“Yes, but do you know why he did it? Did you even ask?”
Oh, God. Was he seriously going to excuse what Rhyzel had done? Whatever his motive was, it didn’t change what he’d done. He used me and that hurt more than my pride.
“No. My focus was on finding Renee. His reasons mean nothing to me.”
Ezekiel frowned. “What would you do if I told you Rhyzel turned in Renee to save his mother, who was trapped in Monarch?”
How did I feel about that? I stared at my feet, uncertainty crossing my mind. “Is this a test?” Everything seemed like a test now.
“The demon trapped in Monarch, and who managed to drag Rhyzel’s mother along with him when he was cursed to the dark land, is Azuel.”
My head snapped up so quickly my neck hurt. “Azuel? I know that name.” It was the same name Renee had mentioned a few times before. “Azuel? Who is he?”
“Azuel, also known as The Dark Lord, is a high level demon. And…he is Rhyzel’s father.”
My world shrunk at that moment. “Rhyzel’s father?”
I’d never seen The Dark Lord, but I had heard a lot about him. The legend spoke of a powerful demon that seduced humans into giving up their souls in exchange for one wish. Once their wish came true, they had six years to live out their dream and then fork over their souls. If they refused, they would meet an end, which was far from glamorous.
“That’s correct.”
“Rhyzel exchanged Renee for his mother, who was trapped in Monarch?” When he nodded, I added, “So he was working for his father?”
“No. Azuel told Rhyzel that if he did not find and deliver the new Gatekeeper of Monarch, he’d kill Sandra, Rhyzel’s mother. Rhyzel debated for a long time over what to do, but his love for his birth mother is great, and after everything she’d suffered, he at least wanted her to live free of the demon who’d tortured her existence for years.”
I still didn’t understand how Rhyzel could make such an exchange knowing Renee was only a child. He’d put her life at risk.
“You’re telling me that Renee is the Gatekeeper of Monarch?” Was that why Rhyzel mentioned she’d open the gate? And I hadn’t picked up on it? I had been so mad that I hadn’t paid much attention to what he’d said. I didn’t even think to ask what gate he was talking about.
“Indeed she is. Renee is the daughter of the previous Gatekeeper and the only one with the power to open the gate to the dark land.”
“What does Azuel want with her?”
“The power she was born with. Azuel plans to conduct a ceremony tonight, which can only be done during a lunar eclipse, and consume Renee’s essence, blood, and soul to acquire her power. He wants to be free of the jail the previous Gatekeeper cursed him to, and wants to set free every demon Monarchy cursed to the dark land.”
I bit my lower lip so hard I tasted blood.
“Listen carefully to what I will say next, for this is very important.” Ezekiel picked up the tiny, silver vial and held it between his thumb and index finger. “Renee’s father, the previous Gatekeeper, made a pact with Azuel. I’m not clear on all the details but I do know that at some point the allegiance between them went sour and Azuel turned on the Gatekeeper. When Renee’s father realized his friend planned to betray him, a battle between them ensued. The Gatekeeper managed to curse Azuel into Monarch, but succumbed to his injuries soon after.”
“So Azuel knew about Renee all along?” I asked, already suspecting the answer.
“Yes, he knew. When Renee’s mother fled, she left her behind, and eventually the tiny baby went to live with her half-brother.”
So Mina had been right all along. Evan, Mina, and Renee’s blood ties were through their mother only.
“If Renee could open the gate to get in, what’s keeping Azuel from using her to come out?”
Ezekiel smiled. “That’s a good question. Azuel can’t use Renee to be free of his jail for one simple reason, Renee hasn’t grown into her full potential yet. Opening the gate drained her completely and it will take her several days to recover. But Azuel doesn’t need time to pass. He only needs her. If he performs the ceremony, he’ll have her powers and have full control of the gate and the land itself.”
I couldn’t let that happen. “I have to save Renee.”
