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   Riley ignored all the voices around him, all of the faces that surrounded him. He kept walking until he couldn't anymore. He wanted to look back to see the destruction he had created, the blood he shed, but he wasn't brave enough.

He could sense Annetta walking on the sidewalk, keeping her distance from the monster he had become. She followed him no matter where he ran, wouldn't let him be. He could hear her holding back tears. She was alone just like he was.

“Riley, please,” she said when they reached a dead end.

There were vacant houses all around him. It was a nice neighborhood, very clean and fancy. All of the houses were the same white color, two floors, fresh cut grass. It gave him a feeling of order and comfort. It was pleasing to the eye.

Despite his body screaming at him to keep walking and ignore everything, he turned around and looked at Annetta. She was hugging herself, probably from the cold. Using his mind, he dragged her to him. She didn't look afraid, but maybe she knew that he meant no harm. Riley touched her face, dragging a strand of hair behind her ear. Her skin was ice cold, so he whispered a spell that he fished out of Dexen's knowledge to surround themselves in warm air.

The thought of Dexen brought back his emotions. He pulled back his hand and closed his eyes, taking in shaky breaths.

“What happened?” Riley asked quietly.

“It happened too fast.” Her voice was calm and toneless. He would have guessed she was in shock, but she looked fine. She did follow him five blocks into nowhere on her own will. “I was watching Dexen when a group of people entered the area. They used magic to push me out when I tried to tell them they couldn't be in there. I couldn't get back in, something was blocking me from entering again. They were using magic, so I quickly guessed something had happened and maybe you were coming back in time to help, but you never came. They touched Dexen and sparks flew everywhere, they were so beautiful and magical, but it didn't look good.”

“The group, which I knew were witches, woke Dexen up,” she continued, staring directly into his eyes and not breaking contact. She didn't even blink and her tone never changed. “He woke up screaming like someone had stabbed him. He looked . . . sick. He fought the witches, forced them back. They left him alone, he was too strong even when he looked like he was an inch from death.” Annetta's voice finally gave in and her lips trembled. In a tiny voice she went on, “I tried to get his attention, but I was still blocked and he couldn't hear me. More of those witches came and that's when he saw me. He used all his strength to run to me, getting rid of the spell that was blocking me with just a wave of his finger.”

“But there were too many witches. He couldn't fight them by himself, not in the state he was in. I helped him run as far as we could until something pushed me away. It was Dexen. He pushed me, opened a door and shoved me inside. He used the same spell those witches had done to block anyone from entering the closet I was in. He saved me. I don't know what happened after that. As soon as the spell dropped, I went to find him and saw him lying dead without any tattoos on his skin. That's when I found you.”

“I trust you,” Riley simply said, closing his eyes again. “Dexen gave me something before he died. He gave me what I needed to survive.”

“What did he give you?” she asked.

Riley opened his eyes again and lifted his shirt to show her the tattoos.

“That's not all he gave me. He gave me his knowledge, his thoughts, his mind. He trusted you, he sensed your white powers.”

“My what?”

“You're a white witch.”

She was speechless, but smiled. She looked happy, but not in a way that insulted him or Dexen's memory. Riley was going to teach her how to use magic, he would tell her all of Dexen's tricks. He believed in her like he believed in Riley, he had big hopes that she would some day be as strong as him. It was his mission to help her, but now that he was dead, Riley would be the one to do it.

He almost smiled for her, until he saw figures walking towards them. Riley grabbed Annetta and pulled her behind him. They both watched wild eyed as the strangers drew closer to them. They weren't witches, that was too obvious. Could be demons, but they could also be regular people.

“Give us the dagger!”

Demons.

Riley moved the warm air around them and turned it into fire. As the air all around them burned hotter and sparked into flames, it whirled towards the demons. Some managed to dodge in time, but the others got caught in the fire and burned. Fire shouldn't harm demons, but Dexen had learned a trick. It didn't work on Hart, he understood now why he had done it. But Hart wasn't a normal demon, he was much more than that.

The fire jumped from body to body in the shape of a snake, like Jocelyn had done with her dark smoke. He wanted to kill them faster, but he also wanted to practice his new powers. He knew so much that it felt impossible to stand still when he could be doing so much.

