by Monica Davis
When Mike stopped at the junction, Marla exhaled in relief. But her joy was short-lived. Mike stuck his head into the main tunnel and looked both ways. Before Marla could grab his hand, he had jumped down into the corridor located a few feet under the ventilation passage.
“Mike, come back!”
“I can’t.”
“Is Vanessa so important to you?” Her heart tightened. Marla was glad he wanted to save his friend, but he shouldn’t die in the process.
“It’s not just about Vanessa,” he muttered, sneaking further down the corridor.
What did he mean by that? Panicking, Marla looked around her. The corridor seemed empty. Silvan and James were probably already at the door to the great hall. Only the high lords and their associates, people like Sirina, used this passageway. There wasn’t much traffic here, since the lower demons had no access to this area, but someone might come along at any time!
Marla saw only one option: She would have to use her powers. Her hands closed around Mike’s arm. With all her might, she grabbed him and dragged him back into the ventilation duct. He just barely pulled his feet up in time before they hit the stone edge of the passage. Marla only let go of his arm once they had retreated a few yards down the duct. Breathing heavily, she sank to her knees.
“Wow!” Mike crouched down next to her. “You’re pretty strong.”
“Oh, that’s nothing,” she replied, trying not to let on how much strength that move had cost her. Marla possessed too little energy. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stop Mike again using force, so she tried one last time with words. “You have nothing to defend yourself with! That’s suicide, pure and simple!” She burst into tears from sheer exhaustion and despair. “Please, let it go.”
He pulled her into his arms, and she laid her head on his chest. With him, she felt at ease and secure. The darkness of the tunnel seemed like additional protection. Mike couldn’t see anything, but thanks to the tiny amount of light seeping in from the main corridor, Marla could make out his figure as a shadow in the darkness.
She clung to him. “I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t want them to come for Vanessa, and now we’ll all die.”
“I won’t allow you to die,” he said, kissing Marla on the forehead.
“How do you intend to protect me?” she sobbed. How had everything gotten out of hand? If only Mike would come to his senses! “Anyways, it’s been prophesized. You can’t do anything about it.”
“What are you talking about?” he whispered into her hair.
The time had probably come to tell Mike the truth. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others, but … an oracle predicted my death. You should know, because … I love you.”
“Marla …” Mike took her cheeks in his hands. His impetuous lips found her mouth, and his kiss was full of passion.
Marla returned Mike’s wild attentions in kind. She longed for him, longed to be close to him, longed for their intimate conversations.
Marla’s heart grew heavy. She would have liked to experience so much more with Mike. “Let’s go. I have to know that you’re safe before I die,” she said between his caresses. Tasting, touching, and smelling Mike was simply heavenly. Would she miss that when she was dead? Would she feel anything at all?
Breathless, Mike took a step back, holding her head firmly in his hands. “When I learned that you were a demon, I felt hurt. I thought you were toying with me, but now I know: Your feelings are real.” He searched for her eyes in the darkness. Were his eyes shining? “Please, don’t talk about dying. I’ll come with you!”
Marla let out a sigh. What luck! Mike had regained his senses! She embraced him exuberantly.
“No one’s going anywhere!” An all-too-familiar voice suddenly echoed through the tunnel. She was grabbed by the shoulder and torn away from Mike. “Today truly is a good day to die, you abomination!”
It was Metistakles! “No,” she whispered. Why did it have to be him? Marla was effectively paralyzed. The enormous expenditure of energy had weakened her body. Metistakles had her in a stranglehold, one arm wrapped around her throat from behind. She could neither breathe nor speak.
“Marla!” Mike cried. He stood up, keeping his back to the stone wall. “Who’s there?” Hands outstretched, he searched his surroundings, but he couldn’t quite reach them. “Marla?!”
She floundered about, struggling for air. Finally, Metistakles loosened his grip.
“Please!” she begged, panting. “Let me make a portal for Mike, and then I’ll go with you, my lord.”
