by E. Van Lowe
His eyes narrowed to angry slits. He raised a hand as if to smite me, but he didn’t. “The angel first,” he said.
“Guy?” I rasped.
“No. The powerful one. You and your lover boy will witness my power as I terminate her. And then him, and finally you, mortal.”
He stepped towards Roxanne. Laser beams shot from both his eyes. The powerful rays connected into one intense stream and bore into Roxanne’s chest.
She didn’t scream. She held her ground, eyeing him with contempt. But I could tell she was hurting, weakening. As the ray continued its assault, she dropped to her knees. Her chest plate was lit up as if it was a blazing hot coal.
Meanwhile, the light in her eyes seemed to be slowly going out.
“No!” I screamed, slumping to the ground. “Nooo!”
Chapter Twenty-five
Things were not as Beelzebub had expected.
Earlier on the mountain, when the figment of Matt and Erin had disappeared, I asked Roxanne if she could make a figment. I still couldn’t get over how real my friends appeared.
“Yes. But creating one takes a lot of energy.”
“Do you think I could do it?” The beginnings of an idea were percolating in my head.
“No. You have not mastered your abilities well enough yet.”
I lowered my voice. “I know how we can destroy The Book of Calls,” I said. “One of us needs to make a figment of the book.”
“You are not powerful enough. Besides, how would a figment of the book make him destroy the real one?”
“Instead of the real book, I will turn over the figment to Beelzebub. We both know that once he has the book, he will destroy us all. I’m not fool enough to believe he would ever have released Guy. I was stalling, looking for a solution. And now I have one. I will have the real book concealed beneath my clothing. When he kills me, he will inadvertently destroy the real book.”
“Did you hear what you just said? When he kills you!”
“He is the only one powerful enough to destroy the book. There is no other way. Once the book is destroyed, I believe Guy will be free. If not, at least the world will be a safer place.”
Roxanne eyed me with an oddly sad expression for several moments. Tears formed in her eyes. “I have never met a mortal as courageous as you.”
“Look at that,” I said smiling. I wiped away her tears. “I believe we’ve unlocked another emotion.”
She laughed. “I believe we have.” Her tone darkened. “But it has to be me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Demons are prideful. He will want all to see the full effect of his power, so he will want to destroy the most powerful one first. Me.”
I looked deep into her eyes. They stared back at me, awash with tears and courage, and love.
#
Back at the carnival, Beelzebub was true to form.
Satisfied with himself, he stopped the assault. Roxanne lay on the ground, her skin blistering, her beautiful face so damaged it was totally unrecognizable. She tore open her chest plate. The flaming Book of Calls fell to the earth.
“What’s this?” Beelzebub was now staring at the figment evaporating in his hands. “WHAT IS THIS?” he bellowed. The figment vanished.
Despite being attacked, Roxanne had used her strength to keep the image of the figment alive.
Meanwhile, The Book of Calls was beginning to disintegrate on the ground.
“You have destroyed The Book of Calls,” I said evenly.
“You lie!” he said, but I knew he believed me. He could see it with his own eyes.
The legion of demons around him slowly began to evaporate.
Beelzebub looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. “What Satan has told us is true. I thought he was getting weak. But you are quite formidable. Surprising for a mortal, and one so small.” He pricked up his ears as if listening. “Coming Master.” His words were filled with dread.
As the wretched book faded away, Beelzebub and the entire midway vanished before my eyes, leaving behind a barren, rugged wasteland.
I moved to Roxanne, lying on the hard earth. “I, too, can act out of love,” she said when she saw me. Her voice was weak, her speech labored. Her beauty was gone, her face looking like something from a horror movie.
“Yes,” I said sweetly, making sure I didn’t let on that what I was staring at was scaring me to death.
“It feels so good.” She looked at me, her eyes smiling, and then they closed. She never moved again.
#
When Beelzebub had been defeated, Guy was released.
He now stood several feet away, his clothing ripped to shreds. He was looking at us, both relief and horror in his eyes.
“Thank you for rescuing me,” he said. His voice was weak and scratchy. He didn’t sound like Guy.
“I think Roxanne is…” I didn’t dare say it. She was lying in my arms, unmoving.
“No. But she is fading. We must get her out of hell.”
He dragged over to me like a wounded soldier, and stooping, lifted her from my arms.
“You’re in no shape to carry her,” I scolded.
He smiled his smile. “One of us has to, and I don’t think it’s you. Now, let’s go.”
I stood, and he planted the gentlest, sweetest kiss on my lips. It was a quick kiss, a brush of the lips, and yet in it was a lifetime of love and affection. Of all our many kisses, I knew I would remember this one for the rest of my life.
He started walking. It was labored, and I realized his health was fading as well.
I looked around. There was wasteland as far as the eye could see. “How do you know which way to go?”
“I just do. Now, come. We won’t be welcome in hell for long,” he said in a faraway voice. I moved along after him.
It was painful watching him carry her. His knees began to buckle as he marched on silently with Roxanne cradled in his arms.
