24 - Revelations and Truths Part 2

"Ahhh, so much better, " Haien aired out, opening his eyes and showing the heterochromatic orbs. He dragged as much oxygen as he could inside his lungs and lifted one leg to make a figure-four position. "Why, howdy everyone? How's it going?" he asked coolly, turning his gaze on them.

"My Prince, " Earl Doubrava did a slight bow, "At last you have come back. Please, I am not an impatient man but I believe it is only timely that you should fulfill our end of the agreement now. You know already why."

H grinned, of course he knew why. Marcus inside his dimension now was trying to summon his holy powers again. It is possible, although distant, that at any moment, by some freaking luck, he could escape again and have them battling ownership the second time.

However, as a happy-go-lucky demon that he is, he just had to stall the moment for a bit of fun.

"Now now Earl. You are so hasty. While I was in my prison you know, I couldn't help overhearing your little discussion and had found that this man here—, " H routed his cold eyes on André, "my former landlord... my— lover boy wants to talk to me."

"Ah, yes, " the Earl nodded, "you two can talk, Your Highness, but please, don't take too long. Ysabelle is ready now."

By the mention of her name, Ysabelle's heartbeat doubled. 'Yes, I am ready now, ' was what came down in her thoughts.

Marcus was still tied on the ropes, but to her shock, H easily freed himself by just snapping the ties with one tug. He straightened and skidded out of the bed. Once he stood up, he faced directly the woman trying to look unnoticeable by hiding behind the conjurer.

"Mhhmm, hello Ysabelle, " H greeted, doing a once-over on her features. He missed her so.

"Demon, " Ysabelle spat out acidly.

"I missed our little tryst yesterday. I would want to continue it later."

"Don't count on it, " she glared and crossed her arms in her chest, "Just grant my wish will you?"

"Haha! Such feisty little immortal you are."

H then jumped his attention on his previous landlord. With just a single glance and without saying a word, he walked across the room and stopped near the fireplace while André followed him instinctively. The Earl, the conjurer and Ysabelle gave them time to whatever important matter they were to discuss.

"H, " André spoke, facing the hearth. From where he stood, he could see how the demon's eyes were similar to that of the hellish flames of the fireplace.

"You have the nerve to ask for an audience with me, " H sat on an available wingback chair and rested his arms on its handles. He looked bored all of a sudden and André immediately compared this kind of situation to the many times they conversed inside the dark dimension. Of course, he cleverly left this piece of information out when the exorcist priest investigated on him. But how ironic it is to talk to the demon now with Marcus' face on full display.

"Remember our own agreement, " he said with a stern voice.

"Hmf! I would like to remind that lovesick coconut of yours André, you failed to house me inside your body."

"I did what I could!" André snarled like a rejected dog. "How do you think I was able to live for a month if I didn't?" He brushed his thick wavy hair and ran a hand through his jaw. "I struggled hard. I tried to will my own body to accept your demonic soul."

"But you still failed, " H whispered, still bored, now crossing his right leg on top the other.

"But I tried. Now, my end was met, so you should do yours. You said so yourself that you can take Ysabelle's immortality away without turning her into ashes. Do it for me. I want her."

This time, H's face lit up. Ah, there it is.

"Damn that lust of yours is so visible, André, " he mumbled, delighted with the negative aura, "I almost want to jump inside your body to make the most out of it, but unfortunately, I can't do that. If I would, the divine electricity would disintegrate me, or your body would go on either another coma or a possession rampage."

"Is it a yes then?" André asked, disregarding H's words.

The demon then stood, rubbing his hands together, "Mhmm, we'll see about that, " he said.

He left André near the fireplace brooding, walking straight to where Ysabelle was. He only gave the conjurer a cold glare and the latter scurried away out of the podium and stood next to the Earl.

"Now, where were we?" H said as he pulled Ysabelle close through a hand on her waist. The contact was enough to erect the hairs out of her skin and she would have pushed him back if not for the sudden change of location.

In a heartbeat, she was now lying under him in the bed with H straddling on top her. Once again, she felt an invisible force pinning her down, exactly the same as what happened when H almost raped her. She couldn't move an inch; her arms stayed where it was in the sides while her legs were clamped tight. Breathing was easy, at least for now that she was trying to make herself calm.

H underwent a transfiguration into his real self. Gone was the face of Marcus; every detail of it: his golden brown hair, his beautiful smoky brown eyes, the blush of life in his cheeks, everything... and was replaced with the paleness and ruthlessness of the demon prince of Hell. Haien's long black hair fell in strands to her face, covering the kiss that they shared when he leaned in to do so.

In the fireplace, André's hands clenched, but there was nothing that he could do about it except be as patient and controlled as he could be. In another corner, the conjurer and Earl Doubrava grinned, watching the heated exchange.

Yes. This is it. This is really it! Ysabelle shouted in her mind.

Her life will end in here. She'll never be able to see the real Marcus again. She'll never be able to hear his voice speak her name lovingly. She'll never be able to feel his warm touch, his sweet embrace and his kiss. Yes, his kiss.

Exactly unlike the arctic kiss Haien gave her now.

When the demon withdrew, a small arc of a smile appeared in his mouth, hiding some scheme he alone knows about. He straightened, glanced at the Earl and said, "Where is that mediocre object you want her immortality locked inside?"

Earl Doubrava, just as he turned, saw Monsieur Perrin already running to the podium where the black box was. He opened it and carefully handed the object to the demon.

"Ahh, the Cross of Magdalene, " Haien remarked, holding the ruler-sized cross above his head. It was an antique; designed artistically with gilded leaves on the sides and gems on the center. He then placed it on Ysabelle's chest; its head right on the indentation of her clavicles.

