by Diem, J. C.
“I did not know that angels could heal humans,” he whispered back. “Why are you keeping it a secret?”
“I don’t think he’s supposed to use his power that way,” I explained. “It’s probably best to keep this between us for now.”
Nathan had always saved me from becoming badly injured when he’d been my invisible guardian. The wards that the demons had set around New York negated his ability to hover between worlds. It had also severed his link to me that notified him when I was in mortal danger. Since he couldn’t save me from being injured now, he used his talents to take away my pain instead.
My clothes were stained with blood, so I ducked into my room to change. Feeling strangely full of energy, I didn’t think I’d be able to sit around doing nothing. Choosing a pair of black sweatpants, I paired it up with a matching hoodie.
Sam looked at me in surprise when I stepped into the living room. “I feel like going out. Do you want to come with me?”
Torn between joining me and watching TV, he nodded. “Of course. I have already watched this program anyway.”
With Sam at my heels, I thumped down the stairs. Sophia was at the sink, filling the kettle with water. “Would you like tea?” she asked.
“Not right now, thanks. I’m going to go for a run.”
Leo popped his head through the door. “Did I just hear you correctly? I thought you hated running.”
“I don’t hate it, I’m just not very good at it.”
Brie crowded in beside him, effectively blocking my path. “Why do you feel the sudden urge to exercise?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I’m full of extra energy.”
Staring at me suspiciously, she reached out and grabbed my left wrist. Only belatedly did I remember that it was supposed to be injured. She pushed my sleeve back to reveal my unmarked flesh.
Brie’s expression turned ominous. “What have you done?” she said over her shoulder to Nathan.
He was sitting at the table and the twins turned to face him. For a fleeting moment, he looked guilty, then his expression smoothed out. Taking a deep breath, he answered her question. “I healed her.”
Sophia made a shocked sound and the tray rattled in her hands. “How many times has this happened?” she asked.
Everyone turned to me and my face flamed beneath their stares. “Three,” I admitted.
“We are forbidden from using our powers to heal humans,” Brie said disapprovingly.
Leo was usually on my side, but even he was disturbed by this. “Transferring even a small amount of your power to her can be risky for you both.”
Nathan crossed his arms, apparently unperturbed by their frowns. “The gates to heaven are locked,” he reminded them. “We are on our own and Violet is our only hope of defeating the forces of evil. I will do whatever I feel is necessary to ensure that she is capable of facing her enemies.”
“I do not like it,” Brie said. Her expression was even more sour than usual.
“What a surprise,” I said dryly and pushed my way through the twins and into the front room. “We all know that you’d dance on my grave if the demons manage to kill me.”
“That is not true,” she said stiffly. “I have never danced a step in my life.”
“She would probably unbend enough to clap at your demise, though,” Leo said, mocking his sister.
Following behind me, Sophia ignored our banter and placed the tray on the table. She returned to the original topic of our discussion. “Perhaps it would be best if you burnt off the excess energy. There is no telling what long term effects having grace in your system might have.” She sent a disapproving look at Nathan, but didn’t outright scold him for his actions. It couldn’t be undone, so she’d just be wasting her breath.
“One of us should go with you,” Leo said. Angels weren’t fond of jogging for sport and his reluctance came through loud and clear. Brie was happy enough to run me down and pretend to kill me during our training sessions, but she also turned up her nose at this form of exercise.
“Sam will watch my back, won’t you?” I said.
He sidled past them and slunk over to me. “Of course. I will camouflage us both if we run into any trouble.”
“Besides, these will keep us hidden from demons.” I pointed at Sam’s bracelet. It had lightened to a slightly less dingy shade of gray now. I wished mine was gold like the angels’ and Sophia’s. Having the only red bracelet made me feel even more like a freak.
“They didn’t hide you from the gaze of the raven,” Nathan pointed out.
“It didn’t try to follow us from Central Park,” I shrugged. “If it comes anywhere near us, I’ll stab it in the other eye.” With that, I tugged the door open and stepped out.
Pulling my hood up, I started off at a slow jog. Sam darted forward to catch up to me and ran effortlessly at my side. We dodged around the few pedestrians and jogged to the nearest corner and waited for the lights to change.
Heading eastward, we ran until we reached Park Ave then headed north. Crossing street after street, we kept our eyes out for both the raven and for demons. Sam wore his cap down low, peering out from beneath the bill as he studied faces. He didn’t have the ability to see the red auras that surrounded hell spawn like the others could. Instead, he could feel their evil when he was close enough. It was an extra sense that he’d picked up after being trapped in hell for so long.
Like Fifth and Madison, Park Ave was home to some fairly high end stores. As we headed further north, the stores began to peter out and expensive looking apartment buildings took over.
We stopped at another set of lights and I gaped up at the grand buildings that towered over us. “Could you imagine being rich enough to live in this area?” I said rhetorically. Usually, I’d be panting for breath by now. Thanks to Nathan’s infusion of grace, I was barely breathing hard at all. His kisses seemed to be affecting me more and more strongly each time we locked lips.
