“Oh, come on.” He tilts his head at the priest. “I’m not torturing him. I’m just trying to make him see the truth about this world. He deserves to know, after all the commitment he gave the Lord, that he’s on his own. He’s always been on his own.”
I shake my head and walk further into the room. “No, he’s not. We were sent here to help him. To protect him.”
Trevor clamps his hands together. “And what a great help you’ve been. You failed! You couldn’t save his nephew!”
I take another step closer, hoping to eventually pull the priest away from the earth elemental. “No, we couldn’t. But that doesn’t mean we don’t exist, does it? We’re still here. Just like God is.”
I feel like a total fraud, talking like this, but I must convince the priest of what I only half believe myself. That God is on our side, watching us and helping us. I mean, I know He is. I just keep wondering why He doesn’t send more help. Why did God only choose a handful of people to defeat the whole armies the Devil sent? Is it some sort of misguided trust in our abilities, or does He just not care that much about Earth and humanity?
“God works in mysterious ways,” the priest says as if he can hear my thoughts.
I’m within arm’s reach of him. My muscles tense as I prepare to pull him away from Trevor.
But the earth elemental sees through me before I can and shoots a brick at my head. I move aside just in time, and the brick slams into the wall, knocking a hole in it.
“Leave us alone,” he says calmly. “We were having a conversation here. A private conversation.”
I beckon Taylar closer. The bolt of lightning sizzles in his palm. I’m impressed with how well he can hold it.
“Consider the conversation over,” I say. “Or we’ll make sure you can never have another conversation again.”
CHAPTER 41
Trevor doesn’t even blink. Another large stone appears in his hand, and he raises it above the priest’s head. “Attack me and the priest dies.”
“You can’t kill him. He hasn’t committed his sin yet.”
“And he won’t,” Taylar adds, with much more certainty than I could ever muster.
Trevor throws his head back and laughs. “Well, it looks like we’re at an impasse. If I attack you, I disappear. If you attack me, I kill the priest. What to do, what to do?”
Jeep joins me and Taylar and meets Trevor’s eyes. “You could always stop being so stupid and abandon all plans to help the Devil.”
For a second, Trevor looks dazed, and my hand shoots out to grab the priest again.
But the earth elemental brings down the stone in his hands, and I back up fast.
Trevor laughs again and turns back to Jeep. “So… you have that little hypnotizing power now, do you? Too bad for you I made sure that wouldn’t work on me.”
“Give up, Trevor,” I say. “You lost your army of demons, you lost your buddy Paul, and any more back-up you bring will also vanish.” I wave my hand at the priest. “This man will not give in. He has a strong will.”
Trevor leans forward. “If that is true, then why are you here?”
I cross my arms. “Because we don’t want you to torture him.”
“No…” He taps his chin with his free hand. “No, I think there’s a different reason. I think you know that he’ll give in if I keep showing him how little help God sends him. Eventually, he will lose his faith.”
He’s right, but I can’t say that in front of the priest. He has to believe we have faith in him. “You can say whatever you want, Trevor, but you’ll never win this.”
“Sure I will. Because I…” His gaze moves to the door as a sudden whistling of wind is heard.
The sound of a door slammed against a wall echoes through the hallway, and we all whirl around. The wind gets louder. Someone is approaching, but there are no footsteps.
When I peer at Trevor from the corner of my eye, I notice even he looks worried. Is it someone coming to help us?
The whistling gets louder and in a whirlwind of warmth and sweet smells, three gorgeous women with long, white gowns float into the room. Their white hair flows up and down in an invisible current, just like the hems of the garments that cover their feet.
There’s a thump behind me and when I turn my head, I see that Trevor has dropped his brick. Behind the priest, thankfully, instead of on him. They are both mesmerized by the three women and seem to have forgotten their troubles for a moment.
“The iele…” Trevor breathes, and that’s when my heart almost stops.
It’s not hard to guess why they’re here.
“The bell,” the woman in the middle says in a tingly voice. “We need it back.”
Slowly, I turn back to them. When I hesitate, the iele’s faces change for a split second. Something dark shines through their soft, sparkling skin. Black eyes and a gaping mouth without teeth.
Her next words come out in a low, scratchy voice that makes my skin crawl. “It belongs to us.”
“Forgive me.” I bow deep. “I know the bell is yours, and I will return it to you, but I can’t do it now.”
In a split second, the atmosphere in the room changes. The light from the windows is blocked out by a sudden dark cloud, hanging above our heads. The fairies’ long locks transform into slithering smoke. Their skin is a dark shade of gray, their veins black pulsing lines.
“Give it back, or you will all suffer,” the leader hisses.
With my hands clasped together I plead. “Please let me borrow it a while longer. The world will be in grave danger if I give it back now.”
She brings her face closer to mine, and I gulp as I look into her empty eyes. “I don’t care about the world. You can use your own weapons to save it.”
I fight the impulse to give in. The iele’s mind bending powers must be strong, but if I give them back the bell, the black hole in the silver mine will open. And although I have no idea what will come through, I have a feeling it can’t be anything good. This is important, and I’ll have to fight for it.
