“Yeah, but you’re…”
“A demon?” Alana asked, propping her hands on her hips and glaring at Jade. “And that just automatically makes me evil?”
“Well…”
Alana brought her fingers to her lips, letting out a loud whistle.
“Hay! You found her!” A large demon shouted as he raced forward. He wrapped his hand around Jade’s arm, jerking her forward.
“Hey! Let me go!” Jade cried as other demons and vampires raced into the room, surrounding her. “You… you betrayed me!” she cried, turning to look at Alana. “Why?”
“I’m a demon, Jade. Evil. Are you really that surprised?” Alana asked, laughing. “Plus, you pissed me off.” She glanced at the demon. “Take her to the dungeon. I’ll deal with her later.”
***
“Girls, we gotta run!” Jasmine cried as the loud noise blared through the silence of the night, the beetles above them starting to waken. “Come on!”
“I told you there was going to be some sort of alarm!” Jorja shouted, turning, and racing through the forest. “I just didn’t know it would be so loud!”
“Jordyn, are you okay?” Josi asked, tightening her grip around Jordyn, as they raced off. “I know you were in that thing longer than any of us.”
“I’m just a little weak, and hungry,” Jordyn said, glancing over her shoulder at her mother. “Mom, what kind of trouble did you get into this time?”
“Me?” Jorja stared at her daughter, her jaw dropping open. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Well, you do have a knack for getting yourself into trouble over these treasures you go searching for.”
“Jordyn!”
“Well, this time, it really wasn’t her fault,” Josslyn said, as they raced down the padded path. “They’re gaining on us!”
“Too bad none of us have our powers!” Jasmine shouted.
“But we do!” Jami cried. “Jessi, think you could fry them?”
“What? No!”
“But I thought Jade said you were able to propel a demon’s powers back at them,” Josslyn said.
“Oh my God! I did!” Jessi cried, suddenly remembering that time when a black angel had been trying to kill Sky. “But I’ve only done it once!”
“Well, now would be a very time to try!” Jami cried.
“Go in the bushes,” Jessi said.
“What?” Jami stared at her. “Jessi, I can self-heal!”
“Oh, Jami, will you just do it?” Josslyn asked, dragging Jami into the bushes. “Plus, not all of us can self-heal, remember?”
“But…”
Jami watched them disappear into the bushes, and she turned, staring at the demons as the raced toward her. She held a hand up, closing her eyes. The sound of the beetle’s wings filled her ears, and her eye snapped open. “Begone, beetles!”
A blast of energy slung from her, slinging toward the beetles. They stumbled back, their bodies shaking, and exploding into a pile of goo.
“Ugh. That’s disgusting,” Josslyn said, crinkling her knows in disgust. “It kind of reminds me of when we vanquished that snake demon. What was his name?”
“You seriously forgot Tony’s name?” Jasmine askes, staring at Josslyn in shock. “He was the first demon we ever vanquished! And Jade’s boyfriend!”
“Right.”
“You vanquished a snake demon?” Jorja asked. “That’s so cool!”
“And, just who are you people?” Jordyn asked, staring from one woman to the other. “I don’t know any of you!”
“Oh, sorry, Jordyn.” Jorja crossed to her daughter, pulling her in for a hug. She breathed in the scent of her, stroking her long, dark hair, thankful to be seeing her again. “Oh, I have missed you so much!”
“Mom.”
“Josi.” Josslyn lifted her head, staring at her daughter, walking forward and engulfing her in a hug. “I am so glad you’re alive,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes as she thought of what her grandfather had shown her.
“Mom. What are you doing? Of course I’m alive!”
“Give her this,” Jasmine said. “You have no idea what she’s seen.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Jordyn said, pulling away from her mother. “Who are these people?”
“Your aunts and cousins,” Jorja said. “Josslyn, Jasmine, Jami, Jessi, Josi, and…” She trailed off when she saw Mark. “And I’m not sure who this is.”
“This is Mark,” Jami said. “A hybrid, like us. He’s been hiding from Liam.”
