by Maya Daniels
“If you like to get away from this crap, Faith, you can go with the women through the portal now,” I start saying, but as uncertainty shows in her eyes, I backtrack fast. “They might need help wherever they are going, but we would love to have you stay with us if that’s what you want. I just want you to have a choice. It’s not a good feeling when choice is taken from you, I of all people should know that,” I finish lamely. Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Oh well, too late now, so I look at her, unblinking, hoping that she can see in my eyes that I had good intentions.
“I’ll stay if you’ll have me,” she says and lifts her chin as if daring us to say no.
The woman is nuts if she thinks our crazy bunch would say no to someone like her.
“Let’s get cracking!” Jezzinta grins at us, her British accent thick, echoing through the tunnel. Leave it to her to find humor in everything.
“I haven’t had this much fun in hundreds of years. Who knew all I needed was to find a witch?” Lucifer grins and winks at me.
The angel has lost it as well in this realm, it seems. He leads the way and we follow like baby geese in a line. I breathe deeply through my mouth to keep myself as calm as possible and I can hear everyone doing the same. I hope they don’t feel as tired as I do, because we’re screwed if there are a lot of creatures outside. As we near the exit, Lucifer motions with his hand for us to stop and he slides the last few steps with his back to the walls, slowly sticking his head out to peek outside. The first peek is a split second and if I didn’t watch him, I would’ve missed it. I don’t know what he saw but he frowned and stuck his head out a second, longer time. We all wait, holding our breaths, and watch him straighten out and slowly walk out of the cave. Since he didn’t say anything, I start creeping closer to see as well. Everyone follows the lead, as I said, like baby geese. As I reach the opening of the cave, he turns and looks at me, confusion clear in his eyes.
“What is it?” I whisper like an idiot before it dawns on me he is standing out in the open without a worry in the world.
“You think you killed them all around the realm?” he asks.
“Huh?” I look at him dumbly.
“The creatures. You think you killed them all?”
“How should I know, angel? I don’t do killings as a Sunday hobby.”
“Don’t get angry, Alexia, I’m only asking because there is no one here, but there’s a lot of dust everywhere.” He waves his arm towards the horizon and I step out next to him to see what he is talking about.
“Go on through the portal,” Meda says to the women and I hear them shuffling, but I can’t see because I can’t take my eyes off the piles of dust all around us. As usual, my heart is trying to fight its way out of my chest like a prisoner from a jail cell.
“How is that even possible?” I mumble.
“You used your magick…” Lucifer starts but Remi cuts him off.
“It wasn’t a question,” she snaps at him, and wraps an arm around my shoulders as if to protect me from whatever Lucifer was trying to accuse me of. I smile at her in gratitude but there’s no need for it.
“Something is happening to me in this realm, angel, and I have no explanation,” I say softly, then I suck in a sharp breath. “You think I killed that asshole, too?” I look at him with wide eyes.
“I very much doubt that,” Faith says before Lucifer can answer, pointing towards the temple in the distance.
“Fuck! Run to the woods!” I scream and start pushing them across the dirt road towards the orchard trees that are swaying in the imaginary wind with their silver apples.
In the distance, a hoard of creatures is coming fast our way, led by a single figure and a stupid dragon-snake lookalike that’s following the figure like a shadow. Unfortunately, the asshole is still alive.
“We need to make sure the women go through the portal,” Meda says.
“They can go through the portal on their own. We have to go now! The woods aren’t that close, Meda! We freed them, I’m sure they can walk through a fucking portal!” I snap at her and regret it the same moment the last word leaves my mouth. “Sorry. I have no idea where that came from.”
“They’ll go on their own. I made sure no one but a woman can go through the barrier of the portal,” says Lucifer, and he throws his arm forward to point us where to go, like an eighteenth-century gentleman.
