Sacrifice of Mercy

by Shannon Dermott

  We all jumped at the sound of Belial’s voice. He stood in a dark purple suit that fit him like he’d drawn it on himself, which he may have. I never understood his fascination with the color, but he always seemed to have it on.

  A growl grew in Tristrom’s voice. I whispered, “Be cool,” before letting him go and getting to my feet.

  “My son tells me that you’ve decided to make good on your promise. Although I can’t believe you would do that after you destroyed my home.”

  He didn’t have to mention Hell because we all knew he didn’t have a mansion on the earthly side of things.

  “He promised to get my grandfather released,” I blurted.

  It turned out the wrong thing to say. Belial gave Sebastian a scathing look. “Rat, is that true?”

  I hadn’t heard Sebastian’s nickname in a while, and that had been a good thing.

  “I didn’t father.”

  I cut in because I’d opened my mouth without thinking first. “He didn’t exactly promise, but I did bring it up.”

  Belial came closer, and Flynn moved to be by my side. The Demon Lord raised a hand, and Flynn stopped in his tracks. He flicked a finger, and everyone froze even me.

  “Now child, your grandfather, once a loyalist, turned against me. He’s grown those emotions. And we down at Hell central don’t buy into emotions. That’s what the Elysian Fields are for. Souls rest there and work through their emotions or at least until they are consumed by them.”

  I’d heard of the Elysian Fields before. I think regarding Greek Mythology. Somehow, I was sure his version was different. In fact, my first trip to hell may have been there. Souls had looked like fiery statues. Their grief was painful; as I’d felt my own grow within me during my short stay.

  “Now be honest. What’s your game here?”

  I’d used up my quota for lies. I’d told Maggie two in the last two days, and I’d been hiding a few things from my family and friends. I wasn’t that good at deception. Evasion was my better tactic. So I was grateful when a voice that shouldn’t have been heard on the inside of our house megaphoned in.

  “Times up. I want the scepter or everyone on this street will die.”

  “That’s why. I’d bargained for his help. The winter queen’s daughter has come for her prize.” I shifted my eyes over at Flynn as I couldn’t move the rest of my body. And Belial followed.

  “I see,” Belial said. “Jonah nor his son is here to save you. So you ask mine?”

  I wanted to nod, but I couldn’t. Sebastian, however, wasn’t affected.

  “Father, I think they need to respond to the ice princess.”

  “Mab’s daughter’s here?”

  Sebastian nodded. Belial waved a hand, and we were all free. Flynn stepped back and picked up a sheath of two swords and strapped it on his back.

  “Tristrom, this isn’t your concern. Stay and deal with your grief.”

  He already knew the plan, but Belial didn’t, and I didn’t want his suspicion. I opened the door and stepped out.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  The landscape right outside my door had changed in a seriously short amount of time. As expected, it was a winter wonderland in the middle of May. I glanced back at the shadows around my front door where some of the shifters held back. I briefly heard Sebastian speak, most likely to his father. But, I turned my attention to the piece of Queen Mab she’d sent to do recon on me.

  It was only Morgan, who stood in the middle of the street as if she held court there. Flynn and I made our way down to greet her.

  Her brow made a perfect arch as she asked, “The scepter?”

  “I don’t have it,” I said honestly.

  Her laugh was brittle and caused the ice to make tinkling sounds as if it cracked from the force of it.

  “I think I gave my brother sufficient reason to show up with his little army. I can’t imagine who he could have come to fight for his cause. His is only a half-breed. The Fey Summer or Winter people located in this realm are bound to me.”

  “Apparently not enough.” My words were as hard as the rage I felt. She’d killed an innocent girl for what?

  “How about I show you what enough is?”

  Ice shifted on her command and headed towards a car. One look inside, and I spotted Liam, but not only him, Maggie too.

  “Wait!” I cried out. “Please let me work this out.”