“Can’t say I blame you,” Jasmine said, smiling at the boy. “Hi, Mark. It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about all the commotion, we’re kind of loud.”
“Most families are,” Mark said, smiling back at her. “Is there something wrong with your arm?” he asked, gesturing as she clutched her left arm.
“Oh, this thing?” Jasmine laughed. “Yeah, it’s kind of broken.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Jami asked, hurrying forward. “Let me see that!”
“Jami…” Jasmine bit her lip, watching as Jami placed her hand over her arm, a yellow hue seeping from her hand, the bone in her arm healing almost instantly. “Thank you!” she cried, flexing her arm, sighing when there was no pain. “It feels amazing!”
“So, how about we get going?” Josslyn asked, tapping her foot impatiently. “I’m nervous about this place,” she said, as bright green grass, and large oak trees suddenly surrounded them. “This place… it changes so fast, plus we don’t know where Liam is! He has Julie, and I feel so gross! I need a shower.”
“You do realize that we’re in the middle of nowhere, right?” Jessi asked, raising a brow at her mother. “Clean isn’t really on the menu right now.”
“But there is a spring nearby,” Mark said.
“A spring? Is it dangerous?” Jorja asked. “The red water here is dangerous! How can a spring be safe?”
“The demons need some way to keep themselves alive,” Josslyn said. “Where’s this spring, Mark?”
“This way.” Mark gestured them forward, leading them through the trees.
“As long as I don’t get sucked into quicksand again, I’m all for it!” Jasmine cried as she followed him. “By the way, do any of you know what happened to Sky? I haven’t been able to find him.”
“Oh, Jasmine!” Jami rushed forward, pulling her aunt in for a hug. “Liam…”
“Liam what?”
“When we were being held in those glass capsules, he did something to Sky,” Jessi told her. “Injected him with some potion.”
“And then he opened a portal,” Josi added. “The serum took away his memories. He’s in a world, with no idea who he really is.”
“And with no memory of me,” Jasmine whispered, tears filling her eyes. “He’s… gone?”
“For now, Jas,” Josslyn said, squeezing her sister’s arm. “But we’ll find him, I know we will. What is it that Sky always tells you?”
“That he’ll always find me,” Jasmine said, sniffing, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “No matter where we are.”
“And you’ll find your way back to one another like you always do,” Jorja told her. “Now come on. Let’s go find this spring. I am so thirsty! Then let’s get the hell out of this place.”
“But we can’t leave, Jorja!” Josslyn cried. “There’s…”
“Julie. I know. The question is, where?” Jorja asked, staring ahead of her at the trees that went on for miles. “Where is he keeping her, and just what is he going to do with her?
Chapter 22
“Will you let go of me?” Jade asked, struggling against the demon’s hold, as he shoved her down the stairs. She winced, as his sharp claws dug into her skin. “You’re hurting me!”
“You’re lucky that’s all I’m doing to you,” the demon snarled, his sharp teeth snapping together. “I’d kill you now if I could!”
“Yes, I know,” Jade said, gulping, as he shoved her down another step. “I guess it’s a good thing Talia wants
me alive.” She gasped, stumbling down the last step. She yelped, falling to the hard ground, the metal door slamming shut behind her with a loud bang.
“Now, that is exactly how I like my witches,” the vampire behind the demon said, laughing. “Locked up. Bye Witchy witch!”
“Jade? Jade is that you?” Ashwin rose from the cell across from her, wrapping his hands around the metal bars, and squinting into the darkness.
“Who else would it be?” Jade muttered, rising to her feet. “Yes. It’s me.”
“But what are you doing here? I thought you went looking for a sorceress or a seer! Did you get your powers back?”
“Do you think I’d be stuck in a cage if I did?” Jade asked, rolling her eyes. “No, I did not get my powers back but I did find a sorceress, seer. Whatever it is you guys call yourselves down here, but surprise, surprise it was your sister. Alana.”
“Alana?” Elijah jumped to his feet, from where he was sitting in the cell kitty-corner from her. “Alana’s alive? But I thought she was dead, just like the rest of our family!”
