A Demon Made Me Do It (37 page)

“
Yeah, I know, but I don’t
have much time left.” I glance at the darkening sky, trying not to
be worried by his serious tone. After all, if he had wanted nothing
more to do with me, why would he have come back? Would he return
just to tell me we’re through?

“
Liora…” He squeezes my
hand. “Do you have any idea where I went? What I was
doing?”

I shake my head. Of course
I’d asked Tatiana if she knew anything, but getting information
from her was like squeezing blood from a rock. I’d even gone so far
as to write Lucky a note asking if she knew where Kieron had gone.
She’d scribbled, “
That lying, traitorous
dirtbag is dead to us
.
Forget you ever knew him
.” But I
didn’t think I should mention that part to him just yet.

“
No, I just…figured…you
know, since I told you I never wanted to see you again…well, that
maybe you actually
listened
. Although I didn’t mean it…”
I add hurriedly.

He places his hand under my
chin and looks into my eyes. “Nothing…nothing could be further from
the truth. I hate how we left things between us, and I haven’t
stopped thinking about you for one moment. But we’ll get to that
later…right now I
do
need to tell you what I was doing.”

“
Okay,” I
whisper.

His face is grim as he stands up. “We
can’t do it here. I have to take you somewhere. It’s a risk...a big
one, but one I have to take.”

“
Take me where? Kieron, I
don’t have much time left, if there’s something you need to
say…”

“
We can talk more when we
get there. I need you
and
Lucky there. I’m not sure she’d be as cooperative,
so I need you to come with me.”

My heart pounds. Why is he being so
mysterious? Is he just using me? Lying to me again? And why
wouldn’t Lucky listen to him? The idea of him going through me to
get to her makes me extremely uncomfortable.

I press my lips together
and frown. “So let me get this straight: you want to take me
somewhere so that when Lucky wakes up,
she’ll
be there?”

He nods emphatically. “Yes,
and we must go
now
if we hope to make it in time.”

I shake my head in
disbelief. “Clearly, you’re not aware of the ginormous massive flaw
in this little plan of yours. I’m pretty positive she won’t like
that one little bit,
especially
if she’s already mad at you—which I’m under the
impression she is. It’s really not a good idea to get her angry. I
really like you and would hate to see anything horrible happen to
you—”

“
I need
both
of you there, please…We don’t
have much time. Please,” he repeats, looking past my eyes and into
my soul. “Please,
trust
me
.”

“
I trust you,” I
whisper.

With that, he whisks me off my feet
and cradles me in his arms as if I’m a baby. I feel tiny and
weightless in his powerful grip.

“
Hold on to my neck. I
won’t let you go, but it will be easier if your arms are safely out
of the way.” I lock my arms around him the same way I had with
Bones.

We dash away at a dizzying speed until
the forest becomes nothing but a greenish blur. I don’t want to
even think what would happen if we should crash or if he should
trip. I close my eyes tight, but even though I’m completely
dependent on Kieron for my life, I’m not afraid. I never feel safer
than when I am in his arms.

He runs—if you could call it
running—for several minutes—through the forest, over mountains,
down a deep valley. I open my eyes once, long enough to see that
we’re somewhere in Thiberoux, but the landscape doesn’t look
familiar... not that I’d be able to tell, the way the scenery is
whizzing by.

Finally, Kieron slows his breakneck
pace, gradually coming to a halt. He sets me down gently and places
his arm around my waist to keep me steady on my wobbly
legs.

“
Are you okay?” he
asks.

I nod. “Yeah, but I think my liver and
spleen are still back there somewhere.”

He smiles. I take a quick look around
and almost wish I’d kept my eyes closed. Gone are the lush trees
and shrubs that populate my homeland. All I see is miles and miles
of sickly yellow dirt and piles of rocks. There is no sign of life
anywhere; even the air is dry and stale.

During our mad run, I’d
been too worried about the suicidal speed we were travelling to
give much thought to where we were travelling
to
. But I’d assumed it would
be
somewhere
. This
vast, barren desert is
nowhere.
..as if we’d fallen off the
ends of the earth and landed in one of those creepy,
post-apocalyptic TV shows on the Sci-Fi channel.

“
Where are we?” I whisper,
not sure I want to hear the answer. This place is beyond
depressing. I’m glad it’s almost time for me to fall asleep; I
don’t like being here.

“
We’re in Thiberoux, but
not Dryndara,” he says, confirming my suspicions. This place…it’s
very special and carefully shielded from outsiders.”

“
Why? It’s not exactly
prime real-estate; it’s just creepy and barren. I’m pretty sure I
speak for all humans
and
demons when I say no one will be lining up to
visit here anytime soon.”

“
This place serves a very
important function. Inside those caves are rooms for holding
fugitives and other demonic prisoners for transport to the
underworld kingdom.”

Suddenly I feel nauseous. And very
afraid. “Why are we here?” I demand, not even trying to hide the
panic in my voice. “Why did you bring me here?”

I was wrong…I was totally
wrong about him. I am so sorry, Lucky…this was all a trap for
you.

Kieron tries to hold my hand, but I
yank it away. “Liora, don’t be afraid…” he says, pleading with his
eyes.

“
It’s a little too late for
that. You brought me here so you could trap Lucky, didn’t you?” The
corners of my eyes well up, but I refuse to cry. I’m
done
crying because of
Kieron; I simply have no more tears left.

He motions to a pile of rocks blocking
what looks like the entrance to a cave. “I have the Amazèa locked
up in there.”

