by Lori Adams
His compulsion won’t work this time. None of the members will look him in the eye. Not even Lord Brutus, who stands apart from the other members. Lord Malachi turns his back on Dante and has an aggressive argument with Lord Kruell. Dante is gripped with fear. Lord Kruell heads the War Council. No doubt Lord Malachi wants to know what hazards they face if they refuse Lord Giano’s offer.
Dante feels Lovaria trembling on his arm and absently pats her hand. He can’t bear to see the fear in her eyes so he looks at his father instead. Lord Giano’s hawk eyes are trained on Lord Malachi, yet he speaks quietly to his son.
“If this fails, they know I will launch a war. The fifth kingdom is ill equipped against the power of the third. And they know it. Better that you take your rightful place at my side, as you should have done when we were alive.” He turns and glares at Dante from behind his mask.
“You are a sick and twisted old man,” Dante says bitterly. “I was never the greedy whoremonger you wanted me to be. Even now, you are as revolting to me as you ever were.”
“The Montecchi name has become a powerful monarchy, just as I had always hoped. Your uncles and their faithful sons rule by my side. It’s time that you put away your foolish, boyhood fantasies and join our cause. Make no mistake, Dante. You will not embarrass me a moment longer. Only the blood of my blood will reign in the third kingdom.”
The Order breaks apart, having come to their decision. Lord Malachi takes his seat and waves over The Order’s royal guards in their black and green liveries. They are big and intimidating and await instructions.
“Secure Lord Brutus for the Death Bunker,” Lord Malachi commands. The old man quivers with outraged shock. Two of the guards rush him, clamping shackles around his wrists and throat while he yells obscenities and curses at Lord Malachi. Then a guard yanks the chain, causing the old man to choke on his words. To Lord Malachi’s delight, the crowd breaks into applause and hateful jeers.
To Lord Giano, Lord Malachi smiles. “We kindly accept your offer. You and your son may travel to the border unmolested by our guards. But the girl stays.”
“No!” Lovaria cries out. “You can’t do that!”
“Oh?” Lord Malachi says, in a mocking tone. “Can you give me a reason why I shouldn’t?”
Lovaria digs her nails into Dante’s sleeve as her mind scrambles for an answer. Another empty threat of using her Chelsea Light against them will be useless. Everything has changed, now that Dante has been sold. She will be nothing more than a slave herself until she gains her light, which she knows will never happen. Once Lord Malachi discovers that he has been tricked, she will surely suffer some ghastly torture. Her fate is sealed unless Dante can save her.
—
I can’t bear to watch Lovaria struggling for a way to stay with Dante. Neither one wants to go to the third kingdom, and neither one wants to be separated. I’m desperate to reach her and make us whole again. If the guards take her away, I may never get close enough to touch her.
Degan comes to the same conclusion because he yells out, “Let them dance! Let them dance! One last time!”
It strikes a chord with the restless crowd and they repeat the plea, gradually building it into a demanding chant. Clapping and thumping and calling for a dance, for the barbaric noise they call music to start up. Here, in the lap of evil, an odd request for mercy takes hold. Lord Malachi must feel high from his defeat of Lord Brutus and Dante. He allows his future spirit walker to share one dance with her lost prince.
“So be it!” he calls, happy to please his motley crew of damned. He has become a hero in their eyes, and signals for the music to begin.
I groan. It’s torture to watch them dance, or at least try to dance. Dante and Lovaria move stiffly as though terrified to let go of each other. Too many emotions are swirling through me; I’m losing sight of what I came here to do.
“Let’s go,” Degan whispers, taking my hand.
“Whoa, what?”
“Genius, right? The only way to get you close enough was to start the dancing.”
I look back at the dance floor. Lovaria looks frightened beyond speech and clings to Dante. He is going through the motions while scoping out the grotto for exits. Vaughn and Bailey are doing much the same, although Bailey is wrapping herself so tightly around him that he’s struggling to move. Lord Giano’s loud protests are drowned out by the music and the damned spilling onto the dance floor.
Degan is right. I can slip through the crowd and reach Lovaria, maybe even pull her aside and explain that I’m here to save her from Lord Malachi. Things have changed, so there’s a chance she won’t protest too much.
