Part 16 (1/2)
”Get down!” Bones barks as he phases back into a h.e.l.lhound. I crouch on the stone floor, shocked and silent, s.h.i.+vering in agony. One last las.h.i.+ng sears across my scalp before Bones manages to cover me completely with his ma.s.sive frame. I'm hardly able to breathe beneath the bulk of fur and muscle, but at least the vicious tongue can't get me anymore. I don't know if it's attacking Bones now, if he's taking the brunt of the slicing whips for me. I can't think about anything but the searing pain screaming from every inch of my skin, and growing worse by the second...as if all the excruciating agony and unbearable suffering in the world has been released inside my body. I know that soon my racing heart will no longer be able to handle the torture and will stop beating all together. I almost welcome it.
”Now, Mr. Zoran. What did I tell you about eating our guests?” Xandria's musical voice rings out. ”I want them in good condition. Come now. Leave them be.”
My body quivers uncontrollably from the stinging welts, and blood rushes freely from the many deep gashes. Even the putrid air feels like burning acid on my skin. My labored breathing turns shallow; my heart pounds erratically. I feel Bones' ma.s.sive frame moving off me, followed immediately by the soothing sensation of his wide tongue lapping my wounds again and easing the pain.
He licks the top of my head and my face, and then my arms. Without hesitation I take off my corset so he can heal the gashes on my back and abdomen. I lie flat on my back as he leans over me, licking my broken skin clean and whole. The pain gradually subsides to a near tolerable level, and I lower my pants so he can soothe the burning on my thighs.
When he finishes, I silently dress and collapse in the corner. Nothing can stop the tears now. Curled up in a ball, I let them flow down my cheeks and onto the crunch of the straw floor. Bones comes over, wraps his arms around me and holds me tight.
”C'mon, Lucky Love. Stay strong. You're tougher than this. I know you are.”
I turn my tearstained face to him. My throat is tight, my voice soft. ”This has nothing to do with being tough, Bones. This has to do with the fact that I am so cursed and so d.a.m.ned that everyone who even gets close to me suffers and dies and it's all my fault. Don't you see?”
Bones wipes away a tear and brushes my hair away from my eyes. ”No, actually, I don't see. The only thing I see is you feeling sorry for yourself because your simple little plan didn't go as smoothly as you'd hoped.”
”We're going to die here,” I choke out. ”You know that, right?”
”Maybe. Maybe not. Since when did you give up so easy? What's gotten into you? Where's that p.i.s.s and vinegar and firespitting att.i.tude I love about you?”
I say nothing, as I have no answer for this. Was it seeing Aria's head flying past me and Gyan's mocking smile? Or was it seeing Kieron, one of the strongest and most resourceful demons I've even known, hanging like a helpless, petrified rag doll? Or, locked here in this invisible cage, is it the fact that I am totally and utterly at the mercy of my s.a.d.i.s.tic captors...that I can't fight back against them, but only hide under Bones like a weak, scared kitten?
I let out a long, whimpering sigh and press myself against Bones' warm body, resting my chin on the arm he has wrapped around my shoulders. We're quiet for a long while, and I stare over at Kieron...still hanging limply...not moving.
”Bones, I have a question for you,” I say quietly.
”Shoot,” he whispers in my ear.
”What do you think happens to us when we die? Do you know? Where do we go? What becomes of us?”
He pauses before answering. ”Well...it's different for me than it is for you...”
”Really? How so?”
”Well, as a pure demon, by design I am immortal. I will never cease to be. I am as forever as the universe-”
”But other demons die all the time! They turn to dust and-”
”Only the sh.e.l.ls die...the containers of our spirits. Never the being inside. That goes somewhere else...”
”Where?”
Bones shrugs. ”It depends. Demons were designed to be immortal. But if they are weaker than an enemy they can be eliminated...removed from the scene. Natural selection, you might say. But the spirit remains intact...it's eternal. When a demon dies, then the manner of death is taken into account. Sometimes they go to another dimension, recycled for other purposes. Maybe they stay in the underworld with other spirits and souls, maybe they come back here...”
”Wait...a demon can die but come back to life?” I ask, flabbergasted. How come I've never heard of this?
”Well, no, not come back to life as they were before they were killed. They might come back in a different form and live in Thiberoux, but usually they'd be unable to access the Portals to mortal worlds...only other demon dimensions. The mortal Earth is one of the most desirous places to be. If a demon is eliminated, for whatever reason, he is usually deemed unworthy of inhabiting the Sapies' plane of existence and is sent elsewhere for punishment. But on occasion, I've heard of a few coming back as Jumpers.”
I scrunch my eyebrows. ”What's a Jumper?”
”It's when a demon becomes human...sort of. They jump from human body to human body. They have limited powers and can't stay in the same host for very long, as they wear them out. Sounds like a horrible way to live if you ask me...”
”Well, what do you think will happen to me when I die?” I ask, more subdued this time. But I'd better prepare myself for my inevitable fate. I've heard the humans tell their stories of heaven for the good people and h.e.l.l for the bad. Of course, I know it's not quite that simple, and their version of 'heaven' would be my version of 'h.e.l.l'...having to spend eternity with those nightmarish Light-angels.
”You, my dear, are a bit different.”
”So what happens?”
”I wish I could say for certain, but I can't. A part of you will never die...you'll live for eternity just as I will...”
”But?”
”But a part of you will be lost forever. You will forget who you were. When you leave this world, you'll have no memory when you re-enter the next. You'll be like a blank slate at every turn.”
”You say it as if you're different-”
”I am. Unlike you, I do remember every life, every world I've lived in.”
”Wait, are you telling me you've died before?”
Bones chuckles. ”Yeah. Many times, actually.”
My jaw is practically on the floor. ”Really? That is sooo cool! Tell me everything you remember...”
”It'd just be easier if you could remember,” he says with a small grin. I'm confused, and he gently strokes my hair. ”Lucky, this isn't the first time you've led me to my death. Actually...it's at least the sixth or seventh time.”
”Say what?”
”Yup.” He shrugs and brushes his bronze locks from his face.
”I've killed you before?”
”Yup. Many times. Well, not you personally, but yes...you always seemed to be involved somehow.” His sensuous mouth turns into a grimace.
”This means...you and I...we've known each other for other lifetimes?”
Bones nods. ”Well, yeah...sure.” He gives me a funny look before continuing. ”For some reason, I thought you already knew all this...that deep inside, you knew. The way we manage to find each other, time and time again.”
”No, I didn't know,” I whisper, my head spinning. How is it possible that I've known Bones for many lifetimes but was never aware? Is that why I've always felt such a strong connection to him? Why he seems more a part of me than a separate being?
”If I've killed you before, or you've died-I'm really sorry about that, by the way-how have you managed to come back? How'd I find you again?”
”Well, if you haven't noticed, the bonds of my servitude are pretty strict,” he says with a wry smile. ”I'm an original hound, so I'll always come back as one. For eternity. In that regard I'll never die, and I'll always be bound to Thiberoux. But this time they needed me for... ahem, other duties. The number of demons is fixed and finite. But we can make as many demions as we like. And because our Light counterparts have been giving us so much trouble over the past century, allowances were made so I could help build up our numbers. Level the playing field some.”
”So you haven't always been an incubus?” I ask with wonder. Why am I learning all of this now, when it's too late?
”No. Actually, this is my first stint as one. And I must say, as difficult a job as it is, it's worth it to be able to attain my human form again. A few lifetimes ago, when I was only a hound unable to phase into human form, I really missed talking to you. Sure, you talked to me, but I couldn't talk to you, other than to bark or growl. It was horrible. I like being able to talk to you.”