by Mary Ting
On cue, the DJ announced: “This song is dedicated to Claudia from Michael. At last, I found you.”
The “awwws” and “oh, how sweets” were heard around us as my face became slightly warm.
Michael pulled me close, folding my hands onto his chest, and started to sing with the music in my ears. “At last…my love has come along….” It was the same song he’d sung to me up in the clouds.
I embraced his words and swayed to the music with him. The song was an old song, but I didn’t mind. The lyrics were beautiful and perfect. Many artists had sung this song, but it couldn’t compare to the way Michael sang it. His angelic, flawless voice could melt any soul.
After the song ended, the DJ played a faster tune. Michael and I were about to walk off the dance floor when Davin gripped both of us. “Nuh uh. Both of you stay right here and dance.”
Michael looked at me, asking me what I wanted with his eyes. Then Davin gave a pouty face, and I could not refuse. The four of us danced ’til midnight, having the time of our lives.
Losing Patrick and unable to deal with his feelings for Claudia, Austin escaped to Black Velvet. Inside Black Velvet, he knew he could pretend to be human…pretend to be someone else. He headed straight for the bar. The bartender recognized him from several weeks before.
“What can I get you?” he said nervously. His body tensed up, avoiding eye contact. “There hasn’t been any sign of them.” His voice was low.
“I’m not here for them tonight. I’m here for me,” Austin replied, leaning against the counter. “So, what’s the strongest drink you have? Though it wouldn’t make a difference,” he grumbled.
Jake poured some liquid into the shot glass. “Here…Bacardi 151. It’s the strongest liquor I have. Hard day?” he asked nervously, knowing who Austin really was.
“A long life.” Austin held up his glass and toasted. “For my friend, Patrick. I will avenge your death. This I promise you.” He swallowed his drink in one gulp. Grimacing, he said, “Well, that tasted like water.” He slammed his glass on the counter. “More, Jake. And keep it coming. I’ve got a long life ahead of me,” he demanded as sudden thoughts of Michael and Claudia dancing burned through his mind. “Crap,” he said, shaking his head trying to rid it of unwanted thoughts, and he turned toward the dance floor.
Uninterested, he turned back, thinking he could strike up a conversation with Jake. There in front of him stood two females. “Remember us?” one said sweetly, alluring him with her eyes.
“Sure I do. How could I ever forget?” Austin said, feeling euphoric by their presences as his eyes drank them in. “We danced, but I don’t believe I caught your names.”
“My name is Tasha, and my friend’s name is Elliot,” Tasha said, pointing to her friend, giggling.
“You’re not going to disappear on us again, are you?” Elliot asked, placing her hand on his muscular arm.
“No, but I don’t feel like dancing this time. How about we sit here and talk?” Austin suggested, thinking he couldn’t believe he wanted to have a conversation instead of enjoying himself.
“Speaking of disappearing, why don’t we disappear into my limo?” Tasha flirted, closing the gap between them and outlining his lips with her finger.
“You have a limo?” Austin leaned in to smell her scent. She smelled of lavender, reminding him of Claudia. He’d been with women before, and it was always easy to take them up on their propositions, but he felt different this time. Regardless, he decided to take it, even though his gut instincts told him something was different about these girls. He couldn’t distinguish what it was, but he thought maybe he was overreacting. His angel powers were always dead on, and since they weren’t telling him that they were demons, he decided to have fun.
“My limo is right outside,” Tasha answered.
He rested his arms around the ladies’ waists. “Let’s go, my angels.”
Tasha winked at Jake, leading them out to her limo. Jake froze from fear and was more than happy they were leaving.
Austin sat in the middle. “Are we going to stay put or is your driver going to drive us somewhere?”
The girls started nibbling on Austin’s ears, running their hands all over him.
“We stay here,” Elliot whispered and started to caress his lips.
Austin kissed back, but his mind wandered to thoughts of Claudia, of the day they kissed, accident or not. He saw her face in his mind, the way her lips felt on his, the softness of her hair and the curves of her body as he held her in his arms. Austin finally snapped out his thoughts. He should have been enjoying this kind of attention, but he felt disgusted. He pulled himself out of their hold. “Sorry ladies, but I need to take care of things.”
