I started making my way towards the trees, thinking that my plan was shaky at best.
“She’s making sense, Rodriguez. I remember that my sister once said that it’s a complicated spell. The little whore is just a useless human now. I have taken all her abilities away. She knows that she’s dead if she tries anything.”
“We need to move. It’s important that we don’t waste any time,” I told them, hating that they were wasting time on pointless conversation.
The temperature was dropping and harsh air ruffled my hair when I found a small path between the trees. My stomach was in knots, as I went over my plan in my head. Alexis and Rodriguez were behind me.
This is crazy, Maxine. You aren’t strong enough to pull this off.
I ignored my own inner voice, and picked up the pace. My muscles were aching, and my skin was still hypersensitive after Alexis’s tortures.
“How long before you know where the parchment is hidden?” Alexis asked behind me.
“A few miles,” I lied, and goose pimples appeared on the nape of my neck. By the time she realized that this whole trip was just my way of getting away, it was going to be too late.
The forest was miles away from any housing estate or any human populated area. I was probably going to have only one chance of getting away, so I needed to be ready. I was freezing cold, and I only had a light jacket on. I had lost track of time being in the cell, but I figured that it was really late at night right now. Alexis must have been planning to torture me for a long while.
We were slowly moving deeper into the woods, and it was getting colder.
“What the hell was that?” Alexis asked, hearing something in the bushes. The three of us stopped and I took a sharp breath, looking around. My eyes failed to notice anything. For a moment I really hoped that it was some lost animal rather than a certain supernatural being.
The old abandoned train station was somewhere ahead. Several years ago the trains used to make regular stops there, providing a regular connection to London. Then the press wrote that some teenagers started a fire and the whole station had been burned down. Over the years the station became a place where youngsters liked to hang out, smoke and drink alcohol. The famous platform bridge next to it was a spot where people had made a choice to end their life. That was why the press started calling it the Suicide Lane.
Most of this story was legit, except the fact that the fire wasn’t caused by teenagers but by a demon who opened an illegal passage to hell. Ronan didn’t fail to mention that the same demon had let loose a few dark creatures from the underworld. From then on they had been penetrating this area unable to leave or go back.
Tonight the path soon disappeared and it became difficult to walk through the thick bushes. I couldn’t see anything ahead. Alexis was pissed off. She kept throwing spells around, trying to clear the path, and kept barking at me to hurry up.
A few months ago I fought with the mythological Area and then met up with a Keres in the underground tunnels. These creatures from the underworld had somehow managed to adjust to the human world, and they weren’t ready to go back to hell. It was Watchers that were meant to take care of them, but they weren’t always eager to carry out such complex assignments.
Suicide Lane was a dangerous place after dark because of what lived deep in the forest.
Those creatures were Eurynomos demons and they could sense other demons nearby. Alexis was blasting her demon power right, left and centre, attracting a lot of unnecessary attention to herself. I wasn’t planning to advise her to conceal her abilities.
It took us an hour to finally reach the burned down station. The smell of sulphur and burned wood still wafted through the air. The old building was covered with graffiti and the windows had been smashed to pieces.
I couldn’t let them see that I was scared, even though deep down I was shitting myself.
“This place is filled with powerful energy from hell,” Rodriguez pointed out, and his eyes gleamed. Okay, so the old bastard finally was starting to believe in what I said earlier.
“Oh yes, dear, I can sense it too. I’m surprised that the little whore led us here. I didn’t quite believe her at first.”
“We need to head over to the platform bridge,” I told them, knowing that we had less than five minutes. Those creatures had probably already sensed us being in their territory. Alexis was like a lightning bolt, filled with magic, and no one around would have missed her.
“Wait, let her go first. I still don’t trust her,” Rodriguez said, stopping Alexis who was already rubbing her hands.
Actually, the legend about the old parchment was true to some extent. Ronan had told me about this ancient spell that could steal all the power away from Lucifer. Alexis was stupid enough to believe that my father had ordered me to destroy it. I was amazed at how well I could twist the truth.
Alexis disagreed. “No, I don’t trust her going alone, Rodriguez.”
There were empty cans of beer lying on the platform along with other rubbish and the whole place was buzzing with electricity. I didn’t have any magic in me, but I still sensed it as my skin became static. Trains still passed this station from time to time, mostly during the night, but none had stopped here since the fire.
“We need to climb over the platform bridge,” I repeated, and a split second later we all heard howling nearby.
“That’s definitely not a wolf. I don’t sense it,” Rodriguez said, glancing around.
I could see he was beginning to suspect that something wasn’t adding up. I had to do something. I thought that I had a bit more time to carry on my bluff, but we had already been surrounded. I didn’t have to be magical to sense them circulating around the station. Over the years I believed that the Eurynomos always travelled in pairs, but things were different here on earth. Those creatures had to adapt to new surroundings and they managed to survive.
Moments later I felt cold fingers clenching around my throat. My feet started to levitate several inches off the ground. Alexis’s eyes turned bright red. She looked furious in the darkness.
“I told you that I’d kill you if I didn’t get what I asked for,” she said, and then I saw them—a few of the creatures were crawling over the platform now, trying to get to us. Alexis had her back to them, so she had no idea what was going on.
