“Do you recognize the second rune?” I asked Lucifer.
Lucifer’s gaze shifted, a flicker of something in his eyes. “No.”
He was lying, but I didn’t press him. Here, in front of others, I acted as his subordinate.
“You can’t get anything else from him?”
I plunged back into the soul’s mind, finding the same broken pieces. “Nothing,” I answered, withdrawing.
Lucifer whipped up his hand and encased the soul in ice, silencing the incessant singing. With another swift motion, he formed an icicle in his hand and slammed it down into the soul’s body, shattering him to bits.
Usually, the pieces vanished, sent wherever Lucifer deemed best—but this time they melted to black dots, coalesced into a slimy puddle, then seeped into the cracks of the black marble tiles.
“Has the Damned Soul left our domain?” I asked.
His silence made me nervous. I shot him a glance.
“Yes and no,” he replied, glaring at the tile.
“What do you mean?”
“The darkness that has settled over the Redemption Circle has lessened—and grown.”
“What?”
Lucifer rubbed his temples. “We need to find where they’re coming in from, banish the invaders, and close the fissure before there’s more.”
“We’ve been scouring this circle with no results. Can you sense anything else?”
He should feel something from the landhe ruled.
“I can’t sense a specific location, only the stain of their ilk. Whatever they’re doing, they’re masking it well. Tell your Dreads to search harder.”
I nodded. “Send in the next soul, Xavier. Then relay the message to our warriors.”
“Yes, General.”
He bowed to Lucifer, then left with the other Dread.
For the next two hours, I stood by Lucifer’s side as he redeemed or recycled souls, only involving myself if the souls decided to cause problems.
I recognized a few from past judgments and wasn’t surprised by their recycling. They lived near souls still fighting their own darkness—souls who hadn’t yet freed themselves from their sins. That lingering corruption could easily rub off on those trying to stay pure. It was no wonder they slipped back into their old ways, even after enduring the trials of the circles.
But at least they were easier to judge, and we had less resistance from them.
Although, between the increase of corrupted souls and the Damned Souls invading the Redemption Circle, Hell needed to be fixed. But I had no clue where to start, seeing as we never figured out what caused the deterioration.
“Thank you, Bloodhound. You’re dismissed. Please bring my daughter to me.”
I left the dais, clenching my jaw as I went to retrieve thehellion.
Hellion.
It fit. The name had a certain bite to it—while also attesting to the problem she was.
Chapter
Five
