Revelations (Bloodline Series) (26 page)

“Okay.”
I swallowed hard. “But may I ask something of you?”

“You
can ask.”

“Please
don’t make mine a large city. This won’t be easy for me…it’s my first time and—”

“I
wasn’t going to. I’m not heartless, Keira; you should know that. I will send
you to a small town.”

“Thank
you.”

“Now,
I’ll take you to Mason, and he can show you around. This place is bigger than
it looks and goes deep underground. It currently houses over three thousand
souls.”

“Wow!”

“We’re
the smallest group, but we’re growing. The others consist of between ten and thirty
thousand, and we have over forty groups.”

I
didn’t respond. I was in complete shock. I hadn’t realized so many people had
joined him. No wonder Heaven and Hell were in an uproar.

“Let
me ask Keira; do you know how many people are going to fight against us?”

I
knew he was testing me with his question; he wanted to see how much information
I would give him. But I answered him honestly. “Eligos commands sixty legions,
and he spoke of another demon helping us. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure
he said this guy commands another thirty.”

“Do
you remember his name?”

“Buel…Boar?
Buer…yes Buer. Do you know of him?”

“Not
really. I’ve heard the name, but I don’t know anything about him. I’ll look
into it though.”

“Then
of course there’s everyone at my house, plus any more who may turn up.”

“I’m
sorry, but they won’t be meeting anyone else. I put a stop to that. The people
you have met are the only human beings left with powers. The rest are...dead.”

“Oh,
well…we were running out of bedrooms for everyone anyway,” I said glibly.

He
smiled at me for a moment, looking deep into my eyes, then proceeded to lead me
out of the room to Mason.

Mason
was sitting in a little brightly lit room, reading. When we entered he stood
quickly and stared at me.

“She’s
all yours,” Ballantine told him. “Show her around. If anyone asks questions
tell them to come and see me. Some people won’t trust her as I do.”

“I
understand.”

He
nodded and left the room. Mason walked over to me and looked me up and down.

“Problem?”
I asked.

“Not
at all, I’m sorry. It’s just...I can’t believe someone so tiny is so powerful.
I’ve heard all about you…I know exactly what’s inside of you.”

“Tiny?”

“Well
you’re slim, and you’re not very tall, are you?” he laughed. “How can you house
it all?”

“I’m
stronger than I look,” I smirked.

“I’ll
bet. Well, come on then, let’s show you around. I’m sure Ballantine has told
you we won’t be staying here very long, but you’ll need to know where certain
things are and meet some important people.”

Chapter 32

Kill
Her

Lucian’s
Story

In
the aftermath of Keira’s sudden departure, I was finding it hard to be happy or
optimistic. Everyone was together in the main living room, although none of us
spoke. I think shock had set in, and nobody could put into words just how they
were feeling. What words meant more than shocked, hurt, betrayed and
heartbroken? Did any even exist? Keira had been gone a few hours, Eligos hadn’t
returned, and Hecate, Vetis, and Elizabeth didn’t know what to do with us.

“I
think maybe Lily was right,” I said, ending the silence. “Maybe we pushed her
away by being so distant.”

“Rubbish,”
Jake retorted. “You don’t really believe that?”

“It
would make sense. We’re all so busy being worried all the time that we very
rarely pay attention to how
she
is feeling. Think about it; when was the
last time we sat down with her and talked properly? When was the last time we
checked on her?”

“He’s
right,” Tyler added. “We always turn to her for help and answers. We put a lot
of pressure on an already pressured person.”

“We’ve
told you already, you cannot blame yourselves,” Vetis said sternly.

“We
can’t help it,” Lucian told him.

“Look,
I can understand you all being upset and quiet now, but tomorrow you need to
wake up with a new attitude…an ‘enough is enough’ attitude. Instead of waiting
for them, start looking for them. I know it’s easier said than done, but at
least your minds will be occupied, and you could stumble across something. Fight;
learn how to use your abilities more. Take out your frustrations by letting
your powers run free; you may even learn to do things you couldn’t do before.
The pain you feel will unlock another part of you. Harvest it; use it to your
advantage. Keep busy and before you know it—”

“We’ll
come face to face with Keira and be forced to fight or die?” Tyler interrupted.
“Why not? Hell, you make it sound so easy, let’s do it now!”

“Sarcasm
will not get you anywhere, and if you are looking to get a reaction out of me
you will be bitterly disappointed. I am not your enemy.”

“Everything’s
just happened too fast,” I sighed. “We had no warning, no clue that anything
like this was about to happen. That’s why we feel like this, Vetis, and it’s
not something we can just shake off.”

“I
know that Lucian, I understand, but sitting here like this will do you no good,
and it won’t bring her back.”

“We
know that, and—”

Before
I could continue speaking Eligos appeared in the room. He was even paler than
normal and shaking from head to toe. Lily took his arm and led him to the sofa.

“I
know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?” she asked.

“It
just gets better and better.”

“What’s
happened?”

“I’d
only been in Hell about five minutes before I was escorted to the palace by
some of the guards. I was treated like a damn prisoner. Lucifer stood waiting
for me in the main room. He ordered everyone to leave us, including poor
Lilith. She was crying her heart out, and he still sent her away without even
trying to offer her any comfort. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so cold and
heartless towards her. Once everyone had left, and he was convinced nobody
could hear us, he started. He began by questioning me...to test my loyalty I
think.”

“What
did he ask you?” Hecate frowned.

“If
I was aware of what had been going on. Whether I was going to join Keira and
turn against him.”

“Is
he crazy? None of us knew,” Elizabeth chimed in.

