“We need to go back to our original defensive plan. We’ll go out and meet them, and the rest can wait underground until they are needed,” he says, looking to each of the Seven. “Are you ready for this?”
“We would walk through the fires of Hell with you, Sir. We’ve been ready for this for a long time,” Suki replies.
“Then let us go. Tonight, we will bathe in the blood of our enemies and drink in toast to our success.”
ROSE
I’ve never seen the two of them side by side like this. I don’t think anyone has in a really long time. They look like the true warriors they are. Complete opposites like night and day. Xanders dark hair with his eyes full of fire, which look as if they will scorch the world to get to her. The leather wrapped around his right arm is an armour I have never seen. A thick brace on his forearm, joining to a piece which looks like dragon scale, melded to his arm perfectly. The black leather straps wrap around his torso from his shoulders to his waist hold his bastard sword, and two smaller daggers. Another two are sheathed in the back of his leather pants. The shadows dance around him as if they are an extension of him. I’ve never seen Fallen battle, I have a feeling this is going to be something I will never forget.
Kaden stands by the side of him. His blonde hair blowing about in the harsh wind. The sun is hidden by the dark clouds, which have rolled in. It seems only fitting. He is also topless, with two leather braces on each forearm, both armed with a blade. He has two swords strapped to his back. Outwardly, he looks excited; like he’s having fun. I’ve witnessed the darkness raging through him. I know how much he craves the blood lust, the damage he’ll inflict. But I know how much he’d sacrifice to make sure she’s okay. I’ve seen the emotion flicker in his eyes when her name is mentioned.
If we all survive this, there is going to be some serious shit to sort through when we’re done. I look around at the rest of the warriors; Xanders Elite stand further back with Celeste. Michael and Kas, alert and on edge. Marcus and his Elite even further back than them with Kas’ pack hidden in the trees along with the Shadow pack and Shytara. I was pretty surprised when everyone turned up, and tensions have been high at the reservation – but after news Cole would march on us within the day, there wasn’t much time for much to be resolved before we started our journey here. I’m hidden, but I refused to not be here– and now we’re on the road, heading towards Cole. Attack being stronger than defence. Battle may be no place for a princess, but there was no way I was staying safe in some tower while everyone else went to save my best friend. Benny is hidden with me; I can feel the tension rolling off of him. He’s angry I’m here, too, but we both know I’d have been here with or without him.
I hear the gasps before I see her. She doesn’t look like Addie. Her beautiful dark hair is now red at the ends, bright like fire, and her eyes glow the same colour, as if her power dances around her. Her face is devoid of all emotion, as if she doesn’t even recognize the people across from her. I know she can see them. With her heightened powers, her sight will be as good as the Fallen. I shake my head in disbelief. What if we’re too late? What if she’s already gone?
My breath leaves me when I see Cole stood to the left of her, and then a blonde girl and guy to her right. That must be Logan and Liv. Cole leans down to her and says something to her. She nods and steps forward. That’s when the ground shakes and I see everyone steady themselves in preparation for whatever hellish thing this is. A huge crevice opens up in the ground and the air fills with screams. Hundreds, if not thousands, of demon horde are running towards Xander and Kaden and everyone else stood behind them.
A smiles dances across the brother’s faces and they quickly exchange looks before both running towards the demon horde charging them. I wince as they crash into the first one’s they meet. There is such beauty in the way they fight. I don’t think they’re even aware of how much they work together. They don’t look at each other, but they deflect blows and cut through the Demons and Shades in front of them in a way that almost looks like a well-rehearsed dance. Kaden swings a sword in each hand, god-like, he works his way through the Demons and Shades who try to take him down. His wings break free and extend, taking out a few as they come towards him. I watch mesmerized as he flies upwards then tunnel rolls downwards, swords out, taking heads as he ploughs through the horde, which seems never-ending. While Kaden attacks from the air, Xander stays planted firmly on the ground, his sword cutting through any of the demon horde who dare to even look his way.
