Hero of the InBetween

by Erin Snihur

  Everyone, including myself, gape at Darius who rolls his shoulders and stands his ground. The tension in the room is as palpable as the silence. If I had a knife, I would need to cut through it to get anywhere.

  Finally, after several minutes of their staring contest, the mood in the room shifts and I watch as Darius slowly relaxes. They must have been communicating telepathically, because no words are spoken until Ezekiel shifts in place and nods in my direction.

  “I apologize, Elara,” Ezekiel says and forces himself to smile at me before turning back to Hudson whose form still leans forward. My ex-boyfriend is completely out it.

  Darius then turns to me and put his hands on my shoulders, his smile doesn’t reach his eyes as he speaks, “Do you mind waiting in your bedroom, while we deal with this. You can clean up and get dressed.”

  Casting a glance over his shoulder, I watch as Gideon gives Hudson’s face a slap, as if trying to rouse him. Ezekiel and Dina all stand around Hudson, adrenaline practically oozing out of their pores as they stare down at my ex-boyfriend with hate in their eyes. Pascal is the only one who stands off to the side, staring at an empty wall. It is unnerving.

  I need space.

  Nodding wordlessly to Darius, I turn and make my way to my bedroom. I’m shuddering like a leaf in the wind as I hear Gideon’s growling voice in the hallway.

  “Wake up, hell spawn.”

  4

  Elara

  Closing my door as quietly as I can manage, I lean up against the wood. I feel myself slowly sliding down to sit on the floor with knees curled up against my chest. I can hear muffled voices and the occasional sounds of fists hitting flesh.

  How have none of my neighbors heard anything or even called the cops?

  Standing, I push back my curtains and stare out the window. People are going about their business normally on the busy street below. Some people even come and go from my apartment building down below. Everyone is acting like this is a normal day. My mind drifts to the first time I met Darius. No one had seen him then in the park or in the bar later that night. Perhaps they wouldn’t now either.

  Taking in calming breaths, I go through the motions by showering and brushing my teeth. I even find a cute pair of jeans and a blouse that I think flatters my figure. When I finish, I find myself making the bed and puttering around my room. Every time I hear the tell-tale sound of pain filled groans or cursing from the living room, I freeze until the silence returns and I resume my ignorant puttering.

  Finally, when my hands find nothing more to keep me busy, I begin to pace my room. I only stop to listen for the sounds coming from my living room. After hearing another skin crawling scream, enough was enough. Striding to my bedroom door, I swing the door open, intent on interrupting whatever it was these angels were doing. I freeze at the body blocking my path.

  Pascal. The silent angel with dark sunglasses, stands in my doorway, staring down at me with his hands clasped behind his back. He doesn’t say anything and merely stands there, gazing down at me with his covered eyes. Though, Darius had told me Pascal was blind, it seems impossible considering he meets my own gaze easily.

  The silence is intimidating and I straighten my back. I’d taken on a deadly demon and won. For the most part. I shouldn’t be intimidated by a blind angel.

  “Excuse me, Pascal. I need to speak to Darius.” I speak the words quite calmly and my inner voice shouts her praises. Though the butterflies in my stomach are still rolling around.

  “I believe I know how you did it. Though I still need proof,” Pascal states mysteriously and I pause in confusion as I gaze up at him.

  “How I did what?”

  My mind reels as I think back to the day before when he asked me how I wielded the Flaming Sword. I flush at the reminder of what happened next with Darius and shake my head to clear it, thankful this angel can’t see my embarrassment.

  “I already told you I don’t know how it happened. I just knew I needed to save Darius and the other souls. The sword chose me, I guess.” I remember the panicked looks on the faces of the villagers as their homes were destroyed and the wall of the InBetween broken down. I recalled the moment I first saw Darius nailed to the crumbling wall and knew I had made the right decision.

  “For someone who craves a normal life, your past is abnormal, almost, rare. Impossible,” Pascal murmurs once more before standing aside to let me pass. A pained cry from the living room has me jumping to attention as I race down the hallway, forgetting Pascal. The room I enter is not the same room I had left mere hours ago.

