by Karen Swart
“Go get cleaned up,” he ordered, dismissing the two of them.
“That was awesome,” Raven said from behind me.
We all started laughing, except for Chax.
“Vulcan,” Chax said, his gaze shifting to address him, “we must find her a custos.”
“I will take her,” Caim said, placing a hand on Raven’s shoulder.
Zurita beamed at him and moved to stand closer to them.
“Done,” Vulcan said, smiling at Chax, who did not appear impressed with the pair.
Yeah, with Kali becoming the enemy, Caim didn’t have an apprendo.
The thought reminded me of her betrayal and my mood plummeted again.
My emotions were a roller-coaster at this stage. One moment I was angry, the next I was riding the guilt wagon. But most of the time I felt tired. I just wanted to crawl under a rock and disappear.
“Fine then, I think we all should get some rest. Tomorrow the hunt continues,” Chax said and I felt his hand on my arm.
Looking up, I met his eyes and I could see some understanding.
“Do you want to return to the cottage?” he asked me.
I noticed that the others were walking away, going about their business.
Good question.
Did I want to stay here and risk running into Zurita constantly? Oh, and let’s not forget Raven. Or did I want to go to the place that was built just for me? I didn’t have a clue where I wanted to be at that moment.
“Go upstairs and get some rest. It will get better with time,” he decided for me.
I nodded my head in acceptance and headed upstairs. With some luck, I didn’t run into anyone in the hall so I made it to my room without any more crap directed at me. I walked inside and closed the door behind me. Walking over to the bed I sat down and looked around.
This doesn’t feel like my room anymore.
Just glancing around brought back memories of me and Kali.
Why the hell did she do that to me?!
I jumped up and started to pace. My memories were trapping me in the past, forcing me to re-live Ryan's death, and Kali’s betrayal. My door flew open and Chax stormed in. He kicked it closed behind him and walked straight to me, as I took a step back from him.
Ignoring my retreat, he grabbed me and crushed me to his chest while murmuring, “Breathe Kasadya.”
I automatically drew in a deep breath finally registering what had just happened yet again. Tears burned my eyes. Everything was a big mess.
“I will take you to another room,” he continued and shifted with me.
We landed in a room I have never seen before.
“Breathe, Kasadya,” he said while rubbing my back, projecting calming feelings into me.
After a few minutes, my breathing returned to normal but he still kept me in his embrace.
“We need to work on that. You will need to learn some breathing exercises and perhaps even some meditating,” he said as he steered me towards a huge bed.
Glancing around the room, I could see a lot of paintings. I stopped dead when my eye caught a painting with the name Da Vinci scrawled at the bottom. I had never seen that painting by Da Vinci.
“I bought it from him when he was still struggling to sell some paintings,” Chax stated, when he realized what had caught my attention.
Holy crap! That must be worth millions.
My eyes traveled over the other paintings. Everywhere, famous artists’ names were indicated on the drawings.
“You like collecting artifacts?” I asked, sitting down on the bed and looking up at him.
His eyes traveled over them.
“It’s hard to keep memories when you live as long as I have. It helps me remember. The day I brought that painting, we battled a legion of demons. We lost three Fallen that day as well,” he explained.
My eyes were riveted to him. To have lived so long, remembering all the crappy things that had happened to you, suddenly wasn't really appealing anymore.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
The apology slipped out before I registered it, much less thought about his reaction. He looked down at me and smiled.
“Come get some sleep. Tomorrow, first thing, we are starting the day with some meditation. I'm just beyond that door if you need me,” he said, indicating where the door was located.
He stepped towards it and, with a final nod, closed it behind him.
I laid down on the bed, looking at all the paintings. Somehow, while gazing at the beauty around me, I started to drift off into the darkness.
Chapter 5
“You must save them,” the child said as my dreams filled with white mist. I looked around, unable to see anything.
“I'm trying,” I replied as I turned around and tried to find the child that kept popping up in my dreams.
“The battle begins,” the child said.
I saw the mist opening up and as it cleared, a scene was revealed.
I looked down on the scene before me. In front of me, was a line, standing and waiting, There I stood, Max to my left and Zurita to my right. I scanned the other faces in the line, finding Lada and a few more standing side by side, their eyes fixed ahead. Further down the line I found more familiar faces. Chax and the rest of the other fallen stood ready in a second line.
A sudden blast to my right grabbed my attention, snapping my head towards the sound of the blast. And there, in front of my eyes, a huge purple hole was forming in the air. Ballen's face was the first thing I saw when the hole started widening. There he stood, devilish smile in place, staring us down from the other side of the ever-expanding opening.
“Destroy them!” He yelled as thousands of demons, already transformed, stormed through the hole towards us.
“Hellhounds!” My voice rang out across the lines.
