Authors: Cheryl McIntyre
Nobody says anything for much too long.
“Right?” Her dad tries again, worried now.
“It is a small possibility. But nobody even knows why he wants you. And as long as you stay true to the Angel
, you should be fine.”
“I’m dead.” Keely shakes her head as if she is trying to shake the thought away. “I’m dead for sure.”
“Didn’t you listen
to me at all? Jus
t tell them-
”
Keely cuts her off.
“I know why he wants me. And it’s bad. They’re going to kill me when they find out.” She sinks into a chair. She doesn’t want to die yet. Not now. Not when Asmoday has just given her hope.
Nick kneels in front of her. “Keely, what did you find out?”
It
takes Keely a second to look at Nick. She’s in a daze, consumed with her realization of undeniable death. “I read the prophecy in the Grimoire. I bring Hell to Earth. I open the realms. And I make the Heavens fall. E
very evil being
arises from Hell. The
y tear the worlds apart. K
ill everything, over
,
and over, and over. There is no peace for anyone.
And I do it. Asmoday said I can change it. He said he’s watched it c
hange before. But the Hierarchy
, they’ll never believe it.
How can I be so powerful? It doesn’t make sense.
”
“How do you do it?” Nick asks gently. He regrets his wording as Keely grimaces.
“It was like this story I read once in school. This guy goes to Hell to save his wife. He sings a song so beautiful that he’s told they can go. But his wife must walk behind him the entire way until
they make it out of Hell. He’
s not allowed to look back at her. Not even once. If he
does, she has to
go back. It was exactly like t
hat. I don’t know what I’m not
allowed to look back at, but I do it. I know I shouldn’t
,
but I do. The stairs just kept going forever like they never ever stopped no matter how far I made it. Almost like I was meant to spend eternity walking these steps. Like it was a trick. When I looked back, I swear I looked at myself, but it’s impossible. I wasn’t really there.”
“How can he make her do that? How could he ever force her to
walk up a never ending flight of stairs?” Kevin asks.
“Threatening her,” Kimberly answers.
“Bargaining. Trading someone
she loves for this simple task,” Asmoday says behind them.
“
Go up these stairs without looking back and you may free your loved
one.”
“Oh, crap,” Keely breathes. “You were supposed to stay in my room.”
Asmoday shrugs. “You needed me.”
“I—I
did not.”
“Why was he in your room?” Nick grumbles.
“Why is he in our house?” Kimberly seethes.
“Who is he? Who are you?” Kevin redirects his question.
“Asmoday. I brought you back from the Demon realm you were imprisoned in.” He holds out his hand and Kevin takes it as he tries to recall his face.
“Don’t shake his hand! He’s a Demon, Kevin,” her mom shrieks.
“Why not? He’s my brother. And he helped us. He saved you!
If it wasn’t for Asmoday, we would all be stuck in another realm. In fact, we would
probably
be dead.”
“Keely, you don’t understand how things work. I’m grateful for the help he offered us, but he did that on his father’s command. He is not trustworthy. He’s a Demon.”
“He’s part Angel. And he gave us the Grimoire. He warned me about the prophecy. He has
proven to me I can trust him, M
om. Please trust me if you can’t trust him.”
“Get out of my house. Now,
”
Kimberly spits.
Keely stands in front of Asmoday. “He’s m
y brother. If he isn’t welcome
than neither am I.”
“Keely, what are you doing?” Nick stammers.
“You’ve done something to her. You put a Demon spell on her,” Kimberly accuses.
“He didn’t do anything to me except help me. He’s on our side.”
“N
o. I am on your side,” Asmoday corrects her.
“
And I am making things difficult for you. I’ll go. But I will be close if you need me.”
Keely turns around to protest, but he’s already gone.
She knows he
stayed true to his word and
stayed close. The cord hardly pulls.
“What’s going on, Keely?” Nick looks hurt and she can’t stand it. She doesn’t know why it’s so important that they accept Asmoday. It just is.
“You can’t
do this again. If you act like this
in fr
o
nt of t
he Hierarchy
, they will
find you as
a
traito
r for sure,” Kimberly says. She massages her eye brows. “It’s punishable by death.
You mustn’
t have any connection to him.
Can’t you see I am only trying to protect you?”
“But I am connected to him.” More than they know. “I’m not an idiot. I’m no
t
going to go tell t
he Hierarchy
that
I think my brother’s a super special
guy. But
I need you guys to understand
. I am seriously starting to feel like you don’t wa
nt anybody in my life but you, M
om.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” Kevin lifts his brows.
“Yes, it is,” Kimberly answers coolly. “I have to protect her. No matter what it takes.”
***
Nick
sits across from Keely unsure where to begin. The way she had
acted with Asmoday,
something i
s bothering him. How had she gotten so close to him so quic
kly? How is she so certain she
can trust him? He knows his time alone with her is limited. If he could just find the right words.
