Kasadya Hellhound Twisted (11 page)

“Kas, I know you are brave, and I know most of all your bravery has no limits. But if you continue on this path, it will not end well for you. We are not judging you, but rather trying to steer you out of it. How do we continue on in this world if you’re gone?” Max asked, moving until our faces were only inches away. My heart rate started to pick up, and my already sore throat went even drier.

“I know, okay? I will try, but it’s not easy. Everywhere I go disaster follows or someone is trying to kill me. I have no choice but to fight back,” I explained, trying to state my case. I mean, it’s so easy for all the rest. I have a freaking sign somewhere glued to me that says “kill now” and I have no idea how to get it off. But I will never surrender, that is something that is not negotiable.

“I know, Kas, but you have to start making better choices. Not just for yourself, but for all of us, too,” Max replied, his face showing something I have never seen before.
What the hell?

“Okay,” I answered, knowing full well that it will find me again, but hey if he needed the reassurance I’d just give it to him. Smiling, we stared at each other and things started to become uncomfortable. Clearing my throat, I tried to break the silence and whatever the hell was going on.

“Sleep, we will fetch you and Kali tomorrow,” Max replied and walked out of the room. Okay, now that was freaking weird.

Lying there, I was thinking the whole thing over. Man my world just keeps getting weirder. I closed my eyes and folded my arm over them, trying to regain my strength to get up and get the hell out of here. “Kas?” a male asked. I lifted my arm and looked up to see who was bugging the hell out of me now. Standing in the doorway was Seth. Okay, just got weirder.

“Seth?” I replied. He walked in, smiling at me.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting down on a chair that was near the bed.

“I have had better days, what are you doing here?” I asked, confused at his presence. That cute smile of his returned and he looked at me, shaking his head.

“Why wouldn’t I be here?” I looked around the room and at the door, expecting Arianna to walk in at any moment, but nothing happened. “Kas, did you think that I would stay away knowing that you are hurt?”

“Um, that’s great but I don’t want to create any trouble with Arianna. I have more than enough on my plate to deal with,” I replied. Why on earth is he here?

“I was worried for you, I came to ease my mind,” he said, chuckling and leaning back into the chair. His eyes were travelling over me, rather than looking at my own.

“Sure, well I am better thanks. I have a few hours to go then I will be back in action,” I answered, unsure about how to treat this situation.

“I’m glad. For a moment there I thought that you might be healing for some time,” he continued on.

I just looked at him, totally stunned. So what was this? Was he feeling guilty about me or something? “Don’t worry, Seth, I have survived more than today. It’s kind of normal for me.” I gave him my “I am brave” smile.

Smiling, he shook his head. “I wish I could take back everything that happened to you. We searched high and low, and I even tried to get info out of a few demons. It was when Chax returned with the news that I let go and decided to move on, but still I didn’t believe a word,” he explained.

So let me get this right, he didn’t believe a word Chax said but still he continued on with his life? “Well, as you can see it did me a lot of good, the perk of it was great improvement. If you will excuse me, I have some sleeping to get to, so get the hell out of here,” I dismissed him.

I could see how hurt he was by my words, but didn’t give a damn. Concerned my ass. Getting up he took a few steps back and said, “Then I will leave you to it. Vale, Kas.” He walked out of the room.

Fuming, I got out of the bed and held onto it until I could stand and walk on my own. I paced the room up and down, thinking it over. How could Chax have said that to the council and destroyed any chance of normalcy for me? How could he be that cruel? Did he really think that I would choose demons over the fallen? I was completely pissed off and the pacing just got worse.

Even worse, Seth says he searched high and low, but believed Chax when he told the council. Therefore, if he was so into me, wouldn’t he have thought it a lie and continued on? Argh! I grabbed my hair and released it immediately. There was almost nothing left on my head! Slowly I placed them back and softly felt it, by all that is holy, there is really almost nothing left. And even worse, three guys and Melissa saw me like this. I walked over to the chair and planted my butt in it. Bracing my head in my hands, I tried to shake off the whole embarrassment. After a while it felt no better so I took up pacing again.

Kali moaned and that had me stopping in my tracks; I turned and walked over to her. Her colour had returned to normal and she was looking good. By this time tomorrow I would have my best friend back and we would be at it again. But yes, I am going to have to chain her to me for a while, this was a pretty close call and I am not re-living it. I smoothed my hands over her hair and smiled down at her. I needed to kick her freaking butt over it.

Removing my hand my eyes
caught something at her throat and I leaned in to get a closer look. Around her neck was a choker necklace made of black lace with a skull in the centre. I can’t remember Kali ever wearing this thing? I moved to touch the skull to get a better look at it and the moment my hand touched it, the world around me disappeared into mist. Standing at the end of my vision was Ballen smiling at me. “So glad you found the time to join me, hellhound,” he said, moving toward to me.

In reaction, I reached for my swords, only to find them missing in action. Crap, they removed my freaking swords. Ah hell I would have to use my hands, like that’s going to be quick. I moved to take him on when he lifted his hand and gestured for me to stop. “It would do you no good, hellhound, this is but a vision. This would be my way of communicating with my fallen in Exsilium, and now with you,” he explained, that devil smile of his taking place.

“I am not one of your traitorous fallen, so you can just drop it,” I growled at him. How dare he insinuate that I would become the very fallen I was going to kill?

