Chapter 18
“Still can’t?” I asked sadly, though the answer was right in front of me, mocking me. Linus hadn’t even needed to place those shackles over me. Even free, even with full use of my limbs, I couldn’t bust myself out of my own cell. The cell gates were sealed shut with mage magic that none of us could touch. Linus must have had a poor mage hex this cell before he died. I shuddered with the image of Ren’s head tilted to the side as Linus snacked on his neck.
How useless I am.
Am I really destined to be the damsel in distress, the princess that would always need protection from an escort, more specifically Kain?
“No, Mistress. No vampire or demon can break a magician’s shield. Not even I.” Val said, though he was still trying, hitting his large fist on the gate, but doing not even a single scratch.
“It’s okay, Val. You can stop trying.” I said tiredly, but my demon didn’t stop.
“I won’t stop trying until I can get us out of here, Mistress. We made a blood promise.” Val raised his arms over his head again, and while the room shook with the impact of Val’s fist against the gate, it did nothing.
“We did?”
“When you first called me, Mistress. You made me your demon familiar with a blood promise. I would protect you until your death, and you would release me away from Hell occasionally.”
“I must have forgotten it.” Not that it had mattered. My mind was still in fragments, my thoughts skittering all over the place. Most of those thoughts centered on how I missed Kain, and how he’d hurt me again.
I understood now. Why he refused to tell me why Mila and Gabriel and Ren were all so loyal to him. Why they called him ‘Master’. Why he never told me about Linus –because he was afraid he would reveal more to me than he dared. I understood why he didn’t tell me when I first woke up, but did he truly mean to hide everything from me? What was his goal?
I don’t doubt Kain’s love, but I doubt my heart. If I didn’t love Kain, then I wouldn’t hurt so much from the sting of betrayal. But I still had Lorcan.
I wrapped my knees into my own embrace and closed my eyes. The mess of Lorcan and Kain, Lucifer and Dragos was like a ball of thread –tangled and messed up. The different colors of the threads intertwined, changing colors, and I couldn’t decipher where the end or the start was. All I knew was that I couldn’t untangle it easily, no matter which angle I tried to approach it from. In the core of that tangled ball of mess… was my heart.
“Mistress, you’re hurting. But it is not from physical pain.” Val observed, and I opened my eyes to see my demon familiar finally giving up on the gate, turning his attention to me.
Yes, Captain Obvious. My mind thought viciously, but I kept those words away from my lips. Val is my only companion in this lonely cell. If I were to piss him off… then I would have no one left in my life. If I even have a life anymore.
“It is nothing you can help with, Val. But thank you for your concern, all the same.” I sighed, looking down at the pool of blood that belonged to Kain. Oh, how he had suffered, just to take care of me.
Kain. He really was a fool. Why he did not run away from Lucifer was beyond me. He was a royal of Dragos. He could have the riches of the world. He could order vampires around, and, as the second son, he would have freedom more than the crown prince. Kain could do everything he liked, have everything go according to his will, and never be ordered around.
Instead, he’d given up all that to be a guard, then a fighter. He could have run away from the Pit anytime when he was training under his master. He could have gone back to Dragos and order for the Pit to be destroyed. Kain could have just lost his life in the Pit, and Dagon Dragos wouldn’t even know. His mother wouldn’t even know.
It struck my heart, no matter how ridiculous, that neither of Kain’s parents ever got to see him again before they died. His biological parents had died without ever seeing their darling son again, and his brother, the only one in his family still alive, hated him with passion. How Linus could have developed such warped character when Kain was such an angel was far beyond me.
“Perhaps telling you what I know of your past might ease your frustrations.” Val offered, and though I wasn’t up to learning more about my past self, Val started anyway, taking a seat across me and spreading his massive wings out.
“Before you discovered the secret of that vampire you call Kain, every time you summoned me, I felt torn love in your heart. Half of it went to that vampire prince –Lorcan, as you call him. The other half devoted to Kain. You desired them both, but when they put their advances, you hid behind your responsibility. You knew you had to marry Lorcan, but you loved Kain. You knew you loved Kain with your heart, but Lorcan took half of it too.” Val narrated, and even though he was recalling a past, I was pretty sure the same thing was happening in the present.
“You did not call me into the Earthly plane after you discovered of Kain’s secret. When I finally came up again, I could feel every single moment of your pain and anguish. As your demon familiar, Seraphina, I can feel your every emotion whenever I come up. In Hell, I am isolated from you, but when I come up, I feel everything you do, and I know everything you know.”
