Jax nodded, and Key said, “You’ll be oldest now. You’ll be the one who leads. Keep these filthy animals in line, understand?”
Jax gave up trying not to cry. “I’ll miss you all the rest of my life.”
Key looked down at Jordan’s beautiful face, clutched her a little tighter to his chest, and disappeared from Romania. From our lives.
We stayed in the truck while Ty drove it back to the village, and didn’t transport away until he’d parked and killed the engine. We materialized back in Colorado and everyone split up to grieve in their own way. All the Luminas had gathered in the living room and I could hear their murmurs, no doubt praying for Key. There was no one on Mephisto Mountain whose life wouldn’t be affected by Key’s absence. He was respected and loved.
I popped upstairs to Mariah’s room, hoping she’d be there, disappointed when she wasn’t. I almost made a mental search, then didn’t because that was a bad habit to fall into. Everyone deserved their privacy, and unless it was called for because of a very good reason, we had an unwritten rule not to search for each other.
I wandered back down her hall, and saw a marble on the third to last step of the stairway leading up to the attic. I bent to pick it up and saw other odd items on the stairs, like a game piece from an old Monopoly set and a pipe Zee used to smoke over a hundred years ago. I continued climbing, continued finding random items until I reached the fourth floor and went into the attic. I was stunned. What had once been total organization was now mass chaos, a giant heap of broken boards, torn boxes, and things long forgotten that Mathilda packed and stored because she was so sure someone would want it again.
I didn’t have to think hard to know Mariah had done this. I felt so bad for her, and understood her need to deal with her anger and grief. I was in a state of confusion and shock that my brother was gone. Jordan had been everything to Mariah for so long, how much greater must her pain be? I wanted Mariah. I needed to be with her, to offer comfort, and maybe in return, I wouldn’t have this horrible urge to cry like a little girl. I couldn’t stop thinking of Key, all through the years, always with his long hair, his stern face, his absolute dedication to the rest of us. Most boys aspire to be like their father. I always aspired to be like Key.
My hatred of Eryx ramped up yet again. Someday I’d have the joy of killing him. I didn’t know how it would happen, but it would, and I’d show no mercy, just as he’d never shown us an inch of compassion.
He would know when he returned to the living that Key’s soul had disappeared from Earth, but despite how close they’d once been, Eryx wouldn’t grieve in any way. He’d be glad.
I turned to make my way back downstairs, a little surprised by how long I’d lingered to stare at the mess in the attic, and was halfway to the third floor when I heard Sasha shouting, “They’re here! Oh my God, Key and Jordan! They’re back! They’re in her room!”
Like a thundering herd, the Luminas and Purgatories and Mephisto flowed up the stairs to the third floor and burst into Jordan’s room. They wouldn’t all fit, and those in the hall were crying, hugging one another, slapping high fives.
I waited my turn and went inside the room and saw Key practically breaking Jax’s back, he hugged him so hard. I saw his eyes and, just like Jax’s, they were no longer black. Almost, but not quite. They were dark gray. He was smiling so wide, his face had a shine to it, a little like the Anabo glow. Divinity. He still had the lingering traces of divinity. Had he gone to the gates of Heaven as Jax had, and pleaded for God to take Jordan? Had they told him his love and ultimate sacrifice meant he’d fulfilled the Mephisto Covenant, and he was now redeemed before God?
I hoped so. I’d not seen anyone look this happy since the day Jax walked out of that church in St. Petersburg, holding Sasha’s hand.
When it was my turn, I hugged Key and slapped his back and told him I was more glad than he’d ever know that he was with us again.
He said, “I love you,” and I said, “I love you, too,” and then we parted and someone else was hugging him. I was on my way to Jordan when she looked around and asked, “Where’s Mariah?”
“You just hugged her, goof,” Key said. “I saw you.” He glanced around and frowned. “No, I suppose that was Mercy.” He looked at me. “Do you know where she is?”
I shook my head, my memory flying back to Erinýes and the scarf in that bedroom, where I caught the faintest scent of heather. Then I remembered she could transport. But she didn’t know how. Did she? A terrible thought began to take hold. Had she been at Erinýes when we blew it?
