Avenge (Hillcrest Book 2)

by Cassie Pierce

  Half expecting some flesh-eating Merman to jump out and try to get me.

  My fingers itch to touch the water, but I resist. There is no way that I am putting my hand in there. According to legend, the water is made of the tears of the broken hearted.

  My luck it is a vat of acid spelled to look pretty. My awe must show on my face, because Zane speaks from over my right shoulder. His nearness causing me to jump.

  “You can touch the water. The water that drips from the falls is the only drinkable source of liquid in the vale. It is safe.” He bends down and scoops up a handful, placing it to his lips. I watch him for a few minutes, making sure he doesn’t drop dead before bending to get a drink of my own.

  “Well...sorry if I don’t believe you,” I snap, rising to my feet. My eyes search the land for a way in. A way to get behind the falls. A way to get to the weapon that I need to save my friend.

  “I don’t guess you know where this magical doorway is?”

  I don’t do a very good job of hiding my tone. Zane rolls his eyes, turning me so that I am facing the spot where the water falls the heaviest. He points, shaking his head as he chides me softly.

  “Do you ever pay attention?” he says, taking my hand and pulling me close to the water.

  I plant my feet, refusing to go into the water. I might be an angelic badass, but I do not swim in water that I cannot see the bottom of.

  Nope...that is how people get eaten!

  “I pay attention.....sometimes,” I mumble, wondering where this is going.

  “What does my attention deficit disorder have to do with anything?” I snap, trying unsuccessfully to pull my hand away from his.

  Zane laughs, like my irritation amuses him, before a mischievous look crosses his face. Oh no! I don’t like that look! Before I have time to react, he scoops me into his arms. I swat at his chest, but it does me little good.

  Zane is built like a brick house. My tiny fists are nothing to him. That look turns downright sinful as he says, “Since you are already pissed at me.....”

  Then he jumps into the water, taking me with him.

  ∞

  ~ Chapter 18 ~

  I don’t have time to panic. If I am being honest, I don’t have time to do anything except hold my breath.

  Wait?

  Do angels need to hold their breath?

  I close my eyes, too afraid to look at the potential monsters that might lurk in the water.

  Damn Zane! I am going to kill him! That is, if I don’t drown first!

  Just as the edge of panic starts to set in, we surface. I take a gasping breath, pulling oxygen greedily into my lungs. I turn to find Zane, his brow raised in an unapologetic way as he tries his best to stop his lips from tilting up in a grin.

  “You do realize that you are immortal right? That you can’t technically drown?” he laughs, swimming to the edge of the cavern that we surfaced in and pulling himself out of the water.

  My anger hits a new high as I watch him pull himself up. There are two very clear reasons for this. One. No.....I did not realize that I wasn’t going to drown. I forget sometimes that I am no longer human. Probably because I still feel human. The second reason for my sudden wave of anger, is that no one should look that good in a wet shirt.

  I try. I really....really do, but I can’t help but admire the cut planes of Zane’s abs and the way that his arm muscles flex as he pulls himself up.

  Uhhhh...What is wrong with me? I don’t look at Zane like that. Jaxon! I love Jaxon. Looking at Zane like this is wrong. Heat floods my cheeks as I force my gaze away from him, focusing instead on where I am.

  The cave is small, and I can tell by the wall of water that makes up the rear wall that we are now on the back side of the waterfall. It is dark in here, the only light coming from the small cracks in the surface of the rocks.

  I reluctantly take Zane’s hand, letting him pull me out of the water. Mostly because I know that my exit will not be nearly as graceful as his, and I don’t want to look like a dying fish. Once my feet are on solid ground, I try to get a sense of which way to go, but every direction that I look in has the same result.

  Darkness is everywhere here.

  “I don’t suppose that you know what direction we should take?” I ask, hopeful that his witchy GPS will pull us in the right direction. He rolls his eyes, whispering a spell under his breath. I gasp as my soaking wet clothes dry instantly. His, a little to my disappointment, do the same.

