Saint of Sinners

by Devin Harnois

  “I’m fine.” I glanced over at the others. “All of you were waiting for me?” They nodded and my heart squeezed. “Do you want to come back to my place for a while?” Part of me just wanted to be alone, but I also wanted to deal with this head on. Why not take advantage of most of my friends being together right now?

  Everyone agreed. They all looked worried, afraid, relieved.

  “Okay. We’ll go back and I’ll tell you what happened.”

  We formed a circle and joined hands. It was a tight squeeze, but we just fit around the couch when we teleported to my apartment. Lucia had her back to the TV, Miguel was pressed up against the window, Hayley and I were between my bookshelf and the couch. I’d never had anyone end up with their leg through a table, or half sticking out of a wall. It was part of the magic, I guess, although I hadn’t pushed it this far before. It would’ve been smart to think before I tried it.

  Everyone shifted to get more comfortable. They’d all been here at least once, except Miguel. Mew-Mew looked around at the sudden company.

  “Welcome to my humble home,” I said. “This is Mew-Mew.”

  He hopped onto the table and meowed a greeting. I thought you were getting Casey, he said.

  They were all waiting for me. I didn’t want to leave them behind.

  “So what happened?” Casey sat on the couch.

  “He didn’t come to fight this time. He wanted to play fucking mind games with me.” I flopped down on the other side of the couch. “He teleported me into the desert and tried again to convince me to take over the world.”

  “So he didn’t hurt you?” Lucia asked.

  “No.” I glanced around at them. “Do you guys actually like me? I mean, you don’t think I’m using some kind of magical influence to make you like me?” Although, how would someone know that?

  “What are you talking about?” Casey asked.

  “Satan said I have natural charm, and that’s what I’m supposed to use to take over the world. I think he meant it was one of my Antichrist powers, and now I can’t help wondering if I’ve done something to you guys.”

  Hayley sat next to me and took my hand. “I love you because of who you are. I loved you before I knew what you were.”

  “That’s not what I mean… I could’ve been doing something to you this whole time. Made you like me even though you wouldn’t have.”

  “He’s just trying to make you think you don’t really have any friends,” Casey said. “Make you think you’re all alone so you’ll be on his side or whatever. I liked you right away because you stuck up for me, not because you have some kind of evil mind-control powers.”

  “Me too,” Miguel said. “Well, I thought you were cool after you told everybody what you were, but then you stuck up for me and Ronnie at prom. That’s why I want to hang out with you.”

  Lucia said, “You could’ve dumped us when you got popular. You could’ve hung out with the jocks and acted like you were too good for us, but you didn’t.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Hayley squeezed my hand. “Maybe some people at school just like you because you charm them, but we’re your friends. You don’t need to use magic for us to like you.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled at her, then at everyone else. It was enough to make me feel a little teary. They were right, and I felt a lot better. Still, there was that tiny bit of doubt I couldn’t shake.

  Chapter 23

  Satan claimed to be patient, to plan things out and wait for years, centuries, millennia. But from what I’ve seen, he’s about as patient as me, which is to say not at all.

  If he wanted to play mind games, to wait and see if I did come to love power and the adoration of my fellow students, it wouldn’t have cost him anything to wait another year. I still had twelfth grade to finish before his plan for me to go to Harvard made any difference. It wouldn’t have hurt for him to leave me alone for one more goddamn year.

  I was out with Hayley, Casey, and a few other friends—most of the people who’d waited for me when Satan took me from school. We were hanging out in the park, tossing around a Frisbee and things like that. The plan for later was going out to dinner and maybe a movie. I stretched and lay back with my hands tucked behind my head. “I think a nap sounds like a good idea.” I closed my eyes.

  “Me too.” Hayley cuddled against my side. The others were still laughing, tossing around the Frisbee. Hayley and I were under a tree, the breeze shaking the leaves and making light and shadow dance over us.

  “I could spend all summer doing this.”

  “Napping?”

  I laughed. “No, not just that. Hanging out, relaxing, enjoying the weather.”

  “That’s what summer is for.”

  “I like summer.”

