24. The Demigod from Hell…Literally

TWENTY-FOUR

the demigod from hell…literally

"Celeste?" I question the young girl. "Amelia's maker?"

"That's me!" She smiles warmly, making me instantly feel at ease. She looks past me, moving toward Thorne. Tears fill her wide eyes. "My father was your maker. I smell him."

"Aye." Without another word, she wraps her arms around him, pulling him close. Thorne allows her to take in his scent without pulling away.

Several minutes pass before she releases her grip. "Thank you. It's not often I get a chance to be this close to him." She wipes a stray tear. "There are only a few vampires who carry his blood. He never forced anyone to become what we are. You are one of only a few."

"Aye," Thorne laughs awkwardly. "It took many years to convince him. He was a great man."

"That, he was. I'm sorry to stop you. Please, go in. "

Entering the foyer, I'm not shocked to find every one of our newfound family waiting for us. Amelia wraps her arms around me the moment we shut the door. "Tell me everything," she demands, leading us into the living area.

Fran moves toward the girls the moment we enter. "Everly? Autumn? What were you two thinking? Do you know how dangerous…"

"Without them, we wouldn't have made it," I interrupt her scolding. "They made things…easier." We spend the next few minutes describing the death of the man who has terrorized me since I was human. I don't include information about the fire, and thankfully, no one mentions it.

My words still don't feel real. I expect to find him looming in the corner with an evil smile and telling me how this was all part of his master plan and surprise—he's still alive.

"How did you do it?" Everly interrupts my thoughts. The room quiets down as she speaks. "How did you do it?" she repeats, staring at Celeste.

"Do what?" Celeste asks.

"How did you grow? I know what you are. I can feel it. Why don't you look like us?"

Celeste smiles. "Magic. I researched and sought practitioners who were able to help me. I traveled many miles and spent a lot of money to find the right person."

"But you found them," Everly answers .

"I did." Celeste looks down as she speaks. "It wasn't without discomfort ."

"Can we grow up?" Autumn asks.

"My becoming an adult came with a huge sacrifice," Celeste continues. She looks around the room, making eye contact with Amelia. "Along with causing the death of my father, I am no longer immortal."

"Like a human?" Everly asks.

Celeste nods. "I can die—I will die. There's more." She pauses. "If I take a life, I regain my immortality but will become a child again and remain that way the rest of my existence."

"Was it worth it?" Everly whispers.

"Yes." Celeste smiles. "Without question, yes. I'm in love with a lycanthrope, and we're going to be married soon. We'll grow old together and die as mortals. I've lived a very long and fruitful life and met some amazing people along the way. So, for me, it was worth it."

Everly stands from the couch. "We're going to find our brother and do the same."

"Do what?" I ask, not sure what she's declaring.

Autumn stands by her sister's side. "We want to be like Celeste. We want to be grown-ups."

"I don't think it's that easy," I intercede. "You don't just declare to be grown, and it happens."

Celeste moves closer to the girls. "If that's what you want, I'll get you in touch with the people who helped me."

"There was more than one?" Autumn asks .

"Yes. That's a story for another day." She turns toward me. "Where is their brother?"

"Eudora has him."

Celeste looks around the room. "Is Eudora a vampire?"

"Worse," Amelia answers. "Eudora is the Goddess of the Sea."

"They're real?" she answers, excitement covering her face.

"She's kind of a bitch," I answer, matching her enthusiasm.

"Do we have any idea where she would take the boy?" Celeste moves toward a tall bookshelf.

"Anywhere," I answer.

"He can find him." Everly points at Thorne.

The look on Thorne's face is a mixture of confusion and amusement. "I'm afraid I don't know where to look any more than you do. I'm sorry, little one."

"Yes, you do," she persists. "It's your ability."

Thorne wrinkles his forehead. "You have an ability other than talking to Elsie in her mind. You can find people."

He laughs. "If that were the case, I'd have found Elsie years ago."

"But you found her?" she persists.

"Aye, but it took two hundred years."

Everly refuses to back down. "If you lean into your ability, you can help us find Alexander, or I can borrow your power. But you have to use it first."

"What do you mean borrow his power?" Celeste joins the conversation.

"It's what I do. I can make people do things and borrow other people's abilities." Everly has gone from being the immortal child with no ability, to an ability that seems to have no limits.

