The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows) (64 page)

“Welcome to the fold, David.”

David took the pin out of Alain’s hand. It felt like nothing in his grasp it was so lightweight, but he knew that it had enormous implications. Alain said a few more foreign words and then David’s robe whipped around him. He was amazed moments later to look down and realize that they were dry.

Lillian stepped out from behind Alain and then embraced David. “Now we begin anew. I have so many things to show you.”

David jumped as the door behind Alain flew open with a bang. He saw a small blond boy who couldn’t have been more than four or five years old standing there with a wide gash across his forehead.

Alain turned, “What is the meaning of this?”

“Master, we have a problem,” the boy said.

At that moment, David knew with certainty that whatever problem the child had run into, it had something to do with Ellie.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“It won’t be long now,” Mikel said, wincing as he sat down with Ellie and Lucy on the staircase leading into the foyer. The three of them stared up at the chandelier. Ellie realized that she’d never be able to look at it the same way again.

“We gave those things one hell of a wallop,” Lucy said. “They would be lucky to remember what their names are right now.”

“I think you underestimate Scolosi demons,” Mikel said. “You caught them by surprise. They weren’t expecting you and Ellie to be so strong together. It’s a mistake they won’t make again.”

“Lucy, are you sure you’re okay?” Ellie was tired. She felt like every bit of her energy had been drained, but listening to Lucy and Mikel argue made her feel like some kind of normalcy had returned to her world. “Melissa basically skinned you.”

Lucy shuddered as she ran her hands over her healed skin. “Not something I would like to experience ever again. I’ve blocked it out already, so stop bringing it up. Enough about me, what about you, Ellie?”

“We have to figure out a way for you to do magic without stabbing me,” Ellie said with a small smile. “Thank you for saving us, Lucy, or at least buying us some time. We do have to talk about what happened though,” Ellie said. “Mikel’s right. We have to be ready for them to retaliate.”

“They will be reporting their failure to their Master,” Jake said as he appeared from around the corner of the staircase. “He will come for you, and he will come soon.”

“Not ready to tell me who that is yet?” Ellie asked.

Mikel turned and looked Jake up and down. “So this was your little informant, and the one who turned us in.” He leapt to his feet, but Ellie grabbed his arm.

“Stop! Jake did what he had been told to do. But he did come back to help me, and thereby he helped you. So far, you two are pretty much even in my book. You’ve both managed to betray me, but you’ve also both helped me out a little bit to make up for it.”

Mikel shrugged her arm off. “I don’t trust him, and you shouldn’t either.”

“If I lived by that logic, Mikel, I wouldn’t trust anyone here in the Afterlife,” Ellie said with a sigh.

“Actually, that’s the smartest thing you’ve said today,” Mikel said. He still hadn’t taken his eyes off of Jake.

When Mikel wouldn’t move, Ellie stepped up in front of him, put her hands against his chest, and pushed him backwards. “This isn’t helping, Mikel. If you aren’t going to be useful, then I suggest you leave. Take a way line and go somewhere else.”

“You need me,” Mikel said.

“Unless you start ponying up some information, then you’re just in the way,” Ellie said crossing her arms.

Mikel frowned. Then he pointed at Jake. “That one is bound to that Master. He’s no different than the things that were just here.”

“Yes, I know he’s bound to someone,” Ellie said. “But he’s under some kind of spell that won’t let him tell me who that is. So we need to find out another way so that we know who we are dealing with.”

“Do you really want to know?” Mikel’s voice was low.

“What are you hiding, Mikel?” Lucy’s voice was heavy with suspicion.

“I had a lot of time to think dangling from that chandelier. I realized that it was possible that I had missed the obvious, and seeing your ex-husband here just confirmed it all for me,” Mikel said. “You aren’t going to like the answer when I tell you.”

“Tell me anyway,” Ellie demanded.

“There’s only one person in Hell with the kind of power necessary to control three Scolosi demons, and who would also have such a vested interest in you that his influence could be seen in every part of your life,” Mikel said.

