Alex Stern, #2
Hell Bent
by Leigh Bardugo
Contents
Chapter 45
Overview
In the aftermath, the group scrubs Sterling of supernatural traces and transports Eitan’s body to Black Elm. Turner affirms his complicity, and Mercy struggles. Darlington wrestles with failure and identity, then helps Alex cremate the bodies, accepting his demonic strength. Their grim work binds Lethe and closes one chapter of threat.
Summary
Exhausted after returning from hell, Darlington and the others clean up Sterling. They dissolve the sorrow-web into the basin, restore what they can, and load Eitan Harel’s body into Turner’s car. Mercy, shaken by her first killing, asks if it is over; Darlington answers there are more demons to face.
At Il Bastone, they warm themselves with soup and brandy, reflecting on Lethe’s isolation. Dawes tends Alex’s wounds, while Darlington and Turner drive Eitan to Black Elm’s basement, adding him to the grim collection. On the way, Turner explains why he helped: Alex’s fear the night of Darien and her admission she might be wrong pushed him to act.
Darlington finally sleeps and dreams of hell, pledging service to a crowned, flame-wreathed Alex. Waking to a “hell hangover,” he eats Dawes’s changua and searches the armory for a way to handle the bodies, rejecting the Tayyaara’s catacomb solution. Alex and Dawes find him stuck, and they return to Black Elm together.
Confronted with the stench and remains of his parents, Anselm, and Eitan, Darlington laments his failure. Alex counters that he defended the living where the societies had failed. Darlington lays a hand on Alex, partially demonizes, and steadies himself as Alex summons blue fire.
Together, they cremate the bodies. Darlington offers a fragment of Hart Crane as eulogy, choosing duty over despair. They watch until only ash and stone remain, acknowledging loss while closing this violent chapter and recommitting to the fight ahead.
Who Appears
- Daniel Arlington (Darlington)Part-demon scholar; leads cleanup, confronts failure, embraces demonic strength to help cremate the bodies.
- Alex SternWeakened but resolute; tended by Dawes, then wields blue hellfire to burn the corpses at Black Elm.
- Detective Abel TurnerDrives the team, helps move Eitan’s body; admits why he joined the plan and affirms responsibility.
- Pamela DawesCaregiver and planner; manages wards, treats Alex, and supports the decision to dispose of the bodies.
- Mercy ZhaoShaken by killing; helps with cleanup, then seeks normalcy and counsel after the ordeal.
- Eitan HarelCorpse transported to Black Elm; ultimately cremated along with other remains.