My Soul to Take (Soul Keepers (Young Adult paranormal romance)) (26 page)

“
If I say no will you kill me?”

“
Probably,” he says like he could care less whether I live or die. If I say yes it’s a done deal.

“
Can I think about it? Maybe a night’s rest to determine if I could spend an eternity here?”

“
You’re still a terrible liar, but take the night. Make yourself at home. Oh and here’s one more to seal the deal—your beloved Sam will be a permanent resident here one day. If you take the deal I can guarantee you two this suite to share.” 

“
Why would Sam go to hell? He’s a complete saint,” I ask.

Malphas walks back toward the door pausing inside the door.
“His mother sold his soul before he was even born. Nighty-night.”  He closes the door behind him and I hear a lock click. How did I wind up here? The reality that I may actually be in the devil's mansion right now is enough to make me want to climb the walls. I go to the window and pull back the thick velvet curtain. It looks as if it's light outside, but the glass is frosted over and artificially lit somehow. It's like Vegas in here. I press my ear to the glass. Nothing.

I ease down on what looks like a poodle furred sofa. I hope it's not real poodle. Oh god I think it is. I bolt from the furniture making a horrified sound as I go. Yes, I'm in hell. I pull back the covers on the bed, hoping the sheets aren't crafted from baby seals. I sigh with relief, just cotton.

I run my hand over the ivory silky sheets, they feel like nothing but the best. The four bed posts are twisted like a rope, creating a crown above the center. The ceiling is painted to look like an artistic rendition of the night sky. The lower half of the walls are trimmed out in wood, and a neutral pallet of Venetian plaster buffed to a dull shine covers the upper portion.

There is a small media room that I didn't notice before, tucked away behind a large shelf of books. A small screen lights up as I walk in. The screen reads, Welcome back Brennen. Search by title or actor. Now that's just flipping nuts. The bathroom is fit for royalty. I've never seen anything so lavish in my life. Like the rest of the room it's done in a traditional style. A large slender soaking tub rests under a beautiful chandelier, light bounces off the crystals adding a sparkle to the room.  Fresh ivory roses fill oversize vases on the vanities. I makes me wonder how far in advance they knew they would have me.

When I come back out I notice a silver service has been set at a small dining table. I get a whiff of something delicious inside that start's my mouth to watering. I lift the dome and a bacon wrapped filet mignon sends it's freshly grilled aroma straight into my beef loving taste buds. They're trying to butter me up. All I want to do is live through this. This room could be bricked by pure gold and I wouldn't take the deal.

I sit down and hope the meal isn't poisoned, but I don't think they'd kill me before they got what they wanted. This could be my last meal. In the morning when he asks me what I've decided, he will have no choice but to kill me. My appetite is lost after only a few bites. I settle under the heavy blanket and pray until I drift off to sleep.

Journal of EM,              May 6
th
2013

That bastard took her right out from under my nose. And there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. Elena showed up a second too late. When Malphas saw Elena show up, he took Brennen right off the ledge with him, teleporting away in an instant. I make one call to Jesson before I do the unthinkable. He answers on the first ring and tells me just what I need to know.

Brennen called Malphas by accident, but even so she may take his deal. She's down there right now with no idea what she's getting herself into. I've got to get her out, fast. I storm into Nehemiah's office bursting through the doors, knocking one off its hinges. Nehemiah scrambles to his feet. He tries to command me to stop. But I fight through it. “I'm done taking orders from you!” I shove him clear across the room.

Our wings both emerge, shaken up like a pair of wild dogs. I’m seething with anger.
“You have gone too far. You don't deserve to control the oracle!” I shove him down to the floor and he struggles to overpower me. But I’m stronger than he is. “Renounce your title or die.”

“
Never, you fool. You'll be tossed from Grace if you don't get a hold of yourself Elijah.”

“I plan on it.”

“Elijah don’t, you’ll never get it back in time if you manage to at all.” I squeeze him harder out of sheer despise for everything he’s put us through. I think of the condition Brennen came back in last time they took her.

I grip his neck like a vice.
“It's all your fault he tore her right out of my arms. I was powerless to stop him because of your order Nehemiah and for that you must be destroyed. She could be signing her soul over to the devil this minute. I could lose her forever. Renounce your title or die Nehemiah.” I pin him down sitting on top of his back I pull his head back, gripping his chin for leverage. 

“Please, let me show you.” He
pleads out between his clenched teeth, unable to move from my grip. I relax only enough to move him to the oracle. The images flash constantly changing, shifting to visions of the lives down on Earth. I kick his legs out from beneath him and he kneels before it as if it were the only thing standing between his destruction and his survival.

His hand hovers over it and the oracle stops on a vision of Brennen. She’s in the living room of the private home inside the white house. I know it well, since
I’ve guarded so many of its former residents. She relaxes on the sofa like she’s had a long day, lying her head back with an arm over her eyes.

“Mommy, mommy!” Two small children call out as they run into the room. A boy and a girl, twins. The little
dark haired boy climbs on top of her and she smiles warmly at him like he had the ability to make her entire day brighter. She pulls him into a hug and the view changes. Now I can see his face. His eyes fill with delight at her affection. Blue eyes, deep as the ocean, match mine exactly. The shock causes me to lose my grip on Nehemiah. He makes a move to run and I stop him, slamming his head down on the desk. The oracle catches my attention again as the scene plays out. The little girl makes her way up to Brennen’s lap as well, she is the spitting image of her mother at that age. 

“
None of this changes anything Nehemiah. You are my only hope at getting her out of there.” He knows it and he stops fighting. His fate is sealed. He will pay for what he’s done to her, what he’s done to us.

