by Maya Daniels
Faith and Jez turn towards the women to make sure they understand, but my mind has screeched to a halt the moment he tells me I destroyed the wards. How on earth did I do that? This realm is really messing with me and with my magick, so I just want to get out of here. Something is going on and I need time alone to figure it out. Just not before we get Philip and go home.
One step at a time.
“I’ll have your back while they get a head start,” I tell Lucifer.
“Like hell you will,” Remi snaps, and I reach a hand up shushing her.
“We’ve trained together for this, Remi. I know what I’m doing. Did you think I was sitting on my ass relaxing the whole time you guys have been gone?” Even I can hear the hurt in my voice, no matter how hard I try to hide it. But it hurts like a bitch for her to think it didn’t kill me every second they were gone.
“I didn’t say that. We’re all staying together. No wards means we get to use our magick, too, and if they’re waiting, then we can use all the tricks we can get hold of.”
Great! I hurt her feelings with my trigger-happy emotions. I really am going insane here.
Taking a deep breath, I scrub my hands over my face to dispel the fatigue trying to drag my body to the ground to curl up in a fetal position and sleep for a month.
“I just want you guys safe,” I say tiredly.
They all wrap their arms around me in a group hug, and I choke back tears that are trying to overwhelm me. There’s no time for that.
“Let’s get out of here. We can talk in the woods when we rest and make a plan to grab Philip.” I pull back from them.
Remi hears the magic word, because I can see the anger and determination in her eyes, but the others have it, too. It’s amazing how Faith has become part of the group in no time at all, like she’s always been with us, but she needs to make that choice. I don’t want her to think she’s obligated to stay with us, so I try giving her an out.
“If you want to get away from this crap, Faith, you can go with the women through the portal now,” I say, but as uncertainty shows in her eyes, I backtrack fast. “They might need help wherever they are going, but we would love to have you stay with us if that’s what you want. I just want you to have a choice. It’s not a good feeling when the choice is taken from you. I of all people should know that,” I finish lamely. Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Oh well, too late now, so I keep my eyes on her, unblinking, hoping she can see the good intentions there.
“I’ll stay if you’ll have me,” she says, raising her chin as if daring us to say no.
The woman is nuts if she thinks our crazy bunch would say no to someone like her.
“Let’s get cracking!” Jezzinta grins at us, her British accent thick as it echoes through the tunnel. Leave it to her to find humor in everything.
“I haven’t had this much fun in hundreds of years. Who knew all I needed was to find a witch?” Lucifer grins and winks at me.
The angel has lost it as well in this realm, it seems.
He leads the way and we follow like baby geese in a line. I breathe deeply through my mouth to keep myself as calm as possible, and I can hear everyone doing the same. I hope they don’t feel as tired as I do, because we’re screwed if there are a lot of creatures outside.
As we near the exit, Lucifer motions with his hand for us to stop and slides the last few steps with his back to the walls, slowly sticking his head out to peek outside. The first peek is a split second, and if I didn’t watch him, I would’ve missed it. I don’t know what he saw but he frowned and stuck his head out a second, longer time. We all wait, holding our breaths, and watch him straighten and slowly walk out of the cave. Since he doesn’t say anything, I creep closer to see as well. Everyone follows the lead, as I said, like baby geese. As I reach the opening of the cave, he turns and looks at me, confusion clear in his eyes.
“What is it?” I whisper like an idiot before it dawns on me. He is standing out in the open without a worry in the world.
“You think you killed them all around the realm?” he asks.
“Huh?” I gap at him dumbly.
“The creatures. You think you killed them all?”
“How should I know, angel? I don’t do killings as a Sunday hobby.”
“Don’t get angry, Alexia. I’m only asking because there is no one here, but there’s a lot of dust everywhere.” He waves his arm towards the horizon. I step out next to him to see what he is talking about.
“Go on through the portal,” Meda says to the women and I hear them shuffling, but I can’t see because I can’t take my eyes off the piles of dust all around us. As usual, my heart is trying to fight its way out of my chest like a prisoner from a jail cell.