"Show me," Celeste says.

Everly stands, facing Amelia's twin. She closes her eyes, and Celeste follows suit. "Do a cartwheel," Everly whispers. Celeste moves to the center of the room and completes a perfect cartwheel. "Hop on one foot," Everly continues, and Celeste follows directions.

"Why am I doing this?" Celeste asks between jumps.

"Because I told you to."

"How is this possible?"

Everly shrugs. "It just happened."

"That's enough," Fran interrupts the show. Everly stops on demand.

"How did you do that? I'm much older than you, yet I had no control over my actions."

"I didn't have any ability until the lighthouse." She shrugs as she speaks.

"Do you have an ability?" Celeste asks Autumn. The immortal child doesn't answer. Instead, she raises her hand, lifting Celeste into the air a few feet before lowering her feet to the ground.

"Damn," Celeste whispers .

"Thorne has the ability to find people?" Topher repeats Everly's statement from earlier.

Everly nods. "I can borrow his ability, and we can find Alex."

"Where's Alex?" a sleepy voice says from the top of the stairs.

"Brayden. What are you doing awake?" Fran rushes to his side. "Your parents are still sleeping."

"I heard voices. Lots of voices." Brayden looks at the amount of people in the living area. "What's going on?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Fran says, turning him around.

"I can feel them." His voice is weak.

Celeste rushes up the stairs and is standing in front of the boy a heartbeat later. "You're human?"

Brayden scrunches his face. "I am."

"Show her what you can do, Brayden," I coach him from below. He yawns widely before the ease of his shield surrounds us.

The look on Celeste's face makes me smile. She turns back, looking at the rest of us. "What just happened?"

"Brayden is a shield, among other things," I announce.

"Holy shit." She covers her mouth after cursing in front of the kids. "What else can you do?"

The human boy shrugs. "I don't really know. Where's my mom? "

"I'll take you to her." Fran pulls the boy down the hallway toward his parents.

"Does their brother have an ability?" Celeste asks, back at my side.

"Telepathy." I turn toward Thorne. "And he was able to locate Thorne earlier."

"Damn. I got cheated. I don't have an ability." Celeste smiles as she speaks.

Amelia laughs loudly. "Anyone who's ever met you knows you have an ability. It may not be superhuman, but you have the ability to show love to whoever you meet. You are kind, strong, and brilliant."

"Awe, thanks, Mom," Celeste answers with a laugh.

"The girls are right. We have to find Alex, which means finding Eudora," Luna interrupts.

"What about Marnie?" Micah speaks for the first time. "She's bound to know where her mother is."

"Why do I feel so lost?" Celeste asks. "Who is Marnie?"

"Kragen and Eudora's daughter," Amelia answers, like it's common knowledge.

"Do you think she's still in this area?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

Everly turns toward Thorne. "Use your ability."

"I don't know how," he answers.

The young vampire moves in front of him, wrapping her tiny hands around his. "Close your eyes," she demands. Thorne follows instructions. "Picture Alex in your mind." The energy in the room rises a few levels as Everly wraps her arms around Thorne's waist, pulling him closer. The silence in the room becomes deafening as minutes pass before she pulls away, sucking in a deep breath. "I'm seeing a ship. It looks old but new at the same time. It looks like a ship that a pirate would live on." Everly looks around the room. "Does that make sense?"

Luna, Micah, Thorne, and I make eye contact. The only pirate ship that we know to be fully operational and complete is in the possession of the lycan of Charleston, formerly owned by Kragen. "It makes perfect sense," Micah answers. "Except, there's no way in hell she has it. It's under lock and key in Charleston."

The energy in the room shifts, and everyone in the room feels it. "Someone's here," Everly whispers just as the doorbell buzz echoes through the house.

"I'll get it," Fran says, moving toward the closed door. "Hello. May I help you?" she says as the rest of us move behind her.

"Well, hello!" a familiar blonde girl answers. She looks behind Fran at the group of paranormal creatures who've surrounded the older vampire. "Perfect. It seems I've found most of you in one spot."

I step in front of Fran. "What do you want, Marnie?"

"May I come in?"

Fran moves to my side. "Of course." She motions to the living area.

