Enchanting Wilder (25 page)

“We have to kill it,” Kai whispers over the cowering body of the woman we just brought down, now trapped and almost lifeless. “It saw me.”

Declan makes his way over to the demonic mouse trap, rubbing the back of his neck. “I agree, but we can’t do it now.”

“Why?” Kai argues with worried eyes as he studies the symbol on the ground. It’s a square with a circle and tiny markings etched all around it. I’ve never seen anything so foreign. It looks like a bunch of scribbles to me, but apparently it keeps demons caged inside.

He angrily places his hand on his hips and juts one of his feet out to the side.
He’s looking more and more human every day.

“They have our parents, Kai,” I say. “We need answers.”

His face twists, but he nods. “Fine. We need to close the gateway, too.”

“We can do that,” I say, liking that we aren’t going to leave this place as a portal for more demonic souls.

“That mouse trap thing will keep the demon in there, right?” Candy asks as she takes a careful look at the woman heavily breathing against the floor.

Declan made quick work of the mouse trap the second he could, taking a permeant marker to the ground. Mrs. Carlson was out of it for a bit after our attack, so he was able to cage her in. The symbol, so intricate and ornate, I’ve only come across it in books. A large circle with four stars in the middle and tiny icons, I can only be described as ancient symbols derived from, what looks to be the Bible. It looks so meticulous, but Declan made short work of it and had it done in just a few minutes.

“It will,” Declan says. “It’s a demonic confine, but her son could come back at any moment. We have to take her somewhere we can interrogate her.”

“The only safe place would be mom and dad’s house,” Wood offers, his eyes quickly sliding toward me and I wonder why he looks so weary.

Declan sighs heavy. “He’s going to hate this.”

“Mom’s going to hate this.”

Declan shakes his head and walks the perimeter of the outlined mouse trap on the ground. “How did you do this? It’s almost as if the demon is gone.”

Kai observes the once hysterical woman, his finger on his chin. “I guess you could say it is—in a sense. That incantation I did was to push out the demon. The spell twists and manipulates the evil into something good—or better. Demons as a whole are bad, but at one point or another, we have human interaction. As long as there’s a small string attached to a human life, even that teeny tiny contact has a lasting effect.”

“It’s brilliant,” Candy admires, high fiving Kai. “It sees good and internalizes it and doesn’t even realize.”

“Exactly, dear. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It really depends.”

“Like you?” I say.

“What do you mean?” Kai asks.

“You held onto your humanity. Were you thrust into a human world for a while? Is that why you’re so different than them?”

He laughs. “I don’t recall. Maybe? I was a human before. Possibly it had a lasting impression on me. Like I said, Maker concocted me, messed with my soul, and for some reason my compassion stayed intact. I seem to be the only one. Maker would say it’s a glitch, and I need to be rewired. My soul must have always been on the brink of humanity.”

“Is that something that happens often?” Declan clarifies.

“Not normally,” Kai says simply.

“I thought demons were made by human decisions—bad ones. Do souls not have an identity?” Wood asks.

“They do. I do. I just don’t remember my human life. I was shoved into this body when Maker finally saw fit to use me. Maker manipulated my soul and made me into this.” He gestures at himself.

“Wait,” I stop him, lifting my hand up. “Is there another soul inside that body right now?” I point to him. “The original one?”

Kai gulps, guilt pouring from him. “Not anymore.”

Candy gasps and I stay silent, my mouth hung open.

“I didn’t kill it,” Kai says softly. “I don’t like that part of the process. At all. Maker has armies for this sort of thing. I don’t get to choose who I overtake.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Declan says, his eyes hard with judgment.

Kai looks down at his feet, ashamed, mumbling, “I know.”

Wood combs through his hair, his feet shuffling on the ground. The four of us look at him but he simply shakes his head.

Chewing on the inside of my lip, I cross my arms. “So, what happens after a person dies and is determined a demon?”

Kai unfolds his arms and scratches his ear. “Normally, if a human soul descends to Beneath after their death, it’s automatically gets shoved into Limbo—sometimes for years, or even decades. We don’t just go to this other realm with free reign to unleash evil onto the world whenever we want. We’re put in cages. Paying our dues. When the demonized soul has no interaction for that long, it does everything it can do to survive. I was down there for much longer than even I can count. But eventually, I became a new person—being. Without a purpose, a demon soul loses hope. And what’s purpose and hope?”

We all sit silent, each of us taking in the new information.

“Those are human emotions,” I offer.

Kai snaps his fingers. “Exactly. A demon is only a true demon after years of influence. It earns its permanent stripes much later in the game.”

“So you’re saying a demon can be saved?” Declan asks.

“It seems to be the case.”

“What about Hell? That’s where we were taught demons go,” Candy questions.

“Sweet girl,” Kai says softly. “There’s no real Hell. At least not the Hell you know of. Hell is Earth. Hell is struggle. There’s no fiery down world. That’s Beneath, and it’s much worse than what you think is Hell.”

My stomach churns and I look to Declan who has a scrunched face. “So in Revelations, when Lucifer was cast out, he came here? He never left?”

“Well, he is an angel, so he’s still alive, if that’s what you’re asking. At least, that’s what we were told. Maker hasn’t seen or heard from him in some millennia. But, Lucifer never made a world of his own below our feet. He’s the one who created all the bad you see around. Murder, thievery, greed, gluttony. He did it all. Hell isn’t a place. Hell is trudging through life while you have a little voice in your head to do wrong. Hell is being thrown into the worst possible scenario and finding a way out with your soul intact. Hell is…life.”

