“We’re in . . . Hell.” The last word stuck in my throat.
“Yes.”
“You said you couldn’t leave unless you offered a soul,” I prompted: “A soul other than your own.”
His hands dropped. “That is correct.”
“Please tell me that you offered mine.” I waited for his response. Nothing! “Antonio! Tell me that you offered my soul!”
His hand reached up and caressed my cheek. I‘ll die before I let them have you. “How could I condemn you here?” There was love in his eyes!
“Yes. There is love in my eyes and in my heart. I traded my soul for yours, Evie.” His devotion was unwavering.
I was speechless—a common response for the day’s “shockers.” I stepped back, my eyes truly taking him in for the first time. He was tall and strong. His body muscled and disciplined. His eyes and heart, determined to see this through.
Foolish man! Back at the school, he spent his time distancing himself from me. Pretending he didn’t have feelings for me. Saying I was too young for him . . . for what? Some obligation he felt to my father? My age? But here, here he’d kissed me. Here he’d admitted his feelings for me. The look in his eyes now confirmed that it was more than mere attraction he felt for me. The look in his eyes said he’d protect me ferociously. The look in his eyes said he was in love with me. Forget the look. He’d admitted it! He loved me.
My eyes narrowed. There was no way he was going to get away with this. I shook my head. “Undo it. I won’t let you trade your soul for mine. No way.”
It’s too late. It is done.” In other words, the subject was closed for discussion. The hell it was! I’d find some way to break this vow, even if I had to beg Satan himself.
“The Ragnos!” Antonio jumped in front of me. His staff extended.
The spiders were invading our den—hundreds of them. I looked at my staff. There was no freaking way I was going to fight off a fraction of them. Antonio was already battling. He was a true Slayer; a warrior in every sense of the word; killing any and all Ragno that got within a yard of us. He was so cute!
“Evie, watch your back!”
I spun around and uttered the first word to come to mind. “Fotio!” The Ragno was frozen, suspended in air. Cool! And it wasn’t even sucking much power from me.
“Your hands!” Antonio grunted as he ran his staff through another Ragno. “Look at them.”
I held them up to my face. They were . . . glowing? A tremendous amount of force was building up as the light pulsated from them.
Use the light to turn them to stone. A voice echoed inside my head. I looked at Antonio. He was busy fighting off a particularly nasty looking Ragno. Green goo was now dripping from a wound in its abdomen.
Use the light! There it was again. I hesitated for a moment. Petra! The voice commanded.
I didn’t think about it. I aimed my palms away from me. “Petra!” The light radiated from my fingertips, and shot across the cavern. Anything in its path was instantly turned to stone.
Antonio spun around. He leapt toward me, slaying a Ragno that had snuck up behind me. I held my chest, trying to hold my heart in place.
“Evie, look out!”
“Petra!” I shouted over and over again, my hands aiming in all directions. We were surrounded in seconds by hundreds of stone Ragnos.
My hands ached. The light had gone from them, leaving a red burn across the palms.
“Evie!” Antonio caught me as I crumpled to my knees. His arms encircled me, pulling me into his chest.
“Your eyes . . .“ He studied them for a moment.
“What? What’s wrong with them?”
“Never mind,” he shook his head. “It must be my imagination.” He turned my palms up. “Here, let me take care of them.” He reached into his pack.
“No! I may need them again. I don’t want them restricted.” Small blisters had already begun to form.
“You were amazing. Where did you learn to do that?” Antonio ignored my request, and applied the ointment anyway.
“Ow! I didn’t learn that. I’ve never done that spell before. The voice told me to do it.” I studied my hands, examining the welts that covered them.
“A voice? What voice?” Antonio looked uneasy. I couldn't blame him. I'd just said I was hearing voices in my head for crap sake. He probably thought I was losing it!
