“Lift up your arms,” he said. I just stared at him. “I’ve seen you in a swimsuit. Seeing you in a bra isn’t that much different. Although seeing you in a bra next to your bed is kinda killing me right now, so please lift up your arms.”
I did as he asked. He very gently lifted his sweatshirt, pulled it over my head, and held it while I slid my arms in the sleeves. He lifted my hair out of the collar before he placed his hand behind my neck and pulled me to him.
His mouth moved over mine; his velvet tongue dipped between my parted lips. He tasted slightly of apple cider and smelled of cinnamon and something all him. I sighed at the feel of him. He pulled me closer, kissing me deeper.
My fingers itched to run over his hard, muscled stomach. I moved my hands from his waist and slipped them under his shirt. My fingers grazed over his rippled abs and followed them to the tapered oblique muscles that dipped into the waistband of his jeans. He groaned and dropped his hands to my waist. He pulled me even closer to him, kissing me deeper still. When he lifted his head, we were both breathing hard and I was more than a little dizzy. It was pure bliss, a toe-curling kiss. The only kind he seemed to give—not that I was complaining or anything. The guy was a kissing god.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Yeah.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “Now listen, Milayna, this is very important.”
“Okay.”
“That’s my favorite sweatshirt.” He grabbed a handful of the front of the shirt and yanked me toward him. “I want it back in the morning. It’s only on loan for tonight.”
I let out a breath and a small laugh. “Okay. On loan. Got it.”
“I’m serious. I want it back two minutes after one tomorrow morning.” He pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my forehead.
I closed my eyes and squeezed back my tears.
***
For the next hour, I sat on the couch next to Chay, his arm protectively around my waist, his thumb rubbing my skin just above my jeans. I wrapped myself in his sweatshirt. I loved how it felt. So soft and warm. It was so big on me that it draped over me like a blanket. And it smelled like him. I’d bend my face forward and inhale his scent, fresh and outdoorsy. It calmed me.
At eleven thirty, I smelled sulfur.
“It’s beginning,” I whispered. No one answered me. Chay pulled me closer to him.
With the smell of sulfur came the goblins. They ran around my yard, playing like they always did. We tried to ignore them, but their singing grated on my already fraying nerves.
At eleven forty-two, the demi-demons and Evils showed. They stood silently in a line in my front yard.
At eleven fifty-five, the ground shook and the dirt parted. A hole emerged, like someone was drilling their way out of the earth.
We walked outside. The first gray arms appeared, hefting themselves out of the hole. I’d never seen more than two demons at a time. That night, there were a dozen, maybe more, fighting to get out of the hole at the same time.
My parents kissed me. My mother was crying, and my dad was determined. “It’ll be fine, honey.” They pushed me toward Jeff’s car.
Chay pulled me around to look at him. He framed my face in his hands and kissed me hard. “I want my sweatshirt back.” He gave me a crooked grin. “And the person inside it.”
I nodded and pulled his face to mine for another kiss.
“Go with Jeff, Milayna. You can’t be here,” he whispered, his lips skimming over mine when he spoke.
“You take me!”
“I can’t.” And he was right. Next to me, Chay was the strongest demi-angel in the group. If something were to happen to me, he was next in line to lead. He had to stay and fight. Both of us gone would weaken the group too much.
“Go! I’ll be right behind you.”
The smell of sulfur and charred flesh stirred in the air. I knew they were coming for me. I threw the dagger to Chay and let Muriel and Jeff push me through the open car door. This was it. Dozens of pointless fights brought us to this point. A culmination of the stupidity of flying fists and staining the earth red with blood.
The endgame.
***
Midnight, my birthday.
Jeff raced down the road to the church. He and Muriel hurried me inside, closing and bolting the door behind us. It wasn’t until I turned and looked up at Jeff that I knew something was very wrong. When I looked at Muriel, I saw the same wide-eyed expression I was sure was on my face.
Jeff sneered. I always thought he was nice looking in an understated way. Dark hair but light eyes. Lean, but muscled. He was quiet and soft-spoken, but always friendly. But just then his normally friendly smile was cold and his light eyes glinted like shards of glass. “You knew there was a traitor in the group, yet you came with me like an idiot.”
