When Heaven meets Hell

Chapter Sixteen

Joan stayed silent, standing before the five men behind the table, her face impassive, thrown into a partial shadow. The man in the middle, who had spoken, observed her with interest.

"Step forward my dear and fear not." He said. "We mean you no harm.'

"Who are you people?" She demanded, even though she knew.

Even in the dim light, Joan saw him smile. "I think you know who we are Madam Hale." He said softly. "After all, you have been anticipating this meeting ever since the Amaki started dropping all those leads to you."

"Oh but where are my manners? I should introduce myself. I am Nicholas Alastair, leader and one of the five Elders of the Amaki. These are my fellow Elders, although they unfortunately don't seem too keen to introduce themselves."

But Joan was focusing on the leader. She recognized the name and face as he took a step into the light. He was certainly well known in aristocratic circles, The Reverend Nicholas Alastair, a man who was often found organizing charity balls and funding churches and orphanages. He owned a shipping business that primarily transported goods from India to Britain. He was a wealthy and apparently religious man too and had been responsible for sending many missionaries to spread the word of God in India. However, he wasn't s devoted a Christian as he claimed to be if he was here.

His words surprised Joan a little, and her silence was cue for him to keep talking.

"Oh yes, we were the ones behind Maxwell and his information. We were also the ones who lead you to Henry Colton. We have been laying the foundations for this meeting for a while now."

"Explain then, why?" Joan demanded, her tone clam and brisk.

Alastair smiled again while the rest of the Elders remained silent. Even with their status, it was obvious Alastair called the shots.

"All will be explained." He said. "But first, why don't we tell you who we are? You already know we are involved in the dark arts, but you don't know what our purpose is."

"We are the Amaki, a group designed to act as the Devil's servants on earth. As you know, demons cannot walk the earth freely and that, eventually they must return to hell. Lord Satan requires some of his servants to stay permanently on earth and carry out his orders. We fulfill that requirement. We forge alliances with various demons, giving them something in exchange for their services, rather than selling our souls to them, as you have done."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Joan, who was momentarily shocked as to how Alastair knew about her deal with the Devil.

Wonderful. Joan thought bitterly. There goes my secret weapon.

But Alastair seemed to have read her mind. "Oh my dear, we have always known about your agreement with Lord Satan. In fact, it was he who informed me about it. It was because of that we knew we could entrust you to cleanly finish off both Maxwell and Colton. Fret not,no one outside this room know your little secret. There is no need to continue having your demon slink around. He can join us."

After a short pause, she called his name softly, knowing there was no point in denying things. He materialized beside her, causing the other Amaki Elders to glance at each other uneasily. Alastair however remained calm.

"Now, as I was saying, this organization brings together practitioners of Black Magic. Your father was one of us, as were many from his family before him."

There was a pause as he allowed this information to sink in, after which he continued.

"I suppose you may know about your family's history? They have always been members of the Amaki. In fact, it was the Hales who founded the Amaki many centuries ago upon the Devil's orders. "

"If that is the case," Joan said. "Then why am I being told all of this now? Why am I hearing this from you and not my own father?"

"Such impudence." One of the Elders growled. "You should know your place girl."

"Now now Hemsley, she has every right to question us." Alastair said calmly. "Miss Hale, we do not know why Eric kept thus all a secret from you. It is customary for the Hales to exposé their children to the arts when they reach adolescence. Perhaps he thought you were not ready or perhaps he did not get the chance to."

Joan stiffened at this, but did not interrupt. Alastair continued. "We know about Eric and his wife's murder; we also know that the ones behind it are quite possible members of the Amaki who bear a grudge against your father. Colton was one of them. I came to know of his involvement in the murder. Normally we would have liked to deal with this on our own terms; however we decided to allow you to deal with him instead."

"We used Mr. Maxwell to lead you to Colton. That address the man was given was actually meant for you. Colton knew you were supposed to find him, but he did not know your task was to kill him. He had not been informed of the demon you had serving you."

"And may I ask why you have been so gracious as to sacrifice one of your own people for my revenge?" Joan demanded. "I'm sure you did not just do it because you were feeling generous."

The man from before grumbled something, but neither Alastair nor Joan paid him any attention. It was obvious that the Amaki leader did not wish to anger the girl.

"You are correct; we did not do it because we felt you to have the right to punish Colton." Alastair explained. "We had our own personal motives. Firstly, we wanted you to find us. Secondly, we wanted to show you that we are on your side. To build trust, in other words."

"You want me to join you." Joan said quietly. "To become one of the Amaki, correct?"

"Yes." Alastair confirmed. "It will be of mutual benefit to both parties. We have a general idea of who else may have helped Colton with your family's murder. In exchange for the information you need, we ask for your services. You have already passed all our tests and proven yourself to be ruthless yet careful. You and your demon will be of great use to us."

There was silence as Joan pondered over this offer. She wasn't convinced for a second by the man's talk of trust. There was still so much he and the others were keeping from her. For all she knew, they could have been involved in the murder themselves; they had already shown how little regard they had for their fellows. Alastair hadn't completely disclosed the reason why they wanted her to join them. It could be because they wanted an assassin working for them, or because she was a Hale and it was important that the founding family be a part of the cult. However, she had a nagging feeling that there was much more to it than that.

There was no doubt they were hiding things. Yet, this may be the best way she could get answers to the new questions that pestered her. There was a reason why her parents had been killed and she wanted to know why. There was a lot going on behind the scenes and these people were at the center of it. There was no point for spacing herself away from it all, not unless she wanted answers.

Avander glanced at her, waiting to hear what she had to say, Joan briefly wondered what he must think about all of this.

Making up her mind, Joan looked each and every one of the Elders in the eye as she announced her decision.

"Very well then, I shall join you."