Silverblood Demons (Daughters of Darkness Book 1) (6 page)

The enormity of our quest was sobering to say the least. How could the four of us even begin to think that we had a snowman’s chance in Hell of helping millions of girls get back home? It’s impossible, yet here we were, the
only
hope that stood before the massacre of the innocents and the hedonistic desire of evil.

There was a sudden separation in the middle of the demons.

“They’re making way for Lucifer’s daughter,” Sin-dy said. “She’s the one that came up with this sick plan.”

I reached up instinctively and touched the name inscribed on my neck, why am I doing that? Kira and Elektra were looking up but also looked over at me and were saying something to each other. Sin-dy stood alongside of me and slipped her hand into mine, it felt good.

The four of us watched the masses above us as another group entered the fray, this group was more orderly and flew in, seemingly above the others. As gray and drab as the rest of the horde appeared, the central figure, Lucifer’s daughter, radiated a beauty that is impossible to describe except to say that from the distance we were watching from, she shone colors that even a rainbow would envy. Suddenly and without warning, explosions ripped around the demons and one by one, demon after demon fell from the sky crashing down in the distance.

“This is the third time this month that she has purged so many of her sisterhood,” Sin-dy said. “Even some of her closest allies are against her insane plan. They feel it’s a betrayal of their own flesh to use their own children by devouring their hearts.”

I began to have the seed of a plan, one that could destroy any chance of helping the millions of girls, but maybe it was the
only
plan that had any chance of success,
what if—?

Sin-dy pulled on my hand, “It might be a good idea if we all went inside.”

“You two go in, we’ll be right behind you,” Kira had turned back to Elektra and was talking in a whisper, shielding her lips so they couldn’t be read. I was confused, why would she do that?

Back inside, Sin-dy and I sat on a bench that faced a window where we could see Kira and Elektra, they were still talking in a guarded manner while continuing to watch the melee above them.

“I hope you weren’t startled when I kissed you earlier?”

“Oh no, not at all, I, it helped me, it felt−”

“Me too, I won’t do it again, it was just . . . ”

I squeezed her hand, nervously looked at her and then away again so as not to betray my real feelings. “It brought back memories Sin-dy, good memories, but we’ve both moved on now, right?”

“Kinda, but I’m glad at least you have Enya, she’s a terrific girl, and she’s my friend.”

“Yeah, she is awesome, I just wish she was around more often, she’s always working on a project, but I guess that comes with being so good at what she does.”

Staring up through the window I could see that the events in the sky had come to an abrupt halt and the demons were finally all gone. I thought
thank God,
but he wasn’t here, it was just the four of us.

Kira and Elektra were on their way back, Sin-dy got up and walked away from me. Once inside, Kira asked, “What’s next? I really want to see Davina.”

“Me too, I’m anxious, I can’t believe I have three daughters.”

“They’re safe, but if we go to see them you can’t tell them who you are just yet,” Sin-dy said. “It’ll be too much for them to take in, and all they’ve ever known is this group of cottages and a handful of other girls that they’ve seen across the pasture behind us.”

“Is Davina with them?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Wait, how did that happen?” Elektra asked. “What are the odds that Davina is with Kylar’s daughters, you said there are millions of girls here, how can that be?” Elektra and Kira were looking at each other as though they had a theory.

“I don’t know,” Sin-dy replied. “But yes, you’re right, that is strange!?”

“Well nothing is as strange as us all being here in Hell, but right now I don’t care about anything else, I’m ready to see Davina.”

“Do my daughters have names?”

“They have beautiful names,” Sin-dy said. There’s Jade, she’s the oldest, then comes Amber, and the youngest is Coral.”

Jade, Amber, Coral, my daughters, in Hell, and destined to be savagely abused in ways that are unforgivable and ungodly, I couldn’t let this happen, not to any of the girls here, not to a single one of them.

“How do we do this Sin-dy?” Kira asked. “How do we see our children?”

We waited for Sin-dy to gather her thoughts. “This isn’t a simple thing to do guys, you can see them but you can’t just walk out with them. They have caregivers that live with them, they’re called the ‘Tutella’ Maybe if I create a diversion long enough to allow you to talk with them for a while, but remember, we have to leave them behind long enough to make a plan to get them out of here permanently.”

