“Yes.” I straightened, a path forming in my mind that would get us to the town in the best time. “Let’s go.”
And so the three of us ran off into the forest, leaving Will, the Vale, the Haven, the bunker, and every other awful thing that had happened to us since being taken by the demons in the past.
Which was exactly where it belonged.
39
Skylar
(Raven’s Mom)
I sat on the bed in the same room I’d been in for the past week, flipping through the television channels mindlessly. Despite all my efforts to stop thinking about what those demons had done to me, it was all I could think about.
I was a monster. And it was their fault.
When they’d brought me to the attic in the house above the bunker and the vampire had sunk his fangs into my neck, I’d thought it was over. I’d prayed that wherever Raven was, she’d be safe. I’d expected that the next time I saw her would be on the other side.
Then I’d woken up. And the same demon that had taken me from my home was standing over me, smiling.
Azazel.
At the thought of his name, the scene played in my mind again. The awful scene I’d never forget for as long as I lived.
The moment when my life had changed forever.
Even though Azazel was right in front of me, I could barely focus on him. All I could focus on was the hunger. The deep, gnawing hunger that went all the way down to my bones. It was so strong—I was consumed by it.
“She’s awake,” Azazel called through the doors. His eyes were red now. They definitely weren’t red when he’d abducted me from my apartment. They’d been brown. “Bring him in.”
The door swung open, and the vampire who’d fed from me—Dmitri, I think his name was—dragged a middle-aged man through the doors. The man was skinny and dressed in rags, like he’d been yanked from the streets.
The moment I took a breath, the scent of his blood filled my nose. The sweet smell of it made me salivate like crazy. And suddenly, I knew how to stop the hunger.
I ran to him and sank my fangs into his neck before I realized what I was doing. My body acted on impulse. Like I was an animal instead of a human.
I only realized I’d drained him dry when I was staring at his lifeless corpse on the floor and licking the last of his blood off my lips.
I backed away in horror and looked for a way to escape. But demons stood around me, blocking every exit.
I was trapped.
“What did you do to me?” I asked, even though deep down, I knew what they’d done.
The evidence was staring me straight in the face. It filled me with despair from my stomach all the way down to my toes.
“I had you turned into a vampire.” Azazel smiled, confirming what I already knew was true. When he smiled, his teeth were pointed and yellow. They weren’t the normal, white teeth he’d had before.
As a human, I couldn’t see his true form. Now as a vampire, I could. Not just in him, but in all the other demons in the room, too. Red eyes and yellow pointed teeth.
It was a blessing humans couldn’t see what demons truly looked like. They’d be terrified if they could.
“And you’re not just any vampire,” he continued. “You’re a gifted vampire. You had a gift as a human, and that gift will be amplified since you’ve been turned. Now it’s time to see how useful you are.” He looked to a dark haired woman standing by his side. She smelled different from the others—like sickly sweet syrup. And her eyes weren’t red. She wasn’t a demon. “Lavinia,” he said. “The complacent potion.”
She removed a needle full of dark blue liquid from her weapons belt and strode toward me.
Whatever was in that syringe, I didn’t want it in my body.
Azazel was standing between me and the door, but I didn’t care. I made a bolt for it.
I almost made it. But two demons grabbed my arms, stopping me. I knew they were demons because of their smoky scent. Azazel had a similar scent, but stronger.
They pulled so hard it felt like my arms were about to rip out of their sockets. I cried out in pain. I would have fallen to my knees if the demons weren’t propping me up and forcing me to remain standing.
Lavinia continued toward me, her predatory gaze locked on mine. “Don’t worry, dear,” she said with a smile. “This won’t hurt a bit.”
She jabbed the needle into my arm and sent the blue liquid into my veins. She was right—it didn’t hurt. I felt woozy now. Relaxed. The despair, anxiety, and anger from being turned into a vampire was gone.
She’d drugged me.
Lavinia stepped to the side, and Azazel moved to stand before me. He looked smugger than ever. Like he’d won.
“Skylar,” he said in a singsong-like voice. “You’re going to do everything I say and answer everything I ask you honestly. Say yes to tell me you understand.”
“Yes.” The word came out of my lips instantly. I couldn’t even think to stop it. My body was acting without my permission.
“Fantastic,” he said. “You’re not going to try to run again. You’re only to go where I tell you to, when I tell you to.” He grinned and glanced at the demon guards still holding onto me. “You can let her go. She’s under my control now.”
The guards did as instructed, although they remained close by. They were waiting, in case I made another attempt to escape.
I tried to run again. But I couldn’t. It was like my feet were glued to the floor. I literally wasn’t in control of my own body anymore.
“What did you give me?” I stared at Azazel in terror.
“Complacent potion,” he said. “Brewed by my lovely witch Lavinia Foster.” He gestured to the dark haired woman who’d injected me with the potion.
That must be why she smells different, I realized. She’s a witch.
“As long as the potion remains in your system, you’re bound to do as I ask,” he continued, eyeing me up gleefully. “I know what you must be thinking now. What happens when the potion is out of my system?”