“Before I hand this over…” He lifted his right arm so I could have a better view of the item in his hand. “You should know that you have a very important choice to make.”
“What choice?”
“When Monarchy created the dark land and the gate, he knew he needed someone to guard it. So, using two drops of his blood, he created the first Gatekeeper.”
I analyzed what Ezekiel had just said and almost lost it completely when I came to understand the meaning behind it all. Renee’s bloodline was part evil. A part of her was directly linked to a demon.
“Renee, like her father and others before him, has the potential to give in to her evil blood and use it for something other than keeping the gate inaccessible to those who want to open it. It’s in her blood and she can choose to fight it or give in. Ultimately, the choice will be left up to her, just like the choice was made by Rhyzel.”
I turned my back to Ezekiel. “No. This is not happening.”
“If you choose to save her life, you have to live knowing that one day she will take a turn for the worse, and then it would be your job to stop her.”
I wanted to crawl into my bedroom closet, close the door, and hide from the world. I was being given the same choice Selena, Rhyzel’s Keeper, had been given. I had to face the same scenario.
“All this was a test, wasn’t it?” I squeezed my eyes shut. “You have been testing me from the beginning, haven’t you?”
“They call me an Overseer for a reason. I oversee my Keepers with dedication and choose the best ones for the most complicated tasks.”
“And you’re overseeing my abilities to make the right choice?”
“Being born with a gift and a title does not make for a well-qualified Keeper. A Keeper must know how to choose and act wisely, even if that means playing a very dangerous game of Russian roulette.”
I knew what I had to do.
“How am I going to get Renee safely out?” I turned to face Ezekiel again.
He handed over the vial without hesitation. “Is that your choice?”
“It is.” It wasn’t such a hard choice to make. I cared about Renee. I loved her as if she was my own sister. I couldn’t allow a low down piece of hell manure hurt her in any shape or form. It just wasn’t in me.
If it came down to having to deal with the bad side of Renee in the future, then so be it.
“Well then, I don’t know how you’re going to get her out safely, but once you drink the liquid in that container, you will have exactly half an hour to go in and come back out. Otherwise you’ll be stuck inside forever.” He handed the vial over to me.
I looked it over once it was in my hand and frowned. “What exactly is in here?”
“The Gatekeeper’s blood.”
The tiny vial almost slipped out of my hand. “What?”
“The only way you can get in is by drinking a small portion of the Gatekeeper’s blood. Because you will only be consuming a small amount, time is limited. Heed my warning, Demi, and be ready to depart in exactly thirty minutes or you will be stuck inside.”
“What about Azuel?”
“He is not your priority. Renee is. If you can get rid of him in the process, good. If not, don’t concern yourself over him. Get Renee, open the gate, and walk out.”
“What if Azuel tries to come out with us?”
“He’ll try. You have to make sure he stays behind.”
That wouldn’t be easy. I hadn’t gotten in and I already knew what lay ahead would be difficult and close to impossible.
“Okay, I can do this.” All other thoughts aside, I took the cap off and hurried to gulp down the contents without gagging. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, but I manage
d.
Chapter Twenty-two
The Gate to Monarch
Ezekiel brought me back to Rhyzel’s apartment feeling as if something wasn’t quite right. But then, I had just taken a vial filled with someone else’s blood, so maybe it was all in my head.
“Demi?” Rhyzel approached me as soon as the front door opened and I stepped inside his living room. “Where have you—” He stopped mid-question when Ezekiel stepped in behind me.
“Hello, Rhyzel,” Ezekiel greeted my confused next door neighbor. “You can be at ease now. Demi knows all about your reasons.”
“Everything?” Rhyzel and Ezekiel exchanged looks.
“She knows enough,” Ezekiel responded with a stern look.
“Why do I get the feeling you guys are keeping something from me?” I placed both hands on my hips. “That look exchange pretty much gave you away.”
Rhyzel glanced away first. “There’s nothing I need to hide. You know everything now.”
