"If you hate Grigori's why bring Xavier into my life?"
"In life things are done for the greater good, this is one instance, and now thanks to you my life's work has failed," Ayla replied disgruntled. "You just couldn't stay away from that disgusting Lost Soul, could you?”
Hunter laughed in derision. "It's ironic. You think I had an ulterior motive and all along sweet little Ayla had been the up to no good," he spat back. “Don’t you see? She brought him here to keep us apart.”
"Oh, shut up you Lost Soul," she retorted back.
“Is that true?”
“Does it matter, I kept you away from that filth.”
"Then you really got a raw deal, having to guard me," Luxor seethed. She glanced over, and Hunter appeared to have zoned out, his quietness unnerving especially at a time like this. But what did she expect after what they had both done to each other.
A minute late he took a sharp intake of breath. "Oh my God."
Luxor followed Hunter's line of sight.
"See what you've done." Ayla pointed accusingly.
No longer lying limp, Xavier was sitting up languidly, and the blackened ash floated back to his body. His hands smoothed the expanse of his chest where the slash was previously. He parted his lips, and ruffled his hair with a mystified expression.
Luxor mirrored his look, and tried to digest her actions. Realisation dawned on her and she gasped.
Blood coated her body in various places.
She was beside Xavier.
Xavier had lived.
My gloves.
Luxor heaved, not believing what she was seeing, but the proof was spread out. Had she truly condemned her soul to Purgatory? Up ahead Cane waved her blood-soaked gloves, victory in his hands that he now had full access to Luxor, and the land of nothing appeared to be a reality which would happen sooner than she ever anticipated
She needed to get away and focus more on others, to see if Evie and Becky were okay. She hadn’t seen them in a while and if she was honest, she had to digest what had just happened. She took one step forward, when an agonized howl came from the direction of the church. As the seconds ticked over, the scream increased and became defined. A sickening feeling brewed in the pit of her stomach, and she held back from throwing up. She turned to leave except she was held back.
"I'll go, you are to remain," Principal Wright demanded. He as well as Valencia, James, and Coach Davis were dealing with all the Fallen.
"No, she's in trouble," Luxor told him but Ayla held her back. She smacked her hands away. “Don’t ever touch me again.”
Melita hobbled over barefoot and entered the oval, Evie's arm twisted around her back. She screwed up her face which brought to attention the cloudy, milk which bubbles formed on her face as the holy water stripped away the skin.
"Luxor, help me." Violent sobs racked Evie's body, as her tears trailed down her cheeks. She looked like a scared child, innocent child.
"You took someone I loved away from me, now I'll do the same." Melita yanked Evie's hair back and pressed the jagged teeth of the blade against her neck. Evie flinched, a whimper escaping her lips.
Luxor jumped. "Melita, don't do this." It was useless to beg, Luxor could see she was too far gone but she did so anyway.
"I warned you. Now this can plague your conscious," she said with such hate and disdain. From the side the tank-like frame of Coach Davis barrelled down, arms outstretched towards her. She was too observant, and casually swiped her arm across, missing his face. But that was the aim.
Evie's eyes widened and she froze.
A spray of bright red splattered Luxor’s face, and she let out a blood curdling scream. She scrambled to catch Evie, but her reflexes were too slow. She skidded and picked her up off the ground who slumped like a rag-doll in her arms, and gasped, her expressive eyes pleading to be saved.
Luxor smothered her blood against hers, if she could save Xavier, then the same could be the same of Evie, she was more worthy than him.
Nothing happened.
"Save her!" she screamed. Evie coughed up blood and began to gurgle, stripping away her ability to speak. If anything, she was slipping away at a rapid rate.
"I can't," Ayla replied softly averting her gaze. "She's not my responsibility."
"She's your best friend!" she cried out, not once did she glance away, she wanted Evie to know that she was there for her. Out of all these people surely somebody could help. But no one stepped forward.
“Becky?”
