Part seven:The brother below
3201 Words
LUCIAN'S POV
The first thing I heard was laughter.
Not the laughter of demons.
Not the laughter of the dead.
Hers.
I stopped walking.
Evelyn.
She was laughing.
Inside my prison.
With someone.
I turned toward the door.
The darkness stood between us, silent and unmoving.
I had created the room to show them what they wanted most.
To give them the one thing they desired more than anything.
And then take it away.
Nessa wanted to be loved for more than her beauty.
Daniel wanted freedom from his parents.
Scoba wanted greatness.
Justina wanted beauty.
And Evelyn...
I still did not know what Evelyn wanted.
That was the problem.
The room had shown me nothing.
No desire.
No weakness.
Nothing.
I had stood outside her prison longer than I had stood outside the others.
And now she was laughing.
I took a step toward the door.
The laughter continued.
Then I heard a voice.
“Sweetheart.”
I stopped.
My eyes darkened.
I had never called her that.
I barely called her by her name.
I pressed my palm against the door.
“Open.”
Nothing happened.
My fingers curled.
“Open.”
The door remained still.
I stared at it.
Every room in this prison belonged to me.
Every wall.
Every shadow.
Every illusion.
The rooms obeyed me.
So why wasn't this one opening?
I pressed my palm against the darkness again.
“Open.”
Nothing.
A slow anger began to build inside me.
I stepped back.
Then slammed my hand against the door.
The entire corridor shook.
“OPEN UP!”
Silence.
I stared at the door.
Then I heard Evelyn's voice from inside.
“What was that?”
A voice answered her.
My voice.
“Nothing.”
I went completely still.
The corridor suddenly felt colder.
I knew that voice.
I knew that tone.
The mocking arrogance.
The amusement.
The way he stretched his words just to irritate people.
I knew it.
But I refused to believe it.
I struck the door again.
“OPEN THE DOOR!”
The room shook.
Still, it did not open.
I heard Evelyn gasp.
Then the voice inside spoke again.
“Careful, sweetheart.”
My hand slowly fell to my side.
Sweetheart.
He had called her sweetheart.
I had never called her that.
I had never called anyone that.
I turned away from the door.
“Guards.”
The shadows behind me moved.
Three demons appeared from the darkness.
They immediately lowered their heads.
“My Lord.”
“Bring me the Gatekeeper.”
The demon in the center bowed.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“And bring the prison wardens.”
The demons hesitated.
I turned toward them.
“Now.”
They disappeared.
I looked back at the door.
Inside, I could hear Evelyn speaking.
“Why are you acting strange?”
There was a pause.
Then his voice answered.
“I'm a demon.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Even now.
Even after centuries.
He was still irritating.
I slammed my fist against the door again.
“DAEMON!”
The laughter inside stopped.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then I heard him.
“Yes, brother?”
My eyes turned completely black.
He had escaped.
He was here.
Inside my prison.
With her.
I looked toward the corridor.
A shadow moved.
Then another.
The prison wardens appeared.
They were larger than the guards.
Their bodies were covered in black armor.
Each one carried a weapon forged in Hell.
The Gatekeeper appeared behind them.
He was old.
Older than most of the demons in my kingdom.
His face was covered in scars.
He immediately lowered himself.
“My Lord.”
I pointed toward the door.
“Open it.”
The Gatekeeper stared at the darkness.
Then he slowly approached.
He placed both hands against the barrier.
His eyes closed.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then the darkness around him began to tremble.
The Gatekeeper suddenly opened his eyes.
He stumbled backward.
One of the wardens caught him.
I stared at him.
“What happened?”
The Gatekeeper looked at the door.
His face had gone pale.
“My Lord…”
“Open it.”
“I cannot.”
The corridor became silent.
I slowly turned toward him.
“What did you say?”
The Gatekeeper swallowed.
“I cannot open it.”
I stepped closer.
“You are the Gatekeeper.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“You open every door in Hell.”
“Yes.”
“Then open this one.”
