Caged by Damnation (16 page)

"He's not. Real, that is, but he is part of my vision and I'm not the one who heard him. Kit was." My defenses swept past my vision, clouding my judgment and bringing the need to defend my gift. I could understand why Ash would hate hearing Asmodeus's name, but I couldn't help who showed up in my visions.

"Is that supposed to make it better?" Ash's eyes blazed and Isis took a step farther away from him, looking like she was ready to bolt. I couldn't blame her. She was trapped in a room with a demanding phoenix, an angry witch, and a girl who just might be mad with demonic blood running through her veins. In her shoes, I would be thinking of escape too.

"Argh! You are impossible! Who cares that it was Asmodeus? He's gone! Just help me figure out what the darn words mean! Your insecurities about that stupid demon are really beginning to get on my nerves. If you're not going to help, just leave." My breath came in giant gasps while I attempted to rein in my temper. I was hitting the point where I couldn't put up with anything else standing in my way. Part of me regretted my rash words, but the other part, the darker side of myself, reveled in them.

Ash sat studying me for several moments while no one dared to make a sound. Even Izzy seemed taken aback. We could all feel the fiery current radiating from Ash. Throughout his examination, I stared back at him, daring him to bring up the past one more time. He nodded to each of us in turn and walked from the room, the heavy doors slamming on his heels speaking for him. Izzy didn't stop him, but shot me a look that was reminiscent of a scolding.

Griffin ran his hands through his hair, a disbelieving expression glued to his features. "No offense, but you could have handled that better." He walked to the doors and peered out, watching Ash retreat.

"Yeah, can you blame him?” Isis shot at me. “If I found I had been possessed by an evil creature, I'd be trying hard to forget it"

It was as though I were colliding with my mirror thoughts. Ash deserved to forget the horrible things that had happened to him and I wasn't helping matters. I resigned myself to the tortuous apology I would need to deliver later.

I began banging my head against the shelf in front of me, wondering if I could possibly do anything more to push Ash away. A few tears fell before I looked to the others with renewed determination. Izzy jumped onto one of the desks, crouching the way a warrior would when bracing for a fight. Isis moved closer to Liam and me, while Griffin retained his post at the door.

"I guess if we're going to do this, we might as well get it over with," Isis sighed, "You are supposed to touch and see, but not use your senses, right?"

I nodded, waiting for Isis to finish her thought pattern.

"Well, Kit heard Asmodeus's words instead of you. So maybe you're supposed to tap into him and will yourself to find something that isn't there for the average person?"

I hadn't expected much from Isis, but her theory made more sense than the babble running through my own mind.

"Okay...."

I sought Kit out and his excitement was contagious. He wanted to run, but I firmly conveyed the need to find something that wasn't there. At first he seemed perplexed, but gracefully jumped from my form to the top of the bookcase. The ancient furniture cried in protest at his weight, but remained sturdy. His nose held to the wood, paws scraping gently at the dust, he looked at me in defeat. He didn't find anything either.

Liam tapped my wrist. "Try having him stay in spirit form."

Having heard Liam, Kit dissipated until he was completely transparent. Chameleon-like, he blended with the background; only a hint of vapor allowed us to follow his movements. I closed my eyes to look through his. The world was a maze of grays, but objects were distinguishable by acute eyesight and individualized scents. Something seemed off with the room, frozen in bubbled glass than lent a reflective light over all that it contained.

Kit shook his head, uncomfortable with his surroundings, and whined. He wanted back into the safety of my body. I agreed wholeheartedly, but knew that something was amiss. Only his love for me kept him searching. He glided across the splintered wood, his body hanging low to the ground, waiting for the threat to reveal itself. His nose sunk into the mountain of dust my hands had sifted through earlier, and he sneezed. A speck of electric blue light glared through the dust.

Leaning up, I blew the dust away from Kit and watched through his eyes as the scroll was revealed. Knowing that the scroll was there gave me the will to push
through the illusion to grab the scroll in my hands. It solidified, taking comfort in its true form. His job done, Kit burst from the bookcase and sank gratefully into my chest.

