Charade (Heven & Hell)

by Cambria Hebert

  “What’s wrong with her?” I heard Gemma ask.

  I felt his hands on me. I knew I was safe, but I couldn’t stop staring at the broken pile of bones at my feet. Slowly, a few bones began to rattle. I took a step back, afraid of what I was about to see. A long bone—a leg bone—rolled away and a huge, lethal snake uncoiled from beneath. It rose and rose until it came to my shoulder and stared at me with beady dead eyes.

  I whimpered.

  It opened its mouth to reveal two very long, sharp fangs. At the same time, I heard an odd sort of sucking sound and the splash of water. The dungeon around me melted away and I fell back against Cole.

  “Heven? What the hell is going on?” Cole demanded, gripping my arms.

  As he spoke Sam leapt out of the black river to land at the water’s edge.

  All three of us ran forward with me closing the distance between us first. The thick black sludge was clinging to his black fur and coating his eyes, nose and ears. He blinked rapidly, trying to get the goop out of his eyes. I ripped off the sweater I was wearing over my tee, bringing it to his face and wiping the gunk from his eyes. It was sticky and clung to my sweater. As I cleaned him, I tried to catch my breath. It had been a trick. Just a nasty trick… When Sam could see he blinked up at me with flashing golden eyes.

  What happened?

  I couldn’t help but look over at Logan. I denied it for as long as I could, but no more. I was positive that he was responsible for my momentary ‘trips’ into alternate places. In his eyes was the briefest flash of recognition and I knew without a doubt that I was right. “You!” I screamed. “What did you do?!”

  Logan looked at me like he was shocked I would yell at him. He portrayed the perfect mixture of hurt and disbelief on his fourteen-year-old face.

  It really pissed me off.

  “I don’t understand. Why are you yelling at me?” he said, wobbling his lower lip.

  “Oh, please. Cut the act, would you? Tell me what you did. How did you do that?”

  Logan, of course, turned his eyes to Sam. “Sam? I don’t understand why she’s so upset.”

  I made a scoffing sound and Gemma frowned, looking over at Logan.

  I turned my eyes back to Sam. He was watching me with a pained look in his eyes, but then he blinked and it was gone.

  Hold out your hand, he said.

  I obeyed and he opened up his jaws and unrolled his tongue. Three black gobs fell into my palm. They were icy cold and surprisingly heavy. When I closed my palm around them, Sam stalked over to where his clothes lay and morphed back into himself. He hurried to shrug into his clothes and we all stood there waiting to see what he would do after I yelled at his brother.

  When he finally was dressed, he looked at me and then his brother. “Logan, trying to get between me and Heven isn’t going to work. I won’t choose. I love you both. Do me a favor and stop doing whatever it is you’re doing to her.”

  Logan’s mouth dropped open, but then he recovered to say, “I didn’t do anything!”

  Sam pinned him with a hard look. “You know that isn’t true. I realize you didn’t mean whatever you did, but it needs to stop. Now.”

  He turned to me. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded.

  “What the hell is going on?” Cole demanded again.

  “We don’t have time for explanations,” Gemma said. “We have to keep moving.”

  “Can I see them?” Cole asked as we began walking. I noticed Logan kind of trudged behind us. I felt kind of bad for him because he had been so sure that Sam would choose him over me.

  Sam scooped them out of my palm and used my already ruined sweater to wipe them clean and hold them out. We all leaned forward to see the Lucent Marbles. They were beautiful, which was a surprise because they came from such a desolate place. They looked like balls of glass, almost clear, without any imperfections.

  “I’ll hold onto them,” Sam said, stuffing the trio into the front pocket of his jeans. I gave a silent sigh of relief that they were tucked away somewhere safe and away from Logan.

  “How do we know where the Map is?” Cole asked.

  I thought back to the voice that called to me moments ago. “I know where it is.”

  Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at me.

  “This way,” I said, ignoring them and walking away from the water.

  “How do you know where to go, Hev?” Cole asked from behind me.

  I peeked out of the corner of my eye at Sam, who was watching me with a tight frown on his face. “I’ve dreamed of this place,” I answered.

