Claimed

by K. H. Kate

  "This is it." I nodded half-heartedly where Zach came bearing candles, a bowl, and a small knife. Picking the knife, I clenched it tight until blood dripped into the bowl from the open wound. But sooner we realized that we forgot the most important part of a ritual.

  "Shit, I need a witch. Especially a clan leader." I cursed, watching Zach already retreating outside to find one. Everything started to feel more like a hazy dream than reality to me when an old woman stumbled inside in a hurry with Zach.

  "I'm here. What do you need me for?"

  I nodded toward the bowl of blood and the book. "Need to find Emeline Deshayes through my blood. Chant it up, witch."

  I didn't think to notice the glare the witch shot at me nor was I interested to know if the witch was actually chanting or just cursing me in her language when she started doing incantations with her hands raised like a prayer.

  "In vo in eam em, ut vet ut, tarda cut Inunc a mle in noc re me sol, me vita vitae ekiem coim, Deshayes golam hyas."

  The pain hit me hard, almost taking me down to my knees. Zach was beside me in a second. "What is it?"

  "Zach, you sure the basement was searched?" I gritted out, still clutching my chest as the white shirt started to go red with my blood.

  "I searched the whole place." He confirmed with a firm nod. "There was nothing there. Why? Do you feel anything?"

  "The pull is stronger toward the basement. She had to be there." I couldn't ignore the strong pull I felt toward the place. Unless someone was messing with all of us...

  "Goodness!" The witch suddenly gasped, making me stare at her. "There's a hidden tunnel in the basement which leads to a some kind of portal. It was meant for a peace treaty from the Coven to a friend."

  Nothing good could come from a portal. Who knew what had come through it? Maybe Zach had the same idea cause he was following me with the same look on his face. And maybe I would keep running if he didn't put his arm around mine in alarm.

  "Alexei, stop!" Putting a halt in my search, we both stared at the dark tunnel with extra caution. There could be anything out there.

  The tunnel was awfully quiet.

  "Holy hell!"

  I blinked hard, trying to take in everything. This had to be a nightmare. At least hundreds of hellhounds were there, protecting something. They all growled again the moment I stepped ahead.

  "No, wait! They are deadly lethal and their bite can be poisonous." Zach warned. As if they could understand him, I saw several red eyes starting to glow in the dark. "We can't go there. Not until we know what we're dealing with. If we go now, they'll rip us apart without any fight. The souls in my bindings are strong but even they can't fend off these many hellhounds at once."

  "My little soul is gone along with those people." He looked away in guilt. "What about Lana and Mikhail? You going to leave them there too?"

  That did it.

  Zach let loose of the trinket, making those faceless souls burst in with a screech. And just like that, with a holler, we stumbled upon the hellhounds.

  Cold.

  I was so cold. Memories flew by but nothing made sense. I could only hear the sound of my own heart beating in my ears. Was I dead then? Or was it the grave calling for me again?

  "Alexei? Darkness?"

  Who was calling me?

  I could hear voices chattering in the distance but I couldn't quite make out what they were talking about. I heard my name again but I just wanted to leave. Better yet, I wanted to go to Em...

  I wanted Em...

  Emeline.

  I woke to light streaming through the window. Where the hell was I? I looked around only to remember what happened. The engagement, the people missing, the hellhounds.

  The hellhounds.

  I looked down and there was a deep cut on my leg. My neck was sore too but I couldn't reach it with my hands cause they were bound to a pole. I tugged them but the rope only cut more. Next, I tried to call for my shadows only to curse when the rope glowed silver meaning it was hexed. The only good thing was I could still feel her somewhere around here.

  Similar to me, Zach had a chunk of skin missing from his neck. At least he was breathing. The room we were in looked like some type of illusion. It was odd. The moment I turned my head a little, I was surprised to see another three, no...four people there.

  Lana, Mikhail, Ivy.

  And a woman with cold eyes.

  But no Emie.

  No Zed.

  "Alexei?"