Sin-dy was pacing around the room trying hard to come up with a plan when Kira spoke up, “I have it, I know how we can get there and see them. Sin-dy, does it get dark here, is there a nighttime like we have back home?”

“Yes, it’s going to be dark in another couple of hours.”

“Great, we can walk, you said they’re only a few minutes from here, right?”

“Yes we can walk, but what happens when we get there?”

“Can you alter-witch into one of them, a Tutella?” Kira asked. “Perhaps you could distract the Tutella that takes care of the girls somehow. It might buy us enough time to talk with our children.”

“Yes, I can do that, maybe I’ll give her some mead and ask her to take the rest to the cottage at the outskirts of Sector three, I could tell her I’m tired. The only thing is, I can only alter-witch for thirty six minutes, after that I change back to my previous self, you’ll have to make damn certain you’re out before that happens, otherwise you know what’ll happen right?”

Elektra said the ultimate cliché, “Yeah, all Hell will break loose.”

“Fine, it’s settled then, but I’m beat, I need to rest up a while before we go,” With that said I laid down on the floor using my back pack as a pillow. I fell asleep and it only seemed like a minute before I awoke again. I could see that Kira and Elektra had done the same thing and were still sleeping but I couldn’t see Sin-dy. Turning to look for her I realized she was sleeping too, right alongside of me.

It was dark out, I knew it was time to get up but I wanted so much to just stay there with Sin-dy. I reached over and put my arm around her and let my thoughts drift into
what if’s,
but
then I heard Kira say, “It’s dark, let’s wake them.”

“I’m awake Kira,” Sin-dy woke to the sound of my voice and with her eyes slightly open she stared into mine, she didn’t need to say anything, I understood.

We all took a few minutes to get ready and left the small cottage behind us. Sin-dy led, I was behind her, Kira and Elektra stayed to the back. As we pressed forward my thoughts were a scrambled mess of emotions, nothing would ever be the same again, and then I don’t know why or what possessed me but I started to sing that song in my head that I had been hearing lately. I changed the words a little, the guy has a gravelly voice, and it goes like this.

Don’t know where this journey will take me

But I do know where to start

Life is like a river, it is wild and it is pretty

Don’t let the dragons eat your heart

You are stronger when you’re together

And in the darkness you make your way

Your destiny you can claim this time

No one can take it away

Let your spirit lead the way to freedom

Your time has come to fight

My mother always told me

It’s going to be alright

Chapter 7

The evening air was perfect and the countryside bucolic, but I didn’t want to fall victim to its charms, so I reminded myself of the horror that existed in its rotten underbelly. Within days this place would earn its reputation for being the most despicable place in the universe and unless the plan that was floating around in my mind succeeded, there would be yet another level of evil added to Hell’s history.

We had been walking for around fifteen minutes when Sin-dy held up her hand, then pointed ahead of us at what looked like a giant Yurt, I could see lights flickering inside.

“Is this it?” Kira asked. “Is Davina in there?”

Sin-dy smiled and nodded, which made Kira and Elektra mildly display their powers, something like showing elation, but with a supernatural twist.

This was it, ahead of us was the reason we undertook this crazy journey. The four of us risking it all, because “
Right is right and wrong isn’t going to stand in our way, is it Kylar
?” My Aunt seemingly had a quip or quote for so many of life’s problems and it was at moments like this I found myself recalling her words She had become my muse. I wished she was still alive and missed her so much.

“I’m going to go inside, I’ll let you know when to walk over,” Sin-dy said. “But remember, thirty six minutes and I change back to my former self, we don’t want that to happen. The only thing is, what will the girls say to their real Tutella when she gets back?”

“Good question,” Elektra said. “I knew you weren’t totally without common sense.”

“Guys, now isn’t the time for this.”

“It’s no problem Kylar, it’s important that at least one of us acts like an adult,” said Sin-dy.

“Yeah, it is an act for you−”

“Stop it!” Kira scolded her sister. “Can we tell the girls to keep a secret or do you think it will confuse them?”

“Yeah, good point,” said Sin-dy. “Any other story would just set off an alarm in the Tutella’s mind. So if we’re all in agreement I think it’s time.”

As Sin-dy began walking down toward the Yurt, she transformed herself into the form of a Tutella. We saw her enter the building and within a couple of minutes the resident Tutella was making her way out and away from us. We then saw Sin-dy in the doorway, she was waving us in. I began to wonder what my daughters would look like, would they bear a resemblance to their demonic mother or were they as beautifully human as any other girl I’d seen playing hopscotch on the sidewalk of my hometown, in a few short moments, I’d know the answer.