Marnie sits in the same spot I occupied moments earlier. "This is quite a room full, isn't it?" She claps her hands like she's at a performance.

"What do you want?" I refuse to be friendly.

Marnie turns her attention toward Everly and Autumn. "Hello, girls."

"Don't talk to them," Amelia interrupts. The girls move to my side, wrapping their small arms around my waist.

"You smell like the fire," Everly whispers. "Just like Samirah and…" she looks up at me. "Elsie."

Marnie laughs. "Yeah, it's my curse. I guess you can never get rid of your parents, no matter how hard you try."

"Cut the bullshit, Marnie. Why are you here?" I spew.

"I can assure you, there is no bullshit to cut. I'm here on behalf of my mother."

"Kragen's dead." My words are short and to the point. "I did what she asked. Where's Alex?"

"No, you didn't." Marnie stands, moving toward the fireplace. "You didn't kill him at all." She turns her attention toward Everly. "He killed himself, didn't he, young one?"

"Semantics, Marnie." The irony of using Kragen's words is almost comedic at this point. "Kragen's dead. What difference does it make how it happened?"

The energy shifts again, as Marnie transforms into something from a mythology encyclopedia. Her body lifts off the floor, rising nearly to the ceiling. Her once blonde hair lengthens to her knees, turning the crimson color of dried blood. Long arms lift to her sides, as seaweed extends from each finger, covering the room in green slime within seconds. Marnie's eyes open, losing the beautiful shade of green they were moments earlier, and replacing it with bright white light. Her jaw stretches wide, forcing her mouth open wider than humanly possible. The scream that leaves her body breaks every window, pottery, and glass in the house simultaneously.

"Give me the children." Her words vibrate through the room. "They belong to us."

I slide the girls behind my back, hiding them from whatever the hell is happening in front of us. "They don't belong to anyone," I argue.

"Fran?" a soft voice says from above. "Who's that? She feels weird." Fran runs up the stairs, hiding Brayden from the chaos below.

Amelia steps beside me, linking her arm through mine. "You are not welcome in this home. Leave now!" Celeste does the same on my other side.

"Isn't that cute? A trio of vampires."

"Quartet," Thorne says, joining our group.

"Fuck you, Marnie," Amelia spews as she transforms into the giant wolf I've seen several times before. Topher, Micah, and Luna do the same, joining our small line.

Marnie's laugh echoes through the room. "You fools. You have no idea who you're talking to. I am a demigod. You can't win."

"You heard her," I continue. "You are not welcome here."

"Not without the children."

Celeste steps away from my side, transforming into what can only be described as a monster. Her angelic face is disfigured and demonic. Dark eyes replace the blue, and her skin is darker than before. She's absolutely terrifying.

I join her, turning into my own version of a monster as the immortal children run upstairs at vampire speed. Fran joins us, and the eight of us face a demigod—half vampire, half goddess—fully fucked.

Marnie lifts higher toward the ceiling, pulling the seaweed with her. The eight of us spread out, surrounding the creature in front of us. "Give me the children," she repeats. Her voice vibrating through the room.

"Over my dead body," I spew.

"That can happily be arranged." Marnie flicks her finger, pulling a long strand of seaweed from the wall with it. Before my eyes track movement, she's wrapped it around Micah and Luna, forcing them to the floor with a heavy thud.

Topher doesn't hesitate. He's in the air, heading straight for Marnie's throat seconds later. She knocks him to the side with barely any movement, throwing him into the foyer .

Amelia is next to jump toward the creature. She leaps with her teeth barred and lands on Marnie's chest. Swiping a large paw, she tears into Marnie's body, leaving claw marks in her wake.

"Bitch!" Marnie screams as a piece of seaweed wraps around Amelia's body, throwing her to the ground. "Give me the children, and I will allow you to live. If you want a fight, I'm game. However, none of you will survive."

Luna and Micah continue fighting the bindings holding them in place, unable to free themselves from her grip.

"Get the children out of here," Thorne sends through our connection. "I love you…always."

Barely giving me time to understand his words, he leaps through the air, wrapping his arms and legs around the demigod. "No!" I shout as my ability takes over. I fly through the air, landing on the wall behind Marnie, wrapping my arm around her throat. It takes every bit of my strength to hold on.

