The night we opened hell

Part nine:He's returned

AUTHOR'S POV

By the time the guards realized Daemon was missing, he had already been gone for hours.

They searched the prison first.

The one where he had escaped from.

They searched every corner.

Every shadow.

Every c***k in the walls.

They searched the place where the barriers had shattered and the room where Evelyn had been found unconscious.

Nothing.

No trace of Daemon.

Not even a footprint.

Lucian's guards searched the corridors next.

Then the underground passages.

Then the gates.

Then the paths leading toward the lower dimension.

They searched everywhere.

And found nothing.

Daemon had disappeared.

Or at least, that was what Lucian believed.

The problem was...

Daemon had not disappeared.

He had simply decided that he did not want to be found.

And there was a difference.

A very important difference.

Because running away meant fear.

Hiding meant weakness.

Daemon had never been afraid of Lucian.

And he had certainly never been weak.

While the guards searched through every dark corner of Hell, Daemon was walking through the kingdom as if he had never left.

And that was the part Lucian did not know.

The demons began to whisper.

At first, only a few.

A servant in one of the lower corridors.

An old guard stationed near the eastern gates.

A demon who had been working in the palace for more than three hundred years.

They whispered his name.

Daemon.

The name moved through Hell quietly.

Then quickly.

Some demons had never seen him before.

They only knew the stories.

Others remembered.

They remembered the war.

They remembered the time before Lucian had become the only ruler of Hell.

They remembered that there had once been two brothers.

Two rulers.

Two powers.

And they remembered what happened when those brothers turned against each other.

The older demons became nervous.

The younger demons became curious.

Some were terrified.

Others were excited.

Because Daemon's return meant something.

It meant that the brother who had been imprisoned for centuries was free.

And if Daemon was free...

Then perhaps Lucian was no longer untouchable.

The whispers spread through the kingdom.

Daemon is back.

Daemon escaped.

Daemon has returned.

Lucian heard the rumors before anyone dared to report them to him.

He was standing inside the great hall of Blackthorn Keep when a servant dropped a silver tray.

The sound echoed through the enormous room.

Lucian turned his head.

The servant froze.

"My Lord."

Lucian stared at him.

The servant lowered his head immediately.

"Forgive me."

Lucian said nothing.

The servant quickly picked up the tray.

As he turned to leave, another servant whispered something to him.

The first servant froze.

Lucian's eyes narrowed.

"What did you say?"

Both servants went still.

"My Lord?"

"I asked what you said."

The second servant slowly turned around.

"My Lord, I-"

"Say it."

Silence filled the room.

The servant looked at the other demon.

Then back at Lucian.

"We were only discussing the missing prisoner."

Lucian's gaze sharpened.

"Which prisoner?"

The servant said nothing.

Lucian took one step forward.

The servant immediately dropped to his knees.

"Daemon."

The room became silent.

Lucian stared at him.

The servant's body trembled.

Lucian slowly looked around the great hall.

Every demon inside had suddenly become very interested in the floor.

"How many of you have heard his name today?"

No one answered.

Lucian's eyes darkened.

"I asked a question."

Still, no one spoke.

Lucian turned toward the nearest guard.

"You."

The guard immediately stood straighter.

"My Lord."

"How many?"

The guard hesitated.

Lucian noticed.

His voice became quieter.

"How many demons have spoken my brother's name today?"

The guard looked down.

"Too many, my Lord."

Lucian stared at him.

The words echoed through the hall.

Too many.

For several seconds, Lucian said nothing.

Then he turned away.

"Leave."

The demons quickly disappeared.

The great hall became empty.

Lucian stood alone.

Daemon had been gone for centuries.

Centuries.

And yet it had taken him only hours to make his name spread through Hell.

Lucian looked toward the tall windows.

Beyond them, the kingdom stretched into darkness.

His kingdom.

The kingdom he had ruled for centuries.

And somewhere inside it...

His brother was walking freely.

Lucian's jaw tightened.

He had expected Daemon to run.

He had expected him to disappear into the lower dimension.

Perhaps even flee to the furthest corners of Hell.

But Daemon had not done any of those things.

Which meant there was only one possibility.

Daemon was not running from him.

He was moving toward something.

Lucian turned toward the guards waiting outside the hall.

"Find him."

The guards bowed.

"We are searching, my Lord."

"Search harder."

"Yes, my Lord."

"And find out how many demons have spoken to him."

The guards exchanged a glance.

Lucian noticed.

His eyes became colder.

"Did I say something amusing?"

"No, my Lord."

"Then why are you looking at each other?"

The guards immediately lowered their heads.

"Forgive us."

"Find him."

"Yes, my Lord."

