“Ah,” Jack nods his head in understanding. “Okay, then. We’ll be right here.”
I go inside and make coffee. Soon the smell causes Shay to stumble into the kitchen with Maxwell behind him.
“Morning,” I say.
Shay mumbles something barely coherent back.
“You’re up early.” Maxwell says after he plants a quick kiss on my cheek. “And you made coffee—bless your heart.”
“I had a rough night so I watched the sunrise on the beach.” I tell Maxwell.
“There’s a guy and a dog on our deck.” Shay says with a huge yawn. “Why is there a guy and a dog on our deck?”
“That’s Jack and his dog Bella. We keep running into one another—Bella and I—like literally.”
“He’s cute.” Maxwell says. “You get back on that horse, girl.”
I shake my head. “It’s not like that, Maxwell.”
“Better not be.” Shay glares out the window. “I already don’t like him.”
The first two cups I pour go to the couple. I hand Maxwell his and place Shay’s in front of him. “You’re just tired, grumpy, and over-protective. Jack’s a good guy. Believe me, I checked.” I give him a look that says duh.
Shay mumbles something more I don’t quite catch other than how he doesn’t care. I shake my head, pour two more cups of coffee and take them out back.
“Thanks,” Jack says and takes a sip. “Aye, that’s good. Strong like it should be.”
“I usually have tea, but it was a rough night. And if I’m going to have coffee, it’d better be good.”
Jack looks behind him a bit warily. “Lettie, your friends... are they special like you and me?”
Something tells me that Jack already knows the answer. “Shay is, but Maxwell isn’t. Why?’
“What is Shay, exactly?” Jack continues. Bella lays her head in her master’s lap.
“Technically he’s an angel, I guess.”
Jack frowns. “That explains it, then. If you want to get technical, I suppose a vampire is a type of demon. Your friend, he doesn’t like me. I can already tell.”
I place a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “You’re not evil, Jack. That’s what I told Shay, too. He’ll come around.”
“Thanks, Lettie.” Jack downs the rest of his coffee in one gulp. “All the same Bella and I are going to finish our walk. This here is your friend’s turf and I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not.” I assure him.
“All the same, it’s a respect thing.” Jack stands and hands me the coffee mug. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around. Take care of yourself, Lettie.”
“Bye, Jack.”
I watch him and Bella walk down the beach. As the sun warms me and the caffeine energizes me, I decide today is the day I’m going to take action. I’m going to find out who did this to me. I’m going to find out why.
And I may just make them pay for it with their life.
“Shay, it’s time for me to go home.” I say.
It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m done with being babysat. I appreciate everything Shay and Maxwell have done, but I need to try and handle things on my own.
“I know.” Shay says with a huff. “When does Kortney get back?” He asks.
Kortney was my neighbor for a long time. Now she’s my assistant. I gave her the summer off to go backpacking with her boyfriend abroad after her parents surprised her by coming up with some extra money for her to go. Kortney’s been with me a while now and she’s not only a tremendous help, but trustworthy. “She still has a few more weeks yet.” I tell Shay, “Which is probably good while I transition it back into a home office. Plus I passed everything to a colleague for the next few weeks. I just need a break from like, everything.”
“Have you told her anything yet?” Maxwell asks quietly.
“No, but I’ll likely text her a few days before she’s due back.” I say. No need to dredge up a conversation about everything again if I don’t need to.”
Maxwell glances at my bag by the door. “C’mon, Shay. Let’s take this poor girl home and let her get on with her life. We’ve held her hostage long enough.”
“Fine.” Shay says while I mouth a thank you to Maxwell. He knows how to handle Shay which is why they’re so good for one another.
Max well gives me a hug. “You take it from here. You know you’re welcome anytime.”
“I do and I thank you for it.” I say and hug him back.
“Stay safe and stay strong, Lettie.” Maxwell says.
“Thanks, Max. I will. Take care.”