Tasha pushed him back and held him before his hand reached the handle. Surprised by her strength, he halted, trying to grasp what had just happened. Before he could react, Elliot swung over in a straddling position and pinned Austin’s arms. He tried to set himself free, but they were stronger.
“Whoa, ladies. Is this because I didn’t want to dance?” He chuckled nervously, trying to stay calm as he planned his escape. “Why don’t we go back to the dance floor? I promise to give you the time of your life,” he flirted.
“We’re going to have a little fun before we suck you up,” Elliot mocked.
“Hmmm…under normal circumstances, being sucked up may sound pleasing, but I wonder what demons mean by that?”
“You shall see,” she said, giving an evil grin.
“At least tell me what kind of demon you are,” Austin asked calmly, but he was panicking, trying to buy some time.
“We’re called soul eaters,” she hissed.
“Soul eaters,” he repeated. “You really don’t want my soul. It’s not very clean.”
“You talk too much for someone who is about to face death,” Elliot said and moved on him.
“Wait! Before you do whatever you want to do, who are you working for?” Austin requested.
“Why should we tell you?”
“Since I’m going to die anyway, at least give me the name I shall revenge on after I’m dead.”
“You need to look toward your own.” Without any further delay, Elliot gave him the most menacing smile. Then her mouth opened wide, ten times human capability, and enclosed his face, inhaling his breath. Austin’s body desperately shook as his legs frantically kicked from their monstrous grip. Somehow, he managed to slam Tasha against the door and wrap his leg around her neck. With his head still inside Elliot’s mouth, he tightened his thighs and caused Tasha to become unconscious. One down, he thought. Almost unconscious himself, he stuck his fingers inside Elliot’s mouth.
The demon’s mouth felt cold, sticky, and slimy. His hand clenched the sides of its lips. Austin tugged and pulled, producing all the strength he could give at this weakened moment. Triumphantly, he pulled away. “Tribuo mihi thy…” he said quickly, asking for his sword. But before he could say the word sword, Elliot managed to lunge at him again.
He couldn’t fight anymore. The demon drew the strength from his soul. What was I thinking, he thought. His instincts told him something was wrong and he didn’t follow through. For this mistake, he would face death today. Images of his mother, Patrick, Holly, and Claudia flashed through his mind. Then his body went limp to the darkness.
After the dance, they dropped off Kristina and headed back to Claudia’s home. When they got there, Holly, Vivian, Caleb, Michelle, and Gracie were waiting for them in Claudia’s room.
“Missed us that much?” Davin jeered. But when they were stoic in their expression, Davin knew something was wrong and he stopped talking.
“What’s wrong?” Michael asked worriedly. “Something happened to Austin?”
Claudia’s breath stopped short, like someone had just punched her in her gut.
“Austin is missing,” Michelle snapped.
“What do you mean, missing? He’s probably somewhere flirting with the ladies,” Michael suggested.
“No, he’s not,” Holly stated. “There’s been a lot of demon activity in Black Velvet. We know that Austin was last seen there,” Holly explained.
“By whom?” Michael asked.
“Jake, the bartender.”
“He went alone?” Claudia asked.
“It’s not unusual. Austin likes that kind of crowd. That’s his escape from reality,” Holly continued. “Anyway, when we couldn’t contact him, we decided to go to the night club.”
Michael looked at Vivian and Caleb. They gave him nervous smiles and shrugged their shoulders, knowing Michael disapproved.
“So, instead of finding Austin, guess who we found?” They all followed the line of Holly’s gaze. “That’s right. The one and only,” Holly said proudly and opened the closet door. There lay Vickie, the shoe saleslady from Brand Name Shoes For Less. She was bound with the golden Divine cuff, and her mouth was sealed with silver duct tape. Without a second to lose, Claudia stood behind Michael, recalling that dreadful shoes-shopping experience.
