First And Last (20 page)

When I looked back to Aaliya, she had chosen to reveal herself as well. She looked similar to before, but now her eyes were a little bigger, filled most of her face, and her ears had a similar point.

My gaze swung to Ember, even she had changed, but her features still looked more human than Fae, even with the glow and points to her ears.

“This is Noeth,” Aaliya introduced. “He is my son.”

He bowed respectively.

“Well, I have to say, I like this look of you all better.” They were the most beautiful creatures I’d ever seen, including the handsome Noeth beside me. “You’re all so pretty.” It was their eyes really. They were so big and mesmerizing.

A thought surfaced that sent a wave of worry to pool in my gut. “I’m going to still look like me, right?”

The crowd laughed and it sang across the wind.

“Yes, you will. You’re only part Fae,” Aaliya explained. “Just the power lies within you.”

Phew!
I realized then how my words must have sounded. Not wanting to insult them, I added, “Not that I wouldn’t mind, but I’ve kinda grown used to my look.”

“As I was saying,” Noeth interrupted, clearly not fond of small talk, or maybe he just thought my conversation was not worth continuing. “You won’t be alone. Those of your kind are waiting for you to return and I will join you.”

My brows rose. “You will?”

“As I told you before, it wasn’t until recently that I discovered just how important you are. A vision has shown me the full truth of the power you hold.” Aaliya replied.

I waited for her continue. She didn’t. I laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, am I supposed to say something here?”

She nodded.

I mulled that over a moment, glanced around at the others, hoping they could give some clarity, since I had no idea what she wanted me to say. After a few agonizing minutes, I gave up trying. “Er…sorry I’ve got nothing.”

Her large baby blues bore into mine, full of knowledge and wisdom. “You do know. It lies there within you. It’s what you’ve wanted for so long and what you know you’re capable of doing.”

Minutes passed as I searched for an answer. A reason to give her. Did I know what I wanted? Sure, I wanted this situation over, but could tell that was not what she meant. Was there something more I wanted?

Slowly, but surely, the answer became crystal clear in my mind. How had I not seen this immediately? I did know exactly what I wanted and the truth was there the entire time. I’d even said it, time and time again.

I gasped, my eyes wide as a hand went over my mouth. Could it be possible?

Aaliya smiled, a bright grin that sent the glowing aura around her to erupt into a bright light. “That’s right, Nexi. Now, there are two things you must know before we do this.”

“What are they?” I asked urgently.

“I’ll need to stay connected to you to protect our realm. The last and very most important thing you cannot forget…not everyone will be safe. Protect those who need it.”

I will never forget…

My feet hit the grass of the Underworld. Everything from there happened slowly. Aaliya smiled while she held my hands tight as the world around us erupted back into chaos.

Screams and magic came from every angle around. The sky was alight with war.

Kyden’s roar and panic instantly captured me. I slowly turned my head to see him in the state I left him, charging toward me with the Demon Lords rapidly approaching. His expression turned from fierce to one of blatant confusion as he saw Aaliya in front of me.

Beside me, Noeth drew a bow from his back, which seemed to appear out of thin air, and began blasting the demons with arrows, sending a bright flash to graze through the air.

Aaliya squeezed my hand. My gaze returned to her and I smiled. It was time.

I released one of her hands and drew the rune. It only took seconds for me to finish the Alpha-Omega symbol and lock myself into the rune. Time seemed slow even further. The loud screams around me seemed timeless.

“
Primoris quod permaneo,”
I chanted, closed my eyes and let the words blend together and draw on the source of power from those words, what they really meant. This was the symbol of God and all that is good. I allowed myself to believe I was speaking to him and allowed his strength to envelope me.

Suddenly, wind began to stir, but I never opened my eyes. My hair whipped around my face but I never stopped chanting. Then, a bright light that resembled the orange sun flashed behind closed eyes, followed by a loud bang that brought complete quiet.

My first thought was, holy shit, it worked, and I got the Latin right. Then I thought about the fear of what I was about to face. It was entirely black here. No walls or burning molten lava, just black emptiness. It was far worse than anything I could’ve imagined to be surrounded by nothing, it was cold and downright scary.

Once I recovered from the horrifying hollowness also came the reminder of who I was about to meet. The Devil.

Just as that fear came forth, the presence of someone near floated around me. I’d been expecting a being that resembled a human or some scary-ass mythical creature with horns to be standing before me, but there was nothing here. No visible person.

He was here, though, I could feel him all around me. The darkness closed in. My breath caught and throat tightened, fear stole any sane thought in my mind.

