Copyright © 2021 Tamara Geraeds
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Deranged Doctor Design
Editing by Ambition Editing LLC
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
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PREVIOUSLY, IN CARDS OF DEATH
We’ve saved five out of seven of the souls Satan is after, but he has another way of using the chosen souls to open the circles of Hell. Soon we’ll have to face him. Our final battle…
Will we be ready? Mom is still missing, but we’ve gotten Jeep and D’Maeo back. Taylar turned evil, twice, and I’m a bit worried about that. I have no idea how to stop it when the time comes that he can’t snap out of it. We’ve had no time to think of a solution for it, or to investigate this further, because there’s so much going on. Angels have gone missing from Heaven, and one was even killed. Quinn is afraid the missing angels have crossed over to Lucifer’s side. He is trying to locate them, so I’m hoping to get good news from him soon. Meanwhile, Heaven is already under attack, and I have no idea how to help. I need to come up with something though, because Quinn told me I am also destined to save Heaven.
Even if I did, I wouldn’t know when to do it. Everything on Earth is spinning out of control faster than before. Beelzebub came through the black portal in the silver mine. We drove him back using the Bell of Izme and some holy water, but he almost took out Vicky. Since then, she’s been a bit distant.
One of the books we took from Shelton Banks’ mansion gave us some important info on Jeep’s wife: Charlotte was a powerful magician. After a couple of mages asked her to join the Devil’s army, Charlotte renounced her powers. Her magic can be summoned by a powerful mage with the help of her husband, with whom she still has a strong connection. To harness these powers, one will need an empty body… ‘Empty’, in this case, means a body without magical powers. We could only think of one person without powers that we truly trust: Mom. I’m no too thrilled to transfer Charlotte’s powers to her, since that means she’ll be smack in the middle of our battle with Satan, but I guess we don’t have much choice if we want to win this. We can use all the fire power we can get.
Our visit to Shelton Banks’ house had another positive outcome. We found Jeep, and he was released from the burden of the angry mage ghosts inside his tattoos. It’s weird seeing him without the moving tattoos. So weird that I sometimes think I can still see them move.
Getting rid of the mage ghosts wasn’t easy, but eventually we got something good out of it: one of them gave us Shelton Banks’ true name. Using a spell, I astral projected myself to Shelton Banks, involuntarily creating a split vision so I could see him as well as my friends at home. Shelton’s true name gave me the power to make him answer my questions. I needed to know how to defeat Beelzebub. But making him lift the curse on Vicky, the one that pulls her toward the Shadow World, was more important, so I did that first. I also got some interesting information out of him when I asked him about the curse. He told me the Devil wants to get rid of Vicky because she inherited great power from her ancestor…
Unfortunately, Shelton Banks pushed my astral form away from him before I had the chance to ask him about Beelzebub. I can only hope I’ll return to my body unharmed…
CHAPTER 1
Faint voices are coming from one side; the other has gone silent.
While my astral form flies through the air, all kinds of thoughts go through my head, barely audible above the pounding that bounces in all directions. I should’ve known it would be too dangerous to approach Shelton Banks, even if it was only in the form of an astral projection. Why didn’t I put more safety measures into my spell? What if he damaged my soul somehow?
My astral form slows down, and the voices go quiet. My vision is still split, but only the left side, the eye of my astral self, has visibility. I try to make my body open its eyes. It doesn’t respond. It’s as if we’re no longer connected.
I gulp for air, even though my current form doesn’t need oxygen. Don’t panic. Don’t panic, I tell myself. I’m not completely lost yet. There are still two visions, so some part of the connection must have remained intact.
I take in everything around me, and when I blink several times, the incoherent shapes start to make sense.
I’ve returned to the annex, where my body is lying on the ground. Several shapes are hunched over it.
“Vicky,” I whisper.
The shady person starts shaking my body. She can’t hear me.
I send several commands to my body. Move! Open your mouth. Open your eyes. Do something!
Of course, it doesn’t obey. It lies there, looking disturbingly empty.
When I drift closer, everything around me gets hazier again.
Suddenly I’m hovering near the ceiling. I reach out to grab something before I disappear in the next room. There’s nothing to hold onto, even if my hands weren’t see-through.
“Help!” I call out. “I’m here!”
The shapes move around the annex. None of them look up.
And then, I see something strange.
