Caged in Darkness (20 page)

I halted when I came to a lake. It was
different from the sort of lakes I knew of. The water resembled
liquefied silver, but it was thin enough to swim in. I kneeled at
the edge of the water, trailed my fingers through it, and watched
as it came alive. The liquid substance traveled up my arm and onto
my shoulder. I started to panic, but the water transformed into a
small bird and rubbed its head against my cheek.

“Scared?” Ash spoke at my shoulder and
scratched the liquid bird between its wings.

“Does the water always do this? Does it
normally take the shape of animals?”

“No, not really. It probably sensed your
curiosity and was attempting to soothe you.”

“Wait, the water is an empath? What happens
if you swim in it?”

Ash sighed. “Yes, the water here is a living
being and an empath.” Laughing, he continued. “I don’t think the
water would mind if you take a swim. Though, you should know that
the water affects inhibitions.”

“Hmmm… what type of
inhibitions
?” I
pushed the strap of my dress off my shoulder and the other soon
followed. “Don’t watch!”

“I think it’s a little late to tell you what
kind of inhibitions.” He said, as he turned away from me.

I pushed my nightgown past my breasts and
over my hips to let it fall around my feet. I wasn’t wearing a bra,
but I kept my silk underwear on. The water was warm around my hips.
It moved up to cover the length of my skin below my neck. I floated
on my back before letting my feet to sink toward the bottom.

“Ash, are you going to leave me to enjoy
this on my own? Come on, get in here!”

He turned back to face me. “Give me an
answer and I will. Otherwise, you can meet me back by the
threshold.”

I thought about making him beg, but thought
better of it when he started walking away. “Yes! My answer is
yes!”

“Yes, meaning
all
?” I nodded in
confirmation and he quickly stripped down to his boxers.

My heart beat raced, when he swam close to
me. He dipped his head beneath the water and shook the excess
liquid from it. Smoothing his hair away from his face, I slid my
hand down to his shoulder, biceps, chest, and finally his abs. He
pulled me close, until my naked breasts pressed against his chest
and sucked in his breath sharply.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”
Grabbing his head, I pulled it down to kiss me. I enjoyed his
reaction to me. It made me feel a combination of excitement and
power.

Ash set me away from him and splashed some
water in my direction. “I think someone needs to cool off.”

“Mmmm…and you don’t?” He laughed, but we
both knew he didn’t need to answer the question.

We swam for a while; playfully dunking each
other and splashing. When I walked out of the water, I expected to
have to wait a while to dry off, but the water trailed off my form,
leaving my skin pleasantly dry.

Ash led us back to the field of flowers and
to the threshold. While witches could only enter a divine place at
certain times, we could leave whenever we wanted. Before we stepped
over the threshold, Ash stopped me. He kissed me deeply once more.
Then we held hands and walked through the threshold.

ASH

Last night had been more amazing than I had
hoped. The joy on Savannah’s face, in response to the purity of the
divine place, was the happiest I had ever seen her. I walked into
the halls of my high school with a wicked grin on my face, which is
how Griffin and Isis found me.

“What’s with you?” Isis wasn’t used to me
smiling anywhere near her.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I stopped when
I saw their faces. They looked grim.

“She means, why are you so happy after what
happened?” Griffin grabbed my shoulder. “I thought you would have
more sense than that.”

“Whoa.” I held my hands up in defeat. “What
happened?”

Griffin and Isis looked at one another and
Griffin nodded. “Another kid died last night a few towns over. You
didn't hear?" I nodded. "Remember Michael?”

“Michael, the shy guy on the baseball team?”
I tried to grasp an image of him, but had trouble remembering
conjuring an image of him. Isis nodded.

Griffin swiped his fingers through his hair
and looked around to make sure no one was watching us. “That’s not
all. Michael went on a lunatic rage last night and killed his whole
family. Then today, a kid dropped dead in the hall and two others
had psychotic breaks. They were removed to a mental health
ward.”

“All that happened this morning? First
period hasn’t even started yet!” I couldn’t believe what was
happening around here, but I was beginning to worry that something
supernatural was happening. These occurrences couldn’t be
coincidences.

