by Trina M. Lee
With that he tipped his hat to us and disappeared. Right away thunder boomed, followed by a streak of dark-blue lightning. The sky darkened further.
“Ominous,” Jett remarked. “Nice touch. So, which one of you is afraid of carnivals?”
I glanced at Arrow.
He mustered his best scowl. “One bad experience, I was a kid, ok?”
“Where do we start?” I jumped in before Jett could take Arrow’s confession and run with it. Now was not the time.
Choosing to take the high road, Jett let it go. “Might as well go for the big top. Is it weird that I’m kind of psyched to see what’s in there?”
“Very,” Arrow mumbled, looking pained as we crossed the dusty field to the massive tent.
My hands were now void of flames, but the itch in my palms did not abate. A sulfuric rain spattered us, growing to a steady drizzle. I was both afraid and ready to face whatever lay ahead. I’d come here for a reason. Cinder had encouraged me. Now I needed to see that through.
The tent grew ever taller. By the time we reached the door, it loomed over us. The creepy music had gotten louder, with the occasional scream mixed in.
A small opening in the fabric offered the only entry. From outside we could see nothing within. This time I took the lead. It was me, after all, who’d dragged the two of them here.
All the self-prep in the world couldn’t have prepared me. I stopped just inside the entryway with Jett and Arrow on either side of me. Together we took it all in.
Flaming torches propped in sconces lit the three rings that made up the interior of the tent. Torment took place in each of them.
One ring held a spinning wheel with a demon strapped to its surface. The demon had the form of a man with alien-like features, though they were hard to make out due to how fast the wheel spun. Another demon stood several feet in front of it, flinging knives. Knives that struck the bound demon’s spread limbs and torso. Judging by the smoke that rose from the wounds, the blades must have been silver. A line of demons waited off to the side for their turn on the wheel.
The far ring had a demon strapped to a table while a giant blade on a pendulum swung ever closer. I cringed. It would soon slice him in half. Knowing he was a demon, pure evil, didn’t make watching that any easier.
Arrow’s snicker took me by surprise. “Pretty sure I saw Criss Angel do a trick like that once. But I don’t think this guy is about to make a great escape.”
“Dude.” I shook my head. “Not cool.”
“Have you forgotten they deserve this?” Despite his initial apprehension, he seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.
I hated to sound like a white hat, but someone had to say it. “Are you forgetting that you’re dark, and this is what that means?”
Arrow stared straight ahead at the pendulum of doom. “Don’t worry about me, angel girl. Just make sure this never happens to Rowen.”
Because I didn’t know how to address that in its entirety, I said, “We are going to make sure this doesn’t happen to Rowen. That’s why we’re here.”
Nudging me with an elbow, Jett pointed to the center ring. “Am I the only one seeing the fucking shark tank?”
Definitely no missing that. A large tank housing a great white shark took up the center ring. A tight rope ran above it, a tight rope that randomly gave out, dropping its de-winged occupant into the water below. Another demon quickly took its place. This one too had had its wings torn off. Damn.
Death would not come for these demons. Forced to wear their physical forms, they’d be stabbed, slashed, and torn apart. But they would never die.
Scanning the tent, Jett eyed up the many demons awaiting their turn for torture. “How do we find your parental units? I don’t suppose you guys know who you’re looking for here.”
“I know his name,” I said. “That’s all.” My mother had told me his name many moons ago, though I’d never let myself speak it aloud. Not once.
“So we ask around.” Before I could respond Arrow set off across the tent.
Afraid he’d get us into some new trouble, I hurried after him. He marched right up to the knife-throwing demon at the spinning wheel and tapped him on the shoulder.
The demon whirled around with a scowl to see who dared to interrupt him. Unlike many of those here, he wore a human face, one of the most beautiful faces I’d ever seen on a demon.
The blood drained from my cheeks. I peered into red demon eyes set in a face so much like my own.
He gave us a brief once over before lingering on me. And then he threw a fireball in my face.
