Chapter forty three

"How was she here?" Denys asked himself. He tried to reach out to her but his hands, It felt almost as if his hands had been bound to the chairs. He couldn't even speak. Neither could his gaze be pulled away from the puppet show. His control had been stripped. It was not like those moments ago. He was able to scream, run, and cry as the demon's show continued to haunt his ears. It had been that way for what felt like eons until she promised she was going to stop... Only if he took a seat. His head whirled around. He had believed her. He had foolishly put his trust in a demon. Now that Talia was here, that could mean this was part of Murmur's game. His gaze lingered on Talia once more. The poor girl seemed disturbed. She wanted to help him. If only she knew what sort of person he was. He doubted she would have that much concern on her face when Murmur spilled all his secrets. That had to be the reason she was here.

"Denys, Are you alright?" Talia asked, waving a hand over his face to see if he would flinch.

Even in his frozen state, Denys wanted to do something. He wanted to scream at her to get out. The best he might have been able to do was plead with Talia not to believe a word the vile demon was spitting but screw it, Murmur's from hold could not be broken. When Denys resigned to fate, the vile voice whispered, "Oh, You love her. Don't you?"

It was a little too loud to be a thought thrown into his head. Denys fixated his gaze on Talia, discovering he could move again. However, Talia was frozen just like he had been.

"Am I wrong, Water god?" The voice said, a presence without a corporeal body.

It was as if the voice was what was needed to break his silence. With a clenched fist, Denys spoke.

"What exactly do you want?"

"Revenge." The voice retorted. "Revenge on the Poseidon family for keeping me trapped here for ages. Revenge on father for not getting me the justice I deserved and since your mother has failed to kill her, I will ignite the hell that has been promised on you and your family!"

  Before he could throw another question or make an ungodly run for it, Denys felt a force shove him into the chair. Once again, his will abandoned him. What did the demon mean by 'failed to kill her'? It couldn't be what he was thinking... Could it? Denys refused to believe his mother made a deal with a demon but if he was considering it, the only reason his mother would compromise with a demon was if Talia was involved.

  Denys' thought was immediately cut off by a voice from the puppet stand.

"But the water god is not the only disappointment."

  Her statement... No! The demon was about to crush everything he had fought to avoid. With his stiff neck, Denys made a herculean attempt to see Talia's reaction. She was staring at the stand. It was almost like she knew her story was about to be bared to the world. Denys looked back at the stand and noticed the puppet from before was gone. Two new ones fell from above the stage and the sinister puppeteer continued.

"Born of succubus and a powerful god, she was destined for greatness. A true threat to her ancestors. Hades and the night mantis' tryst indeed created a true disappointment."

Denys swore he heard Talia choke. He struggled with the entirety of his being to rip himself off the chair again and again. It was a repeated and none ending attempt that yielded no fruit but Denys did not stop, Not until it hurt. Denys sensed what it was like to fear for the first time. Was this what riddled his mother every single day? He wondered.

"Please, stop this. She does not deserve this." Denys pleaded. Since he could not speak, it was more a mental message. He heard the demon laugh. The bitch was mocking him.

"I cannot do that now." The voice whispered with a delirious undertone. "We are getting to the good part."

"It cannot be," Talia muttered, her voice shrill.

The demon returned its attention to Talia. The puppets depicting her parents vanished, leaving the stage empty.

"You are probably putting the pieces together now. Yeah, You know why the universe has treated you like shit and why Persephone has not let you go yet. Perhaps you think it's her revenge for all the torture she has endured in the hands of Hades but child, the truth runs much deeper than–"

Suddenly, there was a terrible rumble from deep below. The walls and floor of the room quaked and shook as if it was being ripped apart. Denys felt the force pulling him into the chair vanish. To the prince, that could only mean one thing. There was trouble in demon paradise.

"No!" The voice barked, manic as a side of the room violently propelled upwards successfully cracking an opening in one of the walls. "This was not supposed to happen."

Seeing the demon's anguish as an opportunity, Denys grabbed Talia who was frozen in place, and lurched at the opening.

***
  Sybil put the last thread in place within the hoop. Dawn was approaching and time was slipping past them.

"Will it work?" Solomon asked.

"Well, this a tweaked spell. I doubt the demon inhabiting our friends is a simple dream hopper. If it doesn't work, we might as well have to go with Persephone's original idea."

Solomon sat at the edge of Talia's bed. There was a wild look in his eyes. He did not want that but he was not sure he had a choice. If the dream catcher failed, Sybil would have to kill Talia as Persephone intended to. Even if he tried to stop her, h was damn sure Roman would intervene for the sake of their brothers. Considering the goddess was with purpose when she attempted to finish the girl, killing Talia seemed like the only full-proof plan.

"It will work," Solomon said with faith.

"Let's hope so."

Sybil then drew a white circle around her and pricked her finger, drawing blood and letting it stain the threads of the dream catcher.

"Hecate. Maiden, Mother, Crone." Sybil began. "Grant me your protection and give an unfailing guide to the souls lost in this realm." With a plea in her heart, Sybil uttered the tweaked spell.

"Bless this realm. With the magic upon me, I trap this night, I bind you foul spirit between these threads. Never to see the light."

Solomon studied Talia, Persephone then Oba. They did not seem to be rousing from their enchanted sleep. He recalled what was bound to happen if the spell failed and it made his stomach churn.

"Try again." Solomon pleaded, casting his gaze to the open window. He could see the sun rising. They had seconds.

Sybil lifted the threaded hoop above her head and repeated the chant.

"...With the magic upon me, I trap this night. I bind you foul spirit between these threads. Never to see the light again!"

This time there was a whoosh. It felt like energy lingering in the air. It was carnal, evil, and raw. Suddenly a fireball, small and hellish blue, zipped from Talia into the white threads tainting a portion of it black. Two smaller ones popped out of Persephone and Oba and singed into the dream catcher. It was working. Pieces of the demon were being trapped. As more fireballs jumped from all corners of the castle and out, Solomon noticed Talia rousing.

Solomon lunged to kneel beside her, helping her to sit up. Her hair was spilled over her face bit Solomon could notice her eyes taken the scene right in front of her. She looked disturbed.

"Are you okay?"

Talia nodded, glancing at Persephone's side. Even though she let his suspicion lay to rest, Solomon was still sure something was up with her.

Poor girl is scarred.

Solomon shunned Roman's opinion but it turned out his inner self was right. The second Persephone's eyes fluttered open, Talia jumped on the goddess. It was so quick he could not even react. Talia pinned the goddess against the wall and looked the goddess straight in the eye. It was not just a confrontation. Talia's hands erupted in flames that could only have been forged in the pits of hell. Looking into Persephone's shadowed eyes that flickered with blue flashes from the flame, Talia demanded aloud. "Why!"

***
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