  “I am a witch Maci. I am not a navigation system. I do however know that we should go that way,” he says, pointing to his left. My eyes follow his finger, but again I see nothing but darkness.

  “And how do you know that?” I wonder, growing tired of his attitude. An attitude that I once found endearing.

  “Because I can read,” he laughs. Pointing to a rune above my head that I didn’t see before. It is a bunch of gibberish to me. Written in a language that I cannot begin to translate. It looks like a stick man with a sword, and a sun. My translation, it looks like it was drawn by a kindergartener.

  “What language is that?” I ask, reaching up to trace my fingers over the runes. It looks old, like the drawing itself is part of the wall.

  “That is Angcele. The first written Angelic language. It is thousands of years old. That one,” he says, pointing to the stick man with the sword. “That tells the story of the warrior Maximus. That one there,” he says, pointing to the sun.

  “That tells the story of Sol, the god of the sun. It is basically a map to the weapon you seek. Here,” he says, stepping so close to me that his front presses to my back. I hold my breath, a wave of heat that confuses me coming alive at his closeness. I suspect my new attraction to Zane has something to do with the Hasi bond, but I am too chicken to ask.

  “This line is a warning. It says, roughly translated, only the worthy can wield the blade of light. All others will succumb to the forces of night.”

  Awesome.

  The old me would have ran away at this point, but my days of running are over. I am not leaving this cave without saving my best friend.

  “Great,” I say, faking enthusiasm that I hope sounds genuine. “Let’s kick some witchy ass.”

  I start walking, not waiting on him to keep up, but knowing that he will. For all his faults, Zane has always protected me. Everything he has done since the moment that I met him has been to protect me.

  Don’t get me wrong. I am still angry that he lied to me, but I get why he did it. He saw a way to save me, and he took it. He knew that deep down I was too stubborn to save myself. Maybe one day I will thank him. That is....

  If I don’t die here.

  We don’t have to walk long before we reach an opening in the narrow cave walls. I gasp as we enter, my eyes fixing on the sword embedded deeply into the rock that lays in the middle of the cave like an altar. A river runs along both sides of the makeshift altar, and the water is stained a deep crimson. I know without asking it is blood.

  The weapon gleams like a beacon of hope in an otherwise dark place. The handle crafted from bone. The blade a beautiful turquoise crystal that reflects the light. In the center, a yellow glittery light swirls, and I know that it is the power of the sun. I have never really liked weapons before, but this one is beautiful.

  “Wow,” I whisper, taking another step into the cave. Zane’s hand snaps out, stopping me from going any closer. I turn to him, confused as to why he would stop me now. Now that we are so close to completing our mission and returning home.

  That same guilt I felt before slams into me, and this time it is bigger. So strong that it almost knocks me down. I reach out, using the strength of Zane’s arms to brace myself as I try to figure out the reason for his sudden shift in mood.

  And yes.....I know that what I am feeling is coming from him. That this bond has somehow caused me to be able to feel what he feels. He never told me, but he didn’t have to. I just know.

  Which is why I know that something isn’t right.
<
br />   My eyes search the cavern, looking for something out of place, but I come up empty. We are alone here. There is nothing but the two of us and the weapon that we have been searching for. Nothing to cause Zane’s sudden shift in mood. Nothing that makes sense.

  Thinking that he must just feel protective of me, I roll my eyes at him before turning to take a step away from him. Once again, his fingers dig into my flesh, stopping me. This time there is an urgency there that wasn’t present before. The caramel gold in his eyes starts to swirl with an emotion that I can’t quite make out before his next words bring everything I thought that I knew crashing down. Words that after, I try to justify. I try to tell myself that I didn’t hear. Words that ruin me.

  “I am sorry, but it was you or it was him, and I...... I will always choose him.”

  My brain tries to process that sentence. Who is the mysterious him that he is referring to? What does this mean? I get my answer when laughter rings out across the space, slicing my heart open.

