by Shuler, Tara
“Hmm,” Sharon commented. “You really do love him.”
Beth nodded, and she gushed, “You have no idea how much.”
“By the way… what did that angel do? The fallen one.”
“He refused a direct order. That’s all I know. I guess it was something he thought was wrong, and he wouldn’t do it.”
“Oh. So no fornicating or swearing or anything, huh?”
“Mom!” Beth joked, swiping her mother with a throw pillow from the sofa. “I’m being serious.”
“How much does this fallen angel mean to you, anyway?” Sharon asked.
“His name is Malachai, remember? And he means a lot.”
“Do you love him?”
“No! I love Aztos. Malachai is just a very dear friend. I care about him a lot.”
“Then you’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you.”
Beth’s face fell.
“Tell me you’re not going to suggest I hand Malachai over to Lucifer.”
“It’s the only way. There’s nothing else you could offer Lucifer that he would want. But offering him the soul of an angel – even a fallen one – would probably be enough. You’d have to get Malachai to agree, though. Lucifer wouldn’t be able to take his soul without his permission. Not an angel’s.”
“I can’t do that, Mom. I can’t. Malachai already suggested it, and I shot him down flat. There’s no way!”
“He did? Wow. He must really love you.”
“Please. There has to be another way.”
“Not that I know of, Beth. I’m sorry. I’ve heard that Lucifer will give you nearly anything for the soul of an angel – fallen or otherwise. Aside from that, there’s little that interests him these days. Most bargains are made directly with demons, because Lucifer really doesn’t care to meddle in human affairs that much anymore. At least, that’s what I hear.”
“Maybe we can come up with a plan,” Beth suggested. “I won’t accept that handing Malachai over is the only way. It can’t be.”
“Do you have any ideas? Because I sure don’t.”
“I was hoping you would. I don’t really know anything about demons or angels or anything like that, other than what Aztos and Malachai have told me – and that’s not much.”
“Well, I have a couple of books in the car,” Sharon offered. “They’re really old. They’ve been in our family for generations. I was going to take them back to your Great Aunt Lucy’s house next week, but I could let you look at them. You might find an idea in them.”
“That would be great, Mom. Thanks. Anything will help right now.”
“Okay, let me go get them,” Sharon said, and she left to get the books from her car.
After a few minutes, Sharon hadn’t returned. Beth started to get a little concerned. It should have only taken a minute to get books out of her car and come back into the house. When Beth opened the front door, she was shocked to find her mother in the clutches of a grinning man, who held a dagger to her throat.
“Beth, run!” Sharon shouted.
“Let her go!” Beth demanded.
“Go, Beth!” Sharon pleaded. “Get out of here!”
“I said let her go!” Beth repeated more forcefully.
“Now, now,” the guy chuckled. “Don’t get all worked up. Azmond sent me to give you a little message. He said to tell you Lucifer has Aztos, and unless you bring him your angel friend, he’s going to kill him in twenty-four hours.”
“What?” Beth whispered, her stomach twisting into a writhing, lurching mess.
“Tick, tock, little girl,” he mocked. “If you ever want to see your husband… or your mother… alive again, you’d better have the angel here tonight.”
With that, he disappeared, taking Sharon with him.
Beth’s knees began to wobble, and she grabbed the doorframe to try to stay upright. She gasped to catch her breath. Her entire body felt numb, and she felt herself falling. Suddenly, someone caught her.
“Beth!” Malachai gasped, lifting her into his arms. “Are you alright?”
“Malachai? What are you doing here?”
“I felt you. You were afraid.”
“They took my mother! They have Aztos!”
“Who?”
“Demons! Lucifer said if I don’t turn you over in twenty-four hours, he’ll kill them both!”
“Then you will turn me over,” he told her firmly.
“No!” Beth argued. “Put me down!”
Malachai lowered her feet carefully to the porch, and she wobbled, clutching onto him to keep from falling.
