Alan Strator - 4 - Back to Hell (eBook)

Oliver Alder (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
107 Seiten
epubli (Verlag)
978-3-8197-2557-9 (ISBN)

Infos

Back to Hell Book Four in the Alan Strator Series Alan Strator clawed his way back from a year in the demon realm-only to discover the real monsters wear familiar faces. The coin-sized relic Alan stole in part one is the only thing that can end the war and prevent genocide of the Demon race. After retrieving it from its hiding place, he decided to return it himself to its rightful place in the Demon Realm. Alan must escape Aegis Command's grasp and go 'Back to Hell'. He revisits the places of his greatest shame and must face his past to create a future. Love, politics, and warfare frame the story that closes the 'Disc of the Moon' arc. With magic, swords, machine guns, and even a Chinook, the fights are sure to be action-packed. He must face his archenemy, Orion, and fight alongside him against the invaders. But the scariest thing of all: He has to face marriage. Return to a world of ruthless magic, military intrigue, and breakneck action in the fourth volume of Oliver Alder's dark fantasy Alan Strator saga. It's perfect for fans of Pierce Brown, Leigh Bardugo, and Brandon Sanderson who like their heroes scarred, their stakes apocalyptic, and their battles brutal. Recommended for readers 15+. Contains intense action, complex relationships, military strategy, and emotional realism.

During the day, I work in the IT industry. But after hours, I delve into fantastic worlds-driven by a need to cope. These dark and often violent realms have long fueled conversations with family and friends. They've been urging me for years to put them on paper, so... here we are.

Textauszug

Crossings

I sensed Colorado pulling up in her private car, her spark and second skin shining like a beacon. Leaning against a tree, feigning to shelter from the drizzle, I closed my eyes and stretched my awareness to its limits.

Two fuzzy sparks trailing her showed up at the fringes of my magic sight. She seemed unaware of them and was standing near the monument, checking her phone. The rain ran down her pale face, which was framed by red hair. The combat uniform emphasized her beauty, and my heart skipped a beat. “Perhaps I could truly love her?”

I slipped up behind the stalkers, who were crouched nearby. They were heavily armed and wore Aegis battle vests. I flicked a weak pulse of magic that pinched their carotids—a painless blood-choke. “Spock would be jealous,” I grinned to myself as I sucked all the magic metal from their gear.

“Thanks for arming me,” I muttered in a low voice as I walked toward Colorado.

“There you are!” she said emphatically.

I pointed over my shoulder. “I had to take care of your shadows first.”

“Oops, I was sure I’d lost them,” she said, brow furrowed.

I slung my arm around her and nudged her toward her car. “Forget it—I caught them.”

“My strong knight,” she sighed, leaning her head against my shoulder.

~~~

We drove off in her Toyota Supra. I gripped the handle above the door as the car roared to life, tires screaming as she whipped a 180-degree skid into traffic.

“We don’t want to stand out!”

“With that car? Don’t be ridiculous,” she sneered, eyes gleaming—now looking more like the demoness she truly was.

Riding shotgun while she piloted her baby was almost too much to bear. She was all confidence, radiating an aggression so different from her usual self.

Her focused, elated face, the way she handled the car with professional ease—she was breathtaking. The world seemed to step back, fading into a blur until only she remained, glowing in my perception.

My magic brushed her mind, and I glimpsed the childlike joy bubbling there.

“And she’s my fiancée,” I thought, my heart skipping a beat.

“Did you kill them?” she asked casually.

“Hm? What?” Her question snapped me out of it, dragging me back to reality. “No. Of course not.”

“Then what did you do?”

“I rendered them unconscious.”

“Okay…” she said, drawing out the word, shooting a sideways glance at me.

“I blocked the blood flow to the brain,” I added casually.

She glanced at me. “You’re getting better at this.”

I sighed. “Where next?”

She laughed. “You’ll see.”

~~~

We arrived just fifteen minutes later.

“Wicker Park? That’s so cliché,” I said as we exited the car.

“It’s even worse,” Colorado grinned, and shoved me toward the door of a small bookshop.

The storefront was narrow, but the shop stretched deep into the building. There were all sorts of occult items, books, and advertisements crammed into a potpourri of shelves. My eyes fell on a poster about a Tarot and Tea Salon event. I shook my head. “Not my world,” I thought.

Colorado halted, scanning the aisles for someone or something.

“There she is…” she said, tugging me forward again.

My senses didn’t pick up anything unusual in the room, making it all the more jarring when Colorado stopped in front of a woman I hadn’t sensed at all.

There was no one—just a void. A blank wound in reality that made my head hurt. I couldn’t resist. My eyes narrowed from strain as my magic hammered against it, forcing a way through whatever had cloaked her.

Then, she blazed into view. A sun of pure, refined magic. Strong. Unwavering. Blinding.

I flinched, stepping back without thinking, as if standing near her might burn me.

“Tell him it’s rude, breaking a veil like that,” she said lightly, but her words carried steel.

Colorado shot me the look—half babysitter, half exasperated sister.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“He’s the one?” the woman asked Colorado, eyes still locked on me.

