Demons Forever (Peachville High Demons #6) (41 page)

I lowered my head. "There were great losses on both sides," I said. "But in the end it was worth it. The demons are free and Priestess Winter is gone."

Eloise, her mother, stepped forward and placed her hand on my shoulder. "What you've done here is truly a miracle," she said. "Generations of women have been forced to be prima, or to join the Order, never able to follow their own dreams or find their own way in the world. Even the men we marry and home we live in is picked for us. There are thousands of prima families out there who are going to be anxious to find freedom of their own."

She paused, staring down at her two daughters. "Even mine."

I looked at the three women from Cypress, trying to imagine how they must be feeling after all this. The women in Peachville were free and we now had a way to free all of the blue demon gates, but what about the other colors of gates out there in the world. Gates like Cypress?

"If you're willing, we can work together to find the master stone and the ring for the Cypress gate," I said. An emerald. But which of the four remaining sisters was in charge of the green gates? And would we be able to find her once she found out what we'd done to her sister?

"We all want to help," Meredith said. I think it was the first time she'd spoken since she arrived.

"You're sure you don't want to be prima?" I asked. When I first met her, she'd seemed to enjoy the prestige and attention that went along with the role.

She shrugged. "I don't see why we can't still plan to have covens with primas and everything," she said. "We'll still all be able to cast some kinds of magic, even without the demons. We just need to start some new traditions."

I smiled. "That sounds perfect to me," I said.

I left them, walking around the battlefield one last time.

So much death, but so much new life. Everyone would now have choices they had never had before. Dreams they could follow without having to worry about being punished for them. Demons would be able to return home to the shadow world. To see their families again.

But Eloise was right. There were still so many gates to free. So many in the shadow world who would now have a new hope.

The hope of being reunited with the loved ones they thought had been lost to them forever.

The Demon Liberation Movement

Angela and I spread our father's ashes among the white roses at the edge of Brighton Lake.

I held my sister's hand as we watched them scatter in the wind.

We knew this was nothing more than the outer shell of who he'd been and that his real spirit lived in peace in the Afterworld. Still, we felt it would be good to leave a piece of him here, split between both of the worlds he loved so much.

Afterward, when all our tears had been cried, we gathered on the porch of Brighton Manor to celebrate our first victory over the Order of Shadows. With Mrs. Shadowford gone, the house was truly mine. It still needed some fixing up and some major cleaning, but with everyone's help, it was starting to feel like home.

"We should come up with a name for ourselves," Aerden said. In his human form, he looked almost exactly like his brother. Only his deep brown eyes set him apart.

Lea raised her eyebrows. "We already have a name," she said. "The Resistance."

Jackson shook his head. "No, that's the old name," he said. He pulled me onto his lap and I giggled, throwing my arms around him."The Resistance was an army of demons who were going to take this world by force, killing everyone if they had to. The future is different now. Our mission is to set people free. We need a new name to go along with it."

"What about the Demon Liberation Movement?" Courtney said. She so rarely talked, everyone paused to look at her, shocked to hear her sound so confident.

"I love it," I said, laughing. "It has a certain ring to it. Of course, we'll be liberating humans too."

I thought of Brooke and wondered what her life would be like now that she was no longer a slave to the Order's mission. Now that her mother was gone. Would she find the courage to stand up and follow her own dreams?

At least now she would have the choice.

It was a choice every young girl deserved to have, and I knew we wouldn't stop until everyone was free.

A Future Hope

I stared at the demon statue in front of Peachville High School.

I traced my index finger along the widening crack in the stone. Hard to believe Jackson's power had once been contained inside this cold rock. I still felt the slight tingle of power inside as my skin touched it, but I knew the real essence of Jackson's power had been completely restored to him.

And we'd need it in the years to come.

The Demon Liberation Movement had only just begun its work against the Order of Shadows. There were still four of the original sisters out there enslaving demons. The closure of the blue portals would hurt them, but really it was just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of gates still open.

There was also the issue of the mysterious High Priestess. A woman no one seemed to have any information about. Yet, deep in my gut, I knew she was more dangerous than all five of the sisters combined.

A shiver ran down my spine as I thought of the dangers that lay ahead.

"Are you just going to ogle that statue all day long? Or are you actually coming to class today?" Lea smacked my butt as she walked past.

I laughed and rubbed the stinging spot.

The rest of the group had insisted we all go to school together to keep up the illusion that we were just normal students in Peachville. Soon enough, Priestess Winter's sisters would come looking for the people who had killed her. Our hope was that it would take them a long time to figure out what had really happened and who had been responsible. The more normal our lives looked on the outside, the less suspicious they would be of us.

My sister would continue to coach the cheerleading squad, only this time they'd learn actual cheers instead of magic. Lea and Aerden enrolled as seniors so they could have classes with Jackson. Zara, as the youngest of us all, had decided to enroll as a freshman with Mary Anne and Essex, despite the fact that her home schooling would have tested her out of even the most advanced classes here at PHS.

I trailed behind Lea, clutching my books to my chest. I watched the teens of Peachville High School as they rushed past. Some laughed. Some stared ahead with a more-than-bored expression on their face. Couples walked hand-in-hand. Friends huddled together in various nooks, sharing secrets and talking about their crushes or their homework or what they planned to do this weekend.

I bit my lower lip to hide a smile as I made my way to my locker.

Most of the teens here had no idea just how much this town had changed in recent weeks. They had no clue demons had been enslaved in Peachville for over a hundred years. People like Drake still weren't aware of the impact the Order had on their lives.

If I had anything to do with it, they'd never have to know.

I twisted the dial on my locker, trying to remember a combination I hadn't used in forever. When it finally popped open, a single sheet of drawing paper fluttered to the ground.

Confused, I set my books inside the locker, then leaned over to pick up the page.

I flipped it over, gasping as I stared at the elaborate drawing. I looked from side-to-side, searching the halls for his familiar leather jacket and black boots.

There, near the end of the hallway, Jackson stood, one foot propped behind him on the cinderblock wall. Our eyes met and one side of his lips curled up in a sexy half-smile that made my heart pound in my chest.

I looked back down at his drawing, a lump forming in my throat.

He'd taken care with this one. This wasn't one of his quick sketches done with a dull pencil. No, this had taken some time. The shading and colors were just right, every detail filled with love.

And hope.

How long had he known this was our future? How long ago had he seen this picture in his mind?

Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. I memorized the scene, then pulled the paper close to my heart.

Here was proof of a future hope for us and for both our worlds. No matter what the days ahead would bring. No matter the war that faced us now. Someday, this would be our life.

Jackson and me, sitting together in the garden of my father's castle. Our hands entwined. A crown upon my head. Our eyes fixed happily on a small child playing among the roses.

A boy with silver eyes.

Our son.

The End

of Harper's Story

The Beginning of Lea's Story

www.freeyourinnerdemon.com

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About the Author

Sarra Cannon grew up in a small town in Georgia where she learned that being popular always comes at a price. Now, she lives in North Carolina with her amazing husband and her teeny tiny Pomeranian, Snickerdoodle. Books and music are her greatest passions. She has never been a cheerleader, but it's possible she knows a few things about casting spells.

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