Chameleon (Supernaturals)

by Kelly Oram

  My heart raced. I closed my eyes and reached inside me for the magic I knew was there, but the harder I tried, the more the wound in my stomach hurt. I cried out from the pain, and started to panic.

  “Take me instead,” I begged Alex. “Let Gabriel go.”

  “Can’t,” Alex said simply.

  “Why?”

  “Besides the fact that I love you? I need to win my son back. He will forgive me if I give him the one thing he wants more than anything, and that’s you.”

  I could feel my body turning cold and it hurt to breathe. I knew Alex would keep his word and not let me die, but that wasn’t good enough. I braced myself for another wave of pain and tried again to pull my magic to the surface of my skin. I was just angry enough that I felt the amulet around my neck begin to pulse. I wasn’t able to break Alex’s spell that kept me frozen, but it gave me a little energy and that was better than nothing.

  “You think he’s going to forgive you when he finds out that you were planning to kill me all along?” I said, now that I had enough energy to speak again. “You were going to sacrifice me! That’s what made Gabriel have the vision of me in the first place. All of this is your fault!”

  “I wasn’t going to kill you Dani. I needed your blood, not your life. I was going to use you to raise the demon and then heal you. You weren’t even going to know it was me who’d taken you. I was going to help Russ find you and we would save you together and explain the supernatural to you. Then we were going to be the family we always should have been. The family we will be again when we find Russ and undo what the Councilor has done to you.”

  “If all you need is blood, then just use mine. I’m already bleeding. There’s no need to hurt Gabriel.”

  Alex said another incantation and another candle began to burn. “Well, now you see there’s a problem. I can’t let Gabriel live. I’m really sorry Dani.”

  “But why?”

  “Well for one, I’d planned to wait until the veil was thinnest and thanks to you and the Councilor it’s not even sunset yet. I think I should spill all his blood just to be safe. Plus, I can’t let him live because you love him.”

  “What does that matter?”

  “You’ve chosen him over Russ, but you still love my son. If Gabriel is dead, you will go back to Russ. You won’t be able to help yourself. You will need him again.”

  I couldn’t believe this was happening. While Alex lit a third candle, I tried again to pull my magic to the surface. “Heal,” I whispered to myself.

  When I felt it working I was filled with hope and found my ferocity. “If you hurt him, Alex, you’d better just kill me too. You know I am more powerful than you.”

  “I also know that you won’t hurt me. It would kill Russell if you did anything to me. It would kill you too. You know it would.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but Alex shut me up with just a look. He knew me almost as well as I knew myself. He was right and we both knew it. I could never bring myself to hurt Alex.

  “If you hurt Gabriel at all,” I said with a shaking voice, “I will never forgive you.”

  “And that is sad, Dani, because I love you very much.”

  Another candle flickered to life and the wind began to blow so strong I almost couldn’t hear what Alex was saying.

  “Even if you never forgive me, Russ will, and so it’s worth it. Russ will forgive me and come home, and you will come with him. You may hate me for the rest of your life, but you’ll be home safe with us where you belong.”

  “If that’s all you want I’ll come with you, Alex. I’ll choose Russ. We can go get him right now and then find someplace far away from here where it can be just the three of us. I’ll never tell Russ about any of this I swear. Just please don’t hurt Gabriel.”

  “If only it were that simple, Dani. We will have that future someday, but there is much to do first—starting with freeing you of your bonds with the Seer. Once we have freed Addonexus and returned you to the girl I raised you to be, together we will end the council and show the human world the power of the supernatural. When you defeat the demon and stop his reign of death and destruction, the human race will be too grateful to go to war. They will respect us. Revere us. There will be no more hiding. No more lies. No more Kates in the world.”

  Alex lit the last candle. When he finished the accompanying incantation thunder roared and the walls shook.

  I looked at Gabriel’s sleeping form and became determined. I knew I was almost out of time. “Heal,” I commanded myself again.

