by Eloisa Clark
Niko considered his words and looked down at Juliet. She pursed her lips and looked at Elijah.
“We’ll meet you in your office in an hour.” She said, making the call.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The party was indeed winding down as the doctor had said. Juliet eyed the crowd, looking for her father and Beatriz. She found them at their table, Peter’s tie had come undone and Beatriz was toying with one of his cufflinks. The intimacy of their pose brought on a sudden feeling of butterflies in her stomach, causing her to pause.
“What are you going to tell them?” Niko asked, misunderstanding her hesitation.
She shook her head, not knowing what to say.
“Nothing. I need them out of here so that I know they’re safe.”
Niko nodded, he let go of her hand and walked off in the direction of his own parents who were on the dancefloor.
Juliet approached the table and Beatriz moved quickly away from Peter; her smile as brilliant as always.
“Querida. Where have you been?” She asked, looking around the room and stopped when she saw Niko.
She looked back at Juliet and winked. Juliet watched her father for a reaction, but he seemed distracted.
“You know, I always thought that sexy men were Demons in the sack. And now I think they’re just actual Demons.” She said, laughing at her joke as she fanned her face. Juliet smiled, not having the energy to laugh with her.
“I’m glad you guys have had a good time.” She said, “I think they’re starting to organise your ride back to the hotel now.”
Her father scanned the room before looking down at his watch.
“Theé mou, is that the time? I hadn’t realised it was so late.” He stood and helped Beatriz up with a hand.
AFTER SHE KISSED both of her father’s cheeks, Juliet was consumed by Beatriz’s hug and she felt suddenly overwhelmed by the sadness of seeing them go. She had missed them both over the past few months and hadn’t gotten much of a chance to catch up with them during the party.
She felt Niko’s approach from behind as their car pulled up.
“It was good to meet you, sir.” Niko said, offering his hand to Peter.
Her father shook it and offered a genuine smile.
“And you as well.” He said warmly, turning his still smiling eyes to Juliet.
Beatriz kissed both of Niko’s cheeks and winked at Juliet before climbing into the back of the waiting car.
Juliet was pulled into her father’s arms once again and this time, she held onto him as tightly as she dared, wanting to cling to the feeling of safety that his embrace had always given her.
“It’s so good to see you happy again, Papa.” She said quietly.
He let out a long breath and pulled slightly away, looking down into Juliet’s face and smiling.
“It’s good to be happy again glikia mu.” He looked at Niko for a moment before turning back to Juliet.
“I like him.” He said with a small smile before turning and lowering himself into the back of the waiting car.
Juliet waved goodbye, waiting until the taillights were out of sight before releasing her held breath. So much had happened already and things kept getting worse, she was beginning to wonder what would be next. She never imagined this life would be so dangerous. Her mother had known. She had tried to protect her from it. What would she think now that Juliet had a chance to leave, but instead chose to stay?
JULIET RUMMAGED THROUGH her wardrobe, pulling out warm clothing and hunting for her boots. Finding everything she need, she quickly headed into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar behind her. In spite of the tension that remained between them, Niko refused to leave her side, and part of her didn’t really want him to.
“Do you think they’ll find Adrienne?” She asked as she pulled on a thick, white sweater.
“They will.” He said, after a moment’s pause.
“Why do you think she’s done all of this?” Juliet still couldn’t figure it out, could it really be as simple as Darius said, that Power corrupts Witches?
“I don’t know, Jules.” Niko replied, coming up to the doorway.
“Are we going to talk about what happened?” He asked quietly.
Juliet fumbled with the button of her jeans, her breath catching slightly.
“What do you mean?”
There was a silence on the other side of the door, but Juliet could just make out the sound of Niko’s breathing.
“Before we found Eric.”
She pulled on the pins out of her hair, having had enough of their irritation.
“Jules...?” He pushed the door open and watched her in the reflection of the bathroom mirror.
“What Niko? What do you want me to say?”
She gripped the edge of the sink, staring at his face next to her own.
“What happened Juliet? You let your Demon take total control. You’ve never done that before.”
She swept her hair up into a messy bun and sat on the edge of the bathtub to pull on her boots.
“I know. I just... I don’t know! I don’t know why I did that.”
Niko watched her silently and leaned against the tiled wall as she began working on the laces.
“Juliet, you let it take control of me. I couldn’t stop. You know what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten through to you, right?”
She moved onto her second boot.
“Juliet?”
“I know.” She answered quietly.
“Why?”
She looked up, anger filling her words as well as bringing hot tears to her eyes.
“Because I wanted you. Is that so bad?”
Niko shook his head and came towards her, kneeling at her feet.
“You know I want you too, right?” He asked, she kept her eyes down, staring at the tiles on the floor.
“Juliet?”
She let out a ragged breath. The tight chain she had wrapped around her emotions was beginning to buckle. There were too many conflicting thoughts and feelings inside of her and she didn’t have time to process any of them.
“We better go.” She said, looking at his tux, “You still need to change.”
He pursed his lips and took a deep breath but didn’t argue.
