Torment (21 page)

“So unless they have a demon friend they will be clueless.”

“Basically yes.”

“Well, I doubt people would want demon friends,” Tyler said nastily. “Especially when all they do is come here and take your women.”

“Piss off!” I shouted. “Stop being such a jerk.”

“Not a jerk, just truthful.”

Eligos walked over to him and Tyler got to his feet quickly.

“No!” I said, running over to Eligos and putting my hand against his chest. “Don't give him the satisfaction of annoying you; just ignore him.”

Eligos looked furious. I knew if I let him get to Tyler he could quite possibly kill him.

“Why don't you take me to see Lilith? I’m not angry now; I just want to ask her a few things,” I said, reaching up and turning his head so he had to look at me. “What do you say?”

He wrapped his arms around my waist and we left.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Pits

We appeared outside the Palace.

“I’m going to meet with my general while you’re with Lilith,” he told me.

“OK, I’ll go to your place once I’m finished here. I’ll wait for you there.”

“OK, I’ll see you at home,” he smiled.

I kissed him before going into the Palace.

I walked down the long hall. I was starting to get nervous now, I wanted to give Lilith a peace of my mind, but I didn’t want to fight with her. God only knows what she could do to me, but she had to know how upset I was at what she had done to Elizabeth. When I reached the end of the hall I walked into the main room. Lilith was standing talking to a man I had never seen before. He was tall, frighteningly tall; easily around seven feet. His long wavy blond hair fell down his back to just below his shoulder blades. When I got closer to them he turned to look at me. His big brown eyes glared at me for a moment before a smile spread across his face.

“I believe your daughter wishes to speak to you,” he told Lilith.

She turned around quickly.

“Keira, what are you doing here?” she asked, smiling and coming close to me.

“I need to speak to you and I needed to get away from everyone for a while.”

“OK, but firstly let me introduce you to Eaven,” she said, taking my hand and walking me closer. “Eaven, meet Keira.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said bowing his head slightly.

“You too,” I smiled.

“Eaven is Unsere’s husband,” Lilith told me.

“Really? In that case it’s
really
nice to meet you. I get on really well with your wife,” I told him.

“She thinks a lot of you too, and speaking of Unsere, I must get back to her. If you’ll excuse me,” he said bowing slightly to us both. “I hope to talk with you soon,” he said to me before he left.

“Now what do you want to talk about?” Lilith asked me, smiling warmly.

“Well, you can take that smile of your face; this isn’t going to be a nice conversation”

“Oh dear, has someone upset you?”

“Yes,
you
have!” I told her coldly.

Her face changed but not in the way I thought it would. I imagined her getting annoyed with my tone, but instead she looked upset. That threw me little.

“What have I done to upset you, Keira?”

“Why have you sent Elizabeth to the Pits?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. “She was lovely to me; she told me more than anyone else had. She was kind and warm and…”

“And she lied to you! She didn’t even tell you I was your mother,” she snapped.

“Ever wondered why?”

“Yes, because she wanted to take credit for what you had inside you. That isn’t acceptable. It’s not a competition; we don't…”

“Garbage, I wouldn’t tell someone that if I knew they weren’t able to meet with them. Why would she tell me I was your daughter, only to leave me wondering where you were…why you hadn't been to see me…if I’d done something wrong?”

She didn’t say anything. She looked deep in thought.

“You didn’t think of that, did you? She led me on the right track; she helped me find out what was inside me, which was a lot more than you ever did. Now bring her back!” I shouted.

“Do not take that tone with me!” she said coldly. “I won’t stand for it.”

“Don't talk to me like I’m your child. I’m not.”

“Go home.”

As soon as she finished her sentence she disappeared.

I stormed out of the Palace and through the large gates surrounding it. As I walked down the stone pathway I saw people walking around, talking among themselves. I walked up to one of the women.

“Excuse me,” I said.

“Yes,” she said, turning to face me. “Oh, Your Highness,” she said as she bowed her head.

“Please, I need to know how to get to the Pits.”

