Dark Souls Academy: The Sacrifice (Hell Dimension #4)

Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

T he grounds behind the academy had been transformed into an arena like area with seats that circled the stage and the grounds. I looked down from the first row. There were dozens of different Nati Demons and soldiers posted all around.

Something is up. This doesn’t look like a gathering for a sacrifice. Normally, it’s a party. There are too many guards here too. The others agreed with him. It all had me on edge.

I focused on the bond with Demarcus, pulling on his mind when he didn’t respond. I needed to know they were okay.

Where is Demarcus and Lilah? They hadn’t responded to my calls or bond knocks since I woke up.

I’m not sure. I haven’t heard from Brandon in a couple of days. The last Trigger spoke to Demarcus was yesterday. He didn’t respond earlier, Bones explained. Don’t be too worried. Brandon said he might lock her and himself in the salve Haven before the fight.

That wasn’t right. Lilah would tell me, or she’d get another person to message me. My anxiety rose, making my body go into flight or fight mode. I needed to find them. Before I could stand, music blared out of the speakers. The voice I wish I never had to hear again came through as well.

“Welcome, little demons. It is time for the sacrifice. Hell is a unique realm. We are not beautiful like the fae, or suppressive like Autioma. No, demons are powerful. We’re deadly, and our word means something. How can we make deals otherwise?” I rolled my eyes. We had all heard this before. Even people with no demon blood in them understood demons kept their word, but we always looked for loopholes.

Demons were prideful when it came to respect. The currency in Hell was based off a demon’s ability to do things, such as kill, and control souls, land, slaves, and factions. All these things gave us power because they were all respected, not just magical ability. There was no way a demon could keep any of these things without being challenged, so they also needed to be formidable. That was why we followed the strict letter of the law but not the spirit of the law, we took any advantage we could find or create without getting punished. The hierarchy kept the ruthless, fiercest demons from killing everyone because they couldn’t be superior without subordinates.

“Some of you might have forgotten what it means to be a demon. Without rules, we are all dead. To remind you to follow the rules, we must find the most powerful faction. They’ll be the only ones to survive today.”

Gasps exploded around us. Did he just say that everyone is going to die today except for one faction?

Yes. We need to get out of here, Dex said. His worry was a poison in my veins, darkening and demanding I run away.

No, we stick to the plan. No one knows we have all the slaves on our side setting traps for them, monsters waiting to be let in, or that most of the Sins are dead and the others won’t help Lucifer. This is our best shot. We just need to wait. Bones commanded. He wanted this shit to be over, but I was afraid that we were missing something.

But, without Kain, I don’t feel right. I tried to explain, but both him and Trigger didn’t want to wait.

You never know what will happen. I left several spells going to help him. They may work, Trigger said but even he didn’t sound convinced. I appreciated the gesture, though. I didn’t tell them about the dream because I didn’t want to get their hopes up.

Fine. I called all my faction members to meet us in the right corner. The people that were hidden and had jobs would stay there. We didn’t want everyone in one place. It’d be too easy to kill us. Surprise was our biggest advantage.

Demarcus still didn’t answer, and I didn’t know where Lilah was at. Her and her men were supposed to stay hidden, performing a guerilla-warfare attack with a few others, but I should still be able to communicate with them. Maybe they went off script and they were fucking? No. That didn’t account for the lack of being able to connect. I was low-key panicking.

Trigger grabbed my hand as he stood, the rest of my mates following. This didn’t feel right. My gut turned into knots, but we had no choice. Lucifer needed to be stopped. He’d kill everyone in Hell at this rate.

“Every faction leader put in your faction’s area location, now.” That was the Headmaster’s voice. A wave of anger and irritation hit me because he didn’t fucking warn me, but I knew he couldn’t have.

I slowed while going into the crowd that frantically made their way to the ground, as I typed in the spot I chose before anyone could take it. It was the closest to the exit and had the most space, if we needed to fight. The crowd’s fear was stifling as they tried to switch to bigger factions or find a way out of the arena thing, we were in. The guards wouldn’t let that happen. Considering, they were all once students here, I’d think they would have more compassion, but they were more brutal than the Nati Demons, killing anyone that tried to escape.

I made it to the designated place, happy to see the massive number of people there. Even people that weren’t in my faction stood there. The hope and fear in their eyes were palpable. I wouldn’t turn anyone away. If anything, it’d help me win.

