The Mephisto Mark: The Redemption of Phoenix (36 page)

With a plan and a purpose, I showered and dressed in jeans, a
pale pink sweater, Ugg boots and my ski jacket. I twisted a scarf around my neck, pulled my hair into a ponytail, petted Olga goodbye, then headed downstairs. Through the windows of the dining room, I saw that dawn was breaking. It was almost seven in Colorado, close to three in Romania. In the kitchen, I asked Hans, “Do you have some energy bars? I’m going for a hike.”

He smiled and went into the walk-in pantry at the other end of the kitchen, reappearing moments later with a box of the bars. I stuffed four of them in my pockets, said
thanks, goodbye, and left.

I
n the mudroom, I closed my eyes and imagined I was in Eryx’s library.

When I opened my eyes, I was in Eryx’s library, but things were very different than they’d been last night. Loud hip-hop music came from somewhere just outside the
room and I heard laughter. I moved toward the doorway and saw people in the hallway, all with shaded eyes. Skia. Of course everyone in Eryx’s castle would be Skia. I was surprised to see so many. Were these people always here, or had they come just for the occasion of my sister joining their ranks? Eryx must be elated. He’d said Jordan would be with him, and now she was. The smell of alcohol was strong, along with the sickly sweet scent of weed.

I darted in and out of doorways,
hiding, making my way through the first floor until I came to a bedroom wing. I was just reaching for the door of the first room when the door at the end of the hall opened and Eryx was there, still dressed in his tuxedo from last night’s dance. He smiled at me. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“You’ve been marked.”

“How stupid of me to forget.”
I wondered if Phoenix would mentally search for me and know I was here? I doubted it, but it didn’t matter. I was here to see my sister. I had to focus.

He waved me toward him. “Come and join us. We’re having a bite to eat and
some champagne.”

I walked to the end of that long hall, growing more anxious with every step I took. When I was there, he stepped back and waved me inside what appeared to be his bedroom. It was huge, twice the size of the Mephisto’s suites, and those were ginormous. I swept my gaze around the room, searching for Viorica.

She sat at a small table in front of a fireplace so big, a horse could have fit inside. She smiled at me. “Eryx said you’d be here. Come sit down and eat some of this paté. It’s fabulous.”

Her beautiful bluebell eyes were
now as black as Eryx’s, and just as dead. She wore a skimpy black dress that hugged her curves and showed most of her cleavage, her hair was up, and she wore a pair of dangling diamond earrings. She was sexy, elegant, beautiful – and lost.

I sat and made certain I had no expression on my face.

“Are you staying?” she asked.

“For a while.”

“Nonsense,” Eryx said, almost jovial as he took his seat. “You need to stay indefinitely. Jordan will like that, won’t you?”

She shrugged. “Sure, if she wants.” She smiled at him. “
But she’s been marked, so your brothers are sure to come after her.”

He gave me a level look. “Somehow I don’t think so. What do you think, Mariah? Will they plan a rescue mission for you?”

“No.”

He almost looked like he pitied me, and I was wondering why, and how he knew the Mephisto would have forgotten about me when Viorica said, “It’s really nice that you’re here, Mariah. Eryx has a marvelous library, and
I know how much you enjoy reading. His nearest neighbor is Castle Dracula. How awesome is that? He says he’ll take me to visit. You can go, too.”

“Sure,” I agreed, although I knew it would never happen. Sometime soon, the Mephisto would arrive to rescue her,
and this charade would be over.

We ate pat
é and drank champagne and pretended it was all very normal. Eryx had an impressive stereo system, not as elaborate as Zee’s, but exceptional, and he put on classical music.

“I have a room prepared for you,” he said, smiling at me. “One of my assistants purchased all you’ll need, but if anything’s missing, you have only to ask. I want you to be comfortable here, Mariah.”

I thought of Olga. I didn’t really need anything except Olga. But I wasn’t staying, and neither was Viorica, so my need for my cat was irrelevant.