A panic rose inside me as I wondered what I’d do if he collapsed right there in hell’s wasteland. I couldn’t carry them both. I again thought of calling out and offering a hand, or of just going up and grabbing her by the legs to ease his load. But something inside me told me this was more than male stubbornness. This was guilt. If he hadn’t fallen in love with me, if he hadn’t backed out of their betrothal, then Roxanne’s beautiful face would not have been disfigured, her life wouldn’t be hanging in the balance—none of this would have happened. If Guy was going to get past this moment, this was something he had to do alone.
Even though I knew he had to carry her, I felt jealousy rearing its ugly head. They were together just as it had been ordained. It’s not fair, a part of me cried. I didn’t rescue him for her. I should have been ashamed of my feelings—they were both dying—but I wasn’t.
After a few minutes, I spotted a door up ahead. It was out of place, a lone door sitting in the middle of the wasteland. I was grateful when I realized it was the Hell Gate leading to Armando’s basement. As we approached, the door swung open. Guy carried Roxanne through.
We emerged once again in Armando’s empty basement. But it wasn’t empty this time. Three glowing globes of light hovered in the air nearby. As the Hell Gate swung shut behind us, the balls of light began to increase in size and take shape.
Three angels appeared in glimmering light. These angels were very tall, with enormous puffy white wings. They had long hair and wore biblical robes. The angels never fully materialized. They hovered just off the basement floor, beings made of shimmery light.
Guy moved to the angels, still struggling with Roxanne. One of the angels lifted her from his arms. The wings of another spread, and then folded around them. They were instantly engulfed in the angel’s glow. That’s when Guy faced me, and I realized he was leaving. They had both been badly injured. Neither would survive without celestial help. They began dematerializing. A part of me felt he would not be back.
He looked into my eyes. Even though he was in obvious pain his dreamy ey
es softened. “I love you,” he mouthed as he continued to fade. At first I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. I knew we were saying goodbye, and I wasn’t ready. But then I thought something that made me smile.
“Righteeo,” I said softly into his eyes.
He smiled his radiant smile, and with the two of us beaming at each other, tears welling in both our eyes, the group faded into mist.
Forty-five minutes later, I climbed through my bedroom window and collapsed onto my bed. Before I drifted off to sleep, I said a silent prayer that I would see him again.
Chapter Twenty-six
On Wednesday morning, when my mother knocked, I was still in bed. I didn’t have to slide back in under the covers as I did yesterday. I was already there.
Hi,” she said a hint of concern in her voice. I don’t know what she was going to say to me, but from the look on her face, she was reconsidering whatever it was. “You okay?” Her expression softened; lines of concern in her brow.
I smiled. At least I think I smiled, I was definitely trying to smile, but I’d been through so much during the night, I wasn’t sure what was on my face. A grimace, perhaps.“Yeah. I hit the books really hard last night. Now, I’m paying for it.”
She seemed relieved, but I could tell she was worried about me. What must I look like? I wondered. Hell, I bet.
“Take it easy today, okay? Knowing you, you’re probably ahead of the rest of your classmates anyway.”
I smiled again, and this time she smiled back, so I knew this one was on the money.
After she left, I fell into a deep sleep. I awoke when the house phone started ringing. I dragged myself out of bed, my body achy from the previous night. I glanced at the clock. Noon. Wow. I never sleep that late.
It was Suze. “Sorry to be a pest, but you looked horrible this morning. I’m worried about you.”
“Thanks, Mom. It’s been a rough few days. I guess what’s at stake for me is just setting in.”
Silence, and then: “I was wrong to insist you write that list. I guess I thought about your future, and I panicked.”
“Mom, I—”
“No. Let me finish,” she interrupted. “You’re a good daughter. I know that. I never want you to think I don’t support you. I don’t know what’s going to happen from here, but I know we’ll figure it out.”
That was a big wow. She was telling me it was okay not to write the list, and that if I got expelled we’d figure it out. Double big WOW.
“Thanks, Mom. You have no idea how good it is to hear that.” I could tell she was smiling on the other end.
#
When I finally went into the bathroom to shower, I couldn’t believe what was staring back at me in the mirror. I didn’t recognize myself. My eyes were blood red, and my hair looked as though I’d been in a fight… Okay, I had been in a fight, but I didn’t want to look I’d been in one. No wonder she didn’t say anything when she came into my room this morning. She thought I might attack.
I started laughing. I was staring at myself in the mirror and I looked so ridiculous I couldn’t help myself. But as the laughter grew from small titters to huge guffaws, I knew there was something else going on. Even though I was laughing, I was crying. I realized the thing I saw in the mirror was a physical manifestation of my emotions. I was a mess inside and out.
I sat on the edge of the tub and let my emotions run out. When I finished the laugh/cry, I was drained, even more drained than when I got home. So I didn’t take a shower. Instead, I went back to bed.
The next time I opened my eyes, it was three thirty, and the phone was ringing. This time it was Maudrina.
“How are you?”
“Excellent,” I said, spiking my voice with fake cheer.
“No you’re not. I recognize that voice. That’s the one you use when things are horrible, but you’re trying to make people think they’re good.”