  The laughter is followed by a slow applause, like this is a show and I am the entertainment. Betrayal and anger like I have never felt before fire to life inside of me as my bruised and broken heart finally shatters.

  I have taken a lot. I have been lied to, manipulated, used, made fun of, tortured, but I would take all of that in place of this.

  “Oh how sweet. Tell me Zane? Did you use the time with my daughter well?” Michael asks, stepping from the shadows with the possessed body of my best friend in tow.

  Every cell in my body locks up as the two people who have hurt me the most in the world walk closer to me. I turn to run, but Zane is there, locking me in the steel bands of his arms. Arms that I once found safety in. How could I have ever been so stupid?

  This...this was all a trap, and I walked right into it. Oh God! I walked right into it, and Jaxon and the others can’t even find me. The void is the one place that even a Triad bond cannot reach. Which Zane knew! Christ....I am stupid!

  Stupid....stupid....stupid!

  “Don’t run,” he whispers, and I have never wanted to hit someone as much as I want to hit him. I pull my leg back, clipping his shin before he gets me under control. Laughter sounds from directly behind us, and I freeze as Michael comes closer to where we are.

  “Zane. Do get your pet under control,” he snaps, sounding as impatient and assholish as ever.

  “Yes son,” Ashlee ( AKA Hecate) purrs from beside me, running a finger over my cheek. I turn my face away from her touch, wanting to cry. I settle for spitting on her instead.

  I feel a small sense of self satisfaction when my saliva hits her right in the ugly face. That is until she pulls her arm back and hits me in the nose. The coopery tang of blood fills my mouth as tears fill my eyes.

  Uhhh...bitch broke my nose.

  I laugh, despite wanting to cry, because I have learned that she feeds off of weakness. “Awwww...thanks bestie. I always did want a nose job.”

  I smile at her, and I probably look deranged, which is what I am going for. I can feel the blood that coats my teeth.

  “Stop!” Zane hisses at me, a hint of emotion in his voice that pisses me off way more than getting my face re-arranged by my psycho ex bestie ever will. He does not get to sound like he cares.

  “Like you care!” I snap, turning my head so that I don’t have to look at him. Hurt flashes through this damn bond, and I feel sick to my stomach for an entirely different reason. I have a very bad feeling that this Hasi bond is not what Zane said it was. Not at all.

  “Took you long enough,” Michael growls impatiently, as Zane grabs my arm and starts to haul me forward. I make my legs stiff, so that I am harder to move. He may have succeeded in getting me here, but I be damned if I am going to make any of whatever comes next easy on him.

  “Sorry,” Zane sighs, grunting as he pulls me along. He tugs harder when I don’t budge, almost ripping my arm out of socket.

  “Ran into a harpy. She got scratched. Had to fix it. You need her blood pure for the sacrifice, right?” he asks, finally giving up on pulling me along and just picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder.

  I grunt as his shoulder blade digs into my stomach, momentarily knocking the breath out of me. I lift my head, trying to see the best I can. Which is kind of hard to do hanging upside down.

  “What sacrifice?” I demand, starting to struggle as Zane hauls me closer to the big ass altar in the middle of the room.

  Because of course! What is a sacrifice without a big ass alter surrounded by a river of blood?

  “No need to worry yourself with the details Maci. Just know that because of you the gates are finally going to be opened. Hell will be ours for the taking. Once he is free, and we conquer Earth, Paradise will be next. What is one life in comparison to all of that?” Michael says, and I know with absolute certainty that he has lost his mind. He is an Angel for Christ sake! Can he not see that he is fighting for the wrong side?

  “Michael,” I try, hoping to reach him. “This is wrong. This isn’t the way. You can still be forgiven. It isn’t too late. The Creator will.....”

  A sharp slap across my cheek cuts off my sentence. Zane growls, his back stiffening beneath me. He slowly sets me down. His fingers assessing my now bleeding face. His eyes grow hard as they look at Michael.

  “You said that you wouldn’t hurt her. That you would make it painless. So...do-not-mark-her-again!” he yells, stepping into Michael’s personal space.

