9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Roman

D rip. Drip. Splash.

I looked down at the puddle of blood beneath my feet, staring into the wide, dead eyes of the demon I had just killed. Or at least the body that lay scattered all over the floor—oh, and the walls, too. There seemed to be pieces everywhere.

I had lost count of how many vessels I had destroyed, sending the twisted black souls that had been living within them back to Hell. Some appeared as humans—those died the easiest; others came in the bodies of infernal creatures—those were harder to crack. None could tell me what I wanted to know, no matter what I did to them. I couldn't decide if they were scared of Beleth or if they truly didn't know much about him.

It didn't matter. I was going to get to him eventually and if he had done anything to Celeste…

Cracking my neck, I stepped away from the carnage, heading toward the sink to wash up. As much as I wanted to keep summoning these wretched creatures and tearing them apart, I needed to rest. That last one had almost severed my head despite the pentagram holding it confined to the summoning circle. I hadn't expected the scorpion's tail to tear through its back and attack me. That was my oversight .

Turning the tab on, I filled the bucket and poured the water over my head. The cold liquid turned to steam at the first touch with my heated skin, making me wince at the odd sensation. I had already healed from the acid that creature spit my way, but the flesh was still new and tender, so even the slightest pressure was unpleasant and unsettling.

Two more buckets later, I headed toward the door. Throwing one single glance at the witch huddled in the corner, I left. I wasn't sure if she was entirely in her right mind after watching me butcher all those demons, but there hadn't been anywhere else to put her, and I wasn't stupid enough to lock her somewhere without wards. I had already done more than she deserved by using one of Celeste's artifacts to create a protective barrier that kept her safe from the demons. She should have kept her eyes closed like I told her to.

The moment I walked out the door, I stopped dead in my tracks. Chester inclined his head in a greeting while offering me a black towel, like him standing outside my torture chamber was the most natural thing in the world. A new pair of clothes hung from his other arm, where he gripped a pitcher of blood in his fingers.

I had asked him to do a lot over the years and he had witnessed things that most people would run away from, but we had this unspoken rule that he didn't have to go out of his way when it came to my… violent tendencies. His job was acquiring blood from the banks and keeping my house clean. He didn't sign up for this mess. Maybe it was time he retired.

"I thought I told you to take care of our guests," I said, using the towel to dry my hair.

"Yes," he replied with a polite smile. "I have seen to their needs and now I'm here to check on you, Master. You have been neglecting yourself and even they have noticed." He tipped his head, giving me a reprimanding look, which I ignored until he added, "Mistress Celeste would be displeased if she saw you like that."

A snarl rose in my throat, but I stifled it. I hated when he got so fussy because it meant I was losing control over my emotions. But how could I not with everything that was going on? Just a few months ago, I thought my biggest problem would be getting Celeste to stop running from me and admit her feelings. Now that concern felt trivial in comparison to everything else that was happening.

I picked up the human blood I had been forced to drink in gallons thanks to my activities down there and once I finished it, Chester took the pitcher back along with the towel. His eyes kept darting to the door behind me and soon I realized why. The wards stopped the sounds, but they did nothing about the smell. I was so used to the stench of death and gore that it hadn't even registered until I saw him wrinkling his nose.

"Do you want me to clean that for you, Master?" he asked, just as I finished dressing. There was no fear or disgust in his eyes, and his heartbeat remained bafflingly unchanged. He truly was ready to do it.

"I'm capable of dealing with it myself."

The edges of his lips twitched and for a second, he seemed like a normal human, not like the painfully controlled individual he molded himself to be.

"I'm aware that Master is capable," he said softly. "That's not what I asked. Do you want me to do it, Master? You have more important things to worry about."

I rubbed my forehead. I was sure that if I were human, I'd be fighting the worst kind of headache in the world. "You don't have to. This is not part of your job."

"Neither is summoning demons part of yours. We all do things we must for the ones we care about."

I didn't reply; I wasn't sure what to reply to something like that. Chester was the closest thing I had to a family, aside from Celeste, and while I treated him like a servant for most of his life, he had never left. I figured it wasn't because of the benefits. Everything he knew was here.

"Do as you wish," I sighed, turning my back to him and walking away. I had almost reached the other end of the corridor when I realized what he had said. "What ‘more important things'? Did anything else happen while I was down here?" I asked, feeling my chest tighten with dread. Chester's nonchalance was the only thing keeping me calm.

"Everything is fine," he replied as he wrapped his gloved hand around the door handle. "Miss Lily gathered Mr. Isaac, Mr. Malakai, and a few others in the library to appraise them of her latest findings. They wanted you present, but I informed them you were currently occupied." He opened the door a fraction more before adding, "It wasn't that long ago, so they should still be in the first-floor library."