“How is that even possible?” I mumble.
“You used your magick—” Lucifer starts, but Remi cuts him off.
“It wasn’t a question,” she snaps at him, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as if to protect me from whatever Lucifer is trying to accuse me of. I smile at her in gratitude but there’s no need for it.
“Something is happening to me in this realm, angel, and I have no explanation,” I say softly, then I suck in a sharp breath. “You think I killed that asshole, too?” I gasp wide eyed.
“I very much doubt that,” Faith says before Lucifer can answer, pointing towards the temple in the distance.
“Fuck! Run to the woods!” I scream, pushing them across the dirt road towards the orchard trees that are swaying in the imaginary wind with their silver apples.
In the distance, a hoard of creatures is zooming our way, led by a single figure and a stupid dragon-snake lookalike that’s following him like a shadow. Unfortunately, the asshole is still alive.
“We need to make sure the women go through the portal,” Meda says.
“They can go through the portal on their own. We have to go now. The woods aren’t that close, Meda! We freed them, I’m sure they can walk through a fucking portal,” I snap at her and regret it the same moment the last word leaves my mouth. “Sorry. I have no idea where that came from.”
“They’ll go on their own. I made sure no one but a woman can go through the barrier of the portal,” says Lucifer, and he throws his arm forward to motion where to go, like an eighteenth-century gentleman.
If I hadn’t felt like shit for snapping at Meda, I might have laughed, but because I’m acting like an evil clone of myself, I keep my mouth shut and walk towards the orchard without looking back. They’ll either follow or they’ll stay and wait. Either way, I’ll have a better advantage fighting from behind the trees. After a few steps, I hear footsteps behind me and, glancing over my shoulder, I see all of them follow with Lucifer trailing them. I guess there’ll be a lot of lectures when we get to the woods, and I can’t say I blame them. Something is very wrong with me.
“Should we speed up or should we take positions and get ready to fight? They are getting very close,” I ask no one in particular, and my heart pumps with the beat of feet getting closer to us by the second.
“Let’s run! When the last woman crosses the portal, it’ll close. It won’t be long now,” Lucifer says from way in the back.
“Just run straight. You can’t miss it. Stop for nothing,” Faith says, and she bolts through the trees. We all follow.
Trees pass by us like a blur as we do our best to reach the woods that will give us a chance to rest and come up with a plan to find Philip. My body protests with every movement, but I can’t complain since everyone, apart from Lucifer, has had it worse, yet they’re all running as fast as they can. A shriek makes me turn back and I almost fall down when I see Meda falling, both arms outstretched in front of her so she can catch herself. My heart stops for a second, but before I have a chance to even pause, Lucifer scoops her up, throws her over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry, and keeps running. My arm is grabbed, my body jerked to the right. I almost lose my footing and stumble like a drunk. I barely miss the trunk of a tree.
“You al
most slammed into that tree, Sap. Watch where you’re going,” Jez huffs next to me.
“Thanks,” I wheeze and keep running.
We can see the clearing between the woods and the orchard, and I pray we all get across, unlike the last time I was running like this and Faith was taken. We can do this. We must do this. As if they hear me, the creatures shriek, heading diagonally towards us.
“Shit! They’ll catch up to us! Shit, shit, shit!” I yell as if that will make them go away.
A bright orange fireball soars in front of me from the trees and explodes in the distance towards the shrieks of the creatures just as we enter the clearing. I gawk at Faith and she grins like a madwoman.
“I’m a fire elemental.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” I laugh-wheeze. I’m getting really tired.
“Keep going. I’ll put a barrier between us and the woods halfway through the clearing,” Lucifer shouts.
“Finally you’ll do something useful,” I tell him, grinning now too, and he huffs a laugh from behind us. We are almost there when I sense the energy shift. I guess the barrier is in place, but I don’t want to stop until we are all safe in the woods. A minute later, Remi goes through first with Jezzinta right behind her. Faith and I follow, and as I drop on my knees and look back, Lucifer steps through with Meda dangling over his shoulder.
