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

Chapter 38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

T he panic from the new wave of enemies bleeding through the bond set my blood on fire. No! This asshole didn’t get to win. Not after everything we went through to get to this point. Not after I finally had a life. I was so scared before, hiding, never letting anyone get too close. I refused to be like that again and take everyone down with me.

I moved my distraction behind Lucifer as he stepped into my space, his breath on my cheek. The figure moved slowly as if someone creeped behind him. My eyes drifted over his shoulder. A smile stretched my lips as my features twisted with surprise to make it more convincing. Lucifer's eyes widened. The tinge of fear in his golden eyes was beautiful.

He swung around, magic blasting behind him to stop what he thought was my mate going for a killing blow. He was so close that I had no issue taking advantage of his distraction. I gripped onto the amulet embedded in his chest. It didn’t come out completely, but I used my soul weapon at the same time. The blade slid into his chest next to the amulet where his heart would be.

Satisfaction screamed alongside my battle cry as blood seeped from the wound. A few more inches and another tug on the amulet, and he was done. I fucking did it! Lucifer fucking Morningstar was finished.

Just as that thought blossomed in my mind a force slammed into me, knocking me off my feet. I landed on my side. Pain bloomed instantly. I didn’t even look at my attacker. My gaze snapped to where Lucifer stumbled.

HE. WAS. STILL. STANDING.

NO!

I screamed in my attacker’s face. Disgust mixed with my rage. After a second, my eyes focused to see Demarcus’ face. This fucker just cost me everything. How had I been so wrong about him?

“How could you,” I croaked out.

“Sorry, Ivy. Can’t let you kill him.” His skin shifted from black to white with a ripple of skin. It was my first time watching him change and it angered me more because I thought his power was cool. The fucker didn’t deserve his demon. “You on the other hand, need to die.”

I was so depleted that his magic held me in place, even though, I wanted to fight him off. I couldn’t move. My soul weapon returned to me inches away from me. It laid there mocking me. Yet, my arm would move. It was too far away for me to grab.

In my peripheral vision, I watched a large group of soldiers surround Lucifer, presumably to help him heal. Great. He still had his amulet, he still had his army, and he still had his life.

I had nothing.

Devastation curdled inside of me as a wave of true turmoil devoured me. I had lost. There were no more plans. No more magic. My mates sent me their energy to help as they fought for their lives. They couldn’t get to me with the new numbers of our enemies. I blocked them. I closed off the bond, so none of them could waste their energy and so they didn’t have to feel me die.

Please Goddess Nyx, save my mates, I prayed.

Demarcus lifted his dagger into the air. “People like you killed my family. If my whore of a mother hadn’t tried to make waves or change things, just like you, my family would still be alive. People like you need to be eradicated.” His words flared with insanity.

How did I never see his true self? How did I not see the crazy bleeding through his purple eyes? What the fuck!

The blade arced its way toward my heart. The exhaustion from using too much magic wouldn’t let me fight back. That last attempt depleted me. I said my prayer one more time and closed my eyes. Time to meet my maker. Death didn’t scare me. Leaving the people behind did like my brother. His face popped into my mind. I had just gotten him back.

The only comforting thought was that I might meet some of my family on the other side. For demons, we didn’t truly know where we went when we died. I just hoped this dark soul could find some peace for once.

I’m sorry that I wasn’t enough.

The air whistled around the blade intended to kill me. I didn’t have the strength to even lift my arms, even if magic wasn’t restraining me. Time slowed. My eyes were closed but I could still sense everything. Panic made everything feel like the air had turned to water. I was drowning.

The burn of the blade piercing my chest stopped abruptly. A deep cry of pain that wasn’t mine had my eyes snapping open. For a second, I feared that it was one of my mates. They would do something stupid like get in front of a blade for me.

Demarcus still hovered over my body. None of my mates were anywhere to be seen. I sighed in relief. Demarcus's skin rippled with different colors, even bright Nati Demon shades. What really caught the air in my lungs was the blade sticking out of his chest, and the stain of red on his lips.

My vision widened to Lilah behind him. Tears seeped from her sad eyes. My brain didn’t register the hilt of the blade in between her white knuckles for a few seconds. Not until she twisted the blade, causing Demarcus to scrunch his face, falling to this side away from me.

“Lilah? Why?” her lover whispered out through the blood in his throat. He choked on his own blood. My heart broke as she cried and fell to her knees next to him. She dropped the dagger and gripped his hand, kissing his cheek before answering.

“You asked me to choose, but even with all the love I have for you, I can’t let you hurt my family.” Her sobs turned into loud wails as the life drained from his eyes. She grabbed his head and rocked.

I didn’t know what to do. She had just killed one of the loves of her life for me. Would she even want me to comfort her?

Several minutes passed as we just sat there. I was thankful no one tried to attack us because I needed the time to heal. I put my hand out to at least try, but a man running toward us had me pausing.

Good, Brandon found her. He dropped down beside her and her frantic pleads for him not to be mad at her broke a piece of me I wasn’t even aware of still existed. So much love and heartache. I felt dirty just being near them.

“It's okay, my sweet dove. I'm so sorry I wasn’t here for you. He locked me in a curse. I wasn’t released until his death.” Brandon explained as he ran his fingers over her face.

He rocked her in his arms, running his hands through her hair. “Please, don’t cry. You know what your tears do to me.”

I glanced around the wreckage to give them privacy. The love and loss there was so strong it radiated off of them. I was glad I did because Lucifer stepped out of his huddle, healed enough to fight again. Shit.

“Get her out of here. Run,” I frantically whispered to Brandon. He didn’t hesitate, to lift her petite body in his arms and taking off. I got up on shaky legs to give Lucifer something to focus on. He didn’t realize the trump card Lilah was for me. Even after everything, she had always been a weak spot. I had to keep it that way.

