“Reader, imagine! I grew faint at heart, to hear these cursed phrases ringing out.
I truly thought I’d never make it back.”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
The moment that liquid streamed down my throat I knew that I wasn’t dependent on magical tequila anymore. Maybe that wasn’t the proper way to come to terms with my addiction, but I didn’t miss the taste of it at all.
“Two demons just attacked me on the street because Alexis has accused me of killing Arthur,” I said, still pretty much shaking with anger.
Rodriguez was setting up demons against me. It was a smart move. Maybe he was hoping that someone would finish me off so he could save himself a lot of hassle.
“Yes, I’ve heard. Lucifer should have seen it coming. Your father really needs to sort this shit out rather than hanging on earth and using human women,” Paul said, shaking his head. “By the way, all the guys are at the back. I’ll be there in a minute.”
I wanted to agree with him but knew that I wouldn’t have a clue how to run the underworld myself. Paul was still pissed off about the past, about the fact that he had failed to stop my mother from getting close to the dark lord. The earth was a tempting place and I suspected that Lucifer was just bored of living his eternal life in hell.
“The earth is too tempting for him to give it up. You should know something about that,” I said, knowing that I was rubbing his mistakes in his face, but what’s done was done. We both knew that I screwed up as much as he had in the past.
Nothing was going to change. Lucifer was just a demon that I had to accept as my father. I didn’t think that we were ever going to bond in any human way. I still couldn’t comprehend that I had other stepsisters and stepbrothers scattered around the world.
Paul looked at me for several moments, and told me again that the guys were waiting for me.
There were a few demons in the pub and they were all staring at me when I headed to the back. I heard some old mongrel; he was talking about me to Devlin. The old demon didn’t ask me to stop and join him for a game of poker. It looked like the word about me being involved in Arthur’s death got to him too.
At the back, Nameless and Zara had joined the group. I told Cyril not to show his face in the pub, in case he was being followed. I had discussed the whole plan with him earlier on, so he knew all the details.
Zach’s sister looked so much better than the last time I saw her. Her skin had that healthy glow and she looked happier than ever. Zach mentioned that she reunited with Cornelia. I realised that this must have been a huge shock for the whole family.
“Max, what the hell happened to your face?” Ricky asked. I waved my hand releasing some charms and removing the stains of blood from my skin. The cut stung a little, but it was nothing serious. Those demons had no idea that I was able to defend myself well.
“Don’t worry about it. I had a disagreement with two demons on the street,” I muttered, waving it off. This wasn’t the time to lose my shit, not in front of all my friends that showed up to help me. “I’m not very good at this, but I want to thank everyone for being here tonight. Zara and Thomas. This means a hell of a lot.”
They both nodded at me and Zach looked like he finally accepted Nameless. I guess it was about time.
“Thanks to Ricky I have all the necessary potions and enough power to deal with Alexis on my own,” I said. I was never good at speeches. This was always Ricky’s job, but some things needed to be clarified before tomorrow.
“The royal family is running all sorts of background checks on you,” Zachary said. “I managed to get access to some files, but not others. My boss cut me off. There is a third party officer involved and the whole system is on lockdown.”
Royals would believe in anything Alexis told them, thanks to her power. But my own abilities had evolved too and I felt stronger than ever.
“Getting inside should be pretty straightforward, but have you thought about the moment when you will be standing face-to-face with Alexis?” he asked. “What’s going to happened then?”
“I’ll drag her down to hell. Lucifer will back me up if necessary,” I said, knowing maybe that was just wishful thinking. My father didn’t come to my rescue when Hades was trying to rape me.
“The royals will be out of the palace tomorrow,” Zachary said. “Maxine, I do have absolute faith in your abilities, but we still us have to be vigilant. She’s strong, more than any other demon, I’ve heard.” He must have gathered some information at work.
“I have read up on a few charms and more complicated spells. My abilities are much stronger in hell. Trust me, guys, I can do this,” I said, aware that it was going to be difficult to talk my friends out of helping me. Paul had sealed this room with certain spells, so no one could eavesdrop.
Hell had my back, well, that’s what I believed. I knew that I had better chances to end her life around the pits than on the ground of the royal palace. Humans weren’t meant to be involved. This final battle was between me and her.
“You want to go back to hell?” Zach asked.
I didn’t know why they were surprised. I had been talking about this from the very beginning. It was a necessary move.
“Alexis has proven to us many times that she’s able to feed on anyone’s power. You cannot underestimate her,” Nameless said. “Maxine’s plan is wise. She will have an advantage over Alexis in hell.”
Paul showed up moments later and Ricky started splitting everyone into groups. Paul, Emma and Zara insisted on being involved. The security in the palace was tight when I worked there. There were demons and mongrels amongst the guards, but I knew some secret passages from the outside. Hopefully I wouldn't have to use them.
Rodriguez was losing in the election in hell, but now Alexis was standing beside him. Apparently the old demon was ready to do anything, just so he could keep his position, even if he had to betray his great master.
I didn’t like the fact that Ricky, Nameless and even Paul were so eager to risk their necks for me. In the end we all agreed that those three were going to get into the palace using the staff entrance. That way, we could eliminate all unexpected risks tomorrow. Emma and Zach had their own agenda. They were going to focus on the situation from the outside.