  It was Lana who called out and seeing her, there was no doubt that coming here wasn't exactly a joyful ride. Blood smeared across her face similar to Mikhail, the only person who didn't look like going through hell was Ivy and the woman in the room who was still unknown to me.

  "Where are we?"

  "With our luck? In a Limbo probably." Lana cursed.

  "Actually you are in Hell. We have already bypassed the Limbo." The stranger rolled the words on her tongue in such a way as if she was mocking us. "Such a wonder today is, isn't it?"

  "There's no fucking wonder today." I spat, despite seeing Lana shook her head in warning. "Who are you?"

  The woman smiled slowly, revealing her teeth. "I'm surprised that you didn't recognize me, Darkness. I'm the one you fear the most. You have been running from me for your whole life only to land on my doorstep when you think of it least."

  What?

  Riddles...

  Suddenly there was a possibility that I had a hard time grasping. Clenching my fists, I looked up again. "Who are you?"

  "I'm known by many names. Fate, that bitch and most commonly...Prophesy."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  TEN YEARS AGO

  "Look at that bird, Gema. God! This is so pretty." The girl with the auburn hair squealed, letting my pet play with her with a warm smile. I was sure that she didn't know it was a demon and that's what made it more fun to toy with her.

  "Emie! Look, it looks like it's smirking! Get away from it, please." The other girl, a brunette cried out as the raven flew her way. Amused, I watched those two fight over my pet from a distance. No sooner, the older girls joined their little group. A boy kept running around them, pulling the brunette's ponytail in the process. So she started to run after him, laughing with joy.

  The raven was all forgotten.

  But not for long.

  "As requested master, she didn't learn a single spell." My right hand, Fallon delivered when he was back in his own body.

  "Also, Jonathan wanted to know how she's doing. He still believes that you are keeping your father's words to the heart. That's why I wonder if you want her to be your Queen one day..." He trailed off, his gaze showing something different. Something I didn't like.

  "If you started something, finish it, Fallon."

  He hesitated before delving into his thoughts. "You said you needed the three pieces to free Condessa. This girl is among them. But now that I look at you...can you really go through it?"

  She had her head bent down, just staring at her feet now. I couldn't help it, I just kept staring at her.

  "She'll be my Queen and all mine, Fallon. Sacrifice or not."

  And I couldn't think of a worse punishment than that.

  SIX MONTHS AGO

  "Love, see who came to visit us!" I heard the yelling even from my chamber. In a minute, two maids opened my door as I sheepishly stood up, walking over to them. They led me to the King's chamber, leaving me to wait for him. Thankfully I didn't have to wait longer.

  "Emeline!" The overexcited voice had me turn around to see Demos with a smile on his face. Which was rare sight considering he was the demon king.

  My King.

  "Yes?" I curtsied, waiting for him to give me a job but to my surprise, he wasn't alone like every other time. There were two people behind him and for a second, panic gripped me but Demos was there to calm me down.

  "Don't be afraid, my darling. I'd love you to meet these two. Here is my old friend Jonathan Bazin." The man gave me a nod of acknowledgment. />
  "And this is Rosaline DeLuca, our mutual friend and the only witch I'm not willing to kill." Demos let out a chuckle, not noticing the way Rosaline's face clenched in disgust. Though in a minute she was joining the laughter with a glint in her gaze.

  "Oh, don't be so coy, Demos. I'm not the only witch you are willing to spare. Forgot our friend Condessa so soon?"

  I didn't know who this Condessa was but the name took every bit of playfulness from Demos's face. His eyes hardened and he forced out a grin. "How could I forget about her, huh, Rose?"

  "My King?" I could feel the tension in the air. "Um...who is Condessa?"

  It's the man who answered with a rough edge in his voice. "His half-sister. She fell into a sleeping spell a long time ago because she stole something from Death. She was very dear to us but her fate had been written in blood already. There was nothing we could do."

  I didn't know what to say. But Demos was there to offer me a guilty smile before I could ask any more things.

