“Is that for definite?” Eligos asked her.
“Yes,” she replied. “And I don't know of any other demons looking like that, so don't worry.”
“No, neither do I.”
“Did you have your fun with that guy?” I asked her.
“Yeah, but then I got bored so I killed him.”
“With what?” Danny asked.
“A little dagger of mine,” she told him.
“So what do we do now then?” Marley asked.
“Well, we just carry on as normal, whatever normal is,” Tyler said.
“I agree,” I nodded, “or we could always sit here and mope and feel guilty.”
“Hecate, how did you know?” I asked.
“Eligos came to tell me he was worried about you, so I said I would see what I could do. I cast a spell and created a little viewing pool of my own. I saw you all walking right past each other. I looked around the house and spotted a man. His lips were moving but I didn't know what he was saying. Sadly my little pool doesn’t produce sound. I came here and listened to what he was saying. I recognized the spell. I grabbed him and we fought for a few minutes, but he was weak, so I didn't have any problems taking him down. I heard the windows smash and I knew you must have been fighting, that’s when I came in.”
“And thank God you did!” Eligos said.
“Well what are friends for?” she smiled at him. “Besides, I owe you a lot, so that's one debt repaid.”
“Don't be stupid.”
“What do you owe him for?” Lily asked. “If you don't mind me asking of course.”
“Not at all,” Hecate said, sitting on the arm of Danny’s chair. “Eligos has saved my life four times, and he has saved me from the Pits a couple of times too. Plus, he rescued someone who means a lot to me, and he stopped her being taken to the Pits.”
“You’re good friends then,” Marley said.
“Put it this way,” Eligos told her. “In Hell, when you do my job, you don't really have that many friends. Hecate never cared what I was or what I did. We had a mutual respect for one another; we became friends and ended up working together a few times. She is one of only a few people I would trust with anything at any time.”
“Who did you rescue?” Danny asked him.
“Unsere.”
“I don't understand,” Lily said.
“I was on Earth when Unsere was born,” Hecate told us. “Her mother abandoned her when she was only a couple of weeks old. I never had a child when I was living and I had always wanted one, so I stayed on Earth and looked after her until she was fourteen years old. People were starting to notice that I had never aged and so I knew I had to leave before anything bad happened. So I faked my own death, which isn’t hard to do when you don't have a heartbeat. I watched from Hell. I watched her grow into a beautiful young woman. She married but found she couldn’t have children, her husband was furious and started beating her; he thought she was a devil or under some form of spell. Back then they didn't know that sometimes women just can’t have them. They instantly thought of demons and witchcraft,” she said, shaking her head. “The things they did to her: they burned her, tortured her…
“Then, one day while I was watching her Eligos passed me. He noticed me crying and asked what was bothering me. When I told him he said he would help. I believe his words were, “Well, if they think it’s a demon, then they will get a demon.” He disappeared and the next minute he appeared next to the now-dying Unsere, his eyes glowing red and with his sword in his hand. All the people screamed and ran – they were so frightened – and I was so glad. Unsere was tied to a large tree, Eligos untied her and took her away from the little village she had lived in…God I see her every day and I still can’t say this,” she said sadly.
“Unsere was in a very bad way – she died in my arms,” Eligos intervened.
“Unsere was being tortured for killing two women who had previously tortured her. Because of this I knew she would come to Hell. Back then I didn't have permission to speak to Lilith and Lucifer myself. So Eligos spoke to Lucifer and asked for Unsere to be turned into a demon instantly. He explained her connection to me, and told them she could be of use to us all. Eligos went to collect her from the Pits before any damage was done to her. Lucifer and Lilith bestowed her with power, and then he brought her to me. She was so shocked and yet happy to see me. I told her who I was and we’ve been friends ever since.
“Wow!” Marley smiled, looking at Eligos. “Looks like you’re everyone’s hero.”
“Hardly,” he laughed.
“So yeah, I owe him a lot,” Hecate said. “He always says I owe him nothing, but I do.”
I looked at the clock. It was now 7a.m. and all of us were tired. The guys decided to stay over and went up to get a few hours’ sleep. All except for Danny. He stayed downstairs with Eligos, Hecate and myself. I went into the kitchen to make us all another drink. Hecate followed me in.
“Are you OK?” she asked me.
“Yeah, just relieved. I’ll be forever in your debt.”
“No you won’t! I’m just glad I got here in time.”
“I was gonna kill him,” I said sadly.
“But you didn't – he’s still here, alive, well sort of. He still loves you and looks at you with such passion in his eyes. I envy you.”
“Do you have feelings for Eligos?” I asked her. “Be honest.”
“I wouldn't have the guts to lie to a Royal anyway, but no, I don't have feelings for him in that way. I care about him, but like a brother. I love him like a brother, not the way you love him.”
“Aren’t you with anyone?”
“The one I want, the first person I’ve wanted in centuries, isn’t in Hell,” she said.
“Where is he?”
She looked embarrassed.
“Hecate, you can tell me; I won’t say anything,” I assured her.
“He’s in your living room.”
