To Hell And Back For You {Chapter 11}

”Echoing our song…”

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     Peasley and the Star Spirits were all speechless at the sight of the demon before them. He was much more human-esque looking than expected, but he was still terrifying and otherworldly in his appearance.

      Terminus’s skin was white as snow with black hair that was long, silky, and hanging in his face. He wore what looked like a black tank top, black skinny pants, and a dark gray waist skirt of sorts, though had no shoes.

      But the two things that made him stand out the most were the large, black feathery wings on his back and the fact that he had no eyes, leaving just black, empty sockets to to stare back at them.

     “Terminus?” Rhea questioned, as though she wanted to be absolutely sure she was talking to the right person.

     “Who else would you possibly expect me to be, child?” Terminus asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

     “I think it’s more of a surprise that you actually answered the call of the summon,” Eros said cautiously, “Surely you had to know who was calling for you.”

     Terminus chuckled like a giddy child. “I suppose your surprise is understandable, since it’s no secret that I hate Star Spirits like you. I’m guessing you were really in trouble to have to stoop so low as to summon me,” he said, adjusting his pants as if this was just another normal day for him.

     “You said that you came because something made you curious,” Hippolytus said shakily, “What did you mean by that?”

    “Certainly not any of you,” The demon said flatly, “You’re all about as interesting to me as wet firewood. It was what I felt when I was being summoned.”

    “And what was that?” Tychron asked.

      Terminus smiled in a way that could be mistaken as flirtatious. “I’m fully aware of what Star Spirit magic feels like, so I initially wanted to scoff,” he explained, “Then I realized that the pull wasn’t coming from a real Star Spirit, but from a mortal human soul. And that’s a sensation I’ve never felt before. Since new magic always intrigues me, I decided that answering the summon would be worth my while.”

     Peasley looked at the still unconscious Geno in his arms. There seemed to be something about him that would draw strange things to him, but it seemed he was definitely right about him being their best chance for the ritual to succeed.

      Terminus followed his gaze. “Of course, it would be a more captivating meeting if he wasn’t in that condition,” he said, sighing in disappointment, “He looks absolutely pathetic like that.”

    “Say anything like that about him again and I’ll spit in your eye sockets,” Peasley growled. He’d had a long enough day already, and he wasn’t going to stand for anyone treating Geno like dirt. He didn’t care who or what he was talking back to. He just didn’t care anymore.

      Terminus raised an eyebrow while the other Star Spirits stared with wide eyes and gritted teeth, worried about the notion of pissing off the demon that was before them, essentially when they so desperately needed his help.

      However, Terminus just laughed. “I like this one,” he said, “But there’s no need to get snappy. Observe.”

     He snapped his fingers and Geno’s eyes instantly opened as if he’d just been snapped out of a nightmare, much to everyone’s surprise. He turned to look at Terminus, who gave him an almost seductive wave with curled fingers. Geno weakly waved back as though he was addressing an old friend before he simply leaned his head on Peasley’s chest.

     Eros then cleared his throat. “I think we’ve done enough with the introductions and pleasantries,” he said as he stood up, “I think it’s time that we discuss business.”

     Terminus sighed as though his fun had been ruined. “What’s there to discuss, really? I know what you want. You want a portal out of this realm. They don’t call me the Gateway Demon for no reason,” he said, picking at his cuticles.

     “But what’s your price?” Rhea asked, “We’re not dumb enough to believe that you would even consider doing this for free. Especially given your hatred for us.”

    “Glad to know there’s some smart ones among you,” Terminus said, “Yes. There will be a price. I just need to think of what it could actually be, given the pitiful stare you’re all in right now.”

     The Star Spirits all looked at each other. No one in their group really had much of anything on them. Their supplies were gone, all magic was scarce, and it was incredibly unlikely that a demon of Terminus’s caliber would have any interest in mortal weapons. None of them really knew what he could ask for.

      Terminus finally tipped his own chin up with his hand. “There’s something,” he said finally, “Something that has always been something I have sought. And that is power drawn from magic that I do not have.”

    “You mean light magic? I thought demons couldn’t absorb such power,” Nereus said.

     “Well, obviously not. Spare me your idiocies,” Terminus rolled his eyes in an annoyed fashion, “But there are other kinds of magic that you Star Spirits possess that only you can. I may not be able to wield those powers in the same way, but I can increase and expand my own powers by absorbing the energy from said magic and making it my own.”

    “So it is magic you want from us,” Hippolytus said, trying to piece everything together, “But I feel I should ask before we agree to anything. Will we survive whatever it is you do to us?”