“That’s why school was called off for the
rest of the week.” I turned at Savannah’s voice and saw Willow and
Izzy standing with her.

“Hey, Savannah. How are you feeling? I
haven’t seen you since your ascension.” We all looked at Isis in
shock. “What? I can’t be worried? She looked like she was being
bathed in the flames of hell! Even I was worried.” She shrugged, as
if being worried about others was a common occurrence for her.

“Um, I’m okay. I guess…” Savannah crinkled
her eyes and shifted from one foot to the other.

“That’s great! If you need anything…” Seeing
our faces, Isis made an irritated sound and stomped off. Griffin
soon followed.

I turned back to Savannah. “That was weird.
What are your plans today? I mean, since we don’t have school.” I
wasn’t sure if Izzy and Willow knew about last night, but I wanted
to spend the day with Savannah. I could already feel my lips
against hers, while she pressed her body to mine.

“
She
is hanging with us today. She
already promised.” Izzy’s voice was laced with venom, unlike her
normal cheerful self. Willow didn’t look much happier.

“Alright. Alright! She’s all yours.” I
grabbed Savannah’s hand and held her eyes, as I slowly kissed her
palm; savoring the contact. “I will see you later.” She nodded and
I walked away to gain my composure.

I located Griffin and Isis in the parking
lot. The three of us decided to see a movie and get some lunch. It
was early afternoon when I arrived at home.

“Maye! You home?” I called out, with no
answer. Instead, I heard voices murmuring in the living room.
Following the sound, I found Savannah and Liam in a deep
discussion.

“What the hell is
he
doing here?” I
rushed forward to pull Liam off the couch, but Maye came out of
nowhere and dragged me into the hallway.

“Think with your head, boy. What is throwing
him out going to do other than anger Savannah?”

I stopped trying to press my way into the
room and looked at Maye helplessly. “What should I do, then? After
what he did to Savannah, I’m supposed to just leave him alone?” I
spoke through ground teeth.

“Yes. Savannah is a big girl and she can
handle herself. Leave them be.”

Maye walked away with a look of pity. I sat
on the stairs with my head in my lap. I could hear Savannah and
Liam talking, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I
comforted myself with the thought that if they were talking, they
weren’t kissing.

Liam walked into the hallway and stood at
the door to wait for Savannah. A few minutes later, she walked up
to him with an apology for making him wait. Her back was to me when
she leaned up to hug Liam. He buried his face in her hair, squeezed
tight and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. My insides
screamed at their kiss, but I forced myself to remain still. I
turned my gaze to a used a picture that hung on the wall next to
the door. I used the painting as a focal point and bit my lip. My
lungs started to burn, but I refused to allow them control.

I was concentrating on the willow tree in
the picture, when it began to smoke and caught fire. The flames
released my tension, which made me slow to react. When Savannah
started shouting, I stood quickly. The flames were traveling up the
photo to lick the wall. She looked at me in horror, while I tore
off my shirt and hit the frame to knock it from the wall. I used my
shirt to smother the painting until only smoke remained. Meanwhile,
Liam rushed towards the kitchen to get the fire extinguisher.

Liam came back into the room and stopped. I
followed the line of his sight to see Savannah standing with her
arm stretched towards the wall. The fire that had traveled up the
wall was now frozen. We turned in unison when Maye stumbled into
the hallway. Her hands were covered in dirt and she held a spade in
one hand. Her expression was as icy, as the flames Savannah
froze.

“My, what happened here? Are you all okay?”
Maye looked us over for injuries and then at the ice laced
wall.

“Oh dear, that wall is charred to pieces.”
She sighed, seeing my guilt ridden face. “Hmmm…I suppose you are
responsible for this?”

I cleared my throat and glanced back and
forth at Savannah and Maye. “Yes, but it was an accident.”