  Then there was a rushing sound and Hayley gasped. “Oh, shit!”

  “What?” I opened my eyes to see Satan looking down at us.

  “Fun time is over.”

  I tried to get to my feet, but he was too fast. He grabbed my arm and my stomach dropped as the park disappeared. Now we were in the dark, surrounded by stone walls. The sudden change made me stumble and I went to my knees. Satan dragged me to my feet as I tried to break away from him. With my free hand, I reached for Animus, but she wasn’t there. I’d left my sword at home since we were going to be out in public. I couldn’t wander around the city with a katana the way I could at school.

  “Let me go!” I brought my leg up to kick, but he yanked me hard, throwing me off-balance.

  “I gave you plenty of time to come to your senses. Now it’s time for a hard education.” He yanked me again, closer to one of the walls.

  “Fuck you!”

  I summoned ice to encase his feet. He stuck fast, grunting in frustration. I brought my knee up, slamming it into his balls as hard as I could. He cursed so loud it shook the walls, and his grip loosened. I broke away and ran.

  One the far side of the room was a door with a small barred window near the top. I practically crashed into the door, grabbing at the metal ring that served as a doorknob. I pulled and nothing happened. Maybe it opened out. I shoved against it as hard as I could, and it shuddered but stayed closed. Locked.

  “You’re not leaving this cell until you learn some obedience.”

  I slammed my shoulder against the door again and again. It wouldn’t budge. Behind me, ice cracked.

  I reached for my power, picturing my living room. The apartment, where I’d be safe, surrounded by spell scrolls.

  Nothing happened.

  Satan grabbed me and threw me across the cell. The stone walls were solid and the impact knocked the wind out of me. I lay crumpled on the floor and tried to suck in air. The devil strolled over to me, eyes glowing faintly red in the dim light.

  “I gave you so many chances. I was lenient. Too lenient.”

  I finally got in a tiny sip of air, and it cleared my head enough to summon fire. The entire cell filled with orange flames. I pushed it into a barrier in front of me, so much fire I couldn’t see him through it. “Leave me… the fuck… alone,” I wheezed, still trying to regain my breath. Bracing a hand against the wall, I got to my feet. Something clanked. I’d fallen on chains. I looked up to where they were attached to the wall—huge heavy manacles. As if I wasn’t scared enough already.

  With a sound like a huge inhale, the fire went out. For a heartbeat, my father stood glaring at me, then a jet of flame slammed into me. Normal fire didn’t hurt me. My own fire didn’t hurt me. His did. I screamed as I burned, pain filling my whole body.

  It hurt too much to think, aside from the plea to make it stop. It did. I slumped to the floor again, part of me yelling that I had to get up and fight, the other part numb with shock.

  “You little shit. You’re lucky I don’t kill you.” Satan kicked me in the face, making the back of my head connect with the wall. Little black stars danced in my vision.

  Get up! Get up! I forced myself to move, but I barely made it to a crouch. Satan grabbed my
left wrist, pain flaring from my burned skin. He yanked my arm up, and then cool metal clamped around my wrist.

  That sent a streak of panic through me and I got to my feet. The motion was too fast, making me dizzy, and then he had my other wrist. I swung my shackled hand, the chain slack enough for me to make the full swing, and I connected with his shoulder.

  “Fuck!” He growled. Without letting go of my right arm, he backhanded me. My head bounced off the wall again and I sagged.

  Click. Now both my arms were chained against the wall. I couldn’t do anything about it. It was hard enough just fighting to stay conscious.

  He gripped my chin and waited until I focused on him. “You need some time to think. I’ll be back to check on you.” He kneed me in the stomach. I choked and gasped, the world turning gray. The door opened and closed, and then I blacked out.

  ***

  My head throbbed, my stomach ached, and the whole front of my body hurt. In the dim light, I checked one of my arms and was surprised to see hardly any damage. The skin was an angry pink, not the raw red I expected. My face was sore, but nothing was broken. I had a big lump at the back of my head.

