Gambling With Souls Read online

  Gambling with Souls

  The Purgatorium Saga - Book 3

  Amy Starr

  Copyright © 2020 Amy Starr

  All rights reserved

  Contents

  Gambling with Souls

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  The Next Adventure

  Escaping from Hell

  ✽✽✽

  amystarrbooks.com

  Prologue

  A small blackbird flapped its wings as it landed on a branch of a pine tree. It started to sing, and the melody carried from the dark pine forest to the abandoned village it encircled. Log cabins sat vacant, their doors open but without a person in sight. In the middle of the smattering of dwellings were several tables. Some of these tables were still standing upright whereas others were turned on their sides. There were empty bowls and food waste strewn everywhere.

  Behind the discarded log cabins was the remains of a church. Smoke rose lazily from the crumbling remains and the smell of sulphur hung in the air. From the ruins of the crumbling place of worship, an old man wearing torn black robes staggered to his feet. He gazed at the grassy plains in front of him that were devoid of life.

  The man let out a string of swears before spitting on the ground.

  “Bastards…” He hissed, pulling a mobile phone out of his pocket.

  He entered a number and place the phone to his ear, wincing as it touched a wound against the side of his head.

  “Greetings my Lord.”

  The man grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. Blood was oozing down his scalp.

  “Unfortunately, no. There has been a slight hitch in the plans.”

  He sighed and leant against a wall that was still standing. Beads of sweat had begun to drip down his forehead and cheeks.

  “Yes, it was them and…yes, Beelzebub was sent back.”

  He held the phone away as a cacophony of expletives erupted from the speaker. With a shaky hand, the man quickly brought the mobile back to his ear and stammered.

  “My Lord, please! I will remedy this, I swear. I can get more sacrifices from somewhere-wait-”

  The man was once again interrupted by a string of curses from the other end of the phone. He rubbed his eyelids with his fingers, looking as though he was about to cry.

  Something caught his eye and he glanced up. His eyes sparkled as he was approached by two people, a man with bright blue eyes and a woman with curly black hair. One held a small smooth stone out to him. In response, the man pressed the phone close to his ear.

  “Good news, my Lord. We have the Seeking Stone. It will allow us to find them.”

  The woman let out a small chuckle before she spoke out loud.

  “And you’ll never guess which direction they are heading in.”

  Chapter One

  Hudson had never hitchhiked before in his life. He was used to getting driven everywhere by limos or luxury taxis, so when Poppy suggested that they hide in the back of a truck, he was a little hesitant. He was mostly worried about Poppy’s safety.

  “We need to keep moving.” Poppy reminded him. “They have that stone now. If they find us, we’re done for.”

  She did have a point there. They had travelled down the main road until they found a truck stop near the forest. In the end, Hudson agreed and they both slipped into the truck. It was transporting cartons of furniture, so they huddled together among a pile of boxes. Soon, they were heading in an unknown direction.

  Poppy settled herself down and checked her phone. Hudson could see that it was down to the red bar.

  “We’ll get off at the nearest city and then check to see where the Demotome wants us to go.” Poppy said, sliding her phone into her pocket.

  Hud glanced down at the dusty book in his hands. The leather covering the book seemed to have an unnatural warmth to it, as if he was holding a small animal. He ran his finger along the golden lettering of the archaic word that was etched into the book’s cover.

  “Will the Demotome really help us to find that reaper?”

  Poppy nodded her head, her purple bob cut falling over her eyes. “I’m certain, it’s what Harkness told me in the message they sent me in my vision.”

  Hud opened the book and thumbed through the yellowed pages and realised just how old the tome was. It was something he would expect to see in a museum exhibit. The text inside the Demotome was mostly written in an old English style, but it looked as though some of the passages were written in a more modern prose. The ink that the contemporary language was written in looked brighter too.

  “Huh, I think this was edited not too long ago.” Hudson murmured.

  “You should read it.” Poppy replied. “It belongs to your family. It might mean something to you.”

  Hudson turned to the first page and started to skim through it. The first few pages seemed important, but he could not recognize the archaic writing on them. The only thing that really stood out to him was an odd symbol on one of the first pages. It was a red fist holding a tiny broom. He squinted, trying to make sense of it. Was it supposed to be the hand of a witch?

  “Damn it.” He muttered. “I can’t understand any of this.”

  Poppy took the book and looked at it, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

  “I can’t either. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

  Hudson sighed and shut the Demotome, tucking it into the front of his hoodie. “How are we supposed to know where to go if I can’t read half the text?”

  He went quiet, holding his knees close to her chest. Poppy huddled close to him and, with slight hesitation, petted him on the shoulders.

  “It’s alright, we’ll find Harkness. I can feel it inside me.”

  Hudson was not sure what to think. He trusted Poppy and her powers, but could she really find a reaper who seemed to be trapped in a strange barely described place? Did this reaper really know where his sister was too?

