Mystery Songs
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“Well, you were all right,” I said to the assembled company as soon as they’d gathered in my room. “Except for one thing.”
We had a lot of things on our minds and a short time in which to deal with them before we could expect the Archdemon to come calling again. There was no way he would let us get away clean after we’d managed to kill two of his children.
Not only that but there was now another Archdemon’s power trying its hand at ruling over this world. A powerful new player meant an unstable environment for everyone who wanted to remain alive.
The Archons and I were all here; even Lyrna had been brought back from her little excursion into the afterlife—by my hand, not hers. We hadn’t told anyone about what had happened, but it wasn’t hard to guess.
If any of the other gods or goddesses decided she was worth saving, they might be willing to take her under their wing. She certainly didn’t seem to have a problem with being rescued by me; in fact, she was sitting right beside me when I looked over.
Her eyes weren’t closed like the rest of us, so I couldn’t read anything from her face. That bothered me. I really needed to talk with her alone sometime and try to understand why I felt such a strong pull toward her when she’d just tried to murder me. And then there was the whole matter of how much trouble she might cause if I lost control and did something terrible to her…
I shook off my worries and turned my attention to the other guests who were waiting patiently for me. The room itself was rather bare. The furniture consisted of nothing more than a bed and a table and chair that I’d borrowed from somewhere.
The wall behind us featured several framed pictures of the most popular celebrities, including a few from Earth: Madonna, Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie (who was still wearing an eye patch), and others. They were all smiling at us, probably because we kept bringing them so much fame.
Amber and Lyrna seemed to have recovered somewhat since they’d arrived home. Amber actually looked like her old self; she was sitting across the table from me while I stood behind my desk chair. She wore a simple white blouse and a knee-length skirt of dark blue fabric with embroidered gold trim.
It was pretty enough to make any girl envious; she’d also pulled her hair back in a ponytail, leaving the front of her neck exposed to show off her pale skin. In contrast, Lyrna was garbed in a red and black silk gown that clung to every curve of her voluptuous body.
Her golden hair had been arranged to frame her face and give it prominence; her lips were painted crimson and matched the color of the dress perfectly.
Neither one made me think of a Valkyrie; maybe they weren’t as different as they seemed?
They both looked up at me when I spoke; Lyrna smiled and gave me a wink. I sighed and rubbed my brow.
“You’re sure you can handle everything?” I asked Amber, who nodded happily. “Then leave. I need to talk with these two.”
She laughed and kissed me on the cheek, which sent butterflies fluttering around inside my stomach. She left first and Amber followed a moment later. They’d already gone through the portal that led to the Otherworld before they’d come here, so I wouldn’t be losing them until they returned. I turned back to my archangels and waited.
There were seven of them, but the five closest to me stepped forward as I began to speak. Their voices boomed out into the air and echoed off the walls, drowning all other noise from the room.
“I am Metatron,” I began. “I’m going to ask for your help in a very specific manner. First, there is someone among us whom we cannot trust without supervision. This person may not realize what she has done, so I will allow you to decide what she must do to prove her loyalty.”
The six gods and goddesses shifted uncomfortably, looking at each other uncertainly. Only the Archdemon remained silent. When we had finished, he finally broke his silence, asking if we needed him to take part too. He sounded worried that he might be next on my list.
I waved my hand in a vague motion towards the door, saying, “Yes, I’ll get to you soon enough. As for the matter at hand, there are seven individuals here who know the Archdemon personally. We need someone else besides myself and the Archons to help us defeat her. Do we have anyone who wants to join us?”
The gods and goddesses exchanged glances, and then all three of them spoke up together. “We would be honored to assist you!”
All right, I thought. Now we could begin.
***
“I want her to live,” Lyrna said firmly after everyone had agreed.
That came as no surprise to me—she never hesitated once she had decided to do something. But it was clear from the way she spoke that she was determined to see it happen somehow, and she didn’t sound happy about the prospect.
“Why does this matter to you?” I asked her, hoping we could avoid the issue altogether.
“Because she’s a good person.”
I frowned at that answer. If someone was really a good person, then why did they keep trying to kill people? Maybe Lyrna was wrong, maybe she knew something I didn’t, but I couldn’t just ignore her feelings and hope she changed her mind. “Do you know anything that makes you believe that the Archdemon is worthy of salvation?”
Lyrna pursed her lips in frustration and looked away from me. After a moment of silence, she sighed and answered, “Her actions are always motivated by a desire to help others.”
This wasn’t exactly a surprise. The Archdemon had shown a lot of empathy during our time together. And even though I still considered her an enemy, I couldn’t deny that there was a core of goodness within her somewhere.
There had been too much evidence to the contrary in the past few days. She had been willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good, she had fought for the lives of innocent children and women, and she’d tried desperately to save the souls of those whose fates were sealed against their wishes.
