Usually when people die and go to hell, it's permanent. For Reilly Scara, however, dying isn't necessary and she doesn't have to stay . . . or does she? As the battle between Good and Evil escalates to a new level, will Reilly and her friends save the world, or watch it fall?
Reilly, Angel of Darkness ~ Vol II
Book Three- Ruler of the Fallen, Book Four- Heaven or HellBy Amanda R Boyer Ellen RitchieAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2012 Amanda R Boyer with Ellen Ritchie
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4685-8468-4 Contents
The Guardian..................................1Seventh Hell..................................7Mary..........................................12The Cure......................................16Fear..........................................19David.........................................24Nightmares....................................28The Return of The General.....................41A Horrible Mistake............................46Misplaced Hatred..............................63Blameless.....................................72Queen For a While.............................74Old Scars.....................................78Choices.......................................85Traitor Among Us..............................89Revealed......................................92Losing Control................................97Rage..........................................100Deal..........................................102
Chapter One
The Guardian
"Does anyone know where we are!?" Edward shouted. He'd been asking that question for the past couple of days. Ever since he, Charlie, and I fell through a portal and landed, quite literally, in Hell.
"Yep, everyone in Hell, thanks to you." Charlie stated, still sounding annoyed. Edward, being the coward he was, had volunteered me to jump headfirst into the portal to Hell. However, I would have gone anyway. Violante was planning to resurrect an army and there was one demon down here whom I had no intentions of having to kill again.
Plus, I was ninety-nine percent sure that she'd stolen the one thing that might be able to help me. A scroll that I'd found in a secret room in the late Jezaba's castle. I was pretty sure it contained a cure, or someone who had a cure, for a curse that my father, Lieam Scara, (who is the demon I don't want to see again,) placed on me almost two years ago.
"Look, what else was I supposed to do?!" Edward demanded, still defending his action of 'act first, think never.'
"Nothing, you could have kept your mouth shut. Or, hey here's a thought, you could have gone yourself!" Charlie shouted.
"I should've stayed with Keira!" Edward moaned.
"That's the smartest thing you've said in three days!!" Charlie yelled. I had been quietly listening to their pointless argument, (mostly because I was too busy worrying about being too late to stop Violante to say anything to them,) but their shouting was bound to attract attention this close to the Gates. If, that is, it hadn't already.
"Guys, if you both don't shut up, we'll be entering Hell as permanent residents before we can even reach the Gates." I said. (Ok, technically, we were already in Hell. But the actual city, and I guessed, the palace, were where we needed to go. And being caught was definitely not an option.) At my words they both fell silent ... for about three seconds. Then Edward spoke,
"Why haven't we seen any guards? Or demons patrolling?" he asked, I laughed, they didn't need demons to guard the Gates. They had something far worse.
"Trust me, when we get there you'll be wishing they had demons as guards." I said.
"You know you're going to have to explain that statement, right?" Charlie asked. I sighed,
"According to legend, the Guardian of the Gates isn't just a demon. It was made in the likeness of Satan himself, with only one purpose: to destroy anything that gets too close without an escort. Which, in case you don't comprehend," I glared at Edward, "means us. So shut the hell up." I said.
"Uh ... right." Edward said, not bothering to or not succeeding in, hiding the fear in his voice. I rolled my eyes.
"How do you know all of this?" Charlie asked. Edward said something about me being evil and then disguised it as a cough. I just glared at him and Charlie explained for me, "Oh, right, crazy-ass Demon Dad. Speaking of which, isn't he-"
"Yep." I said.
"Well what are you-"
"Don't know."
"Can I at least finish a-"
"Nope." I grinned at him and he rolled his eyes. (By the way, it was, 'here?' then,' going to do?' then, 'sentence?').
"Hello, still here!" Edward said, loudly.
"And still yelling, you really don't understand how very dead we will be if it catches us do you?" I growled. Edward said nothing.
We walked in silence the last couple of miles and about a half an hour later, the smell of brimstone filled the air. Ash floated around us and fell like snow, coating the ground with a blanket of black.
"The Gates of Hell, I presume?" Charlie asked, I nodded, not looking away from the looming black doors that stood atop the mountain.
"So, where's this monster? I want to kill it, go get Violante, and get out." Edward declared. A black shape rose up from behind the gates and flew toward us.
"Be careful what you wish for, Edward." I muttered as the shape gained speed and clarity.
"Damn it. I changed my mind, is there another way in?" Edward asked, his question was directed toward me.
"Yeah, but we'd never get there in time. We can't out-run it." I said.
"But we're demons!!" Edward whined, panicking now.
"Yeah, and that thing was spawned to catch demons, it guards Hell, remember!?" I said.
"Reilly!!" Charlie shouted, dragging me backwards, suddenly. I realized why as the creature descended over the very spot where I'd been standing.
"Thanks." I breathed, unable to take my eyes away from the grotesque form that now stood before me. It was dressed in ragged clothing and from what I could see of its skin, it was definitely not in the best of health. Huge gashes ran along its body, streaking its skin, or rather scales, with a dark, almost black, substance that I guessed was its blood. Its eyes glowed a deep burgundy and were sunk back in its dragon-like head. Its pupils were slits, barely visible in its eyes because they were an almost reddish color, like old, dry blood. I shuttered as that lovely thought crossed my mind.
"You," the beast growled in a voice sounding like a mixture between nails on a chalk board and gravel grinding in a blender. It paused, taking a long, ragged, breath, "do not belong." It finished, taking a stumbled step toward us. All three of us practically jumped backward, not wanting to find out what the creature was capable of.
"I don't suppose you'll turn the other way and pretend you didn't see us?" Edward asked the creature. I didn't dare turn away from the demon-catcher, but I waved my hand in Edward's general direction, motioning for silence. The creature acted as if Edward hadn't spoken at all, continuing to address me.
"This place is not meant for any of you." It stated, sounding slightly better than it had seconds before. I eyed the creature suspiciously, but it still appeared as close to death as when it had first landed.
I weighed my next words carefully, knowing what they would cause. But I didn't have a choice, my father could not be freed. Not again. So, taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and faced the monstrosity before me," We are not leaving here until we accomplish what we came for." I stated, and all hell followed.
The beast seemed to double its height and weight, gaining another seven feet and at least twenty pounds of solid muscle. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, Reilly, damn you, shit, shit, shit!!" Edward stammered as the...
