“Queen. We are happy to serve you,” the woman closest to us said, handing us both the wine. She bowed lightly and the folds of her black gown brushed the floor.
Hecate said nothing but took a sip of the wine and set her glass down. She shrugged out of her cloak and traded it for the fresh one. The new one didn’t have a red belt.
“You should keep the belt. It’s a good look for you,” I said and took a drink of the wine. After everything I had just seen, I needed some.
The three servants gasped and took a step back. I paused in my drinking. “What?”
“You can’t speak to the queen that way,” one of them whispered. She looked at me with pity. I pitied her because black wasn’t her color and it was probably all she got to wear.
“Ladies, this is Kimber. She is one of us now. She has proved her loyalty by getting me this.” Hecate held up the bronze tube and all three girls stared at me in wonder.
“Forgive me for speaking to you that way.” The one who warned me about speaking to Hecate apologized.
I shrugged and drank more wine.
“Leave the food and go,” Hecate said, and the girls moved to do her bidding. They didn’t even hesitate. That’s service. Whenever I would ask Mary to clean my closet, she would complain for ten minutes.
“Oh, and leave the belt,” Hecate called out and the red belt was returned to her instantly. I smirked. I knew fashion.
“Welcome to my home,” Hecate said as she fastened the belt around her waist.
I took in the incredible surroundings once more. I wasn’t sure why, but I was beginning to think she lived somewhere a little more… sinister. I guess that look of pure hurt on Heven’s face when I took that scroll had gotten to me more than I wanted to admit. What had happened up there… It had been unreal. Bugs and demons, demons as bugs, Heven waving around a dagger and begging me for help. Sam didn’t seem to be enjoying what was going on, either. You think someone supposedly from hell would like the chaos, but he was fighting it all—fighting the demons. Almost like he was protecting everyone.
I tried not to think of Cole and the injuries I saw on his face and body. The minute he called me Kimmie, I wanted to rush to him, to help him. Instead, I let him pass. Hecate had ordered me to kill them all, but that was never part of our deal. I wasn’t about to kill my friends. I mean my ex-friends.
“Of course, one must have a sanctuary,” Hecate said, looking at me expectantly.
“What happened back there?” I blurted.
“We took back what was rightfully mine.”
“Those demons—the bugs—they weren’t there because of Sam.”
Hecate looked at me, her dark eyes flashing. I wondered if I should take the other girl’s advice and not speak so much. “They were my back-up in case we needed help.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. Hecate’s face smoothed out. “But I didn’t need backup. Their shock at seeing you there, holding them off and helping me, was all I needed to get what I wanted.”
Her comment made me feel used. Made me feel like a pawn to hurt my friends. “But…”
Hecate held up her hand, the one gripping the bronze tube. “We can talk later. Sit, enjoy the wine and food. Relax. I have a meeting. I’ll send in the girls to attend to you. Make yourself at home.”
With that, she left the room and the girls wearing ball gowns entered. “Where are we?” I asked them, picking up a wedge of cheese.
“Hecate’s castle.”
Yeah, I got that part. Hecate was here, servants were prancing around calling her queen and all, but that still didn’t answer my question. Still, I hoped I was powerful enough to have a castle someday. “But where is this castle? Like what state are we in?”
The girls exchanged looks. Something dark slithered down my spine; I stood a little straighter and waited for their answer.
“We are not on Earth,” one of them said hesitantly. Again, pity flashed across their features.
I couldn’t understand why they would pity me. I was in a castle, being given gourmet cheese, wine and fruit. I had power at my disposal and an ally that had a huge castle with servants.
“Riiight, have you been hitting this wine? If we aren’t on Earth, where are we? Mars?” I snorted. I was pretty funny.
No one else thought so.
I sighed and sat down my glass. I used my power to lift the girl and suspend her in the air; her feet dangled as she tried (with no success) to get back to the ground. “Tell me where we are.”
“The Underworld,” she rushed out, and I sat her back on her feet.
The Underworld? Wasn’t that another name for hell?
These girls were crazy. This wasn’t hell. Hell was all darkness and fire… Heven’s face flashed before my eyes, Cole’s pleading voice echoed through my head, and the demon’s vile touch sent a shiver up my spine.
I brushed it all away and looked at the opulent room. This was not hell.
Right?
* * *
I felt nauseous and being trapped in a tiny seat on a plane for hours and hours made it worse. The air on this plane was suffocating. I took out my lip balm to soothe my chapped lips. I glanced around for the flight attendant, wishing she would come on already and bring the sparkling water I had asked for like five minutes ago.
I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes against the white of the clouds in the sky. I had made a huge mistake. More than one, actually. My head was still reeling from everything Heven said to me. She could be lying…
But she wasn’t.