“Who, Mikel? Stop playing games. Just tell me,” Ellie said. She was frustrated with Mikel’s evasiveness.

“I’m simply trying to explain to you how I arrived at my conclusion. It’s got to be your mother’s father, Alain.”

Ellie felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. She felt the blood drain from her face. “My grandfather is alive?”

“What makes you think that they would be dead?” Mikel asked. “Melanie told you that your parents were Pure Ones, and I told you that your mother’s father held a powerful position in Hell. The disgrace that your mother brought on him almost caused him to lose that position, and believe me, he never forgot it. I didn’t want to believe that he could have murdered his own daughter. He doted on Milla and always told me how much he missed her. But it can only be him.”

“So what you’re saying is that my grandfather, someone I have never met, sent a pack of demons to torture me?” Ellie said.

“Need I remind you, they didn’t torture you?” Mikel stated. “They were supposed to keep you here, likely until Alain arrived. Me, Jeffrey and Lucy provided the entertainment.”

Ellie leaned on the bannister and stared up at the chandelier. She had wished for years that she had more family. Her parents told her that her grandparents were dead. Now that she found out that she had some, it was devastating to think that a person related to her would want to harm her. “Why kill Jake?” Then she whirled around and glared at her ex-husband.

“I told you, Ellie. I was interfering where I wasn’t supposed to be interfering. There was a chance that I could have scared you away with what I told you about my dreams,” Jake said with a sigh. He couldn’t meet her eyes. “I was punished.”

“What does he want with me?”

“What does anyone want with you?” Lucy said. She moved closer to Ellie. “He wants to use you.” She jabbed a finger in Mikel’s direction. “Just like him. Just like Lillian. You can’t believe him, Ellie. The man lies for a living. Let me reach out to my contacts and confirm this before you believe anything he says.”

“I hate to tell you this, Ellie,” Mikel said. “But if Alain is on his way, I need to leave here. Now.”

“What??” Ellie and Lucy said at the same time.

“I can’t be found here. The demons will tell him that they saw me here with you. I need to go.”

“So what, you just use Ellie to escape Hell and then dump her when you said you’d help?” Lucy hissed.

Ellie put up an arm to stop her friend. “It’s fine, Lucy.  Let him go. I don’t care. We don’t need him.”

Mikel flourished a small bow and then he backed away down the hallway. Ellie heard the door to the basement open and close. She couldn’t believe that Mikel had decided to run. She had made a mistake.

“Coward,” Lucy said glaring at the space where Mikel had just stood.

“Focus, Lucy. If he’s right, then I’m in big trouble. We need a plan,” Ellie said.

Then Jake drew their attention when he moaned, and his head dropped into his hands. Ellie quickly went to him. “Jake, what is it?”

Jake’s haunted eyes lifted to hers. “It’s too late, Ellie. He’s already here.”

The front door blew open, and Ellie saw deep black tendrils of smoke swirl into the room. Three figures materialized from the smoke, an older man who bore a stunning resemblance to her mother, Lillian Bradford, and David.

Ellie fell backwards and stumbled on the staircase. “David?”

David’s cold stare froze her in her tracks. “Hello, Ellie.”

The older man strode forward, and that was when Ellie realized that she couldn’t move. “Uncanny,” he said as he studied her face. “You look so similar, and yet so different.”

Ellie struggled against her invisible bonds. “I know who you are.”

“Forgive me,” the man said with a small nod of his head. “I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. My name is Alain, and I am your grandfather.” He paused for dramatic effect. Then his head whipped to the side finding Lucy hidden just around the corner of the staircase. “Ah, yes. The witch. You made quite a mess of my demons with your loophole of unbinding my conjuring spell. They are eager to repay you and I’ve promised them they will be able to do so, over, and over, and over again.”

The unspoken promise of unrelenting pain made Ellie shiver. Her eyes kept returning to David’s handsome face. Lillian wore a smug grin that Ellie wanted to slap off her face. Then Lucy cried out as invisible hands dragged her forward.

“I count two. Now where is my escaped charge?” Alain said. He was so close that Ellie could feel the heat of his body. “Where is Mikel?”

