“No!” The black angel screamed, his body combusting in a flash of black, and Jasmine rose to her feet. “Good riddance!” She turned, walking forward. Her eyes drawn to the top of the dark, winding staircase where something was shining brightly at the top of the stairs. “His heart,” she whispered. “I bet it’s up there!”
She started up the steps, and a hand reached out, tripping her.
“Argh!” She let out a groan, her head hitting the step, and she blinked. Dots formed before her eyes, and she faintly heard footsteps over the roaring in her ears. She groaned, holding a hand to her head, turning her head as a woman in black armor walked out from the shadows. “Another black angel?”
“Ding. Ding,” the black angel said, crouching down. “Hello, Jasmine. We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Why are you doing this? You were angels once. Why did you choose the dark side?”
“Oh, because it’s so much more fun,” the black angel said, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder, and grinning. “There are no rules. We’re free to do what we want, and the power! The power is phenomenal!” She reached forward, tracing a finger down Jasmine’s cheek. “You know. I see why Sky likes you so much. You are pretty.”
“Get your grubby hands off of me!” Jasmine cried, jerking away from her touch. She raised her hand, swiping it forward. Frowning when nothing happened. “My powers. What happened to my powers?”
“Your powers are useless on me, witch,” the black angel said, climbing the steps, toward her. Jasmine scrambled backward, listening as her armor clang loudly. “I’ve enchanted my armor, with a potion from Elijah. No witch can defeat me! You’re powerless, and you will never get Sky’s heart!” She lunged forward.
“Oh, I’ll get his heart,” Jasmine said, jumping to her feet, and striking her leg out. Her foot hit the black angel in the center of the chest, and she gasped. She stumbled backward and tumbled down the stairs. “I made him a promise, and this is one promise I intend to keep!” She turned and raced up the stairs. Ahead of her, she saw the platform start to raise, and she raced forward. Running as fast as she could, and lunged in the air, gripping the edge of the platform with her fingers. She glanced below her, staring at the ground far below her. “Whoa…”
She pulled herself up, her eyes landing on Sky’s heart in the center of the platform. She stepped forward, staring down at the redness of it, blinking, at the bright glow surrounding it. It must be the protection spell Sky told me about?
Chants filled her ears, and she glanced over her shoulder, as four men dressed in cloaks appeared around her. The demons!
“No. You can’t have his heart!” she cried, grabbing the box from where it was sitting. She gripped the box in her hands, staring at the men around her as they chanted.
“It’s mine!” one of the cloaks said, racing toward her.
“No!” She ducked, missing his outstretched hands. “I won’t let you have it!”
“It’s for Elijah!” another man said, floating toward her. He grabbed the box, and Jasmine swung around. Yanking it back. “No! It’s not! It’s his! It belongs to Sky!”
“Say the spell!” one of the other men in cloaks said, clasping hands with the other men in cloaks. “We must finish the spell in order for the transition to be complete!”
“What spell?”
“The spell, that brings Vargus to him,” the other man in the cloak said, lifting his head. He grinned, his dark eyes sparkling. “And where he will forever be tortured in the depths of hell!”
“No!” Jasmine ducked underneath them, sprinting toward the edge of the platform. She glanced down, watching as the black angels appeared below her. They lifted their bows, arrows zinging toward her, and she blew out a breath. “Here goes nothing.”
And she jumped off the ledge down into the dark depths below.
“Eek!”
The loud screech rippled through the air, and Sky jumped, sitting up from where he was lying on the couch. Groaning, as a wave of pain rippled through his body, and he clutched a hand to his chest, struggling to his feet.
“Stupid spell,” he muttered under his breath, stepping forward and peering out the window to stare out at the carnage outside. “Why would you put a clause on a spell like that? Is going up to heaven really worth innocent lives being taken?”
As if to answer, the ground shook underneath him, and he startled. He teetered, stumbling back, and he grasped the table next to him, trying to steady himself.
“Eek!”
