"But you were sealed. The Deathstones and I sealed you sixty years ago," I said. There was no way she could escape the seal for it was powered by the Deathstones, a powerful society which came into being when some Deathstars and Livestones revolted against the war between their leaders. This seal also drained a lot of my power. There's no way Devil's Moon could have escaped it. Maybe this was just another bluff of the twisted queen of bluffs."Devil's Moon is sealed within that sculpture," I said firmly.

"True. Most of me is sealed in there, but not the whole of me. Sixty years ago, when you were sealing me, a part of me barely escaped," she said as she walked toward me.

"One by one, the Deathstones stood in front of me, and did their best to keep me caught, while you were creating the seal. But the youngest member of the group didn't seem too practised. It was easy to overwhelm the child prodigy Clara Livestone, and to destroy her soul. Thus she turned into a vessel, my vessel. It did cost me some time, but at least I was free," she said.

"No, you cannot be the Devil's Moon. I know you. You look tough, but you're kind at heart. You're not evil," Sebastian said. He'd apparently skipped the current conversation.

"Open your eyes, Sebastian. You really think your uncle would bring chaos to your family all by himself?"
She said, walking toward him.

Sebastian looked at her, confused.

"It was me, Sebastian, it was me all along. Delroy had fallen for me, so blind in love, and I simply used him. Being the leader of Deathstars, I needed the blood of Deathstars to free myself from this sculpture, and your father didn't believe me. In fact, he was plotting against me, so that he'd get the throne. I had to end him," she said with no remorse on her face.

A tear trickled down Sebastian's cheek, and a fire began to blaze within him.

"You killed your own kin?" Laura said, horrified.

"Oh no, I didn't even touch anyone. All I had to was to ask Delroy nicely, and my favourite student, right Sebastian?"

"You said those men were traitors!" Sebastian yelled, remembering the faces of all men he had killed. None of them were guilty, and yet he murdered all of them. Somewhere in his mind he'd also felt immense pride about it. But now all there was was just rage.

"They were the Merigrimmian Deathstars, your father's followers, a traitor's followers. Obviously they were traitors too," she said.

"I swear I'm going to kill you," Sebastian said as he clenched his fists. A mad rage shone in his eyes

Me too. I said to myself. I had to loosen these ropes. I couldn't stay bound at such dangerous times, before such a heartless enemy.

Clara put a finger on Sebastian's lips, and whispered shh. She then lifted her finger, and placed it on the tip of his nose. From there she slid her finger along his nose, and forehead, until she reached his hair. Then she grabbed his hair, pulled him up, and ducked down so that her mouth was only an inch from his ear.

"Join me, Sebastian. I'll make you feel what power is," Clara said, and seductively, she slid her lips against his cheek, and placed her lips on his.

"I've wanted you since so long," she sighed before biting his lower lip.

"Stop it!" Sebastian shouted, his blood boiling with rage.

Clara stepped back. She looked slightly disappointed.

"You had one chance, Sebastian. One chance, and you ruined it. You could've had all the power, you could've had me. But now you'll only have tragedy and death," she said.

I stared in disbelief at the horrific thing Clara did now. How could she just kiss Sebastian? Then I focused on more major things. I had to undo these ropes. When my contracting and relaxing of hands did nothing to set me free, I decided to use Anahita's power. She was rising in me, I could feel it in every cell of my body. Slowly, but certainly, she'd been drowning me in waves of knowledge and energy. If I could just summon a little something, odds can turn into my favour.

I closed my eyes. I had never summoned Anahita's powers solely on intentions. Anger and pure will to destroy had always accompanied me. I had no idea how I could call that tremendous energy by will.

I tried to focus. I concentrated hard. But nothing I thought of could provoke my emotions, or unleash that fury. Maybe this time Anahita was keen on keeping her powers with herself.

Dejected, I opened my eyes, and decided the old fashioned way was the only option. When there were no hopes to free my hand, I turned to the feet, and realised freeing my feet was a task even more difficult. Two big cuffs kept my legs from moving. There was a metal chain that connected the two cuffs. On looking closely, I realised there were strange marks etched in the metal of the cuffs. Runes. Runes that sealed any angelic prowess. That's why I couldn't summon any powers.

I sighed, and took a deep breath. There was no way I could undo this bondage. I had to think of something else. Absentmindedly, I continued to struggle with my hands. But I suddenly stopped when I became aware of a strange man's presence.

"Madam, it's time." I heard a man walk into the cavern. He was skinny, and old with brown eyes so calm and wise. He held a huge goblet in his hand. I stared at him. Something felt oddly familiar about him. And then our eyes met, and he gave a smile. His eyes turned sea green, and I realised who he was.

"Gudruk, what brings you here?" Clara demanded. While I'd been struggling to free myself, Clara had been chanting something in front of the sculpture. Perhaps she was getting ready to break the seal.

"It's almost 3 AM, madam. And Gudruk wondered if you could use his help for the Awakening. Master Alzaknos now lies dead, and so Gudruk is free. Gudruk will be honoured if you accept him as your servant," he said.

Clara smiled. "Have you brought the blood of sixty-six Deathstars, Gudruk?" She asked.

"Yes, Mistress, I have," Gudruk bowed, and raised the goblet in his hands.

"Good," she said. She picked the goblet, and approached the huge sculpture.

