Crystal and the Damned - Possession (16 page)

“Thank you for covering for me about Dimitri,” stammered the young woman, her heart beating so hard she thought it might burst from her chest.

“Don’t thank me. If I shut up about it, if I lied, it’s only because I’m too shocked to make a decision. But don’t think that you’re going to get away with this ; I’m not protecting you ! That is over. You’re nothing to me now. You have destroyed everything, Crystal ; my trust, my friendship, and my faith in you. But the fact that the future All Powerful is a traitor is such a serious thing that I can’t allow myself to treat it lightly. I need to think seriously about what the best thing to do is... and believe me, once I have, you’ll pay for this.”

Crystal fell more than sat on the edge of the bed.

“I understand that you’re beside yourself. But please have pity on me. I am alone in this shit that is my life. You chose it. For me, my destiny was forced on me. The death, the blood, the horrors. I’m lost, and all I have is you guys. You are my home, my family. Don’t drive me away. We are friends ! You trained me, Cornelia, you took care of me – doesn’t that mean anything ? Don’t all the hours we’ve spent together count ? The fits of crazy laughter that had us in stitches, the number of times I’ve cried on your shoulder ? The flowers we bought together for your human girlfriend and the note I wrote for her ? Don’t all those motorcycle rides, those lost nights spent just hanging out, mean anything to you ? The bruises you gave me in training, and the day when you pretended to be Falada so that I could practice telling him that I loved him ? Doesn’t that mean anything ?”

“Shut up,” thundered Cornelia. “No, that doesn’t mean anything to me. Not now, not after what you’ve done. Let me tell you something : it’s not because Dimitri is trying to murder your father, my All Powerful, to whom I have sworn loyalty. It’s not because human beings would be reduced to slavery, mauled like beasts of burden if the Order of Hell took power. It’s not because I promised to defend Good, whatever the cost. It’s because your lover is responsible for Sybil’s death ! It’s because he savagely tortured and killed her little five-year-old girl ! It’s because he killed two Paladines before that ! It’s because every time I look at you, I tell myself that I would sacrifice myself to save you from that demon. It’s because
I would give my life for those that I love. And you wouldn’t. By fucking him, you have put us in danger, without even hesitating. You have betrayed us. Us, your own father, your people and your bloodline.”

“I know,” Crystal moaned. “But you have to believe me : I tried to resist Dimitri. At first, I never found the right time to tell you all and then I wanted to again and again but I was being sucked in. I didn’t want to see it, but it was stronger than I was. He was stronger than I am, and I was so weak. So alone, so scared. It’s wrong, but I gave in. He was the temptation. He still is. Don’t condemn me, I need help. Help me, there’s nothing more important than your friendship. Help me, it’s not too late !”

The Paladine narrowed her eyes, her stomach turning.

“Do you feel any affection for him ?”

“Yes,” confessed Crystal. “Between the two of us, it’s just sexual, bestial, but... I like him, it’s true. It’s completely insane, but Dimitri can be lovable... sometimes. When we’re intimate, he’s very different from what you would think.”

The silence hung heavily in the room for an instant. And then the warrior spit in the young woman’s face. Crystal accepted the glob of spit without protest. Her shoulders just slouched lower.

“How dare you make excuses to me for that pig ? You are disgrace incarnate, Crystal. You are less than nothing. I was your friend once, so I’m going to do you one last favor. Leave this apartment. Hide as far away as you can, because I’m going to denounce you. When I do, the cult will judge you for high treason. You will never be the All Powerful. There will be a price on your head, and we will probably be charged with killing you. Pack your bags ; I’ll give you a few hours.”

Crystal remained in a daze for a good while. She couldn’t even cry. Like a zombie, she wiped away the traces of saliva that stained her face with her sleeve. She felt a slow sorrow whirling around her. Things had just gotten worse and worse over the last few months ; everything seemed to have slipped away, irretrievably. The impalpable break-up of the gang, her father’s agony, and Dimitri, obviously. Sitting on the bed, she buried her head in her hands. Stupidly, she had tried to be honest with Cornelia. A thousand times more honest and clear than she had ever been with herself. She had prayed to herself that the Paladine would pull her out of this jam, prayed that her friend would take charge of her as she had done in the past, like in the beginning, like she once had. That with all her strength, she would save her from the accursed Prince.

