The Beloved Fire

by Chelsii Klein

  She couldn’t think straight, literally, let alone figure out what happened to land her here. Where were her mom and dad and Blake?

  Blake, the name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she’d met him. As if by some miracle she reached the door handle and twisted, and like a jolt of health or like the handle could heal her, she immediately remembered everything.

  Purgatory. Anock, the twins, everything.

  It didn’t heal the snake bites or the venom coursing through her body, making her want to throw up, but whatever happened was enough to give her energy to stand and remember what was going on.

  “Blake sent you some energy Kayla, get through this next level and your home free.” Ander said in her mind. She pushed open the door, she wanted nothing more than to stop and summon him, but she couldn’t tell how long she’d been wallowing on the ground and was sure Anock and James weren’t far behind.

  Mikayla stepped through on her sore foot to a world that was a black and barren waste land. Huge black gates laid up ahead, guarded by snarling, growling Rottweiler’s that wore spiked collars. It looked to Mikayla like blackened lava on the ground, while ash floated through the humid air. If there was a volcano nearby or if she was on top of a volcano, it wouldn’t have surprised her. The gates where sure to be the way out, but how would she get past them?

  “Ander come to me.” Mikayla said as quiet as she could, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to survive an attack from the four dogs that guarded the gates.

  His voice whispered throughout her mind, sounding concerned and something else she couldn’t detect. “I cannot. I don’t have enough energy to project there. I won’t be able to stay with you after this. Remember what I said about tricks, this is all it is, one big trick. You got this. I will see you on the other side.” She felt a strange tingling in her mind and a warmth surround her, and as fast as it came, it left, and Mikayla knew Ander’s presence was gone.

  She was alone, again.

  Mikayla always liked dogs, but these looked big and scary and not the kind that welcomed their belly being rubbed. A whooshing sound accompanied with, sand, dirt and ash rushed towards her blowing back her wet hair. She threw her arms up to cover her face, only looking up when the debris calmed, to see Anock crouched down as if he just landed. His hair was pulled back showing his masculine jaw line, and sharp facial features along with his icy eyes. His wings were fully expanded out at his sides covering the ground.

  Anock stood slowly pulling back his wings tight behind his back, they looked shinier than usual, almost like they were nothing but strips of silk.

  “Mikayla, you don’t want to leave me, I can read your thoughts.”

  “You keep saying that.” She said in between horrible coughs that brought a salty fluid in her mouth, it made her stomach hurt.

  Anock walked forward with a concerned look. “If you don’t get healed, those bites will kill you, they’ve already started. You will die if you leave here.”

  Mikayla tried to control her tremble, Ander said this would be a trick, she couldn’t die. It was all tricks. Anock reading her thoughts, now inches away from her reached out wrapping her in a hug that she didn’t know what to do with. “This is not a trick my love. The last test is me.” Anock said stepping back putting a couple feet between them.

  “You have to defeat me to exit the realm. It usually is Ulysses that is to be defeated, and no one gets beyond him, but you got him out of the way early. So now you will have to kill me to escape, but before you do Mikayla remember one thing. There will never be another that loves you as much as I do.”

  She couldn’t stand it anymore, he was obsessive. “Why the hell do you keep saying that?” She yelled best she could, feeling the anger start to rise. She’d seen Anock a total of four times. Why did he think he was so in love with her?

  “Because.” Anock said unsheathing the sword that she just noticed had been hung at his side. The sword was gold and he was dressed in the black gladiator outfit she’d seen him wear before. She couldn’t believe he would really be willing to fight her, it just showed that he didn’t love her. The sight of him holding the gold sword at his side filled her with rage. He loved her but he would slice her open to keep her. What an asshole.

  “When the rumors of your birth scattered even amongst the dead, the day came for me to report to the king. He told me it was time for my test to his cause and before I ever knew what he meant or what was happening he threw a dark red ball of light that hit me square in the chest and from that day on…there has only been you.”

  “Do you know what the light was?” He asked and she shook her head, swaying on her feet and not understanding why he was telling her this.

  “It was love. He put love in a demon. It was the first time it had ever been done. He said not to get to comfortable with it because if all went as planned either way you would break my heart, or I would want to die to get rid of the cursed plague called love. I’ve been in love with you since before you were born. This ceremony is more than a marriage ceremony. It’s about you becoming immortal. It’s about us ruling the underworld together. It is the most beautiful love story that will ever be told.”

  She scoffed or tried but instead coughed up more blood. He was crazy, if anything that speech just proved more that she needed to leave.

  Anock turned the sword inward, holding the handle out towards her. “I would never fight back. I told you, I will never hurt you again. I’m sorry for what I did, just kill me fast is all I ask.” The dogs still snarled at Anock’s back, making her look at them for a split second. It didn’t matter if she killed him, she still wouldn’t be able to get past them.

  Seeing her glance, Anock raised his hands and turned his head. “Be gone!” He shouted and the dogs stopped their growls and ran off in opposite directions.

