by G. Bailey
"I know we need to raise an army to stop Cex and kill him. That is the end game, and other than that, can we not just enjoy each other for a little bit?" I ask him when he opens his mouth to say something else. “Please.” I don’t know what makes me vulnerable for only a moment to say that one word, but Connor sees and hears it. I clear my throat and look back to Trex as Hali laughs at something he says.
"You have an army who would die in an instant to save you, if you only asked," Connor suggests. “You don’t need to fight this war alone. Well, not with just us at your side anyway.”
"There isn't a Protector army left. Not one big enough to stop Cex," I remind him. “We are vulnerable, and I can’t lead the last of my people to a death trap.”
"I wasn't talking about the Protectors. No, I mean the people you grew up with and spent years helping," he says. “The ones that call you the Salvatore and their queen.”
"The demons do not have a leader. Some of them respect me and call me their queen, but they don't love me enough to die for me," I remind him. “I would be asking too much with nothing to give them back. Demons live by the motto of an eye for an eye. There is nothing I could give or promise them to ask them to die for me.”
"How do you know that if you don't ask?" Connor replies as we get into the busy street, and I pull the hood of my cloak up to hide my face on instinct. "Plus, fighting for you would save them in the end as well."
"Demons and Protectors won't be enough. They would be killed. All of them, effortlessly," I reply. “The amount of yellow demons in the city was thousands…and that’s just what I saw. I know that there must have been a hell of a big army to be able to destroy the city.”
"You are half angel...maybe there is another race to ask?" he suggests, but the idea of begging my father for help makes me want to throw up. I can't ask him to help save us. I don’t even want to ask him for information on black magic, but I will just in case it could save my life.
"A problem for tomorrow. My big problem right now is my empty stomach and the smell of that good food," I reply, and he wraps his arm around my waist, keeping me close as we go through the demons and Protectors who talk between each other. We get into the queue for the barbeque, and Star comes back to my side, purring as I stroke her head. My cloak hood falls down in the wind, completely revealing my hair which makes several demons and Protectors look my way, instantly bowing.
"Queen Evelina, it is good to see you well," a familiar redhead says, coming over to me and bowing her head as I remember who she is: Keira, one of the demon women we rescued in Hell. Though she looks a lot different now from the starving demon she once was. Now she looks like a leader, with her red hair up in a tight bun, a long red coat on that makes her stand out in the crowd. I wonder briefly how her daughter is, the one with bright red hair. I hold my hand out which she shakes as I take another step closer to the food. "I wondered if you would come and see me tomorrow regarding the welfare of our people? I need some of your time."
“Is it important?” I ask, knowing I don’t have a lot of free time at the moment that I don’t want to spend finding a way to fix my powers.
“Very. Please, I would not ask otherwise,” she replies, and I eye her for a second, deciding that it can’t do too much harm.
"I sure can, where should I meet you?" I reply.
"In the centre of the demon underground is a soup kitchen where we hand out free food for those who are new and have not earned any money yet. We should meet there at midday if that suits you," she suggests as I sidestep closer to the food again. I'm not losing my place for anyone. Keira just side steps with me, looking amused. She gets it. Bacon is bacon, after all. I can smell it from here.
"Sounds perfect to me," I reply, and she bows her head once more at me, attracting more interest from the people around us who stop in shock when they see me. I pull my cloak up, hiding my hair once again as I want to be invisible until I have the bacon in my mouth. You never know, they might try to get in my way.
"Tomorrow then, Queen Evelina," Keira says.
"You can call me Evie, you know," I inform her as she goes to walk away. I don’t know what it is about Keira, but I feel like we could be good friends. I like demons, generally, and especially ones like Keira who have a good soul. I saw it the first time we met and she gave me that Latin nickname a lot of demons now know me by.
"Perhaps, but I feel it would be disrespectful of your position," she replies, glancing to her left, and I follow her gaze to see her daughter holding a man’s hand, eating ice cream with a big smile. They have both come a long way since being the prisoners I rescued. They look happy, enjoying their lives. "I must go, but do enjoy your night."
"You as well, and say hello to your daughter from me," I reply, and she nods in agreement with a small smile before walking to her family.
