Authors: Cheryl McIntyre
“In order to get the spell, I had to promise Apophis the thrown.”
Nick grimaces. “Perfect.”
“I planned to give it to Keely, but he would just kill her and take it anyway. It buys her time, but we both know there’s only one way to ensure her safety.
The first chance you get
, kill Apophis.”
Nick’s lip twitches. “Done.”
**
*
The bite of pizza sticks in Keely’s throat. She washes it down w
ith water and pushes
the paper plate away from her.
“You should try to eat, Keely. You need energy,” Micah says.
“I did try. I can’t.” She bites her lip and stares at her hands. Micah moves closer to her, his shoulder touching hers. “How are you handling all this?” he asks.
She shakes her head and pitches her voice low. “There’s this horrible tug-of-war going on inside of me. Part of me just wants to go get my mom and get this over with. Then there’s this other part that wants to put it off as long as possible. That hopes if I put it off long enough, I won’t have to leave Asmoday behind. I mean, what if he dies? What if while I’m on the steps something attacks him and he needs my help? How can I just keep going? He acts like this is all so simple. Like it’s no big deal, but I
feel how angry he is.
He feels cheated
and I don’t blame him. I feel the same way.” She swallows hard. “He th
inks he’s going to die and he’ll be at peace,
but I don’t want him to die
.
And then what’s left? Of me, I me
an. He has a piece of my heart
and that piece will be gone. And I’ll be left in this peaceful world where everyone is happy, but I’ll be ripped apart. That’s not even to mention that there are two more pieces of my heart out there belonging to two other guys that are helping in all this. How will I feel about them when this is over? How will they feel about me wh
en I’m broken? I’m so confused
and I’m so scared. And all I want is for this all to go away!”
She throws her bottle of water. It hits the wal
l, streaks of water trailing down.
The room goes quiet. All eyes are on her. Keely can’t take it. She stan
ds up, prepared to run—anywhere—
but Asmoday is there. He pulls her into a hug and darkness envelopes them. As the room disappears, his lips meet hers
,
kissing her sof
tly. When she opens her eyes, they’
re back on the
roof. She means to apologize for her outburst, to thank Asmoday
for saving her, b
ut Asmoday kisses her again. His arms tight on her back, crushing her against him. She can taste his tears, salty
on her tongue and she knows he’
s crying. Crying for her. For them. For what they could have been.
Keely pulls away. Runs her thumbs under his eyes, drying his tears. He catches her hands and holds them against his chest. “You are always my hero, Asmoday. You always save me from myself. What am I going to do without you?”
He pulls her back against him and hugs her. “You will do what you did before me. You
wi
ll be with Nick, y
ou
wi
ll go to school, a
nd someday
,
you
wi
ll get married and you
wi
ll have children. Just
do not name any of them Asmoday. It is a terrible name.”
Keely feels as if she swallowed rocks. He’s telling her to be with Nick. To marry him and have his children.
Right now, her mind is incapable of thinking that far ahead.
“You will be happy again. I promise you that. Nick will make sure of it. He loves you, which is why I loathe
him. He will be there for you
and you will see it was meant to be this way. Without me around you will be able to remember how much y
ou love him.
I want you to know you have my blessing. I want this for you. I need you to be happy.”
She buries her face in his chest. “I can’t promise you that.”
“Promise me you’ll at least try.” He runs his hand over her hair.
“I
’ll try
,” she lies. Closing her eyes she adds, “
Asmoday is a beautiful name.”
***
“I was thinking, there is this
thing
I am able to
do…
I can alter my appearance. Look as if I am someone else. I wonder if it may be beneficial for Keely if I double her,” Asmoday suggests.
Elijah and Ramuell consider Asmoday thoughtfully. “It would likely only confuse us more than it would offer her any extra protection,” Elijah says first.
“And you both must enter the stairway reg
ardless,
”
says Ramuell.
Asmoday nods. He catches Keely’s ey
e and knows she’
s remembering when he shifted to a perfect replicate of Nick. He drops his gaze and clears his throat.
“I need everyone to join hands. If we’re connected, Apophis and I can probably move the group as one,” Asmoday says. He takes Keely’s hand and the rest follow until the chain is complete. She looks across the circle at Elijah. He looks proud
and fearless with his golden armor and the sunlight on his face. He
actually
looks like an Angel. Noticing her gaze, he smiles and winks.
“Let’s do this thing,” he calls.
Keely closes her eyes.
When they open
, she immediately wants to close them again.
Her father stands before her, maybe thirty fee
t away. Her mother lies on the grassy
ground at his feet. She isn’t moving. Keely wants to run to her. To make sure she’s breathing. Anticipating this, Nick reaches for her securing her hand in his.
“Have you come to trade?” her father calls to her with a brilliant smile. “Come to me my daughter. Come home where you belong.”
