Page 83 of Knight’s Salvation

Chapter 20

The smell wasthe first thing that struck him. A smell that brought to life the living nightmares of his past.

But he’d been wrong about one thing. There was no delay. He felt it straight away. The angel brand on his face, the safeguard that prevented a knight from entering Hell, was doing what it was meant to. If they became fully possessed by their demon and tried to return to Hell, they could be used as a weapon against mankind, against their brothers. That was something the angels could not allow.

He was slipping away as he stood there.

Without warning, his knees gave out and he hit the rough stone hard enough to rattle his teeth. Helena dropped to his side. “What are you doing? Stand, damn you.”

He pointed to his face, to the brand Silas had given him all those years ago. “This isn’t a claim of ownership. This is what will free me from you.”

She reared back as if he’d slapped her, shaking her head. “No.”

The realization that this was it hit him like a wrecking ball to the chest. Their planning had been for nothing. No way could he get back through the portal. He could barely fucking blink, let alone get to his feet and fight his way back out. His vocal cords protested, but he forced out the words. “Thanks to Mia, I know what it is to be loved. And I would rather die happy, holding onto the memory of that, of her, than live another minute with you.”

Pain flashed across her dark eyes in a rare glimpse of vulnerability, but then she fisted his hair and tugged hard. “I can’t do this without you. I order you to get up, Zenon. Now.”

He chuckled, a mirthless rasp that managed to hold several lifetimes of contempt for the female kneeling in front of him. “I hope you suffer before you die.”

“Oh, she will.” Diemos stepped from the shadows. “You’ve come home, Helena. How nice to see you again.”

Helena stumbled to her feet. Zenon could see she was trying to use her powers, but each attempt was met with failure. She scrambled back. “No, this can’t be.”

“You’re not the only one who’s grown stronger.” Diemos lifted his hand and Helena moved toward him like a puppet on a string. She tried to fight as several Orthon demons moved toward her, but her powers were no match for Diemos.

“Zenon!” she screamed as the demons took hold of her.

Zenon ignored her, refused to look at her as they carried her away to her new prison.

The light show that started up around them meant the portal was moments from closing. He squeezed his eyes closed and pictured Mia, love shining in her pale blue eyes. This place would not be the last thing he saw before he died.

His organs began to shut down one by one, his limbs growing heavy, like a great weight had been draped over his body.

“Do you enjoy soaring through the clouds, my son?” Zenon forced his eyes open at the sound of Diemos’s voice.

Crouched in front of him, the new demon king of Hell watched him closely. Lifting long slender fingers, he slipped them down the buttons of his shirt, opening them one by one, revealing his bare chest. His skin was smooth, so pale Zenon could see the blue veins running beneath. He slipped it off his shoulders and turned. The stubby remains of what would have once been wings protruded from his back. When Diemos turned back to face him, he smiled. “Now you know why I crave the light.”

Diemos was a fallen angel.

He crouched down and ran a cold finger down the side of Zenon’s face, and for the first time Zenon looked into Diemos’s eyes. Yellow, like his.

No.

The way Diemos studied him so intently, like he could see right through him, made his skin crawl, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that he couldn’t fucking move he’d have pulled away.

“It’s why I could never claim you as my child. As a babe you didn’t have the ability to conceal that part of you.” He shrugged. “No one here can know what I am. The only angel tolerated in Hell was my father. They would have come after me if they knew what I was. You know that, don’t you, son?”

“Lucifer’s your father?” Zenon choked.

“I concealed you from him like he concealed me from the demons who worshipped him. I was a disappointment, you see. He hated that I had wings when his had been taken. That’s why he took mine. He wanted another son, so I knew if he found out about you he’d cast me aside.” Hatred transformed Diemos’s face. “He’d want you and not me at his side. I waited, bided my time. I told him about you when Helena left with you. Your grandfather went after you. And I took a chance. Warded the portal, took my place on the throne.” He slid his fingers down the side of Zenon’s face. “I must thank you for that.”

Zenon couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Diemos had stood back, watched him be tortured, degraded. More than once he’d dished out the punishments himself, had enjoyed every moment of the pain he’d inflicted, and all the while the bastard had known—known Zenon was his son.

“Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood.” Diemos’s dark gaze traveled over him. “We are enemies now, you and I. But I will let you go.”

He smiled in a way that made Zenon’s skin crawl. “I plan on taking Earth as soon as I can figure out how to kill my father. He is my only real obstacle.” His pupils turned midnight. “Who knows? One day I may have use of you again.”