Torment (14 page)

“I’ve got my own beautiful woman, thank you, so I don't care what she looks like; I’m not interested,” Jake said.

“Oh God, pass me a bucket; I’m gonna be sick!” Danny laughed.

I couldn’t help but laugh; Lily grabbed one of the cushions off the sofa and threw it at him.

“How long is he going to be?” Tyler asked.

“I don't know maybe an hour as far as he’s concerned, which to us is fifteen minutes. Maybe longer,” I told him.

“So when did you get together?” Jake asked.

While we waited I told them the whole story. Everyone except for Tyler seemed really happy for us, but then I expected him to be funny about it. Lucian surprised me though; he said he was glad I was happy and that he wished us all the happiness in the world. I don't know what I was expecting him to say, but I wasn’t expecting that. Danny, I think, was just happy because he knew he would get to be around Eligos more. He had a lot of respect and time for him and he couldn’t wait to be taught how to fight properly.

“Do you think they’ll want drinks when they get back?” Lily asked.

“Maybe we should open a few bottles of wine,” Danny suggested.

“I’ll go and get some.”

“I’ll fetch the glasses.”

Ten minutes later Eligos appeared again and a moment later two women were with him. All the guys, except for Jake were staring at them. Hecate was just as beautiful as Unsere. Her long wavy dark-brown hair fell loosely down her back; her eyes were green, just a little darker than mine. She was pale and like all the other demons I’d seen, her skin was perfect. She had a beautiful curvaceous figure, not skinny and not fat, just right.

“Hi, Keira,” Unsere smiled at me.

“Hiya,” I smiled back.

Eligos introduced us.

“OK, firstly, Keira, this is Hecate; Hecate, this is Keira”

“Nice to meet you.”

“It’s an honor,” she said, bowing her head slightly.

“You don't ever have to do that,” I told her.

“Keira, it’s an honor for any demon to be in the company of a Royal,” Eligos informed me.

“No, it’s me that’s honored to have you here. To have you helping us. Please don't ever lower your head to me; it should be the other way round,” I said to Hecate.

“Thank you,” she smiled warmly.

Eligos introduced Hecate and Unsere to Lily and the others, before motioning for them to sit down. Eligos came and sat next to me again.

“So I take it you’re mine then?” Hecate said to Lily with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess…I am.”

“You’ll be fine, don't worry about anything; it doesn’t hurt.”

“And these four young men are mine!” Unsere said.

“They are,” I told her.

“OK, guys, this is what happens: I stab all of you through the heart, feed power into you and then fix you back up. You might have a little scar, but other than that you will be fine,” she explained to them.

All of them turned white, fear and horror appearing on their faces.

“Relax, I’m just kidding” she laughed.

“You’re so mean!” I smirked.

“I know. No seriously, guys, all I need to do is spend five minutes alone with each of you. You may feel a little warm as it enters you but that's all.”

“Lily,” Hecate said, “It’s the same for you, lovely; there’s no pain at all.”

“OK,” she whispered, taking a deep breath.

“Now, when you get it you will feel stronger, physically too, but you won’t know how to use it all. So I suggest you all go out somewhere you won’t be seen and play with it. It’s all instinctual but you won’t know what you can do until you actually do it. Keira will be able to show and tell you a few things though,” Unsere told them.

“So, are you all ready for this?” I asked them.

All of them nodded.

“Take it away then, ladies,” I said to Unsere and Hecate.

Hecate went into the little living room with Lily; while Unsere went with Lucian into the chill-out room. A minute later Lily came running back into us.

“Keira, will you come with me?” she asked.

I could see her shaking from across the room.

“Come on,” I smiled, walking out with her.

We walked into the little living room and I sat down on the sofa facing where Lily was going to sit.

“She’s nervous,” Hecate said. “That's understandable.”

Lily sat down and took a deep breath.

“OK, are you ready?” Hecate asked her.

“Yes.”