Shay waits for me in the car almost impatiently. I can tell his frustration stems from worrying about me, so I ignore his attitude for the short duration of the ride to my apartment. Shay parks and follows me upstairs. It almost doesn’t hurt to be here.
Almost.
“Lettie, promise me you won’t do anything crazy without letting me know first.” Shay says.
“I’ll do my best.” I promise.
Shay sighs. “I guess that’s all I can ask. Let me know if anything new turns up. I’m going to follow a couple leads later myself.”
I give him a big hug. “Thanks, Shay. Love you.”
“Love you too, Lettie. Keep in touch, please.” Shay says.
“I will.” I say just before he leaves.
I look around and realize I’m alone again. The sadness I carry now is something that never leaves me. It’s a constant.
I take a bath and dress. Despite the warm weather outside I opt for jeans and boots. I don’t plan to spend much time in the sunshine state today. I need answers. I need to know who would do such a horrible act. I have my suspicions. I’m aware that regardless of who actually poisoned me that the call was likely made by Elias.
My own father.
There’s only one place I can think of to start digging. Because where else does one go to get to the bottom of horror than Hell itself?
Once I’m ready I zap myself to the first place I can think of—back to the castle where I found Antonio and Jocelyn.
It’s quiet. Seemingly abandoned even, but I don’t buy into it. Using my abilities, I reach out. Sure enough, I find a dark soul hidden inside.
I finally allow some of the anger within me that’s been kept under a quiet simmer to spew forth. It fuels my abilities with a rush of power. I fear nothing here. If anything, they fear me.
When I killed the demon here to save Jocelyn, Antonio, and the kids I found myself over a line I’d yet to cross. I knew it was wrong. I try to always respect all life. Only in that instance, I wanted to. Not only to keep Jocelyn and her family safe, but to make that demon feel the same pain it caused me by almost killing my friends.
Now that I’ve lost everything I hold dear, my rage feels righteous. Deep down I know it’s not the truth. I know it’s vengeance I truly seek.
Only for once, I truly don’t care.
Right or wrong be damned, I’ll have my answers. Once I do, I’ll have a choice of my own to make.
I walk into the dark stone castle with no hesitation. The life force inside can’t hide from my abilities. I notice it skitter about. After a few more movements I run out of patience and freeze it in place.
When I reach it, I notice it’s not a typical demon. It’s smaller, likely a subordinate of sorts.
“You.” It hisses. “You’re the one who killed master.”
“I am.” I don’t try to hide the fact.
“Why have you returned?”
“I need information.” I tell it. “I want to know what you know.”
Unable to move from the force of my abilities, its eyes move around nervously. It seems like a jittery little bastard, that’s for sure. “I won’t tell you a thing.”
“Then you’ll find you have the same fate as your master.” I threaten, unsure whether or not I mean to follow through with it.
The creature’s eyes grow wide in fear. “No. I’ll talk, I’ll talk. Master too has a master. He said to take the family. He said to do what
was done. Master was only following orders.”
“Who is it?” I demand.
“Master’s Master’s name is Halphas.” It says with a sharp intake of breath. “Now I’ve done it. He’ll know, now. But he’ll know you’re coming for him, too.” The thing begins to laugh.
“Let him know.” I say and for a moment steal the creature’s breath as a display of power. While it coughs and gasps upon my release I walk away slowly. “Let it be known, I fear nothing in Abyssus.”
I release the thing fully and zap myself home. I need to do a bit of research before I can continue my interrogation.
Halphas. I know I’ve heard that name somewhere before. Part of me feels ridiculous. I know who’s behind all of this. I know that Elias is at fault. If I knew where to find him, I’d be there already. He seems to have some form of cloak against my abilities, something new and likely powerful.
This means I have to climb the ladder to get to him. Instead of doing all this alone, I decide to go to my mother for advice. The transition to her door is almost instantaneous and she opens it before I have a chance to knock.