“I don’t know? I thought it was you at first, but then . . . it sounded like . . . never mind.” I brushed the ridiculous thought away. There was no way my dad could have told me to do that. I mean, I’d have known if he could talk to me like Antonio, telepathically. There was no way he would keep something like that from me, right? Like he didn’t keep the fact that he was a famous Slayer from me, or that I was in mortal danger from being kidnapped by demons from Hell. I suddenly felt like I should be eating a piece of humble pie. Damn! I hated the thought of having to apologize to Havoc. My dad was here. It had to be his voice I heard.
“Can you walk?” Antonio helped me to my feet and wrapped his arm around my waist for support. It wasn’t necessary, but I didn’t protest.
I looked up at him. His lips were so close to mine. I stared at them, longing for another taste. My heart began to pound with such intensity I swear he could hear it.
He smiled. Antonio was looking at me like he did that day in class when he’d thrown me to the ground, his body pinning me down for twenty glorious seconds.
“You are so beautiful.” The words flooded my head. He thought I was beautiful! I squealed with excitement—in my head of course—which he heard.
You are more than beautiful . . . He leaned in, his lips grazing mine once, twice.
“So you finely agree I’m a grown woman?” A stretch I knew, but hey, this was an incredibly romantic situation. I wanted Antonio to view me as an equal, not as some kid.
He laughed heartily, a rarity for him. “That’s still debatable.”
“But I’m datable right?” I know, I know. I was totally showing my age by pressing the issue. I needed confirmation. Some kind of verbal assurance that Antonio and I were a couple now—we had to be!
He wasn’t about to give it to me. In Antonio's mind, time for us was fleeting. He had me in a lip-locking kiss before I could argue the point. I decided we could resume the argument later, when my head wasn’t up in the clouds. Man could he kiss! I sunk into the little bit of Heaven I’d been given.
Chapter 19
“Oh please! Only you two would be kissing at a time like this. How high school!”
We spun around, our staffs at the ready and pointing right at… Havoc?
“I thought you were mad at us?” My eyes narrowed. I didn’t trust the little hellion farther than I could throw her. Damn. I owed her an apology.
“I am.” She crossed her arms turning her back to me. “But I promised Iris that I’d help you and I never break a promise.”
“You mean you can’t.” Antonio smirked. “Not when you make a trade for it.”
Havoc stomped her foot. “Whatever the reason, I’m back.”
“Havoc,” I took a step toward her. “I’m sorry for accusing you of lying. I shouldn’t have tried to . . . kill you.” The apology hurt more than it should.
She nodded, lifting her chin slightly. “I’ll show you where your father is, and Roland,” she added reluctantly. “They’re not far.”
Roland! I’d forgotten about Roland. What was I going to do with him? Was he still my, sort of boyfriend? And why did I have to think so loudly? I could feel the instant tension emanating from Antonio.
“We will help Roland, and then find your father. The sooner you leave this place the better.” He picked up his gear and followed Havoc without another word.
Okay . . . what’s with him? Was he jealous? No, not jealous of Roland? No way. Antonio was way too confident to be jealous of anyone! He’d break Aubree’s hot-o-meter in a second. He couldn’t think for one minute I’d possibly want Roland Vandenberg over him. Could he? They were
n’t even in the same league for crap sake! And Roland hadn’t kissed me the way Antonio had, melting every bone in my body. At least I hoped it was Roland.
“Evie!” My honey called.
“Coming!” I hurried along, making my way in between the stone Ragno’s, their petrified bodies giving me a severe case of the heebie-jeebies.
We followed Havoc through a dark tunnel and over a bridge made of— I could almost taste the vomit in my mouth. “Why are there bones everywhere?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer. On second thought, I knew I didn’t.
“Oh, they’re left over from the Mageian’s.” Havoc shouted over her shoulder casually as she hurried along, kicking a femur bone to the side.
I held my stomach, silently praying for forgiveness to these souls for having to use their remains as a path. I could say I’d go to Hell for this, but since I was already here . . .
I stopped behind Antonio. He was standing at the edge of a . . . river? “What is it?” I hadn’t realized I’d whispered the question.
“It’s the River of Souls.” Antonio sighed. “These are the souls of the dammed, and the tortured.”
