Hellborn

by Lisa Manifold

  “I agree. So how do we call him? I have to tell you, I haven’t been scared in a long time, but he scares the shit out of me. I know it’s not rational, but I don’t want to lie to you,” I said.

  “It’s understandable. I think, because I’ve been thinking about this,” Daniella said, “that you and Beeval should keep out of sight unless you have to show your faces. There’s no sense in letting him know you’re here if he doesn’t know.”

  “How can I do that and help you?”

  “We need to call him out in the road. Not on our land, but outside of our boundaries. I’ll set a ward around the property lines. You and Beeval can be in the house, in the window. That way, you’re right there, but you’re not immediately visible,” Deirdre replied. It was apparent she and Daniella had been not only thinking about this but discussing it.

  “That might work,” I said slowly.

  “It’s better than putting you out in the open and exposing you right from the get-go,” Daniella said. “I’d prefer you to be the element of surprise.” She moved to the door. “Beeval,” she called.

  He appeared as though he’d been waiting. “Dan?”

  “Come in and let’s talk.” She stood back, giving him room to enter.

  “Yes?” Beeval looked at the three of us, waiting. Waiting for orders? Like he’d done his whole life?

  Before I could say anything about not bossing him around, Daniella continued. “We want to talk about how to handle Ashlar. We’re going to bring him here.”

  Beeval frowned. “Why?”

  “Because we don’t want to live in a state of waiting,” Deirdre said. “Let’s bring him here and get this over with. But we thought you and Desdemona should be inside, hidden from him.”

  “He not know I gone. He come if he know,” Beeval said.

  “So let’s not tell him you’re gone unless we have to,” I said. “You and I can be out of sight, but we can watch, and we can help.”

  “I help,” Beeval said.

  “Are you willing to kill him?” Deirdre asked. “I hope one of us does it, but you might need to be a part of that.”

  Beeval didn’t hesitate. “I kill. I not going back. Not ever.”

  “Excellent,” Deirdre said, and she smiled. It was the first smile I’d seen on her in ages.

  “So here’s what we’re going to do, Beeval,” Daniella said.

  We spent another thirty minutes going over the plan.

  “We’re all good?” Deirdre looked around. When everyone nodded, she exhaled. “Good. I’m already tired of this shit hanging over us.”

  “We kill,” Beeval said. His voice was grim, but he sounded sure.

  “Yes, we will,” Daniella said.

  Beeval nodded, and walked out of the room. “I go make sure Evil safe,” he said and closed the door behind him.

  “You were right, Desi, to bring him here,” Daniella said.

  “I usually am,” I shot back. “But can we change subjects for a sec?”

  They both looked at me.

  “Granny didn’t tell us the whole truth.”

  “Not that I disagree, but about what?” Deirdre asked.

  “There’s something more about why Deana left. Something else she learned from Granny,” I said. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt it in my bones. I knew there was more.

  “I got that, too,” Daniella said, nodding.

  “We have to get the truth out of her. No more secrets,” I sighed. “I’m really tired of them screwing up everything.”

  “Well, it’s really Granny’s secret. And Deana’s, but I think she took that with her when she left,” Deirdre frowned.

  “If DeAnna knew, she’d have told us, while yelling at us,” Daniella said.

  We all grinned. “She is the old lady of the bunch,” I said. “But I get it.”

  “I’m glad they’re here. I think they needed to know, and it’s better to get this shit out. If she wants to hate us, at least she’ll have good reason,” Deirdre said.

  “Not like we haven’t been hated before,” I replied.

  “We’re not going to let him take you, or anyone else,” Daniella said, coming to hug me.

  All three of us came in for a hug. Losing Meema, and then meeting all Deana’s girls—it was like Deana had died all over again. And it was made worse because now Meema wasn’t here. We stood together for a while.

  “So let’s do this tomorrow?” Deirdre asked.

  Daniella and I nodded. “Tomorrow. We call him, and we kill him.”

