Page 63 of Destruction of Two
“Do you know why and who magically contained hell so the demons cannot escape?”
I blink at the brisk subject change and lean back to study him. Sunlight glints off his different colored eyes. “The angels?”
“And so only a creature with angelic blood coursing through their veins can undo the magic that keeps the demons tethered here. But what angel will fight for the freedom of demons?”
“Syko—”
“He has angelic blood in his body, it’s true. But only the direct descendent of an angel can do this task. Neither him nor Kayos are powerful enough to do such a thing, as they aren’t direct descendents.”
I chew on my bottom lip and sweep a look around. “It’s probably a bad idea, anyway.” The creature on my lap is cute enough, but what about the other things that dwell here? If they were to escape into our dimension, it would wreak chaos into the world. Osmodeus alone, the things he could do… and perhaps there are more terrifying creatures out there than him.
I don’t want to find out what.
“Perhaps,” he drawls, “there is another way…” A slow look around the oasis accentuates his words. Then he flicks that gaze back to me and that golden eye is as bright as hellfire. “Maybe we can find a way to take a small essence of hell back to our dimension. Trap a bit of hell within...something... like an amulet. Something you can carry with you at all times. That small essence might help you have more control over your Prod.”
Can it be possible to actually steal an essence of hell? Not necessarily an object, but the actual essence of a place in such a way that my Prod willsenseit and gain much needed control?
The essence of a place is like... the soul. As intricate as the fibers of a soul.
The impossibilities of extracting it…? Butcanit be?
I don’t want to hope.
“We should go.” I stand, the creature’s head slipping from my lap with a growling protest. I dust off the back of my uniform and turn to Professor Shade, who is looking across the oasis with an expression of infinite sadness along his features.
I wonder what he’s thinking about, but I don’t press. It’s a heartbreaking expression that even I’m not sure I’m brave enough to bear.
So I’m silent as I hold out my hand for him to take. He does and I pull him up, just before we combine our magic in a melding form and go back to the Academy.
Twenty-Three
Izara
We arrive back before anyone even notices we’ve been gone.
Like before, we land standing up, our hands grasped firmly. An electric sensation zaps through my veins at the simple contact, at the combining of our magic, and dies down slowly like a light being dimmed.
I try not to let my disappointment show at the sudden silence of my Prod. My wings lift, and I hear the final whispered breaths of her goodbye as she burrows herself deep within me. Waiting for the right moment when she can emerge and wreak havoc, destruction.
It’s a fear that’s haunted me since she awoke.
My fingers slip from Professor Shade’s.
“If you’re worried about your Prod, I can offer you private sessions.” He shoves his hands casually into the pockets of his sweatpants. “It’ll be easier for you, I think, to test your Prod without your friends there. Maybe check in with the nicer parts of hell from time to time to ease the beast’s chaos.” His smile is a caring and gentle shine of concern.
I chew on the inside of my cheek, contemplating this. I can’t not do anything about it, carry on as I had been before I’d been dragged to hell. I was learning, yes. This Academy is slowly teaching me, slowly making me better. But I’m afraid, afraid there might not be enough time to reintegrate myself back into this dull routine as I’ve been pretending to do since I came back.
The truth is, school has me bitter and angry. Sitting through lessons, stalking the hallways always on edge. I can’t help but wonder if it’s what Kayos feels. Like the slightest noise, the slightest touch, will take her somewhere she really doesn’t want to be.
My face hurts from smiling so much, from faking I’m alright with those around me. Really, I’m dying inside.
And I fear I will keep feeling this way unless I work at getting myself under control, work at finding a solution for this, for the mess that is my life.
So I let out a breath and I smile at Professor Shade. “Tell me when and where.”
Twenty-Four
Saint
