“You should let Mortem try it,” I added. “If he dies, no one will care.”
Mortem growled. “Have Eli try it. He’s an heir.”
Clarissa hissed. “No. Eli has demon blood.”
I cocked an eyebrow at Mortem. “She has a point.”
Clarissa smiled at me, but I turned away. I didn’t want to lead her on, and it made me miss Lucia even more. God, I’d wanted to hold her forever when I took her to the stars and Garden of Hope. I wanted to show her how she made me feel. She expanded my heart to the breadth of the universe and made me see stars. She gave me peace and hope when I thought there were none. I needed to fight for her, my friends, and my life. I had to convince Cyrus I would be on his side so he wouldn’t try to control me, my mind. The more he controlled me, the deeper I slipped, every time more difficult to regain myself. So, I turned back to Clarissa and gave her my charming smile. I needed allies, not enemies, even if I had to be fake.
“You,” Cyrus directed to a teenager he had turned. “Come here and read it.” Cyrus handed the teenager a paper Cyrus had unfolded.
Poor guy. I wondered what his life had been like. Did he have a girlfriend? Did he have a loving family? They must be worried sick about him.
The guy read from the paper and pushed the cube, but nothing happened. Then to my horror, the skeletons from the carvings called The Dance of Death came alive. Countless small skeletons jumped on the guy and like piranhas gobbled him up, leaving behind white ashes of bones. When they were done, they went right back up as if nothing had happened.
“Well...” Mortem dusted off some white dust from the bone ashes. “There’s our answer. Even if we figured out how, none of us can open it.”
Cyrus ran a hand down his face in frustration. “Then we’ll wait. Since they don’t have the second page, they’ll be back. Everyone disperse, and no one makes a move until I give the order.”
Chapter 25
Lucia
“Hurry, Lucia,” Uncle Davin urged. Still in the cellar, we waited for Jacques and Geoffroi to leave before we proceeded.
Eyes stared at me as if I had grown a horn on my head. I dropped to my knees and pressed my hand on the dirt, right above where the ark and the staff had disappeared, and said the words from Ikelia’s spell, “From a rib you were born. From ash you shall die. It shall remain hidden until it’s free. It shall be granted. I’m one of the chosen knights. Grant me what I wish.”
I backed away as far as I could when the ground rumbled. The dirt bubbled like gargling water, boiling faster until two bony skeletal hands popped out, giving me access to the ark and the staff. Zach reached for the staff, but it recoiled.
“Lucia has to get it,” Milani explained. “She asked for it, so it will only answer to her.”
As soon as I took hold of them, the hands shrank back down. I released a long breath.
“Milani, get us out of here,” Father ordered with no time to waste.
“As you wish.”
We reappeared at Rosslyn Chapel in the middle of the nave, just like before. Being back where I had been with Eli not too long before, where Cyrus once stood controlling Eli’s mind, made my stomach twist and turn. Eli promised to find me, and I knew he would keep his promise, but …
I had to stop thinking. We had to get the second page as soon as possible.
Cyrus knew we would retrieve the items needed, and he knew we would come back to Rosslyn Chapel. How much time we had would be up to Eli, but I felt Eli closer than before, like a tug in my heart, or maybe it was from missing him so much after we’d spent precious time together. His lips on mine, his hands on my waist, and the feelings from our wings meeting, I was utterly enraptured.
“Hurry,” Uncle Davin directed us right under the cubes, surveying the perimeter along with the rest of us with swords ready. “Michael, you feel that?”
Father’s wings spread out in battle formation, fast and smooth, like flashing a handheld fan open. “I do. Demons are near. Hurry, Lucia.”
Pressure! I inhaled a deep breath as I stared at the two items in my hands. Which one first? The ark or the staff? What do I do? I replayed the scene when Jacques opened the ark, chanted the words…above a small hill lay a home … and then stabbed the cube with the rose carving, and I did the same. Cubes like teeth thus showed, pierce one and the door shall glow. Golden dust sprinkled down, and gold and silver dust swirled and twisted like before, but no paper showed as I braced myself for the angelic chorus.
“What’s taking so long?” Abel asked, wiping his hand across his forehead.