The three of us ran down the slope and met Sin-dy in the doorway.

She reached out to me, “Come in.” I took her hand and we made our way inside. Jade, Amber, and Coral, stood in front of us, it was a very tender moment and I could feel my skin tingling as though all my senses were dancing on its surface. Sin-dy, in her new guise began by saying, “Girls, I’d like you to meet my friends, this is Kylar, Elektra, and Kira.” Then Sin-dy introduced them, to us.

Walking further into the room and as we sat down, I tried to keep my excitement subdued at finally seeing my daughters. They are gorgeous and bear no resemblance to their ugly demonic mother, or is it mothers? I didn’t know for sure but inside of me I said
thank God
. Glancing over at Kira and Elektra I could see them looking around, they were wondering where Davina might be.

Jade was the first of the girls to speak, “Why are you here?”

She looked like she was around fifteen years old and has riveting blue eyes, her hair is strawberry blonde and has natural ringlets that fall below her shoulders and she’s wearing an apron, it looked as though they were baking cookies.

In response to Jade but looking at Coral because she appears to be quite young, Kira said, “We heard that you guys make the best cookies in the valley and we came to see if it’s true,” It really wasn’t a believable reason but it was the best Kira could come up with at the time.

Coral jumped into the conversation. “I make the best cookies!” She seems to be around seven years old and has a pink ribbon in her Chestnut hair. “Here, try these.” She pulled aside a tea towel and handed Elektra and Kira a cookie each.

Amber is also around fifteen years old and has Fiery-red wavy hair that falls all the way to the small of her back. She seemed reticent, almost like she sensed something was awry. “I’m going to check on Davina,” As she left the room she grabbed Jade’s hand. “Can you help me for a minute?”

Elektra and Kira can’t contain their excitement, to be certain this is her daughter, Kira asked, “Oh, how old is Davina?” “I know!” Coral said. “She’s going to be four on December 13 and we’re going to bake her the biggest,” she opened her arms as wide as she could,
“cookie in Sarturas.”

“Does she have gorgeous brown eyes like you Coral?”

“No, she has Hazel eyes like yours, oh I mean like . . . that eye, why do you have two different color eyes?”

“Her Mom couldn’t decide which was best," Elektra said. “So she gave her one of each.”

“What is a Mom?”

Realizing a dilemma was about to unfold Sin-dy intervened. “It’s the
new
name for Tutella, it means someone that will always love you, no matter
what
happens.”

“Do you mean like the time I ran across the meadow to meet my friends for tea? I was only gone for a while, but Madame Tutella−”

Sin-dy realized that Coral was relating a bad experience with ‘Madame Tutella’.

“Yes, but ‘Mom’ will always show you how much you’re loved, even if you make a mistake, you’ll always feel safe with her.” Sin-dy knew there was never going to be a biological mom for my daughters, but she had to make Coral feel safe.

Coral wasn’t done with asking questions. “What are you?” She was looking at me. “What do you mean Coral?” Suddenly I realized she may never have seen a male, at least, not a human one, I wondered if that’s the reason Amber left the room with Jade.

Once again Sin-dy came to the rescue. “Kylar is special, look at his hands, they’re strong and can help with all kinds of things, like chopping up firewood and hugging you tight when you need it most.”

“Can I ask you a question Coral?” Elektra asked.

“Sure, but I’m not going to give you my cookie recipe.”

Elektra was trying to think of something that would explain a reason for us wanting to return. “I’d like to know if you guys ever had cheesecake, and if we come back in a couple of days do you think you’d like to take a trip to our house to try some?”

Amber had walked in with Jade and between them holding their hands was a little girl, her hair is black, she has pony tails with small feathers hanging from them and is wearing a princess tiara that seems to have at least fifty jewels in it,
were they real
?

Letting go of their hands she ran over to Coral and hid behind her. She was shyly peeking at us but Coral was able to coax her out. “Davina, look, Kira has the same color eye as you do.”

Kira whispered to me, “Kylar, she’s too old to be Dav
i－
”

“Damn, I forgot to tell you, all the girls have aged three times faster, I’ll explain it later.”

