When I make it to the courtyard, I realize that inside everything was cleaned up already. Outside, not so much. There is blood everywhere and even a few bodies remaining. I have to hold back my vomit. I remind myself that Aiden can’t be dead because hellfire is needed to kill him. That’s when the worry really strikes me. Here in hell, if the rebels had wanted, they could have taken him to the hellfire and thrown him in.
Before I even know what I’m doing, I’m racing back inside of the castle and down to where the servants sleep. I bust down the mechanical room door and drop myself down the hole inside it that leads to the tunnel that takes people out to the portal I originally came to hell in months ago. Only I don’t go down that tunnel. I go past it to where I was warned never to go because of the things I’d see and never be able to forget. It’s the only place that I know for sure hellfire exists and the nearest hellfire I assume there is to the castle.
I don’t have to go that far, though, because I come across a dead changeling, then another, then two more and a barely breathing Aiden leaning up against the stone wall of the cave-like hall. It’s dark but the splotches of hellfire seeping from the floor emit an orange glow. It also stinks. I realize that the bodies sprawled out around here are burning from the hellfire splotches oozing from the rocks. It smells like burning flesh, which trust me, you never want to smell.
Aiden’s eyes are shut and the sound of his heart so weak that I wonder how it’s still beating. He doesn’t notice my presence or if he does he doesn’t show it. I check the hall for any living changelings that could jump me but I don’t see any and decide that Aiden must have taken them all out. If he hadn’t, then he’d probably be dead now.
I glance back at Aiden. A pool of blood surrounds him and I see that there is a blade sticking out from his stomach and another through his thigh. I rush to his side and pull them both out effortlessly.
“Aiden?” I ask in a whisper.
He doesn’t move. I doubt he’s conscious. I’ve never seen Aiden so weak, never imagined he could be so weak. Sure, I seen him get stabbed with brass once but that wasn’t nearly the same as this. It was scarier, sure, because I thought he was dead, but this is worse because I know he’s suffering. I know the demons he’s responsible for are suffering. I know he’s weak and alone. Alone because I left him. Alone because I couldn’t build up the strength and courage to stay with him and help him.
Why I blame myself I don’t know because deep down I know I made the right choice to leave. If I hadn’t, I would likely be dead now. I pull Aiden over my shoulder and I head back towards where I came from, avoiding the hellfire splotches.
I find the first guard I can and they take Aiden from me hastily, relief filling the man’s features. “Where was he?” he asks.
“Down the hole in the mechanical room where the servants sleep. Near the hellfire. I think they were going to throw him in,” I ramble, beginning to shake as the realization of how dire this situation is sinks in.
The black-haired changeling inspects Aiden’s wounds. More changeling guards come rushing around the corner as the sound of our voices carries far with the castle being so quiet and everyone being on high alert.
Terry is one of the guards I immediately recognize from the group. He looks relieved to see Aiden. So much so, that it takes him a moment to notice me. When he does, he swallows hard and scowls my way. “What are you doing here?” he demands.
Since this is so unlike how a changeling should act towards a pure, some of the changelings look to Terry skeptically.
“I know I shouldn’t be here but I am so get over it,” I say defending myself. How much longer would Aiden have been down there if I didn’t find him? Why did nobody think to look down there for him in the first place?
Probably because no one is supposed to know that that hole in the mechanical room exists. Why give people the knowledge of the whereabouts of the only thing that can kill Aiden?
“He was found downstairs in a storage room someone forgot to check. The hellfire weapon was used against him, but the fire did not reach his heart. He needs to heal. Recruit trained changelings for cover,” the black hair man lies. I notice he glances to Terry.
The guards start clearing out, leaving me, Terry and the black-haired man.
“You must never speak of the place below the castle,” the man says to me. “It is one of the castle's biggest, most important secrets.”
Terry speaks, “You found him down there?” he asks the man who looks to me.
“No, she did. I assumed they’d taken him with them when they retreated. I thought that’s why they retreated, they got what they came for. Apparently not. It was a ploy to make us only think that.”
Terry looks to me curiously and then with full respect he nods formerly to me. “You have no idea what you’ve done for the demons, Megan. Such a thing is greatly respected and honored around here. Without you finding Aiden, we could’ve sent our forces out of hell to attack the rebels for no reason, which would have ended in many of our men dead for no reason, and Aiden would suffer below. Eventually one of them would come back to see if what happened to the rebels who were to end him and they’d have easily finished Aiden off then.”
I gulp.
“Johnathon, Aiden will need days to recover from his hellfire wounds. He won’t be conscious for at least a couple days. Go find his will. Whoever he has stated on it will need to cover for him until he can wake up.” Terry looks worried to see who it is Aiden assigned to this job.
Jonathon takes off, leaving Terry with Aiden. Terry motions for me to follow him. We go into the nearest empty room that has a bed and set Aiden down on it. Terry instructs me to remove his shirt and jeans while he goes to find Aiden some souls.
Jonathon and Terry return at the same time, both looking disgruntled.
