CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

SOREL WAITED UNTIL Tony flat-lined, then he rushed out of the room. “Help me! Help me! Somebody help me!”

Amy came running. “What’s wrong, Bobbie?”

“It’s Tony.” Sorel sobbed. “His heart stopped beating.”

Then Stefan appeared out of nowhere. “Barbara, what’s wrong?”

Sorel threw himself on Stefan’s chest and began sobbing. “It’s Tony.” Stefan made a face of distaste over having to have Sorel in his arms as he pretended to comfort Bobbie while she poured out her heart to him. “His heart stopped beating. I think he’s dying, Stefan.” Sorel smiled slyly as he peeked through the observation window and watched as the doctors and nurses tried to revive Tony to no avail.

Finally Amy came out of Tony’s room as the medical team marked the time of his death and pulled the bed sheet up over his face. “Bobbie, I’m so sorry.” Amy said tearfully. “There’s was just nothing we could do to save Tony.”

Sorel, in what had to be his most dramatic moment yet, faked a faint. Since Stefan was the one who was closest, he had to catch him in his arms and promise Amy he’d take Barbara home and make sure she was all right.

NED AND ALEXIS stepped out of the elevator as it hit bottom signaling their arrival to the underworld. “Ned, I don’t like this.” Alexis looked around nervously. “I don’t like us having to come down to this place and I don’t like the plan of us making a deal with the devil, either.”

“First off, Alexis.” Ned retorted. “You should start getting used to this place, because this is where we’re both going to end up in the end.” He went on to remind her. “You know what we both are and we’ve both done quite a few rotten things in our lives, so this will be our home in the hereafter.”

“I don’t intend to get used to this place until I have to.” Alexis retorted.

“It’s not so bad.” Ned said as he looked around the place. “I dare say when the time comes you and I will enjoy this place.”

“Well, the time hasn’t come yet.” Alexis threw back at him. “And until it does, I don’t intend to enjoy this place. I just want us to do what we came for then get the hell out of here as fast as possible.”

“Back to your original statement.” Ned countered. “You said you don’t like the plan. Do you have a better one?”

“No, I don’t.” Alexis admitted. “But by making a deal with Damian we’re practically selling our child to him. It just doesn’t seem right.”

“What other choice do we have, Alexis?” Ned asked. “Right now, we’ve got too many witches after our child. Getting rid of them so we only have Damian to deal with is the only alternative.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Alexis admitted grudgingly.

“Of course I am.” Ned agreed. “Aren’t I always. And once we’re sure our child is safe from our own kind, we can figure out a way to stop Damian’s plans.”

“What are you two doing here?” Demanded Olivia Jerome as she confronted them.

“Ned?” Alexis asked. “Who is this woman?”

“Actually, she’s a demon.” Ned replied. “And she was a demon long before she died, weren’t you, Olivia?”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Olivia reminded him.

“You didn’t answer mine, either.” Alexis interjected.

“Alexis, this is Olivia Jerome.” He told her. “Olivia caused Anna Scorpio to have a miscarriage when she tampered with an elevator she was in and she also had the necks broken on a couple of love birds that belonged to Anna’s daughter, Robin.”

“Charmed I’m sure.” Alexis quipped.

“I suggest you tell me why you’re here, Ashton.” Olivia was getting annoyed. “Or I’ll tell Damian you’re here and up to no good.”

“Actually, Olivia, it may be a good thing we ran into you.” Ned replied. “We may be able to help each other.”

STEFAN BROUGHT SOREL back to the Brownstone and laid him down on the couch. He wondered how long the demon would pretend to be out of it. Sorel’s games were already becoming tedious. Stefan also wondered just how he was going to be able to get Sorel’s spirit out of Bobbie’s body. He’d never dealt with a demon possessing the body of a mortal before and he would have to find out what his neck move should be.

Sorel finally grew tired of pretending to be passed out and he started to stir on the couch as he faked finally coming out of his faint. He opened his eyes and looked around in confusion until he finally saw Stefan. “Stefan, what happened?”

Stefan sat down by Sorel and took his hand and patted it solicitously. “Barbara, you fainted and I brought you home.” He was just as good as faking it as Sorel as he put deep concern in his voice that completely disguised the contempt he was feeling for Sorel at just this moment. “Do you remember what happened at the hospital?”