Jordan looked at Kyros and said, “I was certain Mary Michael would rescue her, but she should be back by now.”
Sasha said from where she stood at the window, “I’m mentally searching and she isn’t anywhere. It’s as if she disappeared.”
My heart hammering, I did my own search, and just as Sasha said, there was nothing. No sense of her, anywhere.
I looked at Jordan. “What do you mean, Mary Michael would have rescued her? Where is she?”
She instantly began to cry, became hysterical, close to hyperventilating, and kept repeating, “Oh my God,” over and over until I wanted to shout at her to stop, to tell me.
Key grasped her arms and held her still. “Jordan, calm down. You have to tell us where she is.”
Turning her horrified tear-streaked face to me, she whispered, “Hell on Earth. I left her in Hell on Earth.”
I almost couldn’t draw breath, fear for her overriding everything. I wanted to know how. Why? But that would have to come later. I jerked my head around to look at Jax. “I’m going.”
“You can’t. Nobody can go there except Lucifer.”
I exploded. “You think I give a shit about rules right now? I’m going to be with her. You just make sure Lucifer comes to get us.”
“Phoenix, please, I know this is horrible. The worst. The very worst. But rushing off is foolish. Let’s call M, right now, and he will help.” He was already drawing his phone from his pocket.
We waited for him to arrive, which took the longest thirty seconds of my life. Jordan was hysterical. I ignored her.
When M arrived, he was smiling, but he quickly stopped when he saw Jordan losing it. “What’s happened? What’s wrong? This should be a happy—”
“Mariah is in Hell on Earth.”
He wheeled around to face me, his expression one of complete shock. “How? No one but Lucifer goes to Hell on Earth. No one!”
Jordan tried to speak up, but she was crying too hard to make any sense.
“Mariah is not no one, and she is there, and I am going to find her.”
He looked more freaked out than I’d ever seen him. “If you go, you can’t leave.”
“Lucifer will come for us. All you have to do is tell him, and he’ll be there.”
“He’s going to be angry. Furious. This could mean far more than punishment. It could mean he’ll take both of you out.”
“There’s no choice, M. I’m not leaving her there by herself. If Lucifer’s angry, I don’t care. Just make sure he knows.”
I looked at Jax, who nodded.
Steeling myself, I closed my eyes and transported to the one place on the planet I would never want to be, and the only place on Earth I could possibly be.
I had no concept of what it would be like, no grasp of where to materialize. I instantly felt intense heat and when I opened my eyes, I had a nanosecond to get my bearings before a mob of naked, skeletal Skia attacked me. Even in their reduced state, they were stronger than humans, and it was all I could do to fight them off. I had my switchblade, but it would eventually be a losing battle, their sheer numbers giving them tremendous strength.
I had to find Mariah. Desperately fighting to keep them from dragging me to the ground, I mentally searched, thankful that it worked when I found her. She was close, but not here. I imagined I was next to her, hoping I’d transport.
Nothing happened.
The noise was deafening, the angry shou
ts of the Skia echoing around the cave. I kept my mental search for Mariah front and center while I hacked and punched and shoved my way through the mob. Their numbers and their rage would be my undoing, but I had to get to Mariah before they tore me to pieces. They’d already torn off my coat, and my shirt was in tatters.
I made my way into a narrow tunnel, crouching down to move through, the switchblade becoming harder to grip because of blood and sweat. I was soaking wet. My hands were blistered. I couldn’t breathe. I kept moving.
In the next room, much bigger than the last, all the Skia were massed together at the other end, bodies writhing as they tried to push their way through to the front. I heard her screams. Her agony.
With raging Skia on my heels, I ran and gathered myself for a jump, then leaped into the air and sailed over the heads of the mob, landing on top of the one who was next in line. I yanked two of them off of her and reached down to scoop her into my arms. Bloody and bruised, her beautiful face unrecognizable, she fought me and continued to scream, her neck stretched taut, her eyes wild with terror. She saw me and didn’t know me. To her, I was another face, another male, another rape.
