by Ivy Carter
Chapter 7.
Ella.
The chaos I see before me steals my breath. There in the middle of a blood-spilled floor Tristan, or someone that looks a lot like Tristan but a hell of a lot scarier, is battling Alexander. There are swords clashing and sparks flying from the blades as they slide against each other upon impact. I want to yell out to Tristan but I am afraid that the distraction will get him hurt. My eyes are glued to the fight so I don’t notice when two of Alexander’s guards almost sneak up on me.
Turning when I feel a change in the air, I see two of Alexander’s guards running my way with their weapons drawn. I feel power pooling in my hands. Looking down at my hands, instead of the warm sensation that I usually get, the power inside feels cold. The coloring is even off, it is green swirling with black.
I am so entranced by the swirling colors that I almost let the two guards trying to kill me get the drop on me. I raise my hand and fire at the guards. When it hits them in the chest, they don’t get blown backward, they turn to ash… cold, smoking ash.
Looking at my hands, I see that there are still tendrils of black and green swirling power flickering across my fingers. Shaking them out, I look around to see if there is anything else dangerous lurking nearby. I am not going to think about the men I just killed. It was self-defense but I know I am still going to be sick about it later.
“Ella!” I hear Tristan roar as my head swerves around in his direct. I see him blow Alexander back with a bolt of pure black energy. Alexander flies across the stone floor, landing on his back and slumping unconsciously against the far wall.
Suddenly I am wrapped in a pair of strong arms and something inside me sighs with relief, as if I have come home and am finally safe. I shake my musings off and look around to see if there is anyone trying to sneak up on us. But besides the dead men surrounding us and Alexander lying unconscious, there is no one except us in the antechamber.
“Tristan, what are you doing here? And why do you look different?” I ask him, looking into his pitch-black eyes. There are no whites there now. Just solid black orbs that are considering me with so much want that it takes my breath.
“There is much to explain, my Ella. But for now, hold onto me while I transport us home.” I jerk at that, almost completely out of his grip. How can he transport us when I was told that only a full God or Goddess can transport out of the Shadow realm? So many questions that are left unanswered…
“You will not be leaving this realm with my heir and the broodmare that is currently carrying what is mine, Death!”
I turn my head to find Alexander up off the floor and on his feet. He is wiping blood from his face, but he doesn’t look hurt at all. I can feel power pooling in my hands. I am no one’s broodmare! I want to shout that fact at anyone who dares to brand me with such an ugly title.
So surprised at being called a broodmare, I almost missed what Alexander called Tristan. I look between the two, and see the fear in Alexander’s eyes that belies his blustering words. Is it true?
Tristan waves a hand and we are surrounded by a dome of black and purple flickering flames. As soon as the dome closes around us, arrows and various other weapons begin to bounce off it.
Tristan lowers his lips to my ear and whispers very quietly. “Ells, I need your help. I used most of my energy getting here, and fighting off Alexander. Anywhere else and I could reap his ass easily. But here, in his realm he is master of all.”
I shiver from the cold breath that touches my skin, then I realize what he is saying. He is almost depleted. And he did this to himself to try to save me. I am in awe and scared at the same time. For this man, this powerful man to drain himself almost dry to save me, it is well and truly humbling.
“What do you need me to do?” I whisper as the shield around us deflects more weapons fired.
Looking up, I see Alexander is grinning at us as if he has all the time in the world. Then he flares out his hands and I can feel a change in the air. The ground beneath our feet starts to rock and slide. I tip to the left and almost slam face down onto the ground but Tristan catches me at the last second.
“I need you to let me draw on your power so that we can get out of here. Then I can transport us.”
I just nod and hold out my right hand for him to grab. With my left, I reach down to lie it flat on the rumbling ground. I push my consciousness past the barrier of the floor and search for a flare of power that I can draw on while Tristan draws on the power I already hold within my body. I find a pocket of nature locked deep within the grey mass of earth. It is green and vibrant, and it seems to jump at the chance for me to consume it and pull it out of its currently miserable existence in this barren place. I silently thank the nature spirits locked within the earth, and promise to replenish everything that I borrow.
I can feel Tristan drawing on me and he is quickly draining me dry even though I am trying to replenish my reserves as fast as I can. I can hear him muttering a spell to himself, something that I have never seen him do before. Usually he just waves his hand and wills what he wants into existence. He must be truly out of his depth here.
Alexander and his guards continue to pelt us with everything they can throw at us, as we try to keep from being bounced around like we are on a damned trampoline. I notice a few of Alexander’s guards aren’t firing at us, but are actively fighting against others in their ranks, as if they are trying to protect us. That is when I realize that we can’t leave them here. If we do, we are leaving allies to be slaughtered.
“Tristan, we can’t leave them behind.” I gasp out as I reach for more power from the earth around us. Tristan looks at me as if I am insane. I throw my head to the side to show him where the others are that are trying to protect us. He looks entirely surprised at the sight. I just nod before closing my eyes, reaching out both internally and externally. I’m trying to pull enough power out through the earth, nature itself so that we have enough power to draw on to transport everyone that we need to out of here.
