“Enough!” Zag yelled from behind her, rushing to help Ray. His hands moved quickly, reaching toward an overgrown bush outside the window next to them. He intensified his power and pulled the shrub into the room, stretching it until it surrounded him and Ray. “You’re going to kill her if you don’t stop!”
Ruby’s eyes changed to a deep black until they were nothing but darkness, devoid of any emotion. She could feel the dagger pulsate against her palm. With a single breath she flipped it in her hand and charged the wall Zag erected. It shrank away with every cut she made as if out of fear. Leaves fell to the ground in an avalanche of green. She was going to make Ray pay no matter what. She made quick progress, ripping a big enough hole to reach through.
“Rue! What are you doing?” Liam screamed, running into the room, Jake on his heels. “And why the hell are you guys not stopping this?” His attention shifted to Dominik and Silas behind him, “You were supposed to help while we got the bags!”
He reached Ruby right before she sent another shot of black plasma, this one aimed at Ray’s heart. Grabbing one arm, he twisted her away, motioning for the knights and Jake to hold her other hand. She struggled, kicking at the ground as they carried her to an armchair at the other end of the room. Her body hit the chair like a sack of potatoes, knocking the dagger out of her hand. The sharp banging sound of the metal hitting the ground jarred her attention back to the room. Her eyes settled back into their usual brown shade when she finally looked up at Liam. “Goddammit, Liam! She’s a traitor!”
“Maybe. But you’re not a killer,” he knelt in front of her, “or are you trying to be one now?”
She huffed and put her trembling hands in his. He was right, she wasn’t a killer. But why did she want to end Ray so badly? She looked over Liam’s shoulder, Zag had brought the rest of the wall down and was helping clean the plasma off Ray. She could see the welts form on her wrists and ankles where it melted into her skin, disgusted by the small amount of joy it brought her. “Is she okay?” She asked, not entirely sure if she meant it.
“She’ll be fine. No thanks to you, girl.” Zag said and helped Ray stumble to the bed.
Ruby watched her sit down carefully, rubbing at her wrists and yelping from the pain as she touched them.
“Don’t rub it. It’ll heal faster on its own,” she offered. “AetherBorns recover pretty fast from plasma but you have to leave it alone.”
“I know that!” Ray snapped back, “I’d recover even quicker if you didn’t try to kill me at all.”
“Do you blame me?”
Ray didn’t answer, rolling her eyes, and turning back to face Zag who was almost done removing the plasma from her ankles. His apologetic eyes met hers, as if it was him who did the damage.
“What the hell happened here?” Nola screeched from the doorway, Leah following close behind her. She pointed to the piles of shrubs on the floor. “Someone filming Jurassic Park in this joint, or what?”
“Our little queen had a meltdown,” Zag offered, handing Ray a bottle of water from his bag. “Almost killed this one.”
“Yeah, well, lucky you were there, Zag. If I was her, I wouldn’t have stopped.”
Ruby’s gaze met Nola’s, suddenly understanding the anger she must feel all the time. Every AetherBorn she met must remind her of the time she had spent under Demas’ influence. She was surprised Nola didn’t kill Ray right when they first found her. If she wanted to hurt her so deeply, Nola must want to cause a lot more damage considering Ray spent all that time helping the monster that enslaved her and her mother. She never asked Nola about it, but she was pretty certain that her hatred for Demas would not be healed until he was gone. After all, he had fathered many daughters during his time on Earth in an attempt to grow his army and almost all of them wanted him dead after Ruby freed them. If she was in Nola’s place, she would have ripped Ray’s head off there and then. In fact, she would have if it wasn’t for Liam and Zag.
“Hey, Noles?” Leah placed her small palm on the AetherBorn’s shoulder, “Why don’t we go for a walk or something? They have a killer movie collection in the lobby! Come check it out with me?”
Nola ripped her eyes away from Ray and followed Leah out the door. “They better have drinks in the lobby!” She added and walked away.