He talked about
Erinýes, told us the history and some of his plans for improvements and modernization. He talked and we listened. Or, at least, I listened. Viorica was busy eating, staring off into space, twiddling with one of her earrings. Eryx appeared not to notice her lack of attention. He mostly spoke to me, but he’d give her an indulgent smile every so often. She was like a pet, a toy, an object of his desire, and there was no doubt he desired her. The sexual tension was enormous. Once he’d gotten what he wanted from her, how long would he remain interested? The strength he’d found so attractive was nowhere to be seen. My sister had lost her spark, her energy, her glow. She was self-absorbed. I thought Eryx was still riding the high of his conquest and hadn’t yet noticed that she’d changed. He’d killed what it was about her that he’d wanted so desperately. Would he appreciate the irony once he figured it out?

When I couldn’t stand seeing the travesty of her sweet short life ending for one more second, I stood abruptly and said, “I’m very tired. Will you excuse me and
show me to my room now?”

“Of course.” He stood and
waited for me to say goodbye to my sister. I bent low and kissed her cheek, then began to back away from her.

She looked at me and her lip trembled. “Where are you going? Don’t leave yet. Don’t leave me here.”

“It’s just for a little while. I’ll see you later.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” I lied, just as I had all those years ago. It was next to impossible to remain expressionless, but I managed somehow, and turned away before I lost it.

Eryx led me down the hall to one of the bedrooms and opened the door. It was large, decorated very prettily in yellow and blue, with a lovely painting
of daffodils above the fireplace and a small, feminine desk beneath the window. He went to the closet. “My assistant got your sizes from the clothes you wore last night, but some may not fit. Just let me know and we’ll make sure you have what you need. If you require something to eat or drink, or need help of some kind, the bell pull is right there by the bed. My housekeeper will answer your ring.” He moved to the door. “We will see you for dinner.” He smiled. “I’m very glad you’re here, Mariah.”

I nodded and gave him a fake smile.

He was closing the door when he stopped and looked at me soberly. “By the way, in the event the Mephisto do show up to take you back, it’s up to you to decide whether you go or stay, but they can’t have Jordan. She’s lost to them now, and if you love her, you’ll keep them from taking her. Otherwise, they’ll send her to Hell on Earth.”

The door closed softly and I stood staring at it, my mind racing for logic, for truth. Key planned to take her back to God. Could he? I thought of her dead black eyes and honestly didn’t know.
I didn’t know what to do. If I told Eryx they were coming, he’d be ready. He’d protect Viorica. No matter what she was or how lost, I couldn’t bear for her to be in Hell on Earth. I’d go there myself before I’d allow her to be there.

I sat on the chair next to the fireplace and listened to the steady
thump of bass from the party, the sound of laughter and revelry. I made myself focus, made my mind avoid everything but the facts, without emotion.

All those people out there had shadows across their eyes. They’d given their souls to Eryx. They were like robots. Viorica had no shadow. She must still have her soul, and even though it was marred by Eryx’s influence, she didn’t belong to him in the same way as the lost souls and Skia.

He was deviously clever, and any kindness he exhibited was solely to suit his purposes, never actual consideration. He was being effusively nice to me. Why? He wanted me to stand between Jordan and the Mephisto. He was playing on my love and devotion to her. If I told him the Mephisto were coming for her, I’d be giving him exactly what he wanted.

If I did nothing and Kyros took her to holy ground, she would lose immortality and die. Would she be in Heaven? Whether she was or she wasn’t, at least that course of action offered hope, and staying here forever meant no hope, no life of her own, no happiness.

I continued to plan what I would do next. The party became louder and more boisterous. I debated leaving and went to the window to investigate how difficult it would be to go out that way. The forest was many meters away, and I risked being seen if I chose that direction. Trees stood closer to the castle further to the east, so I’d have to find an exit in that direction. That meant I’d have to go back through the Skia party, and I might not be so lucky this time. Instinct told me they’d know what I was – hadn’t Zee said the Skia knew the Mephisto? Chances were good that Eryx had briefed all of them on what might happen today. If they saw me, what would they do to me?