"Don't bite her!" Everly shouts through my mind. "Her blood will kill you instantly." I have no idea if Everly is correct, but I've learned not to question the immortal child and her abilities.

"Everly, don't come down here, but we need your help."

Marnie pulls Thorne from her side, throwing him across the room. His body hits the wall hard, leaving a human-sized dent in the wood. He slides down, seemingly unconscious .

I continue pulling her neck, keeping her from moving any further. "Let go of me," she warns.

In a moment from an epic fantasy movie, Celeste steps forward holding what looks like a Viking-era sword. I have no idea where she found it, but I'm okay with it. She moves faster than eyes can track, slicing her way through the seaweed extensions. The instant they're separated from the demigod, they wither, turning into dust.

Micah and Luna are instantly on their feet, each staggering slightly as they stalk closer to the fight.

Celeste continues her assault, moving closer to Marnie until barely any space separates them. She lifts into the air, looking the creature in the eyes. "Leave. Or I will kill you."

Marnie's mouth opens, releasing another ear-piercing scream as she twists, pulling from my grip and throwing me off of the wall behind her. I land across the room, jumping to my feet in an instant.

"Where's our brother?" Everly calls from the top of the stairs. The immortal children are standing hand in hand with their eyes locked on Marnie.

The demigod lowers to the ground, keeping her arms to her sides. "Come with me, and I'll show you."

"Okay," Everly and Autumn answer in unison.

"No!" I scream just as a whirlwind of action ensues all at once. Luna rushes up the stairs, standing in front of the girls protectively as the rest of us rush toward Marnie .

She sweeps her arms into the air, forming what looks like a large bubble that encases everyone except Luna and the girls. "They have decided," Marnie's voice booms through the room. She snaps her fingers, filling the bubble with water.

Each of us begins tearing at the magic that surrounds us. I use my teeth, while the lycan use their claws. Nothing works. The lycan can't breathe.

"Oh, my, God. Luna," Celeste's voice echoes through the water, staring through the wall of our cell. "Luna."

Marnie stalks up the stairs, heading right toward the immortal children and their lycanthrope protector. "Luna!" I scream as the pale wolf stands on her hind legs, biting at the creature with everything that she has.

The room turns slow motion, and I watch in horror as Marnie slices through Luna's small body like she's cutting butter. "No!" I scream while fighting against the restraints. Luna shifts into human form as she falls down the stairs, landing in a pool of blood on the landing.

"We'll be okay," Everly says in my mind as she and Autumn are wrapped in Marnie's arms and dragged through the door seconds later.

"They can't breathe!" Amelia says, drawing my attention back to the lycan and our trap. Topher and Micah are fighting less than earlier, telling me they're running out of oxygen. We continue fighting against the bubble, unable to make a tear through it.

"Topher!" Amelia cries. Her voice has lost the strength she always carries with her. "You're going to be okay, baby."

I focus all of my attention on the human boy who's upstairs, hidden in his room. "Brayden! We need your help. If you can hear me, we need you to come downstairs." Micah has begun to convulse under the water, returning to human form as Amelia wraps her arms around Topher, blowing air into his mouth.

"Brayden!" I call again. "The wolves are going to die."

Dark hair at the top of the stairs grabs my attention as the human boy peers around the corner. He moves slowly down the stairs, stopping to look at what remains of Luna.

"You have to cut the bubble." He looks up, realizing what's going on. "Find a knife," I demand.

Topher's body shifts into human form as he and Micah have no fight left in them. Brayden disappears through a swinging door, returning seconds later, holding what looks like a butcher knife.

"That's it. Cut it!"

Brayden lifts the knife above his head, bringing it down on our prison. The bubble explodes, releasing the gallons of water and throwing the small boy backward.

Amelia grabs Topher as Celeste grabs Micah. The two of them work in tandem, fighting to help the lycan breathe. Both work as if it's something they've done hundreds of times before .

I run to Brayden, lifting his soaking wet body off the floor. "Are you all right?"

He coughs a few times. "I think so. What happened?"

"It's a long story." I wrap my arms around him, carrying him away from the trauma that surrounds us.

A deep cough grabs my attention. I turn to see Topher sitting up and breathing. Seconds pass before Micah does the same. Both men seem confused and weak, but they're alive.

"You saved them," I whisper to Brayden. " You did that."