“I don't know what else to do.”
“ELIGOS!!”I shouted, so loud that Lily covered her ears. “WHERE ARE YOU?”
“Keira, I don't…”
“LILITH!!” I shouted as I started to get upset.
“It’s no good; we’re on our own,” Lily said.
“I don't know what to do, Lily; we’re cut off completely.”
I looked at the clock: it was now 2.35a.m. There was no way on earth they would have just stayed out somewhere until this time and not called us.
“Forget this!” I said.
I walked out of the room and into the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” Lily asked, quickly following me.
“Leaving them a note,” I said, getting a piece of paper and a pen. “I’m saying we’ve gone looking for them and telling them to try and call us if they get here before us.”
“Where are we going? We don't know where they went.”
“Anywhere, countryside, around town. I don't really care where we go; I just need to do something, I need to try and find them.”
I wrote the note then grabbed my car keys. We got in the car. We decided to head into town first in case they had gone for a drink together. We drove down every street we could get down, and one of us ran down the smaller ones where I couldn’t take the car. We drove around all of the car parks and took a walk around the park and cemetery, but there was no sign of any of them or their cars.
“Where now?” Lily asked.
“Let’s drive down some of the country roads. Keep your phone close in case they call.”
“It’s been in my hand since we left the house,” she said, waving it a little.
We were driving around until 5a.m. Dawn was breaking and we were both getting really tired. However, we both knew that, until we found the guys, neither of us would sleep.
“We’re not going to find them. Let’s go back home,” Lily said in tears.
We drove back to the house hoping their cars would be on the drive. We all had our own space there, but theirs were empty. I parked up in my usual spot and got out of the car. I started swearing my head off and kicked a load of the stones off the path. I was just about to punch the car when Lily grabbed hold of me and hugged me tight. I burst into tears. I was so annoyed and frustrated, I just didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t think properly through worrying.
“Come inside, we need to eat something and get a drink, keep our sugar levels up. I don’t want either of us passing out,” Lily said.
She took my hand and led me into the house. I started walking through the hall while Lily shut the door. I was halfway down when I felt like someone had just walked right through me. I went really warm and light-headed. Every hair on my body felt like it was standing on end. I had to grab hold of the banister to stop myself falling.
“Keira!” Lily said, running over to me. “What is it, what’s wrong?”
“Danny.”
“What about him, where is he?”
“I don’t know. It just felt like he walked straight through me. I can smell him on me, Lily,” I said, smelling the collar on my shirt. “You smell it; it’s his aftershave. I love it, so I’d recognize it anywhere.”
She leaned over and smelt my collar. Her eyes went huge.
“How can this be, who could…” She lost her voice and her eyes started watering.
“Lily, what are you thinking?”
“Do you think that…that maybe it was his…his spirit,” she managed to say.
I couldn’t answer her. How else could we explain what had just happened? Then it dawned on me: it would mean that the rest of them would most likely be dead too. But how? For starters how could something get past Eligos? I turned to look at Lily; she had tears rolling down her face.
“Lily, we can’t thi-”
I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence. A creature appeared right in front of us. Four more creatures walked into the hallway from the living room. How had they gotten inside? Then two more came from the kitchen. They all turned to look at us. Anger and pain filled me and Lily, and our eyes changed instantly. Mine to blazing red and Lily’s to the blackest of blacks. They glared at us for a moment before they attacked.
Chapter Forty
Fuelled by Emotion
I threw a shockwave out in front of me. It sent the one in front of us crashing straight through the front door. Then I turned to face the four who had come from the living room. I sent energy balls at them, firing them constantly from both my hands. I turned my head slightly to see Lily attacking the two from the kitchen. She too was sending energy balls at them. One of the ones in front of me, near the living room door, generated a shield. Then it looked at the other three for a moment, before turning its attention back on me and Lily. It said something, but I didn't understand it; it wasn’t English. The smallest one came forward and just out of the safety of the shield. I threw my hand out in front of me and sent purple energy at it. It squealed and then hit the floor. I waited for it to disappear or get up and run away, but it remained on the floor motionless. I felt stronger, like I was using more power than I had before to attack them. Maybe it was because I was frightened about had happened to the guys, and it was coming out when I was attacking them. I wanted to hurt them. I’d felt Danny walk through me and then these appeared. It was obvious that these creatures were the ones responsible and they were going to pay.
There were now three left near the doorway. Two of them grabbed the motionless creature and dragged it into the living room. I’d never seen demons or spirits do that with each other before. The other one came towards me, its black eyes staring at me. I moved forward slightly and threw fire at it, but as I did it threw water back at me. When the fire and the water met in mid-air, they cancelled each other out and I couldn’t see anything for a moment except steam.
“Fine, if I can’t burn you to death I’ll hammer you to death,” I said, not knowing if the grey-skinned creature could understand me or not.