AS JULIET STOOD in the doorway of Niko’s room, she found a sketchbook lying on the floor by his bed. Remembering it from months past and before she even realised what she was doing, she picked it up to peek inside.
Image after image of herself adorned each page. Some were photo perfect, others more abstract or surreal. There were drawings of their shared dreams; the lavender field in France, the child-Juliet sitting in front of a Christmas tree, a profile of her face in what looked like a moment of pure ecstasy.
She knew he could draw, but she hadn’t realised how good he was. There was an intimacy in the images; they felt private and intense, like a journal. She was transfixed by the drawing of her face, mouth open and eyes closed.
“Are you done?” Niko asked, his voice thick as he leaned against the bathroom doorway. The tightly coiled muscles in his neck belying his casual pose. He’d finished dressing, his boots, jeans, hoody and jacket a darker version of her own outfit. The time-to-get-serious uniform.
She looked back at the sketch and she could almost hear the moan flowing from the paper and ink. She blushed and closed the book, embarrassed not only because of the sexuality of the drawings, but also at being caught snooping.
“WHAT TOOK YOU two so long?” Scott asked as they arrived at Doctor Livingstone’s office.
Juliet looked at Niko, but he replied only with a shrug.
“Never mind, he’s not here yet anyway. Fiona was just filling me in on this Cauldron thing.”
Juliet took the spare seat next to Fiona.
“What do you know about it?” she asked, curiosity making her fingers tingle.
“Well, I only know what I ‘eard growin’ up.” Brushing aside a wave of red and looking around the room.
; “To Witches, it’s kind of like the ‘oly Grail or the magical genie's lamp from Aladdin. We were told old Celtic stories about the Pair Dadeni bein’ used to resurrect lost lovers. The Cauldron is supposed to be imbibed with the power of the Underworld itself.”
“How is something like that even possible?” Scott asked.
“Well, I don’t know exactly. The stories are so old that the ‘ow’s got lost centuries ago. Even the name Pair Dadeni is relatively new, only a few hundred years old. But the Cauldron itself goes back ‘tousands of years.”
“Ten thousand years, actually.” Doctor Livingstone said from behind them. He’d arrived in the room silently, his suit replaced with a black pullover and combat pants.
“Give or take” He added.
“You know this how?” Niko asked as the doctor took his seat behind his desk and leaned back.
“Mr Dmitriyev, I know this because I was already very old by the time it was created.”
Juliet sputtered.
“Just how old are you?” She asked.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before answering.
“I have existed since before creatures walked the earth. Although for how long before I cannot remember.”
Everyone remained silent. Juliet looked at the cuffs wrapped around Doctor Livingstone’s wrists and was reminded of something Ash had said in a lesson about Otherworld history.
The legends suggested that Shifters began as non-human beasts; creatures who eventually learned to shift into human forms. It was only after thousands of years of evolution that the human form became their stasis and the creatures within were what they could change into.
She knew Doctor Livingstone was a Shifter but had never thought to ask what he shifted into. Now she considered that he was currently in his shifted form. She looked closer at the leather cuffs, the etchings upon which looked hieroglyphical.
“A Shifter can be bound to their altered form. But when doing so will be a servant to their binding. Unable to shift or access their full power.” Juliet recalled the words from a now long-ago class.
Juliet was stunned. the idea of someone being trapped for years in a body that wasn’t their own seemed so wrong.
The doctor noticed Juliet’s attention on his cuffs and spoke quietly.
“There are those among the Old Ones who are better suited to a human existence.” He said, ending the discussion with no further explanation.
“Will you tell us what you know? Who or what is behind all of this?” Niko asked.
He nodded slowly.
“For everything in nature there must be balance. For life, there is death, for happiness there is sadness, Winter and Summer and so on. Each Demon has its opposite equal; the water and fire Demons, the earth and air Demons are each other's. You Niko, Juliet, are Spirit Demons, your power lies in the ability to control and take energy from the desires and wishes of others. Have you never wondered what your opposite equal is?”
Juliet shook her head; it had never even crossed her mind. She looked up at Niko whose eyebrows had narrowed.
“Fear.” He said, “But there aren’t any fear Demons.”
Elijah looked at Niko and frowned.
“Anymore.”
Juliet shook her head, not understanding.
“Why are we only just now learning about this?” Juliet asked, her head spinning from this new revelation. Shouldn’t this be something they were told about right from the start?
“What is the point in teaching you about something that no longer exists?” He replied, with a dismissive shrug of his shoulders.
“That’s a cop out, we learn about dinosaurs and Gods and all kinds of stuff that doesn’t exist anymore. We need to know our history.” Scott argued.
Doctor Livingstone nodded.
“There were those who argued as much. That we needed to warn others so that we could ensure history didn’t repeat itself. But for millennia, those who came along after the last ones died out would time and time again seek them out. And, by extension, would find a way to resurrect him.”
“Who?” Juliet asked.
He exhaled slowly.
