Caged in Darkness (17 page)

Willow arrived an hour later. We moved
around the dining room furniture to create a clear space on the
wooden floor. Izzy sat in one of the kitchen chairs, while Willow
and I prepared the circle. Candles were placed to represent the
five points of a pentacle. Symbols were etched into the wax of the
candles to provide protection. Willow took a jar of dirt and poured
it in a circle to connect the candles, but left an opening for Izzy
to walk through.

Willow drew a pentacle within the circle,
while I used an athame to slice open my palm. Witches rarely used
blood in a ritual, but it was powerful and we needed protection
from a demon. I allowed the blood to drip into a chalice, dipped a
brush into the blood, and began drawing symbols within the star of
the pentacle. We places object that represented the five elements
at each point of the star to draw on for extra power. The outer
circle would be for us, while the demon would be confined to the
inner one.

“Izzy, were ready.” Willow spoke in an
absentminded voice, while she paged through her notebook.

Izzy took her place by the representation of
air, while I closed off the outer circle. I then sat between spirit
and water, which I would draw power from. Willow sat between earth
and fire.

“Okay, what we need to do is clear our minds
of outside influences. Your mind needs to be completely focused on
the elements, my voice, and our task.” Willow looked at Izzy as she
spoke. I already knew the way to do a ritual, but Izzy was new at
this.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on my
breathing. When it was a steady rhythm, I sought my orb of power
and encouraged it to spin. As it spun, I grasped threads and
braided them together. I made three braids and sent one towards the
spirit element and the other to the water element. The moment the
braided strands collided with the elements, they lit up as bright
as a star.

The end of the braids were attached to the
elements, while the roots remained attached to my core. I grabbed
the elemental braids, pulled to make them longer, and braided them
with the third braid. I tied them into a lasso and I sent it out to
wrap around the inner circle.

My braid of magic was like an electric blue
current, while Willows was a soft green. Izzy’s was barely
noticeable against ours, but it was a pale orange. We exhibited
some pressure and our braids expanded and spun to form a whirlpool.
Willow began to speak the spell in Gaelic. Gaelic was a language of
power, which was used for the most powerful spells. Her voice rose
as the whirlpool gained speed and the apartment filled with a
roaring sound.

A spark glimmered in the center, but it
continuously shorted out before it could build enough power to
remain stable. The spark resembled a lighter that had run out of
lighter fluid, but created minor sparks when the metal was rolled.
I willed more of myself into the braids and watched as the spark
brightened to a constant glow. The eyes glowing within the
whirlpool paralyzed me.
It
was watching us; it could see us.
Panic set in, but I knew it was too late to turn back. Soon, the
demon would step through the portal we had created. We were on a
course that could not be broken; the point of no return.

A loud crack shook the apartment, making me
think the demon was breaking through the circle. My chest
tightened, while the crack changed to a shuttering, and suddenly a
large portal appeared out of the wall behind Willow.

A terrifying sight stepped through the hole
in the wall. It was a woman with flaming hair, flying behind her in
an angry battle. Her eyes took in our circle, while she opened her
mouth to let loose a high pitched howl. I had to cover my ears to
prevent the sound from destroying my eardrums. The black hole
behind her transformed into a vortex. Her howl heightened, while
she stretched her arm toward the whirlpool, and her hand slowly
clenched. The whirlpool abated in sync with her hand until only a
small portion remained. She gestured and the energized whirlpool
was pulled into the vortex behind her.

“What in the nine hells are you three
doing?”

With the whirlpool gone and the circle
disbanded, I could make out what she was saying. I was grateful
that she stopped howling, but it still took me a moment to process
what she said. Willow had moved to stand with Izzy against the
wall. They both stared in shock at the redhead.

“Who are you?” She looked familiar now that
her hair had quieted and she was no longer shrieking.

“Who
I
am doesn’t matter. What
matters is why
you
thought it would be intelligent to summon
a demon?” She crossed her arms, reminding me of Maye when she was
angry.