The steam cleared quickly and I glared at the creature. I don't know how, but I knew I didn't need to use my hands. I looked up slightly while still concentrating on the creature and it rose into the air. I moved my eyes from side to side and up and down. The creature hit the walls on either side of the hall several times, then the ceiling and finally the floor. Then I threw static electricity at it. I heard it moan loudly for a moment, then it went silent and still. The other two creatures ran back into the hall from the living room. I sent more shockwaves out at them, one after another, then I tried fire on them. These two didn't throw water back. One of them sent fire back, while the other sent energy balls at me. Three of them hit me and sent me flying into the stairs. Whoever these creatures were, they were strong.
I saw Lily out the corner of my eye. She had thrown some form of yellow energy at one of the creatures and it was now on the floor, completely still. I looked at the other one facing her. This one was different from the others. This one had blazing red eyes the same as mine. It sent a ball of light at Lily. When it hit her it seemed to explode and sent her flying down the hallway.
“NO!” I shouted.
She recovered quite quickly and dragged herself back to her feet.
“You take those two” I told her “I’ll deal with this one.”
She nodded and attacked the two who were originally from the living room. I jumped up and turned to face the red-eyed creature.
“Come on then, you bastard; show me what you’ve got,” I said nastily.
It threw a ball of light at me and I sent a wave of energy out and it cancelled out his attack. It disappeared for a moment then reappeared right in front of me. It struck me with the back of its arm and sent me straight into one of the creatures Lily was about to attack. I landed right on top of it. I rolled off quickly and slammed my hand against its chest. Its body shone as I threw energy into it. When I pulled my hand away, it too was unconscious. Lily was now in the living room fighting the one remaining black-eyed creat
ure.
I turned to see the tougher one, the one who was most definitely a demon of high degree, walking toward me. I stood up quickly. The house began to shake violently. A large crack appeared in the floor beside me, then quickly travelled the length of the hallway. I couldn’t make out whether it was me doing it or the demon. When my temper was up, all sorts of things just happened; I couldn’t control it. I moved away from it quickly and sent energy at the creature, then energy balls, but it blocked them all. I moved towards it so fast that I startled it. I slammed my hand in its chest and it flew backwards into the kitchen. I ran in after it. It was on the floor with its head against one of the cabinets.
A kitchen drawer flew open and I made all of the sharp knives float up out of it. I turned to look at the demon quickly and all the knives flew towards it. It jumped up quickly and managed to dodge all but one of them; it went straight through its right arm. It lost its temper and made all the stools hit me over and over, as it pulled the knife out its arm. I threw flames at it as best I could and burned it. It was enough to stop it from battering me with the stools. I sent a shockwave at the demon and sent it crashing into the wall. Then I put my hand out in front of me and pinned it down. I walked towards the demon slowly; I knew I couldn’t kill it. I didn't have the weapon to do so; I would just have to injure it enough so it left. I was about three feet away from it when I was flung across the room, over the center island and on to the floor. I was bleeding, bruised and furious. All the windows imploded and a strong wind filled the room. I struggled to get to my feet. The demon was fighting against the harsh wind, trying to get close to me. It had a sword in its hand now, large and similar-shaped to Eligos’s. I reached out and the sword flew out of its hand and into mine.
“Die!” I said as I raised the sword above my head.
Chapter Forty-One
A Shock Revelation
“NO! KEIRA, STOP! NO!” I heard Hecate shout.
She ran and stood right in front of the demon.
“Keira, you must stop! It’s not the sort of demon you think. It’s Eligos,” she told me frantically. “You’re all under a spell, Keira. Eligos thinks you’re an enemy; he can’t see you as I can now. You look to him as he looks to you. Keira, you have to believe me, lower the sword.”
I looked at the creature; it was glaring at me. I didn't know what to believe. Why wouldn’t I be able to see him? Why would he look like this? How could a spell be strong enough to fool us all and change our appearances to one another?
“Prove it!” I said, lowering the sword slightly.
She dragged her arm backwards as though she was pulling an invisible rope. A young man came floating in; he was in suspended animation.
“TELL HER” Hecate shouted to him.
The man didn't respond. So she threw energy at him for a moment; he screamed out in pain.
“Tell her or I will drag your sorry arse back to Hell and let them deal with you. How do you fancy an eternity of inescapable torture?” she said as she shot the energy at him again.
“IT’S TRUE! IT’S TRUE!” he screamed.
“Break the spell,” Hecate told him nastily. “NOW, before I tell Keira to dismember you.”
I turned to look at the creature again. Its shape and appearance seemed to change. It went hazy for a moment, then I was looking into Eligos’s eyes. I dropped the sword instantly and ran over to him. I flung my arms around the back of his neck. He picked me up and held me tight for a moment. I couldn’t believe it. All this time I was fighting him, hurting him. I wanted to break down in tears.
“KEIRA, STOP IT’S THE GUYS!” Lily shouted as she ran in the room.
Eligos put me down but didn't let go of me. Lily looked over and saw him with me. She had tears in her eyes.
“Keira, they’re all seriously hurt,” she told me.
“You don't look good either.”
“I’m not, but at least I’m still awake.”
I looked over at Hecate. She still had the man floating.
“Go and see to your friends; this one isn’t going anywhere,” she told me.
“Thank you, so much.”