    “Typically, I’d say no,” Terminus said, twirling a bit of his hair around his bony finger, “But I believe you should for this particular case.”

    “Then what is it?” Eros demanded.

     Terminus snapped his fingers again and suddenly most of the Star Spirits had a glowing blue insignia on their bodies. Eros’s forearm, Rhea’s shoulder, Nereus’s lower thigh, Hippolytus’s neck, and the back of Geno’s hand all glowed, revealing the marks of their Socium bonds.

     “This is what I want,” Terminus said, “I want to absorb the energy from one of your Socium bonds, or whatever you call them, for myself. One is all I need, so who I take the energy from will depend on you. Give this to me, and I’ll send you back to your own world.”

     Peasley watched the faces of the Star Spirits shift to expressions of horror, as if they’d been asked to murder a populated planet. And now that he had a somewhat better understanding of what such bonds meant to them, he knew why it would effect them so much.

     “How could you be so cruel…?” Rhea asked, looking as though she might throw up.

    “I’m a demon,” Terminus said curtly, “Cruelty is my speciality. My offer is the only one I’ll give, so either work something out amongst yourselves or just be stuck here until you die. Either works for me.”

    “Hippolytus…It should be ours,” Geno said weakly, surprising everyone with his first words since performing the ritual, “I know it’s terrible to say…but we’ll lose ourselves anyway when I die. The others are still eternal…We can do this for them.”

     Hippolytus opened his mouth to answer, but Eros cut him off and put a hand his shoulder. “No. You’ve done enough on this journey. No more,” he said, shaking his head.

     “The fact that you two already have a limited time is only more reason to not let you give yours up,” Tychron added, “You should still be allowed to have all the years you can.”

    “Besides, taking the power from a mortal wouldn’t be as powerful or satisfying,” Terminus cut in, “Make another choice.”

     This left everyone in silence once again, just like so many times before. There were no good choices to make, and there was a sense of looming doom all around them with no way to escape it.

     “You can have ours,” came a voice finally. It was Nereus who had spoken, and she and Alcmene were holding hands, looking sad but accepting.

     “No…You can’t offer that…” Rhea said shakily, tears in her eyes.

     “You and Eros have been bonded for almost 4,000 years, Rhea. That’s not something we could ask you to sacrifice,” Alcmene said, though her expression betrayed her sadness, “We’ve made peace with it. We can do it.”

    “Should probably warn you,” Terminus piped up, ignoring the emotions that anyone else was showing in the moment, “You ladies will never be able to make a Socium bond ever again. Not with each other or anyone else.”

    “That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to make one with anyone else anyway,” Nereus said, smiling at Alcmene.

     “Neither would I,” Alcmene said, gently squeezing her hand.

     “Touching,” Terminus scoffed, “But I don’t have all day to waste. Get over here so we can get this done.”

    “Are you sure about this?” Hippolytus asked the two girls, expressing what everyone was thinking.

      Nereus nodded without any sort of hesitation. “This is our choice. It’s your duty as Star Spirits and our friends to honor that,” she said.

      Peasley could feel the heartache that seemed to be present amongst the group, and he had to it that Nereus and Alcmene were a lot braver than he was, and he likely wouldn’t have the strength to do such a thing himself. Especially when he considered Geno, who he was holding tightly in his arms.

      The two girls stepped forward, and suddenly blue energy started being drained from their two insignias as Terminus eyed them hungrily. Alcmene yelped in pain, but Nereus squeezed her hand to help her deal with it.

      The other Star Spirits couldn’t bear to watch, and Peasley even felt Geno bury his face in his chest in anguish, as if he was trying to not witness a death right in front of him. To try to help, Peasley covered his other exposed ear, though he wasn’t sure if that did anything good.

      All the while, Terminus looked as if he was enjoying everything way too much, making sure he absorbed every last drop of magic he could. His filed teeth only made his smile seem all the more wicked, as though he were a vampire feasting on his prey with no remorse.

      Finally, his hand snapped back, causing the two girls to fall to the ground unconscious. Hippolytus and Tychron ran to help them, but suddenly a ring of energy appeared in the ground, circling the four of them before they were suddenly pulled into the ground surrounded by white light.

     “Pretty visual, isn’t it?” Terminus asked as he looked to the four who remained. He walked over to them casually and then knelt down, reaching out.

     “Don’t touch him!” Peasley snapped, swatting Terminus’s hand away after seeing tat he was reaching for Geno.

     “Peasley,” Geno said sternly as he turned to look at the looming demon, though it was hard to say if they were making eye given Terminus’s lack of them.

