THIRTY-SIX (TERRA POV)

"Fuck!" I think scared while pulling Ruby's arm to move her closer to my body and Iselen moves one step to stand between us and the witch. Everything was okay a minute ago: we were going to have dinner together, go back home with Ru, maybe have some sex before the sun rises, sleep hugging each other... our happy plans are ruined because Eloise can't accept criticism graciously, apparently.

The truth is that this adventure was a bad idea since the very beginning: I'm fast and strong as a wolf, I could bite this bitch's head off if I manage to get closer to her, but I'm not good at handling magical spells, to be honest. Iselen is better but she doesn't have the knowledge or experience to fight a real witch. We need Sanne or Maeve here, or even Raven... demons know some interesting magic tricks. I guess none of us expected Eloise to go crazy, we were confident that she'd be discreet, avoiding any movement that could give away her real nature in front of humans. But here we are, in the middle of a whirlwind of energy while the entire building shakes.

"You'll regret this day, you shouldn't have come to this city," the witch growls angrily and the wooden shelves hanging on the walls fall on the floor, everything is covered with broken bowls and bottles and the noise will attract the neighbors soon if we don't stop her.

"Stop this, Eloise! Have you gone nuts? You can't do this in the middle of Amsterdam," Ruby tries to put some sense into her head but I don't think the woman is listening to her. Iselen shoots a concerned look over her shoulder and I nod, dragging our girl closer and trying to hide her behind my own body to protect her from the pieces of glass and wood that are flying all over the room.

Suddenly, a pulse of energy pushes us back and Ruby's shoulders hit the wall hard, Iselen stumbles and a groan escapes from her lips because her body absorbed most of the impact of the magical punch. Mirabelle's protective charms get hot on my chest when the witch casts a spell and an invisible force pushes us back again, trying to crush us against the wall with the force of a bulldozer, I try to remain firm on my feet but it's difficult and I even struggle to breathe, I feel that there's a stone slab that weights a ton crushing my body. Ruby gasps for air behind me, desperately, and that makes the vampire react.

"Take this, bitch," Iselen throws her own magical punch against Eloise but the protective circle around her stops it, fortunately she manages to destabilize her a little and her concentration falters, loosening the magical pressure on us. Suddenly, I can breathe again while the witch gets ready to attack. "We can't reach her inside that circle."

"I know," I answer scared. "Even if I turn into a wolf, I won't be able to bite her, and would leave Ruby unprotected and vulnerable..."

"I'll try to keep her busy while you get closer to the door, you have to push the human out." I shake my head, grimacing, we both know that Eloise won't let Ruby run away and there's little chance I can open the wooden door and push her out of the building, but we have to try anyways because it's the only thing we can do right now.

"This was a very bad idea," I shout so the vampire can hear me over the noise of broken glass and she nods before moving one step forward to stand firmly in front of the witch while I pull Ruby's arm hard and try to get closer to the door, despite there's a stormy wind trying to stop us. "Fuck! The knob is burning," I growl shaking my hand and looking at my burnt fingers. The metal is red hot and I can't touch it so I try kicking the wooden surface, Iselen is screaming something in a language I can't understand, a spell most likely, and manages to destabilize the witch again: the door shakes and I think I'll be able to break the hinges on one side with another kick... only one more blow and I'll push Ruby outside.

"Ouch!" the vampire cries in pain when her back hits the wall hard, Eloise has punched her magically again and she's trying to crush her with that invisible force, it's pretty obvious that my girl is fighting back with all her strength even if she's stuck to the wall but can't release herself. I can see horrified how the bitch is breaking her ribs under the silk shirt with all that pressure and blood runs from her mouth to her chin, dripping on the floor, her lungs must be about to collapse... I try to get closer to my girl to help her but the strong wind stops me.

