The Heart of Arima.

by Emma V. Leech

  No! Not now, it simply wasn't possible.

  He stepped towards me and his vast wings trailed over the polished wood floor, leaving golden dust glittering in their wake. “I kept my end of our bargain, Tacitus and his followers are dead, your loved ones are safe. It is time to pay your debt.”

  I trembled harder and stifled a sob.

  Corin moved beside me. "Sariel, Jéhenne has been through a lot, could you not give her a little time before you call in your debt?" I looked up at him gratefully and he smiled at me, taking my hand in his and holding tight but I knew the sympathy in his eyes was because he knew as well as I did that Sariel wouldn't change his mind.

  "I cannot, time is running out. He will act soon, events will begin to unfold. You must do as I say." To my surprise Sariel crouched down and reached forward, taking my free hand and holding it between both of his. They were surprisingly rough and calloused and I could only imagine it was from swinging the heavy swords that he had strapped on his back between his wings. I couldn’t imagine angels did much in the way of manual labour.

  “What do I have to do?” I croaked, wishing with all my heart that Corvus was here, but then again ... I looked to see Corin kneeling half naked beside me. Maybe not.

  “You must return the key to Hekatê.”

  I nodded and he continued.

  “There is something very precious that I wish returned to me. It was taken from me a very long time ago and now, with your help, I can get it back.”

  Well maybe that didn't sound so bad, I thought tentatively, maybe I was overreacting. “Where do I have to go?”

  His wings shook again, making me jump, and he released my hand and walked the length of the bedroom before turning to answer me. “The region is in the underworld, it is known as Arima.”

  I felt Corin draw in a sharp breath beside me and I looked up at him anxiously. "What, where is it?"

  He looked at me with pity in his eyes and I felt sick."Arima is a dangerous place, Jéhenne," he said softly. "It lies at the gates of Tartarus."

  Oh shit.

  My head swam and Sariel grabbed hold of me to keep me upright. Tartarus: the realm of demons and fire, the place where the evils of the world were condemned to burn and suffer for all eternity. Sariel lifted me as if I weighed nothing and got to his feet. He sat me gently on the edge of the bed, still wrapped in the duvet and shivering violently.

  “I’m sorry, Jéhenne. It is a place I am forbidden to enter. You are my only means of getting what belongs to me.”

  “If I get out again!” I screamed, desperation at what he was asking me for making me care less about who I was speaking with.

  For a moment I thought I saw a flash of guilt in his eyes, but it was soon gone. He grasped my arms and the violet eyes fixed on me. “I have faith in you.”

  “Well that makes me feel so much better!” I said through gritted teeth. “And what exactly am I supposed to be getting for you, Sariel?” His hands tightened on my arms and for a moment I didn’t think he was going to respond. “I can’t get it if I don’t know what it is,” I pressed, wondering what could be so important to him.

  “My heart.”

  Involuntarily my eyes were drawn to the heavy scar that marred the smooth perfection of his chest. I knew the story; Sariel had fallen in love with a half-demon. It was strictly forbidden, and the arch-angel Gabriel had forced him to kill the girl and had cut out his heart. Gabriel had made sure the scar hadn’t healed to serve as a warning to others and a reminder to Sariel. As if it was something you’d forget.

  I swallowed, incredulous. “Your… Ugh! Seriously?”

  There was humour in his eyes when he spoke, “Jéhenne, I am not mortal, not flesh and blood. It will not be…gory.”

  Small mercies, I thought hysterically.

  “And where exactly in Arima is it?” I asked with a heavy feeling of inevitability. Why, oh why, did I just know I hadn’t heard the worst of it yet?

  “In the belly of the Ekhidna.”

  I looked at him in stunned silence and I heard Corin get to his feet, swearing a diatribe of incomprehensible language and simmering with anger. I had the desperate urge to say ‘what he said’, as he was clearly cursing Sariel to hell and back judging from the angel's expression. I hardly dared ask but, let’s face it, it simply wasn’t possible for it to get any worse. “Ummm, Sariel, I'm getting the feeling that you're not asking me to sacrifice a goat or something so tell me, please ..." I forced the word outs, endeavouring to be civil to the angel. "What is the Ekhidna?”