Relief replaced the heaviness, and I nodded, pushing the fake wall to exit the secret tunnel. Chester's sharp intake of breath was the last thing I heard before I left him behind.

The moment I stepped out of the soundproofed dungeon and headed for the stairs, the noises of the mansion assaulted my ears. I was used to the silence and the stillness of this place since all of my staff had been trained to be quiet and efficient. But now the living, breathing, walking creatures in my home were not my servants. They weren't friends or… family, but they weren't quite strangers either, since I wouldn't waste my protection on people who didn't matter.

The thought had barely crossed my mind when something large and furry appeared around the corner, followed by another running figure. The dog froze in its tracks so quickly that the boy almost toppled them both to the ground.

"Caught you, you rascal! Didn't I tell you to be quiet or we'll wake Mom and Dad?" The boy didn't notice me at first, but when his pet whimpered and hid behind him, he looked up. His eyes widened, but instead of the fear I expected to see, a smile blossomed on his face. "Hi there, Mister! Hey, Buddy, it's alright. It's just Mr. Roman. He won't hurt us."

I wanted to tell him that was still under question, at least as far as the furry beast was concerned, but his beaming smile made me reconsider. Even after what they saw in the Order's dungeons, even after seeing me tear people apart, the Martens still showed no fear of me. They were jumpier and I could hear the boy having nightmares every night, but they didn't fear me .

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Jake?" I asked, trying my best to make my voice sound softer. The boy winced, and I noticed he was wearing his pajamas and slippers. Considering the hour and the smell of sweat and unease coming from him, he had probably woken from another nightmare. "Are you alright?"

He shrugged one shoulder, looking at the dog while scratching it between the ears.

"It's nothing," he murmured, getting to his feet while his fingers wrapped around the animal's collar. "Please, don't wake my parents, they'll just worry. I'll get Buddy back to my room and we'll be quiet." He moved to leave past me, urging his pet to hurry.

"Jake," I spoke before he reached the corner. He looked back in question, his dark eyes drooping a bit. "You're safe here. I won't let them hurt you or your family again."

The smile returned to his face, weak but entirely genuine, and I felt something stir in my stomach, something I hadn't felt in centuries, not even with Celeste .

"I know, Mister," he said with a trembling voice. "But there are some things you can't protect us from. I bet even you have things that scare you, don't you?"

"I do," I smiled, and the tightness of his shoulders relaxed a bit. "But fears alone can't hurt us."

"Are you sure?" he laughed dryly. I fought to keep my smile on as he waved goodbye and disappeared down the corridor. He had no idea how right he was and I wanted to keep it that way, or his nightmares would never stop.

I headed toward the library on the first floor. Once I was standing outside the door, I shuffled through the scents in the air, trying to figure out who was inside. Lily was speaking and I could pick up on her father's low voice. Malakai was there, and so were Isaac, his Beta, and Daniel, along with his son. No Nym—he had disappeared without a word a few days ago and I could only hope he was on his way to Hell. My mind had been so preoccupied with everything that until I noticed his absence, it didn't occur to me that he was an infernal creature. I just hoped he found a way to free Celeste, or at least keep her safe.

I slipped inside, closing the door silently while Lily droned on. She was so focused on her lecture about the Castles, pointing at her board with all the lines that connected the pictures hanging from it, that she didn't even notice me. Everyone else did, though, and for once their disgusted expressions didn't seem to be because of my sheer existence.

Kevin gave me a tired smile before returning his attention to his daughter, while Malakai all but grinned as he patted the chair next to him. I would have ignored him under any other circumstances—his good mood was rubbing me the wrong way with Celeste still in danger—but the strange glint in his eyes made me relent. The others I ignored, giving a nod to Lily to keep going when she finally spotted me.

"So… uhm… as I was saying…" She cleared her throat, wriggling her fingers in front of her while her pale cheeks flushed. "The Castles are definitely the ones pulling the strings. With everything I told you, plus the information Roman found in that hunter's house and what Isaac provided from the altercation with Regina, it's safe to assume that this Mariam person is the one working with the hunters. She and her brother, who has to be the one who stabbed Celeste, must have been behind the disappearances of your people, the attack on the Fae grove, and probably the spell surrounding the city. "

Malakai pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his new pants, looking like he had been born in a suit even though I couldn't remember a single instance where I had seen him in anything other than Fae-made robes. He didn't bother with the vest or the jacket, his shirt was untucked and half-unbuttoned, and his long, blond hair was pulled into a low, messy ponytail, but it just… worked for him.