"It's good to see them all well and healthy," Trex says from in front of me.
"Demons love Earth, and it suits them well. Hell is not a home for them, and it never really was," I reply, just as we get to be the first in the queue. Trex pays for us each to have a bacon covered burger, covered in sauce, and a side plate of amazing chips. I don't even notice anyone until the food is gone and I'm throwing the wrapper into the bin. I look up to see Connor and Trex smirking at me, while Star is chewing on her third burger Hali is feeding her, judging by the number of wrappers she is holding.
"Hungry, huh? Damn, you wore her out, Trex," Connor states, and Trex only grins at him.
"Just eww," Hali interjects, and we all laugh. I glance to my right as I hear music, seeing a group of people dancing around a singing woman who is playing music on a guitar. I smile at how the demons are dancing with Protectors, and there really is no separation between the people. The children run between them, laughing with each other like they have been friends for years. It's peaceful to see this life we could have in the future, oddly enough, with me possibly leading them. Hopefully I won’t get them all killed. It seems to be a bad habit at the moment.
"Dance with me?" Connor asks, and I just laugh.
"I don't dance unless it’s a dark nightclub where no one can see me. There is way too much light out here, so nope. Nada. It isn't happening," I say, still laughing at the idea as Connor grins and takes my hands, pulling me towards the dancers. I roll my eyes, knowing Connor isn't going to give up on the idea from the determined look in his eyes, and let him pull me onto the dancefloor.
"Dancing outside in public isn’t fun," I mutter as he pulls me against his body, leading me so we sway to the music, but I know my protest is pointless as I’m smiling. Connor has a way of pushing my boundaries to the limit and making me enjoy being there anyway. I wrap my arms around his neck, noticing Trex chuckling as he spins Hali around nearby us. The big scary Protector has a soft spot for Hali. God help any guy that breaks her heart in the future. Three strong Protectors, an overlord demon and me to deal with? Yeah, no way would any guy get out alive or with his balls intact.
"Trex really cares for her. I love that. I always wanted Hali protected and to have a father figure," I whisper to Connor, not wanting anyone else to hear that inner thought other than him. “Hali has lost so much…and she needs this. She needs a family that always has her back.”
"Now she has a big family, though she has had Azi and you for a long while," Connor replies. "Did Hali tell you she used to meet up with Azi all the time when you were mad at him? He was always protecting you two even when you didn’t know it."
"Doesn't overly surprise me now," I reply, smiling as Connor spins me around and pulls me back. "You love dancing, don't you?"
"Yep," he whispers into my ear. "I love any excuse to hold you close to me and pretend like there isn't a good chance you are lying about Lamia, and I might lose you. Don't tell me the truth, but know that I will always be at your side. I'm keeping you close, Blue, until I find out the truth." I don't reply to him. Instead, I rest my head on his chest and let him continue to dance us to the music. I don't even know wha
t I would say anyway. My future is out of control, and for now, I just want to enjoy the moments with my family that I have. Memories I can use to fight the battles we have coming our way, one we have to win for everyone.
Chapter 10
Lying on a sand covered ground, I lift my hand up into the swirling red dust above me that is beginning to make a shape. My hand flies through it like it isn't there, but I can see it nonetheless. The dust suddenly shoots out in all directions, leaving a glowing red sphere of energy in its place. The sphere spins and spins until the power shoots out in all directions and leaves only glowing red eyes in its place. They aren't like Azi's eyes; no, these are pure evil and ever so familiar as I stare into them.
"Come to your knight, Evelina. I am waiting. Come to me."
I'm not sure who is snoring when I wake up gasping, feeling the warm light gently flittering across my face. I glance at Azi and Connor at my sides, soundly sleeping with their arms wrapped around my waist. I carefully sit up, placing their arms at my side as I look at Trex and Nix on the other side of them, all of us easily managing to sleep in this massive bed. I was completely surprised when no one said an awkward word when we came home last night and went to the bedroom. They all just happily got into bed, and I snuggled into the middle of them.