“I’ve been worried about you.” She scolds me.
“I’m sorry. I seem to have this shield up.” I wave my arms around in frustration as she lets me by.
“At least you’re checking in.”
I settle in a cozy chair and accept the tea she hands me. “Thanks.”
“I’d ask you what’s the matter, but I already know.” My mom sips from her cup. “And if I know my daughter, I can only assume you’re here for help.”
“I need to know.” I say softly.
“I understand.” She lays her hand on top of mine. “I absolutely do. So tell me, what can I do?”
“She means ‘what can we do?’” Maddy walks in and drops a satchel on the counter.
“Hey, Maddy.” I say.
“How did it go?” My mom asks her.
“Better than we’d hoped.” Maddy beams.
“What are you two up to?” I ask with only half-joking suspicion.
Maddy upends the satchel and out falls the mystique “guide” Elias gave me at the beginning of all of this. At least I think it is. It seems different. Darker—dingier maybe?
“Is that what I think it is?” I ask them.
My mom nods. “It is.”
“Why does it seem so different?” I ask as I stand to study it more closely.
“Because all of its charms have finally been lifted. Careful, Lettie. You can feel the evil in it when you touch it now.” Maddy warns.
My jaw tightens and my back straightens. I use my abilities to build up a guard before I dare touch it. When I do, it still almost burns. As I touch the cover it turns black beneath my fingers, almost as if my skin causes it to decay.
Gross.
I shake off the heebie-jeebies and focus on the pages and the answers they can possibly hold. At first I don’t recognize the language, but slowly the characters morph into familiar words and phrases. I skim along and realize how much information it holds.
Elias never wanted to help me. His only desire was and is to corrupt me and abuse my power. Page after page of spells tell their own evil story. Unfortunately, there’s no map with a big ‘Elias is Here’ sign inside.
“How did I not know straight away?” I sigh.
“He’s good at hiding things, Lettie.” My mom says. “Trust me, I know.”
Maddy uses the satchel to grab and close the book. It’s almost humorous to watch her wiggle it back in before she latches it shut, walks it to the closet, and tosses it inside. “That’s enough of that.”
“Lettie, what was it you needed before we got sidetracked?” My mom asks.
“Oh, yeah.” I feel my expression harden. “Any idea where I can find Halphas?”
I glance down again at my phone to the note I typed in with Mom and Maddy’s directions. I’m still on course. Poofing around is awesome, but hard when I haven’t been somewhere before. I do it for emergencies, but Shay has this theory about how I may get stuck in a wall if I’m not careful.
While I laugh at his comic book knowledge, I don’t really want to test its real-world relevance.
Soon I spot the last of the landmarks they instruct me to watch out for. I pocket my cell and reach into my other senses—my special abilities—to try and feel out Halphas. It doesn’t take me long to find him. Only to my amazement, he stops and turns towards me—well, I guess my presence to be more precise. This is odd because typically this only occurs when I allow, which I’m not right now... at least, I don’t think I am.
“Don’t dally around outside when you can come in and talk civilly.” Halphas decrees. A door to the massive dwelling swings open.
“Come on, then.” He insists.
So much for the element of surprise. I shrug. It’s not like it matters. We both know I can erase him with merely a thought. Instead, I wonder what he has up his sleeve to give him such confidence.
Almost more curious than determined at this point, I wander through the door and down the dark hallway it holds. It’s like the rest of Abyssus in here. It doesn’t have the same feel. Instead it feels... almost homey. It’s weird. Besides my mom’s with all of its enchantments by her and Maddy, Abyssus is not a place where one feels naturally at peace.
Another door swings open so I walk through it. Inside I find Halphas. If he’s supposed to intimidate me, he doesn’t. Although I can see why he could invoke fear in others.
“Lettie.” Halphas greets me simply before I make my final approach.
“Halphas.” I return.
