Xavier looked over at the swirling ashes. Lately the urn has become more active. Instead of a whirlwind style the ashes started to take shape. This time a rose could be seen, then a woman, then a rose again. Perhaps these were the thoughts manifested by the child. In any case, the demon found the change fascinating. She had burned less than two years ago. In that time he learned a lot about her father. That witch was a piece of work, and not the good kind. He showed such a tender facade to his wives and other children, doting on them to the extent that they committed atrocious acts against those on Earth, yet he killed his daughter, not once, but twice. The last time, thankfully brought her entire being to hell.
Well, technically it was his wife that set the child up, but the blame was his. Xavier didn't know if he should send a thank you gift for his sixth death, or become an active summoning demon once more and take a blood bath with the witch's corpse. He would wait to hear from the child before he sought vengeance.
A lot happened in two years, so much so that hell became exciting once more instead of the same routine. Well, it started to become a bit more fun after the child began to make shapes with her ashes instead of the funnel. That and the war officially began with the fairies, and this time, the demons were not losing.
Just holding her ashes was powerful enough to gain the advantage. So much so that the female demons were demoted from the war. Though they were the most fierce warriors, they were the only ones capable of carrying the next generation…if Xavier could finally break the spell prohibiting them from procreating.
Something was missing in his countercurse, so he continued to work on it-which served two purposes for him. He was able to stay in his home and observe the child in her urn as well as try new ingredients and incantations for the spell.
His gut told him that he was close to solving the problem that the demons had struggled with for over four thousand years. When the spell was finally broken, he fully planned to utilize the countercurse to pay back the fairies by eliminating their chances for offspring.
***
Aldrech rushed to answer the phone, "Hello." On the other end he heard his father's domineering tone, more orders for him to pass on to the witches on the front lines, those that were fodder before the demons could get to the fairies.
It was not a war. It was a bloodbath, an elimination of witches as they made the center of this war sandwich.
He looked around his office. His children, all of them already deceased. Since Mary died, he had not remarried, the war began soon after Adira was murdered.
She still did not resurrect. This confirmed what Aldrech feared, she must have her body in order to rebirth. The bombing was so efficient, not even the professions could find any part of her remains. A year after her death he found a letter with the scent of sulfur and demons on his desk.
More like a thank you card as the demon who wrote him regaled to him the prophecy that his deceased daughter would have been a part of. She was the only key to ending the war, the hatred between the fairy and the demon breeds.
Her death was a catastrophe for the witches. She was their only salvation, yet they had killed her repeatedly until nothing else remained.
Aldrech looked out the window, the fairy king continued to send commands, but he was lost in thought, not even providing the illusion that he was listening any longer.
"Love is not the root of all evil. To love base things is the root of all evil-greed, gluttony, pride…those were the real evil that plagued their kind and caused the death of Adira." Aldrech spoke aloud, interrupting the tyrant on the line. With the quiet that ensued Aldrech spoke once more. "We will no longer be the fairies willing to sacrifice. I asked you to bring Adira back to me. I have been waiting for two years. I sacrificed all of my children and grandchildren…all of my family to your greed. Yet, you have given nothing in return. I will not send any more witches to the war zones." With gentle hands, Aldrech hung up the phone and sat in his chair. Looking at the wall was doing nothing for him, still he put his face in his hands. He received the news that day, his last living relative was killed.
This war took everything from him.
***
"Hey momma, can I go outside to play?" I could hear my cousins singing and laughing outside, making me feel happy but left out. The giggle bubbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. My cousin butchered the nursery rhyme again. Instead of saying ring around the rosies, pocket full of posies she would say sing around the rhodies, pocketful of posties…
"Ok, be careful. Don't stay out too long, your skin will burn." I took off running before momma could tell me to come back and put on sunblock. ***
"I don't want a bath, I want to play more!" I yelled at my mom. She always took me from my cousins just when we started to have fun. I could feel the tears flowing down my cheeks and the nails poking deeply into my palms. It wasn't fair, I never got to play like everybody else. My anger at the injustice exploded, causing my mother to fall on her bottom. The small yelp she exclaimed, coupled with my screaming, brought my daddy to the hallway outside the bathroom door.