“Did you forget the words?” Harper grumbled.
I wanted to jab her with the staff, but instead I glared at her. “I didn’t forget the words. I’m not an idiot.”
Watch the temper. Zach’s words eased into my mind. She’s not worth your time or the effort. Evil is upon us. I feel it thrumming in my veins, and I know you can feel it too.
I did, but I had to ignore it. Fear would make me weak, slower.
Jack rubbed his temple. “What went wrong? You did exactly what Jacques did.”
“Maybe you should try again,” Abel suggested.
Brody clicked his tongue, examining the cubes. “Maybe we went about it all wrong. We heard the music after Jacques placed the paper didn’t we? So why didn’t the music play? Perhaps we need to play the music first in order for the paper to appear. We have to do the reverse, sort of. If that makes sense.”
With angels singing must be told.
Milani’s eyes grew in revelation. “Now I remember. I remember why these carvings look so familiar.”
Uncle Davin crossed his arms and rested his back on the pillar, and said amusedly, “Why?”
Her eyes hardened. “Because they were written down on my mother’s book. Cyrus was looking for something. Vince ransacked our home.” Her eyes blazed as if she recalled that day.
“Where is your mother’s book?” Father asked.
“In a time past. My mother used a spell to hide it. In order to retrieve it, we have to go back in time.
“Can you take us there?” Zach cut in.
“Yes.”
Father nodded with a grin. “Good. We go now.”
As we vanished, Cyrus appeared and pointed his bloody, evil eyes hard at me, as if his glare alone could stop time. Thank God he had no such powers. He was pissed.
We landed inside a cozy cabin home. The scent of edelweiss filled the air, strong and sweet. Two red loveseats faced each other, parted by a wooden table. Three smaller tables, one by the door and others by two bedrooms, were topped with lit candles, the source of the edelweiss smell.
Flat, wooden boards paneled the floor and the walls, not the kind in my house, polished, trimmed, and uniform, but made of rough wood in different sizes and shades of brown. Some thin, or thick, and of unequal length. We were inside Milani’s home, the house she used to share with her mother. Milani showed no expression, but I felt her pain, her loss, and her anger.
“Are we in the forest?” Harper peeked through the fabric curtain she lifted with her index finger. “I only see trees and nothing else.”
Harper turned when no one answered. We were too busy shuffling into the bedrooms, the family room, and kitchen area to make sure nothing evil lurked about. But Zach and I always kept one eye on Harper and Hugo. Just because they were Geoffroi de Charney’s descendants didn’t mean they were honest or that we should give them our trust so easily.
“Milani, you ready?” Father asked with a soft touch on her back. “Have you brought us back to the right place and time?”
Milani ignored Father and focused on the fireplace, crackling. Jack stood nearby, shivering. It must be cold for him to shiver like that. Then she shifted her attention to the pot on the oven. “Beef stew,” she whispered. “I remember I was…” Her eyes lit up in fear as recognition took hold. “No, no, no…” She shook her head.
Uncle Davin guarded the door and Zach, Abel, and Brody guarded the three windows, standing bes
ide one each.
“I didn’t mean to bring us—”
“Milani, run!” A woman’s voice shouted from outside, cutting Milani off, startling us.
Uncle Davin backed away just in time. The door flung open and a woman, an older version of Milani, burst through holding a few skinny logs. Wind rippled through the open door. Like Milani’s, her hair was long and dark as night, tousled from the breeze. She wore a long brown skirt and a thick red cape draped around her shoulders.
“Mama?” Milani whimpered, tears filling her eyes. She backed away, and so did we as we watched the scene unfold.
“Milani!” she called out for her daughter again as she searched the two bedrooms.
On the second one, she came out with a book, bound by black leather.
Milani’s mother rummaged through the kitchen frantically, opening and banging the cabinet doors. Open. Slam! Open. Slam! Open. Slam! Carrying a few items in her hand, she rushed to the fireplace.