When they were gone, Jake gestured for the two knights to leave the room. He walked over to the bed where Zag sat next to Ray, quietly watching her. His feet planted firmly as he towered over them. “Why don’t you fill us in on why you’re here.” He said calmly.
“You sure that psycho won’t try to kill me again?”
“I’d watch what I say,” he added, crossing his arms.
“Ugh, fine.” Ray sighed and jumped further onto the bed, leaning her back against the wicker headboard. “Like I already said, I came to help.”
“Why should we believe you?”
“Because why the hell would I come here otherwise? It’s not like I didn’t know you’d try to kill me. I’m not an idiot.”
“Could have fooled me,” Ruby whispered under her breath.
“Huh?” Ray jerked her head in Ruby’s direction, “You want me to tell you how I can help, or what?”
She rolled her eyes but let Ray continue. No point arguing with her now.
“Anyways,” Ray continued, “I think I can help you find him.”
“Why would you want to help us? You were a pretty diligent soldier for him before.”
“Not to mention running off after Ruby came back from the plane,” Liam added.
“Yeah, well, let’s just say I had some time to think about it. And I’m pretty sure he wasn’t going to fulfill his end of the bargain even if I stuck around. Turns out Demas was kind of a liar.”
“You think?” Jake sneered, “what did he promise you anyway?”
Ray thought about the question as if wondering whether to answer it truthfully or not. Her expression shifted with each thought and Ruby realized how young Ray really was. Just a scared kid with no one to turn to. She wondered if she would have been as afraid and naive if she hasn’t stumbled on Liam and the Elementals.
“Just that he would make sure I had power and whatever. That I wouldn’t be alone. Like ever,” she sighed, “as if anyone could really promise that.”
“So, what made you change your mind?”
“Well, because where the heck is he, right? I mean, you kicked his ass, I get it. But I’ve been looking for him this whole time, and he hasn’t so much as tried to come for me. Now I find out he’s got his little fam helping him out. Just tossed me out for a new pony. The asshole.”
“Wait,” Ruby got up and started to walk towards the bed, she stopped and backed away when she noticed Ray tense up. “You’re sure his family is here?”
“Obvi.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
“You saw the ash, right?”
“Uh huh…”
“Well, that’s Nyx’s signature. Always a trace of ash after a kill. Everyone knows that.” Ray looked at their blank expressions, “or I guess not everyone.”
“Nyx? As in the Night Deity?” Zag asked.
“The one and only. And if she’s here, Hemera must be with her. From what Demas told me, she would never leave her mom on her own,” she paused. “Let me guess? You don’t know who she is either.”
Ruby shook her head. Her knowledge of the deities was minimal at best and right now, she wished she had spent more time going through the mythology books in the library instead of daydreaming about killing Demas.
“The Deity of Day. Her and Nyx are as close as they can get. Talk about an unhealthy mother-daughter relationship. I mean, geez. Cut the cord lady!” Ray’s lips twirled up into the first smile Ruby had seen on her.
“Is that it?”
“For the fam reunion? No clue. I’m hoping so. Otherwise, we’re screwed.”
The way she said the word ‘we’ made Ruby feel uneasy. They hadn’t agreed to work with her yet and she wasn’t even
certain that she could be trusted. “So why get involved at all? If it’s this dangerous, why don’t you just hide out until it’s over?”
“You kidding me, right?” Ray raised an eyebrow, “The prick left me alone. He promised me a bunch of crap then just ghosted me! I am not gonna let that slide. Besides, I’ve literally never walked away from a fight.”
“Except when you ran off last time you mean?” Liam smirked.
“Yeah, well, that was different.”
“Right. You weren’t on our side then.” Jake said, rolling his eyes.
Ray finished off the water and tossed the empty bottle on the floor. “Look, you can trust or me not. It’s your call. But if you don’t, get ready for a wild goose chase. You’ll never get to him in time.”
“And how exactly can you help with that?”
“Because, bozo,” she laughed, “they’re using the Aether Plane to get around.”
