by K. H. Kate
Before we could leave though, the orderlies began to move in our direction. Shit, they were back. They must have heard the screams. His grip tightened around the sleeves of my gown. "Come and don't let go of me."
I nodded, letting him pull me with him. We had to hightail it down the opposite direction. We picked up the speed as we went and by the time we were at the bottom of another set of doors, we halted. He stared down at the basement.
"Wait here. I'm going to check to make sure we won't get caught."
I waited impatiently for him to return but to my horror, I saw something that made me blink harder until I couldn't breathe.
Sandy was floating over the floor, her eyes staring down at me. To my surprise, she pointed at the closed door beside me.
"Come, child. I'll help you." She rasped out. Fuck, I could cry.
I took a breath of relief, only to see the angry orderlies appear around the corner. When I stood there frozen, someone shoved me behind, making me scream. To my relief, it was only Mikhail who yelled out with a shaky voice. "Move!"
As he dragged me away from there, I could only watch Sandy take care of the problem like usual.
***
PRESENT
"If Sandy's spirit wasn't there, you could have gotten hurt." He frowned at the memory. I never could thank her enough. As if reading my mind without saying anything he started to walk toward the house.
Joining him, I tried to peer through the small window and my jaw dropped. Sage and his minions were getting ready for something big but Mikhail's eyes were glued to Sage.
"Hey, are you OK?" I poked him so his trance could break.
"Is that-" He paused, breathing heavily so I tried to give him the details.
"That's Sage. He's the one who-"
He looked at me in disbelief. "He's a Seeker. Just like me."
Sage was a hellhound.
An insane and cruel one.
That I was sure of but if what Mikhail was saying turned out to be true...
"How can you be so sure?" I asked for further explanation. But he was still glaring at Sage who looked deep in thought. I couldn't wait to know what Sage had in his mind. If we knew what Sage was after, the faster we could kill him.
"I can feel it, Lana. I'm also a Seeker, remember?" Mikhail sneered, rubbing his temple out of habit.
"Offspring of a demon and a witch." Suddenly a memory from not so long made me say the next words. Hannah. Shit, who knew how she was? "Sage's parents didn't even realize what they were creating."
A hand touching my shoulder suddenly snapped me from the wandering thoughts. Glancing up, I saw confusion swirling in his eyes. "What are you talking about? You just said something about a demon and a witch."
"That's the process of born into a Seeker." He gave me a blank stare in return. "God! Do I need to spell it out to you? You are one of them. Of course, your father had to be a demon."
Disgust filled his whole feature making me more confused. "Lana, never, I mean ever tell me that my father is one of them. My father is a human. He fell in love with my mother, a witch. They married and here I am. I refuse to believe anything else."
Oh, God...
He didn't know.
"Mikhail- I-I talked to a Volkios. Simply a human-" I stopped, seeing the cold look return to his face but I had to tell him. He deserved to know everything. "A human wouldn't be able to create a Seeker. I-I am sorry."
"Don't be." He laughed bitterly looking through the window. "Seems like today is the day to bomb me with surprises. Do I need to know anything else? Are you even real or are you just a fragment of my mind?"
"It's not like that-"
"We need to do this tonight. Today is blood moon and this opportunity will never come if we fail this time." Sage's voice filled the place along with the other men agreeing with him.
"But what about Keisha? We could bring her to our side. She did listen to us once. Knowing her, she'll do anything to survive." Sage snorted loudly at the man's suggestion.
I wanted to rip that face with my own bare hand.
Right about now.
"No! Listen, he wants you to get angry. Don't give in to what he wants." Mikhail blocked me the last moment by wrapping his arms around mine but it was getting difficult to control my anger. He was planning to kill me. To kill all of us.
"Let me go, Mikhail!" I hissed, elbowing him. "Let me go to that bastard. He won't even have a limb to lay hands on anyone. Just this once!"