  The ice stopped in its path. The car was already frozen, but the occupants inside remained alive. They were held in place up to their necks in ice. Maggie jerked around in her seat aware of the problem. Liam, however, still resembled a zombie. Why hadn’t I sent Maggie away? I thought keeping her from my house would allow her to be safe. It was an error I didn’t plan on regretting.

  “Are you prepared to hand over the scepter?”

  I glanced around and behind Morgan. The other shifters were in place. I had one shot. I stepped closer. “Promise me you won’t hurt my friends.”

  My voice held a believable quiver as I wanted to bait her into believing I was helpless.

  “I can promise you I won’t hurt them. However, I will require Flynn and Liam to return with me to Fairy. It’s only fair after you’ve put me through so much trouble.”

  Another step put me closer. “I cannot give up my friends. But I have something else I can bargain with.”

  “What? I sense the iron Flynn has brought. If he comes closer without surrender of his blades, I will freeze his heart. This time completely. You come unarmed. What could you possibly have to bargain with?"

  I willed forth the life energy Tristrom gave me. His winter Fey magic was considerably weaker than her because his father had been human first before taking the mantle of consort. Still, it was enough for what I needed.

  The ice dagger behind my back resembled an icicle that typically hangs from the roof during frigid temperatures and wet weather. I got close enough to whisper in her ear.

  “This is for CeCe.” I pushed the dagger in her gut. It wasn’t sharp enough, so I had to use significant force to sink it in against flesh. Still, my actions were fast enough to catch her off guard. Her eyes widened before she glanced down.

  “You bitch,” she spat. Her words formed snowflake spittle as she said them. She stumbled and went down on one knee. “This isn’t over.”

  It may not have been. But, I’d slowed her down. She’d proven the depths of her power, and she was a force to be reckoned with. If we had any chance of survival, I had to take out the greatest threat first.

  “Kill them, kill them all,” she raged.

  A tried and true statement used throughout the ages. It never got old. However, I had no plan to die that afternoon. So as the horde of fairies came out of seemingly nowhere, Flynn tossed me a sword. I caught it and swung at Morgan. She countered me and rolled out of the way of my blade.

  We were badly outnumbered, and the ice would be a problem for the shifters in animal form. Snow would have been fine, but ice tripped up all.

  The sound of metal against metal had me glancing where I heard the sound. Tristrom stood like a pillar of the community with the scepter in his hand. The ice receded and a glance over at the car showed it empty. Sebastian had come through. Only my momentary distraction cost me.

  A blow to the head sent me flying back and skidding on the ground. No longer ice, I felt my flesh split open where my skin made contact with the ground.

  “That belongs to me.” Morgan’s voice had morphed. She no longer sounded like an average teenage girl. She sounded like her mother.

  I forced myself to my feet. A quick look around and I saw my friends and allies engaged in battles of two and three against one. Flynn was a beast in his own right cutting down everyone and everything in front of him. I ran as Morgan made her way to Tristrom. Her hand shot up, and ice covered up to the door Tristrom stood in front of. I dived, tackling her to the ground like a defensive MVP (Most Valuable Player) on an NFL football team.

  We rolled, and she yanked my hair a
t the roots. Suddenly, it turned into a girl cat fight, with claws and snapping teeth. We tumbled across the yard fighting for dominance over one another. I managed to cup the sides of her head and tried my best to push her eyes into her skull. Her nails raked across my skin, tearing at flesh as she did her best to dislodge my hands. When that didn’t work, she slapped my face with open palms and connected one good blow that freed her head a second from one grip. I grabbed at her shoulder, but it was too late.

  She wedged a foot in between us and pushed us apart sending me rolling away. Then she was up on her feet and heading towards Tristrom again. Flynn was close but not close enough. My wounds ached, and I felt slightly sick. I couldn’t let it defeat me. I got up and ran as fast as I could.

  Tristrom lifted a hand and stepped through a portal of his making before Morgan could reach him. She yelled with balled fists in frustration. I smiled because he was back. He hadn’t lost his Fairy magic. Either that or the scepter helped him in some way. It didn’t matter at the moment.

  “He shouldn’t be able to do that.”

