Down in Flames

by Jennifer Siddoway

  Not a single fighter could touch him with the devastating weapon he wielded.

  I sneered at him across the shore as he came towards me deliberately, making no secret of his purpose and unbending in his path, again casting aside fey and demons alike with the uncaring ease of one who knows himself to be inherently superior and sovereign, leaving a wake of destruction behind. My teeth gritted with rage as I saw him cut down innocent lives and I took a careful step forward. When the carnage dissipated behind him, he shifted closer with a teleportation spell until we were standing face to face. There was a green spark of electricity as he tucked the mace into his belt and then suddenly a snake appeared, coiled around his forearm like a whip. Aidan smiled and gripped it firmly by the tail, snapping it out with a tremendous crack and wrapped it around the stake that I was holding.

  No! I couldn’t let him take that from me.

  I held on to it as tightly as I could, but when he pulled it back I was dragged along with it across the sand. In a flash, I unwrapped it from the coiled viper and teleported to a place where he couldn’t see me. If Aidan got the upper hand, I knew it would be all over – my final, killing blow to him would have to be delivered by stealth.

  His wings erupted from his back as he brandished the infernal mace and came barreling across the ground towards me. I parried his weapon with my psychic blade, and held off the attack. Breathing heavily through my nose, I cleared my head of everything except the dancing exchange of blows that put our bodies into sync. I’d seen him use this fighting style before, and had an idea of what he’d do, where he would be. I wanted him to think he had the upper hand, so when he closed in, it would put him exactly where I wanted. He would sweep the mace, using such force that I would be forced to dodge entirely rather than block, eventually jumping back, where he would Blink and hit me from behind. The huge crystal mace came sweeping just as expected, though more dangerously close and forceful than it had when I was training. When I finally had to leap back, I spun and thrust my blades right where Aidan should be appearing. Instead I was overstretched in empty air, as a shadow fell over me, followed by violent lights flashing in my skull.

  Dazed, I found myself sprawled on the ground. My lungs were empty and unable to work; my ears were ringing from the wave of pressure that precipitated the blow, and I was pretty sure some ribs were broken. I had seen and felt that enough times in hell to recognize the feeling and the bloody sputtering that followed.

  “Oh, sweet child, I clearly did not teach you well enough, I cannot believe you actually thought to pull me into a trap!” came the gentle scolding with a vicious sharpness nearby.

  Looking up at the shadow looming over me, I slowly focused on a dark-haired woman who, to my surprise, was blocking Aidan who stood ready to finish what he’d started.

  “Stay behind me, Wynn.”

  When I heard her voice, I looked up in terror. Mom, no…

  Michele stood there in front of him, her black hair flowing in the breeze and challenging his authority. The standoff between them must have dredged up some complicated emotions. Would she be able to kill the man that she once loved? I hoped so, but I’d been wrong about her before.

  Aidan scowled, watching her actively defy him. “Michele,” he addressed her condescendingly, like an ex-wife that couldn’t stay away.

  “Hello, lover,” she taunted.

  “Lover?” he mocked her casually. “And here I thought you had forgotten me.”

  “It was a long time ago,” she mused.

  “That’s my line,” he quipped. “I thought you would have given up this futile battle by now. Surely, you know there’s no way I would ever give you or Wynn the possibility of succeeding.”

  She raised her hands and summoned the sand to rise up from the ground and swirl around him like a tornado. Its blasting winds trapped him inside, beating down like shards of glass and rubble. Mom groaned, holding her hands out to maintain the spell, and spread her feet to get better footing.

  Her face was like a stone, actively defying her demon master and steeling herself for battle. In my mind, I saw her shedding the witch’s mantle and taking her life back again. She was born with fairy blood, and without the bonds of Aidan’s control, it set her free. The decisions of her past weren’t what she wanted now.

