Bloodlines 02: Torment

  “Oh thank God you’re here!” she cried, running up to me. “They’ve taken her, they’ve taken my daughter.”

  “Who has?”

  “Crystal has her somewhere.”

  “Crystal, why would she take her?”

  “Because she has sided with the ones starting the war.”

  Anger filled me, anger like I had never felt before, how dare she take my girl. Who the hell does she think she is taking her away from me like this?

  “Eligos, I could feel her pain. Crystal is doing something to her. You must find her.”

  “Do you have any idea where they have taken her?”

  “We can’t track Keira; it’s like she’s disappeared,” Lucifer told me, “but we can try and track Crystal.”

  “How? Do you even have a clue as to her whereabouts?” I asked him, quickly running out of patience.

  “She’s not far from Keira’s house,” Hecate said, walking into the room. “I can sense her.”

  “You need to come with me,” I told her, “I’m going to need your help.”

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  “Don't worry, Lilith. I’ll find her and then Crystal is dead,” I told her.

  Hecate and I teleported ourselves back into the house and into the kitchen.

  “That was quick,” Lily said. “Hello, Hecate.”

  “Keira’s been taken,” I told them quickly.

  “What!” Lily and Jake both said, standing up.

  “A demon has her, and she’s a very powerful demon too,” Hecate told them. “We need to find her as quickly as possible.”

  “How?” Jake asked.

  “By using me. I can track Crystal; it’s one of my powers.”

  “I’m calling the others,” Lily said.

  Hecate stood at the front door and closed her eyes for a few minutes.

  “Can you get anything?” I asked her.

  “Patience, dear.”

  “No, the love of my life is out there somewhere; she’s in trouble and could be hurt…Maybe worse, so don't tell me to have patience.”

  “Just stay quiet,” she said, closing her eyes again.

  A few minutes later Tyler, Lucian and Danny were with us. They went to say something but I put my hand up to them quickly and they fell silent.

  “North,” Hecate said. “Take me north.”

  “What’s going on?” Tyler asked “Where is Keira?”

  “Lily can explain on the way. You all need to come. I don't know who’s going to be there or how many,” I told them all.

  Lily came running out with Jake. She threw me Keira’s car keys then went to get in Jake’s car with him. Hecate and I got into the SUV and I shot down the driveway.

  “Just tell me when to stop or turn,” I told her.

  “I will,” she said, closing her eyes.

  All the time I was driving I was tapping the steering wheel. I was getting more and more anxious by the second. We drove north for about eight miles before she told me to stop. I slammed the breaks on. She got out of the car and looked around for a moment before getting back inside. I could see the guys waiting behind us, all of them looking around anxiously.

  “Go west!” Hecate told me.

  I put my foot down again and drove at high speed for around fifteen minutes, before she told me to head north again. We carried on north for another ten minutes before coming to a stop.

  “Crystal’s around here somewhere,” she told me as she got out of the car. “It’s dark where she is, and cold; there’s no natural light.”

  The others got out of the car and I told them what she had said. They all looked around. All we could see was countryside and hills, some of them very steep with a cliff face.

  “Dark, no natural light and cold,” Danny said. “What about a mine or a cave?”

  “Get looking,” I said as I teleported closer to the hills.

  Hecate ran over with the others, searching for holes in the ground or entrances into the cliff face. There didn’t seem to be any openings to anything, anywhere.

  “FOR GOD’S SAKE!”I shouted, slamming my fist against one of the trees. I hit it so hard the tree snapped in half and the top half fell to the floor.

  “Eligos, calm down; we’ll find her,” Hecate told me.

  “Oh we better,” I told her. “If she dies – I die. Simple as that.”

  “I’VE FOUND SOMETHING!” Danny shouted.

  We all ran over to him. He was standing next to a large hole in the cliff face.

  “Looks like a cave,” Tyler said.

  “It looks like you might have been right,” I said to Danny.

  We all walked inside ready for a fight. The passage was very narrow so we had to walk in single file. It seemed to go on and on, but eventually we came to a large open area. Danny and Lucian developed an orb of light each to help us see.

  “Shit, three paths!” Lily said.

  “Hecate, any ideas?” I asked her.

  “Yeah, the one on the right; she has been in there.”

  I held my hand out in front of me and my sword appeared.

  “Stay here,” I told them all. “No matter what you hear. If anything moves, kill it.”

  “OK,” they all said.

  “But if you hear Keira, find her!” I ordered, before walking down the passage.

  As I walked down the passage I began to see a light. I quickened my pace and walked into another opening.

  Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Keira was on the floor, still in the shorts and top she wore for bed, barely conscious, and covered in blood. I got a burning sensation in my chest and anger and sadness filled every inch of me.

  “KEIRA!” I shouted.