Looking back, I saw all the hellhounds transform, including myself. They transitioned to hellhound form and then to the born form. My eyes focused on the dream Kas. She stood out above all the others, double the size of the other borns. The demons approached them and with a roar, the borns initiated the attack. Bones cracked and swords clanged together, their screams filling the air.
Like a tsunami, the demons descended upon the Hellhounds. The rest of the demons stormed the line of Fallen waiting in the back. The deafening sounds of battle assaulted my ears. My eyes were focused on Chax as I saw him take the heads of his adversaries. Soon he was fighting masses of demons, as even the Fallen were overwhelmed by them. A roar sounded in front of him and my eyes traveled back. Max’s head was missing. His body fell to the ground, joining the dead bodies scattered everywhere.
“No!” I stormed forward right into an invisible wall, my hands reaching for it.
I watched in horror as my friends, family and loved ones died before my eyes.
When Chax's head was taken, the born Kasadya roared in fury. She turned and looked in his direction, bloody tears trailing down her face. She was all that was left, all of the fallen now dead. Demons surrounded her, pinning her to the ground, their weapons piercing her body. Her tears flowed freely and soon her face was covered in bloody streaks.
Ballen walked over to her, “You never stood a chance. Now I will send you to your Sire and you can tell him earth belongs to me now.”
Ballen finished by taking her head. A sickening thud sounded as her head dropped to the ground and rolled away from her body.
“No! No!” I screamed and punched the wall.
“You must save them.” The child’s voice said behind me.
I whirled around, ready to kill anyone who approached, but I was alone in the white mist again. Tears streamed down my face for the loss of my loved ones.
“How do I save them?!” I yelled into the mist, desperately seeking an answer.
“You cannot fail them.” The whispered response was the only reply before the mist faded away and I was left in darkness.
“Kasadya,” the voice rang in my ears.
“Kasadya, wake up.” I
jumped up and smacked my head against Chax's.
He grabbed me and held me still.
“Kasadya, what is wrong?” He grabbed my face and forced me to look at him.
I was crying and my breathing was out of control again.
“I saw the battle. I saw us all die,” I croaked out, followed by a hiccupping sob.
He pulled me into an embrace.
“It was only a dream.” He tried to sooth me rubbing my back.
Was it?
“It was so real,” I cried into his chest. “They all died.”
He forced me to look up at him again.
“I won't let that happen. We will stop this before it ever comes to that.” He tried to calm me.
But I knew, I knew, what I saw was no dream. It was the future. I knew this as well as I knew that Chax would not be able to save them. “You have to save them all.” The child’s voice played in my head. It would be up to me to save them all.
“Chax, I need to finish this thing with the archangels. I need to stop this.” I stated, pushing him away and getting up from the bed.
“First you will start by taking care of yourself.” He stood up and walked over to the door.
“Take a bath and I will wait for you.” He left, closing the door behind him.
I stood there speechless.
Didn’t he just hear what I said?
I looked around the room and found my bag at the edge of the bed.
Fine!
I grabbed it and stormed into the bathroom. The bathroom was big and smelled divine with the scent of… peaches.
Just great, freaking peaches.
I yanked my clothes off and, not even looking at the bath, jumped into the shower.
To hell with taking care of myself!
If I don’t stop this, we will all be dead. I washed in record time and got out. Fully dressed in my battle gear, I stormed out of the bathroom.
I stepped into a small lounge and there, on the floor, was Chax looking up at me.
“I said a bath, not a shower.” He looked at me with a scowl.
Pushing up my chin in defiance, I said, “There is no time for pampering, Chax. We need to get this done and save all of us.”
He tried that death stare on me, but seeing that I wasn’t going to budge, he sighed and motioned for me to sit down in front of him.
“Why should I sit on the carpet?” I asked, confused.
“Because you’re not leaving this room until you do.” He continued pointing at the floor.
Damn it!
I planted my butt on the floor, keenly aware of his eyes never leaving me.
“Now cross your knees and brace your hands like this.” He adjusted his body, mimicking a meditating position.
I glared at him, not moving an inch.
“Now, Kasadya,” he growled at me.
Fine!
I pulled my legs together and followed his position.
“Good. Now exhale deeply. Then inhale deeply.” He said starting with an exhale.
I did the same, still glaring at him. His eyes were closed so I had the opportunity to look him over. His face was covered in stubble and looked exhausted.
Wonder what he's been up to?
My eyes traveled over him until I reached his chest, and suddenly I couldn’t look away. A sudden blush crept all over me and I fidgeted on the floor.
“Close your eyes and concentrate,” he scolded, peeking at me from under his lashes.
Now completely red from top to toe, I closed my eyes and breathed as I was told.
This is stupid and lame. I could do a lot more with my time.
After what seemed like an endless hour, he finally came back to earth.
“Good, tomorrow we will do the same again. When you find yourself in a position where you feel like suffocating, or uneasy, you need to do the same breathing technique,” he said, getting up from his seated position.
I stood up and rolled my eyes at him.
Yeah right. Like I have time to play around.