  Until now, I’d never heard of a witch being able to defy her demonic master; it just wasn’t done. Witches only get their power from their contract, which meant the demon wielding it could revoke that gift at any time. Mom was no ordinary witch though, she was born with Blood of the Fae – that made her special. Her green eyes flashed and in that moment, I knew she was no longer a witch. Fae lore was her true heritage.

  The winds were so thick I couldn’t see through them, until he leapt out and landed on the ground in front of me. As the dust began to fade, the dark, kneeling form of Aidan’s figure slowly became visible. He knelt with his weapon planted in the ground. He looked up with an evil grin. Clad in his most impressive and exquisite black armor, he truly looked like the Lord of Hell. His arrogance never faltered as he stood up menacingly, watching her with flaming red eyes.

  In half a beat, Aidan stood and slapped her across the face with the back of his metal gauntlet. “You dare to use that flimsy magic against me? You’re forgetting who gave you those powers in the first place!”

  Mom smiled thinly from the ground where she had landed, “Not all of them.”

  Without warning, she shrieked in rage and launched herself on top of him, engulfing them both in green flames, and climbed onto his back. As they grappled in the fire, I felt myself being pulled into a vision. The familiar tugging behind my eyes brought me to another time or place.

  When the vertigo subsided and I was able to focus, I was in the center of a teenager’s bedroom. There was a group of teenage girls sitting around a chalk circle on the floor with candles lit at each of the five points on a pentagram. All the lights were out, except for the faint glow coming from the flames. The girl who seemed to be leading them was unusually beautiful, with long black hair and full pouting lips. A multicolored skirt spread out across her knees as she knelt there on the floor, with an oversized sweater with holes ripped along the seams. In the darkness, I could see her fierce green eyes sparkle in the shadows.

  It was eerily quiet for a moment as the girls paused in anticipation to see if anything was happening. Then, out of nowhere, Aidan’s voice spoke out clearly, “This should be entertaining.”

  The dim light of the candles barely lit his figure across the room. He was lying on the dresser like some kind of Greek God lounging on a chaise. There was a box of popcorn in his hand as he watched them curiously, his eyes twinkling in the candlelight.

  Time had not touched his face since that day, which I sensed was long, long ago. He was still the glamorous, evil mastermind that had been tormenting my family for decades. It was mildly amusing to see his fine clothing contrasted against the humble dwelling they were inhabiting. Aidan was proud and handsome, and the surrounding dingy, stained carpet and thrift store furniture couldn’t drag him down to their level.

  The girls giggled nervously, each looking around to see if something had happened, but they couldn’t see him. No one that is, except for the dark-haired child that had conjured him in the first place. She gasped when she saw him in the corner, her eyes growing wide with fright. “W-ho are you?”

  I could only imagine what seeing a being like him would do to a young girl like that; the attraction was unavoidable – especially if she didn’t know better. Aidan was many things: pompous, arrogant, cruel, but no one could deny his charm. He raised an elegant eyebrow and turned to her with a little smile, his interest clearly piqued. “You can see me?” he asked sweetly.

  The dark-haired girl balked, confused, her charming features marred with distress at the evasiveness of his question. She had full, pouting lips and deep-set eyes that were hard not to be drawn into when she gazed back him in frustration. “Of course I can. Who are you?”

/>   His eyes narrowed as he sat up straight on the wooden dresser and dispersed the popcorn in his hand. It was an old, antique style piece of furniture that didn’t blend with the rest of the décor. Its wooden frame was chipped away at the edges from years of use and improper maintenance – probably homemade. The girl watched him, fascinated as he stepped onto the ground and began circling around her like a wolf. “You summoned me, little one, not the other way around. I should be asking you that.”

  She cleared her throat nervously, looking up at him. “I’m Michele.”

  Oh no…

  My stomach clenched in horror as I saw my teenage mother first meeting the Demon Lord.

  “Michele,” he repeated simply. “I like that.”

  The girl looked around at her companions, who were all staring at her confused. “What’s your name?”