I had known Heven a long time, long enough that I could tell she was telling me the truth. It made me wonder, if I hadn’t been so blinded by hurt and jealousy, if I would have seen the truth when she tried to tell me that there was nothing between her and Cole. Except there had been—I just thought it was something romantic. But it turns out they are brother and sister. Talk about completely blowing my mind.
I thought I knew everything, but it turns out I knew nothing. And now I was aligned with Hecate, Queen of Witches. I helped her steal something that put people’s lives in jeopardy. I wondered why I took her word—the word of a stranger—and disregarded the word of a friend so easily.
I was hurt. I was jealous and I felt alone. But the reason I was alone was because I let myself be. The two people I loved most—Heven and Cole—tried to reason with me. I was just as guilty of pushing them away as they were of pushing me away.
The flight attendant finally brought my drink and a cup. I looked up at her and smiled, even though I wanted to yell at her for taking so long.
“I brought you a bag of pretzels because you had to wait,” the woman said, handing me the snack and sparkling water. I uncapped it and poured the clear liquid over the ice, watching the bubbles rise to the surface. It made me think of my powers and how I felt when they were rushing to the surface… Sometimes it felt out of control, but mostly I felt powerful and I liked it. Others seemed to sense my power as well and responded to it. I was finally in the spotlight. Since I claimed my powers, people seemed to go out of their way to do extra things for me. The guy at the airport didn’t search my stuff as much as everyone else’s, the clerk at the magazine stand didn’t charge me for my read, and all my friends on the trip seemed to want to know my opinion about everything from clothes to school.
It kind of scared me that I liked my powers. Did that mean I liked darkness—that I liked evil? That’s where my powers had come from. What did it mean? I had waited a long time to claim the spotlight, but I realized that this isn’t how I wanted to get it.
I missed Heven. I missed Cole. I even missed Sam. I wanted my friends back.
But Heven probably wouldn’t talk to me ever again. What I had done… It was worse than anything she did to me. And Cole… Who was that dark-haired girl with him? He seemed to know her—to trust her. Did he have feelings for her?
I pulled my silk eye mask down over my eyes and lay back in my seat, pretending to sleep. I wanted to be left alone… and I want
ed to hide my tears.
If only there were a way to make up for everything I had done.
Maybe there was. Maybe I could get that scroll back and give it to Heven. She would forgive me then and everything could go back to the way it was. Well, okay maybe not exactly, but close.
I sat up, pulling the eye mask off my face and smiled. I felt better now that I had a plan, now that I knew I wouldn’t be so alone anymore. I grabbed up the fashion magazine from my lap. There were some really cute boots featured… Maybe I would order them for Heven as an apology. I mean, new boots and the scroll? Who could say no to that?
* * *
My parents were a no-show. Again. I was standing at the airport, watching all my friends be greeted by their parents, their family, yet here I was, alone. They didn’t even care enough that I had been out of the country to come and welcome me back. They probably didn’t even remember I was coming home today. I would call Daddy’s cell when I got home and he would tell me to buy something nice with my platinum card to celebrate a successful trip.
He would try to buy me off. Like he always did.
It usually worked. I liked sparkly. I liked shoes.
This time it wouldn’t work.
I didn’t want another shiny necklace. I didn’t want a pair of diamond earrings. Just once, it would be nice to be cared about. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Cole being greeted by his mom and dad (actually—his stepdad…) and saw the happiness on their faces, the way they welcomed him like they truly missed him while he was away.
I missed that. When we were together, his parents treated me like that too. I felt like I had a family. If we had still been together, the absence of my parents might not seem like such a big deal. I would be able to shrug it off better. I could’ve walked right over there and gotten a ride. I probably would’ve been invited to dinner too.
I glanced at Heven, noting that Gran was rushing toward her. The other family now lost to me. Heven’s mom had been a horrible cook. The things that woman did to chicken was a crime, but I ate it on more than one occasion. Heven and I would make awful faces when her mother wasn’t looking and we would kick each other under the table to keep from laughing or gagging. And I loved it.
I wanted my family back.
A black sedan pulled up as I stepped through the wide doors and onto the curb. I ignored it, besides noticing how heavily tinted the windows were, and went to hail a cab, flashing my unresistable smile. A cab pulled up and I breathed a sigh of relief. I wanted to get out of here.
As I was moving past the black sedan, the window rolled down. Hecate was inside the car, a red scarf around her head and dark glasses shading her eyes. “You’re taking a cab?”
“Yes.”
“No need. Get in.”
I hesitated for all of two seconds before sliding into the back seat with her. Maybe it was the perfect time to get back that paper Heven wanted so badly.
We drove in silence until the airport was behind us and growing smaller with each passing second. When we reached an intersection, the driver turned around to ask, “Where to, miss?”
“Agh!” I screeched, jumping. The driver was a skeleton. He was wearing a black tophat and a baggy tuxedo jacket with a bowtie. He had no shirt on. Course with no skin and all bones, he probably had a hard time with sizing. Calvin Klein was good, but not that good.
