“I’m fine.” I glanced across the fire to see Lilly frowning at me with narrowed eyes. I met her gaze and for a long moment, we had a silent battle of wills. She looked away first, though only because Caius elbowed her.
“Well, that’s good,” James replied. “In light of that, how in the nine hells could you just leave like that?”
“Friends don’t usually ditch friends, Jo,” Bethany said. “How can we help if you don’t let us?”
I shook my head. “You all almost got killed back in the mortal world because of people trying to kill me. And since Caius and I came here, we’ve been attacked by Eisheth’s minions, murderous trees, Sentinels, and had a rather intense meeting with Hades. I don’t regret leaving you guys behind.”
“Yeah because relying on only Caius is the best idea in the world.” Bethany folded her arms and snorted.
“He’s taught me a lot since we got here. I know how to create clothing and clean without needing to use a shower, I know how to create a fire like this one.” I pointed at the campfire burning a few inches off the ground. “He’s training me how to fight better, how to control my powers better. He’s told me the truth and kept me alive. What’s wrong with relying on him?”
“She’s got it bad,” James said, shaking his head. “Not that I blame you at all, Jo. He’s eye candy, to say the least, and does seem to care about you.”
Bethany rolled her eyes. “It’s not like there could ever be a relationship between them. It’s absolutely forbidden.”
I stared at my hands as heat flushed my face. Not the burning blush Caius had elicited several times, but I was pretty sure my cheeks were a little pink. Caius, his siblings, and Rowen had all moved a little ways from the fire for which I was suddenly grateful.
“Wait, you two don’t actually have real feelings for each other, do you?” Bethany asked.
“Wow, in for a pinch in for a pound, huh?” James whispered low.
I could only assume the fact that James had more relationship experience than Bethany is how he understood the situation so quickly. And what could I say? I wasn’t about to deny it. I’d already told Rowen I was going to do what I wanted regarding Caius and to the nine hells with the laws.
“Wait,” Bethany studied James’s quiet expression and my slightly guilty one. “Is there more than feelings to this?”
“I think that’s rather clear isn’t it, Bethany?” James said.
It didn’t surprise me it had taken her longer to figure it out. Bethany hadn’t gone there with anyone yet.
“Oh, Jo.” She sighed. “That only complicates things. I can’t believe you had,” she lowered her voice and hissed, “sex!”
“Why not?” I finally said.
“But the laws—” Bethany began.
“Were already broken, that’s why I’m here in the first place, remember?” I glared at the fire. “Since I’ve been lied to for some reason by Alaric and had Sentinels sent after me simply for being, I’ve decided the laws don’t apply to me. I’m a criminal by virtue of birth, so what do I care if I break the laws now?”
“Uh, you could end up in the pits.” Bethany threw her hands in the air.
I stared at where Caius stood a distance away. “Sometimes the actions are worth the consequences.”
James just shook his head. I turned to him. “Tell me you wouldn’t risk it for Aaron.”
“I would walk through fire for him. It’s why I’m not as wound up about it as Bethany.” James shrugged. “Besides, I saw this coming right after Caius pulled you from Eisheth’s trap. I told you then and you didn’t believe me, but I knew what I saw.”
Bethany stared at him. “How did you see this coming then? I mean, I worried about it back in that forest, but before that?”
James snorted. “Anyone with half a brain and paying any kind of attention could see the way Caius looked at her.”
Bethany shot me a concerned look. “He didn’t coerce you or pressure you into anything did he?”
I laughed softly. “Hardly.” If anything, I had pressured him.
Her look turned appraising. “You really do love him don’t you?”
“Yes.” It didn’t need any embellishments. I had managed to convey everything with that one word.
“Even if it goes against everything?” she whispered, now studying her own hands.
I thought of the conversation I’d overheard earlier and glanced at Malik. Though he was talking to Caius, his gaze was on Bethany. He looked away as soon as he realized my attention was on him. I turned back to my friend; she still examined her hands as if the answer to the question she was struggling with could be found in the lines on her palms. What had happened between them?