Dang! Even my mother hadn’t deciphered that one.
“Okay, I’m not so good,” I said honestly. “But I now have my mother on my side, so that’s good.” I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t tell her that I’d been to hell and back, or that Guy might never return. I wanted to. Now that my ordeal with The Book of Calls was behind me, I needed a shoulder to lean on, but I didn’t want to bring it up over the phone.
“I have some interesting news,” Maudrina said. That boy, Danny Tambor, is a Satanist.”
“Really?” That startled me. Erin was hanging around with him. Had she become a Satanist, too? “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Aunt Jaz told me he’d been a Satanist for a number of years. I think Principal Lockhart may be one as well.”
It made sense. Yet I couldn’t believe the principal of our school was into Satanism.
I clutched the phone in silence, my mind racing. “Megan, are you still there?”
“Yes. I’m just thinking.”
“I can’t prove it. There’s no record of her being a Satanist anywhere. But it’s the only reason I can think of that she would allow Danny Tabor to railroad you.”
“She’s allowing Danny Tambor to railroad me because it suits her purposes. She doesn’t care about me or him. All she cares about is getting credit for ending The Explosion.”
“You’re right,” she said with a sigh. “Like you said before, he’s just a tool.”
“A tool that has Erin’s ear.”
She heard the concern in my voice. “I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
“What’s happening with Erin is all my doing, Maudrina.” My emotions were like a raw nerve. The lightest touch set them off.
“No, it isn’t!” she blurted.
“Yes, it is,” I replied heavily. “It all started with my stupid jealousy.”
“Matt promised you to the devil. Do you remember that part?”
What a friend. She was defending my actions to me.
“I do. But if I hadn’t been so jealous, the whole thing would have gone down differently. And we’d still be friends.” The last part was filled with sadness.
“You’ve still got me.”
I smiled. “I know. And trust me, I don’t plan on messing up this friendship.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let you.”
And just like that, she lightened my load. I could feel the weight of last night draining from my shoulders like heavy blocks of ice melting under a heat lamp. Friendship can do that. Even though I hadn’t told her what was bothering me, it felt better knowing she was on my side.
I had my mother and Maudrina, both in my corner. How lucky am I?
#
The letter came on Friday.
Even though Principal Lockhart told me I had until Friday to turn in the list, the letter announcing my expulsion hearing was already in the mail. It had to have been mailed Wednesday or Thursday. My mother and I were to report to Principal Lockhart’s office eight a.m. Monday morning.
I thought I could figure my way out of it. But after my ordeal with The Book of Calls, I was too drained to think. I didn’t want to admit it, but unless a miracle happened, by the end of the day, Monday, I would be looking for a new school.
Chapter Twenty-seven
When we arrived at school Monday morning, Mr. Abernathy, the vice principal, was waiting outside on the steps in front of the main entrance. He told us to proceed to the auditorium.
“Why is this taking place in the auditorium?” Suze asked as we walked. The old concern she’d tried to hide all weekend was back.
“I have no idea.”
As we continued down the corridor, I was surprised to see what appeared to be the entire student body headed in the same direction.
“What’s going on?” Suze asked. Now she was more than concerned. She was getting nervous.
“I have no idea,” I repeated, a hatch of beetles crawling around in my belly. I was getting nervous, too. I wished I could have put her mind at ease, but I really didn’t know why it seemed everyone was headed to the auditorium.
; One thing I did notice, however, was that no one greeted me. No one I knew would even look at me. It was exactly like when Matt died. I’d glance at someone walking nearby, and they would quickly look away.
Ashley Scott and Heather McNamara walked past us as if we weren’t even there.
What happened to that shoulder to lean on? I started to call. But that wouldn’t have accomplished anything. They knew I hadn’t ratted them out, that’s why I was about to be expelled, and yet they still wouldn’t look at me. I guess they believed I’d find a way rat them out in the end. Probably because that’s what they would do.
We turned into the next corridor. Students were streaming into the auditorium. I realized then the circus had come to town, and we were its main attraction.
Out of nowhere, Maudrina pushed through the crowd, arriving at my side.
“I didn’t know anything about this until just now. It’s posted on all the lockers to meet for an assembly in the auditorium. ”
“Wow! I didn’t know I rated an assembly. I should be proud, huh?”
She squinted at me. “You okay?”
“Terrific,” I said. “Right, mom?”
She put on a gallant smile. “We’ll be fine, dear,” her voice was an octave too high.
“Get a good seat,” I said to Maudrina. “You won’t want to miss any part of me being expelled,” I added sarcastically.
When we entered, I spotted a podium on stage at the front of the auditorium. The podium sat stage left. Center stage was a table with a few chairs facing out. Mrs. Lockhart was standing by the podium signaling us to come down to the front. She was wearing a dark business suit and an equally dark expression.
“She’s trying to make an example out of you,” Suze whispered as we headed for the front.
“So far she’s doing a darn good job.”
She stopped. “Are you okay?”
“Mom, I’m about to be embarrassed in front of the entire student body. No, I’m not okay. But I’m also not going to write that list. So let’s get this over with.”