Charley smiled weakly and placed her hand on his. “I only told you that so you would let me go. I broke her out of a demon prison. What do you think that entailed?”
“Crap, this is bad,” I heard Lacey murmur. Her face was pale as she tried to stem the flow of blood and felt my life force slipping between her fingers. “Maybe we should call an ambulance.”
Charlene whirled around in shock and shouted, “No! Are you insane? That will only bring up more questions.”
“Well, I can’t treat her here. I’m not a doctor!”
Ryan nodded in agreement, his brown eyes worried. “It might be beyond the range of modern medicine.”
“That only leaves one option,” Lacey mumbled as she looked back and forth between them nervously. I couldn’t lift my head anymore and Charlene carefully helped me cradle it on the arm rest.
Before I passed out, the last thing I heard was, “Somebody get Caleb.”
Chapter Four
Demon Dialysis
ML
I woke up panting, surrounded by pillows and a knitted afghan of lumpy cotton fabric. My heart beat wildly and I flinched as the pain on my right arm flared, but not from where Charley cut me, it was lower.
“Augh!” I groaned.
I looked down where the pain was coming from and saw a handprint red as a sunburn – it stung like one as well. It was too small for a man, which meant that had to be where Charlene had grabbed me.
“I should have known escaping a place like that would leave a mark,” I grumbled. “I wasn’t going to get out of there scott free.”
Where am I? I asked myself while I looked around.
One of my eyes was badly swollen and I was still bleeding from my forehead. I rolled over on a lumpy cushion and recognized the fabric. The smell of fabric detergent was distinctive and brought back a flood of memories.
Caleb.
I sat up on the couch and felt the rush of blood flowing swiftly to my head. The room was filled with all the people I love: Lacey, Ryan, Charlene … Caleb. My eyes settled on him for a moment and it felt like my heart had stopped. We stared at each other in silence as the others started talking all at once. I couldn’t believe he was here, that we were face to face again after all this time. He looked at me in awestruck wonder, not knowing what to say, as if he were looking at a ghost – a marvelous ghost, but a ghost nonetheless.
The tension between us was nearly palpable, but I couldn’t dwell on it.
“Welcome back,” Lacey greeted me quietly with a smile.
I nodded, letting my head fall back against the pillow and let out an exhausted but contented sigh. My body felt like it had been put through a trash compacter and my head ached from pressure. As it hit the fabric, blood rushed to my temples and I let out a painful hiss. “Augh!”
“Oh yeah, and some broken ribs as well.”
Caleb’s reaction to my pain was instant. I could see in his face that it was hurting him to see this. The throbbing pain from my side sobered me up instantly as I became more aware of the surroundings. Ryan and Charlene were sitting on the couch as he applied a compress to her forehead, and Lacey was standing next to them. Caleb sat in the chair closest to me with a worried expression on his face.
As I became more aware of my surroundings, I realized we were in the Murphy’s guest house at the far end of their property. The living quarters had been rearranged, but the structure and design were indistinguishable. Ryan and I had played here when we were children and pretended it was our own private castle, but it had changed since then.
“What am I doing here?” I asked them curiously.
Caleb sighed, running his fingers through the back of his dark brown hair. “They brought you to me so that I could heal you. It’s a good thing, too.”
“You live in the Murphy’s guest house?”
“Mm-hmm, for about a year now,” he confirmed.
Ryan nodded solemnly and handed the compress to Charlene so he could talk to me. He crossed his arms against his chest. “We thought about taking you to the hospital, but we weren’t sure if that would be enough. Caleb’s still got some residual magic left and it seemed like our best option.”
I groaned as another jolt of pain rocked through me and I whimpered against the pillow. “This is what I look like healed?” I asked them skeptically. “How bad was it?”
Caleb’s face was pained when he responded, “Bad. We didn’t know if you were going to make it.”
I’d forgotten the incredible paleness of his kind blue eyes, and when he looked at me I felt my chest tighten. “I have to tell you something,” I started nervously. “Aidan’s been building up an army and he’s planning to invade.”
