The Demon Prince's Possession

Cerberus

We walked inside the palace; my Angel was still present and didn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

“I am starved. Wanna head to the kitchens?” Allegra asked.

“Demons and Angels don’t need to consume as much food as humans or Seers do,” I replied playfully.

“Really?” she countered, stunned.

We were going to keep walking until Allegra peered to the side. I followed her line of vision and saw my mother and Viora standing a distance away.

Suddenly, I saw Allegra tense from behind as she took a shaky step backwards. I took a step towards her, so I was standing at her side.

I watched as she collapsed to the ground on her knees, her face scrunched, and her hands clawed at her head before she let out a piercing scream and then fell into a forced slumber.

I scooped her into my arms before she could fall against the marble floor. My mother and Viora rushed over.

“What happened!” my mother asked, moving fallen hair from around Allegra’s face.

“She was fine a second ago; she might have seen something to trigger her memories?” I replied.

“I’ll get Calcus,” my mother affirmed before running to get Calcus.

Viora stood there, unspeaking, staring at Allegra. This was definitely out of character for her; she was never one to be shunned into silence. But I didn’t have time to ask her, so I took Allegra to our room.

I lay Allegra on the bed before pulling the covers to her chin. As I stared, I noticed she didn’t look as bad as her previous collapses, or maybe I was just getting used to her collapsing all the time.

My eyes rested on her lips, her plump, full lips, and the events from earlier played through my mind.

We nearly kissed; she nearly kissed me, and I almost let her.

That’s when I heard my mother and Calcus enter the room. They rushed to her side, and Calcus inspected her before speaking.

“Allegra must have seen something to trigger her memories; it could have happened instantly or hours ago.”

“Can we find out what the trigger is?” I asked.

“The trigger can be anything. We might not know what it is until she awakes,” he replied. “She will be okay; just let her rest. She will wake when the time is right,” he smiled softly before leaving.

I broke the silence between my mother and me, “Do you think Viora was acting strange earlier?”

“Strange how?” she replied.

“She was acting different; it seemed like something was off.”

Viora

I stood in the same spot until a hand landed on my shoulder.

I turned around and saw black, bottomless eyes staring at me with concern.

“Viora, are you okay?” Damien asked.

“Oh yeah, sorry, just lost in thought for a moment,” I answered tensely.

“Does Grace know you’re here?” he said.

“Yeah, something happened to a woman with Cerberus, and Grace went to help,” I replied.

“Is she okay?” he answered, slightly panicked.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Good,” he said, slightly relieved, “Come, we’ll wait for Grace in the parlour.”

“So I see Cerberus has been doing very well,” I asked, settling into my seat.

“A lot better than he has in a long time,” Damien smiled, sipping his tumbler of dark red wine.

“Has it got anything to do with that girl?” I asked curiously.

“It has; his Angel reacts to her in a way that forces him out. We think it might have something to do with Celia.”

Grace

I thought it best to leave Cerberus alone; Allegra would be okay, and I needed to see Viora.

I walked through the doors of the Foyer, where I saw Damien and Viora waiting.

I sat beside Damien, but not before pouring myself a generous glass of wine.

“She’s okay. Caclus said she might have seen a trigger,” I told Damien. “Viora,” I said, turning to her, “I asked you to come to see if you could restore Allegra’s memories. A block was placed on her by a Seer, someone powerful.”

Viora displayed an expression of guilt and fright at the mention of Allegra’s name, something I had never seen her display before.

She took a shaky breath and gazed out the window as if remembering something.

“Viora?” Damien spoke low.

She returned her sight to us, downed her glass of red wine, and then placed it on the table with shaky hands.

“There’s something I need to tell you, something that happened many years ago.

“It’s about Allegra…”

Viora

Hearing her name only confirmed my worst fears.

It really was her.

My Allegra.

I knew it was her the moment I saw her, but just having it confirmed made it all the more real.

“There’s something I need to tell you, something that happened many years ago.

“It’s about Allegra…

“Do you remember when I said someone got out of a place they should never have been able to escape from?” I directed towards no one in particular.

“Yes,” Grace replied, unsure.

“That person was Allegra. I had been trying to locate her since I felt her break from the prison I sealed her away in 1,040 years ago.”

“What! It was you?” Grace gasped.

“1,040?” Damien replied, “How old is she?”

“Technically, she is only 18 years old, but if you include the time she was trapped, that will make her 1,058.”

Grace’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“But why?” she asked.

I took a deep breath, ready to reveal the secret I had hoped I would never have to speak of again. Allegra is the reason I had forced myself to stay alive for so many years: to watch over her, to make sure she could never escape.

“I couldn’t locate her at first. I now know it was because she had yet to regain her memories and thus her power…”

“Power?” Damien interrupted.

“Yes, I will get to that,” I said before continuing, “I couldn’t exactly track an empty shell, and that’s what Allegra is right now: an empty shell waiting to be filled.