“You won’t do anything of the kind, you little whore!” Metistakles growled, dragging her out to the main corridor.
Marla clutched at his arm. What was he intending to do? Her pulse was pounding in her ears — Metistakles was cutting off the blood supply to her brain. Marla desperately gasped for air.
Mike stumbled after them, feeling his way along the stone wall. “Marla!”
“Stay where you are, Mike!” she wanted to call back to him, but only a croaking sound escaped her lips. Please go away, don’t follow me! she tried to send to him mentally. She didn’t know whether Mike could hear her — in any case, he didn’t react.
Metistakles couldn’t break his vow. He wouldn’t kill Mike. But he might torture him. And then there were always the others, and what they could do to Mike. Mike was lost.
Please, lord, Marla begged Metistakles telepathically. Do with me what you will. I’ll remain fully conscious if you wish, but please let Mike go!
“Fully conscious?” He stared at her with greedy eyes and loosened his grip again.
Marla gasped for air in a panic. Tears were clouding her vision, and her head pounded.
“You won’t hide yourself away?”
“No,” she whimpered as he pulled her further down the corridor. “Just let Mike go, please!”
He let out a sinister laugh. “First, I’ll have to see whether you keep your word, bitch. Then … I’ll consider it. Perhaps.”
He dragged Marla down the long corridor, not toward the hall but in the other direction, toward her chamber. Mike ran after them, struggling to keep up.
“Marla!” he cried. Despite his desperation, he looked determined and above all enraged.
“Shut up, scum!” Metistakles turned toward Mike. With a wave of his hand, the demon threw Mike against the wall.
“Mike!” Marla tried to break free but couldn’t manage it.
“You be quiet as well, whore. Don’t you dare spoil my fun!” His grip on her tightened immediately. Now Marla understood. Metistakles didn’t want the others to find out how he had tortured her!
Metistakles shoved her into her tiny room, directly onto the bed. Panting, she slumped against the hard mat and gingerly felt her throat. It hurt to swallow, but she could finally breathe again.
Mike stumbled in after them, and Metistakles shut the door with the power of his mind. Mike shook it, but it remained closed.
Metistakles sniggered. “Watch what I do to your girlfriend, human scum.” He sat down next to Marla on the bed. Never before had his eyes shone with such a crazy gleam. Metistakles lengthened his talons and sliced off the remains of Marla’s sweater.
“Get your paws off her, you dirty bastard!” Mike yelled, trying to lunge at the demon from behind. Metistakles didn’t even turn his head as he mentally slammed Mike into the rock wall.
“No!” Marla’s heart skipped a beat. Mike sank to the floor but immediately attempted to get up again.
Metistakles muttered a charm, and Mike froze in place. Only his eyes moved frantically about.
“Mike!” Marla cried through her tears, about to run to him, but Metistakles used the same charm on her. Marla could no longer move an inch. Now the demon would do his worst, and she couldn’t even retreat into her mental safe room. She had promised.
“Watch, human. Look closely at what I do with my slave.” He put his claws on her chest and pulled them downward. They cut deep into her skin.
Marla wanted to scream, but no noise escaped her lips. The pain was almost unbearable. It felt like Metistakles was disemboweling her. Black spots danced before her eyes, and she thought she might suffocate — she wasn’t able to gasp for air, just take the shallowest of breaths.
Please, someone, help me! she begged in her thoughts. In response, she heard only Metistakles’ cruel laugh. She had long suspected that he had managed to block her thoughts from reaching others.
“I enjoy torturing her. I enjoy her suffering and her fear — it gives me strength,” the demon told Mike. “Mutilating her beauty brings me great pleasure.”
Again, he brought out his claws, this time on her cheek. Sharp as razor blades, they carved through her skin.
It took Marla all her willpower not to withdraw into her fairy-tale room. The pain was unimaginable.