I stared at him straight on. Because yes, I was wondering how long the potion would stay in my system.
Once it was out, I’d make another run for it.
I wasn’t human anymore. I was a vampire. Which meant I had a chance against the demons. A small chance, but a chance nonetheless.
“You’ll be happy to know that you don’t have to worry about the potion leaving your system,” he said happily, as if he truly were soothing one of my worries. “If I decide to keep you, Lavinia has brewed enough complacent potion so you’ll never be without it.”
His eyes gleamed, and he watched me expectantly. He was getting a kick out of seeing me squirm.
So I stood straight and confident. I refused to be entertainment for a demon.
“And if you don’t decide to keep me?” I asked.
“You’ll want me to keep you.” He grinned. “If I don’t…” He paused and slashed his finger across his neck. “We have a great need for gifted vampire blood. And the blood needs to be outside of your body for us to make proper use of it.”
I gulped, his message loud and clear.
If he didn’t keep me, he’d kill me for my blood.
“You’re right.” I made an executive decision—I needed to stay alive. Not because I wanted to be a vampire. I’d honestly rather be dead than be the creature I was now. At least there’d be peace on the other side.
I needed to stay alive so I could make sure Raven never ended up in the hands of this monster. My daughter was gifted, just like me and the others in that bunker. I’d known since she was young.
I needed to keep her out of the hands of the demons. I didn’t know how I was going to do that yet. But I definitely couldn’t do it if I were dead.
“I’m right about what?” He raised an eyebrow, curious.
“That I want you to keep me.” The words felt vile as I spoke them, like metal in the back of my throat. But I forced myself to sound determined and resolved. A willi
ng servant.
“Wonderful.” He brought his hands together and smiled again. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.” He turned to look around at the others in the room. Each of them straightened when his eyes met theirs. “It’s so much easier when they want to work with us,” he said. “Don’t you think?”
They all nodded in affirmation, gazing at him with awestruck eyes.
Puppets. All of them.
I wanted to spit at their feet. But of course, I controlled myself. For Raven’s sake.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked, bringing his attention back to me.
“You’re smart. I like it.” He chuckled, his amusement sounding real. He was so twisted and disgusting. “Because of course you need to do something. I wouldn’t keep you without you proving your worth, would I?”
I stood as still as a soldier, my hands pressed firmly to each side, waiting for his command.
Not like I had any choice to obey or not. The complacent potion had taken care of that.
His eyes turned serious, and he stepped closer so there was only a foot of space between us. “Tell me what your gift is,” he said.
“I’m gifted with tarot cards.” I held his gaze, refusing to let him see how terrified I truly was. “My readings are always accurate. I can interpret the cards and gain an understanding of a person’s past, present, and future.”
“A prophetess.” He smirked, looking intrigued. “Lavinia, go fetch us a deck of tarot cards. It’s time to see Skylar’s gift in action.”
Lavinia nodded and vanished into thin air.
“Wait,” I cried out, although she clearly couldn’t hear me, since she was gone. So I turned to Azazel and continued, “I do my best readings with my own deck.” I sounded so meek—so unlike myself. I hated it. “It’s called Crystal Visions. It’s in my apartment. In the kitchen.”
Where I did my last reading with Raven.
“You’ll do a reading with whatever deck Lavinia brings here.” He snarled. “And you better make sure it’s a good one. Your life depends on it.”
He glared down at me until I submitted.
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
“Wrong answer.”
I pressed my lips together and tried again. “Okay.” I made sure to sound confident this time. “I’ll do it.”
“Wrong again.” He paced and shook his head, like he was scolding a puppy that was misbehaving. “The correct answer is, ‘Yes, Your Grace.’” He stopped walking and stared down at me in challenge. “Say it.”
I clenched my fists, wishing I could punch him in the face. I would have done it, if the complacent potion would let me. And if I didn’t think it would get me killed.
Right now, my only focus was on not getting killed. There wasn’t one person in this room who would hesitate to kill me or who didn’t want me dead. And they all answered to Azazel.
So I needed to make sure Azazel didn’t want me dead. Which meant I needed to prove myself useful. No matter how disgusting I felt while doing so.
“Yes, Your Grace,” I forced out, pushing down nausea as I submitted again to this vile monster.
“There you go.” He nodded, looking pleased with himself. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
I shook my head, hating myself more and more with each passing second.
Luckily, Lavinia soon returned with a tarot deck. The Crow’s Magic deck. It was one of the decks sold at Tarotology, so I was somewhat familiar with it. It was dark, modern, and geometric—the exact opposite of my Crystal Visions deck. But I could work with it.
“Crow’s Magic,” I said. “Interesting choice.”
“We had it lying around our apothecary.” Lavinia shrugged and handed the deck to me. “Let’s see what you can do.”
I glanced at the bare table and chairs on the side of the room. “Do you mind if I sit, Your Grace?” I asked Azazel. “It’s best to sit while reading the cards.”
“Go ahead.” He followed me over to the table and sat in the chair across from mine.