“I can’t, there has to be balance. To save a life, one must be taken.”
“Take theirs.” Luxor spread her arms about. “Take mine.” Desperate and out of options, she lifted Evie and travelled the short distance to Cane, who was surrounded with what entourage of henchmen he had left. And Melita. She bypassed them all and held out her hands. "Save her, I'll do anything. Please save her."
Cane brushed her off dismissively. "Oh, my dear child I've already won. The wheels are in motion and I'll be back for both of you regardless."
The henchmen on his right cackled, a jagged scar ran across the length of his face. "This is exactly like Hunter, pleading with me to renegotiate the deal. Instead I split his lip and broke his hand."
The other henchmen who was much smaller in stature scoffed. "And yet you still ended up with two broken legs."
Cane raised an eyebrow at their admissions but quickly turned passive, clicking his fingers and produced a singular flame contorting it into an opaque bubble. An evil smile crossed his face and he inhaled completely transfixed. He controlled it with his finger, twirling it around before giving it a flick. It plateaued in slow motion, like a leaf on a muggy spring day. The moment it reached its destination an inferno of flames erupted soaking up the petroleum.
The end for this battle had finally arrived.
Luxor slumped to her knees, and cradled Evie close. "You're going to be okay," she whispered and convinced herself. "I'll sing you a song okay?" She closed her eyes and racked her brain to think of a song fitting enough. Frozen on the spot she couldn't think of a single song, so instead she hummed the ethereal tune she'd heard at her time of need.
Two minutes later Evie ceased to jerk, her head lolling to the side leaving her mouth ajar. Her big brown eyes remained wide open, although vacant, it gave Luxor a false sense of hope. She was constantly in denial and nothing had changed.
She forgot to breathe as she righted Evie's head, and tapping both of her cheeks. She applied pressure to the wound although by now it was trickling out. She forcefully shook her, tears burning her eyes and time dwindled away.
"No, you're not leaving me," she cried out. "I swear to fuckin' God Evie if you leave me, I'll hate you. I'll hate you forever and ever," Luxor babbled away threatening her as if it was legitimate. "Okay I won't but I'll be angry, please wake up."
This can't be happening, no, this is a nightmare, it's not real.
There was no way God could be that cruel to punish Evie. Luxor had conceded she was damned and whatever happened was warranted. Every atom and cell that made up her existence didn't deserve to have anything good happen to her. But meeting her was one of the best things that had happened.
But it was futile.
Thirteen seconds later Evie departed the world, dying in the arms of her best friend.
For five consecutive days, there was a torrential downpour, tears of anguish and constant darkness blanketing the whole mysterious town of Brighton Falls Instead of like in the movies where the heavens would open up to welcome an angel, on the day of Evie's funeral it had worsened proving to Luxor this was a reality.
For the past few days police had been around to take her statement, but by the time they arrived the testimonies from Principal Wright, as well Valencia who because she was a world-renowned psychologist, helped to deflect any blame. But Luxor wanted to be blamed, to be locked away so she couldn't hurt anybody. It was a repeat of her past, except now she had nowhere to escape to.
To make th
ings worse, Meredith tiptoed around Luxor as if any moment she'd blow up, which wouldn't have been further from the truth. On the outside, she was desensitised, and as like with the police, she answered her endless questions in curt, one word answers. Meredith didn't question her decision when Luxor told her she wouldn't be entering the church. She let her be murmuring a generic, “if you need anything.”
Yes, I want Evie back.
All the shops had closed down, a sea of black congregating at the church and clambered outside to pay their respects and say goodbye to a young life tragically cut short.
From far away on the sidelines and under the bleachers, Luxor knelt on a dry patch of dirt with a silent Pandora by her side, eyeing her every move and emotion. She stayed out of sight and observed the ceremony taking place. Being in attendance was an impossibility adding already to her mounting guilt. On the upside, it provided comfort, being in the last place she heard Evie laugh.
