, stood who I was sure were the Lumenian warriors. There were thousands of them, all clothed in grey. When I saw them, I knew that there truly was going to be a war. And the best part was that I was caught right in the middle of it, and if I was lucky, I’d even get to die for causing trouble for those around me.

“
Stay close,” Valoel told me as she helped me off the horse. I followed her as she headed over to the angels who all stood behind the gates. I could hear screaming voices around us, souls crying for help, and I understood why Gideon said I couldn’t handle the Underworld. He was right, hearing the painful cries made me want to stop and help them.

“
Princess,” one of the angels said, bowing to Sela.

Sela asked him, “Is there a problem here?”

“
King Babylon saw the fallen star and sent us here, but we can’t enter because the gate is locked.”

Sela didn’t get a chance to answer because Gideon’s voice called out from behind us. “What are you waiting for?” he asked irately, appearing beside us. I wanted to go over to him, but Valoel took my hand and stopped me.

“
The gate is locked,” Sela said, and then out of nowhere, a tiger and a lion appeared in front of the gate. I tightened my grip on Valoel’s hand.

Gideon smirked when he saw the animals. “Panic and Pain,” he said. “I knew D would send you to do her dirty work for her.”

I knew the story of the Underworld, and I’d watched
Hercules
enough times to know that Pain and Panic were Hades’ minions. What I didn’t know was that they’d be vicious animals.

Gideon walked to the animals. I almost screamed for him to stop, but I bit my tongue when I remembered he wasn’t human. “Pain!” Gideon called. “Where is Tristan?”

I watched bewilderedly as the animals transformed into people—a woman and a man, both approximately in their twenties.

“
Gideon, welcome,” the man, Pain, said with a smile. He backed away as Gideon approached.

Gideon asked, “Do you want to open the gate, or do you want me to?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead he released a powerful flame that erupted against the iron. The gate cracked open with a loud, grating sound.

“
Don’t make me ask you about Tristan’s whereabouts one more time,” Gideon threatened, and then suddenly, with a flick of Gideon’s hand, Pain levitated in front of him.

“
He’s on his way to see D,” Pain wheezed in a choked voice. “Please don’t kill me!” he cried. There was a crash as Gideon threw Pain hard on the ground and made his way to the gate. Gideon took another step, and then two swords appeared out of nowhere. Pain and Panic blocked his way.

“
You cannot enter,” said Panic. “And don’t try to fight, because you’re already surrounded.”

Sure enough, when I glanced around, I saw that all sorts of creatures surrounded us—the kind that looked like they’d died and come back to life. They were nameless creatures I had never before seen, not even in horror movies or my worst nightmares. All of them had dark eyes and icy breath, and they carried fierce weapons. Their faces showed anger and nothing else. I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking out the sight of them. I figured if I couldn’t see them, then my fear would lessen.

My breath was now coming out sharply. Terror raced through my body as the screaming around us became louder and louder.

“
Abigail, hey, breathe,” Valoel whispered beside me.

I forced myself to open my eyes. “I’m fine,” I lied and inhaled deeply.

“
Sorry about this, Gideon, but I’m afraid no one is going home today,” Panic rasped.

“
It’s time!” Pain shouted.

Suddenly, spears flew in every direction. Both the Lumenians and Grandinians held weapons, and some were able to shield themselves before the spears hit them. But others fell screaming from the sky. I didn’t have time to shield myself, but luckily for me, Valoel had my back.

“
I love killing,” Panic told Pain loudly from inside the gate as it began closing. Gideon was quick, though. He managed to blast the gate into flames again and rushed inside. Valoel, Sela, some Lumenians and Grandinians, and I managed to leap inside with him before the gate was magically replaced and closed.

The area we entered looked like a battlefield. It was a large field with heat and steam emerging from the ground beneath.

Valoel let go of my hand and flew high into the air. “Brothers!” she shouted, and immediately all eyes turned to her. “We have less than two minutes before that gate opens again.” She pointed to the Iron Gate. “Now hear this: thousands left for war, but only nine will return.”

Valoel’s words froze me in my spot. Not one of the warriors made a sound.

Gideon stood beside Sela, and both of them watched Valoel.

Valoel continued her speech, “Brothers, I’m not going to promise you tomorrow. The truth is, we are going to die, and the best we can do is to take as much of D’s army with us as we can!” The warriors cheered. “Do we want our families to weep tomorrow for their loss?” Valoel asked and the warriors shouted together, “No!”

“
No!” she continued. “Tomorrow, we want them to toast to our victory!” The warriors shouted in agreement. “So raise your swords, brothers, and fight! Fight and kill!” The warriors raised their swords and shouted cheers. “We are at war!” Valoel threw her hands into the air, and then suddenly, the sky was filled with flaming arrows, all of them heading toward the gate.

The gates blasted open the moment the arrows reached it, and then chaos started. My eyes met Gideon’s before he disappeared. I drew my sword and inhaled deeply as the chaos around me grew intense.

Valoel appeared behind me. “Abby, you have to fight. Kill anything and anyone you don’t know,” she said.

“
The warriors, why don’t they care that they will all die?” I asked, trying my hardest to block out the cries around me.

Valoel smiled and said, “It’s simple. Any angel would rather die for Tristan than live, because without him, none of us would be alive. He’s our savior. The warriors would rather have him live to protect their families than live themselves and die with their families.”

I didn’t understand. “But what are they afraid of? What is it that only Tristan can save them from?”

“
Gideon,” she replied, and then she was gone. She left me alone, standing in the middle of a battlefield.

It seemed that whenever I thought Gideon couldn’t be all that evil, I was proven wrong. I hadn’t known Tristan or Gideon were that powerful and feared. I was terrified, but I was also highly alert. I clasped my medallion, breathed in deeply, and joined the battle.

The first creature my sword slid into turned into ash, and I almost dropped my sword and ran. But, with the thought of Tristan on my mind, I moved though the creatures like they weren’t terrifying and dangerous, sliding my sword through them.

“
Abigail, watch—” Valoel warned, but she was too late, my hand was already bleeding from a gash. I screamed out in pain.

The creature behind me, who looked like a human, smiled evilly when I looked at him. His breath was filled with smoke, and his eyes were cold, unnatural orbs. He raised his sword again, and I blocked it with mine.

After I slit the creature’s throat, it too turned into ashes. I ducked just in time to avoid what looked like a green light flying past me. It hit one of the Grandinian angels behind me, and immediately the angel turned into ice. Seconds later, he shattered into a thousand pieces.

Spears flew toward me from every direction. Both the Lumenian and Grandinian warriors were skillful. All sorts of colorful illuminations flew from every direction. Many creatures, both Underworld warriors and angels, fell from the air and turned to dust upon impact. There were screams of pain, and I even heard laughter. Smoke billowed from nooks and cracks.

“
Is that a human?” someone behind me asked. I didn’t have time to turn and look because a sword swung right in front of me.

“
In the name of the devil, it is!” It was Panic who answered.

“
But what is she doing here?” a male asked.

“
I don’t know,” Panic answered. “But I am about to find out.”

“
Abigail!” Gideon shouted my name, and I turned around just in time to dodge the arrow Panic sent flying at me.

When my eyes met Panic’s, I drew my own arrow and I let it fly. I watched as the arrow went straight toward Panic, not stopping until it pierced her chest. She cried as she fell. Gideon stood somewhere at the far end of the battlefield, looking at me with a shocked expression.