Demonic Encounter

CHAPTER 4: THE FALL OF THE DIVINE

Vince's fingers moved like an artist painting code across a digital canvas, his eyes locked to the shifting matrix of encrypted networks. He leaned back in his seat, exhaling a slow, victorious breath.

"I got it," he said.

Amethyst leaned over, her arms crossed. "Lisandra Antanov?"

He nodded, tapping a final key. "Coordinates, aliases, communication frequencies—this is her digital pulse. She's a ghost, but I made her bleed." He gave her a half-smile. "She’s expecting high-profile buyers for some new drop. We slide into that list, say we’re offering the Divine Heart—she’ll bite."

Lexter raised an eyebrow from across the room. "You sure she’s not gonna bite our heads off instead?"

Vince chuckled. "That’s why we bring an exit strategy."

Sky, Keisha, and Kira leaned in as Vince turned the monitor toward them.

"Here’s the plan," Vince said, voice low. "Lisandra's mansion is rigged with tech—smart sensors, biometric locks, nanodrone surveillance. So we hacked a bypass into her access grid. Keisha planted a signal scrambler in a diplomatic convoy passing near the mansion an hour ago. It'll trigger a five-second blind spot when we need it."

"And if we need more than five seconds?" Sky asked.

"Then we trigger Plan B," Vince replied. "Kira’s drone swarm is pre-programmed. They're cloaked, armed, and waiting above the canopy. If things go sideways, they’ll cause a distraction on the west wall. Enough for us to split. Lexter, you’ll guide Amethyst to the elevator shaft. Sky and I will split east to the emergency tram tunnel Keisha’s been mapping."

Kira nodded. "And if all hell breaks loose?"

"Then we improvise," Vince said. "But we’ll be ghosts before they even know we were real."

Rain slashed across the windshield of the black cruiser, making the outside world a distorted painting of neon lights and blurred silhouettes. Inside, silence settled over them like a warning.

Amethyst stared out the window. "You ever feel like we’re crossing a line we won’t come back from?"

Vince replied without looking at her. "That line vanished a long time ago. We’re not doing this for greed. We’re doing it for survival. For those kids."

Lexter, arms folded, stared down at the gun in his lap. "Lisandra Antanov doesn’t just make deals. She makes legends... or corpses."

The cruiser veered through a canyon of trees, then up a steep hill flanked by drone towers. At the top stood a mansion like no other—metallic, fluid, and completely unnatural. It reflected the storm like a silver serpent.

As they approached the front gate, beams of blue light crisscrossed the vehicle, scanning them from every angle. Heat signatures. Bone density. DNA.

A calm, feminine voice filled the cabin. "Identity confirmed. Guests acknowledged. Please proceed."

They shared glances, uneased.

The inside of Lisandra’s mansion felt like stepping into another realm. Hallways shifted, adapting to their movement. Screens whispered data in languages Amethyst didn’t recognize. Security drones hovered silently in corners.

A woman in charcoal-gray with silver lenses for eyes greeted them. "The Queen is waiting. Thirteenth floor."

The elevator had no buttons—only an iris scanner. Vince stepped forward, and the doors closed behind them. A sensation like descending underwater passed over them.

When the doors opened again, it was not to an office.

The thirteenth floor was a cathedral of power.

Gold lattice spanned the domed ceiling. Moonlight poured in from a skylight so wide it felt like they were standing beneath the stars. A long obsidian table stretched across the chamber, and around it sat twelve of the world’s most dangerous figures.

Amethyst froze.

"These aren’t just buyers," she whispered. "They’re monarchs."

Lisandra Antanov stood at the far end of the room, turning slowly.

"You’re late," she said, voice like silk stretched over glass.

Her eyes—storm gray with flecks of violet—locked onto Amethyst. Her beauty was devastating. Ethereal. But there was nothing kind in her face.

"I don’t entertain amateurs," she continued, walking forward. "But I do admire ambition."

She motioned for them to approach. Her guards didn’t move. They didn’t need to.

Amethyst reached into the briefcase and lifted it. Inside, cradled in dark velvet, lay the Divine Heart. The diamond glowed softly—almost alive.

Gasps rippled across the room.

"Is that real?" asked General Baek.

"The Divine Heart," whispered Maria Novello. "No one’s seen it since the Holy War."

Robert Steinron leaned forward. A tall, chiseled man in a navy-blue suit with platinum rings glinting on his fingers, Robert was no ordinary player—he was the king of the black market in the United States, infamous for running covert arms trades, stolen relic rings, and synthetic drug empires that spanned continents. His voice dripped with sarcasm. "You stole this from Global City's most protected vault, didn’t you? Clever girl."

Amethyst didn’t blink. "I’m not here for confessions. Just offers."

Lisandra circled the table like a panther, then paused before the diamond. Her hand hovered over it, not touching.

"You know what this is, don’t you?" she asked.

"I know what it’s worth," Amethyst said.

"Not in currency," Lisandra replied. "In consequence. This gem once powered a gate between worlds. You bring this into the wrong hands, and we’re not talking war—we’re talking extinction."

Vince stepped in. "Which is why we chose you. You have the power to protect it."