I looked to Willow and Izzy for help, but
they weren’t helpful. I straightened, looked the redhead in the eye
and prepared myself to speak. “Not that it's any of your business,
but that demon was trapped in a box my parents hid. I accidentally
unleashed it and now it is killing people. We didn’t know what else
to do. ” I took a deep breath. “I answered your question, now
answer mine.” Crossing my arms, I attempted to look
intimidating.

She sighed. “My name is Kali and I just
stopped you from getting yourselves
killed
.
Demons
do
not like to be summoned, but what you were summoning was far worse
than the average demon.” She walked over, grabbed a chair, and
straddled the back of the chair.

“Wh-what was it then?” Izzy spoke, but her
question came out as a squeak.

“Do any of you know the story of the fallen
angels?” Silence greeted her question, while we exchanged glances.
Kali rested her arms on the back of the chair and propped her chin
on them. “The angels who fell from heaven became the rulers of
demons. Most of the fallen became generals of the demonic armies,
but the original fallen became the rulers of the nine circles of
hell. Are you following?”

“I think so. So, the fallen angels became
like princes?” I shuddered at the thought.

“Yes. There were many different types of
angels within heaven. Above all others, the archangels were the
most powerful and dangerous. think of them as heaven’s soldiers.
Archangels, being the most loyal to heaven remained at their post.
However, a single archangel fell. His name was Asmodeus, but he is
known by many names. Asmodeus was given the rank of arch demon is
the highest ranking prince of hell. He was the one you were
summoning.”

“What? You have got to be kidding me!” I
felt sick, but forced myself to hold it together for Willow and
Izzy.

“Your parents entrapped him when you were
just a babe. Do not try to summon him again.” Kali stood.

“Wait! How do I fix this? How do I stop him
from hurting everyone?” I was desperate. I ran and grabbed her arm.
She turned back to look at my hand gripping her and looked into my
eyes. At first, she seemed angry, but the anger seeped away and
kindness took its place.

“I know you feel responsible." Kali sighed,
and looked away. "I would guess that you need to figure out what
your parents did to him, other than trapping him. Figure out why he
is sticking around, when he could leave and gain power elsewhere.
Oh, and try not to deliberately piss him off; unless you have a
death wish.” She snorted and left through the door.

Izzy, Willow, and I barely discussed Kali
and Asmodeus during the following days. We were more concerned with
the death of Izzy's mother, but the demon haunted our every move.
The community experienced more deaths and they weighed on us.

11: deals in seduction

LIAM

Against my mothers’ wishes, I gave Savannah
her space the week after Izzy’s mother died. It seemed wrong to try
to seduce her, while her best friend was grieving. After a week, I
decided it was time to cheer her up.

My mother hosted a small gathering of the
leading members from the coven. I brought Savannah as my date, but
my mother stole her from my arm, and introduced her to the
everyone. It irritated me to see my mother show Savannah off, as
though she were a prized jewel she recently purchased. I stopped
watching them after a while. I knew that my mother considered me
bringing Savannah here, as my duty. Though, I would rather be
anywhere else right now.

“Liam, if you continue to wear that sour
expression, Savannah may begin to believe you’re not enjoying her
company.” My mothers’ voice startled me. I had been so lost in my
thoughts that I didn’t hear her approach.

“How could she think that? You have kept her
from my company the entire night.” I sipped my whiskey, grateful
for the numbness that spread throughout my body. It made my
mother's company less hampering.

“Perhaps, if you were more social you would
have remained with her. You can’t avoid your responsibilities
forever. It’s time to be welcomed back into the fold. Tonight,
would be the perfect time to start.”

“Mother, you can be so charming sometimes.”
My voice was laced with sarcasm. “Did you forget why I left?” I
glanced at her through my peripheral vision. “Just be glad I
brought
her
and leave
me
be. I could always complain
of a headache. Savannah would leave with me then.”