I looked at him in surprise. Ren didn’t tell me that…
“That mage you call Ren is an elemental mage. He doesn’t understand fully the intricacies of summoning demons.” Val replied to my mental thoughts, and I realized he could sense more than my emotions.
“But he was the one who taught me to summon you.”
Val nodded. “He has attempted to learn. You should do well to know that Ren is a special kind of mage, and his secret is almost as large as Kain’s.”
“Ren is keeping a secret from me too?” It seemed like Kain wasn’t the only one. Was I really so gullible? Was I really so easy to lie to? Why did no one respect me enough to come clean with me? What about Lorcan? Did my supposed fiancé have secrets to hide from me, too?
“Lorcan is true to you, Mistress. His love to you is pure, as is Kain’s. Back then, after Kain left you, you were distraught. You felt betrayed –as you feel now. But you straightened your thinking soon, Mistress. You understood Kain’s need of keeping his identity away from you. You understood his desperation to stay, and while you had been the one to drive him away, you understood the wisdom in that movement. You didn’t despair for long, Mistress.”
“I didn’t?” It was nice to know that before my car crash, at least I was a slightly emotionally strong woman.
“No, Mistress. You saw light instead. You knew Kain would do something –something to protect you. You knew he is not stupid enough to rush back to Dragos and declare himself back in their ranks, but you knew he was going to do something for you to change Dragos. You waited patiently for him, and buried a piece of your heart with the memory of him.”
“That sounds…… hard to do right now.”
Val shook his head. “That is not the point, Mistress.”
“Then what is your point in saying all this?”
Val suddenly jumped to his feet, nose up in the air and sniffing. He cocked his bull-head to one side, as if straining to listen. He moved towards where his head was tilting towards, till he reached the wall. He pressed his ear against it, and closed his black-bead eyes. Tense silence filled the cell as I watched him with caution.
“Your savior is here.” Val announced, then rushed back to me, picking me up in his arms.
“Wait, what are you-” I protested as Val engulfed my tiny body in his large one.
Boom!
The shockwave travelled throughout the castle, and I knew I would have been knocked out unconscious if I had stayed where I sat a few moments ago. I heard distant shouting through the walls of my cell, and the sounds of war and fighting filled my ears. Val set my quickly to my feet, then rushed to the gate.
“Val cannot break you out, Mistress, but Val can lead your saviors towards you.” My demon familiar announced, and I watched as my demon squeeze his staunch arm through the gates and black demon fire spread in a line, leading from the stairs towards our cell. He was giving my ‘saviors’ a trail.
“What is happening, Val?” I demanded, coming closer to the gates too.
“Your fiancé and your siblings. Lorcan was not as silent as you thought. He was ready as backup if Kain failed, and when he heard of your and Kain’s capture, he gathered his Resistance forces.”
“Dante and Kelsey are coming?” The shock made my voice a little more pitchy than it should be.
“Yes. They can protect themselves, Mistress.” Val replied, and I heard footsteps rushing around. The stairs from upstairs lead down to the only cell here, so anyone running in here would only find me.
More shouting rang down the stairwell, followed by sounds of swords and weapons clashing. Guns went off wildly.
Val and I waited in silence and anticipation, for someone to come down. For a long moment, no one did. But it was soon that I heard voices drifting down from the stairwell.
“Look! Demon fire! It’s Val!” The voice was shouted in glee, and I recognized Kelsey’s childish ring to her voice.
Val gave a roar to indicate the truth of his exclamation, and I heard a few cheers from outside as footsteps ran down the stairwell. Glad at his doing, my demon stepped back and gave me a bow.
“I have done all I can now, Mistress. Please let me go back to rejuvenate until you will need me again.” Val said humbly, and I was all too glad to reward my demon.
Yet, before he disappeared, he looked me in the eye and said a sentence that I would never forget.
“You forgave Kain once, and you should do it again before it is too late.”
I was still slowly reeling from those words when the footsteps came closer. Then Dante’s and Kelsey’s face popped into view, shock turning to elation and excitement when they saw me standing helplessly.
“FINA!” Kelsey screamed, running towards the gate.
“Stay back!” I shouted. I had tried to touch the gate, but it had pushed me back. It seemed that only demons could touch it, but none could break it. Until a mage came along to break the seal, I was trapped.
“Seraphina!” A very familiar voice, a voice that filled me with utter warmth in the fearful coldness, came and I saw as his face appeared beside Dante’s to get a good sight of me. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, but I’m trapped here! The gates are sealed by a mage! Get Ren!”
“The mage?” Dante asked, but he was interrupted by another voice.
