“For the Emperor of that high Imperium wills not that I,
once rebel to His crown, into that city of His should lead men home.”
―Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
“Noooo!” I roared, desperate, falling down on my knees when I realised what Arthur had done. He was gone, saving his only child from a psychotic demon. I failed to protect him from getting into Purgatory, failed myself when Alexis stabbed him.
A storm was seconds away, and electricity buzzed through the air lifting tiny hairs on the back of my neck. Another crack of thunder and lightning appeared in the sky, then the electricity soared right through Alexis’s body. She went rigid, lighting up like a thousands stars. Then she rose above the ground spreading her arms wide.
In that moment I knew that her twisted spell began to work. The royal blood was healing her damaged soul. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Arthur was dead. Alexis had fulfilled her prophecy.
I picked myself up and ran back to the exit. The stream of fire spread down my arms and moments later the ground underneath my feet exploded with a loud bang. I jumped down to the small room, charged with so much power that I could barely hold myself in one piece. The building was shaking, but that didn’t concern me. I used my power to pull the doors away from hinges. Paul was lying on the stairs in a pool of blood. Fear shot right through my bones when I saw him.
“Hey, wake up, please wake up,” I said, turning him slowly around and praying to God that he was all right. He began stirring back to a conscious state and I exhaled with relief.
“A demon got to me from behind. I lost my bearings,” Paul said. I helped him to stand up. He probably had a mild concussion, but insisted on walking all the way downstairs on his own.
We didn’t talk, there was no time. The rain was pouring down from the sky, and once outside, I started running towards the edge of the cliff where Arthur’s body lay in the grass. Alexis was gone, her soul had been healed completely. She was a newborn demon.
Summer was curled up in a ball. She wasn’t crying. With shaky hands and trembling legs I got to her first. She was soaking wet, but she was breathing okay. Instinctively I wanted to run with her, as far as was physically possible. I tried to warm her up with my magic, afraid that she might be ill. She was still so tiny, so small.
Paul noticed Arthur shortly after he joined me. He stood there, pale and confused. Someone placed a palm on my arm. I started crying, squeezing my daughter tightly in my arms. My anger and pain were shifting into something else, something heavier, numbing me all over.
“She’s all right, Max, she’s just cold and scared.”
Matilda was talking to me. I lifted my head seeing her standing next to me, bruised with cuts and scratches all over her face. Even her clothes were torn. In the distance I saw Zach, Zara and Nameless coming towards us. Paul kept staring at Arthur’s body in silence.
“Arthur?” I asked, shaking with cold, like I still couldn’t comprehend that he was gone.
Moments later Zach wrapped his coat around me. Summer’s little heart was beating franticly. All I wanted was to take her back to the world above and plant a billion kisses on her cheeks.
A storm of conflicted emotions overwhelmed me. Fear began forming in my stomach, settling like a heavy knot. I needed to push darkness away, I needed to take care of Summer now. The tiny voice in my head reminded me that I got what I wanted. Summer was safe, but someone else paid the price.
“He’s gone, darling. He saved her,” Matilda stated, looking tired.
“No, this is impossible. He couldn’t have gotten here. The entrance was sealed. I didn’t have time to explain to him that I had made a mistake,” I mumbled, and my daughter opened her large eyes and looked at me. For a moment the time stopped, and nothing else mattered. We were staring at each other, forming a connection that was once broken. She lifted her little, tired hand and touched my cheek. It was the most amazing feeling that I had ever experienced. She was pure and beautiful.
“Max, we have to get out of here. Ricky and Emma were taken by men with wings,” Zachary said.
“Watchers, they appeared on the island when we separated,” Nameless explained, holding Zara’s hand.
Alexis had won. She took a life in order to regenerate her soul. She killed the prince. I had never expected this kind of outcome, didn’t understand it. Maybe I didn’t want to.
“Ricky is gone too?” I asked.
“He will be all right, Max, but the cop is right. We need to leave,” Paul said, looking around.
“Max, you will have many moments like this, but we have to leave now. This place isn’t safe at all,” Matilda told me. “Alexis trapped me in my own spell. I’m sorry that I failed you.”
“What about Arthur’s body? We can’t leave him here.” I felt numb from head to toe. Shock riddled my body. I kept asking myself if it was possible that he followed us down through the entrance to the alley. I should have closed it behind me, then maybe this would have never happened.
“I’ll carry him, but the woman is right,” Paul said. “We need to leave now. We have entered Purgatory, Max, and as long as we are here, your little one is still in danger.”
I couldn’t look when Paul and Zach lifted Arthur’s lifeless body and started carrying him down. Matilda took Summer from me and I felt empty. The pain was greater than ever, breaking me from inside. I wanted to shut it down, but couldn’t.