If I hadn’t felt like shit for snapping at Meda, I might have laughed, but because I’m acting like an evil clone of myself, I keep my mouth shut and start walking towards the orchard without looking back. They’ll either follow or they’ll stay and wait. Either way, I’ll have a better advantage fighting from behind the trees. After a few steps, I hear footsteps behind me and looking over my shoulder, I see all of them follow with Lucifer trailing them. I guess there’ll be a lot of lectures when we get to the woods, and I can’t say that I blame them. Something is very wrong with me.
“Should we speed up or should we take positions and get ready to fight? They are getting very close,” I ask of no one in particular, and my heart pumps with the beat of feet getting closer to us by the second.
“Let’s run! When the last woman crosses the portal, it’ll close. It won’t be long now,” Lucifer says from way back.
“Just run straight. You can’t miss it. Stop for nothing,” Faith says, and she bolts through the trees. We all follow.
Trees pass by us like a blur as we do our best to reach the woods that will give us a chance to rest and come up with a plan to find Philip. My body protests with every movement, but I can’t complain since everyone, apart from Lucifer, has had it worse, yet they’re all running as fast as they can. A shriek makes me look back and I almost fall down when I see Meda falling, both arms outstretched in front of her so that she can break her fall. My heart stops for a second but before I have a chance to even pause, Lucifer scoops her up, throws her over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry and keeps running. My arm is grabbed and my body jerks to the right. I almost lose my footing and stumble like a drunk. I barely missed the trunk of a tree.
“You almost slammed into that tree, Sap. Watch where you’re going,” Jez huffs next to me.
“Thanks,” I wheeze and keep running.
We can see the clearing between the woods and the orchard, and I start praying that we all get across, unlike the last time I was running like this and Faith was taken. We can do this. We must do this. As if they hear me, the creatures shriek and start heading diagonally towards us.
“Shit! They’ll catch up to us! Shit, shit, shit!” I keep yelling as if that will make them go away.
A bright orange fireball zaps in front of me from the trees and explodes in the distance, towards the shrieks of the creatures, just as we enter the clearing. I look at Faith and she grins like a madwoman.
“I’m a fire elemental.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” I laugh-wheeze. I’m getting really tired.
“Keep running. I’ll put a barrier between us and the woods halfway through the clearing,” Lucifer yells.
“Finally you’ll do something useful,” I tell him, grinning now too, and he huffs a laugh from behind us. We are almost there when I feel the energy shift. I guess the barrier is in place, but I don’t want to stop until we are all safe in the woods. A minute later, Remi goes through first with Jezzinta right behind her. Faith and I follow, and as I drop on my knees and look back, Lucifer steps through with Meda dangling over his shoulder.
“Thank fuck we made it,” I wheeze before I topple on the ground and gulp air for my starved lungs.
20
The rustling of wings gets my attention as I plop down on my back, spread-eagled, trying to catch my breath. I would’ve thought that after all the training I’d had with Lucifer, I would have more stamina than this, but obviously I was wrong. Turning my head left and right, I’m trying to see where the sound is coming from when I finally spot the movement right above me at the tree branches. The owl is perched on the branch with his eyes
trained intently on me. To see if I’m okay or to tell me I’m an idiot? Who knows? But I’m sure glad to see him.
“Thank you for the help, Rajah. I appreciate it!” I tell the owl and he hoots.
“You know the owl?” Remi asks from somewhere above my head.
“Yeah. He was our guide to the cave, and as you noticed, he helped keep us alive. Azalea sent him,” I tell her.
“Who’s Azalea?” she asks, and I can hear her trying to catch her breath as well. We all sound like freight trains, so it’s good that it’s not just me.
“Weaver of the thread of life,” Lucifer answers her question, and I hear everyone gasp.
I’m annoyed that he doesn’t sound out of breath like the rest of us. The angel has to have something not going well for him, or he’ll simply be too perfect. I intend to find what that something is, for whatever reason. Maybe it’ll make me feel better about myself, or perhaps I’m just a grumpy bitch lately.
“A-Ma, what happened back there in the cave?” Meda’s soft voice sounds more like a slap on my face than the whispered question that it is.
