“No!” I scream, and anger rises inside me like a flash flood, sweeping everything away, leaving behind pure rage and desperation.
“You will submit to me.” Bael holds his head high as he draws near. Muted moonlight glints off his golden crown. He’s thought of himself as the king this whole time, and he has power because he willed it to himself.
And I can do the same.
I thrust my hands forward, hitting Bael with a strong wall of energy.
“My name is Callista King, daughter of Michael the archangel, and I stake my blood claim on the throne. Hell belongs to me,” I say, voice cutting the air like a knife. Power pulses through me, coming up from the ground at an almost dizzying rate. It fills my whole body, bringing every nerve alive. I inhale, breathing it all in, and zero my gaze on Bael. “I am your Queen and you must obey.”
A crown of hellfire erupts around my head, burning bright into the dark night. Bael’s eyes widen with fear, his face bathed in red flickering light from the hellfire. Several of the demons closest to me look at each other. Their human bodies collapse onto the ground, running away back to Hell before I get the chance to scorch their dark souls from existence.
“And my first decree,” I start, flames rising higher around my head. “Is for you die.” I shift my eyes to the knife in Bael’s grasp and force his hand up.
“No!” he protests, fighting against me, and looks at his few remaining demons for help. “Get her!”
“Not today, motherfucker,” I spit out and extend my arms. “I call upon the forces of light. Defend us in the battle with the darkness. Purge the wickedness.” Hellfire springs up from the ground, surrounding Bael. “Cast this demon in chains and send him down to the abyss.”
Tall red flames rise around Bael. The other demons drop their human bodies, knowing they’re in for the same fate if they dare stick around. Bael’s screams are drowned out by the crackling of flames, and the fire takes on a purple hue, flames rising even higher, swallowing Bael whole.
The fire subsides, and all that’s left of Bael is a pile of ash and bone. The roots holding Scarlet, Kristy, and Lucas shrivel up, freeing them. Kristy falls heavily to the ground, and Lucas speeds to my side.
The crown of hellfire is still burning around my head. The flames are blue now, casting Lucas’s face in a somber glow.
“Callie,” he pants, looking at me in question. “What did you do?”
I close my eyes and exhale heavily. Lucas’s hands land on my shoulders, and when I open my eyes, the fire has gone out.
“What I had to do.” I bring my hand to his chest, holding it over the bloody hole in his shirt. He’s already healed and will be fine. “Kristy,” I start and turn. She’s cradling her arm close to her body and blood drips down her forehead. “You’re hurt.”
“Yeah,” she says, wincing when she moves her arm down. “You…you said you’re the queen of Hell.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t mean it,” I rush out, nerves prickling down my back.
“I don’t think it’s something you can take back,” Lucas says slowly, brows furrowing. The three of us look at each other in silence, none of us knowing what this means now. I did what I had to do to save my husband and my best friend, and I don’t regret it.
Bael broke out of demon-jail with a mission to bring death and destruction to earth, and he wouldn’t have stopped with Thorne Hill.
“I did what I had to do,” I repeat, needing to say it out loud.
“You did.” Lucas pulls me into his arms, holding me tight for a beat, and then kisses me before putting his hand on my stomach. “You’re both okay?”
“I think so,” I say. “I’m a little shaky but I feel fine.” Better than fine, really, though only physically. Because wearing the crown reaffirmed what I’d been fearing. It felt good to have the hellfire burning around me. It felt right to yield all of that power.
Someone groans, and we shift our attention to the humans lying on the ground. There are at least half a dozen people in the woods, and none are dressed appropriately for the weather.
“Is everyone alive?” I ask, and Lucas shakes his head. “No. But they’re not all dead.”
“What are we going to do with them?” Kristy asks, and I shake my head, looking at Lucas.
“I’ll alter their memories,” Lucas says.
“They need medical attention,” I interject. “We have no idea how long they’ve been possessed and it’s cold tonight.”
Lucas nods. “Very well. Do you recognize them?”
I conjure an energy ball so Kristy and I can look at the bodies lying on the ground. “No one looks familiar,” I say and Kristy nods in agreement. Lucas checks one of the bodies, finding a wallet.