“Unless you want a massacre, I’d suggest helping,” Melita said.
Hunter exchanged glances with Theo. “Melita, it’s time you make yourself useful.” He peered down at Luxor and held her head up.
“If you’re thinking what I think you are, it’s a firm hell to the no, no, no.”
“I swear on the Heavens and Tartarus if you don’t come help, I’ll sever our bonds.”
Melita huffed. “Move. Go. Now.” She pointed outwards, placing Luxor’s head on her knees.”
Everything will be okay Angel, hold on.
Hunter kissed Luxor on the forehead and nodded to Melita before he disappeared into a cloud of black mist.
“And then there was two.” Melita clicked her fingers, and a transparent dome enveloped them.
“Manipulation, I should have guessed that was our gift,” Luxor choked out with a small laugh.
Melita scowled. “Want to die? Because I’ll gladly let you to conserve my energy.”
“No, you won’t. You love him too much,” Luxor said expecting a slew of expletives.
Melita bristled. They both knew who the him was.
Sweat dotted Luxor’s brow, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt so uncomfortable. Bleeding out in the arms of her nemesis, or Melita, was close of the list. Melita had fixated outside of the dome and kept a far distance away, a dead giveaway the feeling was mutual. From Luxor’s perspective Melita would rather suffer the wrath of the Habiti, or possibly die rather than stay safe. Her family was out there. Especially her love.
Luxor pitied her. Her childhood love had turned into an infatuation lasting to close to four-hundred-years, and now he was sacrificing it all for a girl he barely knew. That had to sting.
“Apart from Hunter, why do you hate me?” Luxor asked.
“Must there be another reason?”
“Usually yeah, unless you’re an already bitch.”
“Because you’re a nuisance,” Melita said with no hesitation and didn’t elaborate. “Especially now when you’re ruining my favourite top.” She shifted her lap sending a wave of searing pain up her back.
“Glad to know you’re not mean just for the sake of it,” she gagged.
“What you see is what you get, you needn’t worry about me stabbing you in the back.”
A large male Habiti launched at the dome, arms stretched wide with its talons retracted and coated any remaining light available. He slashed, his arms whipping around and hitting itself in the face as the contact never came. Luxor winced and rolled off Melita’s lap. Hunter emerged from the ashes and blocked out part of the shimmer from the ball. Melita clicked her fingers and the enclosure disappeared. She wordlessly ran back to the melee.
“Hunter,” she breathed out.
“My Angel, how are you holding up?”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “I’m not going to make it.” She held up a hand to his blackened face and wiped away the flecks. It singed her fingers but she didn’t care, she needed the contact.
“Hold on,” his voice cracked. “Where the hell is Ayla?” He asked himself.
“Some things are out of our control,” she said in a barely audible whisper.
“And some things are worth losing it all for.” Hunter grabbed a swiss army knife from the inside of his boot and flicked it open. She swallowed hard and sliced deep into his flesh. “It’s going to be okay.” Metallic blue drop excreted from his palm. “I’ll save you.”
A whoosh of wind flowed in. Ayla grabbed his wrist and smacked his hand away. “Hunter. Stop.”
“Get away.” He pushed her shoulders back with force.
Ayla stomped on his arm immobilising Hunter and remained rooted to the spot. “As much as I don’t like you. You can’t do this.”
“I don’t have a choice.” His voiced cracked.
“There’s always a choice. She will hate you if you do this,” Ayla said. “There’s another way.” Her terror-stricken face stared at Luxor’s slumped form.
“I’d rather her hate me and live than lie here dying.” He craned his head about. “Save her. You’re a damn angel. Her angel. Save her.” Tears accumulated in the corner of his eyes.
“She’s losing too much blood. I can’t do it here.”
Hunter gently lifted Luxor and placed Luxor into Ayla’s arms. “Then leave. I’ll fix the rest of this mess.” He placed her head against Ayla.
Luxor encountered the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen and basked in the baby pink glow which encased her in Ayla’s embrace.
“A promise is a promise,” Ayla murmured and launched upwards.
