by Lola StVil
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Parker demands.
“If you want to talk about playing games, ask Nix about the night he slept with me, got completely in my head, then started acting like I have the plague or something.”
I duck back, staying out of sight as Fish saunters past me. I can’t decide if she’s really upset about Nix or if she just wanted to get Parker off her back. Whichever one it is, Parker is going to be heartbroken.
Once I’m sure Fish has gone far enough away that she won’t see me, I stand back up out of my hiding place. Parker is storming down the corridor like she has the Hounds of Hell on her heels. Nix is walking towards her from the direction of Nikki’s room.
“Hey. I was just coming to look for you. Are you…”
Nix’s words are cut off as Parker slaps him. She gets him good. I hear the slapping sound from where I now stand frozen on the spot, my mouth hanging open.
Nix’s head flies to the side and his hand goes to his face.
He straightens up and pulls his hand away, revealing an angry red mark.
“What the fuck, Parker?”
She is seething, her cheeks glowing with silver as the blood rushes to her face.
“What’s wrong with you?” he shouts, still rubbing his cheek.
“What’s wrong with me?” she shouts back. “What’s wrong with me? I don’t know how you can stand there and say that. After everything I’ve done. After I’ve stood by you through everything, how could you?”
“How could I what?” he asks, genuinely confused.
I start to walk towards them again. I have to stop this before half of the clinic is out in the corridor watching the show.
So much for Nikki and I being the main attraction.
“Sleep with Fish!” Parker yells.
The door to Nikki’s room flies open and Ryder appears. He gets to Parker and Nix long before I can.
“Whoa, calm down,” he says to Parker.
She ignores him.
“Huh?” Nix says. “Why do you care who I sleep with?”
I cringe inside. How can he still not see Parker’s feelings for him?
“How do you even know about it?”
“Well, not because you had the decency to tell me about it,” Parker says.
“Let’s go back in to see Nikki. It’s all going to be okay,” Ryder says, touching Parker lightly on the arm.
She shrugs him off and takes a step back.
“No, it’s not going to be okay. You have no idea.”
She turns her attention back to Nix.
“You don’t get it, do you?”
He shakes his head, still clueless.
“Then you never will. I hate you.”
She turns and runs. She barrels straight past me, hurt written all over her face. Ryder chases behind her, calling for her to stop. She keeps running.
I debate going after her, but I don’t. Ryder can deal with this one. I head towards Nix.
“You don’t see it, do you?” I say.
“See what? I have no idea what just happened.”
I sigh.
“Well maybe you should open your eyes and see what’s right in front of you,” I say.
“Oh screw this,” Nix says and he too heads for the door to the hospital.
I let him go. I think I’ve said enough that maybe he’ll start to really think about why Parker would care so much about what he’s doing with Fish.
I knock lightly on Nikki’s door and enter her room.
She looks up and smiles at me. Lucas is helping her to pack in a hurry. He gathers things and shoves them in her suitcase. She waits until he turns for something else and quickly takes the thing out, folds it, and replaces it.
“Did you do what you had to do?” Lucas asks.
He says it quietly, like he’s testing the waters. He’s afraid I’ll snap at him, or ignore him completely.
“Yeah, I contacted Rage and asked him to talk some sense into Dylann.”
“Good thinking, if anyone can get her out of there, it’s Rage. He has a certain level of influence everywhere he goes, and I can’t see the Bliss team wanting to make an enemy of someone so powerful. Not over a couple vials of CP.”
“I hope so,” I say.
“Have you told the healers you’re leaving?” I ask Nikki.
She nods.
“They weren’t overly happy about it, but they can’t actually stop me from leaving.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I ask her.
Lucas looks in my direction and chooses his words carefully.
“Are you sure you’re okay with Nikki staying at the house? I mean I get that it’s a big responsibility looking after her when she’s not one hundred percent.”
“Of course I’m okay with it. I just want to make sure Nikki is fully ready to leave.”
“I’m ready. Being here is too much of a reminder of what happened. I’d rather be surrounded by friends.”
Lucas’s cell phone rings and he pulls it out and looks at the screen.
“Can you stay and help Nikki a sec? I have to take this.”
I nod and he leaves the room, giving me a grateful smile.
“I hope we can be friends, Summit,” Nikki says.
“Yeah, me too,” I agree.
I walk to her closet and take out a pink colored top. I fold it carefully and place it in her suitcase. She smiles as I do it. She knows I saw her fixing Lucas’s efforts.
“He tries,” I laugh.
Nikki laughs too.
“I’m glad I’ve got you alone actually,” Nikki says.
I don’t like where this is going.
“I wanted to thank you. For everything you’ve done for me and the team. I know you didn’t have to accept me, but you did.”
I shrug, not really sure what to say. It’s not like I had a choice really.
“I know Lucas had some feelings for you, Summit, when he first learned about you. It was hard on our relationship, and for a while back then, I hated you even though I’d never met you. But Lucas and I got back on track once and now we’ll do it again.”
“For sure,” I say, smiling.