The people below me are all shapes of light, but some of them have black spots. One even has tufts of black crawling through them. Evil? I try to make out who they are. Must be Gisella. She’s the only one of us with evil powers. Although…
I narrow my eyes at the figure standing behind the werecat-witch. This one is holding a staff. Maël. A small sliver of black moves inside her chest. Nothing to worry about. That’s the remnant of the black tree in the Shadow World. It’s only a tiny bit of evil, which she can control.
I try to find D’Maeo to check if the Black Void has really left him. My gaze falls on someone with a bowler hat. Jeep. His body shows not even a single speck of dark. The person moving his hand to his mouth over and over beside him must be Charlie. He’s also clean. Kessley is no different. Her body seems to glow a bit more than the others. Probably her cheerfulness. Or the booze running through her veins.
I’m so mesmerized and stunned by the intricate pattern the slivers inside Taylar weave that I don’t notice myself drifting through the ceiling until it blocks my vision.
I throw my head forward to get a glimpse of Vicky’s body. Too late. My astral form keeps floating up. There’s no use in struggling. There’s nothing to grab onto, and none of my movements have any effect.
Soon, I don’t hear my friends’ voices anymore. The air around me gets warmer as I keep ascending. It’s not until I spot a light in the distance, getting bigger and bigger, that I realize what’s going on.
I start to struggle against the force pulling me in. “No! Let go of me!”
This can’t be happening. Not like this. Not now that we’re so close.
Again, I search for something to hold on to. I try to use my powers to turn back. Lightning, ice, water, sunshine…. nothing works. I’m defenseless.
Eventually I stop fighting. It’s better to save my strength, because I will not accept this fate. So far, I’ve accepted all of it. I was meant to lose my father, to see my mother suffer from fits and torture, to fight Lucifer, and to lose the girl I love. If that is my destiny, then so be it. But I will not leave this battle so close to the end. I will fight for my life and for that of everyone on Earth.
Now that I have stopped resisting, I’m pulled into the light fast. I close my eyes and wait.
The light gets brighter, but it’s not painful. It’s soothing and warm. It makes me want to lie down and forget about everything going on below.
I shake my head. No, don’t forget. They need you. Mom, Vicky, Taylar, Jeep, D’Maeo, Maël, Kessley, Charlie and Gisella. Even Mona. I can’t leave them.
“Welcome,” a soft voice says as the light dims.
I open my eyes. A glowing man in a white robe is standing before me. Ginger hair falls upon his shoulders, and his face is covered in freckles. His huge reddish wings seem too big for his slender body. His smile is sweet, and he gives me a small bow. “Welcome to Heaven, Dante.”
I straighten my shoulders when my feet finally touch solid ground again. Or almost solid, since the road consists of clouds.
I bow back to the angel and answer him with a simple, “No.”
His smile falters. “What do you mean?”
With my arms folded, I look him in the eye. “I don’t accept this. Send me back, please.”
“Your time on Earth is up, Dante. I’m sorry.”
I take him in from head to toe and step closer.
He frowns but doesn’t move.
“Listen,” I say. “We all want the same thing here. Heaven and Earth are under attack. I’m the chosen one; I can save them both. But I don’t have time to return as a ghost and learn how to move stuff. I need to be alive. So send me back.”
“I know who you are, but there are rules. Unfortunately.”
I cock my head. “Is there anything in the rules about someone taking over Saint Peter’s duties at the gates of Heaven? Because I met him, and he didn’t look anything like you.”
The angel’s cheeks turn red. He stares at me with his too bright eyes, and I stare right back. I don’t believe for a second that the normal rules still apply, and I’m pretty certain this angel has the power to send me back.
Finally, he licks his lips and opens his mouth. “You want to keep fighting, even when I don’t return you to your body?”
I roll my eyes at him. “Of course. I’m the chosen one. That’s my job. I keep fighting until Satan’s ass is kicked.”
He chuckles but pulls a straight face so fast I wonder if I imagined it. “The task of the chosen one ends when he dies. A new one will be appointed.”
My mouth falls open. “You’re joking, right? That’s it? You give up, just like that?” I shake my head. “Well, I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. That’ll take way too long.” I turn and start walking away from him. “If you won’t help me, I’ll find my way back myself. I’ve been here before, after all.”
A stunned silence answers me.
I’ve taken five steps when I’m lifted off my feet again and drift back to the gates of Heaven, that are now visible behind the ginger angel.
I give him my foulest look and try to conjure ice above him. It doesn’t work.
