Chapter 33 #2
Lucifer angled his wings and turned his great body around, flying back toward his territory with all the speed he possessed.
But he already knew what he would find. He already knew who had fired the first shot and rekindled an ancient feud.
He was the High King, and he could sense the presence of his oldest, greatest enemy within the center of his territory.
Belial wanted a war? Then he would get one.
With a startled gasp, Suyin lurched back, away from the body she knelt beside, falling onto her hands. Behind her, outside the sigil, Iris cursed and Lily muffled her scream with a palm.
Murmur’s pitch-black eyes had opened. His chest rose and fell with breath.
Suyin waited, her heart slamming in her chest. Would he speak? Would he recognize her? Everyone knew the consequences of necromancy could be disastrous. He was awake, but that didn’t mean their spell had been successful.
It happened in a blink.
One minute she was staring at his vacant expression. The next, he was moving. Fast.
He lurched upright and his arm shot out, fixing around her throat. With a single, fluid movement, he slammed her down onto the floor and loomed over her. Her breath rushed out as she hit the ground.
“Where am I?” he snarled into her face. If he was in fight-or-flight, he’d gone with fight.
But the sound of his voice triggered something, and it hit her suddenly. That gravelly, deep voice, always rougher than she expected … It was him. He was really here.
“You’re alive,” she whispered, her throat tightening with emotion.
He blinked and went still.
Slowly, she lifted a hand to his chest, not daring to believe she’d feel a heart beating beneath her palm.
But it was there, thudding steadily.
“Suyin—” Iris’s panicked voice cut through the haze.
“I’m fine,” she replied, careful to keep her voice soft. “Don’t come closer.”
Murmur’s grip tightened on her throat, and he glanced over to where Iris and Lily stood. With his eyes solid black, she could only tell where he was looking because his head turned. The twins obeyed her request and didn’t approach, but their faces were full of shock and disbelief.
Suyin could relate. They’d done it. They’d actually brought Murmur back from the dead. It was going to take a while for that to sink in.
But he was obviously confused. Did he know who she was? Had he suffered some kind of brain injury because of the time his body was in stasis?
“It’s me,” she said. “You were dead, but we brought you back.”
His frown deepened, drawing a line between his brows.
“Do you remember what happened? When you died?”
His face scrunched up, like he was struggling to remember.
“You did a spell to free Lucifer’s trapped souls. You were successful, but you had to sacrifice yourself in the process. You left me those books, and I found the marked page and figured out how to resurrect you.”
He continued to stare blankly at her. She had no idea whether she was getting through to him or not. She had no idea if he even knew who she was.
“Murmur? Do you remember me?”
“Yes, I—” He squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain. “The voices.” His eyes snapped open again.
She frowned, trying to understand.
“The voices are quiet.”
“What voices?”
“Where are the voices?”
“What voices are you talking about?”
“Where are the voices?! They’re always there, screaming. They never stop.”
He shook his head roughly and then released her throat and sat up, gripping his hair tightly and hunching forward. “Can never have a moment’s peace. Can never be alone. Can never sleep. Can never rest.”
Suyin sat up, looking over at Iris and Lily, who were still frozen. She shook her head in response to their unspoken question. She didn’t have a clue what to do.
Looking back at Murmur and feeling some nurturing instinct she hadn’t known she possessed, she reached out and placed a hand on his back. His skin was cold, but not as cold as she’d expected. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “You’re okay.”
He shivered at her touch but didn’t throw her off or erupt into violence like she’d feared. He appeared to be cognizant enough and didn’t seem to be turning into a flesh-eating zombie or whatever could’ve happened if the spell had gone wrong.
“I’m so tired,” he whispered.
“It’s okay. You can rest now.”
“I’ve been tired for centuries. Can never sleep. The voices are always screaming. Now they’re quiet. Can’t tell what’s worse.”
She stroked his cool skin, wishing there was some way to comfort him. But he seemed lost to his thoughts, to the turmoil inside his head.
“It was so dark there. Never-ending darkness. Darker than black. And so cold. I’m always so cold.”
He was obviously in shock. He’d been dead and stuck in Lucifer’s horrible prison.
He’d told her of the screams he heard in his visions, so whatever that place was like, it was obviously torture.
He would need time and rest to get back to himself, and he probably wouldn’t be able to relax with Lily and Iris here.
She looked up at the twins. “You guys should go.”
Their expressions indicated reluctance to leave her alone with the unstable, freshly resurrected demon.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured them, speaking softly lest she upset Murmur. “He just needs to sleep it off, I think.”
“He’s actually alive,” Iris whispered, eyes wide. “We did it.”
Suyin nodded, and the three of them exchanged glances. Despite everything, they couldn’t help but share pride in what they had accomplished. She was sure they were one of a very limited number of witches who had ever succeeded at magic of this level.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t stay?” Lily asked.
Suyin nodded again. “I think he’ll come out of it quicker if we’re alone.”
“Just … keep your phone handy,” Iris said. “Call me if he does anything weird.”
“If he decides to get stabby,” Lily muttered, “she may not have time to call.”
Murmur stiffened. And then he slowly lowered his hands and looked up. His hair hung forward, shadowing his face. With his eyes pure black and those dark veins spidering beneath them, he looked terrifying. And he was looking at Lily and Iris with pure murder in his expression.
Suyin needed to get them out of here for their own safety.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured them, sincerely hoping that was true. “I’ll call if I need help, okay?”
The twins were briefly petrified by the sinister glare Murmur was giving them. He looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
“I don’t think he’ll relax until you’re gone,” Suyin said.
Lily finally nodded and pulled Iris toward the door. “We both have our phones.”
“I want hourly updates,” Iris said. “If you miss one, I’m bringing the cavalry.”
“Thank you,” Suyin told them before they left. “I couldn’t have done this without you both.”
Iris just shook her head. “I really hope you don’t regret this.”