  “You mean when that guy was getting in your head?” Cole asked.

  I nodded, feeling sick and not liking the thoughts swirling through my mind. “This is where I usually was. In Hell.”

  Everyone digested that. I felt Sam lace his fingers with mine. Heven?

  He’s calling to me, Sam. He knows I’m here.

  I felt all the muscles in Sam’s body tense and the familiar feeling of my insides fluctuating that I always got when Sam was about to shift. No, Sam. I squeezed his fingers. He might know I’m here, but I’m not in danger. We can use this to find the scroll.

  How? Sam worried. I thought I destroyed the thread he used to get into your head.

  I thought you did, too. Had it all been a ruse to lure me under a false sense of security?

  We walked in silence for a while, stepping over broken, dead trees and stumbling through rocky, uneven terrain. Suddenly, I had a flash of recognition and I knew that just ahead was the valley from my dream. I skittered to a stop.

  “The last time there were demons down there.”

  Without another word Sam and Cole stepped in front of me and were soon joined by Gemma and Logan. We all walked forward to stare down into the valley.

  It was empty.

  In fact, everything here was vacant and deserted. It wasn’t anything like how I remembered it.

  “He knows…” I murmured.

  “Who?” Cole asked.

  I looked up into my brother’s concerned blue eyes. “The powerful one. He knows we’re coming. He wants us to come; he doesn’t want anyone to stop us.”

  “Who is this guy?” Cole wondered, turning to look at Gemma. Her face had gone pale.

  That was not a good sign.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Sam said. “I’m going to kill him.”

  Logan laughed under his breath.

  Yet another clue that he was not who he seemed.

  My eyes shot to Sam. He had to have heard his brother laugh. The area around Sam’s mouth tightened and pain was the briefest emotion through the liquid honey of his eyes. But he smoothed out his features before turning to face his brother. “Something funny, little brother?” Was there an edge to his voice as he spoke?

  Logan seemed to realize his mistake and looked regretful. “No. Sorry. I’m just nervous. I—I don’t want you to get hurt trying to kill someone.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to kill someone,” Sam responded patiently.

  Logan nodded. “I know. But this man, he must be very powerful if he was able to get inside Heven’s head.”

  “I was able to destroy the Dream Walker’s thread,” Sam reminded his brother. I kept my expression smooth, knowing he must not want Logan to know that we suspected the thread may not be broken.

  I suppressed the urge to shudder. I knew the kind of power this man carried. It was unlike anything I ever felt before. I hated to admit it, but Logan might have a point. Would Sam be able to fight someone this powerful?

  “Sam’s not alone,” Cole spoke up. “I may not be a hellhound, but I can fight.”

  Sam held out his fist and Cole pounded his against it.

  Great, now I had to worry about the both of them.

  Gemma rolled her eyes and started moving again.

  I peeked over my shoulder at Logan, who seemed to be concentrating awfully hard. He caught my stare and gave me an odd sort of smile. I thought about telling Sam what happ
ened back at the water, but now wasn’t the time. We couldn’t afford to lose focus on what we came here to do.

  I shook my head and regretted the motion because the pain in the back of my skull was beginning to grow with a vengeance. “We’re getting closer,” I whispered.

  We came upon a huge rock that jutted out from the ground. It obscured the view up ahead and was gray, covered in soot and had sharp jagged points sticking out at every angle.

  I knew what was beyond this rock.

  Him.

  The back of my head was now splintering with pain and I felt like I was being tugged farther along. I dug my feet into the rocky terrain and stopped. No! I shouted as loud as I could in my mind.

  Behind me Sam made a noise and was instantly at my side.

  Welcome home, the powerful one called. The tug became stronger, but I fought, grabbing on to Sam’s hand.

  Sam let out a roar and tugged me against him, his arms forming iron bars around me. You aren’t alone! the Dream Walker screeched. My ears rang with his madness.

  “Is he always this way?” Sam choked.

  I twisted my head back so I could see him. He winced with every shout and scream the powerful one made. “Can you hear him?”