“Sandalwood, frankincense,” she murmured as if to remind herself, throwing a few drops of fragrant liquid into the lit fire. Then she pulled out a small dagger from her boot, slit her finger enough for a couple of drops, and said in an unfamiliar language I understood using my angel power. “Blood of fire, blood from my own. May it burn in eternal light. Conceal, never reveal, only for my own flesh and blood.” Then to our horror, she threw the book into the fire. Fire roared, but it did not damage the book; instead, a shadowy hand formed and swallowed it up.
“Well, well, well, what a lovely home, Kalani. At last, I’ve finally found you.” Mortem sounded way too friendly.
Kalani twitched, but she looked unsurprised, as if she was expecting him. Rubbing her crystal sunburst necklace as if to confirm she still wore it, she said, “Too bad you won’t set a foot in to enjoy the warmth.”
“Where is the book, Kalani?” Mortem growled by the front door. “Hand it to me.” His eyes followed the shape of the door, assessing.
“Come and get it, if you dare,” she gritted through her teeth, two daggers in her hands.
Mortem took a step and bounced off. He sneered, eyes glowing red.
“Edelweiss and my spell.” She flashed a fake grin.
“I’m not going to tell you again. Hand me your book.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What book?”
Mortem pressed his lips together, his knuckles turning white from the pressure he inflicted on himself when he rounded his fists. “I’ve been following you, following the Knights Templar. You shouldn’t write down things you don’t want to share.”
I stifled a gasp. Kalani had been following the Knights Templar too? It could be possible. She hid herself from the knights, so we didn’t know she had been there too.
She held up her chin. “You shouldn’t ask for things you can’t get.”
“Don’t gloat just yet, Kalani.”
I turned to the sound of the voice in the kitchen—Vince. He held a younger version of Milani, a dagger at her throat. Even back then she had colors in her hair. Blue streaks, alternating with gold.
The present Milani backed away farther, bumping into the kitchen cabinet, her hands around her neck.
“Milani,” Kalani rasped. “Let her go. She’s just a child.” Not an ounce of fear marked Kalani’s face.
“I will let her go once you hand me Eli. Eli is not your problem. Which one will you save, your friend’s son or your own flesh and blood?”
Kalani tightened her grip on her daggers, her eyes bouncing from Mortem to Vince. “I’ll tell you what. Give me my daughter, and I’ll give you my book. My daughter’s life is worth nothing to you, but you need the book. Cyrus would be very pleased. And by the way, why does Cyrus want my book? Does he care for me so much he wants to know what I’ve been doing?”
“Don’t be a fool, Kalani,” Mortem hissed, his hands on the doorframe. “We know Ikelia and you have kept a book about a particular Knight Templar named Jacques.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She shrugged. “Knights Templar. Never heard of them.”
“Fine,” Vince spat. “Let’s trade.”
“Traitor,” Kalani barked. “You’re an original Elementa. How could you betray your own kind?”
“I did no such thing. I’m simply on the winning side. Besides, I really didn’t have a choice when the Snow Queen started killing us one by one. I wanted to live, so I played it safe. Cyrus gladly took me in.”
“He’s just using you, and when he’s done, he’ll get rid of you.”
Vince’s canines slowly grew out, showing his full length. “He gave me more power. I am not one but two beings, Elementa and Lamia. I say I bargained well.”
“You’re still an insolent fool. A fool, who in the long run will burn in Hell.” Fast as lightning, Kalani flung a dagger, hitting Vince on the shoulder. As if Milani knew, she’d moved to give her mom extra space. Vince let go of Milani and pulled out the dagger. Milani waved her hand and edelweiss candles surrounded Vince from the nearest table. Vince roared in pain and remained in the unyielding shield produced by the scent of edelweiss.
Just as Kalani wrapped her arm around her daughter, Mortem took a step in. Chills prickled my skin. Mortem had altered his appearance to look like Vince and then entered.
“How easy that was.” Mortem spread his arms, examined himself, and then flicked a piece of lint off his arm. “Who knew turning myself into Vince would allow me through?” He lifted a gloating smirk, changing his physical appearance back to himself. “Now, where were we?” Brown eyes turned bloody red and mighty, dark wings slowly expanded, as if to inspire fear. “No more games, Kalani. If you want your girl to live, give me the boy and the book now.”