I leaned back on my hands, stretching my legs out in front with ankles crossed and said, “We’re already going against everything. If you were really worried about that, then why are you here and not back in Midtween with all of the other well-behaved reapers that refused to help?”
“It’s not that simple for them.” Bethany frowned. “They think you are going to end the Morrigan.”
“And you don’t think I will?” An uneasy knot formed in my stomach as I waited for her reply.
After a moment she finally answered, her voice quiet. “I don’t know.” She looked at me. “I do know you are my friend.”
James draped his arm over my shoulder. “We’ve only been friends for a year, but it might as well be forever. Whatever comes, you are stuck with us, Jo.”
Their unconditional acceptance of me made my eyes water. I blinked the tears away while staring at the fire. “Where is everyone else?”
“They are still at Lilly’s safe house.” James hugged me with the arm he had around my shoulders. “Rowen didn’t want everyone coming until we knew for sure where you were. Plus, it’s safer for them. Ryan is keeping track of them for now.”
“And who’s keeping track of the demonborn with Malik here?”
Bethany made a face. “Zane. He’s a complete ass, but seems to be able to keep the others from acting up.”
Thinking of Zane, and what he said to me back at Lilly’s safe house, sent a curl of anger through me. Although I wasn’t sure if I was angry with him, the truth of his words, myself for being the problem, or my mom for not doing everything in her power to save herself.
“What about the Lost? Is there any news?” I asked, remembering exactly why I was bound to Caius in the first place.
James shrugged. “None of us know. We can’t go back to Midtween now. All we can do is hope it’s slowed a little.”
Disappointed there was no way to know for sure, I fervently hoped the numbers of Lost had lessened. Maybe with my friends here, with Malik and Lilly here, we would be able to get through the Between faster. Maybe Eisheth would be less likely to throw more of her minions at us if we had greater numbers. It made me glad once again I had such steadfast friends.
“Well, for whatever reason you guys are here, I love you for it. It’s good to know all the Children aren’t against me.” I couldn’t help the sour note in my voice.
Bethany gave a sad sigh. “For all intents and purposes, the Morrigan is our mother. How would you have reacted if you heard someone was coming to destroy your mother when you lived in the mortal world?”
I could see her point, especially since I had basically been told that very thing. If the cancer had been a flesh and blood person instead of an army of tiny cells, then I would have done everything to stop that person.
It kind of sucked in a way. I wanted to be able to think of the reapers who declined to come to my aid as bad people. But I was quickly discovering that there was very little that was perfectly good and perfectly evil. There were so many layers of gray. Even Eisheth, scheming and cruel as she was, had only tried to kill me to protect the future she saw for Caius. Her reasoning had been wrong, her actions unforgivable, but only from my point of view. I’m sure she felt perfectly justified in what she’d done. Especially considering the effort she must have g
one to in order to ensure Samael would be Caius’s father. My mother had always told me that who was good and who was evil depended entirely on which end of the sword you stood on.
It was all a huge mess and I was at the center of it. I could only pray I wasn’t somehow the cause of the Lost as well.
***
“It was good to have my siblings standing with me again.” ~Caius
Chapter 13
Malik approached where I sat with Bethany and James. “You up for some training?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Me?’
“I’m pretty sure Bethany and James already have a handle on their powers. You’re the one with barely tapped angel and Morrigan power. The one with demon in you.” Mischief sparkled in his eyes as he lowered his voice and said, “Sometimes more than others.”
I didn’t miss the innuendo and my face blazed as I stood. The dark scowl Caius shot his younger brother over Rowen’s shoulder let me know he’d heard it, too. Lilly’s disgusted scoff, Bethany’s outraged gasp, and the choking laughter from James made Rowen turn.