The demons wailed as their human bodies melted and their true form were revealed. They dug their long fingers into the pavement as the fire created a black hole on the ground, dragging them inside of it. The hole closed as the last demon was sucked into oblivion, never to be seen again.

“What did you do to them?” Annetta asked, her voice coming off like a curious little girl.

“I buried them deep below us.”

“Hell?”

“No, I literally buried them below us. They won't be coming back up anytime soon.”

They left the little neighborhood, afraid to be caught by more demons. Riley still felt as if his brain had shut down, keeping him from properly thinking, so they just traveled in no particular direction, most likely in circles.

There was this strange feeling that he had forgotten Bellumstone, like it had become a new town and he was a newcomer. He had never felt more lost in his life. It made it much more difficult to find his home, because he still wanted a picture of his sister to hold on to. He knew things were going to change, and he was going to need that little piece of her.

People were going to find out what happened in Bellumstone, and then what? Would the government step up and blow them all to shreds, then make the people believe there was some kind of virus that they had to get rid of? Something was going to happen that involved humans.

And that was as scary as demons.

Humans were capable of many things. Sure, they didn't have magic, but they had technology.

Riley had been staring at the ground in front of him, not really paying attention to where they went. But as soon as he heard the loud growling, he knew one of them was going to get hurt. Riley looked up from the road and saw big yellow eyes staring back at him from the shadows. Hart was hiding behind hundreds of trees. It was hard to spot him at first, because there was no light; the moon was behind clouds and the street lights weren't working.

“Annetta, you need to run. You need to find somewhere to hide and don't trust anyone. I'll come find you, I promise,” Riley whispered as the giant monster began to move, like he was ready to attack.

She nodded and was off, running away from them.

When Hart jumped out, Riley hadn't been prepared for what he would see. He looked even more different, something he didn't think could be possible. He was truly and permanently turning into the hybrid demon. Hart was losing, and Riley was going to lose him all completely.

Hart stomped towards Riley, his terrifying fingers tearing the road as he went. Riley fell back as Hart hovered over him, large teeth inches from his face. The demon he had first seen back when he found out that Hart was still alive was nothing compared to this.

“You know who I am, don't you?” Riley said, not thinking straight, because his brain was still missing. “You keep trying to find me, so that means you're still you, even if you're . . . this.”

He was wrong, so fucking wrong.

Hart's jaw opened and snapped around him, but Riley had teleported before the mega sharp teeth ripped him apart. He breathed heavily as he ran blindly through the new scenery; a forest. He had thought about trees, because he still couldn't think a simple thing like a safe location.

Then his head began to pound with pain. He dug his fingers into his skull, screaming as he tumbled over and rolled on the muddy earth. He cried in pain, feeling like there were a bunch of screaming creatures all around him.

What was happening to him?

He tasted blood on his lips, a lot of it. But was it his? He didn't feel any pain and he was all alone in the forest. Where was the blood coming from and why wouldn't the pain stop? He teleported again and again, beginning to lose control. Everything around him kept changing. One second he was in Bellumstone, the next in the forest, then in some other town that he had never been in.

Then he stopped teleporting and appeared in a busy highway. He was so afraid, definitely going insane. He had never been there in his life, but he remembered that he didn't need to be in the location to teleport to it.

But Dexen had told him that he wouldn't teleport unless he really wanted to go there. He didn't want to even teleport in the first place. What if his fears came true? What if he teleported to the moon or inside a volcano?

Cars honked as they passed around him, but it was so busy that cars were starting to halt, as there was no other way to pass around him with the traffic that he was creating. Some angry man got out of his car and started yelling at him, making his headache worse.

Riley hissed at the man, he literally hissed, like a wild animal. The part that freaked him out the most was that he realized where the blood had come from. His lips. His teeth were sharp and had cut his skin deeply.

The man froze, his eyes opening widely. Riley hissed again, unable to control it, and other people saw it from their cars and gasped. The man finally moved and ran back inside his car and tried to run him over, but Riley jumped on top of it and ripped the hood off. He grabbed the man and bit into his neck, chewing and ripping, tasting the blood gush down his throat.

