The Unexplained

Chapter 21

She sighs as she turns back around to look at me. "I'd like you not to sass me, Abbadon...isn't that a rule? Did I make that a rule? I should if I didn't..."

"Well, I wouldn't know." I turn my back to her, crossing my arms over my chest, which is a little too exposed for my liking. "You made so many fucking rules, I lost count."

I can feel my mother's eyes burning into my back. "I'm just going to tell you why you're here, whether you want to hear it or not."

"Great idea, mother," I spat with venom in my voice.

My body detects her radiating anger from outside the tank. Maybe I've gone too far. I purse my lips and direct my attention to the drain at the floor of the tank, poking my bare toes against the semi-small holes.

"You're here because you're not as strong as you have the potential to be," My mother says. I glance up to her to see she's beside the tank again, speaking to me as she glances up at the pipes above the tank. "You're a hybrid, Abbadon. You should be stronger than me. Stronger than your grandfather, Satan himself..."

"Not without Cas," I mutter. "You know I'm only half as strong without her..."

She looks me in the eyes, those orange disks of fury boring into my hazel eyes. "Soon, with my guidance, you won't even need Cas anymore..." She gives me a smirk, before heading back over to the control panel.

Clenching my jaw, I glance up at the pipes. When I see the ceiling of the tank, my heart sinks with fear.

A large showerhead, with larger holes than normal ones. It's a strange thing to fear, but it's not the thing itself that I'm afraid of. It's what comes out...

Acid? The possibilities are endless. She could fill this tank with water and drown me...but she wants me alive, right? Plus there's a drain...

I hear a click from the control panel, and I gasp as a heavy flow of water cascades into my hair and down my back. Within seconds, I am soaked, and I slowly feel my powers shut off. Being a demon has many pros and cons. Pros? You get to be super powerful. People fear you. Yadda yadda yadda. Cons? You have many weaknesses. Holy water, our insanity, and demon traps are all examples. One stupid example is if we're drenched in water, our powers shut off. Water easily quenches any fire, and fire is a demon's main source of power. That is the situation I'm in now. Sure, I'm a swimmer, and I'm used to the sensation of my powers shutting off, but it can't be good if my mother is involved.

Scowling, I blink away the water from my eyes and watch my mother walk back over to me. I blow water away from my lips and stay as far away from the main stream of water as I can.

"Abbadon, you are going to learn how to turn on your powers again, even though you are completely drenched."

My eyes widen in shock. "What? But mother, that's an impossible feat! No demon has ever done that!—"

"No demon accept your grandfather," she says, and the next word seeps out like venom from her sultry red lips: "Satan..."

I sneer at her, my body feeling weak from the water that beats at my skin. "And why do you assume that I'd be able to do that? I'm hardly as strong as Grandfather."

Lilith lets out a giddy chuckle. "But, my dear, you have the potential to be. You see, without Cas, you're at half strength. Yet, you're somehow more powerful than her, yes?"

"I guess so, but—"

"So why can't you gain more strength without Cas, like how you have more power than her?!"

"Mom, I refuse to go through with this. Please," I beg, pressing my hands against the glass of the tank. "You have me. You got what you wanted and I'm here, but please, do anything else you want to do to me because you're only asking me to do something that's not possible!"