Legions

by Karice Bolton

  Athen came up behind me and whispered something so quietly that I had to spin around to hear him repeat it. Cyril and Arie had started back towards our car, and I appreciated the alone time the two of us were able to share over a moment like this.

  “I’m really proud of you.” He whispered again, feeling his lips press against mine, I let my thoughts of the family below vanish, leaving me to enjoy Athen’s affections.

  Chapter 27

  With the message sent to Azazel and an attack thwarted, the point was bound to get across to him. The message was as clear as we could send to him. Hopefully, Azazel would begin to play fair and involve us and not the mortals.

  Things had been quiet for several days from all of the other families. The attacks had stopped. The Legions were obviously planning something, but we were hoping that whatever it was, it would be directed at us and not the humans. My premonition of the attack on us at our Victoria home still had yet to occur, making me on edge. It was something we had to be on the lookout for, but nothing had happened. Only time would tell, however. The tension in the house had eased a bit. Cyril seemed back to his old self to me, and Arie seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his attention. I was even able to catch up on reading too, for which I felt incredibly grateful. The little things in life that I’d become so accustomed to up in Whistler, before my entire reintroduction process, seemed to have gotten put on hold for awhile between learning my new world and chasing down Athen and preparing for attacks. It was like the normalcy of life was completely out the window, except for the last few days.

  Athen came jogging into the living room where Matilda was sprawled out in front of the fireplace, with her quiet snores drifting in and out of range with each breath, and I was laying out on the couch, book in hand. Seeing his energy light up the room made me feel like the love I felt for him was going to lift me off the couch.

  He came rushing over to the couch, sitting next to me and looking so amazingly gorgeous; it was hard to think of anything but what I want to do to him.

  “What’s got you so excited?” I teased him.

  “Seeing you and everyone’s gone.” He murmured, as he hugged me tightly.

  “I love you, Athen.” I whispered in his ear. “I’ll never stop loving you.”

  “I love you more, my angel.” He scooped me up from where I was sitting on the couch, carrying me into our bedroom. Laying me down gently on our bed, I couldn’t wait for what was in store for me. He began unbuttoning my shirt slowly while I grabbed his black leather belt, pulling him towards me with all of the strength I could muster. His lips met mine, his body slid onto mine as he quickly finished unbuttoning my shirt. I grabbed his grey t-shirt and pulled it over his head, kissing every inch of his chest as his shirt fell to the floor. He moved me up against the top of our bed, securing pillows around us both. His skin was warm against mine, his breath reaching new areas of my body, as I thought about how lucky I was that he was here with me, so soon. The time away from each other only made this moment more special. Bringing his lips near mine again, I looked deeply into his eyes, searching for answers.

  As much as I enjoyed what I was experiencing with Athen, I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d gotten to him in this way as well. The sweat of the moment quickly turned chilling as that last thought popped in my head. Athen caught my shiver pulling back slowly.

  “Something’s wrong. What is it?”

  “Nothing, nothing. I’m sorry. I can’t. I …” He rolled onto his side, grabbing my chin.

  “You think that the time apart led to things?” His eyes finding all of the questions buried deep inside that I was afraid to ask aloud, in case they were true. “You saw the images during the Awakening. You still think we did?”

  I nodded, completely unsure of myself.

  “Nothing happened. It didn’t.” He held me, pulling the covers over us. “I’d tell you, and it didn’t.”

  I turned on my side to face him, burying my head into his chest.

  “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. She’s been plaguing me for so long in all of my nightmares. The grin that I’d see cross her lips has made me ill in my dreams so many times I kind of assumed that …”

  “Don’t assume. Much to her disgust, I wasn’t as easy of a target as she hoped. I didn’t know what was going on. I really had no clue, actually, but seeing you in the library that day, I realized something bigger than I could ever imagine was taking place. I’d a pretty good idea whose side I wanted to be on and an even better notion that I needed to watch myself with that woman. I’ve loved you for thousands of years, Ana. Nothing has ever taken us away from each other’s heart, and nothing will. You have to trust. You have to be brave in the face of us - what we represent. We have a love that no one can break, but you have to believe that too. You used to know that beyond anything. I know you will again someday.”

  “Thanks. I needed to hear it one more time. Everyday it was like a piece of me eroded bit by bit while you were gone, and only fear replaced the hole. I feel like I’m closer to filling it. I promise.”

  “I know, honey.” He said, kissing me gently on my shoulder.

  “On a different note, you’re saying the library incident was a good thing? You have no idea the turmoil I caused myself - catching your glance. I thought that I’d ruined everything. Especially with you bolting out of there the way you did.”

  “Actually, I was pretty freaked. I won’t lie. I didn’t go home that day though. I rode around and stayed at a place where I didn’t think she could find me for the night. I needed time to figure things out. In hindsight, I never could have figured this out,” His smirk was reappearing, “without the memsors. But seeing your gaze in the library told me what I wanted to be near again, and it was you.”

  “Wow, you’re incredible.” I told him, letting the evening unfold into a brilliant memory that I would cherish for eternity.

