Demon's Paradise

by Sara Humphreys

  Kai was about to ask her what she meant when a crackling sound erupted and a bright white light flashed, momentarily blinding her as Kristine’s power shot inside of her. Unseen ropes of lightning whipped through her bloodstream, lighting her up from the inside out. The flash of pain was brief as it swiftly gave way to a brilliant white light that consumed her, blotting out everything and everyone else.

  ***

  Kai felt like she was floating. She blinked against the brightness but slowly her eyes adjusted to the abrupt change. Kristine was gone. There was no arena or mob or minotaur. There was no Asmodeus.

  Kai was alone and standing inside a cool white space surrounded by a fluffy pale blue fog that reminded her of cotton candy. She was about to call out for Kristine when the clouds in front of her rolled apart. Slowly the world beyond the veil came into focus but she was completely unprepared for what was revealed.

  It was her childhood home in Vermont.

  Her mother, Katherine, was on the front porch. She was sitting on the steps drinking her morning coffee, as she so often did. She was wearing the fluffy pink robe, the one that always smelled of spice and jasmine. It was fall. The mountains surrounding their home were awash in a rich colorful patchwork of burnt oranges, yellows, and rusty reds. The scent of her mother’s cinnamon spice coffee filled the air and hit Kai’s nostrils along with a pang of longing. She wanted to reach through the veil and grab her, hug her. Kai wanted to bury her face in her mother’s neck, breathe her in and burrow into one of her comforting hugs.

  Kai missed her mother every single minute, hour, and day since her death, and here she was, just out of reach. A confounding mixture of joy, grief, and confusion flooded Kai but it was swiftly replaced by anger. Her mother and father were dead. The house had been sold. There would be no more hugs from either of them.

  This vision was a lie. A cruel manipulation.

  Another one of Kristine’s tricks.

  Kai was about to scream at Kristine for having the audacity to taunt with her dead mother, when the sound of Kai’s own voice captured her attention.

  She watched in rapt fascination as her five-year-old self came bursting out of the house. The familiar screech of the screen door filled the crisp fall air as it closed behind her. Wearing a pair of green plaid pajamas and her messy blonde hair coming loose from a ponytail, her younger self was breathless with excitement.

  “Mama, look what I can do.” Young Kai held out her small hands and moments later a white ball of light erupted from her palms. “It’s easy-peasy-lemon-squeezie.”

  “No! Don’t.” Katherine grabbed her daughter’s hands in hers, immediately extinguishing the light, right along with Kai’s enthusiasm. Her mother looked toward the door of the house and pulled Kai down, so she was sitting next to her on the steps. “You can’t do that, Kai. Please listen. I’m begging you.”

  An old, familiar sorrow welled in Kai’s chest as she witnessed a memory long suppressed. She rubbed at her breast bone, hoping she could make the achy throbbing sensation disappear but it persisted, right along with the unearthed memory. Part of her wanted to look away, close her eyes and cover her ears. It was too painful and raw but she forced herself to witness what Kristine was showing her, what she was making Kai remember.

  “I-I’m sorry, mama.” Her little lips quivered as she looked down at their intertwined hands.

  “You can’t use your magic, Kai,” her mother whispered. “I told you. It’s not safe.”

  “And Daddy can’t know, can he?”

  “No.” Katherine shook her head and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Kai’s ear. “Have you been practicing?”

  Young Kai wouldn’t look at her mother. Katherine cupped her daughter’s face with both hands and tilted her chin up, ever so slightly.

  “Tell me the truth.” She brushed away the tear that fell with the pad of her thumb. “Please, Kai. Tell me. Have you been trying to use your light?”

  After three beats of her heart, young Kai nodded her head.

  “A-are you mad, Mama?”

  “No,” she whispered. “But honey, why are you trying to use your light after I asked you not to?”

  “Because…I want to be like you.”

  “I hardly ever use mine and I know how to shield it so others can’t see it.”

  “But I could learn to do that too.”