  “Fine.” Mikayla said, trying to swallow down her fear only to be struck with another fit of coughs. She reached out unable to contain the shake in her arm for the sword, as the dizziness started again. Anock reached out steading her hand, taking hold of it and making her grip the sword as he brought the tip of the sword over his heart.

  “But Mikayla.” She looked up into his eyes, as he searched hers with his own. “Just know that upon my death your angel and boyfriend will automatically die”

  Her heart stopped, turning into what felt like cement and she gasped out, as he smirked looking down his nose at her. He knew she would never harm them, but what if this was a trick?

  Mikayla looked down at his strong hand, this was a trick, and this really wasn’t him. She looked over his bare chest, his abs, chest, neck, it looked like him. She needed to be sure, she reached out with her free hand and touched the arm that helped her hold the sword. Could she chance their lives? But if she didn’t, could she chance every mortal’s life?

  Her lip quivered, and the block in the back of her throat gave out as she took a shaky breath in letting the tears fall down that she’d been trying to hold back.

  What if this isn’t a trick?

  Ander strained more against the tightening ropes.

  “TRY!” Blake yelled out in frustration his eyes blazing red; he was mad, big deal. Ander didn’t have any more strength to see what was happening he just had to trust.

  “What is she feeling?” He asked, Blake hadn’t been telling him. So much for working together.

  He heard Blake’s rope tighten as he too struggled, throwing a temporary fit.

  “I can’t figure out what she’s feeling there’s too much emotion coming from her. Fear, longing, sorrow, pain, confusion, and something I don’t know.”

  The last emotion confused Ander. He gave it all he had ignoring Blake’s writhing trying to break his impossible ropes. Guardians were born with this ability but using it when ones’ powers were depleted, was something that was never planned for. He was thinking of her, trying everything, and then it happened. If he hadn’t been held up, he would have fallen back. He was staring into the eyes of Anock, he
looked down to see Anock holding her hand that held up a sword aimed at his heart.

  “Do it.” Anock said looking at her with intensity, and something that Blake couldn’t see, but the emotion was clear to Ander, it was love. It wasn’t clear to Blake not only because he couldn’t see what was happening but because he obviously didn’t know what her love felt like. It wasn’t love for Anock, but for someone else. It was all too easy to see Anock had threatened his life and Blake’s.

  Ander’s greatest fear had come true, she was sacrificing herself for him. It was supposed to be the other way around. Why didn’t she save herself?

  It was time to call Gabriel.

  Mikayla’s grip on the sword loosened, and it clattered to the black ground. She didn’t have to say anything before Anock pulled her into his arms cradling her sick body, before taking off into the air.

  Ander opened his eyes feeling numb all over, was it too late?

  “What is it? What did you see?” Blake shouted, fear, clear in his voice.

  “You felt love.”

  “I don’t give a shit what I felt! WHAT DID YOU SEE?” Blake’s roar was demonic, enough the water puddles mixed with blood trembled on the hard floor beneath.

  There wasn’t any point going into detail. “I saw the end.” He deadpanned.

  Blake’s eyes flashed in array of colors as he roared out and struggled against his binds. He knew Blake was going to want more of an explanation, but there wasn’t much else to say. With a deep sigh, he dropped his head. Somehow seeing Mikayla give herself up to the dark, pained him enough to the point he almost felt numb enough to finally get some sleep, and it didn’t even matter that angels don’t sleep.

  22

  Ritual

  If there was a way for someone to die from passing out too much, due to a lot of injuries, it would probably be her. Nightmares plagued her for the short time she was unconscious of her decision and how late it was to change it.

  She awoke to Anock sitting in front of her, elbows resting on his knees and his hands holding up his face as he gazed over her. He was in nothing but black dress pants. After gaining some awareness, she realized she was standing up with both wrists tied above her head in a bad cheerleading position. She looked down to see she was in a tight full-length red leather dress, strapless, while Cain and Elijah worked on her hair and makeup. Seriously, why couldn’t they flick their wrists and cut the mundane shit?

  The pain from the snake bites and everything else she endured during her last attempt at freedom were gone, only now remained the guilt of the decision she made. She remembers a time she and Ander had played some stupid what if game. What if there was a room full of people that would die if you didn’t shoot someone. Would you shoot the one to save the many? Thinking back she always agreed with the logic to shoot the one. Now, she probably just set off the apocalypse with Hell the victor all to save her best friend and love interest. Maybe she did deserve to be the queen of these monsters.

  Anock sat, staring at her with a blank expression for what seemed like forever, as Cain and Elijah worked without words, putting an awkward silence in the air. They were all back in Anock’s room with other people she’d never seen rushing about here and there. What they were doing though, she couldn’t tell and didn’t really care. This was it, the beginning of the rest of her life in hell, she needed to perk up and accept it.

  “I understand you thinking just because you have angel blood that it would make more since for you to end up in Heaven, but before you have your mind too far set on hating your decision, let me remind you.”

  He cracked his knuckles, shifting forward in his seat making his hair fall like a curtain around his square jaw. He smiled as she watched him, and she hated that his teeth were so white and perfect. He was handsome, but he was one evil bastard.