  ***

  There was a faint rustle in the blackberries. I prayed it was an animal - maybe a raccoon or something harmless like that. Matilda had finished her business and was already standing at the door for me to let her back in, but I wanted to check out the movement. I shined my flashlight towards the intimidating, thorny bushes seeing nothing. A low hiss began, one that I recognized all too well. It couldn’t be her. Why now? The house was only a few seconds away back behind me. I could reach it with a quick sprint.

  Knowing that I didn’t want to turn my back to the thicket of hisses, I slowly walked backwards towards the porch, hoping I would make it to the steps before she began her approach. I had no idea which form I should be expecting, slithering or walking. It didn’t matter; they were both as despicable as the other. I tried my best to communicate to Athen in the house. Hoping that I was getting skilled enough to channel who I was talking to rather than broadcasting it to anyone in our particular radius, I concentrated as hard as I could without losing track of her. Not turning around to look behind me, I realized someone inside must have turned on the living room light as the glow bounced off the shrubs on the left side of the house. My spirits began to lift a bit at thought of strength in numbers. I had no idea what her intention was. She knew fully that Athen was back with us. There was no chance of turning him onto her dark side. She had another reason for being here.

  Our front door scraped the bottom of the floor as it was swung open, letting me know that my family was now with me.

  “What seems to be the problem?” Cyril’s voice booming as ever.

  “We have a visitor. I just don’t know if she’s slithering or crouching.” I yelled back to him.

  Athen stepped to my side, grabbing my hand and squeezing it.

  “My guess is she’s slithering around. She never really made a great-looking human.” Athen said, making my heart sing.

  Athen reached down and grabbed a handful of rocks.

  “Check this out.” He said, as he was tossing one after the other into the thicket of thorns, taunting her beyond belief. I tried ge
tting outside of myself but was loving every second of this torment. Eventually, her anger would get the better of her, and she would appear.

  Arie and Cyril were directly behind us, waiting like we were for Lilith to show her face, and she didn’t let us down. The thorn-bearing branches were thrown to the side as she stood up quickly, glaring at us all. Stepping forward, her hissing became more constant, making her look especially ridiculous.

  Letting go of Athen’s hand, I took a step forward.

  “Is there something you wanted or did you just miss us?” I asked her.

  “Azazel got your message. He wanted me to tell you myself, since we have such a connection.” She said, her lip curling over her gruesome smile, with her sharp tongue ready for anything I was going to throw at it. “You and I.”

  “There is no connection, Lilith. Don’t flatter yourself. Athen and I have always been and always will be.”

  “What makes you think that’s the connection I was referring to?” Her serpent eyes were glaring at me as if the others didn’t exist.

  “That’s the one that came to mind, I guess, whatever.” I refused to show any curiosity whatsoever as she waited for my reaction.

  “Well, it’s good you have each other because you’ll need each other’s strength as the fun begins. In fact, it’s starting right now. Look, see off in the distance? Isn’t it beautiful? By the way, Azazel feels it is far more intriguing to keep the humans involved regardless of your wishes.” In that instant, she was gone, leaving us looking towards the harbor where her eyes had last been, leaving us to deal with a horror we weren’t prepared for.

  ***

  The flames were shooting straight up from the ferry. Smoke was creating a low, covering cloud, hovering right over the doomed vessel. The screams for help were shaking me to my core. In the sky, the large black creatures, with wingspans twice the length of their bodies, were circling around their victory. The creatures were swooping down onto the ferry picking up the people and dumping them into the water as if they were ragdolls. The fury was building inside of me. Those were innocent people, and the demons were destroying countless lives and families. We had to stop them. I knew it was the demon’s direct invitation to us. The humans were the bait, but we were the target.

  The black soulless creatures continued taunting us with each dive-bomb onto the ferry or mortal who they captured. We had no time to deliberate. These winged-beasts couldn’t be seen by humans for now, but it was only a matter of time before that would change. The demons in this form were not visible to mortals, unless the humans were evil themselves and death was upon them. Otherwise humans couldn’t see them.

  I looked up at Athen unsure of my abilities, but I knew that didn’t matter. It was a trap that the demons had set for us, and we had to participate. I knew this going into it, but I couldn’t let innocent people perish because I was worried about my own safety and Athen’s. The fear began building as I thought about the lack of training or anything, really, that Athen had since he came back to us. I also knew he wasn’t going to be on the sidelines.

  “I love you, sweetheart.” I whispered into his ear.

  “I love you too.” He whispered back, kissing my neck as he backed away.

  “Now’s the time, Ana. You’ve practiced enough. I know you can make it to the ferry.”

  Before Cyril’s last words left his lips, my body had already begun the process of forward motion. The mist was hitting my face like tiny shards of glass, but I arrived so quickly onto the ferry, the images were all a blur. I felt Athen land right behind me. Thick smoke was creating a wall that I couldn’t see through. I heard the coughs of victims, guiding me to them. I felt for the first body, which turned out to be a limp mess of a woman. I grabbed her and threw her over my shoulder, when I heard a whimper from a small child. I steadied myself with the weight of the woman on my shoulder and knelt down feeling with my hand until I reached the hand of a child, probably this woman’s daughter.

