Authors: Cheryl McIntyre
“You won’t what?” He raises his brows and ducks his head so he can look in her eyes. He feels her determination. Knows she
thinks she’s right. “You will not
make the promise?”
She
stares at the wall. He grips her arms and jerks her to get her full attention. He puts his lips close to her ear. “You will not just break my heart. You will kill them all. Lila. Bryon. Nick. Your mother. Her husband. Even the Angels. I am not worth one life, let alone all of them.”
“But I can go and come back…”
“You cannot. You know it as well as I do. Now give me your word.”
Tears burn her eyes, but she refuses to cry anymore. “It’s not fair.”
Asmoday hugs her tightly. “I know.”
“I promise
I will walk up those stairs. But if there is any way for me to come back for you, I’m doing it. Just so you know.”
Forty-One
:
Keely opens her eyes. The room is dark. She feels around until her fingers hit the table. Glide up the lamp. Search for the switch. With a click, the room bursts with color. It takes several seconds for her eyes to ad
just. And she’
s alone. The couch is empty. She stands quickly making her head dizzy. Moves to the room where her friends should be sleeping, but two empty beds await her.
She runs to the other room, panic making her clumsy. She fumbles with the door twice before it opens. This room is empty as well.
They left her. How could they leave her? It doesn’t make sense. The light behind her casts an elongated shadow across one of the beds and up the wall. It moves, growing smaller though Keely stands still. Her heart pounds in her chest. The sound is loud in her ears. She tries to turn around. Wants to run as the shado
w moves closer to her, but she’
s glued in place. No sound comes from her mouth as she tries desperately to scream.
Keely is seized from behind. She falls back against her attacker as they both hit the floor. The hard arms release her immediately and she is thrown to the side as a blur of white moves past her. Apophis yanks the door, pulling it closed
just as something hits it loudly. The floor shakes and the door vibrates. His h
ands are white on the knob,
his lips move quickly speaking a language Keely has never heard
before
. Though she doesn’t k
now the words he says, she understands
their meaning. He’s sending the Demon away.
Apophis’ voice grows louder. Demanding. Commanding. A lock of his hair falls loose in the front, hanging across his sweaty forehea
d. His blue eyes fade to white
and his skin grays. The door stops shaking, but is replaced by impossibly loud pounding
,
as if someone were kicking it. Apophis looks back at Keely with unseeing eyes. “Help me,” he shouts.
Keely thrusts herself forward and places her palms against the door.
It burns, but she doesn’t pull away.
Together they chant his words over and over. Each time she utters them, the
ir meaning becomes clearer. The pounding slows, becomes weaker. Her voice grows stronger. She can no longer see the door in front of her. Instead, she sees a massive creature inside her mind.
It’s not a shadow like it
first
appeare
d
.
The
ey
es are terribly blood shot. Its
needle teeth
are
brown with rot. She c
an almost smell the stink of its breath. Feel its
rage.
Purple veins protrude from the
skin like thick wires
running in mazes up and down its
form. The Demon’s chest is three times the size it should be, bloated to the extreme. The flesh there is ripping and
thick
yellow liquid oozes slowly out.
Keely is screaming the word
s now
,
wanting the
image erased
from her
mind. The Demon staggers. Its
hands drop
to its sides. Closes its
eyes. When they open again, they are clear and bright. Alight with every color Keely can name a
nd many more she cannot. They’
re her father’s eyes. The creature’s mouth doesn’t move as the Demon King’s voice fills her head.
“My daughter. Open the door and allow me in.”
Apophis says something, but Keely doesn’t hear him. She shakes her head. “No.
” Her head feels light. She closes her eyes tightly. “Just go away!” she screams.
Above her, two more hands touch the door. Asmoday’s chest heaves against Keely’s back with each breath he takes. “What’s happening?”
“My father. Where were you?”
“Awake,” he pants.
Apophis begins the chant again, the color fading from his eyes once more. Asmoday joins, followed by Keely. Their voices merge together becoming one. In her mind’s eye, the creature shakes violently. His body falls to the floor leaving her fath
er standing as if he dropped a
coat from his shoulders.
“I will wait for you to come to me then. Your mother says hello.” He laughs silently as a blinding light swarms around him. “See
you
then, my children.”
Keely stares at the door. “Is he gone?”
“I think so,” Asmoday says, but his hand
s remain firmly in place
.
Apophis pushes himself back and swoops his hair back in place with one finger. He pulls the cuffs of h
is jacket and smoothes the front.
Keely turns to him, letting her hands slide down the door. “What the hell was that?”
“Not my dream, K
itten.” He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at her. “And
I am fairly certain
he wasn’t here for me.”
“How did you get in my dream?”
“I needed to speak with you
and your Angel army knocked me out. I had no other choice.”
“Talk to me a
bout what?”
“I found a spell. It’s not commonly used because of its—affects. Let’s just say it takes more than it gives.”