"Listen to yourself!" He pinched my chin harder as if to make a point. "What do you think would happen if you go now? Do you think he's going to just pat you on the back and let you leave? No! He'll kill you! And like hell I'll watch that."
That made me stop.
"Then, let's just go and wish they wouldn't notice," I whispered monotone before walking inside together. The room was divided in half by a partition but everything could be heard perfectly from here. I looked around, tapping my fingers nervously.
"Careful there." He warned gripping my wrist tightly to stop me from breaking the door.
"I can't help it."
"I'm furious too. But getting not caught right now should be our best priority." I nodded only to stiffen when the door on the other side opened. We quickly hid behind the tall boxes, Mikhail practically glaring in that direction.
Please, please, don't let them see...
"And here I thought I had to drag you here by myself."
Scratch that.
"Now, be a good girl and come with me. You don't want me to force you." Sage sent one of his men to do his job, of course. Irritated, I turned to Mikhail but he was nowhere to be seen. He must have coriummed himself. Shit.
"I have never been a good girl," I admitted, hoping Mikhail was somewhere and following me. "I'm just coming with you because I need some entertainment."
The man didn't even react.
Ok, then.
Plan B it is.
Since he didn't need to force me, I just walked with him guiding me until he got me inside of a room where all eyes turned to me at once. I thought this was it. Sage would now return, give his villain monologue and let me out of my misery. But surprisingly he didn't just stop there. Instead, he made his way down a hallway and into a bigger room when I heard it. The sound of gunshots. Who in hell…Mikhail. It had to be him. Maybe he was trying to distract the people?
“Move, quick!” The man behind me barked, moving across the room in a fast pace and through another set of doors. Just how much big was this place?
This hallway was smaller and had a dozen of pictures from different clans. He made me walk down the hall and stopped in front of another large door. He opened the door but it wasn't a room but another hallway. Holy fuck. How was I supposed to remember just how many turns we took? The passage opened up to a small room and a staircase.
"Look...whatever you do, do not try to escape." He threatened but I was too busy looking around. This was madness. He made his way down the stairs and now we were standing in what looked like an office room. Why was Mikhail taking so long? Did he already get caught? What about Keisha?
"We're here." He finally said after some more rounds on hallways and doors. The room we were in had mirrors hanging and a pentagram on the floor. There were also people dressed in black robes.
"What the hell is this?" I asked but he just shook his head, leaving me to talk to the other guys. Oh, he was that confident that I won't run. Fine by me. I just needed to scout the area but I couldn't ignore the woman on a platform in the center of the room, surrounded by others.
Were they worshipping her or something?
"Thank you all for gathering here today on blood moon's night. We have the gem right here we were waiting for." No. No way! That voice... I immediately recognized that voice.
Mom.
I was in disbelief. It was some cruel jokes, right? Roth didn't know about witches and Reapers. She was just a human, my mom who loved me the most. Then the shock was replaced by a cold rage. Did she
know? The whole time? I wanted to rush forward and rip her soul out...if she had any.
"Don't do anything stupid." Someone whispered in my ears.
Right at that moment, Sage pushed me to move forward. At least I knew he was dangerous but my mom? She lied to me. Fuck! I felt my body begin to tremble at the rage.
Roth raised a hand and everyone fell silent. "Lana...come, my dear.”
“I go by 5132 now.”
She ignored my words. “I need you to fulfill your destiny and free us from our curse."
"And what destiny will that be?" I forced the words from my mouth. Out of all the people, it had to be just her.
"We're coming for you." I heard the whisper again.
"Before 1486, there was no barrier between hell and earth. We could go about our life as we pleased. Those clans that had Seeker bloodline had a peace treaty with the demons. They frequently used dark arts, learned from the very creatures of hell. Sage, a Seeker in the making was supposed to wait for the Reapers to be born and killed when it was time. He didn't believe in it. He didn't want innocents dead." Roth explained, gesturing at the man who grinned. "The demon king wasn't pleased. He wanted the Reapers gone. When Sage failed, he had a witch curse him to become a hellhound forever. Now, you and I both know what being cursed can do to you. He would do anything to become the man he was. When the second witch war happened in 1436, the first Reaper was born. Those Seekers betrayed the demons, used the Reaper's blood to shut the gate of hell forever. During that time, some got trapped in the earth and some in hell."