I stood at the front with my mates. Trigger wrapped his arms around my waist. His face pressed in my neck, breathing deep. I centered him, and if Kain was here, my mates would have done the same for me. Without him, my nerves couldn’t settle. I needed them all.

So, we attack before he kills a bunch of people, right? I asked. I knew I was in charge, but we were working as a team.

Let’s see what his plan is before we strike. I think he has something up his sleeve, Bones said.

I pushed down my anxiety and let my Fae side rise within me. Lucifer had amulets to block my Succubus side, but my Fae side would be harder to block because it was elemental. Blocking air would kill a person, even the Devil himself.

The loud crowd hushed as Lucifer stepped up on the stage again. He had moved away for a second while we got settled. He loved the power he held right now. The gleam on his too pretty face was impossible to miss.

“Well, it looks like we have six factions. Two for the House of Sin, two for the House of Howlers, one for the House of Black Auras, and one for the House of Power. The smaller ones just disappeared in the last five minutes. I like it. It’s the demon way to follow the powerful. By the looks of it, Howler and Sin have the most people. Pity.” The groups in the other houses stirred uneasily. If it came to a fight, I hoped they helped because he just admitted they were going to die.

His eyes found me in the crowd, then, he continued. “Before we move on, I have a gift for my Queen. You all know, Ivy Shade.” My mates growled around me. I bristled at his claim but kept quiet. This was a delicate situation. By speaking up, I could be putting a target on my faction. “She announced her Succubus status after speaking with me. There were so many people were after her, so she stayed hidden. I promised to keep her safe, and I always keep my promises.” He winked as if he just told a joke. Everything he said was a fucking joke.

He’s covering his ass. The whole Council is here and tons of other people, so this is his way to undo any doubt they had in him for having a Succubus under his nose for so long, Trigger explained, and it sounded right. The dick always played mind games.

He did a little spin in his white and gold suit to put on a show. “To prove I mean business, here is my gift.” Guards dragged a naked, struggling form on the stage. It was a woman with a bag over her head. My pulse skipped a beat because I didn’t know where Lilah was. Was it her?

I gripped onto the arms next to me, holding myself back. If this was Lilah, I wouldn’t be able to control myself. Hands gripped onto mine, giving me support.

“Once my Queen’s boogieman, now my prisoner. Say hello to Lamia!” I stopped breathing. His Pride Demon ate up all the astounded energy from the demons around him. Literally.

As soon as the brunette woman could see, and the guards let go of her, she transformed. Her beautiful top half had a few black scales that got thicker the lower it went and covered her breasts. It was her legs that morphed dramatically, though. They turned into a huge blackish gray snake ass. Her hair stuck up in all directions like it floated.

“No one knows this, but Lamia is also one of the strongest Succubus hunters still around. She went into the children’s room and ate them for sport. Naughty, naughty.” I had no idea if Lucifer told the truth, but the image gave me chills. His words caused the rhyme to dance around in my head again.

Lamia is watching. Her eyes are dark and hungry. Her rooms are bright and funny. Beware of her smile because it hides sharp teeth that go on for miles. Don’t trust the light, for she might be pretty, but she’ll kill you without even a fight. So, be good because she sneaks into bad kids’ rooms late at night.

Fear filled me. If he set her loose so I could kill her as a gift, I didn’t know if I could fight. The all-consuming terror had a grip on my throat as if it had a physical form.

Calm down my love. He’d never give you that glory. He has been chasing after Lamia for hundreds of years. I’m not sure what the fuck she did to him, but he has had a vendetta against her our whole lives.

Trigger’s words let my lungs work again. As I panted, desperately trying not to show my fear to anyone, my demon filled the air with her magic to mask the scent. My fingers turned white from how hard I held onto my mates. They whispered reassurance through the bond, but I couldn’t pull my focus away from Lamia as if I was a cornered animal waiting for a predator to strike.

“This gift from your all-mighty king is only the first of many.” Even before I could blink, Lamia’s head rolled at his feet. All around me gasps sounded. Lucifer put his foot over her face and laughed.

This demon was once known as the woman that couldn’t be killed and every demon child’s boogieman, had just been killed within seconds. Killed by a man we were about to fight. I knew my mouth was wide open, but I couldn’t close the damn thing. My lips even felt sticky as I licked them just to not appeared so stunned. How the fuck were we going to kill Lucifer, if he…

Please calm down mate. This is a scare tactic, Bones said, but it felt like white noise played in my head, making it difficult to hear him.