  I started to run to her, and then I noticed the demon’s trap painted on the ceiling above her. That’s why she couldn’t fight back; a demon’s trap renders any demon powerless and keeps them contained within its circle. I couldn’t throw an energy ball at it for fear of the ceiling collapsing on her. But it was only painted on, and paint burns. I threw my hand up and sent flames up at it, the thick paint started to crack and burn, until there was a part of the circle missing. Once the circle was broken the spell it cast was broken too. I ran over to her. Her arm was black and obviously broken; a large metal pole had been run through her thigh. She was deathly pale and bruised everywhere. I didn’t have time to heal her in here; I had to get her out. If Crystal came back and I was distracted, she could kill her while she was so weak.

  “Keira, Keira, can you hear me, darlin’,” I said, stroking her face. She tried to say something but she didn’t have the strength. “I’m gonna get you out of here! You’re going to be fine, but I need to lift you, and I may hurt you, so brace yourself as best you can.”

  I gathered her in my arms trying my best not to catch her broken arm or her leg. I carried her through the passage and into the opening.

  “Keira!” Tyler and Lily shouted.

  “Oh my God, what’s happened to her,” Danny said, running over.

  “She’s been tortured,” I said between gritted teeth.

  “That’s right, she has,” Crystal said, coming out from one of the other passages. “We had some fun Keira and I…Oh you should have seen her face when I told her you were all dead.”

  “Now you’re gonna die,” I told her.

  “Take your best shot,” she laughed.

  “Eligos, you need to get Keira out of here. Look at her. Leave this bitch to us,” Danny said.

  “What if she…” I went to say.

  “We’re stronger now,” Tyler said. “Go, take care of Keira. We’ll join you soon.”

  I went to walk out with Keira but turned to Danny before I headed for the entrance.

  “Danny,” I shouted.

  “What?”

  “Hold your hand out.”

  He did as he was told and my sword appeared in his hand.

  “Kill her!” I said bitterly.

  “You have my word,” he nodded, before turning to
face her.

  I teleported us out of the cave and back to her house.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Revenge

  I could see my living room now; it was blurry but I knew which room I was in. I felt Eligos lay me on the sofa and saw him kneel down at the side of me. My whole body started tingling and I saw a bright white light, then the pins and needles came and I heard something drop on the floor. My vision slowly started returning to normal and I could see Eligos clearly.

  “Keira say something, anything,” he said to me softly.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you,” he smiled, stroking the side of my face.

  “I thought you were dead,” I managed to say.

  “No, she lied. I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

  “Where is everyone?”

  “They’re at the cave taking care of Crystal.”

  “So that’s her name.”

  “I gave Danny my sword so he could kill her completely.”

  “No, I want to kill her.”

  “You’re not strong enough to go back there, Keira.”

  “Yes I am,” I said, sitting up.

  I looked on the floor and saw the metal pipe that had been through my thigh. Anger rushed through me. All I could think about was revenge.

  “Keira please, just let them take care…”

  “Take me back!” I told him. “Right now.”

  “No.”

  “Eligos, you have no idea what she did and said to me. If anyone should get to kill her it should be me.”

  “She’ll kill you.”

  “No, she won’t.”

  I reached out to the pole and it flew into my hand. I changed into my demonic form as he wrapped his arms around me and took me back to the cave.

  We appeared at the end of one of the passages. I saw that Tyler, Lucian and Lily were badly hurt; Hecate, Danny and Jake were still standing.

  “ENOUGH!” I shouted as I walked over to Danny and Jake. “Get out of here.”

  “We’re not leaving you,” they told me.

  “Then move!”

  I turned to face Crystal. She was cut and bleeding, so they had obviously had some success. Eligos and Hecate went over to Lily, Lucian and Tyler, and started to heal them.

  “Come back for more, have you?” Crystal asked me, grinning.

  “No, I came back to do what I told you I would do. I’m going to kill you.”

  I bombarded her with energy balls and kinetic energy. Then I made the metal pole fly into her stomach.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it?” I said just as the pole entered her.

  She screamed out in pain.

  “Louder please! I like you screaming,” I told her nastily.

  I walked over to her, still firing the energy at her, and then grabbed her head with both hands. Energy and electricity flowed into her. Her jaw clenched, her eyes started to bleed and she screamed even louder. Then I threw her against one of the walls. She hit it hard and fell to the floor. I threw the energy at her again for a moment before hoisting her into the air.

  “Revenge is so sweet,” I said, looking her in her eyes. “Don't you agree?”

  I walked over to Danny while she was still suspended in mid-air. He was looking at Crystal and grinning. I took Eligos’s sword off him and walked back over to her. Her face changed completely.

  “What’s wrong, Crystal? Are you scared? You should be. Goodbye,” I smirked.

  I lowered her to the floor and waved the sword around in front of her a few times, before I swung it and decapitated her. She disappeared without a trace. Eligos’s sword disappeared and I turned to face them all. Then my legs gave way underneath me and everything went black.

  When I woke up I was lying on my bed. Eligos was sitting beside me holding my hand.

  “Welcome back!” he smiled.

  “What happened?”

  “You collapsed. I told you, didn’t I? You weren’t strong enough.”

  “I killed her, didn’t I? That's all I’m worried about.”

  “Yeah, you did,” he nodded.