Hecate stood about two feet away from her and stretched her arms out in front of her. The lights in the room started flickering on and off and the furniture started to tremble slightly. A blue flow of energy came from each of her fingers and surrounded Lily for a moment, before seeping into her skin. She closed her eyes tight and her breathing started to get faster. I could see she was panicking. Hecate walked towards her. The flow of energy had now stopped. She put her hand on Lily’s chest and both their bodies illuminated for a split second. Then it was all over.

“Lily, you can open your eyes now,” Hecate told her. “We’re finished.”

“Really?” she said, her eyes opening wide.

“That’s all there is to it.”

“Hecate,” I said, “when our ancestors got their power it really hurt them; they screamed out in pain. Why, when Lily obviously didn’t feel a thing?”

“Their power came from a demon called Abdiel. He is the Lord of Slaves and Slavery. He likes to cause pain, so that's probably why,” she told me.

“You’ve just answered a question that everyone with this power has wanted the answer to.”

“What?”

“Who gave it to them; nobody ever knew.”

“The person who called it would have known to whom they were calling. Obviously he didn’t want anyone to know.”

“Do you know what power I have in me,” I asked her.

“I know you have more than one, but I’m not too sure; they’re mixed up with each other so it’s hard to tell. Ask your mother, she should be able to tell you. You see it’s easy with the guys; they only had the one power in them, and I am one of only a few who can sense who gave it to them.”

“Would Eligos have known?”

“No, it’s not one of his gifts.”

“Thanks, Hecate.”

“My pleasure.”

“Lily, are you OK?” I asked.

“I feel different, strong, like I could blow this house down.”

“You probably could now.”

“Try and use it, try and move the table to the other side of the room and back again,” Hecate told her.

“Will my eyes change?”

“Yeah.”

She stood up and looked at the table. Her eyes turned black, the same as the guys did, and the table flew across the room. She jumped up and down with excitement. Then the table came back to its original position.

“Now I understand why when I asked you how you used your power, you found it hard to answer; it just happens,” she said, turning to look at me.

“Your eyes are black,” I told her.

“Wow.”

“Why do mine go white and yet the guys go black,” I asked Hecate.

“Because you have power in you from a Royal and it’s mixed with others. By rights, though, you should just go natural now, so they should be red.”

“They do go red when I go demonic.”

“You should always be demonic,” she said puzzled. “You are after all…”

“I understand…” I interrupted quickly.

Lily now looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Come on, let’s see how the guys are getting on,” I said, getting up and walking out of the room.

I heard them following behind me, and Lily thanking Hecate over and over again.

Lily ran into the room and Hecate grabbed my arm. She pulled me down the hall and looked around to make sure nobody else was near us.

“Haven’t you told them yet?” she asked me.

“No, they’d had enough to deal with.”

“It’s not a bad thing; it’s not something they have to worry about, Keira.”

“I know I just, I don't know. Please don't say anything.”

“Course I won’t; it’s not my place to. Just be honest with them, and with yourself. You are what you are, be proud of it.”

“I am.”

“So tell them, soon.”

“I will.”

We walked into the living room and I poured everyone a glass of wine, before sitting next to Eligos. Lucian and Danny now had the extra power and Jake was still in the other room with Unsere.

“This feels amazing,” Danny told me. “I never knew anyone could feel this powerful.”

“Imagine how Keira and Eligos feel then,” Hecate told him. “Each of them is more powerful than you five put together.”

“Wow” he said, looking over at me and Eligos. “I hate you both.”

A moment later Jake joined us and Tyler left.

“Jake, watch this,” Lily said, getting excited.

All the windows opened and closed repeatedly, before finally staying closed again. Then she rose into the air, only around five feet, but she was so excited about it.

“You’re crazy!” he laughed.

A few minutes later Tyler was back in the room, followed closely by Unsere.

“Well, that was a good night’s work,” she said, flopping on the chair. “Oh, is one of those drinks for me.”

“Help yourself!” I smiled.

“Oh we have something to tell you.”

“What?” I asked.

“Me and Hecate will be with you when all this comes to a head. We’ll be fighting by your side.”

“Really?” Lily said.

“Definitely, this has caused a lot of problems and we don't want a full-scale war, so we’ll do what we can,” Hecate told us.

“Thanks,” Eligos said to them both.