The demons, vampires, and witch in the room all gathered around to watch. They kept their expressions neutral. But I could tell from the way they leaned forward that they were interested in seeing what I could do.
I was interested to see what I could do, too. Because if Azazel was right, and being a vampire amplified my powers… well, I was certainly curious about what was about to happen when I read the cards.
I removed the cards from the deck and started to shuffle them. “Is there anything in particular you want to know from the cards?” I asked Azazel.
“As a matter of fact, there is.” He leaned back into the small wooden chair, making himself comfortable. “As you know, I’m sending demons out to various places around the country to hunt down gifted humans and bring them to me. Unfortunately, my demons are being hunted by two wolf shifters. The shifters are wearing cloaking rings that make them impossible to track. So I’d like for you to tell me where these shifters will be next, so I can capture them before they kill any more of my demons. Do you think you can do that?” He gave me a chilling smile—a smile that let me know if I couldn’t do what he asked, I was as good as dead.
My heart dropped into my stomach. Because the cards weren’t that specific. They gave general ideas of the future, but finding two wolf shifters? That wasn’t what the cards were designed to do.
“I’ll do my best.” My voice shook as I spoke.
“We’ll see if that’s enough.” He smiled again, showing me his yellowed, pointed teeth.
They apparently didn’t have toothbrushes in Hell.
I continued shuffling the deck, focusing on Azazel’s question. Where were these wolf shifters who were hunting his demons? The necessary spread for the question being asked always came to me while I was shuffling. I supposed it was part of my gift.
Now, my intuition was telling me to do a simple one card draw.
Strange. For a question this specific, I expected a more complex spread. But I knew better than to doubt my intuition. If it wanted me to do a one card draw, then that’s what I’d do.
Once finished shuffling, I fanned the cards out flat on the table. “Pick one card and hand it to me face down,” I told Azazel.
He let his hand linger above the cards, eventually pulling one from the center of the spread. He handed it to me and I flipped it over.
The Five of Swords.
In this deck, the Five of Swords featured an angel looking out at the solar system. The words “distress” and “confusion” were written under its name. The words made sense with the card. In my Crystal Visions deck, this card showed a woman and man, both stabbed in the backs with swords.
It was the card of betrayal.
But how did it relate to the hunters killing Azazel’s demons? I needed to figure out something to say to him. My life depended on it.
I stared at the card, willing the answer to come to me.
Suddenly, the image on the card changed. I was no longer looking at the geometric angel staring out at the solar system.
I saw Raven and a dark haired girl heading out from a club. There was a demon between them, their arms linked with his. They turned and led him down the street. Two attractive men in their mid-twenties came out of the club soon afterward, clearly following them.
Fury raced through my veins. I wanted to tell Raven to run as far as she could. Because I knew what was happening. The demon had targeted her as a gifted human. He was leading her away so he could bring her to that awful bunker.
“Turn around,” I said. “Don’t go with him.”
They didn’t hear me. They simply continued walking, turning down another, less crowded street.
I tried to take in as much information as possible about where they were. Street signs, the buildings they passed, everything. The license plates mostly said Illinois on them. From the looks of the city, they appeared to be in Chicago.
What was Raven doing in Chicago? I knew most of her friends, but I didn’t recogniz
e the dark haired girl with her. Perhaps the girl was another gifted human.
Unable to influence what happened in the scene before me, I kept watching carefully. It was nighttime there and daytime here. This was a future reading, which meant at minimum, this was happening tonight.
Horror built in my throat as Raven and her friend walked into an alley with the demon. What was Raven thinking? I’d taught her better than to follow strangers into alleys. This scene before me made no sense.
The demon had a horribly smug look on his face, like he knew he had them.
Suddenly, the dark haired girl pulled a knife from her boot. She struck at the demon, who quickly brought out a knife of his own to defend himself. Raven scurried to the wall, staying out of the fight.
The dark haired girl moved supernaturally fast as she traded blows with the demon. She wasn’t human.
She must be one of the wolf shifters hunting down the demons.
How on Earth had Raven gotten involved with them?
The answer came to me quickly. Because it was me. Raven must have gotten involved with the shifters because of my being taken.
The dark haired girl was still holding her own against the demon as the two men in their twenties burst into the alley. The rugged, brown haired man pulled out a dagger and joined in the fight. The dark haired one in the suit stood near Raven, protecting her.
But now that it was two against one, it didn’t take the brown haired man long to jab his dagger through the demon’s heart. Horror passed over the demon’s eyes, right before he turned into a pile of dust.
Raven watched the rugged, brown haired man fight the demon, love shining in her eyes. Once the demon was dead, she jumped up in excitement. She, the man who’d been protecting her, and the dark haired girl all celebrated the win.
The rugged, brown haired man kneeled into the pile of ash and plucked something out of it.
That was the final thing I saw before the scene disappeared and the tarot card returned to normal.
I looked back up at Azazel in shock. Because I’d always gotten a sense of the future from the cards. But to actually see the future play out in front of me? That was new.
The Angel Trials- The Complete Series Page 76