“The Pits isn’t a place for the princess.”

“Please, I need to get there. If you know the way, please help me,” I begged.

“It’s a long way from here, thousands of miles away.”

“How would I get there?”

“Well, you’re still alive; you haven’t got time to be walking there. Erm, you would need to get a demon to teleport you there.”

“Oh God!” I said, running my hands through my hair.

“Or, possibly cast a spell to take you there.”

“Who would know the spell?”

“I do!” a male voice answered.

When I turned around I saw a middle-aged man with short dark hair staring at me.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“A friend,” he answered. “Walk with me.”

I thanked the woman for her help and followed the man.

“What is your name?” I asked him.

“My name is of no importance. I can get you to the Pits.”

“How?” I asked.

“Teleport.”

“Are you a demon?”

He turned to look at me and his eyes glowed red for a moment. I was starting to feel a little uneasy; he didn’t come across as a nasty person, but I didn’t know who he was. How could I be sure he wasn’t trying to trick me? The more I looked at him tough, the more familiar his face became.

“Please tell me who you are,” I said.

“I’m a friend of Elizabeth’s,” he told me. “I cannot tell you my name, and you cannot tell the Queen if I help you. She would kill me
and
Elizabeth.”

“I won’t tell anyone, I swear I won’t.”

“Are you going to get her out of there? She doesn’t belong there. She is a good-hearted woman and…”

“I
will
bring her back.”

He put his hands on my shoulders and a moment later we were standing in front of a large wall.

“She is in there,” he told me, pointing to a gate. “You will need to get past the guards.”

“I know you!” I said as it suddenly occurred to me where I had seen his face. “Eligos threatened to rip your eyes out and burn them if you kept looking at me.”

“I wanted to get your attention; I wanted you to approach me so I could tell you about Elizabeth. I didn’t mean to upset you in any way.”

“It’s OK, I’m sorry.”

“Don't worry about that now. Go and get Elizabeth. I must leave.”

“How will I get back?” I asked.

“Elizabeth knows a spell. Once she leaves the Pits she will be able to cast it. She will be able to get you both back.”

“OK, thank you.”

I walked over to the large gate. I looked around me. The walls surrounding the Pits went on further than my eyes could see. To the other side of me was wasteland; there were no buildings in sight, no people, nothing. When I reached the gate one of the guards looked at me. He was tall, taller than Eaven, around eight feet, and he was five times the width of me and Eligos put together. His face reminded me of a goblin’s.

“What are you doing here, what do you want?” he asked me nastily.

“Do not speak to me like that” I snapped “Do you have any idea who you are talking to?”

“No, and I do not care.”

“I am the Queen’s daughter.”

“Pardon?”

“You heard me! Do you not see the resemblance,” I said, circling around my face with my finger. “Now let me through.”

“Err, yes, yes, my apologies,” he said with a worried look on his face.

“Better still, take me to Elizabeth Putnam.”

“I cannot. I do not know where she is. You would need to ask one of the people in there.”

“You’re useless!” I scolded.

“Sorry, Your Hi-”

“Shut up.”

“I could find you a guard, if that would help,” he said, eager to please me now.

“Go then.”

He opened the gate and motioned for me to enter. He followed me in and told me to wait while he found someone. In front of me was more wasteland. Was I even in the right place? I walked further inside and I heard screaming and crying. I looked around me but I couldn’t see anyone. The further I walked inwards the louder the screams became; male and female voices were crying out.

“Erm, excuse me,” I heard the guard say.

I turned around to face him. Beside him stood a creature, similar looking to the one Argyle had with him the night of the fight. I walked over to them, trying to ignore the screams surrounding me.

“Who are you looking for, Your Highness?” the scaly creature asked.

“I want Elizabeth Putnam out now.”

“May I ask why?”

“Because I said so that’s why.”

“Has the Queen sent you?”

“Yes she has. Why else would I be here?” I said, hoping that was the right thing to say.

“OK, give me a moment,” the creature said, walking away from us.