‘Jeff and Shayla used to date,’ Chay had told me. Why didn’t that sink in? Then I saw him in the hall helping her pick up the books Lily dropped.
As I scrolled through my memory, I could pick out things that alone wouldn’t cause alarm, but stringing them together, they all pointed straight to Jeff. Him stopping to talk to Shayla and Lily at the restaurant, Jeff not doing anything to help when Drew and Chay were hurt until he was told to call 911, holding the door open for Shayla and following her out of the school.
My heart sank. It wasn’t Muriel I should’ve been afraid of. It was Jeff. Bile rose in my throat, and my body shook so badly that my teeth chattered. I had to grab onto Muriel to keep from falling.
“All this time, I thought it was you. I’m so sorry, Muriel,” I said close to her ear. “I’m so sorry for doubting you.”
“Me? Why me?” she whispered. Her hand squeezed mine tighter.
“You’ve been standoffish, we didn’t talk or text anymore, you didn’t help me when Jake was pulling me toward the pit, you—”
“Yeah, you don’t have to keep listing things. I admit I’ve been weird. It’s no excuse, but I’ve been scared. Everything was way more intense than anything we’d seen before, and I panicked. I let you down, and I’m so sorry. Maybe if I hadn’t been such a coward, we wouldn’t be here now.”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare blame yourself. This was hard for all of us. So you were scared. That’s normal. No matter what happens tonight, It. Is. Not. Your. Fault. I love you, Muriel.”
Big tears rolled down Muriel’s face when she hugged me. I could feel them pooling in the curve of my neck. “I love you, too. We’ll beat this.” She gave me one last squeeze, letting go when she felt me stiffen. “What?” When I didn’t answer, she followed my gaze.
I saw him. I swallowed back my fear and tried to stand straight, show no weakness. But my body trembled and my arms wrapped around my middle almost without my consent.
He looked just like he did in my dream. He had the appearance of a man, unlike his demons.
“Hello, Milayna. I’ve waited a long time to meet you face-to-face.” He leaned against a pillar leading into the church’s sanctuary, his hands clasped in front of him.
“Azazel,” I whispered. “But—”
“What? We’re in a church?” He laughed. “You thought you’d be safe here? Stupid girl. Churches are open to any who wish to enter. There are no protective powers here to keep you safe. Come in, come in.” He motioned us further into the church.
When I didn’t move, Jeff shoved me hard and I stumbled forward. He grabbed Muriel by the arm and jerked her to stand next to me. “When he tells you to do something, you do it!” Jeff screamed. Spittle flew from his mouth, and the sound of his voice echoed through the old church. I wanted to cover my ears, but I forced my hands to stay at my sides.
“Now, now, boy, there’s no need for screaming,” Azazel said.
I felt two hands clamp down on my arms. I looked, but I already knew what I’d see. Their unnaturally hot skin burned through my sweatshirt. When I saw the sickly gray flesh of the demons holding me, I gagged.
The demons held me in place as Azazel circled me. Jake a
ppeared out of the shadows and grabbed Muriel, restraining her. Steven, Lily, and Shayla stood next to him and watched. The hobgoblins waddled back and forth in front of them. Azazel’s angels flew overhead. Their black wings flapped, and the fabric of their black robes billowed around them. Their banshee-like screams pierced my ears.
My betrayer watched, standing next to Azazel. He smirked at me. A self-satisfied sneer that said he was pleased with himself. He was too busy staring at me to see what was coming. With a flick of Azazel’s bony finger, his minions descended, scratching and clawing at Jeff. His screams of pain filled the room, and I flinched. My stomach dropped, and my mouth went dry.
The demons held him motionless, his arms pinned to his sides and legs held together.
“Have you ever heard the fable of the scorpion and the frog?” Azazel asked Jeff. Walking to him, he scraped his fingernail under his chin, drawing blood.
“N… no.” Jeff’s voice was shrill. Beads of sweat covered his forehead, and he breathed in fast gasps.
“Please, don’t do it. I’ll do what you want, just let him and Muriel go,” I pleaded. I knew what was coming. But my words fell on deaf—or evil—ears. He wouldn’t let them go any more than he’d let me go.