Ezekiel, as calm as he ever was, faced me and said, “Demi, take advantage of the time you have in your hands and go. You have to open the gate and cross over in less than twenty-seven minutes.”
“Where do I need to go?”
“I know.” Rhyzel took several steps forward. “I can take you there.”
“No way.” I shook my head. “I don’t know if I can trust you.”
“Even after—” A look of utter defeat crossed Rhyzel’s features. “Demi, I had my reasons. Good or bad, I made the choice to save my mother knowing Renee would be safe until the lunar eclipse starts. If I had told you what I had to do, you would have intervened and made things worse.”
“How could you possibly know that?” I spat.
“I know for a fact you would have ruined things.” He then pointed to his head and I knew what he meant right away.
“Give me a break! A vision?”
“That’s right.”
“Okay, fine. I’m losing valuable time talking here with you. Just take me to where I gotta go.”
Ezekiel addressed me one last time. “Demi, be alert and cautious. And remember, come out before time is up.”
“I will.”
In a blink of an eye, Ezekiel’s transparent form disappeared.
“I’m going next door to grab something. Meet me in front,” I said before marching out of the apartment. As I stepped out, the sound of Rhyzel’s mother sobbing tore through the silence. I had no idea what he said to her, but judging by the sound of her weeping, it must have been something painful.
***
We rode Rhyzel’s motorcycle to the same park where I apparently met him two years before. He explained before departing that he’d known for a while where the Gate of Monarch was located, but he failed to tell me how he found out.
After the day I’d had, I wasn’t much in the mood for conversation, so I didn’t ask, either. But once I got there I realized that now that I knew of its existence, the gate became kind of obvious.
About half a mile into the park, there was a huge archway created by a pair of blue poplar trees that had grown bent from the trunk about half way up, and which had intertwined at the top. They resembled a top, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.
It wasn’t so much the appearance that told me we were in the right place, but the way I felt by standing right in front of it. My entire body, from head to toes, tingled as if I was about to sprout magical strings from every pore in my body.
“We’re here,” I murmured, glancing up and down. There was nothing definitive about the trees’ appearance. They looked like regular trees except for their unusual growth. “How do I open the gate?” I hadn’t bothered to ask and Ezekiel hadn’t spit that information out, either.
Aside from that, I had another problem. Being that it was early afternoon, there were some families enjoying a refreshing day at the park. I had to be cautious. I didn’t want witnesses to whatever was about to happen. After the incident at Devin’s house, I didn’t want to put myself out there any more than I already had.
“You have to walk in, put your hand out, concentrate, and rotate it as if you were opening a door.” Rhyzel’s voice startled me a bit. I’d forgotten he was with me.
“Is that what Renee did?” I asked as I strolled in between the trees and stop right in the middle.
“Yeah.” He followed, standing beside me. “It took her more than one try, though.”
“That’s because of her youth. I hope it won’t take me more than one try. Time is ticking by.” I closed my eyes and concentrated, but I twisted my hand right and left and nothing happened. “God, why is this not working?”
Rhyzel stood behind me and whispered in my ear, “You’re not trying hard enough.”
“That’s because you’re making me uncomfortable.” I glanced over my left shoulder at him. “Move away.”
“Keep your eyes closed,” he commanded, using a harsher tone. “Envision a large, black gate with silver handles and the head of a lion crested in the middle.”
I turned my head forward again and closed my eyes. “A lion?”
“The legend says that Monarchy was fond of the lion. Why? Nobody knows, but he used it often as symbol to represent himself.” He placed one hand over my right shoulder. “Now concentrate.”
“I can’t.” His hand on my body didn’t help me at all. It created a chaos inside of me.
“Think about Renee.” The warmth produced by his breath gave me chills. I wasn’t ready to forgive him yet I couldn’t deny how he made me feel. “She needs you. Concentrate on that gate.”
