Hell's Rage: A She Devil Hybrid's Journey, #2

By Miranda Alberty

A deal with The Devil…

 

You'd think now that she has her family and lost-love back things would be easy—not a chance. Alexus's heart is torn between her past and her present. On top of that, the nightmare that she thought she had been able to bury has returned and if she wants to continue to protect everyone, she needs his help. Little does she know that he's the least of her problems and maybe the answer for everything—including her disheveled heart.

 

The more she tries to undo the damage done by the Evil that had consumed Neil, the worse things get. Not to mention the new Evils that keeping rearing their heads. Can she quell the chaos in time, or is it going to consume her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Miranda Alberty
• Release date: Jun 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215104439

Miranda Alberty

Author's Note: Heaven’s Fury is the first novel following the She-Devil Hybrid, Alexus, and the bonds that she makes as she uncovers the truth about the past. While getting my bachelors degree, I found myself relaxing by escaping to the world of Paranormal Romance and was inspired to create a world of my own. I plan to continue Alexus’s journey and I am excited to see how she grows as a character. I have 5 cats and 2 horses at home and I am currently going back to school to get my Masters in Business Administration. I work full time in between all that in an engineering career field—Don’t ask how I became a writer; it’s a mystery to me as well. Follow me on Facebook and Instgram at Booksby_alberty for updates about the series!

Book preview

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Victoria Ellis for proofreading once again. I’ll remember what I’m learning from you one day, I swear

Thank you, Brooks Kohler, for being my beta reader once again.

As always, one last shout out to my Facebook friends from the groups Drunk on Love – Romance Reader’s Sanctuary and The Reading Writing Ladies for always giving me the motivation to stay focused on my writing. This book was a real treat!

Chapter 1: The End of a Nightmare

Kyle’s eyes were full of longing. For years, I carried guilt and anger in my chest to the point where it would consume me at times. His longing and lack of anger made my chest feel tight and the relief I was feeling doubled. I didn’t move, I was too afraid that the four of them would disappear. What did I do?

Come on, let’s go. Al stood with me in his arms as Shiva opened a portal back to the house. I pushed back on his shoulder as best I could. I wanted to see everyone walk through, still afraid that they wouldn’t be able to go with us. Al looked down at me with concern in his eyes and dried tears on his face but waited until we were the last one’s left in Hell.

As he stepped through the portal it closed, and Shiva, Andre, Kyle, Mom, and Dad all scattered. What’s going on? I looked at Al in confusion as the emptiness in my stomach kept spreading.

He chuckled lightly but his face was still full of sorrow. That’s a mighty spell you used back there. To be honest, I never expected that it would be something you knew how to use. I could tell he was dodging the question, but I tried to keep my irritation at bay.

I don’t, really. I was looking through the books downstairs for an idea on how to curse someone out of existence, but that popped up instead. Literally popped up. He looked surprised, and I wasn’t sure which one of the confessions the surprise was for.

Why didn’t you say anything to my dad? Cade looked perplexed.

Well, the blade started glowing and books were moving by themselves. Then there’s the fact that I had no idea how to cast the spell in the first place. It seemed like a good reason to keep quiet at the time, but maybe Cade was right. It would’ve been better to tell him given that blades were glowing and books were flying. What are they doing? How are they here?

I was afraid to ask the second question but there was no avoiding it. If they hadn’t disappeared yet, I don’t think they’re going to. Heaven’s Fury is an ultimate Angelic spell. It’s only been known to be cast by the holiest of Saints. It reversed everything that has happened because of what Neil did. If you hadn’t already saved Andre, it would’ve saved his soul and returned it to his body, too.

Death is supposed to be absolute, is it not? That’s what you taught me. I didn’t like to admit it, but after Kyle had been killed I had looked long and hard to find something to bring him back. Even if it had just been for a moment.

Yes, most of the time. That’s why the cost of this spell is so high. I looked at Al as concern grew along with the emptiness in me.

