by JN Moon
But if I wasn’t human before a vampire, what the fuck was that thing she called me? Asmodeus? And they all knew? Torn between wanting to believe her and not wanting it to be true, I rationalised that I would embrace this now. I was something more, Emidius had said as much years ago. I guessed she had saved me in the hope that I would stay as I was and not become something more malevolent, more evil. I would use my knowledge, have full belief in my ability, and take down this little shit of a demon. Orion was all that mattered, and Tim and Anne. We’d better be quick before he recruited more to join his demonic army.
I wandered without looking, suddenly realising that Sabian and Luke stood staring at me, Tim unconscious in Luke’s grip. Luke had shifted back to human form again. I remained in awe of him. I mean a dragon!
“Tim’s unconscious at last, but we haven’t been able to get him to shift back to human. I’m hoping Althea will have something to help,” Luke murmured.
“Destroying Orion seems the best option. If we can do that then maybe Tim will revert back”
“That’s easier said than done. We weren’t exactly successful the last time. What makes you think we will be now?”
“I have an idea.”
Luke carried Tim back wrapped in some blanket that Sabian had brought. That’s the thing with shifters, always needing spare clothes.
Where Anne was, we had no idea. Everyone looked sullen and worn out.
“Althea, I have a favour to ask you. Could you use a spell to contain Tim in sleep whilst we leave?”
She nodded. Sabian had placed him on the fainting couch, apt perhaps, but the closest thing in this place to a sofa.
As Althea and Damien worked on their spell I went back upstairs. I could still smell her scent, however faint. I drifted off in my imagination until I heard a soft tapping at the door.
Marcus came in. Was he my friend or was he my warden, making sure I don’t veer off the path too far? No trust in others at this time was particularly sickening, but I braced myself. I could die tonight, even though I’d been told I couldn’t. Maybe that was metaphorical.
“We’re as ready as we’re going to be,” he said softly.
I nodded and followed him downstairs. Althea and Damien had exceeded themselves. Tim lay on the couch, half man, half jaguar covered in a blanket. A ghostly mist hung around him and salt lined the area in a circle along with herbs.
I hoped for the other tenants around that it held him. To me, he looked scary but to a mortal, I dread to think.
“I have something to pick up on the way,” I mumbled as I got ready to leave.
Within minutes, we were piling out of the place. Mabel’s house sat outside the city, but before we could hire coaches, I had to grab something.
“The talisman? You think it will help?” Marcus questioned.
I nodded a reply, I couldn’t really be bothered to answer. Even if Marcus was my warden, I loved him as a friend.
The time loop remained intact. Putting my hand in carefully at the base of streaming light, I wrapped my fingers around the strange little amulet. At that instant I received a shock, a bolt which hurtled me back several feet, landing on my arse.
Claude said nothing and gave me a hand up. They all looked to one another, I wasn’t interested in talking. Killing was the only thing I needed to focus on.
Who cared anyway? Maybe it would help, maybe not, but it was the best I could do.
When we arrived at Mabel’s house, it sat empty. He was out and as we searched the place, Althea picked up the magical book, grabbed Damien, and together they scanned through it, picking up as much information as they could that would help us rid the world of this fiend.
We accounted for most of the bodies. They were left as they were on the floor.
“Whilst he’s away, Damien and I are going to set up a spell, a trap using a pentagram and some herbs we gathered. Someone needs to help us. I’ll summon him here trapping him inside the circled pentagram,” Althea added.
“How are you going to draw that?” Claude questioned.
“I’m a witch and I brought provisions!”
She unzipped the small backpack and pulled out chalk and salt while Damien cleared the furniture to one side of the room.
Starting off with a large circle she told him, “Quick now, mix the rest of our blood from the ritual with cooled down boiled water. Then, using this brush, I want you to go around the inside of the circle, and if there’s time, the pentagram. Trish, grab as many candles as you can, bring them in, and light them. Kyle, take this incense and start smudging the room.”
