Scholomance 9 by Logan Jacobs (read books for money .TXT) 📕

the grass was slowly starting to split apart. A glowing red light burst from the opening, and the elder swiftly lowered his eyes and tried to use his abilities to bring the opening to a close, but it was apparently too challenging for him. Thick beads of sweat dripped from his brow, and his eyes were glassy with tears as he muttered the same incantation over and over again under his breath.

But it was useless. The more he tried to defeat my power, the more energy he was using up, and it was beginning to take a toll on his physical features. His marble skin was turning pallid and shriveled like fruit left under the sun for too long. His burning blue eyes were fading like a dying sunset, and his muscles were deteriorating into ash and bone.

“Nooooooo!” he cried out, and his voice was broken and hoarse.

I watched with pleasure as multiple hands burst through the cracked earth and started to grab him by the ankles. He thrashed his body as he tried to escape the claws of death, but the more he moved, the more determined the hellish hands grew. I smiled as his great, magnificent wings began to break from his shoulder blades, and as he screamed in pain, the hands started to claw and scratch at his skin. Then blood spurted into the air as one wing completely fell off, and his cries of agony and terror grew even louder. He fell down to one knee, and the hands from hell grappled him even tighter.

“Enjoy your time below,” I chuckled as they tore into his robes, skin, and eventually pulled him waist down inside the earth. “You’ll be there for a long fucking time.”

“Wait, pleeeeeeease,” he begged, and the voices from hell cackled loudly before they reached for his skull and eyes. “Nooooooo! God save meeeee!”

Long nails plunged into his face and began to rip his skin and completely pull it off. He was still begging for mercy as muscle and bone shone through his tattered skin, and his eyes were pulled from their sockets. Finally, he was sucked into the opening and completely gone from this world, and the sky turned back to blue as everything became still and calm.

When it was over, I released myself from the searing concentration that overcame my mind. Then I took a deep, soothing breath, and I could hear the other women breathing as well.

“Master!” Nyx’s voice was the first to shout. “What happened to the elder?”

“Hell has him now,” I growled, and it felt like my head was going to split in half, but now I was determined to get through this wooden door.

“Well done, master!” Beatrix gasped. “What would we have done without you?”

“How did you summon hell when we were so close up to heaven?” Marina questioned with awe and amazement.

“Because he’s our master,” Akira reminded her, and she flashed me a haughty smirk. “He can do anything.”

“Satan, can everyone shut up?” Vanessa sighed before she placed a hand on her forehead. “My head…”

“Will you be able to keep going, professor?” Morgana asked in a soft voice.

“Of course,” Vanessa snapped, but then her defensive eyes softened, and her voice lowered. “I’m sorry, Miss Morgana. I didn’t mean to be impatient. Yes… I believe I’m ready.”

“Let’s do this, then, master.” Akira grinned before she turned to regard the others. “We’ll kill whoever is in our way. I just hope this time, we’re awake for the fight.”

“You will be,” I said in a firm voice. “Trust me… we’ll all have a part to play. I can feel it.”

“And we’ll have your back, master,” Circe added in a stern tone. “No matter what.”

I nodded in agreement before I reached for the doorknob, and when my hand grasped the cool metal, I thought I could feel Samara’s presence in the back of my mind. I knew she was dying to push through my subconscious, but I remained as firm as iron and forbade her from slipping into my head.

It felt like she was crying out in a storm-like fury, but I silently vowed to myself that the next time we spoke, it would be in person. All we had to do was pass through the golden gates of heaven.

The gates no Wicca has ever passed before, the woman from my dreams reminded me. Tread carefully, Cole. You’re not there just yet.

“I know,” I replied in a steady voice before I turned to carefully observe the others. “Come on, let’s go.”

Chapter 17

I pushed the tower door open, and a cool breeze brushed against my face and made every single hair stand on end. We were facing a giant golden staircase that curled all around the inside of the pillar and towered upward, but I couldn’t see a ceiling of any kind when I tilted my head back, so it looked like the stairs went on forever.

“Unholy hell,” Penelope muttered as her bright brown eyes scanned the shimmering steps. “How long do you think it will take for us to reach the gates?”

“Do the steps ever end?” Beatrix asked, and by now, her wounds were completely healed. “It doesn’t look like it does.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Vanessa sighed as she craned her neck. “We need to start climbing instead of just talking. There’s no other way.”

“She’s right,” I agreed, and the women all stared at me with wide eyes. “The sooner we climb the steps and reach the gates, the sooner we can get this fucking over with.”

“Yes, master,” my coven replied in agreement.

The witches had their wands pulled out, and the familiars were behind us, aside from Alex, who hovered in front of me and was ready to obey my will.

Shall I fly ahead, master? Alex asked in my head. I can try to reach the top before the rest