“I’ll be back in a minute,” I told them.
I walked over to him slowly.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” he replied as he looked at my dress. “You look nice.”
“Thanks, do you want a drink?”
“No. Lilith needs to speak with you.”
“What, right now?” I asked.
“As soon as possible.”
“OK, well you come and have a drink with us, and then you can take me to her.”
“I don't think that’s a good idea.”
“Well, then tell her I’m not coming,” I said, folding my arms.
“All right, mate,” Danny said to him as he stood beside me.
“Hey.”
“I’m going to get everyone a drink; are you staying for one?”
I looked at Eligos, raising both my eyebrows, and in the end he relented and agreed to stay for one. I led him over to the table and sat down next to him while we waited for Danny.
“You don't look very comfortable,” I pointed out. “I take it you don't like places like this.”
“Actually you’re wrong, I love these places. Everyone’s very dark, so I fit in well.”
“Good point.”
“Oh here comes trouble,” he smirked.
A moment later Lucian and Tyler joined us.
“Long time no see,” Lucian said, shaking his hand.
“Here we go, guys,” Danny smiled, handing the drinks out.
He sat down facing Eligos. I looked over at Lily who was now making her way over with Jake; she looked at Eligos, then at me and smiled.
“So to what do we owe the pleasure?” Tyler asked him sarcastically.
“I’m afraid I need to take your friend a way for a while,” Eligos told them all.
“Why?” Danny asked casually.
“Lilith needs to speak with her.”
“Fair enough.”
“For how long?” Lily asked him.
“I’m not sure.”
“When are you leaving?” she asked, looking at me.
“I don't know yet, maybe once we’ve had a few drinks,” I told her.
Eligos turned to look at me.
“You said one drink,” he said.
“Did I? I don't remember saying that,” I smirked.
He shook his head at me and turned away, but I saw him smiling slightly. Jake went to the bathroom and Lucian and Tyler dragged me and Lily back to the dance floor. I looked over and saw Danny and Eligos chatting away and laughing. Every now and again Eligos would turn to look at me and smile, while saying something to Danny. However, when he turned around and saw Tyler dancing behind me with his arms around me, he didn’t look impressed at all.
“He looks jealous,” Lily whispered to me.
When Tyler looked over and saw Eligos coming to get me, he crossed the line. He grabbed me and kissed me. I pushed him off me and looked at him with an ‘I can’t believe you just did that’ look on my face. Lucian looked as though he wanted to punch him and Lily started to panic.
“What are you doing?” I shouted at Tyler.
I saw him look over at Eligos.
“Hey,” I said, shoving him. “What are you trying to prove?”
Danny came over and stood between us.
“Come on, calm down! Tyler, you’re a Jerk. Keira, maybe you should go and see Lilith,” he suggested.
“I think he’s right,” Lily nodded, putting her hand on my arm.
“Fine,” I said, walking away from them.
I grabbed my jacket from under the table and took another mouthful of my drink.
“Are you ready?” I asked Eligos.
“Yes,” he said, avoiding eye contact.
He led me outside and down the road. As soon as there was nobody in sight he wrapped his arms around me and we disappeared. I didn’t feel anything, and within a split second we were outside the entrance to Lilith’s palace.
“She’s waiting inside for you,” he said, still avoiding eye contact.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
“No,” he said as he started to walk away from me.
“Eligos, what’s…”
“Don't keep her waiting!” he shouted back to me.
I walked into the Palace and down the long hallway. When I reached the end she was standing there waiting for me.
“Hello,” she smiled.
“Hi.”
“What’s the matter?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, shaking my head.
“Keira, I need to tell you a few things, and then we’re going to have a little talk, mother to daughter, OK?”
“Alright.”
She led me into a large room which looked like a meeting room. There was a long table in the center with maps of Earth scattered along it.
“Look,” she said, pointing to the maps. “Each red circle is a place that has been affected.”
“By what?”
“In each of the areas circled, families have disappeared without a trace. Up to now there have been seven.”
“Why?”
“All we know is that some of the families had power, not the same as your friends, but similar. We don't know if they all did; we haven’t looked into it that much yet. I suggest you watch the news when you get home. It will probably be on there.”
“When did the first family go missing?” I asked.
“A week ago.”
“Is that a week in Hell time or Earth time, and what has this got to do with anything?”
“That's in Earth time, my dear, and it may be something, it may be nothing, but families with power disappearing without a trace, leaving all their possessions…well, it’s odd…”
“It does sound a little strange.”
“Exactly,” she said seriously.
“Lilith, can I ask you something?” I asked.
“Of course you can.”
“When I first came here I was in my room speaking to Eligos. It’s just something he said, and it’s been bugging me.”
“OK.”
“He told me my dad was killed by a demon, Marimay. He said no one has been able to find her for the last ten years and that everyone presumed she was part of this war.”
“That's right.”