Luxor fluttered her eyes as the world blinked to black.
Luxor soared through the air and inhaled the clean fresh air in the baby pink tinged sky, her body light and flightless. Her mind had transcended to a place of peace, her father’s taunts no longer able to torment her existence. She twirled in the air, her platinum hair swishing about her face. She swept the strands away with the back of her arms, and gasped. There was a change; she twisted her arms around, they were unblemished, skimming down her sides she followed the curves she previously had and now had returned to her body.
Nirvana
Whatever place this was, Luxor wanted to live in it. To become a bird with majestic wings to soar through the open sky. To be free. And content.
A streak of orange and reds exploded and enveloped the sky. A strong force breezed in and rippled the air, tumbling Luxor backwards. She yelped and thrust her hands forwards and clawed, except there was nothing to hold onto.
Luxor plummeted.
Down.
Down.
Down.
Luxor’s hands flayed and a silent scream ripped through her throat.
Her eyes sprung open in a too bright room and she screamed and screamed, a muted cry for help. Except no sound came out. Her vocal cords vibrated and strained as if she had been gagged. She hissed as all the agony had returned with a force and invaded every inch of her body. She arched her back, only she couldn’t move. Her arms had been pinned by her side, her hands the only part she was able to move.
The smell of pine trees and dew hung in the air. Hadn’t she escaped? Was being flightless a hallucination?
Take me back, take me back
Luxor wanted the immense sensation of peace, not this nightmare she had returned to. Again, she attempted a cry for help, but the silence only increased her anxiety. Voices outside echoed.
"You brought her here? And he cohorts? What were you thinking?" A female screeched from the distance, followed by a jangle of bangles. “You know never-mind, I know preciously what controls you.”
"I couldn't take her home," a male voice said.
"So, by that, I'm assuming she's not dead," the girl deadpanned.
"No. But she hasn’t woken up."
"I don't know whether to be relieved, or saddened." The girls voice dripped with hatred. "Tell me again, how is this our problem?"
"Melita, are you forgetting how important she is?" the male said.
Melita snorted. "How can I forget? She's the bitch who brought us to this one shop town."
"If you don't like it leave,” the boy growled out. "I need her, and you know full well why."
"This is going to blow up in your face." Material swished and the clickity clack on floorboards receded.
A half-dazed Luxor tried to keep up with the conversation. The conversation had similar to static and she had only caught bits and pieces of words. Her limps were like lead weights and any energy she had, had depleted. Her sight blurred and she drifted out of consciousness again.
A blanket of serenity overcame her as she inhaled the sweetness of nature lingering in the air while she walked through barefoot within a forest in her mind. The beacon of sun streaked through the gaps of the trees, she reached out to touch the warmth, a sensation she had been missing lately.
Luxor knelt down on the dewy ground, scooping up a handful of vibrant green leaves and threw them up watching the
m fly through the air. A screech of a crow pierced Luxor's mind automatically disintegrating the leaves into brown confetti and shattered her bliss, morphing her to a small, dank room.
Trapped.
She inhaled sharply, and pried her eyes open. The orange and red light surged through the open window. The aroma of the forest became more distinct and familiar, a crisp an earthy intoxicating smell she could bathe in. With too much effort required, she tilted her head to the side. A mop of ebony hair lay stuck up in all directions, speckles of dirt tuck to the strands.
She wiggled her fingers. “Hunter,” Luxor whispered, swallowing the million shards of glass which felt like had been lodged in her throat. “Hunter.” She tried again.
Hunter’s head whipped up and he stumbled back, his eyes widening. “Angel,” his voice was low and crackly, and he cleared it. “You’re finally awake.”
He kneeled on the mattress which was on a floor. “Where am I?”
“You’re safe, you’re at my house,” Hunter said reassuringly. His grip on her fingers were tight as if he was afraid to let go.
“What happened?”
Please don’t tell me I died.