Everyone screamed. Everyone panicked.

Cars began to crash against each other as people tried to flee. Then Riley disappeared, teleporting again uncontrollably.

“THINK OF YOUR SISTER!” someone screamed as he teleported from place to place, but he didn't know who had said it or from which scene, because it was going too fast and he was beginning to feel sick.

Riley thought about his sister and all of the memories they created together, all of the laughs they shared, the times they cried and fought. It was beautiful to him, his peaceful paradise. And just like that, his headache was gone. He stopped teleporting and looked up to see a familiar, yet foreign home. He was deep in the woods and he knew it wasn't Hart's home. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. The name was at the tip of his tongue, but his brain was still kind of blank, but very slowly returning.

“Louise's mansion,” he whispered.

He looked shocked as his thoughts came back to him. He was finally able to think. The first thing he thought about was the mansion and how he had never thought about it. He felt stupid. The house was almost the same as Hart's. It was even located somewhere nobody would ever find, except people did find it eventually.

So many suicides happened in there, so many ghost sightings, it all made sense.

Riley opened the crusty, old gates and ran through the dead front yard. The door had been locked by police, but he used his dagger to easily tear out the chains and wood that blocked the door. He cut out the knob and entered the house.

“HELLO?” he screamed excitedly.

“Why would you come here?” said an eerie voice that reminded him of Michelle.

Louise's mansion was a lot bigger than Hart's house and a lot creepier. Then again, it had been a long time since anybody really lived inside. There was dust and spiderwebs everywhere. The walls looked rotten and the furniture was all covered in plastic. But he couldn't find where the voice came from.

“My name is Riley,” he said.

“I know who you are.”

“Come out, I want to talk to you.”

Louise appeared at the top of the staircase. She was wearing a black gown and she was transparent. Her white eyes made Riley feel uneasy, but he had seen enough that he wasn't scared. She flashed in front of him and stared down like a predator.

“What do you want?”

“Answers,” he quickly said, breathless. “I realize that I was stupid for not thinking it earlier. The similarities are almost perfect.”

“What similarities?” she asked, blinking.

“This place. How many people are trapped inside?”

“Plenty.”

There was nothing human about Louise. She wasn't like Michelle, but Michelle hadn't been dead as long as Louise. They were both different, he shouldn't have compared them. He just hoped that Louise would be kinder, less cold.

“Can you tell me what happened here? How you become a ghost and how this home became a beacon for suicide?” Riley asked.

Louise moved slowly, her eyes inspecting him. Her hair was floating like it was in water, very majestic and gentle.

“I was a witch who was betrayed by my own people. That is all I will tell you.”

“Why won't you tell me more?” he said.

“Because I know what you're trying to do. If you want to know why Jocelyn is doing what she is doing, you'll have to ask her yourself.”

“I can't talk to her. She is crazy!”

Louise gave him a dirty look.

“Oh? And what are you?” She looked straight at the blood on his face, his mouth, his clothes, there was so much blood and none of it belonged to him. “How dare you come into my home and think you're some kind of saint. You may believe that you're still good, but to everyone else you're a monster who needs to be destroyed.”

“Please,” he begged, taking a sharp breath as Louise's face changed and became terrifying.

“OUT OF MY HOME!” She screamed.

Something forced him out of the house, and when he blinked he was back in Bellumstone. Frustrated, he growled furiously and ran towards the center of the town. The entire place was empty, there was absolutely not a soul in sight. Everyone had ran the moment Jocelyn dropped her guard. But he wasn't looking for people, he was looking for Annetta.

Not even five minutes into his search, two demons appeared.

“What do you want?” Riley asked as Kilani and Zharan appeared.

“Are you ready to destroy the dagger?” Kilani asked him, walking towards him while Zharan just followed.

“I'm not going to destroy it and I'm not going to give it to you,” he told them.

“I think he already had the first experience,” Zharan told her, watching him.

“What are you talking about?” Riley said.

“We couldn't finish our conversation before, as we were rudely interrupted. But long story short, you're turning into a demon. And if you don't let go of your darkness, you will soon join Hartheon,” she said.