With Rama on my heels, I follow Degan onto the dance floor, which is quickly becoming overcrowded. We are weaving in and around some bizarre costumes and grotesque masks that freak me the hell out. We’re halfway through the middle when I’m stopped by the soldier in the bright red uniform and black mask. He’s been staring at me since I gasped earlier. Now I can see the brass buttons, gold tassels, black pants, and white gloves of his full costume. A tricornered hat and a black mask covers his head and face. He extends his hand.
“A dance, my lady?” he asks in a pleasant but muffled voice behind the mask. “Um, no thanks,” I say, hedging away. There is something oddly familiar about his costume. He grabs my arm and cocks his head.
“But I insist. After all, you denied me the last time I asked.” His fingers curl painfully around my arm and I grimace.
“You must be mistaken.”
Rama moves beside me and tells the guy to get lost. The soldier doesn’t acknowledge him.
“Oh, I am not mistaken. And this time, there is no hidden door to choose from.” He peels off his hat and mask. He is unrecognizable to me, bald with black, angry eyebrows and a black goatee. But his eyes capture my attention, black and hooded, dead eyes I’ll never forget.
“Wolfgang,” I spit out.
He draws me closer and lays a blade against my throat. “Back off,” he snarls at Rama. Then he drags me through the crowd toward the dais. “Stop the music!” he shouts. Over and over he yells until his command is obeyed.
“What is the meaning of this?” Lord Malachi yells down. “Who are you to shout orders here?”
The damned commoners herd back until only Dante and Lovaria, and Vaughn and Bailey remain in the center. They are surrounded by Lord Giano and his guards. I am at Wolfgang’s mercy, his blade cold against my skin and his other hand now a vise around the back of my neck.
“I am the one to save you from making a fool of yourself!” Wolfgang says, shaking me for emphasis. I wince and fight to keep my Chelsea Light pressed against my leg. From the corner of my mask, I see Rama and Degan moving around the edge of the dance floor. They look terrified.
“Explain yourself before I have you locked in the Death Bunker,” Lord Malachi demands.
Wolfgang laughs. “There is nothing you can do to me that you haven’t already done. I am Wolfgang, the monster you helped create.”
Lord Malachi startles. He looks down the row of seats to Lord Brutus standing in chains. Grinning.
“Welcome back,” the old man addresses Wolfgang, his cracked lips stretching into a tight smile around rotten teeth. “And what do you have for us?”
“Silence!” Lord Malachi yells. “You are a prisoner here! Speak again and I will have your tongue removed and shoved down your throat!” Turning back, his eyes narrow on Wolfgang. “So you’ve taken the form of a common human. How very imaginative of you.”
“Among others.”
“And what of these claims that I’ve been made a fool?”
“You’ve been played. But don’t feel bad, you weren’t the only one.” He jerks me around to face Dante, who looks appropriately confused. Beside him, Lovaria is so pale her lips have gone white. “Remove her mask,” Wolfgang orders Dante. As expected, Dante refuses. He is defiant to the end, especially against Wolfgang.
“Do it,” Lord Malachi orders. A guard steps forward a
nd pulls away Lovaria’s beautiful golden mask and veil. She lets go a whimper and reaches for it but it’s thrown to the floor. Her gaze flickers toward me, and then she grasps Dante’s lapels, forcing his attention.
“I love you!” she cries. “Il mi amore, you are mine! Forever!”
Dante covers her hands with his. He hushes her outburst, but his eyes never leave Wolfgang. He has no idea what’s coming.
There is nothing I can do as Wolfgang slips his fingers behind my mask and tears it away. It breaks apart and I blink against the burst of light. When I lift my face to Dante, his mouth opens in surprise. He is frozen with shock.
Lord Malachi is enraged without clearly understanding why. He yells something incoherent and marches down from the dais. “What the hell is this?”
“Two of them,” Wolfgang says.
Bailey bursts out laughing. She claps her hands and doubles over in a fit of delight. “I can’t believe it! You actually had the guts to come all the way down here and get her! Holy fucking shit!”