  Everyone went to bed early. It was though there was a feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop in the entire house. As I fell asleep, I realized we’d not seen Doc or Granny since they disappeared from the stillroom. I hoped one or both of them would be around after this was over.

  We’d lost enough already.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The next morning, Deirdre, Daniella and I were up early, cooking again. It soothed us all. Beeval came in, minus Evil.

  “Where is Evil?” I asked. “We haven’t seen him in two days.”

  “He safe, away,” Beeval replied. “Ashlar not care about small things.”

  “Maybe tell the cats,” Deirdre muttered.

  “Did,” Beeval said.

  After we ate, and there was no sign of the Deanas, we all went outside, and cast a warding spell. Two, actually. One to protect the town, because they sure as hell didn’t need to see or hear what was coming, and one to protect our land. Anyone who came close would just wander away, forgetting why they needed to be here.

  Essentially, we were removing our home from the daily Deadwood life.

  Daniella also warded the area around Pearl Street. Ashlar would have no choice but to come here. I thought when he was summoned, he wouldn’t want to come anywhere else, but Deirdre was of the belief that he’d wreck as much as he could on his way. It was a valid point.

  When we came back in, hot and sweating from our efforts, all three of the Deanas were up.

  “Good morning,” Dee said. “What’s on the agenda today?”

  Belatedly, I realized we hadn’t brought them up to speed on the plans for the day.

  “We just set wards for the house and the town. Once you’re ready and we go over the plans, we’re going to summon Ashlar.”

  DeAnna spoke before anyone else. “I am going to say I still don’t think this is a good idea. But we”—She nodded at Dee and Deana—“spent time talking last night. I’m sorry that I keep getting mad. Some of it is Mom, and some of it is that I’m really afraid. But I want to be able to live in peace, and I want all of you to have peace as well.” She stopped, staring down at her hands, and then she sighed. “So I’m in. I’ll help where I can. And I promise to do the best I can.”

  I reached across the island and took her hand. “That’s all we can ask. We’re going to protect you.” I felt good making that promise, although it scared me.

  “And you’ll have the spells we prepared,” Daniella said. “That will slow down anyone who comes for you.”

  “Will it stop them?” Dee asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “We also have Beeval,” I said. “He is not being all that open, but I think he’ll be a bigger asset than we realize.”

  “Are you sure?” DeAnna asked. “You trust him?”

  “I do,” I said. “He helped get me out of Hell.”

  “It could be a trick, to make you think he is your friend.” Deana looked at me like she was sorry she had to say it, but she had to say it.

  “Maybe, but until he shows me he’s not trustworthy, we go with he is.”

  “Even if it risks us all?” DeAnna asked.

  “Yes,” Deirdre said. “We have to take that chance.”

  “I don’t see why, but I’ll go along with your judgement,” Dee said. “However, if he gets us hurt, or killed, I will haunt you, and I will be the biggest pain in your ass you’ve ever met.”

  To hear Dee, who was fairly low key, not only cuss but thre
aten was so funny that all six of us burst into laughter, even DeAnna.

  A knock on the door startled us all into silence. I went to answer it and it was Zane. “Am I late for the party?” he asked.

  “Nope. It’s just about to get started.” I smiled at him, liking seeing him. And not liking that I liked seeing him. At some point, I needed to deal with this yo-yo shit seeing him brought on. Now wasn’t the time. But I was already tired of it.

  “Good. I brought all the incantations we need to call him,” he added. “I didn’t know if you needed them.”

  “We do,” Daniella said. “Calling demons isn’t really something we have ever done.”

  “Then it’s good to be useful,” Zane said. “What’s the plan?”

  “We’re going to call him, and we’re going to kill him. Has anyone seen Doc or Granny?” I asked, struck by the fact that I hadn’t. Not since they’d ghosted out of the stillroom last night.

  Everyone, even Zane, shook their heads no.

  “You don’t think they’re…” Deirdre began. “No. They can’t, can they?”

  “What?” I asked. Then I got it. “Hell, no. Is that even possible? Even if it is, who wants to think about that?”