Riley's brain was once again stagnant. How could it have come to this? A demon? Him?

“Why?”

“It's the curse of hell. Supernatural beings get it when they get sent to hell. We turn into demons in time, but then there are moments when it happens on the human realm. It happens very rarely, it's almost unheard of.”

“Why?” he repeated, this time louder and angrier.

“Because of the dagger. You died, came back and your transformation began. The curse of hell was activated. It's very simple, actually.”

“Um, no it isn't?”

“You are having a balance war inside of your head. The more you shift towards the darkness, the faster you will become a demon.”

“The little stunt you did back at the school almost ruined all of your chances of ever going back to normal,” Zharan said.

“I don't want to be normal, don't you understand? There is nothing left for me, so I don't care that I turn into a demon or a unicorn.”

“But you do care. Because you care about your future, your future with Hartheon. You're afraid that he will never be the same again, because you won't be able to love him as a raging beast,” Kilani said.

“Do we ever get a break?” Zharan hissed, looking over Riley's shoulder. “How is it that he appears right on time?”

Riley took one glance over his shoulder and teleported behind the two demons. Hart was gaining speed as he ran at them.

“Now you know how I feel,” Riley told him.

“He feels . . . stronger,” Zharan, worried.

Hart leaped in the air like he was about to land on top of them, but the distance between them was too large for him to be able to do that with the poor jump he did. But Riley was always being surprised, so instead Hart disappeared half way through the leap and deliberately appeared right behind them.

The horrendous creature pounced on top of Zharan and very swiftly chewed his head off. Kilani screamed in terror as Hart ate Zharan and swallowed his entire body. It had happened too fast, way too fast. Hart was growing stronger, meaning he was close to becoming permanent. Something told Riley that Hart wasn't permanently a demon yet, he knew it would be big when it did.

Kilani hopped on top of Hart and as she went for his horns, Hart grabbed her and tossed her away. Kilani spun in the air and landed extremely far away, then it was just them two.

Riley remembered the voice that spoke to him when he was teleporting.

Think of your sister.

“Hart,” Riley quietly spoke. “You need to think of what makes you happy. Remember what made you feel alive, what gave you hope, what made you want to exist. You need to think about it. You need to feel. Stop being afraid of your emotions, stop being afraid of yourself. Be human.”

He didn't expect it would work. Moments like these only had a happy ending in movies, not in real life. But he gave it a try, because it had worked for him. And if Hart and Riley were experiencing the same thing, then how different could it be? Hart could take control, all he had to do was let go.

Riley watched Hart's chest start to rise, like he was breathing. The slit that ran down his stomach began to close. It was working.

Anxiously, he stepped back and created a shield in front of him that blocked the eruption that happened when Hart began to shrink. It was the same eruption that happened when he transformed. He only knew this would happen because Dexen knew it. Riley wished that Dexen's gift helped him with information he needed, but it wasn't how it worked. He couldn't just go into Dexen's power and answer all of his questions. It would've been easier, but nothing was easy in this life. Nothing was ever simple.

Hart's black skin began to crack, slowly shedding. As his body shrunk faster, his normal skin began to show through the cracks. In just a full minute, Hart was back to normal and very naked. Riley didn't know what to do, so he just stared at him and waited for something to happen.

“It's no surprise that I thought of you,” Hart spoke.

He was so clean, almost like he had been reborn. Like he hadn't just eaten someone.

“I expected you to think of your sister, not me,” Riley said truthfully.

Hart had his eyes closed, hadn't opened them since he turned back to normal. Riley thought that maybe he was afraid that it was all a dream, and if he opened his eyes he would be a demon again. He shared that feeling, it was scary.

“You're forgetting that my sister and I are one person. You are the one that makes me happy,” he said.

“Open your eyes,” Riley told him as he quickly stepped forward.

“What will I see if I do?”

It clicked.

He was afraid of opening his eyes because he was afraid to see what Riley had become. On what planet did this make sense to him? How could Hart, a demon, be afraid of Riley becoming a monster just like him? They were both dark, evil creatures. How could Hart act so innocent.

“Because I'm afraid that you will be someone different, because I am afraid of losing you,” Hart replied.