“You wouldn’t do that, because you know that
if you did, I would make your life a living hell.” She sighed and
shook her head. “Make certain you don’t forget why you are spending
time with her to begin with.”

“I could never forget. You remind me every
chance you get. Besides, there is no way Savannah will choose our
coven over her family. She loves them too much.”

“If you gave her an ultimatum she
might.”

She didn’t leave me room to respond and
walked quickly towards the group surrounding Savannah. I wanted to
shout obscenities at her back and maybe use a glass to knock some
sense in her. Women did not like ultimatums and I would never ask
Savannah to choose between me and her family. It’s wrong. That’s
why I hadn’t tried to take our relationship to the next level. The
truth was that I didn’t want her to end up in a coven where she
would be unhappy.

Savannah looked at me through the mob of
people surrounding her. It was a pleading gaze, telling me she was
overwhelmed. I grinned and shook my head to signal she was on her
own. She made a pained expression and I decided to take pity on
her.

“Excuse me. I need some time alone with
Savannah. I promised her we would take a walk in the gardens.”
Reluctantly, the crowd parted and Savannah dashed through.

“Thank you. I couldn’t breathe.” She spoke
in a whisper, as we walked through the terrace doors and down the
stairs. “Are they always like that?”

“Just for you, princess.”

“I’m the lucky guinea pig, huh? I feel so
special.” She gazed around at the extensive gardens. “It’s
beautiful here.”

I looked over at her, while she walked ahead
to trail her fingers against the petals. In the moonlight, her hair
was the color of the night. Soft blue highlights gathered in her
curls where the light touched them.

“After our walk in the gardens, we will meet
everyone in the barn for the circle.” I was hesitant to mention the
circle, because Savannah hadn’t been thrilled about the idea during
the ride over here.

“I’m kind of nervous Liam. I know you said
Diamante wants it to be a surprise, but I don’t like it. You can’t
expect me to overcome the stereotypes about dark covens this
quickly. Can you please just tell me what we will be doing?”

I smiled. “I don’t think so. It’s more fun
to keep you in the dark. I promise it won’t be anything bad, the
coven just wants to give you a gift; something special.”

“But does it have to be a surprise?"
Savannah made a puppy dog face, but I only laughed. “You’ll just
have to wait and see.”

“Fine,” Savannah muttered as she looked
around.

We walked through the sprawling gardens,
along a path lined with tulips and carnations. The terrace beside
the garden was covered in roses that climbed the walls.

A barn emerged from the twilight, as we
rounded a path. “Is that where we are going to meet everyone?”
Savannah asked, as she looked up at the rustic red barn.

“Yep, everyone should already be inside.” We
walked up to the door and Savannah reached for its handle.

“Before we go in, you have to promise me you
won’t get scared.” I thought about my mother's plans and knew it
would be easy for Savannah to make the wrong assumptions.

Savannah’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why,
is there something in there I should be afraid of? If this is
something that can hurt me I don’t want to do it.”

“No, it’s nothing like that, but if you have
never seen this kind of magic before it can be a bit startling.” I
hurriedly grabbed her hands to soothe her.

“And you’re sure nothing in there will hurt
me?” She narrowed her eyes.

“I would never do anything to hurt you.” I
kissed her, and she looked into my eyes with a dazed
expression.

“Promise?”

“I promise,” I said, while chuckling.

“Alright then.” Savannah said, as she
reached out and pulled the doors open.

SAVANNAH

The barn was well lit with rows of candles
set in braces. Members of the Sacred Moon coven were standing
around talking. A few farm implements had been moved to the side of
the barn, away from the main group of people, and near the hay. The
floor had been swept to clear the piles of hay.

In the center of the floor was a large
crimson circle. I ignored everything else, when I saw what was
lying in the center of the circle. It was the largest black feline
I had ever seen. It was a black panther.

I started to back away from the large cat,
but Liam put his arm around my shoulders and whispered, “Don’t
worry, it won’t hurt you. We’re keeping it calm.”