I smiled. Never had I been happier to see a doorway to Hell.
I looked up at Freya. “She won’t harm anyone ever again, Freya. Her soul won’t remain in this realm to inflict any damage on the livingorthe dead.”
Freya’s eyes flicked up to meet mine, and I imagined understanding cross her features.
I nodded to her, then grabbed Ambrosia from the back of her robe and yanked her toward the pentagram. Ambrosia seemed to realize what was happening all at once, for the crew of theKorikobegan to stalk toward us, but it was too late.
I walked into the portal, and once I pulled Ambrosia over the threshold, her body seemed to slide off of her soul, left behind in a crumpled heap as we crossed through. I knew from past experience that her body would die within minutes. Meanwhile, her soul appeared like a black moth for a moment, oily and shimmering blue, before it reshaped into a ghost of her body. Unlike a demon such as Samuel, she wouldn’t possess a new physical body that could return to Earth. She would be stuck in a ghostly form that could feel the pains of Hell for as long as Lucifer saw fit.
I let out a breath. It was done. Ambrosia was dead, and her soul was now in Hell.
I stared around me. A drawing room with multiple tables full of women, decked out in finery. The curtains were gold, the tablecloths delicate lace. If I didn’t know any better, I would say this was not Hell at all. But beneath the potent aroma of mildew and mothballs, there was a hint of sulfur. That was always a sign that I was in the right place.
“Where are we?” Ambrosia asked, voice soft.
“Is that Amber now?” a woman asked from the center table. She leaned back in her chair and looked Ambrosia over. “Always late. Such a disappointment.”
The woman beside her giggled. “It would have been better for everyone if that mandrake root had never thrived. A withered plant would have been better than this.”
Ambrosia’s shoulders sagged beside me.
“Well, are you going to stand around gaping all day like a heathen?” the first woman snapped. “Sit down.”
Ambrosia rushed to comply, taking a seat at the only chair available, beside the woman who watched the necromancer with sharp, scrutinizing eyes. Ambrosia perched carefully at the edge of her chair, but that clearly wasn’t good enough.
“Don’t slouch,” a woman across from her chided, leaning forward with a frown. “Your posture is terrible. Are you a woman or an orangutan?”
“I—I’m terribly sorry,” Ambrosia stuttered.
“Now drink your tea.”
Teacups had materialized in front of each woman, and they all took a measured sip at the same time, save for Ambrosia, who stared down at her cup with horror. Curious, I approached the nearest table and gazed down at thick, black sludge. It smelled awful, like feces and blood, and I immediately turned away, barely able to keep from gagging.
“Go on now,” the woman beside Ambrosia chided. “Don’t tell me you’re too good for tea. You always were an ungrateful thing.”
“A blight on the whole family,” another woman agreed.
Ambrosia turned pleading eyes on me, brimming with tears. I almost felt bad for her, but I looked away.
“Of course,” Ambrosia said, reaching a trembling hand down to her teacup. She slowly raised it to her mouth, then gasped, turning away.
“Amber,” the woman beside her said, sternly.
Ambrosia nodded, then took a dainty sip. Almost as soon as the foul liquid passed her lips, she leaned over the side of the table and vomited.
People around the room tittered, while others offered horrified gasps.
“I suppose it can’t be helped,” the woman beside Ambrosia sighed. “We’ll have to start your training all over again.”
Ambrosia stiffened. “No, Aunty. Anything but that. I can do it. I can be good.”
Her aunt sneered. “Apparently, you cannot.”
I watched Ambrosia, looking smaller than ever, her green skin an even sicklier hue than usual. I pitied her, but her sins were great. She deserved this fate, until Lucifer finally came and consumed her soul, and she became one with oblivion.
I said nothing. I turned and walked back out through the portal, leaving her behind.
I let out another deep breath as the salt air of the ocean hit me once more and the portal closed at my back.
