Torment (34 page)

“Wow!” I said, rather shocked. “Every one of them?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve only ever had two visions.”

“What happened in them?”

I explained the visions I had when I was going to leave Salem, and the one I had when I was out with Lucian, showing our relatives summoning their power.

“Were you frightened when you had them?” she asked me.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly happy. I didn't know what was going on.”

“Don't ever worry about them. I doubt they would be able to hurt you.”

Marley’s mobile started ringing. It was Beth asking what time we would be back and if we needed them for anything; she wanted to go out somewhere with Lucian. Marley told her to enjoy her day and if any of us needed each other we would call. A moment later my mobile rang. It was Eligos calling from Lily’s phone, he was just checking we were OK and asking if I’d spoken to Marley about the tracking the demon yet. I told him I had and that she would try. He said he wasn’t going to mention it to anyone else in case it made her panic.

“When are we going to start?” Marley asked once I’d hung up the phone.

“We could start tonight if that’s OK with you?”

“Yeah, OK.”

When we got home we found only Lily, Jake and Eligos at the house. Tyler had gone off somewhere not long after Marley and I had left. Beth and Lucian had gone out and Danny was at home. We found them sitting in the living room watching the news; waiting to see if anywhere else had been attacked.

“It’s gotten worse,” Lily told me as I walked in the room. “There are now more than 150,000 people missing.”

“What are the police saying?”

“Not much; they are refusing to comment.”

Marley gripped my arm and pulled me away for a moment.

“You can tell Lily and Jake; in fact, you can tell them all. I don't mind,” she whispered.

I nodded to her and turned to the others. I told Lily and Jake what I had discussed with Lilith and Marley. They were both intrigued, and told Marley the same as I had – not to worry whether she could pull it off in the end or not. Marley said she wanted to start learning everything she would need to do straight away.

We turned the TV off and closed all the curtains. We didn't want any distractions; Eligos said even a bird flying past the window could break her concentration. She sat on one of the armchairs and closed her eyes, trying to relax herself.

“Right, everyone, stay quiet,” Eligos told us all. “Marley, when you’re ready let me know.”

He sat on the sofa facing her, next to me. We all waited.

“I’m ready,” she said after a few minutes.

“OK, Marley, I want you to listen to my voice,” Eligos said softly. “No one else will speak. If you see anything start talking; if you want to stop, just say so.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.

“Nothing will harm you; no one will know what you’re doing.”

Again she nodded.

“Tell me who is doing this, concentrate, ask for help. You have a strong mind power; ask it to help you and us.”

I didn't understand what he was saying for a moment, then I realized. We all command our power, we use it when we want to, and it lies dormant when we don't. Our instincts control it; we tell it what to do subconsciously. That's what he wanted Marley to do, to tap into her power and use it to its full potential.

She sat there quietly for a long time. Everyone remained silent. There was a weird buzz in the air. Everyone was nervous.

“I’m not getting anything,” she sighed, opening her eyes. “Nothing at all.”

“It’s OK,” Eligos told her. “It’s your first attempt at something you’ve never done before. Don't worry. It will take patience and practice.”

“I’m sorry, guys,” she said, looking at us all in turn.

All of us told her she had nothing to be sorry for. She said she would keep on trying, several times a day and at different times. If she got anything at all she would shout for us.

Marley spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening in her room, occasionally coming downstairs for a drink or a snack. We knew she was still trying to see something, but none of us questioned her. We wanted her to be as stress free and relaxed as possible. Eligos and the guys were outside training. Lily joined in with them sometimes and actually beat Lucian in one fight. She came running in all excited to tell me she’d ‘kicked his arse’.

I’d spent most of my time sitting in front of the TV, something I didn't do very often. I made the mistake of watching some of the chat show programs. I got so annoyed at how stupid the stories were, and how obviously fake some of them were, that I started shouting at the TV. When the TV didn't answer me or the people on there didn't change the subject, I got so frustrated that I threw an energy ball at it and blew it up. Eligos and Tyler came running in to see what the noise was. When they saw the TV set they both glared at me.

“What?” I asked, looking at them both.