Sorel fluttered Bobbie’s eyelashes in confusion as he faked trying to remember. “Tony!” He suddenly wailed. “Tony’s dead, isn’t he?”

“I’m afraid so.” Stefan gave her hand another pat. “Would you like me to get you a glass of water or a drink? Do you need me to call the funeral home to make the arrangements for you?”

“No, that won’t be necessary, Stefan.” Sorel replied with a smile of gratitude. “But there is something you could do for me. I’m very grateful for all you’ve done for me, but would you mind too terribly much leaving me alone for awhile. I really feel like I need to be by myself for awhile to take this all in.”

“Of course, Barbara.” He stood up. “Whatever you want. Just call me if you need me.” With that, Stefan exited the Brownstone. Once outside he began to make plans. It was time he and Lila Quartermaine had a little chat. If anyone could tell him how to rid Bobbie’s body of Sorel’s spirit, it had to be her.

Inside the Brownstone now that he was alone, Sorel was reveling in killing Tony. He had such a rush of adrenalin. He’d forgotten how alive a fresh kill always made him feel. He had more energy then he knew what to do with and there was only one way he knew to burn it off. He needed to expend it in a night of wild animal lust. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw Bobbie staring back and smiled. “And this is just the body to get it for me.”

He rushed upstairs to Bobbie’s bedroom and scrounged through her closet until he found something short, tight and low-cut, then he left the Brownstone to go on the hunt for sexual prey. The way he was feeling at the moment, Sorel mused, it might take more than one man to completely satisfy his appetite and appease his lust. Maybe, he mused even further, after having sex he’d kill his partner then the blood lust could fill his veins all over again so he’d need to have more sex to burn the lust out of his veins. Imagine that, Sorel sighed. He could have one never-ending continuous cycle of death and sex. It couldn’t get much better than that.

NED AND ALEXIS returned to the Quartermaine mansion in time to see Stefan arriving to see Lila. “Why do you suppose Stefan wanted to see my grandmother?”

“Who knows.” Alexis didn’t really care at the moment. She had much bigger problems on her hands. “Ned, do you really think we did the right thing leaving everything in Olivia Jerome’s hands?”

“I think it’s for the best.” Ned assured her. “Olivia will score major points by stopping Faison and exposing mother. Besides, it’s better for us that Grandfather doesn’t discover we had anything to do with what is about to happen to my mother. If he did, he might become suspicious of you.”

“What about Helena?” Alexis asked. “She told you to stop Faison. What will you tell her?”

“The truth.” He smiled. “That I tipped off Olivia Jerome about what was about to happen and let her do my dirty work for me.” He added. “I’m sure that will impress Helena. She strikes me as a woman who prefers others to do her dirty work for her, as well.”

LILA WAITED IN the foyer as Stefan entered. “Reginald told me you wished to see me. What can I do for you, Mr. Cassadine.”

“You can tell me how I can free Barbara Spencer from Sorel’s possession of her body.” He replied. “You were right. He is possessing her.”

“I told you he was.” Lila replied.

“Even after what you told me, I had my doubts.” He replied. “But they were all dispelled when I watched him murder Tony Jones in his hospital bed earlier this evening.” He added. “So how do I free Barbara from his control over her.”

“There’s only one way I know of, but I’m not sure you’d be willing to do it.” She answered.

“Just tell me.” Stefan declared. “I’d be willing to do anything.”

“The only way to combat evil is through love.” She replied.

“What does that have to do with freeing Barbara from Sorel’s possession.” He asked in confusion.

“At one point there was a spark of something real between you and Bobbie.” Lila explained. “Unfortunately, because of your obsession with Laura Spencer, you snuffed that spark out before it could blossom into love. There’s a possibility that the spark is still there and can be rekindled. If it can, together you and Bobbie will be strong enough to expunge Sorel’s spirit from her body.”

“Sorel is controlling Barbara’s body.” He reminded Lila. “He’s a man.”

“Excuse for being so crass, Mr. Cassadine.” Lila retorted. “But Bobbie hasn’t suddenly sprouted a male sex organ. Her body is still that of a woman.”

