Evil - Chapter 36
I relayed the information Prince Yimnit gave me to Director Frente, Commander Bivnol, Kimberly, and Margaret.
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.
It's not easy being the Antichrist.
Anjelica’s mother never told her that she was a demon. Now, all she wants is her old life back, but that’s not possible for her. Not after what she’s seen.
Anjelica used to be a popular cheerleader with an awesome life, but that was before an evil cult of demons tried to use her blood to open a portal to Hell and start the Apocalypse.
She was rescued from that fate, barely, and because of the imminent threat to her life, her saviors ripped her from Los Angeles and brought her to a safe house in the middle of nowhere.
They said it was for her own good, but she would rather be dead than stuck in boring, old Bronard, Missouri. She was from the big city, so a sleepy, rural life wasn’t for her.
She longed for excitement.
So, when she met a young witch with a mysterious past who promised to show her everything she knew about opening portals and traveling between distant lands, they bonded immediately
I mean, what’s the worst that could happen, right?
It’s not like they would open an intergalactic gateway to another planet and get thrown into a brand, new world with no way to get back to Earth, right?
Join Anjelica in her own solo adventure and find out what happened to her immediately after the events in Magic.
They all listened in rapt silence as I spoke, and when I was done, a pall fell over them.
“We can’t agree to that,” Director Frente said. “First of all, our goal is to blow up the monarchy and salt the earth so nothing like the royal family can ever take power again, and two, the simple idea that there are gods, and that somebody could capture them, is so insane that I couldn’t possibly sanction following up on it without becoming a buffoon on the international stage.”
Kimberly leaned forward. “There are gods, director, and saving one from capture wouldn’t make you a fool. It would make you indebted to a god, which is a good place to be.”
“And,” I added, “there might be a way to give Prince Yimnit everything he wants…without giving him anything that he wants.”
“Explain,” Commander Bivnol said.
“Well, in our world, there are things called constitutional monarchies. There is a queen, for instance, in Great Britain, but they have almost no power, except ceremonial power. All the real power is controlled by the Parliament. If we can get Prince Yimnit to agree to something like that, then we all might be able to make this work.”
Director Frente looked down into her lap. “I don’t know.”
“Think about it, Director,” Margaret said, after a long bout of silence. “There are lots of people who love the monarchy, aren’t there?”
“I know I saw a lot of people who loved the king on my time walking through the city,” Kimberly said. “A lot, a lot. Way more than I thought possible.”
“And if we just depose the king, cut off his head, and start something new, then we won’t have backing from all of those people that support the king,” Margaret said. “But if we can instill a king who believes in the rights of the people, and he gives us the power of democracy, then it’s likely we can get even more support than if we just assassinated the king in a coup.”
Director Frente stood and paced behind her desk. “How can we trust Prince Yimnit, though?”
“Exactly,” Commander Bivnol echoed. “He’s a snake who has tried to kill us multiple times.”
“Ah,” Kimberly said. “But a snake will leave you alone if you don’t disturb him. Giving him the perception of power without any responsibility to rule might be the exact solution both sides need.”
“I have to think about this and discuss it with—others,” the director said. “Meanwhile, how do we figure out if there really is a weapon that can destroy a city and capture a god?”
“If you can capture a god, you can harness its power.” Kimberly scratched her head. “The question is whether we can build such a device. I believe I have a beat on some magical creatures in this city. However, they are not friendly to fairies.” She turned to me. “You need to come with me. I think I’ve found demons, and you have a better chance at communicating with them than me.”
“I thought we agreed that I wasn’t going anywhere looking like this,” I said, pointing to my face.
“Let’s just hope Madam Fantasmo can do her work and make you look like a new person because I can’t do this without you.”
I shot up. “That so many of your plans—” I pointed between Director Frente, Commander Bivnol, and Kimberly— “rely on somebody so unqualified for them to work doesn’t make me feel very good about this organization.”
“I don’t disagree,” Margaret said. “But Anjelica, for some reason, this whole thing keeps circling around us. It’s like fate is guiding us along. We can either lean into the skid and go with it and maybe live or fight against it and most definitely die.”