Kalani tensed and glanced up. By her magic, the sunburst necklace around her neck unclasped and coiled around Milani. “I will not give into your demands. You are nothing but Cyrus’s dogs. Catch me if you can.” They shot up like a bullet and almost vanished through the roof, but a glowing long red streak snaked around one of Kalani’s ankles from Vince’s hand.
Kalani wailed in pain, but she managed to free herself and then vanished completely. Vince and Mortem cursed under their breath and ran out as we followed suit.
Chapter 26
Lucia
Dark clouds swept the sky, bellies full and thick ready to unleash upon the land. The wind howled, ruffling the remaining leaves on the almost-barren trees, and those that fell blanketed the ground in orange, red, and brown.
Kalani stood on the roof with Milani by her side, both carrying swords. Mortem and Vince were accompanied by their demons and Fallen. They had been waiting outside.
“Why don’t you run along now before I send you back to Hell,” Kalani warned.
Vince crept closer, the red glowing whip coiling around his arm like a snake. “I’m not leaving without the book or the boy. Since we were once friends, I’ll spare your life and your daughter’s. Your choice.”
“Friends?” Kalani spit on the ground. “You do not understand the meaning of friendship. You murdered my friend. You get nothing but my vengeance and wrath.”
Kalani threw up her hand, and her own thin line of light, like Vince’s whip, spiraled around Vince’s neck. He gripped the silver, glowing whip, choking. The other demons and Fallen attacked on Mortem’s command.
Milani jumped down smack into the center of surrounding demons and blasted light from her crystal sunburst necklace. Some exploded into nothing but ashes like black rain, and for the others that survived the blast, Milani went all ninja style with her sword, fighting her way toward her mother.
Still holding onto Vince, Kalani waved her other hand toward the Fallen surrounding her. The dead leaves lifted off the ground, and with a twirl of her wrist, they spun around the Fallen, distracting and confusing them. When she wiggled her fingers, the branches snapped in unison, sounding like thunder echoing through the forest. Snap! Snap! Snap! Then with a flick of her finger, the branches blazed in flames and
rammed into the Fallen. Shrieks of pain vibrated from the Fallen. Some escaped, but the ones who didn’t blew away with the breeze.
Mortem growled and shape-shifted into a hideous beast, similar to a wolf with an elongated body, doubling his size. With supernatural speed, he moved behind Milani, ready to strike.
Father held my shoulder as we watched from the sideline. He knew I would forget where we were and interfere. I was just about to close my eyes when Mortem’s beastly head swung back from a blow. Eli appeared from thin air and gave him a mighty punch. But more kept coming, ascending from the ground like ghosts.
Present Milani gasped. “Eli,” she murmured, pointing to the roof. I gasped too, not sure if this was present or past Eli. A huge part of me wished the present Eli had come, but I knew better. Present Eli couldn’t have punched someone in the past. That past was the past, unchangeable, untouchable.
Beast Mortem swung back on his feet and sprang on Eli, but Eli was faster. He’d turned into his demon form and misted away on the branch of the nearest tree.
“Wow, so many you have brought to try to capture us,” Eli said casually. “It’s too bad you haven’t brought enough.”
Even back then, he was handsome, confident, and found humor in any situation, dangerous or not.
“You.” Beast Mortem sneered and leapt to swipe his paw across the tree Eli stood in a second before, causing the tree to topple to the ground.
In between becoming a shadow, traveling from one tree to the next, Eli fought off the demons with his sword, the Knight Templar sword his mother had stolen from Cyrus to bond with Eli. Swiftly, gracefully he moved, shifting between mist and himself when attacking. I couldn’t peel my eyes off him. Beast Mortem continued to attack, hot on Eli’s tail, but always missing by a fraction of a second.
Vince dropped to his knees, still holding onto the silver, glowing whip coiled around his neck. His eyes flickered from red to black and black to red, like a light switch unable to make up its mind.
“For every Elementum you helped your master kill, my friends, Ikelia, Sabina, and Halina, you shall die with their blood on your hands, your veins, your bones.” Kalani seethed, twisting her wrist again and again.