by G. Bailey
“What is this?” Javier asks me, pulling me onto his lap.
“I really have no clue,” I admit, and I turn to Javier. I wrap my arms around his neck as he smiles down at me and kisses me softly.
“Are you tired?” he gently asks.
“No, you?” I ask.
“Not even one bit,” he replies, and I squeal as he picks me up and carries me off the sofa.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To shower you. I want to wash you down before making you dirty all over again,” he tells me and kisses me before I can reply. I wasn’t going to complain anyway.
“You should stay in my room and leave after me,” I suggest to Javier as I finish pulling my hair up into a ponytail.
“I will keep him company,” Amethyst says, rubbing herself against his leg. He obviously can’t hear her, but he frowns at Amethyst anyway.
“I will stay until after the trial. Sera and Eike are covering for me,” he tells me. “I want to be here for you; that is more important than my father noticing me missing.”
“I would like that,” I admit, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him softly.
“Good, because it’s the plan,” he firmly tells me.
“There is food in the cupboards, and I just got some new movies,” I say, rambling because I’m more nervous than I can cope with.
“Smile. Your parents will love to see you smile,” he gently suggests and kisses me softly before letting me go. Leaning down, I stroke Amethyst before walking away to the front door. Just as I go to open it, someone knocks. I open the door to see Nikoli and Claus standing side by side.
“Hey,” I say, smiling at them, which seems to shock them as I’m sure they expected to see me freaking out or something.
“Are you ready to go?” Nikoli asks, whereas Claus is silent. “The limo is waiting outside, and we are escorting you.”
“Where is daddy dearest?” I sarcastically ask.
“Not dead, so who cares?” Nikoli coldly replies, nodding his head to the side. I walk with him, and Claus follows, but I don’t dare look at him. I really, really have enough on my plate at the moment without letting him hurt me by being his usual self—which is an utter dickhead. The academy is unusually silent as we walk towards the doors and outside into the cold air. Mr. Bisgaard waits by the limo doors, and I can’t read his expression until I’m right in front of him.
Sorrow. He feels sorry for me.
“Whatever may happen at the trial, I believe your parents have good souls,” he tells me. “And your home is always here at The Demon Academy.”
“I know they do,” I reply. “And thank you.”
“Good luck to your family, Miss Cameron. I will keep you in my thoughts,” he tells me, and I nod once to him before getting in the limo, followed by Claus and Nikoli last who closes the door shut, and the limo drives off. I wish I could have seen Morgan before today; I know he would have made me feel safer somehow. Nikoli keeps his firm gaze set on me for a second before coming to sit at my side, and he pulls me to his chest. I wrap my arms around him and close my eyes, relaxing for just a second.
“Don’t tell me it’s going to be okay,” I warn him.
“I won’t. That would be a lie,” he replies.
“Brutally honest, just how I like it,” I chuckle.
“Always so strong, just why I love you,” Nikoli replies, and Claus clears his throat.
“We will be here for you no matter—” Claus starts to say, but I don’t want to hear it from him.
“Claus, you’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t care about me,” I reply.
“I’m good at acting, Lexi. I never once lied and told you I don’t care,” he all but growls.
“Then that just makes you more of a coward than I ever knew,” I snap.
“Lexi, can we talk alone some time?” he asks me.
“No,” I quickly reply.
“Lexi.”
“Enough. Today is going to be difficult enough without you being a dickhead,” Nikoli cuts in before kissing the top of my head. I lock eyes with Claus, because even though a part of me hates him…another part feels something else. I’m not admitting that I want him here or that I still love the idiot. I just can’t see him walk out yet.
The rest of the journey to the demon leaders’ building is silent, as no words could break the tension and fear that is thick in the air. I’m terrified of today, but I also really want to see my parents, and I know I will be finally able to. The limo soon comes to a stop, and Nikoli opens the door, climbing out first. I go to follow, but Claus catches my arm with his hand.
“I am here for you. I won’t leave,” he tells me.
“That will make a change,” I retort, pulling my arm away from him and getting out of the limo. The wind blows against my face as I stand straight, looking up at the dozens of steps to the building where my parents await their trial. Where I found out I was a demon and my world was turned upside down. I just hope I won’t be walking out of here heartbroken any time soon. We walk up the steps in silence, only the elements making any noise, but I hardly hear them over the beating of my heart.
At the top of the stairs is a man in an expensive suit, who looks about forty. His brown hair is touched with gray hairs, his blue eyes are familiar, and his arms are crossed. I know who he is without asking, simply because he looks so much like my mum.
“Hello, Uncle Harry,” I say, stopping in front of him. He takes his time to look me over with a stern expression. “It’s strange to meet you after reading your letters.”
“Are you ready for today, niece?” he asks me, watching me ever so carefully. It hurts to look at him, he reminds me so much of my mum, and it’s a reminder of all the secrets she never told me. He might be my uncle, but he is a stranger nonetheless. “Are you ready for any outcome? Your parents need to see you as their brave daughter; you cannot let them down. Understood?”