"Damned bitch! What do you think you're doing?" Ruby shouts angrily behind me, her eyes shine like stars in the dark room while pointing at the other woman with her index and, suddenly, the wind stops, the crystal bottles don't explode anymore, the building stops shaking and stony silence falls over the room. Everything is quiet while the human moves a step forward, getting closer to the witch who stares at her surprised. "You'll regret hurting my fiancée."

"Stop her, Eloise will kill her," Iselen wheezes from the floor where she's fallen down on her knees, spiting blood. I bend down to put my arm around her waist and help her to stand up in order to drag her closer to the door; I'm going to get my girls out of here at all costs. No stupid sorceress will stop me.

"Seriously? Who's going to punish me? You? Spoiled brat..." the witch laughs amused but the smile vanishes from her lips when the human points at one spot behind her.

"No, I won't, but they'll do it," Ruby whispers, smiling coldly and, suddenly, a crack is opening up on the stone wall, getting bigger and bigger till it becomes a real door. There's light on the other side, red and orange because it comes from massive fires, it smells of sulfur and stagnant air and cries of doomed humans echo across this small basement in the middle of Amsterdam. A skinny hand with grey skin covered with pustules grabs Eloise's shoulder, digging his black claws into her flesh while the witch screams terrified and kicks trying to escape, whispering spells and punching the demon's wrist, but it's useless and the infernal creature drags her inside mercilessly.

"Isn't that Michaela?" Iselen whispers and I nod, our old enemy stares at us I shock while the door starts closing slowly, unfortunately for her she's too far away to try to escape from hell again and reach us and the vampire shows her the middle finger, smirking mischievously despite the pain she must feel. The crack closes definitely and the three of us remain silent, trying to understand what has really happened here, standing in the middle of the ruined room till some police sirens echoing across the city snap us back to reality.

"Come on, we have to get out of here before they arrive. Ruby, help me to take Iselen to a safe and discreet place where she can drink a sip of your blood, that will allow her to walk back home where other vampires will take care of her..."

"Terra, did I do that?" the human whispers scared, pointing at the wall. "I don't know..."

"I think so, babe, and I understand that you feel overwhelmed but we have to get out of here as soon as possible, go back with Ru so she can take us home and... we'll talk to Raven. Maybe she can explain us what happened here."

*****

"Well, you're the Key," the brunette girl smiles and looks at us like she's talking about the most well-known fact in the world, something so obvious that everybody should understand it, while Maeve pours drinks on a table close to the pool and gives us snacks too.

"Really? I didn't notice it," Ruby answers rolling her eyes hard and hands an iced coffee to the vampire. Iselen chuckles, rubbing her ribs carefully: it's amazing that they're almost fully healed despite Eloise broke her bones less than 6 hours ago.

We got back to the house in Amsterdam walking carefully down the narrow streets, choosing the darkest ones, Iselen used the strength she had left to keep the vampire charm on although we only ran into a couple of humans that didn't pay attention to us, they believed we were going back home drunk after a party, most likely, and the members of her clan took care of her, giving her some bags of blood they had in the fridge. They insisted that their queen should rest, but Iselen wanted to go back to the Wind Rose as soon as possible. And I understand her: this is the only place in the world where we can be sure that Ruby is safe and protected from any harm.

"What do you mean, Raven?" Lea asks with curiosity, holding a bowl full of nuts while Zara, Alfonso and the necromancers are listening attentively. Fairies flutter around us, some of them are sitting on the backs of the dogs while they're lying on the lawn and even the ghosts are listening to the story of our European adventure while floating over the pool.

"I think Ruby can open gates to hell wherever she wants, even in places where they don't exist," the half demon smiles again like these are the best news she can give us. "It makes sense because she's the Key, although she should learn how to control it because it's a bad idea to open portals to hell without thinking twice and let demons escape."

"I think you're right," Maeve nods pensively, drinking her soda. "She's always had this power, probably, even if she didn't know it and reacted out of instinct when she realized Iselen was in danger, but that doesn't explain how she managed to stop Eloise's spell and break the protective circle before opening the door."