“Go get something to eat. I will join you and the others.” He indicated the door to my left.
I turned and left without as much as a peep. He was acting like there was nothing to stress about. Like we weren’t all going to die! By the time I registered that I was in the hallway where my other room was located, I was fuming again. I reached the stairs and stopped.
“We are the champions my friends. We'll keep on fighting to the ennnnd.” The voices screeched along with the old Queen song.
I didn’t even notice the racket until that moment. Making my way down the stairs, I found most of the gang in the lounge, watching as three cats apparently died a painful death. Lotan and Lada sat on the couch laughing while Ben and Max stood at the table, watching. At the iPod station was Nanini, Raven and Abby, singing their heads off. The moment gave me pause and I was unable to look away. Max got up and walked over to me, a painful expression on his face.
“They won’t shut up,” Max complained.
I looked at him and then back at the girls, who were obviously enjoying themselves. Nanini screeched like a cat while the other two tried to reach the low notes. It was an awful noise and a laugh escaped me.
“Let them be. They don’t get enough moments to enjoy themselves,” Zurita said suddenly from behind me. I turned to look at her and gave a slow nod.
Yeah, let them have fun, in a few moments all fun would be gone and we will be trying to save the earth again.
Zurita motioned me to follow her. Avoiding her wouldn’t help, so I followed her. She walked into the kitchen where Caim was already fixing breakfast. I planted myself at the table and watched them. Zurita walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Wow, these two don’t have a problem with the whole bond thing.
Feeling out of place, I averted my eyes, trying to avoid their kissing scene.
“So, Kas. Michael tells me that you have been chosen for divinity,” Zurita said.
Assuming the coast was clear, I focused my attention back on her.
“That's apparently so.”
She walked over and handed me a mug of coffee.
“Do you know what it is?” She asked.
She sat down in front of me, her eyes piercing mine. I felt out of place and really dumb at that moment.
Did everyone know all the details except me?
“Sort of,” I replied.
She raised her eyebrows at me, making me feel even more stupid.
“Divinity is when you transform from one form to an Arch form. Did you know that you will also receive a gift from our Sire?” she questioned, pretty amused with herself.
“No.” I replied, taking a few sips from my mug.
Clearly she was in a “rubbing it in” mood.
“Yes, just like Michael and the rest, you will be able to perform something special.”
I looked at her, my eyes never wavering and my mouth unmoving.
Should I tell her that we are all pretty much dead and that won’t be happening?
“I see.” She said all proud of herself.
Just then, Chax walked in, saving me from her barrage of questions.
“Salve,” he greeted them before his eyes latched onto me.
He got a cup of coffee and then came to sit right next to me.
“Zurita, we will address things like that when the occasion arises. For the time being, Kasadya needs to focus on what needs to be done now.” He reprimanded her.
Her eyebrows shot up in shock, but luckily for her, she didn’t try and say anything more.
“How are we going to find the princes?” Caim asked, placing plates of food in front of me and Chax.
“I don’t know,” Chax admitted, looking at me.
I searched his eyes and found the truth. He didn’t know how to find them.
Crap, that’s not good.
I found one and that was pure freaking luck.
With my mood officially tanked, I scooped up a bite of
food and chewed.
What the hell are we going to do?
“Well if we do find one, we need to keep it earth bound,” I said, remembering my fight with Ira.
Chax looked at me questioningly.
“They heal super-fast in Hell. On earth, they barely heal, giving us the upper hand,” I explained.
“How do you know this?” Chax asked, his fork hovering in front of him and his eyes shooting daggers at me.
Trying to avoid it, I looked at Zurita and Caim and found them waiting for the explanation.
Crap.
“The night I killed Ira, he shifted me to his place in Hell. That’s where I discovered that he could heal faster there.” I waited for Chax's outburst.
He looked like he was going to kill something, and in that moment I was pretty sure it was me.
“He shifted you to hell?” Chax asked again.
Annnd, here it comes.
I nodded and braced myself for impact. There was a moment of deathly silence, like those moments just before a bomb goes off. You watch it slowly fall to earth and you know that it’s going to go boom. This is that moment.
“You will never leave my side again!” The bomb exploded, and then jumped up and stormed out.
I looked at Caim and Zurita, and found their large eyes focused on me.
“Yeah, I was waiting for that,” I mumbled, and then took another bite.
Crap, so much for Zen moments. Chax needs to lighten up.
“Kas, you need to be more careful,” Caim pitched in.
Oh for crying out loud! I killed him, didn’t I!
I dropped my fork and left without a comment. The cat’s dying episode was over and when I reached the lounge, I found them mingling and talking.
“Oh great, mom's here,” Raven said, rolling her eyes at me.
I zeroed in on her, “Bet your ass, punk.”
“Oh please, I can take you,” she fired back.
Max, who was drinking juice, choked with that little piece of bravado. Nanini and Lada sucked in a breath.
