With Sin, Condemn You

My mind was abuzz with questions from the moment Matt told us we were having a meeting. The first and most obvious was why are we having it? Is it because he's noticed how cozy Jimmy and I have gotten lately? Or worse, is Alden closer than he's letting on to everyone? What if something went wrong with the ceremony preparations and it would be postponed? That would make everything-

My arms were seized from behind, causing me to yelp. I looked behind me and saw Johnny, his face showing amusement. "Alex you really need to stop spacing off while walking. You almost ran into a wall."

I faced forward again and sure enough, the wall at the end of the hallway loomed in front of me. I was so engrossed in my own thoughts that I forgot to turn. How embarrassing. I laughed a little. "Yeah, I probably shouldn't do that. I'm just a bit distracted right now."

Johnny turned me in the right direction, then let go of my arms. "I understand." With one last smile to me, he strode past me and down the hallway before disappearing into Matt's office. I groaned; I really need to get my shit together.

I followed Johnny's example and entered the medium-sized office that belonged to Matt. The whole room looked transformed into a completely different room than the one I had been forced into when I accidentally burned Jimmy with my new found powers. The walls were covered with maps of the realm, red marks and side notes all over them. His normally organized desk was cluttered with paper, pens, and all sorts of unidentifiable things. Making the room seem smaller, extra chairs besides the normal one in front of the desk were now occupying space in the room. The only thing that was the same was the flame suspended in the air for light.

I plopped down in the remaining empty seat, which was in between Jimmy and Brian. Once I was comfortable, Matt examined each of us, resting his eyes on me last. It almost seemed like he was taking a final look at us before...well I'm sure you can figure it out.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush here," Matt started, his eyes locked with mine. I shifted nervously. "The six of us are in more danger now than anyone else in this whole rebellion. We started this civil war and Alden knows that so he'll want to get rid of us as fast as possible. In his mind, if we fall, so does the whole rebellion."

I mulled this around in my brain for a minute. Then something hit me. "Wait. Aren't demons immortal? Why are we worried about this if we are?"

Matt smiled, showing off dimples I never knew he had. "Yes, that is true. But, our powers can be taken by a more powerful demon. In this case, Alden."

"Well, it's just the powers so what's the big deal?"

I heard Brian groan next to me in annoyance, but before he could answer, Jimmy cut him off. "All demons have some sort of power, whether they're big, small, many, or few. They're pretty much our whole existence. If they're taken away, the demon is reduced to nothing more than a mindless shadow, doomed to wander the demon realms for all eternity. It's not a glamorous way to live."

I bit my lip, my heartbeat quickening. Before hearing this info, I never realized just how deep we were in this thing. If we screw this up, we'll all be as dead as a demon can get.

"Which brings us to a more upsetting matter." I averted my gaze back to Matt. "Since you're the queen, you're the only demon powerful enough to take Alden's powers, which is the only way we're going to reclaim the realm in your name. There is a catch though."

I chuckled, trying to calm myself down and brighten the gloomy atmosphere of the room. "Isn't there always a catch?"

Matt's serious face made my smile melt away instantly. So much for loosening these guys up. "Until you are crowned queen, you're still a human. In other words, you can still be killed doing this. If Alden happens to attack before your coronation is complete, then you could be killed, which is worse than just your powers being taken, obviously."

I felt all the color drain from my face. So all this time I thought I couldn't be actually killed and in reality I could. And to top it all off, I'm going to have to ultimately face Alden and somehow take the jackass demons power as he tries to kill me! I don't see the odds working in my favor here.

"So in other words I'll probably die?" I whispered, looking down to hide the tears that were steadily forming in my eyes. I felt betrayed again. why hadn't they told me this earlier? At least then I'd have a little time to mentally prepare for the cruel irony while that I was going to be killed while trying to free the demon realm from Alden's oppressive tyranny!

"No. You won't." Jimmy's firm answer calmed me down. I guess it's because he sounded so sure of it. "We won't let that happen. It's our job to make sure you're safe and we'll do anything in our power to ensure that you are." He shot me a small smile that I returned.

"He's right Alex," Johnny said from the other side of Jimmy. "As long as we're around, nothing's going to happen to you."

Zacky jumped up from his seat. "Hell yeah! Alden won't know what hit him!" I tilted my head back up to look at them. They all seemed so confident. Even Brian had a smug smirk on his face. I wished I could feel the way they did. I guess it's different when you're the one that's in the most danger.

In an attempt to boost my morale, I asked, "So how am I suppose to take Alden's powers?"

Matt held up two fingers. "There are two things actually. You have to stab him in the middle of the chest with this." He pulled a shimmering dagger from inside his desk. "This dagger is one of few that is given to a select few demons in the whole realm, the most powerful of these is yours. Only a few people can own these in order to prevent mass chaos from happening."

Matt placed the dagger in my open palm. I closed my fingers around it and could feel pure power pulsating inside of it. I wonder if this is what it's going to feel like when I have all my powers.

"Next," Matt continued, re-situating himself behind the desk, "you have to say 'Aufero illa everto vox' after stabbing him. If you say it wrong or stab him in the wrong place, it won't work."

I nodded once. "Sounds a bit Harry Potter-ish to me, but I think I can handle it as long as I have you guys there to back me up." I fought the urge to grab Jimmy's hand and smile at him. "Just one more question: if Alden attacks before the coronation and I'm still human, doesn't that put me below him?"

Matt smirked and chuckled evilly. "It would seem that way and that's exactly what Alden thinks. The most guarded secret of this kingdom is that even if the king or queen has yet to be crowned, they are still able to remove another demon's power. Even though you haven't been formally crowned as queen, you were still queen from birth giving you all the authority of one."

"Think of it this way," Brian began, surprisingly not in a patronizing way, "let's say that for some reason, the coronation process was delayed. Any trouble maker demon could find that out and try to do something that would give someone in the position to take powers a reason to do so. If that rule wasn't intact and something like that happened, there's no telling what would happen to this place."

I had almost hoped I had found a flaw in the plan. But that was an epic fail. I was stuck with this job and I knew it. "So Alden thinks he's just going to be fighting a weak human who can't do shit to him when I face him?"

Matt nodded and handed me a piece of paper with the words on it. "Exactly. Now, if there's nothing else, all I have left to say is the coronation will be tomorrow and to tell you all to keep your guard up."

The five of us nodded as a unit and got up from our seats. I followed the boys out of the room, the dagger held tightly in my fist. I had a feeling tomorrow's events were going to consist of more than just my coronation.