I squeeze her shoulder softly. “You did great.”
“You did better.”
Shaking my head, I turn away from her. “It took me way too long. If you had no healing power, you’d be dead now.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Dante. You’re doing the best you can.”
Well, maybe that’s not enough. I’ll have to do better. Otherwise the world is screwed.
I climb the stairs slowly. My legs ache with every step. “Stay here for a minute, while I check on Mom.”
I almost collapse in Mom’s doorway again, but I pull myself up and haul my tired body to her bed.
She’s okay.
No, not okay. She’s still in a coma. That’s not okay. She should be dancing through the living room, baking cake and singing off key. She should be sewing clothes and bags, enjoying life now that the curse on her has finally lifted. Instead, she’s the victim of another curse.
I bend over her and kiss her on the cheek. “I love you, Mom. Don’t give up, I’ll find a way to get you back.”
Before going back downstairs, I check all the lines of salt protecting the house. It looks like the one at the front door is the only broken one. Still, my whole body itches at the thought of leaving Mom here. It didn’t feel right before, and it feels even worse now. What if I overlooked something else? What if that demon can remove the salt lines with the sand that oozes from it?
I stomp downstairs where Mona is cleaning up the muddy, wet and burnt mess with her magic.
I lean against the banister. “We could’ve used that kind of magic when the bathroom flooded.”
She smiles at me over her shoulder. “I know, but I didn’t want Susan to find out about magic. It is your choice whether you tell her or not.”
An image of Mom getting dragged into a dark hole in the floor shoots through my mind. “Not much of a choice anymore.”
“Sure it is. I can always wipe her memory.”
I pull a face at her. “Really? I’d feel guilty if we did that to her.”
Sparks pick up the front door, which is whole again, and place it back into the doorframe. Mona turns to face me. “It would be difficult, but think of all the suffering she’s been through. She would forget all about that, too.”
I nod gravely. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.” My gaze moves up. “Listen, I really don’t want to leave her here anymore. It’s too dangerous. I’m at Darkwood Manor most of the time now, so I’m taking her with me.”
“That’s a splendid idea. I can help you.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you agree. I was afraid you’d say that moving her could be dangerous. But there will be more people around her at Darkwood Manor. My Shield is usually there and they can protect her.”
Mona is already going up the stairs.
“It’s not just your Shield,” she says when I follow. “There’s a lot of power in that house. It has a history and from every battle that was fought there, a speck of power still lingers.”
“Which means more protection,” I finish for her.
She stops and taps the top of my head with a finger. “Right.” A glow covers me from head to toe. I feel its warmth spreading through my body. It eases my nerves instantly. “There. You needed that. Don’t fear those demons. You are stronger than they are.”
“Thanks, Mona.”
“Any time.” She walks into Mom’s bedroom and opens the window. “Can you run outside and open the backdoor of your car, please?”
I move my gaze from the window to her. “Eh… okay.”
As soon as I unlock Phoenix, I see two feet drifting out of the window. The rest of Mom’s body follows, wrapped in a blanket.
“What on earth is she doing?” I whisper to myself, hovering around underneath Mom in case she falls.
Slowly she descends and moves into the back seat of the car. Sparks hop off her body and fly back to Mona, who gives me a thumbs up and closes the window.
Floating people, why not? At least it’s better than demons that try to take our house down.
CHAPTER 14
“That water tornado you made was pretty neat,” Mona says when I pull out of the driveway.
I smile at her attempt to sound young. “Thank you. It wasn’t what I intended to create, but it worked. I’m glad you were there to help. I wouldn’t have survived without you.”
She clacks her tongue. “Sure you would have. You have to start believing in yourself, Dante. You were given this task for a reason.”
I shrug. “Yeah, I know. It’s just all so new and strange.”
“You’ll get used to it soon enough.”
She whistles as Darkwood Manor comes into view. “It’s as beautiful as ever.”
A snort escapes me. “Really? It’s more like a ruin.”
I park the car and we get out.
Mona inhales the musty smell. “It’s still beautiful to me. It breathes power and strength.”
I frown at the mansion. “It does?”
She shoots me a disapproving look. “Never mind. Let’s get your mother inside.”
I take a step towards the back seat, but Mona waves at the house. “Just open the front door, I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Do you really have to make her float? It creeps me out.”
She lowers her arms and the sparks crawl back inside her sleeves. “I suppose we could carry her.”
“I’ll get us some help.”
The front door opens on its own and my Shield appears in the doorway.
“Need help?” Jeep asks, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world to arrive with your comatose mother in the back seat of your car.
D’Maeo, Jeep and I gently lift Mom out of the car, with a little help from Mona’s sparks. We’re halfway up the stairs, with the rest of the Shield in tow, when I realize I have no idea where to put her. All the rooms on the second floor are taken.
“Is the third floor safe?” I ask the old ghost. “Or should we put her here in the hallway?”
He stops when we reach the top of the stairs. “I think…”
I let go of Mom with a yell. “What was that?”
Jeep moves sideways to keep Mom from slipping out of his hands. “What? Why did you let go?”
