I hesitated before leaving and bent over to help Kade as he continued to groan in pain. He pushed me away urgently and ushered for me to go. I hurried off in an instant, shouting for Odis and Maeve and searching for the witch's crimson hair. It shouldn't be that hard to find, right? But as I pushed through crowds of unsuspecting people, I found neither of them anywhere. With everyone wearing masks, it made my job even harder. Things got worse when people didn't have the decency to move out of my way as I tried to slip through. Some even started to push me around. Eventually, somehow, I ended up on a large balcony, all by myself. I tried to get back to the party but I was shoved right back outside into the chilly air.
Out of nowhere, someone jumped through a crowd of people and rushed towards me. I was highly confused when I realized it was Kade.
"Hey! Are you alright? I've been searching for you everywhere!" he said as he grabbed my shoulders and shook me slightly. He had an odd smile set on his face, which was no longer twisted in pain, and his eyes were set back to a crystal blue.
I squinted in confusion and tried to step back. "W-what is going on?" I stuttered. He also squinted, as if oblivious to what I was talking about.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You said you sensed something wrong and started to freak out. You looked like you were in serious pain!" I cried. "I tried looking for Odis and Maeve like you said. What happened? Are you okay?"
He smiled again and laughed softly. "Yeah... I'm okay. I guess it was a false alarm."
"But Kade... your dark side was starting to show again," I whispered seriously. His smile remained.
"Like I said, false alarm. You shouldn't worry. I don't like it when you worry," he responded. One of his hands caressed my cheek as he pulled me close and removed both of our masks. Was it wrong to say I was worrying even more?
When he pulled my face close to his, my suspicion grew stronger. "Do you know how beautiful you look tonight?" he whispered. I only stuttered a low "uh" as he breathed against my lips. What the hell was happening? I didn't try to struggle but I let my puzzlement show in my expression. All he did was laugh and... and he kissed me!
It was a sudden shock and I couldn't believe it at first. But eventually I gave in and actually closed my eyes. It was something sweet and... tender. To be honest, it seemed too good to be true. It was like something I'd been waiting for... maybe I had been. Maybe this was my hidden feelings releasing for the first time.
Just as I started to fully enjoy myself, something I hadn't sensed before kicked in. Something like the spark of an unforgettable memory... something unpleasant. My head started to hurt with a familiar sensation and whatever I was feeling caused my arms to shove Kade away. He looked shocked and completely hurt as I glared accusingly at him.
"Who are you?!" I barked. "Because you sure as hell aren't Kade!" How I sensed that, I don't know. But I knew my mind wasn't fooling me. A few seconds passed before he started to laugh again, this one was a bit psychotic and not at all tender.
"You're a very smart girl. I wonder what gave me away?" he said as his body started to morph entirely. I was focused on his eyes when I noticed their crystal blue becoming swallowed by a blood red. His black hair started to lighten into a silvery color, mixed with strands of black. I bit back a scream as Salazar's face became fully morphed. His toothy grin sent me back against the rail of the balcony. "I guess your senses are getting stronger. I thought if I posed as your dear lover boy, I'd be able to get close to you again. I was on a roll for a second there. You were starting to enjoy that kiss," he added with a devious wink.
I gritted my teeth and pushed my back against the rail. "Stay away from me!" I growled. Defiantly, he moved closer.
"You know, Bella, if you would agreed to be mine, possibly even my wife, with my and your powers we could rule Hell together! Don't tell me you don't like the sound of having that much control," he said.
"You must be stupid if you think I'd ever marry you, not to mention choose Hell's side," I remarked.
"Your stubbornness is the only thing holding you back. I think we need to work on that." He walked closer and cuffed my face in his hands. When I started to glare and focus on his eyes, he put one of his hands over mine and leaned close to my ear. "That won't work. You see, the mind abilities of gods and goddesses work better if their victims' minds are weak. But I've been doing some mental training which means my mind is a lot stronger than before... so your tricks aren't going to affect me anymore," he whispered.
I started to shake with anger and fear and pushed at his shoulders. My attempt was unsuccessful. "Evil bastard... disgusting pervert," I mumbled. He only laughed again.
"What a sour mouth you have," he whispered. "That's something else we'd have to fix." I ducked under one of his arms and did my best to sprint for the doors of the balcony. They slammed shut just before I could get inside, then the curtains that accompanied them slid shut. I turned around snarling, finding Salazar smiling with his hand raised. He lowered it and turned to look out at the sky. "Come on, Bella. Just let me talk to you for a moment," he said seriously.
"There's nothing to talk about," I growled. "I'd rather not waste my breath speaking to you." I tried to pull open the doors but they were locked from the inside. Great.
"It's not safe allying with my nephew," Salazar continued, not bothering to listen to my protest. I hated hearing him call Kade his nephew. It didn't sound right and made my stomach twist.