What else is there to say? No, you won’t because there’s a huge part of him still in love with me?
“There’s something I have to ask you. Something I have no right to ask really.”
“Go ahead,” I say, forcing my face into something that vaguely resembles a welcoming smile. I hope.
I want to be anywhere but here. Suddenly, going to Bliss with Rage or chasing down Nix and making him see what’s right in front of him sounds like a better place to be than this.
“I know there’s something between you and Lucas,” Nikki says.
My eyebrows shoot up, and Nikki laughs softly.
“I’m not stupid, Summit. I’ve seen the looks that you two share when you think no one is looking. I’ve seen the way the others react and look to you for your reaction when I mention our relationship. And I get what they’re talking about, the guys I mean, when they joke about the drama. But you know what? I can move past it all. Lucas thought I was dead, and I’m glad he found a way to be happy until we were reunited again.”
Did she just refer to me as a placeholder? I kind of think she did.
“Anyway, my question is this—are you someone I have to worry about?”
I can’t decide if it’s a challenge or if she’s genuinely worried I might whisk Lucas away from her.
I have no idea how to answer her question.
Am I someone she has to worry about? Would Lucas come back to me? Would I even let him?
So many questions and no answers.
I feel a flood of relief fill me as Nikki’s door opens and my grandmother, Emmy, enters. The relief doesn’t last long when I see the look on her face.
She’s pale and withdrawn. Not at all how I remember her.
“What is it? Has something happened to my parents?”
“No, Winnie,” she says. “Nothing like that
. You need to gather the team at the house. I’ll meet you there in an hour. We have the location of the next piece of the pendant.”
I frown.
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Why do you look so worried?”
“Because your next mission is to go where even Death fears.”
We all sit in the family room at Roslyn. Tension fills the room like fog rolling in over a cold ocean at midnight. I think back to when I first met the team; there was an aura of solidarity between them that soon extended to include me.
Now, it’s gone. Parker is glaring daggers at both Nix and Fish. Nix glares back at her. Fish seems not to notice. I suspect she does notice but she just doesn’t care.
I can feel Lucas looking at me, willing me to meet his eye, but I don’t. It’s not right that the second Nikki left the room to go upstairs and unpack that he started this. I refuse to be anyone’s second best, and I force myself to stare straight ahead at my grandmother.
She raises a questioning eyebrow and I shake my head slightly. I’m relieved when she doesn’t say anything.
The only person who seems happy is Milo because he’s wrangled a seat next to RJ. That’s going to end in tears, but at least it hasn’t yet. At least someone is happy.
Emmy stands up and looks around at us all. The stilted conversation between us drops off.
“Where’s Dylann?” she asks.
“Um…” I say, with no idea what’s coming next.
The door slams open, saving me from an explanation.
“She’s right here,” Rage says, entering the room followed by a sulky Dylann.
Emmy frowns in their direction.
“Later,” Rage says.
I could jump up and hug him. He’s gotten Dylann out of jail and he’s going to be the one to explain it all to my grandmother rather than me having to. I resist the urge to hug him. I don’t want to ruin his street cred.
Emmy looks like she’s about to say more, but she doesn’t.
“Why is she here? She’s not one of the team,” Parker says before Emmy can get started.
She’s glaring at Fish as she says it. Fish rolls her eyes and gets up.
“I know where I’m not wanted,” she says as she heads for the door.
“Why do you always have to be like this?” Nix snarls at Parker.
Her face falls for a second but she recovers herself.
“Because one of us has to be logical about things,” she fires back.
“Wait,” Emmy says, holding her hand up for silence.
Parker and Nix continue to give each other death stares, but they fall silent again.
“Fish, are you here to help the team?” Emmy asks.
Fish turns back towards us and shrugs.
“Honestly? I was just here to see Nix. But I owe the team a thing or two. I’ll help if they’ll have me.”
Emmy looks at me.
“From what I hear, she’s good at getting in and out of places no one else can. She could be useful to have along.”
I nod.
“You’re in,” I tell Fish.
Fish retakes her place beside Nix and I mouth “sorry” at Parker. She won’t meet my eye.
Rage steps up.
“Before Emmy explains what you’re all about to face, there’s something I have to say. It seems something is going on between all of you, and I couldn’t give a damn what it is. I don’t care who’s seeing who and who did what to who. What I care about is getting you all out of this mission alive. And the way you are acting now, that’s not going to happen.
“You are a team whether you like it or not. If you can’t put your personal differences aside long enough to complete this mission, I’d be surprised if even half of you make it back. You either lock your petty bullshit in a box and work with your team, or leave now. Decide.”
Lucas shifts in his chair and for a moment, I think he’s going to leave. As much as I don’t want to rely on him, I need him fighting beside me more than I care to admit, even to myself.
“Rage is right. I know how hard it is being thrust into these situations when you have your own problems, but this is your destiny. It’s what this team was created for. And it’s bigger than all of you.”
Still no one makes a move to leave. Satisfied, Emmy starts to tell us what we are about to face.