Rowen’s gaze appraised us, finally settling on me and narrowing. I mentally prayed to any gods that might be listening that my guide hadn’t overheard. Not that I was going to try and hide what I had with Caius, but I wasn’t ready yet for the argument that would ensue.
Luck was with me. Caius said something and Rowen turned his attention back to him. I let out a sigh of relief and faced Malik. “What kind of practice?
“Time to work on your shield some more.”
His expression was easy going, but that didn’t take away the wary feeling in my gut. “The last time I practiced that with one of you, I spent most of the time eating dirt.”
Malik flashed a grin. “Undoubtedly, you will again.”
Great. It sounded like fun was out for the day. “Fabulous.”
“Caius told me he taught you how to use your emotions to connect with your powers. So now you just need to apply that to defend yourself.” A wicked gleam entered his eyes. “We will find out how much time Caius spent teaching you this and how much he spent on other…lessons instead.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as he led me a short distance from the fire and those around it. Lilly trailed after us and I almost groaned and hoped she wasn’t planning to help. She wasn’t real happy with me right now.
When they positioned themselves in front of me so we formed a triangle with me at the apex, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. “So what do you want me to do?”
“Defend yourself.”
I knew what was coming a second before the indigo shadows formed around his hand and leaped at me. I didn’t have time to feed any emotions into anything. The shadows hit me and I smacked the ground. As I picked myself up Rowen stalked toward Malik. “What do you think you are doing?”
“Teaching her to use her powers.” Malik didn’t look the least bit affected by Rowen’s anger.
“You are going to kill her doing that.” Rowen glared a Malik.
Caius strolled over to stand closer to his brother. “He won’t kill her.”
I gaped at him. Somewhere in the past few minutes, he had donned his armor and damn if he didn’t look sexier in it. The dark grey overlapping panels were edged in deep red with a flame and indigo smoke that almost looked like wings on the left breast. It fit his form well and made him more impressive than he already was. Even the bracers on his forearms fit perfect without being bulky. It was like the armor had somehow melded to his exact shape.
Rowen folded his arms. “So you condone hitting her with demon power and throwing her around?”
“She doesn’t have years to train. There’s no time to coddle her.” Caius said calmly.
I glanced at where James and Bethany had jumped to their feet and waved them away before straightening. My evening lessons were never easy either. Caius pushed me hard each night to learn control of my power and how to defend myself with my staff and with only my hands and feet. “He’s right. Besides, I’ve had this version of training before. I’ll live.”
When Rowen looked like he was going to protest, I said, “If you can’t deal with it, then you can’t be here.”
A deep scowl settled on his face but I didn’t care. Caius was right, I needed to learn this. There were too many enemies building around us—too many things that would get us both killed when they became known—for me to be helpless.
Caius and Malik both gave me a look full of approval. Even Lilly seemed to take her hostility down a notch. Rowen sighed. “I can keep you safe, you know, if you quit running off.”
“Jo doesn’t need to be rescued any more than the rest of us, Rowen. She has the power to defend herself. Once she has a handle on her powers and they mature, she will do far more than defend.” Caius’s golden eyes met mine. “And with my blood in her system, her powers are maturing faster than they would have.”
Rowen finally backed out of the way. No sooner was the field between us clear than Malik’s shadows came at me again. This time I was prepared. I wasn’t sure how to find my angel or even Morrigan powers when my life wasn’t threatened. But I knew exactly how to reach for the demon powers.
A shield of flame sprang up in front of me just before the shadows flew right through it and slammed into me. It knocked the breath from me as the force sent me in a half-flip before I tasted dirt.
I pushed myself to my hands and knees while still struggling to breathe. My lungs finally remembered their job and I sucked in a gulp of air. Bethany started toward me, but Caius’s voice stopped her in her tracks, “She’s fine. Get up, Reaper.”
I shot him a glare. He still stood, arms crossed. A smile tugged at one side of his mouth and I knew he was purposely trying to irritate me. I stood and pushed my hair back. “Why didn’t the shield stop it?”