  Except for the burns, this was familiar territory, only this time there was no bottle of aspirin in my dresser. I wasn’t in my room like every other time I recovered from a beating. This time I was in a cell, chained to the wall, and there was nothing to relieve the pain.

  I had a sick feeling I knew where the cell was, too. One of my worst fears come true—my father had finally dragged me to Hell and locked me up.

  Above me, set high in the wall, was a barred window. Through it, I could hear distant screams and evil laughter. Definitely Hell. I’d been here once before, and I’d never forget that sound.

  I had to get out of here. I tried to teleport again, squeezing my eyes shut and desperately reaching for my power. The power was there but was so faint it was no good. After half an hour I gave up, the pounding in my head much worse. So maybe teleportation was blocked, but I might be able to use my other powers to break out and try to find a way to escape Hell. I summoned fire and nothing but a weak flicker the size of a candle flame answered me. I tried harder and it grew to fill my hand, but no more.

  I sagged against the wall with a shaky sigh. It had to be the chains, because I’d used fire against Satan. Teleportation was probably blocked no matter what, but if I could get these manacles off, I could use my other powers to get out. Lifting an arm, I studied the chains. They were heavy and thick. Maybe if I took a rock and bashed at them for about a hundred years I might be able to break one of the links.

  My head wouldn’t stop throbbing. I clenched my fists, the burned skin on my hands stretching painfully. I’m not going to cry.

  Alex! Alex!

  I looked around, half expecting to see Mew-Mew in the cell with me. Mew-Mew?

  You’re alive! Are you okay?

  Just hearing him made me feel better. I’m… well I’m not okay. I’m alive, but I’m in Hell. Satan locked me up and I can’t teleport. I can barely use my powers.

  I’m coming to get you.

  “No!” The chains rattled as I sat straighter. You can’t come here, it’s too dangerous.

  I can’t leave you there.

  You can’t come. Besides, you can’t get into Hell.

  After a pause, he said, There’s a Path to Hell.

  That was news to me. I don’t care, you stay away. As much as I wanted to get out of here, I didn’t want him taking the risk. And as awesome as Mew-Mew was, he was still a cat. What could he do to get me out of these chains? And I couldn’t follow him back down the Path. Someone else had to help, but who? My demigod friends couldn’t get here unless someone let them in, and none of the gods would interfere. Well, there was one person that might be able to get in and help me.

  Go get Joshua. Tell him where I am. He might be able to come down and help me. He didn’t like to get involved in anything, but he’d helped us against Satan last summer, and I couldn’t believe he’d leave me down here.

  Okay. I’ll get there as fast as I can.

  I was tempted to keep contact with him, just so I wouldn’t be alone, but I didn’t want to distract him.

  For a long time I waited in the dark, hoping my father wouldn’t check on me.

  Finally, Mew-Mew contacted me. Anger vibrated through our connection. He can’t help. Jehovah won’t let him.

  It felt like someone had dropped a cold weight on my stomach. Of course he won’t. Can’t Joshua disobey him for once? I need help. I looked through Mew-Mew’s eyes as he relayed my response.

  Joshua looked like he was about to cry. “I can’t. I can’t teleport like Alex. There’s no way I can get down there unless my father takes me. I’m so sorry.”

  So I’m stuck here. How long would Satan keep me here? Would he lose patience and just kill me when he couldn’t bend me to his will?

  No, Mew-Mew said. I’m coming right now. I’m bringing Animus.

  Mew-Mew, no!

  I’m not leaving you down there. The image shifted as he bent to grab Animus’s strap with his teeth.

  Please. I couldn’t stand it if you got hurt trying to save me. My still-sore stomach twisted.

  I couldn’t stand doing nothing while you’re suffering. He ran, dragging the sword as he headed for a Path.

  Goddammit! There has to be another way.

  For once, I’m not going stand by and watch you get hurt. You need me, and you need Animus.

  I have to get out of these chains or she won’t do me any good. I wasn’t sure she’d do me much good anyway. I could hold off my father for a while, but without being able to teleport, I was stuck. What could I do, fight my way through Hell? If only.

  Animus should be able to break the chains. The world blurred as he stepped onto the Path.