Ysabelle closed her eyes; still trying to calm herself down, but beads of tears ran hastily out.

"Are you ready now, Sweet?" Haien asked, leaning close to her face again, "this will only hurt...a lot."

"Go on with it, " Ysabelle urged without looking at him. She heard a suppressed laugh then.

"You sure are one brave woman."

"Immortality has sharpened my braveness, " was her poised reply.

"Oh, really?" a brow rose, "Or was it loneliness? This is the reason why you want to die right? So that you won't feel lonely anymore? If you remain immortal, you'll live through the years seeing the man you love age. You don't want to see Marcus die, right? You can't handle him leaving you alone in the world?"

Tears continued to stream down her face. God, her heart was severely aching right now.

"But have you ever considered how Marcus would feel?"

With that, Ysabelle's eyes opened. He looked at Haien's abnormally handsome pale face and asked, "What...are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing, Sweet Ysabelle. It is just that he'd be insane if he finds out that in his hands your life was taken away."

He gently roamed a hand on one of her legs and skillfully squeezed her bottom. This elicited a disgusted gasp from Ysabelle, while this added to André's already fuming rage.

"Quite some twisted irony right?" Haien scoffed at the negative emotions around him. "Me, you, him. A twisted combination all in one. He is actually screaming in agony right now. Don't you want to see?"

"No!" Ysabelle yelled, "Please don't transport me in that dimension again!"

'Coz if he did, she knows she won't be able to bear the hurt in Marcus' eyes.

"Awww, but don't you want to see him? Say goodbye to him one last time?"

"No, please... don't!" She turned her head to the side, keeping her eyes tightly shut as if it would help once the demon transfers her to the other dimension. But then, the coldness of Haien's hands turned warm and before Ysabelle realized it, she heard Marcus' gentle voice say, "Ysabelle, I love you... Don't do this."

"Marcus?!" she looked at him; her heart jumping like a jackhammer when she thought that Marcus had surfaced back in reality, but there was only Haien's wicked face that welcomed her instead.

"Hahaha!" the demon belted out a great laugh, "Oh, I love the look of torment in your eyes!"

Ysabelle's face contorted in pain. "Sick demon!"

"I love playing both of you, Ysabelle. It is so much fun! But you know what? I love playing with you all the more. Do you want to know what André asked me to do?"

Ysabelle kept herself silent, but she did shake her head in response.

"He asked me to spare your soul. He asks me to let you live a mortal life."

Her eyes showed a sparkle of hope then. "You can do that?" she quickly asked.

"Oh, I know what you are thinking." Haien leaned closer to her ear and enumerated, "If you're mortal then you can live together with Marcus. You both can have a happily ever after. You can die like normal humans do. Being left alone wouldn't be your problem anymore. Growing together and living until old age with the man you love... with Marcus... would be a pro-mi-singgg future."

Damn, right. Those were the exact thoughts in her mind.

"But that is not the truth!" Haien suddenly blurted out, anger etched in his face. "Do you know why André requests for me to spare your soul?"

"I don't know..." was Ysabelle's hurt reply.

"So that he could have you. He wants you, Ysabelle."

Her eyes quickly sought where André was standing. She saw his eyes filled with desire; burning with the same flames like those ones at the fireplace behind him. It gave her the chills, but that wasn't a big problem for her at all. It was Marcus. If she were to become mortal, she prefers to share that life with the man she loves, not with André or anybody else.

"No, I can't live a life with him!" she voiced out.

"Ahh, don't you worry, I will not give you to André, Sweet, " H drawled, "I own you. I did say that I still want to finish what we started right? You'll be my fuck toy until you rot as a mortal."

He squeezed her bottom again, but this didn't startle Ysabelle anymore. Instead, she looked at him in the eye; sending daggers on him and replied caustically, "I would rather die than to waste my life with you! Marcus! Marcus please wake up! Please hear my voice!"

"Nope, he can't hear you Ysabelle, " he stated haughtily. "You see, the last time he escaped, it was purely out of luck. I won't let that happen anymore. He may have holy powers, but he doesn't know how to use it at all. It is as good as nothing."

"No, he will make it out. He will!"

"Shhhh..." Haien pressed a finger on her mouth, "let's get this over with shall we?"

The area around her turned all black; gone was the intricately designed ceiling, the thick curtains and the people surrounding the bed including the demon on top her.

She felt a cold hand grabbed her wrists and from it an intense pain climbed up her arm.

"Ahhh!" she shrieked, thoroughly enveloped by the painful stimuli.

Lifting her head up to look at her arms, she saw the same markings that André and Marcus had; the blue and violet flames and the black curly vines. It was alive. It crept up to her arms and face, and spread itself wildly all over her body.

And then she became nauseous. Her head spun as if she was in a roller coaster ride. Her pulse rate accelerated and so did her breathing. She felt all of those sensations she had when Marcus touched her with the tattooed arm a few days back. It was all the same; like it was the preparatory for a hemorrhage shock... for death.

"Marcus! Ahhh!" she shouted again, this time of sadness... of grief... and of desperation.

She was so ready to die... ready to leave the world, but with what Haien had told her earlier, it seems that her wish would never come true. If she were to become a mortal, oh God, she hoped that Marcus would surface back with those glowing amber eyes and transparent angel wings that she had seen him with. If that were to happen, oh God, she hoped that he would save her in time.

Her heart held hope desperately as the vines surrounded her from head to foot. Once it did, the wave of pain intensified and brought her to shrill on top of her lungs.

Then, her immortal heartbeat turned into a flat line.