Rodriguez turned around and swallowed hard. He waved his hand, and sparks escaped from his fingers. Energy streamed around him as he tried to chase the beings away. He had no idea that this was only going to make matters worse.
Alexis was going to suffocate me and she didn’t look like she was bluffing this time around. I had less than a minute, maybe more, to get the fuck out of here, but this was almost impossible now.
“Alexis, I think you should see this,” Rodriguez said, realising that his magic wasn’t working as well as it should have.
At the corner of my eye I saw a woman with long black hair crawling towards where we stood. Then she shifted into a man with dark, slimy skin. It was glowing with blue light and her eyes were focused on Alexis’s magic.
My heart rate slowed down because oxygen wasn’t getting into my lungs. I slipped into the darkness when she suddenly released me.
My back slammed on the ground. Nausea rolled over my stomach when I tried to get up. Alexis threw a few spells, trying to scare the creatures away, finally noticing that there were suddenly so many of them around. She didn’t realise that they were getting stronger every time her energy pulsated through her system, feeding on her magic. The Eurynomos loved weakness and fear. I counted at least dozen all around us.
My pulse pounded in my skull and then I saw black eyes and felt someone trying to grab me.
“I’m here for you. There is nowhere to escape,” hissed the voice in my ear.
Alexis and Rodriguez had their backs to each other, and they looked pretty freaked out. The creatures were keeping them occupied.
I screamed when a female Eurynomos slashed my back with her sharp nails. I kic
ked her with my left leg and then swung back on my feet, ready to pass out as the blood poured down over my body. Moments later I started running along the rail track, not even looking back.
I had no idea how I was able to even move. It was probably the rush of adrenaline that kept me on my feet. My muscles screamed for me to stop and ease the agonising pain. Alexis’s spells were still active and the female Eurynomos was chasing after me. I couldn’t sense it anymore, but heard its raspy breath behind me.
My chest was burning and I was pushing myself to keep up the speed. I might have gotten away from Alexis, but my situation didn’t improve in any way. The sound of an oncoming train warned me that I had to get off the tracks.
That short moment of hesitation cost me a lot. I stopped just to rest for a bit and a male Eurynomos got inside my head. I felt him penetrating my thoughts, telling me to stay on the tracks.
All of a sudden I wanted to end my life, either be hit by a train or torn apart by a wild animal. I felt this desire consuming my soul from inside out. The pain shifted into raw flames, exploding over the surface of my skin. My pulse pounded loudly in my ears, my heart pumping too much blood to my veins.
The train was approaching; it was close and I thought that its impact could ease my craving for death. Somewhere close I heard Alexis’s voice. She was threatening to go after me. She must have bound herself with charms somehow and I didn’t even realise it.
The creature was taking away my hope, the good memories about Summer and the fact that I had friends that were willing to help me. Then I saw the approaching lights and suddenly death felt comforting. Sharp pieces of metal were nibbling over my skin. There was blood on my hands, too much blood.
The train whistled loudly, speeding over the tracks, and my thoughts began racing away. It was so close, I was going to be wiped away any second.
I shut my eyes, held by hell’s creature, ready for the end. Alexis got what she wanted. The speeding train was only several meters away, when someone screamed. Then a strong body launched me off the tracks and I landed facedown on the ground as the speeding train rumbled past me. The noise brought me back to reality. Its hissing sound faded in the background.
Birds or bats flew off the nearest tree. A ball of light exploded, and the warmth brushed my face. I kept on breathing, trying to get back on my feet, now lucid and fully alert.
“Maxine, we need to run now. More of them are coming,” said the voice that I recognised. I parted my lips to ask what he was doing here, but then the same desire for death returned. I had to end my life.
“Get it together and run,” the same voice shouted, shaking me. I saw Ronan and nodded to him, sucking in a deep breath. My legs started moving before my head alerted me to act. Soon we were both racing through the gloomy forest.
The Eurynomos, or at least one of them was behind us, snarling and howling loudly. Tears filled my eyes, the cold air stung my lungs. I didn’t feel any pain anymore. The adrenaline must have numbed me completely, but I remembered the cuts on my back. The worst pain was emotional, tearing me apart, while the same voice in my head ordered me to turn around.
Ronan stopped at some point, releasing some kind of liquid on the ground. Then he whispered a few words. A loud shriek broke somewhere in the forest. It sounded like an animal was caught in metal chains. I cried out with longing for something or someone that I couldn’t explain.
“We are half an hour from safety. Focus, Maxine. Part of the beast is still in your system. Stop thinking about death,” he ordered and slapped me hard.
That helped. I became much more lucid and told myself that I had to keep going if I wanted to live. After some time I felt like the influence of hell’s creature wasn’t affecting me anymore. I held on to those good memories and kept following Ronan.
“Alexis and I are somehow connected. She’s using her energy to track me down,” I said, between my laboured breaths.