"Lovely story, a little spooky at times, I admit," I whispered, thinking of what the hell I just learned. "But that doesn't explain why a Seeker would be interested to kill a Reaper now. Didn't they betrayed the demons?"
"The old generation did. The new ones, however, wanted to rise up to their full potential. Ask Sage. He had been looking for a Seeker for so long. Why do you think he wanted your mother Keisha?"
No shit.
"So, what? Sage controlled her? She wasn't a Seeker." If anything, Sage failed like a loser.
"But she could find him in one. Moon clan had a few hidden ones. All she had to do was listen to Sage but no, she ended up being a Reaper."
"I saw you that day, didn't I? In that sanatorium." I wanted to ask why she did this to me but I guessed Roth would eventually reveal everything anyway.
No one missed the chance of a good villain monologue.
"You were so desperate for an answer, blaming Byron and his master. Do you know who his master is?" Her grin widened.
I could only choke out the truth. "Sage. It was Sage."
"You must know that Reaper blood has to end if we want to open the gate. Sage tried to kill Keisha but your father...your smart father made sure that only her own blood can kill her. Now, do you understand what I'm going with?" This time Roth didn't give me a chance to talk.
She began to walk around the pentagram and raised a dagger. My heart felt like it was going to jump from my body. Everyone around me bowed their heads but I only stared at Roth. She shouted with a creepy smile on her face. "Do you know this dagger was only designed for killing Reapers? You are going to use this on your mother and then you're going to call your Seeker."
Before I could run, arms grabbed me roughly from behind to drop me in the middle of the pentagram. I struggled but they were way too stronger. I was shoved to the ground, my hands bound behind me with a hexed rope.
I was really starting to hate that thing.
"You're not going anywhere. Besides, I have a nice surprise for you. It's rude to not take your gifts." She smirked and I was scared that someone already might have summoned Keisha or Mikhail. At this point, I wasn't sure which scenario was worse.
But I didn't expect the man who walked into the room and neither did my heart.
"I haven't seen you in a long time, sweetcheeks." He whistled.
Zach...
I knew something was horribly wrong the second Zach burst through the hallway. The hair on the back of my neck stood on as I replayed the scene over and over.
Zach screaming.
And disappearing through the dark vortex.
For months, I have ignored saying his name or even think about him. I dreaded to see him again. To look at him in the eyes and see hatred. The sound of my panic was drowned out when he started to casually walk on my way. His long trench coat looked odd on him like he was from a different century. Also, his short blond hair was now longer and in a ponytail almost reaching his shoulder. As I looked up and up, my eyes widened to see those blue eyes again.
"Lana." He nodded at me once he was in my earshot.
I only stared at him, trying to find what his game was but he didn't even move. "What the hell you are doing here?"
"Ah! It's lovely to meet you again face-to-face I suppose. Again I could've seen you a lot if it wasn't for your beloved sending me to hell." He feigned a disgusted shiver but it didn't need Sherlock to know who he was talking about. Mikhail. Just for that saying, my anger intensified.
I never asked Mikhail to take that step.
I never wanted him dead, not like this.
Before I could make my point and curse them to hell with it, everyone in the room started to chant causing my head to feel heavier and the room to blur. The first sign of the dread came from a little burning feeling through my arm and then spreading throughout my whole body.
Clumping my mouth shut, I tried to ignore the pain, to desperately fight off the effects of the ritual but my body hit the floor without a break. From my blurred vision, I saw Zach's mouth moving but I couldn't hear them. My mind screamed for me to stand up but I couldn't. I just watched Roth leaping forward to grab that awful book. Just as the chanting increased, it stopped altogether.
