Chapter 6
My sister’s mansion looked like the white house. I had no doubt that our plan was doomed to failure. I approached the front gate, arm in arm with Solgrin. One of the security officers approached us.
“You can’t be here,” he said.
“I’m expected,” I argued. “Mother Jessica knows and has asked for us, personally.”
The security officer raised his wrist to his mouth. “I have a couple of kids here that say they are Mother Jessica’s guests. Is there anything on the schedule?” He put his finger to his left ear. “Uh huh. I see. That’s what I thought.”
He turned his attention back to us, “There are no appointments today. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“But, we are expected. I’m sure if you just allowed us to see her, she can confirm everything for you,” Solgrin chimed in.
“That’s not possible. Mother Jessica is not feeling well today and her doctor’s have given her required best rest. Reschedule your-”
Solgrin used her eye magic on him. “Forget what your bosses say. You’re going to take my young friend to see Mother Jessica.”
“Yes.”
She added, “Do whatever it takes to get him to her.” “Yes,” he agreed again. “Whatever it takes.”
Solgrin had wanted to come with me, but I convinced her that it would be less suspicious if only one of us went. The plan was that I would get inside, get Jessica alone, and kill her with my bare hands. I wasn’t going to do that, but that’s what we had agreed on.
Solgrin’s magic would only last for about ten minutes, so if I hadn’t found my sister within that time, I would be on my own against an entire security team with guns.
The man guided me through a few other guards and didn’t stop despite their questioning looks. At the front door, a large bear of a man stood in the way.
“What is this?” he asked. “I thought the visitation request was denied.”
“Yes, it was denied, but I know this boy. I just want to show him around the mansion. He’s a huge fan of Mother Jessica. We won’t go anywhere near her, I promise.”
“Fine,” he gave in, “but Mr. Ridley is very busy today. Stay away from his office.”
“No problem. Thanks Robert.”
The bear-man let us through and I was guided up two separate sets of stairs. My head started to ache as we went higher up. It got worse with every step and my vision started to blur. I slumped against the wall and eventually had to sit down when we reached the top.
“What’s wrong? She’s just down the hall,” the guard said.
“I-I don’t know. Everything. Spinning.” Pain like I’d never felt before concentrated on my head. It was as if somebody had dropped a car on top of it.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I screamed. The pain was just too much. A half dozen security guards ran up the stairs and tossed threats at me, as if I could actually respond.
“He’s with me,” the zombified guard said. “I think he is sick.”
That didn’t comfort any of the others. One of them shouted, “Put your hands on your head and lay on your stomach! NOW!” I couldn’t see it, but I could feel a gun pointed straight at me.
I put my hands on my head as ordered, but something pricked me. I felt for what it was and was horrified to discover that two small horns had sprouted from my head like flowers. It almost made me laugh; the son of the devil has horns. Blood poured from the newly broken skin on my head and dripped into my eyes. I tried to wipe it away, but one of the guards grabbed my arms and tried to handcuff me.
Our friend, the security guard, jumped in and fought him off. “Go,” he said. “I’ve got this.”
The other guards tried to subdue him, but he threw one guard over the rail and down the stairs. Two more were kicked straight down the stairs, leaving two for our friend. I don’t know what happened after that, but I found the room. When I opened the door, I noticed it wasn’t a bedroom at all, but a hospital room. She was laying in bed, wide eyed, looking like a helpless animal.
“I found you...sister.” It sounded a little corny and she probably thought I was crazy, but there was no time for that.
“Sister? Who are you?” she asked.
“First thing’s first. You’re coming with me. You’re in danger.” I expected her to question me, but she almost looked relieved.
“Let’s go! I don’t want to have to drag you out of here, but I will.” She tried to hold her hands up, but I could see she was handcuffed to the bed.
“What is this?” I was more confused than I had been when Solgrin first appeared before me. “Why did they do this to you?”
“I tried to run away.” she admitted. “I’m a prisoner here.”
Then I noticed the bruises around her eyes. An anger welled up in me that I had never felt before. I couldn’t kill this girl and I wasn’t going to let anyone touch her again. I broke the metal rails off of her bed and slid the handcuffs off of them. I could worry about removing them from her wrists later.
She tried to sit up, but it was obvious she was in too much pain, so I scooped her up in my arms and ran out the door.
“Ouch,” she cried out. “My leg and ribs are broken.”
Outside of the door, the guards were spread out on the floor. Even our magically controlled friend was out for the count.
“You did all this?” she asked.
“Not really, but I’ll gladly take credit for it.” I tried to smile, but my head still hurt and my own broken arm wasn’t fully healed and had been throbbing since I picked her up. What a pair we were; broken bones, horns, handcuffed to a hospital bed, son of the devil, daughter of God.
