by C. M. Owens
I scream louder as I see Devin being held down by Safina, and her gloating eyes wink just before she repeats the same deadly blow she delivered once before.
Time rewinds, and I see us… here… now. I'm in my wedding dress, and there's something coming.
Heaps of sirens, Medusa soldiers, and so many more are stalking toward us with deadly intent. They've been sent as a distraction. They've been sent to thin our herd, and they're not far away.
I gasp for air as the white subsides, and reality slowly starts to return. I look around to see everyone screaming my name, but I can still just barely hear them. Finally, all of my cognitive functions return at once, and the dull screams turn to piercing shrieks.
"Adisia, please, baby, talk to me," Devin pleads as he holds me in his arms.
"Get everyone out," I breathlessly command.
"What?" he says with puzzled dismay.
"Now. Everyone go now. Every enemy of everyone here is on their way, and we don't have long before they reach us," I murmur with a grimace as I free myself from the humbled position.
"I don't see anything," Devin says with a little concern.
"You won't. Safina sent them, and she's having her mignon block them from you like only that person can do. The daughters of Athena and Safina aren't with them. They want them to take out some of our army, and we've got to get out everyone we can now," I demand.
Theia's eyes widen, and she turns to face Deidra.
"Start loading the jets. We'll come as soon as we can," she urges.
"We'll stay and fight beside you," Lydia asserts.
"No. That's what they want. They know you're here, and they've sent your counterparts to take you out. Go. That's an order," I blare.
I see the sand stirring wildly miles down the road, and suddenly Jace is at my side. Theia continues pushes the masses back, and she shouts at them.
"The Emperian said to leave. Go. Go now. We'll call you when we're safe," she promises.
"I don't suppose you saw the outcome of the fight," Jace says warily.
"No, but I can promise you I'm not going to die before I'm married," I gripe.
Devin's hand squeezes mine, and I feel the wind starting to whistle in raging streaks.
Shrill screams erupt just as the sun fully sets behind the horizon of the ocean, and Hale begins rushing in.
I scream, "No. They've sent something that captures your light and sends it back at you."
He skids to a halt, and returns to us just as abruptly.
"They have a deflector?" he panics. "That's impossible. Deidra killed the last of them long ago to keep them away from me."
"This one won't last long," I murmur with an echoed tone as Aphrodite and Asteria begin swapping power trips.
"Easy, baby. Not yet," Devin cautions while squeezing my hand.
"Why not?" my voice chimes out, and I flash him a wicked grin as the earth in front us starts to quake.
I feel something new stirring violently and begging to break free. Each bit of me tingles with dangerous excitement, and then I feel the heat rising from me.
"Tell me you're immune to this too," I say to Devin.
"Immune to what?" he worries.
I touch Jace, and he squeals as my hand burns against his skin.
"Shit! What the hell is that?" he screeches.
Devin's eyes widen, and I feel the anxiety rushing through his body as he grips my hand even tighter.
"I'm immune," he breathes uneasily.
"That's all I needed to know," I say with a devilish grin as I begin stalking toward the terrifying screams.
"We're not," Hale panics.
My eyes burn brighter, and the fire suddenly explodes from me to spread a warning of what's to come if they dare to fight. The screams of the sirens begin weighing down everyone… but me.
I smile as I see Hale's adversary step into view, and they all charge us at once when they see the screams of the sirens have done their jobs.
The sight of Devin crumbling under the pointed shrills wipes away my smile, and I release my newfound power at the only thing holding Hale back.
The man from my warning vision crumbles beneath the blaze, and the wide eyes of the sirens let me know they're smarter than the last ones we encountered.
They release their shrieking battle call and begin fleeing. Kry whips his blades through the air, and Devin brings the ocean to the fight.
He launches a ripple that shatters one man, and then the ocean drags several out to sea. Persia opens the sky and Kahl aides me in my fiery attack.
I feel more power surging through me, and I force out an even stronger flame.
Everyone in front of us crumbles and ashes as the fire consumes them. The weakening effects of my sudden burst stings, but the power inside of me is burning too strong to let go. I love it too much to let it subside.
"Devin, stop her before she kills herself. It's too much," Kahl yelps as he shields himself from the blare of my stronger flames.
"Not until they’re all dead," a new voice speaks from my mouth, and it scares me with its deeper tone mingling with mine, forcing an echo around the oddly united sounds.
"Damn it. Kaos is fully awake. Stop her now," Kry screams.
Devin steps directly into the flames that are swirling around me before flashing to me.
His eyes show fear as they stare into mine, and I feel myself growing even weaker as his lips grip mine. His hands pull me into him and keep me from dropping to the ground as everything around me fades from my eyes.
I feel the darkness swirling in, and I don't bother fighting the sleep it drags me into.
"She's been out for longer this time," Theia worries, and I can barely hear her hollow voice.
"That was another awakening. She has three awake, and I don't know if she can handle that much. I don't know how she's handling Asteria and Aphrodite as it is. Adding Kaos is just too much," Persia whimpers.