“So just how long exactly have you known about all this and why wasn’t it stopped before it escalated? And why was she able to kill my dad without you knowing, before it was too late? You said you watched us, so you would have known something was wrong”
“We didn’t know then what we know now,” she told me. “You see sometimes people summon demons to make deals with them or to ask for help. The demon won’t do it for free and asks for something in return. Back then, there wasn’t so much as a whisper of someone planning this attack, so we just thought he had made a deal with her, and that he hadn't stuck to his end of it. To be honest, we never asked questions, rules are rules Keira, even though he was your dad, I couldn’t interfere. It’s only now that we’re putting two and two together. If we’d have thought for one minute it was the start of something we would have stopped it. It was a few years after that we found out she had killed him for the hell of it.”
“Didn’t you think it was strange that Marimay disappeared?”
“Keira, sweetheart, there are millions of demons; it’s very hard to keep tabs on all of them. In fact it’s impossible. Can you imagine trying to find out where every single person is on Earth and what they are doing at a certain time?”
“I understand,” I said sadly.
“I’m really sorry about your father; I know you were close to him.”
“Yeah I was. Anyway, I can’t dwell on the past; he wouldn’t want me to…So what now then?”
“Something might come for you and your friends, and their families, so be careful, warn them all and protect yourselves. As soon as we know any more we will tell you, but until then I’m going to ask Eligos to stay with you.”
“He won’t! I can tell you that
now.”
“What’s going on, Keira?” she asked, sitting down.
“I don't know.”
“Start from the beginning.”
I told her all about the argument and how it had affected us. I told her how well we had got on before that and how once we had made up, we spoke a little about feelings. I spent ages telling her about the conversations Eligos and I had had, and all the time she sat there quiet and just listened.
“I can tell you partly what's wrong with him, but the rest you need to get out of him yourself. It’s not for me to tell,” she said. “In all the time Eligos has been here, he’s been alone. He’s never had a girlfriend or partner.”
“Why?”
“Because…” She hesitated. “You need to ask him to show you; he’s never hidden it from anyone before, only you. He’s never cared what people have thought because he’s never been interested in them. But with you, he’s different; he wants to be close to you, but he’s scared of what you will do when you see him properly. I’ve never known him to care about someone so much; it’s nice to see that he is still capable of it. For a long while, I thought he would spend eternity alone, and that shouldn’t happen to anyone.”
“Why what's wrong with him?”
“I can’t tell you, I promised him I wouldn’t. Do you really care for him?” she asked.
“I more than care for him.”
“Then tell him, but be prepared for what he may show you.”
“I don't care! Nothing he could do or say would change how I feel about him.”
“Then tell him,” she smiled. “Go now and tell him.”
“I don't know where he is.”
She closed her eyes for a moment.
“He’s at home,” she told me. “Go, I’ll speak to you when we have an update, and tell Eligos I need to speak to him before he takes you back.”
“You think a lot of him, don't you?”
“Yes I do. He is an extraordinary person, with a good heart. I have always wanted him to find someone he could connect with and now he has, I’m so glad it’s you. Now go to him.”
I ran out of the Palace and straight to Eligos’s place. The door was open when I got there; I popped my head around and shouted his name.
“Come in!” he shouted back.
I walked in and found him in his living room.
“Lilith wants to speak to you before you take me back,” I told him.
“OK, I’ll go now.”
“Are you so eager to get rid of me?”
“No, but I thought you might want to get home.”
“I’ll tell you what, you tell me what you’re hiding from me, and I’ll leave you in peace.”
“No,” he said seriously. “You stay here while I talk to Lilith, then I’ll take you home.”
I didn’t get chance to argue with him; he disappeared leaving me on my own. I sat down on one of the burgundy sofas admiring the beautiful décor. On top of his large stone fireplace were a series of stone angels, all of them with black hair and wings.
“I don't believe this,” Eligos said when he eventually walked back into the room. “Did you know about this?”
“If you mean about her asking you to stay with me, then yes I knew.”
“And you didn’t argue with her?”
“No,” I told him. “Why is it such a big deal? You get on with everyone…well all right, maybe not Tyler, but…”
“That’s not the point.”
“Have you told her you’re not doing it?”
“I did at first, and then she told me she was worried about something happening to you and your friends, with the other families going missing.”
“So are you staying then?” I asked.
“It looks like it, doesn’t it?” he said, walking over to me.
He held on to me and took us back to my house.
Chapter Fourteen
A Bit of Fun
When we got back to the house Danny, Lily and Jake were in the games room.
“That was quick,” Lily said.
“Don't forget, for me it was longer,” I told her. “By the way, Eligos will be staying with us for a while. I’m not going to start explaining why until everyone is sober. So tomorrow morning or afternoon, whenever, we’ll talk.”
“OK,” Lily and Jake said.
“Cool. Can you play?” Danny asked Eligos, motioning towards the pool table.
“Quite well actually,” he answered.
“Want to play a game?”
“Why not?” he said, taking his jacket off.