“Malachai, I’m not going to just hand you over,” Beth maintained. “There is no way. It’s not going to happen.”
“Then I’ll turn myself over on your behalf,” he said.
“No! Malachai, you can’t do that!”
“Why not? It’s my soul!” he shouted.
“Because I don’t want to lose you!”
“Why? You’ll have Aztos, and he’s the one you love! Just let me go and be happy, Beth! That’s all I want!”
“I won’t be happy without you!”
“You don’t love me! Being around you kills me! It’s killing me right now. It’s killing me every second of every day! Just let me go, Beth. Turn me over to Lucifer, and be happy. Please!”
Beth realized she was still in Malachai’s arms, though her strength had already returned. She attempted to back away from him, but he pulled her closer to him.
“Kiss me,” Malachai pleaded. “Kiss me once, and let me go.”
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head and trying to pull away from him.
“No, you won’t kiss me? Or, no, you won’t let me go?” he challenged.
“Both!”
“Kiss me, Beth. Please. Just one kiss will last me a lifetime. Then you can let me go and move on with your life. I’m begging you. Just once.”
“No! I’m married to Aztos, and I love him. I won’t betray him!”
“Fine! Then I’m going to Lucifer now!”
Malachai let her go, and before she could stop him, he disappeared.
“Malachai!” she shouted, falling to her knees. “Malachai, no! Please! Come back! Malachai!”
She continued to sob and call his name repeatedly, but to no avail. Malachai did not return. She collapsed onto the porch and curled into a fetal position, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly against her body. She cried until she thought she might choke.
She suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline that coursed through her body. Her heart began to race, and her head pounded. She felt a rage growing inside her unlike anything she’d ever felt, and it threatened to burst out of her.
She jumped to her feet, and she noticed the sky begin to darken. The wind picked up, and it whipped her hair around her head in snaking tendrils. She heard thunder rumbling in the distance, and she felt her hands begin to tingle. Curiously, she lifted one hand to look at the source of the tingling sensation, and she noticed what appeared to be a faint arc of electricity jump from her thumb to her first finger. Somehow, she wasn’t startled. Instead, she grinned slyly.
“Ah, Mother. I guess there’s a little witch in me after all,” she said. “I have twenty-four hours. And then you and Aztos are coming home.”
Beth was suddenly filled with hope. She knew she couldn’t do it alone. She’d never even known her mother was a witch until Aztos came to take her away a few months earlier. She had no training, and no knowledge of witchcraft.
“Grandma,” she said aloud. “It’s time for a visit.”
She noticed her mother’s car keys lying on the ground beside her car. She slammed the front door and raced down the steps, snatching the keys and unlocking the car door. She jumped into the car and headed straight for her grandmother’s house. She was going to need help.
Chapter Fourteen
“Beth!” gasped Addie Ryan. “Come in, dear!”
Beth stepped across the threshold and into her maternal grandmot
her’s house – a place she hadn’t been since she was twelve years old. Her mother had cut her grandparents out of her life years ago, and Beth had never known why, except that her mother felt her parents were disappointed with her for some reason.
“Hi, Grandma,” Beth greeted the older woman. “It’s good to see you.”
“How have you been? It’s been so long, I almost didn’t recognize you!”
“Not great, Grandma. A lot has happened. Mom’s in trouble.”
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”
“It’s kind of a long story. Can we sit down?”
“Of course, dear. Come into the living room and have a seat. Do you want something to drink?”
“No thanks, Grandma. I’m kind of in a hurry.”
“Alright, then. Come on.”
Addie ushered her granddaughter into her sparsely furnished living room. To an outsider, it might seem that the residents of the home lived simply. There was no television, no radio, and only a small shelf full of dusty old books. But this was just for show. Addie and Jim Ryan lived a life that was anything but simple. They were witches – and powerful ones, at that.
