by S. J. West
Walking around both corners of the school are two groups of students, ten on each side. But, I know why Leah shot her fireball at them. Walking in front of the students, as if leading them towards us, are hellhounds.
“Caylin,” Uncle Malcolm says, “you need to leave. We’re out numbered.”
“Changelings?” I ask, needing to know if that’s what happened to the students converging on us.
“That would be my guess since they’re being led by hellhounds,” Uncle Malcolm says, unconsciously rubbing at his right leg and grimacing.
Leah shoots off two more fireballs in front of each group in an attempt to halt their progress, but it only stops them for a few seconds before they start walking towards us again.
“I’m not leaving Aiden,” I say.
Uncle Malcolm turns to me and grabs me by the shoulders roughly.
“Caylin, listen to me. Take Leah and go home,” he shakes me slightly to emphasize what he’s telling me to do. “We’re out numbered!”
“Not anymore.”
Uncle Malcolm and I look to the bottom of the stairs leading to the landing we’re standing on and see the cavalry.
Jess, Mason, Andre, Desmond, Brutus, Chandler, and Zack have come.
Jess pulls out her sword from the baldric on her back and it immediately ignites with its orange flames.
I see Chandler take out his talisman, Jubal’s flute. He begins to play a tune, and I start to feel something stir within my soul making me feel invincible all of a sudden. I notice the changelings walking towards us have slowed their pace and the hellhounds are whining like Chandler’s music is hurting their ears.
Jess turns around and surveys the situation we find ourselves in.
“You take the left and I take the right?” Jess asks Mason.
“Sounds like a plan,” Mason replies.
“Jess,” I say, “Aiden.”
I don’t need to say any more than that.
“Chandler,” Jess says looking at the fight between Aiden and the prince, “take care of not-so-prince-charming over there to get him off Aiden’s back.”
Chandler looks over at the fight Aiden is having with the prince just as Jess and the others split up to charge the changelings and hellhounds.
Chandler’s gift of music allows him to influence the emotions of others. With his talisman, he’s able to weave more than one tune at a time. I have to assume he’s weaving three now. One to make his comrades-in-arms feel invincible. A second to make those they’re fighting against feel weak. And a third to do something to Asmodeus which makes him push Aiden away from him so hard it propels him into the air just before the prince phases away. Aiden’s body flies over my head and through the outer wall of the school with such force, it makes the whole building tremble.
Taking into account the intensity of the blow and the trajectory of Aiden’s body, I phase back to where the pool is and find him floating in the water face down. I jump in to grab him and phase him out. When I have him lying on his back, I notice his neck is broken. How do I know this? Because his face is against the concrete and his mass of curly black hair is facing me. I grimace slightly at the sight, but force myself to lift his head enough to twist it back in the right orientation.
I sit there and wait. I’m not sure how long it will take Aiden to regenerate enough to fix his broken neck, but I don’t remain alone for long.
Uncle Malcolm finds me.
“Is he all right?” Uncle Malcolm asks, limping over to us.
“His neck was broken,” I tell him. “But I put it right. How long will it take for him to heal on his own?”
“A while,” Uncle Malcolm says. “We should go see Rafe to speed things up.”
“What about Jess and the others? We can’t just leave them.”
“They have things under control,” Uncle Malcolm tells me. “And Leah will burn the school to the ground to hide what really happened here today.”
“But what about the kids who saw everything?”
“Let’s leave the explanations to Jess and Mason. They’re used to covering things like this up. I’m sure they’ll think of something believable to explain what happened.”
Uncle Malcolm grimaces slightly as he bends down to pick Aiden up into his arms.
“What’s wrong with your leg?” I ask him again as I stand up. I grab hold of one of his arms so he can phase us all to Rafe’s at the same time.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Uncle Malcolm says, phasing us to Rafe’s office in his Sierra Leone medical clinic.
