“Don’t be weak. Obey me girl.”
“Ooh, you underestimate me,” Luxor shoved hard at Hunter’s chest and swiped the cloth before he could blink. “Bad move.” She lit the corner of the cloth, the flames starting small and inching its way upwards. She waved the cloth about to accelerate the flames.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Cane seethed.
The weather shifted and from the icy breeze a scorching heat followed, the type where the wind burnt with a single caress. A gust of window flew forward transforming the luscious green forest black, camouflaging them into the background. The trees were forced into a dance, not a gentle sway but so fierce and ferocious it almost knocked Luxor off her feet. In a positive twist in her favour the wind, the flames were snuffed out.
“Your perfect nightmare,” she hissed through her teeth. How do you like that? Karma’s a bitch Father,”
Cane ‘s expression turned dark and he lifted his hands.
Luxor seized as her body automatically became immobilised. her control on the verge of being lost. Hunter clenched his fist and barrelled forth, striking Cane through the ribs, paralysing him for a second.
Luxor stumbled backwards from the force as she regained possession of her body.
No more
“Go,” he bellowed over his shoulder to Luxor.
Luxor held the necklace in her palm, the only gift her mother had left her and kissed the gems. She ripped the chain from her neck. Losing a materialistic possession from her mother would eradicate Cane from her mind. She couldn’t live the same way she had been going.
Luxor’s gaze zeroed in. “Game over!” she yelled out. She held up the necklace, and swung it around. “You can’t torture me anymore.” She flung the necklace to the side into the bushes.
“Do you think that’ll stop me? You’ve opened up the portal. Your mind is mine.”
No, I refuse for him to win. He can’t touch me.
Luxor waved the lighter again and re-lit the corner of the cloth.
“Stop her. Stop the flames!” he boomed, thwacking Hunter sideways with a mild flick of his arm.
The Habitis snapped out of their rigid poses, craning their heads and fixating their piercing crimson eyes on her before launching straight into action.
Luxor clicked into survival mode and bolted out of sight heading straight into the dense thicket, crunching leaves underneath her feet loudly. She sprinted forward, the hilt of blade of the dagger pointed downwards eradicating the possibility of stabbing herself in the face if she slipped. The backpack bounced and pounded against her back as it slowed her down. As she passed a tree with an X engraved in the trunk, she realised she had run in a full circle. Every place she went to, demons were close by, their presence wreaking havoc. They made no sound but their stench was a dead giveaway to their proximity. And they were close. Hiding in the shadows would be her only option until she could find Hunter. Unfortunately, her survival switch didn’t factor in running and staying close to him.
Luxor found a spot to hide near the entrance. At first it appeared open but the closer she got to it, she more she found it was hidden away concealed by trees. Hunkering down she flicked the lighter to the bottom of the cloth and re-lit it. It caught alight but just as quick a cold front swooped in and the fierce wind snuffed it out. Strands of hair lashed into her eyes and she repeatedly had to swipe them to see. She racked her brain thinking of ways to keep the fire alive. Devoid of ideas, she became increasingly frustrated and useless. Flick. Snuff. Flick. Snuff. She urged her brain to think. A switch in her mind switched on and an idea appeared. It was a long shot, one she was hesitant to try, but she was out of options she had no choice.
Back in Hampton Cove beach bonfires were the norm, sitting around on a log with a gaping hole in the sand filled with sticks and the main attraction; fire. Luxor only needed one akin for her plan to work. Her fingers made quick work, going deep and moving the dirt to the side. When a tiny hole would appear, a swirl would come around and shift the dirt over. Over and over again she tried, faster each time to avoid the rotation of wind around her. Her hands cramped up but finally a minuscule opening appeared.
Move the root.
Hunter’s voice streamed into her mind. She rubbed her eyes and scanned around to see where he was, but all she could see was puffs of black everywhere.
I’m fine. Concentrate. I know you can do it.