Then, he spoke. “Who dares to enter my realm?” His voice was everything evil is—rich, deep, and scary as hell.

I gulped deeply to find even a smidgen of bravery. It did come as a relief that I couldn’t see him. The visual of things could sometimes be far scarier and much more real than not. Not seeing him made him less threatening—less powerful.

“Nexi Jones,” I responded without a shake to my voice. Pretty impressive, I thought. It seemed the appropriate answer. Saying, Guardian, Spirit Witch and Fae, just seemed a bit long and I really wasn’t up to small talk with the Devil.

“Why have you come?” he demanded.

Hmm, how to put this. “Well, to be honest, I’m not actually quite sure. I know that I’m here to send the Demon Lords back and close off the realm, but the other part just hasn’t presented itself quite yet.”

He laughed and evil poured around me.

That was enough of that, thank you very much. I quickly began. “
Quondam patefacio
.”

The Devil snickered, stopping my words. “It will not be that easy for you, witch.”

“First of all, I’m not just a witch. Second, I had to at least try, now didn’t I?” Of course, I wasn’t sure it was going to work. Life was never that easy, but didn’t mean I’d never catch a break.

His laughter resumed.

Just as it drifted away, without any sense of warning, he possessed my body. I fought with all I had to push him away from my soul. Satan’s power was unrivaled. Sure, I had enough in me to stay true to myself, but having the ability to push him away was never going to happen.

“My darkness wants you,” he whispered into my mind.

“I don’t want it.” This was becoming tiresome. Again and again, I was tested by Black Magic. Sure, it was rich with power. Yes, it could give me an endless amount of strength, but it was dirty, soulless. The fact that the Devil’s magic was purer, it actually came as a blessing. Did I want this type of power? Hell no.

The Devil’s voice poured out from inside me. “You don’t know what it could give you.”

“I know exactly what it could give me. I didn’t want it before and I don’t want it now.” Point and point.

“You will not close the realm,” Satan ordered. “You will leave now.”

Oh, shit, this was surely a test. And it tested me to my fucking limits. Did I want to say no? Part of me did, but the other was strong. All I’d been through and seen made me fight against this. In the dark world, I couldn’t get any stronger. I was their leader. What more could I want? They all knew I didn’t want that position either. Denying this was a cinch. With every ounce of strength that lived in me, I screamed at the top of my lungs, “Get the fuck out of my body.”

The pressure building inside of me eased slightly, but he still lingered there and kept a hold on my soul. Sickening in every sense. His presence in my body was more than wrong, it was a pure product of evil. Nothing good lived within him and the horror of that was cold and frightening.

His voice was amused. “You’re strong. Not like the last, but I’m confident that this will change your mind?”

The Devil withdrew from my body and I gasped, relieved he was gone. Once I opened my eyes, breathing was lost to me. “Oh dear God…no.” Horror fled through me as I now stood in an empty, dark-walled room with Drake, Tyrianna, Gloria and Frank in flesh and blood.

My heart sank and a wave of nausea washed over me. I gulped back the vomit that rose in my throat and found the strength to talk. “Why are you here? You’re supposed to be in Heaven. You’re not supposed to be here!”

They never answered me, which told me this wasn’t real. It wasn’t them. If it was they would’ve said something to me, told me how much they loved me or how much they missed me. They couldn’t speak or feel because they’re illusions.

Fucking Devil was good, I’d give him that. I gritted my teeth and got right back to business. “
Quondam patefacio
.”

Just as I started the words, Gloria gasped and cried out loudly. “No, Nexi, don’t send us back there. We’re not in Heaven. Please, you must save us. You don’t know what it’s like for us here.”

My mouth clamped shut. Oh God, it sounded just like her. Her eyes filled with tears and poured down her cheeks. She trembled, her eyes afraid. Revulsion sank deep.

I was wrong. This was the fate they received, to spend eternity to rest in the depths of this place? My stomach turned again with sickness.

Before, I had the chance to vomit, Drake stepped forward until he was just a few steps away. “We have missed you terribly.” He glanced to the others. “She has come to save us.” He smiled.

I gave my head a shake as tears filled my eyes. “No this isn’t real, you’d be in Heaven. I know you would.”

“The Devil captured us,” Tyrianna said in a soft tone that I’d only heard in Zia’s memories. “He stole us while we were crossing over. He knew this day would come and prepared for it.”

I gasped as I stared into the face of the mother I never knew. “That can’t be true.”