  "It wasn't really important. There's no cure to wake her up. She is forever designed to be kept under the pit of Hell."

  "Just like there's no cure for me." I muttered, earning a wince from Demos.

  "That's why they are here." He quickly hid the guilt before rubbing my arms in comfort. I didn't felt anything but it was the thought that counted. "Jonathan here has a plan to get us out of Hell. Rose is already making a Limbo."

  A what?

  My frown deepened. "I'm sorry. A Limbo?"

  "Yes dear, a Limbo. A dimension connecting the two places. Through that place, you can walk on both Hell and earth. As the gate of Hell is still closed, we thought of a way to make this work."

  "Why didn't I see you two in Hell before?" I asked, forcing both of them to look at me in surprise. "I mean the gate is always closed so you must be a resident of Hell. But I never saw you. I know almost everyone."

  "About that..." Rose smiled, beckoning me closer. "He comes from the earth while I have a Limbo of my own. When he needs to visit a place, he calls for help. Just like today."

  "So, we can get out with you right now if we wanted to? It was that easy?"

  "No, love, it's not that easy. We need an anchor here to keep Hell in balance. Also for powerful beings to travel, the Limbo has to be that strong enough." Demos's explanation made sense. But why did he suddenly wanted to leave Hell?

  "Why now though?"

  "For you." His answer made me even more confused.

  "Me? What do you mean me?"

  "Rose, will you please step out? We will get to you soon." Jonathan ushered Rose out who walked out of the door but not before giving me a small smile.

  Demos noticed where my eyes were but he didn't say anything. Instead, he let out a frustrated sigh. "Sage is starting to become a problem and soon enough he will start a war against those witches. I want this to use in our favor. Everyone will be too busy on Sage to notice that you are gone. You need to be cured, Emeline. You need witch blood to cure yourself. So we are wiping all the witches from that earth and find a way for you to stay here forever."

  Oh, God! Was he serious? Was he just going to kill all witches for ME?

  "I-I..."

  "But for that to happen I need a favor. If you don't agree, there will be no Limbo for you to get out." Jonathan interrupted whatever I was going to say.

  Demos raised an eyebrow in warning. "Really? What is it?"

  I thought Jonathan would go for Demos but to my shock, he stared at me. "Not to be rude or anything, but I want to make a deal with her."

  Me?

  "Jonathan, no." Demos immediately came to my help.

  "No? But then we don't have a deal." Jonathan replied coyly.

  Demos looked like he wanted to hurt Jonathan but he was just refraining himself. So, I wasn't surprised when he gritted out. "Fine. What deal?"

  "When she goes back to earth-" He paused, narrowing his gaze. "I want her to find Prophesy. I can't risk her going more insane than she already is. The world will be in a blaze if she loses it."

  The words registered in my mind but I wasn't quick enough to hide my shock. "Wait! I thought only Demos and I will be going?"

  "Love, she needs to find someone." My head was swirling from absorbing so much information at a time. I was finally going to be normal. Prophesy was going to be out too. And there was a thing called Limbo.

  "So, do we have a deal?" Jonathan asked me, his face betraying the emotion that was playing just a few minutes ago.

  "I can do that." I promised with a shaky smile. "We have a deal."

  NOW

  "Start to finish the rest of the demons here. If you see a hellhound, ask them to fight each other." Giving them an order, I looked down, watching Demos try to get himself up. Those people didn't waste a minute to see the demon King fall. They only followed my words, leaving us to settle our score.

  "Love, think about it. You are just going to hurt yourself." Demos spoke slowly from the ground. He was immobile for half an hour but I didn't want to risk when he'd get back his full powers.

  Whenever we talked about killing Demos, I always argued with Allegra that he couldn't be killed. To me, he was already immortal. But something they found out had me thinking for weeks. Jonathan said his sister stole something from Death and the only weapon to truly kill Demos was a scythe. What if it was still with her? I just had to find out where she kept it. That's the only way I could ever fight him.

  "I don't care, I already killed your demons. The rest will be killed by them."