"Her eyes swirled red and black. He's definitely awake," Kahl grumbles. "Her fire was too hot for even me. I've never felt anything like it. I'm surprised no one from our side was injured."
I could have injured someone?
I barely remember anything this time. It's like I was outside of my body watching a show.
"It's amazing you're immune to that as well," Persia sighs.
"She checked to make sure I would be," Devin adds. "She held some control until the very end. The power is just too intoxicating right now. She's struggling to release it," he worries.
"How did you walk through that?" Kry inserts.
"We've already gone through this. The only bit of me that suffered was my clothes. I never felt a thing - other than severe panic when I saw her eyes," he sighs.
"You're scared of her?" Kahl asks with a touch of dread, and in that moment my heart threatens to stop beating.
"Of course not. I'm worried about her having three fucking entities awake. Only one should be awake, and none should ever control. I've never seen anyone controlled by an awakened entity, and I've sure as hell never thought it possible to have three awake. What happens if they all keep waking up?" Devin panics.
"We should explore the option of blocking her Kaos part," Theia prompts. "I know you objected before, but-"
Theia stops short when I finally manage to groan a little when I grow agitated with hearing them talk about me as if I'm a child with no say.
"Adisia? Are you okay?" Devin gently murmurs as he pulls me into his arms.
"I'm fine. I think. Someone want to fill me in on what happened after the second blaze?" I growl.
"You don't remember?" Devin says with more fear rattling around.
"No, but I'm assuming it was bad considering I smell like an incinerator, and you're all discussing blocking my Kaos part again. Want to give me the highlights?" I grumble.
"You went supernova, and you almost killed yourself while trying to rid the world of the filth attacking us," Kry says rapidly.
"Okay… How did I almost kill myse
lf?" I slowly draw out.
"The power you used was too much in such an early state of awakening. Kaos woke-"
"Yeah. I got that part. You can block him after we face Safina. I need everything I've got to beat her," I assert.
"Adisia, this is so new, and none of us really know how it'll play out if they all try to take over at once," Devin murmurs with hesitance.
"I don't care. I've seen Van using my fear to paralyze me as Safina destroys everything around me. I'm not watching everyone die again, and there's no chance of a second rewind for another hundred years," I huff out in exhaustion, and I stumble when I try to stand.
Devin's arms wrap around me supportively, and he pulls me back into his lap. His strong embrace tells me I'm not getting up no matter how badly I want to.
"How do they keep finding us?" Persia ponders aloud.
Devin's eyes narrow and I see the swirls of the sea pronouncing themselves as he stares at an unwitting Jace who is messing with his phone.
"It's him!" he blares, and suddenly he's out from under me and shoving Jace against the wall. "Every since he showed up they've been right on our heels."
Jace squirms lightly from the startling assault, and then he shoves Devin off of him.
"Why would I do such a thing? I came to keep Adisia safe, not endanger her life," he screams.
"You don't want her to be with me, and you're doing everything you can to stop her from such. Of all the days, they show up on our wedding day," he growls, and I hear the faucets bursting free as water pours from them.
"You're right about one thing. I definitely don't want her to be with you," Jace snarls.
His body ripples with electrical currents as he glares at Devin. I'm not even sure whose house we're in, but it's about to get destroyed if I don't stop them.
"That's enough," I scold, and then I step in between them to stop any irrational attacks they're contemplating deploying. "They came to your island home, and it wasn't because they knew every home you own. They showed up at the bar and for some reason we didn't even question it. They've shown up time and time again, but it has nothing to do with Jace. It's Gemma," I pronounce.
She leaps from her chair and the brown swirls around viciously in her eyes to mingle with her venomous stare as she stalks toward me with hell's furious chip on her shoulder.
"How dare you! I've fought by your side and gave my life once already. How can you tell everyone I'm a traitor?" she squeals.
"I didn't say you were a traitor," I explain.
Everyone looks at me expectantly, and I sit down when my legs tremble beneath me. Devin quickly returns to my side when he sees my weakened state, and pulls me back into the comfort of his lap before I try to clarify.
In an effort to be thorough, I whisper in Kry's ear, and he quickly leaps to his feet to do as I instruct. He walks back through and places two plants into a padded room.
He shuts the door on his way back out and awaits my reasoning for making such an odd request.
"In my vision, I saw the girl Safina called Herma. She's the leader of the Athena bitches. She has a telepathic connection with the plants you love to talk to and control. Everything you say, she hears it. Everything we say with your plants in the room, she hears it. Every time you use your power, she feels your location, and she knows where we are the moment a plant comes to life. You're not the traitor, your best friends are."
Her mouth opens and closes again as her eyes stain with disbelief. Theia grabs her phone and then dials someone with a fervent pace.
"Get out of the house now. We're changing locations, and leave any plant you have behind," she orders.
"We need to go too. This location has already been compromised. I have a desert home not too terribly far from here. We'll be safe there," Persia quickly inserts.
Devin takes my hand, and yet again we're down the fire escape before I even know what's going on. Kry jumps in the front seat of the SUV, and Ther jumps in to drive.
"We have so many homes in plant lands. I never dreamed they could do such. Can you do that?" Devin asks Gemma.