Luxor pressed her hands against the wood panelling and closed her eyes to evoke Evie's laughter, to when she'd tease her about her clothing, or when she was crude. She'd give anything to hear them again. During the night she imagined Evie come hurtling through the door on one of her surprise visits. When the realisation was it was all a dream she'd curl up in Pandora’s arms and cry until her body ached and no more tears were possible.
An hour later four pallbearers consisting of Pastor Cooper and Principal Wright carried out a white coffin draped with vibrant wreaths and bouquets of lilies. Walking behind, Ayla held Bethany Cooper as she howled, flinging herself forward and draped her body refusing them from moving. Nobody could fully comprehend losing a child, let alone two in the space of a year.
A pastor from another town had officiated the ceremony, holding a cross as they all sombrely walked the short distance to the cemetery behind the church. Evie's casket was lowered into the hole, buried next to her brother. A bucket of soil was passed around, each person throwing in a handful followed by a flower. Every time a person did it, the worse Luxor's chest restricted.
That should be me in there.
Luxor pulled out a brown paper bag from her pocket and heaved in it to steady her breathing. The motion so was forceful, the bag popped. Frantically she pulled out another one, the last one, and tried again until the thumping behind her rib cage calmed down. Crawling across the dirt an object pinched and burned her knee, hunching over she crouched and dusted off at the area. Her stomach lurched as she picked up a silver chain, a cross dangling from it. She scrunched it up in the bag and shoved it in her pocket. It was the only piece of Evie she had, and as much pain as it caused her, Luxor need something of hers.
“What can I do to help?” Pandora said.
“I wish there was something,” she struggled to utter.
A light figure blocked the opening leaving her to retreat back. "It was a beautiful service," Ayla said by way of a hello. "You could have come; I would have held your hand."
It wasn't the first time Ayla had mentioned it. She'd been around every day after Evie's death knowing how the situation would ultimately affect her. As luck would have it, that was her only option, but there was no way she'd ask anything of Ayla, even if it was important.
Was it selfish? Maybe. Then again pride was the reason Lucifer fell, a trait that had been passed onto her.
"What do you want?" Luxor replied monotonously crawling out in the open.
"To be here for you," she said softly clasping her hands in front. On the outside Ayla truly appeared innocent, a face nobody would pick to be responsible for underhanded dealings. She couldn't fathom how Ayla could live with herself, knowing she could have saved her.
Luxor snorted and picked the flecks of dirt off the hem of her black shift dress. She moved away to climb the bleachers. "I think you've done your quota of being here for me. I don't want you near me. Ever."
Ayla gasped audibly, scrunching up her face. "You're revoking me? You need me."
“She has me,” Pandora said.
"Exactly. If that means I rid you of being my guardian angel, then yes. I eternally revoke your services. If it was possible, I'd let your boss know your service sucks but he hates me."
And I hate Him too!
"You realise once it's done, there's no going back." She shifted from foot to foot.
"I sincerely hope so." She turned her back, and with each step, she took, the better she felt. Once she reached to the highest point possible, her arms in the air, she mourned that it be the closest she would ever be to Evie. "I'll avenge you, every one of them who’s responsible I'll make them pay. I promise you.”
Hunter viewed his beautiful Angel from afar, careful not to be seen. He was on the other side of the cemetery, a mausoleum shielding him from being spotted. He could just make out Luxor's figure, crawling from underneath the bleachers, with Pandora by her side. He was relieved she wasn’t alone.
"So, you're not going to say goodbye?" Theo asked.
"No."
"What the fuck?" He had been harping on about morals and ethics for the last hour, and Hunter wished he shut the fuck up.
The double doors to the church opened wide and four pallbearers stepped out carrying the pristine white coffin of Evie, two of them being Principal Wright and Pastor Cooper, and he didn’t care who the others were. He didn't even care that Ayla was acting like she had no part in it, but for now that had to be put aside, and the only thing that mattered was Evie was laid to rest peacefully.
