Page 172 of A Hail From Hell: Vol 1

Those tremors, Evan had felt them before, not so long ago. Those were the same thunderous quakes that had shaken the ground when Xen had summoned the Hellfire earlier. And by the looks of it, he was doing the same thing now. Only, there wasn’t a Tomb or a summoning array where the fire could descend now.

He was summoning it towards himself.

Evan’s eyes widened again, and a strange feeling of dread gripped him. He was terrified, more than he’d been when he was stabbed and on the verge of succumbing to death. More than when his friend’s soul was ripped out of his body.

Fire. A burning body. He had witnessed the scene before.

Seventeen years ago.

“Run, Evan…”

The terror of that sight was so deeply embedded into his body that it almost felt like someone else’s. The foreign scar surfaced and tore open, gushing out cold, black blood.

For some reason, the image of the burning butterfly flashed in front of his eyes and Evan felt the heat of its burning wings as if it was wrapped around him.

At a distance, light flared in the night sky as the Hellfire rose high, then rushed in the direction of Xen’s calling. The distant howl of the flames tore through the night and Evan stepped forward, but one look from Xen and his body froze in place, giving in to the blood bond.

“Stop!” Evan cried angrily, forcing his limbs to move but they remained stone-still. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do butstop!”

He, in fact, knew what Xen was doing.

Knox couldn’t possibly survive the Hellfire in his present form. Not without following the proper steps of the ritual. He was just an orb, a conscience born out of resentment. He’d disintegrate instantly.

But what about Xen?

Evan’s memory was hazy but he recalled reading in the witch’s grimoire that an Eternal born from Hellfire, could only perish in the same flames. No matter how much he wanted to erase Knox from existence, Evan couldn’t let it happen at the cost of Xen’s life.

“Listen to me,” he started, trying and failing to sound calm. Short, panicked breaths rattled his lungs. “You…you gave me your word that you’ll answer any three questions I’d ask, remember? I haven’t asked anything yet. And…and there’s so much I want to know. So much I want to ask.”

Seeing Evan struggle to try and talk him out of what he was obviously going to do, a faint smile touched Xen’s lips. It looked sad. The thought of Evan worrying over him was pleasant enough to make him forget about everything else.

His smile made Evan growl like a wounded animal. “Stop smiling, you dumbfuck! Stupid, idiotic Eternal! Let me go before I—”

A scorching heat enveloped the open air at the cliff. The ball of Hellfire screeched menacingly, coming to a halt right over Xen.

Evan’s breath stuttered, pulse pounding in his ear. The flames warmed his ice skin yet the shudders wrecking his body never ceased. He shook his head, fingers trembling as if to reach out and grasp Xen’s arm. And then…something unusual occurred.

A word slipped from his lips, involuntarily.

“Please…”

Ever since he could remember, Evan had never begged for anything in his life. Not when he was at his lowest nor when he’d lost the will to live. Even when he’d been skewed through his abdomen, he had not begged for death.

But in that moment, as he watched the calm expression on Xen’s face, the last thread of his pride snapped.

“Please, don’t…” Evan begged.

As the ball of fire descended on Xen and set the whole clearing around him ablaze, Evan begged and begged in his heart.

Please. Please. Please. I didn’t mean what I said. I didn’t mean to call you a liar. I didn’t mean any of it. So, please…don’t go.

Please come back…

22. Rebirth and Reincarnation

Watching the fire blaze so high, Evan hadn’t realized when he’d crashed to his knees. Maybe due to exhaustion, or perhaps the agonizing burn in his chest. Time slowed down and voices drifted away, leaving him alone. Abandoned.

He’d won a battle against an army from hell but lost the war against himself. Why even was he agitated? An evil force and a powerful demon had both perished together. A few weeks back, that would have made Evan cheer in relief. But now…he felt as though his very core trembled, quivering with a sorrow he didn’t know how to handle.

---