Year Two: Rebels - Cara Wylde Page 0,76

and wrapped his arms around my waist. As he pulled me in, he snuck a hand between us and touched my belly. “You could say that… we have a special connection now. I found everyone in the cemetery, desperate that they couldn’t get you out. All I had to do was talk to the right demon.”

“The right demon?”

“Yeah. Someone who knew Belphegor and how he liked to curse his concubines’ graves.” He motioned at the tombstones around us. “Most of these graves are unmarked. Belphegor had many lovers, and he never married any of them. He cared about his women in his way, I guess. That’s why he wanted to protect their remains.” He turned back to me and kissed my forehead. “You just… chose the wrong cemetery.”

“It was the closest cemetery!”

“There’s literally another one across the street,” he chuckled.

“Oh my God, this is insane.”

“But you got the horn, right?” he whispered so softly that I could barely hear him.

“Yes.”

“Dude,” Valac pulled at his arm. “Dude, who did you go to for help? Belphegor is ancient! He must have died thousands of years ago. There’s no way there’s any demon alive who knew him.”

“There is one.”

“What’s his name?”

Davien never got to answer Valac’s question. The earth started shaking once more, and we all moved away from the grave as quickly as we could. It was still open, and no one wanted to fall inside. The MDC scattered, and I heard Nefertari Maat yell at them to calm down and stay with the group. I turned toward the open gate of the graveyard, and when I saw what was fast approaching, my eyes went wide and my whole body froze. Valac ran back to the MDC, so only Davien, Corri and I remained to face the horde that was now moving through the tall gates. Hundreds of demons of all sizes – big, small, beautiful, crooked. With tails, wings, two horns, six horns, no tails, no wings, with scales on their bodies, hooved feet, human feet, with animal heads, human heads, animal bodies. Their leader was the most terrifying of all, though. He was a giant dressed in a long, yellow robe, with a gold crown upon his head. To look at him, I had to crane my neck until it hurt. He carried a scepter in his right hand, and with the other, he pointed at me.

“Yolanda Aleksiev, you committed a crime.”

“King Xantho,” Davien stepped forward, shielding me with his body. “Thank you for your assistance. We are sorry about what happened today, but as you can see, nothing was done with bad intention. It was simply a misunderstanding.”

“This is the demon who’s old enough to have known Belphegor?” I heard Valac say in utter shock behind me. “Satan help us…”

What did that even mean?

“Silence!”

With a simple gesture of his wrist, the giant in yellow threw Davien a few feet away. Davien tried to pull himself back to his feet and almost collapsed. Valac grabbed his arm and kept him steady. The incubus spread his black wings, ready to place himself between me and the demon again. The demon pointed a finger at him.

“If you care about this woman, stay there, creature of lust.” His booming voice rose toward the sky. “She defiled a grave that was sacred.”

“But you lifted the curse,” Davien tried. He sounded confused.

King Xantho grinned. His teeth were sharp and yellow. “Yes, and now she belongs to me, to punish as I see fit.” He looked down at me, bending slightly. “You cannot come to Hell, human, and do as you please, take what you want. There are rules, and you broke them. Seize her!”

At least a dozen demons advanced toward me.

“We have to go now,” Corri said, and I happened to agree with her.

We both tried to teleport, but it didn’t work. It was the stone box all over again. The giant demon in yellow burst out in a sinister laugh, and I knew he was responsible for our lack of powers. He flicked his wrist again, and Corri was thrown right into Davien’s arms. The demons encircled me and started pulling at my arms and clothes. I tried to push them away, I started screaming at them to let me go. I turned to glance at Davien, Corri, Valac, Professor Maat, and the whole Merciful Death Cabal. They were all in shock – livid and frozen in space and time. They were either not reacting because they were afraid of Kind Xantho and his army, or because he’d done something to silence them. I couldn’t fight the demons. They were too many and too strong. No amount of kicking and screaming helped. So, I just gave up and allowed them to take me away.

“I’ll come for you. I’ll get you out. Don’t worry, my love. I’ll find a way.” That was Davien’s voice in my head. It seemed that since I’d gotten pregnant with his baby, our telepathic connection had grown, and now he could put thoughts into my head. That made me feel a little better. I wasn’t alone. This was a mess, and this guy… this King Xantho demon all dressed in impressive amounts of yellow was ancient and powerful. But my men were never going to let him take me. Not for good, at least. For now, it seemed that he had taken us all by surprise. Davien was going to go back to the Academy, tell Seth and Adrian, and together, they would find a way.

I was lost in a sea of demons. The Fourth Circle of Hell was behind us, and we were probably close to the Sixth now. As I couldn’t see a thing and the demons were practically carrying me on their arms, I had completely missed the Fifth Circle.

“Yolanda Aleksiev.”

The demons put me down and made a circle around me. Their leader fell in step with me, and I realized he’d shrunk to a normal, human size. He was still taller than anyone I’d ever seen. He looked at me, and I had to avert my gaze. He was wearing a mask that covered his entire face.

“I’ve been waiting for you. Dreamer. Interdimensional traveler. Rebel. Cheater of death.”

“You know who I am… This wasn’t a coincidence. This was intentional.”

“You must have the horn of a demon in your pocket.”

I gritted my teeth. “Who are you? What do you want?”

He stepped in front of me and forced me to look into his black eyes.

“I am the King in Yellow. What do I want? I want to tell you this.”

He leaned in, and when his rancid breath licked my face, I covered my nose and mouth with a trembling hand. I wanted to push him away, but I refused to touch him. My whole being was repulsed by his very presence. When he whispered in my ear, it felt like he blew pure poison right through my eardrum and into my brain.

“The Great Old Ones are awaking.”

THE END

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cara Wylde loves to write about strong, feisty women and their hot Alphas who will do anything to make them happy. Her books are filled with romance and just a dash of mystery, suspense, and that eerie atmosphere she fell in love with reading too many gothic novels. With a master's degree in Comparative Literature, she can't help but play with tropes and themes from various genres, trying to come up with fresh perspectives on the paranormal characters her readers love so much. Vampires, shapeshifters, demons, witches... Cara will always make sure they get their own twists.

When she's not writing, Cara is reading, planning her next story, or daydreaming. Oh! And also studying and reading Tarot. If you’re interested, you can visit her Tarot Website.

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