I gulped. I could hear the distant cries from the river, the pained screams from the souls passing by. “Are we supposed to swim across it?” Please say no, please say no.
“Only if you want to stay there,” Havoc teased.
“No. Do not touch the water or you will forever be a part of the river, your soul, lost, to him.”
He never said who “him” was. He didn’t have to. I could guess. I shivered.
“We must find another way across it.” Antonio spoke to Havoc now.
“There isn’t. Unless you’re me,” she grinned and disappeared again. “Hey! Over here!” She shouted from the other side of the river, her arms waving wildly.
“That’s great for you, but what about us?” I shouted back. As if Antonio and I could simply beam across like she did. Someone’s been watching a little too much Sci-Fi on the “tele”.
“Sorry! I only wish I could teach it. It’s a gift.” She sat down on a rock and relaxed while Antonio and I racked our brains trying to find some way we might cross without getting wet.
Turn the water to ice.
I glanced at Antonio. He was busy sizing up some boulders. Debating whether or not we could use them to somehow leapfrog our way across the river—as if!
“What if I . . . I don’t know, freeze the water?” I glanced his way.
He spun around. “You can do that?” He looked at me like I was a gold metal champion.
“I don’t know, maybe?” It was true, I didn’t know. I only suggested it because the “voice” told me to do it. It had been right before. So maybe . . .
“Try! But do not touch the water,” Antonio warned again.
I stepped to the water’s edge and knelt down, placing my hands just above it. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the faces that passed along the current.
Pagos! The voice commanded.
“Pagos.” The light shot from my palms again, the blisters bursting from the heat. I cried out this time, the pain excruciating.
“Evie stop!” Antonio gripped my shoulders, trying to pull me away. But the force of the spell held me.
“No, look!” Havoc cried from across the river.
The river was slowing . . . the water . . . crystallizing before our eyes. It was icing over!
“You’re doing it Child of Light!” Havoc was jumping up and down excitedly.
The light from my hands had dissipated. A path of ice, big enough for the two of us to walk across had formed. It stretched from one side of the riverbank to the other, a good fifty feet or so.
I stood; my knees shakier than before. I felt drained now, mentally and physically. “I hope it’s not much further.”
“You need to rest. Your—” I couldn’t read the expression on Antonio’s face. His image was all wrong. He looked red to me, like I was staring at him through 3-D glasses.
“What is it?” I panicked.
“Nothing, it’s nothing.” He put his arm around me, and carefully escorted me across the ice.
It creaked under the weight of us, but it held. We made our way slowly, careful not to put too much pressure on any one spot. We both sighed when we finally stepped onto the bank beside Havoc.
“That was clever. I’ve never seen—” Havoc stopped talking. Her mouth gaped open and for the first time, she was speechless. She looked at me with the same uneasy expression Antonio had.
“What? Why do the two of you keep staring at me like that?” They looked at me like I had bugs crawling in my hair. “Oh my God, do I have bugs in my hair? I started flicking my hair nervously.
“Your eyes, they’re red!” Havoc finally spoke.
“What?” I stopped dancing. I looked to Antonio. He nodded in agreement—with Havoc?
“They’re red?” I asked him. Antonio did have a reddish hue to his skin. So did Havoc for that matter.
He nodded again.
“I must have burst a blood vessel or something.” Those weren’t easy spells. To say they sucked a lot of energy from me would be an understatement.
A loud scream echoed from a nearby tunnel.
Havoc groaned. “That would be boyfriend number one.”
“Roland?” I gasped.
Antonio frowned. Either from being indirectly referred to as boyfriend number two, or the fact that I’d acknowledged Roland as boyfriend number one. Either way, I was in the doghouse.
“Yes,” Havoc answered. “He’s been rather a nuisance. I think the pixies will actually be glad to get rid of him.”
“So they’ll just let him go?” I asked excitedly. Finally, something sounding like it was going to be easy.
Antonio scoffed. “No. They’ll fight us.”