“And?”
“And I know how it works. Demas showed me. So, if you want to track them, I’m your best bet. Just need to get me to the last place you know they were.”
She looked at Ray’s self-assured smile and sighed in frustration. If she wanted to get to Demas, she would have to work with this brat.
Just when things couldn’t get worse, she thought and sank back into the armchair.
Chapter 22
Brother
Frozen solid was not even close to describing how Ruby felt walking from the van to the wooded area where the Sherfield police discovered the body just a few days ago. If Cyril’s contact hadn’t given them a copy of the crime scene report, she would have guessed the poor girl died of exposure to the cold. She couldn’t fathom how people could live here year-round. They’d been in Sherfield less than a day, and she was already homesick and desperate to replace the empty, small-town landscape with skyscrapers and sunshine that actually provided heat. She could see sun rays hit the tops of the evergreens, but it was as if the town was protected by an invisible dome that stopped anything other than snow and wind from getting through. Ruby released another quick shudder and scooted closer to Liam in hopes of warming up.
One quick look around the group and she could see they were just as miserable as she was. Shivering like pigeons huddled on top of a street grate. Even Elena was starting to turn blue despite her gear.
The only one that seemed completely unaffected by the temperature drop was Ray. Prancing along next to Zag, trying to make small talk. He didn’t seem to mind her company but every glimpse of purple hair out of the corner of her eye made Ruby anxious. How was she so relaxed right now?
I guess you can’t be chilly when your heart is made of ice.
The road behind disappeared as they strayed off the path and into the tree line. The evergreens were a massive layout of indistinguishable patterns, growing in random patches and intertwining their lush branches above their heads. She felt like she was entering another land and had to glance back every now and then to make sure they still had the road in sight. The last thing she wanted was to get lost in a forest in this temperature. Comforted by the sight of the van, she reached for Liam’s hand, startling him enough to jump.
“I guess everyone is on edge right now,” she smiled and squeezed his warm palm.
“Yep. Especially Leah.” His head nodded to the left where Leah crept carefully behind Nola, her eyes a wide pool of fear.
“Do you blame her? The amount of crime TV she watches, I’m surprised she leaves the house at all!” Ruby joked but her heart felt a touch of sadness, wishing she could take her friend’s fears away.
The trees ahead got denser, and they had to squeeze together until they were marching single file into the abandoned wilderness. It was like someone was funneling them in. The entire scene reminded Ruby of war tactics and her stomach twisted and turned from the nerves. She brushed the thought out of her mind and walked on, listening to the chatter in front of her until they reached a small opening between two trees and could finally see a sliver of light shining through.
She watched as their group passed through one by one, Jake leading the way. If they were correct in mapping it out, the body would have been dumped just on the other side of these trees. An odd place from Ruby’s perspective but according to Zag, the small open area in the woods is a big draw for teen parties and gets patrolled often by police. Another smart move from Demas.
Half of the group was already on the other side, their silence suddenly deafening.
Ruby held out her arm, stopping Liam in his tracks. Zag, Nola, Leah and Ray paused abruptly behind them, following her lead. “Something is wrong. It’s too quiet,” she noted, reaching down to unstrap the dagger from her leg. She tightened her grip on the handle, feeling its weight begin to circulate the power within her. One step at a time, she pushed her way to the other side of the trees.
Heat. Unbearable heat rolled off her as she made her way into the clearing. To her right stood the rest of their party, frozen in place and afraid to move. Her eyes followed their stares and gaping mouths to the center of the clearing. There, in the middle of the ash covered, frozen grass stood Demas. His black curls whipping madly in the wind, matching the ebbing flow of his long leather jacket. Dark, hateful eyes narrowing as he spoke.
“How wonderful. A reunion!” He exclaimed, his thin lips parting into a devilish grin. “Eros, look! Your little toys are here!”