“Megan,” Terry speaks very quietly. “Jonathon has found Aiden’s will.”
I nod for him to continue.
“Aiden has designated you to take his place shall he be badly injured or killed,” Terry says through a breath.
I continue staring at Terry as if he hasn’t at all spoken. Me? What? I don’t know anything about anything. I’ve only been a demon for a couple of months. How am I to run the whole society of demons when I don’t even know how to be a demon?
Jonathon hands me a short letter.
Megan,
If you’re reading this, then something has happened to me, likely I’m dead. As of late, there have been a consistent number of attacks on the castle and so I have been almost expecting this day to come. I’ve changed this letter out four times today trying to get it right, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t make things right no matter how I put these words on this paper.
As part of being a man in my position, I am required to assign someone to take my place. I have no living children or living first cousins which means that I have the ability to choose whomever I want. I have chosen you because I know you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit. I also know that though you might not be able to make all the decisions needed, you will however be smart enough to ask Terry for anything you need. He watched my father lead for an incredible amount of time. He knows more about leading than I’ll likely ever know myself. Trust him.
Although because of laws I can’t make a changeling a leader, that doesn’t mean that he can’t be an advisor of sorts. Remember this. You’ll need his opinions even when you don’t realize it. Something you’ll need to know is that although Terry is incredibly loyal to my family and the demons, he is not controlled by the pures as most changelings are. He doesn’t know I know and doesn’t need to know that you know, but it is good knowledge to have all the same.
Anything you need, Terry will be able to find. He is more a father to me than my own father ever was and I want you to understand that he will always support you because he knows how I feel about you.
I must admit, I thought about changing my decision when I saw you with Mason last night, because I w
anted you to have a better life than this one I am now damning you to. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to change the name on my will because I have to do what’s best for my people. My people always come first. This is something you’ll learn. So I am sorry for this but I also wish you the best.
P.S.
Megan, Mason is brilliant and kind. He is a good man. Although it broke my heart to see you on Terry’s island holding him so close to you where I should’ve been, I approve and I understand. I want you to know that I’m sorry for the pain I’ve put you through in the past and the pain I continue to put you through even now after my death.
Aiden
I finish reading the letter, my hands crinkling the paper. The first thing that hits me should be the last of my worries. Aiden saw me with Mason last night. I check the date on the paper. He’s rewritten this note just to tell me that he approves and it’s alright and he’s sorry. Only Aiden isn’t dead. I find myself feeling guilty.
I only have to handle this all for a couple days. But then what? What if we’re attacked again? What if Aiden does die? What if Terry dies? What if I die? I can’t let myself think any of these things. When I look back at the letter in my hands, it's ripped and wrinkled from my grasp.
Both men stare at me. The sight of an unconscious and clearly in pain Aiden snaps me back into reality. Just seeing him like this breaks my heart even though I don't have the right to be heartbroken right now. Not after what I've done to this man in front of me. Guilt sticks its tendrils into me and I feel a sharp pang in my stomach. I've been so childish. Aiden and I were hardly apart and I end up making out with his brother.
Terry removes the letter from my shaking hands as the other guard works on getting Aiden to consume the souls he's brought with him.
Aiden doesn't move. He looks dead.
“He won't take it.”
Terry’s eyes move from me to Aiden. “Aiden, take the damn soul, son.” Terry nearly begs this. He drops his usual facade and begins talking to Aiden as if he's his own son. “You need to take the soul. Your duty here isn't over with, kid. I know shits been sideways lately, but you need to man up and come back, take responsibility for what you've done.”
“Can he hear you?” I ask dumbfounded. Aiden looks seriously dead.
“Of course. He's being stubborn and won't take these souls for some reason,” Terry explains. Terry looks worried. Terry isn't worried often. “It's like he wants to stay unconscious. That he'll fire, if it reaches his veins, it'll go to his heart. If it goes to his heart, he'll die.”
Panic hits me like a train.
“It's like he has a death wish,” Terry observes, eying Aiden carefully as if trying to read his mind or something. “But that isn't Aiden.”
“Leave,” I decide. “Let me try. Alone.”
Terry doesn't argue because as far as he knows Aiden and I are intensely in love. He and the other changeling leave the room quickly. How long until the fire reaches his heart? I have no idea if I have seconds, minutes, or hours.
“Aiden, please wake up,” I plead.
To my surprise he blinks. What is he trying to tell me?
“I'm sorry about Mason and I. I wanted to tell you but you took a trip to crazy town and… I was scared, Aiden. I know I should've told you but we were broken up.”
Aiden’s jaw clenches and his muscles tense.
“Can you speak?” I ask.
Nothing.
“Look, the most important thing to you is your people. They're your responsibility. They need you. Forget me, forget everything else. You're a man of loyalty. Take the souls for your people.”
His eyes close.
“This place is in ruins, Aiden. You should see it. So many have lost their lives. If you leave and give up, then I'll have to fix it. I have no idea how to run an entire species. I barely know how to be a demon. They need you. You're a natural at this.” I notice I've begun crying.
