by G. Bailey
"Luckily, I know how to use my demon powers like my dad," Cheri adds in. “And Hali has witch healing already, so she soon healed her arm while we waited for you to wake up, Queen Evie.”
"Either way, they were very lucky Cex sent his demons when he did because I was visiting and I could save them both. Cheri is still a minor and has not come into all of her powers yet. And the witch is powerless, as you know," Seth explains. “Cex knew they couldn’t have outpowered that many demons on their own.”
"I've said thank you, no need to be mean," Hali huffs. “I can’t wait to turn eighteen and get these powers.”
"I wasn't being mean, child, I was pointing out the obvious. I swear I need a drink to talk to you. You are as bad as Evie," Seth mutters. “Stubborn and annoying.”
"I wouldn't call it bad, more practice at being perfect," I say, wrapping an arm around Hali's shoulders. I pause, feeling a wave of dizziness, and intense pain shoots right in my heart, which makes me sway a little. I hold onto Hali tightly as I close my eyes, seeing deep red swirls of darkness before someone's hand gently shakes my shoulder, and I force my eyes open, the dizziness disappearing instantly.
"How are you feeling?" Azi asks, suddenly right in my face, and Hali is behind Seth, holding Cheri's hand and looking frightened. I glance at my hands, seeing red swirling lines under the skin of my hands, but it soon fades until it completely disappears.
"I'm fine," I mutter when I can, knowing it’s a big old lie because my heart literally still hurts, and my hands feel like they were just burnt, but there are no marks.
"No, you're not, but I know where we need to go to get help," Azi growls out, rubbing his hands through his hair.
"Can't we just stay here? I might just need to lie down," I suggest instead.
"We can't stay anywhere more than eight hours at the moment," Azi explains to me.
"Why?" I ask, though I’m not sure if I want the answer.
"Cex is your knight, and he can feel where you are. Keeper Grey told us that we need to keep you moving every eight hours until you wake up," he tells me. “We take you from here to New York next and then somewhere else if we can’t get help. Somewhere far away.”
"The keepers are alive?" I ask, relieved.
"Yes, but we can't take you to them because then Cex would find the last of the Protectors," Azi explains to me. “And you could hurt them all on your own with how out of control you are.”
"I understand...so what do we do now?" I ask. “Can we go and find Cex and kill him? I’m game for that plan.”
"You need to get dressed, armed, and then we are going to see an old friend, because going after Cex without an army is a death wish, Vi. Lamia is the only demon in the world who might be able to help us, but it will come with a hefty price," Azi explains to me.
"I can pay it," I automatically state.
"No, I will. I will pay any price for the help we need from her," Azi informs me, looking stubborn.
“We will give you some space,” Seth suggests, ushering the girls out of the room with him as I meet Azi’s red eyes. He is angry, more than angry, I suspect. His demon wants to control the situation, no doubt making all his emotions much worse than they need to be.
"Azi, you don't get to be the one to make that choice. We are a team—"
"Team?" Azi asks, shaking his head with a sarcastic laugh leaving his lips. "What part of you was thinking of me when you didn't run and instead chose to take half this deadly power into your body?"
"I'm not saying sorry for trying to save the whole fucking world!" I angrily reply. What else was I meant to do? Let his brother destroy everything the Protectors have spent years protecting? Even if this power kills me, at least he will not have it.
"I don't care about the whole fucking world. It can burn for all I care, but I will not lose you!" he shouts right back, and I lose every trace of the argument I had ready to say. I step closer and throw my arms around his shoulders, slamming my lips onto his and kissing him like the world itself will wait and give us this moment. When I break away, breathing heavily, Azi rests his forehead against mine, both of us forgetting anything but each other.
"We will fix this. I'm not leaving you, Azi."
"Then we fix this mess because there isn't another option."