“But her spirit is that of a man.” Stefan retorted. “It would be like I was trying to get romantic with a man.”

“Remember, I said you might not be willing to do it.” She reminded him. “The choice is yours. I’ve told you what you must do to save Bobbie Spencer from Joseph Sorel’s possession of her body. Attempting to re-ignite the spark that you and Bobbie once shared is the only way you have of reaching her and of giving her the strength to fight off Sorel. Whether you do it or not is entirely up to you.”

FAISON USED ALL his strength to pull up the rope. In a few moments the first demon would be climbing out of the Pit. At the rate this was taking him it was going to take him forever to free them all. He glanced towards Damian’s bedroom. He hoped Tracy was insatiable enough to keep Damian busy for as long as it took.

The demon Faison was trying to pull out of the Pit was none other than Mikkos Cassadine. Once all the demon’s involved in the rebellion were sent down to the Pit, it hadn’t taken long for Mikkos to takeover the place and become the leader of the demons in the Pit. They knew if anyone could come up with a scheme to get them out of the Pit, it was Mikkos Cassadine, the man who almost succeeded in taking over the world thanks to his weather machine. As their leader they agreed to let him go first.

“I’ve almost got you.” Faison grunted as he pulled the rope up some more. “I’ve got you in sight, Mikkos, it’ll only be a few more minutes now.”

“Guess again, Faison.” Olivia Jerome said behind him as she used her foot to send him plummeting down into the Pit. He’d been so busy concentrating on pulling Mikkos up he hadn’t felt her sneaking up behind him. Then she saw Mikkos’ hand appear at the edge of the Pit as he tried to crawl up through the whole. “Oh, no, you don’t, Mikkos.” Olivia declared as she stomped on his fingers with the spiked-heel of her shoe. “You’re staying down in the Pit right where you belong.” Then she dropped the lid on the trap door leading down to the Pit.

Wiping her hands together, she sighed. “Now that has been taken care of.” She headed towards the door of Damian’s bedroom. “It’s time to take care of the other one.” She threw open the doors to Damian’s bedroom and stood there watching Damian and Tracy going at it in the sheets of Damian’s bed. “Excuse me for interrupting.” She said in an overloud voice to get their attention.

Damian jumped away from Tracy. “Olivia?” He stared at her in shock. “This isn’t what it looks like.”

“Spare me, Damian.” She replied. “I just thought you’d like to know that while you’ve been diddling the witch, her partner was trying to release the demons from the Pit.”

“What are you talking about?” He demanded to know.

“Tracy and Faison came down here with a plan.” Olivia explained. “While she kept you occupied, Faison would release all the demons from the Pit, then they’d band together and throw you down in the Pit, instead.” She added. “Needless to say, I stopped Faison. He’s now residing in the Pit with the rest of the demons.”

“Is that true?” Damian turned to Tracy with glowing red eyes and smoke beginning to seep from his nostrils.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about.” Tracy declared in innocence. “She’s probably making it up because she’s jealous of us and wants you to turn on me.”

“Who are you going to believe, Damian?” Olivia challenged him. “Her or me?”

“You, of course, my darling.” He assured Olivia. Then he turned to Tracy. “I knew there wasn’t something right about you coming to me, now I know what it is. So you were intending to throw me down in the Pit, were you?” He jumped out of bed and dragged her by the wrist towards the Pit. “Well, let’s see how you like a dose of your own medicine.”

“No, not there!” Tracy shrieked. “Anything but down there.”

Olivia opened up the trapdoor with a smile on her face as Damian shoved Tracy down into the Pit. “Give my regards to Faison when you hit bottom.” Then Olivia dropped the lid back down with a thump. “There’s no telling what would have happened to me if it wasn’t for you.” He acknowledged.

“I think I’ve more than proven myself to you, don’t you.” She replied.

“What do you want?” He asked. “Name it and it’s yours.”

“You know what I want.” She replied. “And by saving your hide, I think I’ve earned it.”

“Fine,” He sighed. “You win. I’ll make an announcement to the Brethren this night. I’ll tell them to prepare for a wedding feast.” He added. “You and I are getting married.”