“I'm starting to believe you can read minds,” Riley said as he approached Hart. “And I won't even be surprised.”

Hart smiled.

Riley wrapped his arms around Hart and hugged him tightly. So much had happened that they never really got to be together and be something. It seemed like they were always running or fighting. Riley just wished he could sometimes hold Hart and never let him go.

“My eyes are open,” he said.

Riley let him go, even when he really didn't want to. It felt nice to hug Hart, but he wanted to look at his face. Hart was staring back at him with yellow eyes.

“Your eyes,” Riley said as he touched Hart's face.

“I'm working on it.”

“Why didn't you tell me what was happening to the both of us?”

“I just thought we could control it,” he replied, shaking his head. “I had mine under control, it was nothing to worry about. But then things changed, I didn't expect all of this to become so intense. I was eventually going to explain it to you, but in time. There was no rush, I just wanted to bring back my mother and help her.”

“Are you done helping your mother?”

“I don't know. I don't even know where she is.”

“I know where she is,” Kilani said out of nowhere. Riley had almost forgotten about her. He was so happy about Hart being back to himself that everything else just didn't seem to matter anymore.

“Who are you,” Hart demanded, his face going hard as he showed signs of defense.

“Some demon,” Riley muttered.

“Wow, thanks for the introduction,” she said sarcastically.

“I won't ask again,” Hart said.

“My name is Kilani, and you ate my friend.” Her smile twitched as she said those words.

“She wants to destroy the dagger,” Riley told him.

Hart looked at them both like they were crazy, and that was truly the weirdest expression to come out of Hart.

“You can't destroy the dagger, it's indestructible,” Hart told her, huffing.

“I'm glad that you're starting to show emotions,” she said, sighing like she was bored, “but you're still an idiot.”

Riley jumped in front of Hart as he went for Kilani, stopping the fight before it even began. Hart wrapped his hands around Riley's waist, and it made him feel all warm inside.

“I'll eat you, too,” Hart told her.

“I'm just being honest. Hartheon, you won't become the powerful prince of hell so long you keep holding on to your mommy. You are weak and everybody knows it.”

“I'm going to eat her,” he said.

“Just leave,” Riley told her.

“I'll come back again when you need me,” she said, shrugging. “So I guess I'll see you in a few hours.”

Kilani jumped away, flying through the air and landing on top of a house. She ran fast and disappeared as she hopped down on the other side.

“She's lying. The dagger was created for me and I know that it cannot be destroyed. It can be hidden, tucked away and nobody would ever find it, but it cannot be destroyed. That is a fact,” Hart said.

“I believe you,” Riley told him. And that was the truth. The dagger was the strongest object in the world, the thought of anything being able to destroy it was absurd.

“I'm going home, I need clothes,” Hart said.

“Want me to come with you?” Riley asked him.

“Yeah, I want you to come with me.” Hart kissed Riley on the lips, very softly and gentle. Then he kissed him harder, dipping his tongue in his mouth. And yeah, he was definitely going with Hart. “By the way, I like your hair.”

_____________________________________

[Author's Message]: Before you guys comment saying how "confusing and crazy weird" this chapter was, YES IT WAS MEANT TO BE THAT WAY. It was supposed to be all over the place and crazy because it's supposed to show Riley's transformation. That is why there is so much confusement, BECAUSE RILEY IS CONFUSED. HE IS LITERALLY LOSING HIMSELF. And even though he managed to stop what was happening to him, it doesn't "cure" him of this curse. Same thing with Hart. They are not cured, they are still facing this but they are now facing it TOGETHER.

But unfortunately, the next chapter is the last chapter of this book. It is called "Jocelyn's Revenge" and it's where you finally know what the heck Jocelyn has been doing and why. THE BIG QUESTION ON ALL OF YOUR MINDS WILL BE ANSWERED. BUT . . a character is also going to die. Lol. That means ANY main character. It could be Hart, Riley, Sera, Nicholas, Annetta, ANYBODY. (Well, not random people, like actual main characters) and it will be sad so prepare the tears.

oh and yes they did the dirty after they went home c: lolololol my bbys