Vampires Need Not…Apply? (Accidentally Yours #4)(68)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“You said he killed him anyway.”

She nodded. “Yes. Chaam’s decision, his sacrifice to negate his duty opened the portal, but it didn’t change the fact that my father had turned evil. My father went for Itzel’s heart. Chaam stopped him just in time.”

“I am very sorry to hear that.” It seemed like a senseless tragedy. One that he hoped would not go unpunished if Cimil had truly been the instigator. But that was a task for the deities to deal with. Right now, however, he needed to rescue Ixtab, who had sacrificed herself for him. Did that mean she loved him? Because the portal had definitely opened.

His heart suddenly warmed at the idea. Could she truly love me? After everything they’d been through, it would be a miracle. And make it all worth it.

She shrugged. “What’s done is done. Chaam deserves a second chance.”

“We will make sure he gets one. Right now, I need to go and get Ixtab back.” He turned to leave, then had a thought. “Margaret, you said that you could see and hear everything from the other side of the portal.”

“Not everything all at once, but it allows you to watch whomever you choose. Quite the superspy tool, if you ask me.”

Antonio smiled. When they’d met, Ixtab had told him she was a spy. “Ixtab can hear me now, can’t she?”

“Probably. If she’s with the demon, then so can he.”

Good. He had something to say to both of them.

Chapter Treinta y Uno

Antonio stopped by Penelope and Kinich’s room to advise them of the change of plans—he would open the portal immediately. Of course, he heard nothing but loud animal-like grunting and howls so he’d opted for advising one of the Uchben soldiers. The plan was simple. They’d open the portal inside a holding cell at the prison and pull Ixtab out. If the demon was freed in the process, the cell—which Kinich said could contain any being—would prevent the demon from going anywhere.

Except your body. Yet that was a chance Antonio was willing to take; this had to end and Ixtab would be freed. And if doing so meant he needed to sacrifice his life, then so be it. Even better if it resulted in that demon’s eternal incarceration. He only hoped he might be given a few precious moments to simply hold Ixtab again and tell her how he felt. However, if the cards were not in his favor…

He slipped outside and looked up at the starry sky. So many nights he’d stared up at the stars, wondering where his fate might lead him, wondering the purpose to all his struggles and suffering. None of it seemed to make any sense then, but now it did: everything led him to her.

“Ixtab, if you’re listening, I want you to know I am sorry for not seeing who you really were. I was blind when we met, blinded by my fear—fear of losing my brother, of failing him. I believed that saving Margaret was my only way out. What you don’t know is that it was your face I saw. It was your eyes I dreamed of and saw every time I closed my eyes. It was you, Ixtab. Always you. So if I do not get a chance to say this in person, I want you to know that I love you—you were meant to be mine. And whatever happens, I’m grateful for finding you.”

He paused, a small piece of him hoping he might hear a reply or any sign that his message had been delivered. There was nothing but silence.

“And Father, if you’re listening. I don’t care how many lifetimes it takes, I will send you back to hell. You’ll not win, not against me.”

The wind howled, sounding as if it contained voices—shrieks and wails. “Yeah. Fuck you, too.”

* * *

Alone in the prison cell, Antonio laid the tablet on the cold cement floor and stared at the thing. This was it. Time to set everything right and make sure the demon never harmed another being again.

His plan was simple. Open the portal and pull Ixtab out. Once she was freed, the guards were standing by to extract her from the cell. He only hoped he could do so before the demon emerged. Because once it was freed, this cell would never be opened again. Yes, the demon would stay here until the end of time or until the gods could find another way to deal with him.

“What now?” he asked Margaret through the glass. Behind her stood Kinich; Penelope; the woman he’d met the prior day, Emma; and a dozen soldiers dressed in black.

Margaret shrugged. “Do you have something to sacrifice in the name of true love?” Her voice echoed through the speakers and bounced off the sterile walls.

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Well?” she asked.

He couldn’t reveal his plan. Not when Ixtab might be listening in; she’d never allow him to sacrifice himself to save her. “I can’t tell you, but I’m ready to make the sacrifice,” he said.

“Try thinking of your offering,” Margaret suggested.

He did that and once again nothing happened.

Kinich and Penelope exchanged worried glances.

“It’s a Maaskab relic,” Maggie said. “Everyone knows the Maaskab use dark magic, which is highly unpredictable. Keep trying.”

He did. He thought about the portal opening and the demon taking his body. He thought about seeing Ixtab’s face again. Nothing happened. Mierda. “Fuck this. I need to get my equipment up and running.”

Margaret pressed her palms against the glass. “I already told you, that won’t work. Dammit! Try harder. Chaam is almost out of time!”

“What do you mean?” Kinich asked her.

She looked up at him with teary brown eyes. “I mean that if you don’t let Chaam out of that prison soon, we won’t be able to cure him. He’s poisoned with evil, and it’s been eating away at his soul. There’s almost nothing left of it—he’ll end up just like my father.”

She looked at Antonio through the glass. “Keep trying.”

“Something isn’t working,” he explained. “It’s useless.”

Then Margaret’s pale face lit up. “No. It’s not useless. You can save Chaam. You can gobble up the darkness inside him. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of that before.”

She wanted him to drain the dark energy from Chaam as he’d done to those Maaskab? Antonio mulled it over. Chaam was immortal, so there was no risk of killing him. “But that doesn’t get Ixtab back,” he stated coldly.

A cackle erupted from somewhere in the complex. It sounded like Cimil. “Peekaboo! I can’t see you!” she screamed. Of course, she couldn’t see them because they were in a separate cell toward the back of the prison. “Peekaboo… can’t see you!” Cimil hollered again.