“Danny?” I said quite loudly and in shock.
“Shhh!” Hecate said, shutting the kitchen door quickly.
“I’m sorry…”
“I think he is a lovely guy, on the outside and the inside.”
“He is. Hecate, you must tell him. I’ve seen how he looks at you. He likes you; I’m sure of it.”
“I doubt it, Keira. I’ve never had any luck with men. I’ve only dated a few and all of them have turned out to only be after one thing from me.”
“What?”
“Sex, of course…oh and power,” she said as if I should have already known the answer.
“Bastards!” I said shaking my head. “Well, I can assure you, Danny isn’t like that.”
“No?”
“Definitely not! He is very shy around women. Trust me, I’ve watched him,” I told her, passing her a cup of tea.
“Thank you…Would you have any objections?”
“Why would I? And besides, what would it matter if I did.”
“I like you, Keira. I trust you, so does Unsere and obviously Eligos loves everything about you. I would like us to be friends, and so I would like your blessing.”
“We are friends, and you most certainly have my blessing,” I smiled.
“Great!” she said, smiling back.
We took the other drinks back into the living room and sat with Eligos and Danny again.
Chapter Forty-Two
Sunset
Time went by and once again we were left in peace. No doubt the demons who had failed to get us to kill each other were out there somewhere planning their next move. While they were planning we could relax a little and actually enjoy our lives. There was a strange buzz in the air now. Instead of it being filled with tension and fear, it was filled with love and romance. Jake and Lily were even closer now – where there was one there was the other. Ever since the whole changed appearance attack, they had been joined at the hip. The same went for me and Eligos though; we went everywhere together –to the shops, for walks, to Hell and back, even just out
for drives to kill a couple of hours.
Danny had been going out quite a bit and spending more and more time with Hecate. The night of the attack Eligos and I had a drink with them then decided to call it a night. The next day Eligos told me Danny had finally asked Hecate on a date. That night he took her for a meal and a couple of drinks in a nice bar-restaurant near the harbor. He was absolutely besotted with her and she seemed to be the same with him. It was nice for me too, because she was spending more time at my place, so I got to see more of her.
Lucian and Beth were spending a lot of time together too. He had even taken her to his house to meet his parents. She was really nervous about going, but I assured her they were really friendly people and that she had nothing to worry about. They had also gone out on a date and I thought that maybe, just maybe, this could turn into a really nice relationship. Both of them were really nice, loving, caring people and they deserved each other.
The only two who didn't seem to be interested in love or a bit of romance were Marley and Tyler. Marley said she didn't want a relationship with anyone; she said she was too young to be getting into deep and meaningful relationships. She just wanted to enjoy herself and have fun with her friends. However, she did admit that she thought Tyler was cute. As for Tyler, well, none of us knew what he was thinking half the time. Sometimes he seemed jealous of everyone around him, and yet at other times he would say he didn't want a relationship and that he agreed with Marley. He just wanted some fun. But if that was the case, why, when we had been together for months, did he still glare nastily at Eligos whenever he came near me. Surely after all this time he would have gotten over it. If he had been in love with me I could have understood the jealousy, but he hadn't been; he just liked me.
At the moment I was happy. I was sitting outside on my swing, drinking a cold beer and enjoying the sunshine. The love of my life was in the gym with Danny; Lily and Jake had gone into town with Marley and Tyler; and Lucian and Beth had gone out for a picnic. I had been sitting on my own for about half an hour, enjoying the peace and quiet. But now I was starting to get bored and fidgety.
“Hey, do you mind if I join you?” I heard Hecate ask.
“Not at all, take a seat,” I said, moving over on the swing.
“I was going to see what Danny was up to, but I heard him in the gym so I decided not to interrupt.”
“Yeah, I went up before and they were both punching holes out of the punch bag.”
“It sounded like they still were a moment ago.”
“How are things going with you two?”
“Very well. I couldn’t believe it when he asked me out. I was even more shocked when after the first date he didn't try to sleep with me. Maybe I’ve finally found a decent guy.”
“You have. He would do anything for you and nothing that would make you uncomfortable.”
“I’ve noticed that. He was even worried about kissing me goodnight in case I didn’t want him to.”
“Did you want him to?” I asked, smirking.
“Yeah.”
“And did he?”
“Yeah he did. My stomach did a somersault.”
I giggled.
“Oh shut up!” she said, giggling herself. “Has Danny asked you about tonight yet?”
“What about it?” I asked.
“We were going to go out for a drive; he said he would take me into the hills. We were going to take a few drinks with us and some food and watch the sun go down. We were going to see if you and Eligos wanted to join us. We thought it would be nice if the four of us went.”
“I would really like that.”
“Like what?” Eligos asked as he and Danny walked over to us.
“Finished teaching the punch bag a lesson now, have you?” I asked him, smiling.
“Yeah well; it looked at me funny.”
“Oh right, I see.”
“Have you told Keira about tonight?” Danny asked Hecate.
“Yeah, she’d like to go.”
“Oh good,” Eligos said. “I said we’d go. I thought you might like it.”