“
You…
what?
” My whole body begins to
tremble. This is even worse than I’d imagined, and I pray it’s just
some sick joke… but why would he want to terrify me?

Please, please don’t tell
me those murderous monsters are really this close, and here I am,
exposed and vulnerable...human.

“
Liora, don’t be afraid.
They can’t harm you. They won’t harm anyone ever again, I promise
you. You’re safe.”

I look into his eyes seeking
reassurance, and find it there. But my voice is still shaking. “Why
did you bring me here?” I ask softly

He reaches out to me again,
and this time I don’t flinch from him. His touch is comforting,
calming. “Liora, I need to talk to you, and we don’t have much
time. It is important that you speak with me openly and honestly.
It is of the
utmost
importance that you do... both of our lives might depend on
it.”

“
Okay, I’ll try…” I
whisper, still staring into his eyes, the one place I feel
safe.

“
No matter how hard or
painful it is for you, please tell me the truth.”

“
Okay, I
promise…”

He takes a deep breath. “Do
you agree with Lucky that it is
she
who must kill the Amazèa in order for you to
reunify as one entity?”

“
I...I’m not sure
what
will happen to us if
she kills them. But I want them dead for what they did. No one else
can or will do it…” I look away, unable to hold his intense
gaze.

He gently tilts my chin
back to him. “But what if someone else
does
do it? What if they were
punished for what they did to you and Lucky and your
friends?”

“
It’s…there’s more than
just that. I do think Lucky
has
to be the one to kill them for us to have a chance
to undo what happened to us. It’s the only way we know that might
work…”

“
But there is no guarantee,
correct? Say she does kill them and nothing changes between you
two. Then what?” His eyes search mine.

I take a step back from him and brush
my hair off my face. “I don’t know…we just have to live with it I
guess…I mean, I never thought it would be forever, but if that’s
how it is…I…we just have to learn to live with it, I
guess.”

“
But are you aware of the
fact that if you—
she
—does kill them, she will be in violation of Order 417.74 that
states no demon or demion may attack a higher ranked demon or
demion without sanctioned provocation or legal ordinance or they,
too, shall be stripped of their powers and banished to the
Wasteland?”

I furrow my brow. “I haven’t exactly
studied up on the demon legal handbook. Look, I’m about to fall
asleep so whatever you need to know, ask me now.”

He takes a step closer, and wraps one
arm around me, while tracing the side of my cheek with his other
hand. “Liora,” he whispers. “What I really need to know…forgetting
all the craziness around us right now…Do you think you and I…do you
think someday…you might ever be able to love me?”

I stay lost in the depths of his gaze
as the familiar burning returns. Here I am safe. Here I am secure,
whole, and warm. Here I feel his unspoken love for me radiate to
the depths of my soul.

“
I already do,” I whisper.
My last conscious memory is of his warm lips on mine.

******

He moves away quickly, but not quickly
enough. I grab his throat and hiss, “And just what the hell do you
think you’re doing?”

I throw him towards the rocks with all
my might. The shattered boulders crash to the ground, but Kieron
simply stands up and brushes himself off—unhurt, and clearly
unfazed, judging from the cocky smile on his face.

“
Hello, Lucky.”

“
Don’t ‘
hello
Lucky’
me,” I snarl, building a firestorm in my palms.

“
Wait, wait…don’t shoot, I
come in peace,” he says with a smile, holding up both of his
arms.

“
Very funny. Just what the
hell do you think you’re doing?” I look around at the unpleasant
scenery. This place gives me the creeps; it reminds me too much of
the hideous Wasteland the Altrumina sent me to. “And where the hell
are we?”

“
I brought Liora here so I
could show you something. I didn’t think I could get you to come
with me willingly.” He eyes my flickering palms, waiting for me to
unleash their fury. “And I see I was right.”

“
You have about five
seconds to tell me what is going on before I fry you to a crisp.”
My eyes narrow in anger, but even I don’t believe my hollow threat.
The harder I try to deny my deep pleasure at seeing him again, the
hotter and more volatile the conflict within me rages.

He cocks an eyebrow and beckons me to
him. “I have something for you.” He starts tossing aside the
boulders that aren’t already smashed, and when he’s made a big
enough opening, motions for me to follow him through.

I stay put, and eye him suspiciously.
“What’s in there? Do you really think I’m going to just follow you
into some creepy cave like an idiot?” I don’t like the feel of this
place, and I like his arrogant attitude even less.

“
Why don’t you try not
hating me for a minute and trust me instead?”

I laugh. “Yeah, sure, I’ll get right
on that. Right after I join a convent and marry a goat.”

He stops and turns around, forcing his
steely gaze on mine. “Lucky, I know you think I betrayed you. I
brought you here so I could prove I didn’t. But if you’re too
pigheaded to see what is plain as day…”

“
And what is
that?”

He sighs deeply. “That I care about
you. That I am trying to help you. And that I believe in you…and
us.”

He believes in me? What
the hell does he mean by that?

“
I don’t remember asking
for your help,” I retort. But the fire in my hands is already
beginning to subside, and try as I might, I’m having difficulty
holding on to my anger. When I look into Kieron’s eyes, sincerity
stares back…and something about his smile is like cold water on my
smoldering rage.

“
What’s in there?” I motion
toward the opening, but stay where I am. It goes against all my
instincts to let myself get into a situation where I don’t have
complete control over my surroundings. And this place is just too
weird…the energy is unsettling and all wrong.

“
In there is a cage
surrounded by the strongest, most impenetrable magical shield known
to demonkind. And in that cage are the Amazèa.”