Cataclysm (6 page)

The elevator dinged on the floor I needed, and I walked out to follow the numbers leading to her hotel room. Hopefully, she was in her room. Why didn’t I think of that before now? Everything was starting to make me panic.

I stood in front of Room 912, took a deep breath in and knocked on the door, first lightly, and then louder with every whack. Placing my bag on the floor, I began to hear a shuffle coming towards the door.

“Who is it?” Arie’s delightfully melodious voice rang through the door.

“It’s Ana. How’s Matilda doing?”

There was a lengthy pause – an impossibly long pause – and then the locks began to turn. Arie opened the door and stared at me blankly. Matilda ran through her legs, jumping on me, snorting away.

“Matilda!” I squealed, petting her ears and bending down to play with her. “I don’t think Arie remembers me, does she?” I spoke to Matilda.

My fingers were shaking as I felt the object’s shape inside my bag, hoping one of them would bring her back to us. Finding the pendant that she’s had for well over fifty years, I hoped would bring her memory back. This should have been a powerful memsor. Before I pulled it out, I saw a recognition flash through her eyes, with a bit of playfulness. Dropping my hand down to my side, I realized she recognized me the entire time.

“Ana, don’t kill me.” Her smile began to spread across her lips. “But it worked.” She had the same grin that Athen gave me when all of the pieces of the puzzle fit, only we didn’t have to wait for months. Letting go of the bag, a squeal spurted out, and I hugged her not wanting to ever let go.

“I can’t believe you’d do that to me,” I laughed and yelled at the same time, as she hugged me back. Matilda was nosing through the bag on the floor, snorting double time.

“Let’s get inside!” She ushered both Matilda and I through the door, dropping the bag she grabbed off the hallway floor onto a chair.

“Don’t you feel the least bit guilty for putting me through that?” I asked, throwing one of the couch pillows at her. I searched her face for anything that would signal some sort of uncertainty she might have with me. There was none. It was like this never happened. What we just managed to pull off might be one of the most important pieces to this war yet.

“I can’t believe this worked!” I squealed. “I feel so horrible celebrating this moment with Cyril wandering around completely defeated.”

Sadness crept into her eyes.

“How is he?” she asked softly.

“Not well, to say the least,” I whispered, “We’ve got to tell him soon. The very instant the threat is gone, he’s gotta be told. I feel like one of the most evil beings on the planet. Watching him go through this agony is horrendous. I know what it felt like with Athen gone and to know he doesn’t need to be suffering like this doesn’t help my guilt level at all.”

“This has to happen, Ana. I would never take this lightly.”

“I know. I keep telling myself that, but it’s a hard one to swallow. Did you actually witness his interactions with the minions?” I asked.

“I found some communication, and I overheard him talking to one of them. I don’t think it was Azazel, but it was definitely one of his minions. I was shocked that he’d even be entertaining the idea, like what these minions were saying was credible. I don’t know what mind tricks they were playing on him, but they were working,” Arie said.

“I don’t exactly understand why, when a white demon is tricked or gives themselves up to the dark side, they can’t be brought back to the white side. When I was taken, you guys started the process and got me back, same with Athen and you. Why can’t we just jump one of the family members who gave themselves up to the dark side and turn them back to our side?” I questioned.

“When someone in the underworld, essentially gives up their soul or sacrifices themselves to the otherworld, it’s like tying yourself up to the dark side. It’s kind of complicated. Basically, we know better. The rules of the immortals’ world take that into account. The celestial betterment that encompasses everything we try to accomplish is by our choice. If we choose to ignore everything we’ve ever learned to go to the dark side, it’s basically our punishment.”

“But why if a mortal gets possessed, can we still turn them? I don’t understand why we can turn some back to our side and not others?” I asked.

“Well, you said it right there. ‘Turn some back’, is the key phrase - back from what? We never had them on our side to begin with. They went from a human to the dark demon’s side. If a mortal becomes possessed, they made their decision in a mortal state, not immortal. Making a decision as a human has fewer consequences than making that same decision in an undying state. Supposedly, even if trickery is involved, we should know what’s at stake.” She finished with a sigh.

“Thanks. Glad you could remember all that, still.” I teased her.

“These memsors are pretty incredible, Ana. It actually only took seeing the one on Matilda to trigger things. It sent me to the one I had left at the front desk of this hotel, and that was the one that really helped. I was hoping every day that you would hurry up and get here. How’s my brother doing?” she added, “Does he know?”

“He does.” I nodded.

“Is he upset?” she asked tentatively.

“Actually, no. I thought he was going to be mad at me, too, but nothing. He told me that you were probably right, and he would’ve tried to dissuade us.”

“So the only piece of the puzzle, now, is ensuring that Cyril remains safe, huh?” Tears began to fill up her eyes. I knew this was one of the worst things imaginable for both Cyril and Arie. Matilda came over and pushed my hand off my lap for pets.

“On a positive, Athen is already running him all over the state, trying to expose him to the destruction Azazel has caused with these false promises to other families. The first family had two attempts. One worked and the other didn’t.”

“No, but we sent her a message. Also, we followed some of the minions, and they actually vanished under a pile of boulders. Our guess is they went into some sort of underground tunnel system or something.”

“Wow! That’s incredible,” she sighed. “I’m out for a few days, and I miss all the big stuff.”