“I see, well then the necklace around your friend is going to be a problem for you. Would you like to know what its purpose is?” he asked, leaning against an invisible wall. Crap, here we go with that freaking “surprise you’re it” thing. I just kept quiet and made sure I had my eyes on him. “It’s a death charm, designed to slowly choke the fallen until at last the fallen’s head is taken by it. About six months I am told,” he continued on. Oh double freaking crap.

“Take it off now!” I yelled at him, but he just turned around and walked over to a now visible table, grabbing an apple and biting down on it. He chewed slowly, watching me with a sly smile spreading across his face.

“In time, hellhound, but first I would require payment for it. Do you wish to know what you should give me in return?” 

“What do you want?” I asked, pain jumping to my jaws as I bit down to try and control my fury.

“In return for the removal of the charm, I require you to bring me the four blood relics. This must be done in person, not vision.”

“What do you mean blood relics? I have no idea what you are talking about?
”

“Yes, of course. The four blood relics; the crown of thorns, placed on the head of Christ by the roman soldiers. The sudarium of Oviedo, the cloth used to wrap around Christ’s head. The holy lance or spear of destiny, which caused the death of Christ. Finally, the nails used to nail Christ to the cross upon his crucifixion. These are the blood relics I need as payment.”

“What? Are you freaking crazy? They do not exist.”

“Now, hellhound, you know that what humans see as nonexistent and what is the truth is not the same at all. They do exist, but are not in the hands of the humans. He placed them in the care of the fallen, and you must find them and bring them to me.”

“Why on earth would you want the blood relics?
What can you possibly do with them?” Moving slowly away from him, I kept myself ready for any attack.

“In due time, my hellhound, in due time. Find these relics and bring them to me, and I will free your friend from the death charm. If not, you will watch your friend die an agonizing death. As the days pass she will become weaker, until the last days where she won’t be able to move at all. And then the grand finale, you watch as the necklace eats through her skin and takes her head. If you need me, touch the necklace. Until then, hellhound,” he finished. The vision disappeared with him, leaving me standing next to Kali in the room. I grabbed the bed, suddenly feeling light headed.

I looked down at Kali and watched as she opened her eyes and stared at me. “Kas, are you okay?” she asked, concerned. How do I tell her that her life
was just placed in my hands, and if I don’t give the very demon she hates the blood relics of Christ she will die? No, I can’t tell her, knowing her she wouldn’t allow me to help. But at the same time I was dreading what such relics could do or mean in the hands of a demon prince.

“Yes, how are you feeling?” I asked her in return, unable to tell her the truth.

She moved around and lifted her arms and feet. I took a few steps back, giving her some room. “Like a train ran over me. I take it I lost the battle?” she replied, getting up to sit on the bed, her legs hanging over the edge.

“Yeah, it didn’t go too well, but it’s understandable. Ballen was not what we thought him to be. In fact, he is a demon prince,” I explained to her, sitting down on my own bed. How does my world always spiral out of control like this? How the hell do I always end up with injuries or someone dies? Feeling like an old woman, I lay down on the bed and covered my eyes again.

“What do you mean demon prince?” Kali asked from across the room, so I started to explain to her everything that had happened so far. Leaving no detail out, I listened as her breathing hitched at the bad parts, and she growled at the stupid parts. “So what you are telling me is that we ended up where we began. That’s so unfair!” she shouted and I lifted my head to see her pacing the same route I was pacing a little while ago. “What do they think we are? Babies? For Heaven’s sake, we survived all on our own before Amon, do they not see that?”

“Nope, according to them we lack knowledge and need to finish the Apprendo training to be successful,” I confirmed for her, and at that she hit the wall on her right, making it crack beneath her blow.

“And Chax said what?” she rambled on.

“That I choose to stay with demons. Thus everyone now thinks I am a demon lover,” I recapped for her.

She stomped over to me and threw her face close to mine. “I am going to kick his butt for that,” she growled. After everything I just went through, I started to laugh, completely throwing her of guard. “What in the world is so funny, Kas? Do you not see the damage that was done and the time we are wasting in Exsilium. We might as well return to the compound and just do things our way.”

“I tried that. Amon agrees with them, so guess what? We’re stuck here. Better just accept it and move on. Trust me, there are a lot of things you need to worry about, like the freaking course I survived today.”

“Why in the world did Nanini build something like that? Even worse, why would they let a hellhound on the brink of going born participate? Has everyone gone insane?”

“Welcome back, Kali, and as you can see everything is still the same. You survive, you get to see tomorrow,” I finished, smiling at her, and watched as she placed her hand on the necklace around her neck. Jumping up, afraid that she might make contact with Ballen, I rushed to her and grabbed her hand. “No!”

We looked at each other for a nano-second and then she went ballistic. “What the hell is going on?! What is this thing around my neck, Kas?” she shouted at me.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s
just a necklace,” I tried to defuse the situatuion, but she didn’t believe me. Oh crap. She moved lightning fast and I was on my back on the floor, her foot choking me.

“Tell me, Kas, or so help me I will beat the living hell out of you,” she growled. No, I couldn’t. It would only make things worse, and we didn’t need worse, she didn’t need worse. I could handle it, but Kali had enough punches in life to carry for a thousand years. I kept my mouth shut, not giving in. “You will tell me, Kas,” she continued, and pressed down on my throat, choking me even worse. I struggled to breathe, trying to fight her off, but after a few minutes I had to bend and confess.