“Something moved.” I point at the limp body. “On her shoulder.”
All eyes are suddenly glued to the part of Mom’s shoulders that’s visible above the blanket. Mona and the rest of the Shield approach carefully as we watch in silence.
Taylar nudges me. “You’re imagining things, Dan-”
“There it is!” I yell, making everyone else jump.
Jeep and D’Maeo bend closer to the black goo moving towards Mom’s neck.
Mona raises her hands and sparks rain down on us.
“Move away from her carefully,” she says calmly.
She nods reassuringly when D’Maeo and Jeep look up at her. “I’ve got her.”
They let go and Mom is suspended in the air, held up by the sparks. Some of the tiny lights crawl towards the black stuff. We all gasp when it jumps onto the lights and flings them to the ground.
“Watch out,” Mona warns us, or the sparks, I’m not sure. “It’s very aggressive.”
“What is it?” I whisper.
“It’s the curse. It is slowly encasing her.”
I try to rub the pain away that rises in my chest. My eyes prick and within seconds my cheeks are wet. “Are you saying we’re running out of time?”
She nods, sending more sparks to spread over Mom’s body. “I’m afraid so. And when a curse has gone this far, it can jump onto someone else in the blink of an eye.”
We all step back in unison.
Vicky’s hand slides into mine and squeezes. “We’ll find a way to break it in time.”
The sparks pull away the blanket and Mom’s nightgown to reveal wriggling black liquid all over her stomach and chest.
I groan and
turn my head away.
Mona orders the sparks to cover Mom up again. “It hasn’t reached her arms and legs yet. We have some time. A couple of days at the least.” She gestures at us to step back further. “I’ll take her upstairs.”
When I watch Mom float to the top floor, it’s as if a giant hand squashes my throat. My head spins and I reach out for support.
“I’m here.” Vicky’s beautiful frame is hazy. “Keep breathing, Dante.”
I want to say I can’t, but my lungs are empty. No air comes through anymore.
“Stay with us.”
The ground underneath my feet disappears and soft arms catch me.
“What do we do now?” I hear Vicky asking.
Blinking rapidly, I turn my head. Two boots step into view. A blurry face bends over me.
A hand smacks me across the cheek hard. “Snap out of it, Master, we need you.”
“Jeep!” Vicky’s voice is shrill. “You can’t do that!”
“Come on.” Another blow, this time in the stomach.
I double up with a groan.
“Stop it!” Vicky yells.
In the corner of my eye I see his fist coming towards me again. I gulp in some air and move sideways. He misses me by an inch and I use my momentum to haul myself to my feet.
“That’s right, get up and fight,” he yells. “No time to lie around crying.”
I raise my hands in defense. “I’m up.” A grin forms around my lips when I realize my voice is back and I can breathe again. Everything and everyone around me comes back into focus.
Jeep hops from left to right in front of me.
“There you are,” I say. I hold up my hand and he gives me a high five. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He shoots Vicky a meaningful look. “Sometimes a tough hand is needed.”
She folds her arms. “I can be tough.”
He winks. “I know.”
I point upstairs. “Let’s go see how Mona’s doing.”
The fairy godmother is already coming down again. “Your mother is fine. For now. I put her in the front room, where there’s lots of light.”
I open my mouth to speak, but she won’t let me.
“I checked the salt lines in every room.”
“Thank you.”
“I can stay here if you want, to watch over her. Then you and the Shield can focus on the tasks at hand. Didn’t you have another soul to save?”
Jeep adjusts his hat. “We do.” He bows and vanishes into thin air.
“Are you sure you won’t mind staying upstairs?” I ask Mona, while the others follow Jeep to the kitchen. “I can bring you something to drink or…” I smack myself in the head. “Damn, I forgot the groceries.”
Mona pushes a lock of blonde hair back into place on her head. “Do you have a list? I can drive to the supermarket for you.” She motions at the ceiling. “Quinn can keep an eye on Susan while I’m gone.”
I frown. “You called him?”
“No, but he’s on his way.”
I shake my head in confusion. “Right. Eh… okay then.” I hand her the keys to the car. “Please be careful with her.”
“Of course.”
We go downstairs and when I step into the kitchen, Quinn pops up, looking pristine again in the white suit that makes his dark skin even more radiant. His serious dark eyes are locked on me.
“See you soon!” Mona yells as a warm breeze flows through the front door. “Hi Qaddisin, bye Qaddisin!”
Quinn wastes no time on hellos. “I’ve got some good news.”
“Great, we could use some.” I drop into my chair and gesture for him to take a seat, too.
“I found a way to activate your memory of the premonitions about the Devil. Or dig them up, to put it more accurately.”
“That could help us save your mom,” Vicky says.
An uneasy smile creeps upon Quinn’s face, but I ignore it. I can’t handle any more bad news right now.
My friend’s gaze darts across the table to where D’Maeo has put down the Cards of Death. “Oh, but I see you got a new set of cards. We should look at those first.”
“We already did,” Jeep responds. “We just haven’t had time to discuss our thoughts with Dante yet.”