“I need to tell you something,” she says breaking the silence first. “I didn’t tell you yesterday
when I realized
because there was too much happening and we were all exhausted.” She picks at the little black polish remaining on her nails. “We don’t know how it happened, but somehow, Asmoday
and I are b
ound. I feel his emotions—
he feels mine
. It’s kind of like…this
cord
. Running
from
me to him
. When
we’re too far away, when
it’
s broken, it causes me…
pain. Emotionally, not physically. That’s what happened yesterday in the realm when he took my parents back. When he left, the cord snap
ped and it was the worst sadness
I have ever felt. He felt it too.”
“He must have done something. A spell, like your mom said. We’ll find a way to break it.”
Keely is shaking her head. “No. It’s not a spell. I know when he’s lying. He doesn’t know what’s going on anymore than I do. And he really is on my side. He’s betraying our father to help me. He’s doing this because we are tied. Because he knows I don’t want thi
s. If I were to find a way
to break away from him, I don’t know if I could still trust him. So for now, it just has to stay this way.
”
“What else?”
“What?”
“Ther
e’s something else. I can tell,
”
Nick sighs.
Keely swallows hard. She doesn’t want to do this part. She just wants to throw herself into his arms and let him hold her. “My mom suggested we not see each other anymore.
Because it will look bad for you
with the Hierarchy
. I don’t want to do that.”
“I don’t want to do that either.” Nick reaches across the dining room table and catches her hand.
“M
aybe we should
end whatever this is with us
. Just for now. We
can go
in front of t
he Hierarchy
and honestly say that we are not doing anything wrong.”
“It doesn’t matte
r. They all saw me kiss you s
o it would do no good. Unless you don’
t want
me anymore.”
Keely’s eyes go wide. “No, I want
…I want to
be with you. You still want me, don’t you?”
“More
than ever,” he says softly, his eyes
shining with adoration
.
Keely stands and pulls on Nick’s hand. She guides him into the laundry room
,
just off the kitchen
,
for added privacy. As soon as she shuts the door, she tugs his shirt, bringing him in for a kiss.
Nick doesn’t need much persuasion. He kisses Keely back as if he hasn’t seen her in days instead of hours. “I missed you.”
She knows exactly what he means. She missed him too. Missed his closeness. His touch. His smell. The way he tastes. The sound of his voice when he whispers in her ear.
As if he kno
w
s what she’
s
thinking, Nick slides his mouth slowly up her neck. Stops at her ear. “I love you,” he breathes.
Keely shivers with desire and ushers his lips back to hers. The cord pulls violently
without warning and Keely gasps. Nick pulls away trying to make out her face in the dark room.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she decides and leans in to kiss him again.
As their
lips meet, the cord pulls
with so much potency she is forced backward out of Nick’s arms. She tumbles to the floor holding her chest.
Keely is outraged. She could literally kill Asmoday if he were here right now. Or are those his emotions?
“Are you o.k.?” Nick asks finding her hands and helping her to her feet.
“It was the cord that binds me to Asmoday. I guess he doesn’t want to experience how I feel when I’m kissing you. I suppose I can’t really blame him.
He’s mad.
” She shakes her head.
“
I’ve never felt so much anger.” She crosses h
er arms trying to push away the false feelings
.
“We have to find some way to get rid of this
as soon as we can. Either that
or he’s going to have to learn how to deal with it.” Nick kisses her cheek. Runs his hand down her hair. “I have to admit I’m a little jealous right now. I wish I could feel what you feel. Not him. And I hate that he can impose on our private moments. Every time I kiss you he’ll be there. I. Hate. It.”
“I’m sorry, Nick. As soon as I know I can trust him without the bind
, I’
ll figure out some way to sever it.”
“We need to decide what yo
u’re going to tell t
he Hierarchy
tomorrow.”
She wraps her arms around him, thankful he is so understanding. “I’m going to tell them the
truth. I think it will show I’
m committed to their side. Your side. Honesty is always the best policy, right?”
“I think it
is
in this
case
, but I’m not sure you should offer everything
.”
Keely finds the switch on the wall and flips the light on. “
Asmoday said I should ask for their protection. I can’t ask for their protection if I don’t explain why I need it.”
“You have their protection. You have me.”
“But I may not after tomorrow. I need their help to stop my father. You and I can’t do it alone.
And maybe
if they know I want to stop him
they won’t feel the need to kill me.
”
“I’m still willing to run with you.” He kisses the top of her head.
“We can’t outrun this.” She reaches
back and opens the door. “It’
ll be o.k. No matter what happens, we’ll make it all right.”
She turns. Comes face to face with her mom. Keely can’t help it, she bursts out laughing. Maybe the stress has finally gotten to her, but her mom’s expression is the funniest thing. With the world in danger, you’d think her mom would lighten up about Nick. “
Don’t worry. We weren’t doing anything wrong,” she giggles.
Keely takes Nick’s hand and moves around her mom. “Oh, and by the way.” She holds up their interlocked fingers. “We talked. This is still happening. And also, I’m telling the truth tomorrow. It’s my life. It’s my decision.”