“Too much,” he said. Luxor didn’t have the energy to push the subject. “How do you feel?” He held a thumb against the cut on his lip. His face was worse under the glare of the lights. Lacerations crisscrossed in all directions across his face, the deepest being through his eyebrow and alongside his chin. Bruises already formed and one eye swollen to the extent it was almost shut.
“Like death.”
“Well you survived.”
“And here I was hoping it was a nightmare,” she said and attempted to sit up. “Ow, ow, ow,” she winced.
“Easy there, Angel. It’s going to take a little while.” Hunter looped his arm around her midriff and assisted by propping a couple of pillows against her back.
“Why aren’t I healing quicker?”
“The knife the Habiti had was laced with holy water, it poisoned your blood. If you were a Nephilim you would have died.”
So, what am I? Luxor wanted to ask. As always, she truly didn’t belong anywhere. Nobody had ever heard of an Archangel, a fallen one at that, producing a child.
A knock sounded at the door. Before waiting for a reply Ayla popped her head inside. “How are you feeling?” Anguish etched on her features.
“Like I’ve been stabbed,” Luxor said.
“I have something for that.” Ayla held out her palms as baby pink light emitted from them. Hunter squeezed her fingers until the light diminished.
“No, no more. She needs normality,” Hunter enclosed two horse-sized tablets and a glass of water in Luxor’s hand.
“She will heal quicker.” Ayla said firmly.
“At what cost?”
While Ayla and Hunter bickered Luxor swallowed the tablets, washing them down with the water. In a while they would kick in and she'd be more alert to deal with the repercussions of what had transpired.
“How long have I been out?”
Hunter and Ayla exchanged furtive glances.
“Not long,” Ayla said.
“Three days, five hours, forty-three minutes,” he said and glanced down at his phone. “And approx. forty-three seconds.”
“What?” she exclaimed. “Not that you were counting.” Luxor laughed. Or at least attempted to. It came out more like a hiccup.
“Every second matters when it comes to you,” he said softly.
Luxor reached out and cupped her hand in his. Sizzles of electricity shot from his fingertips to hers and she grimaced. “Three days? How am I still alive?”
“I refused to have one of my best moments be in the ‘just in case’ category.” He smiled, swiping another stray hair from her eyes. Unlike Luxor’s stomach, which growled, her heart swelled. “I’ll go get you some food.”
“Hunter,” she called out. He spun around. “Whose clothes are these?” Luxor was dressed in a pair of cotton pyjamas printed with feathers all over them. If she had been out cold for three days…
“Ayla, her magic cleaned and dressed you. Outwardly. You might still need a shower though.”
Luxor sniffed her armpit. “Did you insinuate I stink?”
“Nope. No insinuation Angel,” he smirked.
Luxor threw a pillow across the room after him and winced. He chuckled closing the door behind him.
Ayla sat in the spot Hunter had just vacated, her shoulders slumped. “Everything has changed, you’ll need to be protected even more now.” She skipped the small talk and dove into the most important topic. She created a baby pink orb of light and waved it across the door, twirling around until a faint glimmer was exposed. “You’re now protected from dark souls. I’ve also did it your house.”
“So, after here I’ll be locked in my room?”
“Meredith believes you are at my house.”
“Told or glamoured?”
“Does it matter?” Ayla said with no infliction of emotion.
A heavy creak sounded from the balcony. From the corner of her eye a lithe shadow emerged from the balcony. Luxor clutched Ayla’s hand. “It’s okay.” She whispered.
Boots shuffled forward. “Hey,” Pandora said with a small smile and held up a palm signalling a wave.
“Kit-I mean Pandora, I didn’t think I’d see you again,” Luxor said.
In the whirlwind of what happened in the forest she doubted Pandora would have survived after they had been cornered. She was so small and had the façade of an innocent kitten.
An awkward silence suffocated the room, the room choking with tension and a ginormous elephant of multiples issues. It felt as if it had been months since she was in her room, everything remained in a neat and orderly fashion, something Luxor wasn’t. Except if it mirrored her life, it might as well have been in disarray.
“I think it’s time all cards are laid out,” Ayla said. “I was forthcoming in my role.”