The future king was dead, and he wasn’t coming back. Ricky and Emma were trapped and it was all my fault. On top of that, Alexis’s power had been restored completely.
We all had to get off this island and then go back to our world. The royals would never know what happened to the prince. Arthur had died the most noble death, saving his own daughter.
We left the dark tower behind us and made our way through the stairs in silence. The water was wild. The storm passed moments later and it finally stopped raining. I tried to call Ricky. I only had him back a few hours and now he was gone again.
I refused to believe it, refused to think that my life was never going to be the same again. Summer was asleep, wrapped in Matilda’s arms. She was precious, the most beautiful child that I’d ever seen. Now without a father, without a man that would have made her so proud.
At the bottom of the stairs by the boat I spotted a few demons and at least two Watchers in their true form. Now after the space was cleared of fog the landscape was beautiful.
“Who are they? What should we do?” Nameless asked.
No one stopped, but as we got closer I recognised the demon that stood in front of the two Watchers. Anger flushed hotly as my eyes met his.
“What the hell do you want?” I shouted at Morpheus, with bitter disappointment. I couldn’t believe that he dared to show up here, now when everyone was filled with so much grief.
“It’s time, Maxine, it’s time to fulfill your part of the deal. The child and your partner were saved,” Morpheus stated with no emotion. I frowned, not understanding what the hell he meant. There was no deal, he didn’t help me. Arthur was still dead and Alexis had won.
“Maxine, what is he talking about?” Paul demanded, looking from me to Morpheus.
“You can go to hell with your deal. Alexis was healed with Arthur’s blood. This wasn’t the outcome that we both agreed on,” I said, feeling that this was going to turn against me. I wanted to hug my daughter again, wanted to hold her for a bit longer.
Morpheus shook his head, staring at me with great sadness.
“I have healed your partner and guided you in the past few weeks. You had promised your soul to the dark lord, so I’m sorry but you cannot return to the world above. It’s time to say goodbye to your friends,” Morpheus said.
Zachary and Paul laid Arthur on the ground.
“She ain’t going anywhere, not over my dead body!” Zachary shouted, suddenly face-to-face with Morpheus. Two Watchers took a step towards him.
“True, I made a deal with you, but your part of the bargain hasn’t been fulfilled,” I argued, deep down knowing that this wasn’t fair. Arthur wasn’t supposed to die in here.
“I’m sorry that you feel that way, but your child is now safe, which means that your soul belongs to the dark lord. Tell your friends to stand down. They won’t be able to fight me. Paul, you should know that Maxine had given me her word.”
Paul looked at me with shock and sadness, then shook his head in desperation. Morpheus couldn’t take me now. Not after everything that happened. I needed time with my daughter.
“No… she isn’t going anywhere. Max, what is this bullshit?” “What deal is he talking about?”
“I was desperate. Ricky was in the hospital dying and Alexis was after my daughter. He promised to help me bring Summer back, and agreed to save Ricky, but only if I agreed to give up my soul,” I said, ready to scream with frustration. How could Lucifer be so cruel? He had taken Arthur away from his family.
“No… Bullshit. I won’t let you take her!” Zach roared, reaching for his gun, but I got to him before he had a chance to do something very stupid.
“Let it go. Morpheus is a demon, Lucifer’s right hand. I gave him my word, so there is nothing you can do about it,” I said, accepting my fate, accepting the fact that this was over.
Summer was safe now and Matilda would take care of her. Zach refused to believe that this was my destiny.
“Make an appeal, Flower, please. He’s the devil for Christ sake. This can’t end like that!” he said, touching my arms.
“Zach, let go of her,” Paul said. “There is nothing that you can do. She needs to meet her destiny.”
“Your partner, Ricky, and his human friend are back in London. I gave the Watchers orders to let them go,” Morpheus said.
I walked over to Matilda and placed a kiss on my daughter’s forehead. She was beautiful, stunning, and I was going to miss her forever.
“Please take care of her. All of you take care of her for me,” I said, my voice slowly breaking. Zara dropped her head, losing herself in the chest of Nameless. Zach was ready to fight for me. He didn’t want to believe that this was happening for real.
Matilda touched my hand. She understood that I had no other choice.
Morpheus nodded to the two Watchers to take care of me. A second later the gold chains were placed on my hands. I could no longer feel anything, I was numb everywhere.
“Do something … for the lord do something. They can’t take her!” Zach roared, but no one reacted. Everyone understood what was going on.
“It’s time,” Morpheus said with some sadness in his voice. Then the two Watchers pushed me forward.
There were no more words. Everything was done. I was going down to meet my destiny, to die so my daughter could live.
This was the beginning of my end.