"The only thing we don't know is why," Lily continued while he offered me the delicate cloth, casually patting the edge of his lips. "We know they want Celeste, but the hunter tried to kill her while Mariam wanted her alive, which makes no sense. It is possible that he acted on his own and they disagree on things, which is something we can exploit but also…"

I ran my tongue over the spot he indicated and when I tasted blood, I accepted the handkerchief and pressed it to my mouth. Red smeared the pristine fabric and the metallic smell intensified.

"Any luck?" he asked so quietly, I doubted Lily even heard him. If the others did, they didn't show it.

"Not yet," I replied through gritted teeth. "Did you manage to contact him?"

Malakai shook his head, his smile faltering a bit. His eyes remained on Lily, who had stopped to catch her breath, but I could feel his attention on me.

"He doesn't use a phone and I'm not aware of him having a residence in this world. I can't visit the places he frequents since we are locked out of the city, and I can't use the resources of the grove to contact him by other means." He explained in a single breath. "But I have a theory about why he might have taken her."

Without meaning to, I sat up straighter, looking at him expectantly. He tore his eyes away from Lily to meet mine, his expression turning serious.

"The more deals a demon makes, the stronger they get—Beleth told me that. However, not all deals are equal. The stronger the soul owner, the bigger the power they give to the demon they have made a deal with." I frowned, trying to rein in my impatience. I didn't care how demons got their power or what they did with it, I cared about how that affected Celeste. "Humans have little magic, so a demon needs a lot of deals with them to make him strong. A supernatural being willing to part with their soul, however… like the oldest witch in the world…"

My lips parted in shock while I stared at the Fae with disbelief.

"Demons are inherently selfish, even the best of them. The only reason Beleth would have to protect a living being is to protect himself." I knew what he was going to say next even before he spoke, but it still irked me for not figuring it out earlier. "I believe he was the demon Celeste made her deal with. I believe…" He licked his lips, smiling again, although I found nothing good or even slightly amusing about it. "...she is the source of his power, so he took her to keep her safe from the dangers that plague her here."

It was an effort not to gape. Demons kept their secrets better than anyone else, and for Beleth to share that with him… it must have meant they were close, closer than I realized. But if Malakai's words were true…

"She'll be safe with him, Roman," he said gently, touching my shoulder, and that was enough to snap me out of my thoughts. "If Celeste cannot raise a hand against the Castle bloodline like Lily said, then she is defenseless against them. So instead of focusing all your efforts on getting her back, maybe you should focus on making it safe for her here." I gritted my teeth at the insinuation but chose not to answer. Especially with everyone in the room. "This way, Beleth will not have a reason to keep her in Hell."

"You think he'll just let her come back?" I frowned. If what he was saying was true, he must have had a reason for taking her other than keeping her alive. He hadn't cared if she lived or died for two thousand years, so to interfere now… he was up to something. Everyone was up to something, it seemed.

"Beleth doesn't like people invading his personal space, so I'm pretty sure he's more eager to return her than you think," Malakai continued, pulling me out of my thoughts. "And Celeste isn't exactly the type to sit still and be quiet, so her ‘release' from Hell depends on how fast we can take care of things here."

I was just nodding when Kevin shouted in alarm. His hurried steps and labored breathing had me lunging from my chair, ready to fight, but then I noticed he was kneeling next to the board… and holding Lily's limp body. Isaac reached them first, checking her pulse and her eyes while the others stared at them in confusion.

"She is alive, but barely," Isaac announced as I crouched beside them. I studied her carefully, but nothing had changed since I entered the room. I knew that humans were fragile and even the smallest illnesses could affect them, but the doctor assured me she was fine. She didn't look fine. What was I missing? "What is wrong with her? She looks like a walking corpse since the last time I saw her!"

"The doctors cleared her and said it was a common cold," I replied when I pulled my hand from her neck. Her pulse was weaker than usual, her breathing shallow but unimpeded. I didn't want to bite her in front of her father to test her blood for poison, but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment. But who would poison her and why only her?

The door to the library flew open, slamming into the wall with such force that the bookshelves rattled. Alice stormed inside with a face even paler than Lily's, her eyes immediately finding the human girl even though Kevin and Isaac stood in the way. Panting heavily, she took a step toward us but then stopped when I snarled.

The rage that appeared on her face reminded me so much of her brother when he was trying to kill Celeste that I bared my fangs at her.

"Alice!" Isaac's voice was ringing with warning, but when he grabbed my arm and squeezed, I realized it wasn't just for her. "We talked about this. You can't—"

"She is dying!" Alice cried out, tearing her gaze away from me to look at her brother. "I can feel it! If you don't let me check on her, she will die today. And so will I!"

