Caged in Darkness (25 page)

“No. Got it? I don’t care what you are. I
gave him life and you are
not
taking it away!” Willow moved
forward until her face was even with Death’s shoulders. He looked
down, but his anger had evaporated. He seemed amused and it was
confirmed, when he doubled over, holding his stomach from
laughing.

The hellhounds looked on in horror, but
Death’s laughter only made Willow angrier. When had she gotten a
backbone?

“Don’t laugh at me!” She smacked Death
across the face and everyone froze, while Willow’s face transformed
into one of shock. “Oh my God, I… I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. I’ve
never hit anyone before. Are you okay?”

Willow moved forward in concern and tilted
his head up to inspect her handiwork. A red welt was already
swelling where she hit him. She caressed his cheek and we all
watched, while she healed the injury she had caused.

Death’s eyes narrowed to slits. He grabbed
Willow around the throat, dragged her to him, and then bit her
neck. Blood trailed down her collarbone.

“Please, she didn’t know any better!” Kali
rushed forward begging Death. “Don’t hurt her! She’s just a
child!”

Death lifted his head from Willow’s neck and
licked the blood that had pooled at her collarbone. “Why did you
heal me?”

“I hurt you. I believe in fixing your own
messes. Now, I think I would like to give you a new slap and
not
heal it!” Her hand reached up to repeat her earlier
gesture, but he caught it and yanked her to him.

“Do you know what you are?” Death gazed in
her eyes and nodded to Ash. “You have the power to give life. It’s
a power that resides with me…
and
those who I gift with it.
There is only one Hellhound I ever gifted with that power and she
is long since dead.”

“Well, obviously you have your wires
crossed, because I just
gave
him life.” Willow pulled her
wrist from his grip and crossed her arms.

“Hasn’t anyone ever taught you to respect
others?” Death reached out his arm to bar Kali, when she tried to
go to Willow.

“I’ll respect you when you earn it, but it
still won’t change anything. You
will
leave Ash alone.”

Death sighed, and Ivy laughed in the
background. “It seems we are at an impasse. The only way you could
have the gift to give life, is if you are a direct descendant of
the hellhound I gave the gift to. I wasn’t aware any of her
offspring survived.” He turned to look at Kali and Ivy, who shook
their heads.

“I don’t care
who
I am a descendant
of. I want you to leave.”

Death raised his eyebrows at Willow’s voice.
“You think you can order death? His soul is mine. He died and I
came to claim him. Although, I might be willing to make a
deal.”

Willow shot a nervous look in my direction,
but shook it off quickly to face Death. “What kind of deal?”

“I only have five remaining hellhounds. All
of the others have died and they rarely give birth. I could use
another. If you agree to join my ranks and take your place among
your sisters, I will allow your witch to live.”

“What if I say no?”

“There are many ways to kill someone. Your
witch might fall down the stairs and break his neck or a bus may
hit him, while crossing the street. You can’t be with him all the
time.” A crooked smile lit up his features and I shivered.

“I have friends and a family. Ask for
something else.”

“No.” He snapped his fingers and a large
tree branch fell next to Ash. “That could have been his head.”

Tears fell from Willow’s eyes, while she
took in Ash and the enormous branch beside him.

“Willow, don’t do it. It’s okay. If I was
meant to die…I can face that.” Ash stood and attempted to push
Willow out of the way. She turned and looked Death in the eye.

“Give me until the end of summer to give you
my decision.” When Death opened his mouth to speak, she placed her
hand over his lips to silence him. “If he’s as easy to kill as you
claim, you can wait.” His eyes crinkled in amusement and he
nodded.

“You have a deal.” A sigil appeared on Willow’s
inner wrist, in sync with Death’s words. Ivy howled to open a
portal and they left.

I was alone in a clearing with Willow and Ash, but
Izzy soon appeared to remind us that Savannah was facing an
Archdemon on her own. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

“I gave her the dagger.” Izzy spoke quickly. “Well,
come on. We can’t let her face this on her own!”