“What?” Caleb asked, his eyes flying open in shock. “That doesn’t even sound possible. Demon’s aren’t able to survive here very long; the Mortal Realm rejects them.”
I shook my head and sighed. “You don’t understand. He’s going to shift the alignment of the Earth’s magical energy. There are these, I dunno … veins of magic that flow through the ground. I think they come from the Garden of Eden since that’s where life originated. They’re filled with the power of nature and bring life to various places all across the globe. That’s what keeps everything in balance. If Aidan gets ahold of them and is able to shift that power into demonic energy, it could unleash a portal that will open the floodgates to the Demonic Realm.”
“How exactly is he going to do that?”
“He’s been mining them, slowly weakening the defenses around them for who knows how long. Once he’s finished he’ll need a ‘key’, made from the Earth itself to create a portal.”
“A key from the Earth itself? What does that mean?”
“Lilith.”
A look of understanding dawned on his face. “The Blood of the Fae?”
I nodded.
“Even if I don’t have anything to do with it, one day he’s going to find a creature that will. Lucifer has always wanted to rule and this is how he plans on taking over. He needs to be taken out of power. He’s made it personal and has larger plans in store. If killing him leaves a void in the Demonic Realm that needs to be filled, then we’ll deal with that when it happens. No one is disputing the role of Pride in the grand scheme of things - its an important function and I acknowledge that. Aidan, however, is another thing entirely. I would rather see another creature fill that role, than have a calculating devious psychopath. The whole point of the Realms of Hell is that it’s not personal, but Aidan is making it exactly that. I’m declaring war on him.”
I was flushed from emotion by the end of my speech and the rest of them fell quiet.
“I know you’re right,” Caleb muttered quietly. “But how do you kill a demon so they won’t come back? They’re already in the underworld, so their body and soul are already separated to begin with.”
“I have a plan for that,” I responded with a smile. “Nadia killed Raffe with a branch made out of the tree from the Garden of Eden.”
“The Tree of Knowledge?”
“No, the Tree of Life.”
Caleb and Charlene’s faces went pale, but the others stared at me like I was speaking another language. Almost instantly there was a hush in the air between us, with a sense of reverence and fear surrounding the holy place.
Why do they fear it so?
I knew the answer to that question before I even asked it – because it can kill an immortal. Any immortal. That made it uniquely dangerous to anyone.
“Wynn, that is incredibly dangerous,” he whispered urgently. “The Cherubim alone would rip you to shreds in a heartbeat.”
My expression fell and I turned to him, annoyed. “Nadia got past. You still don’t have faith in me that I’ll succeed?”
His eyes flew open in surprise. “No, I’m just saying—”
“You don’t think I can do it.”
“Will you let me talk!” he spat out angrily. “All I’m saying is they are highly trained, single-minded entities. They’v
e been preparing for this for millennia. It’s all they think about and their only purpose in existence. So, if you plan on going there alone, I’m going to have to fight you. Charley, do you know anything about how the Tree would work? I’ve never heard of a demon being killed before; they just respawn in the Underworld.”
I rolled my eyes at him while Charlene breathed out a nervous sigh. “Lucifer and the other Demon Lords are created from the essence of Hell itself. When a human dies and their soul is brought there, they still remain intact – they aren’t bound to the Demon Realm the way demons are; it’s just where they reside. Demons are permanently fixed to that plane because it’s what they’re made of. It’s kind of like oil and water. They keep reconnecting with themselves, but without the immortality granted them from the Tree it would be like adding soap. It blocks them from reconnecting with themselves and that negative energy will be reabsorbed into the Realms Below. The essence will still exist, but without the intelligence behind it. Lucifer could never return.”
“Are you saying this will work?”
Charley clicked her tongue. “Theoretically, yes. If you could actually pull this off, then Aidan will cease to be. You’re still forgetting the most important piece of the puzzle though. No one has ever been to the Garden in thousands of years. Its location was lost in time. You’d never be able to find it, and even if you did, only fae can enter.”
