Hell's Throne (The Devil's Assistant Series - 5 ) - Unedited

Hell's Throne - Chapter 18

After the initial roll of intense heat had dissipated, only a few flames flickered within the doorway of the house. Pain radiated up the length of my body, I felt bruises in places I had never hurt before. My ribs throbbed painfully with each breath but I couldn't stop the gasping breaths.

The edges of my vision was a red tinged and fuzzy. Yet, no matter how many times I blinked my eyes, the red haze persisted.

Groaning loudly, even as I heard footsteps racing towards me, I pushed my body up off of the ground. Every part of me protested, each movement jarring my damaged body uncomfortably. Still, I placed one hand in front of the other, dragging my legs behind me as I crawled forwards.

"Savannah, are you okay?" Lucius called out, his voice oddly muffled.

Blearily, I looked up at him, before slowly staring back at the building. Damn it. I had triggered a bomb. In a world of angels and demons, I hadn't even considered the possibility of incendiary devices. Who knew that they even had them down here in the underworld? Then again, destruction always found a way.

"Are they okay?" I croaked, my eyes falling to the men who were still lying on the floor, appearing just a little disorientated as I felt.

"They should be okay but we'll get the healer to look them over. She should take a look at you too."

I shook my head, and as soon as I was up on my feet, I pushed his hands away. "I'm fine. I don't need to be looked at. But there is a woman in the house; we need to check she's alright."

"Savannah, there was a bomb in there. I don't think anyone in that building will be okay." Lucius stated his voice hard and unrelenting.

"I need to check. I need to know for certain." I replied back just as firmly.

He glared at me. I could feel his eyes roving over me, looking for signs of weakness but when he saw that I would not budge, he finally nodded his head. "Okay, we'll check the building for survivors. And then, when we find none, you will go to the healer and get examined. Agreed?"

Pressing my lips together, I was tempted to fold my arms over my chest and refuse. Yet the truth was I was exhausted, my body ached, and my vision was not how it should me. I struggled to actually focus on the world before me.

I hobbled forwards, my sword reforming within my hand. I drew in a breath and took comfort from the reassuring weight of the blade within my hand.

The door had been ripped off of its hinges during the blast and it hung diagonally across the doorway. Not even waiting for anyone else to intervene, I turned to the side and kicked out as hard as I could. My foot connected with the wood, the shock reverberating through my leg and up through my battered body.

The wood splintered under the impact and the crashed out of the way. I drew in a deep breath and then edged into the house. Despite the fact that the house had just exploded, I tiptoed cautiously over the threshold. I paused before moving all of my weight on to the floorboards, reluctant to trust the strength of the flaming boards.

Lucius was at my back, his sword glowing right alongside mine. We scoped out every nook and cranny before moving into the next room. Despite the explosion which had decimated all life within the hallway, the room beyond was relatively intact. Other than a few scorch marks from the flash fire, the blown out windows were the worst of the damage.

The room was lit only by the flickering light from the lantern which was set on the sideboard. It had somehow remained upright during the blast and continued to shine unrelentingly misery of the house.