Kyle replied, “Ok, what’s smudging?”
“Wafting, Kyle. Waft it around to purify the air.”
“Sabian, take these herbs—sage, rosemary, and lavender—and place them at the points of the pentagram. We should be able to trap him, at least to drain some of his power!”
“Good,” I said. I unsheathed the sword and swung it around. In my pocket I could feel the heat of the talisman. I stopped and pulled it out.
The symbol on it glowed. Wrapping it close in my fingers, I remembered what Jamie had told me and in my mind’s eye I saw him before me, his wide grin, and mischievous eyes.
A burst of energy shot through me, “Anthony! Are you alright?” Althea called.
Too stunned to answer at first, I realised they were all staring at me open mouthed.
Althea came over and I held out my hand for her to see the talisman.
“Good, this is a good sign indeed.”
I said nothing but allowed my mind to focus on the bubbling warm sensations running through my body as I watched her, aided by Damien, to summon the demon.
Then a silence fell and the room filled with adrenalin and anticipation. Everyone stood as statues, white faces, hardly a sound from breath. In the distance the faint sound of wind was heard, quickly growing louder and louder...
And he came, raging and hollowing. He was pissed off, his face contorting his fine features, skin now ashen grey. And those eyes. Pure white, narrowed evil eyes. He spat at me, “You think you can hold me! Fools, I will tear each and every one of you apart!”
The time for talking was over. I was going to take his head and that was it. As I stepped over the circle, Althea grabbed me back.
“You cannot enter there; you are safe outside the circle.”
I didn’t care for safe anymore. Only blood, only vengeance. Stepping in, I was distracted as Anne flew in, in all her demonic glory.
Orion lunged at me as my foot almost crossed the circle. I sneered back at him and pushed him. When I touched his shoulder a bolt of energy blasted out of me and into him, sending him tumbling backwards and landing on his arse.
He shot me an incredulous stare and growled, whilst mumbling away to himself, but I turned my back on him. A creature as base as him would find that the biggest insult. He was safe for now and I needed to help the others with what was once their friend.
As Trish, Marcus, and the others tried to fend Anne off, Damien grabbed the book that Orion had been reading and franticly started thumbing through it.
Orion laughed. “You’ll never manage that.” He sent a wisp of flame from his hand, but it back-fired once it hit the edge of the circle and bounced back onto him. His face contorted, hateful and eyes small, and he threw himself at the edge of his confined circle. But each time he just bounced back, which made him angrier. And made me smile.
I left Anne to the others and held out my hand with the talisman glowing. This got Orion’s attention, fool that he was.
“I know who you are,” he spat at me. “You are a demon the same as I, and yet you believe you are so much better. You’re not, you’ve been fooled.”
“Ha! So, it was you. I knew it couldn’t be true.”
“What was me? You are a demon prince, I knew that. I felt that when I first saw you. I saw the pretence around you. I saw through the lies and I see your truth. You protect humanity, you think, because you thought you used to be a part of th
em. But you didn’t, and if humanity knew about you, they would burn you to ashes without a thought. You protect those who damn you to Hell. You are a fool, Asmodeus.”
Marcus whipped around hearing that, and eyed me for a response, to read my mind.
I shook my head, and thought only of the power Jamie had given me. Glowing hot, the inscription on the talisman danced above the amulet, exploded along with it, illuminating the whole place. The noise was deafening, booming with an explosion of fire.
We all covered our eyes, and after a few seconds, after the stars in front of my eyes cleared, there stood before us, Emidius, Jamie, and the two other children—Orion’s kin.
In his circle he grinned, sure to be rescued now by his brother and sister. Emidius hadn’t taken on solid human form. Similar to Rachel, she appeared almost transparent. She looked like a chunk of star-filled night in the shape of a human. Jamie looked like a man, though he, too, wasn’t vampire nor human. Gradually she became more recognisable, but not completely. The children, now grown into young adults like Orion, stood perfectly still beside Jamie.