His muscled torso is painted red and he is completely unfazed by the bodies he leaves scattered on the ground around him. He wears their blood as a medal of honour. Looking back, I see Dimitri, Celeste and Michael all fighting with the same grace as the brothers. The rest of the Elite are clearing up the few who have passed through the first two lines of defence. Marcus and his Elite assess the situation, still untouched by the battle.
Fire screams through the air. One of the Seven women surrounding Cole has broken away, and is launching fire towards our people. I’m up before I think about it, my family descend from a line of water Fae, and if I can help at all, I’m bloody well going to. I launch myself forward, still a distance away but close enough to stop her causing any more damage. Reaching down to the pool of power I feel in my stomach; I latch onto it and lift my arms. Water shoots towards the balls of fire heading in the direction of Kaden and Xander. They extinguish and I can’t help but do a little dance before continuing to help out the defence as best I can.
Benny is not happy. “For gods sake, Rose! I can’t believe you would put yourself at risk like this! Now they know you’re here!”
The adrenaline coursing through me causes me to dismiss his anger. I actually helped them. The demon has retreated, realising she is of no use.
Benny lifts me over his shoulder and runs back to our hiding position. I’m pounding on his back with increasing anger.
The demon horde is almost depleted; bodies lay scattered across the brown wasteland, awash in a sea of red.
There’s an electrical hum in the air and the demon elite disappear from view before appearing halfway across the wasteland. I see Xander soar into the air, closely followed by Kaden, before they crash into the ground in front of the Seven; their crash landing creates a fissure in the ground, which separates them. Dimitri and the others land behind them quickly after; Marcus and his Elite follow suit. They’ve not fought yet but the day isn’t over. That’s when I see the Shades. Grotesque as ever with their dark grey skin, talons and yellow teeth, they look like the undead they are made to be. Vampyrs not fully made. As almost mindless beasts, they make for the perfect soldiers. They rush forward in a wave towards the group, jumping the fissure in the earth with no mind for their safety, just their mission. The wolves appear in the tree line. I was wondering when Kas would call them forward. The bloodbath unravels in front of me and I hear the cry of a wolf as its overwhelmed by the Shades. I hide my face in Benny’s shoulder. I had known we wouldn’t come away from this unscathed, but nonetheless, I had hoped.
AEVEEN
I look across the Fallen and feel nothing. They mean nothing to me. All of this is pointless. I don’t understand why my Father insists on the killing of those two Fallen. He won’t tell me the real reason, beyond that they greatly wronged him, and it’s their fault we’re here.
“Please don’t do this,” Addie says.
She’s been louder today. I can feel her struggling to take over but she isn’t fighting very hard so it is easy to keep her subdued. This is my body now. I was repressed for far too long. I will not be pushed back down. She did not wish to merge with me, rejected me and everything we could have achieved together. This is her punishment. I know how much she loves him and I can feel his eyes on me, even though he should be paying attention to the demon whores in front of him. I wonder if he knows he won’t be leaving here.
Father searched for a very long time for the iron made with the blood of Fae. It is the only thing which can
kill a Fallen. It must pierce his heart to kill him and father is a brilliant marksman. It is only right he kills those that betrayed him. Those that kept us apart. It’s all Xanders fault.
“Please stop him, Aeveen. Xander only did what he thought was right. Please!” She screams in the back of my mind. I focus on quieting her again. All that’s left is a quiet knocking as she tries to beat down the door between us. Her emotions are pointless.
The fight begins, the Demons going toe to toe with the Fallen and the wolves; it’s truly fascinating – almost majestic. Watching them dance around each other, blow for blow. I see one of the Fallen go down, the one with dark hair who has been fighting closely to Xander and feel nothing. These people fight for her, fight for Addie, they don’t know me. They just want to use me. But not Father, he told me the truth of it all. He is why I am here now.