A black town car pulled to a stop half a block away just as a door to one of the majestic apartment buildings opened. A doorman stepped aside to let a young blond man out. I froze in surprise when I caught sight of his face before he climbed into the back of the town car.
“The light has changed,” Sam said, but I barely heard him. “Violet? Are you listening to me? You look as though you have seen a ghost.”
“I know him,” I said as the car reached the lights.
“Who?” Sam looked around in puzzlement.
“The boy who just climbed into that car.”
I pointed at the town car and Sam squinted at it. “Who is he?” The windows were too darkly tinted to be able to see inside, but I didn’t need to see his face again.
“It’s Zach.” At his puzzled stare, I elaborated. “He’s the boy I was dating in Denver.”
₪₪₪
Chapter Nine
Shock at seeing Zach in Manhattan kept me rooted to the spot until the car swept past us. With my face hidden by the hood, he wouldn’t have been able to recognize me. Part of me was excited to see him, but the rest was afraid. I’d fled from the scene of my mother’s murder, after all. I hadn’t checked the news articles on the internet to see whether I was the prime suspect in her death or not. I couldn’t bear to see photos of my old home or of my mother. I was still too emotionally wrecked from losing her.
“What is your boyfriend doing here?” Sam asked.
I gave him a disturbed shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think he lives in that building?” He nodded at the hulking structure.
“It wouldn’t surprise me. His father is a banker and he’s pretty wealthy.” I’d seen the outside of his apartment building in Denver once. I hadn’t needed to enter it to know that it had been far more prestigious than my home had been.
Curious about the building, we waited for the lights to change again and headed towards it. As we walked past the door, I glanced inside and goggled at the foyer. The floor was covered in black marble that was threaded wit
h silver. Ornate columns reached upwards to support the high ceiling, which was also made of black and silver marble. A desk that looked like it belonged in a high-end hotel was manned by an attractive woman in her early thirties.
The doorman stood just inside the doors. He wore a maroon uniform with gold accents and a self-important expression. He glared at us suspiciously as we slowed down so we could gawp at the interior. “There’s a man who takes his job seriously,” I said to Sam. He sniggered and snuck quick glances past me while trying to keep his face hidden.
Walking to the next set of lights, I craned my head in an effort to see the top of the building. A quick count told me there were twenty floors. The building narrowed slightly towards the top. The final five floors had balconies with ornate railings that grew fancier the higher they went. Wishing I had binoculars, I put a hand up to shade my eyes and strained to see to the very top. Behind a wide balcony, a set of double doors led to what had to be an opulent apartment.
Sam sucked in a breath, dragging my attention away from the structure. “Demons,” he whispered as two women approached us.
Wearing ankle length coats that I was pretty sure were made from real fur, their heels clicked on the sidewalk as they came near. To anyone else, they would appear to be rich, yet ordinary middle-aged women. I saw beneath their disguise to the evil that lay within.
Short stubby horns sprouted from their foreheads. Scarlet eyes swept over us and dismissed us as being insignificant. They were captains rather than lesser demons. It was unusual to see two of them alone rather than surrounded by their entourages. I was surprised they weren’t fighting each other for supremacy since they were usually so territorial.
Grabbing Sam by the arm, I steered him around the corner before they could take anymore notice of us. We peeked around the corner, watching to see where they were going. To my dismay, they entered the building that I’d just been gawking at.
It didn’t really surprise me that demons were living in one of the most expensive areas in the city. They could possess any human that they wished and had no doubt infiltrated many high places. Only their vessels’ closest family members and friends might be able to tell that anything had changed about them. Some might raise the alarm, but who would believe that their loved ones had been taken over by another entity? If any of them made too big a fuss, they’d most likely be silenced.
My energy levels were still high, but I’d lost any desire to continue jogging. “We should head back to the store,” I said.
Sam could sense my unease and put a hand on my arm. “I am sure your boyfriend is not under threat from the demons.”
That was a flat out lie. All humans were under threat from them. The entire world would burn if I failed my mission. I smiled to show him I appreciated his attempt to cheer me up, but it quickly dropped away.
I wished I still had my cell phone so I could call Zach, but I’d left it behind in Denver. Besides, what could I possibly say to him? Warn him that he had to leave Manhattan because it was infested with demons? I snorted an internal laugh. Hopefully, he was just here for the weekend and would return home soon.
We walked the forty blocks back to Midtown where Sophia’s store was located. I stopped Sam before he put his hand on the doorknob. “Don’t say anything to the others about Zach, okay?”
“You do not want them to know that your boyfriend is here?”
“There’s no point in telling them. Besides, I guess he’s my ex now.” I hadn’t seen him for several weeks, so I couldn’t really call him my boyfriend anymore. He was probably dating someone else by now. That possibility gave me a twinge of pain.
“I will not mention him,” he assured me.
Taking another look around to make sure no one had followed us, I entered the store after Sam.
Conversation broke off as soon as we stepped inside. As always, I was the main topic. “Did we miss anything while we were gone?” I asked.
“No,” Leo replied. “Did anything interesting happen to you?”
“Nope. We had an uneventful run and we weren’t attacked by any demons or crazy undead birds.”