“He
knows that now. Then...then he said that since she is now one of Ballantine’s followers...she
has to die. I knew what was coming next.”

“What?”
Lily asked.

“He
told me
I
had to be the one to...to...kill her.”

“What?”
everyone gasped.

“How
the hell can he ask you to do that?” Vetis roared. “The man’s insane!”

“I
told him I couldn’t do it that even though I knew she’d turned against him,
against you lot...and me...I couldn’t kill her.” He closed his eyes for a
moment and took a deep breath. “Then he said if I didn’t...he would kill me for
disobeying him, and then come to earth himself to look for her.”

“He
can’t do that; it would cause war with Heaven,” Hecate whispered.

“He
doesn’t care anymore. He’s as upset as all of you, but he also has to do what’s
right and destroy her. I don’t have a choice.”

“You’re
going to kill her?” Tyler asked.

“What
else can I do? Do you think I want to? I don’t even know if I’ll be able to do
it. How can I kill the only thing I’ve ever loved?”

“When
does he expect you to do this? How does he expect
any
of us to find her?”

“Lucifer
has sent demons out; millions of them now walk the earth, each of them waiting
in different towns and cities to see if they’re attacked. If anything happens
they will report back to him instantly, and he will contact me. Then we have to
meet them and face them head on.”

“How
does he know they will attack? When does he think this will happen?” Vetis asked.

“He
said it could be anytime; today, tomorrow. He says Ballantine will want Keira
to prove her loyalty to him and send her out to collect souls. If she refuses
then obviously she isn’t truly with him, but if she doesn’t refuse...and we
meet...I have to attack.”

“Lucifer
could be wrong; maybe Ballantine won’t send her out.”

“Lucifer
said if he were Ballantine, that’s what he would do. As much as Ballantine
wanted Keira with him, he won’t trust her straight away. She will need to prove
herself.”

“She
won’t kill people,” Lily said, standing. “No way!”

“I
wish I knew that for a fact now,” he sighed.

“This
is a nightmare!” Beth cried. “And any minute now I’m going to wake up in a hot
sweat. This can’t be real.”

“I
wish that were true,” Danny said, taking deep breaths. “But this
is
real, and I think it’s going to end painfully and bloody for all concerned.”

“Eligos,
I think you need a drink,” Jake said, passing him a glass of whiskey.

“I
don’t want anything.” He stood and quickly left the room.

“How
can Lucifer ask
him
of all people, of all the demons in Hell, to kill
her?” Elizabeth asked, shock and despair appearing on her face.

“Eligos
is one of the most powerful demons in Hell,” Vetis replied. “More powerful than
any of us. He is the logical choice. Whether it’s right or wrong, hard or easy,
he is the only one who would stand a chance of getting close enough to her to
kill her.”

“How
can Lilith stand by while he puts a hit out on her daughter?” Beth asked.

“She
couldn’t stop him if she tried.”

“I
don’t think I can listen to any more of this,” Marley spoke. That was the first
time any sound had escaped her lips since Keira left. “I just can’t.” She ran
out of the room, and Beth followed quickly behind her.

“She’s
not going to handle this very well. It will weaken her. You must do what you
can to protect her until she learns to handle her emotions,” Vetis said,
concerned.

“She’s
so young,” Hecate almost whispered.

I
couldn’t sit there anymore and decided to see if I could find Eligos. I looked
around the house, but he was nowhere to be seen. Only when I walked outside did
I finally spot him. He sat on Keira’s swing, staring out in front of him.

“Are
you sure I can’t get you a stiff drink?” I asked, snapping him out of his
trance.

“I
already said I didn’t want anything. What’s the point?”

“You
need something to at least try and numb the pain a little.”

“Numb
the pain?” He shouted. “The woman I love just left me for some murdering prick
she hardly knows! She stood there and saw the hurt in my eyes, and yet she
still walked away from me. She even claimed to still love me, but it didn’t
stop her from going, did it? I’ve been treated like a prisoner and then ordered
by my king to kill her! How am I supposed to numb that? How could anything in
this world make that any better? I’ve lost everything that was in my heart. In
fact, I haven’t even got a heart anymore; it burned to ashes the moment she
left me. I have nothing to live for anymore.”

Chapter 33

Headache

Keira

Now
settled in a bedroom, I lay back staring at the wooden ceiling. The room was
bare except for the little wooden framed bed and a lamp on the floor next to
it. Not what I was used to at all…I so desperately wanted to be in my own room,
laying in Eligos’s arms and drifting off to sleep to the sound of him
breathing. But that was not to be... not anymore.

Mason
had given me a quick tour of the building and introduced me to a few party
leaders, none of whom seemed very impressed to see me. Mason assured me they
would change their minds about me over the coming weeks. He said it wasn’t
necessarily the fact that they didn’t trust me, but more the fact that I made
them nervous…they were frightened of me.

Mason
himself seemed very pleasant. He was around twenty-five years old in
appearance, but I found out he was actually born in the early seventeenth
century and died rather young of tuberculosis. He had been a farmer in
Cornwall, England; he had a lovely young wife and two sons, the eldest only
five when he left his human life. He told me how his wife had gone crazy after
his death and murdered three other women and their children before she was
captured and thrown into jail. She then took her own life—death by hanging.
Obviously she had committed several sins, and when she passed she was sent to
Hell. Mason originally joined Ballantine in hopes that her punishment may be
over, and he would be able to be reunited with her. However, due to the way the
murders were committed, and the suicide on top of that, he later learned her
soul had been destroyed, and he would never see her again. He still chose to
stay with Ballantine and assist him as best he could. Ballantine was one of the
most genuine and honest people he had ever met, and he pledged his loyalty to
him.