Snickering, Metistakles turned the talons in her cheek and tore the wound open further. Marla tasted blood on her tongue as it ran down her throat. She couldn’t even swallow; all she could do was move her eyes and take shallow breaths. Her pulse raced, and as Metistakles pushed himself into her head, every nerve in her body seemed to explode. He delighted in her anguish, sucking out all the negative emotions within her. Then he lay on top of her, holding her in place with his weight, and tore his claws out of her cheek.
She was close to passing out from fear, disgust, and pain. It would destroy her if she could see how Metistakles was abusing her body. But since she was going to die anyway … She was also doing it for Mike, the one person she loved more than anything in the world. Had her time come? Would Metistakles finally kill her?
She was glad that tears were blurring her vision, as she couldn’t close her eyes. All she saw before her was Metistakles’ face. He licked the blood from his talons. His irises were glowing. “You taste so good when you’re terrified.”
He turned his head and grinned down at Mike, who lay frozen on the floor, eyes wide open. How awful it must be for him to have to look on helplessly!
Metistakles was so cruel, so very cruel.
Would he keep his promise? Marla cursed — she had forgotten to make him take an oath! Perhaps … is what he had said. Mike was lost, she was lost. Was this the end, here and now? Please forgive me, Mike! I love you so much!
Metistakles had heard her thoughts and dealt her a mental blow that actually stopped her heart for a beat or two. Then he pressed his taloned hand to her stomach again.
No, please, no! she begged him mentally, but all she could hear in response was Metistakles’ evil laughter ringing through her head.
Marla only wanted it to end quickly. However, she knew Metistakles well, and she sensed that he would delight in her misery for as long as he could.
Suddenly the door flung open, crashing against the wall so hard that it splintered into pieces. It had almost hit Mike. Out of the corner of her eye, Marla saw Obron storming into the room. Even in her paralyzed state, she could feel the rage emanating from him.
“What are you doing to my daughter?!” he cried, tearing Metistakles off of her.
The demon scrambled to his feel and faced Obron. “Only what I’ve done so often before!”
Her father seemed to have been rendered speechless for a moment. He merely stared at Metistakles.
The other demon grinned slyly. “I’ve tortured her so many times, and it never bothered you before!”
Obron’s brow furrowed. The astonishment and confusion on his face transformed into boundless anger. His eyes glowed. “I thought you were merely giving her lessons! I had no idea that you were abusing her! Why did I never hear of this?”
Marla was amazed. Her father had a heart? Why had he never come to her aid before? But Marla thought she knew the answer. She had retreated into her mental world, detached herself from her body in order not to endure the pain and humiliation. Therefore, Obron had never been able to sense what Metistakles was doing to her through the mental connection! The demon had likely also shielded her mind from others.
Marla saw Obron glance over at Mike. “I heard humans in my head,” Obron said mentally, in response to the question he sensed as to why he should show up here now.
Mike had saved her! Marla was so happy!
“You’re not the powerful demon you think you are!” Metistakles sputtered at him, spittle flying. “Believe me, Obron, I could have killed the little bitch long ago. That’s something that you could never do!”
Marla recalled her dream. Obron had sworn an oath to Kitana that he would never harm Marla, and her mother had enforced that with a powerful spell.
Sparks were crackling across Metistakles’ palms.
“Do you really think you can kill her?” Obron yelled.
Metistakles laughed. “Maybe you can fool the others, but not me!”
What was he talking about? Obron seemed taken aback, but Metistakles went on, undeterred. “Now that Silvan has failed, all is lost, and she’s of no further use to us!”
“Quite the opposite!” Energy was also collecting in Obron’s hands. “In addition, Silvan is here, you fool! In your fit of lust, you didn’t even notice! He’s here, and Xandros has sensed another presence as well!”
Oh, no, they knew about Silvan! Marla had almost forgotten her pain. What if they tracked him down — or James! And she was just lying here useless, unable to move or warn the others! She couldn’t even communicate mentally with Silvan, since he was wearing the amulet!
Marla saw Metistakles dart a quick glance in her direction. She could literally see what he was thinking. Suddenly, she had become useful again. The scepter … she heard someone think, but she didn’t know which one of them it had been. They weren’t bothering to shield their thoughts.