“I cast a fail-safe in case she would ever wake, and that was to conceal her memories from her. Every time she gets those migraines, it is her memories trying to break through. I thought if she was ever to wake, I would have some time to find her and put her back where she needed to be contained.

“But by the sounds of things, she has yet to regain her power or memories. If she does not regain those lost memories, her destiny will not be fulfilled as the curse placed upon her would have been activated immediately.”

“So if Allegra doesn’t regain her memories, she will be okay?” Grace asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“Yes, otherwise, the curse would have been re-activated by now.”

“What curse?” Damien asked.

“I’ll start from the beginning…”

Allegra

1040 years ago

“Mother, why are we not allowed to cross the border?” I asked, curious about what the Demon faction was like. Surely they weren’t all as bad as the stories told since I was just a child.

“Because it is not safe. The Demons are a cruel and brutal species. If they even scent us anywhere near their territory, they will either kill us or use us for their own selfish gain.”

“The Angels will always protect us, won’t they, Mother?”

She smiled softly, “Yes, they will. And if they cannot, then I will always protect you.”

“Of course you will; you’re the strongest Seer alive. Viora Levine, the greatest to have ever lived.”

My mother chuckled lightly, “You’ll be even more powerful than me one day, Allegra,” she answered.

“Really?”

“Mmh hmm,” she hummed, “Come, if you want to surprise your father, then we need to hurry back.”

My father was a travelling Seer; he wasn’t as strong as my mother, but that’s because he had focused on and perfected the art of healing properties found in plants and other natural substances.

He travelled the globe searching for the rarest breeds and was sought out far and wide for his magnificent abilities.

He had been away for a few months and was due back before sunset today.

We entered our secluded cottage home, just along the outskirts of the Angel’s faction. I wanted to surprise my father with a freshly baked batch of pumpkin pie, his favourite.

I got to baking as soon as we reached home; by the time the baked goods were ready to eat, something sounded from outside.

“Mother!” I whisper-shouted, eagerly awaiting the arrival of my father.

Only the man who opened the door seemed nothing like the man I once knew.

His honey-brown hair was dull and bleak. His usual neatly cut beard was unkempt and unbrushed. He had bags under his eyes that seemed as though they had lacked sleep for weeks, and his hands were dirty with spots of red and brown, as though he had just been in a brawl with a dangerous creature. Based on his clothes, which were torn and beyond repair, he had been on the road for quite some time.

“Father,” I weakly called out, reaching for him as I stepped forward. But my mother held out her arm, preventing me from moving any further.

“Lial, what have you done!” she seethed, her frame tensing as she took a protective stance.

“I have done what I had to; a war is coming, one that will see the Demons prevail. I cannot let that happen.”

“It is not true. I would have seen such a fate by now,” my mother countered.

“The horrors I have seen over the years, Viora, it is nothing compared to what will come,” his voice was deep and trembling.

He was terrified.

This was not the father I remembered.

“You need to leave, now!” my mother shouted, a bright purple flame breaking from her palm.

“I can’t, not until the prophecy is complete. And she is the only one capable of completing it,” my father, the man I once knew, pointed his bloodied, dirty finger at me.

My blood ran cold.

“She is just a child!” my mother boomed.

“She will be more powerful than you and I combined one day; she is the only one capable; it must be her,” my father marched towards us, breaking through everything in his path.

My mother started to recite a spell, one I hadn’t heard before, as she let her magic swirl around my father.

But as the purple fumes surrounded him, they were gone in an instant, absorbed into his skin as though consuming my mother’s magic.

“Run, Allegra!” she screamed, but as I went to dash through the back door, my father lunged forward, gripping my mother by her throat and throwing her to the other side of the room with a strength no one should be able to obtain.

I felt a darkness surround me, glueing my feet to the floor. I felt paralysed and afraid as I stared into my father’s once gentle green eyes.

“I’m sorry, but this has to be done,” was his last words before reciting something from a language long ago.

My mother went to stand, but my father’s palm flew out towards her, trapping her in place.

“No!” I croaked, tears cascading down my cheeks.

With each word my father spoke, it seemed as though something evil and unwelcome was snaking its way through my body. I could feel it cover every inch of me, a heavy weight that seemed to tighten with each word.

Then, just as fast as it came, it was gone as the last word was spoken.

“Katára”

I was released from paralysis, and I collapsed to the floor, a sobbing mess.

I peered up at my mother, who was now freed from her captivity. She ran toward me, cradling me in her arms.

“What have you done!” she cried.

“What was needed to be done,” my father spat.

“I will make you reverse this curse, even if it’s the last thing I do,” she sobbed.

“I know you will,” my father spoke softly, his voice broken but still tinted with darkness. “Which is why I need to do this, so the curse can never be lifted.”

With that, he lifted a blade to his throat and sliced deep and wide. I watched as he gurgled; blood spewed from his throat as he dropped to the floor with a heavy thud.

I peered up at my mother, who looked down at me with regret and grief as she held me close.

