“But you’ve got Shane now, Mom,” Stella said, reaching over and squeezing her mother’s hand, as she took a seat next to her. She set the casserole dish on the table. “I hope you like lasagna, Sky. Mom loves to make it.”
“Shane?” Sky looked at her in confusion. “Who’s Shane?”
“My husband,” Sherilyn said. “After your Dad died, I was alone a long time. He was the love of my life, I couldn’t see anyone replacing him, but ten years after your father passed I met Shane at our church. He was nice, kind, and he treats me well. He can never replace your father, but he makes me feel things I haven’t felt in a very, long time.”
“Where is he?”
“At home. I thought it should be the five of us tonight.” She nodded to the lasagna. “Dish up, Sky. This used to be your favorite.”
“It still is,” Sky muttered, blinking at the words. “Whoa. How did I know that?”
“The doctor did say you might remember things, without even knowing it. It’s your muscle memory,” Stella said. “Looks like you might get your memory back after all.”
“Hmm. Maybe,” Sky murmured, dishing up the lasagna, and staring around the table at his mother, his brothers, his sister, suddenly amazed at what he’d been missing all of these years.
“Hey, don’t forget the garlic bread,” Winston said, nudging him with his elbow. “It’s one of the best parts!”
“But before we dig in, I think we should say a little prayer,” Sherilyn said. “I think it calls for it, don’t you?”
“I couldn’t agree more, Mom,” Stella said, as they linked hands. “After all, a miracle did just fall right into our laps.”
Chapter 11
“Jessi, run!”
Jami shoved Jessi forward, turning, and racing down the dirt path. She raced forward, racing behind Jessi, her feet skidding over loose rocks. The stony, rocky ground underneath them suddenly turning to bright, green grass. “Whoa…”
“Freaky, isn’t it?” Jessi asked as they slowed to a walk, turning and weaving through the trees. “I think I remember Julie saying something about how this place can change in a blink of an eye.”
“To what?” Jami asked, laughing. She ducked behind a tree, raising a finger to her lips, nodding as the beetles flew overhead. “They’re gone.”
“For now,” Jessi muttered, as she followed Jami through the trees. “But we shouldn’t be out here, Jami. We should be going back for Josi and Jordyn! Who knows what Liam’s going to do to them.”
“He’s not going to do anything to them right now,” Jami told her. “He needs them… us for his experiment, and we will go back. Just not until after dark.”
“You think it’ll be safer here at night, then now?”
“I think we have a better chance of getting everyone out of here if we have the element of surprise. Including finding Mom and our aunts.”
“You think they’re here?”
“Weren’t you listening to Liam? He said he took their powers and captured Josslyn, Julie, Jorja, and Jasmine.”
“What about Jade?”
“He sent her back to earth. Something about not wanting her to foil his plans.” She frowned at Jessi. “You really didn’t hear any of it?”
Jessi shook her head. “No! I was too busy trying not to swallow the bug slime that was filling the capsule I was in. Jami, watch out!” She grabbed Jami by the arm, pulling her forward, just as a long, black snake swooped down from the trees.
“Ick!” Jami shuddered, staring at the reptile as it dropped to the ground, disappearing into the bushes. “I don’t like snakes!”
“You and me both,” Jessi muttered. “Where do you think it came from?”
“It’s a forest, Jessi! I’m sure there are a lot of things in here.”
“Well, I know that!”
“Then stop being so naïve. Now come on, there's gotta be a place for us to hide until nightfall. Just be careful. Who knows what else is in this forest.”
“You mean like a baboon?”
“A baboon?” Jami raised a brow at Jessi, following her finger as she pointed, and staring at the colorful baboon as it stared at them from where it was sitting in the tree. “Ooh. It’s so pretty!”
“But like you said, we have to keep moving,” Jessi said, pulling Jami forward. “Those beetles won’t be gone for long. We’ve gotta find a place to hide.”
“And to sleep.”