I threw my arms up to ward off the blow. The flames rolled over me and dissipated, leaving me unscathed. Shaken and a little pissed off, my temper flared. “What the fuck was that for?”
The demon shook his head a few times, eyes wide in disbelief. “It can’t be. Is this some new kind of torture? Ember?”
It was him. Well son of a bitch.
I gaped at him in matching wonder. Was this real or was it some kind of prison-world trick?
“Yeah, it’s me,” I squeaked out. “How do I know you’re really you?”
Trying to keep my wits about me proved difficult. Part of me had entertained childish fantasies of meeting him. That part of me had crumpled under the part of me that wanted nothing to do with him.
Tall, ashy-brown hair, and eyes so much like mine despite the color difference, it was hard to swallow in that moment. My companions gaped along with me, Jett more so than Arrow who maintained an arrogant sneer.
“I guess you don’t.” He looked me over again, the throwing knives he held forgotten in both hands. “You have your mother’s nose and high cheekbones. I knew you’d be beautiful. And you chose the light. I can feel it. I can’t tell you how hard I hoped that you would. Cinder must have made good on his promise; you have the Midnight Star.”
He blew my mind with those words. It was really him. It had to be. And I didn’t know how to feel about that.
I struggled to swallow. The heat seemed to have suddenly increased. “You know Cinder? He said you didn’t know one another personally.”
“We don’t. After I came here, he was assigned to you. He sent me a message, promising to do all he could to keep you from ending up here with me.” The demon who was my father kept blinking at me like I might be a dream he feared waking from. “You must believe the worst of me, and so you should, but don’t ever believe I never loved you.”
“Bullshit,” Arrow scoffed, arms crossed as he assessed the demon. “Why would any of you give a shit about us? You left us to make a choice we never should’ve had to make.”
Clearly Arrow had things to say to his own father. Still, I didn’t disagree with him. We had no reason to believe they gave a damn about us.
Prying his gaze from me, the demon studied Arrow before extending a hand. “Kai. And you are? Rhine’s son, I can see that. Which one?”
Arrow ignored Kai’s offered hand. He wasn’t quite able to wipe the shock off his face fast enough for us to miss it though. “The first one,” he said, his tone having lost some of its snark.
“You’re dark.” It wasn’t a question. Kai nodded in understanding. “And your brother? You do know you have a brother, don’t you?”
“We’re not here to talk about me. Don’t let me interrupt the family reunion.” Uncomfortable with Kai’s attention, Arrow stepped away, needing to observe from a safe distance.
Kai glanced about furtively. “We don’t have much time. Visits are often cut short, especially when its family. They don’t want us interacting. Tell me, why did you come?”
Why did I come? Good question.
I stood there staring at him like a moron. “Um, honestly, I don’t know. I got my hands on a Scorpio Key, and Cinder seemed to think a visit might be wise. Beyond that, I haven’t a friggin’ clue.” I must’ve looked like a deer in the headlights.
Jett attempted to come to my rescue. “This is the part where you give her some parental wisdom, I think.”
She jerked a thumb at Arrow. “If it makes any difference, she’s here to find a way to save his brother from replacing Rhine in his triad. Do with that what you will.”
Kai spared a glance for the demon on the wheel who spun continuously. His gaze drifted to the ceiling, searching for something I couldn’t see. Were we being watched?
“I was an angel when I fell in love with your mother. She was my charge, and I broke the first rule of guardianship. No getting attached. No falling in love.” Kai spoke fast, like he feared an imminent disruption. “The angels offered me a choice: if I would hand you over to them upon your birth, they would allow me to go free.”
I took advantage of his pause. “The angels? But why?”
Pain creased Kai’s brow, pain and something more. Guilt. “Because you’re like me. A thief. Our kind is rare and often seen as a threat by both angels and demons, because we can wield all powers. The angels felt that kind of power was too dangerous in the hands of a mortal.”
“Wait,” Jett interjected. “Are you saying the angels wanted to kill her? A helpless infant?”
