by M A Roth
It was my mother. My hands were pulled away from my face. Her face wavered with my tears, but when they fell, I could see my mum. “Mum!” It came out on a wave of anguish, guilt, loss, and pain. “Mum!” I found myself saying it again, and my mum pulled me to her and held me as I cried like a child. She rubbed my hair and whispered to me, telling me she loved me, making my tears come harder and faster.
The wall I had built crumbled in seconds, stripped me bare. Air in my lungs felt cold and fresh, and I felt it fill me. I felt alive for the first time ever. I looked at my mum. I had a mother, and right now she looked at me with such love. “Abigail, I know this is what you truly want.”
I nodded, smiling. “Yeah, I would give anything to have you.” She shook her head. She wasn’t smiling. “It’s not worth what he is asking for.”
It was then I remembered John, where I was. I pulled myself together and looked at John.
“I didn’t lie, Abigail. Now you hold up your end of the bargain.”
I would.
“No, Abigail, what he wants you to do is too dangerous.” I looked at my mother. She knew what the chair did? “It unleashes pure evil,” she pleaded with me. “I want nothing more than to be with you, but not like this, Abigail. Not like this.”
“If you don’t, your mother goes to the pits,” John said behind me.
For me this was a no-brainer. This place was full of evil. More evil wasn’t going to do much; it was Hades. “I’ll do it.”
John smiled, really smiled, for the first time.
“Abigail, don’t, please!” My mother sounded afraid.
But I wasn’t. “Once I sit on the chair, I get to walk out of here with my mother safely, and no one follows.”
“You have my word,” he said.
It didn’t mean shit to me, but I had nothing else to go on. “This chair isn’t going to kill me?” I asked.
“I promise you will be very much alive.”
I hugged my mum. “Please trust me,” I said.
“I do, but you don’t want to open this door, Abigail!”
“I can’t walk away from this, Mum. I’m sorry.” And I meant it. Whether what I was doing was right or wrong, I couldn’t give my mother up. I physically and mentally didn’t think it was possible. So I made my way to the chair and sat down without hesitation. There was no turning back now.
I held my breath—waiting for what, the world to crack open or something—but nothing happened. I was about to tell John, who was taking a skull from a red velvet cushion carried by one of his men.
My mother looked pale. “Abigail, get off the chair now!”
I was tempted to listen, but I couldn’t lose her. I didn’t get to answer, as the snapping of wood had all of us frozen. The chair was falling apart. I tried to get up, but seemed to be pinned by an invisible force. The wood was detaching itself from the chair. It was the carving of the snake that was breaking away, the wood falling away to reveal the skin of a real snake. Its black scaly skin, moving around the chair, moved around me. I could only watch in horror as it continued to detach itself from the chair.
The moment its head was free, it rose up into the air. We all followed. My heart skipped a beat, and I screamed as it descended on me, fangs out. The snake’s fangs broke the skin on my neck. I screamed as fire burned inside me. The snake was giving me poison and it was taking my blood. I could feel the pull through my veins. Each suck made my skin fell tighter and tighter. It felt like it could rip at any moment. The snake pulled away from my neck, taking some flesh with it. I screamed again in agony and fell from the chair, hitting the ground hard.
“Abigail!” My mother’s terrified voice had me opening my eyes. The room spun. My blood was splashed across the wooden chair.
“I expected more from you, John.” The voice that spoke was new. My mother’s hand seemed to tighten around mine. I could almost smell the fear.
I looked up. A tall man in a black suit with a red handkerchief stuck in the pocket stood, holding the snake by the head. His eyes were crystal blue, and they pinned John still.
John fell to his knees. “Forgive me, my lord.” Fear had left a tremor in his voice.
The door opened, and the young girl who had shared the cage with me walked in. She moved to the man in the black suit.
He didn’t turn to her. “Well done, Jane.”
She beamed at him, and then smiled at me. “Hi, Abigail!”
I sat up with the help of my mother. What the fuck was going on?
