Human (22 page)

I smiled at her and started telling her in the shortest way possible what was really going on. She was surprised by most of it, but she had already heard from Amadeo about angels and demons. So she did know who he was, but it was such a big secret that he had forbidden her to tell anyone. He loved his sister too much to keep her in the dark when I'd gone missing, but he still hadn't told her everything. By the time I finished my story, we'd had our third round of drinks.

"I can't believe he made me forget all of that! And put fake memories in my head," Italia said, shaking her head. "And you're saying you love him?"

"Yeah, I told you. We haven't been together for a long time, but I think there might be something between us. I'd really like to see how it goes."

"But he's going to be tortured in Hell if you don't hand over your sister?" Italia frowned, biting her lip.

"Yeah. I need to come up with something, but I just don't know with what."

"I can try to find something. Amadeo has some angel books in his room. It's like classified info, but I know he couldn't get mad at me." She grinned.

I was sitting on my bed, reading a book, or trying to read, because my thoughts kept wandering off. In no more than seven hours, Maliadades was going to start hurting Devin in the worst possible way. I didn't have to be psychic to know that he'd do anything to force Devin into my visions to show me what was happening because of me. Italia hadn't been able to find anything useful, just like I hadn't found anything during my long stays in the library or during my late at night browsing the Web.

I'd given up on trying to contact my father because I just couldn't figure it out how to do that with my visions. I was completely useless. Of all the dumb plans, returning to Hell armed with guns or dangerous chemicals seemed the best. The problem was Leonard would probably see right through it. Besides, I didn't really want to harm him too.

"Ariel! Come down! Your Geography teacher is here!" my mom yelled from downstairs. Geography teacher? What? I frowned, leaving the book on the bed and getting up. What would my teacher be doing.... Unless... Oh my God! I practically ran down the stairs, my heart thumping loudly in my chest.

"I can't believe you forgot to take your assignment," my mom said as she passed by on her way to the living room. I went to the door, trying hard to hide my excitement as I saw the man from the photograph my biological mother had given me leaning casually on the wall, dressed in a leather jacket and dark blue jeans. His eyes were hidden behind dark shades, the corners of his mouth lifting up in a smile.

"I only need to..." My words died on my lips because a coat suddenly appeared over my shoulders. "Oh, thanks. I guess we can go now."

We walked down the street in silence. I had a really good idea why my mother had fallen for him. Everything about him screamed danger, and he was just impossibly handsome. How come I hadn't inherited any of that beauty? Ok, I wasn't exactly ugly, but I didn't have that unearthly glow to my skin.

"You didn't call just to have father-daughter time," he said when we were far away from anyone's range of hearing.

"I need your help with the demon business," I said, wondering would he even be willing to do anything for me. I wasn't exactly sure he had some fatherly feelings hidden somewhere in his heart.

"Are you one of the kings of Hell?" I looked at him expectantly. That was my best shot. Maliadades wouldn't want to get in a fight with another king. But I highly doubted my father would be in the human world then, unless he was so powerful he'd never had to fight anyone.

"No, I'm not." Asibrius laughed. "That isn't something I'd ever like to be."

"Oh." I was starting to feel lightheaded.

"But Maliadades owes me a few favors, actually." He looked at me carefully, taking off his shades. "What has Maliadades done to you?"

"He..." I started to say, but he grabbed my hand so suddenly that I gasped.

"No time for the whole story. Just think of everything you want to show me, all right?"

I nodded, closing my eyes to be able to concentrate better on what I wanted him to see. It felt weird to have someone inspecting my thoughts, but if it could help Devin, I was going to do it. A few moments later, Asibrius let go of my hand and cursed.

"How dare he blackmail
my
daughter!" he said through his teeth, then turned to me. "You're not going back to Hell."

"But..."

"No buts. I'll go to Hell and fetch that boy for you," he said. "As for your half-sister, we'll take care of that later."

"How are you going to do that?" I frowned. He couldn't just kidnap Devin and bring him to me. Maliadades would be able to get him back. But if there was a way to get Devin here without me or Christina going to Hell, then I was all for it. Asibrius was right. Maliadades would still try to get to my sister, but we could find a way to protect her.

"You'll see. I'd tell you to trust me, but I never trust anyone, so..."

"Ok," I said, letting the doubt show in my voice.

"Meet me in six hours in front of the gate to Hell," he said, putting his shades back on. "Don't be late. I have to teach you a little trick before."

And just like that, he walked away. Could I trust him? I didn't know, but I was going to find out.

It was night already when I reached the gate, shivering in my long coat. I was freezing, but a bit of cold wasn't going to kill me. Asibrius emerged from the trees on my right, startling me.

"Hello again, princess. Glad you showed up." He was still dressed in the same clothes, but there was a shiny dagger attached to his belt, and he was wearing gloves.

"You just wait here, but I need you to keep your mind open in case I need to send you a warning," he said, placing his hand on my cheek. "Look at me."

I met his green eyes that instantly turned black. Something like a current passed between us, and I gasped. What was that?

"A link to my mind."