  A laugh tumbles out of me without my permission, and I have to bend over slightly to catch my breath. This...this just keeps getting better.

  “And you believed them?” I laugh, pointing at Ashlee and Michael and laughing harder. “Oh Zane....you are dumber than you look. They are evil. EVIL! There is nothing good in them. They like to hurt and to torture. They also like to lie. So, whatever they promised you, I hope you got payment up front.”

  I am still laughing when Ashlee strikes, her blow knocking me to the ground. The last thing I see before I lose consciousness is her foot coming toward my face, and Michael blocking Zane as he takes a step toward me.

  Poor Zane.

  He was a fool to trust them, and I was a bigger fool to trust him.

  ∞

  I am pretty sure I am still dreaming when I hear his voice. I hear him like I have so many times before, but this time, I find no comfort in his presence. I find only anger and pain.

  I trusted him, and he betrayed me. He betrayed me to my enemies. That...that I don’t think I will ever forgive.

  “Maci....Angel....wake up,” Zane says, and I wish more than anything that I had the power to control my dreams. I don’t want him here. I never want to see or talk to him again.

  I hate Zane Zelikos, and if I ever get the chance, I will kill him.

  “Seriously Maci. Wake up. I can only hold the dreamscape for so long before they notice, and I need to explain.”

  “Explain? Explain what? How you threw me to the wolves? How you lied to me from the moment we met? Yeah sorry Zane. I am pretty sure there is no explanation in the world that will make me give a shit!” I fume, willing myself to wake up. Reality with Ashlee and Michael is better than being stuck here with Zane the traitor.

  “They have my brother,” he whispers, sounding defeated. Against my will, I look at him, or at least at the dream version of him.

  “Cain?” I ask, wondering how they got him out of the cells.

  Zane slowly shakes his head, a tear falling as he sits beside me. “Not Cain, though he is a part of this. We used Cain to get you to come here. His story.....wasn’t entirely true. Hecate did possess Lila, but she agreed to release her back to the void unharmed if Cain would help her convince you to trust me. Cain isn’t even my real brother.”

  Oh great! So.... this is some next level betrayal! Just awesome!

  “This isn’t helping your case,” I whisper, willing myself to wake the hell up. I have had enough of Zane Zelikos. I would rather die.

  “Right...sorry,” h
e winces. He must sense that I am calling bullshit on his entire story, because his voice grows urgent. “Wait damnit! Just listen. Do you remember the story about how I was born?”

  When I give a slight nod, Zane continues. “It was true. All of it. I just left out one detail. I wasn’t the only baby born here. I have a twin. His name is Zander. Two days before I met you, Michael took him. I was given a choice. I could befriend an untrusting soul in the one place they could not travel without my help, or my brother would be returned to me in pieces. To prove their point, they sent me his finger. His finger Maci! What was I to do? I didn’t know you...... not then.”

  I explode, all of the pent-up anger pouring out of me as I tear into Zane. I have no idea how much longer I have left until I am pulled from unconscious, but I will be damned if I am leaving here without giving him a piece of my mind.

  “BUT YOU KNOW ME NOW! YOU HAVE KNOWN ME FOR WEEKS! YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME THE TRUTH! I would have found a way to help you,” I finish on a whisper, meaning it.

  I get why it started out the way that it did, but Zane could have trusted me. I would have helped him find his brother. I would have fought to save Zander, just like I would have fought to save him. Like everyone else, Zane underestimated me. He used me. The worst part, from the moment I met him, everything has been a lie.

  Pain flashes across his face, followed by something much deeper. Something that I am way too exhausted to even try to understand.

  “You would have...wouldn’t you,” he whispers softly, just as I feel the cruel fingers of reality pulling me away. Back to the place where I am expendable. Back to the place where everyone hurts me.

  I nod, words failing me as I close off the section of my heart that once belonged to Zane Zelikos. My savior....my friend.

  “I know what to do. I will make it right. I swear,” he whispers, just as reality yanks me away from him.

  ∞