“Sleep?” Jessi stared at Jami in dismay. “How can you even think about sleeping right now? With everything that’s happening?”
“Because, if we don’t, we’ll never be able to outsmart Liam,” Jami told her, stopping at a tree and glancing up. “This will do.”
“Do for what?”
“Why climbing of course,” Jami said, grabbing ahold of the tree branch and hoisting herself up. “Come on, Jessi!”
“You’re climbing a tree?” Jessi asked, propping her hands on her hips, as she stared up at her sister. “Since when? You’ve never been the outdoorsy type?”
“Since demons and beetles have been trying to kill me!” Jami shouted back, as she reached for another branch. The branch broke, and she gasped, her other hand digging into the hold in the tree, barely keeping her balance. “Well, that was close!”
“Be careful, Jami!”
“I’m doing my best!” she shouted back, glancing down at her sister as she stood below the tree. “Are you coming?”
“Do I really have a choice?” Jessi asked, reluctantly following her sister. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m not afraid of heights.”
“None of us are afraid of much, Jessi. I think we get that from Mom. It’s probably why we get into so much trouble!”
“But where are we even going?” Jessi asked as she climbed. “It’s not like we can sleep on a branch!”
“You have watched the Jungle Book, way too many times,” Jami said, laughing. “We’re not sleeping on a branch. Look above you.”
“At what?” Jessi lifted her head, her jaw dropping open when she saw the house sitting in the tree. “A treehouse? When did you see that?”
“When I started climbing the tree,” Jami told her. “I just had a good feeling about this tree.” She reached a hand out, grasping the wooden ladder, scurrying up it, and inside the treehouse. “It looks like someone’s been living here,” she said, as Jessi climbed up next to her. “Look.” She pointed to the red sleeping bag lying in the middle of the floor. “And there’s even food,” she said, kicking at the empty can of beans lying on the floor. “And books. Lots and lots of books!”
“But who would be living here?”
“Me.”
The voice sounded behind them, and they both jumped, turning to stare at a young blonde-haired boy as he climbed up the ladder behind them.
“Jesus!” Jessi held a hand to her heart. “You just scared me! Who are you?”
“I’m Mark,” the boy said, dropping the logs in his arms to the floor, and regarding them. “Who are you?”
“Well I’m Jessi,” Jessi said, pointing to herself. “And this is my sister, Jami. We were looking for a place to crash and kind of found this place by accident. You live here?”
Mark nodded. “Yes. For almost five years now.” He picked the logs up off the floor, walking across the room, and placing them in the pit. He lit a match, lighting the logs, the smoke rising up through the hole in the roof of the house, as heat washed through the house. “That’s when Liam took me, hostage.”
“He took you, hostage?” Jami asked, walking to the bookshelf and picking a book up from the shelf. “Romeo and Juliet?” She raised a brow at Mark. “You don’t seem like the type.”
“You learn to not be picky when you’re living in the wasteland,” Mark told her. “Plus, all sorts of treasures fall down here, from the real world. They come with the demons, who get banished here but be careful. If they kill you, they’ll be freed from the wasteland.”
“Figures there would be some sort of loophole,” Jessi muttered
. “But you didn’t answer her question, Mark. Why did Liam take you hostage?”
“Because I’m a half-angel, half-demon, just like him, and just like his father.”
“His father?”
“Yes. Satan.”
“Satan is his father?” Jami asked, her jaw dropping open. “No wonder he turned evil!”
“And now, he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps,” Mark told them. “He chose good over his father, and now, he knows it was a mistake because he’s gotten a taste for power, and now, he wants more of it. He was going to use me, as his first guinea pig for his experiment, but when I learned he had the sapphire I couldn’t let that happen, so I ran.”
“I can’t really blame you there,” Jessi said, as she sat down in front of the fire, letting the heat warm her. “He wants to experiment on us too.”
“You’re hybrids too?”