Crystal sniffed abruptly, shook herself and stood up in a final burst of determination. The time for crying about her fate had passed. Her childhood was
over. She had been driven into a trap that had fatal consequences. And she wanted to live. So they would prevent her from being the All Powerful – what did she care ? That status, that power – she had never wanted it anyway. Since her Damnation she had not wanted anything ; it had all been forced upon her. But now she wanted something. To live. With a determination that surprised even her, she pulled her suitcase from the closet and started to throw her things into it every which way. Her eyes burned with tears, blinding her without her even aware of them.
Flight. Outlawed. Condemned to death by the most dangerous cult on the planet. Hunted down by her best friends and teachers.
Her fingers grasped the door jamb of the closet tightly and a necklace fell to the carpet. Crystal knelt down. It was a pendant of white gold with a minuscule diamond, the present Glory had given her for her twentieth birthday. She sobbed ; other memories were scattered on the floor. Photos. Cornelia and Miranda sticking out their tongue at the camera, at a concert with her. The whole group dressed up for Mardi Gras. Falada and her in the middle of a home karaoke duet.

Goodbye, to all whom I have loved. You have been everything to me. You have been more than I believed I would ever find. Each of you holds a part of my heart. Each of you will always own a part of me. I love you. I will always love you.

Crystal locked her memories up in her suitcase and fastened it, allow her tears to flow.
Her whole soul.

A noise, a presence made her raise her head.

Falada was standing in the doorway.

In front of the mirror, Dimitri roared, revealing his murderous insanity, his true nature, as the conversation proceeded. Beyond the mirror, the woman froze as he stormed.

“You sent Beatrice to kill her. My Crystal. You dared to touch her against my will ! If I had not saved her, if she had died, you would have paid the price for it.”

“
Your
Crystal,” the woman in the mirror repeated, glacial and bitter. “That’s how it is ?! That whore is spreading her porcelain legs for you. You’re sleeping with her !”

The Prince stopped for an instant. He tilted his head the way the young woman loved so much. But this time, for the woman in the mirror, it was a movement of implacable savagery. He bellowed.

“She’s mine ! I’m not asking for your opinion. She is my property and I can’t stand having someone else mess with my business, you hear ! Do you hear me ?!”

Through the mirror, the woman stiffened.

“This is also my business. Beatrice was supposed to kill her, and you prevented her from doing so. I’m not going to let you prevent our ascension for some little piece of ass. If you don’t get a grip on yourself, if you don’t destroy her....”

“Don’t give me orders ! Stop working against me ; I am Evil. I am the Power. I do not tolerate....”

“Don’t speak to me in that tone, Dimitri. I’m done with this if you keep heading for trouble.”

“Fine, finish it by yourself then,” he fumed, smashing the mirror with his fist.

The woman’s image disappeared as slivers of glass streamed to the floor. The Prince forced himself to breathe normally. Fury was overwhelming him. He foamed at the mouth, tasting metal.

Slowly he regained control over himself and became aware of a presence behind the door to his apartments. He opened it without looking.

“What now ?”

Crystal was standing in front of him, her big baby eyes defeated, filled with tears. He narrowed his eyes, noticing that she was dragging an enormous suitcase with her. Without realizing he was doing so he blocked the door with his body. He was
really
starting to get tired.

“Are you leaving on a trip ?” he questioned her coldly.

She nodded her head.
A little girl.

“You could say that. I’m leaving. Cornelia knows that we’re having an affair. She’s going to tell the others. I had to flee. My father can no longer do anything for me and in any case I was so horrible with him... so I thought about my mother. I’ll go look for her and hide with her. I’m afraid that the girls will hurt her.”

“Come,” the Prince said more calmly, putting his hand on her back to guide her into the living room. Without thinking, instinctively, he gripped the handle of the huge suitcase and carried it to the couch where Crystal had collapsed.

He stood assessing her for a long time, his fists on his hips – but perhaps he was assessing himself.
The Master of Shadows. The monster.

“You are going to be judged for High Treason. That has never occurred in the history of our cult, but I don’t think you’ll have the right to govern. You will have the powers of an All Powerful upon the death of your father, of course, but you will not have access to his position.”

“Yes,” she acquiesced in a worn-out voice. “They are going to hunt me down, aren’t they ? I will be condemned to death. My friends are going to have to kill me. My best friends. My sisters....”

Dimitri nearly pulled out his hair.

“These are not your friends ! They are Paladines, machines trained to eradicate everyone who doesn’t fall into line. When are you going to get that through your head ?”

She raised her eyes to him. She was afraid. So afraid. Her relationship with the Prince was not just physical ; he was her worst enemy even if he had had a burst of humanity when saving her from Beatrice. Why had she rushed to him again ? He knew perfectly well the risks that she ran sleeping with him. And he couldn’t care less, to judge by his attitude. It probably suited him very well, now that she thought about it. She straightened up, clumsily smoothed her skirt, ashamed.
Wounded, humiliated.
She gave a last glance at her lover and turned to leave.

The Prince grabbed her by the elbow.

“Wait.”

He had closed his eyes. His forehead wrinkled, his eyebrows creased ; he looked like a man struggling with his soul. Or what was left of his soul.