  Almost instantly I felt the last of my wound vanish and all the pain in my body was gone. With my body healed and the warlock inside me finally resting comfortably on the surface of my skin I could feel my power.

  “I’ve got news for you,” I said in a voice so fierce it startled Alex. He jumped again when he turned around and saw me standing in full health. “I’ve already won this battle. The prophecy has already been fulfilled. You just fulfilled it. I was angry with you, but I still loved you. I would have forgiven you eventually. Now it’s too late. You screwed yourself when you took Gabriel. I found you, and all I have left to do is stop you.”

  Alex raised his hands defensively. “Dani, just think about this for a second.”

  His words were only meant to distract me. He’d already seen that my mind was made up. He knew he was about to lose.

  “You’re too late.”

  In the blink of an eye Alex slashed his dagger across Gabriel’s throat and ran.

  I rushed to Gabriel and covered his wound with my hands. I could feel the Seer in me struggling to break free, but the need for my magic was so much stronger that my form never wavered.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and commanded my magic to heal him. The damage was grave, perhaps even worse than Russ’s had been, but I could still feel the blood pulsing beneath my hands. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but as long as he was alive I would be able to make him better.

  “Heal!” I ordered Gabriel again and despite the blood that was covering us both I brought my lips down on his.

  “Dani?”

  I looked up to see Duncan and Gina rushing over. They both nearly tripped over themselves when they saw the Councilor lying there. “He’s dead! There’s nothing we can do for him!” I shouted, startling them from their shock. “I can heal Gabriel, but you have to stop Alex!”

  Duncan looked around confused. “There’s nobody else here Dani.”

  “Except for that,” Gina whispered. Her face had gone white as a ghost.

  I looked to where she was pointing and watched as a dark cloud swirled above our heads. Most of Gabriel’s blood was pooled around him and dripping down the front of my clothes, but enough of it had spilled into the silver chalice beneath him that the Angel of Death had been summoned.

  “Gina!” I shouted over the roar of hell opening over our heads. “You said you can heal, right?”

  Gina looked at the amount of blood covering me and shook her head sharply. “I can heal broken bones and scrapes. I don’t know if I can do that.”

  “It’s not as bad as it looks. I’ve already taken care of most of it. Just do what you can.”

  I pulled Gina’s reluctant hands over Gabriel’s throat and then turned around just in time to see a glistening pair of oil black eyes open. The cloud of smoke took shape around them and formed into something that resembled part man and part beast.

  Addonexus had the body of a man but his spine hunched like a wild bore. Horns sprouted from his forehead, and a long sharp tail whipped around behind him. He had a huge chest, broad shoulders and the face of a man, with the exception of a snout and fangs that dripped black ink.

  The image was a nightmare that would no doubt haunt me for the rest of my life.

  The most disturbing part of the whole picture was that when he smiled, the smile was so slick and so bright it was almost alluring.

  “I smell your fear, child,” he said in a surprisingly smooth voice. He took a long deep whiff and clos
ed his eyes as if savoring the smell. “I thank you for such an offering as this.” He gestured to Gabriel with a smile. “Never have I tasted such strong, pure blood.”

  I tried not to gag as the monster licked his lips and shuddered with pleasure.

  I tried to push my fear as far down as possible. “I didn’t do this.”

  “Dani, I don’t think you should be arguing with a demon,” Duncan whispered from behind me. His voice shook with the fear I refused to let overtake me.

  Logic told me I should be afraid of this creature, but then I looked at Gabriel and I remembered how he’d grinned as he told me of his first vision of me. He said I’d been strong, and it was that strength that he fell in love with. That strength that gave him so much faith in me. Gabriel couldn’t see it now, but I owed it to him to find that strength and be the girl from his vision.

  “’Tis no matter to me who has done this thing,” the demon said. “It is done, and I have been freed. Such a rich place this world is. I can taste the life all around me. It is positively mouthwatering.”

  “I wouldn’t pick up a spoon just yet.”

