A Demon Made Me Do It(95)

I was wrong…I was totally wrong about him. I am so sorry, Lucky…this was all a trap for you.

Kieron tries to hold my hand, but I yank it away. “Liora, don’t be afraid…” he says, pleading with his eyes.

“It’s a little too late for that. You brought me here so you could trap Lucky, didn’t you?” The corners of my eyes well up, but I refuse to cry. I’m done crying because of Kieron; I simply have no more tears left.

He motions to a pile of rocks blocking what looks like the entrance to a cave. “I have the Amazèa locked up in there.”

“You…what?” My whole body begins to tremble. This is even worse than I’d imagined, and I pray it’s just some sick joke… but why would he want to terrify me?

Please, please don’t tell me those murderous monsters are really this close, and here I am, exposed and vulnerable...human.

“Liora, don’t be afraid. They can’t harm you. They won’t harm anyone ever again, I promise you. You’re safe.”

I look into his eyes seeking reassurance, and find it there. But my voice is still shaking. “Why did you bring me here?” I ask softly

He reaches out to me again, and this time I don’t flinch from him. His touch is comforting, calming. “Liora, I need to talk to you, and we don’t have much time. It is important that you speak with me openly and honestly. It is of the utmost importance that you do... both of our lives might depend on it.”

“Okay, I’ll try…” I whisper, still staring into his eyes, the one place I feel safe.

“No matter how hard or painful it is for you, please tell me the truth.”

“Okay, I promise…”

He takes a deep breath. “Do you agree with Lucky that it is she who must kill the Amazèa in order for you to reunify as one entity?”

“I...I’m not sure what will happen to us if she kills them. But I want them dead for what they did. No one else can or will do it…” I look away, unable to hold his intense gaze.

He gently tilts my chin back to him. “But what if someone else does do it? What if they were punished for what they did to you and Lucky and your friends?”

“It’s…there’s more than just that. I do think Lucky has to be the one to kill them for us to have a chance to undo what happened to us. It’s the only way we know that might work…”

“But there is no guarantee, correct? Say she does kill them and nothing changes between you two. Then what?” His eyes search mine.

I take a step back from him and brush my hair off my face. “I don’t know…we just have to live with it I guess…I mean, I never thought it would be forever, but if that’s how it is…I…we just have to learn to live with it, I guess.”

“But are you aware of the fact that if you—she—does kill them, she will be in violation of Order 417.74 that states no demon or demion may attack a higher ranked demon or demion without sanctioned provocation or legal ordinance or they, too, shall be stripped of their powers and banished to the Wasteland?”

I furrow my brow. “I haven’t exactly studied up on the demon legal handbook. Look, I’m about to fall asleep so whatever you need to know, ask me now.”

He takes a step closer, and wraps one arm around me, while tracing the side of my cheek with his other hand. “Liora,” he whispers. “What I really need to know…forgetting all the craziness around us right now…Do you think you and I…do you think someday…you might ever be able to love me?”

I stay lost in the depths of his gaze as the familiar burning returns. Here I am safe. Here I am secure, whole, and warm. Here I feel his unspoken love for me radiate to the depths of my soul.

“I already do,” I whisper. My last conscious memory is of his warm lips on mine.

******





He moves away quickly, but not quickly enough. I grab his throat and hiss, “And just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I throw him towards the rocks with all my might. The shattered boulders crash to the ground, but Kieron simply stands up and brushes himself off—unhurt, and clearly unfazed, judging from the cocky smile on his face.

“Hello, Lucky.”

“Don’t ‘hello Lucky’ me,” I snarl, building a firestorm in my palms.

“Wait, wait…don’t shoot, I come in peace,” he says with a smile, holding up both of his arms.

“Very funny. Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” I look around at the unpleasant scenery. This place gives me the creeps; it reminds me too much of the hideous Wasteland the Altrumina sent me to. “And where the hell are we?”