  There was a pause and Corin glared at him, as if daring him to say it out loud. “A she-dragon.”

  I leaned forward to put my head between my knees in the hope of stopping the spinning sensation. “So let me get this clear, you want me to go into the deepest depths of the underworld, to the very gates of Tartarus and, just supposing I survive the journey, you want me to go and kill a dragon and retrieve your heart, which for some reason is in her belly.”

  I looked up and met Sariel’s violet eyes and saw that they were filled with pain. “I know what I am asking of you, Jéhenne, and if there was any other way I would take it, but I cannot move on without my heart. I should be an arch-angel by now, and then in time I will evolve.”

  I was aware of a deep and terrible sorrow around him. What had he seen in his long existence? What more could the world hold for him? “Evolve into what?” I asked, curious despite my own horror at what he was demanding.

  He shrugged, a strangely human gesture. “Something that you would find hard to comprehend. A being with no corporeal existence, no emotions, just …energy. I weary of this world, Jéhenne. I long for peace. You don’t know how lucky you are to be able to die. when the time comes for you to decide you must think carefully. Immortality can be both a blessing and a curse.”

  Yeah, real lucky, that's me, I thought bitterly. In any case I wouldn’t be able to make that decision until my twenty-first birthday and frankly, I doubted I would live long enough to have a chance to choose.

  I knew I couldn’t refuse Sariel. I had made a deal, one that Corvus had warned me not to make, but I couldn’t regret it, even now. If not for Sariel, things might have turned out very differently. Corvus and all the people I cared about had survived that night, and now I had to pay for that.

  I looked up at him and knew there was little else to say. He knew I'd do it because I had no choice in the matter. “I don’t suppose you have any handy hints or tips on how to kill a she dragon?”

  To my surprise he nodded. “There is very little information but there are some ancient manuscripts held by the librarian. I have instructed her to show them to you.”

  “You have a librarian?”

  “Yes, she holds many of the supernatural community’s ancient texts and manuscripts.”

  I remembered Inés speak of the library when she spoke of Aradia's Book of Shadows. Of course there would be at least one here in France.

  “Where do I have to go?”

  Sariel looked at Corin. "You know it."

  "I know where it is."

  "Very well, Corin will take you now."

  "No! No, please." I looked at Corin anxiously, I wanted to be as far from him as possible. "No offence but ... Not with him, can't you just give me instructions?"

  "No, he will accompany you. There is no time to lose. She awaits your visit."

  Corin shrugged an apology, not that it was his fault. Well, at least it would be quiet surrounded by books. It would give me a few moments peace. I mean, even with Corin in tow, not even I could get into trouble in a library.

  Chapter 29

  After Sariel had gone we were left alone with an uncomfortable silence. Corin went to a large chest of drawers and picked out some clothes, and then gestured to me.

  "I'm afraid your dress is ruined but you can help yourself to whatever you can find, until you can change." I opened a drawer and picked out a jumper, pulling it on and rolling the sleeves up.

  "I'll see
you downstairs." He went to leave but he sounded so terribly low and I felt dreadfully guilty. He had been so very happy at the thought of a son and now to find we had both been tricked was unbearably painful. It wasn't my fault but I felt the guilt of it anyway.

  "Corin, wait." He paused in the doorway but didn't turn around. "I'm sorry." He didn't answer and I crossed the room to him, putting my hand on his shoulder. "I'm so very sorry."

  He shook his head. "No you're not, but it's alright. Not your fault." His voice was rough and I made him turn to look at me. There was such sorrow in his eyes that I felt my heart ache for him.

  He lifted his hand and stroked my cheek gently. "I cannot decide if I envy Corvus or pity him for all you put him through but ...to be loved as you love him- I would like to know how that feels.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “I think you have to hang around long enough for them to get to know you, Corin.”

