Mystery's Choice (Vengeance Of The Fallen Book 1)

by Tanya Simon

  “You keep saying devil, not demon. There is only one devil, right?” Ryan studied her profile when they stopped at a light. “Why do you keep saying devil?” The light turned and someone honked at him. Starting, he drove forward.

  “Unh Uh. The things in our room that you could see they were demons, lesser beings, created by Satan after the fall. Those angels that followed him and fell with him became known as devils. Their descendants, which I am one of, are also devils. Cain as a child of Satan is a devil.” She looked to see if he was shrinking away from her. He was just listening and driving. “I am apparently only half, because my mother is a very powerful witch, but for the most part human. All of the Roodmasi leaders through time, have been of Cain’s line, so she has some devil in her, though it is diluted.” She closed her eyes, sometimes this was all to much for even her to take in. “Felicity told me the cult is called the Roodmasi, because they had such reason to celebrate Christ’s death, that they named themselves after the day. My mother said in the vision that I am the culmination of evil’s union with evil. That said to me Cain has been coming back or Satan has and knocking up someone or a couple of someones in line to lead the Roodmasi. Making sure the bloodline stay diluted enough for them to lose their humanity and therefore, their usefulness, but enough to keep them strong and powerful.”

  “Just keep remembering you are one of the good guys. Remind yourself every time they try to use your son to get you to turn. Remind yourself when you are sick of buying new refrigerators and dishwashers. Remind yourself when demons attack in the middle of the night. Just keep reminding yourself you are God’s child and you’ll be just fine.”

  He parked the car and they went inside. “I will.” She looked over at him. “I’m glad you are here, Ryan.”

  “And I will be as long as you need. I was thinking of going to get more of my stuff tomorrow morning, I could be back before night fall.”

  “Okay. Except for the one time they have only bothered us at night lately. At first, it was whenever I was alone in the house. Now they need the power of the night to get past my protective charms.”

  “Who did the charms?”

  “A friend of mine who is a cop. She is also a witch. She got called out to the house after the first attack.” Mystery put lotion in the basket.

  “Is she safe?’ He handed Mystery the type of toothpaste Seth had used since he was a teenager.

  Mystery smiled as she put in the basket. “Not much for variety is he?”

  “Nope.”

  “Felicity says she is perfectly safe, this group has been after her before, she imagines they will come after her again. She says she is ready for them.” She put perfume and bath wash in the basket. They both laughed as Ryan handed her the kind Seth used. “She is a pretty powerful witch. I don’t doubt whatever personal protection she has over herself and her home will keep her safe. I don’t think Cain will go after her himself, he’s too busy with me.” They headed up to the checkout stands.

  On the way to the car Ryan stopped. “Did she put protection spells on you and Seth individually?”

  “Yes.” Mystery loaded the bags into the trunk. “She is very thorough. No one was prepared for Cain to be Cain. He is the antichrist; there isn’t a charm that can keep him out of anywhere he wants to go. All I’ve been able to do is piss him off, and I am his child. I don’t know what all my powers are, but I do know if he had wanted me dead yesterday, I would be dead. I couldn’t stop him.”

  “There’s still a part of my brain which wants to reject all of this.” Ryan pulled back into traffic and listened to Mystery’s soft-spoken directions. When they pulled into the driveway, the delivery truck pulled in behind them.

  “If it’s too much for you, Ryan, go. Go now while you still can, while you aren’t on their radar.” Mystery said softly and moved to get out of the car.

  Ryan stopped her. “It’s not too much for me. And I am already on their radar. Even if I wasn’t because of last night; I am because of the woman Cain or someone sent to kill me before I could help you.”

  “What?”

  “About a month ago, I was attacked when I was at home making cocoa. An escaped mental patient tried to slice me into little bits.” He opened his door and got out, Mystery sat there turned away from him. Ryan walked around the car. “I kabonged her in the head with a serving tray and the police took her away.” He pulled her up out of the seat. “I will not let you take on any more guilt for this, you are not the bad guy, they are.”

  “Lady, you did order a refrigerator and dishwasher didn’t you?” The repairmen were waiting anxiously for Mystery to open the door.

  “Yes, I’m sorry.” She opened the door and directed them to the kitchen. She came back and started unloading the bags from the trunk. “I just don’t think I could handle it, if you or Seth, or Felicity or anybody else gets hurt because of me.” She took the bags in the house.

  “We all know the risks. We are all grownups.” Ryan grabbed the rest and followed her.

  “Doesn’t mean I don’t want you all safe.”

  The deliverymen came and went. The window repairmen finished up and left. Mystery looked around her quiet, clean house and prayed for the safety of those she loved.

  “I still have to go to the grocery store. Do you want to come?” Mystery put her coat on and grabbed her keys.

  “No. I think I will wait for Seth.”

  “Okay. I’ll be back in a little while.”

  “Be careful. Bye.”

