Authors: Charisma Knight
Chapter Seven
Silas finally located
Cyn’s
realm. The son of the she-demon was definitely
expecting company. The barrier singed his flesh as he willed his way through.
Sensing the demon and other family members, he found himself at the entrance of
Cyn’s
manor.
Before he could do or say
anything, the door flew open and
Cyn
appeared in
half-human, half-demon form. His eyes narrowed and flashed in anger as he eyed
Silas.
“
Cyn
, I gather.” Silas never took his
eyes off the demon.
“
How the hell did you make it
past my barriers?”
Cyn
glowered at him and sniffed.
“Wait a minute…don’t tell me you’re…?”
Silas cleared his throat and
frowned. “May I speak to Helena?”
“
You!”
Cyn
growled and lengthened his talons, ready to strike the man down. “This cannot
be! You’re dead!”
“
Then…you know who I am?”
The demon nodded as he bared
teeth. “
Barius
sent you to do his dirty work. You’re
here to deliver Helena to him! You’ve met your match, witch! I’ll not let you
take her without a fight!”
“
I won’t harm Helena, but
Barius
? He is the one you should be concerned with.”
“
Then what business do you have
here with my Helena?”
“
I’m here of my own accords,”
Silas insisted stubbornly. “Please. May I come in?”
“
I should incinerate you from
the inside out for what you’ve done,”
Cyn
snarled.
“
Don’t!” Helena’s heart beat
rapidly and her throat tightened. From the moment
Cyn
opened the door, she’d heard them arguing. “I want to speak with him.”
Cyn
stiffened and released a
growl. Never letting Silas out of his sight, he motioned for the man to cross
the threshold of his domain. “One wrong move and I’ll destroy you.”
“
I’ve been through more hell
than you could ever dish out,” Silas said awkwardly as he fixated his gaze on
Helena. “You are the least of my worries and a mere personal demon of lust.
Helena, I’m so sorry for what I’ve done.”
“
How dare you!” Helena said on a
low growl. “What reason do you possibly have for even seeking me out? What
right do you have to even approach me after all you’ve put our family through?”
“
A very good one,” Silas
admitted. “Look, I’m not going to beg your forgiveness. We don’t have much
time.”
“
What are you babbling about?”
Cyn
butted in rudely. “You’re damn right you don’t have
much time. Speak your piece and get the hell out of my realm!”
“
You have my deepest sympathies,
Helena,” Silas admitted.
She crossed her arms over her
chest and narrowed her eyes.
“Besides the fact that you were
selfish and stupid in your choices?”
“
I have good reasons for my
choice, but that’s not my purpose for coming here.
Barius
will be here soon. He’s coming for you, Helena. I’ve managed to dodge him all
these years with the help of another.
Until the time was
right.”
Silas removed the necklace and handed it to Helena. “This all
can be rectified. You and Mimi aren’t the last of our line. There are others
who fight against the curse. I’ve seen them in my vision
s
.”
Reluctantly, Helena accepted
the necklace. “What purpose will a simple necklace serve?”
“
It’s imbued with my blood and magic.
It aided me in cloaking my presence from
Barius
. I’m
no good, though, not like you or Mimi. If one of you wears this pendant, you’ll
have the power you’ll need to contain
Barius
. You can
even revive Mimi to her former state. The curse will be broken.”
“
Wait a minute, I want to know
one thing,” Helena insisted. “What about me?”
“
You’re half demon?” Silas
shrugged. “Surely you knew that?”
“
Only recently…well, we’ve
suspected. I just want to know how did I become half
demon?
”
Cyn
laid a hand on her shoulder
and peered at her through
slitted
, golden eyes. “Does
it really matter?” he asked.
“
I’d like to know my origins.”
She looked to Silas.
“
Demons were supposed to consume
our entire line. The women in our family mated with them; that’s how you
appeared to me. Prior to my striking a bargain with both demons in eighteen
eighty-seven, I saw you often in my visions.”
Helena wrinkled her face in
disgust. “How is it that you can just waltz in here, after what you did? You
sacrificed me to a demon! Not to mention, unleashed a curse on everyone in our
family! We are almost nonexistent thanks to you!” She may have been staring at
a distant relative of the past, but his actions against her invoked a savage
pain that possibly could never be erased.
Silas’s jaw tightened. “There’s
nothing I can do to change the past. I’ve spent my entire existence regretting
it all. There’s no way out for me. What’s done is done. At least you can make a
life with your newfound love. You’ll be the first woman in our line since eighteen
eighty-seven to know love.”
Silas glanced at
Cyn
. “I was granted protection by your mother
Sorscha
if I successfully connected you and Helena.
”
“
So
Cyn
wasn’t the demon I was supposed to have summoned?”
“
Lucky for you, no,” Silas
confessed and slumped his shoulders. “You have
Sorscha
to thank for that.”
“
How does
she
play a role
in this?” Helena asked.
“
If I know my mother, this isn’t
good,”
Cyn
volunteered. “She has ulterior motives.”
“
You think?” Helena sneered.
Silas sighed. “Unfortunately,
I’m sure I don’t know all her reasons behind this. She appeared to me, offered
an opportunity, and I took it.”