Chapter 3
I finish plaiting my wet dark blue hair, so it falls on my left shoulder, above the grey vest top I have on. Azi found me some black leather trousers, knee-high boots and a belt for me to clip two daggers onto that Seth gave me. I miss my sword and bow though, but beggars can't be choosers. I rub my hand across the steamy mirror, and I can do nothing but look at my face for a long time, running my eyes over the marks that signal my status as queen. I won that trial, but at the time, I never got to look at the marks that now appear on my face. It's almost like if I want them to be there, they are, and if I don't, they disappear.
I place the tip of my finger on the swirling triangle mark in the middle of my forehead and trace down the swirls on both the left and right side that swirl and circle just above my eyebrows and down to the side of my eyes. My mother had these marks, and I don't even know what she would say about me being the queen. Likely nothing good, considering in my time of reign, the Protectors’ city has been destroyed and my people are hiding or running for their lives.
"Dammit," I angrily whisper to myself, knowing I've somehow let them all down, even though there was nothing I could have done. I can't stop thinking back to the dream I had and the black magic power that is angrily swirling inside of me, begging to get out and destroy everything. I know the red dust is a mirror image of the power, and the reason I can never stop crawling through it is because if I stop, it will destroy me. It could destroy everything and everyone in this world. This magic is dangerous, unknown, and I've never been scared of myself until now.
"Evie, you coming out? We need to go before it gets dark," Hali asks, knocking on the door. "Or at least that is what Azi said," she adds.
"Coming out now," I reply, shakily letting go of the sink and picking up the black hoodie off the cabinet. I pull it on before opening the door and walking out into the living room of the fancy apartment. The sofas are black, facing large windows that have incredible views over the city. There is a small kitchen on the one side and a dining room area on the other where the door to the bedroom is.
"Whose place is this anyway? It's pretty posh," I ask, assuming it is Seth's, who is standing by the window with Cheri, showing her a pretty silver sword. It's not as nice as my purple one though.
"One of my homes, and you are always welcome back here," Azi tells me, walking over to my side with Hali next to him. Hali has a whip wrapped around her wrist, and I pick her hand up, turning it over to see the black and silver whip with very sharp ends she has on.
"Seth taught me how to use it and said I could keep it," she explains to me. “It’s faster, more deadly than a sword, and Seth says when I have magic, I could use elements with it. It’s a favourite witch weapon.”
"It was our mother’s, if I remember it right," Azi says, coming over to us and looking at the whip with me. I never saw Rita fight with one; she preferred her swords and daggers and sometimes a bow, though she could make her swords buzz with lightening, and her arrows into swirling arrows of water and fire.
"No one could use it like she could, except for Trouble over here who I caught playing with the whip," Seth explains, eyeing the whip like a long lost relative itself. It makes me wonder why he gave it to Hali in the first place. I have a funny feeling he has a motive which Hali will find out when he wants. And I will stab him with the whip if it ends up hurting her.
"It's different and almost natural to use," Hali explains to me. “When I saw it, it was almost like it called to me.”
"You are not fighting, so it doesn't matter, now does it?" I say, dropping her hand, because I’m sure the whip did call to her. I’m a true believer that some weapons have their own magic, their own owners which they choose. "Though I
will admit it is pretty bloody awesome, and I can’t wait to see you train with it."
"Time to go, it will be morning where we need to get to," Azi explains, looking my way. "Ready to go, Vi?"
"As I will ever be," I reply, crossing my arms and wondering exactly who this woman is that Azi thinks can solve all my problems. I’ve never met anybody who Azi trusts, other than Seth and me, that is. Azi holds his hand out, pushing a portal into existence before walking straight into it. I hold Hali's hand before walking into the portal and pulling her through with me.
We come out onto a busy street in the middle of New York, with people pushing past us and going about their daily lives like they can't see us. A woman walks right in front of me, before carefully walking around me and carrying on like I’m not there. Seth, Cheri and Hali come through the portal just after us, and the moment the portal disappears, it is like time just stops. Every person on the street is frozen, the cars on the road behind us are paused, and there is just silence in New York City. I wave my hand in front of a random woman’s face, and she doesn’t flinch or move at all. What the hell is going on?
