“Yes, but he means something to you. That’s good enough for me,” Alazar replied darkly.
“Why do you still want to hurt me?” she sneered, trying to understand where his head was at.
Rayan’s final words to Alazar came back to him as he watched her body become rigid and distant. “If you kill her, you will be damned forever. You will never know peace. Regret will be your only friend.” After experiencing peace, however briefly, by her side, it was entirely possible that Rayan’s prophecy was correct. Could he live without peace? He had thus far and he was still standing. As tempting as her power had been, he would rather live with regret and be free from her tyranny.
“I would rather live out my final days cold and alone, than have to beg for your forgiveness to receive one moment of compassion. I refuse to give myself to you. You willingly went to Lucifer to ease his pain, yet you rebuff me when I need you,” Alazar snapped.
“You just tried to kill me,” she replied bluntly.
“Lucifer did kill you, yet I have no doubt that forgave him,” Alazar hissed. With that, Alazar waved his hand like a magician performing a slight of hand trick, and bowed.
Anjali watched Pete climb up the window ledge with renewed purpose.
“No,” she whispered.
“Good luck picking up the pieces, Destroyer,” Alazar nodded to her and disappeared from the room.
Chapter 9
Pete mindlessly pulled himself up onto the windowsill. “I have to. I have to tell them,” he muttered as he lumbered to the opening.
Anjali quickly became Annie and lunged forward to grab Pete. He was about to step over the edge when she snagged the back of his jacket and kept him from moving.
“Pete, no, you have to stop. You can’t end your life like this,” she yelled, snatching his arm and tugging at him.
She was about to forcefully pull him back from the ledge when she heard Derick’s voice over the walkie-talkie. She had ignored it while dealing with Alazar, but now his voice was louder. She swore when she realized Derick was in the hallway.
“Derick, help me,” she had little choice but to ask for his help. She wasn’t sure if she could break Alazar’s hold on him once she got Pete off the ledge. Having felt his temptation first hand, she knew how alluring it was.
Pete was agitated and didn’t want to be pulled away from his objective. He kicked wildly at Annie, forcing her to let go of him.
“I have to do this. They need to know,” Pete growled. His eyes were vacant.
Derick came rushing into the room as Annie grabbed Pete around the hips and pulled him from the window. Pete tumbled to the ground but immediately jumped to his feet. He retaliated by swinging his forearm into Annie’s face. She recoiled, but leaped forward to throw her arms against his chest and hold him back. Derick’s flashlight blinded her and ruined her night vision, but she managed to keep Pete from climbing back up.
“What the hell is going on? Why weren’t you answering me? Did you feel that storm shake the castle?” Derick yelled. He was trying to figure out what was happening. He stopped when he saw Pete swinging wildly at Annie. Despite Annie being nearly a foot shorter than he was, she was actively blocking him.
“I found him talking nonsense, saying that he had to end his life, and that he needed to tell them. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but he’s trying to jump from the ledge. He smacked my walkie-talkie away. Now help me, or he’s going to jump to his death,” she shouted and ducked Pete’s flailing arms.
Pete spun to his right and sidestepped Annie’s outstretch hands. He jumped forward and threw himself onto the ledge, dangling halfway over the edge. He scrambled to his feet on the narrow windowsill and prepared for his swan dive.
Derick couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His best friend was pushing Annie away and trying to throw himself from the tower.
Derick quickly propped the flashlight on the opposite windowsill so that he could see them and ran to help Annie. He reached out for Pete’s arm, but he had to duck twice to avoid Pete’s elbow connecting with his face.
“Grab his arm and I’ll get his legs,” Annie said, frustrated that she couldn’t contain him. She calmed herself and focused, not wanting to break Pete by grabbing him too harshly. She hoped to get him out of this in one piece.
“Okay,” Derick grunted. Pete twisted from his grasp and nearly toppled over into the night air.