This new voice was not as lively as he always sounded. This voice sounded resigned, tired and even… sad. Something heavy sank deep in my stomach as I heard the tone of voice when the newcomer appeared into view.
“I am here, baby girl. Stand back, and I’ll break this motherfucking seal to pieces.” Ren announced, and pointed the tip of his cane on the placebo lock on the gate. He muttered something soft, and I backed up a few steps as a bubble around the gate glowed bright, then exploded in bright light.
Ren pushed open the gate, but Kelsey nudged herself inside, throwing herself on me.
“Fina! You’re alright! We’ve come to rescue you!” Kelsey declared, though she’d already done it. The tears of joy rolled down my eyes as I hugged my sister back, taking my brother in my embrace too. Oh, how I thought I would never see them ever again. Oh, how I thought my life would end up with me forever being isolated from the rest of the world, a prize to Linus Dragos.
I took a look at the faces that milled into the cell. Lorcan and Ren came in, followed by vampires I didn’t recognize, but were obviously for our cause, for their eyes glittered with respect when they saw me. Ren wasn’t smiling.
And then…
“Mila! Gabriel! You guys are fine!” I exclaimed, letting my siblings go while I watched the two vampires stalk into the room. Their faces were black as charcoal, and their expressions… it gave more than a stone in my stomach –a stone that I suspected was my heart.
They met my eyes, but spoke none. Ren didn’t try to speak too. Lorcan… looked unhappy too, though relieved that I was safe.
In that moment, everything struck.
“Kain! Where is he?” I demanded. If Lorcan had managed to break out Ren, Mila and Gabriel, then Kain would be alright, wouldn’t he? They must have broken Kain out too.
“Seraphina… he…” Lorcan tried to say, but lost his words.
“He what? WHERE IS KAIN?” The deep pit in my stomach turned into a vacuum, and I looked between the faces of Mila, Gabriel, Ren and Lorcan. Oh god, no… he…
Mila and Gabriel stepped forwards, and while my siblings wisely let me go, standing behind me, the two vampires I had considered my companions fell to their knees before me. Mila began to cry, but Gabriel’s eyes and face were hard, as if he were trying his best to hide his emotions.
“Kain told us to pledge ourselves to you… He made us promise that we would protect you… more than we did to him.” Gabriel said emotionlessly.
“He… was a good vampire… and he only wanted to be your best escort… I hope he has done it right… Let us honor his last request, Seraphina. Let us protect you for his life.” Mila sobbed and choked, and my shock only got deeper. Kain… ‘was’ a good vampire. Mila wanted to honor his last request.
“No… Kain… He’s not dead. He cannot be…” I choked on my own words, the tears blurring the vision of the top of their heads.
“He was on his last few breaths when we left, baby girl…” Ren stepped forwards with sorrow in his eyes. How could they have left him there? Why didn’t they take him along with them? Why leave him there?
“Where is he?” I demanded, the fear and anger amplifying the strength of my voice. I had to get to my escort. There were so many things I hadn’t told Kain. I hadn’t told him that I forgave him. I cannot let him die, knowing my last words were to tell him to get out of my cell. I cannot let him die knowing he was unloved.
“We have to get out of here and make sure you are safe, Seraphina. This is what Kain would want. Anything to keep you safe.” Lorcan tried to put in a word, but I silenced him with a glare. He must have seen something in my tear-stained eyes, for shock passed them. I didn’t want to know what he saw.
“I don’t care what Kain wants. I want to know where he is. I want to see him.”
Mila and Gabriel were the only ones who hurt enough along with me to understand. They were the only ones who stood up and made a move to bring me along.
“We bring you to Kain, Seraphina, but let us pledge loyalty to you. Honor Kain’s request.” Gabriel insisted, and I nodded. If that was what Kain wanted… then I would let Mila and Gabriel protect me. They could never compare to the Dragos prince, to my escort, but they were good enough a substitute. Or so I hoped.
“You cannot do this!” Lorcan protested, but I shook my head.
“You’re going with Dragos vampires. They are Dragos.”
“Kain is Dragos, but he gave his life to protect me.”
“Kain is different, he-”
“I trust them, Lorcan. Do you want to come with me, or will you cower in fear of Dragos?”
Lorcan doesn’t even hesitate. He looked at the vampires who had been enlisted to his cause, then raised his stake over his head.
“Let us all guard Princess Seraphina in her bid to find her escort!”
There were cheers and roars from the remaining vampires, but I wasn’t waiting for their approval. In my mind, all I had was Kain.
Kain, who was dying.
Kain, who had protected me with his life.
My best escort.
My only escort.