"Why?"
Hunter groaned, on the verge of throttling his brother. "Sure, I screw up her life and I should stick around to say sorry? What for, it's not like she'd accept it?"
"It's not the point, it's the gesture. Want to know what I think?"
"No. You can shove your advice up your ass.” Hunter snapped.
Theo was ruining his last visual moments with her. He wanted to remember every expression and every inch to add to his endless memories of her. It was dangerous, watching her at her worst moments, this would forever torture him. But in his mind, he deserved it.
Theo opened up his mouth to continue but Hunter held up a palm.
"This is no fairy tale, people like us don't get a happily ever after, she's a damn Demi-Goddess, and I can't be her knight and shining armour," he silently told him, ruffling his hair in frustration not able to avert his gaze.
"We always knew she wasn't like the others," Theo stated the obvious. “So what? You’re not going to tell her about The Hollowing? She has a right to know.”
“What for, it won’t change the outcome, it’ll only hurt her more.”
The Hollowing, another reason why leaving Luxor was brutal. If only she knew. No matter how much time had passed ultimately, he was born a poor farm boy who'd overcome so much adversity to create a world for him to survive in. Leaving her was the only way to make sure she would be strong enough to do the same given what she'd suffered.
Hunter bit the inside of his cheek, he wanted to cry, something he'd never done and was told never to do. Even while holding his father in his dying moments he held back, emotion showed weakness and he refused to be weak.
Despite his burgeoning feelings for Luxor, he contemplated risking her life just to get what he wanted. He was selfish like that, only looking out for number one. But all that changed the moment he saw her, and especially after the night they had spent together when he held her in his arms. He knew right then, he wanted her in his life forever, and if he were to die tomorrow, he would remember that night.
When he disappeared for those few weeks, he helped a little boy who had Unveiled, and before he could return, trouble found him. A group of five Fallen caught him unaware and dragged him into a thin alley, and they simultaneously proceeded to bash him from all directions. His legs burned like never before and he could hardly move, his arms weak that every punch caused him agony. But Hunter refused to let them win, and he'd gotten his revenge, ending the life of a couple of the filthy animals, although the victory was short-lived because it
plunged him deeper in than before. He had even contemplated staying away for good, but the pull was too strong. Adding onto his decision was the revelation they'd been keeping an eye on him throughout his life, waiting for the right moment to strike, and when Luxor Unveiled, it was the perfect opportunity.
"What did father say in his dying moments?"
Hunter held his head squinting his eyes shut, the death of his father on his hands. "Not much. I don't understand any of this. He still was adamant to save her, didn't care I risked everything for him." He removed the chain from his neck holding a bronze key. "And he gave me this."
"What's that for?"
Hunter shrugged his shoulders. "A safe deposit box I'm guessing, I don't care. Take it." He looped it around Theo's neck glad to be rid of it.
The reunion he had of having with his father didn't live up to his imagination. That's the problem with fairy tales, they were overrated compared to real life.
After Hunter had shot the fatal arrow, he had moved back leaving Luxor and Ayla to argue amongst themselves. If he knew as much about females as he thought, he did it would be catty, and that was one altercation he wanted to have as much distance from as possible.
Cane had his father held up by the scruff like a skinned cat. "Looks like you missed, quite a disappointment." He released him as if the contact disgusted him wiping his fingers on his jeans. "Your time is running out, isn't it? No use for him now, you on the other hand…”
It took all Hunter’s courage to withdraw his arrow, and hold it up to Canes throat. He'd looked over at Luxor. She was protected by Principal Wright, Valencia and James.
"You poor boy she did a number on you. I'll be back for you both when you least expect it. Right now, I'm having too much fun watching you suffer."
A rattling came up from behind him, and severed the memory. Castor was whistling, and twirling around his metal chain that clipped from his pants. "What happens now? You’re immortal now.”
Betrayed: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone Book Two Page 43