“Definitely!” I replied.
“What time will we be leaving?” Hecate asked.
“About sevenish,” Danny told her. “It will only take about half an hour to get there, so we’ll have plenty of time to get settled before she sets.”
“Right, I’m going for a shower,” Eligos said. “See you later.”
“Yeah, I think I need to do the same, unless you don't mind me smelling the place out,” Danny said.
“You tramp, get showered!” Hecate laughed.
“OK, see you later.”
He smiled at her before heading into the house.
“Oh it’s so cute,” I said mockingly.
“Shut up!” she grinned. “Stop tormenting me.”
We both giggled.
The rest of the day flew by. I’d told Lily about us going to watch the sunset and she couldn’t help but smile. She thought it was so romantic and hoped we had a nice night. Her, Jake, Tyler and Marley were having a movie night. None of them wanted to do much except slob, so that was their night sorted.
It was just before 7p.m. Danny and Hecate had packed some food into his car and were waiting outside. Eligos and I grabbed a few bottles of beer and wine and some glasses and met them near the cars. We decided to take two cars just in case anything happened. That way hopefully one of them would remain intact and we could get home easily. Although I supposed we didn't have to worry really since Eligos and Hecate could teleport us back here. Eligos rode with me and we followed Danny into the countryside. We were driving for just over forty-five minutes. We parked up on top of the hill and lay three blankets down on the grass. One for Hecate and Danny, one for me and Eligos and one for the food and drink.
He threw a bottle of beer to Eligos and then poured Hecate and myself a glass of red wine.
“Here’s to friendship, love and romance,” Danny said, raising his beer bottle.
All of us tapped our bottles and glasses together.
“And hopefully a nice uninterrupted night,” he said afterwards.
“Here’s hoping!” Eligos said, lying on his side with his head resting in his hand.
“It’s beautiful up here,” Hecate smiled, looking out towards the lights of the town.
“I know, I used to come up here all the time,” Danny told us.
“What changed?”
“This stuff started happening; I guess I’ve just not had chance since. But let’s not talk about that; let’s completely forget about everything for tonight.”
“I agree,” Eligos said.
“OK, well, I’m the stranger here, so I think you should all tell me something about yourselves. Well, not Eligos obviously.”
“I’ve got a better idea. How do you fancy going back to your childhood days?” Danny said, looking at Hecate and Eligos in turn. “Play the truth game. We can all ask questions and whoever has to answer has to tell the absolute truth.”
“Oh God, I used to play this with Lily and some guys back home when I was drunk,” I said, smirking.
We all decided to see what sort of questions we would come up with. Plus it was some light-hearted fun. Something we didn't get very much of now.
“OK, I’ll go first,” Danny said. “Keira, what was the most embarrassing thing you did as a child.”
“Oh no, I’m not answering that.”
“Oh come on. You can’t chicken out already,” Hecate said.
“OK, OK, I was eight. My mom was out and I always used to like dressing up in her clothes. So I ran into her room and put all her underwear on. I padded her bra out with my dad’s socks, pulled one of her skirts on and ran downstairs in them. Notice I didn't say I pulled a top on. Anyway, I ran into the living room to find my dad in there with loads of his friends having a few beers. All of them thought it was really cute, but I just wanted the world to swallow me up. I was so embarrassed I just burst into tears.”
The three of them wer
e laughing at me now.
“Oh shut up, leave me alone,” I giggled.
“You should dress up like that again,” Eligos laughed. “Let us all see what you look like.”
“That’s not funny!” I said, giving him a playful shove.
“OK, OK, let’s not embarrass her too much. She’s tough remember; she could take us all on and win,” Danny smirked. “Right, Eligos. What is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you?”
“Oh hang on,” Hecate protested, “Keira has to get embarrassed but Eligos gets an easy question.”
“Yeah, I do,” Eligos grinned. “The worse thing would be if I lost Keira.”
“Awwww!” Hecate said.
I turned to look at him and smiled slightly, before leaning over and kissing him.
“That’s the truth. Nothing else would break, no sorry, destroy my heart,” he said when the kiss ended.
“Right, stop it now or I’ll end up in tears,” I said, getting rather emotional.
“Yeah, we want a happy night with no tears,” Danny said.
“Right, now I get to ask a question…” Hecate said. “Hmm, Danny, your turn…”
“Oh God, here we go,” he smiled.
“What is your dream in life…what do you want more than anything?”
“That’s an easy question actually. I want to be respected for who I am, and I want to be the best I can be. I want to be able to protect the people I love most and never see them hurt. I want to marry a woman who makes me go weak at the knees every time I look at her. I want her to love me as much as I will love her, and I will do everything, anything, to make her happy.”
“Danny, you big softie,” I smirked.
“Yeah well, that’s just how I am. I’m not cold-hearted or one for sleeping around. I just want to be with someone and keep them.”
“Got anyone in mind?” Eligos asked him, grinning.
“It’s my turn. Hecate, I’m picking on you since you haven’t answered anything yet.”
“Be kind.”
“Ohhh, I got a horrible question…why should I be nice?”