He looked at the barrier.
“My Lord, this door is not closed.”
I stared at him.
“Then what is it?”
He hesitated.
“Refusing you.”
The corridor went silent.
I looked at the door.
Then back at him.
“Refusing me?”
The Gatekeeper nodded slowly.
“The prison has rejected your command.”
I stared at him.
The room had never rejected me.
Nothing in Hell rejected me.
I was Hell.
I turned toward the wardens.
“Break it.”
The wardens immediately moved.
Three of them surrounded the door.
The first raised his weapon.
“Strike.”
The weapons slammed into the barrier.
The entire corridor exploded with sound.
The darkness cracked.
The wardens were thrown backward.
One crashed into the wall.
Another fell to his knees.
I stared at the door.
It remained standing.
“Again.”
The wardens looked at each other.
I turned toward them.
“Did I stutter?”
They immediately stood.
“Again.”
They struck the door.
The barrier shook.
This time, the darkness rippled outward.
A wave of power threw every demon in the corridor backward.
The Gatekeeper hit the floor.
The guards were scattered across the corridor.
I remained standing.
Barely.
The door remained closed.
I stared at it.
Then I heard laughter from inside.
His laughter.
I slowly turned toward the door.
“Daemon.”
His voice came through the barrier.
“Yes, brother?”
I clenched my fist.
“Open the door.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
There was a pause.
Then he laughed again.
“That's not very persuasive.”
I stared at the door.
The guards slowly began to stand.
One of them approached me.
“My Lord, perhaps we should summon the lower—”
I turned toward him.
“Don't.”
The demon immediately stopped.
I knew what he was going to say.
The lower dimension.
The place where Daemon had been imprisoned.
The place I had sent him.
I did not want to hear its name.
Not here.
Not now.
I turned back toward the door.
Inside, Evelyn was speaking.
“Who are you?”
There was silence.
Then his voice.
“Finally, sweetheart.”
My jaw tightened.
Of course.
Of course he had spent the entire time teasing her.
Of course he had been enjoying himself.
I struck the door again.
“DAEMON!”
This time, I felt something shift beyond the barrier.
A presence.
A power.
Something that did not belong inside Hell.
Something that had come from below.
The lower dimension.
My eyes narrowed.
The barrier between dimensions had been weakening.
I had felt it the moment the humans arrived.
Every demon in Hell had felt it.
But I had not understood why.
Now I did.
The pure blood.
Evelyn.
Her presence had weakened the ancient barriers.
And Daemon had used the weakness to escape.
I looked at the door.
He had not simply entered my prison.
He had crossed dimensions.
He had escaped the place I had buried him in.
And he had found her.
I turned toward the Gatekeeper.
“How did he get here?”
The Gatekeeper remained on his knees.
“I don't know, my Lord.”
“Find out.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Search every passage between the lower dimension and Hell.”
The Gatekeeper hesitated.
I looked at him.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Then move.”
He immediately disappeared.
I turned toward the guards.
“Seal every entrance to the palace.”
The guards bowed.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Nothing enters.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Nothing leaves.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
I looked at the door.
Then I added:
“Find every demon who has felt the disturbance in the lower dimension.”
One of the guards hesitated.
“And if they refuse to speak?”
I looked at him.
He immediately lowered his head.
“I understand, my Lord.”
They disappeared.
The corridor became silent.
I stood alone outside the door.
Alone except for the thing inside.
The thing wearing my face.
I pressed my hand against the barrier.
“Daemon.”
His voice came through.
“You really need to stop saying my name like that.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
My eyes narrowed.
He always said nothing when he had done something.
“What did you do?”
“I came to visit.”
“You escaped the lower dimension.”
“Technically, yes.”
“You entered my prison.”
“Also technically, yes.”
“You took my face.”
There was a pause.
Then:
“You have a very recognizable face.”
I stared at the door.
“Get out.”
“No.”
“Daemon.”
“Lucian.”
“Get out.”
“I've only just arrived.”
