Daniel Taylor Between Two Worlds (14 page)

Her footsteps echoed off the walls as she walked through the hallways, peeking into classrooms from time to time. Perhaps, if the high lords hadn’t tracked down Kitana, she would be sitting there and learning all about the human world.

A strange sense of emptiness overcame Marla. There was a place in her heart where something was missing, and she felt the organ expanding as though it were trying to fill the void.

Mike …
Marla sighed. Where was Vanessa? Marla really could really use her help right now!

She became increasingly restless; her mind was racing. Never before had she had such a strong urge to talk to someone. She could ask Vanessa what she thought her dream might mean. And Marla wanted to know whether Vanessa’s heart beat just as fast when she thought about Silvan. Whether she missed his smell and his fingers on her skin, his smile, his voice, oh … everything!

She was going crazy! Was she under some kind of love charm, or was what she felt the same thing her mother had felt? Were these new, wonderful sensations the root of the reason that Kitana had turned her back on the underworld? Was James no more guilty than Mike was?

Kitana fled because they wanted to kill us both …

Bah! I’m still alive!

Because my mother cast a protective spell on me.

Damn it, she didn’t know what to do! Had her whole life been a lie?

If just one demon realized that she was no longer loyal to them, far worse things were in her future, and she’d certainly never see Mike again!

In any case, everything would have been different if Kitana were still with James. Would they have lived in a little house, like her brother and Vanessa?

Vanessa — maybe she was with Silvan’s foster mother!

Marla created a new portal that led to Silvan’s former bedroom. It looked exactly like it had the last time she had been there. Her demonic hearing picked up several voices on the ground floor. Marla turned herself invisible, quietly descended the stairs, and entered the Taylors’ living room.

She gasped. Not because she had finally found Vanessa, but because of the fact that Vanessa and Silvan’s foster mother were talking to someone Marla couldn’t see!

Although — when she looked very closely and concentrated hard, she could almost make out a translucent figure in the armchair. This must be the source of the masculine voice she heard.

James Carpenter!
The thought shot through Marla’s mind. He must still have the amulet that made him invisible to demons! Could Marla just barely make him out because she had some watcher blood in her? Had her dream been the truth, then? But this thought was cast aside as her heart raced. Finally … After so much time, she had finally found Carpenter!

She would have liked to bring him down then and there, but she was too weak. This enraged her, stoking her fury. Her meager magic might just bounce off the eye of Horus back onto her. Shit!

Marla had to exert real effort to stop herself from exploding something. That would have given her away immediately, and Carpenter would surely get away.

Marla retreated quickly toward the stairs. She had to keep hidden; thanks to the amulet, Carpenter would be able to see her if he looked in her direction.

Marla had only one option: seek out the high lords and inform them that Carpenter had resurfaced! Maybe everything would finally turn out well for her. The high lords would leave Marla alone, and no one would find out that she desired a human! Obron wouldn’t be able to kill her, thanks to his oath to her mother, and he still had his lackeys.

But what would become of Silvan?

“Where were you?” Metistakles growled as Marla entered her chamber.

She jerked back and gasped when she saw the high lord lying on her bed. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed his presence.

Before she could tell him about her discovery, Metistakles leapt up and began sniffing at her like an animal. “You were with another!” He took a deep breath, than spat in disgust. “With a human!”

Marla froze in fright.

Mike!
“I only w-wanted to please you, my lord, and obtain information about Carpenter.”

“You’ve always been a lousy liar, and so transparent,” Metistakles said uncharacteristically tenderly, running his fingers across her cheek. His fingernails lengthened into razor-sharp talons. Marla knew what was coming. Unimaginable fear flooded through her. He mustn’t find out about Mike! Perhaps he would spare her if she told him that she had found Carpenter. “I … I have him, I found Carpenter,” she stammered.

The look in Metistakles’ eyes was suddenly so cruel that she automatically retreated to her secret place, as she so often did when she was with him. She found herself in her fairy-tale tower. This time, her mother wasn’t waiting there for her, but Mike was, and he took her in his arms.

Metistakles shook Marla, who was lying limp in his arms, even though he knew that it wouldn’t rouse her from her comatose state.

His rage knew no bounds. Finally, after so long, this useless tramp managed to find something out about Carpenter’s whereabouts, and she goes and passes out again! If Marla knew how aggressive this made him feel, she wouldn’t dare try it again. In the future, he would be sure to cast a waking spell on her before enjoying himself so that she could savor his little games as much as he did.

Carpenter … This knowledge could allow him to gain favor with Xandros! Or even better: He could use the information to his own advantage!

Metistakles angrily threw Marla onto the bed and sat down beside her. Marla was just like her mother Kitana, that bitch who had deceived everyone. Kitana had fooled them all with her false identity. Marla’s face and body were relaxed; she was far too attractive, even for a demon. Except for Sirina, who was destined to be the wife of the future Overlord, no demon was more beautiful than Marla, but Metistakles had done his best over the years to decorate her body with his art. He loved to scratch her skin, to pierce her and make her bleed. Unfortunately, thanks to her demonic genes, she healed quickly — far too quickly for his tastes, but at least he wouldn’t run out of “space” on his canvas. But today he had something else in mind. He ran a clawlike hand through Marla’s hair, cupping the back of her head and driving his fingernails into her scalp.