I laughed. “I can’t believe you think there’s any way we live through this. I love your optimism.” I stood up and brushed my hands together. “All right, let’s go see Madam Fantasmo so I can be a pawn in your stupid plan.”
***
“There,” Madam Fantasmo said when she finished with the contour brush on my cheeks. “Have a look.”
She moved away from the mirror, and I didn’t recognize the woman looking back at me. This one had much darker skin than me and high cheekbones and dark eyes. I looked like royalty.
“How—” I asked, stunned speechless.
“You can literally make anyone look like anything,” Volkim said from the other side of me as she pulled my hair back into a tight bun. “If men knew that, they would never trust us again.”
“I’m pretty sure they don’t trust us already,” I said.
“With good reason,” Volkim said with a wicked smile. “Look at what we can do.”
“You look simply fabulous,” Madam Fantasmo said. “Just gorgeous. Of course, I liked you the other way, too, but now, you wear a masterpiece on your face. Try not to smudge it.”
I stared at myself in the mirror. “This feels like an insane risk.”
“All of this seems insane,” Sindra said, walking into the room. She wore a black dress and combat boots. “I mean, you’re a demon. Is that right? Are we really styling a monster?”
I looked at my hands. “I…don’t know. I don’t feel like a Hellspawn or anything, but then, I guess I don’t know what being a human feels like, either.” I met her eyes. “I didn’t know how you would feel about me when you found out.” I turned to the others. “Any of you.”
“Please,” Madam Fantasmo said. “We’ve styled dukes and queens, and they are truly demonic. If we can get through them without batting an eye, we’re certainly not going to get hung up on you, girl. Seriously, win one fight with a prince, and it all goes to your head.” She laughed loudly at her own joke.
I smiled back at her, and my eyes welled with tears. Volkim rushed over to me with a tissue. “Don’t you dare go crying and ruin Madam’s work.” She dabbed at my eyes. “You can cry all you want when you get back.”
I nodded. “You got it.”
Sindra put a hand on my shoulder. “We understand that you’re emotional and everything, but seriously, it’s for your own good if you can just, like, not cry for a little bit of time. From what I hear, demons aren’t really comfortable with emotions.”
She was right. That was the intel Kimberly gave us, anyway. These demons we were meeting were mean and ornery cusses that didn’t care for any that weren’t their kind. I had to keep it under control.
I said my goodbyes to the girls and went downstairs to find Kimberly in a simple pair of khaki slacks and a black jacket. Her hair was matted down, and her face had none of the lush make-up she usually wore. She walked me outside to the car waiting for us and slid inside. When I joined her, the car jutted forward.
After a few minutes, Kimberly looked over at me. “How are you holding up?”
“Terrible,” I replied without hesitation. “This sucks, maybe worse than being kidnapped by demons. You do remember that the last time I interacted with demons, they were kidnapping me, right?”
She nodded. “I know, and I already admitted this situation sucks, but you are no longer an antichrist, and so there is no reason for them to kidnap you again.”
“How about just because it’s fun? Don’t demons do things like kill people, rip their arms off, and kidnap them for fun?”
Kimberly furrowed her brow. “Some of them. Some of them do worse, others better. These ones didn’t seem like the ‘evil for the sake of evil’ type.”
“What type did they seem?”
She scrunched her face from one side to the other. “They seemed like the sowing chaos type and then letting humanity hang its own noose.” She must have realized that I had been hung by a noose just a few short days ago because her face contorted in shame. “Sorry. It’s just a turn of phrase.”
“Aren’t they all,” I replied, rubbing my neck. “It’s okay. So, what are we trying to get from these demons again?”
“It’s pretty simple. We need to know if the king has a device to trap a god, if they helped him build it, and how we can destroy it if they did.”
“And if they didn’t?”
“If I know demons at all, they did. It takes an incredible amount of power to create something like that. Fairies could do it, maybe, but the only beings who could possibly have any idea how to capture a god are demons…or angels, and the heavens help us if they’ve turned on the gods.”
This is a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.