“He left,” Ellie said. “He used a way line downstairs and left us here.”

Alain closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Ellie felt the walls shake, and she realized the massive amount of power that the man in front of her wielded. She was screwed. “I can still feel him here. Let’s go get him, shall we? I want to be sure we can all enjoy the fun.”

Ellie felt a small push against her back and then she moved forward. Her feet were moving outside of her command, and she felt helpless. She saw the terrified look in Lucy’s eyes. Her friend wouldn’t be of any help; Alain was more powerful. Ellie made her way down the stairs to the basement. It was darker at the bottom than she remembered.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Alain called into the room. “My demons shut down the way lines already, so this one is of no use to you. There is no escaping me.”

Ellie quickly looked around. She saw the altar and the symbol on the floor, but Mikel was nowhere to be found.

“Are you sure he’s still here?” David said as he stepped off the staircase and onto the dirt floor. He brushed past Ellie without a single glance. She couldn’t understand how she could have been so wrong about him.

Alain touched the stone altar that was the center of the way line’s power. “The Scolosi are nothing if not thorough. This way line is inoperable. He’s still here.”

David moved to the other side and stood looking down at the symbol in the dirt on the other side of the altar. “If you are so sure of that, then what is this?” he asked, kneeling down.

Both Alain and Lillian moved to his side. “What?” Lillian asked, peering down at the ground where David was pointing.

Then David clutched both of their shoulders and Ellie gasped as a red light shot out of him. Both Alain and Lillian screamed, but David wore a determined look even though Ellie could see that his body was starting to writhe in pain. The walls around them began to shake, and Ellie saw the dirt fall from the foundation walls.

“You can’t hold me!” Alain shrieked as his arm came up to block David’s grip.

Mikel appeared out of the darkness in the far corner and flew to the circle, pushing Alain into the center. His eyes caught hers for just a split second. After that, it all happened in slow motion.

The man in the middle of the circle, who Ellie had so recently found out was her grandfather, exploded in an orange ball of fire.

As soon as Alain went up in flames, David’s arm shot out, and his hand wrapped around Mikel’s wrist.

“Take his hand!” David yelled at Lillian.

Lillian, who looked at her hand in complete disbelief, grabbed Mikel’s other hand. Mikel screamed and tried to shake her fingers loose. David wore a look of hard determination. Not understanding what was happening, Ellie moved to help Mikel, but David shouted at her.

“Stay back! You have to let me do this!”

As the space in the middle of the circle opened up into a massive black hole, Ellie realized that it was because the circle of three was complete. Alain was immediately sucked into the hole. Mikel and Lillian were pulled in right after him kicking and screaming. Ellie couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.

In that last moment, just before he disappeared after the others, David’s head turned toward her so that Ellie was able to see his face. There was no fear there, only regret.

He mouthed to her “
I’m sorry
”.

Then David was gone.

The walls stopped shaking..

Ellie was alone.

“Ellie?” Lucy’s shaking voice came from above. “Are you down there?”

“I’m here,” Ellie said. Her voice didn’t sound like her own. She wasn’t sure what had just happened, but she knew that somehow, David had saved them all. But in the process, he had sacrificed himself.

“There’s someone up here I think you want to meet,” Lucy said.

Ellie was numb as she climbed back to the top of the stairs. Her thoughts were jumbled as she tried to make sense of what had happened. “They are all gone,” Ellie said. “David’s gone.”

Lucy gathered her into her arms. “I know, sweetie. I’m so sorry.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I explained it to her.” A small man stood just inside the door with his hat in his hand. “I came as soon as I was allowed. I was told that I had to wait for David to complete his mission first and then I could explain everything to you as well.”

“Explain?” Ellie said. “I don’t know what just happened, but whatever mission he was on was clearly some kind of suicide mission.” Her chest felt tight, and she fought the urge to cry as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

“Of course it was,” the man said.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Ellie asked.

“My apologies,” the man stepped forward with his hand outstretched. “My name is Max Turner. I am delighted to meet you.”