“Yes.” As I do understand. It would hurt them to see me fall, just as it would hurt me to see them in pain.
I’ve learnt to be strong in the face of anything…now I have to see how strong I actually am.
Chapter 21
Death be a trial tonight…
My footsteps seem to echo with every step I take on the polished floors under my feet. I’ve walked this path before, but back then, I was confused and lost.
Now I am determined to save my parents, because I am not that girl who was kidnapped and taken. I will never be that girl again. If I am to stand a chance of helping my parents, I need to be strong and confident and play on the fact Lucifer thinks I’m the soon to be Queen of Hell. They won’t kill my parents if they know I will never forget.
I hope.
The doors to the courtroom I was once in are left open this time, with a row of Hellers standing in front of them. Going into the room, I see them straight away like there is no one else: my mum and dad. They are in chains, standing side by side, and they look tired, worn down but alive. A sob catches in my throat, and I step forward on instinct as Mum’s blue eyes find mine, but my uncle catches my arm.
“Don’t. You are a witness. You cannot speak to them until you have given your testimonial,” he reminds me. I gulp and move my eyes to my dad, who is staring at me with his hazel eyes. My dad, wearing his sweater vest, his navy jeans and usually a pair of glasses, is a far cry from the man in a blue jumpsuit that is the same as the one my mother wears. My dad’s brown hair, much like mine, is longer than usual and messy. My mum’s brown hair has been cut short into a bob, and I wonder why she did that. I loved her long hair. “Come on,” my uncle gently suggests, tugging on my arm to lead me to the bench where Nikoli and Claus are already sitting.
I sit down next to Claus, and my uncle sits at my side as I stare at my parents, trying to tell them how much I love them with just a look. I can’t wait to hug them, to tell them how I wish they told me the truth but I forgive them for not anyway. I want to thank them for the normal upbringing I had, for s
howing how to be kind, and for always being there when I needed them. I want to tell them everything and nothing all at the same time. I just want them.
Hearing a seat being moved, I look up to see the leaders sitting down. I remember Magnus Belcher as the high leader, and he looks the same as he did the last time I saw him, red suit and all. I remember Maureen at his side, in a red dress with an even higher collar than the last one she wore. The other two council leaders are silent, near mirror images of when I saw them last. The doors slam shut just as Lucifer and Morgan walk into the room. Morgan walks over and sits next to my uncle, and I catch his gaze for just a second, long enough to know he is here for me. Lucifer all but prances into the room like the cruel asshole he is, before sitting in a throne seat in the middle of the room, where there is another chair in front of it. They are both made of red velvet and have high backs, with gold painted wooden arm rests.
“Welcome to the trial of Irene and Leo Cameron, charged with murdering five high demons and taking their souls. How do you both plead?” Magnus asks.
“Not guilty,” both my mum and dad say at the same time, and I enjoy hearing their voices even under the circumstances.
“As expected. Now, you have not given an account of the night, but this is your chance. We will also hear from the witness, your own daughter,” he replies.
“Tell me what happened to my souls,” Lucifer asks, looking at my parents. They don’t look at him, they look at me instead.
“Promise us you will not hurt Alexandria Cameron if we tell you the truth of that night,” my dad asks Lucifer and the court. I want to tell them not to protect me, not if it means their lives, but I just know they won’t listen. I got my stubbornness from them after all.
“We cannot make such promises,” Magnus all but laughs. “How dare you make demands.”
“I am not demanding you; this promise is for our king. Promise you will not kill her,” my dad asks Lucifer, keeping his eyes on him the whole time.
“You have my word,” Lucifer answers. “Now tell me where my souls are.”
“We are sorry,” Dad says to me, his eyes full of tears. “And for the record, it is my doing. My wife and daughter are innocent.”
“No, Leo. We both made the choice,” Mum interrupts.
“Enough, Irene,” Dad harshly tells her before taking a deep breath. “On the night of the murders, we had a gathering for drinks and such. Something we did once a month, it was not unusual. Alexandria was a child, only seven years old, but it had happened a few times before. She opened a portal to hell itself, the worst part of hell, the prisons, where the demons are nothing but monsters. The first few times, she would close it so quickly nothing escaped, but this night, one monster did.”
“Interesting. What creature of mine was released from the hell prisons?” Lucifer asks.
“I am unsure of the creature’s true name, but it was deadly,” Dad replies.
“Derek Mendoza was the one to kill it with Leo’s help, as Lexi and I hid in the closet,” Mum explains.
“This still doesn’t explain where my souls are,” Lucifer says, and he clearly only cares about one thing here.
“Lexi... she...” Dad hesitates.
“Out with it!” Magnus demands.