“Where are the Pits?” I asked the guard.

“Beneath you, can you not feel the heat underneath your feet?”

I hadn't thought about it until he’d said it, but now I could feel it. I bent down to touch the floor but just before my hand reached it I heard Elizabeth’s voice.

“Keira!” she gasped.

I ran over to her and hugged her. She looked so different now. Last time I saw her she looked very old, but now she didn’t even look old enough to be my mother. Her hair was long and curly, dark brown. She had a perfect curvy figure and her skin, other than being dirty, was young and without a blemish.

“I’m taking you away from here,” I told her.

“Has the Queen reconsidered?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“I told her I didn’t…”

“It’s OK,” I interrupted. “It’s all sorted now. Come on.”

I put my arm around her shoulder, thanked the creature and the guard, and walked out of the gate with her. As we got further away from the gate, I calmed down. Being in there had frightened me, hearing all those people screaming and crying. I never wanted to hear anything like that again. We stopped walking and I turned to look at her. She was covered in dirt and dried blood; her clothes were torn to shreds and she had no shoes on.

“Elizabeth, what have they done to you?”

“I don't ever want to tell you,” she said, taking my hand. “Why did the Queen send you?”

“She didn’t.” I told her about the argument at the Palace and how someone had brought me here. She looked scared to death. “I couldn’t leave you in there,” I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. “Look what they have done to you; you didn’t deserve that.”

I took a few steps away from her and held my hand out in front of me. The white aura travelled down my arm and shot out of my fingertips, straight into Elizabeth. All her cuts and bruises disappeared.

“Now, cast whatever spell you need to and get us out of here,” I told her.

She held my hand and mumbled a few words in a language I didn’t understand.

Within seconds we were standing behind a house close to the Palace. I looked around and saw the guy who had taken me to the Pits. I whistled at him and he came running over.

“Elizabeth!” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

“Carver, you could be killed for this,” she said, hugging him.

“Neither of you will be killed or hurt or anything else,” I told them both.

“And why is that?” I heard Eligos say before he appeared in front of us.

“Eligos!” Carver said anxiously.

“Please, Eligos, don't hurt her!” Elizabeth pleaded. “Please, have mercy, Eligos.”

He turned to look at me. I’d never seen him look so angry. His jaw was clenched and I could hear his teeth grinding together.

“He won’t hurt me,” I told Elizabeth. “He loves me too much to hurt me.”

“Are you two…?”

“Yes, now do as I said and get out of here.”

She kissed my cheek, thanked me and said goodbye, but I didn’t look at her, my eyes were fixed on Eligos’s. How did he know what I was doing, and if he knew, did that mean Lilith knew? I felt sick to my stomach. Would she send
me
to the Pits for freeing Elizabeth?

“You’re in a lot of trouble,” he finally spoke.

“With you? “I asked him.

“Yes with me, but first you need to face Lilith, and she wants you, now.”

He grabbed my arm and took me to the Palace in silence. His face was unreadable and he didn’t look at me once. When we got inside the Palace, he took me into the same little room I had been in when Lilith first told me about the families going missing. She was standing there waiting for me.

“Leave us!” she commanded.

He let go of me and walked out of the room.

“Lilith, I…” I went to say.

“You went behind my back,” she glared at me.

“I know but…”

“Just because you are my daughter…that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”

“What, and just because you are Queen that means you can turf an innocent woman into the Pits?”

“I would have released Elizabeth if you hadn't taken such a tone with me.”

“What do you expect? What did you want me to do? Come here and say “Please, Mommy, please let Elizabeth go”?” I asked sarcastically.

“God, you are more like me than I thought,” she said, turning away from me. “If you go behind my back again I will send you to the Pits; see how you feel after an hour in there.”

“Do what you will,” I told her. “I am how I am; I don't like to see people punished for nothing.”

“Don't push me too far, Keira.”

“Don't threaten me, and as for going behind your back, I think you can let me off with that one. I think you owe me that.”

“Why is that exactly?” she asked, facing me again, anger spreading over her face.