“
Of course you would,” Helena
interjected. “You’d hook up with any demon that can offer you whatever it is
you want.”
“
Runs in the family, doesn’t
it?” Silas laughed.
Helena narrowed her eyes. “No
thanks to you!”
“
All
right, all right!”
Cyn
snapped. “You both are giving me a headache!” He
pointed at Helena.
“You!
Stop feeding into his shit!
You!”
He cast a finger at Silas. “Spill your guts.
Now
!
What did you get out of helping my mother?”
“
Don’t know for sure, but maybe
a second chance.” Silas smiled. “
Sorscha
and I…well
we think alike.
Barius
is of no concern to me
anymore. After tonight, he won’t be the most powerful demon in all the realms.”
“
What do you mean?”
Cyn
snapped. “What does Helena have to do with anything?”
“
I can go back and change
everything. I can reverse what I’ve done.
Sorscha
can
turn back
time
,” Silas announced.
“
That’s just utter stupidity,”
Helena said. “No one should ever tamper with the fabric of time. Even I know
that!”
“
And it’s definitely possible.”
Silas grinned as a transparent
figure suddenly appeared, then solidified. The tall, blonde demon turned to
smile at him.
“
What are you doing here?”
Cyn
sneered.
“
Is that any way to greet the
woman who has paired you up with your soul mate?”
Sorscha
asked as she studied her son’s manor. She stopped only to glance at Helena. “
Barius
will be furious when he arrives. I suggest you put
the pendant on to entrap him. You’ll never be able to destroy him without the
pendant.”
“
What’s in it for you?”
Cyn
demanded as he approached his mother. “What aren’t you
telling us?”
“
My dear boy, I’m deeply
offended,”
Sorscha
said innocently. “I’ve had to wait
centuries for all the stars and the planets to align,” she sang as she
continued the exploration of her son’s home. “I’ve patiently
awaited
for this moment. You know,
Silas, I owe it all to you.”
Cyn
looked around, prepared to
fight. “You’ve taken down my barriers! Mother, what the hell
are
you
up to!”
Barius
appeared, towering above them
all. “Helena!” Bearing the resemblance of a great dragon, the demon shifted,
and returned to his human form. Now he looked to be a simple man with black
shoulder length hair, slicked back, drawing attention to his receding hairline.
His face was an evil mask of fury, with fine time lines that would make one
believe him to be somewhere in his fifties. His jet black eyes were filled with
anger and his thin lips pulled back to reveal a row of razor sharp teeth.
Cyn
and
Barius
immediately came to blows as Helena backed away. The ruby on the gold chain she
wore began to vibrate against her skin, and the desire to contain
Barius
became strong within her.
“
You can all be free now,”
Sorscha
chirped. “You just have to trap him!” She pointed
to
Barius
as he struggled with
Cyn
.
“
You can’t trust her!”
Cyn
bit out sharply before
Barius’s
clawed hand raked across his face, nearly tearing his eye out. He shifted into
his full demon form and pounced onto
Barius
.
“
Here!” Helena yelled as she
pointed the ruby in their direction.
“
What? You’re kidding me,
right?”
Cyn
said with a snarl as he dodged a blow
from
Barius
.
“
Cyn
,
now!”
Immediately,
Cyn
turned and hurled
Barius
in
front of the ruby. As the demon kicked and gnashed its teeth, Helena stood
strong. A surge of energy swept through her body, and for the first time in her
life she felt she’d made a difference.
“
You can’t do this to me!”
Barius
roared
,
his face twisted
into an eerie mask of fury. “You can’t destroy me!” His body contorted,
becoming smaller as the ruby claimed him. “This is only temporary. I’ll be back
for you. I’ll return for you all!”
Puzzled, Helena held the ruby
up close to her face. “Tell me that did not just happen.”
Cyn
growled as he returned to his
human form.
“Mother!
Explain!” he snapped.
Sorscha
shrugged.
“Nothing
to explain, really.”
She turned to Silas. “Come, Silas. You are free of
Barius
.”
“
But enslaved to you now,
right?”
Cyn
glowered as he approached the she-demon.
“What do you have planned?”
“
Why do you even care?” Silas
asked.
“
I don’t. I just know whatever
she’s up to, no good will come of it.”
“
Only bad things will come from
a demon’s touch.” Mimi walked over to Helena, hugging her. She glared at
Sorscha
and Silas. “You have no idea what you’re about to
do, Silas.”
“
Aunt Mimi, look at you!” Helena
exclaimed. “You can walk and you’re talking!”
“
Yes, but what did we have to
sacrifice?”
“
Aw,
no.
I’ve
contained
Barius
. He no longer has control over you,”
Helena said with a smile. “He…” She paused as she looked over at Silas and
Sorscha
grinning from ear to ear.
“
Yes,
child.”
Mimi spoke softly. “I know what you are, and tonight, that part of you was used
against you,” she admitted. “I’ve known for a very long time what would come to
pass.”
Cyn
stepped toward her. “Is this
the secret you were keeping from me?” he asked with concern. “Why didn’t you
tell me?”