After another long stare, he finally nods. “Fine. You’re right, everything has been turned upside down here. To be honest, I thought you’d be relieved to pass on the baton. I expected you to beg for your life; instead, you beg for the lives of everyone on Earth and in Heaven. You leave me no choice but to honor your request.”
I grin at him, and he raises a finger. “However, if you fail again, there will be no turning back. No turning into a ghost either. That will be the end. Do you understand?”
I wave his words away as if they don’t mean anything, although I feel the weight of them pressing on my shoulders. This will be my last chance. I cannot fail again. “Fine, fine. Just hurry, please.”
“One more thing.” He slams his hands together and a book appears between them. He flicks through it at dazzling speed, then nods and slams it shut. “Yes, I thought so.”
“What?” I ask impatiently.
He throws the book over his shoulder where it vanishes into thin air. “There is a rule I would like to honor.”
“What rule?”
“Your choice to keep fighting Lucifer in order to save everyone grants you a reward.” He paints a large circle in front of him with a swipe of his hand, and seven familiar faces pop up inside it. “If you beat Lucifer, one of these people can stay with you on Earth until their time to move on comes again. Who will you choose?”
My eyes almost pop out of my head. “For real?”
“I do not make jokes, Dante Banner. Choose the one who will not move on if you defeat Lucifer.”
My gaze flicks from one face to another. Some of them are easy to dismiss. Maël, Taylar and Jeep all want to move on. They want to be with their loved ones who are already in Heaven. They want peace. Taylar and Kessley will want to stay together. If I keep Kessley with me, they will be separated. That leaves only three people: Vicky, whom I can’t live without anymore, Dad, who never had enough time with me and Mom, and D’Maeo, who found true love with Mona.
“The only way to choose is with your heart,” the ginger angel says softly.
Maël, Taylar, Jeep and Kessley dissolve, and the other three faces grow. They smile at me, and my chest tightens. Pressure builds up behind my eyes.
I know who I want to keep the most. Without Vicky, my life will be empty. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. But this is not the time to be selfish. There are two people who deserve happiness more than anyone. Two people who have fought to keep the world a beautiful place for decades.
I’m sorry, Vicky. Mom, Dad. I can’t choose myself over them. No matter how much I want to.
I take a deep breath and spit out the only logical choice. “D’Maeo.”
The angel nods. “Consider it done.”
He stretches his arms out in front of him and his wings behind him. When he moves his arms up, my body moves with them.
“Good luck, Dante,” he whispers.
And before I can thank him, he pushes his wings forward. A wall of wind throws me back. I fall through the clouds and tumble down at frightening speed. Inside my head, several drums come to life. The light above me gets smaller and smaller. I feel like struggling, but I don’t. This is what I wanted, after all. I have to trust that this angel will put me back into my body safely.
If only it didn’t feel like
plummeting to my death.
CHAPTER 2
After a while, I slow down. I drop back through a familiar attic and into the annex of Darkwood Manor. My astral form comes to a halt and I try to open my eyes.
Nothing happens.
I do feel something, though. A hand is placed on my chest, and someone shakes my arm. “Dante? Are you back? Open your eyes.” The pounding going on inside my head almost drowns out the voice.
“Am twying,” I mumble. It’s as if my lips and tongue are stuck, and my limbs weigh a ton.
With difficulty, I lift my hand and search for Vicky’s. She grabs it and squeezes hard. “Are you back?”
I nod, or at least, I think I do. “Yes.”
Tears burn in my eyes. She seems like herself again, and now I gave her up. I’m going to lose her.
“Did you get the information we need?”
“Give him some time to recover,” D’Maeo says reproachfully.
The sound of his voice makes me smile. At least I made two other people very happy.
A soothing warmth spreads through me, and I relax.
“Is that better?”
Of course, I should’ve recognized the feeling of Mona’s sparks doing their job. A little fairy godmother love works miracles.
“Much better,” I answer, pushing the pain of my decision to the furthest corner of my mind. The drummers in my head cease their attempts to drive me crazy, and the heaviness leaves my limbs. I open my eyes and smile when I see only one image, no more split screen.
“How did it go?” Charlie asks, wringing his hands.
I sit up carefully. “Rather well. I got him to lift the curse on Vicky, and… he didn’t kill me! Or, actually, he did, but I came back.”
“You died?” Kessley shrieks.
“Yes, but only for a little while. And if I die again, it’ll be for real. No coming back as a ghost for me. I’m already on borrowed time.”
“That sucks,” Taylar says wholeheartedly.
The Eighth Mage Page 1