“Shut up!” I yell at the demon inside her. Wolfgang shifts the blade, and I go still and hold my breath. He’s cut me. I feel a sharp sting through the warm blood trickling down my neck.
“Tell me what this means,” Lord Malachi demands. He is losing his patience, so Bailey explains how she gave me the idea to use a spell to create my twin. How Ka and I were supposed to stay close to each other, certainly not separated in different realms.
“Only, poor Dante had no idea that he brought the wrong Sophia to Hell.” She gives him a fake pout that morphs into soft giggles.
Dante pries Lovaria’s fingers from his lapel and steps back. He rips away his own mask to better see her. “Lovaria,” he whispers. “Is it…” He looks at me and I feel a terrible ache in my heart. He is torn with confusion.
Lovaria cups his face, taking back his attention. “It’s me,” she says. “I am here, my beloved. Same as before.”
Dante is unsure. I can’t imagine all the questions flying through his head. It’s unbelievable. Unfair.
“This has nothing to do with our agreement,” Lord Giano announces, sounding harsh and practical. “I will be taking my son and leaving you to your business.”
Lord Malachi gives a signal, and royal guards from all around jog up the aisles and quickly surround us. They stand at attention with swords and long spears. “No one is leaving,” he says. “You may have your son when I am through with him. Now, Dante, you will tell me which one is the real Sophia.”
Dante’s nostrils flare. His jaw muscle flexes with anger. He understands that he has been tricked. He backs away from Lovaria and looks at each one of us in turn.
“Who is the real Lovaria?” he asks.
“That is not the question!” Lord Malachi yells. “I want the spirit walker!”
“I am!” Lovaria blurts out. She reaches for Dante but stops short when he flinches. “You know it’s me, Dante. You and Isatou gave me the potion! I have the memories!”
Dante considers and then looks at me. “Do you have the memories? Do you remember our past life together?”
When I don’t answer, Wolfgang shakes me. “Yes!” I yell. Then I lower my voice and give him a soft, reassuring smile. “Yes, Dante, I finally remember. Everything. I didn’t want to believe it but…I do remember.”
He is distraught. I can see the torment warring inside him. He has spent so much time with Lovaria that he can’t believe he couldn’t tell the difference. He won’t allow himself to believe it. He stares at the floor, contemplating. Then something occurs to him and he looks back at me.
“Everything?” he asks. “Even that question you asked me on the subway? The one I said we would discuss at length. You know the answer now?”
Shit! He’s asking if I remember that he committed suicide. If I remember that he tricked me into killing myself, too. Does he really want to go into this now, for crap’s sake?
“I do!” Lovaria shouts. “I already told you I remember our deaths.” She moves toward him but the guards lower their spears and stop her from advancing.
Dante frowns at her and then at me. I’m compelled to explain, although I’d rather not go into details at the moment.
“She and I share memories now. She remembers, as I remember, as she remembers. I know it’s confusing, and I’m sorry. She is the twin that I created, but we share memories of everything.”
“So you both remember our past life together?”
“Yes. And I remember our deaths, too. I know what you did to yourself. And to me. I remember how you tricked me.”
He swallows hard, his eyes growing moist. “And…you forgive me?”
“I do!” Lovaria cries again. She is trembling in desperation.
“Has she told you everything?” I ask, putting a stop to her whimpering. She glares at me. “Has she told you about Isatou’s betrayal?”
Dante’s head snaps back to Lovaria. Lord Malachi grins and smacks his hands together. “Ah, another betrayal. Come forward, witch. Tell us how you betrayed our lovesick Demon Knight.”
Isatou refuses until she is pushed forward by someone from the crowd. A royal guard grabs her arm, rips away her imp mask, and shoves her next to Dante. Lord Malachi orders her to reveal her secret.
“It was Diavolessa,” she says with a quivering voice. “When she came to Take your soul, I told her…not to come back for Lovaria. I knew she was a future spirit walker, even then. I knew someone would come for her soul. I knew…” Isatou grimaces as though Dante might strike her. His expression hardens and his eyes cut to Diavolessa.