Star is snoring the loudest on the floor at the edge of the bed, and the noise is so loud that going back to sleep is impossible. Not that I exactly want to with all those dreams of red power and glowing eyes. It was Cex in my dreams, I could feel the bond through my mark and sense his voice as he called for me. I shiver, hating that we have any kind of bond and that I can't just kill the bastard.
I climb off the bed, careful to step over a snoring Star and not wake her. I walk into the closet and randomly grab some clothes before pulling them on. I pull my hair up into a ponytail with a hairband I find and glance at my leggings and blue shirt that has the number twenty on it. I look like a preppy mum going to get her son from a football game, but it will do. I grab the dagger belt off the ground and clip it on, knowing it isn't smart to be without a weapon right now.
I sneak out the room, closing the door as I want to make the guys and Hali breakfast before they wake up. I smile at the idea of cooking for them for a change. I walk down the stairs just in time to see Hali slowly pull the front door open.
"Well, well, well, look who is sneaking out at the crack of dawn," I mutter, getting to the bottom step and raising an eyebrow at her.
"I was just—" she starts to explain, and I walk over to her, placing my hand on her shoulder.
"You don't have to sneak out, but at the moment, you need to let someone know where you are in case something goes wrong. It isn't safe right now," I say, knowing this is important that she understands. "You have no powers yet, and you mean the world to me. That makes you vulnerable and a prize for my enemies, so please be careful. I’m not just an assassin anymore that can leave with you at the first sign of trouble; I’m the queen of a race in hiding, one that did terrible things before my rule. We have enemies, our whole family does, and you are my family. Got it?"
"Cheri is outside, and we are going to practice fighting with the others. They are training everyone just in case, and I think I need to keep myself busy as I'm worried, too," she tells me. “Honestly, as much as I loved our life together, it feels good to have people my age around to train with like Cheri, and not humans who hate me. I also like our dysfunctional family.”
"Any training is good training, and I’m glad you have friends now," I reply as Hali opens the door further so I can see Cheri outside. I knew keeping Hali from the supernatural world was always a hard thing to do. The witches wouldn’t dare touch her now because everyone knows she is protected. It’s different now.
"Also, Cheri can make portals, so if anything goes wrong, she will portal us to safety. My mark is covered up, and I won’t make eye contact with anyone," she tells me, making me feel much better about letting her go out there alone.
"I promise to keep her safe. I have been training my whole life, and I'm good at portals," Cheri awkwardly tells me. “Hali is my best friend; I’d die to keep her safe, Queen Evie.”
"Straight back here at the first sign of trouble. If it's too dangerous here to get to me, then you go to our old home in Scotland," I tell Hali and look to Cheri. “It’s near Inverness, so portal there, and Hali knows where we keep a secret money and weapon box.”
"Understood, Evie," Hali says, hugging me tightly before going off with Cheri who nods in understanding. I don't exactly trust the white-haired demon teenager, but I have a feeling she will keep Hali safe, and that is enough for me. I watch until they are out of sight before shutting the door and walking to the kitchen. I pull out bacon, eggs and sausages from the fridge before frying the bacon and sausages, and making scrambled eggs. Nix and Azi come down the stairs first, just as I put four pieces of bread in the toaster.
"My beautiful woman cooking us breakfast, what could be better to wake up to?" Nix asks, kissing me on the cheek as he gets to my side.
"You guys are always cooking for me, so I wanted to return the favour," I reply, but Azi keeps his eyes on me as he comes over.
"You have bags under your eyes, did you not sleep well?" he asks, sliding his hand onto my shoulder.
"Bad dreams," I explain, not wanting to lie to any of them about this. "The necklace might keep Cex from finding me, but it seems like he can haunt my dreams either way. I used to have nice dreams where I floated in a sea of maple syrup next to a bacon-made boat with my favourite weapons on it as you guys fed me bacon. Now that is gone."
"That's really what you dream about?" Connor asks as he gets to the bottom of the stairs, smiling at me. "Never mind, of course it is. I will go and find the keepers today, see if there is a way to get him out of your head so you can sleep."