Lilly smirked. “Because fire is a power all demons have. Malik is using Archdemon energy. Demon fire can’t stop it.”
“You have extra power because of Eisheth?” I glanced at Caius and Malik.
It was Lilly who answered with a snort and a look that said she questioned my intelligence. “Of course. Archdemons are stronger than any other demon and even though their children are half-mortal, we are still stronger than most other demons.”
I wondered what would stop their power if they brought both sides of their heritage to bear. Lilly’s mention of being half-mortal wasn’t lost on me. It was a subtle reminder of the secret they carried, the one I now needed to keep as well.
“How do I access my angel powers then?” This time I kept my focus on Caius as my mind wandered to his lesson in using something other than anger to create fire.
The way his eyes smoldered told me he was thinking of the same lesson, though his tone remained strictly instructional. “You will access it the same way. Instead of imagining a fire, imagine a glowing white ball, or blue fire, or a purple triangle. Whatever image fits best for you, but the color counts, it helps your mind separate the powers. Feed your emotions to it and when you take it into your hand, visualize it as whatever you want it to be.”
“Why is Malik the one doing this?” James asked, a concerned look on his face.
Malik glanced at him. “Because Lilly thought Caius might be too soft on her.”
I laughed, the idea so ludicrous that my sides shook until they ached. Bethany frowned, confused. “What’s so funny?”
“Caius,” I gasped, finally getting my laughing fit under control, “going easy on me.”
Malik grinned and said to Lilly, “Told you.” She gave an irritated sigh and looked away.
Caius shook his head. “It isn’t just that. There is a reason I haven’t attempted to repeat the lesson at Nadia’s. Jo has so much of my blood in her system now that her power will recognize my power as hers. It won’t stop anything I throw at her, no matter how strong her shield.”
I gaped at him. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“You never asked for another lesson like that one.”
&nb
sp; Shadows sprang up in Malik’s hand. I focused on him, imagining white light. The image was a small bubble of light in my mind. Okay, bubble it would be. His power jumped at me, faster than before. I tried to feed the bubble and form a shield, but wasn’t fast enough. I groaned as I picked myself up from where I had landed several feet away.
Bethany bristled. “You could at least give her time to prepare.”
“You think an enemy is going to give her time?” Though Caius addressed Bethany, his eyes remained on me, assessing, and I knew he measured my minor injuries against what he felt reflected back.
I set myself and formed the bubble again in my mind. Quickly, as the shadows began to coil around his hand, I sorted through my emotions. Pushing away the negative ones, I sought something positive. My gaze locked on Caius and I knew exactly which one to use. In the split second it took for the shadows to come at me, I skipped trying to grow the power with small amounts and dumped all the love I felt for him into the bubble.
It exploded out of me in a complete, shimmering dome. Malik’s shadows hit it and broke across the surface before dissipating. My shield shuddered slightly under the impact then began expanding. The rush of angel power was so full of light and warmth, the sweetness of it was addicting. I didn’t even try to reel it in as it rushed through me. Lilly yelped and backed up a step when my shield pushed against her. Everyone else backed away, which was probably a good thing. I could sense it didn’t discriminate. Anything outside it was to be kept away.
“Let it go, Jo,” Caius said.
I tried. It was like when I was trying to get the fire to go out before I pissed off the trees. The bubble wouldn’t go. I had used love to power it and I couldn’t stop feeling the love. It wasn’t like anger that could fade away. My feelings for Caius were a permanent thing. My skin began to feel tight, like it was too small for me.
Caius stepped inside my bubble. It welcomed him as a part of me. Together inside the bubble, I felt more connected to him than I ever had. I don’t know if it was because we were both half-angel by heritage or if it was because that was what angel power could do. I sensed his love for me; it was as strong as mine for him and it created a heady feeling. I also sensed his concern.
Betrayed (Raven Daughter Book 2) Page 10