Luxor had never attempted anything like moving objects and now, of all times, Hunter was telling her too try a new power? She concentrated on the thick root, she envisioned it lifting and curving over just enough to create a little bridge. It became so clear in her mind that she had forgotten the circumstance she was in. Luxor felt the grittiness under the bed of her nails, between her fingers and over her hand. It jammed that she couldn’t move them anymore. A knee nudged the bottom of her spine and she panicked, fearing she would be grabbed and the cloth taken away.
Her eyes flashed open.
Hunter had kneeled, a hand over her wrist. Looking down she noticed a small crevice had arched from the root of the tree. “Knew you could do it,” he whispered.
Luxor didn’t waste any time, she shook the lighter a couple of times, and flicked the flame.
Nothing.
She frantically shook again to hear if there was any gasoline. No swishing. But from the sounds around her it could have easily been muffled. Her palms itched and sweat dotted her brow. The only way to be safe from Cane was for the cloth not to exist. Even if the Habiti managed to catch her and Hunter if would be useless.
Flick. Flick. Flick.
Over and over Luxor tried the lighter until her thumb turned black. Tossing it to the side she flattened her palm over the root of the tree and envisioned the burn, of flames. Of the material disintegrating into nothing.
Anger. Channel your anger.
She had to dig deep and unleash the beast inside, something she normally tried to keep compressed with all the running, breathing exercises, and attending therapy. Once she lost control, there was no going back, she couldn’t determine whether it would be a small flame or an inferno.
Luxor focused on the one person who created her nightmare.
She invited his vision into her mind. His hair so black he could have stolen it from the depths of the abyss, his eyes mirrored hers except there was a cruelty to them, no emotion as he inflicted his barbarism.
Luxor’s palms tingled and warmed up. It wasn’t enough, she needed fire to remove his power.
Luxor envisioned what her mother looked like. All she knew was she had white-blonde hair, and Meredith told her Luxor looked like her. The mystery of why her mother fled gnawed at the pit of Luxor’s stomach.
Pregnant and alone, her father hurt her mother, just as he had been hurting her. She kept the thoughts on a loop, each time the anger coiling until she exploded.
Luxor experienced the precise moment her palms changed from prickling to full blown flare up.
She snapped her eyes open.
“Promise me something,” Luxor blew the smoke from her palm and rose to her feet. “You need to leave, he won’t have any use for you. He won’t, and can’t hurt me,” she said and shoved Hunter back to keep him safe.
Luxor was valuable to her father and not only in a parental way either. His motives were deeper and sinister. She didn’t know how, but it didn’t matter. She wanted Hunter safe.
“You want me to run? Are you out of your god forsaken mind?”
“No use in you dying. We’ll meet up later and exchange stories.”
Hunter frowned. “I think smoke inhalation has impaired your senses. I’m not leaving, so let’s get our shit together and stop this crap talk. Those stinkin’ demons are created in packs and aren’t going to Hell by themselves.” He interlaced their fingers and locked them tight. Too tight. Hunter kissed her knuckles, soft as a feather but as deep as if he kissed her lips. Electricity surged through her, and strengthened their connection. She stared into those enigmatic t
offee eyes and Hunter seemed to be conveying a message. Anguish.
Hunter swallowed hard. “Do you trust me?”
“Completely,” she said not skipping a beat.
“Then run.”
“No.” She gripped his fingers tighter. A minute ago, she asked him the same thing and he refused. How could he ask this of her? “No.” Arguing with Hunter was like smashing her head against a brick wall, nothing but pain would come out of it. And she would be willing to hurt.
“It’s not a request.” Hunter broke their connection.
“No.” Luxor ignored his command. She gasped as pain stabbed her side and she doubled over. Without their electric sparks, her ability to distinguish the Habitis proximity blossomed. But it also made her weak and vulnerable. “You even said it yourself. Habitis come in packs, and now you’re ditching me,” His voice cracked.
“Trust me Angel,” Hunter thread his fingers through hers again, placing his head again hers. “Return down the path you came from. Demons will follow. I’ll have your back. We need to lure them out.”
In other words, I’m bait.
Trust. A word which had been broken too many times. And now Hunter wanted her to use it in the direst of circumstances.