"I see your point, this has nothing to do with the fact that she's the Key... Do you think...?" Raven points at the small horns on her head and the druid shrugs.

"What's wrong?" the human, the vampire, witches, necromancers and I myself ask at the same time, scared and worried.

"We could say that... hell is not a place suitable for living human beings," the winged girl smiles and Maeve nods, agreeing with her. "Some lucky ones have visited it, like Sor Marie-Agnès' grandmother, looking for power and knowledge obviously, although it's dangerous and only a few survived the experience. But you were down there for long hours and came back unharmed, so you may have acquired some... skills. Magical powers of demonic origin... even if we don't know what kind of powers, yet."

"Do you think Ruby is like you now, without horns and wings?" I ask in shock pointing at Raven and she seems to think about it for a few seconds.

"I think that's an accurate description of the situation... Yes, I'd say you're right." We all remain silent, looking at each other bewildered. "We have to search in the library to find similar cases, ask Mirabelle, Elric and members of my family what can they tell us about this subject to understand the implications... We still don't know what consequences this new information will have. I believe Ruby's not human anymore and she's a magical creature like us now but, is she powerful? Will she live for centuries like vampires and werewolves? She won't get old? Maybe she'll be capable of fighting other witches and stop their evil plans or kick demons' asses back to hell. The possibilities are endless and overwhelming."

"Oh my God, how am I going to explain this to my mother?" the human asks, staring at us worried and we all shrug, totally floored.

"Okay, do not get anxious," I whisper taking Ruby's tattooed hand. "This can be good news after all. We'll find what's going on gradually, you'll study with Maeve and Raven to learn how to control your new powers, you'll learn how to fight and defend yourself from other magical creatures and Iselen and I will be able to live without being on the verge of a nervous breakdown all the time. We can have a healthy and balanced relationship now..."

"Well, it's pretty obvious that this new situation fixes our biggest problem," Iselen smiles and the human looks at her confused. "Since the moment we understood you were special to us, we've been debating how to do it, babe."

"Do what?" Ruby asks baffled.

"I wanted to turn you into a vampire as soon as possible but Terra insisted that you should choose because you love animals and maybe you'd prefer to become a werewolf."

"What? I didn't say those words exactly," I reply angrily. "I just made it clear that the decision was hers and you shouldn't put pressure on her to accept your gift..."

"We both now that the conversion process to become a vampire is safer," Iselen shrugs, looking at me haughtily. "Werewolves' bites don't always work as they're supposed to do and you could turn Ruby into a hairy woman with a dumb brain."

"Okay, it doesn't matter anymore," I answer upset, pointing at the human. "Now, we're a vampire, a werewolf and a former human turned into half demon, or something like that. A powerful combination..."

"And explosive..." the vampire winks at me amused. "This is going to be great fun."

"I do not... this is all too overwhelming for me right now and jetlag is killing me," Ruby gets up, shaking her head. "I'm very tired to debate about what we're going to do, I think I need to take a nap..."

"Do you want me to run a hot bath for you?" I ask getting up too and my fiancée nods. "Come on, my love, we'll take care of you."

Ten minutes later, Ruby heaves a sigh, relieved, leaning her back on my chest inside the massive bathtub of the vampire's room, the warm water relaxes her muscles and the scent of sweet herbs from the bubbles smells really good. I rub her arms and shoulders, following the tattoo lines with my fingertips, kissing her neck gently and she sighs again. The candle flames shake slightly when the door opens and the vampire walks into the bathroom, taking her clothes off quietly and putting her foot inside the water carefully till she's sitting in front of us and puts the human's legs on her lap.

"Where were you?" I whisper and she smiles, pouring a glass of wine from the bottle that's on a small side table.

"Telling Georgina that, if she dares entering this room, I'll tell Ruby to send her soul to hell," the vampire stares at me looking a little confused, holding her glass." "I think I managed to scare her finally."