“Some of them, yes. A select group. Many were against such a thing, which is why the others couldn’t just take her. Cinder was against it, as I learned after he became your guardian.” The throwing knives Kai held fell to the dirt floor. He grasped my hand and pleaded, “Be careful. You can’t always trust the light. The moment they find you to be a risk that they don’t deem to be worth taking, they’ll come for you.”
My head spun. Dizzy waves made me nauseous. “You gave yourself up so they wouldn’t take me?” I wanted to pull away yet also to hug him. But he was a demon now. This all could be a lie.
“Of course. I love your mother, Ember. And I love you. Neither of you deserve to suffer because of my actions.”
His expression skeptical, Arrow couldn’t resist butting in. “So the moral of the story is that sacrifice is the way to save Rowen? Because that’s what I’m hearing. Oh, and that there are shitheads on both sides, light and dark.”
Kai touched my chin, ensuring our eyes locked when he said, “With love there is always sacrifice. And with sacrifice, there is always love. Trust Cinder and trust yourself.”
My eyes burned as tears filled them. I blinked fast, trying to keep them from falling. So much had been thrown at me in so short a time. I was afraid to believe any of it until I had Cinder’s confirmation. But so badly I wanted to.
Suddenly Kai became panicked. He yanked his hand away and retrieved the throwing knives. Without hesitation he whipped one at the spinning demon, nailing it right in the throat.
“Go now. Hurry.”
I followed his worried stare to a giant creature in black robes, not unlike the modern grim reaper. This sucker was huge, as tall as three men, and as wide as a Hummer. It lumbered toward us with a massive spiked club.
“What about Rhine?” Arrow asked, ready to make a run for it. “Where can we find him?”
Kai flung knife after knife, going through the motions like torture and being tortured had become second nature. “You shouldn’t want to find him. But if you insist he’s in the Hall of Mirrors. Solitary. Where the worst of the worst are held.” He shouted at us once more to leave.
We didn’t have to be told again. The closer that reaper plodded, the faster we moved.
With a glance back before we fled the tent, we witnessed the demon under the pendulum sliced from crotch to forehead. Blood and gore painted my mind, staining my memories with brutality that would never be wiped clean.
Outside Arrow froze.
“Come on, dude.” Jett prodded him, going so far as to bump her shoe against his. “Let’s see how your old man measures up against Spike’s.”
Face pale, Arrow gasped for breath. Sweat broke out on his brow. Pupils enormous, he scrubbed both hands over his face. “I’m not sure I can go in there.”
“Where? The House of Mirrors?” I pushed my wet hair out of my face. The sulfuric rain hadn’t let up. If anything it came down harder.
“Yeah. Of course that has to be where he is. Of fucking course.” Oblivious to the stinging rain pelting his face, Arrow stared up into the sky. Lightning burst above us. “God, I’m such a pussy.”
“No argument here,” Jett quipped.
Ignoring her, I got close enough to Arrow to lay a gentle hand on his arm. This time he let me. “Arrow, what happened?”
A guttural groan ripped from him. Whatever he wrestled with, it ran deep. “When I was a kid, about six I guess, some older kids lured me into the House of Mirrors and chased me around. Scared the hell out of me so bad, the shadows manifested. It was the first time.” Pausing, Arrow dropped his gaze to the ground. His black hair hung long and wet, hiding his face. “I kicked their asses, almost choked them to death. They told their parents I was a monster. Nobody believed their story of course. Except my mom. She insisted I never go to another carnival again.”
“That hardly seems fair. It wasn’t your fault.” A gentleness in her tone, Jett hugged herself against the bitter chill of the rain.
“Doesn’t matter. I’ve hated the damn things ever since anyway.” Arrow glanced at the building that hosted the large House of Mirrors sign. “It’s stupid. Let’s just go. You guys are getting soaked out here.”
As we started for the House of Mirrors, I tried to be helpful even though I felt like anything but. “You know, Arrow, you don’t have to go in there. You don’t have to see him.”