  “No. I’m sorry, but it’s too dangerous.” Katherine rested her forehead against Kai’s. “I just want to keep you safe, Kai. The more you use your magic, the easier it will be for the Dark Ones to find you.”

  “Or the others?” Kai sniffled.

  “Yes.” Katherine pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “But I’m going to make it so they can’t find you and you’ll always be safe.” Her mother looked toward the house. “Is your father still sleeping?”

  “Yes, but—“

  “Close your eyes, Kai. I should have done this a long time ago.”

  Young Kai hesitated briefly before acquiescing to her mother’s request. Moments later, a pale blue light emanated from Katherine’s hands. It spread over Young Kai slowly, like water, covering every inch, until finally her entire body was encased within Katherine’s powerful light.

  As Kai watched the memory play out, a buzzing sensation flickered over her skin. All the hairs on her arm stood at attention and in that moment, she was that little girl back on those steps wrapped in her mother’s loving and powerful light.

  “Listen closely and repeat after me.”

  Katherine closed her eyes and focused her full attention on her daughter. Her light grew brighter with each passing second.

  “I have no gift of light.”

  “I-I have no gift of light.”

  “I am not Fae.”

  “I am not Fae.”

  “I am not witch.”

  “I am not witch.”

  “I am not magic.” Her mother’s voice wavered briefly but she cleared her throat and continued. “I am just Kai Kelly.”

  “I am not magic. I am just Kai Kelly.”

  “Now seven times more to keep the circle of seven at bay. Say it with me, Kai...I have no gift of light…I am not Fae…”

  Kai’s heartbeat picked up as her younger self repeated that mantra seven times along with her mother. Their voices, chanting in unison, filled the space around Kai, haunting her with the ghosts of her past.

  After the seventh time, Katherine leaned in and whispered, “I give you the freedom from knowing all that I know. Freedom to just be Kai.”

  The power of her light faded and finally vanished all tighter. Katherine kissed the top of young Kai’s head just as her father’s voice called from inside the house. “Who wants to make pancakes with me?”

  “I do!” Young Kai’s eyes opened and she smiled wide. She stared lovingly at her mother as if none of it had happened at all. “Coming, Papa. Is it okay, Mama? Can I make pancakes?”

  “Yes,” she said, her smile barely hiding her sadness. “You can definitely make pancakes.”

  The fog began to roll in as her younger self bounded inside. The last image Kai saw, before the veil swallowed the memory, was her mother breathing a sigh of relief.

  ***

  The arena, the crowd and the roar of the minotaur came rushing into focus with head-spinning speed. Kai found herself staring into Kristine’s face, which was covered with an expression that fluttered somewhere between sad and concerned.

  “Now do you see?” Kristine asked, her voice wavering, her hands gently cupping Kai’s cheeks, just as her mother had all those years ago. “Your mother used her power to block yours, to protect you, and then wiped your memories. The ring broke the spell but then you—”

  “I put it back,” Kai murmured.

  “Yes.” Kristine nodded and her hands dropped, releasing her hold on Kai. “And you can undo it just as easily.”

  The bone-rattling roar of the minotaur filled the arena. Kai steeled her courage as the creature stomped over to the axe. Asmodeus
rolled onto his back, obviously struggling to regain his strength and get to his feet. A surge of power swirled inside her chest, the familiar tickle a reassuring sign that her power was there, just as Kristine said it was.

  Asmodeus pushed himself to his knees. He spat blood onto the white marble floor and kept that burning red gaze on the beast as it lumbered toward him. Kai did the only thing she could think of and chanted an affirmation of the gifts inside her.

  “I have the power of the light. I am Fae. I am witch. I am magic. I have the power of the light. I am Fae. I am witch. I am magic. I have the power of the light.”

  Kai’s entire body hummed as she repeated the mantra. With each word spoken, Kai’s fear for her husband was overtaken by pure unadulterated love. Her love and light had given Asmodeus his soul and now it would rejuvenate her own.

  The crowd roared as the minotaur loomed over Asmodeus. The beast raised its axe and as it swung the blade toward Asmodeus, Kai closed her eyes.

