Cataclysm (18 page)

“Of course,” he said.

Athen and I turned back to the house, walking along the pathway that was now only lit up by the light of the moon. There were white demons all over the property, buzzing with anticipation as the first successes of the evening were becoming evident.

Cyril and Arie were in the media room where the little girl was still sleeping. Athen motioned for them to come out to the hallway, while I went into the living room where Noah was reading.

“Pretty exciting, isn’t it?” Noah closed his book, smiling.

“It is. I’ve been thinking about this decision for so long and worrying that I could be leading us down the wrong path… I don’t know. It’s hard to believe it’s finally happening. You’ve done so much for this whole thing. I can’t begin to thank you enough.” I looked over at Noah who was beginning to look a little less stressed.

“I like the strategy of things, I guess. Actually, both Vanessa and I enjoyed that part of just about everything we did,” Noah said. “It’s still hard to believe she’s gone.”

I nodded and grabbed his hand.

“There’s this part of me that wants to run into her. I think that’s why I was so eager to enter that tunnel system. It’s this weird hunt that has begun in my mind, but I know the capture won’t be what I want.” He looked at me with such sadness; it was hard for me to hold myself together.

“It kind of seems like you want to keep torturing yourself. No good will come out of finding her. It’s not like we can turn any of them. They’ve been cursed by Azazel. Once they made that decision, it was over. Seeing her, will only tear at your heart, you know that.”

He nodded.

We both sat back in silence. Looking around the living room, I noticed a bookshelf packed to the brim. I couldn’t see any of the titles where I sat, so I went over to take a look. Amanda had an incredible collection of art books, philosophy books, and religion books. There were, of course, the same books on Angels and Demons that we all seemed to have in our collections. It was always amusing to see what the mortals liked to say about us, but there were some that looked darker than I was used to.

Grabbing the one that spoke to me most, I flipped open the front cover to display chapter after chapter on demonology and the methods to command all types of demons. Turning from one page to the next, I was intrigued by how, more times than not, the rituals dictated were accurate.

“I’m always amazed at how close humans can get to reality when they write this stuff,” I said to Noah.

Taking the book over to him, I plopped it open to the page on how to turn a mortal to the dark side. The diagrams were pretty accurate to what I’d most recently witnessed.

Looking at the page, there was a diagram of someone clamping their thumb and index finger on the base of the neck of a newly-turned, or newly possessed, as they termed it. The next picture showed the being collapsed on the ground.

“When should we attempt to turn the little girl?” Athen’s eyes were filled with a compassion that I hadn’t seen towards others very often.

“I’d say after we try to turn the parents. We need to know what we are dealing with first.” I looked at the group for confirmation, and they all agreed.

“So you found the father?” I asked, excited at the prospect that we could somehow reunite the little girl with at least one of her parents.

We all followed Aaron grimly, as we reached the outdoors. The cool crisp air did nothing to rejuvenate me. So much was riding on this attempt to turn husband and wife. I wasn’t filled with excitement for what we were about to face, only worry. If we failed this attempt, the little girl would no longer have any parents.

As we proceeded to the barn where we last left only an hour or so ago, I could hear screaming rattling off the walls. There was madness inside those walls. One that I wasn’t sure could be changed.

“Is that her?” I asked Aaron.

“Sure is,” he replied.

Athen stood next to me, attempting to prepare mentally for what we were about to encounter. Taking a deep breath in, I signaled to Aaron to open the doors. This wasn’t something we could ever be ready for.

Aaron flung the doors open, exposing the female dark demon who was being held by two other white demons. They were attempting to get control of this possessed being, the once mother of the little girl inside. She was flinging and flapping her arms in every direction. Her waist twisted and contorted, as the white demons did their best to keep control over her. Her eyes were as dark as night. I was no longer looking forward to attempting the turn myself.

The white demons dragged her to the area where the others had been turned. My palms began sweating and suddenly a musty smell hit me from the barn, filling me with nausea.

The images of the little girl flashed into my mind, and I shook myself out of my own fears. She needed her mother, and I hoped I would be able to provide that. Turning to Athen, I wrapped my arms around him.

“We’ve got to get the little girl’s mom back,” I whispered.

“We’re here if you need us,” Athen said, as I released myself from his grasp.

The woman was restrained on the ground, her mouth disfigured with hatred that was fueling her wickedness. Walking over to her, I prepared myself for what I was about to endure.