"Clara, fight her. I know you're still in there!" Sebastian yelled. Clara laughed as she looked at him. While dealing with the ropes and the cuffs, and keeping an eye on Clara so thst she wouldn't know I was trying to escape, I had completely ignored Sebastian. But now when I looked at him, at his broken state, I was certain he must've spent this time in shock.

"Really, Sebastian? I told you Clara Livestone is long dead, just like your kin, or the Deathstones, or those seven young women. Six actually, the seventh is standing right before me," she paused and smiled at Laura, "but not for long." Somehow the smile looked sad, sympathetic. Or maybe it was just my imagination.

"Seven women?" Pamela interfered. Of all the weird things Clara had spoken until now, only this one must've made some sense. "You mean Catherine, Samantha, Diana Williams and others?"

"Yes, genius. Why are you asking though, didn't Laura tell you?" She asked.

Then she walked over to Gudruk, took the goblet, and again walked toward the sculpture.

"After sealing me, the Deathstones decided to seal the Angel's Moon," she said as she walked around the sculpture, sliding her hand against it in longing.

"But isn't it hard to escape the illusion of divinity, of God and Angels? I don't know how, but Anahita succeeded in getting support of the Deathstones. Since this seal," she paused while rubbing the hard surface of the sculpture,"is majorly formed out of Anahita's powers, her destruction would've broken the seal. And since the demons all over the world were looking for her, to destroy her once and for all, she had to go in hiding," she said.

I looked at her in shock. This information was supposed to be kept a secret forever. Only the Deathstones knew about it, and they are proud people, those who wouldn't break or betray.

"So Anahita decided to use not one but seven psyches to hide herself?" Pamela said. She was shocked to the core.

"Yes. No one knows what goes in one's psyche. So it's the best hiding place. She split herself in seven pieces, and hid them among the seven members of the Deathstones," I said, remembering the memory.

"It was a brilliant idea, brilliant indeed," Clara said. "But I found out about this arrangement, and it lost all its brilliance."

She then raised the goblet over her head, and tilted it slightly. Blood came rolling down the sculpture, bathing it's every inch. Fumes began to rise as soon as the blood made contact with the Devil's Moon. When one half of the sculpture was thoroughly drenched in blood, she turned to the other half. Then she emptied the rest of the goblet onto the sculpture's face. The sight of the bloody sculpture, scent of blood in air, and those fumes, it all gave an eerie feeling to the already spooky cavern.

"How did you find out?" I asked.   I refused to believe that any of the Deathstones had betrayed me.

"It wasn't easy. But people break. Even the proud Deathstones break. All I had to do was this," she said as black fire began to dance around her hand. An image of Alzaknos being devoured by that black fire flashed across my mind.

As soon as she said this, another wave of rage surged through me. Something began to move near my feet, the cuffs. The cuffs were now unable to keep Anahita's powers bound. There was still hope.

"To bring herself back Lady Clara," Gudruk paused and corrected himself," Lady Melissa had to merge these seven pieces. With the death of the other vessels, Anahita's prowess would return to Laura, she being the larger vessel. And only if she's destroyed completely, the seal can break," Gudruk said. "Right, Lady Melissa?"

"Right," Melissa said, with no apparent emotion. A ghost of a smile rose on Gudruk's face.

"That's never going to happen. Yes, destruction of Anahita in her entirety might break the seal. And you've succeeded in merging all these seven parts. But how do you plan to bring her down?" I said.

Something cracked near my feet. The chain that had been linking the two cuffs had broken. Another surge of energy flowed through me and I knew soon the cuffs would crack open. I smiled.

"You're not even one percent of what you used to be, and energy is surging through me, waiting to explode," I said. With this sense of victory, my lips turned into a triumphant smile.

"Why are you fighting, Laura. Letting Anahita go is in your good interests as well. Your psyche is so stressed. It's a matter of days before it bursts," she said.

"Why am I fighting? It surprises me to see such a powerful being having such less common sense. I'm fighting for the people I love, the world I love. If you rise again, and if you summon Satan, all existence would be thrown in a sea of chaos. I can't let that happen," I said.

"People you love, huh? Your father is struggling between life and death right beside you, and you can barely keep yourself from smiling. So much for love," she said.

Her words shocked me. I had totally been oblivious about my father. How could I forget it? I felt like stabbing myself. It must've been Anahita. With the weakening of the runic binding, not only her power was rising, but perhaps also her control over me.

"Don't put this on Anahita, child," Melissa said as though she was reading my thoughts. "She's only hiding in you, and not once has she controlled you. It was all you," she said, looking straight into my eyes."

"Whenever your psychic balance was upset, the mask you'd worn for all these years would break, surfacing the real you. All the times you thought you'd lost it, you were only behaving like your true self, your fourth face. In fact, if anything, Anahita tried to pull back all your rage, and bloodlust, and all such dark desires. But how could she succeed?" She paused as she walked to me. "After all, you and I, we are the same," she said while placing her palm against my cheek, sliding it affectionately.

"Stop talking like you know me," I said angrily. Before I could control myself, an urge took me over, and I spat right on her gown. She ignored it.

"I know you, dear, I know you more than anyone ever will. I know how much guilty you feel when you kill someone. I know the guilt is not because you're a murderer, but because you enjoy doing it. I know how hard you try to maintain this mask of innocence, while hiding away all your desires deep in your heart."

Her words left me stunned again. My eyes widened with surprise. None of it was true, none of it. Yet why did a part of me feel that this was how I really felt?