  “I am Kai Kelly and I have the power of the light.”

  Her gift, the one buried deep within, coiled deep inside like a snake ready to strike. Kai aimed her hands toward the minotaur. Sweat broke out over her body and lightning zipped beneath her flesh as the primal strength of her magic was once again unleashed. Dual streams of searing white light shot from Kai’s hands. She screamed in triumph, a guttural, visceral cry, and with one final surge of power, she blasted the minotaur into a glittering cloud of golden dust.

  It took her a second to realize she had succeeded because absolute silence fell over the arena. Arms extended, her breath coming in short quick gasps, Kai shook uncontrollably and her skin tingled all over, but the beast was gone. She ran to the railing and looked over to see Asmodeus rising to his feet. He was bloody and battered, but alive, and flashing her the biggest smile she had ever seen on that handsome devil’s face.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As the glittery dust of what was left of the minotaur fell over the arena, Kai shook with shock and total euphoria. She had done it. The magic had been there all along. She kept her gaze locked with Asmodeus and the expression of pride on his face matched her own. In that moment, all Kai wanted was to hold her husband in her arms.

  With that one thought, Kai transported herself to his side and practically tackled him with a hug. Shrieking with pure joy, she buried her face in his neck and breathed in his sweaty, musky scent. He tightened his arms around her waist and hoisted her off the ground before planting a hard kiss on her lips.

  “I did it,” she whispered the words, afraid it might not be true. “I really did it, didn’t I?”

  “That was something else.” He kissed her again as he set her onto her feet. “Minotaur slaying and light travel without using your light. Not bad.”

  “It was my mother,” she said, breathlessly. “My mother used her magic to protect me, to keep me safe when I was too young to handle it. The ring broke the spell and unleashed my magic but then without realizing it, I put the whammy on myself to stop the magic. Then, well, I de-whammied myself. It was there all along!”

  Kai knew she was rambling but she couldn’t stop the rush of excitement. Not only that, a powerful buzz of energy was running beneath her flesh. It was as if her blood had been electrified somehow and she had a hunch it was a sensation she would have to get used to. That was fine by her because she felt more alive than ever, more herself than ever before.

  “Yes, you did.” Asmodeus rested his forehead against hers and whispered, “But all that matters to me is that you’re here and you’re safe. I love you, Kai. Magic or no magic. You are mine.”

  He bent to kiss her again and the armor pressed against her chest.

  “This has got to go.” Kai pressed both hands to the offensive equipment, pictured it vanishing. The power coiled in her chest and whisked through her arms. With a flash of light, the metal contraption vanished and Kai let out another squeal of delight. “I did it again!”

  “Thank you, wife.” Asmodeus leaned in but his lips hovered above hers when a familiar voice interrupted their hard-won moment.

  “My granddaughter is extraordinary, isn’t she?”

  Kai had practically forgotten Kristine was even there. Her grandmother now stood beside them with an expression that could only be described as oddly peaceful. Asmodeus’ hold on Kai tightened and his eyes flared red.

  “It’s okay, Asmodeus.” Kai held him tightly and urged him to look at her. “Kristine helped me. She unearthed the memory of the day my mother hid my magic from me.”

  “I’m quite proud of you, granddaughter.”

  “Proud?” He seethed. “You’re proud? After what you put Kai through, you should be feeling anything but proud. Guilt, maybe? Regret? But pride? Keep it up, lady, and Lucifer will have a seat in the Underworld with your name on it.”

  “I understand your anger with me.” Kristine nodded slowly and let out a beleaguered sigh. “I’ll admit that I owe you both an apology for the rather extreme lengths I resorted to but you really didn’t leave me with much choice.” She tilted her head in deference to Asmodeus. “I tried to speak with you on multiple occasions but—“

  “We wouldn’t listen,” Kai said quietly. “We didn’t give her a chance at all. She was right about me, my magic, all of it. I agree that her methods weren’t exactly…nice.”

  “That’s putting it mildly,” he growled.