“Like me, he has been known by many names. The first recorded name that can be pronounced by human tongues was Palāxu. Countless stories have been told that do not do him justice. The first of which is that of Phobos. You know the word I presume?”
“Phobia.” Niko answered.
Doctor Livingstone nodded and leaned forward.
“The original Fear Demon. The one from whom all others descend.”
“He still exists?” Juliet asked, her voice becoming shrill.
“All of the Old Ones still exist. That’s what makes them Old Ones. They are impossible to kill. They exist beyond the physical world.”
“But then, where is he?” She asked.
“Trapped. Or so we thought. For over five hundred years.”
“How do you trap something that isn’t tied to a physical body?” Niko asked, Juliet could feel the anger and confusion flowing out of him, matching her own.
“Wit’ incredibly dark magic.” Fiona answered, looking whiter than a ghost.
The doctor nodded.
“At the time Phobos was in possession of body, not a human one, but one that witches were able to bind him to, allowing him to be… imprisoned.” The doctor stood up from his desk and moved to the windows, looking out at the moonlit Carpathian Mountains.
“Whispers of curses still linger amongst the humans in these parts because of the chaos he caused. The historians even learned the name he went by at that time, further evidence that the human world had been sucked into his destruction. It’s what brought the factions together; we were unable to protect the secrecy of the Otherworld, we had to put a stop to it.”
“The lake.” Fiona said flatly after a short silence and Juliet watched with sickening dread as he nodded before turning back to the room.
“You feel it, don’t you?” He asked Fiona.
She bowed her head.
“I asked Kijo about it. She said I should just stay away.”
He nodded again and rubbed his jaw as he returned to his desk.
“Kijo is one of the five who trapped him.”
Niko came up behind Juliet and gripped the back of her chair.
“Why now? What happened to let him loose again?”
“He isn’t free.” He explained, “He’s still imprisoned. He’s just… reawakened, so to speak.”
“O.K. So what woke him up?” Niko asked.
“I know.” Juliet said, the idea forming in her mind, “At least I think I do.”
She cleared her throat and looked down at her fingertips before explaining.
“The night before William died, I was down by the lake. I played until my fingers bled. It’s always blood isn’t it, Fiona? Strong magic needs a blood sacrifice.” Fiona nodded as she looked at the doctor.
“Would it be enough, do you ‘tink?” Fiona asked Doctor Livingstone.
His eyes focussed on Juliet for a moment, his brow creasing.
“Normally I would say no. Only a drop or two wouldn’t do it. But, if the blood is powerful enough, then yes. Yes, it would be possible.”
“Fuck.” Niko cursed as he ran his hand through his hair.
“Why is he doing this? What does he want?” Juliet asked.
“What would any powerful being want after being trapped for half a millennium? Restoration, revenge and, knowing him, complete and total destruction.”
Juliet began to feel lightheaded. She couldn’t help but think that she had triggered a chain of events that might be irreversible.
“So, what happens now? How do we stop him?” Niko asked.
“To reverse the internment, he needs the blood of all five factions. So far, he’s had four. The Witch is next.”
“Shit man. This is so bad. What’s to say Adrienne isn’t on her way to the lake right now, cutting open a vein?” Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck.
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nbsp; “We heard her signal earlier. She was trying to block us out, but we were able to home in on it. She’s not ready. For some reason, she’s held back from making the final sacrifice.”
“Why would she do that? Why would she do any of this?” Juliet asked, surely it couldn’t be as simple as a power grab.
“Phobos is still weak, my theory is that he has been using Adrienne since the beginning, since the night Juliet’s blood gave him enough strength to reach out and tether himself to her mind.”
“But why her?” Fiona asked.
“I’m afraid what Darius said earlier may turn out to be true. I fear that greed or jealousy maybe to blame. It’s only natural that a Witch might become impatient after a time, especially when a very young Witch comes along who seems to have significantly more power than her elder.”
The doctor’s pointed look at Fiona made her copper eyebrows rise.
“Me?” She squeaked.
The doctor smiled, “Yes Fiona. I noticed it soon after you arrived. Your strength surpasses that of all three of the Livingstone Witches combined and they have an accumulated age of two thousand years.”
Fiona shook her head, “That’s not possible.”
“Possible or not, it’s true. Tell me, how close are you to working out the spell to bring him back.”
Fiona’s mouth fell open.
“Or have you already worked it out and haven’t decided if it’s worth the sacrifice?”
Fiona’s already fair complexion paled whiter still. She nodded, slumping back in her chair.
“I’m not surprised. It does my old heart good to meet someone so pure that they don’t consider human sacrifice to be an easy decision.”
Juliet was shocked, had Fiona been trying all this time to find a way to bring Sean back from the dead? She recalled her intense study, the way she had pored over her spells in the months since the bonfire. She thought it was just her way to cope, to create protective charms that made her feel safe and to possibly distract her from bouts of depression. She never would have imagined that she was considering delving into dark magic to resurrect him.
“Could you do it, Juliet? For your mother? Or if it were Niko who died?” Fiona asked, having either guessed or overheard her train of thought.