For Renee’s sake rather than my own, I decided to do as he advised. I concentrated on the vision Rhyzel had painted for me and found, much to my surprise, that the gate did, in fact, appear out of nowhere. But that wasn’t all. The space in between the trees where the trunks were separated was engulfed in a protective shield which kept people from being able to see us or anything happening around us. It was as if we had a glass dome around where others could go right through without detecting our presence or that of the gate.
“No witnesses,” he whispered.
“No witnesses,” I repeated, breaking away from him as I made my way toward the gate. “I don’t have much time left, so I’m going.”
“I’m going with you.”
I whirled around in an instant. “No, you’re not.”
“The only reason I delivered Renee to the hands of my father was because I knew there was a chance I could help get her back. If I had known up front there was no way to get her back, I wouldn’t have made the exchange.”
“You would have sacrificed your own mother?” I asked in astonishment.
“My mother would have understood. I know that for a fact.”
So he pretty much put my mind at ease. Apparently both Ezekiel and Rhyzel had known things I had ignored. The sting of being betrayed had been so intense I hadn’t been able to see there had been more than what my imagination had conjured up.
“I thought you didn’t know who your father was?” I asked, recalling a few days ago when he said he did not know who his father was. “I wonder how exactly my truth spell failed.”
Rhyzel’s expression was one of shame. “It didn’t exactly fail. It just didn’t reveal all the truth behind the answers I gave you.”
Disappointment hit me like a punch to the gut. It had taken extensive planning and preparation in order to work against my magic and he’d done it all. He probably never cared for me at all. It had probably been a ruse to get me to trust him.
“I have to get Renee back.” I spun around, grabbed the handle and pulled the huge black metal door open. It squeaked and roared a bit but ultimately opened to reveal a long, narrow hallway ahead.
It was confusing because I couldn’t see the end of the tunnel, but I went through the gate anyway. Rhyzel walked alongside me. Neither of us spoke as the gate shut immediately after we passed, but a scream was almost choked out of me when we were catapulted forward down the hallway in a mat
ter of seconds. The journey down the hall was the shortest of my life, but the scariest by far.
Two seconds later we were standing in front of our apartment building, except it looked different. Well, everything was exactly the same, but just like in my dreams, there were no cars parked on the street, no people walking around, no signs human life had ever inhabited this grayish world.
“We’re here,” I murmured. The world we stepped into was the dark side of the one we lived in. I understood why Ezekiel referred to it as The Dark Land. My dream had come to pass. I was on the outside of my apartment building, in a world where no human existed. The only difference was that this time I wasn’t alone. Rhyzel was with me.
Rhyzel!
“You have to go back. Now!” I pushed on his chest with the palms of my hands. “Leave.”
He grabbed my hands to stop me. “Demi, what’s wrong?”
“You have to leave.” I broke away from his hold and fisted my hands in his shirt. “Rhyzel―”
“Demi, tell me.”
I fought back tears. “Please, Rhyzel.”
Rhyzel framed my face with the palms of his hands. “I can feel your desperation,” he said in a low, reassuring voice. “Will it happen here?”
I inhaled sharply. “Yes.”
“Let’s forget about me and get Renee.” He took a moment to plant a kiss on my forehead.
He was right. My priority was Renee. Had been Renee from the beginning. But now that we were in the place where Rhyzel would meet his end, I was once again suffering the effects of an interior battle. One part of me wanted to get Renee and take her back home, and the other wanted to save Rhyzel.
What I wanted didn’t matter, in the end I couldn’t save both. Whether I successfully took Renee back had yet to be seen, but Rhyzel’s outcome would not change. He was meant to die.
“I’m—”
An ear-splitting shriek erupted behind us. I turned in time to see the glass panes, windows, and doors explode outward. Rhyzel reacted quickly by pulling me down with him as he shielded me from the flying missiles with his body. It all happened so fast my only reaction was to close my eyes as we both landed hard on the sidewalk.
Keeper of the Innocents Page 27