“I’m sure it was. I remember your father had
a similar
accident,
when your parents had a nasty fight. You
need to control your emotions, Ash. I don’t think that the
insurance company will be too happy with me if you burn this house
down.” She shook her head and waved her hands at the three of us to
get out of the house. We left the door open to allow the house to
breathe and moved away.

“Sorry about that.” Savannah apologized to
Liam and walked him to his car. I stood and watched. This time
there was no kiss.

“Ash…”

I held up my hand to ward of her questions.
“Why were you kissing him?”

“That? It was a goodbye kiss! It was a
harmless peck.”

I bared my teeth at her. “
That,
was
not
a goodbye kiss. A goodbye kiss is a peck on the cheek or
a chaste one on the lips! I told you it was all or nothing, because
it would be too complicated to be halfway. You said you were in and
the next day you’re kissing your ex? Why was he even here?”

She sighed, and blinked away tears. “He
called and asked me to meet him. I told him that I didn’t think it
was a good idea, but told him he could come here. He just wanted to
explain…”

“I don’t care. You should have told me
before he came and there was no excuse for that kiss!”

“Ash, please…”

I shook my head, got into my SUV and drove
away. I left Savannah standing in front of the house with tears
trailing down her face. I watched her form shrink in the rear view
mirror. I didn’t like seeing her sad, but I hadn’t left to punish
her. I left, because I knew I was losing my temper and I didn’t
want another accident to happen. I also wanted some time to clear
my head and to make certain my reaction was warranted. I knew that
it made sense for Savannah to want to hear Liam’s explanation. She
made a smart choice in having him come to the house, instead of
meeting him somewhere. However, their kiss was burning an angry
hole through my rationality.

13: Revelations

SAVANNAH

I waited outside for Ash to come back, but
he didn’t. Maye called me in an hour later. I retreated to my room
shut the world out. My solitude would bar further complications. I
worried about Ash. It was understandable for him to be angry about
my kiss with Liam, but I hadn't expected the kiss. Would I ever
figure out how to handle men? I couldn't help but think that the
movies, pronouncing women as the confusing gender, had never been a
teenage girl caught between two witches and a psychotic demon.

Later that night, I heard Ash in the hallway
outside my door. His footsteps paused. I held my breath waiting for
him to knock, but he continued to his room.

I picked up my mothers' journal, because I
promised Willow I would study it some more and I hoped it would
distract me. I hadn't picked the journal up since Izzy’s mother
died. My past was something I tried to keep separate from my
present. I didn’t want the ghostly child I once was, to haunt me.
My greatest fear was myself; my past. It terrified me that my
memories had the power to destroy my soul. Reading about my mother
would awaken those memories.

I piled into my bed with more pillows than
usual and used the light beside the bed to examine the journal. I
skimmed through the parts that had nothing to do with the demon. I
didn't enjoy thinking about my mother as a regular person. Reading
her thoughts and worries made her seem a mere mortal. In my mind,
she was an immortal executioner who continuously raked her axe
against my brain stem. I couldn’t escape her and I couldn’t run. I
was eternally bound in chains and some part of me would always be
in that cage, where I watched her terminate countless lives.

My parents had decided to trap Asmodeus to
gain his power. However, they first needed to learn his true name.
The names of demons and angels contained power of the named one.
After many failed attempts to learn Asmodeus's true name, my
parents summoned the archangel, Haniel. Strangely, he was known for
keeping lost secrets. He willingly gave my parents the information
they needed.

I was completely immersed in my mothers’
journal, when I read how they summoned Asmodeus. It was hard to
believe that they hadn’t ended up dead. Apparently, the name Haniel
gave them was false, which amused Asmodeus. Left with no life
lines, my parents had a single choice open to them; a bargain.

At first, Asmodeus wasn’t interested in a
bargain. After all, he was the highest ranking prince of hell; only
Lucifer sat above him. However, when I crawled from my crib and
into the circle, his tune changed. My mother begged him to leave me
be, but Asmodeus bent down, picked me up and smelled me.

I was in shock. Asmodeus had held me as a
toddler and he didn’t kill me? My mother begged for my safety? This
journal was going to give me a headache, while it turned my world
upside down.