  The Demon Lord clicked his tongue in thought and clasped his hands behind his back, while deciding how to answer. His earring twinkled in the candlelight beneath his pale blond hair, while he looked her over curiously. “My name would be poison on your lips,” he responded cheekily.

  Her brow line puckered with mild consternation. “Then what do I call you?”

  “Tell you what, why don’t you choose a name for me? You can pick anything you like and it will be our little secret.”

  She thought for a moment and then a slow smile began to creep across her face. “…Aidan.”

  He traced a finger across the shadow of a bruise on her cheekbone and smiled, saying, “Then ‘Aidan’ I shall be.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lifting the Curse

  ML

  My jaw dropped as I came reeling back from the vision and gasped painfully. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, and I was still disoriented from finally seeing how the whole thing started. The sad yet beautiful child who unknowingly conjured an actual demon from the depths of hell.

  She had no idea what she was doing, I realized sadly. She was a child.

  I blinked, shaking my head as I returned to the battle in front of me. Mom was clinging to his back and strangling him from behind as green flames swirled around them both. I wasn’t sure what the fire did to him exactly, but he howled in pain and shook her off him as best he could. Her face was twisted with a sort of rage that I could only imagine came after years of fighting the same demons time and time again. Aidan was a curse she could not seem to shake.

  This is my chance.

  I’d just stood up when Aidan released his wings, hidden behind his glamour. The force of them expanding threw Mom off him and sent her crashing to the ground, where she barely caught herself on her hands with a heavy grunt. The landing broke her concentration on the spell and the flames dissipated into a light fizzle on the sand. Aidan didn’t waste time turning around, he simply Blinked and he was right there with her, kneeling eye to eye. They were so close, it almost looked like he was going to kiss her, but then I saw the blood and felt my whole world stop.

  “Mom!”

  Four demons took advantage of my distraction to force me to the ground.

  Her eyes flew open wide for a second, then looked down at the hard, cold blade embedded in her chest. A crimson ooze stained the front of her clothing from the place where he had stabbed her and I screamed out again in horror, “NOOOO!”

  Aidan removed the blade from her chest and wiped it with a handkerchief while she coughed up a bit of blood and spat it on the ground. He sneered, standing up in front of her with a hand on the hilt of his blade and said, “I could have loved you, ungrateful bitch.”

  Mom’s eyes were fixed on me as he was talking, a tiny smile forming at the corner of her mouth. It happened so impossibly slowly that I could hear blood rushing to my ears as she fell face first to the ground. Everything around me, the fighting, yelling, dying, fell to an inaudible roar. The world narrowed to a dark tunnel, where all I could see was her selfish, beautiful, smiling face, and for a moment, we were the only two in existence.

  White vapors of her immortal spirit lifted from the ground and rose into the sky. She was dead. After all this time it had finally happened, and I still couldn’t believe it. The most incredible thing was that she sacrificed herself for me – I didn’t think she had it in her. After selling her child, and her soul, to a Demon Lord, it seemed like all her goodness, any altruistic feeling would be lost.

  I screamed her name repeatedly into the salty air and tears streamed down my face.

  It couldn’t end like this, I wouldn’t let it.

  Aidan sighed, turning away from her lifeless corpse and returned the handkerchief to the cuff of his metal gauntlet. “At last, the witch is dead. Now I can finally be rid of her.”

  My entire body was shaking with rage and I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into the skin. As they cut into the flesh, some drops of blood streamed down my hand. The pain of loss was crippling, but thankfully, the rage, the wrath refocused me to see him there, so dismissive as to turn his back on me.

  Soon, more demons piled on top of me, three to each limb so that I could barely breathe, let alone teleport. Their claws dug into my flesh, but I still held tightly to the wooden stake that was our salvation.