“A scorpion needed a ride to the other side of a river, or was it a lake? Oh, I don’t know. I never can remember.”
“Please, show some mercy.” It made me nauseous to plead with him.
“He betrayed you, and yet, you still beg for his life?” Azazel tsked. He waved off my pleas and continued his story. “Anyway, unable to swim, he asks a frog for a ride. The frog, of course, is leery of his would-be passenger. ‘You’ll sting me,’ he whines. But the scorpion laughs at the frog. ‘Why would I sting you? You’d sink, and I’d drown.’ The frog thought for a moment and decided the scorpion’s reasoning sounded logical, so he agreed to give him a ride to the other side. And this, well, is the part that concerns you, dear boy. About halfway to the other side, the scorpion stings the frog. As the frog is dying, he asks the scorpion why he would do such a thing. And do you know what he said?”
Jeff shook his head, his eyes wide with fear.
“He said, ‘Because I’m a scorpion. It’s my nature.’ See, the scorpion couldn’t change, or maybe he didn’t want to. Either way, he doomed the frog and himself to an early death. Well, as most everyone in the room will agree, I’m evil. It’s my nature. So in this little scenario, I’d be the scorpion and you’d be… ” He stopped and plucked a piece of lint off Jeff’s shirt before he looked up at him and smiled. “Well, unfortunately, you’re the frog.”
Realizing what was about to happen, Jeff screamed, “But I helped you. You promised if I brought her to you, you’d let me cross over!”
“Oh, you’re crossing over. Just not the way you thought. See, there’s a problem with you. You came to me for what I could give you. That’s what you care about—what I’ll do for you. Well, I want people to worship me. Adore me.” Azazel lifted his arms toward the ceiling and threw back his head as he talked. “Fall on their knees in front of me and declare their undying love and devotion. Fight to the death for me.” He dropped his arms and looked at Jeff. “Not follow me because I can give them a seventy-inch plasma television and unlimited time with his girlfriend.” He turned his back, dismissing Jeff.
With a nod of his head, one of the flying demon-angels swooped down and grabbed Jeff’s head. With one swift twist, it broke his neck. The sound of bone crunching and cracking filled the room.
The demons holding him let go. His body crumpled and fell to the floor with a sickening thud, his face slack and open eyes staring straight ahead.
“No!” I screamed. My heartbeat throbbed in my ears. I could feel heat surge through my body and pictured my hands breaking Azazel’s neck.
Jeff was a good person. Deep down, he was a good person. He didn’t deserve that.
Jake and his friends stood silently watching. Muriel bent and vomited, the spray hitting Jake’s leg.
“Hey, Jake!” I yelled. “Maybe your new bestie Azazel will tell you the same bedtime story just before one of his angels breaks your neck. Because it’ll happen. As soon as he doesn’t need you anymore, it’ll happen.”
“Whatever, Milayna. Right now, I think you have bigger problems to worry about,” Jake mocked.
“Tsk, tsk, Milayna. Are you saying I’m not a man of my word?”
My body shook so hard I had to concentrate to keep my voice from wavering. I didn’t want to show fear. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “You’re not a man.”
Azazel laughed. “You got me there. I’m not a man. I’m stronger.”
“Doubtful.”
“My, my, you have a lot of attitude for someone in your position. I’d consider treating me with a little more respect.”
“Earn it. Let Muriel go.”
“Mmm.” He tapped one long fingernail against his thin lips. “Nope. Not gonna happen. I will do this, though. I’ll kill her last. That’ll give her the best chance of being rescued.”
We’re not getting rescued. It’s two against… shit, two against all of Hell. Eh, those odds aren’t too bad.
“Okay, I think I’ve had enough chatter for one day. I’m growing bored with this whole ordeal, Milayna. It’s time for us to end this.” He waved his hand in the air like he was swishing a bug away. “Let go of her. She’s not going anywhere.”
With one final, painful squeeze, the demons let go of my arms. I stumbled forward, falling on my knees.
“Now see, if only you’d fallen on your knees in front of me sooner, this could have been avoided.” Azazel chuckled and shook his head. “Such a pity.”