He laid his other hand on her chest, and his sharp nails glided effortlessly through the fabric of her sweater. Marla was wearing human clothing, and her hair looked different. It was straight and silky between Metistakles’ fingers.

“Pathetic,” he muttered. He shut his eyes in order to penetrate deep into Marla’s consciousness. Metistakles knew that she wouldn’t wake anytime soon, so he would have to find out the information about Carpenter himself. He could make it look like he was the one to discover it, and simply kill Marla … although … she made a nice pastime, and Obron would tear his head off. His daughter might yet prove useful if Silvan didn’t play along.

Metistakles laughed to himself as he thought back to how Obron had tried to keep his secret to himself. But when he was training Silvan earlier and became distracted, Xandros had extracted the information from him, and Metistakles had caught some of it.

Even after a long search, he couldn’t find anything in Marla’s mind about Carpenter’s location. Metistakles had great difficulty orienting himself among the chaos of her emotions. He was astounded at how human she was.

“Yes, she definitely takes after her mother,” he hissed as he reached the deepest level of Marla’s consciousness. There, he stumbled across a dark, smooth ball. Marla’s hideout!

So this is where she shuts herself away. To Metistakles’ chagrin, it seemed that she had taken all the important information into her “safe room” with her. He tried in vain to break open the ball with his mental powers and magical spells, but he couldn’t manage to crack it.

Love …
He knew it. He was helpless against the greatest power in the universe, and his fury increased as he realized that he had underestimated Marla. Metistakles had been absolutely certain that he had her under control, but those two years among the humans were evidently enough to wipe out the majority of her demonic characteristics, such as callousness.

A light haze suddenly floated past him. It was one of Marla’s countless memories of the human world. Metistakles saw a large building in the swirling mist of thought. There was a banner reading “Little Peak Prom” above the entrance. The face of a young woman with light-brown hair appeared. It was the same girl that Metistakles had seen in Silvan’s mind.
Vanessa
… Interesting. What else of use could he ferret out in Marla’s mind?

“Marla? Are you okay?” Silvan sat up in bed when his sister came through the door. “Did something happen?” She hadn’t knocked, and he had been worried that Sirina had come back. He had sent his “betrothed” away with the excuse that he wanted to be alone in order to better concentrate as he honed his mental powers. The truth was that he wanted some peace and quiet. His head was spinning from the mental shocks the high lords inflicted whenever he made a stupid mistake.

“Hmmm? What? Yes … everything’s okay,” Marla answered, hopping up onto the bed. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were torn in places. She wasn’t wearing her punk outfit, but normal clothing. Who had she taken on, then? He’d find out later; right now, he had other questions.

“Were you up there?” Silvan’s pulse accelerated. “Did you see Vanessa?”

She chewed at her fingernails, staring straight ahead. She seemed distracted, confused, and agitated.

“Marla?” he asked again.

She suddenly turned to face him, her eyes wide. “I’m supposed to tell you that we’re going up there. Both of us.”

“What? How come?”

“You’ll find out more later; you should just get ready.”

Other than his training, he had nothing to do. He was ready to go at any time. It was boring down here. He missed his computer and … other things.

What did he need to prepare for? “Up there?” He was secretly looking forward to the chance to see Vanessa again. He was slowly mastering the art of making himself invisible. He could see her close up, watch her …

“A mission, little brother.” Marla was gnawing at her fingernails again. Why was she so rattled? He had the feeling she wanted to tell him something — Silvan could sense it. But instead she just said, “Sorry, I’m not a good storyteller, and I’m just not in the mood.” She stood up and went to the door. “I’ll be back when it’s time.”

Shortly after his sister left, Antheus came by to inform him about the tests he would have to pass before he could become Overlord. “I’m giving you confidential information, so block your mind to anyone not in Xandros’ inner circle, and let me in.”

As though I ever saw anyone other than Marla, Sirina, Xandros, and the High Council
, Silvan thought. He found it strange that they were isolating him like this. As the future Overlord, shouldn’t he eventually meet “his people”? Introduce himself around, meet other important members of the demonic hierarchy?

But he merely nodded. Suddenly, he could hardly wait to get to the surface.

Antheus sent him a clear picture of a medallion hanging on a silver chain. It was in the form of an oval; in the middle, there was a luminous red stone that looked like an eye. It rendered James invisible to demon eyes, but Silvan should be able to see him, since Carpenter’s blood flowed through his veins and he was half human.

The amulet was somehow familiar to Silvan. He was to retrieve it so that Carpenter could no longer hide from them. However, it would be even better if Silvan could procure the scepter, even if he had to kill Carpenter in the process. The loss was acceptable to the high lords, as long as they got what they had wanted for so long.

“The scepter?” Silvan asked. “What does that do?”

“Patience,” Antheus hissed.

Patience … that reminded him of his mother. Foster mother. Why did everyone leave things unexplained? “I have no idea where my father might be,” Silvan objected, but Antheus’ response surprised him: “Marla knows.”

“What …” Before Silvan could ask any further questions, Antheus continued. “That’s
one
task. Now I’ll tell you about the other one, the one that will show whether you’re truly worthy of becoming Xandros’ successor.”