by Cege Smith
“Your aunt is on the other side of the door,” Dane said, casting a distasteful look at the door. “I hope you know what you are doing. If not, this place will eat you alive.”
Dane turned and walked down the long hallway before David could stop him. David wondered how much Dane had reasoned out on his own, and felt a bit like kicking himself for being too transparent. But in the end, Dane hadn’t been able to be sure that David was running an elaborate deception, and so David had gotten what he wanted from the man. He needed to focus on that.
David took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door opened, and David found himself face to face with Lillian. Bile rose up in this throat, but he forced himself to step up and engulf her in a hug. “Mother, I’m so glad that I found you.”
Lillian pushed David away and then looked around him into the hall. “David, this is a surprise. After your rather abrupt departure with those transports in Purgatory, I imagined you’d have found your Ellie by now.”
David pushed into the room and looked around. It looked exactly like an expensive hotel room on the Other Side. Thankfully, the room appeared to be empty. He wasn’t sure who else he may find there with her.
“Lillian, forgive the intrusion. After I left Purgatory, I had an opportunity to reflect on my decisions. You were right. The time has come for me to make a choice. Life in the Afterlife is a very long time, and I need to be more thoughtful about my future. It’s time for me to think long-term. Ellie was short-term. I decided that I wanted to support you here in your efforts to move onto the Council, and perhaps there is a place for me here in Hell.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that you’ve had this epiphany, David,” Lillian said. “Although I have to admit that I am still surprised, especially with how protective you’ve been of the Coulter woman.”
“How can I prove to you that this is what I want?” David asked.
Lillian’s lips pursed. “There is a lot of dissention here in Hell right now, David. I admit that having you openly declare your support for me would be beneficial for both of us. Because of Braz’s bungling inability to keep you in Purgatory, you have been automatically assigned here to our care. There are many ways that you would be able to make an impact quickly. I could help you with that.”
“Whatever you need me to do,” David said dropping his head. He wanted to ask what had happened to Braz, but he didn’t dare. “You have to forgive me for all of the insanity of the last few weeks. I had no idea the size of the world here, having been inside the waypoint for so long. It took me a little while to realize that my future is intertwined with yours. As you have always planned it to be.”
The smile that crossed Lillian’s face was cruel, but David knew that she was pleased by his words. He hesitated to lay it on too thick. Lillian was suspicious by nature, and he needed her to believe him. He had a trick in his back pocket, but didn’t want to play that card this early.
“You will need to swear the bonds of allegiance as soon as possible. Those will bind you to me and ensure that there is no way you can lie to me or ever possibly think to betray me.”
“I am ready now,” David replied.
“Then come with me,” Lillian said. David followed her out of the room and back into the hallway. Again he was struck by the feeling that he was in a grand old hotel. Hell was not at all what he thought it would be, but then he wondered how much was hidden behind the luxurious façade.
They arrived at the end of the hallway at the doors of an elevator. David looked at Lillian. She was perfectly serene. He wondered what had been done to her in her human life to twist her into the monster that she was at that moment.
“I didn’t see Joseph with you,” he said carefully.
Lillian laughed. It was a garbled bark that grated on David’s nerves. “That fool? That one had no imagination. I got rid of him as soon as I could find a way to unravel our ties.” She looked at him sharply. “Why do you ask? The two of you were never fond of each other.”
“Only because he seemed part of your plan,” David said. He tried not to fidget. The elevator seemed to be taking forever. He looked at the side. There was only one way to go it seemed. Down.
Then the light on the side of the door lit up and the heavy doors slid open. David gestured for Lillian to enter first, and then he followed her in. “Can I ask where we are going?”
“I have a friend in a high place,” Lillian said. “You can say your vows to him, and he will be able to bind you to me.”
“Sounds like a good friend to have,” David said looking around him and pretending to study the elevator’s interior. He kept his tone nonchalant.
“Indeed,” Lillian said. A small compact appeared in her hand and David watched out of the corner of his eye as she powered her nose. Then she applied a layer of bright red lipstick. Clearly Lillian wanted to look her best.
Before David could say anything else, the doors opened, and they were walking into what appeared to be an office. The dark mahogany wood everywhere naturally darkened the room. Off to the side, there was a large fireplace that David was certain that he could have easily walked into.
Then David saw the man sitting at the desk at the far end of the room. He looked vaguely familiar. His silver hair still held streaks of black. The man looked up as they drew closer, and David’s feet stopped. The man’s face was unlined, and it was impossible to guess his age, but his eyes were rimmed with red. The nonplussed smile on his face made David wonder if he might have gotten in over his head. This did not look like a man who could be easily fooled.
Lillian’s pace had increased, and she stopped just short of the man’s desk. “Alain, I have quite the surprise for you.”
The man, Alain, put his forearms on the desk and leaned forward, never taking his eyes off of David. “So I see. Your prodigal nephew has come home.”
Lillian turned to David and gestured for him to stand next to her. David felt like his feet were moving through thick mud. He didn’t want to be there anymore. He wondered if he was about to lose every part of himself in the process. He berated himself for his arrogance.