"Seems like Lamia knows we are here," Azi mutters, looking at the house right in front of us. It is completely out of place here in the middle of all these high rises. It's an old fashioned house, made with dark wood timbers, and there is an odd white picket fence around the front garden of weeds and grass. A small gate is right in front of us, and I step forward to open the gate when Azi catches my arm and stops me. "Wait."
"Salvatore...I have been looking forward to your visit," a voice speaks into my mind, the sheer pressure of her voice making me grab the sides of my head and mentally beg her to stop talking. "Come inside with only the death-marked witch at your side."
The voice stops, and I gasp, sucking in air as Azi holds me, trying to ask me what is wrong, but everything is silent for a second before sound just seems to return like a smack to the face.
“Vi, what the hell is wrong?” Azi demands, holding my face with his hands and looking into my eyes like he can see the problem and wants to destroy it with his gaze alone.
"A woman, I’m assuming Lamia, said to come inside with Hali only," I explain to him, and he grits his teeth in anger, but the mere fact he doesn’t immediately say no means Azi really does trust this woman. I’m a tiny bit jealous, but I know Azi well enough to understand this isn’t a woman he loves. Just knows and trusts, I assume. "I can keep myself and Hali safe. Just wait for us."
"You don't understand who she is," Azi bites out as Hali comes to my side, clearly not needing a pep talk to follow me into a creepy haunted house because a voice in my head told me to. That's my girl.
"Well, I'm about to find out, aren't I?"
Chapter 4
"Stay behind me, just in case," I whisper to Hali as we walk through the open gate and down the cracked stone path to the stairs that lead to the house. Hali doesn't say a word, but she squeezes my hand once to let me know she understands. Any demon, or whatever this woman is, that can stop time and have Azi's trust must be extremely powerful. Whatever she is, if she harms Hali, then I will never stop until she is dead. I make sure my thoughts are loud, hoping that she is listening in on them as we walk up the creaky wooden steps, and the black wooden door slowly swings open. I step through the door, feeling a wave of magic sweep over me before we get into the dark corridor that smells like freshly baked cookies, and the door slams shut behind Hali. Not creepy at all. I keep my hand on one of my daggers just in case Azi got this wrong.
"Did you feel that magic?" Hali asks me, and I feel her shiver through our joined hands.
"Yes, I'm surprised you could though," I admit, eyeing Hali as she shouldn't have supernatural senses until she gets her witch powers at eighteen. Though she shouldn’t have supernatural healing so early, but here we are.
"This way," a female voice calls out to our left, where a door suddenly opens and there is a warm light on the other side. Shrugging at Hali, I walk to the door and push it open, walking into the cosy living room where an old woman is sitting in a rocking chair, a glowing purple cat on her lap that is purring as she strokes it and rocks the chair. The woman has long grey hair that is shiny and smooth. Her body is small, hidden in a cloak, and though she is old, she still has a beauty to her—an almost youthful, magic glow to her pale skin. The cat lifts its head, eyeing us for a second before going back to sleep like we aren’t here. There is a glass coffee table right in front of the woman, and near it, a sofa. The rest of the room is empty bar the large fireplace with a hot fire burning inside of it.
"Hello," Hali awkwardly says, waving a hand at the woman who lets out a little laugh but keeps her eyes on me.
"Hello, death-marked witch. Why don't you and your guardian sit down?" she asks, pointing a hand at the flowery couch opposite her.
"I'd rather stand and so would Hali," I reply, tugging Hali’s hand to stop her sitting down.
"Standing is rude, at least it is to me. How else will you drink your tea and eat your biscuits?" she asks and clicks her fingers. Suddenly, there are two mugs with steam coming out the tops of them and a plate of biscuits in the middle of the coffee table in front of the sofa. I eye the cup of tea and biscuits before returning to observe the woman. They may be Hali’s favourite biscuits, and I love a cup of tea, but that isn’t going to make me sit.