The leader has turned to Vicky. Her gray finger slowly follows the line of Vicky’s neck. “Give back the bell or I will vaporize your friends, one by one.”
The last thing I want to do is provoke her but giving in is not an option.
“I’m really sorry, I can’t give it back yet.”
She grabs Vicky’s neck and lifts her off her feet. Her dark eyes bore into Vicky’s. “Make him give me the bell.”
Vicky gurgles a ‘no’.
The iele tosses her away and screams. “What’s wrong with my power? Why doesn’t it work on these people?”
After I check if Vicky’s okay, I turn back to her as calmly as I can manage. “Probably because we’re chosen to stand against the Devil?” I nod my head at Trevor. “You can try it on him. I’m sure it’ll work fine.”
She leans back to me, her forehead touching mine. “But he doesn’t have the bell, does he?”
Although the crawling of her skin against mine itches like crazy, I don’t move. “No, he doesn’t. And I will only need it for another…” I calculate it in my head, “twenty days, at the most. Only five more circles to go after this one, and then the black hole in the tunnel won’t be of any use to them anymore.”
Trevor picks up his brick again and holds it above the priest’s head. “You’re right, because our master will be here on Earth, and every demon with him.”
The leader of the iele grows taller and looms over us. “Stop it!” Her voice bounces off the walls, loud and angry. “You can fight all you like, after you give us what we came for.” Her smoky hair moves forward as if to grab my face when she screams, “Now!”
“I can’t do that!” I yell back.
She breathes in, shocked. A second later, determination falls over her demonic face. “Then you will all die.”
The other two fairies stretch until they’re the same size as their leader. I can hear my friends pulling their
weapons. A bolt of lightning illuminates the dark faces above us.
But the three women only have eyes for me. Revenge burns in their pupils, but I also see a hint of regret. I try to come up with something to say that they’ll listen to, but they’re already diving down, seconds away from tearing me to pieces.
“Wait!” I yell, startling everyone around me.
The iele come to a halt. My friends put away their weapons.
“Please wait,” I repeat. “Don’t attack us. We cast a spell. You’ll disappear, and I’m not sure where you’ll end up.”
The leader scrunches up her dark face. “You don’t want us to disappear? Why not?”
“Because you’re not evil. You want justice, that’s all. You don’t want stupid Mages to abuse your amazing objects anymore.” I pause and keep my eyes on her. “You don’t really want to hurt anyone.”
Her piercing gaze tingles my skin, but I don’t avert my eyes. I want her to see that I am being truthful.
After an agonizing minute of silence, the fairy changes back into her gorgeous form and touches my cheek. Although it’s only with one fingertip, warmth washes over my body, and calmness descends on me. Light seeps back into the room, provoking a collective sigh.
The leader of the iele turns back to her congeners. “I like this one. He’s observant and clever.”
“But he still has our bell,” one of the others remarks.
The third one nods feverishly. “Yes, he’ll have to give us something in return if he wants to keep it longer.”
With another bow, I hide my triumphant smile. “I will do what I can to pay you back. Please tell me what you need.”
The leader shrinks back to her normal size, and her fellow fairies follow her example. “We will have to think about that. Meanwhile…” She turns her head to the door, “two of your friends are fleeing.”
I follow her gaze and yell in shock. “Stop them!”
Trevor pulls the priest into the hallway just as lightning chips a piece of wood off the door frame. Taylar dives after them before I can even pull out my weapons.
The others follow while I hesitate.
“Go on,” the leader of the iele says. “We’ll contact you again.”
A loud bang echoes through the church, and I run after my friends, shouting a, “Thank you!” over my shoulder.
Smoke fills the whole church, and I bump into the wall twice before I’m able to reach the next doorway. When I exit the hallway, the smoke lifts, and I find my Shield staring at the front door with slumped shoulders. The door frame is covered in ice and outside, two birds move by in slow motion.
“Did you get them?” I ask Jeep when I pass him.
No one answers, and I hurry to the open door.
Charlie and Gisella are touching the emptiness around them as if they’re mime players.
I scan the street and cough up some smoke. “Don’t tell me you’ve lost them.”
With a guilty expression on his face, Charlie shakes his head. “I’m sorry, he threw some sort of bomb that disturbed our powers. By the time we could see again, they were gone.”
The Shield appears at my side.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find them again. We can scry for Trevor.” Vicky pulls the map and pendant out of her pocket. “We can do it right now.”
“Good idea.” I point at the birds, still floating above us at half-speed. “Charlie, would you mind restoring time first?”
He gives me a frustrated look over his shoulder. “That’s what I’m trying to do. But it just… won’t… work!” His last three words are accompanied by frantic throwing motions.
One by one, the birds fall out of the sky, covered in grease.
Charlie lets out a startled cry and examines his hands. “My power!” He waves his hands again, and gel shoots out of them into the bushes across the street. “My power is back!”
My heart skips a beat. Carefully, I nudge my power core and hold my hand in front of me with the palm up. A bolt of lightning forms with a hiss.