“Go.”
We ran into the hall. Lily was right: the guys were seriously hurt; Marley and Beth were bloody and beaten to a pulp. Lucian had cuts and bruises all over him, as did Tyler. Jake’s arms were burned and his head was pouring blood.
“Where’s Danny?” I asked.
“Here,” he answered as he walked through the broken door, holding his head. “What happened?” he asked when he saw the state of everyone.
“We need to heal everyone,” I said to Eligos.
He nodded and ran over to Danny while I ran to Marley first. As soon as one of us had healed someone, Danny, whose head was now better, helped them into the living room and on to one of the sofas.
Everyone was awake now and deeply upset. We were all hugging each other when Hecate walked in, followed by the floating man.
“Tell them what you told me,” she said to him.
“I don't know who is in charge,” he said. “I got orders from a demon. I had to trick you, me and another spirit. The one who gave me the orders said that everyone who had tried to kill you before had failed. So he gave me and another the powers and spells we needed to make you see each other differently. He said that, as he didn't have the power to kill you, then you would have to kill each other. We made you see each other as a threat so you would turn on each other. We cast a spell allowing you to be in the same place but not see each other until we decided it was time – when emotions were high, and you would want to take your upset and anger out on something.”
“Did you have anything to do with the news showing West Chester destroyed?” I asked him.
“We had to make sure you were split up, so we used another spell to make you see something that would get you to leave the house. We had hoped more of you would have gone. But, although we knew that a fight that was two against seven was probably not going to end up in all of you dying, we hoped it would kill a few of you off.”
“Well, you failed. Who is the one who gave you the orders?” Lucian asked.
“I’ll never tell. If I do, he’ll kill me,” the man said.
“If you don't tell, I’ll kill you,” Hecate said, “and I swear it will be a hell of a lot more painful if I do it.”
“Do what you want; I will not betray him. You people make me sick. You think we just want to wipe out the human race…You’re wrong. This needs to happen. If you try and stop it instead of understanding it, then you deserve to die.”
“And now, so do you,” I told him.
“Leave him to me. I’m going to enjoy this,” Hecate told me. “I’ll be back once I’ve gotten bored.”
She disappeared and took the man with her.
“Is everyone OK?” I asked, turning to each one of them in turn.
“We’re fine, but you’re a mess,” Danny said. “And you?” he said, looking at Eligos.
“I’ll live,” he said, looking at his arm. Blood from the knife wound ran down his arm, staining his shirt.
“Why don't you two go and get sorted out? I’ll make us some drinks. Then we can talk,” Beth suggested.
“OK,” I said, taking hold of Eligos’s hand.
We walked into the chill-out room, the door closed behind us; he pulled me towards him and held me tight.
“One of us would have died in here if it wasn’t for Hecate,” he said, tightening his grip on me.
“I know, oh God, I can’t stand the thought of it.”
I lifted my head off his chest and kissed him.
“I’m so sorry,” he said when the kiss ended. “Look what I’ve done to you.”
He looked so sad as he ran his fingers over the cuts on my arms and collarbone.
“You’re sorry! I stabbed you. I was gonna run your sword right through you,” I said, swallowing hard. “Oh God, I feel sick.”
“It’s OK, we’re OK. Let’s just be thankful for that now
,” he said as he held me against him again.
We stood there holding each other for a while, before healing each other and heading back into the living room to join the others.
Lily was sitting on Jake’s knee with her head on his shoulder. Danny and Tyler were sitting on the armchairs, both leaning forward with their head in their hands. Lucian was sitting on one of the sofas with Marley and Beth, all of them staring out in front of them. They were all silent.
“Is everyone OK?” I asked.
“Not really,” Marley and Tyler answered.
“You have a drink each on the table,” Beth told me and Eligos, pointing towards the cups.
“Thanks,” we both replied.
I sat on the sofa with Lily and Jake while Eligos leaned against the wall next to one of the windows.
“I don't quite know what to say,” Lucian said sadly. “Other than I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” I told him. “You did the same as me and Lily; you attacked a demon. That's what we had to do, I just…What if it happens again and…”
“…One of us is killed?” Tyler said, finishing my sentence.
“Yeah.”
“We need to have a code or sign or something, so we know it’s one of us,” Jake said.
“Yeah, I can see it now,” Tyler said. “Oh excuse me, Mr. Demon, but before you attack us and we try to kill you, can I just ask do you know the secret handshake?” he said mockingly. “I doubt we would have time to ask.”
“Don't be stupid!” Danny told him. “We would have to do something quickly, like, cross ourselves or something as soon as we see the attacker and they see us.”
“I don't think crossing ourselves is a good idea,” Eligos said.
“Oh yeah, sorry. Well, how about…Oh, I don't know.”
“There’s an easier option,” Hecate said as she appeared in the room.
“What’s that?” Beth asked.
“Simple, whenever someone uses that spell the demons look the same –yellow hair, grey skin and so on. No matter who casts the spell or who it’s cast on, the result is always the same. So as long as you don't attack a creature that looks like the ones you saw, you won’t hurt each other.”