Davin squatted in front of Vicki. “Hmmm…she looks harmless.” Then he swiftly ripped the tape off. The demon hissed so loudly and unexpectedly at Davin from the pain he’d just caused that Davin jerked back in surprise. “Whoa…what is she?”
“Why are you surprised? What do you think she is…an angel?” Holly said sarcastically. “And why did you peel the tape off?”
“To ask her questions…why else?” Davin fired back.
“That’s enough. We’re wasting time.” Michael looked at Vickie square in the eye. “Where is Austin?”
“Why should I tell you?” she snapped, sounding like a man.
“Whoaaa, she’s a he or he’s a she?” Davin questioned.
“It’s Nicholas Cain. He left the other body and took over this one,” Michael informed Davin and turned to Vickie. “Unless you want me to kill you, you better start talking,”
“Austin and his girlfriends are at the Specus,” he said with a menacing smile.
“We tried to get him to talk before you came along. Why is he telling you now?” Holly questioned. “I don’t like this one bit. It may be a trap.”
“Whether it’s a trap or not, he’s there. We need to go,” Michael said, urgently.
“Better not wait too long, he won’t make it,” the demon teased, but they ignored her.
“What I meant was, we need to inform the Elders. We need back-up just in case Aliah is there, so we’ll need the watchers too,” Holly stated.
“They’re going to rip him to pieces,” the demon said again.
Claudia squeezed Michael’s hand in fear that the demon’s words may be true.
“Fine. One of us can go tell the Elders while we go after Austin.”
“I’ll send Michelle and Gracie.” Holly instructed the girls and turned to Vickie. “What do we do with her or him or whatever it is?”
“Keep her alive. We may be able to negotiate,” Michael instructed.
“Good idea,” Holly agreed and turned to Vickie once more. “And you…” She placed the tape back on her mouth. “
Just shut up! ”
Chapter Thirty
The Specus was easily reachable being that they knew the exact location since they had been there before. But when they transported, they ended up at the entrance and not inside like before. The alkins and Holly carefully entered. Their steps were quiet, light as a feather, leaving no footprints on slightly muddied ground. Caleb and Davin glided ahead with their swords while Michael held Claudia’s hand. Vivian and Holly cautiously walked sideways, keeping Nicholas between them. Holding their weapons with the other hand, they would occasionally pivot, looking for any demonic movements.
It’s too quiet, Davin thought as his heart pounded faster with every step.
“What’s that smell?” Caleb whispered. “Do you smell it?”
“It stinks like Hell. Though I wouldn’t know what Hell smells like,” Davin replied.
“No, it smells like rotting flesh,” Caleb said again, sniffing.
“Looks like you smell yourself,” Davin laughed softly.
Caleb furrowed his brows. “Ha ha. No, seriously.” Everyone stopped and watched Caleb sniff again as he turned his nose toward the wall of the cave. “It’s coming from the wall. It looks dewy.” Grimacing, he brought his sword closer. “Lux,” he said to the sword, and it glowed brighter.
“Do you hear that?” Caleb asked.
“Yeah, I hear you talking nonsense,” Davin chuckled.
“Shhh!” Vivian hushed Davin from behind.
Davin shrugged his shoulders as he watched Caleb become mesmerized by the sound he said he heard.
Caleb paid no attention to Davin’s remark as he leaned closer. Curiosity got the best of him, and he slowly moved his index finger closer. There is something magical, he thought. The whispers of the melody sounded so peaceful and pleasant, luring him in, hypnotizing.
Michael felt uncomfortable with Caleb’s findings and couldn’t understand why Caleb was the only one to smell and hear things. They all had the same strength of keenness of smell and hearing, if not more so in Michael. Seeing Caleb’s eyes glued to the wall made Michael extremely uncomfortable. He felt something evil which was confirmed when he saw Claudia’s necklace turn black. Just as he was about to stop Caleb, he knew he was too late.
Caleb’s finger released an angelic energy, only he didn’t realize he had liberated the demons that Aliah had placed many life times ago. Aliah had placed their bodies there in hopes of one day releasing them to join his legion, but he was unable to unlock them because he was not in pure form.