  Her eyes locked on Flynn. Then she grinned at me. I screamed. “Flynn.”

  He moved, but the ice hit him in the side. There was enough on him, and it began to grow.

  Morgan made a move towards the car when she noticed it was empty. She roared, “Kill her.”

  Time was up for me as most of the Fey disengaged from their current battles to swarm me. My survival instinct kicked in. I felt the power within me gather. I closed my eyes and let it go. The subsonic boom disbursed like a ring of death growing outward. I fell to my knees from the release that left me drained.

  The problem was heaven and hell had no sway over the Fey. They weren’t creatures with souls, but they weren’t exactly soulless or evil under the rules of our realm. The effect of my power wave left them momentarily stunned and bowled over. But, they weren’t in no way dispatched.

  Sebastian appeared and blinked Flynn to Tristrom, who used the scepter to stop the growing ice. Meanwhile, the Fey regrouped and headed directly for me. I had nothing left. In fact, I felt even sicker than I had before. Sebastian came to me in time as I lost the battle with gravity. Then I was at Tristrom’s side.

  Flynn planted his hands on either side of my face and kissed me. I would have balked about timing if I didn’t know what he was doing. He was giving me some energy to work with. I pulled away not wanting to leave him vulnerable. He’d given me enough so I forced myself to stand on my own as Tristrom used the scepter to open a portal. “We will end this by killing Mab,” he bellowed.

  That last bit wasn’t scripted, but it worked as we stepped through. Tristrom had every reason to want Morgan and Queen Mab dead. I hoped he would stick to the plan and not get himself killed.

  The Fey that had been tasked with killing me followed after us. The portal opened into Fairy. Specifically the Winter side of things in the center of the maze where ice sculptors sat in ruins. The temperatures weren’t quite as cold as I remembered. Still, Sebastian having come through as well hid us as the Fey spilled out of the portal and into the maze. They glanced around and split off to run at each corner in search of us.

  “Morgana.”

  “It’s Morgan,” she answered.

  She and Belial stood at the portal's entrance. “You can’t kill the girl. She is mine.”

  For a second, I thought they wouldn’t come through in time. Tristrom couldn’t keep the portal open forever.

  “You have to take that up with mother. And if I find her first, it will be too late.”

  Morgan stepped through the opening and slowly did a one-eighty with narrowed eyes. She scented the air, which I thought might give us away. Her suspicion meant she wasn’t as stupid as the others. But, we had to wait and hope she wouldn’t figure it out in time. For a second, I thought Belial wouldn’t come. But he glided though, straightening his suit as if he awaited a royal entrance with banners and streamers.

  They both glanced around. No time to waste. We stepped back through emerging on our side. Even though we weren’t seen, we had been heard. As the portal began to close, Belial moved.

  I watched in horror thinking he would make it. A finger did just that, and it fell to the ground severed in the closing connection. We all stared for a second.

  Sebastian squashed it beneath his foot like it was a bug. “You must destroy the scepter.”

  Tristrom, who’d held it together and hadn’t gone off half-cocked, raised it like a club over his back. With rage induced force, he nailed the head of the scepter to the ground, and the earth shook. Only the darn thing took a beating and didn’t even have a much as a dent.

  Sebastian held his hand out. “We don’t have a lot of time. We must permanently close the way or father will figure a way back.”

  If I hadn’t seen Tristrom pound that thing against the earth a second before, I would have thought the scepter a cheaply made thing when Sebastian tore open the spindles releasing the glowing orb inside.

  Flynn took the orb from Sebastian’s hand and pitched it to the ground like he threw a fastball. It wasn’t shatter proof as it obliterated in a billion pieces and rose in the air like tiny lightning bugs. They glowed for moments longer as they floated on the breeze until one by one they blinked out.

  Finally, I gave into the coming darkness and collapsed.

  Flynn was there by in my side in a second. “What’s wrong baby?”

  I shook my head. I was woozy, more so than I had been when I’d used that power. Maybe the wave thing inside me wasn’t infinite. Maybe I could use it only so much without a recharge. I had no idea. I lost focus. It could have been a second or long minutes. I didn’t know.