“You have been here long enough.”
“I disagree.”
“You don't get to disagree.”
“That's where you're wrong.”
I stepped away from the door.
The shadows around me moved.
The demons I had ordered away had not gone far.
They were waiting.
Watching.
I turned toward them.
“Bring me the strongest sorcerers in the kingdom.”
A guard bowed.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Tell them to come prepared.”
“For what?”
I looked at the door.
“To destroy a prison.”
The guard hesitated.
I looked at him.
“Do you have a problem?”
“No, my Lord.”
“Then go.”
He disappeared.
I turned back toward the door.
Inside, Evelyn was still talking to Daemon.
She was confused.
Afraid.
And completely unaware of who she had been speaking to.
I could hear it in her voice.
“Why are you acting strange?”
Daemon answered her.
“I'm a demon.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
He had always been like this.
Even when we were children.
Even when he had tried to take what belonged to me.
Even when I had sent him below.
Always smiling.
Always mocking.
Always convinced that nothing could touch him.
I had been wrong once.
I would not be wrong again.
The sorcerers arrived.
Six of them.
The oldest demons in Hell.
They immediately lowered themselves.
“My Lord.”
I pointed toward the door.
“Open it.”
The oldest sorcerer approached.
He studied the barrier.
His expression changed.
I noticed.
“What?”
He didn't answer.
I stepped toward him.
“What is it?”
“My Lord…”
“Speak.”
He swallowed.
“This isn't your magic.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“The prison was created by you.”
“Yes.”
“But something else is inside it now.”
My eyes turned black.
“What?”
The sorcerer looked at the barrier.
“Another presence.”
I already knew.
I just wanted to hear him say it.
“Can you open it?”
The sorcerer hesitated.
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps?”
“We would need to break the connection.”
“What connection?”
He looked at me.
“Between the room…”
His eyes moved toward the door.
“And whoever is inside it.”
I stared at the darkness.
Daemon.
I turned toward the sorcerers.
“Do it.”
They began chanting.
The corridor filled with ancient words.
The darkness surrounding the door began to twist.
Inside, I heard Evelyn's voice.
“Why are you acting strange?”
Then Daemon's voice.
“Different from what?”
“From Lucian.”
I froze.
The chanting continued.
I stared at the door.
She was beginning to notice.
Good.
Then she said:
“You never call me love.”
The chanting stopped.
The sorcerers looked at each other.
I stared at the barrier.
Inside, there was silence.
Then I heard Daemon laugh.
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
It had taken her this long.
The sorcerers looked at me.
“My Lord?”
“Continue.”
They began chanting again.
Inside, Evelyn's voice became quieter.
“You're not Lucian.”
The barrier suddenly cracked.
I opened my eyes.
A thin line of light appeared across the darkness.
Daemon's voice came through.
“Finally, sweetheart.”
The c***k widened.
The sorcerers stumbled backward.
The room shook violently.
I stepped forward.
“Continue!”
The darkness exploded.
The sorcerers were thrown across the corridor.
The barrier shattered.
I stepped through.
And found nothing.
The prison was empty.
I stopped.
The darkness inside the room was slowly dissolving.
The air still carried the scent of something ancient.
Something that did not belong in Hell.
But Daemon was gone.
My eyes moved across the room.
There was no sign of him.
No trace.
No shadow.
Nothing.
Then I saw her.
Evelyn.
She stood in the middle of the prison.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were wide.
She had already realized who I was.
Of course she had.
Daemon had revealed himself before disappearing.
I didn't need to ask her what happened.
I knew.
My eyes moved across the room.
Then back to her.
The pure blood.
The reason the barriers had weakened.
The reason Daemon had escaped.
The reason the prison had rejected me.
I took a step toward her.
She immediately stepped backward.
Her breathing became uneven.
I continued toward her.
“Stay away from me.”
I ignored her.
She took another step back.
Her eyes were filled with fear.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
She knew exactly who I was.
She had seen me before.
She knew what I was capable of.