“Thank fuck we made it.” I wheeze before I topple on the ground and gulp air for my starved lungs.
Chapter 20
The rustling of wings gets my attention as I plop down on my back, spread-eagled, trying to catch my breath. I would’ve thought that after all the training I had with Lucifer, I would have more stamina than this, but obviously I was wrong.
Turning my head left and right, I try to see where the sound is coming from when I finally spot the movement right above me at the tree branches. The owl is perched on the branch with his eyes trained intently on me. To see if I’m okay or to tell me I’m an idiot? Who knows? But I’m sure glad to see him.
“Thank you for the help, Rajah. I appreciate it,” I tell the owl and he hoots.
“You know the owl?” Remi asks from somewhere above my head.
“Yeah. He was our guide to the cave, and as you noticed, he helped keep us alive. Azalea sent him,” I tell her.
“Who’s Azalea?” she asks, and I can hear her trying to catch her breath as well. We all sound like freight trains, so it’s good that it’s not just me.
“Weaver of the thread of life,” Lucifer answers her question, and I hear everyone gasp.
I’m annoyed that he doesn’t sound out of breath like the rest of us. The angel has to have something not going well for him, or he’ll simply be too perfect. I intend to find what that something is, for whatever reason. Maybe it’ll make me feel better about myself, or perhaps I’m just a grumpy bitch lately.
“A-Ma, what happened back there in the cave?” Meda’s soft voice sounds more like a slap on my face than the whispered question it is.
“What do you mean?” I ask, but I can literally sense the tension in the air around us choking me.
“First, you kept bashing that creature’s head on the ground long after it was dead, until it turned into a pulp. Then you don’t care if the women make it through the portal and to safety when we exit the cave. It’s not like you. Something is off,” she says slowly, like she’s talking more to herself than me. “You feel off,” she adds sadly.
Dread pools in my stomach and I get lightheaded from the nausea that assaults me. All the fear, guilt, anger, and helplessness from that cursed night when I lost them hits me at once. My heart thunders in my ears with a buzzing sound like I’m standing close to a rocket engine. Cold sweat drenches my body and beads on my forehead. My body shakes and I flip fast onto my side, rolling onto all fours just in time to start retching and dry heaving at the roots of the tree. Clear water sprays from my mouth like from a hose and it’s hard to breathe, but I can’t stop it, not even for a second, just to get a small breath in my air-starved lungs. Hands touch my shoulders and others hold my hair, but nothing stops the shaking in my body, the flailing of my limbs lifting me off the ground. Darkness clouds my vision and I think I’m having a panic attack in the middle of this … whatever it is that is happening to me. Maybe I’m dying, but in all this, only one thought comes to mind: at least they’re safe here, no matter what happens to me.
Just as I think I’m going to pass out, sound slowly returns, the liquid stops leaving my body, and I’m finally able to take a breath. Raised voices assault my ears, but I can’t do anything, only gulp air so I stay alive. All the energy drains from me and I can’t even open my eyes.
“Don’t yell,” I croak, and it’s like my throat is ripping in two from the effort. Tears stream from my eyes, but at least there’s no more yelling, and the quiet helps a little with the pounding in my head. Ice chasm opens at the center of my chest, in stark contrast to the heat I felt before I destroyed the creatures in the cave. My body still shaking, I sit back on my legs and press my palms on my thighs to wipe the cold sweat from them. It takes great effort to keep my head up and my eyes open. This realm is killing me. I know it now as clearly as I know my own name. Water is life, and it just took almost all of it from my body.
Taking a deep breath, I tell them what happened from the time they were taken until we entered the woods. They all sit in front of me with grim faces and eyes full of tears, but they don’t say a word until I’m done.
“You almost bled to death?” Jez asks, but she is not looking at me. No, her eyes are glued on Lucifer’s face. He nods grimly.
