"Okay, when we get in here, do everything she tells you to do. I don't
care what it is, just do it. She's very good at what she does. I have to
warn you, though, there is no guarantee that this will work." Iliana said.
She and Deacon were entering a run down apartment building.
"Okay." Deacon said.
They went up to the third floor and Iliana knocked on a door that read 13 and stood quietly waiting for someone to open the door. The door opened and a short woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and brown eyes smiled. "Ana, you're back."
"Yeah, Serenity, I'm back." She entered the apartment and signaled for Deacon to follow. "Deacon, this is Serenity. She and her sister are the ones that are gonna try to get Mercury and Quinn back. Serenity, this is Deacon Frost. He's the one awakened the blood god."
Serenity closed the door behind them and looked at Deacon. "It worked?"
"No. I didn't do it. I didn't have to. Apparently he's more powerful than we thought."
"Oh, come with me. We'll be right back." Serenity grabbed Iliana's arm and pulled her down the hallway and into a bedroom. "Giselle."
There was another short woman in the room looking through the closet for something. She turned around and a smile crossed her face. "Ana."
"Hey, Giselle."
"What happened?" Giselle asked, pointing toward the bandage on Iliana's side that wasn't being covered by her short leather shirt.
"Jake was a vampire."
"I knew it. Did you kill him?"
"Yeah. Luca and Xavier, too."
"That sucks. Xavier was kind of cute. Oh well."
In the corner, there was a little baby crib. Iliana walked over to it and smiled at the baby sleeping in it. "How's he doing?"
"He's fine. How much longer until you can take him home?"
"I don't know. I can't take him until I'm sure it's safe. That means killing Blade."
"And you're using Deacon to help you do it?" Serenity asked.
"Of course. I'm only a human, Blade would destroy without even breaking a sweat. I need Deacon to help me. Besides, Deacon wants him dead, too. We both want the same thing. It makes since that we would help each other."
"But did you tell him about Phoenix?" Giselle asked.
"No. I can't tell him about Phoenix. Besides, it's better if I don't get Phoenix involved. He's already in enough danger."
"Okay, you're his mother." Serenity said. "Come on. Let's get this resurrection thing over."
Iliana leaned over and kissed Phoenix on his forehead before leaving the room. When they got back into the living room, Deacon was sitting on the couch.
"Okay, you ready?" Serenity asked him.
"Yeah." He said as he stood up.
"Okay, Giselle, get that end." She said as she grabbed one end of the couch.
Giselle grabbed the other end of the couch and they moved it back. Iliana reached down and folded the rug back, revealing a pentagram painted on the floor. Giselle and Serenity grabbed five black candles and placed them on the floor, one at each point of the pentagram, then lit them. They all stepped inside the circle but Deacon stood back and watched.
"Deacon, come here." Iliana said.
Deacon stepped inside the circle with the three women and they all joined hands.
Serenity, Giselle, and Iliana closed their eyes and tilted their heads back towards ceiling.
"Gods of Darkness, hear us now on this lonely night as we make our plea...bring us the one they call Quinn, lover of blood and friend Deacon, bringer of the blood god...here on this dark night as we make our plea! Hear us, hear us, hear us, hear us..." Chanted Serenity and Giselle.
The center of the pentagram started to glow and wind started to blow inside the room. The women didn't budge as all this was happening. Deacon looked down at the glowing floor. Iliana joined in the chant and the more the women chanted, the brighter the floor glowed. Then, Quinn's loud roar filled the room. He appeared in the middle of the circle of people and the floor stopped glowing. The three women stopped chanting and looked at Quinn. He placed his hands on his chest in surprise, confused about how he got to where he was. He looked up at Deacon and grinned. "Deac, man!"
"Quinn?" Deacon raised an eyebrow. "It worked."
Quinn chuckled and hugged Deacon. "I'm back, man. This fucking awesome." Then he looked at the three women. "Well, hello ladies."
"Quinn, shut up." Iliana said. "Get over here so we can finish this."
He joined the circle between Deacon and Serenity and they all joined hands again.
Again, the three women closed their eyes and tilted their heads back towards the ceiling and Serenity and Giselle again began to chant.
"Gods of Darkness, hear us now on this lonely night as we make our plea...bring us the one they call Mercury, lady of blood and lover Deacon, bringer of the blood god...here on this dark night as we make our plea! Hear us, hear us, hear us, hear us..."
Iliana again joined the chant and the floor again began to glow brighter and brighter and wind filled the room. Deacon and Quinn looked at the floor. Mercury appeared in the center of the glowing area but when the glowing stopped, all that was left was a pile of ash. The three women looked to where Mercury should be standing then looked over at Deacon.