Kira was shaken by Davina’s appearance but managed to say, “I have something,” She pulled at the chain around her neck and unclasped it, removing the silver ring I had seen back at her cabin. “I brought it from a faraway place, would you like to try it on?”

It was enough to get Davina to walk out from behind Coral and over to Kira.

“But before I give it to you, I just need the biggest hug ever,
can you do that for me, please?”

Kira had gotten down on her knees to be at eye level with her daughter, and after a brief pause, Davina looked up at Coral who urged her to go ahead She put both her arms around Kira and gave her the hug every fiber of her body had been waiting more than a year to feel.

With her eyes beginning to show signs of a mother’s emotions, but holding back any tears that were trying to form, she slid the silver ring onto Davina’s little pinkie finger. Davina finally spoke. “Why did you bring this for me?” Kira is so overwhelmed that Elektra had to break the tension. “Hey I’m getting a little jealous now, how about a hug for me too?”

None of us had a way of telling exactly how long we had been talking, and it was a beautiful but heart wrenching moment, we all knew that in the next couple of minutes we would have to leave them all behind.
What twisted evil could do this to us?

Sin-dy was next to me and whispered. “It’s time. We need to make our excuses to leave.” I nodded in agreement and could see furtive looks coming from Elektra and Kira.

“Amber, could you do me a favor? I just need to speak with you, real quick,” Elektra led Amber back into the room that she had brought Davina out from earlier.

While she was gone we took the next couple of minutes and said our goodbyes to each other, but despite trying to seem as though our visit was casual, Coral began to look a bit anxious, like she knew there was more going on. I think there were too many new things for her to process in her mind. Her resident Tutella had gone, I am a male, Elektra was speaking with Amber, and there was just a sense of things not being right.

“Do you promise to come back?” Jade asked. She looked as though she also sensed things were weird.

“Of course we’re coming back.” I walked over to her and she seemed to connect with me. “I feel like I know you,” she said. “Why is that?”

“Maybe because you do, but I promise I’ll tell you more next time, just give us a couple of days, we’ll be back. I think Elektra is filling Amber in on what we’ll be doing, can you trust me?”

Before she could answer me Elektra walked back in with Amber who seemed stunned.

“We’re leaving right now,” said Elektra. “Amber’s going to fill you girls in, on what’s happening until we come back.”

“Let’s go!” Sin-dy said, with urgency in her voice.

As we turned and made our way out the door and into the still of the night, Jade and Amber stood holding each other and Coral had picked Davina up to give her a sense of comfort. We turned to look back and sure enough the resident Tutella was walking back into the Yurt. By this time Sin-dy had already transformed back into the fairytale goddess form she assumed when we first arrived, she looked spellbinding.

Emotionally exhausted we marched toward the cottage we had been in earlier. None of us could muster even a word between us. The realization that everything we needed answers for, like, did we really have daughters that lived in Hell? How would we get them out? And the idea that the four of us could possibly hope to accomplish anything against the might of Satan’s hordes was insurmountable to say the least. We now had more questions than answers.

I moved forward to hold Sin-dy’s hand and somehow I felt safe with her at my side. She gave me the courage, the belief, that somehow the odds that were stacked against us could be overcome.

As we walked back into the safety of the cottage, Kira fell to her knees and began sobbing her heart out. Finally the death of her husband Boris, and the truth about her daughter Davina had caught up with her and she was letting it all out.

We picked her back up. “Kira, we’re going to save Davina and every last one of the millions of innocent girls here too. I have a plan and need you to be strong, can you do that for me?” It was easy for me say, but inside of my gut I knew it would take every bit of strength that each of us had, and an enormous amount of luck.

Sin-dy had her hand on my arm. “What is it Kylar? I want to help.”

“Right about now, I could
really
use a brandy,” The words barely left my lips and Sin-dy had pulled open a cabinet door, placing four glasses and a bottle of Courvoisier on the table.

“Where did you get that? How did you know I liked?”

“I have my ways Kylar, and if we ever make it out of here in one piece, I
might
tell you how I know.”

Sin-dy winked at me as she poured our drinks, then lifted her glass. “Justice for the girls!” We stood up, clinked our glasses, and in unison the four of us repeated her toast. “Justice for the girls!!!!” We knocked back the amber elixir and threw our glasses into the roaring fireplace.

“I’m okay now,” Kira said. “Talk to me Kylar, what is your plan?”