Glancing over, I saw Charley collapsed in another armchair. Ryan was holding a compress to her head and taking care of her the best way he knew how. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” she told us calmly. “But there’s something else we have to do if this is going to work, and you’re not going to like it.”
“What’s that?”
Charley wet her lips, formulating the statement in her mouth. “We stole a prized piece of Aidan’s treasury,” she started slowly. “Wynn has been marked with his signet and once Aidan realizes she’s missing he’ll come looking. My power can’t shield her here forever. We have to cut it out from her shoulder.”
I grumbled slightly. “She’s right, he uses it to track me. The angels are going to be coming after me as well, so I need to remove any way they could scry or find me. I’m not sure how they’re doing it, but I can’t take any chances.”
“But it’s magical,” Lacey argued. “Do you really think just cutting it out will remove the magic bond?”
“It should. What I can tell you is this needs to happen now. It’s not going to be pleasant, that’s for sure.”
Ryan’s face went pale as he looked at her. “Charley, what about yours? Doesn’t Belphegor have a mark on you as well?”
She smiled weakly. “When I left the Demonic Realm, it was legally part of the equal exchange. Caleb fell and when he became mortal a demon had to be freed to maintain balance. Belphegor’s claim on me was broken, and I was free. When I first got here, I was worried about that too, but I would sense his pull on me if that were the case. I’m safe.”
Caleb stomped off angrily and threw his hands down on the counter, slapping one of the dishes into the wall behind. I trembled as it crashed into a thousand pieces and he hung his head in rage. “This is so unfair. I hate it. I don’t know if I can be in the same room when it happens.”
“Would it help if you removed mine too?” Charley asked him flatly.
All of them waited for a response, staring at him in silence, until he walked over and gave her a hug. “Charley, I’m not a sadist. I’m don’t want to see you in pain either. It sucks that Wynn has to go through this again.”
“I know.”
Lacey’s hands were trembling as she stepped forwards with her arms across her chest and said, “What will we do for pain? I don’t have anything that powerful inside my medical kit.”
“Carving it out can’t be worse than carving it in,” I told them. “I survived it once, I can do it again.”
“I think we’re going old school. Get something for her to bite on. Caleb, I know this is your apartment, but get out.”
“But….”
“OUT! I don’t want you to see this.”
Her voice choked on the words as they rang out, and we all stared at her in shock. Caleb’s face was red as he stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him. Ryan looked like he was going to be sick and went running after him. Lacey was about to follow, but Charley held her back. “Lacey, I need your help. You’ve got to dress the wound when I’m done.”
Lacey had the expression of a deer caught in the headlights and merely nodded. “Y-yeah, of course.” She quickly disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a wooden spoon. “Sorry, that’s all I could find.”
I nodded weakly, taking it from her and rolling over to my stomach. My eyes flitted down to her left hand where the glint of an engagement ring sat on the end of her finger. Seeing it there made me realize how much time had passed, and how much I had missed out on while I was gone. She looked happy, and clearly, they were still in love. That was one good thing at least. “Congratulations, by the way. I saw your ring.”
“Thank you.”
“When’s the big day?”
Charley smiled, her cupids-bow mouth inching up on either side. She swiftly pulled her hair back into a ponytail to keep the station sanitary. “Six weeks.”
“Six weeks? How long have I been gone?” I demanded.
“We can talk about that later,” she insisted. “You’ve got bigger things to worry about.”
I nodded, looking over at Lacey who was flushed and frantic as she knelt down to hold my hand. Charlene held a serrated blade over the open flame of a cigarette lighter to sterilize the metal and swallowed nervously. Somewhere in the distance, I heard wings fluttering and a shimmering portal opened along the wall. All three of us turned towards it when a beautiful, dark skinned woman stepped through on the other side. She had round cheekbones and short black hair that was wild and untamed. Her blue aura signified she was an angel but her smile was kind and welcoming. “Who are you?” Charlene asked.
