Helena and the Rings

Chapter 21: Joe the Teacher

Bishop stopped us in our track. I almost fell trying to stop running with her. "Why are we stopping?" I asked.

She paused. "What if...what if he can teach you? Let's just see what the demon man wants, Helena. I think we can really seek out answers doing this. You need to learn more about all of this."

I shook my head. "You forget something? How will I learn if he wants the ring?"

She paused, thinking about it. She looked at the sky like something in her head clicked. Bishop snapped her fingers and gave me a sly smile. "Let's just see what he wants. You know? Find out what he knows. We have no other lead right now but him."

"I don't trust it, Bishop." I grabbed her hand and tried to pull her. "Can we just go, please?" I begged.

Bishop's hopeful smile turned into a frown and she tugged away from my hand. "Let's go," she said.

I looked back to see if I could still see or hear Joe. Nature had seemed to shut off at that moment, and everything fell silent. My eyebrows shifted down, and I realized something eerie. I couldn't hear anything. Not even Bishop. I turned around and found Joe to be holding Bishop by the mouth with both hands while she struggled to talk. My eyes widened, and I attempted to move toward them but stopped in my tracks.

"Let her go!" I screamed.

Joe smiled. He smiled like some crazy man. Before I could blink, Bishop was suddenly gone. "Oh, darling, you should've listened to me."

I looked around. At first whispering Bishop's name before I switched to shouting. "Bishop! Bishop! Bishop are you there?!"

No answer from Bishop. Just Joe's evil laughter.

He squinted at me. "Now listen up if you want to save your friend."

I looked him up and down. He was covered in mud and he seemed a mess. A little weak. He looked tired though he was laughing like some villain in a movie. "What do you want?" I said firmly.

"I don't want to keep playing this game, Helena," he went on. "you surely are strong and powerful than I thought. You have your father's spirit."

What did he know about my father? Tears started falling from my eyes and I quickly wiped them. "You don't know anything about me! You're a demon."

He pointed to me. "Your a demon! Your father's a liar and so is your mother." He said. "Now listen to me. I will give you your friend back."

"Forget it Joe, I'm not giving you the ring. I'll find Bishop myself," I said.

"Well you sure love wasting time, Helena. That's not a smart move if you want your little friend back. Besides, you didn't even get to hear the best part about her. She hasn't told you," he said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

He walked up to me until he was towering over me. I wanted to run but I knew I was vulnerable emotionally and physically. I forgot everything I learned about the ring in that moment. Bishop was gone and there was no one else here to save me.

Just myself.

"You don't have to give me the ring, Helena. Holder of the ring will always be in danger and frankly I don't want that," he said.

I needed a second to process what he was saying. "Then what do you want?"

"Like I said before, I will teach you how to use its power."

"And why would you do that?" I asked. "Why would you want to help me? You're the enemy!"

"Maybe I'm not the enemy," he shrugged and sat in the grass. He gestured his hand to the ground. "Sit, girl."

I did as I was told.

"I want to stop Dasdamon. The demon that killed...well your father."

He looked away from me when he said father which was strange to me.

"He's my brother and he banished me thousands of years ago. Took away my power to turn into a full demon and stripped me from everything I knew and love." He said. "Humans can say what they want. We were another creation on this Earth before you. We had families. Children. Homes. Religion. Power. Speed. Feelings..."

I saw an emotion in Joe that I'd never seen as he told this story. He seemed lost in thought as he spoke. Like he couldn't believe he was telling it to me or anyone in general.

"I had everything and my brother took it away," he said then smiled. "There was a fight for power. My brother wanted to break through to the human world and kill them all. But we learned we become more powerful when they call on us. Sacrifices. The more powerful demon you are the more you rule. My brother kills people though and he kills his own kind but everyone's afraid to stop him. Until the ring got out in the human world."

"What will happen if he gets the ring?" I asked. "Will he kill all the humans?"

"No. He needs you all, but he will kill all other creations. Angwits, Angels, Jinns, demons. All things that won't benefit. He'll kill me as he killed-it doesn't matter. You'll die too. A lot of you will die." He pointed to the ground. "Once he and the other demons whisper their evil words in the ears of humans and get them to sacrifice, chaos breaks loose, and someone dies. Every time."

I let out a deep sigh. "So what would happen if you taught me? How would that help me? How does any of this benefit me?"

He nodded his head and stared off into the distance like he didn't know the answer. He then looked me dead in the eyes. "You'll have to get the other rings and kill Dasdamon but I will help you the best I can."

"Kill the most powerful demon?" I shook my head. "That doesn't sound possible."

"It is! You have a target on your back. You know about The Book of Sacrifices. Once we get that, I can use its power. We can get the ring then we'll become almost unstoppable. After we do it, you give me the rings and this stops forever. No more killings."

"Fine," I said. "I'll let you teach me."