"If you could make that a plate of bacon, I will sit down," I barter, and the woman laughs, clicking her fingers again. A plate of crispy bacon appears next to the cup of tea, looking and smelling perfect. I wink at her before going to sit down, nearly forgetting the reason we are here as I eat the bacon and wash it down with the tea. Bacon really is my downfall at times.
"Evie can be lured into any trap with a plate of bacon," Hali states, rolling her eyes at me.
"This isn't a trap though, because I trust Azi with my life more than I trust myself," I say. "But I would like your bacon appearing power, Lamia."
"It's not meant to just make bacon appear, Salvatore, and neither can you ever harness my power. You are struggling with an ancient power as it is," she replies, eyeing me carefully.
“How do you know Azi?” I ask her, changing the subject before we talk about something so dangerous. I need to know why he trusts her.
“Azi and Seth are children of dear friends of mine, who we lost many years past. I do not have friends, never needed them, but Azi’s parents where important to me as the only ones I’ve trusted in my long life. They helped me survive when I was hunted, and Azi showed me the same kindness as a child when he did not need to. I owed him a debt for the kindness, and it was paid not so long ago. That’s how I know your demon…you can say I am a family friend of sorts,” she explains to me, her accent unrecognisable and distant like she is imagining a story I couldn’t understand.
"So, family friend, the black magic...you know of it?" I ask her, and she smirks as she rests back in the chair, letting it rock.
"The magic is very similar to my own, but uncontrollable, hostile and never should be held by a Protector with angel blood," she replies. “It was not made for angels or Protectors or anyone that walks this Earth. Ancient magic has one owner, and it can only be held by them. Cex was always a jealous child, one I warned my friends would be a problem when he was older. They loved him nonetheless, like any parents do, and could not stop his anger when he grew up, and now he has a way to control a deathly magic. Only it has taken his soul and any trace of good in him to do so.”
"My angel blood is why the black magic is rejecting me?" I ask, not wanting to dwell on Cex and how he was always evil and apparently more so now. That doesn’t surprise me.
"Killing you, Evelina. That is what the magic is doing. It cannot be held by anyone currently alive, and it can only be destroyed by the death of an angel. Even a half like you would take the magic to death with you," she explains. “The other half of the magic is still deadly enough to destroy the world, and the only person who can take that half from Cex is you. You
must kill him and absorb the power before it tries to attack the world. It would be like a storm, the red dust would wash out human, Protector, angel and demon alike. Witches and reapers would fall to it as well, and there would be nothing left.”
"No, then we need to get it out of her!" Hali exclaims. “Not pour more of the deadly power into Evie. Tell us how to get it out.”
"The power cannot be taken unless Cex decides to take it, and the same vice versa. Either way, Evie will die," she states, the word die seems to plunge the room into silence.
"I am here, and I can hear you. Is there no way to survive it?" I ask her.
"I do not know many things, but taking magic that is not yours comes with a price," she says. "I invited you in here alone because Azi cannot understand it, and he would die for you."
"I don't understand it!" Hali exclaims.
"That is why you will forget this part of the conversation the moment you leave my house. It is for only Evie to remember," she says, and Hali shakes her head, staring at me.
"How long?" I ask, knowing I need all the information I can get.
"The black magic is unpredictable. I will give you this to help your control and hide you from Cex, your knight," she says and holds out her hand. A necklace appears out of nowhere, with a dark red, glowing stone on a long chain. "When the colour is all drained in the stone, Cex will be able to find you, and the black magic is no longer controlled."
"Thank you," I say, standing up and walking to her, looking down at the necklace, which she closes in her hand.
"It comes with a cost," she says when I stop in front of her.
"Azi suggested you like to charge for your help," I mutter. "What do you want?"
"Nothing from you, a queen soon to not be one. Even then, there is nothing you can give me. I want a debt owed from Hali," she says, moving her gaze to Hali. “I see a bright future for you and a time in which I will need your help.”