Liam lifted me down from the chair I had been standing on and placed me on the ground in front of him. "You okay?" His concern was genuine, but I was in a state of shock at the evidence held within my hands.

Izzy left her perch on the desk to stand at my shoulder. A small hum and wide eyes told me she wanted me to read it, but I was afraid. My life was a tilt-a-whirl of risky turns, unpredictable events, and a dark hood placed overhead, keeping the light from tangling in my face.

Crowding together, the five of us peered at the rolled-up scroll made from canvas. From the little wording I could see without unveiling the body, it was written in blood. A shiver passed through each of us, a wave that descended from one member to the next without pause.

Drumming bombarded my mind, drowning out all else with the single notion that what I held could change my life forever. Izzy had wanted me to find it, but how had she known it was here? Why was it imperative that  we read it, and how did it apply to me? I wanted these answers and more, but talking to her was futile. All I would receive would be the piddling sounds of a young bird capable of conveying needs only through delicate sound, abhorrent resonance, and uneasy movements that were more terrifying than understandable.

Light touches of Izzy's wings brushed against my shoulder and lay against the length of my back. Isis shied away at the iridescent feathers in her vicinity, moving more closely to Griffin and further from me.

I sighed and rested my head on the heaviest part of Izzy's wing, but was startled when her hand reached for mine. The simplicity of holding my hand was enough to make coherent thought spiral out of my mind. It was a human gesture, one meant to comfort me the way a friend would. I wasn't sure, but she seemed to remember me more with each passing second. Izzy still seemed lethal, but a kindness unique to her was beginning to make its way through the fires that had burned away her memories.

I handed Griffin the scroll and asked him to open it. He cleared his throat and stretched his arms out to allow the canvas to open in the center of our huddled group.

The scroll contained a border of runes, which I supposed were the inscriptions that hid it from my view and touch. The words were written in calligraphy, making it difficult to ascertain the content. The fingerprints of smudged blood didn't help matters either.

Isis narrowed her eyes and bent to gain a better view. "What does it say?"

Griffin's voice was dry of patience. "I might be able to tell you if your hair wasn't blocking the thing."

"
Here." Liam grabbed the scroll from Griffin, moving away from our group and towards the skylight. "It's not written in any language I've ever seen." Crossing over to him, I saw that he was right. The scroll was written in a bizarre language that was closer to a combination of several I had seen in the ancient books of witches.

"It says something about a prophecy."

I turned at the words, looking at Isis in bafflement. "How do you know that?"

Isis rolled her eyes and pointed to the first sentence. "I know a lot of languages. I can't read most of it either, but I know that word means prophecy or foretelling." She shrugged. "What, I can't be smart and beautiful?" A proud smile lit up her face before she looked over Liam's shoulder at the scroll once more. I moved to the side, allowing her a better view.

Isis pursed her lips, "It's Latin, I think." Isis sounded out the words, but none of us found meaning in it. "Superius et inferius gigni per daemones ardent. Innocentia Caelo texta est,, ipsa servabitur intra coven. Natus ex tria, est quarta, quamvis prophetia punctibus debitum Aquilonis. Conspectu erit gratiam illam, sed Mors sequi relinquere nil nisi tristitia. Contritio lecticis eam via, sicut oculos vigilemus cum inescatis halitum. In latrunculorum lusu suppetit, quos eludere est. Angelica, spawn est tamen impignorantur. Negat in paucis, ut tradit om. Fugere hostes sociosque et erit, tuebantur hostium electus. Scissum est medium mundi nondum enim fatis huc armis." Her eyebrows drew together, studying what she had read, and I vaguely wondered if she was keeping the full meaning to herself.