Her words pushed us into action. Izzy blinked out of
sight, while the three of us raced in the direction Savannah had
gone in. She went off the trail we originally set out and it slowed
us down, because we had to track her.

17: Choices

SAVANNAH

I stood poised for Asmodeus’s attack, waiting for
him to barrel through the woods and attack me head on. He walked
through the trees and leaned casually against a tree. His neck,
ankle, and wing had completely healed. Our efforts hadn’t even put
a dent in his armor. It was insulting.

“That’s a pretty little blade you have there, but it
won’t help you.”

“We’ll just see about that.”

Asmodeus shrugged nonchalantly. “As you wish, you
can’t surprise me though. I’ve been watching you all along. I know
all of your little secrets. It’s what I do. I have always believed
in the need to know your enemy.”

“Oh really? You think you know
all
my
secrets? Why? Because you slip in my dreams and stalk my
friends?”

I made my move. I lunged with my dagger, but he
danced aside. His moves were smooth and graceful. It looked
effortless. I had never been a fighter, but I knew the basics. I
threw a punch with my free hand, but he caught my fist. Throwing my
weight into my movement, I attempted to stab him in the gut and
deliver a kick to the groin, but he spun around and caught me in a
choke hold.

“You think I stalk your friends and haunt your
dreams? You think that is the only way I’ve been able to watch
you?” He laughed hysterically and tightened the choke hold. “How
about we play a game of trivia? What is one of the first things
people learn about demons?”

“I’m not going to play your stupid game!” I felt
dizzy from lack of oxygen.

“Play or I will fly to your friends faster than your
little panther can run. I’ll kill them all and then I will continue
on to take each coven.”

“I don’t know. What is it?” I barely managed to
choke the words out. He let go and walked a few paces away to sit
on a large boulder.

“Think about it.”

I struggled to answer the question, racking my brain
for all of the stereotypes. “Ah, crosses and holy water hurt them?”
He nodded. “They work for the devil and live in hell.” Again, he
nodded. “A priest exorcizes them.”

“Bingo. Now, why does a priest exorcize them?”

I was beginning to feel like a child and I didn’t
like it. I sighed, “They exorcize demons because the demon
possesses someone.” Asmodeus smiled. It was an eerie smile that
left spiders crawling up my spine. “You… you possessed someone I
know?” In shock, I thought about all of the people in my life.
“Who? Isis? Griffin?” My throat tightened. “Willow?”

“Your lover boys. You see, it really wasn’t that
difficult. Whenever you were with them, I slipped in to take over.
They didn’t even realize they had become my puppets.”

I felt ill. Thinking over the past few weeks and how
fickle I had been, the sudden surge in hormones I had never
experienced before. How I sometimes felt a magnetism pushing me
towards Liam or Ash, while other times I didn’t… I loved both of
them. I was in love with Ash; Ash who I had never viewed as
anything other than a brother… until recently.

“I used my power to lure you to me and played on
your desires.”

Tears fell before I could stop them. My vision swam
when I looked Asmodeus in the eyes. His wings were open and his
inscriptions had faded to a poor example of their true worth. I
could feel it; the way I felt when I was alone with Ash or Liam.
The overwhelming wave of energy that pulled me towards them, I felt
it with
Asmodeus.

“No! It can’t be.” I shook my head and backed away
with my hands held out in front of me, as if barring the truth from
touching me. “It wasn’t you! I… Oh God. Why? Why did you do this?
Couldn’t you have just killed me?” I covered my mouth with my hand
in disbelief. “If you just wanted my power, why play with me like
this?”

“I needed to keep an eye on you. After all, I needed
time to gain enough energy to keep my physical form. Besides, it
kept me amused. Still want to kill me?”

My hand holding the dagger dropped to my side in
defeat. I was in love with an Archdemon, who not only wanted to
kill me, but everyone I loved. He was a murder, who ruled in hell
alongside Lucifer. I thought back to each time I saw Asmodeus in
person or my dreams. Then I thought about the moments I experienced
with Ash and Liam, but those moments were with
him
. How
could I kill someone I was in love with?