Over the next hour, Beth told Addie the whole story. She told her how her mother bargained for greater power, how she betrothed Beth to the son of the demon with whom she made the bargain, and how Aztos had come to her on her eighteenth birthday. She told her how she married Aztos to ensure her mother could keep her soul, and how she had fallen in love with him. She even told him about Malachai, and how he’d disappeared after offering to give himself to Lucifer to save Aztos and her mother.
“Sharon always could get herself into trouble,” Addie groaned disapprovingly. “That girl was always a wild child.”
“She said she was only doing it because you and Grandpa were disappointed in her for not being a more powerful witch,” Beth explained. “So don’t be too hard on her.”
“Your grandfather and I have always loved her,” Addie argued. “We’ve never been disappointed in her for anything other than her behavior. She was always impetuous and she got herself into trouble more times than I can count.”
“Well, she thought you were disappointed in her because she wasn’t as powerful as you and Grandpa,” Beth explained. “So she was apparently willing to do whatever it took to make you proud of her.”
“Oh, dear. I had no idea. I’m sorry she did that to you. She had no right to do that. And that’s exactly what I’m talking about. She doesn’t think before she does stuff!”
“It’s okay, Grandma. I understand why she did it, to a point. But that’s not the reason I’m here. I have to get her and Aztos back. I have to find a way to save them, and to save Malachai.”
“You don’t think it might be too late, already? If that fallen angel was going to Lucifer to turn himself in, he may already be…”
“Stop!” Beth interrupted her. “Don’t say it, Grandma. I can’t deal with that. I don’t even want to think about it.”
“You do care about that boy, don’t you?”
“I do, Grandma. Malachai is my best friend.”
“But you won’t give him up to save your husband, who you claim to love?”
“I do love Aztos, Grandma. But it’s not right to just hand Malachai over. I have to do something. Malachai is a good person. He doesn’t deserve to lose his soul just because he got caught in the middle like this.”
“Well, the thing is, Beth, our powers don’t typically work on supernatural beings. We can’t harm demons or angels.”
“But Mom was able to heal Malachai,” Beth argued.
“Yes, but he’s a fallen angel,” Addie reminded her. “He’s mortal, now. At least, to a point.”
“Oh, that’s right. Damn! Grandma, there has to be a way!”
“There’s one possibility,” Addie said quietly, leaning toward Beth as though she was afraid someone might hear. “But it’s really dangerous, and I’m afraid you might get hurt.”
“Grandma, please,” Beth begged. “I’ll do anything. I don’t care what happens to me.”
“Alright. It’s rumored there are four weapons that exist in the world that can kill any creature, even demons and angels. If you could locate one…”
“Grandma! I think I have one!” Beth gasped.
“What? How would you have…”
“Aztos gave it to me. He wanted me to use it to kill Malachai. He got it from his father. It was called… umm… the Dagger of…”
Beth paused, trying to remember the name.
“Xamien?” Addie asked, her eyes wide with shock.
“That’s it! I have it hidden at my house! But I thought it only killed angels.”
“No, it’s supposed to kill anything – angels, demons… even Gods.”
“Gods? But I thought there was only one God.”
“Long story, don’t worry about it. If you have that dagger, you might be able to save them.”
“How can I even get to Hell in the first place? I don’t even know where they’re keeping them.”
“Take me to your house. You get the dagger, and I’ll get you there.”
“What? How?”
“We don’t have time to waste, Beth. Let’s go!”
Addie yanked Beth up off the couch and the two of them headed out to Sharon’s car. On the way, Addie grabbed a knapsack, and the two of them sped toward Beth’s house to collect the dagger.
When they arrived, Beth reached under the porch to move the stone. She scooped away the dirt with her hand and located the dagger. Addie gasped aloud when she saw it.
“That’s the one,” Addie confirmed. “I saw a drawing of it in a book once.”
“Alright, what do I do, Grandma?” Beth asked.
“You’ll have to hit them right in the heart. It’s the only way to kill them. That thing will injure them no matter where it hits them, but the only way to make sure they don’t get up is to pierce their heart with it. Don’t forget!”