“Sadly, this is all very true.” She wiped a tear away from her eyes and looked utterly dismayed. “The others have not been here as long. It has been much longer for me.” Fear crossed her face and she reached forward to take my hands, her eyes pleading. “You cannot leave me here. You must take us with you. He has promised that if you leave, we can go with you. We can be free from here. We can come home with you.”

Tears trickled my cheeks. My Mother in the flesh. I needed to feel more of her. Without hesitation, I wrapped my arms around her. She was so warm. I sank into her embrace. Finally feeling just what it was like to be wrapped in her love. It felt so good.

Something gnawed at me, made me hesitate. Why hadn’t I agreed yet?

Tyrianna pulled me away from her chest, her eyes so soft and very loving. This had to be real. It just had to be. Anything that was dark was always seen in their eyes, shadowed with evil. None of that lived in her. Her light hazel eyes glowed with happiness.

Just then, Gloria latched onto me, took me in her arms as she trembled. I gripped her tight, remembered just how this felt. How I missed her hugs. She smelled like she always did, like freshly baked cookies. “Mom…I’ve missed you so much.”

“I have missed you too,” she whispered beside my ear. “I love you, Nexi. I love you so much.”

After that, I was passed onto Drake and Frank, who both embraced me in their love. I was back in their arms, a place I thought I’d never be again. It felt so good, too good. I didn’t ever want to let go.

Frank made the decision for me and stepped back as he said. “My darling, Nexi. Your Mothers are right. You cannot leave us here. It’s terrible, horrible in the worse ways. Your poor mother, what this is doing to her.” His voice sounded so heartbroken, so worried for her. “You need to take us with you.”

My guts were being ripped apart. Here were my parents, who begged me to save them. Trapped in this purgatory hell, and I was the only one that could free them. I shook my head in an attempt to get a grasp on this. My only choice was to save them, I couldn’t let them continue on this way, but something kept nagging at me. Why was I hesitant to do this? This was my family who I loved and missed terribly. Why were the words to free them trapped in my throat?

Drake cupped my cheek and I sank against his hand. “Free us from here and we will return to the Otherworld with you. You’ll no longer be without us. You won’t feel the pain you have suffered from our disappearance from your life.” He wrapped an arm around Tyrianna, gave the same strong look that I’d seen from him a thousand times. “We can help you defeat the Demon Lords. Your mother and I will stand by you as we fight against the darkness. We may not defeat Satan now, but we will in time.”

There it was…the Devil’s mistake.

Drake would never say those words to me. Just one simple statement changed it all. This wasn’t them. Drake was a Guardian. They are by far the most protective beings and I knew him well. He’d never tell me to go and fight against dark ones. Ever. He’d be raging mad that I even attempted such a thing.

With that came a whole lot of clarity. This is what Ember had said, and not until this moment, did I remember her words.
“He’ll try and tempt you. You have to fight him hard. Trust me when I tell you, it’s not any easy task.”

Well, luckily for me, he fucked up and said the wrong thing because she was right. I was
this close
to giving in. Now seeing this for what it was, it was really almost comical. How could I have even believed my family was in Hell? They were the essence of what was good. God would have taken and protected them. I believed that.

I began backing away from them, and they all started to sob and scream for me to help them. Oh yeah, the Devil laid it on thick.

“Please Nexi, I love you. Save me,” Gloria cried out.

Tyrianna’s face streaked with tears. “I need to know you. I have missed you, my sweet baby.”

Now, I was getting pissed. Fuck the Devil. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and covered my ears. I couldn’t do this any other way. Sure, they weren’t real, but their pain still felt like it was.

With all that existed within me, all the power that I learned I had, I screamed. “
Quondam patefacio, iam propinquus!
”

Roars of rage came around me, and I was blasted with power, which sent me flying across blackness. I never hit a wall or slowed down, just continued through a dark tunnel of horror.

A loud bang rattled into my soul, and with it came the awareness that it wasn’t only the Devil with me now. They were all here. All seven Demon Lords locked within this darkness. The rage among them sucked my breath away, but just as it became too much to bear, something touched me. It wasn’t dark, not in any way.

This was salvation.

It pulled at me as if it grabbed my soul from the inside out, then I was dragged from the darkness into a bright white light. It swirled around me, tossed me head over heels. Nausea sank in as I felt like I’d become a sock in a dryer.

Blessedly, as quick as it started, it stopped. I clasped my stomach, forced the barf to stay where it belonged. Within seconds, the dizziness settled. I opened my eyes to a white space that was everything Heaven should be—love, peace and eternal happiness.