“You’re still dodging the answer, Flower. This whatever it is between us means a fucking lot to me,” he said. “Tomorrow everything will go according to plan. Alexis will be taken care of, so start thinking about yourself.”
“Let’s talk about this again once everything is over,” I told him, sounding negative, but in my head we needed to be realistic about the future.
“Fine, I can deal with it for now,” he agreed, and I felt stupid, because he wanted me to say something else. I couldn’t, not just yet, not like that.
There was something really wrong with me. Zachary wasn’t Arthur; he was available and no one was standing in our way.
When we got back to his house, we had a drink in his manly living room and then went to bed.
I felt good when he wrapped himself around me and we spooned. I reminded myself that this was what it was, that huge, scary and rewarding thing called being in a relationship with a man. Two people that shared their life together, a life that wasn’t always hearts and flowers. Soon Summer would join me and then we would need to find a new place. I wanted to bring her up the best I could. The royals had no idea that she even existed, and it was better it stayed this way.
We fell asleep earlier than we planned. I kept waking up a few times, feeling on edge. Around eight a.m. I was downstairs, drinking coffee. Cyril needed to report to Rodriguez early around ten a.m. and I had to drive over to Ricky’s. We needed to make sure that the potion would work beforehand. I was a little uncertain about this part of the plan.
Everyone apart from Cyril was already in Ricky’s place when I walked through the door along with Zach. Paul had large dark circles under his eyes and he looked rough, not in any angelic kind of way.
“Lead on, Ricky,” I muttered to him, once we were done with all the small talk. Nameless looked nervous and I knew that he probably was slightly apprehensive about today. I filled him in with the details and then he left with Zara, assuring me that everything was going to work just fine. He’d been under Alexis’s influence in the past. That bitch had tortured him, and she managed to defeat his father, Ronan, too.
I had no idea what happened with Ronan. The old demon had vanished from the face of this earth. I needed to find him once Alexis had been taken care of.
“You need to drink the pink, the blue and the black liquid one after the other. Cyril’s assistant is a human,” Ricky told me, pointing at the picture of a medium height blond-haired woman with rosy cheeks. She had short hair cut in a bob, and to me she looked like a schoolteacher. Emma had brought me the right clothes and I was going to change after my transformation.
“What about the rest of you guys?” I asked.
“I have plenty for everyone,” Ricky assured me. Potions and elixirs didn’t work on humans, and it was safer for Emma and Zach that they were keeping the tap on everything that was going on outside the palace, using some super human technology that Zach had taken from work.
I took a deep breath and drank whatever I had to. The liquid tasted like sour milk. A quick bout of nausea nearly made me spill the contents, but I forced myself to keep it down, staring intensely at the picture of Cyril’s assistant. My head went spinning for at least a minute after that.
Moments later I felt like I started to shrink. My hands were suddenly shorter and my stomach was getting wider and wider. Instead of being tall and skinny, I became short and overweight. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror not recognising the person that was in front of me. I touched my face and felt a little sick.
“Wow, that’s unbelievable. I never thought that this was possible,” Paul said, staring at me with his eyes wide open.
“Dorothy is on holiday, but she only reports to me, so no one in the palace knows how she really looks,” Cyril said when I walked into the living room.
It was official—I was going to the palace as someone else, but I would face my enemy as the real Maxine Brodeur, the daughter of Satan.
Chapter 17
“She by her nature is cruel, so vicious she never can sate her voracious will, but, feasting well, is hungrier than before.” ― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
“Rodriguez has never met her, so act the best you can. Just don’t talk like the real Maxine, because he will sense that there is something wrong,” Cyril had told me, and I nodded, letting him know that I understood.
He was driving the brand new Mercedes that had been sent to him from the palace. My stomach was in knots, but I told myself that it wasn’t unusual that I felt on edge. I was imagining sending Rodriguez down to the pits and then beheading Alexis. All right, maybe I was getting ahead of myself, but she had to die or suffer greatly. Mammon and other demons from hell were also on my black list.
My magic stirred inside me, and my breathing sped up when we approached the palace gate. The guards greeted us with their usual coolness, although still acting professional. I had personally trained a few of them, but today they had no idea who I was.
Cyril was personally involved with the faction business and he had many connections in London. Rodriguez trusted him. He was an asset and I was still surprised that we became friends, remembering that day when he showed up in Doomed Cases to go over every single file in the storage room.
After about twenty minutes of going through our paperwork, the guards finally let us through.
Memories started piling up when we reached the car park. I had spent many great months inside those walls. I remembered the first time I met Arthur; even then there was an instant spark between us. My heart remembered every kiss and fight that we had. I wasn’t going to forget him.
It drove me crazy that Alexis dared to lie through her teeth to Princess Layla after she took Arthur’s life. My hands curled into fists and my blood boiled with anger when I thought about her.
I told myself that I had to calm down. We were now walking towards the main entrance and I couldn’t look odd. That would just bring unnecessary suspicion. The black flag was still waving on the mast. It’d been over a month, but Arthur hadn’t been forgotten. The royals were looking to bring the person responsible to justice, believing in anything Rodriguez told them.