“So did I,” Ashwin said, glancing at Elijah, then at Jade. “How is this even possible?”
“Hades.”
“She met Hades?” Elijah asked. “No one ever meets him!”
“I did,” Ashwin put in.
“That’s different,” Elijah said, waving away his comment. “But why would she choose to become… evil? Alana was always good! She was better than the two of us combined!”
“Because she hates you, for what you did to your family,” Jade told him. “And honestly, I can’t blame her. You’re the reason she chose evil, Elijah.”
“And right she is,” Alana said, appearing in a reign of black smoke, grinning at her two brothers. “Hello, Ashwin. Hello Elijah. You two are looking might comfy, as do you.” She glanced over at Jade. “I bet you hate this, don’t you?”
“You have no idea,” Jade got out between gritted teeth. She wrapped her hands around the bars, shaking. “Let me out of here! I want nothing to do with your issues for Elijah. As far as I care, you can kill him right where he stands right now. Just let me out!”
“Oh, you’re not going anywhere, Jade,” Alana said, snapping her fingers, the family book appearing in her hands. “I need you.”
“The book! You did take it!” Jade cried. “I knew it! I knew something wasn’t right with you!”
“And yet, you ignored that feeling, didn’t you?” Alana asked, chuckling as she flipped through the pages. “Oh, would you look at that. The spells are starting to come back. Talia will be pleased.”
“And what does Talia want with the book?”
“To be free, of course,” Alana told her. “This is a book of good magic, Jade. Of white magic. One drop of Talia’s blood will turn the book evil, which will turn your family evil, and will break the veil allowing Talia to cross into the underworld.”
“But she’s already in the underworld!”
“No, she’s not.” Alana spun in a circle, her body transforming into Talia’s.
“You can… shapeshift?” Elijah asked, his eyes wide. “But how?”
“Because I’m half sorcerer, half vampire,” Alana told him. “Which is how I could control you back there.”
“But why?” Ashwin asked. “The vampires killed our family, Alana! Why would you ever agree to join them?”
“Because together, we’re going to rule the world,” Alana told him. “And kill him!” She stabbed a finger at Elijah, smiling. “Who do you think put that big ole bullseye on your back, Elijah? It wasn’t Talia. It wasn’t Liam. It was me!” She smiled. “And when they catch you, I promise you, your death will be anything but short and sweet. But until then, tootles!” She disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
“That’s our sister?” Ashwin stared at the spot Alana had been standing, then over at Elijah. “You bastard! You broke our sister!”
“I did no such thing!” Elijah snapped. “The only thing I’m guilty of is making a deal with the vampires, which I have broke now, thank you very much, and because of that everyone wants me dead!”
“Well, they should!”
“But that doesn’t even matter right now!” Elijah shouted. “Because we have much bigger things to worry about, like the book! If Talia gets her hands on the book…”
“The chosen ones become demons.”
“No, not demons,” Elijah said, shaking his head. “Vampires.”
“What?” Jade jerked her head up. “Her blood, turns us into vampires?”
“It’s the way of the underworld, Jade,” Ashwin said. “And being a vampire isn’t all bad.”
“But I don’t…” Jade trailed off, shaking her head. “Never mind. Let’s just find a way out of here!”
“The chosen ones aren’t the only thing we need to worry about,” a small voice said, from the cell down from them.
“There’s more?” Jade askes, sighing, squinting through the darkness, trying to see who was talking. “Who’s down there?” Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, spotting the leprechaun sitting in the cage. “More leprechauns?”
“You do know that they kidnapped us, right?”
“Of course!” Jade cried. “But…” She trailed off, her eyes widening, as leprechauns peered through the bars of the cells, running all the way down the hall. “But I didn’t know they took so many! Why do they need all of you?”
“For the new evil that’s about to rise.”
“What new evil?”
“We don’t know!” the leprechauns cried in unison. “All we know is that there’s a big tomb in the great room. Something, that the demons have been feeding our luck to, and blood. Lots of blood!”