Her attention shifted to Ray who mouthed a quiet shit, her way of letting Ruby know they were in trouble. She had a pretty good idea who this Deity was but as far as she knew from her limited studies in high school, Eros was the Deity of Love. What could they possibly have to be scared off? Though Demas would not have chosen a puppy dog to help him in his plans, so whatever this Eros had to offer, it couldn’t be good for the rest of them.
There was a rustle in the trees a few feet away from Demas and within seconds, a strapping hunk of a man stepped into the clearing. His broad shoulders knocked through the branches like they were puffs of dust and Ruby had a hard time figuring out if she was afraid or attracted to this creature. He’s helping Demas, she had to recite in her head almost like a mantra while Eros shook his shoulder-length blonde curls with an enticing grin. As if on cue, Liam put pressure on her hand and she straightened her back, holding the dagger in front of her.
“Oh, my goodness! Is that the sword?” Demas laughed, “I told you brother, these things ruin everything they touch. They’re absolutely useless.”
Eros took a few steps forward, the muscles in his thick legs tensing through his slacks as he walked. “I don’t know about that,” he purred, “this one seems like she could have a use or two.” He sneered, licking his bottom lip.
“Back off!” Liam commanded, stepping in front of her. With a silent call, Jake and the knights followed suit and were at her side in moments while Cyril and Elena protected the others.
“Look what you did, you made lover boy mad,” Demas teased and puckered his bottom lip. “Now he’ll get all hot and bothered and burn the forest down.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Eros laughed, trailing the echo of his voice across the field, “I know a thing or two about the fire of love. Are you sure she’s worth it?”
Without words, Liam balled his fists and set them ablaze.
“Well, excuse me, Romeo!” Eros lifted his arms in dramatic defeat, “I guess I was wrong. Good for you, kid!”
To her left, Ruby heard a slight commotion followed by small steps in the grass. The crunch of the ice covering the clearing amplified as it got closer until Ray’s back was in front of them, facing Demas head on. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Miss Carolina Raymond! There you are! Where have you been this whole time?” Demas exclaimed.
Carolina? Seriously? Not so tough now, is she?
“Where have I been? Where have I been?” Ray yelled, “Where the hell have you been? Coward.”
“It’s not nice to call people names, Carolina.”
&nb
sp; “Oh, and it’s nice to kill them?” she huffed, “And it’s Ray.”
“That’s quite the accusation, and I don’t see a body here,” he sang. “Do you, Eros?”
“No body, no crime.” His brother offered in return, his blue eyes wildly dancing over the rest of the group.
“There’s ash everywhere! We know Nyx did this!”
“Well, aren’t you a clever little traitor?” Demas smirked, “Running around spilling our secrets to anyone who would listen?”
“I’m not the traitor here,” Ray started. “You’re the one that–”
“That’s enough.” Ruby said and pushed through Liam and Jake to get closer to the brothers. The dagger’s hilt glistened, amplifying the bright colors of the gems set in it. “What do you want, Demas? You want me? You got me. Here I am! Was it really necessary to kill these people? Haven’t you heard of a phone?” She yelled.
“Necessary? Of course not. But most things that are fun aren’t necessary.”
“You’re disgusting,” she spat back.
“As for what I want, well, I don’t really need to share that with you, do I? Last time we bonded I really thought you’d be more helpful, but you were just a thorn in my side. And you took things away from me;” he gave a side wave to Nola who looked like she was going to walk over and slap him right across the face, “there’s a price to pay for that.”
“You’re seriously psychotic,” Jake said from behind her.
“I see you brought both of your pups out to play today,” he smirked, disregarding Jake’s presence with a slight twirl of the hand.
Ruby widened her stance, holding the dagger in front of her with both hands. Her body tensed as she swirled its energy into her, inch by inch through every finger until it was pouring into her like an open faucet. She let it consume her until she could feel every blood cell in her body morph into something else. Something stronger. A being made of blood and black plasma. An AetherBorn in her true right.
She let the energy seep back out, encasing the dagger and her palms in a deep, dark fog.
AetherBlood Page 9