Keely doesn’t answer. Doesn’t think she could if she tried. Her eyes bore into her mom’s chest. If she could just tell that it was rising and falling…
“You’
ve shed the blood of innocents,” Ramuell says in a loud, crisp voice.
“
You plan the fall of the Heavens. You have declared war. You kno
w exactly why we are here.”
“Hello, B
rother. It’
s been a long time. You look well.”
“I’
ve been well. My Father has been good to me.”
“Our Father, B
rother.”
“No. Not your Father. Not since you denied Him.”
“As did you.”
Ramuell looks at him sadly. “I repented.
”
The Demon King’s face contorts with rage. “You cowered! You betrayed your brother, your child! For what? For a Father who controls you? So you could go home and bow at His feet? You are weak. You always were.”
“My Father gives me strength. I am not the one who stands alone. I stand beside your children,” Ramuell replies. He raises his han
ds, gesturing to Keely
and Apophis.
Her father throws his head back and laughs heartily. “I am not alone.”
Suddenly
,
d
ozens of Demons in various shapes, siz
es, and levels of scariness roam
the
grounds around Mount Zion. Moans and growls sound from zombie-like beast
s
as they wander near the doors. Something large slith
ers across the ground quickly a
nd a
stench fills the air, like spo
iled milk and rotting meat. Keely
gags and tries to put her hand over her nose, but someone still has it. She looks up at Nick.
“Stay close to me,” he shout
s. He drops her hand a
nd
pulls two daggers from his jeans. He hands her one
and nods to the main doors. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Forty-Two
:
Keely pulls the talisman from her neck, gripping it in one hand. In the other she clasps the dagger. She
holds the necklace in front of her and touches the first zombie she sees. “Ego expello lux,” she says loudly.
The Demon zombie whirls
and slashes a hand at her. Keely
throws up her arm jus
t in
time. N
ails scrape
gashes
into Keely’s skin. Hot blood seeps from the
raw
wound. Trickle
s
from her finger tips
. I
t’
s so similar to the first attack from Apophis that Keely goes numb. The dagger falls from her fingers. She watches it flip end over end slowly until its point sticks into the ground.
She looks back up at the
Demon as its mouth opens with a shriek
. A ball of light
throbs at its chest where its heart should be. Keely recovers from her shock and bends to retrieve the dagger. The Demon hurls itself at her and
they both fall to the ground as
she shoves the knife upward into it
s
chest. The light flickers and burns out like a flame in
wind
and s
now white salt
filters the air.
Nick offers Keely
his hand and pulls her to her feet
. “Nice.”
Keely s
hakes her hair watching the salt
float around her. “Piece of cake.”
“Just do that about forty more times,” Elijah says as he comes up beside her. He looks at Nick as he
says, “That was too close. We have to get her
inside.”
Nick nods his head. “Bryon, move in beside her,” he calls. “Lila, behind. I’m taking the lead.”
“I’ll keep the lead,” Keely yells. “I need to cast the spell.”
“I got it,” Asmoday says
,
moving past her. He
slides the sword from
the sheath at
his belt. The talisman is tied to the wooden handle, dangling just centimeters from his wrist. He holds the sword in front of him and stalks forward. The Angels take identical positions. Ramuell moves to stand beside his grandson. Elijah and Micah walk along each side of Keely, and Israfil places himself in stride with Lila.
“It’s déjà vu, B
rother. Only now you
brain washed my
own
children
into betraying me
,”
the King says.
Ramuell glowers at him.
“
Asmoday is not your blood a
nd none of them
need
ed
much encouragement.
You need to be stopped.”
A dazzling smile spreads the Demon King’s lips widely. “Then come stop me.”
Lila cocks her gun and aims at the King’s head. His eyes flash to hers before he vanishes, sinking into the ground. He reappears beside Lila. His large fist comes down on her wrist
,
knocking the gun out of her hand. She gasps in pain, but turns quickly
,
bringing her leg up and kicking him in the side of the head. Blood beads along his ear and L
ila has just enough time to smile with pride
before he
lunges his booted foot into her stomach. She flies backward with such force her body folds, bringing her fingertips nearly to her toes as she sails through the air. Lila hits the ground and bounces once.
It all happens so quickly.
Ramuell
dashes toward
s
the King. T
wo Demons step in his
way. H
e jumps over the smaller one
,
raising his sword. With little effort, he brings the blade down in a sideways motion dismembering the next Demon before his feet touch
the
ground. He pulls his s
word flu
sh with his own chest and k
icks off the Demon’s knee as
it
begins to fall
. F
lips himself through the air. Lands like a gymnast, his arms coming out at his sides. H
e twirls his weapon as he runs
forward.
Ramuell doesn’t take his eyes off the King as he dips to one knee and places his fingers to Lila’s throat. She stirs at his touch. “Get up Lila. Your job isn’t over,” he says lightly. She takes his hand and
he pulls her up. Her hands move directly to her stomach
and s
he grimaces in pain. Ramuell places his hand on her back and nudges her toward
s
Micah.