“What on earth would need all of that?”
“Some sort of monster!” one of the leprechauns cried. “But I also heard the sorcerers talking about something else.”
“What?”
“Satan’s resurrection.”
Chapter 23
“So this is how you guys start your day?” Sky asked, yawning, as he trotted down the steps. He stepped into the kitchen, breathing in the smell of bacon, eggs, and toast. “Hmm. That smells wonderful!”
“Nothing but the best, for my boy,” Sherilyn said, squeezing his hand as she whizzed by him, setting the dishes on the table. “Sky, will you grab the orange juice and the milk from the refrigerator? Everyone’s going to be here soon, and we are running so far behind!”
“Your mother never does like to slow down,” an older man said, as he looked up from reading the newspaper to wink at Sky. “Even after that heart attack she had.” He extended a hand. “I’m Shane.”
“She had a heart attack?” Sky asked, accepting the man’s hand. Must be Mom’s new husband.
“I told you she did!” Stella said, rolling her eyes in disbelief, as she flipped the eggs in the pan. “Don’t you listen to anything I tell you?”
“Dang. You sound like Jade.”
They all stopped, turning to stare at him. “Who’s Jade?” They all uttered in unison.
“Ah… I don’t know,” Sky said, scratching his head. “The name just popped out of nowhere!”
“Do you think it means he has a family somewhere?” Sherilyn asked, looking over at Stella.
Stella shrugged. “Hell if I know.”
“We’re here!”
The door front door slammed open, interrupting them, running feet racing across the carpeted floor as two young girls, and two young boys raced around the corner. “Grandma!”
“Lisa! Steph! Matthew! Michael! What have I told you about running in the house?” Sherilyn asked, propping her hands on her hip to glare at them, before breaking into a grin. “Come here!”
They lunged forward. “We missed you, Grandma!”
“And I missed you,” Sherilyn said, engulfing them in a huge hug. “What are you all so excited about?”
“They’ve been excited since they got up this morning,” Connor said, yawning, as he walked into the kitchen. “Coffee.
I need coffee.” He reached for the mug, pouring a cup. “Hey Sky,” he brought the mug to his lips, sighing, and handing a young, black-haired woman a cup. “Sophia, I’d like you to meet Sky. Sky, this is my wife, Sophia.”
“It’s so good to meet you,” Sophia said, walking forward and embracing him in a hug. “I’ve heard so much about you! But when Connor told me you were alive…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “I couldn’t believe it!”
“Were you really… dead?” Matthew asked, looking up at Sky.
“Mathew!”
“I heard you and Dad talking,” Matthew told his mother.
“Well, were you?” Michael asked.
“I wish I could tell you,” Sky said, as he stared down at the boy, swallowing past the lump in his throat. “But I can’t remember.” Do I have a young boy waiting for me at home? he wondered. A wife, who’s missing me? “I’ve got a big bump on my head, so I’m having a hard time remembering.”
“So you don’t remember who you are?” Steph asked, her eyes wide.
“Yes. I don’t remember anything,” Sky said, laughing. “But I think it’s starting to come back.” He winked at Steph. “You must be the smart one of the bunch, huh?”
“We’re all smart!”
Sky laughed again, raising his hands in surrender, as they all shouted at him. “Right. My bad.”
“Be careful, Sky,” Stella said, as she walked down the steps, hiding her yawn. “Before you know it, you’ll be wrapped around their fingers.”
“Sky, come on!” Lisa tugged on his hand. “I think the others are here!”
“I think she’s right,” Sherilyn said, glancing out the window. “I see Winston’s car.”
“Then let’s go and greet them!” Sky cried, hurrying with the kids into the room.
“Well, he’s certainly good with the kids,” Connor muttered. “I sure hope he doesn’t have a few that are missing their Dad.”
“None of us want that,” Sherilyn said, gazing toward the living room. “But only time will tell. Winston!”
“Yeah, Mom?” Winston stuck his head into the kitchen, as he shrugged out of his coat. “What is it?”
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