Caged in Darkness (24 page)

Maye handed the stiletto to me. The blade
was sharp with decorative inscriptions along it. The hilt was
shaped like a triton and was perfectly balanced with the blade. It
wasn’t an overly decorative dagger, but it looked deadly.

“What are you doing with a dagger?” Ash
leaned forward with a worried expression. “I thought you didn’t
believe in violence?”

“Just because I don’t believe in violence,
doesn’t mean I don’t believe in protecting the ones I love.
Besides, I’ve never used it.”

“Okay, does anyone else think it’s totally
cool that Maye owns a dagger? I mean, talk about crazy!” Izzy spoke
and then shrieked in excitement. “So, how do we do this?”

Ash and I used our magic to encase the blade
in a thin layer of bloodstone from a large chunk that Maye provided
us with. We left the sharp edges untouched to allow for easy
puncture. We then followed several rituals to destroy and ward off
evil. When we were finished, Maye looked to Izzy.

“What? What am I supposed to do?” Izzy waved
her hands in the air. “I’m a ghost remember? I’m pretty
useless.”

Maye shook her head in amusement and walked
with the dagger to Izzy. She then waved the dagger through Izzy’s
insubstantial form and held it where Izzy’s heart would have been.
Izzy gasped in amazement.

“That tickles!” She bent over laughing and
Maye removed the stiletto. It no longer gave the impression of
bloodstone. The center of the blade held a deep metallic blue
shimmer, while the edges glowed white.

Looking at the dagger in awe, Maye spoke
quietly against the blade. “Kissed by Death.” Maye’s words brought
the blade to life. When she moved, the air gave it a fiery
embellishment. “That is the blades name.” She walked to Ash and
handed it to him. He took it carefully. “Savannah must be the one
to wield it. I expect you to make certain she doesn’t get herself
killed doing it.”

“I’ll protect her.” He nodded seriously and
slipped the blade into the scabbard.

SAVANNAH

Willow and I sat outside, wondering what the
others were doing. It was strange that Maye already knew
everything, but even more bizarre was the fact that she wasn’t
stopping us. Why hadn’t she said anything before?

“S, we have the dagger.” I turned to see
everyone coming outside, while Ash handed me the dagger. I looked
at the blade and thought it was pretty, but it didn’t look anything
like bloodstone.

“Guys, I thought you were supposed to make a
bloodstone
dagger. This is… I don’t know
what
this
is.”

“S, believe me, it’s bloodstone. It just
looks different because Izzy blessed it or something.

“Oh. Okay.” I examined the dagger more
closely and sat back on the grass beside Willow. The world felt
like it had slowed to a snail's pace. Our plans suddenly seemed
real. Thinking about them and executing them were entirely
different. Everyone seemed hesitant to break the silence, but Maye
stepped forward and severed the string. She effectively pushed us
over the cliff into the arms of the future; we just didn’t know
what that future would be.

“You have the tool. Now, you just need to
figure out how to bring Asmodeus to you and how to keep him there
long enough to kill him.”

“Maye.” I shouted before she could leave.
“Why are you letting us do this?” She turned back to look at our
group.

“I’m not
letting
you do anything. If
I told you not to, you wouldn’t listen. I’m choosing to support you
in the decision you have made. I’ll still be waiting inside with
Josephine. I will probably end up baking a kitchen worth of baked
goods, while worrying over all of you. There is a definitely
possibility that I will wear the carpets down with my pacing.” Maye
walked forward and held my cheeks.

“Darling, you and Ash are my world.
Josephine warned me that this was going to happen. I had to stand
by and let the pieces fall where they may. I love you.” Maye hugged
each of us in turn and walked back inside.

“Have any good ideas?” Liam spoke while the
rest of us remained in awe at Maye’s reaction.

Willow chipped in her two cents. “Well, I
guess we could summon him…”

I knew that would bring Asmodeus to us, but
I was worried that the coven could get hurt. “If we did it in the
forest, we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone getting caught in
the middle.”

Everyone agree, we spent the afternoon
hammering out the details and the part each of us would play. We
decided that the following evening would be the right time to put
our plan in place. The sooner; the better.