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he shuffled along beside me. “Yeah. I do.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
One step inside the House of Mirrors and I knew we were in for a challenge. To each side and straight ahead, mirrored pathways taunted us. It was impossible to tell which way we were supposed to go. Everything looked the same.
Elaborate archways and pillars decorated the place. Lights in jarring colors flashed, just enough light at random intervals to light the way. The mirrored surfaces gleamed with infinite reflections. Crystal clear panels interspersed among the mirrors left me struggling to identify which routes they blocked. We fumbled along the open pathway.
Right away the heavy sensation of dark power gripped me. Stifling. Each breath required effort. Moving slow with tentative steps, we left the comfort of the entryway.
“We have to stick together,” I ordered. “Close enough to touch. One wrong step and we’ll be lost in here. We can’t let it separate us.” I could see how easy it would be to get confused and scattered.
Based on Arrow’s ghostly pallor, he saw that danger too.
The first pathway seemed easy enough. A trick. It led us into a small enclosure. Surrounded on every side by the same image, there was no way to tell which was a reflection and which was a pathway.
“I don’t suppose we should touch anything,” Jett mused, leaning in to scrutinize what she thought to be a mirror. “Which is going to make it harder to find our way through.”
The face appeared so suddenly, Jett stumbled back. I grabbed hold of an elbow to steady her, unable to take my gaze off the deformity staring out at us. Its gray and craggy skin hung on a face shaped more like an angry old bear than anything resembling a human. The red eyes were pure demon though.
“Come closer,” the demon hissed. “I don’t bite. I will however peel that supple skin from your tender flesh, strip by strip.” A forked tongue lashed out to lick his thin lips.
I would’ve shuddered at the image he’d painted if I hadn’t been more concerned with Arrow who’d gone rigid beside me.
I drew the Midnight Star and poked it toward the demon mirror. The tip of the sword tapped the surface, and with an angry yowl the demon withdrew. Or so I thought. Instead he lunged at the mirror’s surface in a bid to break free. His face grew huge, filling the entire thing.
We all jumped.
In the cramped space Jett tripped over my foot and fell into the mirror directly behind her. Thick, veiny arms protruded forth to grab her around the middle. Without warning the demon within b
egan to drag her kicking and screaming into the mirror.
I could see nothing of the creature but arms, so I began to hack them with the sword. Arrow grabbed Jett, fighting hard to keep it from pulling her in. He managed to give me just enough distance between Jett and the mirror to keep slamming my blade to gash the demon’s limbs. Deep red blood spattered with each blow. With a guttural cry of anger and fear, I let him have it one more time. Both arms fell to the floor, detached from their owner.
Jett dropped into Arrow who almost stepped too close to another mirror in his efforts to catch her.
The arms on the floor flopped about like fish out of water. I eyed them in revulsion.
The first demon whose face still filled his mirror cackled at us. “Nephilim, you will join us.”
I’d had enough. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Using the sword, I tapped the panels until I found one that had no surface at all, an open pathway. Holding the Midnight Star ahead of us, I prodded each open space to determine what was barred and what was not. Several more demons rose up to snarl and curse us as we passed.
We made a few attempts to ask them about Rhine. Mockery and scorn met us at each turn.
Once we were so deep in the belly of the mirror maze and had yet to find Rhine or an honest mention of him, I began to question our choice to seek him out. What could Arrow possibly gain by speaking to Rhine anyway? Knowing it wasn’t my question to ask or my place to choose, I continued to lead the way.
“Arrow.”
A low, sinister tone echoed around us. It seemed to come from every direction.
“Do you know why I gave you that name?” Without waiting for a reply, the voice continued. “It’s a warrior’s name. A symbol of weaponry and warfare. I’d hoped you would do it justice.”
I’d assumed Arrow used a stage name or nickname, like me. Jett’s real name was Jennifer, and God help the person who dared to call her by it. Apparently I’d assumed wrong.