I couldn’t look him in the eye, if I did that I would crumble. Losing her and Nathaniel, whose body lay there on the other side of the room, would be too much for me to hold in. Relief washed through me now, seeing them here.
I wasn’t about to let them take the pleasure of killing Orion and brazenly I stepped into the circle, ignoring the pleas of the others. Orion watched me calmly, his lips upturned at the edges and his eyes wide and shining.
“That’s right, brother, come...” He smirked and opened his arms to welcome me.
Walking slowly, I whispered, “I know who I am. Who are you?”
“Prince of Hell, come...”
My demeanour was calm as I stood eye to eye with him, posing no threat, and he did the same. Silence hung like a heavy fog. I dropped the sword to the floor, which made a loud clang as it hit the surface and I touched his face delicately. I tilted my head and went to kiss him. His eyes widened in shock and I heard his heart speed up in excitement. Running my hand slowly down his chest, I edged closer, my nails trailing his skin, down then up. As our lips met, my instinct took me and I plunged my nails through his chest, pounded past his rib cage and gripped, then pulled out his beating heart.
He stood for a moment, encased in the magic that he was, I put his heart to my mouth and drank his evil blood. As I held it in my hand, I saw fire and then fire shot from my hand, incinerating his heart in seconds, turning it to ash. He laughed and fell to the floor dead.
Turning, I made no eye contact, I simply bent down and picked up the sword.
I lunged it at his neck as he lay there on the floor, and a bolt of flame shot out. I stood back as his body burned quick and bright leaving only dust.
“We’ll see you soon, brother,” Gabriel, Orion’s sister spoke and I turned, taken aback, and tried to see into her soul.
“It seems we weren’t needed here after all,” Emidius’s voice echoed out.
“Why did you take that form?” I blurted. Although relief gushed through me, I still held myself in. I wasn’t keen on public displays of emotion. And also, I really wanted to know.
“I don’t always take human form, seeing as I’m not human. You did well, but evil still resides here and those people, we need to clean up the chaos left by all of this.” She gestured her hand to the room. Althea clutched the book, shaking alongside Damien who put his arm around her shoulder.
“The portal, is it gone?”
“It has,” was the only answer Emidius gave.
“And you’ll help us get back?”
Emidius didn’t answer, so Jamie did. “We will, yes. What of her?” he asked, pointing to Anne.
Looking over at her now, she was as she had been before Orion had twisted her into some demonic creature. She was restored.
Trish turned to Kyle, and then as no reaction came, to Luke who held out his arms to her.
“Tim!” Sabian cried. “In all the gods’ names, I hope he’s alive.” With that he shot out the house. I wandered slowly over to the body of my friend, Nathaniel, and picked him up. His body had started to decompose, but love is stronger.
“We can bury him,” Jamie spoke warmly and came over. “You know, we’ve been through a lot and I’m glad to see you’ve made it this far. Let’s bury our friend and I’ll take you back.”
Carrying Nathaniel over to Emidius, I asked, “Can you not heal him, as you did Marcus?”
Her face, stern as ever as she replied flatly, “No!”
Before I could answer Jamie turned to Claude. “I am sorry for your loss, your friends. Will you return to our time? I can’t imagine that you’d want to stay here.”
Claude only nodded. With every moment he looked more lost.
A smile from Marcus. “I will take Claude with me, I have many things to show him. So much!”
“We want to come to your time also, not the alternate reality we came from,” Kyle added.
“That doesn’t exist now,” Emidius responded. “You would have to go with Anthony or stay here. Come.” She eyed Althea who continued clutching the tome of a book. “Be careful with that. I will know if you abuse it and the consequences will offer no second chance.” Pointing to Mabel’s body on the floor, she said, “Or you will end up like her.”
Marcus shot her a look but held his tongue. Jamie and I went outside carrying Nathaniel who was by now quite pungent.
“Do you think we should look for consecrated ground?” I asked. I didn’t really know if my friend would want that.
