The Dominant Demon (Finished)

21. Of Red Rose and Ancient Stone

"Where are we?" Jade asks, glancing around the luxe ballroom on the bottom floor of Colvin's castle. Victorian era music flows though the air, matching the style of the decoration in the room.

"This," Colvin says, spreading his arms wide and slowly walking forward. "Is the the heart of the castle. It's were meetings of the council are held, parties are attended, where my throne sits," he says motioning over to a large, velvety, black, chair with golden trim. "And sacrifices are made."

Jade leans over to me, creasing her brow. "I don't think I have ever noticed how extra he is," she mumbles. 

I snicker. "He's a king. What do you expect?"

"I'll need you to come to the center of the dance floor," he says, waving her in his direction. "Follow me."

Jade, Rory, and I all follow him. Rory trails behind us, giving Jade some space. My heart hurts for him, the way he stares at her like a lost puppy.

"OK," she says, glancing around as we stop in the middle of the floor. "What now?"

"This is where you and I will preform the sacrifice. Look at the floor," he says, glancing down. A large, red, rose webs out straight from the center, made of some type of stained-glass, looking, tile. It spreads out big enough for all four of us to be standing on it and then some. In the middle of the dark, red, rose is a old, gray, stone with a sponge like textured look to it. It sits in the floor, merging with the rest of the tiles. "This," Colvin says, motioning to the stone. "Is an ancient sacrificial stone. The moment mine and your blood seeps into it, you and I are bonded. I then drain a small amount of your blood into a goblet. After you are dead, I drink it, and you come back to life as a demon."

Jade stares down at the floor for a few moments, takes a deep breath, and then nods. "Alright," she says in a confident tone, glancing up to Colvin. "Let's go."

Rory and I step back, giving them space. Jade and Colvin both kneel to their knees on opposite sides of the stone, just after Colvin gathers the things that he needs. "I need to make a cut big enough for you to bleed a good bit. Where do you think it would be easiest for you at?"

She glances down, raising her wrist. "I'm sure that you could the the most, the fastest out of my wrist. Do I have to bleed out?"

Colvin shakes his head. "No, as soon as I have enough of your blood, I'll snap your neck. You won't feel a thing."

She lets out a shaky breath, extending her arm to him. "Alright, let's do it."

Colvin slides a long-bladed, black, knife with a curled handle from his coat pocket, and rolls his sleeve up. "I'm going to do mine first, alright? Just watch me. It's not that bad."

She nods, and a second later, Colvin takes the tip of the blade, slicing it in a swift, upwards, motion on his forearm without flinching. Blood begins pouring out, pooling down onto the stone, and the rose set into the floor begins to glow around the edges.

Jade jerks her arms back. "Oh, fuck that!" She exclaims. "There is no way I am letting you do that to me."

He frowns. "It's either that, or I snap your neck now, and you don't wake up in this life."

I see Jade hesitantly glance back to Rory and I, and I try to give her an encouraging smile. She lets out a groan, squeezing her eyes shut, and turns back to Colvin. "Fine. Do it quick."

As soon as the words leave her mouth, I hear her hiss in pain. Colvin slices the blade up her wrist in the blink of an eye, and as their blood begins to mix, both dripping onto the stone, the rose begins to pulsate with bright, white, light around the edges. "Rory, Salem- Look away." He commands, firmly.

I do as he says, turning, but when I notice that Rory doesn't, I jerk his arm, spinning him around with me. "Stop watching!" I snap. "You don't need to see that, Rory."

Just as he goes to reply, a sickening snap echos throughout the ballroom, followed by the sound of Jade's lifeless body collapsing to the floor. Rory tries to turn, but I grab him again. "Rory, stop."

"I don't want this for Jade," he whimpers. "I don't want this life for her."

"It's either this life, or no life," I reply, bluntly. "We agreed that we would support her in whatever she decides."

Rory lets out a heavy sigh, looking over to me. "I know. It's just hard."

"It's done," Colvin says, standing.

We turn back to him, and at his feet, I see Jade laying flat on her back, sprawled out with her neck at an odd angle. "How long will it take her to wake up?" I ask.

"Give her a few minutes," he mumbles, gazing down at her.

Rory walks forward, dropping to his knees beside her. I glance back up to Colvin and tilt my head to the side, mouthing the words, "Let's leave."

He nods. "Hey Rory, I'm going to give you and Jade some time alone to talk when she comes to, OK?"

Rory looks up to him. "Thanks, Cole," he replies in a flat, hollow, voice.

Colvin grabs my hand, leading me out of the ballroom. I glance down at his arm. "How did your arm already heal over?"

He shrugs. "Demons have faster healing properties than humans."

"Oh, well that's cool, I guess. Weird, but cool."

We exit the room and make our way up to his room. "So," Colvin says, sitting on the bed. "Now that that is over, I think we need to talk about the wedding."

My jaw clenches as I stare at him. I take a shaky, deep, breath, nodding. "Yea, the wedding. When do we need to do it?"

"Tomorrow," Colvin says. This one word makes my stomach sink. Everything seems to be moving so fast, and there is nothing that I can do to slow it down.