Unexpectedly, a hand reached out, grabbing Caleb and pulling him into them. Davin and Michael held Caleb for dear life. Struggling, unable to free Caleb, Michael swung his sword and managed to release him.
“Must you touch?” Davin scolded. “You almost got gelled.”
Caleb exhaled heavily in relief, giving Davin an apologetic look.
“Stop talking and run!” Michael said out loud.
The wall started to glow, illuminating more brightly by the second, and hands were reaching out, penetrating through from within. The demons escaped and started to enclose them. They ran as fast as they could as wicked laughter and then soft, fast droning whispers resonated throughout the cave, echoing and humming painfully in their ears. They stopped abruptly, covering their ears from the sharp pain—even Vickie was slumped over—except for Claudia. Claudia stood bewildered, not knowing how to help or what to do. She heard the foreign words but could not understand what they were saying. It was driving her insane to see her friends curled up, vulnerable.
Unexpectedly, heat started to creep from her inner core and emanated throughout her body. Then she felt her hands radiate the familiar heat, and with anger she yelled as loud as she could, “Stop!” Her cry screeched painfully, echoing, bouncing off the walls of the cave.
There was dead silence. Everyone stood up to see the demons had vanished. Their eyes filled with amazement and confusion. They found themselves in the middle of the cave, near the pool of water. When they looked up, they saw Austin, bound against the wall with the golden divine cuff. His head drooped weakly, and his arms extended out like Jesus on the cross.
“Austin.” Claudia’s heart dropped at the sight of him.
“Let’s get him down,” Holly said, all choked up and horrified, thinking what he must have been through.
When Caleb and Davin moved cautiously toward Austin, Aliah emerged from the darkness of the shadows without warning. Michael folded Claudia into his wings, hiding her. Everyone else swiftly backed away, holding their weapons close and tightly as they gasped from icy sharp chills within, causing them to be motionless.
“Ahhh,” Aliah said softly. “You’ve done well Nicholas. You’ve brought your friends right to me. Licen,” he said, and with a snap from Aliah’s fingers, Nicholas’s bonds were broken. Moving to stand next to Aliah, he gloated victoriously.
“I knew it was a trap,�
� Holly muttered in revelation through her grinding teeth.
“It’s okay. Remember, backup is coming,” Caleb reminded, but he was trembling inside while trying to maintain composure.
Aliah glided closer. His striking black and white wings overwhelmed them. “We finally meet. I had to kill so many girls just to find the one and only Claudia Emerson. You can’t hide her beneath your wings forever. Give her to me, and you can all leave freely.”
Nobody said a word. Taking small steps to move even further away, there was nowhere to go as the demon spirits and now fallen were already there. Given this opportunity, Claudia gripped tightly to her bow that Holly slipped though Michael’s wings. Claudia closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and talked her way out of being petrified. She gathered her courage and told herself, for my friends, Mom, and Gamma.
“Thanks for setting my children free. You see, I’ve waited thousands of years for someone brave enough and someone with an absolutely pure soul to set them free. This is going to be a fabulous day. So I’ll tell you again before I change my mind…give her to me and you can leave.”
Drawing their weapons and standing there in a defensive stance, they were ready to give it all. They were not only ready to fight to protect Claudia, but to fight for humanity and for what was good. “Stay together,” Michael instructed.
“Since you give me no choice…then die!”
Claudia dove out of Michael’s hold and shot the first demon in her line of vision. Like lightning, it shot out brightly, penetrating right through. They were different from the white demons she had seen before. They appeared almost ghostlike, translucent, but their skeletal parts were visible. These demons were fragile compared to the other demons with claws, but skillful with swords that magically appeared in their hands. With one slice through their skeletal parts, they crumbled to the floor.
Many demons swarmed around the alkins and venators. Trying not to bring attention to herself, Vivian slowly bent down to scoop up pebbles that she could gather in her hands. She threw them upward, scattering them, confusing the demons. As the demons’ eyes followed the pebbles, the alkins and venators took the opportunity to attack.