“Of course I forgive you, John,” he said. John looked up, his eyes darting around the room. His men no longer stayed; they had all left.
It was then I noticed the cat, one I had seen before—Seibel. He moved along the edges of the room. No one noticed him, I looked away from him to find Jane watching me, and she was still smiling.
John got to his feet. “Really?” his voice shook. I didn’t know who the man in the suit was, but anyone could tell that he wasn’t going to forgive John. I stood up, my mother helping me. The man glanced at me, and when our eyes met, something froze inside me, and something else screamed. I shivered.
My mother tightened her grip on me. “I won’t let him hurt you” she whispered fiercely.
He turned away from me, releasing me from his hold. “Give me the skull.”
John took a step forward, and Jane met him halfway, taking the skull from him. John seemed repulsed by her. “Men!” John roared, and the room filled with thirty men. They all seemed to hesitate, but not one of them left.
Laughter filled the room. “You think you can defeat me?” The man in the suit said through his chuckles.
Jane raised one hand, and all the doors slammed shut. A man ran to it and pulled at the handles; they didn’t budge.
This was bad. I looked around for Siebel, but couldn’t find him. I held my mother’s hand. “No matter what happens, don’t let go of me, Mum,” I said.
The man in the black suit released the snake, who moved towards Jane. She didn’t flinch as the snake the size of an anaconda slithered inside the skull until it disappeared. The man removed his suit jacket and handed that to Jane as well. He unbuttoned his shirt at the wrists and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.
I knew shit was going to go down.
All the men around him moved nervously, and John took a step back. He didn’t seem so afraid now. He was watching the skull that was still in Jane’s hand. The man looked at John one last time before he looked up, his eyes glowing a bright fire red. He moved quicker than my eye could follow, but my ears could hear the screams from the men, the sound of flesh being torn apart.
“Ouch.” Something sharp sank into my leg. I glanced down at Siebel.
“Follow me.” My mother didn’t seem surprised at the talking cat. We moved with Siebel as the men screamed behind us.
I glanced back. No one was watching John was making his way to Jane. The rest of the men were trying to stay alive. “Quick!” Siebel spat.
I was going as quickly as possible. My mother helped me. The room still spun, but I knew this was a matter of life or death.
Siebel reached the wall and stopped. I looked at him anxiously. Nearly all the men were dead. “Siebel,” I said. Whatever way he was getting us out of here, he needed to hurry up.
“He’s gone.” My mother sounded horrified. I could feel her tremble. “He’s going to take us.”
The fear my mother was showing had my heart pumping. “You know who he is,” I said, knowing the answer now.
“Yes, she does.” Lucifer stood behind us, all the men dead. He held John by the hair as he sat on his knees, Jane standing close by.
I looked behind him, at the carpet of body parts, gore, and blood. My mind wasn’t taking in what I was seeing. I should have passed out and started to scream. Instead, I was looking for Siebel while still holding my mother’s hand. Banging sounded at the double doors, and they swung open.
The three card players stood with their guns held high. They didn’t hesi
tate, but opened fire. Lucifer turned towards them. Bullet holes riddled his back, but he hadn’t even flinched. They emptied their guns into his chest as he walked towards them. The click of the empty gun was followed by screams.
“We need to get out of here.” John had been freed, but Jane seemed to hold him still. His hands covered his head as he screamed. Her hand was outstretched to him.
It was the freezing cold that gave me hope. Nicolas materialized in a fog, and so did Siebel—he was pretty good at his disappearing act. Nicolas didn’t waste a minute, and his appearance hadn’t gone unnoticed, either.
Lucifer ripped the last man’s spine from his back and turned to us, still holding it. “Ah, Nicolas Frost.”
Nicolas grabbed me and pulled me into a death grip.
Then everything happened so fast. Lucifer flicked his wrist. My mother was torn from me. I screamed, reaching for her, but a fog cut her off from me. “No, please!” I screamed as the room with my mother disappeared.
“I will find you!” she roared as the world shifted.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
“No. No!”