"No, and they shouldn't be able to either. It's another dead power that was stripped from the ancient ones. Athena was the last to be able to do it, and even she lost that ability before her demise,” she stammers out. "I swear I had no idea," she murmurs in such guilt.
"Safina has found a way to resurrect more than the army of dead. She's bringing powers back to life as well. How is she doing it?" Theia asks expectantly.
"I don't know. I wish I could have seen more, but it was so painful," I huff in disappointment. My eyes turn to Devin with a little angst riddling my face. "Does it hurt when you see?"
He strokes my cheek when he sees my seeping concern for him, and he shakes his head to relieve me of my new burden.
"No. It's hurting you because you're breaking through barriers. I've never known anyone to be able to do something like that. The few glimpses I've gotten weren't enough to help us. I've never pulled a vision of Safina at all," he sighs. "You've seen more than any of us would have ever thought to be in the realm of possibility. Now we know how they're doing it, and that's enough to keep us safe for now," he assures.
"What happens in two days when the army of dead returns?" Kry asks softly. "Have we come up with anything to take out Van?"
"Not yet," Devin grumbles.
"Two days?" I squeal. "How is it just two days?"
"You were out for a while, and we've changed locations four times. That was the first time we've all been in one spot since the jet landed. I'm sure they weren't far behind," Devin sighs.
I look out the window at the trees swaying in the wind, and I wonder if they're betraying us right now. The grass whispers to the air, and I try to listen to see if it's sending a message to Athena's pride. Each flower holds a dark secret, and every leaf that falls is just a messenger.
"I can't even enjoy looking outside right now," I growl.
"Me either," Gemma almost cries.
"Herma is the only one who can do it. If we take her out, they'll be just as blind to our whereabouts as we are to theirs," I insert.
"Any ideas on how to handle our two day time frame?" Ther asks hopefully.
"Actually, yeah. We're going to a desert home, which will limit plant life, but there's just no way to make it obsolete," I answer.
"That's not a solution, that's a problem," Kry huffs sardonically.
"Not if we want them to find us," I add vaguely.
"Say that again, please. I think I missed the part where you were making sense," Jace quickly prompts.
"The army of the dead is Safina's safety net. She feels like I can't touch her as long as she has Van and his merciless group of terrors staring me down - that's how she plans on taking me out of the fight. She will come after us anywhere we go. Let's change the venue, and find somewhere we're stronger. We'll live in the desert tonight, and I'll explain better. Tomorrow, we go where Devin is strongest… back to the ocean. I may need him more than ever to bring me down if all goes according to plan," I murmur with a devious plan swirling in my mind.
"If all goes according to plan? You're planning on losing control to the point you need Devin more than ever? That's not a plan. That's a plan gone awry," Jace worries.
"I'll be stronger than ever if all three wake up at once, but I may need Devin to pull me back just before I go super nuclear. I want to level them, not everything else," I explain.
"You're scaring me. Embodying all three could kill you," Jace mutters.
"It would kill you. It's out of the question," Devin adds, and I can see tears starting to waver on his eyelids.
"It may be our only shot. I know I can do this, and I want to do this," I assure.
"You can't call them. They just show up," Camara argues.
"I can try."
"I'm not talking about this right now," Devin growls. "We've still got two days to figure it out, and that's what I intend to do. Your option isn't a plan; it's a last resort."
<
br /> "More like a hail Mary," Jace grumbles.
"Why is it the only time you two can get along is when you're teaming up against me?" I gripe.
"You're safety is all they can agree about, and it's a warranted concern," Camara adds.
"You too, eh?" I huff while rolling my eyes.
"We happen to like you a little, and we'd like for you to stick around," she murmurs with a sardonic touch.
"None of us will stick around if I don't do this," I almost whisper to myself.
"We'll figure it out," Devin sighs.
"We need a muse," Kry grumbles.
"Those are real?" I ask inquisitively.
"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffs. "It was a joke."
"Don't be ridiculous?" I ask in sardonic disbelief. "Sirens, titans, goddesses, the living dead, and so much more are real. I rewound time for goodness sake. How is it so far fetched for muses to exist?"
"Good point," Kry says with a shrug.
"Come here, please," Devin grumbles as he pulls me into his lap. "Just quit talking about it. I just want to hold you right now."
I nestle into him, and Ther squeals the tires on the car as he continues his bat-out-of-hell driving.
I feel the warmth of the man that might not be mine for much longer if life follows the trail cut by my vision. I shiver slightly at the cruel reminder of reality, and Devin's arms tighten around me in response. His soft lips brush my forehead, and I just live in his perfect arms for the moment.
The house is unbelievable, and I roll my eyes as we step out. I spent most of my life learning the value of a dollar - per my mortal parents - and here I am constantly being wowed by the unruly expenditures displayed by my immortal circle.
"Eventually this will stop being impressive," Camara snickers.
"I'll believe it when it happens," I mumble.
Devin's hand takes mine, and in we flash to the marble floors and gallant chandeliers.
"You like this don’t you?" he muses.