  He nodded. “A fair point.” He held my gaze, his expression serious. “I would have very much liked to have had a child with you. I feel I have lost something terribly precious. He would have been very special." He smiled at me but it was such a sad smile and I felt my eyes fill. It was stupid, I didn't want his child, the child I loved was from another life, existing somewhere. Here or in the underworld, I didn't know where but I would find him, somehow. In all honesty my overwhelming emotion now was one of relief, relief that I didn't have to betray Corvus, but Corin was right too, and I smiled at him.

  "Yes, I think he would have been very special indeed."

  He hesitated for a moment before drawing me towards him. He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine very briefly. "Thank you," he said simply, and left me alone.

  Once downstairs I retrieved my shoes from the garden to find they were sopping wet, and Corin stopped off at the cottage so I could run in and get changed. I crept in as quickly and silently as I could, pulling on my jeans and boots with relief and creeping out again. The last thing I needed was an interrogation from Inés.

  The next stop was at Rodney's house. I'd asked Corin to call in so that he could come with us. I just felt happier knowing I had a chaperone. Not because I thought anything would happen but so that I had a witness for Corvus. I'd expected him to complain but he'd said nothing, just asked for directions.

  Thankfully the lights were on at Rodney's when we pulled up. I was relieved I didn't have to wake him up as he hadn't been best pleased with me the last time we'd spoken, without interrupting his beauty sleep too.

  I rang the bell while Corin sat in the car and waited for me.

  Rodney opened the door, his favourite muppet mug in his hand. "Jéhenne! What you doin' 'ere at this hour?" He looked over to see Corin sitting in the car and scowled. "Oh."

  "Don't start, Rodney. It's all been a trick, nothing's happened ... Look." I held out my wrists to show him the tattoos still firmly in place and he pulled a face.

  "Well what's he doin' 'ere then?"

  I pulled at his arm impatiently. "No time to explain. Please will you come with us and I'll tell you everything, I promise."

  He huffed and puffed a bit, muttering about just having made a cup of tea and never getting a minute to himself but he picked up his coat, a long military type thing that hung to his ankles, and closed the front door. He pulled up his collar against the rain and we ran back to the car. I pulled the front seat forward and went to get in the back but he stopped me. "Nah, I'll get in the back."

  Corin nodded at him as he clambered in."Rodney."

  "Evenin', Your Highness."

  "Corin will suffice, thank you," he said, pulling away as I closed the door.

  We wound back down the driveway, the rain pattering on the windscreen as the headlights lit up the dark shapes of the trees, and then Rodney pulled himself forwards. "So then, Jéhenne, you said you'd explain?"

  "Yes, right ... Well."

  I gave a brief outline of what had happened the past few days, skirting around any parts where Corin and I had almost done something, and not giving too much detail, basically ending just before the part where Sariel had decided to give me a nervous breakdown. I studiously avoided looking at Corin and though I saw him glance at me and raise an eyebrow, he kept his mouth shut, for which I was grateful.

  Rodney looked at me through narrowed eyes and I was grateful the car was dark. "What?" I demanded.

  He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms, saying nothing.

  "What?"

  "Nuthin', luv, just wondering when I was gonna get the unedited version."

  I huffed and folded my arms. "Nothing happened. I mean ... Nothing much ... I ... Really there's ... I ... Oh!"

  Rodney raised his eyebrows and Corin sighed heavily. I turned around and flounced back into my seat feeling aggrieved as Rodney snorted and sat forward, tapping Corin on the shoulder.

  "Mate, you're a dead man. Corvus is gonna rip your bleedin' head off."

  Corin cursed under his breath and shot me an exasperated look. "Really, Jéhenne, is that the best you could do? I've never heard someone give such a pathetic explanation."

  I thumped his arm in annoyance. "You know I'm a terrible liar, you said it was endearing!"

  He glared at me, his eyes flashing in the darkness. "Yes, well excuse me if I find it less so when you're putting my life on the line!"

  "Oh! I thought you weren't frightened of Corvus?" I snapped back, feeling bitchy.

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel and I got the impression he was reigning in his temper. "Facing your vampire when I had stolen his woman and gotten her with child was one thing, doing it when I have neither had the pleasure nor gained the responsibility is something else entirely!"