I look at the Fallen warriors, and I see Xander take flight. I unfurl my wings ready to head towards him, just like Father asked. He’s so focused on me that he doesn’t see Father with his bow and arrow. The iron pressed into an arrowhead. I’m aware of him lining up the sight and letting go.
ADDIE
“No!” I scream. The anger pushes me forward. I fight to take my body back. The realization that I could’ve stopped it hits me as I watch Xander falls towards the earth and I scream out again, claiming my body – pushing hard against Aeveen. I race towards Xander, reaching him just before he hits the ground. I pull him into me, lowering us both to the ground. Kaden roars behind me, but I can’t look anywhere but at Xander.
He really came for me, and now he’s leaving me.
I lay his body on the ground, keeping his head close to mine as silent tears stream down my face. This is all my fault.
“Xander.” I whisper., my tears falling onto his face. His eyes flutter open and my heart soars with hope, before plummeting back down.
“It’s really you?” he asks. His question is muffled by the blood spluttering from his mouth.
“It’s really me, baby. You just need to hold on and be strong for a little longer, then we can be together again,” I say, wiping the steady stream of tears with the back of my hand.
“I’ll always love you, Addie – even if I’m not with you. I need you to remember that.”
“Don’t be silly,” I sob. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to be my forever, remember?”
“Addie, I want you to be happy. No matter what.” The blood coming from his mouth is now dark and thick. His eyes flutter closed and I’m overcome by sobs, which wrack my body.
This is all my fault.
“Xander, please wake up.”
“You wanted us to merge Aeveen, well now’s your chance,” I say to her. I need her power to reap the vengeance in my heart.
The pool of power in my stomach washes over my body. I turn back to see everyone behind me, with looks of horror on their faces, the sadness and the anger. Rose runs towards us with Benny on her heel. She is crying. Everything is different in the aftermath of merging. It’s more. So much more.
Red anger rolls through me. I have only one thought. Cole. He did this. He tried to kill me. He used me to get to Xander – and now, he’s going to die. I take off and soar into the skies. Cole is in the distance, flying to safety with Liv in his arms. I search through mine and Aeveen’s memories to discover his hiding place, but that’s soon irrelevant; he’s stopped and landed, facing me in challenge. Liv is running. I lower myself to the earth, ready for Cole.
“Well, well, well, it looks like my little girl grew up and finally accepted what she is.” He smirks. “Too bad it was too late to save your precious, Xander. That scum deserved what he got. Hell, death is probably too good for him.”
I react without thinking and shoot my hands forward; purple fire rips down my arms and straight into Cole’s chest. I scream out the anger. The fire intensifies and he’s falling back towards to ground – flames ravaging his body. I watch him writhe and scream as the flames eat away at him and I feel nothing. It doesn’t take long before his screams die out with the flames. I might not be iron forged with Fae blood, but I am more than enough to destroy one Fallen.
I turn and leave Cole’s smoking corpse before heading back to face my grief.
I head back towards Xander and am greeted by a pool of complex emotions.
“We need to get him out of here,” Kaden says. “There has to be something we can do.” He turns to his people and gives them orders to recover Xander and the other injured from the battlefield.
Everyone jumps at his word. Dimitri takes Rose, and Michael takes Benny, leaving Kaden to carry Xander.
I step forward to help Kaden lift Xander from the ground, but he sneers at me. “Do not touch him!” he snaps.
My eyes flash red with the power of the Reborn, giving Kaden no choice but to let his protests fall and step back.
“Shut up Kaden!” I kneel down beside Xander, my arms holding him. “Xander, baby, please – don’t leave me. Look at me,” I say, lifting his head into my lap. “You can’t go yet; it’s not time. I love you. I still need you. There’s so much we still have to do,” I beg as my tears return.
“Addie, you need to let go of him,” Kaden says, approaching me with caution. “I need to get him back. I’ve no idea what’s wrong with him – we’re not meant to hurt like this. Let me take him. Please?” Kaden asks softly.