“Alain, this is my adopted son, David Mitchell. David, I would like you to meet First Council Member, Alain Dramer.”
David nodded to Alain. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“We’ll see,” Alain said. “Please, sit.”
David realized that two chairs had appeared behind him and Lillian. Lillian primly sat on the edge of her seat. David hesitated only a moment before sitting down in his.
“David is ready to pledge his allegiance to me and to Hell,” Lillian said. She smoothed her hair back slightly, and David knew that was one of her few ticks that gave away her uncertainty. Whoever Alain was, Lillian was afraid of him.
Alain’s gaze returned to David. He had to hold himself from squirming under the older man’s gaze. “That is good news. Of course, David, you realize the consequences of such an action?”
“I do,” David said. “I am ready.”
Alain steepled his fingers in front of his face and said nothing. There was a long stretch of silence and David watched Lillian open her mouth to say something, but Alain held up his hand and gestured for her to be quiet.
“I will take your oaths and do the binding,” Alain finally said. His voice held a note of something else, a kind of gleefulness, although David couldn’t understand why. “But first, I would like you to tell me everything that I want to know about my granddaughter.”
“Excuse me?” David said. “I don’t know your granddaughter.”
“Oh, but I believe that you do. Her name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth Coulter.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Before Ellie could open her mouth, the children disappeared from the doorway. Christopher reappeared at her side. His hand touched her arm and she felt an immediate lethargy come over her limbs. She dropped to the floor and heard shrieks of pain ring in her ears. She couldn’t tell if they were hers or not, it was as if her world was flashin
g in and out like flashes from a strobe light.
It felt as if her body had no bones. As her head hit the floor, she saw Mikel’s writhing body on the floor across the room. Bobby was sitting on top of him with a wild grin on his face, poking at him and laughing. Lucy was out of her line of sight, but Ellie surmised that Melissa was detaining her.
She felt no pain, at least not yet. It was like her mind detached itself from her body. Then Christopher’s feet moved in front of her so that Mikel was blocked from view. He reached down and grabbed her outstretched arm, and then she was being dragged across the floor. She was still in shock that someone as small and innocent looking as Christopher was actually a demon so evil that it was actually feared by other demons. And this demon had a personal interest in her.
Ellie tried to find that source within her that was the nebulous of her Ripher powers. She didn’t know if Scolosi demons had souls that could be removed, but she was willing to try. But she felt nothing but numbness. She thought that this must be what the victim of a spider felt like when the predator gave it a toxin to immobilize them. She wondered what kind of web Christopher was taking her to and how long she would be conscious before the torture began. Would she feel it? What would happen to her then?
She tried to move her mouth to form words, but nothing happened. Her throat was locked up. She started to have difficulty breathing. Christopher pulled her across the threshold of the door onto the landing, not being gentle as her head thumped across the small piece of trim that separated the rooms. A gurgle of pain finally escaped her lips.
Then her ears detected silence and she wondered when Mikel and Lucy’s screams stopped. She was afraid for Lucy, who had done nothing more than try to help Ellie ever since her arrival in the Afterlife. It wasn’t fair that things would end like this for her. Mikel may deserve to be punished for escaping Hell, but it was Ellie who had drawn the attention. It was Ellie who should be the one to suffer.
“Leave Lucy alone,” she managed to sputter.
Instantly, Christopher’s face was inches away from her. “How is it that you can speak right now?” There was curiosity there, but Ellie could still see a glint of cruelty as well. “People whisper about you. You are an odd one, aren’t you?”
She tried to analyze and understand how Christopher could look like a four-year old human boy and yet hide a monster beneath his dimpled cheeks. He appeared to be the ringleader of the trio. She wouldn’t have guessed, but she supposed that was the point. Evil hid within the faces of angels in order to get close, and then they would strike.
“Let Lucy go. You don’t want her,” Ellie whispered. There was a tingling feeling in her fingers and toes. She didn’t dare try to move though. She didn’t want Christopher to know that she appeared to have some immunity to his influence.
“That much is true,” Christopher agreed. “But I can’t let her leave either because she’s a loose end, and I don’t leave loose ends. She’d just run back to Braz and tell on us, and that would be terribly inconvenient for everyone. No, for now, the witch stays.”
“For now?”
Christopher giggled. “All work and no play makes me dull and cranky. Consider yourself lucky. If we hadn’t had your witch to keep us company, we may have had to play with you instead, regardless of what our Master said.”
Ellie wanted to sit up and look this monster in the eye, but she couldn’t let on that she was recovering as quickly as she was; it was her only advantage. She had to continue staring up at him feeling prone, vulnerable, and useless.
“What about Mikel?”
“You worried about that dumb minion?” Christopher shook his head and made a clicking noise with his tongue. “He deserves whatever he gets. He’s in Hell for a reason, you know.” He snapped his fingers in front of her face, and Ellie flinched. “I can erase you just like that. If you even think about doing anything stupid, I’ll make sure that your beloved Lucy suffers for it.”