“Thanks guys,” I muttered to the white demons who were restraining her.

I knelt down next to the wretched being, and she flipped her neck to stare at me.

“You!” she screamed, her teeth looking extremely frightening. “You are who we need to destroy.” Foam was beginning to puddle at the corners of her lips. This was far worse than I thought it would be.

Looking up at Athen and Arie, I smiled at them before I went in for the turn. Placing my hands on her shoulders for extra support, her body continued writhing and distorting itself.

“You’re daughter needs you,” I quietly said, as I moved my hands to clasp her jaw. Her mouth was already open, slinging insults, so I took the opportunity, hovering my mouth over her face. I stayed far enough away from her mouth so that she couldn’t get at me. Her eyes were filled with hatred, but I was determined to turn this woman.

Breathing in as deeply as possible, a black mist began seeping out of her cavities. Turning my head away, I gasped for a breath of fresh air before beginning again. Blowing my spirit back into her, I saw the black swirls begin connecting to what I attempted to place into her. Suddenly, the colors twirled together, and were sucked back into her.

Again, I attempted with all the strength I had to pull the darkness out, and again, it slipped right back into this being. I caught the glance of one of the white demons who helped me restrain her.

“We’ll try with you,” he said.

“Thank you,” I replied, inhaling again.

This time all three of us were inhaling in unison, attempting to rid this being of Azazel’s grasp. Her chest began rising towards the sky. Hope began running through me.

Athen came running over and kneeled next to me. Seeing that we were all struggling, attempting to drive out the darkness, Athen began the process. Her screams quieted for a quick second, but then the black mist went right back into her being. We were all unable to cast her of the evilness.

My lungs ached from all the inhalations that I attempted. I had no more energy left in me. I didn’t know what to do. I fell back as Athen continued to try ridding her of Azazel’s hold.

Aaron came running up to me.

“I’ve never seen this before. Even with the ones we weren’t able to turn tonight, they didn’t have this fight in them. It’s like she’s only growing stronger with every attempt,” Aaron said, shaking his head.

“It’s the only thing we can do. Hopefully, when she re-spawns, there will be no memory of Azazel and the cruel things she had planned,” Aaron replied, “That’s all we can hope for.”

“I honestly thought I could turn her and then to have you all try?” I was at a loss for words.

“I know, hun,” Athen said, rubbing my neck.

“We’ve got the father, but I think you guys are pretty spent. I suggest we put a group on him and let you know how it goes,” Aaron told us.

“I’ll go talk to Amanda to find out if she can keep an eye on her until we figure out who can watch her while everything’s happening.” Arie said. She was already moving back towards the front door.

“Thanks, sis.” Athen’s eyes were full of sorrow.

We waited, pretty much in silence, for about thirty minutes, when Aaron came through the front door. His face said everything. He didn’t have to utter a word.

Tears immediately surfaced, which I did my best to squash. Staring down at the floor, I found the strength to begin.

“Athen is going to attempt to turn the little one into a white demon. It won’t bring her mortality back, but at least, she has a shot at a loving family someday.” My voice was shaky at best.

“Arie went and spoke to Amanda. We didn’t have a good feeling about the father changing, and it looks like we guessed right,” Athen sighed, “Amanda agreed to keep watch over her for a little bit, until we can think of something more permanent. We just need to keep her safe until the battles are over.”

“I totally understand,” Aaron nodded.

It was crushing seeing an entire family turned into nothingness. A little girl orphaned and parents turned into useless ghouls. I only hoped we could somehow bring some sort of hope into this little girl’s life and make it a better one. She at least deserved that.

Athen stood up and reached for my hand. He was ready to begin the process. Following him to the media room, I quietly closed the door as we began the most difficult change of our time. Looking at the tiny, sleeping dark demon, I saw the innocence that we had to reclaim. She did nothing wrong, and we owed her a chance to find love, hope, and the power within her. My only worry was that we were too late.

We returned back to our Kingston home in search of some sort of sanity. We were able to restore the goodness in the little girl, and Amanda was taking care of her for now. My heart ached at the thought of not having her here with us, but it was for the best. We couldn’t guarantee her safety.

“Remember where we went to get our Christmas tree last year?” Athen’s voice jolted me back into reality. Feeling his fingers glide along my arm had put me in a trance that was sometimes hard to shake off. It seemed like all I could think about was that little girl we left behind at Amanda’s.