"Sage and Roth...before we continue this ritual, I want to talk to Lana in privacy...for our own good." Zach declared suddenly much to everyone's surprise. I turned my head slightly toward him. Nothing was making sense now and even Roth seemed pissed off for interrupting her ritual.
"Is this how it works, my dear? I wanted you to make an appearance so we could crush her confidence, breaking her even more and now you want to talk to her for our own good? Or is it for your own good?" Roth's paranoid scream echoed through the room, making me wince. Every little sound hurt. Hell, even breathing hurt.
"I'm on your side, Roth! I was the person who knew her the best once, so I am the best choice you've got to break her. Now, will you let me do my fucking job or do you want me to back off from the deal?" He snarled, making my heart run cold.
"This boy has potential. Let's not get the anger best of you, shall we?" Sage chuckled, calming Roth down a little.
My mind coursed over all the different possibilities of what could happen to me next and unfortunately, none of them were pleasant. Meanwhile, Roth seemed to think over for a minute before she finally nodded. "Okay. You have it. Don't make it longer than ten minutes or you're going down with her."
"Don't worry. It'll only take ten minutes to make her do whatever you want." A familiar smirk formed over his lips, making me more determined to not fall into his games. I needed strength if I wanted to save myself. Besides, I didn't know what job Zach got in hell as his punishment, so I didn't want to risk it if somehow he became stronger than me.
"Let's go." Zach's hold was surprisingly soft despite his threats as he dragged me from the room. But the thing with him was he always loved to surprise me. Maybe this one was another one of them.
The more we walked away from the room, the more I could feel my panic rise. I won't stand a chance against him if I couldn't even control my emotions. Zach was still dragging my weak body to God knew where when suddenly he stopped at a door, making me halt in my tracks.
He gave me a cheeky smile, running his fingers through my knots in a soft manner. My doubt grew until I couldn't stop myself from the inevitable question. "Are you Mikhail in Zach's form?"
The smile vanished from his face immediately, replac
ing it with a cold look. "Of course, of fucking course, you'd think that it was your beloved."
"I haven't accepted him yet!"
Zach looked ready to kill as he chuckled. "Sure. Deny all you want but we both know that look on your face. When Mikhail banished me to hell, I looked at you for the last time, begging you to really look at me. But you only had eyes on him, looking at him like you used to look at me. Eight years we've known each other and this is what I get?"
"So?" I couldn't forget what he made me go through. "You claimed to love me back then, but where did we end up again? Yeah...me standing here waiting for my death and you side with the people who'd give me that damn death. I never wanted you gone, Zach. Yes, I wanted you to suffer, I wanted you to feel guilt but never gone."
Some color returned in his face making him look seemingly human. "Look, Lana, that's not why I am-"
"Why are we here?" I stopped Zach with a flick of my finger. "If this is the talk you wanted to have, please let me go die in peace now."
Zach didn't reply. Instead, with a sigh he opened the door in front of us, making my eyebrow raised in alarm. He was supposed to talk to me alone, not in a room full of humans. As if noticing the confusion in my eyes, he gently pushed me inside, locking the door behind.
"So basically you're thinking if I'm nuts." He breathed out.
"Yes...that you are. I've known that for a long time Zach but what the hell? Why are we in a room full of humans? What are your grand plans? What the fuck do you want?" I balled my fists in anger and looked at the humans. Their haunting eyes stared at me in nothingness.
"You see, I know you won't believe me but I actually came here myself, they didn't find me to break you."
What?
"What are you saying?"
"When I landed in hell, I was given the job to find the dark souls of the pit and trap them inside me. That's how I'm living and breathing now. So, when Roth and Sage took all those possessed, lost coven members in Limbo with you to complete the ritual, my trinket just started to glow up like a damn disco light." He raised his hand where a small bracelet was peeking out from his coat's sleeves. "Since hell and Limbo are just too close, I thought it was hell's business to begin with. So naturally, I was looking for the source of the glow."