  Hudson is no longer the same Hudson that had demanded entry into my apartment. He is a bloodier and bruised version of himself. His chest is cut open in places and I have to turn away at the sight of certain parts of his hand missing. I gag at the smell of burning flesh and all torture seems to stop as I try to calm my nauseated stomach.

  “Elara, you shouldn't be here for this. I told you to wait in your bedroom.” Darius’ scolding voice breaks through and he appears at my side, touching my arm as if to lead me back to my bedroom. I tense as Pascal’s silent presence looms behind me, his voice eerie in the silent apartment.

  “He will not speak to us. Only to her. I have seen as much.” Finished speaking, Pascal retreats to my couch and sits slowly as all eyes follow him. Once seated, he softly caresses one of my quilts, “So soft.”

  I shudder and turn to Darius, “What is happening? Tell me everything, now.”

  Darius sighs and pulls me aside so that I’m facing away from the carnage. “Like I told you before, the Flaming Sword is missing. The Archangels tasked me to find the sword or else, but we aren’t the only ones looking for the sword.”

  He pauses and clenches his fists tightly, as if trying to control his rising anger. I reach out and grasp his hands in my own, hoping to calm him. It seems to help as he shoots me a soft smile before continuing. “You opened the gate in the InBetween. It opened to the afterlife and to Earth, many demons escaped to Earth before the Archangels could close it. Those demons are followers of Tarnin and they will stop at nothing to find the sword and use it to unleash destruction on Earth and all who inhabit it. You are the key to the sword. You can wield it, so they need you. They’ve possessed Hudson in the hopes of taking you. We knew they were going to strike against you, we just didn’t know when or with what. Now that we have Hudson, we need the demon inside of him to talk and tell us their plans. So far, he hasn’t said much.”

  Gideon speaks up next, his voice frustrated, but trying to make light of the situation. “Talks of you often enough. Bit obsessed, I think. Keeps calling you the hero of the InBetween.”

  I turn and stare at the tortured body sitting in my dining room chair. He resembles nothing of the Hudson I had once dated and shared my life with. Resolved to not show my fear, I take a step forward and shake off Darius’ protests. Dina in turn moves to stand in my way. We lock eyes for only a moment before she nods respectfully and steps aside. Gideon is standing behind Hudson, holding his shoulders back in the chair. The chains wrapped around Hudson’s arms and chest holding him in place seem to glow faintly.

  As if awoken by my mere presence, Hudson jerks and his dark eyes gaze up at me, completely entranced. Finally, Hudson’s face breaks into that of a cruel and evil smile. The smile obviously hurts him as he winces, his voice raspy.

  “I knew you would come. You hear the call the darkness sings, hmm? Come closer. Let me unlock…” Before he can finish, Gideon pulls him back in the chair with a tug to his hair, causing the demon possessing Hudson’s body to screech in pain.

  “Focus, you. Tell us where we can find the sword.” Gideon growls impatiently from behind, “If you don’t, my friend, Dina, here is going to make sushi out of your kidneys and she’s a pretty bad cook.”

  Dina snorts behind me and laughs while the demon sends a fearful glance toward her, “I happen to make excellent sushi, Gideon.”

  The demon thrashes in the chair, but the sounds of Dina grabbing a rusty kni
fe from her bag stops him as he growls in fright before turning his eyes on me.

  “Must bring the key to Master. Must bring the key. Master wants it, craves its blood.” I take a step back as it continues chanting and hissing. Clenching my fists, I snap my fingers in front of its face, gaining its attention.

  “Who is your master?” I ask and watch as the demon pauses before chuckling.

  “You should know, pretty soul. You stabbed him, didn’t you? Banished him straight to Hell.” The demon’s cackles continue. Ezekiel quickly steps forward and punches the demon in the stomach. The demon coughs and hacks, hunching over from the blow.

  I hug myself and turn away. My memories of killing Tarnin and what follows flash before my eyes. I shudder as I recall the way the Flaming Sword slid through his shadowy chest. The feeling of his own dagger stabbing me, practically blinded me with pain. I felt my hand moving of its own accord and touching the place I had been stabbed. No mark or scar remained, but I could still feel the pulsing burn.