  Aidan still had his back to me, staring at her dead body for a moment longer, then he turned, his eyes falling on me. I gripped the stake with all the strength I had, thinking he was going to try and take it from me. I pulled the trick he just had and released my glamour, my wings throwing most of the demons off me but before I could stand, Aidan’s metal boot came down on my hand. Bone and wood alike cracked and shattered as he crushed the stake and me along with it.

  As the stake broke, a small wave of energy swept around us and I yelled out in pain and anguish as the hope of a future, of defeating Aidan, all went up in smoke.

  I screamed from the shattered bones beneath his boot and bitter tears pricked at the corners of my eyes – there would be no second chances. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. The weight and magnitude of my failure was all too much. I saw my mother die and Charley bleeding as she clutched the unborn child she was carrying. I didn’t know where Caleb was, or if he was still alive. I was in shock, unable to believe what had happened.

  All that careful planning, all the sacrifice, gone.

  The demons didn’t wait for me to recoil, they held me firmly on either arm as Aidan gestured to them beside me. “Once you’re done here, I want you to bring her back to me in one piece.”

  “Yes, Master,” they said turning to me.

  “In. One. Piece,” he repeated carefully. “Her blood is necessary to complete the spell. Bring her filthy Guardian as well, I want him to see what we do to traitors in Avernus.”

  “We understand, we will....”

  The demon stopped mid-sentence and began gulping for air as though some unseen force was strangling him. His mouth opened in a painful silent cry and his hands shot to his ears to cover them. Aidan looked around curiously as the demons all over the beach paused and struggled to catch their breath, clawing at their ears.

  It wasn’t a loud sound, at least it didn’t start that way, but ringing across the battlefield came a single piercing note that shook us all to our very core. A voice singing above the chaos and clamor, rang out and cut through the din of battle as everyone stopped and tried to find the source of the sound.

  Suddenly the voice was joined by another, and another, and then an entire choir broke through the darkness as a heavenly host descended from the sky. Their heartfelt arias were so filled with beauty and love, the demons began to convulse and writhe in pain from hearing it.

  A descant began, higher than the rest, as I saw Elyse among them, fighting the hordes of hell with her song. Her entire body shook from the effort, and the vibrations from the force of it brought even the strongest demons to their knees.

  Hope swelled in my soul at the sight of them and I stood, kicking the now incapacitated demons off me. Everywhere demons were falling to the ground, but the ogres and bearded demons still st
ood across the beach. I saw Belphegor raging, “Archers, take aim!”

  A legion of ogres faced the oncoming angels and pulled their horrendous bows taught, their arrows thick as small trees and aiming right for the unarmed choir. Then from behind, up and over flew the Guardians with Michael, the avenging Angel, at their head. Their swords sliced through the volley of arrows as their righteous vengeance began wreaking havoc on the creatures from the realm below.

  “Yes!” a voice shouted from the distance and I spotted Caleb, arm and sword upraised in triumph as he welcomed his brothers in arms. He stood on a pile of bodies, his great golden armor gleaming like a beacon in the storm and my heart soared at the sight of my knight, still fighting for goodness.

  Aidan took us all in, his cold calculating features barely moving. “You want something done right…” he muttered under his breath as he grabbed me by the neck and teleported. We appeared right in front of Caleb, as he was swinging his sword back down. He had enough time to look surprised when Aidan seized him by the throat, too. With one of us in each hand, the Demon Lord conjured a tornado of power, dematerializing everything around us, and the last thing I saw before he teleported us to his palace was the angel choir.

  With the angels arriving to join the battle, I knew Nate and Maya would be safe. It was good news for everyone else, but I had lost my will to fight. There was no point without the stake, I had no other way to kill him.

  Mephistopheles looked up from his desk over a pair of rimless spectacles at our sudden arrival and purred at the sight of me being dragged down the hallway. He stepped aside and drew his hand across the wall to open the portal to Aidan’s lair.

  My master’s office looked different than it usually did. The lights were dim, there were candles everywhere, and in the middle of the room sat a cauldron.