“I won’t forget, Grandma.”
“Alright. I suppose your husband has touched that thing, since he gave it to you.”
“Yes, he’s touched it.”
“Alright, let me touch it. I should be able to at least find out where he is.”
Beth held the dagger out in her hands, and Addie placed her hand on top of it, closing her eyes. She gasped, and her eyes popped open.
“Oh, Beth,” Addie lamented. “You have to get there fast. They’re going to kill him! Your husband!”
“What? You saw him? Oh, no! No, no, no! I have to go!”
“Come here. Stand in this circle,” Addie demanded.
She drew a rough circle in the grass with her toe, getting grass stains on her white sneakers. Beth stood in the center. Addie opened her knapsack and took out a vial of oil. The yanked the cork from the vial and poured the foul smelling liquid into the slight depression made by the circle she’d drawn. Then she took a step back.
“Are you ready?” Addie asked Beth.
Beth nodded, and said, “Yes! Please hurry!”
“When you get there, you have to run down a hallway to your right. There’s a demon guard standing outside the door. Remember, thrust the dagger straight into his heart. Don’t miss! Take his keys, unlock the door, and get your husband out. You’re on your own from there.”
“Thank you, Grandma,” Beth said, smiling weakly at her grandmother.
Addie nodded. Then she closed her eyes and lifted her hands palm up toward the sky. She started to chant. The wind picked up, and Addie’s silver hair began to flutter around her. The oil in the circle around Beth burst into flames. Addie’s chanting grew louder, and the flames grew taller. Finally the circle inside the flames turned black, and Beth felt the familiar nausea set in – the same nausea she felt whenever Aztos transported her somewhere. She blinked, and when her eyes opened, she was standing in a dark corridor facing the wall. She remembered her grandmother’s words, and she turned to the right.
She could hardly see. The onl
y light came from a torch, which hung on the wall in a bracket. It cast frightening shadows on the floor, and Beth crept slowly down the hallway. When she reached the end, she peered around the corner. She could see the guard nodding off in a chair just outside a huge wooden door.
Very carefully, she snuck up on the guard. When she reached him, she removed the dagger from its sheath, and then she thrust the dagger straight into his heart. He grunted, and she heard a sound like sparks and electricity arcing. There was a bright white flash from where the dagger pierced his chest, and he slumped forward onto the floor. She sheathed the dagger and fastened the sheath to her belt.
Quickly, Beth grabbed his keys. They jingled as she tried them in the door one at a time. Finally, she heard the lock click as one of the keys managed to open it. She threw open the door, and she was horrified to see Aztos lying face down on the floor. He was motionless.
“No!” Beth shrieked, terrified she was too late.
She bent down beside him, and she gently turned him over. He grunted, and she smiled at him, delighted he was still alive.
“Aztos! Oh, thank goodness! You’re alive!” she said gently. “Can you stand? I have to get you out of here!”
“Elizabeth?” he asked, reaching up to touch her face. “How did you get here? I thought I would never see you again.”
“I’m here. That’s all that matters. I’ll tell you about it later. We have to go,” Beth insisted. “Put your arm around me. You’ll have to tell me where to go.”
Aztos groaned as he put his arm around Beth’s shoulders and she helped him to his feet. He limped slowly, and his breathing was labored.
“We have to get to the other end of the corridor,” Aztos said. “Malachai is in the other cell.”
“Malachai? He’s here?”
Aztos coughed, and blood splattered on the wall in front of him. Beth wiped the blood from his chin with the bottom of her shirt.
“He’s here, yes. They’re going to kill him.”
“Oh, no! What can we do?” Beth gasped.
“If we can get him out of his cell, he can…” Aztos coughed again, and more blood splattered against the wall.
“Let’s just get to him quickly,” Beth suggested, and she struggled to keep Aztos on his feet as they ambled down the corridor.