  “You can feel the darkness calling to you, pretty soul. Answer it. Fulfill your destiny.” The demon chokes out and I wince, my head pounding.

  Darius snarls and steps forward, wrapping me in his arms. “Shut him up. That’s enough.”

  The demon cackles through the choking noise, “You can’t escape the darkness, pretty soul. Soon you’ll be the one in this chair, at their mercy.” With a thud, someone knocks the demon out and silence fills the room once more.

  I close my eyes and bury my face in Darius’ chest. I want to curl up with him and forget this is happening. My entire world is crashing all around me and I feel like I can do nothing to stop it.

  Ezekiel speaks quietly, “We’ll have to go to the source to get our answers.”

  I pull my face from Darius’ chest, but he holds me firmly in his arms. I don’t stop him. I need his strength. I watch as all eyes seem to shift to Dina, who snorts at the knowing looks from the others. I’m the only one who has no idea what they are talking about.

  “He’s not going to be happy about the added intrusion,” Dina glowers as Gideon laughs at her words.

  Gideon’s grin is playful and makes him seem more approachable than the serious angel, who only a few minutes ago was threatening a demon, “I’m sure you have ways of making him talk, little warrior.”

  Dina shoots a harsh glare at Gideon and pulls open her bag before collecting the chains that are still wrapped around the demon. With her short, bright, blonde hair and blue eyes she seems so innocent, but I know better. She is a warrior, lethal.

  Ezekiel nods along and murmurs, “So, it’s settled. We leave tonight. Pack your things.” Everyone, except Darius and myself, begin to move in the direction of my apartment door, which is still a gaping hole in the wall.

  “Wait! What about me?” I ask and everyone freezes as if realizing I was even still present.

  Ezekiel pauses and looks to each member of their group before stopping on me. “You will need to come with us. You’re the only one who can wield the sword and we will need you to deliver it with us back to the Archangels.”

  “But, my life here…I mean…,” my voice trails off, I’m completely dumbfounded. I’d had just started to return to my normal life. I was supposed to start back to work in a few weeks at the animal hospital.

  Darius places his hands on my shoulders and turns my chin up so I can look him in the eyes.

  “Listen to me, Elara. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. We will all protect you with our lives. I…,” Darius gazes around before his eyes land on me and he leans his forehead against mine. I close my eyes, knowing how uncomfortable he is in the presence of his family. He continues his soft words anyway, “I will be with you the entire time, my Little Moon.” I know he wants to say the words, but he can’t.

  I lean up and kiss him, ignoring the others in the room. As I pull away, I whisper, “I love you, too.”

  Pulling back from Darius, I turn to gaze at everyone. “I need to gather my bag. What will you do with Hudson?”

  Dina speaks as she puts away the last of the chains, “Gideon will banish the demon from him. Unfortunately, the human flesh is too weak to withstand such banishment. He will be no more.”

  I gaze at her confused, as she pulls a golden dagger from her bag and holds it out to Gideon, who remains standing behind Hudson. Gideon’s hand is still gripping tightly to Hudson’s head. It was then that I realize what he intends to do. I shiver and Darius takes my hand.

  “Go into your bedroom. You don’t need to see it, Elara,” Darius mutters. He wishes to shield me from the pain and cruelty of this world. He doesn’t realize that the moment I told him I loved him, it became my world too.

  “No. If I am going to join you and love you, I need to be here, for everything,” I murmur back and nod to Gideon, “Go ahead, Gideon.”

  All five angels seem oddly impressed with my statement. Our eyes turn to watch Gideon as he takes the dagger from Dina’s outstretched hand. He raises up the golden dagger and as he does, a white light flashes in his hands. Before I can react, he swings the dagger downward, stabbing Hudson right in the chest.

  For a split second all time seems to freeze. The temperature in the room seems to drop to below freezing and then skyrockets to boiling all in the same moment. Gideon yells the familiar banishment incantation Darius had once attempted to use on Tarnin and it echoes across the room.

  “Coepit daemonium!”

