Burn in Hell: Episode 1 (Fortune Academy Underworld)

  Burn in Hell: Fortune Academy Underworld Episode 1 © 2020 by J.R. Thorn

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  Cover Art by Natasha Snow

  Interior Illustration by Ricky Gunawan Book Cover Art

  Line Edit by Kristen Breanne

  Proofread by Love2ReadRomance Proofreading & Editing Service

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  All Persons Fictitious Disclaimer:

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.

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  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system.

  Published in the United States.

  Recommended Reading Order

  Download a printable PDF reading order by Clicking Here!

  All Books are Standalone Series listed by their sequential order of events

  Elemental Fae Universe Reading List

  Elemental Fae Academy: Books 1-3 (Co-Authored)

  Midnight Fae Academy (Lexi C. Foss)

  Fortune Fae Academy (J.R. Thorn)

  Blood Stone Series Universe Reading List

  •Chasing Fate (USA Today Bestselling Book)

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  Seven Sins

  •Book 1: Succubus Sins

  •Book 2: Siren Sins

  •Book 3: Vampire Sins

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  Royal Covens

  •Book 1: Captivated

  •Book 2: Compelled

  •Book 3: Consumed

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  Fortune Academy (Part I)

  •Year One

  •Year Two

  •Year Three

  Fortune Academy Underworld (Part II)

  •Episode 1: Burn in Hell

  •Book Four

  •Book Five

  •Book Six

  Non-RH Books (J.R. Thorn writing as Jennifer Thorn)

  Noir Reformatory Universe Reading List

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  Noir Reformatory: The Beginning

  Noir Reformatory: First Offense

  Sins of the Fae King Universe Reading List

  * * *

  (Book 1) Captured by the Fae King

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  Learn More at www.AuthorJRThorn.com

  Contents

  Blurb

  1. Dante

  2. Cole

  Author's Note

  Recommended Reading Order

  If I don’t find an outlet for this rage, I’m going to lose my shit.

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  Lily is off limits. Ever since we got back to Fortune Academy it’s been too dangerous to get anywhere near her. For her sake, I keep my distance.

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  The rage demon that’s corrupted our mate-circle has gotten under my skin… and he knows it.

  “Burn in Hell” is Episode 1 in the Fortune Academy Underworld Episodic series. This is a short read of 5,000 words intended to be read after Fortune Academy: Year Three, but can also be read as a standalone.

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  Episodes feature Lily’s mates with all scenes written from the guys’ point of view. Episode 1 features Points of View from Dante and Cole, featuring a M/M scene between Dante and Hendrik and includes inside secrets not otherwise revealed in the Fortune Academy series.

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  Need to catch up? Read Fortune Academy: Year One!

  I’d give anything for one night in my own bed where nobody bothered me and I could think about my singular mission: to hunt down monsters.

  That was my life’s purpose—or at least, it had been.

  I’d come to Fortune Academy because I’d spent all my life being hunted by those who had created me.

  Now it was time that I hunted them back.

  I was a witch’s creation, but unfortunately the only witches that were fair game were the ones in Hell. The worst of the worst who’d sold their souls in exchange for incredible power. I’d been an unlucky human traded in as an infant. Witches sold their souls to demons… but humans sold their firstborn, which I found far worse.

  My fate was to be experimented on, trained, and tested to see whether I’d live or die through my transformation. I was pumped with so much magic within the first few days of life that any semblance of humanity was wiped away and replaced with bitterness, anger—so much anger—and an eternal need to release the violence held within me.

  My orange eyes marked me as a Hunter.

  The witches didn’t know I’d have enough of my wits about me to retaliate. Instead of becoming a mindless soldier like they expected, my intelligence grew beyond that of any human. My skills of tracking, fighting, and stealth tactics surpassed anything they could have ever planned.

  Now that I knew I was a Virtue to the Third Champion of Calamity, perhaps that was the reason for my exemption. If that was the case, I owed Lily everything.

  Still, a part of me hated her.

  It didn’t make sense why I held onto this bitterness for her. I took my dagger and sliced a piece of wood, carving it into a stake in case I came across another vampire. The last one I’d captured had been a freaking warlock hybrid and if he hadn’t already been weakened and hungry, I probably wouldn’t have survived taking him down.

  So, time to add some more wooden stakes to my plethora of weapons now that vampire attacks are on the rise.

  From my knowledge of the creatures, they preferred to stay out of supernatural politics, but somebody high up in one of their clans must have struck a deal with Hell, because they fought alongside Lucifer and his demons.

  Which meant if they had connections to Hell, they could help me find the witches who did this to me.