“What happened?” Eligos asked.

“Chat shows are fake or most of them anyway. It’s pathetic –“Oh someone’s sleeping with my man” or “Oh I don't know who my baby’s father is’’,” I said in a sarcastic tone. “Why go on the TV with that?”

“Hmmm,” Tyler smirked, “You gonna fix it or buy a new one?”

“I don't think it’s fixable, so I’ll go shopping for a new one probably,” I told him.

Eligos smirked and walked back outside, closely followed by Tyler.

After they left I went upstairs to check on Marley. She was asleep on her bed. I didn't know what to do with myself after that. I had to learn more about my power, but it was so strong that it would be dangerous to practice close to the house. I didn't know what I was fully capable of either, so I didn't want to be too close to people in case I lost control and hurt someone. Sadly for me, I would have to either go out alone and practice and risk not being able to snap out of it, or wait until we were attacked and then let the power flow free.

Eligos had said he wanted to come out with me, just the two of us. He said he would be able to snap me out of it if need be or move away quick enough before I hurt him. I didn't feel comfortable with that though, although I knew it was a good idea. I was so scared of hurting him. I decided to watch the guys practice for a while, then went to help Lily with the cooking.

Chapter Forty-Four

Oroan

I would like to say time passed quickly, that the weeks that came and went only felt like days. But they didn't. The last few weeks or so dragged terribly. More people had disappeared – the total was now over 450,000. Spain, Australia, Poland and Egypt were just a few of the places to have towns attacked. People were going into hiding; religious groups were now saying the Apocalypse was coming. Others chose to ignore what was going on in the world and live their lives as normally as possible. They still went to work, took their children to school, and went shopping. However, it was obvious people were nervous, wondering whether they would be next to disappear.

I’d sat at the window in a little café with Hecate one morning watching everyone. It was a sad and frightening sight to see. Lilith had told me that Lucifer had executed more than three thousand demons, some of them Lords and Dukes; because he had heard they were secretly involved with the rebel leader. None of them confessed or gave any clues or hints about anything at all before they died. He felt guilty sometimes; after all, he had known some of them for thousands of years. But he said he would rather execute than risk setting a follower or possible leader free.

Eligos, Hecate and Unsere were nervous, I could tell. All of them wondering whether old enemies would accuse them just to get them killed. I’d heard them discussing it one night, but surely since they were with me, they would know that they were on our side. I wouldn't allow anything to happen to any of them anyway; I would tear the Palace apart bit by bit and kill anyone or anything that tried to hurt any of them. If I couldn’t get to them in time and Eligos died, I would kill myself. Of that I was certain.

It was now Wednesday morning, the sun was shining bright and I was outside cleaning my car with Lily. I hadn't cleaned it since I got it and it was in a terrible state, so I thought it deserved a treat. We were chatting away, about nothing in particular, just giggling and throwing soap suds at each other, when Lucian pulled up on the driveway with Beth. They were a couple now, and were really happy together. Everywhere they went they were either holding hands or had their arms around each other.

“Morning, ladies,” he shouted.

“Morning!” Lily and I shouted back.

“Who’s here with you?”

“Marley’s upstairs in the game room with Tyler; Danny and Eligos are scrapping around the back,” I told him.

“Jakes gone somewhere with his mom, and Hecate is with Unsere and her hubby in Hell,” Lily added.

“Fair enough!” Beth smiled.

“Hey do you mind doing my car when you’ve finished with yours,” Lucian said, smirking.

“Get real!” Lily said jokingly.

“So what are your…” he went to say.

“Hey guys, look at that!” Beth interrupted, shielding her eyes and looking up at the sky.

We all turned to see what she was looking at. The moon was visible and was slowly starting to move in front of the sun.

“Since when was there going to be an eclipse?” Lily asked. “Don't they normally mention it on the TV so everyone can watch?”

“It’s going to be a full one too by the looks of it,” Beth said.

“Wow, you know, I’ve never actually seen one,” I added, watching in amazement.

We all stood there watching as the moon covered more and more of the sun. The daylight started to fade and an aura of light surrounded the moon. It was beautiful. Eligos and Danny came and stood by us, watching it too.