  The bright light encompassing the dagger takes over Hudson’s entire body and in a few short seconds the man I had felt betrayed by for so long is gone. The bloody and broken chair is all that remains.

  At the sight of the empty chair, my breathing shifts as I try to take in calming breaths. Darius instinctively recognizes the signs of my panic and drags me toward my room.

  “Clean this place up and we will meet you at the rendezvous point.” He calls over his shoulder and closes my bedroom door behind us with a thud.

  Forcing me to sit on my bed, Darius holds me tightly and murmurs the word breathe every few seconds. His closeness and the tightness of his hold help calm me. I slowly regain control of my breathing as I burrow deeper into his arms.

  “I’m sorry. You must think I’m so pathetic,” I mutter, completely embarrassed.

  Darius smiles down at me and places a soft kiss on my forehead in a reassuring manner.

  “You are the bravest woman I’ve ever known. That demon was right, you know? You are the hero of the InBetween. The woman who holds my heart. You could never be anything less in my eyes.” Darius’ chest vibrates as he laughs softly. “Though, if you do put yourself in the path of a demon again, I will have to tie you to our bed.”

  I giggle as Darius trails kisses down my face and bites at my ear lobe. My body warms at his words.

  Pulling back, I stare into his eyes, “Always so overprotective. You know I had an amazing teacher when it comes to swordplay. I think I can handle myself.”

  Darius grins and brushes against my lips with his own as he huskily answers, “Your training is not complete, my young apprentice, it is only just the beginning.”

  5

  Darius

  I can’t believe I couldn’t say the one thing I’ve wanted to say to her in the last six months. Why couldn’t I say those words in front of my family? I had wanted to say it so many times when she first arrived home to find me in her apartment the day before.

  I love you, Elara. Is that so hard?

  Yes, my inner thoughts hiss and I push them away. It’s hours later and we are still in Elara’s room, underneath her bedsheets, completely absorbed in one another. I could spend hours beneath these sheets with her and learn something new about her sinfully beautiful body every time.

  Why couldn’t I say the words? Gazing down at her, I find myself smiling at the sight of her tousled hair and plump lips. She loves me. She had said it for all to hear, twice!

  Her breathing is soft and even against my bare chest. We will need to leave soo
n and I don’t want to interrupt her peaceful slumber. Who knew when she would be at peace again in the coming days. Leaning down, I place a soft kiss on her temple and enjoy the murmurs that escape her lips and the gentle squirming of her body against my own. I wince slightly as my back arches, scraping one of my welts slightly.

  Damn back.

  Looking back down on Elara, I feel the pain melt away at the sight of her beauty. Her hair is a mess. It is a tangled nest from my hands running through it. Her lips are plump from my kisses and there is already a slight bruise forming at the base of her neck from where I’d bitten and sucked on the smooth skin there. Her cheeks are a pretty, pink color and I ache to follow her blush down to the tips of her toes.

  Placing another kiss on her temple, I whisper, “I love you, Elara.”

  She squirms and stretches like a cat against me. Her eyes are still closed, but her lips form a small smile as she huskily answers, “I know.”

  Her bright eyes flutter open as her lips pull back into a bigger smile. I grin down at her and brush my lips against her nose. Growling teasingly, I pin her to the bed.

  “Say the words, Elara, or else.”

  Elara merely giggles and wiggles her delectable body beneath me. Her warm hands come to rest on my chest, as she lovingly runs her fingernails up my chest and brushes them against my nipples. A shudder of arousal runs from my chest straight down to my already hardening length.

  Damn minx. Two can play at that game.

  Leaning down, I claim one of her hard, pointy nipples in my warm mouth. Suckling softly, I turn my attentions to her other nipple, my hands already massaging the plump flesh. Her moans grow louder as she writhes beneath me. Pulling my mouth away from her rising and falling chest, I grin down at her tormented expression. Excited by the pure lust I see fill her eyes.

  “Say it, Little Moon,” I groan as I feel her long legs maneuver to wrap around my waist. Her wet heat slides deliciously against my hard length and I tense at the blissful feeling.