“What do you mean?” I ask, but I can literally feel the tension in the air around all of us.
“First you kept bashing that creature’s head on the ground long after it was dead, until it turned into a pulp. Then you don’t care if the women make it through the portal and to safety when we exit the cave. It’s not like you. Something feels off,” she says slowly, like she’s talking more to herself than me. “You feel off,” she adds sadly.
Dread pools in my stomach and I get lightheaded from the nausea that assaults me. All the fear, guilt, anger and helplessness from that cursed night when I lost them hits me at once. I can feel my heart thundering in my ears with a buzzing sound like I’m standing close to a rocket engine. Cold sweat drenches my body and beads on my forehead. My body starts shaking and I flip fast onto my side, rolling up onto all fours just in time to start retching and dry heaving at the roots of the tree. Clear water starts spraying from my mouth like from a hose and it’s hard to breathe, but I can’t stop it, even for a second, just to get a small breath in my air-starved lungs. I feel hands touching my shoulders and others holding my hair, but nothing stops the shaking in my body that feels like it’s lifting me off the ground. Darkness clouds my vision and I think I’m having a panic attack in the middle of this, whatever it is that is happening to me. It feels like I’m dying, but in all this, only one thought comes to mind—at least they’re safe here, no matter what happens to me. Just as I think I’m going to pass out, sound slowly returns, the liquid stops leaving my body and I’m finally able to take a breath. Raised voices all around me assault my ears, but I can’t do anything, only gulp air so to stay alive. All the energy drains from me and I can’t even open my eyes.
“Don’t yell,” I croak, and it feels like my throat is ripping in two from the effort. Tears stream from my eyes, but at least there’s no more yelling, and the quiet helps a little with the pounding in my head. I feel ice cold at the center of my chest, in stark contrast to the heat I felt before I destroyed the creatures in the cave. My body still shaking, I sit back on my legs and press my palms on my thighs to wipe the cold sweat from them. It takes great effort to keep my head up and my eyes open. This realm is killing me. I know it now as clearly as I know my own name. Water is life, and it just took almost all of it from my body. Taking a deep breath, slowly I start telling them what happened from the time they were taken until we entered the woods. They all sit in front of me with grim faces and eyes full of tears, but they don’t say a word until I’m done.
“You almost bled to death?” Jez asks, but she is not looking at me, her eyes are glued on Lucifer’s face. He nods grimly.
“Your energy is off balance, mate. Even though I don’t know you well, from what the girls told me while we were in the cell, and from your story now, that’s the only explanation I can think of,” Faith says with a thoughtful expression.
“I never said I was balanced. I’ve always been fucked up and never claimed otherwise,” I say defensively.
“That’s not what I meant,” she says, looking at me with sad eyes. “I mean your energy fluctuates to the extremes instead of staying in the middle where there is no light or dark, where everything just ‘is.’”
“Hmmmm…it could also be the integration after the initiation and awakening,” Meda says in the quiet that follows Faith’s words.
“I don’t know what it is. All I know is, right now, I have a multiple personality disorder. I have three of me inside, and they’re fighting for dominance.” I scrub my hands over my face. “Well, not all of them are fighting. Mushy me, as I like to call her, is barely there. I don’t think I can feel her since they put those cuffs on me. The predator, uncaring me, is in control and she’s all instinct, while the third is the part of me that just observes all of it. I feel ice cold inside, and all I know for sure is that this realm is killing me.” I look in the eyes of each and every one of them. I see they’re about to argue, so I stop it before it starts.
“No time to argue, so save your words. We need to find Philip and get the fuck out of here. I’m not that easy to kill, as I’ve proven so far. Let’s go.”
I don’t think I believe my own words, and judging by the looks they give me, they don’t either, but I’m not waiting so they’ll have time to start their debate. Leaning on the tree trunk, I lift myself up, swaying when dizziness hits me. Fast as lighting, Lucifer grabs my arm to hold me up, worry etched on his too-handsome face. Even frowning, he’s unnaturally pretty – too pretty for his own good. You can’t even call him handsome, he’s way beyond handsome. It almost hurts to look at his angelic face. I shake my head to dispel the stupidity. I can’t stand, but I’m worried about this beautiful face. Maybe my brain is deteriorating in this cursed place.