Jessi nodded. “Yes. We’re half-witch, half-demon, but our family is out there. Our sister Josi, our cousin, Jordyn and our mom and aunts. We need to go back, once it gets dark.”
“But you can’t! He’ll kill you!”
“We don’t have a choice,” Jessi told her, glancing at Jami as she took a seat next to her. “It’s our family, and you do everything you can to save the ones you love. No matter what.”
Chapter 12
“So, what’s the plan. My Lord?”
“The plan is to first, get the damned witches!” Liam snapped, turning to glare at the black angel, as he hovered in the air behind him. “I need them for my experiment! How hard is it to find them? They’re children!”
“And witches,” the black angel said, as his feet hit the ground, crossing his arms in front of his chest, nodding to the beetles as they disappeared into the forest once more. “We’ll keep looking, sir, but they won’t be easy to find. Remember, before they reunited with their family they were…”
“Yes, I know. Foster children,” Liam said, bitterly, as he rolled his eyes. “They got good at hiding. I know.” Damned witches. He hated them! He hated them all!
He sighed, turning, and walking around the sapphire as it lay in the glass cabinet, on top of the pedestal, in the middle of the circle of rocks he had placed around it. Flames lit up from around him, a volcano erupting in the distance, and he stared at the stone. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” he asked, as he stared at the bright, blue hues of the stone. “I’ve been mesmerized by this stone, ever since my father first told me about it, but I never thought I would go searching for it. I never thought I would have to, but now that I have it, I can soon exact my revenge on the witches, and get rid of the hybrids that reside in the magical community, and with Sky gone, no one has the power to stop me!”
“But you’re still a God,” the black angel said, raising his hands up in surrender as Liam glared at him. “I know. I know. You've accepted me, you’ve accepted my kind, you’ve given us a home, but what I don’t understand is why? You’ve dedicated your life to serving the good side. To watching over the witches. To watching over white magic. Why now have you now decided to turn to the dark side?”
“Because, I realized, that I was wrong all those years ago,” Liam said. “I was given a choice back then. Good or evil, and I chose good. It’s the one thing I regret, because my father was right. Milo was right. The Gods are corrupt, blinded by their love for the witches, for the angels. They don’t understand the bigger picture, but I do, and the only way to make things right is to start over.”
“But if you eliminate the chosen ones, the dark side will take over. Do you really want that?”
“It’s what I’ve wanted for a while now,” Liam said, softly. “I haven’t told anyone this yet, angel, but I had a dream not to long ago. A dream where Hades came to me.”
“You saw Hades?”
Liam nodded. “Oh yes. He knows of my struggles between good and evil. The regret I have for the decision I made all those years ago, and he’s the one who told me that this is the path I need to take. The one who told me, to get rid of the hybrids. The one who told me I needed to go after the stone. He told me, that I have true power within me, and I should be the one in control, which is why the Gods have gone into hiding. They’re scared of me!”
“And your father?”
“The witches killed him before I ever got the chance to say how sorry I am,” Liam said, narrowing his eyes. “And for that, they will suffer!”
“And the army you’re building?”
“Oh yes, the army,” Liam said, smiling. “Once my father is resurrected, and we are reunited once again, together we will bring forth an army that will bring anarchy to the world. Bringing forth the apocalypse!”
“But what about the new evil rising up in the underworld?”
“What new evil?” Liam asked, arching a brow at the black angel.
“You haven’t heard? There are whispers all around the magical community. Talks of a new beast, who will soon be unleashed and bring anarchy to the community. A beast, that will be looking to state their claim as the new leader of the underworld. Along with Elijah.”
“Elijah’s dead.”
“No, sir, he’s not,” the black angel told him, shaking his head. “The witch lied. She faked his death. He was here in the wasteland, but when Mathias took the other demons, he escaped. He’s out there somewhere.”
“And has the power and the means to help Jade get her powers back,” Liam said, scowling. “Blast it! And just when I thought I had everything all figured out!”