Again, the loud shriek sounded, and he glanced over his shoulder as the window suddenly exploded behind him. He ducked, glass splintering around him, his eyes widening as the black, winged creature flew into the house. “Vargus.”
“Sky.”
The demon raised up on his hind legs and spread his large wings out. His wings flapped, knocking the pictures to the ground, and Sky grimaced as the picture of the four sisters shattered. It’s just a picture, Sky. The girls are safe. You’re doing your job.
“It’s been a long time, Sky,” Vargus said, staring at the angel. “Years, to be exact. I think the last time you and I came face to face was in Barcelona.”
“Yes, in the year 1678,” Sky said, remembering how he’d been sent back in time for one of his charges. A young witch named Selena. Boy, had she been a handful, he thought to himself, quickly shoving the thoughts to the side. Not now, Sky! “What are you doing here, Vargus?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “What do you want?”
“What I always want,” Vargus said, his eyes glowing a bright red as he regarded Sky. “A lost soul, and I have come for yours!” He lunged forward, his wing snapping forward, and slamming Sky back against the wall.
“No! You can’t have it!” Sky shouted, his body slamming back into the wall, and he grimaced. Wincing, as a wave of pain rolled through his body, and his eyes widened as the floor beneath him suddenly opened. Flames spewed out from the dark depths, and he jumped back, lifting his head to stare at Vargus. “My soul is not lost!”
“But your heart is,” Vargus said, grinning, devilishly. “And by now the demons have lifted the protection spell off of it, so you are mine!” he shouted, his wing snapping out, grabbing Sky by the throat and squeezing. “I’ve waited a long time for this, Sky. You’ve done nothing but cause me misery, and now I get to bring you down to hell with me. Where you will be tortured… forever!”
“No!”
The door behind them slammed open, and Josslyn raced into the room. She slid to a stop, her eyes widening in surprise as she glanced around her. How the hell did I get here? she wondered, narrowing her eyes on Vargus. “Vargus! Leave him alone!” she shouted, lifting her hand, ice spewing from her fingers. “You can’t have him!”
“Argh!” Vargus swung his head around, dodging the icicles flying his way. He lunged forward, his large body knocking her back against the wall. “Josslyn… another soul that’s been lost…” He narrowed his eyes, the floor beneath her opening, fire spewing from far below.
“Whoa…” Josslyn scrambled back, fear washing over her as she stared down into the depths of hell. “So that’s hell?”
“Josslyn! Watch out!” Aaron appeared in a reign of light, racing toward them. He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around the beast’s neck.
“Ahh. Another angel!” Vargus cried, shaking his head vigorously. He shook Aaron loose, Aaron’s body flying through the air and hitting the wall on the other side of the room.
“Aaron!” Josslyn stared at him, his body laying there, unmoving, and she held her hand out. A sword of ice appeared in her hand, and she turned. She jumped over the pit leading to hell, racing across the room, and lunged toward the beast. She raised the sword high in the air, slicing the weapon through his neck. His large body falling to the ground, as his head rolled across the room, disappearing underneath them into the flames.
“Whoa! Nice shot, Joss!” Aaron cried, shaking his head as he came to.
“Sky!”
Jasmine jumped out f
rom the air pocket above them, racing forward. “Oh my God, Sky! You’re still alive!” she cried, skidding to a stop, her eyes widening at the fiery depths below her. “Whoa!”
“So are you!” Sky cried. “And look! You have my heart!”
“I made you a promise, didn’t I?” Jasmine asked, jumping over the large crack in the floor. “Although, I’m not sure how I got here. The last thing I remember, is jumping off this platform into this dark hole!”
“It’s my heart. It protected you, and brought you back home,” Sky said, as she handed him the box. He opened it, staring down at his heart, watching as the bright glow disappeared from around it. “Uh oh. Looks like the protection spell’s been lifted from it.”
“What do we do?”
“There’s only one thing we can do,” Sky said, lifting the heart from the box. “And it’s not going to be easy.” He slammed the heart into his chest, and he gasped. He clenched his fist, as the pain in his chest intensified, his entire body feeling as if it were on fire, and a moment later the pain subsided. He sighed, relief washing over him, and he smiled, his eyes locking with Jasmine’s. “Man! That feels wonderful!”
