A Monster Inside - Book of the Amulet - ITV's Jekyll and Hyde

21 - Army of Angels

"Now my neck is open wide/ Begging for a fist around it/ Already choking on my pride/ But there's no use crying about it// I'm heading straight for the castle/ They want to make me their queen/ And there's an old man sitting on the throne and he's saying that I probably shouldn't be so mean/ I'm heading straight for the castle/ They've got the kingdom locked up/ And there's an old man sitting on the throne and he's saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut//

- Castle

:/:

"Do you know where he is?" Bella asked, pacing back and forth. After much explaining by Joshua, who had not quite forgiven himself for activating the spell so quickly, she had only just managed to grasp the idea of her living.

"We think he's in the Jezequel House", Lily replied, trying to avoid Joshua's glare. He soon took off, leaving his number with Olalla since he has taken a certain 'liking' to her. "Our agents have been tracking him ever since your, um..."

"Death?" Bella finished. "So, if you know where he is, why do you need me?"

"He doesn't remember us, Bella", Garson exclaimed. "He doesn't know any of us".

"But, you're his family. What the devil would make him do this?"

"The devil indeed", Garson muttered. "Remember Keres?"

"I think every corpse remembers its murderer", Bella answered, the night of her demise running to the front of her mind. God, this was just so weird. She stopped pacing for a moment, turning towards Olalla. "Can you drive?"

"Yes", Olalla murmured.

"Can you take me to him? Hyde. I'll talk to him, I can only try".

"Let me come with you", Lily added. "I've got MIO behind me and a gun at my side. I could be helpful".

"Fine", Olalla murmured, noting the MIO car parked outside. "But, if we're fighting a battle, we need soldiers. 'Cause right now our army is a spy, a landlady and a monster. We need someone who knows their way around a rifle. And I know a person. Get me on the phone".

:/:
"What took you so long, Elvina?" Keres hissed, seeing her emerge from the trees. They had moved their operations to the Jezequel church, where they would put the last touches to their plan in place. Hyde was lingering inside near the portal, which gave Keres the chance to catch up on what had been happening.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. Semira was not an easy person to track, but..." the Succubus started, passing over the Jezequel Amulet. Keres smiled, baring all her sharpened teeth.

"Yes", she whispered. "Finally. The last instrument".

"Um, Ma'am there was someone else there. Another woman talking to Semira". Keres furrowed her brow in puzzlement, then realised.

"Dark hair, wearing green, Russian accent?" she asked, and Elvina nodded. Keres scoffed, Lottie had made it out alive after all. "Remind me to kill that girl when this is over". Keres lifted the amulet up by its chain, staring into it. Such power wasted on such a infantile brat. "Did you do as I asked? Is Semira dead?"

"Weak, but not dead, I'm afraid".

"You've failed me?"

"I- I brought you what you needed", Elvina stuttered. She knew from the moment she handed that amulet over she was no longer needed, but she would have thought Keres might have been merciful with her. Though then again, Keres was a manipulative woman, and never liked to leave trails.

"And you left a witness. Semira was never really with Tenebrae anyway, so what's stopping her from going to MIO, hm? The Jekyll's?" Keres snarled, then calmed for a moment. It was almost a calculating calmness, cruel in her glare that quietly was working out the best way to dispose of this person. "Succubuses are hard to kill, you know. It takes a lot to even pierce their skin. Physically, they're invulnerable. However, mentally..." she lulled, with a glint in her eye. "That's a different story".