I dropped my gaze, unable to look her in the eyes for now.

Colorado sighed, “Yes. You teach him?”

The woman huffed, then turned around. “Follow me.”

~~~

Just a few meters down the road, she ducked through a doorway, and we followed. The small second-floor apartment smelled of incense… and something else I couldn’t name. Riesa stood by the window, one hand resting on the wall.

“So, you’re Evadne’s son,” she rasped.

I looked at Colorado, rolling my eyes.

She scowled at me, giving me a “for-the-love-of-God, answer” gesture.

“Yes… I am her son, for whatever good it did me so far.”

A dry chuckle turned into a heavy cough. I wanted to step closer, to see if I could help, but Colorado rested her hand on my shoulder, shaking her head. My magic reached out nonetheless, and Riesa’s head turned as she scowled at me.

“No manners!” she barked. Then, turning toward Colorado, “He has no manners!”

“Riesa,” Colorado said gently, “nobody taught him manners.”

“So, so… Evadne didn’t care for him?” Riesa asked as she stepped closer.

“She let someone else raise him—just a normal human.”

The old woman’s hand reached for my chin, and I allowed it. “I can see the traces in him.”

“Really?” Colorado asked, squinting at me. “What is it?”

“That chin… exactly like his. And his smell. It’s as if Ray were here.”

“So, you accept his heritage?” Colorado asked, sly and quiet.

“Yes, for today, I accept him. We’ll see about tomorrow.”

I looked at Colorado, hoping for answers, but she only winked at me.

Riesa spread a blanket and dropped cross-legged, motioning for me to sit down. My hips protested.

She extended her hands, and I took them in mine. Her firm grip surprised me.

“You can open portals?”

“Yes,” I replied firmly.

“But no one taught you how to aim them…”

“No one showed me how to make them in the first place.”

“Impressive. What did you do last time?”

“I remembered the feeling of the place I wanted to be.”

She chuckled. “This could’ve sent you anywhere. You might have been lost forever.”

“I missed by a thousand miles,” I admitted. “What did I do wrong?”

“Feelings are not enough. You need memory. A clear image. That’s what the portal stones are for—their runes act like coordinates. A shared target. Safer too, since they’re not in portal denial zones.”

“That makes sense,” I whispered, already searching my mind for a reliable location in the demon realm. Then it hit me, “Portal denial zones?”

“The temples create a barrier against incoming portals.”

“But now one is missing…”

“Don’t think it’s easy, boy. Many open portals and never come back.”

“They got distracted? Added one wrong detail?”

“Or get misguided, or exceed the limit if it is in an unstable area,” Riesa replied, standing, brushing nonexistent dust from her heavy skirt.

“Can I open a portal near someone I know?” I asked.

“Yes, but only if you’ve marked them.”

I nodded, my fingers itching to try.

“Now,” Colorado said, squeezing my shoulder, “you can try your luck healing her. Right, Riesa?”

The old woman opened her mouth—but I was faster. I reached out with my magic.

Pain. That’s what I felt first. Familiar. The reason made me smile. This was something only I could fix.

“You have an Aranam poisoning,” I said, and she nodded in surprise.

“It will hurt. Brace yourself,” I warned, and took her hand with my left.

“What?” she began, but her scream swallowed the word.

Moments later, I drew the Aranam out. My magic shaped it into a dense silver cube.

Riesa stumbled back, gasping, and collapsed into a padded chair.

I stepped forward and placed the cube on the table before her. “You’re welcome.”

“No normal magic can do that,” she whispered. “This power shouldn’t exist.” She stared at the metal cube in front of her.

“I command Aranam and Oronom,” I said proudly.

She looked at me, something calculating flashing in her eyes. “What are you…”.

Her eyes widened. Her hand rose, trembling, pointing.

“Angel magic!” she hissed. Then shouted, “What have you done, girl?”

Riesa rose to her full height. Her distorted face burned in an unholy light.

“An Angel! By the Creator—leave! Before I decide you overstayed your welcome!”

I raised my hands and took a step back. “No need to be hostile,” I muttered, glancing at Colorado. “Let’s go.” Her reaction did not surprise me, but it still galled me that she was judging me based on preconceptions.

She gripped my shoulder. “Yeah, let’s go,” she said, her voice low.

I glanced at the woman, still slumped in the chair. “I was right to force it,” I thought. “She would’ve rather died. And I’d do it again if I had to.”

~~~

We were back on the street, walking toward her Supra.

“You look troubled, Colorado.”

“Her reaction was… unexpected,” she muttered, unlocking the car with a tap on her remote.

“I can’t say I was particularly surprised,” I...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 4.6.2025
• Verlagsort: Berlin
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: coming-of-age fantasy • dark fantasy coming of age • demon realm adventure • magic artifact thriller • supernatural war novel • urban military fantasy series • young adult (15+) epic fantasy
• ISBN-10: 3-8197-2557-1 / 3819725571
• ISBN-13: 978-3-8197-2557-9 / 9783819725579