      Terminus reached out again, opening his hand to reveal what looked like a silver coin, branded with the same symbol that Geno had drawn of the ground when summoning him.

     “One free favor for you,” he explained as he placed the coin in Geno’s hand and manually closed his fingers around it, “I’m always grateful to those who orchestrate situations that grant me more power. So hang on to that for when you need it.”

     He winked, and Geno just nodded without a word. He couldn’t really take it as a compliment given what had happened to his friends, but he wasn’t in any condition to be straining himself regardless of the circumstances.

      Satisfied, Terminus stood back up to his full height, his wings extended. “See you all around.”

     He smelled his fingers again and the same white light enveloped them, and they suddenly felt weightless. The light felt warm and encoming, which was something that felt like a great comfort to Peasley. However, there was also a great deal of pressure, making him unable to keep his eyes open.

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     Peasley’s first conscious breath felt like the sweetest one he had ever taken, and as he opened his eyes, he could see a sky full of stars above him. And now that he was back home with a proper oxygenated atmosphere, he felt lightheaded.

      As he sat up, he could see Alcmene over Geno, healing him with the magic that she could finally use again. All of the Star Spirits looked visibly healthier, and some of them were using their magic for random bursts of energy just because they could now.

      When Alcmene was done, Geno sat up and exhaled, looking very peacefully. Peasley crawled over as Alcmene moved out of the way, but he had no time to say anything before Geno threw his arms around him tightly, laughing somewhat. And there was nothing Peasley could do other than accept it.

      “Nereus? Alcmene? Forgive me for bringing down the mood, but are you both okay?” Rhea’s asked, referring to the horrible pain they had just endured. The two girls looked at the spots on their bodies that had once reflected their insignias, which had now turned red to signify that the bond had been broken, and there was no power to undo it.

     “There’s no need to mourn for long,” Alcmene said finally, shaking her head, “It’s not like we’re no longer friends. Bond or not, we have eternity ahead regardless.”

     “I should speak to Proteus about giving you both your Sacrifice Runes,” Eros said, “I think an experience like this is a more than worthy set of circumstances for you to earn that.”

    “Oh geez…” Tychron said nervously as of he had just realized something, “How long have we really been gone? Metis is gonna lose her mind at us.”

    “Undoubtedly,” Hippolytus agreed, “But I think the best thing we can do is tell the truth. I think Proteus would want to know about everything that happened.”

     The six spirits turned to Peasley and Geno, the only ones that would be staying behind. “I guess it’s time for us to take our leave. Hopefully the next time we meet, it’ll be under better circumstances,” Rhea said, giving them an encouraging smile.

      And with that, there was a flash of light and all six of them had disappeared as though they hadn’t been there at all. But Peasley was used to it at this point, since he’d had enough experiences with Star spirits to know how they operated at that point.

      Peasley then felt Geno leaning on him slightly. “Sorry,” he said, “Just a little tired.”

    “It’s definitely more than that. Trust me. I know,” Peasley said in a very matter-of-fact tone, “Come on. Let’s go home.”

     Geno nodded and the two of them began their walk down the moonlit path through the woods together, not feeling any fear of the dark around them this time.

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     When Peasley walked into the bedroom after finishing his shower, he wasn’t surprised to find Geno completely knocked out on the bed, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.

      After they had arrived home, both had eaten a real meal and took turns cleaning themselves up, which they had both desperately needed. It had been a bit quiet, but both of them agreed they needed to be in better health before they discussed anything that happened on the adventure they’d just been on.

      Peasley flicked off the light and laid himself down on the bed next to Geno, who looked like nothing in the universe would wake him. However, there was a clear difference between this and how he had been laying on the floor of his cell.

      It almost felt like a bad dream now that it was over, but the emotions connected to certain events helped remind Peasley that it had indeed been real. He couldn’t forget his fear or sadness, as much as he wished he could.

      Peasley reached out and gently put a hand on Geno’s shoulder, feeling himself sadly smile as he looked at him, beyond relieved to be back somewhere safe and not needing to worry about Geno’s life or his own. They were safe now. It was all over.

      He sighed as he pulled Geno close to him, feeling himself starting to drift off to sleep, thankfully not being able to compare it to falling unconscious. This time, he felt like everything was okay. Still able to smile, he hugged Geno as he pulled the blankets up for the nice.

     “Goodnight, my love.”

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AUTHOR’S NOTES: I’m only finishing this for you all. Only one more chapter left. I have no idea what I might do posting wise after this story is done, so please don’t ask.

I hope you all enjoyed this. Have a good day and I’ll see you all next time. :hibiscus: :hibiscus: :hibiscus: