Chapter 125

"The heavens, that their beauty not be lessened,

have cast them out, nor will deep Hell receive them -

even the wicked cannot glory in them."

-Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

"Where is your father now, little mongrel whore? He isn't coming to help you? Is he?" she asked, laughing, and then started stabbing me with her tranquillising spells. Her energy lifted me above the ground and then slammed me on my back, the dull, paralysing pain blinding me for a split second. Acrid smoke from the pits was burning my eyes and I kept telling myself I needed to wait for a window to attack.

In hell Alexis didn't have to follow any rules. The darkness and the heat. It was just the way I remembered hell. My skin was burning and my throat felt raw. Everything was falling apart and I was supposed to fight, not lie on the ground, pitying myself.