Page 14 of Prayer of the Damned

“It’s too great a risk. To place such a life-changing secret in the hands of teenagers? We tend not to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

“Just who would I have told? I have no friends, remember? I’m a fucking social outcast!” I wave my hands in the air to increase the dramatics.

“Keep your language clean, Bellcolor,” he reprimands me. “Under no circumstances are you to speak to the Council that way and embarrass me. Your training is my entry exam into the Council.”

“Then you’re screwed, Dad, you can kiss that job goodbye right now. I’m a walking disaster!”

“No, you’re not, Bellcolor. You can play three instruments, you speak seven languages, you’re at the top of your class, you’re wealthy. That’s all the Council cares about. But for the love of all that’s unholy, remember your manners.”

“If we’re invited for dinner, I promise to use all the table manners I’ve learnedad nauseam. But the one thing I have no clue about are social norms. I don’t have ‘street smarts’, Dad, because you deprived me of a social life.”

“I didn’t want you hanging around with those idiot Americans. Besides, I’ve told you already, it’s a risk we couldn’t afford to take.”

He forgets that I’m part of that same ‘idiot American’ people.

“Well, then you’ll have to acknowledge your mistake at some point. Because I was born and raised in all that. It’s who I am.” I defiantly cross my arms over my chest and frown.

“I’m sorry, Bellcolor, I didn’t mean to imply that you’re part of that rabble.”

“But I am!”

“You’re not, you’re part of the elite of the demonic realm, and you’ll have to act accordingly. Promise me – clean language and perfect manners.”

“Fine, I promise.”Good luck to both of us with that.“What else do I need I know?”

“The Council consists of five members. Each possesses extraordinary powers. As I’ve already mentioned, Alfredo can change shape, his own and that of other people. Beatrice and her twin sister Greta can control the elements: fire, ice, water, wind and all that they contain. Simon has motion-based abilities that include teleportation, flight and replication. And Libretto, he’s the head of the Council and the most powerful of them all, we don’t know what he can do. He reserves his right to privacy. But the imaginations of demon-kind are beyond limitations. That’s why you must be doubly cautious around him. I have no way of knowing what he’s capable of.”

I force myself to gulp, already terrified of this Libretto. “And what are your abilities? If they want you, that must mean you’ve got something they want.”

“You’re a clever girl, Bellcolor. The Devil has granted me mental abilities. That’s why I can read your thoughts. I absorb and process information very quickly, so the medical field was perfect for me. I can also control the minds of humans, erasing and planting memories as I see fit.”

“Wow!” I exclaim. That’s really a spectacular power. But how, of all the demons in the world, did I get a father who could read minds? That means no secrets, ever. When I think of my past and everything that went through my mind when I was around my father, my face falls.

Shit. That’s bad. Very bad.

“Don’t worry, Bellcolor. I don’t hold your thoughts against you. I love you despite all the sour thoughts you’ve had about me over the years.”

“I’m sorry…” It’s a sincere apology on my part. Considering the circumstances, you can’t say he didn’t take care of me properly.

“Thank you,” he smiles at me, and I rise from my seat and hug him tightly. It’s my way of thanking him for what he gave me all my life. God knows what family I would’ve been born into if I hadn’t been Marked. I might’ve been a crack baby or worse: I could’ve been Kelly or one of her stupid friends.

I straighten up and return to my seat before the moment we shared becomes embarrassing, pushing away the thought of how cold to the touch his body was.

“So will I be getting cool powers too?” I ask him.

“Maybe, it’s possible. Not all demons receive powers, it depends on the demon that incarnates into their body. But the Council members are extremely powerful, and they have full control of the world of demon-kind. You must never underestimate them. Do you understand?” I nod. “They belong to the Old World, and they’re very strict. You must take everything said during this meeting very seriously. It’s not a game, Bellcolor. They have zero tolerance for rebels. You must carry out every command they give you with absolute precision and meet their high standards.” My stomach turns and I hold my breath. They’ll be in for one hell of a disappointment when I appear before them.

“You’ll be alright, Bellcolor. Just don’t forget that you’re my ward, and everything you do or say will have implications for me as well.”

“No pressure then,” I say, and my father gives me a steely glance.

My father wasn’t kidding when he said the Council members were Old World. The car that picked us up from the airport stopped in front of a castle. Yes, that’s right, a freakingcastle, with spires and servants and everything. I stare open-mouthed at the building as it’s revealed to me, and my father bumps his shoulder into me as a hint to close my mouth immediately. I quickly obey and stick to him as we make our way inside, accompanied by a woman in a pantsuit who looks extremely tense. She fires off updates regarding the schedule for the meeting and the rest of the day, where we’ll be staying during our visit, and… I tune her out, and my eyes almost pop out of their sockets as I survey the interior of the castle.

Works of art hang from the walls, and I think they belong in museums rather than a castle of demons, even if they’re stinking rich. Furniture with what seems to be real gold woven into it, suits of armor all along the corridor, the whole place screamsMoney!and alotof it.

For a moment I feel like I’ve gone back in time to when all this splendor would make sense. In the 21stcentury it seems nauseatingly artificial.

The tense lady leads us to a set of double doors, pauses and takes a deep breath.

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