“I took the souls and sent them up into the light above me,” I say, remembering it clearly. I stand up as the memory floods my mind like a movie I had forgotten. Or was made to forget. We came out of the closet, and the room was full of death and blood and souls. Green floating balls of light, and I reached a hand out to them, and they came to me. I remember how scared my parents were, but I thought it was about the dead people. “I can touch souls and stop them going down, and make them rise instead.” The silence in the room is deafening as I remember everything, as my words echo around the room.
“Just like me. It is a power blessed only to two families of demons in the entire existence of, well, everything,” Lucifer replies, though he sounds angry and dangerous. My palms sweat as everyone in the room just looks at me as I stand there.
“Then this is my fault. I should be the one that pays the price,” I say, and my parents are not the only ones who shout in disagreement. Claus and Nikoli do as well.
“Quiet in my court, or you will all be removed!” Maureen shouts, and the room goes silent. “Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, how can a lower demon have such a gift?”
“My family knew there was a chance we could inherit the gift. No one had the power until Lexi, as far as I know,” my mum explains to her.
“That’s why you were dumped on a church doorstep as children. Your true family wanted to hide you,” Lucifer all but growls. “Very smart or dumb. I’m not sure which.”
“Then you are innocent, and Alexandria is the one who committed the crime,” Magnus replies.
“Let my parents go. I did this,” I shout.
“As a child,” Morgan interrupts me to say.
“Sit down, angel. You are not permitted to speak here,” Magnus snaps.
“I will make the final choice,” Lucifer replies.
“Lucifer...please. You promised not to hurt our child,” Dad demands.
“I have chosen the verdict. As Alexandria Cameron was simply a child, she cannot be held accountable for her actions. Her parents are not accountable either,” Lucifer says, and I sigh in relief, grinning at my parents. I mouth I love you to them as tears of happiness fall down my cheeks.
My happiness lasts all of two seconds. “But I find Leo and Irene Cameron guilty of hiding the true Queen of Hell from me for many years. That is a crime I will never forgive. The punishment is death.”
“Punishment agreed. Death by holy fire,” Magnus says, though I barely hear him as fear shocks me to the core.
“Make the girl leave the room,” Maureen suggests as my shock turns into panic.
“I love you, baby girl!” Dad shouts to me.
“We will always be with you. Always,” my mother says as Dad holds her close.
“NO!” I scream, jumping over the barrier and running to my parents. Lucifer catches me around the waist, holding me back as the world slows down. Magnus sends a stream of holy fire towards my parents, and I can’t do anything but scream and beg for them to stop. The fire smothers them, and they cry out for me. I cry for them too, but no one helps.
No one can do anything.
My parents scream and scream with me as I fall to my knees. Lucifer leans down to my side as I cry and plead for this all to be a dream.
“This is the punishment anyone will get if they dare to take you from me. Don’t worry, dear sweet Alexandria, you will see their souls in hell very soon.” I don’t feel myself falling, but my body hits the ground, and I don’t stop the darkness from taking me.
Chapter 22
Five in the bed, and the little one said…
I don’t remember Nikoli carrying me out of the demon leaders’ building and to the limo. I don’t remember the words he whispered to me, or the hushed conversation between Claus and Morgan who came in the limo with us.
I didn’t really take in anything as Nikoli took me into the academy and walked in my apartment, where in hushed whispers, Claus and Morgan tell a worried Javier what has happened. Now I blink my eyes one more time, tears still streaming down my cheeks as I stare up at the ceiling of my bed which I’ve been in for a long time. Hours likely.
“My parents are gone. Gone just like that, and I didn’t get to say goodbye.” Those were the words I said first before crying more, and Nikoli holds me even closer. I feel the bed dip as Morgan’s hand finds mine, and another hand rests on my knee. Someone sits near my head, and I look up to see Javier, who moves so I can lie on his chest.
I just cry. I cry for my parents, the good people I know they were. I cry for all the moments in my life they will now miss. I cry for them and the pain they must have felt.
“Tell us something about your mum or dad. It might help to talk about the good memories rather than focusing on what happened today,”
Nikoli suggests.
“I don’t know,” I mutter.
“I had human parents who died at the same time as I did. When I was human, we owned a small boat, and as usual, on my eighteenth birthday, we went out to sea to celebrate. We got caught in a bad storm, and we all drowned in the same room. I don’t focus on that moment when I saw them die just before I did myself, I focus on the way my mum laughed in joy when I passed my exams. I focus on the last football game my dad took me to, and how I hate football but never told him that. I have a million memories, just like you do. They, as well as us, will help piece your heart back together,” Morgan tells me, strangely making me feel better.
“Once, my mum decided she would cook a meal for her and my dad’s anniversary. But my mum can’t cook, so I did the meal after she nearly burnt the flat down. I never said a word,” I say, and I soon can’t help but smile as I recount the memories I love the most. “At a local arcade, there was a machine with a purple cat teddy bear I really, really wanted, but I couldn’t win it. I tried for weeks until I ran out of birthday money. Little did I know my dad had realised how much I wanted the teddy and somehow, he got it for me. I was ten years old, and I literally jumped into his arms and cried.”