They simultaneously grabbed Pete and hefted him off the ledge and down onto his back. The second Pete hit the ground, he roared and threw them off. Scrambling to his feet, he tried to get back to the ledge.
“Pete, you have to stop! What’s wrong with you?” Derick yelled, terrified that his friend would make it to the ledge.
“This is the only way. I have to see them. They have to know!” Pete threw Derick aside and barreled toward the window.
Annie had to get through to Pete or he would never stop. She tackled him and threw him back to the ground. Her hands came down on his shoulders and she mounted his hips. Using her full strength, she controlled his thrashing with her arms and knees. He snarled at her, spraying her with spit. He was deranged. Jumping from the ledge and dying was now his sole purpose in this world. He no longer cared about finding spirits or filming a documentary. The compulsion had complete control of him and he would go through her to achieve his goal.
“Pete. Stop this. You aren’t thinking. You don’t want to do this. Think about everything you will lose if you do this. Death isn’t the answer. Think about your friends and family. They are more important than the answers you’re looking for,” she pleaded.
Derick knelt next to her, unsure of what to do. He watched helplessly as his friend lost his mind. He was snapping his teeth at Annie, trying to throw her off. Pete was crazed and nearly unrecognizable.
“I have to see them. I have to tell them. They need to know!” Pete ranted, not speaking to anyone in particular.
“Who is he talking about?” Annie yelled, trying to hold down his forearms.
“His parents. They’re dead,” Derick whispered. He finally understood Pete’s motivation to die.
“Pete, listen to me. You will never see your parents, not like this. There is nothing waiting for you on the other side, but pain and misery if you throw yourself from the window. Don’t destroy your life like this, please. You need to stay here with Derick, Josilyn, Morgan, Wedge, and all of your friends. You have to show the world what you have found out about spirits. You can’t do that if you become one of them!” Annie shouted, not wanting to see his face day after day in the Realms of Torture.
“I have to see them one last time!” Pete howled and shook his head violently in frustration.
Annie debated if she should take off her ring and use her power to reach out to Pete, but she had nearly killed him when she’d lost control earlier. She knew that she could wield death, but she didn’t know if she could bring someone back from the brink of suicide. The Destroyer was meant to kill, not to save people from death. It was a long shot, but she had to try.
“Derick, grab his head, and hold him still. I don’t want him hurting himself accidentally. He’s having some kind of episode or fit. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. I’m going to try to get through to him, but I don’t want him flailing around,” she winced when Pete kicked her back with his knees.
Derick was staring at Pete, trying to figure out why this was happening. Annie had to yell at him to snap him out of his trance. He blinked at her and nodded his head, comprehending her orders. Shuffling around to Pete’s head, he looked at Annie, one last time, hoping that she knew what she was doing. He was clueless about how to fix this, but was amazed that she had somehow taken control of the situation. He did as she asked and gripped Pete’s thrashing head, holding it so that Pete had no choice but to look up at the ceiling.
Annie leaned down and stared into Pete’s eyes, searching for some rational part that she could appeal to.
She let her power rise as close to the surfa
ce as the ring would allow. She spoke quietly, but authoritatively to make him understand that this was a threat, not a bedtime story. “Listen to me Pete, there is nothing but pain if you continue in this pursuit. You will feel like you’re flying as you fall from this height, until you hit the ground. Agony will explode throughout your entire body, and then you will feel cold and numb. After that comes the darkness, but it’s brief, ever so brief before you see the red glow of Hell. Everyone who kills themselves ends up in Hell. You will have the pleasure of experiencing every single torture that Hell has to offer. Suicides suffer more than anyone else, because they threw away their precious gift of life. God hates when people don’t live their lives to the fullest. You will be drowned, burned, beaten, starved, frozen, poisoned, and ripped to pieces for what seems like a thousand years, only to start the process again. The worst part is just when you think you can’t endure it anymore, Lucifer himself will tempt you to become his servant for eternity. That is something you don’t want. If you deny him, you go back into the realms until you have served your time. Whatever you need to tell your parents isn’t worth all of that,” her eyes bore into his, trying to make him understand the truth.