  It felt like hours before the truck finally came to a stop. Hudson, starting to fall asleep, felt a small tingle in the back of his neck as if bees were buzzing around his spine. It was the same tingle he had felt around the first demon, and Beelzebub. He jerked himself upright.

  “Poppy, Poppy I feel something.”

  The psychic gazed up at Hud and let out a small hum. “Look, the book.”

  Hudson glanced down at his hoodie. Demotome was letting off a very faint light from underneath it. Poppy gave a small nod before speaking.

  “That has to be a sign. Let’s move.”

  The back of the truck was broken, so Poppy could easily lift the roller and crawl out. Hudson, of course, just stepped through the side of the truck. They both looked around in awe from the gas station they had stopped at. Skyscrapers towered in front of them and went as far as they could see to the horizon.

  “Shit, have we been inside the truck for that long?” Poppy murmured, squinting at a road sign not too far away from them.

  Hudson had to agree. Geography was not his strong point, but he was certain this city was a couple of states away from their starting position. Perhaps he had fallen asleep after all.

  Before setting off on their journey, Poppy went into the gas station and stocked up on supplies. She grabbed several containers of table salt, a bunch of granola bars and a new tote, which caused the station attendant to raise her eyebrows at her.

  “I’m uh, making a lot of pasta.” Poppy
said, shoving everything in her tote bag.

  “Really?” She asked, staring directly at her. “You know that just makes the water boil slower, yeah?”

  “I’m making pasta super slowly.” Poppy added whilst leaving the store with Hudson snickering behind her.

  Hud watched as Poppy unwrapped one of the bars and began devouring it. It was at that point that Hud realised he had not eaten or drunk any water since he died. It was a weird revelation, and one he did not want to think about too much.

  As they started to walk along the sidewalk towards the city, a white van pulled up beside them. The sliding door opened, and a pair of pale hands reached out and snatched Poppy by her waist.

  “H-hey!” Poppy shouted, struggling against the mystery person’s grip.

  Hudson leapt into action. He grabbed Poppy’s hands and tried to pull her back, but her captor was incredibly strong. The psychic stared at Hud with big horrified eyes.

  “Don’t let go of me!” She begged.

  Hudson gave one desperate tug, but his hands slipped. He watched in despair as Poppy was pulled into the van. The door slammed shut and the van began to drive away. Acting on instinct, Hud began to sprint. With every step he went a little faster. His feet became a blur underneath him. He started running through people, feeling a shiver every time it happened. He was catching up to the speeding vehicle. Hud could feel the wind blowing through him and it was like he was flying. He reached a single hand out. It phased through the van’s door. With one massive leap, he entered the back of the truck and slammed down onto the floor in a heap.

  Hudson went limp. He could not feel any pain, but his body was limp and sluggish, as if he had run a marathon. Glancing up with a shaky head, he was met with a silhouette outlined by a bright light.

  “The forsaken human has caught up with us.” The voice murmured.

  “They were correct. Even in this form, he is still one of them.” Another voice spoke. They both sounded emotionless.

  Lowering his head, Hud felt the world fade away.

  Chapter Two

  Poppy had thought that the weird demon fly was the most terrifying thing she had even seen. The moment she was dragged into the van and dumped onto the floor, she realised she had been completely wrong.

  At first, she had thought that her kidnappers were aliens wearing human disguises. They were unusually tall and had to crane their necks in order to fit into the van. They wore white robes which fell off their thin frames and from their exposed bodies, Poppy could see the skin on their bald heads was a sickly pale. She had only ever seen that on corpses. Despite this, their bodies seemed to radiate a warm energy. Their faces were androgynous, making them even more intriguing.

  They had some sort of psychic influence over her too. Moments before entering the van, her heart was practically exploding out of her chest but the second she was inside with them, she felt an unnatural sense of calm overtake her. She did not necessarily like being around them, but she did not feel a need to leave nor fear for her life.

  The inside of the van was freezing. Every breath that Poppy let out caused steam to rise from her mouth.

  Before any words could be exchanged between the group, Hudson had leapt in. No sooner had he collapsed on the floor that he had passed out. The two faux humans just started down at him from the seats they were sitting on, their faces not changing before exchanging words amongst each other.

  Poppy did not pay attention to what they said. She crawled over to him and stroked the back of his head.

  “Hudson? Hudson wake up!”

  “He is not deceased, human.”

  Poppy looked up and saw that one of the beings had their face only inches away from hers. At a first glance, it had seemed human enough, but the more Poppy looked at it, the uncannier it became. Everything about it was too perfect. The symmetry was flawless, and it did not have any scars, moles, or freckles on its face. It was like looking at the face of a realistic mannequin.

  “What?”

  “I said that he is not deceased. I can sense that you are afraid for his life. You do not need to be afraid. His ethereal form has limits, as all humans do. He will be fine; he just needs 56 seconds to recover.”