“O.k.?”
“I placed it
on the Demons I sent for you
while you were with the Watcher
. When
Demons are injured, their bodies return to a realm immediately to heal.”
“Yeah?”
“This spell keeps them from returning.
They can fight longer this way. I
t makes them much more efficient
.”
“And?” Keely raises her hands in exasperation.
“I placed it on Mianna and she never returned.”
“If you don’t get to the point real soon, Apophis, I swear I’m going to lose my patience.”
“She knows the spell. If she shared information, we could be up against a lot of Demons that will just keep coming at us.”
“Then we kill them.”
“Yeah, that’s not really an option,” he says s
c
ratching his chin. “They can’t
be killed either. At le
ast not right away. But they’
ll weaken until they’re able to return to a realm.”
“How long does that take?”
“Until the spell wears off.”
Keely takes a deep breath trying to calm
herself. “And how long is that?
” she says through her teeth.
“It lasts two hours. Give or take.”
“Give or take what? An hour?”
He nods.
“You’re an idiot. What are we going to do?”
“I can deactivate the spell, b
ut it only works on one at a time. We could try slightly larger groups, maybe three or four at once
.”
“You can teach us how. If we all do it, it shouldn’t take long.”
Apophis shakes his head. “No, I can’t. It’s a Demon spell. Only Demons can use it. Only you and Asmoday, but I don’t know if I can trust you with a spell like this. I mean, look at Mianna. Who knows how many Demons she gave it
to?
” He meets her eyes
with
a
triumph
ant smile
clear in his own.
“So, to give us the spell, you want something from us first
?
What a shocker.
What do you want?
”
“The thrown.”
“No,” Asmoday spits.
Apophis shrugs and pulls a cigar from his pocket. He rolls it on his bottom lip. “That’s the deal. You can take it or leave it.”
“He wants to be King,” Asmoday says carefully.
“
He wants us to kill your father and give him reign.”
“If he dies, wouldn’t that go to Apophis anyway? Oldest child of a king is always first in line, right?”
“Not if the King names someone else as their heir,” Apophis says dryly.
“Who did he name?”
Apophis’ eyes drag over to Asmoday. “His prodigy.”
“Asmoday? You’ll be King of Demons when my
father dies?
”
“Yes.”
Keely shakes her head. “O.k.
And who would it go to next?
”
“
Since I do not have children, i
t would go to whomever I
choose as heir.”
“Then, can’t you choose him?”
“I cannot allow him to have that much control. You have no idea of the things he can do with it.”
“I’m supposed to bring peace, right? So it doesn’t really matter. He can’t do
that
much damage.”
Asmoday closes his eyes and Keely can feel the struggle inside of him. She takes his hand. “I know you don’t feel right about it, but what other choice do we have? If you don’t do it, we’ll die.”
He squeezes her hand. His eyes brush over her face and he sighs.
“I do not h
ave a choice, you’re right.”
He glares at Apophis
.
“All right. Teach us how to deactivate the spell and I give you my word. The throne will be yours.”
Apophis smiles hugely. “Great. Only, let’s do it my way. You offer me the throne and then I will teach you.”
Asmoday clenches his jaw.
“You know what? I want to amend this deal. Negotiate, if you will.”
Apophis nods his head tightly.
“I will name you as my he
ir as long as you name me as yours.”
“And what assurance do I have that you won’t turn aro
und and kill me as soon as I’m K
ing?”
“I pledged my allegiance. I am unable to kill you no matter how much I may want to.”
Apophis smiles. “Agreed. Now give me the thrown.”
“
I renounce my claim to the throne, naming in my stead Prince Apophis.”
“That’s it?” Keely scrunches her nose.
“That’s it,” Asmoday says. He look
s back to Apophis. “Now you
.”
“I name Prince Asmoday as heir to my thrown. For now.”
Asmoday glowers at him. “
S
how us the spell.”
***
Keely’s eyes fly open as she feels someone touch her.
“It’s just me,” Nick says. “
Elijah said to
wake everyone up.”
He examines her pink cheeks and places his hand to her head. “Are you feeling o.k.?”
It takes her a moment to consider. Her head is woozy. Her body aches.
She’s very tired.
“I think so.”
“You’re really warm.”
“I’ll be fine.
”
The bedroom door opens and Asmoday nods at Keely before he gestures for Nick to come with him. They go back into the bedroom and Asmoday leads him into the bathroom
closing the door behind them
.
“What do you want?”
Asmoday leans his hip against the sink and explains about the dream visit he and Keely had with Apophis.
“You have got to be freaking kidding me. As if we need another obstacle.” He drags his hand through his hair. “Can you do it? Can you counteract the spell quickly enough for us to kill them?”
“Yes. But my job is to get Keely inside, so it will only be until then.”
“It’ll have to do. I need to tell the others.”
“There’s one more thing.”
Nick glances over his shoulder at Asmoday. “What?”