  My dagger slipped and sliced a gash up my finger, making me hiss with pain as the thought distracted me from the present. It was hard for me to admit what drove me, and shit if I’d ever tell Lily about it. I’d been exempt from the worst of the memory wipes that had plagued supernaturals because I’d been in transit between realms at the time, which meant that I still had my bitterness and my rage.

  It didn’t help that the one time I’d actually found a way into Hell, I’d been distracted by Lily and her hold over me. I wanted to be her Virtue and help her with her purpose, but what about mine? I had searched the tunnels for the witch spirits that jived with my own magical energies, but I hadn’t found them during our descent into the pit.

  I needed to go back, which meant I needed to go through with Lily’s plan to capture the Dean in the Angelstone and return to Hell. She didn’t have to know that I had a secret agenda to follow the Dean when we tossed her in. The witches that I sought knew I was onto them. That was the only explanation, and they had buried themselves as deep into the layers of Hell as they possibly could.

  Which meant I had to burn in hell alongside the doomed Dean of Fortune Academy in order to find them.

  I sucked on my wound until it healed. Part of my magic came with impressive regeneration, but it always left a scar. I took my finger out to examine it, noting the smooth line the cut had left behind.

  “Are you feeling sorry for yourself again?” a male voice teased, filtering into the room as the Dark Mage walked right past my wards.

  “Go away, Hendrik,” I growled.

  His mere presence pissed me off right now. He was working with the Dean instead of fighting against her. I understand the purpose. She needed to keep her guard down until Lily figured out how to access the complete extent of her powers. The immortal could not be
underestimated and while I agreed with the roles we all played, it didn’t mean I had to like it.

  Hendrik stepped out of the shadows as he peeled off his coat. His eyes always intrigued me, the result of devouring his soul for the sake of power. Complete blackness stretched out where whites should have been, giving him an otherworldly appearance, but I’d gotten used to it over time.

  “I could use another session,” he said, grinning as he gave the offer to spar a double-meaning.

  “Last time was a mistake,” I growled as I went back to work on the vampire stake. I sliced the dagger over the tip, sending a tendril of wood falling to the ground. “We’re just being influenced by that fucking demon.”

  “I kind of like it,” he admitted as he ran his fingers over the weapons on the wall. He glanced at me when he picked a short fighting stick. “Don’t you?”

  I matched his gaze and gave the question serious consideration. Cole, a rage demon and Lily’s final Virtue that would complete the mate-circle, had been a secret of ours for quite some time. We knew Lily had chosen him even before she did and taken action to save her—and ourselves.

  Now the plan had backfired. His capture and imprisonment in the tunnels under the Monster Arena had allowed him to slowly corrupt the campus with his rage. Maybe we’d been the reason for the Dean to have lost her damn mind in the first place. It was too late for regrets. All we could do now was damage control.

  Hendrik passed the weapon from hand to hand as he walked a slow circle around me. I kept working on my stake, but the Dark Mage knew I could strike at any moment. He was smart not to let his guard down.

  “Do you think you can beat me this time?” he teased.

  We’d been sparring at least once a week for the past few months and each time our rage had only gotten stronger. We’d beat each other within an inch of our lives and Hendrik would use that pain and suffering to fuel his Blood Duty, part of it for himself and the other part for the Dean’s quota.

  Fading black and blue bruises splotched over his otherwise muscular body, evidence of the fight I’d put up the last time we’d fought. He didn’t hold back, and neither did I.

  I waited until his weight had shifted to his left foot, sending him off-balance when I moved to strike. I blurred across the room and went to strike him with the flat end of my vampire stake, but even without his footing the Dark Mage was ready for me. He had a spell on the tip of his tongue and a blast of dark energy sent me reeling before my blow landed.

  All of the breath rushed out of me as I hit the wall hard, the impact sending the weapons clattering to the floor. I tossed the wooden stake and grabbed something a bit more robust.

  I blocked Hendrik’s strike with a long blade, slicing his stick in half as he went for my head. If the blow would have landed, he would have bashed my brains in.

  A grin spread across my face as the thrill of violence surged through me. Like I said—he didn’t hold back.

  And yes, I liked it.

  Cutting his weapon in half had only served to give him two shorter sticks to attack me with. He whispered another spell, this one that gave him a burst of speed as he came at me with multiple swipes that sent my sword flying.

  A dark mist filtered into the room, evidence that Cole’s influence was working on us. If we didn’t release our anger, it would give him a foothold into our minds. Lately, I was one thought away from letting the demon take control.

  If that happened, I’d go after Lily. The demon wanted her dead and he wanted to murder her in the worst possible way—by using her mates against her.

  Fuck if I’d let that happen.

  I embraced my rage so that the demon couldn’t use it against me as I roared and opted for brute force against the Dark Mage. I slammed him hard and he went flying across the room and his head bounced against the brick wall with a sickening thump.