  Mia spoke, drawing me back. “You guys should get her checked out.”

  My thoughts clouded, but I willed myself to remain awake. “I’m okay.”

  I sat up and realized Flynn cradled me in his lap. He cupped my face and kissed me. It was sweet and tender, but there was more meaning behind it. A spark of power grew between us creating energy he directed at me. And I felt better, but not one hundred percent. His hand moved across patches of bare skin, and healing light gave everyone around us a little show.

  “When did that happen? I thought she was with the other one,” I heard Tamara say.

  The other one? Immediately, I was on red alert. “Luke didn’t show?”

  Flynn gave me a somber shake of his head. Luke wouldn’t have left me like this. Something was most definitely wrong. Flynn scooped me in his arms.

  “I can walk.”

  “And I can carry you. Besides, every time I do this, I’m reminded how much you think I’m sexy.”

  I groaned face once again with my drunken confession so long ago.

  We ended up inside the house. Everyone had got cleaned up, taking turns in the bathrooms. We had some bad wounds that Mom, who’d been hidden away, took care of. But we were all alive.

  “So that’s it. Belial is trapped in Fairy?” I asked Sebastian trying my best not to gag as people ate around me.

  “For now. It will be years probably before he finds a way out. Many, many, years if we’re lucky.”

  “He can’t just blink himself here?”

  He shook his head. “The way between has to be thinned enough. But, we depended on Mab to get us through.”

  “What will you do now?”

  “I have to maintain his power base. Luckily for me, he was a recluse at times. This will be one of those times. For now, you’re free and so am I.” He touched my shoulder and there was a hint of emotion in his eyes. “I have to go, but I’ll be back soon.”

  He left, and Flynn wrapped his arms around me. “You’re safe now Mercy. It’s over.”

  “Is it?”

  He nodded.

  “Luke?”

  He was quiet for a second. Then his words echoed my thoughts. “He would have come.” His mouth formed a pensive line, and I hugged him close.

  I closed my eyes against the coming tears I managed to kee
p at bay.

  Eventually, Chris, Tamara, Mike and the other three wolves left with our thanks. Chris was still not friendly with Doug, but oddly he and Brent clasped arms in a way that communicated friendship.

  We left my childhood home, and all returned to David’s. I slept in Flynn’s room, which I would every night going forward. My room held too many memories as Luke remained absent. I did, however, start reading his journal. I hoped maybe there were answers in there about my destiny. Mom and David and even Flynn thought we were past everything. As for me, I had an unsettling feeling, as though I still had unfinished business to take care of.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Saturday morning, we stood in the foyer with bags packed waiting for Sebastian to show up. All had been quiet the rest of the week with Nina and Luke as no shows. And Mom decided to make good on her promise to us of spending more time together.

  The doorbell rang, and we all jumped. I glanced at Flynn, who wore a T-shirt with Once You Put My Meat In Your Mouth You’re Going To Want More and a picture of a barbecue grill next to the words. He thought he was pretty hilarious. I did not.

  I moved first and made it to the door before anyone else.

  “Tom?” The question in my word wasn’t because I didn’t recognize him. I hadn’t expected him to show up.

  “Mercy.” He glanced around and noticed our bags stationed nearby. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  “No.” I opened the door and let him come in. “You’re welcome anytime. I just wasn’t expecting you. I thought you’d be at graduation.”

  The graduation Luke should have attended and then gone off to college like he planned.

  “Actually, I’m headed over there now. I wanted to catch up with you before you left town.” That sounded ominous. “I won’t be in school on Monday. I’m taking Brent with me to find that girl up north.”

  “Do you need us to come with?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “No one knows where I’m going. It should be fine.”

  I gave him a hug, and he traded fist bumps with Flynn and Tristrom. He waved to the rest before he left. It seemed weird that I wouldn’t see him this summer. So much was changing. And I found I wasn’t as good with it as I should be.