Lisandra smirked. "Flattery and foolishness."

Her fingers descended.

Bang!

The gunshot split the air like a lightning strike. For a moment, everything paused—the silence that followed was heavier than the sound itself. Glass shattered behind Lisandra, raining down in glinting shards like starlight. The moguls jerked in their seats, half-rising. Screams erupted. Confusion rippled through the room like a wave.

From the shadows of a concealed panel, a man burst into view—Liao Xin Shin, his coat sweeping out behind him like a blade, eyes burning with betrayal. Smoke spiraled from the barrel of his pistol.

"You think you can sell that without me?" he snarled, voice gravelled with rage.

Lisandra turned swiftly, her body instinctively angling to disarm, but the second shot came too fast. It buried itself in the marble wall beside her, cracking the polished surface.

The room exploded into chaos.

Chairs toppled. Moguls ducked behind marble pillars. Guards drew weapons, barking in different languages. Shadows twisted with movement.

Amethyst dropped to the floor, her heartbeat thunder in her ears. The Divine Heart tumbled from the briefcase, bounced once, and skidded across the floor like a piece of starlight fleeing a dying sky.

"No!" she screamed, diving for it. Her fingers brushed it—too late.

Robert was faster. He seized it with both hands, grinning like a devil unleashed. "Thank you for the donation."

Lisandra rose to full height, her wounded pride simmering. "Drop it."

Robert laughed. "Make me."

His gun rose.

Amethyst saw it. She saw Lisandra’s eyes narrowing. Her body moved before thought.

Her fingers found a discarded pistol on the floor. She swung it up. Fired.

The bullet punched through Lisandra’s chest.

Time fractured.

Lisandra stumbled backward, shock etched into every inch of her expression. A crimson flower blossomed on her silk gown, blooming slowly, horribly.

"No..." Amethyst gasped, the pistol trembling in her grip. "No, I didn’t mean to—"

Robert’s laughter cracked through the air like ice. "Well. That’s one less problem."

He fired.

Amethyst's shoulder jerked back as if yanked by an invisible rope. Pain bloomed like fire through her arm. She stumbled, heel slicing across shattered glass.

Another shot.

It struck her chest. Her body folded inwards, breath stolen, time slowed.

Vince’s scream was distant, underwater.

Lexter lunged for her, but it was too late.

Sky’s voice crackled in Vince’s comms, panicked. “I’m trying to trigger the scrambler—nothing’s responding! They’ve jammed our signal!”

Keisha’s voice followed. “Drones aren’t deploying! The air grid’s been electrified—Kira’s swarm can’t breach it!”

Lexter grabbed Amethyst’s arm, dragging her toward the exit. But the elevator system was dead. The lights above flickered and died. Walls moved—corridors shifting like a living organism. Doors sealed.

“They’ve locked us in!” Lexter shouted.

Vince’s hands slammed a nearby panel, trying to override. “The whole damn mansion just turned on us!”

Amethyst’s legs gave way. Her blood smeared the floor beneath her.

Behind her, the balcony loomed.

She took one step backward. Her foot found nothing.

The edge.

She fell.

Time slowed. The roar of wind surged against her ears like an angry tide. Her hair whipped upward, strands catching the glint of moonlight as her body plummeted into the abyss. Her fingers reached for anything—air, hope, forgiveness. But the world offered none.

The glass walls of the mansion’s lower floors blurred past her in flashes of neon and reflection. Her eyes—wide with shock, then peace, fixed on the thirteenth floor above, where chaos reigned and her friends fought for survival.

She wasn’t screaming.

She was remembering.

Steven’s face, smiling from his hospital bed.

Sister Lydia’s gentle hands.

The laughter of the orphanage.

Then pain.

A thunderous impact as her body hit the armored garden terrace below—stone cracking beneath her like fragile porcelain. Her form twisted unnaturally. Blood painted the floor in arcs. The Divine Heart above still pulsed with indifference, untouched by the loss of the one who gave everything for its cause.

Back on the thirteenth floor, Vince’s fist cracked against the wall as another override failed. "We’re running out of time!"

Sky’s voice came again—sharp this time. “Emergency tram tunnel sensors just reactivated. The firewall’s down.”

Kira, voice trembling, whispered, “She bought us time. Her fall... distracted them. Security protocols dropped for ten seconds. Just enough.”

Lexter’s jaw clenched. “We’re not leaving her behind!”

“She’s already gone!” Keisha snapped, tears in her voice. “Do you think she’d want us all to die here?!”

The emergency tunnel hatch hissed open as Vince cracked the last encrypted lock.

One by one, they fled into the smoke-choked corridor, hearts shattered, minds reeling. The mansion behind them returned to life—shutters closing, lights sealing, drones reactivating.

But they were already gone—ghosts in the system, exactly as planned.

Amethyst’s sacrifice had made the impossible possible.

And the memory of her fall would echo in every breath they took.

Then—

Darkness.

But somewhere, deep beneath the shattered terrace—beneath twisted vines and forgotten catacombs—the glow of the Divine Heart pulsed once.

And somewhere else… so did Amethyst’s heart.