Luxor scoffed. “You had no choice, you were busted.” Ayla set her lips in a grim line.
“Should I give you two a moment?” Pandora asked them both.
“No, sit,” Luxor said.
“I’m not a dog,” Pandora scowled but obeyed nevertheless, curling her slender legs underneath her knees on the floor.
Luxor arched an eyebrow to Ayla who got the hint and joined her, twisting her fingers in her lap. It was the first time Luxor felt awkward in her presence. She turned towards Pandora. “I need you to explain.”
“We can leave it for another day when you’re feeling better.”
“Now.” The pills had kicked in with a force and subdued the agony in her bed, not to mention the rest of her limbs. Apart from being a bit numb she was ready to confront this issue. “You ready?”
Pandora criss-crossed her legs, and wiped her sweaty palms on her thighs. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She let out a heavy breath. “I’m your familiar.” She said not skipping a beat, almost as if was a long-awaited confession.
“Say what?” Luxor said.
“That’s not possible.” Ayla gasped, her eyes widening.
“Back up. What’s up familiar? As in we’re the same? How? You’re a cat.” Luxor fired out the questions in quick succession.
“How? Luxor isn’t a witch,” Ayla said.
“Back up. Witch?” Her voice raised an octave.
“In the witch world a familiar is a spirit embodied in an animal who helped their owner in witchcraft,” Ayla explained.
Pandora twirled the blue ribbon around her wrist. “Well that’s not mine. My purpose is to serve my owner.” She peered over at Luxor. “To protect you.”
“Who sent you?” Ayla’s eyes turned to slits.
Pandora scratched the back of her ear. “Nobody. A few months ago, my spirit was awakened and guided to you in this form. I kept my distance but when evil began to lurk, I felt you needed extra assistance.”
“She had me,” Ayla said defensively crossing her arms.
“
Yeah and look how that turned out,” Pandora said with no malice.
“I’ve been fine,” Luxor told Pandora and squeezed Ayla’s fingers to assure her. “She’s always been there, even if I hadn’t known it. I wouldn’t have been able to survive without her.”
“Yeah because Habitis didn’t target you before now,” Pandora deadpanned. “Remember when you had a night terror and then heard screeching? Habitis would have grabbed you in your sleep if I hadn’t attacked. It was only then that Ayla and your Principal made an appearance to clean up the mess. A bad job at that too!”
Luxor recalled all the times Pandora had been there when the Habitis attacked. At the time she figured her Kitty wandered around and just so happened to be around. Now she knew better.
“I’m not playing this game of who did what,” Luxor said with finality to signal the conversation closed.
Ayla and Pandora nodded in unison, the first time they agreed on anything. With the room secure the only choice Luxor needed to make was where Pandora would reside.
“We will leave you to sleep.” Ayla rose from the bed. She nervously smoothed down her dress.
Luxor wanted to believe her. Currently it had been out of order and never seemed to soothe her like it had all of her life.
She turned towards Pandora. “You can stay.” It was a strange position being the owner of a humanoid creature and she wasn’t aware of the social protocol.
“Thank-you, I won’t take up much space.” Her voice small and meek.
“You’re not converting.”
“I’ll leave you to sleep.” She rose from the bed and dusted off her filthy dress.
“Sleep? Is that ever an option anymore?” she murmured.
Ayla held up the dream catcher, the feathers dangling from the rim at the side. She kneeled down and placed it on Luxor’s lap. “I’ll make sure it will be.”
Luxor cradled the dream catcher and stroked the baby pink feathers with the tip of her finger. The glint of the intense blue of the lapis lazuli surrounded that shone from the light, infused her a sense of serenity. She wanted to believe her. Currently it acted like a defunct toy which had run out of batteries, and never seemed to soothe her like it had all of her life.
“Let me ask you one last thing? If someone or something is good, but in another way bad because it's out of their control, can it or they still be good deep down?" Luxor asked thinking of Cane. If she was anything like him, she didn't want to live, she wouldn't be able to deal with putting others at risk because she couldn't control her emotions.
Unveiled: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone Page 47