Uncle Malcolm lays Aiden down on Rafe’s mostly clear desk.
“Could you go find Rafe, Caylin?” Uncle Malcolm asks, sitting down on the small wooden chair in front of the desk.
I know my Uncle Malcolm. He wouldn’t be asking me to go get Rafe and wouldn’t sit down when there were things that needed to be done unless something was seriously wrong with him.
I don’t waste any time. I rush out of the room and find Rafe in the infirmary speaking to one of his colleagues at the clinic.
As soon as he sees me, he runs towards me.
“Your office,” I tell him, not wanting to waste time with pleasantries when two of the most important men in my life need his help.
When we are back in the office, Uncle Malcolm is passed out cold in the chair, and Aiden is still unconscious. I tell Rafe about Aiden’s neck being broken.
Rafe walks over to a corner of his office to retrieve his talisman, Moses’ staff.
“And what’s wrong with Malcolm?” Rafe asks me as he begins to pass the staff over Aiden’s neck to speed up the healing process.
“I’m not sure,” I tell Rafe as I kneel down in front of Uncle Malcolm to examine his right leg.
I rip away what’s left of the shredded pant leg and gasp at what I find.
I know what happened. And from what Aiden told me about such a wound, I’m surprised Uncle Malcolm could function much less keep fighting afterward.
“He was bit by a hellhound,” I tell Rafe.
“He was what?” Rafe asks as if he’s sure he misheard me.
“Bit by a hellhound,” I say again, examining the large puncture wounds in Uncle Malcolm’s calf. The lacerations are oozing a black substance, but I have no idea what it is. All I know is that it smells sulfuric.
Rafe leaves Aiden and comes to examine Uncle Malcolm’s wound like it takes higher priority.
“This isn’t good,” Rafe says gravely. “I’m not sure I can heal these wounds.”
“Why not?”
“From what I was told, Lucifer is the one who made the hellhounds. Their bites aren’t just bites. They’re more like curses.”
“Like a spell?”
“Sort of, but worse. It’s like being marked by Lucifer himself. It’s meant to drive the person insane to the point where they’ll do almost anything to end the pain they’re in. When a person reaches that breaking point, Lucifer will come and offer them an end to their suffering in exchange for their souls.”
“Rafe,” I say in desperation, grabbing his arm, “you have to try. We can’t let him go through that much pain. And I refuse to lose him to Lucifer like that!”
I feel like I’m on the edge of despair, and Rafe is the only who can pull me back.
“Of course I’ll try,” Rafe says like it’s a forgone conclusion. “But, I don’t want you to get your hopes up that it’ll work. There’s no guarantee. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this type of wound. My only knowledge is based on what Mason told me when we first saw the hellhounds a couple of years ago.”
“Please,” I beg fully crying now because I don’t want to lose my Uncle Malcolm, “just help him.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Rafe promises.
I stand up to give Rafe room to work on Uncle Malcolm and walk over to Aiden, who is still unconscious. Aiden’s breathing is normal, and he simply looks like he’s asleep. I know he’ll be ok and try not to worry about him too much.
Uncle
Malcolm’s condition worries me more. He’s not just my Uncle. He’s more like a second father to me. I can’t lose him like this, and I refuse to think he’ll lose his soul to Lucifer because of a fight that was solely caused because of me.
Jess and Mason suddenly phase into Rafe’s office.
“We thought you might be here when we couldn’t find you at the school,” Jess says, coming to stand by me. I know she wants to take me into her arms, but she’s covered in so much blood she wouldn’t be able to do it without drenching me in it too. “How are you holding up?”
I shake my head and look at Uncle Malcolm, tears spilling freely down my face.
“He got bit, Jess,” I tell her as Mason walks over to see what Rafe is trying to heal.
“Damn,” Mason says, sighing heavily when he sees the extent of the wound.
Rafe starts to shake his head in dismay. “I can heal it to an extent but the wounds are simply refusing to close up.”