And now she was alone with me.
I reached out my hand.
Her eyes widened.
“No.”
I didn't stop.
I had no reason to.
She was the pure blood.
I needed answers.
I needed to know what her blood had done to the barriers between dimensions.
I needed to know why Daemon had been able to escape.
I reached for her.
She stared at my hand.
Then at my face.
Her breathing suddenly stopped.
Her eyes rolled backward.
Her body went limp.
I caught her before she hit the ground.
I stared down at her unconscious body.
For a moment, I said nothing.
Then I looked toward the empty space where my brother had disappeared.
“Daemon.”
My voice was quiet.
The guards immediately began to rise behind me.
I turned toward them.
“Find him.”
The demons lowered their heads.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Search every corridor.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Every passage.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Every entrance connected to the lower dimension.”
The guards hesitated.
I looked at them.
“Did I make myself unclear?”
“No, my Lord.”
“Then move.”
They disappeared.
I looked down at the unconscious girl in my arms.
She was not my concern.
Her fear was not my concern.
Her fainting was not my concern.
The only thing that mattered was what she was.
And what her existence had allowed my brother to do.
I turned away from the ruined prison.
“Prepare Blackthorn Keep.”
The remaining guards bowed.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“And find the strongest healers.”
One of them hesitated.
I looked at him.
“Not because I care whether she wakes up.”
The guard immediately lowered his head.
“Yes, my Lord.”
I looked down at Evelyn.
“I need her alive.”
That was all.
I carried her out of the prison.
Not gently.
Not tenderly.
Simply carefully enough to keep the pure blood from being damaged.
Behind me, the shattered prison continued to dissolve.
Daemon was gone.
But he had left something behind.
A problem.
A human girl.
And a question I had no intention of ignoring.
What exactly was Evelyn?
I carried her through the dark corridors of Hell.
The demons moved out of my way.
No one dared look directly at me.
Ahead of us, Blackthorn Keep rose from the darkness.
My home.
My fortress.
A massive structure of black stone built into the heart of Hell.
Its towers disappeared into the darkness above.
Its walls had stood for centuries.
Nothing entered Blackthorn Keep without my permission.
Nothing left without my knowledge.
I carried Evelyn through the enormous doors.
“Prepare the West Wing.”
The servants immediately bowed.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Prepare a room.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Not a prison.”
The servant looked up in surprise.
I stared at him.
“Do not mistake that for kindness.”
He immediately lowered his head.
“Yes, my Lord.”
I continued through the palace.
Evelyn remained unconscious in my arms.
Somewhere beyond the walls of Blackthorn Keep, my brother was free.
For centuries, I had believed Daemon was trapped below.
I had been wrong.
The pure blood had weakened the barriers.
Daemon had used the weakness.
And now he was somewhere in Hell.
Possibly watching.
Possibly planning.
Possibly waiting.
I looked down at Evelyn.
She was the reason.
Not because she had chosen to be.
Not because she understood what she was.
But because something inside her blood had opened a door that should have remained closed.
I reached the West Wing.
The servants had already prepared the room.
I placed Evelyn on the bed.
Then I turned away from her.
“Find Daemon.”
The guard waiting outside bowed.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Search every part of Hell.”
“Yes.”
“Search the lower dimension.”
The guard hesitated.
I looked at him.
He immediately lowered his head.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“And if you find him?”
The guard waited.
I looked toward the dark window.
“Do not approach him.”
The guard's expression changed.
“Then what should we do?”
“Find him.”
I turned toward him.
“Then come back and tell me where he is.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
He left.
I stood alone in the room.
Behind me, Evelyn remained unconscious.
I had no idea when she would wake.
I had no idea where Daemon had gone.
But I knew one thing.
My brother had escaped the lower dimension.
And the pure blood had opened the way.
I looked at Evelyn one last time.
Then I turned away.
She was not my problem.
She was the key to my problem.
And I intended to find out exactly what she was.
TO BE CONTINUED...
- Writer