I pulled away from Nicolas and landed on the tarmac, my hands running along the rough surface, no red carpet. My head wasn’t spinning anymore; my neck was no longer in pain. I sat still trying to take in what I was seeing. Siebel perched himself on the footpaths. Nicolas crouched down in front of me. My mother was gone again.
“Abigail.” Nicolas spoke softly, as if he might break me.
“My mother,” I whispered looking at him.
He nodded. “I promise...”
I stopped him. “No. It’s okay”
“Abigail…” Nicolas paused. “Don’t push this away, don’t bury it...you need to let it out.”
“What will happen to my mother now?” I asked without feeling.
Nicolas took a moment to answer. “I don’t know, Abigail.”
Something had broken inside me in the room. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I didn’t feel the same. Nicolas looked at me, and I could see pity in his eyes. “I don’t need your pity, Nicolas, I need your help,” I said.
“I will help you get your mother back.”
I stood up, and so did Nicolas. I needed to believe him. But when I looked at him, I knew he would help. “When?”
He looked away. “You know we have to end this first.”
I did, and it made sense, but it didn’t make it easy. “Okay. Okay.” It’s going to be okay, I told myself.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but I have places to be, people to see...” Siebel rose on all fours.
“Thank you, Siebel,” I said. He had, after all, saved my life.
“Thank Nicolas. The wishes cost.” Guilt gnawed somewhere deep down.
“What is it, cat?” Nicolas’s words held distaste, and Siebel hissed at him.
“I don’t have anything in mind yet, but I will call you when I do.” Siebel turned to me, gave me a nod. “Farewell for now, Abigail.” He vanished into thin air.
We returned to Sandy’s apartment. She didn’t speak to me. I didn’t expect her to.
I sat on the couch, not sure how I felt. “Who’s John?” I asked no one, and was surprised when Sandy spoke.
“A mean and evil son of a bitch.”
I looked up, and she handed me a glass of brown liquid. I took it, sniffing its contents. Brandy. Nicolas sat down with one of his own, raised his glass, and we all drank. It burned like vodka, but it was a little more throat-cutting.
“He rules parts of the city. One of the many big players here. You met him, I assume.”
“Yeah, and Jane.”
Sandy paled a little bit. She glanced at Nicolas, who nodded to clarify that I was telling the truth. “And lived,” she said, taking another drink.
“John had taken me, and I found myself sharing a cage with her.”
“Lucifer has his spies. Jane been one of them. She was placed there.” It explained the bruises; she was made look like a victim. “How come John didn’t recognize her?”
“That’s a gift of hers; she can blend into the background. He wouldn’t have seen her in the cage.” It was Nicolas who answered. He sat down on the couch now. I noticed how tired he looked.
“The snake I unleashed?” I said.
Sandy nearly dropped her glass. “What were you thinking?” She was angry.
“Leave her,” Nicolas said.
“No, I won’t. She unleashed the actual serpent of hell, Nic.”
Nicolas sat up. “What’s done is done”
Sandy shook her head. “You stupid girl.”
“I didn’t know.” I tried to defend myself, but my voice was monotone.
“Her blood, of course. It would unleash it.” She now spoke to Nicolas. “The skull?”
“Jane has it.”
Now Sandy stood up. “Why?” Sandy asked me again.
“He had my mother.” Pain ignited in my stomach but dulled quickly.
“We have all lost someone, Abigail. Awakening that kind of evil...it's just selfish”
“Sandy. That’s enough.”
The sternness in Nicolas’s voice seemed to surprise Sandy. She wasn’t finished. “How did you get out of there?” she asked.
Nicolas stood. “That’s enough, Sandy. I mean it”
“No, it’s not. What did you do?” She spoke to him now, horror in her voice.
“I got Siebel to help.”
“Siebel. Are you insane?” Now she pointed at me, still looking at Nicolas. “For her. She’s going to get you killed. You know Siebel will ask you for the favor at the wrong time.”