Ricky assured me the potions would work inside me for several hours. I wasn’t planning to stay in the palace for any longer than that, but I took an extra portion with me just in case.
“We are heading straight to Rodriguez’s quarters. The polls have been open for some time now, but Lucifer won’t announce the results for another week or so,” Cyril explained as we walked through the long wide corridor.
I spotted Jon and wanted to instantly wave to him, but then told myself that he wasn’t supposed to know me. There were other demons in the palace too, but for some reason I wasn’t sensing Alexis. We had that unexplained bond, and I instantly knew if she was close. I just hoped that Cyril’s intel wasn’t wrong, because I didn’t want to waste this day if it turned out that she wasn’t actually in the palace today.
We went to the west wing and then I definitely started feeling a little sick. I remembered the first time that I showed up to see Rodriguez. I was with Ricky when he told me that I needed to team up with Zach. That felt like it happened years ago and even then I knew that there was something off about Rodriguez. Several moments later Cyril knocked at the familiar door and I told myself to keep it together.
“Come in,” said the deep voice.
Cyril opened the door and we both went inside. Anger spread through me like an out-of-control fire. Rodriguez was sitting at his desk like nothing had happened, like he still belonged in here. It baffled me that Lucifer hadn’t taken care of him yet, but my father was the one in charge. His actions didn’t concern me as long as he stuck to our little agreement.
Rodriguez didn’t even bother to lift his head.
“Sir, this is Dorothy Fletcher. She works with me in the court,” Cyril said, clearing his throat.
I sensed that the old demon was aggravated about something. His magic was unsettled, bouncing around the room.
The potions kept my own abilities sealed, but I could still sense other demons or mongrels around.
“Good day, sir,” I said, trying to put on a thick London accent.
“Both of you sit down. I don’t have a lot of time,” the old demon stated and finally lifted his eyes to me. His energy stung me harder than I expected, but his expression remained neutral. He knew that he had to keep this meeting casual. His demonic soul recognised me as a human, which meant that he had to stick to the basics. “Miss Fletcher, you will take the statement from Duchess Natalie Morgan. Four weeks have passed and the press keeps chasing after her. She is currently in the palace and that’s the perfect opportunity to get this done.”
“Yes, sir,” I responded with my voice tight.
“Cyril, there are a couple of events that I’ll be covering over the next two days—”
He didn’t finish his sentence and glanced at his watch and frowned. For a split second I thought that his eyes gleamed. The old demon must have forgotten himself for a moment. It was careless on his part to almost reveal his other nature to a human woman. Cyril shifted on the chair unexpectedly.
“What’s wrong, sir?” he asked, after a moment.
“Nothing. I’m just conscious of the time. Miss Fletcher, you may leave. The guards can show you the way to Miss Morgan’s room. I have given her a heads up,” Rodriguez must have felt something or was given a message by someone inside the palace. There wasn’t any other explanation to the way he just behaved, but I still believed that he didn’t suspect anything.
“Not a problem. I’ll go there right away,” I said, and got up a bit too abruptly. I felt a burning sensation around my eyes but told myself that this was nothing.
Rodriguez didn’t say anything else to me and it looked like he still wanted to discuss some other more demonic matters with Cyril. His energy followed me outside and when I shut the door I had to take a several long breaths to keep my energy in line.
The plan hadn’t changed and when I glanced at my watch we were still on schedule. Paul and Ricky should be with the servants now, searching for any other demons close to Alexis. They were only meant to get involved if I got into trouble.
I started walking back to the main part of the palace. I had a stack of folders in my arms and looked like I was here for business. The whole building was filled with rich history, and when I’d worked here Arthur had managed to show me around to nearly every empty room. We used to have so much fun chasing each other around, acting like kids. I really was going to miss him.
I kept going, but my high heels were slowing me down. I had to make a hell of an effort to look like I knew how to walk in them. I climbed the long staircase until I reached the room that used to be my office. Memories poured out all at once and my heart started bouncing around my chest.
This was one of the worst possible times for me to get emotional. The palace used to be like my home, but that was the past. I needed to concentrate on my task.
I passed a lot of people on the way up, humans with suits, staff members and guards. Obviously no one had recognised me, and I forced myself to keep going, even when I saw a few friendly maids that I used to get on with really well.
I used to be good at my job. My experience in security had taught me how to deal with all sorts of people. Guards hated me in the beginning and I had to work really hard to get them on my side.
The palace seemed busier than usual today, and a lot of humans could complicate things. I kept wandering up and down the floor, using my demonic energy to sense her.
A bead of sweat ran down my neck when I finally detected her in the end of the long official corridor in the east wing. Tension filled the space as I continued walking, glancing behind me to make sure that I was alone.
Fresh energy jolted down my arm and forced the muscles in my legs to move faster. Fury triggered the energy directly from hell. Alexis was strong, probably much stronger than me, but in hell we were going to be equal again. The royal blood that now coursed through her veins enhanced her demonic abilities around humans. The underworld would break it and she would be just like everyone else in hell.