“Not really. I’d say having you get taken down and coming back to us is pretty big. I can’t get over that this worked!” I exclaimed. “Do you know what this could do for all the families that can master this? It could change the complexion of the war and our future.”

“Let’s hope.” She pushed back the strands of hair that had fallen in her face.

“I have to admit, that it’s really startling to not have your bright green eyes looking back at me.” My eyebrows went up in distaste.

“Oh, my God, Arie. You have no idea how much I wanted to hear that recognition in your voice.” His words were signaling everything that I felt.

“Is Cyril around?” she asked him.

“No, the poor guy. He went down to the beach. We’re still up in Bellingham. This last family shook him to the core. I think the gal reminded him of you. She had the same coloring from the pictures, anyway. How the heck are we gonna know when enough of these incidents will resonate with him? I feel like the biggest louse in the world leading him on like this. Hearing your voice is awesome, but it only rubs in what we are doing to Cyril,” Athen finished.

“I don’t think it’s going to be long. It sounds like the families you managed to find are ringing true with him. I’m gonna get to work right away with Ana on some of the next steps. My hope is some of the things we come up with will influence Cyril quickly.” Arie did her best to sound like her old self, but I could tell she was exhausted. I think Athen picked up on it too.

“Okay, I’m going to go get Cy. Sis, it’s great to hear your voice.”

“Thanks. I might not let Ana come back home, by the way. It’s a bit lonely.” Arie laughed, as Matilda plopped herself down by the couch.

“Hey, I had to last for fifty years, missy! I think you can handle this,” I piped in. “I’ll see ya soon, Athen! I love you!” I yelled into the speaker.

“Love you too, hun and you, too, Arie. So glad this worked. It gives me hope for the battles ahead.”

“I know!” I exclaimed. “We were just talking about that.”

“Oh, I see Cyril making his way up here. See ya soon,” Athen’s voice trailed off. I took the phone back and slipped it in my purse.

“It’s good to hear his voice,” Arie exhaled. I realized she must’ve taken a deep breath in and never let it out while she was talking on the phone.

“Do you mind if I ask how you got this whole process started?” My voice was barely audible even for me to hear.

Her eyes darted over to me in a flash. I worried I’d brought something up I shouldn’t have, but her smile began to resurface. Her eyes had a distance, though.

“If you don’t want to talk about it. I understand.” I fumbled for my words.

“No, it’s fine.” She took a deep breath in and scooted her legs underneath her. “It pretty much transpired like our plan. Only, it happened a lot quicker than I thought.”

“How so?” I probed.

“Cyril was getting aloof again. He was distracted like before. He’d wander around and not even pay attention to what I was saying. I knew he was contemplating being taken away to save me. I knew he was falling for their stories and mind tricks. Lord knows what kind of images they were throwing at him. There was no way I could talk sense into him. Azazel’s promise or threat, however you want to look at it, seemed to be working. We had barely gotten settled in our hideout, when I decided I needed to start the process.” Her voice sounded exhausted. “I didn’t want to leave him like that, but I knew it was my only shot to keep him from making the wrong decision. Every hour counted.”

“It’s funny how this love, we have for our partners, is so strong that it can even tear us apart.” Shaking my head, I walked towards the fridge to grab a water. “We think we are doing the right thing to protect our loved ones, and it can actually be a catalyst for something that we would never consciously want to happen.”

Arie nodded her head. Her eyes looked exhausted. I wasn’t sure how much longer I should stay.

“I tell you, that pull I had to Athen was like nothing I thought possible. It felt as if I would literally wither away, if I didn’t somehow see him or connect with him. I don’t know how he did it for fifty years.”

“I know! It’s crazy. In the real world, Cyril would never think of turning to the dark side, but throw in the mix that it’s the only way to save me, and he’s first in line. It’s pretty hard to wrap my head around.”

“Well, we’ll get him back to his old self, but in the meantime, we’ve got some major planning to do. The factions are popping up all over under various Masters. Azazel is pulling out all the stops. Deep in my heart, I think he’ll give up on trying to whisk us away when he sees it hasn’t worked.” I plopped on the couch, realizing how good sleep sounded right about now. I had no idea the stress I must have been feeling with the thought that this might not go well.

“Let’s hope it stays contained,” Arie sighed.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing, Arie. It’s not a happy thought. If they start dabbling in the mortal world the way they are capable…” I didn’t want to end my sentence as if that would solidify it. My body shuddered at the idea. Deep inside a thought kept trying to surface that I refused to acknowledge. This was a war for the underworld to handle – not the mortal world. I had to ensure that was the case.

We had both fallen asleep on the couch, only to be woken up by the darkness that the many hours of sleep had brought. Matilda was crawling on me, obviously, with some sort of business on her mind. Arie looked as if she had slept away some of her stress.

“I’ll take her out. I think you should stay under wraps as much as possible. Things have gone too well, to have something happen before you get your green eyes back,” I said, only half joking, as she threw the leash and room card at me.

“At this point, I feel wide awake! Argh! Now… my sleep is gonna be all screwed up!” Arie chuckled. “But, I really needed that.”

I headed towards the door to take Matilda out and scope around the block, in case there was anything I should be concerned about.

The elevator spilled Matilda and I into the lobby, and we made our way out to the chilly evening air. Walking, on the sidewalk towards the park, brought a sense of normalcy back. Summer’s tourists were out in great numbers as was typically the case this time a year in Seattle. I kept alert as I followed Matilda to her stomping ground.