What’s the cost? There’s like two sentences about the spell in an entire book. You’d think they’d at least have stuff like that written in fine print.

Your magic, Lex. All of it. I tried to rack my brain for a better understanding, but it didn’t come. Unlike the curse that left you unable to use your magic without causing harm, Heaven’s Fury expels the essence of your magic from your body and replaces it with itself.

So, wouldn’t my magic come back once I cast the spell? That would be the logical sequence of events.

Heaven’s Fury erases someone’s existence and reverses the result of their tainted actions if anyone that they’ve tainted along the way wasn’t tainted before. The sacrifice that the caster makes to ensure that all of that happens is that their magic is erased. My blood ran cold. Al was right, this was nothing like the curse I had suffered.

How do we fix it? Cade was angry, and the rest of them looked anxious. The emotions running through me were all over the place.

That’s what your parents, her parents, and Kyle are doing now. If they can capture her magic within their energies before it’s erased, it can be returned. I looked down at my hands.

What happens when they return it? I couldn’t take my magic back if all of them were to die again. It didn’t seem right.

Rumor has it that your body will either reject it or it will have to absorb it back gradually. Helps keep the shock of its return to a minimum. Jake walked over to me until he stood by Cade.

You didn’t think to tell her anything about it? Al looked furious.

If I had known she even knew of its existence I would’ve said something, Al. Not that it would’ve stopped her from using it if it was the only option she had left. The anxiousness on Jake’s face doubled and Al took in a deep breath.

You couldn’t think of anything else to take him out? I could tell his brother’s death hurt him, but not nearly as much as it hurt him to see me lose my magic.

I didn’t even know I was conjuring the spell until it fully manifested and was cast. I don’t know what else I would’ve done. That was the truth. I hadn’t exactly been losing to Neil, but it wasn’t going super well either.

Al. My heart clenched as Kyle ran into the living-room from the basement. There’s too much for the five of us to divide and contain in our energies but they have it contained in a small dimension downstairs. If we’re going to get any of it back to her, she has to absorb as much as she can right now.

That’s too risky, it’ll—

If she doesn’t absorb any of it, she’ll die. Michael and Anna know what they’re doing. They wouldn’t kill their only child. Kyle swung his head to Jake and cut him off. Fear was overpowering any other emotion he may have had, and I knew he was lashing out because of it, not because he disagreed with whatever Jake was about to say.

Al walked past Kyle and took the basement stairs two steps at a time. I could hear the others following suit, but the ringing in my ears started again. I slammed my hands over my ears and saw Al look down in concern. His words were muffled as he spoke, but when I looked to where Mom, Dad, Andrea, and Shiva were standing I could tell it was them he was talking to.

Mom said something I couldn’t quite make out as she ushered us towards her. She took my right hand from my ear, and begrudgingly obeyed. Dad came up to my left as Al set me on the floor and did the same with my other hand. The ringing was beginning to make me nauseous, so I bit my lip to keep the acid in my stomach down.

The four of them were huddled by the table I had taken the blade from when it first started glowing, and they were holding their hands up to something that I couldn’t see. Alexus! I slowly turned and looked at my dad. I could tell he was shouting, but to me it was just a whisper. You’ve got to call it back, don’t let it dissipate! It was right about now that I would’ve appreciated a handbook on all things magic.

Looking back in front of me, I tried to remember what it felt like when Cade, Cole, and Lucas had been containing my magic for me. I had to call it back then, so the process shouldn’t be any different now. Closing my eyes, I tried to concentrate on feeling the dimension that Kyle said it was being contained in. When a few seconds passed and I couldn’t feel anything in the air, I startled as someone placed their hand on the small of my back.

Shivers ran up my spine, and I was afraid to turn around. Recently it had been Cade that stirred that kind of reaction in me, but it used to be Kyle. With both of them here now, I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to be touching me. Shutting my eyes harder, I focused back on the dimension that should’ve been right in front of me. I could feel panic coming from Cade, Cole, and Lucas in waves, and suddenly I felt some kind of power surge through me.