  “Is what possible?” Deana asked. Then she looked from me to Deirdre to Daniella. “Holy crap. You think they’re getting it on somehow?” She looked at the three of us again and started to laugh. “I don’t know, and I sure as hell do not want to know. That is eye bleach territory right there.”

  “They do know we’re planning to summon Ashlar today. They’ll be here,” Zane said.

  “Have you talked to them?” DeAnna asked.

  “No. But Doc was here when Ashlar showed up before. I am sure he has impressed upon your grandmother what that was like. They won’t miss it.” Zane sounded confident.

  Damn it. Why did I have to like having him here so much? This looked like an awkward conversation once we’d kicked Ashlar’s ass. I was used to the awkward conversations. I’d had a few… well, I guess you could call them boyfriends, over the years. It was all very casual on my end. The trouble came when the other party wasn’t quite as casual.

  And we hadn’t even been naked or anything, but I found that I cared more about him than any guy I could remember in years.

  Damn it.

  Well, time enough for all the awkward as ass gyrations later. Keeping alive was the main thing right now.

  Zane and Daniella handed out all of the herbal aides that Daniella had made, giving more to the Deanas. I watched, wondering if I could convince Deana to stay for a while. She had the most talent, which was odd as she was the furthest removed from Granny and Meema. Maybe it was because she was more open-minded. DeAnna was given to fits of mistrust, and Dee seemed like she enjoyed it, but it would be too much of a bother. She was the chill bridge in that household, I could tell.

  But Deana? There was something there. As though she knew I was thinking of her, she happened to look up and smile. Then she pulled something from behind her back, and handed me the angel sword.

  In all my worry about everything else, I’d forgotten this. Which was insane. It was the thing that would save us. I was not used to having more people, and things that would help us in our fights. It was usually just us, any spells we had, and our herbals. That was it.

  The sword felt good in my hand.

  “You might want to keep that out of sight, initially,” Zane said. “While my fellow necromancer didn’t know what it was, I’ll bet that Ashlar knows exactly what it is.”

  I didn’t speak, only nodded, and tucked it down my pant leg. Good thing I was wearing leggings today. Maybe it would conceal this from Ashlar until it was time to pull it out.

  And I could hope, shallowly, that I didn’t rip my leggings in the process. Potentially dying in only my underwear was not high on my list.

  Watching the people around me, I found that not only did I want to live, and deal with awkward Zane moments, but I wanted to teach all that we knew to someone. I’d like it best if it was one of our family, one of our someones. Maybe that could be Deana.

  After we’d learned about the deal Granny had struck, I’d wondered, a little bitterly, why Granny had chosen to have kids, and why Meema had done the same. But right now, watching my family get ready to save ourselves, I knew why.

  “I love you,” I said.

  Deirdre and Daniella turned immediately. They clasped my hands. “Love you, too,” they said in unison. We all hugged.

  Then I stepped away, and looked at the Deanas. “One of the things Meema always insisted on was that we tell each other we loved each other before we went out into anything potentially bad. So now you all get to join in. Clasp hands.” I held out my hands.

  All six of us, and then Zane, gripped each other’s hands in a circle. “Love you all,” I said.

  “Love you, too,” everyone echoed.

  I felt a pair of arms hug my leg. “I help,” Beeval said.

  I let go of Deirdre’s hand to lean down and put an arm around him. I wondered if I should be worried that his smell didn’t seem quite as bad, and if we were going to be like the houses of cat ladies where they never noticed the litter boxes anymore. “I know,” I said.

  He leaned his head against me. Then he met my eyes. “Evil safe,” he said.

  “Good. Thank you. Any advice?” I asked.

  “Be ready. He clever.” Beeval nodded, and looked out the window. “We fight.”

  “Yes, we do,” Daniella said. “Let’s go check on the ward one more time. All the wards, in fact.” She was referring to warding the town from us, and then warding around Pearl Street so that hopefully Ashlar couldn’t get out and go harass our little town. They’d been set this morning, but it didn’t hurt to check.