"Adira! Apologize to your mother." I didn't want to say sorry, but I couldn't refuse as daddy forced the words out of my mouth. Once I told her sorry, I watched as he grasped my upper arm into his rough hands then swatted my bottom twice. The sting hurt, but I refused to cry anymore. Why did daddy only swat me and not my older sisters? Aubrey slapped my momma across the face yesterday, and nothing happened to her.
Why was I the only one he ever hit?***
The giggle exploded in my stomach, leaving me breathless. My cousin was the best at pushing me on the swing. I felt like I could touch the sky every time. "Sissy, next time jump when I push you" he yelled out to me, only my cousins still used my nickname. I felt his small hands on my back and his fingers digging into my flesh. This push was really powerful. I felt a bit of fear but swallowed it down. At the apex of the curve I jumped and reached up high to feel the clouds, but I was too short still. I looked down to catch myself, but Bree was standing in my way. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything as I landed in a tangle of limbs, knees and elbows with my older cousin. I knew I would be blamed for her injury as her cries rent the air.
I felt so much pain in my stomach, but I knew I couldn't cry. Fear crept up my spine as Danny ran towards us. I felt the slap across my face and his spittle hitting me as he yelled for help, his pleas louder than his sisters. With trepidation I watched as my father ran into the backyard.
I stood up waiting for my punishment.
I felt his strong hands wrap around my upper arm, "When will you stop these childish antics, Adira?" I braced to feel the swat against my bottom, but instead he dragged me into the house, the pull in my stomach hurting more as he pulled me behind him. I couldn't catch up, finally falling. Instead of helping me up, he dragged me behind him. "You are already too old to cause injuries to your cousins…" his rant kept going, but I lost interest in his words as the pain spread from my stomach to my chest and up into my arm. The small crack was barely heard before I lost awareness.***
"Adira, please don't play with your cousins anymore. Momma can't help you if you're not with her. Do you understand?" I watched tears pool into her dark brown gaze. The cast on my arm made my skin feel itchy. "Danny and Bree have hurt you so many times, and now look, you have a broken arm and a broken rib. Please, Adira, stay away from them." I could hear the plea in momma's voice.
"It was my fault momma." I whispered back to her. Daddy said so.
***
Xavier watched the ashes churning. The child was so good at creating a movie that he could watch. Based on the scene just depicted, she was more than a target for her cousins. He looked at the now silent ashes. Outside he could hear the demons either laughing with the child, or hurting alongside her.
Once the ashes were still he opened the lid to retrieve a sample.
It was not time yet to release her, and he wanted to try a new method. He turned back to the potions and added a bit of the child's ashes to it. Then he watched as it turned from a murky yellow to a clear blue. The liquid flowed and swirled much as the urn had done.
When it finally settled, he took out a droplet and filled it before putting it inside of a small container.
"Come." He told the female demon. She knew the routine and opened her mouth, letting the upper demon pour the fluid onto her tongue. She felt three drops before he moved his hand away.
"Go home. Come back to see me in six weeks." Xavier told her. He was sure that he had finally found the cure to the demon's curse, and it took less than a teaspoonful of the child's ashes to make enough for every female demon in the city. If this worked, then the demons should have several new breeds born in ten months.
The first time in thousands of years.
Xavier felt a rush of excitement. He did not have a wife, but as the strongest potion master he was given the task to break this curse over three thousand years ago. "Finally," he thought, "I have created the potion to counter the curse."
The demon once again looked at the urn. Since he took the sample of ash from within, she had become quiet. Since started telling her stories with her ashes, she did not stay still for long. He watched the urn for hours. He waited to see her next memory.
While he waited, three hundred females took three drops of the potion each. As each female left, Xavier's attention was once more drawn to the child's ashes until the next one arrived.
Still, the child stopped creating a visual image of her memories. The funnels had stopped as well. Inside the urn was just a dessert of ash, nothing moving.
The demon stood up and walked over to the urn, lifting it up to eye level. With both hands grasping the heavy crystal, he shook the contents. Inside the ashes moved up and down like fluffy sand. When his motions stopped, so did the ashes. Xavier then turned the urn upside down,he was expecting the funnel to form. Instead the ashes moved until they settled evenly once more. He placed the urn back on the table and stepped back. It had been a few days since she last moved.
A slight pinching in his heart could be felt. The sensation is completely alien to the demon, making him rub his chest with his hand.
"Little girl, tell me another story."