The skeleton man screamed right after I did. “Agh!” He looked at Hecate. “What are we screaming about?”
“Ah, Bones, you amuse me.” She almost sounded affectionate. “Turn right here and drive toward the lake.”
Bones straightened his top hat and made the turn. Guess I knew why the windows were so tinted. I shivered when I looked at his hands—his skeleton hands—gripping the steering wheel, and I remembered the night I saw the hand in the lake.
“I need you to do something for me,” Hecate said, drawing my attention away from Bones. (I mean, really, that was his name? SO unoriginal.)
“What is it?” I said, instantly suspicious but trying not to show it.
“I need the key to open the bronze tube around the scroll. I want you to get it for me.”
Yes, she mentioned that key once before. I’d seen Heven wearing it around her neck as a necklace. It looked pretty vintage chic. “Can’t you just use your powers to get it open?”
Hecate’s eyes flashed with impatience. Well, too bad. If she wanted a “helper” who would do her bidding and not ask questions, maybe she should have hired Bones.
Maybe she had and that’s why he was only bones now…
I shivered.
“Don’t question me! Do as I say.”
So she couldn’t open it. She needed that key. I found it really hard to believe her magic wouldn’t open it. Hecate’s eyes narrowed when I didn’t respond. “I can open it, mark my words. But the key would be faster.”
Hmmm. Interesting. So clearly this scroll was protected by some of its own magic if the most powerful witch in hell had to make an effort to break it open. “If the scroll had belonged to you in the first place, wouldn’t you have the key already?”
Pain stabbed my head and I cried out, palming my forehead until the pain receded. I looked up at Hecate when the worst had subsided. “Not another question out of you,” she threatened.
“Yes, ma’am.” I agreed, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. If I hadn’t been one hundred percent sure that Heven had been telling me the truth before, I was now. That scroll was never Hecate’s. I wasn’t sure why Heven had it, but I believe she had been trying to get it to safety, and because of me, it was now in more danger than ever. Heven and Cole were in more danger than ever.
I bit my tongue right before I asked Hecate where the scroll was now. Instead, I nodded my head. “I’ve seen the key. I can get it.”
“Do it quickly.”
“It’s good that you left it at home, to keep it safe until I get the key.” I really hoped she didn’t hear the question in my statement. My head still hurt from the last question.
Hecate paused. I lounged back against the plush seat. “Yes, it is,” she finally replied.
Liar, liar pants on fire. I knew that gleam in her eye. It was the same look that a department sales woman gets when she thinks she can sell me last season’s Prada for this season’s price. When would people learn? Girl plus being really hot does NOT equal stupid.
So that meant the scroll was in this car. Hecate wouldn’t leave something she wanted so badly somewhere she wouldn’t be.
“Turn left here,” I told Bones and he swerved the car to make the turn. Hecate was jostled by the turn and I caught a glimpse of the end of the bronze tube in the folds of her cloak before she quickly adjusted to cover it. I pretended I didn’t notice.
I directed Bones to the street I lived on and when my house came into view, I turned to Hecate. “I’ll try to get the key tomorrow.”
“I will come by to get it.”
Bones pulled into the driveway and sat there, the engine idling while he waited for me to get out. “I’d open the door for you,” Bones said as he turned to look at me, “but I’m not wearing any pants.”
I rolled my eyes.
I opened my door and went to climb out when I made my move. I lashed out with my power, catching Hecate off-guard and causing her to reach up and grab at her throat as she gagged. I pushed harder, using the element of surprise while I could. I used my hand and sent out a gust of wind to ruffle the folds of her cloak to reveal the end of the scroll. I grabbed it and lunged out of the car, falling onto the ground. I got up and began to run, for once wishing I had sneakers on and not heels.
Hecate threw off my magic quickly,, as I knew she would and came after me. I threw up my shield to block whatever she was about to do and was pleased when it worked—her spell bounced off. I made my way to the front door, concentrating so hard on my shield that I didn’t think it was odd the front door swung open when I approached. Grateful, I rushed inside and slammed the door shut. It wouldn’t ke
ep her out forever, but it might for a few seconds. I pulled out my cell and hit the button for Heven. She would know what to do.
“Calling someone?” a voice from the bottom of the stairs asked.
I jerked, gripping the phone and the scroll. There was a man standing there. A man with dark hair and cold, cold eyes. I tried to throw up my shield once more, but it was too late. He had magic too, magic far more powerful than mine. I was knocked off my feet; my cell phone went flying, shattering against the wall. I hit my head on the wall and slid slowly toward the floor.
I still gripped the scroll, unwilling to give up my chance to win back my friends. I was half lying—half leaning against the wall as the man prowled closer. My vision was blurry, but I tried to get up anyway. I was held frozen in place, unable to even access the simplest of spells, but still I tried.
Heven & Hell Anthology (Heven and Hell) Page 9