"I guess that going to hell is worse for her than being sent back to her original home after an exorcism," I reply while rubbing Ruby's skin.

"I don't know how to send souls to hell," the girl whispers but keeps her eyes closed and makes herself more comfortable in my arms. "I don't know how I did that to Eloise or how I'm supposed to control this power. This is crazy..."

"We'll find out together, my love," I answer in her ear and she smiles.

"We're not in a hurry, babe," the vampire puts the glass on the side table again and leans forward to kiss Ruby's lips sweetly. "We have more important things to take care of right now." The beautiful girl opens her eyes, bewildered, and I look at the bloodsucker raising an eyebrow, confused too. "We have a wedding to plan and need flowers, food, drinks, colorful fairy lights, a dance floor in the garden... It'll take weeks for us to get the guest list ready, write the invitations and send them. Do you know how many people we've met over the centuries? Almost all supernatural creatures that have visited the Wind Rose will want to come, probably, and all the friends who helped us to fight against demons when they attacked this house some days ago, for sure."

"It'll be a massive party," I admit and Ruby looks at us shocked. "I must invite my old pack and lot of people will want to come to take a look out of curiosity... Not every day a vampire, a werewolf and a human with demonic powers get married."

"And we're a legend in the magic world," Iselen smirks mischievously. "Don't worry, Ruby, Maeve, Raven and other friends will help us to plan the party, it'll be funny, a very special day, I promise. You'll look beautiful... and will wear this." The vampire takes the human's hand and slides a flower-shaped diamond ring on her finger; I hold my breath, looking at her shocked while we both wait for Ruby's reaction.

"Oh my God, it's gorgeous... Where did you find such an amazing jewel?" our girl raises her hand and the central diamond sparkles under the candle light.

"It belonged to my mom," I whisper holding back my tears. "The only good gift she ever got from my father. Where did you find it?"

"Your mother died during one of the most brutal battles of the war but my clan was not involved in that particular attack," Iselen answers looking at me sadly and I nod, I know she fought against my brother and cousins but the ambush in which my mom died was led by a rival clan. "A century ago, I ran into a stupid vampire who boasted about being there that night, in the werewolf camp, and even told me the name of the bloodsucker that... killed your mother."

"Where is he?" I growl quietly while Ruby puts her tattooed arms over mines, forcing me to hug her torso because she fears that I'm about running out of the bathtub to punch the hell out of him.

"She..." my girl replies, looking into my eyes deadly serious before smirking mischievously. "I found her living in Berlin and had the pleasure of hurting her badly while I got from her all the information I needed to know about who had been involved in the fight, who came out with the plan, who gave the order to attack... they all have been severely punished."

"Why? Things used to work like that, it was a war... you didn't have to do that," I answer confused and the vampire smiles again, this time sadly.

"They hurt you, Terra, I hurt you terribly... I know I'll never be able to make up for that and it makes me feel angry at myself sometimes. When I found out the names of those responsible for it, I couldn't restrain myself, I felt that I had to... get revenge for you. The bitch had the ring hidden in her house and I've been waiting for the right moment to give it back to you for years, I didn't want to remind you very sad past times and didn't know how to explain what I'd done to them, to be honest."

"Iselen..." I whisper and she bites her lower lip, looking at me shyly. "I love you. I hurt you too and my clan killed your family, I'm sorry, babe, seriously. Please, forgive me..." The vampire frowns, puzzled, before shaking her head.

"I forgave you for that al long time ago, plush toy, it wasn't your fault... we were at war and..."

"That's right, my love," I smile raising my hand to cup her cheek. "I feel the same, it's over, that's all in the past... We're together know and our wonderful future is waiting for us three." Ruby turns her head to kiss my jaw and I rub Iselen's skin with my thumb. "Thank you for getting my mom's ring back... it looks good on her finger, don't you think?" I ask taking the human's hand and raising it again to watch the jewel sparkling under the candle light. The vampire nods, smiling.

"It's perfect... you both are perfect."