Kevin let out a choked sound, staring at her with such unbridled horror that I felt bad for him.

"You can approach," he said before I could speak, stepping aside to make space for her. "Please, help her! I can't watch another child die!"

Alice didn't wait for my permission as she kneeled on the ground, reaching for Lily's face with trembling hands.

"Try anything and I'll snap your neck," I warned her in a voice too low for Kevin to hear. She only glared at me before touching Lily's forehead, then her neck and wrists. Her frown deepened as she set her hands over Lily's chest and abdomen, moving them along her skin like she was searching for something. It felt like the whole room had stopped breathing until she suddenly gasped.

"She's hexed." Alice's trembling grew more pronounced and just when I was going to tell her to move back, she scooted away, wrapping her arms around herself. Her brother followed, rubbing her back until she calmed herself enough to stop the shift.

I used the time to study Lily closer, searching for any traces of magic on her, but I felt nothing. Her mark had disappeared like mine and Isaac's, but that hadn't worried me too much because she hadn't left the house. Aside from that, I couldn't see anything different about her .

"How do you know?" Kevin asked in a small voice, his fingers tightening around his daughter's much smaller hand. "Please, can something be done? How could we have missed this?"

His eyes turned to me in desperation, but I had nothing to say to him. I hadn't noticed, I wasn't sure I even believed it, not until Alice picked up Lily's hand and turned it over.

"Look at the discoloration," she whispered, running her fingers over the tips of Lily's chewed-out nails where the skin had turned dark green. "And here." She set Lily's hand gently on her stomach and reached for her face. Pressing a finger on her lower lip, she pulled it down to show the same green tint on her gums. "If we check deeper into her mouth, her throat would be the same color. Cut her hand deep enough and you'll see her veins are turning green too."

She licked her lips, looking straight at me while fear overtook the hate in her gaze.

"She's right," Malakai said from behind me, and when I looked up, his brows were creased in concentration. "I've seen it before, a long time ago. But why can't we feel the magic? Even I didn't notice."

Alice swallowed loudly, looking down at Lily's stomach with a mix of anger and unease.

"It's because it's moving." She placed her hand on the right side of the girl's chest, then to her stomach, then back up. I focused on the trajectory, trying to follow whatever she was pointing to, but I could see nothing. Malakai must have had better luck because he murmured something under his breath and kneeled beside her. I felt his magic brush against me, gliding over the unconscious girl and sinking into her skin. "The spell acts like a parasite," Alice continued. "Moving through her body and infecting her organs one by one. The decay starts inside where nobody can see and once it reaches the final stages, it shows up on her skin." She ran her fingers through her dark hair, her growing horror making the air in the room suffocating. "I've seen it before while with the sisters of Eternal Light. She has a day at best until the decay spreads to her brain, and then…"

She swallowed loudly, catching Lily's hand and squeezing it desperately. I didn't stop her this time.

"Why didn't the mark protect her? We haven't left the house since Celeste vanished," Kevin asked breathlessly. I hadn't noticed him move closer, but when I looked at him again, he was holding his daughter's other hand between his. "Wasn't it supposed to protect us from any malicious intent? It protected Lily from that hunter when he attacked her!"

Tears were now rolling down his cheeks, his eyes looking even more sunken than before.

"This spell doesn't attack directly as a person would. It works slowly, over days or weeks, and targets one's vitality so she just grows weaker and weaker until her body can't sustain itself. She might have been infected long before Celeste disappeared." Alice explained, touching his shoulder gently. "It's like a rapidly progressing illness that moves and evolves so the mark doesn't know where the attack is coming from."

Kevin let out a quiet sob, pressing his palm over his mouth.

"Can you fix her?" I asked, and my stomach hollowed when Alice closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Only magic can fight magic. You need a witch to heal her and I… I'm not one."

"The Coven of Eternal Light," Isaac said, and when I looked at him, he was already getting to his feet. "We can drive her there and they can heal her. I know the way, so if we hurry—"

"Moving her will only accelerate the process," Alice sighed. "We can try reaching them by other means and pray one of them decides to translocate here, but…" Her shoulders caved in and her voice only grew quieter. "They don't keep in contact with many people from the outside world. If we can speak to the Blacktooth pack and beg for their help, maybe they can relay an urgent message..."

The way Isaac's eyes dimmed told me he had no means to do that either. A low, whining sound tore from his sister's chest, and in a heartbeat, he was beside her, squeezing her shoulders.