Just when I'm about to give up and call Terry back in to try again, Aiden takes the first soul. I breathe a sigh of relief and my tears go from tears of sadness, worry, and grief to ones of relief and joy.
Chapter 12
Once Aiden has finished with the souls, he lays on his back and stares up at the roof. “Get Terry,” he groans.
I run out into the hallway and wave at him from down the hall. He comes running upon seeing the look on my face. He's aware Aiden has taken the souls. He pats me on the back on his way by me and says ‘good job’. I haven't done anything worthy of these words.
Aiden barks at Terry, “Call the changelings to order. Get them all here. Every last one. I don't care who they are guarding. They're needed here.”
Aiden is far from healed. He lays there on the bed looking barely conscious. His eyelids droop and his cuts still bleed.
Terry nods.
“Find Forrest. Send him to scout out the rebels’ hideout. We're advancing tomorrow. What are our numbers?” Aiden continues professionally.
Terry rants off a few numbers that I don't understand.
“Fuck,” Aiden sneers in an angry voice. I don't think I've ever heard him swear nor yell really. “As of now, the royals are not to have guards. They're to be in hiding until further notice.”
Terry nods again and then leaves the room. Aiden turns to me next. “Megan, you'll need to be my voice, since for obvious reasons Terry cannot. I am not too badly injured. I will be alright by tomorrow. Alright enough to speak to Tartarus and ensure everything is fine. Until then, if someone asks you a question, you're going to have to answer to the best of your ability. If Terry is around, in secret, consult him. I have many people who can take most of my workload for the day. You only need to worry about satisfying the people.”
“Wow, I'm so useless,” I murmur, feeling bad that I can't do more for him.
“No, Megan, I've given you the utmost important job. The one most easily screwed up. Don't take it lightly,” Aiden warns. He wipes an arm across his sweaty forehead.
“We should talk about what happened between Mason and I,” I bring up reluctantly.
Aiden squints at me as if trying to understand something. “Megan, there are far, far more important things to worry about at this moment. For example, the demon species. Please, let's not dwell on such pettiness. Not now. We’ll speak of this later.”
Of course. I feel so naive, childish. It's only now that I really start to see how much of a child I've been acting like. Aiden, if he didn't hate me after seeing me with Mason, certainly hates me now. I get it suddenly, all at once. None of this has ever been about me like I've made it seem. I'm being selfish. I'm being immature.
Right now, things are about the people. The people who are probably terrified.
“Megan, I'm not upset about you and Mason, alright? I understand completely. You've done nothing wrong. I am just angry at myself for letting you go and falling off the ladder. My career isn't ideal and you mustn't feel bad for realizing that you can have something more, that you can have a better life than I can give you. It's completely acceptable. I understand. Now go. It's not about you or I right now. It's about the people. If you can't do this, then tell me now so I can get someone else to do this.” Aiden winces with each word like it's causing him mass amounts of agony.
“Are you alright?” I ask him.
For the first time, Aiden scowls at me. “No. Of course not. I'm in agony both physically and mentally, but it's not about me right now. Go.”
I wince as I realize I've done it again. I leave the room in a hurry but keep a smile on my face as I enter the hall. The halls have become busier now as they fill with changelings from all over. Even a few pures roam the halls. The first person to stop me is a petite blonde-haired pure. I can tell she's a pure because she's neither in a guard’s uniform or a servant’s. She's dressed in business attire.
“Megan, ma’am. I'm looking for Aiden. As you can imagine I have business to speak to him about,” she says professionally, like I should know who she is and what she wants. It s
till amazes me how people just know me. Has my picture been tossed around between the demons, or what?
“Oh, uh, Aiden is actually busy right now. As you can imagine, he has tons of business to attend to. I'm to take any and all questions for him unless I deem myself unsuitable to answer,” I tell her as professionally as I can. I hope that I've answered her to Aiden’s liking.
The girl eyes me but then relaxes and says. “The royals are uncomfortable, ma'am. They don't like being cooped up and want to know when they can come home.”
I eye her. They're uncomfortable? Do they realize they were evacuated because their lives were in danger? Do they realize that many, many demons and humans alike have died?
I'm unsure how to answer this without sounding completely rude. “Tell them that Aiden will have them comfortable again as soon as he can. He’s doing everything he can.”
The woman looks unsatisfied with my words but walks away.
A man stops me shortly after. I recognize him. My gut drops. Adison. The guy who showed up at Aiden’s while I was still a halfling and brought Aiden new guards and a soul. The memory brings back a feeling that I haven't felt in a long time. The exact feeling I felt when Aiden consumed that soul, when I thought he'd killed the human, hits me all over again and I want to puke. When I was a halfling, just the thought of ending a human life for pleasure or whatever you'd like to call it, was sickening. Now I end a human life every two or three days. A piece of my humanity is returned to me momentarily. “Yes?” I ask Adison.
He smiles evilly, his crooked teeth disturbing me. “Love, it's been a while,” he greets me. “I have business with Aiden. Where can I find him.”
Changeling (Black Petals Book 2) Page 16