  “Angel blood isn’t the only thing that’s in you. You hold blood of the dark side as well, making you just as likely to join us. Just because you were raised to believe, that Heaven is where you want to go, doesn’t mean that is where you should go. You belong with us. We aren’t all bad”, Anock said standing up and walking over to her.

  Yeah, okay let me just accept my fate. No big deal, just the end of the world, figuratively and literally.

  “Let Ander and Blake go; you have what you wanted!” She was exhausted and couldn’t put much umph behind her demand, but it needed to be made, she couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to them. Just because she was stuck in hell didn’t mean that they had to be.

  “That is one thing, my queen, which I cannot do. You see we needed Ander for the ritual and Blake well, I thought he would be the perfect sacrifice for our first meal together.” Upon seeing her confused face Anock leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly and she jerked her head away from him.

  “Mikayla, demons survive on souls, on people.” Anock said standing back and opening his mouth, two sharp looking fangs dropped down clicking into place.

  She lurched her head back in surprise and fear, making Elijah curse and drop the curling iron he’d been working with. “Ouch, damn it! Mikayla hold still… and please, like you didn’t already know.”

  The thing was, she didn’t already know, the whole thing was confusing.

  “You said there wasn’t such a thing as vampires!”

  Anock sputtered out a deep laugh bringing back in his fangs. “Correct, there is no such thing as vampires. All demons possess some type of teeth or fangs. To consume a soul, you feed on the body, consuming the heart, blood and skin of the victim; it’s how we survive. I just haven’t fed since you have arrived, I wanted to wait so I could show you how to feed your first time.”

  Mikayla tried to keep the bile in her throat from rising but she couldn’t help it and she threw up all over the floor as Anock stepped back with a smile on his face. The twins stepped back somewhere behind her cursing in disgust.

  “Once you’re turned it will be what you crave, what you need. Human flesh to you after the ceremony will be like ice cream is to you now.” Anock said unaffected by her vomit.

  Cain came around the front of her wiping her mouth clean, as Elijah threw black dust on her mess making it disappear.

  “I saw you eat food though. Normal food, all of you.” She started hyperventilating at the thought, it was ridiculous for this to be the deal breaker for her, but she was super squeamish when it came to what she ate.

  “Don’t worry you can eat normal food too, it’s just that you won’t need it to survive. We won’t need sleep either. Meaning we will never tire of being tangled up with each other.”

  Cain slicked a dark red lip stick on her lips stepping in front of Mikayla, smiling when he was done. “Okay, she is ready.”

  Anock pushed him to the side, reaching up and loosening her wrist straps, holding her tight against him, as he leaned down slowly kissing her neck lightly sending chills down her spine in disgust. He treated her tenderly, like someone treated another person when they were in love, and from his little speech he did think that it was love. Most likely though, it was probably just lust that he felt for her.

  “Love and lust are one in the same, when you’re in hell.” He smiled before licking her lips, while he held a seductive look and then turned quickly before saying anything else and left the room.

  Before she could even take a step forward a cold diamond necklace was draped around her neck and she felt fingers working to latch the necklace in the back. It wasn’t until she felt the familiar breath and heard the haunting voice that she knew she was in trouble. She slipped into the obedience spell just as a long blonde hair woman with wicked purple eyes stepped in front of her.

  “Miss me?”

  Ander struggled trying to keep James from his task.

  “Lay still!” James barked in Anders face as he strapped him down to the cold stone platform.

  Ander couldn’t help but notice the similarities between him and Mikayla, their eyes mostly; it made his heart burn. How could she have been made for s
omething so vile? The demonic guests had already started filing into hells amphitheater, dark queens filled the right stands with theatre chairs, dressed in black, while the dark lords filled the left side dressed in gold. Was it normal for females and males to be so separated in hell? Flames outlined the walkway for the ceremony along with the chairs of the guests. The whole thing was a joke, they needed to hire a new decorator, their vision of scary was enough to make him act like his best friend and roll his eyes.

  Was he scared? Yeah, but the whole place looked like a four-year-old set it up. Mikayla’s ceremonious welcome into the light would be, will be, something to remember. She is the turn of times, the one that will help the almighty. For someone so important, Hell seemed to be downplaying her. His heart was beating from pure rage rather than the fear that had started, and he shut off his internal babble and shifted his anger to James.

  “Traitor!” Ander spat up at him, while he struggled to break loose, there was no reason to make it easy. Even if he was to get free, he didn’t stand a chance fighting his way out but at least he would die trying. His anger only made James laugh as he finished the last of the straps, tightening them with all his strength before winking at him and walking off. What was this guy playing at?

  Ander looked over to where James had already thrown Blake into a red metallic cage that dangled high from the ceiling in the corner of the arena. The ceremony had never been performed before, so he was unsure of what to expect, but if he had to guess, he would guess they were both going to die. He finally gave in after seeing Mikayla give herself to Anock and sent the silent message to his commander. It would not only tell Gabriel his location but allow him better access through the gates. The silent message was like a tracking beacon that could be sent from one angel to another, along with important information. He watched Blake from the corner of his eye wondering if he was in on whatever James had planned, or if he was just as clueless as he was.