“Chloe,” the woman stated. “Caleb summoned me and sent me here to help. He said you were in need of a healer.”
I chuckled through the pain and thought to myself, always looking out for me. “It’s okay, Charley. Let her come,” I muttered.
They let her pass and the woman nodded, coming to see what we were doing. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the extent of my injuries and took a seat beside me on the couch. Chloe’s lips were pursed together tight as she carefully planned the next step in my healing process.
“It’s her shoulder,” Charlene explained. “We have to get the sigil out or Aidan will come for her.”
Chloe smiled, reaching over to brush her fingers against the demon sigil. “You must be Wynonna. I’ve heard a great deal about you from the Order, none of it good though, I’m afraid.”
“Sounds about right,” I nodded sagely.
“However, Caleb says you’re a friend and I value his opinion above the whispering of stuffy bureaucrats. I will help you rid yourself of this dark brand Lucifer placed on you.”
There was a palpable sigh of relief from the three of us at the declaration and Chloe smiled.
After examining the mark closely, she stood up and announced, “The demon’s mark runs deep, it will have to be removed in two steps. First, it must be cut out from her skin and I will counteract the magic that’s been done. To reverse Lucifer’s claim, I will have to neutralize it.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“By balancing the energy flowing through it – you’re familiar with acid, yes?”
I nodded slowly.
“And if you’re burned with acid, then you treat it with a base opposite. I’m going to flood the area with angelic power and hopefully that will cancel out his magical tag. Once both of those are done, I’ll fix the physical ailments of your skin so there will be no lasting damage. It will require all my skill to do this, I’m afraid it will be most unpleasant.”
Swallowing hard, I
settled back onto the couch and nodded in agreement. “Thank you, Chloe.”
The woman smiled thinly and looked me squarely in the eyes. “I’m not doing it for you. Caleb is a very old friend of mine, he doesn’t ask for favors often.”
Charlene came forward with the blade and she and Chloe glanced at each other warily.
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Wynn, I’m so sorry to do this. Please don’t hate me when I’m finished. If anyone understands what happened to you down there, it’s me. I wouldn’t do this unless we had to.”
“I know.”
“Just lay down and … think about something else.”
Lacey was crying as I took the wooden spoon between my teeth and lay down on my stomach, pulling my hair out of the way. To keep myself from flailing, I crossed my arms in front of my chest so the weight of my body would hold them down beneath me. My heart pounded with anxiety as I closed my eyes and braced for the pain I knew was coming. I was no stranger to pain and I knew it was necessary, but the idea of willingly subjecting myself to it still made me sick to my stomach – I was not a masochist.
Breathing out through my nose, I felt the cool metal of the blade rest against my skin and everyone held their breath. In a sudden quick movement, the edge dug into my skin and ripped off a piece of flesh. My eyes flew open in an instant and I bit down into the wooden handle to stifle my howl of distress. I could feel the warm trickle of blood streaming down my arm as the skin was removed.
Lacey wiped away as much of it as she could while the others continued working. Tears were streaming down my face as I screamed in agony against the wooden handle. As the knife hit a nerve, a shock of electric pain radiated through my body. Somehow, I thought I would be prepared and the pain would be exactly what I expected. It wasn’t even close. It was so much worse, nearly blinding me from the sheer agony. Charlene had to go deeper than Aidan’s initial mark to get underneath the sigil.
Oh, God. Bad idea. This was an awful, terrible idea, I realized immediately. I swallowed back the nausea and held as still as possible, my teeth aching from biting so hard that I thought the spoon would split in half. I couldn’t see Chloe working as she counteracted the demonic brand, but it felt like my skin was on fire. The best description I could think of at the time was cauterization, where flesh was destroyed and cleansed at the same time. The skin around my shoulder sputtered and sparked in reaction to her gift, my demon body instinctively trying to reject the power she wielded to make it whole.
Down in Flames Page 6