“Your energy is off balance, mate. Even though I don’t know you well, from what the girls told me while we were in the cell, and from your story now, that’s the only explanation I can think of,” Faith says with a thoughtful expression.
“I never said I was balanced. I’ve always been fucked up and never claimed otherwise,” I say defensively.
“That’s not what I mean,” she says, sadness blanketing her features. “I mean your energy fluctuates to extremes instead of staying in the middle where there is no light or dark, where everything just is.”
“Hmm … it could also be the integration after the initiation and awakening,” Meda says in the quiet that follows Faith’s words.
“I don’t know what it is. All I know is, right now, I have a multiple personality disorder. I have three of me inside, and they’re fighting for dominance.” I scrub my hands over my face. “Well, not all of them are fighting. Mushy me, as I like to call her, is barely there. I don’t think I’ve heard her since they put those cuffs on me. The predator, uncaring me, is in control and she’s all instinct, while the third is the part of me that just observes all of it. I feel ice cold inside, and all I know for sure is that this realm is killing me.” I look in the eyes of each and every one of them. I see they’re about to argue, so I stop it before it starts. “No time to argue, so save your words. We need to find Philip and get the fuck out of here. I’m not that easy to kill, as I’ve proven so far. Let’s go.”
I don’t think I believe my own words, and judging by the stares they give me, they don’t either, but I’m not waiting so they’ll have time to start their debate.
Leaning on the tree trunk, I lift myself up, swaying when dizziness hits me. Fast as lighting, Lucifer grabs my arm to hold me, worry etched on his too-handsome face. Even frowning, he’s unnaturally pretty—too pretty for his own good. You can’t even call him handsome because he’s way beyond that. It almost hurts to look at his angelic face. I start thinking about random things just so I can dispel the stupidity. I can’t stand, but I’m worried about his beautiful face. Maybe my brain is deteriorating in this cursed place.
“We will rest first. You cannot walk like this,” he says firmly as if he’s my father. Too bad for him. I have no idea what it means to listen to one since I never met mine. He is shit out of luck.
“No time, I’ll manage. I’m just tired from the run. It’ll go away. L
et’s go.” I push his hands away and almost topple over the next second. He grabs me again, annoyed. Before I say a word, he scoops me up and cradles me to his chest.
“Put me down,” I hiss at him, but he only gives me his full attention with those stubborn eyes.
“If she doesn’t like it, you can carry me around like that any day, mate,” Faith chirps as she eyes Lucifer like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse. The girls laugh and he frowns at Faith, but she grins at him, unashamed.
Shaking his head, he starts walking and the rest follow him. I really have no strength left for anything but breathing, so I’ll keep my mouth shut until I can stand on my own. Then I’ll tell him to keep his hands to himself. Then again, his warm body and all those bumps of muscle pressing against me and searing my skin through the thin fabric, make me even more lightheaded.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
My breath is speeding up and I can hear it puffing from my lips as if I’m running. He looks down at me and his eyes darken while he slows his steps. All sound stops like someone presses a pause button. My eyes drop to his full lips and all I can feel is my chest pressing against him harder, my nipples digging like they want to pierce his skin to get closer, and the tightening of his arms around me. The clearing of a throat snaps us both out of whatever the hell is happening.
“Save Philip first, fuck later,” Jez chirps.
“What?” My head snaps around to blink owlishly at her.
“You were eye fucking the angel. Not that I blame you, but watching you do it is above my pay grade.” She grins and lifts her eyebrows.
“Before I passed out bleeding, something started happening and I can’t control it. It has something to do with him,” I tell them, scowling at Lucifer accusingly, “And before you start talking crap, no, it’s not hormones or that I need to get laid. It’s almost like a compulsion. I have no idea what’s going on.”
“You’re unusually quiet, angel,” Remi says, suspicion coloring her tone while she watches him with narrowed eyes. I knew she’d have my back when it came to men in my life. She’ll rip his wings out and make pillows if she feels he’ll hurt me in any way.