  “Come on, sweetie. You’re going to be okay.” I tried my best at speaking without inhaling.

  I grabbed her, closing my eyes and concentrating on the shore that I’d so quickly left behind, hoping I would make it back safely with my added cargo. My body tensed up, and I pictured myself on the rocky shore. My body began its lightning-speed journey only to crash onto the beach in mere seconds. I dumped them off, knowing help would get to them both. I needed to get back to the ferry. I saw Cyril and Arie releasing the boats onto the waves, helping the passengers as best they could into the boats. I hoped Athen was doing okay since not all of his abilities were completely at a 100 percent.

  I looked back up into the sky, watching the winged creatures hovering over us as we attempted to help the survivors. I was thankful at least that the humans wouldn’t see these monsters. I didn’t understand the demons’ intentions. I knew it was only a matter of time before we were their next targets. We were falling into their trap beautifully.

  Taking a deep breath in, I started back to the ferry. I found myself back in the cabin. My search began for people who may not have made it back down to the lower ferry decks for the evacuations by Cyril and Arie. The smoke burning my eyes made it almost impossible, as I felt for anything that didn’t feel like it belonged where I was stepping. I could see Arie and Cyril whipping around the ferry dropping people into the boats. To the human eye, it would look like the survivors were jumping into the floating boats themselves, but that was impossible. Arie and Cyril had made sure the boats were far enough away from the burning ferry, and there was no way a human could land that.

  “Athen?” I hollered, “Are you still here?”

  Tears were streaming down my face from the pain that was unrelenting from the thick air. Athen’s energy was warming me. I knew he was near me.

  “Are you okay?”

  He came up behind me, feeling around just as I’d been doing for survivors, and grabbed my waist.

  “I think there are only a few left.” His voice muffled as he spoke into his shirt, trying to keep the thick mess out of his lungs as best he could. “I’ve gotten several to the lifeboats.”

  “Hello?” I hollered out into the cabin, choking on smoke. Silence.

  I began my way down the other side of the cabin when I kicked something soft. I felt for the person’s arms and swung them over my shoulder. This time, I decided to try to drop them in one of the boats that Arie and Cyril had released into the sea. The closest one to the ferry was already full, so I found a spot in the next one to drop off the man.

  Heading back to the ferry, one of the demons suddenly barricaded me. Hovering directly in front of me about five feet, he attempted to stop me from moving forward. Knowing that my range was limited with the other creatures still flying overhead, I shot to the left waiting for the creature to follow me through the ferry’s car deck. Knowing my best shot for victory was if the demon couldn’t use his wings, I hoped that the demon would be forced to relinquish them due to the tight quarters of the car deck. Landing smoothly through the steel opening, I gained my composure before I felt the black soulless creature arrive behind me. He was perched on the metal framing, surveying his options. Relief flooded me, as his wings were sucked into his back as if they never existed. The victims on the ferry needed Cyril, Athen, and Arie more than I needed them. I would need to finish this creature off on my own. I was actually looking forward to it.

  A screech echoed through the air, bouncing off the metal walls alerting me of his intentions. My body was hovering in the air, as I did my best to blend in with the dark smoke that was getting thicker by the second.

  “Come here. I’m ready for you.” I hissed.

  My veins were pumping with excitement at the thought of destroying this demon and anymore that made the mistake of coming towards me. Another message needed to be sent. I was stronger, and I was ready for whatever Azazel wanted to send at us. If I was the reason behind these battles, then I would ensure that I would make my presence known.

  A su
dden black streak darted towards me as I dropped to the floor, leaving a steel support beam in my wake behind me. The demon crashed into the steel, slinking to the floor, which gave me the opportunity I needed. Jumping up, I extended my leg, quickly kicking him in the spine, pushing him back towards the steel beam, his jaw cracked on the metal. He spun around, reaching for my neck with his hand and missing, but not before grabbing my hair, and slamming me down onto the metal floor.

  Looking up, the smoke made his features indistinguishable, but I could still see what I needed to continue the fight. Playing lifeless, I let the demon bend down to continue his attack, attempting to step on my neck, but not before I was able to rotate my body underneath the nearest car. Imagining myself back on the cliff, throwing the boulder over the edge, I knew what needed to be done. Letting my mind imagine the weight of the cold metal car above me, I grabbed onto the axles, squeezing as hard as I could, becoming one with the machine. The rage that had been building since stepping foot on this ferry took over, and I rolled the car on top of the demon who was waiting for me to roll out. The scraping of metal on metal overshadowed the demon’s shrieks of pain as his body was crushed by the weight of the car that I toppled onto him with. The adrenaline was still pumping, and I was experiencing a high like no other. Defeating the demons was becoming my drug.

  Athen was dropping off another lifeless, victim into a lifeboat as well. A man, dressed in a beige suit now covered with black soot, who was probably rushing home to be with his family. The fury would not stop building inside of me. I hoped that help would get here soon. Athen looked exhausted, which wouldn’t be unusual since he only recently had begun using his skills again. I nodded at him before I began my rescues again. I knew there were more victims in there. My job was to find them before it was too late.