“Yeah, I tried to tell you, you stubborn son of a bitch. I was never asked to Take Lovaria’s soul. Your little witch friend wanted you for herself and made other arrangements. So after you sent me to the Nether Region for a betrayal I never committed, I wanted nothing but revenge against you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dante demands of Lovaria. Her eyes fly open.
“I…I am the one with Lovaria’s soul! You know that! You can sense it, Dante.” She looks around, frantic. “You all can sense it! I have the soul! Sophia doesn’t even have a soul and—”
“Why?” Dante shouts.
“I am the real spirit walker!” she shouts back. “None of that matters now!”
Lord Malachi couldn’t agree more. He’s heard enough. “The only thing that matters to me and The Order is the real spirit walker. So is she right, Dante? You must know; after all, she’s the one you’ve loved all these centuries. The one you’ve tracked down countless times. The one you betrayed me for.” His eyes narrow with hatred. “What’s the matter? Can’t tell which is which? You must have an inkling, don’t you?” He sounds cruel and playful, toying with Dante. When he fails to provoke a reaction, he shrugs. “Very well. Wolfgang, let’s give that one a pretty red necklace.”
Wolfgang jerks my head back, exposing my throat. He shifts the blade to cut me left to right. My left hand reaches for my dagger at the same moment that Dante lunges forward.
“Stop!” he yells. The royal guards catch him. Wolfgang releases me. Lovaria gasps.
“Sophia!” she shouts at Dante. “You will save Sophia?” Her eyes are blazing. She is enraged. Lord Malachi breaks into a deep laugh.
“King Solomon lives!”
“But what if he’s wrong?” Vaughn demands. He shoves the guards away from Dante, who’s too confused to do it himself. “You kill the wrong one and you lose your spirit walker.”
“I wasn’t going to kill her,” Wolfgang grinds out. Then he yanks my right hand from my pocket and tears away the glove. I have just enough time to snatch the parchment with my left hand, but there is no way to cover my Chelsea Light. Wolfgang raises my hand and the bright blue light pulsates, throwing the hovering crowd into a frenzy. They shout and howl and stomp their feet. It takes all the royal guards to hold them back.
Deep in the canals, I hear the lost souls rousing as though waking from a trance. They call out, their mournful cries tearing at my hear
t, urging me to save them. I sway with momentary weakness; it’s irresistible, this craving I have to save them. Then a strangled cry jars me awake. My eyes snap open. Lovaria is racing toward me. She is livid and has pulled a dagger from the folds of her dress. Her eyes are wild in her head, and I see my chance.
I jerk away from Wolfgang and run at her. I begin chanting the spell as I launch myself at her, hoping to catch her from above. She jumps, too, and raises her dagger. We collide in a blinding burst of light. A giant blue ball of energy sends shockwaves through the grotto. Sparks fly, sizzling and snapping. Everyone cowers in collective fear.
The blue light throbs violently for several measures, a pulsating sonar that causes everyone to cover their ears or throw an arm over their eyes. Then it begins to soften around the edges. It shrinks by degrees and strength, eventually withdrawing back into the center of my palm. Lovaria is gone and I am left standing alone. Whole again.
I’m trembling as everything inside me shifts back into place. Vital elements return. My heartbeat surges with renewed energy and warms me throughout. I feel an extraordinary sense of enlightenment, a spiritual drift as though I hadn’t truly reached the pinnacle of my Awakening until this very moment. All the power that has been gifted to me opens up, singing through my body, ready at my fingertips. My soul comes home and I am more than I have ever been.
Timidly, the cowering damned stand tall again, all eyes on me. I find myself facing Diavolessa. She is staring in wonder with those solid black eyes. All I see is Bailey. All I remember is Michael’s instructions for removing a demon from a human vessel.
I march toward her as she laughs with delight. “That was some fucking show, chica bonita.”
I go to hug her but plunge my dagger into her gut instead. Her eyes fly open. Her face stills in shock. Plump red veins web across her skin. Her head snaps back and the veins rush up her throat like incensed worms, desperate to escape. They create a thick, red fog that shoots from her mouth high into the air. It roils and snakes overhead, searching for something. Then it turns and flies straight down Isatou’s throat. The witch is thrown backward in surprise, and Vaughn catches her against his chest.