“Well, I'm sad to still see you alive,” I grunted out.

Pain and exhaustion made me woozy, so my tone didn’t hold as much snark as I wanted. My demon healed me, so the small aches and pains weren’t too bad, and I didn’t make a noise as I got up. I still looked like a person who had one too many at the bar, though. I lifted my chin anyway. I refrained from flipping him off. Only because it would take too much energy.

“I've had enough out of you. Queen or not, I don’t take getting stabbed lightly.” The growl in his voice reminded me of Kain, and it made my heart ache for him even more.

I licked my lips before speaking. “So, no blood play then?” Taunting the bastard gave me a rush. I seriously had a death wish but dying was better than becoming his.

He growled. “We'll see.”

If that statement had come from one of his sons, I would have thought it sexy. From him it just made bile rise up in my throat. Nasty.

“You better just kill me now, because I'll never give in.” My venomous tone wasn’t as effective as I swayed on my feet, but standing became difficult. Who needed to stand anyway? Let's have a crawling fight? I doubted he'd go for it, so I kept that thought to myself.

“So, fucking feisty just like your mother is.”

I stiffened at his use of present tense. I really hoped it was just a slip of the tongue.

“Oh, now I have your attention. You were the only reason I didn’t kill your parents.”

His face flashed into that of the beast I've seen him become when he was really upset. The pretty boy looks disappeared. His cheekbones sharpened into deep points at the end. His clothes stretched and ripped as his body grew in size. Sharp claws and fangs extended at the same time his skin turned black as night with vivid red markings. The final features to change were his nose and forehead. Most of the cartilage from his nostrils was gone. His forehead scrunched together, creating ridges.

“I saved them for you, my Queen. Now, we get to watch them die together. Kind of romantic, don’t you think?” This phychotic dude was completely serious. Everything seemed to move too fast.

A shuffle on the stage caught my eye.

I sucked in a rancid lung full of air as a bone-thin woman with pink eyes got pushed onto her hands and knees. Her naked body was black and blue with fresh blood tainting her skin. The way my soul crumbled to the floor and turned into ash couldn’t be hidden. The five men that came out next were in even worse states. I fell to my knees at the sight of them all.

These were my parents. My Succubus mom, Ava. My Incubus dad, Bin. My Fae father, Darik. My wolf dad, Lewi. My witch dad, Aaron. Then, my troll father, Rock. They all looked barely alive.

Images of how we used to spend so much time together when I was a kid flashed in my mind. How I would ride on one of their backs as we played hellhound. How they taught me so many different games that could be played with my ball. How even with the red clay covering my body, so I could camouflage myself better, I never felt like the odd one out. They always made me laugh and knew the perfect time that I needed a hug. My twin and I never wanted for love. My parents weren’t perfect, but they were perfectly imperfect, and they didn’t deserve this.

I pushed down all of the emotions that wanted to drown me and cemented my knees to the ground. I had to save them. They didn’t survive this long just to die here.

“If you kill them now, I'll kill myself.”

My soul weapon appeared as I said the words. I shoved the sharp edge against my neck, nicking it. The warm blood that travelled down from the small wound gave me back the power that I desperately needed.

Lucifer's face morphed into a frantic fear like a man who had waited far too long for a prize he was about to lose.

A thrill went up my spine. My eyes flashed red letting him know that my demon was on board. If he killed my parents, I’d end my life.

“Ivy!”

“No!”

There were more shouts, but I ignored them. I checked on my men. Dex had been pinned down. He was out of magic since he couldn’t feed. Trigger helped Alaric as several men tackled his wolf to the ground, and Bones was also on the ground every inch of his body covered by an enemy. Fuck. We had truly lost. I never thought that I would have to think those words, but there wasn’t anything else I could do.

I glanced at the stage. Finally, my mother lifted her shaky head. Those pink eyes found me. They widened, but instantly a sadness so deep I felt it in my soul took over her. Followed with horror. She took in her surroundings and began to cry. They were the wails of a broken woman finally giving up. I had to look away, or I’d succumb to the same grief.

Another drop of blood slid down my neck into my cleavage. It made Lucifer growl. To my horror, it was in delight as much as worry, as if he got off at seeing my blood leave my body. But there was an uncertainty in his stony eyes that said he didn’t know what would happen next. If my mother was still alive, then her seer book couldn’t possibly have been finished. He didn’t know what would happen here, which meant I could still get the upper hand. There was no hope left for me, but maybe there was for everyone else.

I knew his answer even before he said it. The resignation was a mirror image of my own.

“Very well. Give yourself up, don’t fight me, be obedient, and my willing Queen. If you agree to those things in blood, I'll let them go.”

My gut plummeted and a splash of vomit entered my mouth. I put my big girl panties on and swallowed that shit. I would have to fuck him. Let him use me. Let whoever he wanted to use me. I'd be a freaking party favor. Yet, I'd endure it all if my loved ones got to survive.

“Everyone. My faction. My parents. My mates. All of them.” I clarified before he could say anything else. I needed to be crystal clear, even if the sickness of agreeing to his demands made it hard for me to speak in full sentences. “No dungeons or injuries. From you or anyone else. Completely free.”

He scoffed. His fists clenching as his jaw bounced with his fury. “That's a big fucking request.”

Who was he kidding? His request was way bigger than mine. He just didn’t like that he wasn’t getting absolutely everything he wanted. There was nothing Lucifer liked more than a prideful revenge, and I took that away from him.

I pushed the blade at my neck down more to show him that I wasn’t kidding. If I was losing my freedom, it was going to be for a good fucking reason.