“We should be fine if we hurry,” Ronan said. “I have a red liquid in the car that should sort you out.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that this time the red potions wouldn’t work on me. I was no longer magical and we had to find another way, but then moments later we ended up at the edge of the forest. Ronan told me to stand still for a moment. He must have figured out that my magic was gone, but he was using his own charms to break Alexis’s spell.
I didn’t care what was going to happen to me now—what mattered was that I was finally free.
Chapter 22
“That beast—you cry out at the very sight—lets no one through who passes on her way. She blocks their progress; and there they all die.” ― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
“How did you know where to find me, Ronan?” I asked, after I opened my eyes and realised that the car was moving through the busy motorway. My hair was plastered to my face and my back hurt every time I moved. The dried blood was stuck to my shirt, but I was ignoring the fact that at some point I was going have to get it off.
It was a hell of a relief that Alexis wasn’t tracking me down. She had proven way too many times that she was much stronger than I thought.
I had no idea how Ronan knew that I needed his help. He had been missing for some time, or that’s what he wanted everyone to believe.
“I’ve been following your track for some time now. I came back to London and shortly after that I realised that Alexis was keeping you prisoner. I followed Rodriguez from the palace,” he explained, and kept glancing at the rearview mirror. I hoped we weren’t being followed and he was simply oversensitive.
“Someone had broken into your cottage up north,” I said, resting my head on the back of the seat. “I was tracking Matilda there a few weeks back. People in the village believed that something had happened to you.”
“My own son held me against my will after the events in Gjoll. I was weakened by Alexis’s magic,” Ronan said, sounding uneasy.
My jaw dropped and I stared at him not believing that Nameless had betrayed us both.
“That piece of shit managed to trick us all. I trusted him and he turned me over to Alexis.” I went through everything that happened since I left Ronan with Ricky in Gjoll. Apparently Nameless waited until he was left alone with his father. I felt bad that I never tried to look for him. His letter should have roused my suspicion. I had spent enough time with Ronan to know that he wouldn’t have just abandoned me.
My mentor wasn’t particularly shocked that Lucifer had turned out to be my father or as usual he just wasn’t showing it.
“He must have been under her influence for a while. Even Zachary’s sister didn’t notice anything. She trusted him and I truly believed that he loved her,” I said, yet again going over Arthur’s death. A lot of drama and anguish could have been prevented. Ronan didn’t fail me in any way; he was injured after Alexis had used him to get to me, and then his son turned on him.
“Yes, it certainly looks that way, but tell me what’s happened to your magic?” he asked.
“She paralysed me and then poured some potion into my mouth. I don’t know what it was. I have never heard of it. I woke up later on, drowsy and disoriented without my magic. I hate this new me, Ronan. I always thought that I could be human, but now I truly want to get my half-demon self back.”
The clock on the dashboard was showing a few minutes after midnight. If I hadn’t come up with that silly plan and remembered Ronan’s story, then I would still be in that cell.
“Immortal spell,” Ronan said. “She removed your demonic DNA from your body.” I knew that this didn’t sound good.
Alexis was smart and she had made my life a living hell. It was clear that getting my magic back wasn’t going to be easy.
“Ronan, I’m no one without my magic. I have to get it back,” I said, dreading that he was going to tell me I had no chance of being my old self ever again. The past had taught me that there was usually a way out of even the worst situation.
“It’s an advanced dark spell, something that I have ne
ver seen done. I have no idea how to help you or even where to start,” he finally said and I inhaled sharply, shaking my head. This wasn’t a no. He just simply didn’t know how to help me. “Unfortunately there are other things that you should be more concerned about.”
“Like?”
“The whole of London believes that you murdered Prince Arthur. A few bounty hunters are after your head.”
I wasn’t shocked; this was to be expected. I was locked up for some time and couldn’t act.
“Yeah, Alexis framed me. I’m not planning to sit around and do nothing. That bitch had me locked up for two weeks. Ricky, Paul, Emma and probably Zara are in prison too. We need to get them out.” I clenched my fists, thinking about all my options.
There was only so much that I could do without my magic and I really hoped that Ronan was planning to stick around for a while.
“Nameless is my son, but he’s going to pay for what he’s done. He betrayed his own bloodline,” Ronan said, sounding furious. I was blaming myself for this. I should never have trusted him after Gjoll, but then Ricky was hurt and I was so lost. I willingly trusted anyone then. “Obviously your father is the key to all this. This is the right time to ask for his help.”
“No, Ronan,” I said quickly. “Lucifer doesn’t owe me anything. He gave me a task and I failed him. I’m not going to ask him to help me.”
Lucifer’s influence would only go so far, and Alexis had made this personal. I needed to take care of her myself, with magic or without.
“Well, that will only complicate matters. You can’t be seen in public. Every demon in the capital knows you,” my mentor said. “Do you even know where Ricky and the rest are being kept?”
“Not right now, but I’ll find out. There are people out there that are still loyal to me,” I assured him, but deep down I knew that people always believed what they wanted to hear. I couldn’t go back to my flat or even Ricky’s place. Alexis probably found the way out of Suicide Lane and she must have helped Rodriguez to get out too. I would have sensed if she died out there. Unfortunately I was never that lucky to think that the Eurynomos had taken care of her. She was still a threat.