Beanie put his hands under her arms, and despite being so much smaller than she was, he pulled her up into a sitting position and maneuvered her so that her back was against the window seat. She found herself sitting in the middle of the third floor landing, staring at the chandelier through the slats of the bannister rails.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
Christopher knelt down beside her. “I thought that was obvious. Whatever we want.”
Then Ellie saw Bobby emerge from the bedroom with Mikel’s body slung over his shoulders. Her breath caught in her throat. Christopher caught her look and turned. Bobby winked at her before heading down the stairs.
“He’s not dead if that’s what you are wondering,” Christopher said. “That is one nut we have yet to crack. Not that we haven’t been trying in our free time when our Master doesn’t require our services. You hang out in Hell long enough, you achieve some kind of immunity to our ability to make you go poof.” He smiled at Ellie. “Fortunate for demons like us, isn’t it? Maybe we’ll have to try with you though, give how special you are supposed to be.”
Ellie didn’t want to antagonize the demon, but she needed more information, and she needed it quickly before he decided to do something to her that would take away her ability to do anything at all. So she asked the obvious question.
“Who is your Master?”
Christopher shook his head. “Can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because the Master doesn’t want you to know.” Christopher’s voice was annoyed.
A series of thuds caught Ellie’s attention. Melissa was rolling Lucy out of the room.
“Why don’t you just teleport her downstairs?” Christopher said, rolling his eyes. “Instead of causing all that racket and interrupting our conversation.”
“I’m practicing,” Melissa said.
Beanie’s wicked grin lit up his face. “You probably don’t want to know what she’s practicing for,” he mock whispered to Ellie. “Especially if you have a sensitive stomach.”
Ellie saw that Melissa had a pale string in her hand. As the demon, dressed as a little girl, kicked Lucy’s body across the landing, Ellie realized that the pale string was getting longer. Her stomach heaved when she realized that the pale string was attached to Lucy. It was Lucy’s skin.
Beanie studied her reaction closely. “Melissa is trying to beat Bobby. So far, he’s managed the longest piece of any of us. He’s a pro at this game.”
Ellie tore her eyes away from her friend and felt anger rush through her body, making her quiver. “You are monsters.”
“Thank you,” Christopher said with a small flourished bow.
Another series of thuds, these harder than the last, announced that Melissa had just pushed Lucy’s body down the stairs. The top of the little demon’s golden head was just visible following Lucy down below.
“To think you were going to try to do something to interrupt our plans. I almost wish I had given you a chance to try. That would have made this game even more exciting,” Christopher’s voice was tinged with regret.
“How’s Jake involved in all of this?”
“He’s tied to the Master, just like us,” Christopher said.
He picked up Ellie’s hand and sniffed the top of it. Ellie wanted to pull her hand away, but she knew she didn’t quite have full control yet. It wouldn’t do to flounder and then get pounced on by the tiny homicidal demon. Pieces of the puzzle continued to fall into place. She remembered Mikel’s words, denying his involvement in Jake’s death, when she found him in Hell.
“Your Master was the one who killed Jake then. That is why Jake is tied to him,” Ellie said.
Beanie clapped his hands in delight. “You are getting good at this game, Ellie! I’m so proud of you. You’re a bit slow, but you’re catching on.”
“But why? Why kill Jake?”
“He was trying to warn you away. The Master couldn’t have that,” Christopher said, returning to his inspection of Ellie’s hand. Bile rose in her throat when his coar
se tongue ran over her skin. “You taste yummy.”
“So what, you eat people too? Is that what happened to Jeffrey?” Ellie wanted to keep Christopher talking. She was desperately trying to stall for time.
“No, silly lady. But when you are afraid, your fear is almost tangible. It creates this lovely, delicious taste in the pores of your skin.” Christopher’s face contorted into something that could have been a grimace, or could have been a smile. He leaned in closer to Ellie and sniffed all the way up her arm into the crook of her neck. “Hmmm,” he moaned.
Ellie couldn’t stand it any longer. Her hand shot up and caught Christopher underneath the chin, upending the demon and sending him flying. She was glad of her extraordinary Guardian strength. She was on her feet before he could blink, but her wobbly limbs kept her from moving fast enough for her comfort. Christopher was lying on the floor holding his bloody nose. Ellie thought that it was possible that she broke it. She managed to move out of his range as he reached out for her. As he started to yell for Melissa and Bobby, Ellie tried to find a way to escape.
Her mind raced trying to figure out where she would go. Her options were to try to make it past Melissa and Bobby and reach the front door, which led out into an empty nothingness, or try to get to the way line and see if she could make it work. As she hesitated, she knew that she couldn’t leave Lucy. That meant that a confrontation with the other demons was necessary. But she wasn’t ready for that yet and she knew it.
Ellie heard the cries from below and heard the racing of feet up the stairs. Bobby and Melissa were on the second landing and already on the stairs to the third floor.
“Get her!” Christopher said as he writhed on the floor.
Ellie went to the other side of the landing and ran past the door that once led to Lillian’s room. Her only way out was the service staircase, and she knew that was a precarious option at best.
She just managed to get through the door and threw it closed behind her when she heard a body slam into the door. A cold draft was the only warning she had before she felt the added pressure of another set of hands holding the door closed with her.