“What did he do to me?” I asked, holding up my trembling hands.

My mother took hold of them, staring at me intensely.

“I am so sorry, Allegra, this should never have happened to you,” she could barely speak from the continuous sobs escaping her throat.

“Come child, we can’t stay,” she pulled me to my feet and helped me out of the cottage, away from my father’s lifeless body.

“Where are we going?” I asked once my tears had finally exhausted.

“You’ll see,” she spoke, a sad smile on her face.

It was sunrise by the time we had reached our destination: a high cliff’s edge. It was a beautiful view of the entire Angel faction; you could see the valley below where Angel’s rejoiced in the morning sun and the children played in the vast greenery.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“This is the land your father has threatened. This is why I must do what has to be done.”

I slipped away from her, taking a shaky step back.

“W…What did he do to me?” I asked; the tears willed to fall, but I had none left to give.

“He placed a curse on you, one that could destroy the world as we know it,” she couldn’t look at me knowing what she had to do.

I took a deep breath, controlled my trembling voice and looked at her with conviction.

“Do it.”

“What?” she replied, stunned.

“If you need to stop me, then do it. I cannot risk the lives of everyone because of what he did to me.

“If I need to be stopped for the sake of this,” I pointed to the valley filled with thousands of innocents, “Then so be it.

“Do what you have to.”

She ran to me, embracing me in one final hug. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours until she finally pulled away, stroking a loose strand behind my ear and gazing at me with love and adoration.

“Your special Allegra, this should never have happened to you,” she sniffled, unshed tears pricked her eyes. “I love you, Allegra”.

I smiled the brightest I could muster and nodded.

I didn’t hate my mother for this…

I understood.

I had to be locked away; for good.

My mother took a step backwards and recited a spell that would bind me to a painless prison cell for the rest of my life. I would not know how many seasons would pass; I would not feel the rift of time, only nothingness.

Never to wake again.

Viora

I was in tears by this point, barely able to get out a word.

“I’m so sorry Viora,” Grace sniffed, shedding tears of her own.

I finally gained the courage to speak, “Allegra has a written destiny thanks to Lial.

“When he cursed her, he foresaw the birth of someone neither Demon nor Angel, but something else entirely. He made it her destiny to make sure that never happened.”

“She will go after Cerberus?” Grace pointed out with fear in her eyes.

I nodded.

“But why?” Damien spoke, anger rising in his voice.

“Lial foresaw the birth of something that should never have been. He saw the destruction the Demon race caused, and knowing someone could be even deadlier than that, he panicked and turned to blood magic.

“Allegra is the most powerful Seer to have ever walked this earth. Even I would be unable to stop her if she remembers who she really is.”

“What will happen if she regains her memories?” Damien asked; he was always the one with a level head.

“She would destroy peace and tranquillity, sending the races back into a never-ending war. But this time, the casualties will be numbered in the millions, eventually wiping out life from the face of the earth.

“That is why I trapped her. I didn’t have the heart to kill her, not my daughter.”

“How will going after Cerberus annihilate the world?” Grace asked, panicked.

“I don’t know, but that is what is written; that is why she must be stopped.”

Grace stayed silent, trying to come up with the best conclusion.

“You can’t say anything to anyone, especially not Cerberus,” Grace spoke.

“What?” I said, astounded.

“Allegra is the only one with the slightest chance at bringing our son back. If she doesn’t, he could be consumed by his Demon and cause more havoc than any before,” she replied. “I have seen him at his worst, Viora, soon I might have to resort to unspeakable methods to stop him. If I can prevent that, then I will. Your daughter might be our only hope for Cerberus.”

“Is there any way to break it?” Damien asked.

“No. Lial killed himself to ensure the curse would live on. Allegra has no choice but to complete the curse; even in death, a curse as dark as this cannot be broken. The only one who recited it can reverse it.”

“Destinys can change; I know mine did. We just need time to help her,” Grace urged.

“Maybe...”

“Then you need to leave,” Grace replied softly. “Allegra can never know who she really is, and you being here could trigger that at any moment.”

I nodded solemnly.

“If you genuinely want to take the risk, I can’t see her. No matter how much it hurts, in case she realises I was the one who locked her away all those years ago and the reason for doing so…

“She can never know who she is. Let’s just hope seeing me didn’t trigger anything substantial.”

“Is there any way you can suppress her memories forever?” Damien asked.

“There might be; it may take some time. I could create a bind between an object and her memories,” I replied.

“Thank you, Viora; I know this is a lot to ask,” Grace replied.

“If there is any sign that she has regained any sort of memory, you must tell me. I don’t know how long it will take for the curse to activate, so the second you see a change, you need to call for me.”

She nodded and then rose before embracing me in a comforting hug.

“Thank you, Viora; I will take care of her, I promise.”

I let a lone tear slip from my cheek as I pulled away.

I just hope they know what they are doing because if things don’t go to plan...

No one will be able to stop her, not until it’s too late.