"Thanks," I reply, knowing there isn’t going to be a way until I kill him. Which I will never stop trying until I do. Cex has to die, it’s the only way to make this world safe. It’s everything after killing him that I’m concerned about. "Come and sit down, I made food."
"Why don't I make us all some orange juice while we wait for Trex to get his ass out of the bathroom," Nix says, kissing my cheek once more before going to the fridge. I carry on frying the bacon and sausages while Azi takes over with the toast, and Connor gets plates out for us. We all sit down and eat the food in a comfortable silence that has taken over us all.
"Where is Hali?" Azi asks after he finishes his food. "Still sleeping in?"
"Nope, she was up earlier than me," I explain, seeing Trex walking down the stairs, and he grins at me before going to get some food. "She and Cheri have gone to practice fighting with the other people at some gathering. Cheri can portal, so I think she will be safe."
"What are your plans for today then?" Trex asks when he comes into the room, sitting next to Nix.
"Going to see Keira, she wanted to speak to me, and it seemed important. I’ve noticed the demons see her as a leader of sorts, so it’s worth a small chat with her," I explain.
"Keira is mated to a strong demon now, and he is currently the leader of this place. She moved here before the war started," Nix tells me, and I raise my eyebrows, wondering how he knows so much already. We only just got here, and I really didn’t think the demons would be chatting with Protectors so soon about important secrets. "I've been speaking to a lot of the demons around this place who respect you and heard some things. Do you want some company at this meeting?"
"I’d love some," I instantly reply.
"Tomorrow, we begin training with Hali and the others. Hali has the right idea by being in shape for what is to come," Trex informs us. Though Hali can train all she likes, there is no way she or Cheri will be in the fight. I plan to get Cheri to take her to our hide out in Scotland when it’s clear the fight is beginning. At the end of the day, she is a young, vulnerable kid with no powers. It wouldn’t be a fair fight, and I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on killing Cex if I we
re worried about Hali. I’m pretty sure my guys know this.
"Yes, and could you spread the word that all Protectors are to come and fight if they are able? We need to be working with the demons," I reply. “Train together, fight together. New Protector rules.”
"I will do that today while securing a safe place for the kids who will not be able to fight with us later on," Azi explains to me. “Seth is helping me make plans and talk to people.”
"I found the name of another half reaper kid here yesterday, who apparently regularly speaks with his reaper mother. I'm going to ask him to get my mother and father a message," Connor explains. "We are meeting in an hour."
"And I'm going to watch Hali and Cheri, secretly, because you don't even need to ask," Trex interjects, and I flash him a thankful smile. "And I'm sure I will find Seth watching as well if you want to head that way with me, Azi?
“Yes, I will. We have no more information about black magic, but the demons are still looking. Everyone is looking,” Azi replies, looking as frustrated as we all feel. There has to be some information on this black magic. It had to come from somewhere…and be controlled somehow, right?
"Maybe there isn't anything," I mutter, looking at the stone which is dim at the very top. It's only been a day, and it is already fading. Shit. How long do I actually have left?
"We will find something," Trex states as I pull my chair out and get up, taking my empty plate to the kitchen, not having the strength to really reply to them. None of them says anything as they help me wash up the plates, each of us more worried than the next, I suspect. I feel like loving them has made me happy, different and yet weaker than I have ever been. I want to fight for this, more than anything I've wanted to fight for in my whole life, but I don't know how. And if I don't figure it out soon, then there won't be time left to enjoy the life I finally have.
Chapter 11
"Keira," I say her name once I get close to where she is waiting for me in front of a large tent, the smell of soup and fresh bread filling the air. There is a large queue of people, some of which are children, waiting for their food. It reminds me of when I was a kid, and Rita couldn't escape the witches to risk coming to see me. I had to come to places like this, pretending to be a demon child and getting my food before running back home, scared a Protector or someone might find me. These places are a godsend for kids, adults and anyone that needs food when they don't have anything else. I hate that, though it has been years since I was a child, nothing has changed at all. Demons are still treated like they aren’t real people, that they don’t feel pain and love as strongly as we do. They can be just as vulnerable as we can, but they have no one to protect them. No real home other than this muddy village of old containers and broken things the humans throw away. It’s no real life.