Jess walks over and looks at the bite marks.
“What if we cauterize them?” She asks Mason, drawing out her sword.
“It’ll seal the physical evidence of the curse, but I’m not sure if it will stop his pain.”
“Then I say we don’t have anything to lose,” Jess says as her sword bursts into flickering orange flames as its power ignites. “Stand back, Rafe. We should probably do this while he’s still out.”
I watch as Jess touches the tip of her sword’s blade to each of the wounds on Uncle Malcolm’s leg. Almost like magic, they seal up and black scar tissue forms over the punctures. Once Jess is through, Rafe passes his staff over Uncle Malcolm’s leg one more time for good measure.
“I think that’s all we can do,” Rafe says with a resigned sigh.
Mason picks Uncle Malcolm up and cradles him in his arms.
“I’ll take him to our villa to recover,” Mason says to me.
“My mom will want to come as soon as she learns what happened,” I tell him.
Mason nods. “She’s welcome to come whenever she’s ready.”
Jess walks over to her husband and grabs hold of his elbow. Mason phases, and I turn my attention back to Aiden.
“Let me finish healing him, Caylin,” Rafe says, politely telling me to get out of the way.
I move over and let Rafe work his healing magic.
When Aiden’s eyes flutter open, Rafe stops what he’s doing, and I go to Aiden.
I look down at him on the desk and caress the side of his face just giving thanks that he’s still alive.
“You have got to stop getting hurt,” I tell him. “I think I die a little bit every time you are.”
“I’m fine,” he reassures me, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the desk to face me and bring me into his arms.
“Is everyone else all right?” Aiden asks.
I start to cry again and hug him tightly around the neck. Aiden wraps his arms around me, but doesn’t ask any more questions, knowing I need a moment before answering his first one.
“No,” I sob, holding onto Aiden like my life depends on it, “everyone is not all right.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I explain to Aiden what happened to Uncle Malcolm, and he doesn’t try to sugar coat the gravity of the situation to me.
“Is there anything we can do that can completely heal him?” I ask.
“No,” Aiden tells me clearly, “only Lucifer can lift the curse, and I don’t see that happening without Malcolm agreeing to give up his soul.”
“I was able to heal some of the damage,” Rafe says. “I’m not certain how much or if it will be enough to alleviate any of the pain he’ll feel, but there is hope. We will just have to wait until Malcolm awakens to find out the extent of the discomfort.”
“How long do you think it will be until he wakes up?” I ask.
Rafe shrugs. “I have no way of knowing. I’ve never treated a hellhound wound before. Have you had any experience with it Aiden?”
“The people I knew who were bitten went mad from the pain almost instantly,” Aiden says. “I’m not sure how Malcolm stayed sane for as long as he did as it is.”
“Well, I’m afraid there isn’t anything further we can do about it until he wakes up and tells us how he’s feeling.”
“I need to go home,” I say to Aiden. “I need to tell my mother what happened.”
Aiden stands from the desk and slips one of his arms around my shoulders.
“We’ll go tell her together,” he says.
“Tell Mason to come and get me the second Malcolm wakes up,” Rafe tells us.
I nod. “I will. Thank you, Rafe.”
Rafe smiles tight lipped, and I know he wishes he could have done more to help my uncle.
Aiden phases us to my home in Lakewood, and I see my parents pacing around the living room floor. As soon as they see us phase in, they both come to me. Aiden steps aside to allow my parents to take me into their arms. They don’t say anything, just hug me between them. I know that the embrace is more for them than me which is why I simply stand there and try to reassure them that I’m all right, hoping the words will erase their worry.
“Where is Will?” I ask them.
“He’s upstairs,” my mom says. “He was pretty shaken up by what happened. I think he just needs some time alone.”
Once my parents let me go, I tell them what happened at the school and about the injury Uncle Malcolm sustained.
“I need to go to him,” my mom says to my dad.