  As soon as Mystery was out of the driveway, Ryan went upstairs to the guest room and got out the duffel bag he had brought with him on impulse. At the time he scolded himself for being crazy. Now nothing seemed crazy. He took it down the hall and into Mystery and Seth’s bedroom. He took out the holy water vial and sprinkled some around the room, praying for God’s intervention in their struggle. He took the kit and went downstairs to the kitchen; again he sprinkled holy water and said the prayer. After he blessed every room in the house, he went outside and raising his hands and he begged for God’s protection over the house. He figured it couldn’t hurt to add his blessings to Felicity’s charms. He went inside and began to pack his things. He would take the first plane out in the morning and he would be back before sunset.

  That night Mystery watched Ryan and Seth play video games and all of them watched a movie. When they headed upstairs for bed, everyone wondered if they would get any sleep that night.

  “Well. Are you still in the residency program?” Mystery turned down the covers and got into bed.

  “No.” Seth climbed into bed beside her, pulling her close and settling her into the crook of his arm. “She told me I needed to decide whether I wanted to be a doctor or focus on whatever was going on at home. I decided I had more important things going on right now, like a missing son, a fiancée who is under attack from demons almost every night. I thanked her for all the help she had given me and I shook her hand and walked out of the hospital.”

  “Seth, I’m….”

  “Don’t. You and Jeremiah are more important than anything.”

  They held each other until they fell asleep. Several hours later, Seth woke up to go to the bathroom. He turned on the light and shut the door, not wanting to wake Mystery. He put up the seat and went to the bathroom, he yawned and stretched his neck. Seth let out a yelp. It felt like someone had ripped his manhood off.

  Seth looked down and screamed in horror, there was blood covering his crotch and the pain was unbelievable. He tried to reach the door and let Mystery in; she was pounding on the door and calling his name. When he turned he slipped on the blood pooling on the floor and fell, bumping his head on the wall. He cupped his hand over the gushing blood and pushed himself up to his feet, trying once again to let Mystery in. He screamed again, Cain was in the mirror instead of his reflection.

  “This is just a warning. Next time it’s for real. Get out now, while you still can.” Cain winked at Seth.

  Seth realized the pain was gon
e. Looking around at the floor he saw it was clean. Mystery burst into the room, followed closely by Ryan.

  “Oh God! Seth are you okay?” Mystery helped him sit on the toilet lid.

  “Seth?” Ryan could feel the lingering evil in the room. “Tell me what happened.”

  “It was just a warning from Cain.”

  “What kind of warning?” They both asked in unison.

  “I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just go back to bed. I think we’ve had tonight’s little visit.”

  Ryan turned and went back to his room and Mystery got back in bed.

  “Seth?” She patted his side of the bed. “Are you coming?”

  “In a minute.” He turned and went to the door.

  “We have to talk about it sometime.”

  “I know, just not tonight.” He went downstairs to get a good stiff shot of whiskey.

  The next morning, Mystery took Ryan to the airport. He promised to be back by nightfall. She just smiled at him.

  “Call me and let me know what time your plane will be in tonight.”

  “I will” he hugged her, squeezing tighter when he felt her trembling. “Just hang in there until then, okay.”

  “Okay.” She stayed and watched him board. When he was safely aboard the plane she headed home.

  Seth ignored the various aches and pains singing through his body. He had somehow grown accustomed to their song over time and they didn’t matter anymore. He slid a long fingered hand over and tapped the obnoxious alarm to hush its excited beeping.

  When Seth looked at himself in the mirror he saw a face aged beyond its years. Grey eyes were dulled with the pain of longing. His face was sunken and pinched with muted terror.

  He loved Mystery and missed their child fiercely, but this was rapidly becoming too much. Seth almost took a little blue pill to make it better for just a little while, and stopped himself. He wasn’t going back there. Seth was only human and trite as it sounded it mattered in this case. Seth couldn’t trace his lineage any farther than his great-grandmother. He had never even met her, he just knew her name and that she had been Irish. Mystery, on the other hand, could trace her lineage back, hundreds of generations back to its progenitor and she had met him. She was at least part devil and her grandfather? Well her grandfather was the progenitor of all things Evil her grandfather was Satan.

  Even though they had taken Jeremiah, the house shook and vibrated with the howls and screams of Legion. Each night they could hear their son, laughing and cooing, but when they searched for him he was nowhere to be found. Eating was a different nightmare every day. Sometimes, their meal only sat up and clucked or mooed at them. Sometimes, they would cut into their meat and jump as it cried out in pain. Beverages turned into various body fluids depending on the “demon that be’s” mood.

  If Seth were to be honest he would admit last night had been it. He wanted to go back to the logical, centered world, where the sun made the world warm and full of light. Where hamburgers tasted great and never mooed at you, and where he would only have to drink normal things, like soda. But, could he leave? Was Mystery somehow protecting him, without knowing? After all, she had virtually no control over her newfound powers. As he shaved, Seth convinced himself he would be safe. And like a coward, he rushed to pack a suitcase and leave before Mystery got back from the airport. He didn’t want a confrontation; he wanted just to be gone when she got back. He would call and explain later, after he was far away. He shook his head at himself; the idea Mystery was protecting him sounding silly now. He loaded his suitcase in the car, took one last look at the house and he pulled out of the driveway and drove away.