I stopped outside the large old wooden door for about a minute and listened. When I took on my position as the head of security I had to memorise all the palace plans. It took a while, but I felt more comfortable knowing every square foot of this space. Alexis had been given a large portion of the top floor that in a way separated her from other humans. She’d had a certain position in the palace before she decided to kidnap Prince George, but that didn’t matter right now. She was close, and I nearly had her.
I waved my hand over the lock and the door gave in. There were stairs leading to the other section of her apartment. She was in the room two doors down from the one that I was in. Ricky had sent me a mental note: apparently one of Rodriguez’s men was briefing her about the election in hell.
It was a carefully prepared trap, but first I had to summon the gates of hell. The demonic power would automatically suck her inside the pits. She could fight it, use her enhanced abilities to stay on earth, but in the end of the day her resistance would only weaken her.
I started moving down and soon found myself in a cozy living room decorated with white furniture. It was time to release the frustration and anger that had been boiling inside me since I returned from hell. Lucifer shared his blood with me. I had always been much stronger than any other mongrel out there, but only now did I realise to what extent.
The sky today was filled with thick grey clouds and the windows were shaded with cream curtains. Silence rang in my ears as the waves of magic began rolling down my body.
I thought about Arthur, my daughter, and the first time I was forced to disappear. My pain seemed endless then, and I was in such a bad place. I went over the time when I was chasing after the missing George, then my first meeting with Alexis. Anger boiled in my veins again, mounting inside me and suppressing any other emotions.
I recalled all those demons staring at me in the tube, when I was spit on outside the station. The magic began rising and the floor underneath my feet shook. I could conceal my abilities so that no one else in the palace knew what was about to happen. Maybe some demons had sensed it, but only Alexis would be sensitive to the gates of hell because all my anger was directed at her.
I kept taking long deep breaths until my heart started beating so fast that everything around me began spinning out of control. Images of Arthur rotated around me. For a split second I thought that I was seeing him standing next to me, calling me. This was impossible.
I wanted to shut out all the distractions, sensing that Alexis was much closer than before. My plan was working: she would show up just as I opened the gates of hell.
“Sorry, dear mongrel whore, but this had to happen. Your daddy would have been proud anyway,” whispered the voice. Someone had been standing in the room this entire time, waiting for me. How could I not sense it?
Then I felt the pain in my neck, and it was like a thick needle had just pierced my skin.
Suddenly all the thriving energy that I had managed to produce in that short space of time was gone. My limbs felt heavy and my knees couldn’t hold my weight. I fell on the ground, and my vision went blurry. Something was wrong. I wanted to scream but couldn’t. Was it possible that I had lost my voice too?
“Ahh, Thomas, that was something. For a moment I thought that this sounded too good to be true,” Alexis said.
I was lying on the ground paralysed from head to toe. I couldn’t move at all. Panic invaded my system, causing my heart to beat faster. My lungs failed to work, and I thought that I was suffocating. I tried to call Ricky, but our connection had been broken. This was impossible, unless … unless I had been poisoned.
“You’re welcome. The others are in the palace too. They couldn’t see beyond her charm, mistress,” said someone else that shortly after came into a view.
It was Nameless Thief, and he was the one that betrayed us.
Chapte
r 18
“His eyes vermillion, beard a greasy black, his belly broad, his fingers all sharp-nailed, he mauls and skins, then hacks in four, these souls.” ― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
“Take her to my chambers and tell Rodriguez that I caught her. He will be pleased,” I heard her saying, and she sounded ecstatic. “I have a feeling that the dark lord will pay me a visit quicker than I expected.”
I forced myself to move, but my muscles failed to obey me and my body felt numb all over. Anger resurfaced, tightening my skin, but all the energy was useless, turning into an invisible bubble. Alexis’s skin was radiant, her eyes were gleaming, and she looked perfect.
Nameless had betrayed me. Last night he sat at the table, agreeing with everything I was saying. No wonder he was so eager to help out.
He glanced at me with a detached look in his eyes and I wished that I could move, because I was ready to strangle him.
I should have known that he was helping her, but how long had this been going on? Me finding him in Gjoll, him telling me that she was powerful. None of this was an act or pretence.
Zara had been under Alexis’s control, this wasn’t made up, and she must have tortured Nameless at some point too. This didn’t make any sense.
“Yes, mistress,” Nameless answered. He sounded lucid and alert. I was certain that he wasn’t under any spell. He was doing this because he was truly serving her. Coward. I should have let Zach lock him up.
Some other human men lifted me up and my numb body was carried out of the room. They covered my face with something so I couldn’t see where that bitch was taking me. She knew about my plan from the very beginning, so she must have been waiting for me in her chambers. I failed to make a connection with Ricky. We were separated. I truly hoped that he and Paul had managed to escape.
They carried me out for some distance and for a long time no one was saying anything. Nameless was most likely walking behind them. I was tossed in the back of a van and then heard the engine running. I still couldn’t see a thing, but it was probably dark. I had no idea what Alexis was planning to do with me now. My perfectly prepared plan had fallen to pieces before it even began.