Jamie frowned, looking at me. “Why wouldn’t he?”
“I wouldn’t care for myself. He wasn’t exactly, pious.”
“Either way, let’s ask Marcus or Claude.”
We didn’t have to. They came out carrying the bodies of our friends, then Emidius appeared beside them.
“There is no reason to go to such lengths for your human follies. I will get rid of their bodies.”
I was the only one who didn’t look at her in horror.
Shaking her head, she said, “You think by burying them their souls will be saved and enter the gates of Heaven? Have you learned nothing? Marcus, especially you! There is no God out there.” She waved her hand as she spoke. “Your divinity is within you. Be you, vampire, lycan...whatever. You can access that at any time, but most of you are too foolish and so restricted by your primitive minds you only realise this at the point of death. Of course, Anthony knows this.” She sniggered.
Emidius burnt the bodies in a blinding silver light, instantaneously. I had to hold on until I was home, back in my flat, safe to erupt over the loss that was bursting to explode inside of me.
Waiting for the others to gather their belongings seemed like eternity. Eventually we met up outside that tiny tea shop and I saw no portal. Marcus and Jamie stood beside me. Marcus wrapped his arm around my shoulder, that older brother much like Nathaniel was in a way.
Closing my eyes as the light flashed across our path and the wind whirled around, sweeping fast beside me until stillness arrived. Staggering slightly, I opened my eyes and drank in that sweet clean air. Looking away, I couldn’t make eye contact, let alone speak. I needed to get home, my body conflicted, relief sweeping over me but grief welling up inside of the thought of my lost friends, my love.
I turned to leave hearing Marcus and Jamie calling to say they’d be in touch, and there, the pleasant familiar noises from my reality.
Stopping suddenly, I looked at the others. We all heard it, far off. The flapping of enormous wings...But I wasn’t go to wait and hang around. I needed time to mourn my friends.
After all I’ve seen, been through I know some truths remain. On facing death, only the memories, the feelings of love remain in our hearts. Not the petty arguments, not the people who wronged us, just love. It was as if I felt Rachel sweep by me with those thoughts.
And secondly, maybe she was right. And I would seek out the truth about who I really am. Asm
odeus, one of the princes of Hell.
The End.
I hope you enjoyed this. If you did please take a few minutes to leave me some stars, a few words for a review. Thank You x Amazon UK & Amazon COM
Author Notes
Oh my, time travel! I based this on the theory of parallel universe which didn’t make it any easier to be honest. My editor and I worked tirelessly to ensure that there were no loop holes (pardon the pun!!) Like, what if Marcus sees himself back in the 1860s? At that point I thought I might not write with time travel again because it gave me headache but it was necessary to the story. And I love theorizing about these subjects, though I don’t properly understand them.
I researched a lot about Victorian Bath, in Somerset. The place mentioned- the slum area, the river full of sewage that flooded into the slums are horribly accurate. I didn’t want to just focus on the splendour of Victorian Britain. I wondered, if as a vampire with heightened senses, this would perhaps be all the more shocking, seeing the children in such poverty-stricken situations with no hope of getting out of poverty- living hand to mouth. And for Anthony, knowing he cannot help, in fact as a vampire you are what they fear most. It certainly makes me appreciate the 21st century.
The Children, of the Fallen was a natural progression from book 2 and I knew I wanted to write more on them, and still do.
As for Claude, Eliza, Rebecca, and William they came about in the weirdest way, which I’d like to share.
I used to suffer from insomnia and one night (last year) after not sleeping until about one in the morning, I woke up at three-thirty AM, after having the strangest dream of masked people walking up my street, and me seeing them accidentally. They were dressed in Victorian finery, but...all in black with small masks. I did know I had to write it down, even though due to my day job I have to get up at five in the morning.
Marcus came back much to reader demand, and he does make a good ally with Anthony. His larger than life personality is a sharp contrast to Anthony, who though powerful is more reticent by comparison.