And I hadn’t seen her kill anybody, not yet. All of her actions thus far had been to protect innocents and to save the world she loved. Even if she’d wanted to hurt or kill anyone, she hadn’t taken the opportunity.
If only she’d told me how she felt before we’d become enemies, things might have gone differently. Or if she’d told me about the Archdemon’s plan sooner, I might have known how to stop it. That would have put a lot more pressure on me, though; she was the only one who knew what she was doing, and her motives were unknown. I couldn’t trust her judgment.
But I couldn’t make the decision either.
Amber took charge at that point, asking where we should start. It took us some time to get around to considering what was best for the Archdemon. At first, everyone was hesitant because they didn’t want to be responsible for her death.
Lyrna and I both pointed out that the Archdemon had chosen this fate for herself, and she could easily die by other means. But that wasn’t enough to satisfy any of the gods and goddesses except for Lyrna and me.
Eventually, we started talking about what to do with the Archdemon’s soul. A small part of me had hoped we might be able to find another way to deal with that, but I quickly realized that the Archdemon’s fate lay with me, and it needed to go according to my plans.
No one else had any idea how to handle it, and none of them were going to try anything rash without my approval. I had the most experience dealing with immortal beings and the least emotional attachment to anyone involved. So the Archdemon got sent to me.
The Archdemon was given the opportunity to change her fate, but all she did was glare at us, snarling in contempt. Then we left the room and shut the door behind us.
When the Archdemon’s soul arrived in my office, I was ready to face her. I had already accepted the fact that it wasn’t going to be easy. Her eyes glared coldly at me, and her lips formed words that weren’t intended for us.
I held up a hand to silence the Archdemon’s insults as I asked calmly, “Who are you?”
She glared at me again but didn’t answer. Instead, she reached out and grabbed my arm tightly, causing me to wince in pain. She twisted it until I cried out loudly, and she squeezed harder. I struggled wildly to escape, but she refused to release her grasp.
I had never been so angry and frustrated with anyone—it didn’t matter that we were both immortals. She knew she was in over her head, and now she was trying to manipulate me into helping her. What kind of monster would dare to hurt me like this?
As my rage grew, I heard a voice say in my ear, “Calm down.”
My anger dissipated, and I stared at the Archdemon in disbelief. “What are you saying?” I demanded, but Amber interrupted her before she could answer.
“You’re acting foolishly,” she warned me. “Remember, the Archdemon is not a mortal woman.”
The Archdemon released my arm, and I flexed it carefully, trying not to dislocate any of its joints. “Why don’t you tell me?” I said quietly.
The Archdemon glared at me for several moments, then spoke in a low, dangerous tone, “Your friend here has no idea how to properly communicate with us. I can understand her, but she cannot hear me unless I choose to speak aloud.”
“So you’re telling me that the Archdemon is blind?”
Again, Amber cut in and explained, “There are many different types of mortals, some of whom possess special gifts or abilities. This particular mortal has a gift for being able to read emotions, although it may take a little practice from time to time.”
“Well, she certainly seems to know when she’s being lied to,” I snapped. “Are you suggesting she’s a telepath?”
Amber chuckled softly at that, but she kept her opinion to herself.
I turned back to the Archdemon. “Explain yourself. Who are you and what does your existence mean to the future of our world?”
Her lips curled upward into a sneer. “I am the Archdemon, and I was created to protect the human race from the Archdemon’s army which threatens their very existence.”
“We aren’t under threat.”
“Don’t lie, Lord Constantine! Your people are doomed.”
That caught my attention, but I decided to ignore her for now. “Tell me exactly what happened when you came here, then. Why do you think we’ve been attacked by an Archdemon?”
This time the Archdemon didn’t seem inclined to talk anymore. She simply glared at me and waited expectantly.
It took a while to get to the point where the Archdemon began describing events in her mind as best she could remember them, and it was hard to believe much of what she told us. We soon found out why the Archdemon was blind—she had lost her eyesight due to a terrible accident caused by the Archdemon’s power.
The Archdemon had wanted to test the Archdemon’s new ability on a helpless victim, so she chose to turn an innocent mortal woman into a vampire instead of choosing someone who would have preferred it. That was the Archdemon’s greatest weakness—her desire to be powerful.
She loved nothing more than seeing those around her suffer, and she often made her victims regret their choices. If they ever survived. It sounded as if many of them hadn’t, and the Archdemon had no remorse over it at all. At least the Archdemon was honest about herself and didn’t pretend to have any redeeming qualities.
After hearing all of her stories, we still couldn’t figure out quite where the Archdemon fit into the bigger picture of things. When we questioned her about it, though, she said only that she wished she had never been born, and even after everything, there was no hope of changing her fate.
In the end, my decision was a simple one. We couldn’t leave the Archdemon to die in misery, and it would serve the Archdemon right if she got stuck with an immortal duty for eternity.
The End