Chapter 75
RYDEN
“So, we’re dealing with Demon.” It still sounded strange that we were talking about Demon from hell. I knew demons, hell, and heaven existed, but fighting against a powerful entity, how were we going to do it? “You’re not safe anymore, ladybug.”
“I’ve never been safe since I got the power. Sensei and Ren had warned me against people who took an interest in this kind of power I had, that was why they trained me, I was hoping to fight against big bad werewolves or wraiths, but if the demon was coming after me, that is something I have to be ready for.”
I looked at her. She seemed so calm and collected about it, and it terrified me. “You’re not sacrificing yourself, Amelia. I know that look.”
She smiled at me. “Maybe this is my mission, my fate, what foretold me to do, that I will save the world from demonic entities so the future generations will have a better place to live in.”
I snorted. “Nirvana sacrificed herself to kill Cyrius for that very same reason, and when we thought the bad time was over, here we are again, fighting against something that came from hell.”
“Baby, if Sonya Webster dies, it will only possess another host. It will be more dangerous if it possesses someone powerful or someone from the government who has the power to change the country, the world, or someone richer with unlimited resources or who sells weapons. It’s far more dangerous not to contain and deal with it right now. We’re running out of time.”
“How do we even find it?”
“We should talk to Victor about this so that we finally have evidence to lock up Alec.”
“It’s a good idea, but he can’t know that Alec is looking for a part of some cure for his wife. Victor has a thing for sacrificing people.” Honestly, I didn’t trust Victor anymore. For all I knew, he’d known about this or he could be a part of this outrage.
“What did Zarah and Sebastien have to say about this?”
“I don’t know yet. We will make a plan, and Amelia.” I cupped her head. “No surprises or improvisation, okay? I know you’re powerful, but I want you alive, ladybug. I need you.”
She smiled and kissed my lips. “I’ve no plan on dying. Before I came back to save my brother, I was really ready to do the right thing, do something good, make a difference, and even sacrifice myself for the better if it came down to that point. Then I met you again, you changed that perspective. You gave me the life I’d been wanting. You made me want to live and enjoy life. I don’t want to lose what we have, Ryden. So, no. And I will make sure to stay alive for us.”
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard since we left our pack.” I kissed her and made her feel she was wanted and she had someone she could count on.
“We didn’t leave our pack, we only brought some part of it here. You’re the alpha, and you’re here with the pack.”
“Alright, genius.” I kissed her one more time before I tipped my chin over her shoulder. “You should talk to him.”
She turned her head to see Walker sitting on the sand before the ocean. “I know.”
“Go ahead. I’m not going anywhere.” I let her go and watched her walk to Walker.
“Hey. Mind if I join you?”
Walker chuckled. “I’d say it’s a free country, but I didn’t even know where we are.”
“Sebastien has a lot of properties throughout the globe. So Zarah moved a part of his castle to one of his properties near the ocean. And it looks like we’re in Hawaii.”
“Hawaii?” Walker sounded surprised. “Wow.”
“Yup.” Amelia sat next to him.
“Let me guess, Alpha told you to come and talk to me.”
“No.” Then she laughed. “Yup, but I was planning on talking to you anyway. I’m so sorry. You might not remember everything but I was hard on you.”
“Understood. Alpha warned me before I went undercover that you cannot know, and he knew keeping things from you could jeopardize your relationship.”
“Yes, I felt betrayed. I was furious that he couldn’t tell me something, but I couldn’t hate him. He’s my alpha and also my mate.”
I walked away and left them to talk. When I got back to the midcentury house, Califf and Knight were already in the living room.
“So, we’re dealing with demons?” Califf was the first to ask me. “Unfuckingbelievable.”
“So you’ve been briefed.”
Califf and Knight nodded.
“I still get nightmares fighting Cyrius, and now we’re gonna fight against a demon from hell? How are we exactly going to do that?”
“We can’t kill a demon that’s already dead and living in hell. We have to create a powerful portal to send it back where it belongs,” Zarah said casually as if she’d done it a thousand times. Did she though?
“Wow. That’s a lot to digest.” Califf sat down. “Can you create a portal like that?”
“I’m working on it. It will involve black magic, and I’m not particularly fond of that. It poisons hearts and minds. And we need The Book of Shadow. The spell to open a portal like that is in that book,” she confided.
“Shit.” I sighed heavily.
“Maybe we should work with Alec.”
Our heads turned to Amelia and Walker walking towards us.
“He wants you dead, and you want to work with that very same evil?”
She shrugged. “He wants his wife back, and we want to expel— I can’t believe I’m saying this, demon back to hell. Since he has the book, then maybe we can work together. We have common ground.”
“Are you sure he wants his wife back?” Knight asked her.
“Sounds like it,” I replied Knight. “He could have asked for a witch’s help if regretted releasing the demon.”
“We’re missing something here,” she said and gave us that look again when she had something in mind.
“And he will betray us like always, and maybe if it won’t work out, he will allow himself to be possessed by that soul-sucking demon,” I told them, convincing them the possibility of Alec being possessed would be a greater risk.
“Then we just have to make it work, right?” She looked at Califf and Knight, then to Zarah. When she got no replies, she said, “Am I the only one who thinks this is a better idea? I know ninety percent he’s going to betray us, but ten percent is enough for me to believe there’s still humanity left in him. He loves his wife, that’s all, and I can see all of you that you’re willing to move heaven and earth to save your wives and loved ones.”
“Nice pitch, child.”
She rolled her eyes at Zarah. “I’m an adult.”
Califf chuckled. “You remind me of Shadow.”
“And you, beetle, you think my idea is stupid?” I knew she was joking, and the way she called me she just made them laugh.
“It’s actually good. We just have to make a Plan B and C and so on because we can’t trust and we shouldn’t trust Alec,” Califf said.
“Walker, how did he contain the demon? Does he have a witch?”
“A black woman. She’s in her last forties or fifties,” he replied.
“Does the woman have a bigger sclera in her eyes?” Zarah looked alarmed and even scared.
“Yes,” Walker confirmed, and I just watched Zarah scream and walk outside.
“Who’s she, Zarah?” I followed her. “Is she powerful?”
“I’ve always hated that bitch my entire life.”
“Wait. What did we miss?” Califf asked her but she remained there, looking at the ocean, breathing heavily.
“Zarah?” Amelia came and held her arm. “Are you okay?”
“That witch will do anything to get what she wants. She’s greedy and enjoys getting her claws to dig so deep into someone’s flesh and pockets. It’s not a surprise why she agrees to work with Alec, and she will betray him.”
“Or he will betray her, but how do you know so much about her? And when you say you’ve always hated her your entire life, is she your mother or sister?” Amelia asked carefully.
“She’s my mother’s sister. She sacrificed my mother for her own gain. She taught me everything, but I wasn’t aware she killed my mother so she could be powerful until I was twenty-five. She came to take my powers, too. I’ve fought her many times, and I never won. And she told me that I was her greatest win and greatest adversary. That’s Samarah.”