17. DEVOTION

Aro signaled for Afton, Heidi, and Chelsea to follow him and Renata into the castle. They trailed after him like a pride of lions, ready to take down the rest of the Romanian empire. They heard the scrambling of several pairs of feet and went chasing after the echoes they left lingering in the halls. The part of the castle they were in seemed maze-like. They kept turning one way and then another till finally they fell upon the group they had been searching for.

Stefan was guarded by Beryx, Vladimir by Amelia, and Helena by Marius. The six Romanians got into a catlike defensive position. They were ready to work together to fight their enemies.

With a nod from Aro, Chelsea went to work. She was able to break every bond between them except for the mates Vladimir to Helena, and Marius to Amelia. Stefan was the first to break away from the group and take off running. Vladimir and Helena followed close behind and they went straight for an exit out of the castle. Afton was about to chase after them but Beryx landed a punch into his face that knocked him against a far wall. The stone wall cracked behind the force of his weight. Afton recovered quickly and was ready for his opponent. Amelia chose to fight Heidi and Chelsea was pitted against Marius.

"I believe you can handle this from here," Aro said to his loyal servants. They nodded in agreement and he and Renata left the area in search of something else.

Afton lit a corner of the room on fire, a pit for the body parts that would soon feed the flames. He made it so that the flame in his hand grew in diameter. He carefully aimed and shot the fireball at Beryx. The giant Romanian dived out of the way but not before it hit his arm. The burning made him cry out and he smacked his hand against his smoldering bicep to smother the flames. Then he growled at Afton and leapt at him.

The two men wrestled each other until Afton had the advantage and had Beryx pinned below him. Afton's left hand was gripped around Beryx's jaw, forcing it open. He pulled back his right hand, ready to shoot the flames into Beryx's throat. Beryx struggled under Afton's hold as his mind raced, searching for a way out of this predicament. The solution was so simple he almost laughed as it occurred to him. Beryx focused on Afton's palm flame and sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. Afton's flame disappeared and only a hint of smoke was left. Afton's eyes bulged as he realized he had just lost his advantage. He tried to run to the fire in the corner of the room but Beryx stopped him by yanking on his leg and pulling him back to fight without his extra ability.

Amelia was very catty. She remembered disliking Heidi at the ball. She disliked any female that might outshine her. The two woman began clawing at each other and baring their sharp teeth. Amelia grabbed Heidi by her mahogany hair and yanked her head back and was about to sink her teeth into Heidi's exposed throat but Heidi's hand smacked her face away.

Heidi did not have to play fair and she wasn't about to. She delved deep into Amelia's psyche, searching for the thing she desired most. When she found it, it amused her. Heidi weaved her illusion so that it was the only thing Amelia saw.

Amelia staggered backward when she saw her beloved, Marius, have his features soften, his skin fill with color, and she was sure she heard his heart beating. Then she looked down at herself and saw that her skin was soft and fragile and… pink. She had blood flowing in her veins again. The thing that Amelia desired most was for her and Marius to be human again.

In this moment of utter shock, Heidi made a lethal blow to Amelia's head with the heel of her boot. Amelia fell over, still in shock. Heidi took advantage of her weakened state and climbed onto Amelia while she still lay on the ground, dazed. She smiled down at her victim, and then leaned in to rip out her throat.

While this had been going on, Marius had been winning his fight against Chelsea. He was stronger than her, and she was still focusing on weakening the Romanian bonds. Afton had his hands full with Beryx and was unable to help her. Every time he tried to get to her, Beryx would pull him back into the fight.

Marius could have killed her, and he would have, but when he saw Amelia's limp body out of the corner of his eye, he realized what had happened. Heidi was still ripping the limbs off of Amelia and tossing her body parts into the fire when Marius spoke, torn in half by the pain, "What have you done?"

Heidi smiled at him. She created the last illusion that Marius would ever see. Heidi made Amelia's head turn towards him and say "Marius, my love. We can rest now. It's over. Come with me."

Marius fell to his knees beside Amelia. He sobbed heavily. Then he put out his arms to either side of him and leaned his head back with his eyes closed. "Kill me," he whispered pleadingly. Heidi and Chelsea did just that. They grabbed either arm and ripped them out of their sockets and tossed the limbs into the fire. They quickly dismantled the rest of him and he and Amelia were no longer a threat.

They went to join Afton in destroying Beryx. They had him cornered. His hands were flexing open and shut, as if he were waiting for some magic to fill them. He looked out the window behind him and could see every star in the night's sky. This disappointed him greatly for if there were no clouds there could be no lightning and if there was no lightning, Beryx had no source of power, no electricity to control. He was breathing heavily and as he turned back to face his adversaries he smiled ruefully. "You're so lucky that it's not stormy tonight." Those were the last words Beryx would ever utter.