“But there’s a bounty on his head, sir,” the black angel told him. “Hades is done with him. Done with his shenanigans, and is asking for his head on a spike.”
“Oh, Hades, he is a man of action,” Liam said, grinning. “And I like it.”
Chapter 13
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Josslyn scowled, staring down at the list in her hand. “We need to get twelve acorns, an Eagle’s feather, water from that evil, red stream, and a tooth from a demon?” She glanced over her shoulder at her sisters. “He seriously expects us to get this stuff?”
“Yes, Josslyn. It’s the only way to save the girls, remember?” Jorja said as she trudged through the sand, along the red stream of water. “We’ve been through this. Man, do you see this? This water looks like blood!”
“It’s the wasteland,” Jasmine said, as she followed behind Jorja. “Where demons go. What did you expect? To see bright, blue skies, yellow sunshine, and clear, blue water?”
“Well…”
“Ah, guys…” Julie held a hand to her stomach. Her legs wobbled, and she tumbled to the hot sand as she shook rigorously.
“Oh my God! Julie!”
Josslyn, Jasmine, and Jorja turned, racing back toward her.
“Julie, what’s wrong?” Josslyn asked, staring down at her sister’s pale face, and holding a hand to her cheek. “Oh my God! Julie, you’re burning up!”
“Yeah. I’m not feeling so great,” Julie said, holding a hand to her stomach. “I think it was the slop Liam made me eat.”
“Or maybe it’s because you’re pregnant?” Jorja asked. “I mean, you are pregnant with a demon’s child.”
“So was mom!” Julie snapped, glaring at Jorja. “Don’t forget, that Dad was a demon.”
“Yeah, but he was a good demon!” Jasmine put in.
“Biology doesn’t lie, Jasmine,” Julie said, wincing, as a wave of pain rolled through her body. “He may have used his powers for good, but he was still a demon. I just wish I could talk to her, you know,” she whispered, blinking back tears. “I’d like to know if she ever felt the things I’m feeling. What her symptoms were. What…” She trailed off, holding a hand to her mouth. She burped, fireballs escaping her lips. They skidded across the red stream of water, falling in front of a group of demons as they scavenged for food.
“Witches,” one of the demons smiled, his large teeth showing over his lower lip. “Our ticket out of this place.”
“Ah, guys, we might want to get moving,”
Jorja said, as the demons started across the stream toward them. “Looks like we’ve got company!”
“Come on, Julie.”
Jasmine and Jorja grabbed Julie by the arms, dragging her to her feet. They turned, racing across the sand.
“Julie, did you just see what you did?” Josslyn asked, hurrying after them. “You just burped up fireballs! I don’t think that’s normal.”
“Nothing about this pregnancy has been normal,” Julie muttered. “Sure I have normal symptoms. Weird dreams. Food cravings. Even headaches, but just last week, I woke up and I was floating. Floating!”
“That’s because the good in you, is fighting with the evil inside of you,” Liam said, appearing in front of them. He struck a hand out, the demons behind him turning to dust.
“What does that mean?” Julie asked as they skidded to a stop, eyeing Liam.
“In simple terms?” Liam chuckled. “You’re dying.”
“You’re lying!” Jasmine cried, wrapping an arm around Julie, and staring at Liam in dismay. “Don’t say that!”
“I’m not lying, Jasmine,” Liam told her, one of his metal tentacles snatching out, the prongs wrapping around Julie, and pulling her forward.
“Hey!”
“Let her go!”
Josslyn, Jasmine, and Jorja raced after him, but another one of his tentacles whipped out, tossing them to the ground.
“What are you doing with her?” Josslyn asked, fear rising inside of her, as she stared at Julie’s limp body. “Is she… okay?”
“She’s fine,” Liam told her. “Don’t worry, she’s not dead. At least not yet. I need her for my experiment. But she is sleeping.” He glanced at Julie, lying in his grip. “And for now, I’m going to keep her alive.”
Anarchy Rising Page 5