I kiss Xanders forehead and wipe some of the dirt and blood from his face before giving him over to Kaden.
Kaden’s face is set with determination. “He’s going to be okay, Addie. He has to be.” He scoops Xander up in his arms and takes flight, leaving me watching them until they are nothing more than a tiny speck in the sky.
“Addie?” Dimitri asks, “Is that really you in there, sweetheart?”
He’s cautiously looking me over. I nod.
This is all my fault.
He wraps me up in a hug, and with the comfort of his arms, I shut all my emotions down.
He pushes me to arm’s length, trying to find my eyes, but they refuse to lift from the ground.
“Addie, sweetheart, just follow us back and we’ll work out what’s going on.”
He pulls me into another tight hug, before taking flight.
I’m left with the dead of the battlefield and Xanders Elite, who are tending to the injured. I watch as he takes off, and stay behind for a minute looking at all of those who fell today.
This is all my fault.
Reluctantly, I take flight and follow behind, not wanting to face the possibility that Xander might die.
KADEN
“Get the Fae healer here now!” I yell as I land with my big brother cradled in my arms. I refuse to believe he’s dying. The wolves gather around me, taking his body from me and rushing him to the medical centre.
“Kaden, what the hell happened?” Kas calls from the edge of the woods. His sister Dani is next to him along with her two boys. They remind me of Xander and I as kids, and I swallow the lump that rises in my throat.
“It’s Xander, he was shot with an arrow. Whatever it was, took him down. He’s barely breathing Kas… I… I have no idea what to do, help him, please” I say shakily. Kas walks towards me and hugs me in the way only a friend and brother can. I lean on him for a minute before stepping back.
“I need to go in and find out what’s happening.”
Kas shakes his head, knowing the sight of what’s going on in the medical centre is not something a loved one should witness. “No, Kaden, you wait here and I’ll go in and see what’s happening. I’ll be straight back – I promise.”
I watch his back retreat from me into his medical centre. I feel so lost. I thought I finally had a second chance with my brother; to get back to being us. There are very few things that can kill one of us, but Cole would know that. Surely he couldn’t find it. We made sure it was gone, but I’ve never seen Xander take a hit and not get back up. If it’s not that, I have no idea what to think.
Celeste, Mic
hael and Dimitri appear in the clearing, followed closely by Addie. I’m conflicted at seeing her. The anger and blame surface. If it wasn’t for her, Xander would be okay. He probably still wouldn’t be talking to me, but he’d be okay. Then, there’s the feelings of love underneath those feelings I dare not explore – or outwardly admit.
My brother loves her. I need to make sure she’s okay, too. He’d expect it of me, no matter what.
I approach them with a grim look set upon my face and explain, “Xanders in the medical centre with the doc. There’s nothing we can do but wait. He’s a stubborn bastard; there’s no way he’d let Cole win like this,” I say to them, more confidence in my voice than I feel.
I turn towards Addie who looks broken. She’s been through so much in so little time that I’m amazed she’s still standing. I wrap her in my arms, feeling the tremble of her body as she sobs.
This isn't her fault, really.
“Is he gone Kaden? This is all my fault. I should have fought harder,” she says. “I need to get in there. I need to see him. Maybe I can help save him. He can’t die, Kaden, I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s dies.” She pleads as she pulls against me trying to get into the med centre to be with Xander.
“He’s not dying, Addie, just a little broken,” I lie trying to convince myself as much as Addie. “We destroyed the only thing that can kill us…”
“Iron forged with the blood of a Fae,” she whispers.
Her face is streaked with tears. All at once, her eyes fall on something behind me. The look of despair on her face causes me to turn and I see Kas stood in the doorway of the medical centre. The look on his face slays me.
It can’t be.
He can’t be gone.
Xander?
To be continued…
Crash (The Immortal Chronicles Book 2) Page 17