“I’ve been expecting you.” He tells me. “I’m sure I know why you’re here.”
“Then tell me what I want to know and I won’t end you.” I say simply, but with little patience. His game grows old quickly.
“I’ll tell you what you want, that I promise you. Though I wonder, if first you’ll hear me out...”
I approach him now, all seven or so feet of him. “There is absolutely nothing you can have to say that will interest me other than the information of which I seek.”
“Very well.” Halphas says after studying my eyes momentarily. Whatever he finds there forces his compliance. “You can find your father in the Everglades. His base is there. You’ll feel it when you get close enough.”
I don’t even thank him before I poof home.
After all, I spared his life.
Anger
I study my socks.
That’s not all I do. It’s only what I appear to be doing. In reality, I plot. I dissect possible situations and outcomes of every variety in my mind... every possible scenario to every plan of possible action.
I know where my father is. I know the evil that resides in him and the lengths to which he’s willing to go. I know that he needs to go, that no good comes of his existence.
Will it be enough, though? A dark voice asks. Will it help to soothe this rage and pain inside you?
I just don’t know anymore.
There’s a part of me—still—that barely contains the rage and sorrow inside me. It festers and burns in my chest, the flames licking at my very soul to release their vengeful wrath upon everything. It assures me that there’ll be solace in making certain that everyone experiences what I feel.
Only deep down? I know it’s wrong. It’s so very wrong.
I have to stop Elias. Not like I did with Eunice, either. Elias has to go for good. He has to go to a place beyond deeper in Abyssus than I’ve dared to venture yet.
I may even have to deliver him to the Devil myself.
But I have to be ready. And I can’t entrust even the Dark Lord of Abyssus to contain him alone. Elias is far too powerful, but more so cunning. He could talk his way into or out of anything.
It’s as if a lightbulb goes off over my head. I grab a few things before I zap over to Mom and Maddy.
I know what to do.
Mom and Maddy agree that the plan is dangerous, but will most likely be effective.
After Maddy finds the spell she thinks will work, she rushes off to gather what we’ll need. My mom goes out to try and dig up some information on exactly what Elias is up to in the Everglades.
Suddenly I find myself very alone. My gaze falls to my hands, only my hands rest across my stomach. A stabbing pain tears through my chest. The life lost. Part of me—gone now.
The tension cracks my neck as I think of how I’ll unleash the rage on Elias. Surely one who’d sacrifice his own grandchild deserves such a fate.
It’s hard to shake it off, but there’s too much to do not to. While mom pumps around here for info, I can poke around the source and see what I can find. It takes only a moment for me to return home, my phone already out when I get there.
“Shay? You up for a road trip?”
“Pretty much always.” He agrees instantly. “Can Max come too?”
“Duh,” I say. “And make sure we have a map.”
“Oh, geez. Lettie, do you even know where we’re going?”
“Kind of,” I admit.
“Whatever. At least my car is awesome on gas.” Shay says. “I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes.”
“See you then.”
I disconnect and pack an overnight bag, just in case this trip takes longer than I anticipate. By the time I’m done Shay is already out front. I feed the fish and lock up tight behind me. In the car, Maxwell spreads out comfortably in the backseat.
“You sure you don’t want shotgun?” I ask before I get in.
“And lose all this space, never.” Maxwell grins.
Shay tosses a map at me. “Okay, Carmen San Diego, where exactly are we off to?”
“To the Everglades.” I tell them both.
“Now the map makes sense.” Maxwell says. Coverage is spotty out there in places. Can’t use a GPS if there’s no signal.
Shay knows me well—so well that I swear he can read my mind at times. “Elias?” He asks.
I nod. “This is just recon, though. Don’t worry.”
“Never do, beautiful.” Shay grins. “Okay, we have a full tank, plenty of snacks, a back-up paper map, cell phone chargers, and a need for speed. Let’s do this.”
Soul Decisions Page 6