“Stay here.” He pressed his lips together, clenching his jaw. “I’m sorry, kitten, I wasn’t very nice.” He couldn’t help being a man with her and this power, this incredible and enormous power she had over him, was starting to alarm him.
Just a girl.
He would end up losing all his supporters, breathless here before this kitten, and yet, and yet.... He looked at her and weakened. “Stay here with me. Stay, I’ll protect you.”

Crystal collapsed against his torso, unpredictable, and started to cry harder than she ever had. She had held on and held on and held on. But now she was at the end. She melted against him in an attack of abominable anguish. Perplexed at first, then abandoning all logic before this little rag doll clinging to him, he wrapped his arms around her.

“There, there,” he consoled her. “Calm down, kitten. Calm down ; I won’t leave you. I’ll protect you. I’ll protect you,” he repeated in a hushed voice.

He cradled her, his face buried in her hair. He cuddled her, kissed and petted her, whispering soft words to her. Words of comfort. And in his embrace she rubbed against his skin, inhaling his male odor. Devouring his masculine warmth and his scent. Dimitri spoke to her very quietly. He told her that she belonged to him, that no one would ever hurt her, that he would not allow it. He called her his
“kitten” and he said that she didn’t have to cry anymore. He said that he had never said that to anyone. That no one had ever been like her. Ever.

They got as far as the bed and made love. The suitcase remained in the living room. Crystal’s life and memories had won a place in the living room ; the ultimate proof that Dimitri had definitively adopted the young woman.

The afternoon hours passed, followed by a dense night. They made love into the night. Until the hour of the wolves. The full moon rose and they remained together, body to body.

“Promise not to abandon me. Promise me, please,” she implored him in a very small voice, seeking his gaze.

The Prince promised. He had made a vow to her. He had sworn an oath, and she had fallen asleep next to him, one leg tucked under his. Then he followed her into slumber, his neck and back still bathed in sweat from the sex.

The night was deep as Crystal sank into a dream. The presence of her lover soothed her and she let herself drift.

She was walking in the desert. A faraway land, misty. She was far in the past, she knew it. An ancient time, time immemorial. But the rules of time were broken ; she also walked in the future. Her bare feet marked the sand with their
prints, raising eddies of dust with each step. Her sheer white dress danced at the whims of the wind. On her forehead she wore the symbol of the crescent moon – Where everything starts, where everything sleeps (it awaits).

As in a mirage, the curls of dust and of smoke parted and a sanctuary formed, a vague shape. (The final key).

Facing the monument, Crystal came to a halt, the veils of her dress caressing her skin, and she felt an intense golden light sweep over her. (But the gold is ashes). In a cloud of vapor, a chest appeared at the entrance of the sanctuary and she stretched out a hand toward it. It opened and the world changed. (Lucifer).

Under Crystal’s feet, the earth shook. The skies turned black and the sand took on the color of blood. In the distance, the water in the rivers turned to lava, and the children died. The animals lay down on the ground ; the cities and the people burned. In hell….

The young woman screamed.

She woke up with a start. Alerted by her scream, the Prince leaped out of bed and let loose a jet of flame, burning the drapes in front of the window. Crystal turned on the lamp next to the bed.

“Sorry, I had a nightmare.”

Dimitri raised his eyes to the ceiling and murmured a spell to put out the fire. She had the decency to put on a contrite expression as her lover got back into bed, grumbling about all these crazy hysterical women. He put his head on the pillow and once again drew her onto his shoulder so that she could go back to sleep.

“Dimi....”

“Treasure, stop panicking, if your friends the Paladines show up I’ll waste them all in ghastly torture. Can we relax now ?”

“Uh...well,” Crystal stammered. “Actually, I think I just had a premonition. A kind of prophetic dream. With Beatrice I was off base with the interpretation, but I wasn’t completely wrong, was I ?”

Annoyed, the Prince sat up in the bed.

“You never sleep, do you ?”

“I’d like to, but I have to go back to the apartment. We brought back a chest from the Palace tombs – you know, on the island of the All Powerful. I dreamed about the chest, and I think it’s important. We need to go get it.”

“So,” Dimitri moaned, “we’ll run around looking for something you had a vague nightmare about, when by this time Cornelia has probably denounced you. I really want to fight four Paladines at three o’clock in the morning. You think we can do it in our pajamas ?”

“You sleep naked,” she countered with a smile. “And in any event, it would be better if you don’t come ; there’s a chance that Cornelia hasn’t warned anyone yet. Stay in bed, I’m going to go look for the chest. Don’t worry.”

The Prince grouched before unhooking a thin gold bracelet from his wrist. Crystal arched a brow. She had never noticed the gold chain. So thin, almost invisible. And yet she knew every inch of her lover.

“It’s a magical link,” he explained, hooking the bracelet around the young woman’s arm. If you are in danger, break it. By breaking the chain you’ll trigger a signal. I’ll know you’re in trouble, and I’ll know where to find you. I’ll immediately dematerialize to where you are. It’ll keep you from being killed, as usual.”