“How do you feel?” Jasmine asked, staring up at him, worry filling her. What if it didn’t work? What if his heart rejected him? What if he died?
“Like I can actually breathe again.”
Whew!
“Sky! Jasmine! Watch out!”
Sky and Jasmine jerked around at Josslyn’s shout, watching as Vargus’s body seeped toward them in a stream of bright, orange goo.
“Uh… Sky. What’s going on?”
“Jasmine, watch out!” Sky shouted, shoving her out of the way just as bright, orange fingers appeared from the depths of hell. They reached toward him, wrapping around his waist, and pulled him toward the opening in the floor.
“Sky! No!” Jasmine lunged forward, wrapping her fingers around his arm. “Don’t leave me!” she cried. “I can’t lose you!”
“You’ll never lose me,” Sky said, softly, staring up into her eyes. “I love you too much.” He glanced down below him, his heart lurching at the sight of the lava rolling far below him. Gasping, as the grasp around his waist tightened. “Jasmine, there’s not a lot of time left,” he whispered, staring up at her. “But don’t be sad. I promise. You will see me again,” he said, his fingers sliding free from hers as he fell downward into the fiery depths below.
“Sky!”
Jasmine screamed, her heart clenching as she watched Sky fall down into the fiery depths. His screams filled her ears, and she let out a cry of outrage. “Sky!” She dropped to her knees, pounding the floor with her fist as it closed underneath her. “No! Dammit, you can’t have him! Give him back, you bastards! Dammit! Open up! I’m begging you!”
“Jasmine!” Josslyn raced forward, wrapping her arms around her sister, pulling her close. “Oh my God. Jasmine, I am so sorry!”
“He’s gone, Joss!” Jasmine cried, turning, and sobbing into her shoulder. “How can he just be gone? Where did he go?”
“Into a dimension of hell no one wants to go,” Aaron said from behind her, rising to his feet. “The torture chamber. He’ll be tortured by his own thoughts and emotions. He’ll be lucky if he survives.”
“What? No!”
“We’ll get him out, Jasmine,” Josslyn told her. “I promise. We’ll find him.”
“But how?”
“I don’t know, but we will. I know we will,” Josslyn whispered, closing her eyes, fighting back the tears filling her eyes. Could anything worse be happenig right now? Her sister had just lost the love of her life! “But right now, we have bigger problems.”
“What could be bigger than this?”
“Julie. She’s turned evil.”
“I know, I heard. Is it true? Did having all our powers on Halloween tempt her?” Jasmine asked, sniffing, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. Come on, Jasmine, get it together. Sky wouldn’t want you to fall apart.
Josslyn nodded. “Yes, but that’s not the worst part of it.”
“What could be worse than our sister turning evil?”
“The next big bad in the underworld,” Josslyn said. “And he’s my ex-boyfriend. Elijah.”
“What do you think, my love?” Elijah asked, placing his hands on Julie’s shoulders as she gazed at herself in the mirror. “Do you like it?”
“I love it,” Julie said, running a hand down the black, lace dress she was wearing. “It’s perfect for our wedding,” she said, glancing at him over her shoulder. “But where on earth did you get it?”
“A good friend of mine. A sorceress who owes me a favor.”
“I love all the connections you have in the underworld,” Julie said, twirling. “And this is just lovely!”
“Just as lovely as you,” Elijah said, pressing a kiss to her black lips. “And everything is going to be perfect, my love. The eclipse will be on in just twenty-four hours and then you and I will be wed.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Me neither, my love,” Elijah said, extending a hand and leading her down the steps. “The underworld is rejoiced by our announcement. That a chosen one is finally joining us.”
“It’s where I’m meant to be, Elijah,” Julie said, twirling a lock of her black hair around her finger. “It’s who I’ve always been. Ever since I burned that man in his house just over a year ago.” She clenched her fist, smoke seeping from her fingers. “Bastard.”