  “What time is it?”

  “Just after 5p.m.”

  “How long have I been out of it?”

  “About four hours.”

  “I’m so tired,” I told him.

  “You will be. You need to eat and then you need to relax. Everyone is downstairs waiting to see if you’re OK, then they’re going home.”

  “OK.”

  “Oh and then Lilith wants to see you. She was really worried about you. I went to see her while you were sleeping to let her know we had you back.”

  “OK, let’s get it all done then.”

  I got off the bed and got showered and changed, then he took my hand and led me downstairs. We walked into the living room and found them all watching the TV.

  “Hey, Keira,” Lucian said.

  All of them turned to look at me.

  “How are you feeling?” Jake asked me.

  “I’m OK, just really tired.”

  “What did she do to you?” Tyler asked carefully.

  “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  “OK,” Lily said. “Do you want a drink or something to eat?”

  “No, I’m fine thanks. I need to go and see Lilith.”

  “Oh, OK then.”

  “See you later.”

  Eligos wrapped his arm around my waist and we went to the Palace. Lilith was waiting in a small room off the main hallway. When I walked in she came over and hugged me, before checking to make sure I wasn’t hurt.

  “Eligos healed me,” I told her.

  “I knew he would,” she said, looking at him. “Is Crystal definitely dead?”

  “Yeah, your daughter got her revenge,” Eligos said.

  “Good, I’m glad, although part of me wishes you had brought her here.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “I would have shown her the real meaning of pain,” she said nastily. “She would have begged for death.”

  “She didn’t let her go peacefully,” Eligos told her, smirking. “She was in a lot of pain before your sweet little daughter decapitated her.”

  “Good!” Lilith smiled. “Right, as long as you’re OK I’ll let you go. No doubt you’re tired and your friends will want to be with you.”

  “I’m fine, I’ll see you soon.”

  She hugged me again and then me and Eligos left the Palace. He wanted to go to his place to get changed and pick a few things up. I sat down in his living room while he gathered his things, then he came to join me.

  “You know for the first time in my life I was actually really scared,” he told me as he sat down.

  “Were you?”

  “I thought I’d lost you. I was trying my best not to show my fear, so the guys wouldn’t worry more than they already were. But on the inside I just wanted you in my arms. I wanted you to look me in the eyes and smile at me.”

  “Well, thanks to you,” I said, moving so I was sitting on his knee, “I am OK.”

  “If it would have been left to me to deal with Crystal, I still would have been torturing her.”

  “You know, I can’t say that I wasn’t in pain because I was, but it was nothing compared to how I felt when she told me she had killed you,” I said, stroking the side of his face. “She said the last words you said were “Lilith, tell Keira I love her”. I felt like my heart had been ripped out. I just wanted to die.”

  “Well, I’m glad you didn’t; I couldn’t have lived without you.”

  “You lived without me for a long time.”

  “Yes I did. But I honestly don't know how. I don't want to be without you.”

  “You never will be.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Romance

  More than two weeks had passed since Crystal had taken me, and everything had been quiet. Eligos had stayed with me every night since; he was still worried in case someone else tried to get me. He would lie on top of the duvet and hold me in his arms all n
ight. Whenever I told him to get in he would shake his head and tell me we hadn't been together long enough, and that he didn’t trust himself with me. I tried to tell him I didn’t mind, but he shut me up each time. Lily thought it was really sweet but I didn’t; I actually wanted him to get in with me, but I never seemed to get my own way with him. That was something I would have to start working on.

  Eligos had started teaching the guys how to use some of the weapons he got from Hell – swords, maces, spears and many more obscure things I’d never seen before. All of them were doing really well, especially Danny; he spent hours messing around with everything. If we weren’t doing anything exciting, he would go into the garden and practice some more. Sometimes Eligos would go out with him and fight him, obviously not properly. Eligos was an incredible fighter and a lot stronger than Danny, so he had to hold back a lot. It brought the two of them closer though, which was really nice. Jake had always gotten along with Eligos. Lucian was pleasant with him and Tyler, well, he was however he felt like being on the day. But Eligos liked Danny; they had the same outlook on things, and Danny wanted to learn as much as he could from him. While they were playing around I would see how Lily was getting on with her new power. She was doing really well and she was learning how to fight properly with it.

  Lily and Jake had closed the shop and had it on the market. Neither of them liked it anymore and they didn’t want to be at work if something happened. They spent most of their time keeping fit now; they would go out in the morning and run about six miles, then they would go out for a long walk in the evening. We turned one of the spare rooms on the first floor into a gym, which all of us used, but they were in there more than anyone else. We had had all the guys’ parents round for dinner again and this time we had a really nice night. I was nervous all the way through the night though, just in case something happened, Eligos and Tyler noticed and tried to keep my mind off what happened in the past. Their parents seemed to like Eligos too, and he didn’t hide himself from them. They asked what happened and he didn’t mind telling them. Melanie, Jake’s mom, got really annoyed for him, and said she hoped one day he could get his own back on the bastard who did it to him.