Page 122 of Unbinding the Demon
My lower lip trembled at the memory of Adelstein’s sick and twisted face hovering above mine. I recalled him telling me that exact same thing, like venom spat from the mouth of a viper. “Adelstein had mentioned that,” I whispered, with tears threatening to spill again. “He killed L-La—” I wanted to share what had happened, but I couldn’t manage to say her name. The thought alone sliced deep into my heart, a raw wound left in silence. Voicing it would only turn my heartache into an undeniable truth.
“Shhh. You don’t need to say it. I already know what happened. Belzar told me.” He turned and wrapped his other arm around me in a comforting embrace.
I leaned into him for a few minutes while sobbing. He gently shushed and caressed me, assuaging my pain the best he could. Belzar whimpered and rested his head on my lap like a sad old porch dog named Rover. His pointy black ears caught the falling snow as they flattened back in sorrow. A single paw slipped up and nudged my thigh.
“What did you end up doing with her body?” I eventually managed to ask. My hand stroked along Belzar’s soft, damp fur, my eyes brimming with tears, and my lower lip trembling.
“I moved her beneath an old willow tree on the outskirts of town, where she was found by a few firefighters. They assumed her death was caused by hypothermia, since she had no injuries.”
Although I found solace in his answer, I continued to sniffle and shake. “The last thing she said was to tell Darrell that she loves him.” I sucked in a deep breath. “I think we should also tell him what really happened. He’s a good guy and deserves to know the whole truth.” I peered up at his face to gauge his reaction. I wasn’t sure if he’d be okay with Darrell knowing the truth about him or not.
“I agree,” he stated softly. “Over the past few months, I’ve come to view Darrell as a friend, and I find him trustworthy. Plus, I don’t want to deceive him, especially not about this. However, I think it would be best to let him grieve first, before shocking him with the truth about what I am and what really happened to Lacey.” His thumb caressed a tear from my cheek. “He should know that she died a hero. I think that’s the least I can do to thank her for saving you.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed quiet and nodded in agreement. The merciless grasp of despair held my heart within its ruthless clutches, and guilt consumed me. Although I knew if Adelstein had killed me, then a lot more people would have died. But I still wished I could have somehow gone in her place. She deserved to live more than I did, and the hurt of knowing she died saving my life was unbearable.
“Oh, that reminds me.” He stuck his hand into his jacket pocket, tickling me a bit, then pulled out a beautiful, glimmering sapphire necklace.
I gasped at the sight of it. Unlike the necklace that Adelstein had baited me with, this was one I recognized. “Aunt Elowynn’s necklace? But how? My dad was the one who inherited that?” I asked with confusion.
A wide, handsome smile spread across his face. “Well, when I had my brief brush with death, Elowynn summoned my soul to Tirnanog, a magical otherworld created by the fae. Only the brightest of human souls are permitted to enter there while they await reincarnation...which is a horrifying place for a demon.I woke up wearing flowy white pants and had to swat a sparkling butterfly away like a pesky mosquito.” He handed me the necklace.
My pale hand wrapped around the silvery Singapore chain, while my face lit up with excitement. “So wait! You mean you actually saw her!?”
“Yes, I did.” His large arm squeezed me closer against him. “In fact, she was quite eager to speak with me. I was finally able to apologize for what I did, and thank her for releasing me from The Abyss... and also for asking you to forgive and unbind me.” He smirked knowingly.
I blinked my gaze away from his, my cheeks flushing as I looked at the dazzling, deep blue gem. It glittered with captivating luster against the pale, snowy backdrop of the lake. “Yeah, well, I should be thankful for that too, I suppose.” I smiled as he stared at my profile with endearment. It was true; if she hadn’t asked those things of me, I probably would have never forgiven or unbound him. I inwardly laughed. She always did manage to give me impeccable advice.
He caressed up and down my arm. “She asked me to tell you she loves you very much and that she wanted you to have it.” He pointed to the necklace, then gave me an apologetic look. “Apparently, she was quite displeased when your father took it. According to her, he would have eventually sold it for booze money, anyway. I had to swing by your parents’ house to steal it from them... I’m sorry you grew up like that.” His voice was soft and laced with deep remorse.