“There never will be a right time, Sandy.” A puff of fog left Nicolas’s mouth. He was getting pissed.
“I just don’t get it, Nicolas. If Jane was there, so was Lucifer. You put yourself and all our lives in jeopardy, and for what? Her. There are more like her out there.”
“No there’s not, Sandy.”
“What makes her so special? To me she’s a selfish, spoilt brat. She will only hinder you.”
Okay, now I had heard enough. I stood.
“Abigail!” Nicolas warned. Ice was growing around his feet and spreading out. He closed his eyes, trying to compose himself. Sandy looked at the ground with sadness. I just took a step back.
“She’s the strongest, Sandy, and If I want to win this, I need her.” he sounded exasperated.
I wanted to tell him he was wrong, but Sandy beat me to it. “Tell me what she can do,” she said, and then turned to me. “Show me how powerful you are?”
I had nothing.
“That’s enough, Sandy.” This time, Nicolas blocked me from Sandy’s view. “We have to leave. Don’t let me walk out that door with us fighting.”
The room was silent for a moment. “Oh, Nic. I’m worried about you. You’re like a son to me.”
The ice on the floor melted. “I know, but I know what I’m doing, Sandy.”
She didn’t answer, but Nicolas stood out of my way. She was nodding, but you could see on her face that she didn’t believe it.
Over the last hour with Sandy, we ate. Nicolas and Sandy spoke as if the fight had never happened. I couldn’t get the image of my mother out of my mind. She was beautiful. I found myself smiling several times, just thinking of her. Then I would think of Lucifer, what he would do to her. A part of me knew he wouldn’t kill her; he hadn’t so far. But perhaps he would hold her as a ransom for me.
“Abigail!”
I looked at Nicolas. He and Sandy had stopped talking. I was pretty sure he had called me a few times. “Yeah?”
“We need to get going.”
I nodded and stood, going to the door, letting them have a moment of privacy. They said their goodbyes.
Sandy stood awkwardly at the door. “Goodbye, Abigail. Take care of yourself.”
I gave a quick smile. “Yeah, you too,” I said.
“Look about what I said...”
I waved her off. “It’s fine.” I quickly opened
the door and made my way down the hall. I waited outside; Nicolas wasn’t far behind.
Nicolas walked straight past me without a word.
“We need to talk,” I said as I tried to catch up with him.
He didn’t even pause. “Not here.” His strides were long and fast.
I had to do a slow jog just to keep up. “When? We need to plan our next move.” I’d reached him now, but he didn’t even glance my way. I could see him tighten his jaw.
“And we will. Just not here.” His words were hard, and puffs of cold air left his mouth. Our conversation was over.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
We moved in silence. I hated silence; it gave me time to think. There wasn’t even the sound of a bird to distract me.
“The little girl, who is she?” I asked, not getting an answer for another forty seconds. I knew because I was counting numbers in my head. It was saving me from thinking.
“I already told you; Jane, one of Lucifer’s spies.”
I nodded to his back. “Yeah, I know, but she was a person once.” I jumped over some rubble and burnt wood. This place looked like a war zone: smashed windows, burnt-out buildings, a cracked tarmac, and dead trees torn from the ground. The road ahead was scattered with rubble. I noticed a bloodied white shoe.
“I don’t know. Why?” Nicolas moved easily over the rubble
I, on the other hand, had to stop and start to make sure I didn’t fall. “Just, if we know something about her, we might know her weakness. Like her family, and then we can use it...” Now Nicolas had stopped and was looking at me with disgust.
“If we take Lucifer down, Jane will fall too. I would be more concerned with him than taunting a little girl about her family.”
“Talk about twisting my words. I am trying to help.”
“Help. Do you really want to talk about how you help, Abigail?” His eyes told me I didn’t.
“I am helping now.”
“After you left Blake, our one chance at stopping the end of the world, to die. Or how you unleashed The Serpent of Hell. Or how I now owe Siebel a favor to save your life. Stop me whenever you want, but I can keep going.”