"You can claim her. Your healing will give us the extra time we need to get her to the witches," he said, but before I could protest, Alice grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged his face to hers.

"I will never do that to her! I'd rather both of us die than take away her choice!" Her eyes flashed golden for a moment and she glared at her brother with even more venom, then pushed him away from her.

"Wait, both of you?" Kevin asked, looking between Alice and his daughter in confusion. "What does that mean? "

Alice opened her mouth but then closed it, looking down at Lily instead. Kevin turned to me, but I ignored him as well. If Lily hadn't told her parents about it, then that was her business. My business was keeping her alive.

"We need to find another witch to break the hex. A willing one. That's the only chance we have," Alice said with renewed determination.

"And where do you suggest we find one?" Isaac ran a hand through his hair, snarling in frustration. "They have locked themselves in the city and I don't think they'd be in a very cooperative mood even if we managed to drag one of them out here. We need to at least try to get her to the sisters or—"

"I have a witch, but I'm not sure how much she could help," I said, and they all looked at me with surprise.

"Celeste is not here, so we don't—" Isaac started, but I shook my head.

"I'm not talking about Celeste."

Getting to my feet, I looked at the others. They weren't going to take that well, but at this point, I didn't care.

"Where is she?" Alice scrambled to her feet, her previous hostility forgotten as she drew to my side. Her gaze was full of the hope and desperation I knew too well, eyes darting down to the girl as if she was counting her breaths.

"My dungeon."

I expected her reaction to be of disgust or more hate, like before, but she just nodded readily.

"You have a dungeon?" Daniel snarled in indignation. "What else is in your dungeon?"

"Snarl at me again and you're going to find out," I snapped. He took a step in my direction, but his son held him back. When a hand clasped my arm, I looked at Alice to find her staring at me with singular resolve.

"Take me to her," she pleaded. The room quieted, and I didn't need to see the others's faces to feel their shock. "I'll get her to help."

I shook off her grip, stepping toward the door. Isaac moved to follow us, but I held up a hand.

"Not you," I said, and he bared his teeth at me. "Someone needs to watch over Lily until we're back. If she dies, so will your sister, so it's in your best interest to make sure that doesn't happen. "

He sent Alice a pleading look, but she had already left the room. I caught Malakai's eye, and he nodded, his magic engulfing him in a soft glow as he moved to sit beside the girl. Witch magic and Fae magic didn't mix and they couldn't counter each other, but he could at least try to buy her more time.

I caught up with Alice and took the lead, listening to her heart thunder while we walked. She said nothing even as we reached the basement and I opened the concealed doorway leading to the dungeon. Once the stench of blood hit us, she covered her nose and switched to breathing through her mouth.

The door to the last room was slightly ajar, with faint light coming from the crack, and when I pushed it open, my eyes immediately landed on Chester. Kneeling on the floor with his sleeves rolled and a rubber mantle covering him from neck to boots, he looked up with surprise.

"You're back so soon? I didn't have enough time to…" He got to his feet way too fast for a man his age, and as he swayed, he finally noticed I wasn't alone. "Master?"

Concern made the lines on his face deepen while he watched Alice study the place with wide eyes. To her credit, she didn't throw up or faint, which was probably because Chester had already gotten rid of most of the guts and body parts I had left behind. The blood was still covering everything, though.

"That's enough. Leave." I nodded toward the door. Chester gave me another questioning look, but then bowed his head and hurried out. Once the sound of his steps died down, I turned to face Alice. "Do you still want to do this? She might not be easy to convince."

Alice's expression grew dead serious as she squared her shoulders.

"Healing is not the only thing the sisters taught me," she said without a hint of shame while her heartbeat steadied its rhythm. "I'll save my mate or die trying. No matter what I have to do."

A wave of respect washed over me while I watched her step toward the woman in the corner. I might not have liked her, but I completely understood that feeling. The witch shifted, raising her head to look at us through locks of dirty, limp hair.

The time spent down here had taken its toll on her. Her dirty, bruised body and wild eyes made her look positively feral. She had stopped talking altogether and every time I was around, she went almost catatonic. There was no way she'd be cooperating with me, not after the last time we had fun together. But Alice …

"Well then," I said, crossing my arms and leaning my shoulder on the side of the door. "She is all yours."

Alice stared at the witch with a blank expression before turning to me.

"I'll need a few supplies," she said. "And I'll need you to wait outside."

I studied her face again—for real this time—noting the sharp edges that appeared when she grew serious, the dangerous spark in her eyes that suggested horrors seen and endured, and I smiled. The little wolf might actually prove more interesting than her younger brother, and if luck was on our side today, she might be more useful, too.