Pete’s frantic movement slowed and he blinked, startled to see her eyes in front of him. Recognition spread across his face as he began to see Annie.
Annie was afraid that he was seeing the Destroyer, but she accepted the consequences as long as he stopped his Kamikaze mission.
“Pete, listen to me, you have so many things left to do here. You can do anything you want, be anything. If you jump, you will only know isolation, resentment, despair, and misery. Those are the only answers you will find. The truth is, life is the answer, not the question. Forget about what comes after, and worry about what happens now. Don’t give up on this life. Your parents wouldn’t want that. If you live a good life, you will see them again. You have to stop fighting me and start fighting for your life,” tears filled her eyes, wishing that someone had said those words to her before she had ended up on her bathroom floor.
“Annie?” Pete sounded groggy, like he’d just woken up from a dream.
“Yes, Pete, it’s me. Are you okay?” she relaxed her hold on his arms a bit.
Pete looked up at Derick, confused. “What happened?” he looked to Derick for an explanation.
“Dude, you freaked out. You were trying to hurl yourself out the window. You said that you had to see them one last time and that they needed to know. You tried to kill yourself. Why? Why would you want to do that?” Derick let go of Pete’s head and took a deep breath. His hands were shaking as he sat back on his heels.
“I did what? I don’t remember any of that,” Pete mumbled.
Annie slowly released him and let him sit up.
“What do you remember?” Annie asked, hoping that he didn’t remember Alazar. That would be difficult to explain.
Pete looked at both of them, searching for the answer. He rubbed his head, baffled. Moving his head and stretching his neck, he pondered the question. He abruptly looked up with fear on his face.
“Eyes. I remember eyes. They were blue and bright. After that, I saw the sky. I was floating on clouds while the sun shone down on me. I felt light and peaceful. It was the most serene and beautiful thing I have ever seen, yet it felt familiar. I didn’t have to worry about anything. I wanted to stay there,” Pete whispered as his eyes lost their focus again.
“You don’t want to go there Pete, trust me. The sky is nothing more than a lie. It’s a place that your mind made up to escape the burdens of your life, but it failed to show you all the wonderful things that you have here. Forget about that place, nothing good will come from dwelling on it,” Annie said in a rush. She pinched Pete’s arm to break his train of thought.
Pete blinked and looked at her. Slowly nodding his head, he seemed to accept her explanation.
“Derick, I think you should take Pete back to the inn to rest. It’s late and I don’t think he can continue the investigation tonight. Cassie will be a problem, but I can come up with something if you need help,” Annie said to Derick as he pulled Pete to his feet.
Pete was swaying on his feet and sweating. He was pale and disoriented, just as she had been in the reflection of the mirror the night of her death. It was startling to see the similarities.
“I think you’re right, Pete’s in no shape to continue. Don’t worry about Cassie, once she sees Pete she’ll have no choice but to let him leave. Morgan and I can keep filming if we have to,” Derick steadied Pete and quickly ran to collect their flashlights, video cameras, and walkie-talkies.
Annie stepped back and let Derick help his friend; she had done enough damage for the night. She could tell from Derick’s tone that he was still freaked out and not just by Pete’s behavior, but hers as well. She could feel the distance between Derick and her growing by the second. She had been very candid about Hell and Lucifer. He might think that she was crazy or super religious. She hoped for super religious, but either way, he was uncomfortable and didn’t look at her.
They all walked in silence as they made their way through the castle back down to home base. Derick kept a close watch over Pete, yet he kept looking back at Annie as if she were a stranger. It hurt her to know that Derick was suspicious of her. She could only imagine what Derick thought of seeing her and Pete struggling. If she had walked in on the scene, she would have immediately thought the worst. She looked guilty of trying to kill Pete. If it would make Derick run home and leave this place, then he could accuse her of whatever he wanted. She would take the blame and let that be the thing that drove them apart.