They left.

Lucian remained standing in the hall.

His brother had escaped.

The pure blood had weakened the barriers.

Daemon had used the weakness.

And now he was somewhere inside Hell.

But Lucian knew Daemon.

He knew him better than anyone.

Daemon was not hiding.

He was waiting.

And whatever he was waiting for...

Lucian had no intention of allowing him to have it.

DAEMON'S POV

The palace was exactly as I remembered it.

Which was disappointing.

I had expected something dramatic.

Perhaps the walls would collapse when I entered.

Maybe the ceiling would fall.

Perhaps the statues would cry tears of blood.

Something.

Anything.

Instead, the door opened.

I stepped inside.

And was immediately attacked by dust.

I coughed.

Then stared at the empty room.

"Well," I muttered.

"I see the place has been maintained beautifully."

The palace was dark.

Not the normal kind of dark.

This darkness had weight.

It sat between the walls.

It moved beneath the floors.

It remembered things.

The palace had once been mine.

Once.

Before Lucian decided that taking everything I owned was a reasonable response to a disagreement.

I walked through the entrance hall.

The walls were covered in old paintings.

Most of them had been damaged.

Some had been destroyed completely.

I stopped in front of one.

The painting showed two young men standing beside each other.

One of them had a smile that suggested he had never made a good decision in his life.

The other looked like he had been born already disappointed in everyone around him.

I stared at the painting.

Then sighed.

"Look at us."

I touched the damaged frame.

"We were so young."

A voice behind me spoke.

"You were both fools."

I turned.

An old demon stood at the end of the hall.

His body was thin.

His face was covered in scars.

One of his eyes was completely white.

I stared at him.

Then smiled.

"Well."

I walked toward him.

"You look terrible."

The demon stared at me.

Then lowered himself to one knee.

"My Lord."

I stopped.

The smile slowly disappeared from my face.

I looked at him.

"You're still alive?"

The demon lifted his head.

"Disappointed?"

"Deeply."

He smiled.

For the first time in centuries, I felt something familiar.

Not fear.

Not anger.

Something closer to amusement.

I had forgotten how much I hated being missed.

"You knew I would return," I said.

"I knew you would try."

"Try?"

The old demon stood.

"You were trapped in the lower dimension for centuries."

"And yet here I am."

"Yes."

"Which means I succeeded."

"Temporarily."

I stared at him.

Then smiled.

"You've become very bold."

"You were always fond of boldness."

"No."

I walked past him.

"I was fond of obedience."

He followed.

"You were fond of people who pretended to obey you."

"That too."

We continued through the old palace.

Every corridor brought back a memory.

A room where Lucian and I had once fought.

A balcony where we had watched the wars below.

A hall where we had once stood together while demons bowed to both of us.

Two brothers.

Two rulers.

One kingdom.

We had once been impossible to defeat.

Then we had become impossible to stand beside.

I entered the throne room.

The doors opened slowly.

Dust floated through the air.

The throne remained.

Cracked.

Abandoned.

Covered in centuries of silence.

I walked toward it.

The old demon stopped at the entrance.

I ran my fingers over the armrest.

Lucian had never removed it.

Of course he hadn't.

My brother had taken my kingdom.

My followers.

My palace.

My throne.

But apparently, he had been too sentimental to destroy the furniture.

I sat down.

The throne creaked beneath me.

I stared at the empty room.

"Centuries later," I said.

The old demon watched me.

I leaned back against the ancient throne.

"And he still hasn't changed a thing."

The old demon smiled.

"He changed everything."

I looked at him.

"Did he?"

"You are sitting on your throne."

"Technically, I am sitting on an old chair."

"It is a throne."

"It is uncomfortable."

The old demon sighed.

"You have not changed."

I smiled.

"Neither has Lucian."

The room fell quiet.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then the old demon walked closer.

"You know what your return means."

"Yes."

"Do you?"

I looked at him.

"I escaped prison."

"You returned to Hell."

"I noticed."

"The kingdom is unstable."

"That sounds like a Lucian problem."

"Lucian is the king."

I smiled.

"Exactly."

The old demon stared at me.

"You are planning something."

"I am always planning something."

"What?"

I looked toward the dark windows.

"Nothing yet."

He frowned.

"Nothing?"

"I have been imprisoned for several centuries."

"Yes."

"I have recently escaped."

"Yes."

"I have discovered that my brother has become even more irritating than I remember."

"Yes."

"And I have not eaten properly in a very long time."

The demon stared at me.

I looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Good."

He remained silent.

I smiled.

"You may leave."

"I have waited centuries for your return."

"And now you have seen me."

"My Lord-"

"You may go."

The old demon stared at me.