"And it's safe to ally with you?" I asked sarcastically. The demon locked his red eyes with mine and smiled.
"Of course. If you join me, you won't have to worry about anybody trying to attack you. They'd be too afraid to challenge us. I have a whole army on my side," he answered.
"I would rather die than give myself to you."
"Deny me and that can be arranged."
I narrowed my eyes at that which earned me the same thing in return. This was a challenge, obviously, and I couldn't tell if I was winning or losing. Did it really matter? If I decided to join him, it'd probably be worse than having him against me. I didn't want to be some evil ruler of Hell. But at the same time, I didn't want one hunting me down.
"The reasons you're giving me aren't good ones. Try a little harder. I'm only amused at this point," I said with a smirk as I crossed my arms and arched an eyebrow. His frown remained... one that held so much anger I was surprised he hadn't attacked me yet. I could almost feel myself crippling under his harsh glare.
"Let's try this then," he began. He approached me briskly and gripped the bottom of my chin harshly. The tips of his fingers started to dig into my jaws and made me grit my teeth. "You join me or I kill your friends." His smile returned, and so did my frown.
"If I join you, you'll kill them anyway. That or you'll trick me into doing it," I said. He chuckled.
"This is why I like you. You're smart... and you know me so well." His voice came out in a feathery whisper and his eyelids closed halfway as he gazed down at me. His red eyes seemed to dull and I couldn't look away. It was like before... I felt hypnotized by them. My daze was immediately broke when he planted a passionate kiss on my lips. I shoved him away and wiped my mouth.
"Stop... stop kissing me! It's disgusting!" I yelled. His cocky smirk only made me more sick.
"I can't help it. You're just so tempting," he said. "That outfit makes it even better." I looked down at my revealing dress and nearly threw up in my mouth. I knew wearing something like that would get me unwanted attention. This exceeded unwanted and shot it up to a whole new level.
As Salazar tried to approach me again, I did the only thing I could think of and raised my hand to slap him. He grabbed it just in time and then reached for my other hand. My wrists became trapped so I started to scream as loud as I could. Immediately he silenced me with another kiss and trapped my arms in a strong hug. I tried to lean back but he'd gotten the best of me.
He tilted his head and became more lost in the kiss I tried so hard to break. Like before, it was passionate and made me sick at my stomach. I made muffled screams as his tongue worked its way around. I tried to bite it but it affected him the slightest. My arms wriggled but never made it to freedom since Salazar continued to squeeze them against my sides. Eventually, he pulled away and left me gasping for breath, angry and panting. But he didn't release me from his hold.
"Disgusting pervert! I hope you die miserably!" I yelled in his face. He wasn't at all taken back and only laughed.
"Hey! I thought I told you to leave her alone!" Someone shouted from behind the demon before he could respond. My whole body filled with relief when I saw Kade, even though his eyes were pitch black. He was gripping one of his arms and hunched over, almost like something was tearing him apart from the inside. Salazar let me go and turned to him.
"Ah, dear nephew! It seems your senses are even stronger now. But it doesn't look like you're dealing with them very well," he said.
"You're not my uncle!" Kade growled. His demonic voice was already returning with each word he said.
"Technically I am," Salazar responded. Silence followed as Kade and I glared angrily at him. What was there to be said? Hatred was all that we held in our hearts for him, and every time we spoke it was meaningless insults. "Well... I don't know what's going on in there but it seems the party's just getting started out here," Salazar huffed after awhile. "So why don't we invite a few more guests?"
His fingers shot to his mouth and he let out a shrill whistle that nearly deafened me. A few seconds later, there was a mad shaking, something like an earth quake that sent me and Kade to our knees. Ahead, about a mile, a giant red lightening bolt cracked through the dark clouds that were already present, opening up some kind of strange, black hole. I stared shocked and afraid as a swarm of something started to come through. A portal?
To any normal eye, the swarm would looked like a cloud of giant birds. But no... it wasn't birds. It was gargoyles. A whole army of them, in fact. The number seemed infinite.
They started to close in on the castle and encircle it. I could already hear the cries coming from inside, meaning people had either saw them too or they sensed them coming... maybe both. One gargoyle in particular landed on the balcony with us and stayed perched on the rail.
Xur.
He had a crooked smile set on his bat face as he looked down at Kade's weakened self. A throaty laugh slowly crept from his mouth. "He's waiting for your command, sir. I wouldn't keep him waiting if I were you," he said as his amber eyes shot to Salazar. I wasn't sure who they were talking about, but it obviously wasn't someone good. The demon whistled sharply again, and with the sound of screeching and beating wings of gargoyles came another sound. It was something like a roar and caused the ground to shake even harder. The hole ahead started to sparkle red when something else began to come through. I was unable to make out its shape until it was fully through and gliding through the air towards the castle.
A monstrous black dragon with piercing red eyes.