Ricky had dug up an ancient recipe that would allow me to change my appearance. This was really happening and we were all ready.
I shut down the meeting around ten p.m. Zachary took me home with him that night. I wanted to spend a night in his place for a change. Energy flew through me and I practised some light magic in the car, trying to accumulate as much of my demonic power as I could.
“What’s your plan after this whole thing is over?” Zachary asked, as he drove through the busy roads of central London. We were stuck in traffic for a moment, and we hadn’t spoken since we left the pub.
I just came back from hell and tomorrow I was heading back there voluntarily. My memories from what I had been through were still pretty vivid and it was difficult to shut them off. Lucifer had given me his word, and I hoped he intended on keeping it. Alexis was his problem, not mine. I just wanted to avenge Arthur.
“A plan?” I asked, knowing exactly what he was talking about, but it was too soon for me to start thinking about that kind of discussion.
“Max, don’t ask me to say it. I know that I rushed a thing with you, but at the end of the day we had this incredible connection the moment we met. What happened was inevitable anyway.”
“It’s up to you, Zach. I have a daughter to look after. I just want to feel normal for a change, spend some time with her. I’ll understand if you feel that it’s too big a commitment for you,” I said, knowing that I had been a little unfair. Throughout this whole time Zach had been very supportive. He was a human and he wanted us to become a couple. I had a lot of baggage, and Arthur was going to remain Summer’s father forever.
He sighed loudly, tensing his shoulders and I already knew that I most likely offended him.
“Don’t push me away, don’t do this. I want to be involved. We could make a family together if you wanted to,” he suggested, clearing his throat.
Family. That sounded so surreal. I wanted to believe that this was possible.
“You’re right, my daughter will need a proper family unit,” I agreed.
“You’re still dodging the answer, Flower. This, whatever it is between us, means a fucking lot to me,” he said. “Tomorrow everything will go according to plan. Alexis will be taken care of, so start thinking about yourself.”
“Let’s talk about this again once everything is over,” I told him, sounding negative, but in my head we needed to be realistic about the future.
“Fine, I can deal with it for now,” he agreed, and I felt stupid, because he wanted me to say something else. I couldn’t, not just yet, not like that.
There was something really wrong with me. Zachary wasn’t Arthur; he was available and no one was standing in our way.
When we got back to his house, we had a drink in his manly living room and then went to bed.
I felt good when he wrapped himself around me and we spooned. I reminded myself this was what it was–that huge, scary and rewarding thing called being in a relationship with a man. Two people that shared their life together; a life that wasn’t always hearts and flowers. Soon Summer would join me and then we would need to find a new place. I wanted to bring her up the best I could. The royals had no idea she even existed, and it was better if it stayed that way.
We fell asleep earlier than we planned. I kept waking up a few times, feeling on edge. Around eight a.m. I was downstairs, drinking coffee. Cyril needed to report to Rodriguez early around ten a.m. and I had to drive over to Ricky’s. We needed to make sure the potion would work beforehand. I was a little uncertain about this part of the plan.
Everyone apart from Cyril was already in Ricky’s place when I walked through the door along with Zach. Paul had large dark circles under his eyes and he looked rough, not in any angelic kind of way.
“Lead on, Ricky,” I muttered to him, once we were done with all the small talk. Nameless looked nervous and I knew that he probably was slightly apprehensive about today. I filled him in with the details and then he left with Zara, assuring me everything was going to work just fine. He’d been under Alexis’s influence in the past. That bitch had tortured him, and she managed to defeat his father, Ronan, too.
I had no idea what happened with Ronan. The old demon had vanished from the face of this earth. I needed to find him once Alexis had been taken care of.
“You need to drink the pink, the blue and the black liquid one after the other. Cyril’s assistant is a human,” Ricky told me, pointing at the picture of a medium height, blond-haired woman, with rosy cheeks. She had short hair cut in a bob, and to me she looked like a school teacher. Emma had brought me the right clothes and I was going to change after my transformation.
“What about the rest of you guys?” I asked.
“I have plenty for everyone,” Ricky assured me. Potions and elixirs didn’t work on humans, and it was safer for Emma and Zach that they were keeping the tap on everything that was going on outside the palace, using some super human technology that Zach had taken from work.
I took a deep breath and drank whatever I had to. The liquid tasted like sour milk. A quick bout of nausea nearly made me spill the contents, but I forced myself to keep it down, staring intensely at the picture of Cyril’s assistant. My head went spinning for at least a minute after that.
Moments later I felt like I started to shrink. My hands were suddenly shorter and my stomach was getting wider and wider. Instead of being tall and skinny, I became short and overweight. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror not recognising the person that was in front of me. I touched my face and felt a little sick.
“Wow, that’s unbelievable. I never thought that this was possible,” Paul said, staring at me with his eyes wide open.
“Dorothy is on holiday, but she only reports to me, so no one in the palace knows how she really looks,” Cyril said when I walked into the living room.
It was official—I was going to the palace as someone else, but I would face my enemy as the real Maxine Brodeur, the daughter of Satan.