I seriously doubted they’d offer me a cocktail, or wave me on my way to the other end of this castle so I could leave.

There was a knock and I steeled myself for who might answer when I called, “Come in.”

I was surprised it was my sister.

She shot a furtive glance over her shoulder before she slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. “We don’t have much time,” she whispered in a stage voice. “You’ve got to help me, Mariah. Please. I know you’re upset by what’s happened, and believe me, I never dreamed I’d wind up here, like this, but what’s done is done. The thing is, I’m afraid he’s going to kill me. He’s going to make me have sex with him, and then he’s going to kill me.”

Her fear was palpable. “He can’t kill you.”

“He can do lots of things the Mephisto can’t. He has so much power, so much more than they do, because of all the souls he carries within. He’s almost as powerful as Lucifer. Yes, he can take me out, and I know how he thinks. He’ll give me the ultimatum of giving him my soul to become Skia, or he’ll kill me. I can’t lose my soul, Mariah, and I don’t want to die. If I die, where will I go?” Huge tears formed in her black eyes. “I’m so afraid! I need time. I need to think and make a plan. I need to get away from him. Please, will you help me?”

“I’d do anything for you, Viorica. You know that. But I can’t see how I can help.” I couldn’t tell her about the Mephisto plans. She’d tell Eryx, I was sure of it.

“I’m certain Kyros will come after me, but he doesn’t know that Eryx is aware. He’s waiting, and all those Skia are here because he plans to capture Key and hold him hostage.”

She had to be lying. The Skia were drunk and stoned, laughing and dancing, partying with abandon. They weren’t anticipating a Mephisto arrival.
“I don’t know what they plan to do. They may do nothing. You’re lost to them, so why would they risk coming here to get you?” Key would risk it because he loved her, but I didn’t say that.

She came closer. “You live with them now. You’re immortal and marked. You’re fully Mephisto. Why don’t you know their plans?”

“It’s complicated. They don’t know I’m here. I came to see you because I had to, one last time.”

“So you never intended to stay?”

“How can I stay and be who I am?” I stood and went to the window. “I love you, will always love you, no matter what, but I have to go.”

“Take me with you!”

“I can’t.”

She rushed toward me and threw her arms around me, crying into my shoulder. “I’m so sorry. So . . . sorry.”

Returning her embrace, I wished there was some way I could let her know she wasn’t doomed to be here for all time, but it wasn’t a chance I could take. I couldn’t trust her any more than I could trust Eryx. As much as anything, that broke my heart.

“
The only place he can’t go,” she mumbled into my shoulder, “is Hell on Earth. If I could go there, just for a little while, I’d have time to think, time to make a plan.”

“
It’s a horrible place and you’d be miserable.”

“But I’d be safe from him, and I’d do
anything
to get away. He’s scary, Mariah. I wish so much that I hadn’t believed him. He’s so sincere, such a master at faking people out.” She cried harder and clung to me and I was overcome with grief. “He keeps talking about sex, and what he’s going to do to me. It’s . . . unnatural. I don’t want it, I don’t want to do it. I’m so afraid.”

I remembered his speech about rape, that he thought it was disgusting. “He won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. I’m sure of it.”

“Are you joking?” She pulled away and stared at me with wide eyes. “This is Eryx we’re talking about. He’s evil worse than Lucifer. He has no conscience, no light, no clue what it is to be afraid. He loves to instill fear in others, but he doesn’t know what it’s like.” Her face crumpled. “What am I going to do, Mariah?”

“Just be patient and tell him you want to wait, and you can think of something.”

“I could ask Lucifer for help. Do you think he would help me? God can’t hear me anymore, but Lucifer can. He knows.” She brightened. “That’s the answer, I’m sure of it. I’ll ask Lucifer.”