“Your first kill,” Elijah said, winking at her, as they walked into the great room. He walked up the steps, stepping up to the podium. “Julie. Come here. I want to show you something.”
“Show me what?”
“Just come here.”
Julie frowned, but stepped up next to him, peering over his shoulder at the black book sitting on the podium. “It’s just a book, Elijah.”
“It’s not just a book, Julie. It’s the Grimoire,” Elijah said, tracing his finger along the evil eye lying on the cover. “It’s our book. A book that holds every spell or potion a demon has ever conjured up. Spells and potions for us. Not to save the world. Not to save mankind. For us. For what we want.”
“It sounds perfect.”
“And look here.” He pointed to a page.
“Our wedding ceremony.”
Elijah nodded. “Yes. We have almost everything we need. There’s just one thing missing.”
“What’s that?”
“The sacrifices.”
“Is that… Tony?” Jade asked, blinking, instantly recognizing her surroundings. She was at the bar where she’d first met Tony! “What am I doing here?”
“Just be quiet,” Cynthia said in her ear. “And watch.”
“Hello, Gorgeous,” Tony said, sidling up to the bar, and sitting on the stool. “I’ll take a Miller Light. In the bottle.” He tossed the bill on the counter.
“No problem. Coming right up,” Jade said, glancing at him. “Do you call all the girls, Gorgeous?”
“Only the ones I like,” Tony said, winking at her, and Jade blushed.
“Here’s your beer,” she said, placing it on the napkin in front of him. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“But, do you have to go?” Tony asked, glancing around the bar. “There’s no one else here. Stay. Talk to me for a bit.”
“Why?”
“Because you look sad,” Tony said. “Why are you sad?”
Jade shrugged. “I have a lot going on in my life right now.”
“Tell me about it. Tell me about you.”
“Okay, Buster, you are being creepy!” Jade cried. “I’m going now.”
“Straight forward and to the point,” Cynthia said in her ear. “That’s what you liked about him, right, Jade?”
“I guess.”
Cynthia appeared in the memory next to her, pointing. “Oh. Look. There’s that bar fight.”
Jade raised her head, glancing across the bar as a young, blonde man tossed his beer to the ground. Racing
around the pool table and tackling a taller, dark-haired man.
“I remember,” she whispered, watching as the blonde-haired man threw the first punch. “It was the first bar fight I’d ever seen, since starting the job, and I didn’t know what to do. I was frozen in fear, and there was Tony.” She pointed, as Tony rose from the stool, striding across the room and breaking up the fight. “He was so calm.”
“And then the man drew the gun.”
Jade nodded. “Yes. The sound that gunshot…” She shuddered at the memory. “The bullet zinged through the air, and hit the glass just above my head,” she said, pointing. “I remember screaming. Glass shattering around me, and then suddenly I heard the sound of sirens. Somehow, during all the madness, Tony had called the cops. He talked to them, handed the men over, and then he took care of me. He wiped my tears, told me everything was going to be okay, and even got me a glass of water. I was shaking so bad, Cynthia! But he was so sweet. So kind.”
“That’s what you liked most about him?”
Jade nodded. “I did. It was nice. After what I went through with Sean. How he treated me, it was nice to know someone actually cared.” She bit her lip. “But it was all a lie, Cynthia! He wasn’t caring. He wasn’t sweet. He was a demon!”
“He may have been a demon, but he opened your heart, Jade. He showed you that there are good men out there. Men who treat you right. Who take care of you. Who aren’t all abusive bastards like Sean was.”
“But he still lied to me! Used me!”
“But all men aren’t like him, Jade. There are good men out there, who aren’t evil. Who aren’t demons, and that’s something you have to remember.” She held her hand out. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
“What?”
“Just take my hand, Jade.”
Jade sighed, placing her hand in Cynthia’s. “Whoa…”
She gasped, her stomach diving, as the world suddenly spun around them. She grasped Cynthia’s hand, feeling as if she were going to puke as the world suddenly stopped.
Crossroads Page 8