15: To live or die

SAVANNAH

We choose our playground and set the stage.
Liam, Ash, and Willow would attack Asmodeus with their magic, while
I distracted him in my panther form. We needed to keep Asmodeus on
the defense. Once we had him sufficiently distracted, I would shift
back into my natural form and stab Asmodeus. Izzy’s job was to keep
hold of the dagger and hand it to me, when the time came.

It was easy to set up the circle to summon
Asmodeus. Since we had done it before, the guys let us take the
lead. They seemed shocked at the full force of the whirlpool. It
was stronger outside than it had been in Izzy’s apartment. Nature
enhanced the summoning, and the winds the whirlpool created seemed
had the intensity of a hurricane.

We expected the demon to show itself, but we
didn’t expect that he wouldn’t appear within the circle. Instead,
he took corporeal form behind Liam. He used one arm to send Liam
flying through the air until he hit a tree trunk with a resounding
crack. The other arm gestured towards the circle and pulled the
energy into his palm.

Asmodeus smiled, while his hand held an
enormous ball of energy. His head twitched back and forth, as it
had in the secret passageway. His eyes sought mine and in the space
of seconds he conveyed his amusement at our attempt to confront
him. My stomach dropped when his head turned to Ash and he sent the
energy ball flying towards him.

The ball hit Ash in the chest and I expected
him to fly backwards, but the ball transformed into vines, which
wrapped around his ribcage. They started tightening at a slow,
agonizing pace. I focused on transforming into my panther form.
Meanwhile, Willow called on Earth. The roots of the surrounding
trees sprung up through the dirt, at Asmodeus’ feet and grabbed his
wrists before he could do any more harm. Asmodeus merely laughed at
her attempt and broke the restraints.

Liam shook the pain from his injured body
and sent an ice storm towards Asmodeus. I urged my body to shift
more quickly and watched as the ice climbed through the feathers of
Asmodeus’ wings. In response, Asmodeus snapped his wings open and
sent icicles flying in all directions. One caught Liam in his arm,
but he continued his fight.

I burst forth as a panther, sinking my teeth
into the Arch demon's feet and dragging until he fell backwards.
Switching tactics, I went for his wings and repeatedly bit, until I
was certain they were damaged enough to prevent flying. His blood
tasted different than I expected. It was warm and rich when I
thought it would be stale and tar-like.

“Willow!” Liam shouted. I looked towards her
to see a tiger made entirely of fire. Liam created a wall of ice
between Willow and the tiger, but her arms had already been badly
burnt from trying to fend it off.

Asmodeus shook me off, which knocked the
wind out of me. He walked towards Willow, who was now standing with
Liam. Ash lay on the ground beside them; his face blue and the
vines wrapped tightly around him. His mouth was frozen in a silent
scream and his eyes were dead. My heart broke and I roared with all
the pain this demon had brought into my life.

I stalked Asmodeus; not wanting to signal my
approach and threw my whole body against his back. My teeth reached
for his throat. Finding skin, I bit down with all the force I could
muster. A sound tore through him that I recognized as a scream, but
sounded closer to a terrifying song.

Asmodeus threw me off him and crouched. His
face was twisted in anger, his eyes blazed with an inner fire, and
his skin electrified with inscriptions.

“I will kill you for that!” He bared his
teeth and I saw each of them was sharpened to fine points. I roared
in response; begging him to try. A slow, wicked smile lit up his
face; showing me that he understood my dare. My paws inched
backwards, while his feet replaced the ground I gave up. I turned
and ran; he pursued.

He was fast, but I had the strength of a
panther behind my movements. I needed him to follow me. Ash was
already dead, Willow badly wounded, and Liam’s injured was more
extensive than I originally thought. I wouldn’t let him hurt anyone
else I loved.

Izzy appeared in my path with the dagger. I
shifted as quickly as possible and took the blade in my hands. She
handed me my dress, which I threw on as I ran. It was dark and
though I could hear his laughter behind me, I was terrified of
making a wrong turn.