  Not waiting to see if I’d stunned him, I sprinted and moved in for another attack, but this was how the Dark Mage overpowered me. Whenever he was seriously injured, his magic kicked in out of reflex and used his pain to make him even stronger. It was a catch-twenty-two and I still hadn’t figured out how to win a fight against him.

  A wild grin spread across his face as he took me in a headlock and spun, sending me slamming against the wall. “Nice try, Hunter,” he teased as he choked off my air.

  “Not… fair,” I growled as I fought against his impossible strength.

  “Says the supernatural who can regenerate,” he said as his free fist punched hard enough to break one of my ribs.

  I released a breath and went still, letting the rib knit back into one piece before I bucked against him, but he pushed back and pinned me against the wall.

  “Do you feel it?” he asked, his breath hot on my cheek as he continued to squeeze.

  “I… don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. My strength had its limits and the Dark Mage knew it. I needed time to regenerate, or magic. Neither of which I had access to right now.

  He continued to wear me out, forcing me to strain against him to catch tiny gulps of air to stay conscious.

  “Concede, or I won’t be able to stop,” he warned. The dark edge of his voice said he needed one of two things right now. Murder… or sex.

  I knew if I gave him what he needed, he would spare Lily. Just like the demon would use me if given a chance, it would do the same to him.

  When his hand went to my waistband, I didn’t stop him.

  I told myself it was a sacrifice, but my dick was already hard before he’d even touched me.

  Because I wanted this just as much as he did. We both shared dark secrets, regrets, and past pain. We didn’t want to hurt Lily, but we needed to release this violence.

  So we used each other.

  I gasped when he ripped my pants down and shoved a finger in my ass. It hurt, but that was just more power he could add to his magic.

  “I win,” he gloated. “You know the rules. Loser has to kneel.” He spun me and snarled.

  I crashed to my knees and resisted the urge to find a weapon and slice him with it. I was a Hunter, which meant I had honor. I’d lost—that part was true.

  Now I had to pay the price.

  “One of these days, I’m going to figure out your weakness and you’re going to be the one kneeling in front of me,” I vowed as he lowered his pants.

  His dark eyes blazed with a deep red hue. I recognized the reflection of Hellfire in the pit where his soul should have been. “That day is not today,” he said, grinning as he shoved his dick down my throat.

  I hated myself that I liked it. He tasted like fire and violence. He groaned as I paid my penance. He fucked my mouth, releasing his rage in a way that would keep us, and Lily, alive.

  While I agreed I’d lost, it didn’t mean I’d stay his bitch forever. I waited for him to drop his guard as he braced himself against the wall. I jabbed his upper thigh right on a pressure point where I knew he’d go down. He toppled, surprised at the sudden jolt of pain.

  While he could overpower me when given enough damage, a pressure point only sent pain signals to the brain and it didn’t actually harm the body. It wasn’t enough to beat him in a fight, but as I theorized, it gave me enough of an advantage to temporarily overpower him.

  And I knew how to keep him pinned.

  I slammed him on the ground and put my arm on the back of his neck, pressing all my weight against his back. “You like pain, don’t you?” I asked as I took my dagger and pressed it against his side.

  It was the one weapon he wouldn’t be able to use against me. My dagger had been imbued by his own magic, and as such, couldn’t be used to provide him with more. I knew it was cheating, but I didn’t care. It was my turn to release some of my rage.

  He went still. One good puncture and I could kill him if I wanted to. “What’s your angle, Hunter? Tired of losing, so you’re going to play dirty?”

  I ran the blade lower and flicked his belt-line, exposing his ass. “I’m going to fuck
you,” I said bluntly.

  He went stiff. “You didn’t earn it,” he warned and moved against me.

  I kept my blade where it was and he hissed as it dug into his side, but I made sure to hit a non-lethal area. “Don’t test me, Dark Mage,” I said as I spit into my hand. “I’ve sucked you off for the past month straight and I’m tired of our exchanges being one way. You’re not the only one who has anger issues to deal with.”

  The dark mist thickened around us and I sensed the demon tuning in to our activities. He was intrigued by what the mate-bond did to us. I wasn’t into guys, and I suspected neither was Hendrik, but being so closely connected changed that. Fighting him and fucking him seemed to come naturally and if it benefited us both by taking the edge off our rage, that was a bonus.

  I readied him with a finger, not wanting to give him any extra pain to fuel his magic to use against me. “Stay still and this’ll be over soon,” I told him.

  He laughed. “Give me your best shot, Hunter.” He glanced at me over his shoulder. “And don’t make it quick.”

  He meant to intimidate me with his eerie gaze, but I was used to the darkness he had inside and I wanted a taste of it. I eased myself into him, groaning as his tight muscles squeezed around me. He slammed a fist against the ground and I thought I was hurting him, but then he began to pant.