My heart broke into a million pieces. I knew, no matter what happened, or how soon we got out of here, she’d never recover. She would never come back.
They were all over us, but I wouldn’t let go of her. They took me down, they kicked and punched and ripped my flesh from my bones, and I would not let go of her. I would live through this. I was immortal. And my rational mind understood their fury. I was the enemy. I sent them to this Godforsaken place. They were Eryx’s drones, incapable of compassion. The best I could hope for was a reprieve from their hatred when there was nothing left of me to destroy.
Some of the meatier ones tried to pull Mariah away, but my arms were a vice grip around her. They broke her arms, trying to get her away from me. They ripped out her beautiful hair, scratched her face with their claw-like fingernails.
One of them tried to rape her, even while I was holding her, and I kicked him in the nuts.
Mariah never stopped screaming.
A snarling woman stuffed a piece of my shirt into her mouth and yelled for her to shut up.
I called for Lucifer, shouting his name until my throat was raw. I had no concept of time. I faded in and out of consciousness, but I never let go of Mariah.
Chapter 20
~~ Mariah ~~
I was in the room with the braided rug, and the fire, and Beet, but instead of my mother, Mary Michael sat on the old rocker and worked a basket in her nimble hands. I watched, intrigued by her skill, talking to her even though she never replied. Beet licked my face and it felt cool on my hot skin. Such a love. I’d always wanted to get another dog, but it hadn’t been possible. They were expensive to keep, and Marta didn’t like dogs.
It didn’t matter so much now. Here was Beet, wagging his tail, licking my face, wiggling his little body with pleasure when I rubbed his belly.
I would never leave here. Ever. I would be happy here. Content. At peace. And nothing would ever hurt me again. Sighing, I laid back on the rug and looked up at the crossbeams of the cabin, at the hewn logs placed there so long ago by a hard working rancher. I wondered if he came here alone, or did he bring his family? Did he have a family?
I heard a booming voice calling my name, and I turned my head to look. There was the rancher, and he held a posy of flowers in his hand. He gave them to Mary Michael and she smiled and kissed him. He took off his coat and sat on the big rocker and told us all about his day, about the cattle and the meadow and crossing the stream on his horse. Mary Michael continued making her basket. I thought the rancher looked like the Mephisto. He was dark and handsome, and had a gleam in his eye that spoke of a joker, a man who liked to tease. He flirted with Mary Michael and she told him to hush, pointing at me as a reminder that children were present and he should behave.
My body moved. I knew I bled, but I felt no pain. I saw nothing except Mary Michael’s startling blue eyes and the rancher’s boots and Beet’s tail wagging.
I wanted the fire to go out because it was so hot.
I didn’t wish for death. I knew that was beyond me now, and all that was left was this small room. I’d worried that this was the extent of Heaven, but now, I was ecstatic to be here, would be here for all eternity and that would be lovely.
I began to hum. I might have sung, except something was blocking my voice, clogging my throat, not letting any sound come out. Oh, well. I’d hum, and wasn’t that wonderful?
Chapter 21
~~ Phoenix ~~
It had been three weeks since Lucifer came for me and Mariah. I didn’t know until we were back on Mephisto Mountain that we’d been in Hell on Earth for over thirty-six hours. My photographic memory wouldn’t let me forget even one second of the time we were there, but I was shocked to learn it was almost two days. Jax said M went immediately to Lucifer, to ask him to rescue us, and as he’d predicted, Lucifer was furious. He left us there to teach us a lesson. No one was to go to Hell on Earth, but it hadn’t ever been an issue because who would want to? Entry was open because it had to be for the lost souls and Skia, but there was no exit, except for Lucifer. According to M, that Jordan had left caused an enormous amount of anxiety for Lucifer because it meant Eryx had gained enough power to override his will. While she was with Eryx, Jordan was an extension of him, able to draw on his power to do what he did.
As it turned out, our mother hadn’t been given permission. She’d taken Mariah there all on her own, and while Lucifer had no say or control over her actions, I didn’t doubt she was in hot water with God.