  Sam nodded. “As soon as I touched you. He’s so close to the surface of your mind that I can hear him now too.”

  Relief made my knees go weak. Part of me was afraid that Sam would think I was going crazy.

  “I must have only weakened the thread he left in your mind, not severed it,” Sam whispered.

  I nodded, already thinking the same thing. “It must just be easier for the Dream Walker to manipulate it here in Hell because we are closer.”

  Sam pressed a kiss to my temple. “I’m sorry I didn’t get him the first time around. I won’t make that mistake again.”

  “Oh, you severed the thread. But this is his hometown,” Gemma said, coming to stand beside us. “He marked a claim on Heven, probably the first time he dragged her here. Whenever she’s here, he will be able to get into her mind because he has been there before.”

  “Do you know who is doing this?” I asked.

  “I have an idea,” Gemma hedged.

  Behind us Logan doubled over in pain and made a moaning sound. “Logan!” Sam yelled, rushing to his brother’s side.

  “It hurts! Oh God, it hurts!” he cried, falling onto his back and pulling his knees up to his chest.

  How dare you bring them here! the powerful one screamed. A sharp pain radiated through my head and down my back. It felt as though he struck me inside my head.

  “He thought you came alone,” Sam said, looking up from Logan, who was groaning in pain. Sam looked back down. “Logan?”

  “It hurts too bad. I have to give in. He says if I do, then it won’t hurt anymore.” To my horror, large red scratches bloomed down his arms.

  “Heven, how about some answers? What’s wrong with Logan?” Cole asked, coming to stand in front of me. His face was pale and drawn.

  I shook my head and pointed. “The castle is just beyond that rock. He knows I’m here now. He thought I came alone.”

  “Is he that stupid?” Cole asked.

  “You should have been alone.”

  We whipped around at the sound of Logan’s voice. It was deeper and harder than I had ever heard before.

  “Logan?” Sam asked, pain cracking his voice.

  Logan laughed a sick kind of cackle as he climbed to his feet, shoving Sam away. “Logan’s not home.” As he spoke, a filmy white aura bloomed around his body.

  I gasped.

  “I’ll give the kid credit, though, he fought. Harder than I thought the little brat would. Whenever his big brother Sam was around, he tried to get out.”

  “What the hell have you done to my brother?” Sam screamed and lunged, only to be slapped backward.

  The thing that looked like Logan, but wasn’t Logan, shrugged. “He’s in here somewhere. No matter. When I leave him, he will die!”

  “No!” Sam wailed and sprang forward. My muscles tensed, ready to join whatever fight Sam was about to have. He caught Logan by the throat and lifted him off his feet.

  “Be careful, Sam. Don’t want to hurt your baby brother,” the voice inside Logan taunted.

  Sam dropped him like he had been electrocuted. Indecision battled within him. He didn’t know what to believe.

  “What’s going on?” I screamed, taking Logan’s attention.

  “The ‘powerful one,’” he mocked “The one you call Dream Walker needed someone close to you, to keep an eye on you.”

  This was the Dream Walker’s doing? “Who is he?” I asked.

  “Someone you will never defeat.”

  “Why didn’t you just kill me?” I asked. “And take the Treasure Map, since that’s what you wanted.”

  “I wanted to. So many times. But he doesn’t want you dead. You’ve become a trophy for him to acquire. His newest obsession. I tried to take the scroll a few times, but your boyfriend here was always watching. And then you hid it. Little Logan couldn’t even get the whereabouts out of big brother. No matter how hard he tried to get between you. My only consolation prize was torturing you with the false worlds,” Logan taunted. “That and watching Sam rip himself to pieces trying to ‘fix’ his baby brother.”

  “I knew it was you.” But really, I had been wrong. It wasn’t Logan… it was…“What are you?” I whispered.

  Gemma stepped up beside me. “He’s a demon, Heven. There’s a demon living inside Logan’s body. And now that demon wants out.”

  Sam

  Gemma’s words cut me like a knife. I stood there bleeding, aching and in pain. The words had been spoken. There was no going back.

  The words were true.