Asibrius winked at me and went for the cave where the gate to Hell was. I rubbed my arms, not feeling comfortable waiting here alone so close to the gate, but I wasn't going to walk away either. Minutes seemed to drag like hours, and I kept checking my cell phone like a maniac, half of the time not even seeing what time it was, so I had to check it again. I tried to contact Asibrius, but I couldn't feel anything from his side. Obviously communication between worlds wasn't easy.

"You owe me two lives and who knows how many things, Maliadades. I came only for one thing, so are you going to tell me no?" Asibrius says. "You know I could easily tell my men not to ship anything to you anymore."

"I'll kill you!" Maliadades growls, getting up from his chair.

"Try and see where that gets you. How many demons will be willing to do for you what I do?
How many of them are able to do what I do?"

Maliadades looks furious, but he seems to consider it. I have no idea what kind of business he has with my father, but it's obviously an important one.

"What do you want?"
Maliadades finally says, pacing the room. I can see Devin standing in the corner, quietly watching what is going on.

"I want the boy." Asibrius points at Devin, whose mouth open
s slightly in surprise.

"What?" Maliadades
says, aghast.

"I'm in need of a slave who can go between worlds. Give me the boy and you will pay off those two lives you owe me. I know he's valuable to you, but hey, two lives are two lives. It's a lot, even for the boy."

"And if I don't give him to you?"

"I'll never do business with you again, and you'll still owe me. If that's what you want, fine. I'm out of here." Asibrius goes for the door.

"Wait!" Maliadades says. "What if I give you the boy in a month?"

"No. I need him now for a job. Not in a month and not in a week. Today." Asibrius stares coldly at Maliadades, who licks his lips. Leonard is nowhere in sight
, and I'm glad he's not there to see what is going on. Maybe Asibrius' decision has been too sudden for Leonard to receive a warning in the form of a vision. For all I know, it doesn't even work like that.

"
Fine. I'll give you the boy. But you'll sign in blood and magic that I no longer owe you those two lives," Maliadades says.

"It's a deal."

I was back in the woods, gasping for breath. What was Asibrius doing? Making Devin his own slave? What if he really had a job to do, so he used me to get to the information he needed? What if he wasn't planning to ever let Devin go? No! I had to get back in his head and try to find an answer. If he could read my thoughts, then I could probably read his too and not just see what he saw.

Maliadades grabs Devin's hand roughly and cuts him with a knife, letting
the blood drip on the paper that suspiciously looks like a contract. Devin grits his teeth, and I can see he is confused by what is going on. The paper magically absorbs the drops of blood, and a sign appears where they have fallen.

"There! All done." Maliadades gives the paper to Asibrius, who folds it and puts it in the pocket of his jacket. Leonard appears in the doorway, looking worried. Even though Maliadades just lost his valuable slave, I'm sure he's glad that he w
on't have to share Leonard's attention with Devin.

"Walk!" Asibrius yells at Devin, gripping his shoulder painfully.

"Can I have a moment with him?" Leonard asks.

"No," Asibrius says, dragging Devin towards the door. Leonard sighs, grief evident on his beautiful face. Devin stares at him, his mouth opening, but he doesn't say anything. What is wrong with my father?
I can't believe he is so cruel not to let Leonard say goodbye to Devin.

As soon as they are in the hall, Devin tries to get out of Asibrius' grip. He tries to kick, but Asibrius is so much faster
than him. Asibrius grabs Devin by his hair and slams his head into the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious.

I was digging my nails into my palms, not even feeling any pain. How could he have done that to Devin? I was beyond pissed. A few minutes later, I felt tingling in the air and saw Asibrius coming out of the cave, carrying Devin in his arms. I ran towards them, my heart racing. There was blood on Devin's head and his eyes were closed, but his chest was moving.

"Why did you do that to him? You could have just used magic, not give him a concussion," I said, trying to keep my anger in check. Asibrius had gotten Devin out and me snapping at him didn't sound like a good idea, especially when he technically owned Devin.

"Yeah, I could have," he simply said. We got onto the street, and I kept looking around nervously to see if anyone was watching us.

"Relax," Asibrius said. "They can't see me or Devin, so you better act like you're walking alone."

Great. That meant I couldn't ask him anything or someone would think I was talking to myself. There was no need to attract attention when all I wanted was to get home and make sure Devin was fine. Getting Devin out of Hell had been easier than I'd ever thought it would be, but now I owed my father a huge favor.

Oh well, I wasn't about to tell him we should try to sneak in together. We'd need too much magic not to wake my parents and my sister.

It turned out Asibrius could fly into my room without any problem. He laid Devin on my bed and went over to my desk, settling himself in the chair. I found a cloth and pressed it gently against the wound on Devin's head. His black hair was sticky with blood, and I couldn't tell if he was still bleeding or not. With demons' fast healing, he shouldn't be, but it wasn't for sure.

"You'll have to sign the contract," Asibrius said, getting the yellowish paper out of his pocket and placing it on the table.

"Why?" I looked up at him, frowning.

"You'll be keeping him, right? I didn't get through all that trouble for nothing. You can see this as the most expensive toy I could have bought you for all the birthdays I have missed."