I was a mouse in a wooded maze. Asmodeus
laughed as I made a futile attempt to escape, but only he knew the
way out. He didn’t count on the fact that I never intended to find
my way out. I was fighting for the survival of my loved ones now. I
didn’t care if I lived or died, but I
needed
them to. If
this would be my last stand, I could die with that. I refused to
stop even though my veins melted away to acidic fire. I needed
freedom from the cage he had made of my life. I needed to have a
choice.

My dress strap caught on a branch and was
torn free causing minor pain, when the edge pressed into my
shoulder and drew blood. Chaotic laughter trailed behind me. The
ageless trees loomed around me to conceal this creature, which
would destroy everyone I loved
.
Their branches attempted to
restrain my wrists, while their roots shackled my ankles. I clawed
at the barriers until I came to a dead end. I had made a
wrong
turn
.

Towering rocks trapped me between them and
him
. My attempt to climb them proved useless, which left me
a single option. I turned to meet him in the dance of death. One of
us would die tonight. I tore the dagger from the scabbard and threw
the scabbard into the forest. I took a fighting stance and
waited.

15: Ultimatum

LIAM

Willow leaned over Ash’s body and tore the
vines from him. Tears carved their passage down her cheeks to bathe
his face. I sat inches away holding my shirt to the wound from the
icicle. I wanted to go after Savannah, but I knew I would be a
liability. I tried to comfort Willow, but she pushed me away.

Willow gently lifted Ash’s head and bent her
head to kiss his lips. I thought she was saying her goodbyes, but
her body began to spasm. Her limbs tightened and relaxed in
patterns, while she pulled his lips open. The spasms moved from the
lower half of her body to the top in waves.

When the waves reached her neck, a long
trail of green smoke trailed from her mouth like a snake. Its head
moved clockwise around his lips and dipped into his mouth,
similarly to how a child tests the water with their toes before
diving in. The snake plunged into Ash’s mouth and down his
throat.

I felt sick, as I watched the snake’s tail
emerge from Willow’s mouth to swim into Ash’s. It caused Ash’s
throat to expand with its size. Once the snake had left her
completely, Willow collapsed beside Ash. Her chest continued to
swell with each breath she took.

Ash’s body jerked. His eyes opened to reveal
white sockets, while his chest twitched with electricity that ran
along his skin. His body curled into the fetal position and wiped
back, until I thought his spine would split in half.

Willow woke and scooted away from Ash’s body
in horror. Her hand covered her mouth and a sound tore from her
chest. It was a familiar sound; almost comforting. Though, I wasn’t
anxious for her call to be answered.

The ground shook with the full force of her
call. The air behind Ash turned into a minor cyclone; pulling
debris into its vortex. I stood, still holding my wound and limped
over to Willow. She finally quieted, but it was already too late.
Death stepped through the vortex and walked forward.

With each step he took, the plants at his
feet blackened and decayed. He was furious. Ash’s eyes blinked
open. He sat up in amazement, but when he saw Death approach him,
he did what any sane man would do; he moved away.

Behind Death, Kali and her sister Ivy came
through the portal and it closed behind them. Ivy was smaller than
her sisters. She had a petite frame, but was quick. Her Hellhound
name was Poison, which suited her personality. Though, her
appearance did not. She was a platinum blond with a vivacious
body.

I cleared my throat. “What brings you three
to my neck of the woods?”

Death flipped his head in my direction to
assess me. He looked like an ordinary man; brown hair, onyx eyes,
tall, and well built. However, he had such an intensity that no
mortal could be in his presence without fear. This was
Death
; the one thing that all living beings avoided and
feared.

“Silence.” Death turned to face Willow.
“What makes you think that you have the right to command death?”
His voice was hollow; like the absence of sound and yet we all
heard him.

“I… If I have the power to do it that gives
me the right.” She stood and placed herself between Ash and Death.
“
You
are not going anywhere near him!”

Death stopped and appraised Willow. “A
mortal thinks she can stop death?” He laughed.

“Willow let him through.” It was Kali who
spoke and she looked humble. I had never seen her this way before.
It was as though all life had been sucked from her and she was
merely a dog, lapping at Death’s heels. Ivy stood beside her with a
domineering smile.