Obron and Metistakles stared at each other. A lively exchange of thoughts was taking place between the two demons. They were so engrossed in their discussion that Marla was able to follow most of it.
You were about to kill her? My daughter? Obron’s energy sphere began to coalesce. The two high lords were circling each other like wild animals, ready to spring at each other’s throats at any moment.
I read it in her thoughts — the Oracle prophesized to her that she would die soon!
Die? For a fraction of a second, her father looked shocked.
Anyway, she’s useless! Metistakles told Obron, but Marla sensed that he was only being greedy; he wanted to possess her alone in order to get his hands on the scepter.
Unfortunately for him, her father had had the same idea. No, she’s not! We may have lost Silvan, he could have controlled the scepter for us. But the same blood flows in Marla’s veins!
The Oracle predicted that Silvan would seal the fate of the scepter! Metistakles interjected. So if he’s here, we should snap him up quickly!
“The Oracle can make mistakes!” Obron cried.
“It never has!” Again, Metistakles glanced at Marla. “And since she’s going to die anyways, why not by my hand? You still owe me, Obron!”
“No one will kill my daughter! Not unless I expressly order it! And I owe you nothing!”
Metistakles shook his head. “I always wanted Kitana, but you took her away from me. So I took everything I could from your daughter!” He laughed and raised his hands. It was clear that he was intending to kill Obron. Marla sensed the hatred bubbling out of him.
But her father was quicker. His entire body was suddenly covered in energy, and when Metistakles attacked him, his charge rebounded off of Obron back onto him. Searing light enveloped him. Screaming, Metistakles attempted to snuff out the blue flames that were devouring him through his cloak with his bare hands. His skin caught fire. He seemed to melt before their eyes like a wax candle.
Obron stood motionless, staring at his rival. His face betrayed nothing about his thoughts or whether he was enjoying Metistakles’ suffering.
“Of the two of us, I was the better demon,” Obron whispered as Metistakles’ body melted away.
When Marla broke out of her paralysis, she
knew that Metistakles had been destroyed. Not only could she move again, she was truly free! Free from Metistakles, whose slave she had been all these months. Marla took a deep breath — and winced. Her wounds throbbed painfully, and many were still bleeding. She felt dizzy and weak.
She couldn’t manage to sit up, so she turned her head and gazed at the little heap of ashes that was all that remained of her tormentor. Metistakles had robbed her of so much energy that she would never be able to heal her wounds by herself. She would die of them, but she would die a free demon. As her vision went black and she began to rejoice at the thought of unconsciousness, she felt Mike at her side.
“Marla …” He was sitting next to her, holding her hand.
She blinked. Mike looked battered and shocked.
“Tired …” She was unbelievably exhausted and only wanted to sleep. “Mike …” She squeezed his hand weakly. He was here. She wouldn’t die alone. But what would become of him?
Father, please grant me one last wish before I die: Take Mike back to the human world. Please! With the last of her strength, she tried to send Obron this message. Mike was stroking her intact cheek.
You’re not going to die. Not yet! she heard Obron’s voice in her head. “Stand aside, human!” The demon pulled Mike away from the bed and crouched down next to Marla.
“Y-you’re her father?” Mike stammered. “You’re going to save Marla, aren’t you?” Mike knelt down by her head and stroked her hair.
Her heart wanted to beat faster out of love for him, but it simply couldn’t. Life was ebbing away from her. With difficulty, she turned her head in Mike’s direction. “I love you,” she whispered.
Mike pressed his lips together. His eyes were glistening. “You’re not going to die, do you hear me?”
She suddenly felt Obron’s cool hands on her stomach. Marla gasped. What was her father doing? She felt his hands grow warmer, and her wounds began to close up. First her stomach, then her cheek. Obron was giving her his own energy! When Marla realizing what was happening, her mind reacted immediately. Like a vampire out for blood, her consciousness rushed toward Obron’s energy and sucked even more out of him.