“Gaia, Mother please, help me help these people. Help me save this child by escaping this realm.” I mutter to myself as I close my eyes, pleading and asking for help. I suddenly see Gaia in all her glory within my mind. I reach out my hand, begging for her to help me and this child. Warmth flows through my body as she grasps my hand.
“Once you were my child, forever you are my child.” She whispers to me as she lightly kisses my cheek. As she disappears, I whisper a thank you and promise to repay this debt. Suddenly I feel all the power I have lost since I was stabbed flowing throughout my body.
Tristan gasps as my power flows into him. I open my eyes, see his shocked expression and smile. Shooting out my hand, I gather our new allies, the ones that are still fighting and the fallen, within the leash of my power. Green and black tendrils wrap around the bodies of the men outside of the bubble that is shielding us from harm.
“Now, Tristan!” I gasp out, as I already feel the drain from his spell. “Please do it now!”
The energy that had been the bubble of power surrounding us, protecting us, begins to swirl around us in a great vortex. I suck in a gasp of air as I feel the transport begin to take place. I pull on the tether of my power that is connected unseen to the men that decided to help us. I hear roars of outrage as the transportation spells sucks them along with Tristan and I through the swirling vortex and out of the Realm of Shadows. The last thing I hear before we are gone is Alexander yelling out his denial strongly enough to shake the whole of his realm.
Chapter 8.
Jaxx
Mist swirls around my boots as I am pulled into the realm of The In-between, the realm of The Triple Goddess Hekate. I feel powerless as I take in the wonder of my surroundings. That is when I see her, wrapped in white robes, stepping through the mists as they part for her like a living thing. I look up, trying to avoid her eyes, to hide my anger for just a moment longer. The sky above me is utterly black and full of brilliant stars.
The sound of clapping hands
pulls my attention back to the power figure who is now standing not ten feet from me. She looks exactly like her daughter, yet older and more wicked somehow, like the veil of goodness that she has been wearing is beginning to slip.
“Jaxxayne.” The power in her voice washes over me as it echoes throughout the Between. I fall to my knees under the pressure within her voice.
“Why have you called me to your realm, my Goddess?” I ask.
“Because child, you are discontent. I can feel your anger even as you are on your knees before me with feigned respect.”
The punishing accusation in her voice causes my vision to blur as the blood vessels running through my eyes burst. Tears of blood rain down my face as the almost crippling pain causes me to fall the rest of the way to the ground.
“So, why are you angry with me, my dear Jaxxayne?” She strolls around me almost as if she is bored by me. “Is it because my disappointment of a daughter is flirting at the idea of joining her life with Death himself? Or is it because you can’t stand the idea that your blonde, boyish looks and charming attributes aren’t working out in your favor for once in your life?” She laughs and it enrages me almost enough to forget about the pain exploding behind my eyes.
“I shall live up to my end of our bargain when you are able to devastate my dearest daughter enough to turn her completely against the light that flows inside her.” She sneers at her own mention of Ella.
“My Goddess, I tried to eliminate the Wraith, but he somehow swallowed my spell, ingesting it, instead of it destroying him as it was meant too.”
“Excuses!” She yells. “I am so tired of your excuses. Not even your betrayal of her with another has sent her upon the path that I have chosen for her.” She kneels in front of me, pulling my head up by my hair, so I have to meet her eyes. “You once called the vision of my daughter a pale imitation of myself, does that still hold true?”
I consider her now-faded, jade green eyes and internally cringe as I must lie. Even though I have been here but for a short time, she has faded. Her black hair is streaked with silver and there are wrinkles framing her eyes and mouth.
“There is nothing in all the realms that surpasses your beauty or power, my Goddess.” I gasp out as she yanks on my hair painfully. A smile graces her face at my statement. She lets go of my hair and stands once more, looking down on me as I lay at her feet. She reaches out a hand and I grasp it as she pulls me to my feet with no effort at all.
“Come share my bed this night my golden knight, and if you continue to delight me, I will find a way to force a mating between you and my shadow.”
She giggles like the girl she is not. I inwardly cringe once more as I follow in her wake. Hand in hand we walk as the mists that are swirling around us part, revealing a giant bed crowned with gold and ivy. It is surrounded by dying flowers and malnourished fruit trees. It was once a bed fit for a Goddess, but now it fades as she does. Yet I follow obediently, not wanting to anger her and face her wrath.
It will be all worth it in the end. All the lies, all the dark deeds that I have subjected myself to… It will all be worth it when I have the power of the Celios under my thumb. When she is within my grasp and mine to control, I will rule all the realms. And there will be no one strong enough to stop me. Now that thought makes me smile.
Chapter 9.
Ella
I land hard on my back as I hit the ground when we are thrown from the hastily made Transportation Spell. Lifting my head and looking around, I see that we have transported six of the shadow warriors with us. But they don’t look like the nondescript men that first tried to help us in the shadow realm. They all look totally different now.
I turn my head left and notice that we are in a forest and Tristan isn’t moving yet. There is blood covering the front of his white button-down shirt, turning it a deep crimson. Panic starts to climb through my being at seeing him lying prone and silent on the ground covered in his own life blood.