  The demon looked down at me and smiled his disconcerting smile. I was hit with a wave of energy I’d never felt before. It was full of sorrow and loathing. I gasped and instinctively reached for my necklace. I thought of Gabriel again and how much love he had for me.

  “You resist the despair of the underworld,” the demon said curiously. “You must be extremely powerful child.”

  “Care to find out?”

  Addonexus raised a brow and one of his tusks rose with it. More of that black tar drool dripped from his lips when he smiled. “Are you giving me permission to enter?” he asked as if this were a pleasant everyday conversation among friends. “I am in need of a strong vessel to bring my wrath upon this world.”

  He looked disgusting and frightening, but all I could see in that moment was the look on Gabriel’s face as he sat with me in bed that night. He’d actually laughed as he remembered this very moment. The thought made me smile and I wished Gabriel were awake to hear this next line.

  “If you enter this body, the only death and destruction it will bring is your own when I send you back to hell.”

  The Angel of Death threw his hideous head back and laughed.

  I wished Gabriel’s stupid vision had lasted long enough to see exactly how I was supposed to defeat this demon, because as soon as he stopped laughing his eyes fixed on mine with a piercing, hungry stare.

  “Help me Mother Creator,” I muttered, clutching the amulet Russ gave to me.

  Let him enter.

  Again, a whisper in the back of my mind rang loudly and then with sudden, unearthly clarity I knew exactly what I had to do. I stepped away from Duncan, bringing myself a foot closer to Addonexus, and squared my shoulders.

  “You want to feel power?” I asked. “Fine. Go ahead. You have my permission to enter this body. Do your worst.”

  “Dani, no!” Duncan shouted. He tried to pull me away from the demon but it was too late. The monstrous form dissolved back into a thick cloud of black smoke and tried to force its way into my body.

  The minute the smoke came into contact with my skin I felt the very power of death itself overtake me. No earthly emotion could compare to the severity of the despair that was now me, for I myself was an angel of death. At Addonexus’s touch, my body did as it had always done. It shifted.

  Instantly the smoke around me condensed back into demon form and Addonexus stared me down in awe. “What devilry is this?” he asked.

  If this wasn’t the perfect time for a smirk I don’t know what is. “I believe it’s called ‘supernatural awesomeness.’”

  Addonexus seemed to appreciate the challenge because he gave me a very amused smile and then rushed me.

  I wish I could say that my being the Chosen One meant I automatically knew what I was doing and that I swiftly kicked some demon butt, but I am sorry to report that for all my attitude and defiance I’ve never really been a fighter. I was quickly becoming black and blue as Addonexus tossed me around that dungeon of a room.

  “Dani!” Duncan whispered once when I’d ended up in a heap on the floor in front of him, suffering from what felt like a mass of broken ribs. “You have to do something or he’s going to kill you.”

  “Would you like some pompons to go with that cheer?” I snapped. “If you have any useful suggestions I’d love to hear them.”

  Could you believe that Duncan actually managed to glare at me right then? Like I wasn’t risking my life for him or anything. Sheesh. Where’s the gratitude I ask you?

  “You’re a demon right now,” he explained quickly. “A demon’s power comes from inflicting pain on others. He’s toying with you for fun. The longer you let him hurt you the stronger he gets and the weaker you become. You have to do something that inflicts pain on him. Hurt him. Don’t be nice. Hurt him!”

  “Don’t you think I’m trying to—”

  I was cut off mid sentence when Addonexus picked me up by the throat. “Surrender your power to me and I will end this torture,” he said.

  “Torture?” If my lungs weren’t on fire I would have laughed. For once I was grateful for the weeks of so-called help I’d endured at the consulate. It made for a nice perspective on this measly little beating I was currently taking. “You’ve obviously never met the Supreme High Councilor.”

  “Surrender your power!” the Angel of Death roared again.

  “Or I could just do this.”

  I raked my fingernails down the demon’s face.

  Hey, it may have been a girly move but I couldn’t help noticing that this whole demon thing came with a serious set of claws, and they definitely did some damage. I felt them slice through his skin a good half-inch deep.