I couldn’t let them down now. Sure, I had gotten them this far and kept them safe, but I wasn’t going to let it end like this. Various rumors I had heard over the years told me that without the existence of my magic I would die. It was all the Hybrids had. We couldn’t live without it like other supernaturals. If I died, I couldn’t protect them from anything. But Mom and Dad could. I knew my parents would look after them for me. Al, too.

Shoving that thought aside, I dug deeper. It was me that they were afraid for right now. On top of that, I wasn’t going to make Mom, Dad, and Kyle live through the pain of losing me when they were finally saved. I couldn’t use any magic right now, but I searched my mind for any kind of summoning incantation. Come on, there’s got to be something. If I was close enough to my magic, casting the incantation could draw it back into my energy.

My eyes shot open as I thought how ironic the whole thing was. Heaven’s Fury reversed everything that Neil had caused, including Death itself. I lost my magic to Heaven’s Fury because of Neil. Looking at it in that sense, I knew exactly what I could do. I summoned Dad’s blade, which was still glowing by the way, and walked forward until I could feel a small rift in front of me.

Taking in a deep breath, I focused on disbanding the energy in the blade. The world around me started to spin, and I could feel the hand on my back grip my waist to balance me. Widening my stance so I didn’t keel over, I positioned the tip of the blade against my left shoulder. I knew my body could reject the magic if it entered my energy, but that wouldn’t be the case if it entered my blood.

Lifting my left hand slightly, I cut my palm open as I swung the blade down through the dimension in front of me and down to my hip. It felt like all the oxygen in the room left at once, and the pull of the bonds that I had with Cade, Cole, and Lucas felt like they had been snapped like a rubber band. The ringing in my ears ceased, and it became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

As my breathing settled, I looked over to Mom. Tears welled in her eyes as she came and embraced me. My body was buzzing with magic again, but I felt numb. I felt myself begin to fall, but the hand that had been on my waist lowered me to the ground. I finally had the courage to look behind me, hoping it had been Dad, but Kyle’s gaze met mine.

Do you feel okay? I looked back to Mom and tried to focus on how soothing her voice sounded. She had been gone since I was six, yet she hadn’t missed a beat in what it meant to be a parent.

I don’t know. I tried to find words that could accurately describe how I was feeling. Ten minutes ago, four of the people in this room had been dead, and my magic had felt settled. My magic feels anxious, almost. I can’t feel anyone. I looked over to Al, thinking maybe he’d reassure me.

I looked to Dad as he placed his hand on my shoulder. When you bonded your magic to your blood and this blade, the bonds you had previously were broken. This is a lot of energy to contain, and it’s possible that retaining the bonds would’ve harmed your friends here. He looked at me apologetically.

I felt guilty that I hadn’t consciously thought about that but was relieved that my subconscious had. If it hadn’t and my magic had harmed the three of them, it may have been too late to cut the bonds myself. What happens now? Cade looked down at me with uncertainty in his gaze and something that looked like longing.

No one spoke for a moment. Shiva and Andre went to stand by Cade and Claire. Lucas, Cole, Lucy, and Jackie huddled up next to them. Jake looked uncertain where to stand, so he placed himself next to Al. Mom let out a deep breath and a small smile appeared on her face. I take it you all have been away from home for a while. She looked over to my father as if she was asking for permission.

Why don’t we all go upstairs and grab a drink? A smirk formed on his face as he looked up to Al, Andrea, Shiva, and then Kyle. I know a handful of us that could use one.

IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG for everyone to settle in. Kyle was holding me on the couch while others were chatting and catching up with those who had been dead. I still couldn’t believe it. Not only should I have not been able to cast Heaven’s Fury, but there was a loophole to avoid the price that you had to pay. You still feeling jittery? Kyle dropped his face closer to my ear.