I struggled getting down each step, but managed to get to the ground level without falling on my face. We were greeted by the bear guard.
“Put her down!” he ordered.
“No. Don’t get in my way or I’ll kill you. I’m taking my sister out of here and away from you...monsters.”
“Robert,” Jessica said, “I’m leaving. Don’t try to stop us.”
The guard looked confused. “Sister? I think you are confused, young man. Mother Jessica has no sibl-”
A voice came from behind him. “You are going to move out of the way and let my friend pass.”
“Yes,” Robert agreed. He moved to the side, revealing Solgrin in the door frame.
She looked angry. “You were supposed to kill her, not kidnap her.”
“I lied to you. I have no intention on hurting her, so if you want her dead, you’ll have to go through me first.”
Jessica froze in my arms. “Kill me? Why?”
“I’ll explain later, but you don’t have anything to worry about. Not from me, at least.” I turned my attention back to Solgrin. “I have a theory.”
“And what’s that?” she scowled.
“Your master didn’t kidnap my father, because he can’t. I don’t know the exact reason, but somehow it’s impossible for him. Your master could have killed my sister without me, but he didn’t. He needs people like you and me to do his dirty work. Without us, he’s powerless.”
“You’re half right,” she admitted. “He does need us to intervene in human life, but he is not powerless. He has many mortal allies, like me, to fulfill his wishes, but he has more power than you can imagine.”
“We’re leaving,” I said.
“Jessica, I’ll explain everything later, I swear it.”
Solgrin’s eyes shifted from black to gold. “Kill Jessica, Abel. Kill her now.”
“No.”
“Kill her now!” she said louder.
“No. And it looks like your magic doesn’t work on me anymore.” I pushed my way passed her, just as three new guards appeared in front of us. Before I could react, Solgrin grabbed my shoulder and we were back in our hotel room in Chicago.
“What? How? Where?-” but Jessica couldn’t complete a sentence. “Why did you take both of us?” I asked Solgrin.
“You...I just realized that I couldn’t hurt you, even if that meant disobeying my master. There is something about you that fascinates me and I can’t figure out what it is.”
She sat down on one of the beds and put her face into her hands and cried. I wanted to thank her, but I knew that my sister was probably having a mild heart attack at the time. What just happened; someone claiming to be her brother showing up, a man being controlled by magical eyes, and being transported a few hundred miles away in the blink of an eye would be terrifying. It was a lot for me to handle, but at least I knew what was going on.
“Jessica-”
“Jessica? It’s been so long since anyone has called me that.”
“I didn’t lie to you. You really are my sister and I am not going to hurt you. I want to protect you from those people and anyone else.”
I told her my story; about how I was adopted (stolen), a little about my life, my weird way of healing quickly, and everything that happened on my birthday. I explained about what Satan had said to me and wanted me to do, even my betrothal to Solgrin.
She didn’t seem surprised. “I always felt that there was more to my story. All these years, I’ve felt so...empty, like a part of me was missing. It doesn’t matter who your father is. What matters most is who you are and who you want to be. Plus, you’ve helped me realize the truth.”
“Which is?”
“I’m not a fraud. I really am the daughter of God. Everything that has been said about me is true. Surely, if your father is who he says he is then that means I’m not a fake, like Rick says.”
I felt better that she wasn’t scared. I had a fear that she wouldn’t want to go with me because of who I was. It was nice to know that she wasn’t the pampered princess that she seemed to be on TV.
Meanwhile, Solgrin’s sobs were getting louder, so I moved to sit next to her. I put a hand on her knee. “You okay?”
“He’s going to kill me. You heard him. I’m as good as dead now.” Her voice rose to a panic and I pulled her in to my chest, holding her tightly. Her cries became softer and she was breathing easier.
“I won’t let him. Stay with us and I’ll keep you safe.”
“You don’t understand, he will send everything he has at us. He might not kill you, but he’ll have no problem putting an order out on my head. Your sister would be the initial target, but once that is done, my life is over.”
“Nobody is touching her or you.”
For the first time she looked at me, tears still staining her face. “What is all this blood?”
I bowed my head and showed her the horns. “When I got close to finding my sister, they came out. A lot of pain, but I really have no idea why.”
“The Heir.” Solgrin said, shocked.
“The Heir? What do you mean?” I asked.
“Your destiny...Someone that I used to know told me of an old prophecy about a boy with horns that would rise up and kill the Devil.”
Any hint of her sadness was replaced by stunned silence. Another fun day in the life of Abel.