“I didn't know about this,” Danny said.

“No, none of us did,” Lucian told him.

It didn’t take long for daylight to fade completely; it was like standing outside at midnight.

“Errr, does that normally happen that fast?” Lily asked.

“No!” Eligos said very seriously.

“Guys!” we heard Hecate shout. She ran over to us, with Unsere by her side, then looked up at the sky. “Oh no, it’s too late.”

“Hecate, what is it?” Danny asked.

She seemed to ignore him and looked directly at Eligos.

“Lucifer called a meeting this morning with a demon,” she told him. “That demon didn't show up.”

“Oroan?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn!” he said, taking a few steps forward and looking up again. “We need to find him. Fast.”

“OK, OK, hang on a minute. Who the hell is Oroan, and what's the problem?” I asked, walking over to him.

“Oroan is the demon of the eclipse. He can control any planet’s movement, and its moons. If this lasts too long, the world will be in turmoil.”

“Imagine this, Keira,” Hecate said, “tidal waves, like nobody has ever seen before…He could shadow the rest of the sun, and then the whole world would be in darkness. Within hours the Earth would feel cooler, just as it does at night. Within a few days anything operated by solar panels will stop working. The planet will freeze…”

“How long could he keep it up for?” I asked Hecate.

“As long as he wants. He got the power when he first came to Hell. He was a nice guy who wanted to show the people of the world something amazing and beautiful. But now, I don't know what's wrong with him, or why he’s changed.”

“OK so let’s just put it this way – long solar eclipse and blocking off sun is bad. Therefore he needs to be stopped,” Lily said.

“Pretty much yeah,” Eligos told her.

Lily’s phone started ringing so she walked away from us for a moment.

“So how do we find him?” I asked.

“I can try and track him, but I can’t promise anything,” Hecate replied.

“OK, see what you can do; we need a plan B.”

“Does Lilith know about this?” Eligos asked.

“Yeah, she does,” I heard Unsere say. She came over to us and stood next to Beth. “She and Lucifer are working on tracking him down.”

“That was Jake,” Lily said, coming back towards us. “It’s a breaking story on the news channels. It seems the whole planet is going into darkness…well, the half where it isn’t night already.”

“We need to work quickly,” I said.

“Keira!” Tyler shouted through the games room window. “Keira, quick. It’s Marley.”

I was about to run but Eligos grabbed me and teleported us into the room. Marley was on the floor in the corner of the room, her head in her hands, crying.

“Get out of my head,” she said over and over again. “Leave me alone.”

“Marley!” I said, grabbing her arms. “Marley look at me. You’re OK, you’re safe.”

“Make him go away,” she sobbed.

“Who is he? I can’t see him, Marley.”

“Please, Keira, make him stop!”

I stood up and looked around the room, but nobody was there, I couldn’t even sense a presence. Eligos and Tyler shouted to the others to check the house.

“Marley, there’s nobody here, darlin’; you’re safe, he can’t hurt you he…”

“He’s taken the sun,” she said. “He’s taken it and he wants to keep it. It’s so dark, Keira. I can’t see.”

I didn't understand what she was saying. Tyler had thought to turn the lights on when he noticed it getting dark so the room was brightly lit.

“Marley, look at me,” I said, moving her arms from in front of her face. “Look at me.”

“Keira, there’s nobody in the house,” Beth said as she walked in the room with Lucian. “Marley!” she cried when she saw the state of her. She started to run over but Lucian grabbed her quickly.

“Take her outside,” I told him.

“No, Marley, no!” Beth said, struggling with Lucian.

“Beth, you can’t do anything for her. Let Keira handle it,” he told her, as he picked her up and carried her out of the room.

Lily walked in with Eligos and shut the door after them.

“Marley, come on,” I said.

“No I can’t – he’s coming.”

“What? Here?”

“I don't know! He’s grinning at me…he can see me,” she cried hysterically.

“Right, that's it!” I grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. She went to slide down again but Eligos held her up. “Last chance, Marley! Look at me.”