  "They were only low ranks demons. All the other scary hellhounds outside right now waiting for you to get out are there. Through the door to your left that leads us out of this place. You sent your army through the right door, Emeline. Now right there you walked into a trap of your own.” He chuckled, his eyes glowing at the promise of it.

  "Then you gave me no choice." Muttering a silent prayer, I gripped his chin, forcing him to stand up.

  "Now you are going to walk with me outside and tell all your pets to go away." His eyes looked like he was trying to break the compulsion but he nodded with a hard look.

  Together, we walked until the door was near. Opening the door slightly, I was met with silence. But even in the darkness, I recognized those red eyes monsters near us.

  "Now."

  "Pets, leave us." Demos grunted. Just as his words were heard, at least thousands of hellhounds growled at once. They were so livid that it chilled me to the bone.

  "Now get me outside."

  I didn't know what happened. One second I was standing beside Demos and the next, I was trapped in between Demos and a wall.

  "You greedy little thing. Figured you still wanted to use my gift after abandoning me like that. Did you know how painful it was for me to feel our bond break? I couldn't wake up for days. Just as our bond broke so were your demonic gifts." My shocked gaze met his.

  "It can't be possible! I-I dematerialized even after breaking our bond. You're lying."

  "Am I? In all these years, you had picked up so many things that even you don't know which one was my power and which one was yours. I think I know just what to do with you. Allegra and Prophesy are already here. Condessa can finally wake up."

  Condessa?

  "All this for her?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You told me there was no cure."

  "There wasn't. Until the three pieces were bound together. A Volkios, a powerful Reaper, and a deity known as fate is the only way I can wake her. Condessa is not just my sister, she is my anchor. She is the person that's going to bring all Hell together and you will help me see to that." He sounded insane. As if I hadn't frozen in shock, he kept talking. "Come on now, love. You always wanted to see the pit of Hell."

  Yeah, when I didn't know who I was.

  I didn't notice when he started to take me to a lower level underground. I tried to pry his hands off of me but he instantly made me pause when I felt his claws dangerously close to my throat. "I know what you're thinking. You
are just going to call for them again. Maybe just my blood wasn't a safe choice. This one would do."

  I didn't expect him to dig it deeper in my skin, releasing his venom.

  Didn't expect the sudden pain.

  Or the cold poke in my heart.

  "Sorry, love. One more surprise for you. Did you know it was originally made in Hell? I was surprised to find it back here with you."

  "Don't touch me!" He only laughed in answer. Following his laughter, I noticed another sound. A pet of his? No...it was a groan. Looking behind him, my eyes widened to find a woman kneeling on the ground. Her disheveled state was almost unrecognizable if Demos didn't turn around at the same time too.

  "Oh, you met Allegra, I see."

  "Allegra? Let her go, Demos. Let her go!"

  "I told you." He kissed my earlobe with a smile. "I have all the pieces I need."

  "Don't touch her."

  The harsh tone in that voice made me stiffen. I had heard it before. But it did nothing to stop Demos from pulling me flush against him.

  "Oh Jonathan, glad you can join us."

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  "You are not real."

  That's the only thing I could utter. There's no way in hell I was in front of Prophesy, no way. But the woman in question only grinned farther.

  "By denying my existence, you've denied yours too. How do you not believe in fate after all these years?"

  Ivy was the one who spoke up next. "I can feel it, that entity inside you. Darkness, she's telling you the truth."

  If she was telling me the truth, then what was the meaning of it? Why was she here with us? I could feel my frustration rise as I failed to connect every piece of the puzzle. Was she here for revenge?

  Was that it?

  "If you are Prophesy, then you know about Zedkiel, don't you?" She was the only one who could probably help me understand. "Where's he? He is missing too."

  "Oh, you mean that man who made a deal with Demos?" Wait, what? Before I could express my shock, Prophesy kept going. "He thinks he can save me. But I'm not one to be saved. I am and will forever be loyal to my King. No one else, beloved or not."