Luxor trusted Hunter to a certain extent. For her to put her life in his hand was a massive leap of faith she wasn’t sure she could do.
“I’ll protect you. I promise.” he whispered. “Trust me. Please.”
Luxor closed her eyes and placed a hand over his heart. It whirled so fast and pulsated under her palm that she wasn’t able to distinguish a steady beat. An invisible connection had infused Luxor with an emotion.
Words died on her tongue as her voice had rendered her mute. What words could fully convey her emotions? Or say goodbye in case it came to that? Only one could.
Luxor grabbed the back of Hunters head and crushed her lips against his. She tasted the lust on his lips; hot and minty and the urgency as he held her crushingly close. She pulled away first and let out a deep sigh, her knees weakening as she succumbed to his lust. More, she needed more. No darkness, he drew the darkness away.
Hunter’s eyes went wide before transforming to a deep toffee, enough to hold her down. He opened his mouth to speak, but Luxor was quick to seal it with a finger.
Her eyes misted over. “Just in case.”
Luxor held in a yelp as the pain in her side exacerbated as sulphur became more potent in the air and burnt her larynx. She spun around and fled eager, each step sent a shooting ache to her heart, but she buried deep, deep down. Now wasn’t the time for happiness.
Her one aim was to escape as many demons as she could, only there was a glaring problem. Her platinum hair was a beacon to out her location. She needed to hide and not only in a physical sense. Luxor crouched down near a lake, cupping water and drenched her hair. Digging up dirt she coated her strands until she had become a brunette and twisted into a bun before securing it with an elastic band. It was a temporary solution but she needed to try anything, she only hoped to the high heavens no insects decided to hitch a ride.
Luxor turned around when a meow stopped her from moving. Up above on the highest branch Kitty pounced and landed steadily on her paws.
“What in the hell? Where did you come from?” Luxor picked her up. Her fur fluffed out in a frizzy ball transforming it black.
Kitty peered up at Luxor with her big persimmon coloured eyes. “I’ll deal with you later.” Opening the satchel Kitty leaped in as it expanded to accommodate her.
A light crack sounded from behind. Preoccupied with both Kitty and camouflaging herself, Luxor didn’t notice the immediate danger. Nails pierced her neck and flung her backwards. Luxor howled as a woman in her twenties wearing a combination of a denim skirt and jacket stepped out and prevented her from moving. Up close her face was littered with puss filled bulbous pimples.
“You need to get your priorities in order,” she snarled.
Kitty ricocheted, retracted her claws pouncing on the face of the demonic woman and scratched downwards leaving three marks. The woman screeched and spun about, falling to the ground but not before she backhanded Kitty who tumbled backwards behind a tree.
The woman quickly regained herself and launched, kicking Luxor in the ribs who fell to the ground. She let out a strangled cry and rolled over to her side. Clumsily she grabbed the knife from the holster, and with one swift movement she sliced the Habitis throat, who stopped in his tracks before exploding.
Luxor army crawled under the cover of a prickly bush and hunched over into a ball to catch her breath before going to get Kitty. She wouldn’t dare move an inch to dust herself off, she figured blending in would be the best way to escape this fiasco. Muddy tendrils slathered across her neck and coated the top of her ear. She had to keep her gag reflex in check as the pungent odour from the remnants of the Habiti infected her clothes.
For now.
“Girlie, girlie, where are you?” the gruff voice of a man sang out.
Luxor stilled, the leaves sweeping and the voice too close for her liking. She painfully scrambled to her feet in the opposite direction and searched for Hunter. She found him a good few feet away stuck in a sandwich of Habiti, his body side on and feet spaced apart. One came forward with a blade the size of his arm and swung at full force. Hunter leapt back and was pushed against the other one. Ducking down on the ground, he swiped a blade from the side of his boot and jumped up landing on his feet. He crouched down fighting off two Habiti with a swift ease, slashing and stabbing with precision.
“Hunter,” she called out and ran towards him.