I stood and brushed myself off. Squaring my shoulders and schooling my expression, I looked into Azazel’s cold, dead eyes. “I’ll never bow to you.”
“And that is why you will die.”
The floor began to shake, and I held out my arms to keep my balance. The tile broke, the pieces flying through the room like knives as they sailed past me. I felt blood ooze from a cut on my cheek. It ran down my face and neck.
As pieces flew at me, I waved them away with my hands, amazed that I could finally tap into my telekinetic power without thinking.
The floor broke open. Fissures spread across the concrete floor like fingers. The earth parted—sliced open like melted butter. The sound of the cracking concrete and churning earth was deafening. It drowned out even Muriel and the demons’ screams, who lined the wall behind Azazel. Two held Muriel as she struggled to break free. The only sound was the groaning of the building as it gave way around us.
Pieces of the ceiling crashed to the floor as supports broke. As pieces fell above me, I raised my hand and flung them to the side. The chunks of ceiling followed the direction of my hands, landing just inches from Azazel.
“Wow! You’re getting good at that. It’s such a shame all your power will be wasted. Last chance, Milayna. Come with me. Think of all the fun we could have using your powers!”
I flung a piece of ceiling tile at him, knocking him in the shoulder hard enough that he stumbled backward. Jake and the line of demons shuffled toward the door of the church, dragging Muriel with them. They moved as far away from the falling ceiling and the pieces of concrete I was throwing toward Azazel as possible.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no.’” He steadied himself and brushed off his robe.
I turned in a circle, watching Azazel break away the floor little by little until I stood on a small surface, the hole in the floor like a moat encircling me.
I smelled it first. The stench of sulfur filled the air just moments before the smoke coiled up from the fissure. I saw the faint yellow glow coming from below. The earth gave way a little more, and I saw them. My stomach churned at the sight. So many people, such destruction. That would be my fate.
“Bow!”
“No!” I screamed. He flung his hand toward me, and a portion of the floor I stood on gave way.
“Do
it or die,” Azazel yelled.
“No.” Fear clogged my throat, choking me.
He shrugged. “Okay.” He gave a small wave. Barely a movement of his hand, like he was so bored he couldn’t summon enough energy to do more. The small area of floor I stood on cracked a little more. I took a step back. My heels hung off the back, rocks and broken pieces of tile fell into the pit leading straight to Hell.
The clock chimed. One o’clock. I had one minute until the exact time of my birth. He’d do it any second now. He couldn’t wait any longer. If he didn’t kill me before the clock read one minute past one, I’d be immune to him and his demons. I’d be stronger. I closed my eyes and waited for the visions to tell me what to do. How the hell was I going to get out of this? When they finally came, the visions scrolled through my mind like credits after a movie. Faster and faster they came. I could hardly keep up. Scenario after scenario. Around and around they swirled, blending into each other.
They stopped, and I jerked forward with the abruptness. I opened my eyes and locked on Azazel’s glare. I knew what had to be done.
“Oh dear. Sounds like your time has run out, Milayna.”
“We’ll see,” I said with a shrug of one shoulder.
Oh, geez, I’m smart mouthing a demon. Maybe I should rethink this plan. I don’t even know if it’s possible… but the vision showed me.
The floor crumbled little by little, and the smell of sulfur and rotting flesh filled my nostrils, burning the back of my throat. The screams and groans of the people below roared in the room as the demonic angels cackled and flew in circles around my head.
I forced myself to relax. I pictured my parents and brother, Saturday morning breakfasts and family movie nights. I saw Muriel, whispering during sleepovers and joking around at the mall. Chay. His blue-green eyes, the feel of his hand in mine, the taste of his kiss.
When I listened very closely, when I really focused, I could hear them on the other side of the doors, trying to find a way inside. My mother was crying, and my dad was screaming. Chay called my name.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “I love you all. So much.”
Just as I felt the piece of support give way beneath me, I reached my hand down toward the small slab of floor I stood on, making a fist as though I was grabbing hold of it. In one motion, I dropped low, held on with one hand, and swung my other hand forward in the air. The floor followed the movement and sailed across the room, with me on it, right into Azazel.
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