Excerpt: How Hell Got Its Emperor Back (and other stories)

Hell just hadn’t been the same since the Emperor died. Some of the Thirteen Hells were weakened and in disarray because of the war in the Mortal Realm and while most of the ones that weren’t had no intention of taking advantage of this unique opportunity, there were a few opportunists. At least one of the Thirteen Hells changed hands through violent means, the new King displaying the head of the old King as a warning to anyone else who got his particular bright idea. Doubtless some other Kings or Queens suffered attempts at their lives and their thrones, but not all Hells are as given to public proclamation as the goblins of the Hell of Fire Mountains.
Still, Emperor Kul’on had been the anchor of stability that kept the Thirteen Hells running smoothly, and it was a shock to everyone to have him suddenly gone. That’s not to say that the great dynasty of Infernal Emperors, which had begun with Mephero Ironclaw, was dead. Far from it! Princess Roxinexus had been raised from infancy by her grandmother, the succubus Sefina, Queen of Hell Proper. Roxinexus was still young, true, but she would someday grow into a fine Queen. However, Queen of Hell Proper is in no way the same as Empress of the Thirteen Hells, a title that would go unclaimed unless the Emperor either died, or took a bride. And with Kul’on dead, the title of Emperor fell to his son, Kul’ryx.
Roxinexus had been just a kit when the Dark Mage came to Hell; Kul’ryx was just leaving childhood. While his little sister has no memory of their mother, Empress Belyna, Kul’ryx remembers clearly when the Dark Mage turned her into a ring. The soft chime of her metal body striking the floor echoes in his mind all too clearly, making his blood boil at the memory of the Dark Mage coldly telling Emperor Kul’on that she would restore his beloved wife just as soon as the hordes of Hell secured a portal to the Mage Realm for her. No one could ever fault Kul’on for mobilizing the Thirteen Hells without hesitation – Empress Belyna’s charms had been so strong that she had long ago wrapped each of the Thirteen Hells around her dainty fingers. Of course, if her charms had been any less strong, she would not have been able to overcome Kul’on’s high resistance to the succubus’s power and melt his granite heart. Emperor Kul’on had enough succubus blood running through his veins to be considered half incubus, and while the rare males of the species were immune to the charms of the females, the reverse was not true. This was the reason Kul’on had succubus blood to begin with – Emperor Mephero had taken the succubus Lilina to be his Empress, and the addition of her blood to his line ensured that while the thirteen Kings and Queens may squabble with each other for power, they would never attempt to depose their Emperor. Kul’ryx was a full incubus himself; while the succubi of Hell Proper would be frantic to be chosen as his Empress, they would have to wait until the blood thinned out again. Kul’ryx was immune to their charms, but his own charms were more than enough to let him hold the Thirteen Hells in the palm of his hand and make them dance to his whim. He could have had any demon or demoness, done anything he chose – but he didn’t.