A middle-aged man grabbed her ankles and dragged her back, the dagger escaping her grasp. Hunter’s prized dagger. She cried out and frantically scissor kicked. Not far, the hilt of the dagger peeked out from a shrub. He lifted her up by the scruff of the neck, her feet dangling off the ground. Luxor writhed around and her hands itched to retrieve the knife in her back pocket. Her heart hammered in her chest as she looked around for help, her impartial vision hindered by how she was being held.
“Such fight, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” the man chortled.
“Too bad I’m cutting this tree down,” she said lifting the knife and slicing the demon across the neck.
He tumbled down with an agonised holler clutching his face as it sizzled and skin flicked out in small flecks. But it was fleeting. He growled, flashed his crimson eyes, and launched forward.
A girl with striped black and ginger hair jumped out of nowhere and cut the hand of the demon which released Luxor before turning around and cutting off the other. The girl crouched down and grabbed the back of the demon’s head and cocked it back.
“And baking apple pie!” She sunk the knife deep into his skull and he exploded leaving nothing but ash and the stench of sulphur.
The girl stood up straight and twirled the machete about. “That’s my favourite bit.”
From the side Luxor averted her attention to Hunter. Their gazes met, his attention divided when it should have been unwavering. His trademark concise blows became sloppy and mishits lead to him having to gather himself and exert energy in a fight that should have already been over.
Luxor acted on instinct and juggled single handily a holy ball, a balloon filled with holy water. Careful not to burst it, she retracted her arm, and launched it with a full thrust. The holy ball flew through the air and Luxor rocked on the balls of her feet waiting to hear the screams from the demons. Except it never came. Silence followed as the holy ball failed to reach its intended destination and fell with a splat. It had diverted their attention. The demons whipped their heads, two sets of jagged teeth exposed as their blazing glare settled on Luxor. They launched into the defensive. Luxor attempted again except this time it hit the one of the Habiti square in the middle of his face. He screeched, clutching his face and dropping to his knees. The other Habiti snarled and picked up pace shortening the distance at an outstanding speed. Too fast for Luxor to flee
and position herself properly for a great aim. He was an arm’s length away, his hand spread into a claw about to grab. Poof he exploded.
From the ashes, Hunter retracted his blade and twirled it around, his lips tilted in satisfaction.
Luxor coughed and wiped the residue from her cheek. “That was a close call.”
“You’re welcome.”
The girl stepped forward and cocked a hip forward. “Well hello there,” the girl said eyeing Hunter, twirling a loose string from the hem of her skirt.
Hunter turned up his nose before turning to Luxor. “Oh, God I want to say something perverted, but I’m afraid you’ll slap me.”
Luxor shrank back as she recognised the outfit. She managed to survive one disaster only to be plunged into another.
“Get away from us,” Luxor hissed. Her weapons were in places she couldn’t reach but she refused to break eye contact.
“I just saved your ass…again. You think I’m a demon?”
“You’re in her clothes,” Luxor said and threw a holy ball in her face.
The girl shook her head unaffected, stepping forward and waved her hand about until the air cleared. “Yeah should have killed the one who wasn’t stuck in the eighties.” She let out a light chuckle. “Denim on denim, ugh.”
“Who are you?” Luxor demanded.
The girl returned with a swagger despite the situation. “Don’t you recognise me?”
“I’ve never seen you in my life.”
“Strip away the layers, and what do you see?”
Hunter snorted but Luxor didn’t have the time or patience for games when demons ran rampant in the forest. The fact the girl was a loony was an added reason.
But she saved you.
Luxor started her way down observing the girl had no shoes and cuts covered her feet. Red blood. Not a Nephilim. Up and up she went, the girl was scrawny, her arms thin as twigs, and she had one arm crossed over.
“Drop your arm,” Luxor said. She couldn’t be too sure that she wasn’t concealing a weapon. The girl winced as she obliged. “What’s wrong?”
“Broken rib.” When she lifted her arm, a blue frayed ribbon dangled from her wrist. Luxor inhaled sharply. “Where did you get the ribbon?”
Unveiled: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone Page 45