  “Asmodeus, I thought that if Kai believed you were in danger, then she would be more likely to tap into her gifts but the spell ran much deeper than I expected. I tried to break it with my own magic but that didn’t work either. I really didn’t want to betray Katherine’s wishes by revealing that memory, but given your unique marriage, I knew Kai had to rediscover her gifts for her own safety.”

  “How did you know about what she did?” Kai asked. “I thought my mother shunned the Fae world?”

  “She did.” Sadness filled Kristine’s eyes. “I saw her one other time after she married your father. It was at your home in Vermont, not long after that day on the porch. She was adamant that you not be dragged into our world. All she wanted was for you to have a normal life. A human life. I respected her choice and stayed away. Then, when you discovered the Ring of Solomon and fulfilled the first part of the prophecy, well, the genie was out of the bottle, so to speak. At any rate, this was my last resort and in spite of what you might believe, I really do have your best interests at heart. You’re far safer this way. Life with Asmodeus is going to be…eventful.”

  “You’ve been making it pretty eventful, yourself.” Asmodeus’ jaw clenched but his posture relaxed when he glanced down at Kai. His eyes, filled with love and affection for Kai, flickered back to their human state. However, when he turned his attention back to Kristine, any gentleness vanished. “I’m sure there could have been another way to get our attention rather than abducting us to the Fae realm.”

  “Perhaps but time was—and is—of the essence.” Kristine gave them a sly smile. “And you aren’t in the Fae realm.”

  Before they could say another word, Kristine waved both hands. Moments later the crowd and the arena vanished and the three of them were once again standing by the pool of water where they had first arrived. However, instead of the twin suns in the sky, it was a blanket of shimmering, pulsating light overhead. The prism of colors was a breathtaking display and reminded Kai of the glittering particles she could see within beams of light. It was as if they were standing inside a bubble or covered by a liquid dome of some kind.

  “No Man’s Land,” Asmodeus murmured quietly as he surveyed their surroundings. Unease laced his voice and his body tensed against hers. “You accessed No Man’s Land through the rift in the portal.”

  “Exactly,” Kristine replied.

  “What or where is No Man’s Land?”

  “It’s the space between realms.” Asmodeus tightened his arm around Kai’s waist but kept his sights on Kristine. Kai could tell he still didn’t trust her. “The quake we experienced befor
e going into the pool, that was you accessing the realm, wasn’t it?”

  “Precisely. I may have made it a more aggressive quake than necessary but, as I said, time was of the essence.”

  “That was a risky move given how unpredictable the portal has been. It was interfering with my ability to connect with the Brotherhood and impacted my powers overall.”

  “I’m not surprised, but the instability only seems to exist in the human realm, for some reason. We’re quite safe on this side. Zemi knew about the instability of the portal and its location on the island, thanks to pillow talk with Lucifer. Several years ago, she shared the information with me when she was looking for a way to make his life more difficult. That was, of course, during one of their off-again phases. At any rate, I was able to use the rift in the portal to access No Man’s Land. This realm can be manipulated to mirror any other realm but it’s limited in its scope.”

  “That’s why there weren’t people in the city or birds or anything.” Kai looked around the oddly quiet area. “The guards…the crowd…they were all—”

  “Part of her spell.”

  “Correct.” Kristine nodded. “Except for Grogan.”

  “Where is that asshole?”

  “I don’t know. I should apologize for his behavior. He took his role in this a bit too far.” Her brow furrowed. “He left for the Fae realm right after he fetched you for the arena.”

  “Must’ve been something I said.” Asmodeus smirked. “I’ll be seeing him again.”

  “Indeed,” Kristine murmured. “I imagine that’s what he’s afraid of.”

  “Listen, Kristine, this has been a real fuckin’ hoot but if we’re about done here, Kai and I would like to resume our honeymoon on Demon’s Paradise.” He paused and leaned closer to Kristine. “Without you.”

  Asmodeus started to move toward the pool but Kai stopped him and leveled a narrow gaze at Kristine.