She was barely finished reading the prophecy, when a deafening blare of noise made its way through the doors. At first, I thought that we had somehow set off an alarm and were about to be arrested. I didn't know what the punishment was for breaking into rooms in this place, but I knew that I didn't want to find out. Liam handed me the scroll while he and Griffin scrutinized the hallway outside. Suddenly, Rafe barreled into the room with Maloc.

The old warrior took us in and shot Rafe a reproachful stare. "It's not safe to be here. We need to leave." His voice shook and I wondered at the old man's fear. He had the look of having weathered many storms. What could possibly scare him?

"Why?" Griffin and I spoke at the same time, exchanging glances before I took the lead. "What's going on? What is that sound?"

Rafe answered as he shuffled all of us into the room towards the skylight. "We're under attack and some of the wings have caught fire." He pulled a desk under the skylight and looked back at us. "Unless you want to be burned alive or skewered, I think the questions can wait."

I was speechless. Everyone had made this place sound impenetrable. Who was attacking, and why? The look on Maloc's face was grim, but I knew whatever was attacking this safe haven was here for me.

"What is it?" My voice was barely a whisper. I thought of Maye asleep in the medical ward and Ash wandering the halls. Were they safe? How could I be expected to leave my family behind?

"Come on." Rafe gestured to Isis. She climbed atop the desk and he folded his hands together to give her a boost. She held onto his shoulder for support, grabbing the edge of the skylight with her other hand to heft herself up.

I crossed my arms. "I'm not going anywhere until you answer my questions."

All four men turned to face me. Maloc and Rafe exchanged wary glances, but Maloc answered me. "Creatures that I have never seen. Before the warning sounded, one of the guards spoke over the radio, describing a massacre that was taking place. His voice cut off before he could tell us more."

At Maloc's silence, Rafe took up the explanation. "A friend of mine then melded his mind to mine. He showed me a creature made entirely of fire one floor above us. Guards, prisoners, and civilians had burned in the chaos. The creature was sucking all oxygen from the room and it was difficult to breathe. He passed down orders that we were to get as many out as possible."

"I have to go." I ran to the doors and tried to pry them open, but Izzy slammed her body into the door, while Maloc and Liam dragged me away from them. "You don't understand,” I cried. “Ash and Maye are up there! I have to help them!"

But I knew I wasn't going anywhere.

Liam grabbed my face, forcing me to look in his eyes, "We can't do anything for them. Just hope they get out. If we go after them, we're as good as dead. I care about them too." The pain in his eyes got through to me.

I nodded. "Okay, alright." I smiled, trying to show that I understood the situation, but Liam didn't seem to believe I had given up. Spying Griffin near the desk, looking up at Isis's face leaning down in the skylight, I demanded that he get to safety first.

"Hell no! You think Ash would forgive me if I protected my own ass and something happened to you?" Griffin's upper lip peeled back from his teeth in disgust.

"Isis is up there by herself. I have plenty of people down here to protect me, but no one is up there with her." The logic behind my words sank in and Griffin readied himself to climb through the skylight. He was just through when a sound that was a cross between a freight train and echoing footsteps rained on my ears. We braced ourselves, facing the doors, knowing that whatever was out there would be upon us in a few moments.

"Go!" Liam shouted back at me, wanting me to choose the safety that the skylight had to offer.

I shook my head. This was my battle and there was no way that I was about to allow others to fight it for me. "I'm not going anywhere unless you go first."

Liam looked back at me, then at Isis and Griffin. "You’re one stubborn princess, you know that?" In a movement that was almost as graceful as Kit, he leapt onto the desk, his feet barely grazing the wood before his arms were pulling him through the window. Isis and Griffin helped pull him up.

A large boulder of liquid lava crashed through the doors, disintegrating them upon impact. The fire began to spread throughout the bookshelves, seemingly alive as it jumped from one piece of furniture to the next. A darkness that cloaked areas was set into the giant mass of fire, giving it the illusion of a face. Its eyes lingered upon mine before it noticed the scroll in my hand. A sound of war erupted from its core and it came flying towards me.