Hell's Key

Part 1 - Enzo

Enzo

Waking up, I groan softly. I struggle in the tangle of red silk sheets. Staring up through the sky light, I hear birds chirp above me. I rub my eyes, forcing them to stay open. Rolling out of bed, my feet sink into the deep red rug. The bed is empty. Alex must already be awake. A flick of my wrist and the lights blaze, illuminating the room. My feet pad on the floorboards as I walk out of the bedroom, down the stairs and into the grand kitchen. Alex's kitchen is twice the size of mine and there are two more in the mansion, not that she needs them. The mansion is fit for a queen, as is everything Alex owns. She settles for nothing but the best.

My feet tap on the cold tiles, I reach out for the coffee pot. Lights flicker in the hallway but we had turned them off last night. Curiously, I peer through the doorway, looking up at the diamond chandelier. The bulbs fade out as I enter. A bolt of energy shoots up the hall, flying at my head. Ducking, the blast shatters the mirror behind me. I flick my wrist, the light streams down the corridor. Heading down the hallway, l raise my hands threateningly. I assume whoever it is hasn't found Alex yet or they wouldn't still be here. I sneak forward, moving silently down the corridor. A small movement, I let out a surge of magic. There is howl of pain, I quicken my step. Turning the corner, I stop. A stream of fire strikes the wall beside me; it's a fire demon. I send out a bolt of magic, pinning the demon against the wall. Flames burn up the walls and rush over the floor hungrily.

My magic keeps a hold of my attacker as I make my way through the flames. I'm a warlock hellhound hybrid which gives me the ability to withstand fire. Approaching my aggressor, I see who it is. I could never mistake that curly hair and wickedly charming smile.

"Alex!" I release her from my magic's grasp in an instant. "What the hell are you doing?" I sigh in relief. We killed Silven, the demon who attempted, and almost succeeded, to free Lucifer a few months ago but we never know when the next problem will arrive.

"You shouldn't have done that." Alex leaps and grins. I hit the wall and I feel her hands wrap around my throat.

I pick her up off the ground by her waist and chuck her across the room. A wall of bricks sails in my direction but I cast a forcefield, laughing. It'll take more than that. Lifting my hands, I'm ready to attack. Rushing towards me at super-speed, she stops, our faces millimetres apart. She leans up and kisses me. I smile and grab her hand, snatching the magic reducing handcuffs from her grasp.

"You really think I would fall for that?"

"No, if I put them on you, Lucifer could escape." Alex is the type of person who would risk it. The flames racing up the wall are proof of that. "It was a distraction."

My legs buckle underneath me, I groan. Alex kicks me to the ground. Magic pulses out from my hand, aiming for her face. She blocks it easily. One of her hands sparks, ready to fire, the other steals back the cuffs. "Do I win?"

I glance down at my hand, considering the chance that I could blast her before she burnt my face off. Sparks jolt closer to my face as she waits. I don't have a choice but to admit defeat. "Fine." The sparks die out and she helps me up. "Any reason why you decided to try to kill me?"

"I was bored. You're improving but you still have no chance against me." Alex smirks, gesturing to the flames and they begin to die out and the house restores itself. "Now, you owe me breakfast for losing."

I shake my head fondly. "What do you want to eat?"

Alex snatches a handful of chocolate chips for the pancakes I am making. "I need those for the mixture." I bat her hand away.

"You can magic up more." She pops another handful into her mouth.

Alex is the Queen of Hell. She became the ruler after she overthrew her father, Lucifer. My magic is what is keeping him in Hell, I closed the rift that allows him to enter Earth. It's how we met. She came to torture me so that I would lock him up, but I offered to do it willingly. That was almost eleven years ago, and we've stayed friends. Then Silven, Lucifer's most loyal servant, almost succeeded in completing the ritual that would break the spell keeping Lucifer in Hell. Luckily, Alex inherited her mother's angelic ability to bring back the dead or I wouldn't be here. The stove fires up, I put the pancake mixture on the griddle.