Then sighed.

"You are impossible."

"I have been told."

He turned away.

Then stopped.

"There is something you should know."

I looked at him.

"What?"

"The humans."

I frowned.

"What about them?"

"Lucian brought them here."

"I know."

"Do you know why?"

"No."

"Neither does anyone else."

That was interesting.

I leaned back in the throne.

The old demon continued.

"The barriers began weakening when they arrived."

I said nothing.

"The lower dimension was affected."

I stared at him.

"And the pure blood?"

His expression changed.

"So you know."

"I met her."

The old demon looked at me.

"You met the pure blood?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

I smiled.

"Mostly insults."

The demon stared at me.

I smiled.

"She has a talent for them."

"Who?"

"The Russian."

He frowned.

"The Russian?"

"The girl with the accent."

The old demon stared at me.

I smiled.

"You would have liked her."

"Why?"

"She is rude."

The old demon sighed.

"You have been free for less than a day."

"And already I have met someone interesting."

"You are supposed to be concerned about the pure blood."

"I am."

"Then why are you talking about another human?"

"Because the pure blood is complicated."

"And the other one?"

"Entertaining."

The old demon looked tired.

I understood.

I had that effect on people.

"Tell me about the girl," I said.

He frowned.

"The one with the accent?"

"Yes."

"Her name is Nessa."

"Nessa."

I smiled.

"She told me not to say her name like I was putting it on a gravestone."

The old demon stared at me.

I smiled.

"She is very charming."

"You have known her for less than an hour."

"And yet she managed to insult me more than most demons have managed in centuries."

"Did you kill her?"

"No."

The old demon looked surprised.

I smiled.

"I considered it."

"Why didn't you?"

I looked away.

That was a good question.

I had no answer.

So I ignored it.

"Tell me about her prison."

The old demon's expression became serious.

"The mirrors."

I frowned.

"What about them?"

"They are not behaving normally."

I sat up slightly.

"What does that mean?"

"The prison was designed to show her desire."

"I know how the prisons work."

"But the mirrors are showing something else."

I stared at him.

"What?"

"A door."

I said nothing.

The old demon continued.

"Every mirror shows the same door."

"Where?"

"Inside the reflection."

I frowned.

"And what is behind it?"

"We don't know."

"Have you opened it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

The old demon looked at me.

"Because the door does not exist."

I stared at him.

He continued.

"It appears only inside the mirrors."

"And Nessa?"

"She is the only one who can see it."

I leaned back.

Interesting.

"Why?"

"We don't know."

"And what does the door do?"

"It gets closer."

I looked at him.

"Closer to what?"

"Opening."

The room became quiet.

For the first time since I had entered the palace, I stopped smiling.

The old demon watched me.

"You should stay away from that prison."

I stood.

"Absolutely not."

He closed his eyes.

"I knew you would say that."

I walked past him.

"Where are you going?"

"To see the door."

"You just escaped the lower dimension."

"Yes."

"You have not even been free for a full day."

"Correct."

"And you are already planning to interfere with something ancient and unknown?"

I stopped.

Then turned around.

"Now that you say it like that..."

The old demon stared at me.

I smiled.

"I'm definitely going."

The prison was quiet when I found it.

I did not enter.

I simply stood outside.

Through the walls, I could see the mirrors.

At first, they showed the room.

Then one of them changed.

The image of the prison disappeared.

A black door appeared.

Ancient symbols covered its surface.

I stepped closer.

The door remained closed.

Then someone appeared behind it.

I stopped.

The figure slowly stepped forward.

My face.

But not mine.

Older.

Covered in blood.

The reflection lifted its head.

Then smiled.

"You should have stayed below."

I did not move.

For the first time since escaping the lower dimension...

I was not amused.

"What are you?"

The reflection tilted its head.

Then answered:

"You."

The mirror cracked.

I stepped backward.

The door began to open.

Darkness spilled through the glass.

Something moved behind the reflection.

Something tall.

Something that did not look human.

The mirror shattered.

The corridor became silent.

I stared at the broken glass.

The door was gone.

The reflection was gone.

But the words remained in my mind.

You should have stayed below.

I had escaped the lower dimension.

I had believed the pure blood was the reason.

Perhaps she was.

But now I was beginning to wonder if she was only part of the problem.

Because the moment I returned to Hell...

Something else had awakened.

And whatever it was...

It knew me.

Somewhere in Blackthorn Keep, Lucian was still searching for me.

He would eventually discover that I had returned.

He would eventually learn that something had appeared inside the mirrors.

And when he did...

I wondered which would frighten him more.

The fact that I was free...

Or the fact that something had come through with me.

TO BE CONTINUED...