RISE

16 - Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Amelia tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep. It was hard enough trying to get back to her normal life after what had happened to the family over the past week, but now there was talk of the end of the world. Amelia had been wary of Elvorix at first; she thought that Aaron was naïve to be so trusting of him so quickly, but Elvorix was kind and genuine. He didn't seem like an evil demon bent on world domination, or even a spoiled royal with superiority and entitlement. He reminded her a lot of Lydia, a charismatic and independent woman who had come from poverty and didn't value status, class, or wealth the way she'd been brought up to. Learning that Elvorix had been terrorizing the world and killing thousands of humans came as a shock. She wasn't sure if she believed it.

Her parents had always been overprotective, but this news terrified them. They'd made her spend the entire day with them in the lounge, while her mother fussed and dabbed her tears with a handkerchief, and her father paced around on the phone with various relatives, trying to get more information. They'd finally sent her to bed when her great uncle had called to tell them that Aaron and Elvorix denied any responsibility for the catastrophes, and returned to Hell to investigate. He said that they'd waited for hours for any news from them, but received only a cryptic message from the queen that everything was fine, and that her son would put a stop to the chaos as soon as possible.

It was far too early to sleep, but Amelia tried, anyway. She didn't want to look at her phone anymore, the news feed only upset her. She just wanted to escape into her dreams for a while. But it was proving impossible.

With a frustrated sigh, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Maybe a cool glass of water and a bath would help her sleep.

Just as she was about to throw the covers off herself, an eerie chill crawled up her spine, and she heard a disembodied voice call out her name; "Amelia . . ."

Amelia's heart raced, and she pulled the covers up to her chin, looking around in terror. "H-hello?" she squeaked out.

The voice repeated her name, louder this time. It was a deep, droning male voice, unfamiliar to her. A breeze rustled her hair despite her windows and door being closed. She shivered again.

"I-if this is some kind of joke, it's not funny," she said, hoping it was one of the servants playing a cruel prank on her.

A dark, rumbling chuckle followed, seeming to come from all around her. Amelia squeaked again, shaking now. "This is no joke, my dear," the voice said. "I'm afraid this is quite a serious matter."

To Amelia's horror, the darkness occupying her adjoining bathroom grew impossibly darker, and a pair of glowing orange eyes materialized to stare menacingly down at her.

Amelia was too frightened to scream, though she desperately wished that she could so that her parents would come to help her. The voice laughed again, this time coming decidedly from the bathroom.

"I have some bad news, I'm afraid," it said with a tone of amusement. "Your cousin, Aaron, is dead."

Amelia's heart sank, and tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't understand, how could this have happened? And who was this creature coming to tell her about it, and why? She just wanted the thing to go away, to regain the use of her voice and legs so she could run down the hall screaming.

"The Prince of Hell has fallen," the monster continued. "A new ruler must rise up and take his place."

The demon – for she finally realized, it must be a demon – took slow, lumbering steps to exit the bathroom, creeping closer to her bed. Still, she could only watch in frozen terror. It was huge, almost tall enough to scrape its great big horns on the ceiling. Bat-like wings spread from his back, and a sharp tail swished behind him threateningly. He was muscular, like a body builder, and looked like he could crush Amelia's entire frame between his fingers. The only parts of him that weren't charcoal gray were his orange eyes and matching orange hair, that was swept back and upwards like flames.