He nods. “Go. I’ll take care of the kids.”
My mom phases to Mason and Jess’ villa.
My dad looks to Aiden. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Aiden replies, unconsciously rubbing at his neck. “Thanks for asking.”
“So you were able to place one of the daggers into Mammon,” my dad says to me. “Do you know if Jess and Mason were successful in taking down Amon before they came to the school?”
“I have no idea,” I realize. “I didn’t even think to ask about that with everything else that was happening.”
“Aiden, would you go talk with Jess or Mason to see what happened on their mission?” My dad asks. “I would like to know.”
“Yes,” Aiden says. “I’ll be right back.”
Aiden phases and my dad brings me into his arms again.
“How are you holding up?” He asks me.
I hold my dad and rest my head on his chest.
“All those people are dead because of me, Dad,” I say. “And Uncle Malcolm could lose his soul. Overall, it hasn’t been a very good day.”
“None of this is your fault,” he says to me. “I want you to remember that. You’re an innocent in all of this.”
“But those kids are dead because I went to that school. Hunter is dead because he fell in love with me. How can you say none of this is my fault when I’m the common denominator in everything?”
I hear my dad sigh.
“Caylin, sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. We don’t always like it, and we don’t always understand why they have to be made. But nothing that has happened was caused by you. Everything that’s happened, everything that will happen will be caused by one person, Lucifer. He has been a thorn in my father’s side for eons. One day, I hope he can be stopped, but I don’t think either of us will ever see that day come while we’re still alive. All we can do is follow the path God leads us down and trust that He knows what’s best. You need to keep your faith in Him. Trust that He knows what needs to be done in order for us to win this war.”
“But Uncle Malcolm…”
My dad hugs me tighter. “Why don’t we wait until he wakes up before we start worrying too much about your Uncle Malcolm? He’s one of the toughest and most stubborn people I know. He won’t lose his soul to Lucifer, not without a fight. You need to have some faith in him too, that he’s stronger than that.”
I pull away from my dad and wipe at the tears on my face.
&nbs
p; “He is stubborn,” I try to laugh. “If anyone can fight against this curse, it’s him.”
“And maybe there’s a purpose for it that we just don’t understand yet,” my dad points out. “Sometimes when something bad happens, it’s only later that we’re able to figure out why it was allowed to happen in the first place.”
I nod, knowing my dad is right.
I just wish someone would tell me the purpose now.
As I stand at the back French doors and watch Tristan play chase with Mae in the backyard, I ask my dad, “Don’t you find it the least bit disturbing that they seem so connected to one another?”
My dad comes over to me from the kitchen with a cup of freshly made coffee in his hands.
“I’ve seen stranger things happen,” my dad says as he watches them with me. “But Mae has always had that effect on people.”
“I just get this feeling that there’s something else going on here that we’re not seeing,” I say, having a hard time putting my finger on what’s truly taking place.
Mae finally sees me and stops playing. She grabs Tristan’s hand and basically drags him back up to the house. But, he seems to be a willing victim to my cute little sister’s desires.
“KK!” Mae says, letting go of Tristan’s hand and flinging herself into my arms.
I hug Mae close to me and realize one of the special gifts my sister possesses. She has the uncanny ability to lighten your heart with a single hug, even when it feels overburdened with doubt and worry.
“KK,” Mae says, leaning back from me, “Puppy and me have been playing.”
“I know,” I tell her having a hard time not smiling because of Mae’s nickname for Tristan.
“I love my Puppy,” Mae tells me, like the feeling is a complete declaration from her heart.
“Why?” I ask, needing to know what on Earth this strange relationship my sister has with this werewolf is.
Mae is quiet for a moment and just stares at me like I should know the answer already.
“Why do you love him, Mae?” I ask again.
“Because he’s mine,” she says simply.
She leans over and kisses me on the mouth then scrambles down to go stand by Tristan and takes his hand.