  For weeks a demon had been taking up residence in my brother’s body. Fooling us. Fooling him. I should have seen it sooner. I should have realized that it wasn’t possible for him to be a hellhound.

  But now there was nothing I could do.

  I couldn’t destroy it because it would destroy him.

  I couldn’t destroy my baby brother.

  “You sick bastard!” Cole roared and threw himself at Logan. They both went down in a tangle with Cole coming out on top, throwing punches, making Logan’s head spring back again and again.

  “No!” I yelled, lunging at Cole, sick inside, and pulled him off my brother.

  Logan stayed on the ground and laughed. “You’re pathetic,” he spat through a bloody mouth. I was beyond torn. The thing living inside my brother was sick and twisted. It was hurting Logan, but fighting it meant destroying someone I loved.

  Logan got up from the ground. “You don’t want to fight me?” he screamed. “Then watch as I hurt her!” He lunged at Heven.

  I roared and grabbed Logan by the front of his shirt, his body sagged like a ragdoll in my grip as he laughed. And laughed. And laughed. I paused.

  “You won’t do it,” Logan taunted. “You will stand by while I kill you, and then Beelzebub will claim what he wants.”

  Who the hell was Beelzebub? Did he mean the powerful one?

  Pushed to the limit, I reared my fist back and brought it down. “Sam?” Logan said, except the voice was no longer the demon; it was the voice of my brother.

  “Logan?” I whispered, his fist stopping mid-air.

  “What’s going on?”

  My voice caught. “Everything’s going to be okay, Logan.”

  “I’m scared.”

  I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t hurt him. Instead, I pulled him against me. “I’m so sorry, Logan. You should never have been involved.”

  “I love you, Sam.” Logan said.

  I let out a low sob.

  “Sam!” Heven screamed just as I heard the whisper of a dagger being brought toward my back. I didn’t see what he was doing. I didn’t think about being betrayed.

  I threw the demon away, the dagger leaving a long cut down my bicep. Where the hell had he gotten a dagger? The demon threw the
dagger at me, but I caught it and without thought, sent it spiraling back. The demon dodged it and laughed.

  Cole charged with his own dagger drawn, but the demon leapt a few feet off the ground and landed behind Cole. He picked Cole up, Cole’s feet dangling, and then tossed him up into the air like a father would a toddler, but instead of catching him, he grasped him around the neck and slammed him into a giant rock jutting from the earth. Cole went down and didn’t move. Gemma rushed over to where Cole was lying in a crumpled heap.

  “Cole!” Heven ran toward him, dropping to her knees beside him.

  But she didn’t stay there long. In the blink of an eye, Logan moved and grabbed her. Pinning her beneath him. “Get Cole away from him!” Heven told Gemma, more worried about her brother than herself.

  “He said I couldn’t kill you, but he never said I couldn’t harm you.” Logan cackled, reaching up and tearing a jagged piece of stone from the rock mountain and holding it above him, ready to strike Heven with it.

  I realized then that this may look like my brother. He might sometimes talk like my brother.

  But he wasn’t my brother.

  Gemma whistled and I looked up. She sent something spiraling through the air and I caught it. I knew exactly what I had to do.

  In the end, I did have to choose between him and Heven.

  “I’m so sorry, Logan,” I said, the words actually hurting me.

  I rushed him, caught him from behind, and dragged him away from Heven. Before he could react or turn, I plunged the dagger Gemma had thrown me into his chest.

  Surprise flickered through Logan’s eyes before they turned a flat black color.

  I expected there to be blood.

  There wasn’t any.

  But there was something worse.

  Out of the hole the dagger created, something began to leak, to ooze… and as it filled the ground beneath my brother’s lifeless body, it began to take shape. It began to fill out, it began to stand.

  The demon.

  A demon of huge proportions. He towered over me a good foot and was wide with muscle. His skin had a greenish tint and his teeth were yellow. He only had four fingers on each hand and his hair was buzzed off unnaturally short.

  “Finally, I am released from my puny prison,” he said, his voice deep. “Go to your master,” he ordered Heven who was standing behind him in shock. “You cannot save these people.”