With a hard twist
, I snap his neck and capture his spirit before it can escape. I lock it away in the lead box with Orneus. Let them have a play date for a decade or two. Nehemiah's body vanishes without a trace. I tuck the small box inside my pocket. I’m surprised no one’s come to check on all the noise.

I take a seat behind his desk and try and find Brennen. The oracle can’t find her. Which means she's nowhere on the planet. He took her to hell this time. There's only one way in. I don't even think twice about it. With the blood of Nehemiah on my hands I reach behind me and rip out one of my wings, screaming out in pain as I do so. It takes all of my strength to get the first one out.  The room spins and I fight to stay conscious. I pant and take a deep breath
, grabbing a decorative wooden feather off of Nehemiah's desk to bite down on.  I love you Brennen and I will keep my promise.

I reach behind me and grip my wing and clench down on the wood as I rip the second wing out.
I slump down writhing in pain. With tears free flowing out of my eyes like hot lava, I cry out. “I renounce you my God, so that I may save her. Please forgive me.” Saying those words hurts more than the pain of my self-mutilation. A crack of thunder rolls in the sky, loud enough to cause me to jump. It announces to Amorous that they’ve lost one of their own. Warm blood trickles down my back. Without him and without her I’m only a shell of a man.

Lifting one leg and then the other I walk out of Nehemiah’s office and into the transport room with him still tucked safely in my pocket. I stumble at the door way falling against the wall. My blood smears across, leaving a trail of crimson on the stark white paint. I glance back at my wings on the floor, spattered with blood. I take a resolving breath and continue on my way. When I leave here I will never be allowed to come back. Gasps of shock cry out as I pass Keepers in the hall. Inara being one of them.

“Elijah no! Why would you?” Her sweet face is so full of concern for me. I explain that I’ve to save her. She pulls me to the side and heals my wounds. Something she's not supposed to do. The fallen are meant to bear their wounds as slow healing as a mortal human would.

“
I'm going to fight for you Elijah. Go, save her. We will find a way to get your wings back.” It only took Jesson six thousand years, I'm not holding my breath. I’m still trying to make sense of the vision he showed me.

“
Nehemiah is finished, he’s the one who deserved to have his wings ripped out. He’s gone insane with power. I had to take him down. Tell Michael everything he’s done.”

“
I will. And Elijah bring her back to us. She’s our only hope.” She grips me in her arms and hugs me.

I step on to the platform and I begin my free fall. My body speeds toward the earth like a comet from space. I feel the dark wings growing inside of me. Just before I collide with the ground they sprout from my back in a wave of pain as they rip through the scars. I shudder from the pain and fight to use them to save myself. The ground shimmers around me and swallows me up whole. Complete darkness and then a second later and I’m in the holding bin. I hit the ground rolling with the force of ten men.

I hear men coming down the hall. I follow my instincts and open the only door that’s unlocked. I can still hear heartbeats. In the silence of this room I listen. Mapping out the lay of the complex. I’ve got to find the entrance to Hell. It takes me a few minutes but I finally find a location where the sounds stop after they move through a point. That’s what I’m looking for. My gift helps me to move through undetected.

Now
I’ve to wait until they’re all away from the room. Every minute I waste could be her last. I need to hurry. Three more mill around the room taking their time. Once I get down there I’ve no idea where they’re keeping her. If I’m noticed they may capture me.

The last man goes through and I enter the room. A single gold door is the only thing in the room. I hear someone approaching, now or never. With a deep breath I enter the door. I walk through a long stone hallway, lit only by lanterns along the way. Here there are no heartbeats, only death. Brennen is the only living soul down here, if she’s even alive at all anymore.

Jesson told me how to get to Lucifer’s palace but once I’m there I’m on my own to find her. I think once I find the palace, I should be able to hear her heartbeat. I keep my head down as I pass other demons. I’m one of them now. The reality of what I’ve down has never been so heavy as right now. So very far away from my God that I can’t feel his presence at all anymore. A hollowness inside me is achingly present. Now I know how Jesson must have felt to be compared to them for so many centuries. He risked his grace to help her and I’ll be forever in his debt.

“Sleep well?” I blink open my eyes and find Malphas sitting next to me on the bed. I sit up sucking in a breath.
Is it morning already?

“
No. I had the most God awful dream that the devil wanted to lock me away in a tower with only his trusty sidekick to keep me company.”

“
I see you have your mother’s sense of humor.”

I scrunch up my face, clueless to his reference.
“The only joke my mother ever told was that her glass was empty.”

“
No dear, your real mother, Emmagen. She is a seraphim high angel.”

“
What are you talking about?” My mother wasn’t my real mother? I rub my temples in frustration. And apparently I knew this already. Somewhere in my brain is the knowledge that my real mother is an angel. How could anyone make me forget that? For that matter how could Satan give me those memories back? Unless he is the one who took them in the first place.

“
You see that’s why you need your memories back,” he says calmly, matter-of-factly.

“
Please don’t kill me but, I don’t want to give him my soul.” 

“
I’ll give him the message.” He gives a halfhearted smile and heads toward the door. “Oh and Brennen, I left you a pen a pad to write Sam your farewells. I’ll make sure he gets it.” He winks before closing the door behind him and locking it.

Sure enough a blank notepad and pen sit on the table where I left my dinner last night. The tray’s been replaced with breakfast. I can’t do this. I don’t want to die. Maybe he won’t kill me.
Maybe you haven’t seen enough episodes of
Criminal Minds.
My subconscious blares back.

I see they’ve placed a knife in with my silverware. I slip it into the back pocket of my slacks and plan to go down fighting. I straighten myself up a bit. What if he wants to meet me in person so that I can beg for my life to be spared? After a few minutes go by I begin to panic. I check the door to see if it’s locked and all the windows.