Trying to scramble to my knees, I must take a deep breath at the sharp pain shooting through my abdomen. I double over and try not to scream as the agony tears through me. Squeezing my knees together, I force myself to my feet.
There is a commotion to my right. I ignore it and head to the left toward Tristan. He still doesn’t look like he has moved at all or like he is even breathing.
Falling to my knees, I rip open Tristan’s shirt to find a deep, sweeping cut across his stomach. It is black around the edges, weeping blood. There are veins of black running from the wound, climbing towards his heart. I turn and get ready to scream for someone to help me when I see that the shadow warriors are fighting with a giant black panther. Seeing a cat that size makes the words die in my throat.
“What the fuck?” I mutter out loud while trying to stanch the blood flowing from Tristan’s stomach with my hands. “Hey! Once you get done playing at being Cat Nip… Maybe you can give me a hand at saving my fated?!?” The last bit comes out kind of strangled and desperate. I can feel the tears start to fall down my face as I realize that I could lose him before we even have a chance to really start.
Everyone seems to freeze at once, the men’s swords and claws disappear in a cloud of black smoke.
Someone approaches me from behind and I turn around, powering up my palm in case they mean me and mine harm.
“Peace.” The strange girl, the one that tried to tear apart the shadow warriors, approaches me slowly. Creeping over the bright green ground, her hands are braced in front of her as if she expects a sudden blow to come her way. “I mean you no harm, lady.”
She bows her head as she crouches over Tristan, running her hand over his wound. Her fingers trace the long, weeping gash, but don’t quite make skin contact.
“What is wrong with him? Why isn’t he healing?” I want to scream at her when she just shakes her head and gives me a sad look.
“He has been poisoned. Unless he has old immortal blood running through his system…” She shakes her head, deep red hair covering the expression on her face like a fiery curtain. “He will be dead within hours.”
I gasp when I hear her mutter the word dead. I can’t lose him. I just found him. He is slowly becoming everything to me.
I know that we have had lifetimes together. I know that I should be happy with the time that we have had together. But somehow, I feel like I have been cheated. Losing Tristan, my fated, is not an option. I gasp, fighting for breath as pain runs through my stomach again. Making me want to scream and never stop.
That is when I realize that I am not only losing Tristan… But I am also losing the baby that has somehow been planted in my womb. No. Not going to happen. I can’t let any of this happen. I won’t allow it.
I want to rage at Fate for being such a fickle bitch. I want to scream to the universe that this isn’t fair. It isn’t right.
I haven’t had enough time. I haven’t told Tristan that I love him. That I have fallen in love with him in this life, in this time, without the help of the past. I don’t own any memories from my past lives as he does. I just want him in the here and the now. I have been so confused.
I shake my head as I feel tears running down my cheeks and dripping off my chin. Tears land on the ground beside where Tristan is lying, causing something weird to happen. Vines shoot from the packed soil cocooning his body as the new girl and myself try to dive out of the way of the crazy greenery.
Then I realize what is happening. Somehow my tears have triggered a healing. It happened to me before when I returned life to the land that I drank dry. My tears are acting as a catalyst. I freeze, not daring to move, praying with everything in me that this works. I relax slightly when I hear him exhale and see his body relax, almost falling limp, as the vines start to knit his body back together.
Just as I start to think that everything is going to be okay, the pain returns. More blood gushes between my legs, drenching the ground below me. I look up into the wide eyes of the strange, fire-haired girl in front of me and scream as I fal
l to my side and start to convulse.
“Help me.” I look upward into the canopy of trees before squeezing my eyes tightly as I fight my way through the pain. “Help me.” I gasp out once more. Panting for breath as more and more agony grips my entire body.
A soft touch massages my stomach, or it tries to, as my back bows. My body goes rigid as some blinding light envelopes my body. I feel a blade rip through my abdominal muscles, cutting deep. Then there is a ripping sensation before…
Nothing. Suddenly there is nothing but the absence of the pain. I can hear nothing but my own gasping breaths. My nails have dug into the dirt on each side of where I am currently lying.
Shaking out my hands, I lift them and grip my abdomen to find it flat and whole. Levering myself off the ground, I look around and see the ten shadow warriors staring at me. Their faces are frozen in expressions of absolute shock.
Ignoring them, I look toward where Tristan is still lying peacefully inside a tube of green and find the new girl clutching a baby to her chest. And that image hits me like a ton of bricks. The flat stomach, the blood, and the pain… The baby that she is holding is the baby that was inside me until an instant ago.
I reach my arms out for the child. I have an ache to hold the child that isn’t mine, but now somehow is. A baby’s wail, loud and proud, rips through the clearing as the new girl leans toward me.
I really need to ask this girl her name, New girl… Even me calling her that inside my head just isn’t working for me.
I take the child and cuddle it to me. I run my nose over the soft down of her head and inhale the baby smell of it. I want to cry at the joy I suddenly feel as I hold the baby in my arms for the first time. I hold it out from my body, admiring the baby’s beautiful face, rosy cheeks, and sharp, bright green eyes… my eyes. I almost gasp in shock as I take in her features. With her full rosebud lips and her black as night wispy curls… She is the very picture of myself when I was an infant.