  But then what? I can’t teleport out of here.

  You’ve been practicing your transformation, right?

  Yeah. I stopped looking through his eyes. The multicolored shimmers of the Path made my headache worse.

  If you change into a cat, you can follow me back on the Path.

  But I don’t have permission. I hadn’t thought to ask the Queen of Cats since I’d gotten so good at teleporting.

  You’ll technically be a cat, so you don’t need permission.

  Hope fluttered in my chest. Maybe this would work. If Animus could break the chains, I could shift into a cat and follow Mew-Mew out, sneaking away before anyone noticed I was gone. I glanced up at the window above me. It would be quite a jump, but I should be able to squeeze through the bars as a cat. The window at the top of the door was smaller, but I could probably squeeze through that, too. Two ways out, then.

  I tried one more time to convince Mew-Mew to figure out another way to get help, but he still refused. Quiet now. I’m getting close and I need to concentrate.

  I broke contact. My head thudded in time with my heartbeat. My skin and my stomach were better, though, or maybe I was just too worried to feel much pain. I imagined terrible things—Mew-Mew coming off the Path right at the feet of a demon and being crushed, him getting distracted and falling into a pit of fire, someone noticing him sneaking into the palace and torturing him to death.

  I needed something to keep my mind off it. I tried to think about how I’d get out of here, how good it would feel to get back to Earth, my apartment…

  Oh, shit. Hayley. She’d been less than a foot from me when I was taken, and she had no idea where I was or what happened to me. I fumbled in my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. It was on and still had half a charge, but of course there’s no signal in Hell. Growling, I fought the urge to throw it against the wall. I’d have to tell her and everyone else when I got back.

  If I ever got back.

  No, I couldn’t think like that. Mew-Mew was bringing my sword and we had a plan to get out. He’d be fine, I’d be fine. Everything would be fine.

  It seemed to take forever, but finally Mew-Mew said, I’m here, a
nd I can see your window. Can you lift me up?

  No. I hardly have any power. I might be able to lift a cup, but I can’t lift you. I looked through his eyes to see a barred window high up. Go back before anyone sees you. This was fucking crazy, he was going to get himself killed.

  I’ll find another way in. Then he cut off our connection.

  “Fucking fuck!” I felt like crying again. Carefully, I got to my feet and pulled back on the chains as hard as I could. All it achieved was making me more sore. Not only were the chains huge and heavy, they had to be magic, too. I sat down again and focused on the door handle, making it lift and drop, lift and drop. The effort made me sweat and cranked up my headache a few notches, but I kept it up.

  Another endless wait later, then, I’m here, right outside your door. A second later, something scraped against the door. Mew-Mew was shoving Animus through the gap under the door. The sword stopped with a little clunk. The handle won’t fit.

  My sword was there, maybe ten feet away, and the last six inches wouldn’t fit through. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Can’t I get a fucking break?” Despair made my throat tight and I swallowed past a lump. The chains would never reach that far, but I had to try anyway. I got on my knees and went as far as I could. I realized I would reach farther with my legs, so I shifted onto my back and stretched my left foot out, seeking the blade.

  I reached out for Animus, and she reached back. Energy hummed between us and she trembled, rattling against the floor. The handle was still stuck. I pushed instead and she slid back under the door. Now I lifted, my heart racing with hope. It was hard, but she slowly rose, bumping against the door.

  It’s working! Mew-Mew showed me the katana hovering a foot in the air, climbing by slow inches.

  It took a few minutes, but I lifted Animus up to the window and pulled her through. Mew-Mew jumped up, back claws scrabbling a bit on the door before he made it through the bars. Animus sped up, gaining power as we drew closer together. Finally I grabbed the handle and sighed at the energy flowing into me. The pain of my headache faded and most of the other aches all but disappeared.

  I tried opening the door again. The handle lifted and dropped, the door rattled, but it was still locked, and I still didn’t have my full strength. I tried fire, and it came much easier, but the biggest flame I could get was about the size of a campfire. So definitely not full strength. I pulled at my chains, which still didn’t budge.