  I opened my mouth to remark that he seemed to have had a fair bit of pleasure from where I had been sitting, or laying, and then remembered who was in the car and shut it again. To be fair he did have a point.

  I turned round to look at Rodney, feeling anxious that he was pissed off again. "Are you mad at me?"

  He laughed and shook his head. "Nah, luv, it sounds like there was ...extenuating circumstances, and I did warn you didn't I? Like I said." He jerked his head in Corin's direction. "I've seen 'im in action." Corin grunted with amusement as Rodney continued. "I was at that party down south, forget where, some bleedin' big Chateau close to the sea, year or two back."

  "Ah yes, a weekend with Le Comtesse de Tarascon and ...friends," Corin said with a smile. "I remember."

  "Really? Blimey, I'm surprised, that was some bleedin' weekend. Corvus 'as had some parties but blimey. Never seen anythin' like it in me life." Rodney was sounding a little awed so I scowled at him. Corin really didn't need any encouragement. "You was in fine form, reckon you could 'ave 'ad me if you'd put yer mind to it," he said, laughing.

  Corin raised his eyebrows. "I'll bear it in mind."

  "I was joking!" Rodney said hurriedly, and Corin chuckled.

  "I think," I said with dignity, "considering the fact that I was being coerced by some powerful, unseen force, you'll find in this case ...nothing happened. Look!" I waved my wrists at him again.

  Rodney sighed and sat back again. He looked serious now. “Yeah, well, luv, that’s all well an’ good but it aint me you gotta convince now, is it?”

  I quailed a little, going quiet. Rodney was right, it didn't matter how I said it, how convincing I was, Corvus would know I was lying. We may not have actually got that far but that's not to say what I'd done was acceptable. I wouldn't accept it. I remembered seeing him with his hands over the girl he was feeding from and wondered if we could call it quits. Somehow I doubted he'd go for that.

  "He'll never forgive me," I said, my voice trembling.

  I heard Corin sigh and he reached over and squeezed my hand. "Yes he will, don't worry."

  I shook my head and sniffed, trying not to cry. "He won't ... And I don't blame him."

  Corin was quiet for a moment and then handed me a handkerchief. "Here, take this. Don't cry, Jéhenne. I pr
omise you I will help you make things right."

  I looked over at him curiously but his face was in shadow. I wondered why he'd help me. Maybe I'd misjudged him. "You will?"

  He smiled and nodded. "Dry your eyes, all will be well, I promise."

  I did as I was told. I wasn't sure I believed him. Short of going back in time, I didn't see how we could fix this but it was comforting to think he had a plan. "Who carries silk handkerchiefs?" I exclaimed after covering the delicate scrap of blue silk with mascara.

  He laughed, and it was the wicked sound I had come to associate with him. "Oh, I find ladies often have need of them so I always I come prepared.”

  I shook my head. "Yeah, I bet you break a lot of hearts, huh?" I went to give the hanky back but he gestured for me to keep it, so I put it in my pocket. "Doesn't it get boring? You don't find it ...rather shallow?"

  He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Not so far." Something told me he wasn't telling the complete truth but I didn't call him on it. Instead I just laughed.

  "You're such a tart, Corin."

  He shrugged. “I've been called worse."

  Now that I could believe.

  A couple of hours later and the sky had lightened a little, the dawn creeping over the land as we drove into Beynac. We parked by the river, which was swollen and rushing greedily along after the heavy rain of the past few weeks.

  I hoped it wouldn’t take too long to get the information. At least Rodney knew what to do and where to go. He'd been here lots of times for Corvus. I still hadn't told him why we'd come and the look on his face when I'd explained about the Ekhidna must have mirrored my own when Sariel had told me what my debt would cost me.

  "Bleedin' 'ell!" he exclaimed softly. "Bleedin' 'ell."

  None of us seemed to be able to add much to that and we all just stood there staring gloomily at each other. I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked up at the imposing structure of Beynac Fortress, which sat high up above the village on a limestone cliff, glowering over the countryside.