  It always seemed when shit went sideways, other supernatural elements jumped in to cause problems and move their own agenda forward. Strong wards would be a good thing on all kinds of levels.

  I stood with my sisters as we cast the spells that held the wards. Nothing was amiss. It was a gorgeous day, and the sun was shining. The sky was a vibrant blue, and there were no clouds.

  “No sense dawdling,” I said. “Let’s call his mangy ass.”

  If I had to die, at least it would be on my terms, in my home, with my family, on a gorgeous day.

  Zane held up his arms, and began to chant.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Quadrato autem dicamus, Ashlar. Precipimus tibi quod ostendam tibi, et stare ante nos.” Zane spoke slowly, and as he finished the incantation, he paused, then repeated it in the same slow, measured tones. He scattered herbs as he did so, something he must have made because none of us had made it for him.

  After listening to him repeat the words several times, we joined him, all six of us. There was a bit of stumbling over the Latin from the Deanas, but I thought they did well.

  The ground began to rumble.

  “Oh, shit,” Deirdre breathed.

  “Keep going,” I hissed.

  The rumbling increased, and a crack burst in the middle of the small road in front of our house. Shit. We’d have to get that fixed before winter.

  Red light burst from it, then a plume of dark, dank, evil-smelling vapor.

  “Brimstone,” Daniella said, wrinkling her nose. “Desi, get inside.”

  “God, that stinks,” Dee said.

  “Wait till you see Tall, Dark, and Gross,” I muttered. My stomach fluttered, and I felt the nerves rising up in my throat, threatening to upend breakfast. No. I would not puke in front of the demon or anyone else. “Oh, shit! Wait! Take this.” I pulled the sword from my pants, not ripping them, which was a plus for me. “Put it down the back of your shirt,” I said to Deirdre as I moved inside and went to stand inside the bay window with Beeval.

  She tucked it under her shirt, and Daniella moved close to her, with Deana on the other side of Deirdre. It was good to have more than just us.

  The crack widened, and I saw Ashlar’s horned head begin to e
merge.

  “What is this, a Vegas show?” Dee asked.

  I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

  “Apparently, he wants to make an entrance,” DeAnna said.

  I wondered where this sass had come from— but I was glad to see it.

  Ashlar rose all the way from the crack, and there was a gasp from at least two of the Deanas. I couldn’t look to see which of them it was. I had to keep my eyes on him.

  When he had fully emerged from the crack—from Hell, I guess—he looked around, getting his bearings. When he saw everyone on the front lawn, he frowned.

  “Why have you called me? You shall not have your sister back. She is lost to you.” He crossed his arms.

  “We haven’t called you here for that,” Deirdre said. She and Daniella stood shoulder to shoulder, and something in my heart cried to see them standing there, so bravely. I prayed to the goddesses that nothing would happen to my sisters. Or my nieces. Or Zane.

  Beeval and I were already on our second lives.

  The little demon peered over the window sill. “He not know we gone,” he said, his ears flopping as he watched the goings-on in front of us. “This good for us.”

  “Yes it is, but what are we going to do about it?” I said.

  “They use sword, then we use magic,” Beeval said. “We kill.”

  For such a sweet demon, he had a seriously rock-hard side of him.

  “What spells are you using?” I asked, kneeling down, keeping my eyes on the show outside.

  “Killing spell. You have one?”

  I sighed. “Yes.”

  “Then we use killing spell.”

  I didn’t like to use them. Killing felt wrong. I’d had to do it a few times, and it never felt good. But in this case, perhaps I could get over myself, because Ashlar deserved it, if anyone did. That and I wanted to live.

  “We are not here to discuss Desdemona—” Deirdre continued.

  “You should be. It is because of the Desdemonas you will suffer. Had the elder of the line held to her end of the bargain, you would not be suffering.” Ashlar smiled, and it was a terrible thing to see.

  He really needed to brush his teeth. I could see that from here.