  Mystery knew the minute she walked in the house Seth was gone. She had sensed whatever Cain had done to him last night had been too much for him to handle. She went upstairs and checked the closet and seeing his suitcase gone she sat down on the bed. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She thought of Ryan and decided to tell him to stay away; she didn’t want to be responsible for his safety; she would rather he make sure Seth was safe. She picked up the phone and called her brother-in-law, the conversation consisted mostly of shouting, but she had finally convinced Ryan to go look for his brother and make sure he was all right. Mystery curled up in a little ball and willed the world away. She awoke several hours later, when she felt someone smoothing her brow. Mystery opened her eyes and backed away when she saw the woman from her dreams sitting on the bed beside her.

  “Your son is well, Melusine, I mean Mystery.” Raevanne said softly as she stood and smoothed her dress.

  “Who are you?”

  “I am your mother.”

  “Then why are you letting him do this to me.” Mystery curled around the pillow in her lap.

  “It is the Master’s will. I cannot stop it. Only you can stop it, by coming home.” Raevanne touched her hair and was pleased when she didn’t pull away. She sat on the edge of the bed again.

  “Is Melus…? Is that my given name?” Mystery asked as she curled her legs up and leaned on them.

  “Yes, your named is Melusine Khatima Natasson” Raevanne cupped her daughter’s cheek. “Please come home, to your son, to me, to your people.”

  “I can’t do that. I am a Christian.” Mystery looked into her mother’s beautiful, sad face.

  “I know. Time is running short, if you don’t come willingly, Cain will kill you and Jeremiah. I am not powerful enough to stop it.”

  “You would if you could?” Astonishment showed on her fragile features.

  “Of course I would. You are my only child and Jeremiah is my only grandchild. I love you both.” Sorrow dripped from each word.

  “I can’t go.”

  “You won’t go. Which is completely different.”

  Mystery looked up again and Raevanne was gone, leaving only the memory of her perfume behind.

  Mystery sprang up at the sound of the doorbell, she laughed at herself and went to look out of the peephole. She wasn’t surprised to see Ryan standing on the other side of the door, suitcase in hand. Even though she had told him she wanted him to stay away for his own safety, she knew he would come anyway; it was just how he was made. She tried to muster up a smile as she opened the door, but she failed miserably. He just peered at her as if he was trying to read her thoughts or find answers in her face, and quietly walked through the door and into the living room.

  “I don’t want to hear it.” He said as he held up a hand to her imagined protest. “I have no idea what my brother was thinking when he took off and left you here alone, but I have no intention of doing so, so just save the rant.” He shrugged his way out of his coat and hung it on the hall tree and stomped upstairs to put down his suitcase.

  Mystery just watched him as he stormed up the stairs, opened the door to the guest room, flung his suitcase in and stormed back down the stairs. “You would think the small, tiny, little problem of the world being plunged into darkness, forever, would be enough reason to stay, even if he had decided he doesn’t love you. Our parents raised him with more backbone than to run off in the middle of a fight!” He stomped into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee and took it to the kitchen table to sit down. “You!” He pointed at Mystery. “Have you eaten?”

  Mystery looked at him and shook her head, she was going to explain she had only just gotten up, but he was off again.

  He stood and went to the refrigerator and pulled out the milk and got down a bowl and gathered the cereal, slamming all three down on the table. “You will eat a bowl of cereal, without giving me a hard time.” He said sternly.

  Mystery tried to hide her smile and went to the table and sat down next to him. “Yes, sir. Aiyee, Sir.”

  “I can not imagine what part of this is remotely funny.”

  “I have only been up for about 25 minutes and I had planned to get something after I had my first cup of coffee, but you were so busy having a fit, I didn’t get a chance to tell you.” She couldn’t help it she burst out laughing.

  Ry
an looked at her, put his head down and his shoulders shook with laughter. When he looked up at her, he was smiling. “I guess I was on a tear, as our gran used to say.” He rubbed his face, stopping to scratch his stubble.

  “You couldn’t have gotten much sleep since we talked last night. Why don’t you eat a bowl of cereal with me and go up and take a nap, before you get back on a plane and go home.” Mystery looked at him, her eyes haunted. “I don’t know what they did to Seth, that he took off like he did, but I don’t want them to do the same thing to you. So, just go home and let me try to deal with this the best I can.”

  Ryan reached across the table and took her hand. “Mystery, if you lose, not only you will pay the price for it. Mankind will spend 1,000 years in darkness at Satan’s mercy. There has to be someone here reminding you. With Seth gone, they have the advantage, they have your son.”

  Mystery tried to make herself eat the cereal, but at the mention of her son, she gave up and put the spoon down. She missed him so much, she could hear him crying for her, but she knew she couldn’t find him. Cain wouldn’t let her. “You are right, I miss my son, but I don’t want anyone to pay for this with their lives. You and my friends are all in danger, you staying here and dying won’t bring Jeremiah home or make this nightmare stop.”