"Where is she?" Deacon asked.
"I told you there's no guarantee it would work, Deacon. I'm sorry." Iliana said.
"Can't you try again. Maybe you did something wrong."
"We didn't do anything wrong. We did the exact same thing we did with him. It just didn't work." Serenity said.
He looked down at the pile of ash and didn't say a word.
"I'm sorry, Deacon." Iliana said then hesitated before walking back to the bedroom where Phoenix was sleeping. Why didn't it work? I don't get it. It might not be a bad thing, though. Oh my god, what am I thinking? How can I think something like that. That was he love and we couldn't bring her back. She thought to herself. She snapped back to reality at the sound of Phoenix, who had woken up and was starting to cry. She reached down and picked him up, holding him close. "Hey, little man." She said softly. She kissed him gently and rocked him back to sleep.
Serenity walked in the room as she was putting Phoenix back in the crib. "Deacon said he's leaving. If you wanna go with him and help him get rid of Blade, you better get out there now before he leaves without you."
"He's not gonna leave without me."
"How do you know?"
"Trust me, he won't leave without me."
"Okay, whatever you say."
Iliana gently ran her finger down Phoenix's cheek and felt tears well up in her eyes. She forced them back and followed Serenity out of the room.
"Are you coming with us?" Deacon asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She said then turned to Giselle and Serenity. "I'll call you guys later, okay?"
"Yeah." Giselle said. "You need anything else, come back and see us."
"I will." She followed Deacon and Quinn out the door without saying a word to either of them. It was only a few blocks from Deacon's penthouse to Serenity and Giselle's apartment so they had walked. On the way back to the penthouse, she stayed a few steps behind the two vampires. They were talking but she couldn't hear what they were saying and was thinking about Phoenix anyway.
"Who is she, Deac?" Quinn asked in a whisper.
"She's the one that's gonna help me destroy Blade once and for all." Deacon whispered back. "There's something she's not telling me, though."
"She vampire?"
"No."
"She work for Blade?"
"No. I'd know if she did. She really wants to kill him. She hates him as much as I do but I just can't figure out why."
They walked back to the penthouse without saying another word. Deacon had decided that one way or another, he would find out why Iliana wanted to kill Blade so bad. If he couldn't get her to trust him enough to tell him, she would force it out of her.
"Okay." Deacon said.
They went up to the third floor and Iliana knocked on a door that read 13 and stood quietly waiting for someone to open the door. The door opened and a short woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and brown eyes smiled. "Ana, you're back."
"Yeah, Serenity, I'm back." She entered the apartment and signaled for Deacon to follow. "Deacon, this is Serenity. She and her sister are the ones that are gonna try to get Mercury and Quinn back. Serenity, this is Deacon Frost. He's the one awakened the blood god."
Serenity closed the door behind them and looked at Deacon. "It worked?"
"No. I didn't do it. I didn't have to. Apparently he's more powerful than we thought."
"Oh, come with me. We'll be right back." Serenity grabbed Iliana's arm and pulled her down the hallway and into a bedroom. "Giselle."
There was another short woman in the room looking through the closet for something. She turned around and a smile crossed her face. "Ana."
"Hey, Giselle."
"What happened?" Giselle asked, pointing toward the bandage on Iliana's side that wasn't being covered by her short leather shirt.
"Jake was a vampire."
"I knew it. Did you kill him?"
"Yeah. Luca and Xavier, too."
"That sucks. Xavier was kind of cute. Oh well."
In the corner, there was a little baby crib. Iliana walked over to it and smiled at the baby sleeping in it. "How's he doing?"
"He's fine. How much longer until you can take him home?"
"I don't know. I can't take him until I'm sure it's safe. That means killing Blade."
"And you're using Deacon to help you do it?" Serenity asked.
"Of course. I'm only a human, Blade would destroy without even breaking a sweat. I need Deacon to help me. Besides, Deacon wants him dead, too. We both want the same thing. It makes since that we would help each other."
"But did you tell him about Phoenix?" Giselle asked.
"No. I can't tell him about Phoenix. Besides, it's better if I don't get Phoenix involved. He's already in enough danger."
"Okay, you're his mother." Serenity said. "Come on. Let's get this resurrection thing over."
Iliana leaned over and kissed Phoenix on his forehead before leaving the room. When they got back into the living room, Deacon was sitting on the couch.
"Okay, you ready?" Serenity asked him.
"Yeah." He said as he stood up.