I beckon D’Maeo and when he nods, I shoot the bolt at him. He lifts his hands and stops it midflight.
When I look around, everyone has a big smile on their faces, except for Taylar.
Jeep flexes his fingers. “Oh, it feels great to have my own power back. I really missed it.”
“Yeah,” Taylar mumbles, “it’s awesome.”
I feel sorry for him, and I don’t really know what to say to make him feel better, so instead I just stand next to him and watch the others play around with their powers.
After a while, Maël joins us.
“Try to look at it this way,” she says. “You learned how to handle Dante’s powers quickly, so the glitch does not lie in you, but in your power.”
He scrunches up his forehead. “How does that help?”
“Everything happens for a reason, Taylar. I thought you knew that by now. If your power does not show itself, it is because the world cannot handle it yet. Or maybe… you are God’s back-up plan.”
“Yeah, right.” He turns and stalks off angrily.
Maël rests her gaze on me. “I really believe that though.”
I can only nod as her words sink in. “Still, it must suck to be him right now. He looked so happy when he was able to fight with my powers.”
She sighs. “You know what they say, Dante. With great power…”
I laugh, but there’s no joy behind it. “Oh sure, and I can handle the responsibility better than him?”
“Yes, or you would not have been given this task.”
“Maybe.” I clap my hands and step forward. “Playtime is over, guys! We’ve got a priest to find.”
CHAPTER 42
When we go back inside, the iele are gone.
“Do you think they helped us get our powers back?” Charlie asks.
“Trevor made us lose them again with that smoke. That’s for sure,” Jeep says. “But can the iele return powers?”
I shrug. “No idea.”
“No, they can’t,” a familiar voice says in my head. Everyone looks around.
“Quinn?” Charlie says. “Is that you?”
“It is. Mona was checking up on Dante and warned me about the vanishing powers. I caught them just before they took off to who knows where and put them back where they belong.”
Jeep flexes his fingers again. “Thanks!”
“You’re welcome. I have to go now. Be careful.”
“We will,” I say.
I smile at the others when silence descends on us again. “Well, I guess we finally got lucky. Let’s try scrying for the priest and find out if that luck is still with us.”
It turns out he’s not far away.
Vicky leans closer to the map. “It’s a hotel.”
“Great, let’s go.” I fold the map and hand it back to her.
We go by foot, because it’s only one block. The streets are quiet, save for some non-magicals with groceries or dogs. I can only hope this means that Trevor has run out of fire demons to summon.
The hotel looks deserted. Boards cover up the windows, and the walls are cracked. The front door hangs loosely on its hinges, squeaking as the wind pushes it to and fro.
With a ball of lightning tucked reassuringly in my palm, I push the door farther open. It protests loudly, and I grit my teeth.
“He’ll probably know we’re coming, so a little more noise won’t matter,” Gisella says.
I can’t argue with that, but still I like a quiet approach better. Even if he knows we’re coming, he won’t know exactly when. We should be able to surprise him.
In the deserted lobby, we look around, wondering which way to turn. The building is large. Judging by the numbered compartments behind the reception desk, there are fifty rooms, and a stack of yellowed floorplans tells me the hotel has three conference rooms and an indoor pool.
I scratch my head. “He could be anywhere.”
There�
��s a faint scream in the distance. It sounds like it’s coming from below us.
“I say we check the basement first.” Jeep is already on his way to the stairs, and the rest of us follow without comment.
It’s not hard to follow the muffled screams. We walk through hallways with flickering lights and dark smudges on the walls, illuminated by my lightning and followed by the patter of the feet of countless corpses. It’s obvious we’re all happy to have our own powers back. Except for Taylar, of course. His feet sound heavy with the weight of impatience and frustration.
Another cry rips apart the near silence around us.
“Hurry,” I urge the others and increase my pace.
We’re now close enough to recognize the priest’s voice.
“Please stop,” he begs.
“Ask the Devil to make me stop. Ask God. See who answers your prayers,” Trevors voice answers.
“I will do anything.”
My heartbeat quickens, and I run for the door at the end of the hallway. I call out instructions over my shoulder. “If you get a clear shot, hit Trevor with everything you’ve got.”
Then I barge through the door with a loud crack and enter a large storage space.
Trevor is the only one to look up. A mixture of surprise and glee slips over his face. I guess we came sooner than he anticipated.
Without stopping, I shoot one ball after another at him while I make my way past antique tables, chairs and statues. Trevor dives out of the way but gets buried under an antique bar counter that collapses when my lightning hits it.
“Take care of him,” I tell my friends, stepping around a stack of side tables.
When the priest comes into view, I stop dead.
He’s lying on his back on the dirty floor, tied to a chair and bleeding.
My thoughts go haywire in a split second.
Oh no, we’re too late! The Devil has snatched another soul!
No, I shouldn’t think like that. He’s unconscious, that’s all.
I blew it. I lost another soul because I let the iele distract me. I should’ve killed Trevor the first time I met him, when I already knew something was wrong with him.
The Fourth Soul: (Cards of Death book 4) Page 22