I bit the inside of my cheek and turned my gaze away, feeling a surge of shame. It was embarrassing that he had seen the impoverished shitshow that was my dipsomaniac parents and the squalor I grew up in. “It’s alright. At least I’m out of there now. Plus, I spent most of my time at Aunt Elowynn’s house while I was growing up, anyway.” I mustered a faint smile, shrugging to cloak my moment of humiliation. “But hold on, my parents live in Cedarville? How did you cross the barrier?”
He chuckled. “Now that I’m unbound, regular magic has literally no effect on me whatsoever.”
With a loving smile, he took the necklace and unclasped it. I turned around and moved my hair out of the way to let him put it on me. Belzar removed his head from my lap, then laid down in the fluffy snow beside us. My fingers loosely grasped the gem as his warm hands grazed my neck. “Was this all Elowynn wanted?” A small giggle chimed out of me as he playfully kissed just under my ear from behind.
He moved my hair back in place as I swiveled to face him. “No, actually. She told me she’d forgiven me long ago. So, I asked her if there was anything I could do to repay her for her grace and assistance. She then had me promise her three things.”
“What were they?” I gazed up at him with wide, curious eyes.
“Well, the first was getting you the necklace.” He twirled it with his finger and smiled. “It looks beautiful on you, by the way,” he added with an endearing twinkle in his eyes, causing me to blush. The book suddenly appeared in his hand with a black poof. “Secondly, I have to destroy this damn book.” A maniacal grin flashed across his face as he held it out and shook it once.
“What!?” I squawked. “But that’s a priceless specimen of anthropodermic bibliopegy!”
“Yes, and I can’t wait to roast the last remaining piece of Yevorah’s bitch ass.” He wickedly smirked, then continued to elaborate. “While looking over this, I discovered that the young apprentice who had distracted me while Yevorah cast the binding spell wrote it. She later used Yevorah’s skin to bind it, adding extra magical properties to preserve it over time.” His smirk softened into a small, sad smile as he looked down at the book. “That’s also why I’m extremely vilified throughout its pages. She hated me for killing her master and wrote some pretty nasty and untrue things about me. She even included a curse for anyone who dared to release me. After reading it, I’m honestly shocked that Elowynn was even brave enough to summon me.” He ran his hand through the ends of his snow-flecked hair, his eyes reflecting his sorrow. “Which makes it all the worse that I ended up killing her.”
Upon seeing how guilt-ridden he looked, I wrapped my arms around his large frame and squeezed as tight as I could. “Azathoth, even though I miss my aunt and wish she were still here, I’m glad she summoned you,” I said while smiling into his chest.
He hugged me in return, the action overflowing with love and relief. “Thank you,” he whispered. The snow continued to fall all around us as we stayed in each other’s embrace for a little while longer. Then he kissed the top of my head and leaned back to look into my eyes with a devilish grin. “Now then, let’s torch this worthless piece of written garbage, shall we?” He held the book up, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Light it up!” I giggled, pointing to the sky with glee.
He held the book out in front of his face, resting it flat in his palms. Then he blew a bright stream of flames from his mouth as if he were gently blowing out a birthday candle. The flames hissed as they engulfed the blackened leather and aged yellow pages. The paper edges curled up into pale gray ashes, then floated up into the equally gray skyline. I inhaled the smell of smoke while watching the ashes and some still-burning pages flutter out over the dreary lake. They swirled down with the falling snow and then sank beneath the rippling black water.
“Sayonara, sucker!” He laughed as he excitedly tossed what was left of it up into the air and threw a whirling fireball at it. An umbrella of crackling sparks shot out all around like fireworks, then delicately trickled down to the icy ground.
We both laughed while his arm wrapped back around me, and then we were silent for a while once again. Bright rays of the dawn began to bleed out over the eastern mountains, piercing through the veil of crestfallen clouds. They illuminated the land with a beauteous, warm glow, setting the icy mountains ablaze in a display of glittering gold and deep blue. The falling snow sparkled as it caught the early morning light, making the world around us feel like an enchanted winter garden. I leaned into Azathoth’s radiator-like embrace with contentment, taking in the beauty of it all.
A few mallard ducks landed peacefully on the silvery, shimmering water, creating golden ripples that fanned out around them. Well, all but one dopey duck, who ungracefully crash-landed with a big splash and a bunch of frantic flaps and distraught quacks. Its little flipper feet desperately paddled up in the air to right itself. Then it bristled its feathers and swam along, probably hoping its comrades hadn’t just seen that.