Quinn leans forward. “Let’s do that first then. I can stay for a bit, maybe help out.”
“Thanks, Quinn.” I relax a little. “Food and drinks are on the way.”
I quickly fill him and the Shield in on everything that has happened. The expressions around me change from worried to anxious, except for Vicky’s. She just smiles brightly and raises a fist. “We have managed so far, and we will keep fighting until we win. The Devil is irritated because we already screwed up his plans twice. Him taking your mom was an act of despair. He is looking for ways to get you to stop fighting him. Which basically means we’re doing a great job.” She winks.
I look her straight in the eye and mouth I love you. She grins.
Quinn clears his throat. “She’s right. I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but these souls you’re saving must be even more important than we thought. And now that we know the circles of Hell are real, we’re on the right track.”
I rub my face hard. “I hope so.”
“So one of the cards…” D’Maeo holds it up, “is covered in sand.”
“Like the demon Mona and I fought,” I comment.
“Yes. But we were able to get it off and it revealed a circle, a nose, the letter K, a large house and a medal. I drew a picture of the symbols. The other card has a wavy line and a fist.”
I take out my phone and search for the nine circles of Hell. “Okay, so we’ve dealt with the last two circles, which means we’re dealing with the seventh circle of Hell now. According to this picture, sinners condemned to this circle committed a crime of violence. So that’s what the fist means. The wave points to the way he dies. And…“ I gasp. “Hey, this is interesting.”
Vicky leans over to me. “What is?”
“The people condemned to the ninth circle are punished by means of ice.”
Taylar taps the table with a finger. “So?”
“In circle number eight, the punishment is boiling pitch,” I continue.
Jeep tosses his hat in the air and catches it with his head. “Let me guess. The seventh circle uses burning sand for punishment?”
“Exactly. Which means we know what kind of demons to expect next.” I scroll down. “Fire, water, smelting gold-“
Taylar smacks the table. “Now that could be useful.”
“We’ll see,” I answer. “And after that, rain and black snow, wind and…” My eyes skim the last lines. “There’s no punishment mentioned for the first circle, but I’m guessing it’s something fun.”
D’Maeo turns the cards around in his hands. “Does it also say how to vanquish the demons that live there?”
I scan the rest of the page and shake my head. “No such luck.”
Quinn takes the drawings from D’Maeo. “A circle, a nose, a K, a villa and a medal. I’m guessing it has something to do with some sort of sport?”
“An Olympic sport maybe? Because of the circle?” Jeep suggests.
I give him a thumbs up. “That could explain the large house.”
Everyone has something to say, except for Maël, who is very quiet. I hope she’s not losing energy again. These burning sand demons will be hard enough to fight with the whole Shield. We can’t afford to lose her again.
“But why the nose?” Quinn interrupts my thoughts. “Are there sports where you have to use your nose?”
Taylar snorts. “I’d like to see a noseball championship.”
“Boxing,” Maël suddenly says.
Quinn puts the piece of paper with the symbols on the table. “A broken nose and a boxing ring. That could be it.”
“Nice going, Maël,” I say, opening Google again on my phone. “So we’re looking for a boxer
who earned a medal, broke his nose and lives in a villa?”
“Maybe he didn’t break his nose yet,” Jeep says.
Taylar rocks his chair back and forth. “Or he breaks other people’s noses.”
“Good thinking.”
I type it in and hit search. “Lots of boxers own a villa and have won medals. Some of them broke their noses, but none that start with a K. Except for Kadashi, but he died last year. So I think he’s already in Heaven or Hell.”
“Maybe we got it wrong. Maybe we’re looking for someone who had a nose operation.”
“After he broke his nose,” I add.
“Yes, yes, we get it,” Quinn says. “We’re looking for…” He pauses and tilts his head.
We all jump when the front door flies open with a loud bang.
CHAPTER 15
“Sorry! My hands are a bit full,” Mona yells.
D’Maeo vanishes before I can react. “Let me help you, lovely lady,” he says from the hallway.
Vicky touches my hand and whispers, “I think he likes her.”
The two enter the kitchen. D’Maeo a bit flustered, Mona with her usual wide smile. “Snacks are here!”
“Yes!” Jeep and Taylar say in unison.
She makes some wrappings float to the table. “Dig in.”
Jeep’s hand shoots out and grabs a hamburger. “Yes ma’am.” He unwraps it and almost sticks his whole nose into it. “This smells so good.”
“Give it here, love,” Mona says. “I’ll heat it up for you.”
He jerks it back before she can take it. “No thanks, this is fine.”
Mona watches with raised eyebrows as he bites off half of the burger. “Okay.” She puts some juice in the fridge and D’Maeo eagerly hands her the sodas and beers.
She gives him a smile and shoots me a look over her shoulder. “Did you get anywhere with those cards?”
I shrug. “We thought they pointed to a boxer, but we can’t find any with a K that fit the description.”
She stands up and stretches her back. “Have you thought about magical boxers?”
She gets blank stares back and laughs. “You’ve never heard of that?” She gives Quinn a reproachful look. “Not even you?”
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