“Duh! Of course they’ll fight you. They won’t let you just waltz in there and take what is theirs. Pixies never turn down a fight,” she boasted.
“Great.” More Havocs! “I suppose you’ll help them?”
“Well, I can’t side with you.” She looked aghast. “They’ll call me a traitor!”
“You’re going to fight against us?” Antonio snapped. He looked like he might strangle her himself.
She huffed as if we were putting her out. “I suppose I could just kick you in the ankle a few times. You know, just to appear like I’m trying to stop you.”
“Thanks,” Antonio replied dryly.
“No problem,” Havoc gushed totally unaware, or simply not caring that Antonio was glowering at her.
“So, how do we fight the pixies? Without killing them,” I added quickly.
Havoc smiled in appreciation. Damn! I was growing soft.
* * *
I don’t think anything could have prepared me for what I was about to see: Roland tied to a spit, being turned gently over a flame. Okay, it was a really, really, really small flame. But still, who would call him a baby for screaming?
“Demons . . . let me go!” He screeched louder than any girl I’d ever heard. Poor, Roland. He must be so scared.
Havoc giggled.
“That’s not funny,” I scolded.
Antonio snorted, encouraging Havoc to laugh all the more.
I gave him a pointed look.
“Oh please. They aren’t really going to roast him. They’re just having a little fun. Besides, Mageian taste bad,” Havoc mock gagged.
Like she should talk. I’ll bet she tastes like a chewy old shoe. I’ll bet—
Evie! Antonio silently warned, all humor aside.
I would have rolled my eyes mentally if I could have. Antonio could be such a killjoy at times. He’s lucky he’s so cute. I could forgive him the little annoyances.
You’re so kind.
Was it too much to ask for a little private time in my head? Quit listening to me! I stomped my foot.
Very mature!
I stuck my tongue out at him, further displaying my “maturity.”
“I su
re hope I don’t look that ridiculous when I stomp my foot,” Havoc remarked as if the very idea was unthinkable.
I sighed. “Can we please stick to the task? Roland!”
“Okay, here’s the plan.” Antonio pulled me behind the wall, and squatted down in front of me. He took a stick and drew a map in the dirt, and noting Roland’s location. “We're here,” he began. “Havoc! Will you stop that?” Antonio swiped a twig away from her. She’d drawn a roasting spit below Antonio’s drawing of Roland and was in the process of adding some squiggly lines that looked like flames.
Havoc folded her arms in a pout. “I’m just trying to add realistic detail.”
Detail my ass. She loved this.
“I think our best bet is to charge in. They have no idea we're here. We’ll have the element of surprise,” Antonio said.
“For about five seconds!” Havoc rolled her eyes at him. “Men are so cocky sometimes.”
“You have a better idea? One that won’t put us on a spit beside Roland’s,” he growled.
“I might; for a trade.” Havoc eyed the last bit of jewelry I had.
“No way! It’s an exact copy of Princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring! Just not as expensive, or as big.” There was no way, no way in Hell—no pun intended—that I was giving her this ring. Nope! I ain’t gonna do it. Noooo way. I folded my arms across my chest.
“Well, I want it. Besides, it would look much better on me then it does you.”
She really was an impossible little monster at times. “It won’t even fit you.” I had my hands on my hips now, giving her a haughty look.
“I’ll wear it around my other wrist.” She smiled like it was a done deal.
“Forget it Havoc, it ain’t happening.”
“Do you want your boyfriend or not?” She’d folded her arms, mimicking me.
Antonio motioned for me to give her the ring.
“Oh, that’s easy for you. She’s not stripping you of every valuable you’ve got.”
“Oh lighten up, Child of Light. You should thank me. It’s not like I’m asking for your pink underwear. If we were the same size—”
“Alright!” Antonio jumped up, his cheeks flushed with rose. “Could we please focus on the problem at hand?” He sounded flustered–at the mention of pink underwear?
Pinehurst: A Magical Olympian Adventure-Young Adult Romantic Adventure/Fantasy Novel Page 19