“The second piece of the pendant is housed on the wreck of a large ship. The ship stands on the banks of the Suez Canal. It is surrounded by a giant Triplex, one of the largest in the world. The casing of the Triplex hides it from humans. You can fly to the general area, but once you’re inside the Triplex it’s a no-fly zone.”
RJ groans. “I’m beginning to wonder why we even have the ability to fly,” he mutters.
He has a point.
“It’s just so no one has to pay our airfare to get there, bro,” Ryder says.
Emmy ignores them and continues on.
“The ship is guarded by Sirbisses. They will do whatever they can to stop you from entering the ship.”
“What the hell’s a Sirbiss?” I ask.
“It’s a cross between a siren and a succubus,” Emmy says.
“The creatures will appear to you in the form of the person you most desire. Everyone will see them differently. They will lure you in close and tear strips off you until all that remains of you is a skeleton.” Rages cringes.
The most feared demon in the world is cringing at the mention of the very thing we are fighting… Great.
“So we just have to remember they aren’t really who we think they are?” Lucas asks.
“In theory, yes. But if you think that will be easy, you’re very much mistaken. The Sirbisses read your heart’s desire and they know exactly how to get you to believe they are who you see. It takes someone very strong-willed to kill a Sirbiss.”
I shudder. I’m starting to wish I’d gotten up and left when I had the chance.
“How do we fight them?” Ryder asks.
Emmy fishes in her pocket and produces a small brass bell.
“The sound of this bell ringing will break their spell. As long as the bell is ringing, they are vulnerable and can easily be killed.”
She looks at us one by one, her eyes finally settling on me.
“Who is the most strong-willed person on the team? Who will be able to resist their heart’s desire and keep ringing the bell, even when whoever they see is begging them not to do it?”
“Nix,” Lucas says before I can answer.
I look at Lucas, but I can’t read his expression. I nod my agreement. Nix is as good a choice as anyone. Emmy hands him the bell. He turns it over in his hands for a second and puts it in his pocket.
I don’t have time to dwell on why Lucas was so quick to nominate Nix as the right person to have the bell, because Emmy drops her next bombshell.
“Where there are Sirbisses, there are also Deviators. These creatures will float through the air around you and try to make contact with you. Avoid them at all costs. A single brush from them will give you an instant high. You will feel such an intense euphoria that you will forget you are in battle and succumb to the joy you feel. As you can imagine, that means you are pretty much dead.
“Once they learn who has the bell, they will target that person. You must ensure they are kept away from Nix. This is one of the reasons you must all work as a team more than ever before,” Rage scolds.
“So we’re basically going to be surrounded by hot women throwing themselves at us while simultaneously feeling high?” Ryder says.
“Sounds like a Friday night,” RJ adds.
Rage suppresses a grin at the guys’ banter
“This is no laughing matter. If you fail to take this seriously, you will end up dead. It’s that simple.”
RJ and Ryder exchange grins but they keep their comments to themselves.
“After we defeat the Sirbisses and Deviators, we just have to get on the ship and find the piece of the pendant?” I ask, trying to get the conversation back on
track.
“Yes, but it won’t be easy to get to the pendant piece. Far from it. The creatures outside of the boat aren’t guarding the pendant. They are guarding Arianna. She’s the real danger,” Emmy says with a chill in her voice, her face pale as she says the name.
I feel myself swallow hard. Anyone who can make Death herself this nervous isn’t someone I want to meet, let alone battle.
The rest of the team look terrified, especially Milo. He is visibly shaking and I think he might pass out. I catch Dylann’s eye and for a moment, I see only horror before she forgets she’s mad at me and turns away.
“Someone’s going to have to help me out on this one,” I say.
“Arianna is better known as the spider queen,” Lucas tells me. “Rumor has it she’s as big as a horse. She has the abdomen and legs of a spider, and the torso and head of a woman. She carries thousands of spiders on her body, all of whom are trained to attack. The legend says that she was cursed by a powerful demon who she crossed to live out her days surrounded by her greatest fear: spiders.
“The demon underestimated Arianna’s strength, though, and she taught herself to not only get over her fear of spiders but to become one with them, and she became their queen.”
“I wouldn’t mind some tips on how to get over that fear myself,” Milo comments.
I know now why he looks so shaken. Ever since I can remember, Milo has been deathly afraid of spiders. Even a money spider has him running from the room.
“You don’t have to come with us,” I tell him.
He shakes his head and makes an almost visible effort to get himself under control.
“I’ll be okay,” he says.
“Just make sure you don’t get trapped in her web,” Ryder laughs.
I throw him a look and he shuts up.
“Over the years, angels and demons alike would get drunk and brave and bet each other to battle Arianna in a bid to prove their kind was the strongest. These warriors were some of the strongest, most powerful angels and demons ever to walk the Earth. Not one ever returned,” Lucas continues.
“That’s barbaric,” Parker says.
Lucas nods his agreement.
“It isn’t something that’s done now, but my father knows of a few men who felt they had something to prove and went to kill the great Arianna.”