Asmodeus pushed off his rock to walk over to me. He
looked me in the eyes, reached out, and pulled me to him. In his
arms, I felt the pressure build. His eyes softened to a downy blue
and he leaned downward to press me into a savage kiss. It was
intense and I couldn’t stop my body from betraying my mind. I
responded to him with all the hunger I could.

Asmodeus pushed me into the rocky structure behind
me and wrapped us in his wings. He tore at my dress, snapped the
remaining strap, and nibbled on my earlobe.

“Oh God, I want you.” His teeth broke the flesh of
my neck and he fed from me. I wanted more. I wanted to taste every
piece of him. I was betraying everything I stood for. He would kill
us all and I was going to let him, because my silly heart wouldn’t
listen to my brain.

I heard my friends shouting in the distance. They
were looking for me. Asmodeus lifted his head in the direction of
their voices. “I’ll be back.” He moved to go after them, but I
plunged the dagger deep into his chest. His head swung back in
surprise, while blood spurted between his lips and he looked
down.

I cried, even while I knew he was evil, I couldn’t
help but love him. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you hurt anyone
else.”

Asmodeus stumbled backwards, pulled the dagger from
his chest and let it fall to the ground. His body began to shimmer
like a dying fairy. He was corporeal one moment and the next, he
wasn’t. He walked forward to place my hand over his wound. His eyes
looked ordinary now and the inscriptions had faded from his chest.
He looked like a man, a dying man. He wiped my tears away with his
fingertips and when I closed my eyes, he kissed my eyelids.
Uncontrollable sobs overtook me, and I started to
hyperventilate.

Asmodeus placed his index finger over my lips, but
it was insubstantial and passed right through me. He leaned
forward, until his lips were next to my ear and whispered. “Thank
you. It would have been a shame to kill you. Be safe, my little
Anakim.” Before he could move back enough to look me in the eyes,
he disappeared.

I fell to the ground, screaming at the sky. Every
cherished moment I spent loving Liam and Ash, I had really loved a
monster. My entire childhood had been one huge nightmare, but it
had been my parents’ way of protecting me. Izzy and Ash were dead.
I was a virus; I destroyed everything I touched. I brought this
evil to this place and into the lives of everyone I loved. Why did
everyone else die, while I lived?

The shouting in the distance had grown louder, they
were getting closer. I started to panic until my eyes fell on the
dagger, abandoned on the ground. It was still fresh with Asmodeus’
blood. Gripping it in my hand, I angled the blade towards me. The
horrors that had been visited on me throughout my life, were too
much to take any longer. I couldn’t continue to watch this world
die a slow, painful death that I brought with me.

My tears froze and for the first time I felt in
control. I could decide; this was my choice. I moved the dagger far
from my body and plunged it inward. The anger, pain, betrayal was
all gone. My world was clear and I was free. This was what a choice
was. Fate did not command me, my parents’ choices had not forsaken
me, I was just
me
. This was my world, those were my friends,
and the darkness couldn’t touch me unless I gave it permission. I
looked down at the dagger sticking out of my torn dress. What was
one more hole?

Willow walked into the clearing, while everyone else
trailed behind her. She saw my hand covered in blood gripping the
dagger, and screamed. Running forward, she grabbed my hands to pull
them away from the wound.

“It’s not mine.”

Her eyes search mine in confusion. “I don’t
understand.”

“The blood is Asmodeus’s. I made a choice; to live.
The dagger is stuck in my dress, but only next to my skin. It’s not
in
my skin.” I smile awkwardly, while my friends looked at
me in horror. “I needed to take back control. I had to
want
to live or I never would.”

I stood and walked to Ash. I cupped his cheek, but
didn’t feel anything. My emotions were as they should be and the
same was true for Liam. “I’m glad everyone is okay.” My voice
sounded strange. I was no longer weighted down. When I smiled at my
friends, my family… it was the first true smile of my
life
.

About the author

J.D. Stroube is a debut author, who will be
releasing several novels in the near future. She attends a
University as a Psychology major and intends to open her own
practice one day. She lives in Naperville with her husband and is
extremely close to her family.

Visit her website:
http://jdstroube.weebly.com/