  I felt the damage I was doing. I could smell his black and oily blood and basked in the sensation. Sick and twisted as it was, I could taste the pain I’d inflicted on him, and it made my mouth water. I was literally feeding off of his discomfort. It was rejuvenating. Just like Duncan said, I was stronger for hurting him. I shuddered at the thought.

  Addonexus screamed and threw me away from him to examine the black blood smeared on his palms. His cuts healed almost instantly, but it didn’t matter—they’d done their damage. I had just seriously pissed off the Angel of Death. I must have been the only creature in all of his eternal history ever to have drawn his blood because he snarled at me like I’d just made things very, very personal.

  He came at me, a blur of rage, but this time I was ready to fight back. We crashed together with a force that shook the room. For every hit, kick, scratch and bite I managed to inflict, the Angel of Death lost some of his power. And guess who found it.

  I have to admit being the Chosen One had pretty much sucked up until this point, but the whole wailing on demons thing I could totally get used to.

  It soon became obvious that I was the stronger demon. I may have been sloppy and ungraceful, but I was eventually going to win this fight. When Addonexus realized this he threw a hell-sized hissy and dissolved back into a cloud of smoke.

  “What a baby,” I muttered and then called out, “You think that’s going to stop me from sending you home?”

  The smoke condensed again, but when Addonexus took form he was standing across the room smiling down at Gina, who had pulled Gabriel as far to safety as the room allowed.

  Gina shifted into wolf form and placed herself protectively in front of Gabriel. Addonexus laughed and tossed her aside like yesterday’s garbage.

  I screamed when the wolf yelped and fell to the ground unconscious. “Gina!”

  “I’ll help her,” Duncan called racing her direction. “You save Gabriel!”

  The name made my heart seize up with terror and I turned to see that Addonexus was holding my husband high above the ground. “You have been foolish to try and stop me child,” he said to me. “I know your heart and there are other ways to hurt you.”

  “Danielle?” Gabri
el called out somewhat delirious. It was a relief to see him awake and recovered from Alex’s injuries until he began screaming and writhing in Addonexus’s grip.

  “Stop it!” I screamed. “What are you doing to him?”

  Addonexus smiled his wicked smile at me. “He is experiencing the suffering of the underworld. There is no greater pain a mortal can endure. Once it’s consumed him he will be mine, and then everyone you love. Alex, Russ, your parents. I will reduce you to ruins until you are begging me to let you join them.”

  Gabriel’s screams turned into pathetic sobs, causing Addonexus to laugh gleefully. Not so much the reaction I had. My vision turned a hazy red as I felt the world around me disappear.

  I closed my eyes and pictured the fires of hell that this monster came from. It’s heat filled the room, and a foul stench brought bile into my throat. I pulled the nightmare to me and was filled with pure darkness.

  I’d called upon the powers of Addonexus and Hell itself had answered me.

  Addonexus dropped Gabriel and turned all of his fascination back on me. He stepped toward me cautiously. “You dare to call upon the power of the underworld? You are either very brave or very foolish.”

  Ha! “That depends on if you ask my husband or my boyfriend. Usually they’re both a little right.”

  “You are strong,” Addonexus allowed. “But the fires of hell you have borrowed are a part of me. You cannot defeat me.”

  “The hell I can’t,” I said as I threw my hands out.

  On my command the ground beneath the monster fell away tearing open a rift into the underworld. Flames licked the monster’s feet as he sprang into the air and tumbled to the ground a few feet from me.

  I wished Russ were here. He would have appreciated my awesome pun. Addonexus, on the other had, seemed to have left his sense of humor at home. He picked me up by my throat and raised me to his eye level. This motion was accomplished with a deafening roar.

  As he began to squeeze the life out of me, his eyes bored into mine and he filled my soul with his vile appetite. Agony, loathing, and despair consumed me. It was meant to break me, the way it would have anyone else.