Chapter One Hundred Six

Benedict Astor and his demons had found us. My face was pressed against Desmond’s leather jacket. I didn’t move or look back to see what my enemies were doing because I had entrusted our survival to Desmond. My demon may not be perfect, but he differed from Mr. Astor’s foul creatures.

“What are you waiting for? Charge at them,” Benedict commanded.

I felt a change of energy in the room. It quickly shifted from neutral to something seriously ominous and menacing. The darkness grew before my closed eyes, and a windstorm surrounded me. His demons’ snickers reminded me of the shadow demon that had attacked me twice in my home. Was it mocking me with the same laughter?

Fear began to overwhelm me, but I remained steadfast in my faith in Desmond. I would crawl inside him and stay there if I could. He would protect me and my family at all costs, like he always did.

“It looks like you all have a death wish to barge into our private moment and ruin it with your filthy and useless existences,” Desmond threatened them in his carefree manner.

“We’ll see who finishes who, imbecile,” a demon spoke. Its voice was somewhat feminine. The shadow demon that I witnessed had the form of a woman. It was her!

I stuck my fingers into my ears as my face rested on Desmond’s chest. Even though Madame Long had shown me more terrifying creatures in mirrors, that shadow demon was still at the top of the list of the things that made me shiver.

“Where are your friends? A lone lion isn’t so powerful without its pride. A pack of hyenas can easily corner and kill him. I’m already seeing something similar happening here,” the second demon with a masculine voice taunted Desmond.

I was impatiently waiting for Desmond’s response. He knew how to show wicked demons their place.

The scene before me shifted entirely, and I landed on my knees. I found myself in the great hall. Desmond and the others were nowhere to be seen.

“Desmond,” I called his name many times.

He didn’t say anything about moving me to another room. Were the other demons or Benedict behind it? They were saying something about him not having his friends there.

I needed to help Desmond, but how? I had mindlessly followed him into that room and couldn’t remember the directions to it. The other option was to alert his friends about what had happened. How would I reach demons that didn’t want to be seen?

“Over here,” a sweet-sounding feminine whisper came from upstairs. I looked up and found nothing there. “Come here, Cassidy,” the faint voice repeated itself. “It’s safe up here.” The person addressing me talked so low that it was hard to recognize who it was. It could be a demon or a human.

As per Aunt Jane, only two demons were guarding the manor that day. If that were true, the spirit must be one of Desmond’s companions. I darted up the stairs, not giving it a second thought. It was my responsibility to help my demon in any way I could.

I stopped at the top step and spoke to the air. “If Desmond’s friends are here, he is downstairs. He needs help. Find him, please.”

A ghostly ‘thanks’ brushed right past my ear as I felt a jolt of energy move down the stairs. I couldn’t believe I had talked to one of Desmond’s friends. Hopefully, they would find him and provide him with the help he needed to defeat Benedict’s minions.

“Cassidy.” Mia came running towards me from the upper floor. She put her arms around me and cried her heart out. “I am glad you’re okay. I feared Mr. Astor had done something to you as well. What have they done to our brother?”

“Yes, I am fine.” I patted Mia’s back reassuringly. “Where is Derrick? Have you talked to him?”

“No. He is just sitting on a couch and not answering me,” Mia said, sniffling and wiping her nose. “What will we do once the police arrive? All the evidence is against him, and Benedict keeps talking about making sure Derrick gets a life sentence. Our brother is not a killer.”

“Don’t worry. Desmond has come to help us. He won’t let anything happen to him,” I reassured my sister.

Mia seemed flabbergasted. “What? I thought your incubus had cheated on you. Who called him here? Did he come uninvited?”

I forgot I had lied to my family about the reason for our breakup. Desmond didn’t deserve a terrible reputation. I needed to clear his name and take his deceitful lies to my grave.

“He didn’t cheat. I was mistaken. I would have explained it to you if we had time. For now, can you take me to Derrick? I need to talk to Charles. He has to see the true colors of his uncle.”

“Charles went outside the room to look for you but never returned,” Mia informed me.

Benedict Astor was way ahead of me in his sinister game. He must have drugged his nephew unconscious to keep him out of his mess. Aunt Jane was right about him having eyes everywhere. She could be telling the truth.

“Let’s stay together and be with our brother.” I grabbed Mia’s hand protectively. “Are you sure the maid is dead? Charles had called an ambulance for her.”

“She is dead. I confirmed it with my own hands. There was no warm air coming out of her nostrils, and I couldn’t find a pulse.” Mia’s voice trembled as she spoke. “Why is wherever we go, we find death and misery? I can’t believe they killed an innocent woman just to place the blame on Derrick. They are worse than we thought. What would we tell Mom? The news could be fatal for her already grieving heart.”

“There is no need to tell Mom anything. I am glad we didn’t find any signals to contact her. I did call her from Charles’s phone. Let her think everything is fine. Because it will be.” I squeezed Mia’s hand and put my hand on her cheek.

“Are you sure? Can you promise that?” Mia looked at me with the same expression I gave Desmond when I asked him a similar question.

“Yes, I promise. Desmond has given me his word, and I trust him blindly. He’ll do what needs to be done, and we’ll walk out of this manor of evil safe and sound with our elder brother. Mom will be so happy to find that we have won this war,” I said.

Before I could suggest going to Derrick again, someone unexpectedly flew out of nowhere and landed close to my feet. My heart almost stopped when I saw the face of that person.

The war had gotten seriously ugly.