It’s fucking working! I shouted.

Lamia was drugged and captured by an army. Lucifer has done stuff like this before. Someone must have told him that you were afraid of her. The bastard probably already had her in his dungeon. He has hundreds of people down there, waiting for moments like this. As Bones spoke, I slowly came back to myself. My fight or flight wasn’t stuck on flight anymore with them sending me waves of calming energy.

I rubbed my chest but quickly put my hand back in Dex’s hand. He and Alaric were beside me while Bones and Trigger stood guard, ready for an attack.

That was fucking intense. I believe you, but who the fuck told him? My question was valid because I did a lot to hide any weakness from people. Maybe, the Headmaster? I did have a whole meltdown the first day, seeing his office as Lamia’s kill room. I nodded. That had to be it. I’d kill the fucker.

It could have been a guess. We all feared her at one time. Dex also had a point. However, he found out, I was both pissed off and relieved. Pissed because meeting her had shaken me to the core, and relieved to finally know she no longer existed.

“Now, for the real fun.” Lucifer’s words had every eye frantically scanning the area.

I took several deep breaths and pushed all the anxiety and shit away, so I could be ready for the next step in Lucifer’s fucked-up plans. He said only one faction would be left standing.

Was this going to be another Bloodbath? Another game for only him to win at the end? What the fuck was he thinking? The graduates became part of his army, why would he get rid of the students?

A chair magically appeared behind him as he sat down. Before his butt could hit the cushion a slave girl crawled over. He petted her like she was an obedient dog. Bile rose in my throat when she preened under his touch.

“Now some of you might be wondering why your king would do this?” he asked as if we were all sitting down for a business meeting, not waiting to hear how people were going to die.

No shit, douchebag. I really wished I could say that out loud.

“I’ve been planting spies in the academy to see if my suspicion of a rebellion was correct, and what they told me is disheartening. Instead of embracing the demon way, you slander the way of our people. So, after today, only my faction will be the one left standing. All survivors will be apart of it.”

In my peripheral vision, Tila and her mates appeared to the left of me, weapons in their hands. Tila shook slightly, but her chin was high. No one wanted to be in Lucifer’s faction. He had too many powerful demons on his side, so they’d always be the grunts, the expendable ones.

“This isn’t going to end well for us. Be prepared for a fight,” Balthazar whispered.

If I died, they did as well, so I understood their reaction, but it still felt weird. Not too long ago, I wanted to kill all three of them. Still kind of did.

Lucifer’s face was almost angelic with the lights on him. When my mother taught me that the good-looking demons were usually the deadliest, she meant demons like him. The bastard needed a few scars. Shoot let’s just take his face off.

He made a big show about tapping his chin in contemplation. Everything was a performance to him. “I’ve changed my mind. Your king wants to believe in his people, so instead of the faction determining your fate right away.” He lifted his arm up to the left in a welcoming gesture. “My spies will. They know you. Spent time with you. Now, they control your destiny. Come.”

One by one, people I’ve seen in the hallway or in class walked on stage. No one from my faction, though. Some of them were lower-level Masters, which surprised me because Lucifer barely tolerated weak Masters. Why would they help him? Probably to save their own ass, but didn’t they understand that it would only buy them time? He’d eventually turn on them again.

One person that had begged to be in my faction was up there, and I was glad my instincts were right with that one. The fucker. All Lucifer did by showing us them was to put a target on their backs. I’d personally kill them all. These people were the reason Nati Demons got into the school, and why I could never have full control because they were hidden too well.

Okay, let’s move in. Potions ready. As soon as he’s done hearing himself talk people are going to start dying. We need to stop him before that happens. My voice was a little shaky from the adrenaline. The pressure to win was becoming crushing. So many people depended on this plan. On the count of three. I opened all the links inside of me, so they could all hear me. The sensation felt like I was drowning. I couldn’t do it for long, I’d eventually have to breathe.

Each group knows their assignment.

One.

Two.

Before I could say three, the last two people stepped onto the platform, and my world crashed around me. This changed everything. How was I supposed to say three now?

Demarcus and Lilah stepped into the group of spies with their chins held high.

“What the fuck is going on?” I didn’t care who heard me or about anything anymore. Not when my soul left my body at the sight. Did my best friend just fucking betray me?