  Poppy went quiet, her eyes wide as she tried to process everything that was happening. She was starting to feel thankful that she was not panicking.

  “Who are you?” She asked in a small voice.

  “Agents of a higher being.” The other inhuman spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “A being that is beyond any human’s comprehension, even for an extrasensory one such as yourself. We do not interfere in the business of humanity. We are mere observers.”

  The way these uncanny humanoids spoke to her was starting to irritate her. Poppy felt like she was being spoken down to like she was a child.

  “Observers, huh?” Poppy muttered, lifting a hand up. “You snatched me off the side of the road.”

  “This is an exceptional circumstance.”

  Hudson let out a loud gasp and he sat up. He scrambled back when he saw the two beings in front of him but like Poppy, his heavy breathing and frantic movements died down. It was as if someone had injected him with a sedative. When he had calmed down, one of the beings spoke, staring them down with pale blue eyes.

  “You have both upset the balance of existence.”

  “The…the balance?” Hudson murmured.

  “You should be in the Purgatorium.” One of the inhumans said, pointing a slightly too long finger at Hudson.

  “You have both also interfered with matters that are not the concerns of humans.” The other being added.

  “You mean killing those demons?” Poppy asked, a little confused.

  “You have been interfering in the summoning of immortals of the Infernal Region.” One of the beings corrected her. “That is against the rules. Only immortals of the Heavenly Kingdom such as us can engage in battle with those of the enemy.”

  Poppy was floored. She turned and gazed at Hudson and saw that he had gone pale.

  “So, you’re saying that hell and heaven are real?” Hudson murmured.

  “Heaven and hell…such simple words for such a complex concept. You cannot be blamed for your humble vernacular, I suppose.”

  “You’re angels?” Poppy added, her eyes wide with awe and shock.

  “Again, your language is so simple. We are Powers, of the first created Order. We protect the Planets and the Heavenly Kingdom from demonic raids.”

  “Well, you’ve been doing your job well.” Hudson muttered, glaring from one of the heavenly beings to the other. “We’ve been sending all the demons back for you. Where have you been every single damn time we were attacked?”

  One of the Powers stared directly at Hudson, causing him to shrink back. Poppy could not help but to look away as well. The immortal’s stare was anxiety inducing.

  “Do you have any idea how many attacks we have prevented over the last day? There are ten times more of them than there are of us.”

  That line sent a shiver down Poppy’s spine. Where was this fear coming from now?

  The van came to a halt. One of the immortals stood up and opened the bench it had been sitting on.

  “Our plans have changed, humans. Since this forsaken one has determination, we will not force him back into the afterlife yet. Instead, we will test you, as our own Lord tests us.”

  It took out a long garbage bag in its arms and placed it on the floor at its feet. Poppy saw the bag settle into a human shape as it was laid down. The Power lowered their hands and gazed deep into Hudson’s eyes.

  “There is a demon in this city, a powerful one. If you defeat him within 24 hours, you may permanently return to your mortal shell.”

  Poppy felt her mouth grow dry as she glanced back at the black bag. Now she knew why the van was so cold. Now she understood the strange feeling she had experienced during the vision of Hudson’s death at the hidden township.

  The Power opened the bag and Poppy covered her mouth with her
hand.

  “If you fail, we shall send your soul rightfully back to the afterlife where it belongs.”

  Poppy felt her stomach lurch. Her mind flew back to when she had spied on the reapers, and the reason why she had changed her mind on sending Hud back to the black inky darkness he had come from.

  “Once the escaped human returns to the portal he escaped from, capture him. He will not be allowed to be judged – instead, he will remain in the Purgatorium for all eternity.”

  She looked at the body bag and knew that Hudson was in trouble.

  Chapter Three

  Hudson stared down at his own body in the bag. It was the weirdest situation he had even been in. He saw that his nose and digits were tinged blue, and the rest of his skin was a deathly pale.

  “Where did you get…that.” He muttered.

  “We retrieved it from the scene of your death.”

  “Why?”

  The two immortals said nothing, and it made Hud grit his teeth.

  “So, I’ll come back to life now, and if I take down the demon within the next 24 hours, I’ll stay alive?” Hudson queried, not taking his eyes off his corpse.

  The Powers both nodded simultaneously. “You shall keep living until your next possible death date.”

  “No tricks?”

  “We are not tricksters.”

  Hudson tilted his head to the size, rubbing his hands together.

  “What if I refuse your deal?”

  “We shall destroy your body permanently.”

  Hud bit the inside of his cheek hard. He felt like this was a giant trap. He looked over at Poppy. The psychic seemed just as anxious as he was, if not more. She was looking at the ground and fidgeting with her hands. It did not make him feel any better.

  “Nothing will happen to Poppy, will it?” He asked.

  Poppy glanced up, her eyes wide.

  “This deal concerns only the forsaken soul. Poppy will not be affected.”