"Okay, Giselle, get that end." She said as she grabbed one end of the couch.
Giselle grabbed the other end of the couch and they moved it back. Iliana reached down and folded the rug back, revealing a pentagram painted on the floor. Giselle and Serenity grabbed five black candles and placed them on the floor, one at each point of the pentagram, then lit them. They all stepped inside the circle but Deacon stood back and watched.
"Deacon, come here." Iliana said.
Deacon stepped inside the circle with the three women and they all joined hands.
Serenity, Giselle, and Iliana closed their eyes and tilted their heads back towards ceiling.
"Gods of Darkness, hear us now on this lonely night as we make our plea...bring us the one they call Quinn, lover of blood and friend Deacon, bringer of the blood god...here on this dark night as we make our plea! Hear us, hear us, hear us, hear us..." Chanted Serenity and Giselle.
The center of the pentagram started to glow and wind started to blow inside the room. The women didn't budge as all this was happening. Deacon looked down at the glowing floor. Iliana joined in the chant and the more the women chanted, the brighter the floor glowed. Then, Quinn's loud roar filled the room. He appeared in the middle of the circle of people and the floor stopped glowing. The three women stopped chanting and looked at Quinn. He placed his hands on his chest in surprise, confused about how he got to where he was. He looked up at Deacon and grinned. "Deac, man!"
"Quinn?" Deacon raised an eyebrow. "It worked."
Quinn chuckled and hugged Deacon. "I'm back, man. This fucking awesome." Then he looked at the three women. "Well, hello ladies."
"Quinn, shut up." Iliana said. "Get over here so we can finish this."
He joined the circle between Deacon and Serenity and they all joined hands again.
Again, the three women closed their eyes and tilted their heads back towards the ceiling and Serenity and Giselle again began to chant.
"Gods of Darkness, hear us now on this lonely night as we make our plea...bring us the one they call Mercury, lady of blood and lover Deacon, bringer of the blood god...here on this dark night as we make our plea! Hear us, hear us, hear us, hear us..."
Iliana again joined the chant and the floor again began to glow brighter and brighter and wind filled the room. Deacon and Quinn looked at the floor. Mercury appeared in the center of the glowing area but when the glowing stopped, all that was left was a pile of ash. The three women looked to where Mercury should be standing then looked over at Deacon.
"Where is she?" Deacon asked.
"I told you there's no guarantee it would work, Deacon. I'm sorry." Iliana said.
"Can't you try again. Maybe you did something wrong."
"We didn't do anything wrong. We did the exact same thing we did with him. It just didn't work." Serenity said.
He looked down at the pile of ash and didn't say a word.
"I'm sorry, Deacon." Iliana said then hesitated before walking back to the bedroom where Phoenix was sleeping. Why didn't it work? I don't get it. It might not be a bad thing, though. Oh my god, what am I thinking? How can I think something like that. That was he love and we couldn't bring her back. She thought to herself. She snapped back to reality at the sound of Phoenix, who had woken up and was starting to cry. She reached down and picked him up, holding him close. "Hey, little man." She said softly. She kissed him gently and rocked him back to sleep.
Serenity walked in the room as she was putting Phoenix back in the crib. "Deacon said he's leaving. If you wanna go with him and help him get rid of Blade, you better get out there now before he leaves without you."
"He's not gonna leave without me."
"How do you know?"
"Trust me, he won't leave without me."
"Okay, whatever you say."
Iliana gently ran her finger down Phoenix's cheek and felt tears well up in her eyes. She forced them back and followed Serenity out of the room.
"Are you coming with us?" Deacon asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She said then turned to Giselle and Serenity. "I'll call you guys later, okay?"
"Yeah." Giselle said. "You need anything else, come back and see us."
"I will." She followed Deacon and Quinn out the door without saying a word to either of them. It was only a few blocks from Deacon's penthouse to Serenity and Giselle's apartment so they had walked. On the way back to the penthouse, she stayed a few steps behind the two vampires. They were talking but she couldn't hear what they were saying and was thinking about Phoenix anyway.
"Who is she, Deac?" Quinn asked in a whisper.
"She's the one that's gonna help me destroy Blade once and for all." Deacon whispered back. "There's something she's not telling me, though."
"She vampire?"
"No."
"She work for Blade?"
"No. I'd know if she did. She really wants to kill him. She hates him as much as I do but I just can't figure out why."
They walked back to the penthouse without saying another word. Deacon had decided that one way or another, he would find out why Iliana wanted to kill Blade so bad. If he couldn't get her to trust him enough to tell him, she would force it out of her.