Hecate and Unsere stayed with us for around half an hour before they had to go back to Hell. All the guys thanked them again and they told us they would be in touch. If we needed them all we had to do was call out to them.

“I liked those two,” Lucian said.

“Yeah I bet you did,” I smirked.

“I admit, I do think Unsere is very attractive.”

“Nah, sorry, I think Hecate’s beautiful,” Danny said.

“Are they seeing anyone?” Lucian asked.

“Unsere is married, mate, but Hecate is single,” Eligos told them.

“Well, Unsere can get divorced,” Lucian said with a grin.

“Actually she can’t.”

“Why?”

“The rules are different in Hell. Once you’re married, that’s it.”

“I don't understand,” Lily said.

“Not many people in Hell are married, simply because, once you’re there, you live for eternity or until you ask for your soul to be destroyed. Some people get fed up of forever and want an end. Anyway, if you get married you have to be completely in love with the person, because you will be together forever. Literally. If you cheat on your partner, you spend eternity in the Pits. If you think for one moment there may be a time you won’t love the person you’re with, or that you may develop feelings for someone else, be the person in Hell or on Earth, my advice is – don't get married. Although, saying that, I know a few people who are married down there and have been so for thousands of years, and they are still very happy and still very much in love.”

“What if someone comes on to your partner because they didn’t know they were married?” Tyler asked.

“Well, you see, that can’t happen,” Eligos told him. “Because, if two normal people there get married they are marked on their left wrist, both have the same mark. If a lord, Duke, higher demon, Royal, or basically anyone with status and who has a seal gets married, then their partner is marked, kinda like a tattoo, on their left wrist. They are marked with their partner’s seal. So when you look at Lilith’s left hand you see the ring on her finger, but you also see Lucifer’s seal tattooed on her wrist.”

“Does everyone know whose seals are whose?” Lily asked him.

“It’s mandatory for everyone to learn the Royal seals and Grand Ducal seals, but others…no, not really.”

“So is it just Lords and Dukes that have seals?” Danny asked.

“People of status and Royals. But Royal seals are very different to the rest of ours,” Eligos said.

“Keira, do you have your seal yet? Can I see it?” Lily asked.

“No not yet, Lilith is creating one for when this is over and I return to Hell.”

“What if someone who died already had a tattoo on their left wrist?” Jake asked.

“It’s removed, just in case they decided to marry. Nobody has a tattoo on their left wrist unless they are married; that's just the way it is.”

“Well, I suppose that's one way of finding out if someone truly loves you or not,” Lucian said. “Asking them to marry you I mean.”

“Not that many people ask the question for fear of the reply from the person they are with,” Eligos told him.

“Can you imagine asking the person you love more than anything, who you want to spend eternity with to marry you…”Danny started.

“And them saying no,” Lily said, finishing his sentence. “That must be heart breaking.”

“OK, can we change the subject, please?” Tyler said, pouring himself a glass of wine. “Like to what we’re going to eat, I’m starving.”

“We’ll order out,” Lily told him, shaking her head at him.

“When can we start playing with this new power then?” Jake asked me.

“We can go out tomorrow if you want.”

“Great.”

“Eligos, when do we get to fight” Danny asked.

“Learn some of your power first, and then I’ll teach you. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

“Speaking of power,” I said, “I found out something very interesting tonight, and I think you may all want to hear it.”

“What is it?” Jake asked. “Is it good?”

“I know where our families’ power came from.”

“WHAT!” they cried excitedly.

“Hecate told me.”

“Well tell us then,” Danny said.

“Abdiel,” I smirked.

“Yeah, because that means a lot to us,” Tyler said to me, shaking his head.

“He is the Lord of Slaves and Slavery.”

“Did he give John Putnam his first power too?” Lily asked.

“No, I still don't know where that was from, but I’m going to ask Lilith,” I told them. “Hecate said she might be able to tell me exactly what's in me.”

“Finally, we start to get some answers,” Lucian sighed. “Do we know anything else about this Abdiel then?”

“Only that he is quite powerful,” Eligos told us all. “I’ve never actually met him; I’ve only ever heard stories about him.”