Derick played the scene over and over again in his head. Had Annie put the thoughts into Pete’s mind to trick him into killing himself? Was she really trying to push him out the window? As guilty as Annie looked, he couldn’t accept it. He saw her fighting to keep Pete safe. She didn’t have to say those things to him. And how the fuck did she know anything about Hell, and Lucifer, and what happens after you die? The story that she told was unbelievable, yet she said it with such conviction, fear, and anger that he almost believed her version of the afterlife. There was definitely more to this girl than she let on.
As they approached home base, Derick debated what to tell the others. Pete was disheveled and looked like he’d gone a round with a tornado. He decided it was best to lie for the time being, to save face for Pete. Josilyn would completely lose her mind if she knew how close Pete had come to dying.
Josilyn ran toward them when she saw them enter the main foyer. “Oh, thank God. Please tell me that your walkies shattered into a million pieces. I tried calling you for the last hour. Why didn’t you answer me? Doug and I were about to go and look for you. That’s it. We’re getting those trackers and ear pieces the CIA use so I don’t lose the two of you again.”
“Pete got turned around and lost his walkie-talkie. He walked through one of the doors that go nowhere. We found him hanging on a ledge,” Derick lied.
Josilyn’s anger melted into concern. She grabbed Pete and sat him down to inspect him.
Pete feebly nodded at Derick’s explanation, accepting the lie, still unsure of the truth.
Annie remained apart from the group, preparing herself for the fallout from Derick. She wasn’t sure how she was going to respond to his accusations.
Cassie was startled to see Pete shaken and confused. She looked to Annie with anger in her eyes, and then suddenly looked agitated, though she didn’t say anything.
Josilyn checked Pete’s hands and face for cuts. “I’m wrapping you in bubble wrap from now on. Morgan’s outside smoking and swearing. We were trying to give you as much time as we could.”
“I don’t think Pete can continue tonight. I know Cassie wanted us to keep filming, but neither of us are up for it. We’ll have to do as much as we can tomorrow night,” Derick said firmly while looking in Cassie’s direction.
“Very well, call it a night, but you had better find something of interest duri
ng tomorrow’s investigation or none of this will make it to prime time,” Cassie waved her hand to dismiss them all and walked out the front entrance.
“That was easier than I thought,” Derick muttered to himself. “Let’s wrap things up quickly and get some rest. Wedge, let’s get the gear packed away. Josilyn, take Pete to the minivan and send Morgan back in here to pack up. Do me a favor and stay with Pete. He’s pretty shaken up,” Derick said. He moved to the tables and started dismantling the equipment. He watched Annie from the corner of his eye.
Annie saw the uncertainty on Derick’s face. She knew she had to leave before he asked the barrage of questions forming in his mind.
Josilyn guided Pete to the exit as Wedge helped Derick break down the computer equipment.
Derick debated whether he should ask Annie to stay with him. He was rattled by what had happened and yearned to be comforted, but he was apprehensive, not knowing what to believe. Finally, he sighed and decided to let her choose. Perhaps that would tell him if she was guilty or not.
Wedge picked up two equipment cases and left. Derick and Annie remained rooted to the floor.
“Are you coming?” Derick asked tentatively.
She wasn’t sure if he was asking her to walk to the car with him or if he was asking her to stay the night with him. Either way, she couldn’t accept his offer. It was time to get her proprieties straight. She had witnessed Alazar’s deteriorated mental state and needed to get him under control before he hurt anyone else.
“It’s late, you should go. Do me a favor. Keep an eye on Pete; don’t let him out of your sight. I don’t know if it will happen again. After someone tries to kill themselves, they are normally put on suicide watch. I would suggest doing the same. Keep him away from sharp objects and windows. I would hate for something to happen to him after what he just went through. You’re his friend. You have to keep him safe. Find a reason for him to stay in this world,” she didn’t look at him as she spoke, afraid of what she would see in his eyes.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 24