Maybe Lucifer was unaware of what more time in Hell on Earth would do to Mariah. Maybe he knew already that she was forever lost in her own head, and taking her out of Hell on Earth the minute he knew she was there wouldn’t have made a difference. Maybe the lesson he wanted to teach was to me.
I knew it wasn’t Jordan’s fault, and she was massively depressed, but I still didn’t want to see her. She came to Mariah’s room numerous times each day after we came back, and I wouldn’t let her in. I wouldn’t let anyone in, even Mathilda. I popped down to the kitchen for meals and took them up to Mariah and watched her eat with no expression on her face, no light in her eyes, no recognition of me or her surroundings. She was there, but she wasn’t.
Every morning, I took her pajamas off and got in the shower with her and washed her hair and sang to her. I dried her hair and combed it out, then led her back to bed. I read to her, played movies, and talked. Endlessly.
The fourth day, Key came to visit and wouldn’t let me turn him away. He sat by her bed and talked to her and something sparked. It didn’t last, but there was something there. He asked me to let Jordan see her. When I said no, he said, “She can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t stop crying. This is cruel, Phoenix. Please, if you won’t do it for Jordan, do it for me.” He’d looked at Mariah. “Do it for her. Maybe Jordan can bring her back.”
“Maybe Jordan would scare her farther away. Let’s not forget, she’s the one who took her there.”
“Would Mariah hold it against her?”
I had to admit, “No.”
Key cried and my resolve crumbled. I was at wit’s end, had no idea what to do for her, what was best. Key said, “You’ve got to let people see her. Talk to her. You can’t stay here all day and all night for all time.”
I relented and allowed Jordan to visit. She and I talked for hours, and I peppered her with questions about Eryx, storing it all away for later. My hatred of him had elevated to another level. I was determined to destroy him.
A steady stream of visitors came after that, and if someone didn’t leave when I told them to, I physically picked them up and took them out to the hallway. That side she’d once told me about came screaming to the fore. I lost it a lot, and broke things and cursed and shouted – but always away from her room. When I was there, I never raised my voice, never allowed myself to become angry.
Mathilda was in Mariah’s room daily, sitting by the bed, knitting, talking constantly, telling Mariah stories of her childhood growing up in Surrey. She brought treats which Mariah ate with the same enthusiasm she ate everything – none. Food appeared and she ate it, but it might as well have been gruel.
I brought all of my work into her room and planned Jordan’s memorial service takedown on the little desk. It went off without a problem, and when it was over, I told Key not to count on me for making any plans until Mariah was back.
I knew he didn’t believe she’d come back. No one did.
But I couldn’t let go of hope. Couldn’t let go of her.
After three weeks, however, hope began to wane. It had been a particularly difficult day. During our daily shower, for some reason she actually saw me – not me as Phoenix, but me as a male, and she began to cry. She jerked away from me and cowered in the corner. It took half an hour to coax her back to me, and afterward, when I had her back in bed, she looked farther away than ever.
I sat there for hours, praying to God, even though he couldn’t hear me. Sometime around two in the morning, I changed into my boxers, laid on the bed, and gathered her close, just as I did every night. And like always, she was limp and unresponsive.
“What is her happiness worth to you?”
I opened my eyes and there was Lucifer, standing at the end of the bed. “Everything.”
“She sleeps to heal her mind, but some wounds never quite go away. Let her go, Phoenix. Let her go to God.”
I clutched her tighter to me, but I nodded.
“If she could wake up right now with no memory of what happened, if she could be here, be Mephisto, find love amongst your brothers or the Luminas, what would you do to make that happen?”
“Anything.”
“Get up.”
I kissed her cheeks and her nose and moved away from her to get off of the bed. I stood and faced Lucifer, prepared to go with him.
“You’ll never see her again. You’ll be with me forever where there is no warmth, no love, no kindness. You’ll work, hard, and I’ll never let up. Ever. For all time, even when the end of the world has come and gone.”
The Mephisto Mark: The Redemption of Phoenix Page 33