“Where are Lucian and Tyler?” I asked, making my way over to Lily.
“Oh they both got a little bit too drunk,” she said.
“So we put them in a taxi and sent them home,” Jake told me.
“Fair enough.” I went to the bar and poured myself and Eligos a drink.
“Oh come off it,” Danny moaned. “That’s not possible.”
“It is when you know how to pull it off,” Eligos told him, laughing.
“Right, I’ve got to try that.”
“Here you go,” I smiled, passing him his drink.
“Thanks,” he said, still laughing.
I stood watching them for a few minutes. I knew how good Eligos was; I’d played against him a lot when I was first in Hell. I very rarely beat him, but I was a better challenger than Danny was.
“Right, we’re calling it a night,” Jake announced.
“I’m drunk and I need to sleep,” Lily giggled. “Make sure you’re all up by ten. I’ll be making us pancakes for breakfast,” she told us all. “Eligos, you do eat, don't you?”
“Yes, Lily, I do,” he laughed.
“Oh good! OK, night”
Jake took her hand and led her out of the room.
“I like her,” Eligos said. “She’s so harmless.”
“I know, everyone loves her,” Danny told him. “And especially her cooking.”
“Are you staying over?” I asked Danny.
“Yeah, if you don't mind.”
“Not at all, you’ve got your own room set up anyway.”
“That’s true,” he agreed as he took his shot. “Ha, get out of that one,” he said to Eligos.
I shook my head at them both and went and sat on the leather recliner.
“Oh man!” Danny whined. “You need to teach me how to do that.”
“I will, when you’re less intoxicated.”
“Yes, that’s why you’re beating me. If I was sober…”
“He’d still kick your ass,” I told him laughing.
“Ignore her!” Danny told Eligos. “I’m good when I’m not drunk.”
They finished their game and then we decided to call it a night. Danny staggered to his room.
“He’s going to feel rough in the morning,” I said to Eligos as I closed his door.
“He’ll be fine.”
“You like him, don't you.”
“Yeah, I like him more than the others. I get on well with him.”
“He admires you,” I told him. “I think you two could become good friends.”
“I’d like that,” he said as we made our way to the top floor. “You don't really have many friends in Hell. You have people you get along with, but when you do the job I do, people tend to stay away from you.”
“Why?”
“Because they know if they upset you or annoy you, well, it can get ugly. Nobody wants that. Besides, before I started babysitting you, I didn’t really have time for friends. I spent most of my time with my army, training them and keeping myself and them fit.”
“Babysitting,” I said, giving him a funny look.
“Shut up, you know I’m only playing.”
“I’m so sorry I’ve interrupted your busy schedule.”
“So you should be,” he smirked.
“Right,” I said, stopping halfway down the hall. “This is your room. I hope it’s to your liking.”
“I’m sure it will be.”
“Are you going to tell me what…?”
“Shut up, goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” I sighed, shaking my head and walking to my own room.
The next morning I woke up to the smell of pancakes cooking. I got showered and dressed and made my way to the kitchen. Everyone was down and waiting for me.
“Good morning,” I said in a bubbly voice.
“Someone’s happy this morning,” Lily said, laughing.
“Well, it’s a nice day, I’ve had a good night’s sleep and I’m in a fantastically good mood.”
“Oh no!” she said, shaking her head.
“What?” Jake asked.
“Wait and see.”
She dished breakfast out but I didn’t sit down with them. I was too giddy.
“Lily, this is gorgeous,” Eligos told her.
“It’s a great hangover cure,” Danny nodded.
“Keira, will you sit down?” Lily said.
“Nope.”
“Sorry, guys, every now and again she wakes up like this. Although I haven’t seen her like this since we left West Chester,” she told them.
“Like what?” Tyler said, walking into the kitchen with Lucian.
“She’s all giddy,” Eligos told them.
“Lily, breakfast was lovely but I can’t eat it all,” I smiled.
“Leave it there. I’ll finish it off,” Jake said.
“Oh no, here it comes,” Lily said, giggling again.
I gave her a big smile and walked out of the kitchen, straight into the chill-out room. That’s where the best sound system was. I found the cheesiest music I could find and turned it up full blast; the floor and walls were shaking it was that loud. A moment later Tyler came in.
“Are we friends again?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good,” he said as he moved all the furniture to the outskirts of the room.
He took my hand and started dancing around the room with me, twirling me around every now and again. Then a song from the 70s came on. We both started to pretend we were swimming and doing the mash potato dance. When I turned around I saw everyone standing in the doorway watching us, then one of Lily’s favorite songs from the 80s came on and she couldn’t control herself. She danced her way over to us.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Tyler said, “two beautiful women.”
We both laughed and carried on dancing around. Finally Tyler ran out of energy and sat down. Lily was just about to sit down, but then Jake put another song on that she loved and she came running back to me. All of them were wolf-whistling. Eligos never took his eyes off me; everywhere I went his eyes followed me.