“Pity,” I heard Brie say not quite beneath her breath. It was clear that we’d never be the best of buddies.
Sophia sent her a sharp look then gestured at the ever present teapot. “Would you like some tea?”
“Sure.” I took a seat and Leo pushed a plate of cookies over to me. Sophia could eat if she wanted to. She sometimes had a snack to make me feel more at home. It was like living with a bunch of robots being around people who didn’t eat or sleep. She must have known how disconcerting it was and did her best to dispel my discomfort.
“Oh, there’s something I forgot to tell you,” I said as she poured me a cup of tea. “I talked to the legion in a dream and they gave me a hint about where I can find one of the puzzle pieces.”
“The legion?” Sophia said with a raised brow.
“My inner demons,” I clarified and bit into a cookie. There were so many hell spawn inside me now that the name seemed to fit.
Brie made a sound of impatience as she waited for me to chew and swallow. Admittedly, I was taking my time just to annoy her. “Well, what did they say?” she demanded.
“One of the new lesser demons that I ingested said she’d heard a rumor that something was being kept under guard in the catacombs in the eighth realm of hell.”
She blinked at me and drew in a deep breath. “And you only thought to advise us of this now?” she said with exaggerated calm.
“Do you know where I can find an entrance to the eighth realm?” I said, matching her tone.
We had a staring match that dragged on for several seconds before Nathan interrupted us. “Unfortunately, we do not know where the entrance lies,” he said on behalf of them all. “Perhaps Samuel might be able to shed some light on this.”
We all looked at the imp and he withered a little beneath our expectant stares. I knew what he was going to say even before he replied. “I have only been to the ninth realm,” he admitted. “I do not know where the portals to any of the other realms can be found.”
“It looks like it’s up to you,” I said to Sophia. “We’ll have to wait for you to have a vision that will point us in the right direction.”
We watched her in anticipation and she laughed. “I am afraid I cannot order a vision on demand like one of Samuel’s television shows. It could come at any time, if it comes at all.”
“It will,” I said confidently. “Fate will make sure of it. I can’t save the world unless I find those missing pieces.” I had no clue what I was supposed to do with them when I found them, but that was something I’d worry about later. Finding them was my first task.
Zach was on my mind when I lay down to sleep that night. I could hear Sam in the living room across the hall. He had settled on the couch and was watching television in an effort to catch up on modern times. The volume was down too low for me to hear it.
It took a long time for me to fall asleep. When I did, I was plagued by dreams from the life that I’d left behind. I remembered every moment that I’d spent with my former boyfriend. His kisses seemed tame compared to how Nathan made me feel. Speaking of which, my guardian stood in the background, watching on in disapproval as Zach and I made out.
Reliving the night that we’d watched a meteor shower together, I didn’t try to stop Zach from sliding his hand beneath my shirt this time. His hand slid over my breast and his warm breath tickled my ear when he spoke. “You’re mine now,” he murmured with supreme confidence.
Even in my dreams, I had a rebellious streak. “I don’t belong to anyone,” I refuted and pushed him away.
I stood and he rolled to his feet to face me. He smiled mockingly and I blanched when red light began to glow from his eyes. “You have something that my master needs. You have eluded him so far, but he will find you and he will claim it,” he said. His face transformed into a hideously horned hell spawn and his voice became deep and guttural. Towe
ring over me, he assumed an image that was similar to a Demon Lord.
He was shorter and less muscular than a lord, but his black leather armor and metal wrist braces were nearly the same. His horns curved backwards over his head, but weren’t quite as lengthy. He had the typical long fangs and inky black skin that all demons shared.
Spinning around, I began to run. His laughter followed me as I suddenly found myself in the shadowlands. Creatures pranced just out of my view, making the mist swirl alarmingly. The wall that surrounded hell loomed ahead. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him coming for me. “I need to find the gate,” I panted to myself.
As I spoke, a section of the wall shimmered and a wrought iron gate appeared. Twin gargoyles faced away into hell. “You called?” said a voice that sounded identical to the master gate.
“Open up,” I commanded and flicked a glance back to see the thing that had been Zach coming fast. The gate slowly and ponderously cracked open. I turned back to see a pair of malevolent scarlet eyes peering down at me from a height of about twelve feet. Hands reached through the gate and clamped down on my shoulders.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I screamed as the Hellmaster yanked me through into his realm.
₪₪₪
Chapter Ten
“Violet! Wake up!” A hand shook me by the shoulder and I snapped awake. Leo and Sam were staring down at me in concern. “You were screaming loudly enough to wake the dead,” Leo said. “Were you having a nightmare?”
“You could say that,” I replied in a voice that was raspy from screaming. “I dreamt the Hellmaster had caught me.”
Sam’s eyes were wide with fright despite the fact that it had just been a dream. “What did he do to you?”
“He just grabbed me and yanked me into hell,” I shrugged and threw back the covers. “Leo woke me before anything bad happened.” Just seeing his evil eyes had been bad enough. That was all my mind could conjure up of the master of all demons. I’d caught a glimpse of him the last time I’d been in hell. His eyes had been the only thing I’d seen then, too.