The stare Cade was giving us was anything but happy and a part of me wanted to put some distance between myself and Kyle. As that thought crossed my mind, so did the thought of another Hybrid. Were you ever going to tell me that you’re a Hybrid, Al? I raised my eyebrow as I looked at him and ignored Kyle and Cade’s stare.

Where’s the fun in that? I could hear the playfulness in his voice, but it was obviously a topic he’d rather avoid. I’ve chosen to live as a Demon. You could pick a side too, you know. It would cut down on the popularity you seem to have gained over the years. He wasn’t wrong. The whole community knew what I was.

I think it’s a little late for that now. Lucas gave me a warm smile as he spoke, and Cole looked irritated as he sat next to him.

What kind of reputation has my daughter gained for herself? Dad’s smile made me want to cry. I had been without him and Mom for so long, I wasn’t sure what kind of relationship we would have, but something told me that it’d be a good one.

She’s definitely badass, Lucy chimed in from her seat next to Lucas. Both Dad and Mom’s smiles brightened at her words.

I can’t thank you enough for keeping my family safe. Shiva looked at me from across the room where she was sitting with Andre, Claire, and Cade.

You should thank Lucas and Cole. Cole shifted as I said his name. They’re the ones that sought me out. Even without the bond, I felt the pull to Cole again. It was more evident now that I wasn’t bonded with Cade or Lucas.

Dad’s eyes lit up the same way they had when Lucy had put in her two cents about me, and then he looked over to Mom and smiled. Shiva cleared her throat and spoke up, I do hope you boys will stay around even though Cade isn’t such a lone wolf anymore. She tussled Cade’s hair playfully as she looked at Cole and Lucas.

Of course. Lucas grinned. He can’t get rid of us that easily. Cade flashed a smile to him in response.

We have so much to do to get our feet back under us. Andre rubbed his face as he let the stress take over.

You always have help here, brother. The kindness I saw in Dad’s eyes filled me with pride.

We have the extra space if there isn’t enough room with Cade, Mom chimed in too.

That is my cue to leave. Al stood and walked to the hallway in between the living-room and kitchen.

Oh, no you don’t. I still have questions for you. I went to stand to walk towards him, but I got caught on Kyle’s arm and sat back down.

You have a lot to process here, Lex. A lot to catch up on too. Take the time to do that. I’ll always be there with the answers you need. He gave me one of his warm smiles.

Yeah, unless you feel like it’d be better for me to figure it out on my own. I shot him a glare. It would’ve been nice if the only answer he had dropped was that he had a twin brother.

My hands were pretty tied. Believe it or not it was for the better that you came to your own conclusion. If I told you beforehand you may not have been able to do what you did today. Then again —he paused looking slightly upset— if I had told you maybe you wouldn’t have taken such drastic measures to win the fight. I tilted my head sideways at the way that he said fight. That certainly didn’t give me the warm and fuzzy feelings.

Thank you, Al, for everything. Mom and Dad both stood up and gave him a hug. As he parted from them, he flashed another smile.

You know where to find me. With a wave, he walked through the portal to Hell’s Plane and disappeared.

Chapter 2: More Growing Pains

S o, what war exactly is Al talking about? I crossed my legs and looked at my parents.

It’s been a long day, Dad gracefully side-stepped my question. Let’s get everyone home so we can all unwind.

Both sets of parents walked to the front door. Don’t worry. Mom looked back at me as she waited for the rest of us to join them. We’ll all see each other again. This goes a lot deeper than Neil, as you’ve already guessed, Alexus.

Dad picked up the truck keys that were sitting on the table next to the door. The old girl’s still running? He gave me a grin.

Hit or miss. I’ve replaced almost everything I can on her, so no promises you reach your destination without breaking down. They’re better off flying back to their subdivision in all honesty. I shrugged my shoulders at him.

If that’s the case—Shiva looked back at the gaggle behind her— boys, pick up a lady that can’t fly. We’ll see you guys soon. Andre and Shiva both received a hug from Mom and then the eight