“My head hurts,” I sigh. “What about God? Is there really a Heaven?”

“From what I understand, He’s still around and there is some sort of paradise to come after this life. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be good in the world, but have I seen the guy? Or been to Heaven? No.”

Wood shakes his head and places his hands on his hips. “This is insane.”

“What is?” Kai asks.

“Everything we were taught as children has been thrown out on its ass.”

“Man has a way of manipulating history,” Kai states unapologetically.

“No shit,” Wood and Declan say together.

Mrs. Carlson begins to stir again and I step back. Declan pulls Kai and I to the side.

“The spell you all cast on her, will it keep her down for a while?” he asks.

“Yes, for the most part, that demon is gone for now,” Kai tells him and I chew on my thumbnail. “This is only a minor fix.”

“Will she remember everything that happened before you cast the spell?” Declan questions, giving Mrs. Carlson an odd look.

“Yes. Memories are still intact. The demon is still a demon, we just boxed the wicked for a bit.”

“So then why kill her after we get answers?” I ask. “Is there a way to save her?”

Kai sighs. “This is only temporary. We don’t have time to save her. I don’t even know how to. She has to die. When a soul becomes a demon, it’ll always revert back to its original state. We can’t trust it.”

Figures. But that also makes me wonder about Kai. Can he be trusted?

Declan swallows and looks to me, his eyes saying something more in their silence. “Okay. How long will the spell last?”

“It’ll last for a good while. Long enough to get to Colorado and interrogate her,” Kai says, his eyes seeking Mrs. Carlson.

“Let’s go, then.”

“Everything go okay?” Wood asks Declan as he sits down next to me. He brushes my thigh and my eyes find his.

He turns his attention to Wood. “Sort of? I don’t know. I tried to call Dad but he didn’t answer.” Chewing on his lip, he looks down at the table with remorse.
What’s that about?

Wood’s nose flares and he slams his hand down on the table. “So you called mom?” Wood asks baffled. “Why would you do that?”

Declan takes a bite of steak and chews, shrugging a shoulder. “Um, I don’t know, Wood. Because we have a half-dead,” he brings his voice lower, “hybrid in the car and showing up unannounced seemed like a bad idea.”

Wood looks down at his plate, his jaw convulsing, clearly not happy with Declan. Candy’s eyes slide from Wood to look down at the table and then she smiles to herself as Kai continues pushing his food around.

Picking at my BLT, I keep quiet, allowing the boys to take their time to—well, be brothers. A little family scuffle. Candy and I are like this sometimes, too.

“What did she say?” Wood finally asks in a sulky tenor, not looking up.

Declan bites his lip, now amused at his brother. “She said dad’s on a case in California. He should be home around the same time we get there.”

“That Lotus case?”

“What’s a Lotus?” I ask as I readjust in my seat, the orange cushion cracking under my body.

“How did you even know about that?” Declan stammers, shaking his head.

Wood shoves his burger into his mouth and wipes the greasy dribble on his chin with a napkin. “It’s been all over the wire. Pursuers from around the globe have been called in to help. Huge outbreak.”

I look to Declan, setting my sandwich down.

“Lotuses are reincarnated gods,” Declan tells me, resting his elbows on the table.

My mouth falls open but the only sounds to come out are faint. Candy does the same. “What?”

“Like, Egyptian gods? Those kinds of gods?” Candy whispers, being discreet as a guy in a trucker hat and bubble coat passes us.

“Sure. They’re from all over, though, not just Egypt,” Wood tells her, shoving obnoxious amounts of food in his mouth. “Romania. Russia. Greece. They’re a bunch of high and mighty douchebags, if you ask me. Pursuers took most of them out in twentieth century, but this is the year of rebirth, so they’ve been popping up causing mayhem.”

“So, you guys were prepared,” I say, feeling better they at least knew these monsters were coming.

“For the most part,” Declan offers. “It’s knowing the location of each one that’s a little sketchy. They tend to pop up in the most secular places, though. So, that helps.”

“Which makes sense because California is known as land of the beautiful, I’m sure for people like gods, it’s the best place.”

“Unfortunately it’s true. They’re judge, jury and executioner when it comes to mortals. They couldn’t care less if it’s true or not. Gods are only good for one thing,” Declan says, giving Wood a sly smile.

“Target practice,” Wood finishes for Declan, laughing.

All of us join in—well, all of us except Kai.

“What’s up, Kai? You’re quiet over there.”

He makes a face at the chicken sitting on his plate. “Sorry. I’m still trying to adjust to the taste of food. I’m having a hard time stomaching it.”

“Then why eat?” Candy asks, moaning as she takes a bite of her sandwich.

Kai takes his fork, piercing it into the deep fried piece of meat. “In an effort to keep up appearances. Imagine if a monster walked in. I’d stick out like a sore thumb.”

Declan’s face falls and my mouth thins. He doesn’t like the idea of someone catching us off guard. Hell, none of us do, I’m sure.

“They just walk into restaurants? Why? Can they do that?” Candy asks.

Kai gives his chicken another moody glare and pushes the plate away. “We’re all basically trying to do the same thing—blend in.”

Wood reaches for his soda, taking a drink from the straw. “But, why?”