“We will rest first. You cannot walk like this,” he says firmly as if he’s my father. Too bad for him. I have no idea what it means to listen to one since I never met mine. He is shit out of luck.
“No time, I’ll manage. I’m just tired from the run. It’ll go away. Let’s go.” I push his hands away and almost topple over the next second. He grabs me again, annoyed. Before I say a word, he scoops me up and cradles me to his chest.
“Put me down,” I hiss at him, but he only looks at me with those stubborn eyes.
“If you don’t like it, he can carry me around like that any day, mate,” Faith chirps as she eyes Lucifer like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse. The girls laugh and he frowns at Faith, but she grins at him, unashamed.
Shaking his head, he starts walking and the rest start moving with him. I really have no strength left for anything but breathing, so I’ll keep my mouth shut at least until I can stand on my own. Then I’ll tell him to keep his hands to himself. Then again, his warm body, with all bumps of muscle that is pressed against me and searing my skin through the thin fabric, making me even more lightheaded.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
My breath is speeding up and I can hear it puffing from my lips as if I’m running. He looks down at me and his eyes darken while he slows down his steps. All sound stops like someone pressed a pause button. My eyes drop to his full lips and all I can feel is my chest pressing against him harder, my nipples digging like they want to pierce his skin to get closer and the tightening of his arms around me. The clearing of a throat snaps us both out of whatever the hell was happening.
“Save Philip first, fuck later,” Jez chirps.
“What?!” My head snaps around to look at her.
“You were eye fucking the angel. Not that I blame you, but watching you do it is above my pay grade.” She grins and lifts her eyebrows.
“Before I passed out bleeding, something started happening and I can’t control it. It has something to do with him,” I tell them, looking at Lucifer accusingly, “And before you start talking crap, no, it’s not hormones or that I need to get laid. It’s almost like a compulsion. I have no idea w
hat’s going on.”
“You’re unusually quiet, angel,” Remi says, suspicion coloring her tone while she watches him with narrowed eyes. I knew she’d have my back when it came to men in my life. She’ll rip his wings out and make pillows if she feels he’ll hurt me in any way.
“I have nothing to say. It is unknown to me as well,” he tells her, not looking her way. “I don’t like unknowns,” he mumbles the last part, more to himself I think. Well, he can join the club.
“Do we even know where we are going?” Meda asks.
“Not yet, but the farther she is from the barrier to the woods, the better she will look and feel.” Lucifer answers her so matter of factly that I’m about to ask him if he can feel my emotions.
“The color is returning to your face,” he answers my unasked question.
“I thought you can’t read my mind.”
“I don’t have to read your mind. Your face is very expressive.”
“No poker for me, huh?” I say dryly.
His lips quirk up a little for a second before the serious mask returns. We walk in silence for a few minutes through the trees, going deeper into the woods when the hairs on the back of my neck rise up, and I feel prickling between my shoulder blades. Before I open my mouth to say anything, Lucifer slows down and in two steps he takes cover behind a tree on our left, leaning on his shoulder so that we can’t be seen. My sisters follow suit like a dance they’ve rehearsed their whole lives.
“Someone is watching us. Put me down,” I whisper close to Lucifer’s ear and I feel him shudder. Not the right time to dwell on that, either. He releases my legs and my body slides parallel to his but he doesn’t let go, only repositions his arm from around my shoulders to my waist and he holds me pressed to his body. A shiver passes through me that pools delicious warmth between my thighs. My eyes zero in on his mouth and I feel his breathing speeding up, since my chest is still pressed to his. Maybe I do need to get laid. My stupid hormones are all over the place. Before I have time to snap out of it a loud voice does it for me and my jaw hits the floor.
