by A. Catherine
“I don’t know how much you immortals keep up with pop-culture. But usually when the gang splits up, that’s when the axe murderer picks them off one by one,” I explained. “And I’d rather not be cut to bits in some underground ruins never to be found again, thank you very much.”
Seere chuckled. “Guess it’s a good thing you have an axe murderer for a friend.”
She had an axe in her hand now.
I put a hand up and shook my head, “I’m not even going to ask where you were keeping that. Look, I would really rather stay with one of you.”
A flashlight appeared out of thin air into Iaoel’s hand, they approached and handed it to me.
“I know you’re scared, Heather. But that’s just your human-side talking. Now would be a great time for you to embrace your angel-half. Your first lesson in overcoming your panic.”
I gripped the flashlight, which I assumed came from the Ethereal realm—if Kale could put my car in there, no doubt a flashlight was no problem.
Seere agreed. “You said you wanted to come. Coming on these excursions means you have to help. It’s just an ancient library, if you can’t handle it just yell for one of us and we can be there lickety-split.”
I gulped, my throat dry. I closed my eyes and tried to take a deep breath. I’d never done something like this before. Sure I’d gone on anthropological digs, but there was usually an entire team of experts, with extremely bright light fixtures, and everything was already scavenged.
I didn’t fully know why I was suddenly so afraid, feeling like the ground beneath me was about to disappear. But the idea of entering that darkness alone…
“Heather,” Iaoel said. I opened my eyes, they were still facing me, Seere not far behind them.
I exhaled. “I’m sorry. I just have a bad feeling about this.”
Seere’s eyebrows narrowed. “You are the one who said that your gut was telling us to come here,” she stated.
“I know. I don’t know how to explain it. It shouldn’t be so hard for me to walk down a simple passageway. But I’m terrified. I’m more afraid now than I was when that vetala thing almost ate me, or when I met all of you. Shouldn’t that mean something?” I asked.
The fear that was clenching its claws around my heart was irrational and I couldn’t break away from it.
Iaoel glanced back at Seere with a worried expression. Seere met their gaze then shook her head and stormed between the two of us.
She gripped my shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes when she said, “Listen to me for a second, Heather. Fear is a very powerful enemy. It will do anything and everything to chain you down. But you are stronger. You can overcome it. The only way to do so is to face it head on. Okay?” she asked.
Reluctantly I nodded.
“Okay, now I’m going to give you something that always helps me overcome fears grasp. I want you to repeat after me: I am afraid and I don’t care.”
“I am afraid, and I don’t care.” I repeated hesitantly.
“Because I am a badass and nothing can conquer me.”
THIRTY-THREE
Heather
I’M FINE.
There is nothing to be afraid of. You’re just being a baby. There is nothing down here but rock and dirt. You can do this.
We had split up, each of us taking one of the available passages. The goal was simple, go through and grab anything that looked important. Which wasn’t much. Iaoel was right about them previously combing through these and taking whatever survived. Because all I was seeing as I walked down the dark hallway was stone and broken pieces of equipment and pottery.
The fear I felt remained, it actually began to get stronger the further into the dark I went. It was only Seere’s words chanting over and over in my head that kept my feet moving forward.
The wrath demon should consider switching careers to motivational speaker. I’d read hundreds of books and heard tons of speakers in areas like philosophy and history, and none of them had managed to inspire me as much as Seere did.
I mean, who says stuff like that?
I am a badass and nothing can conquer me.
I had hoped that after all this was over Seere could tell me about her life. If she could overcome as much agony and fear that I could only imagine came from being born and raised in hell, then surely I could conquer this dark library.
The only light in my vision was now sourced from the flashlight in my hand. The passageway narrowed the further into it I went, until it eventually opened up into another antechamber like Iaoel said it would. I scanned the entire room with the light, similar to the other one, only this one had less excavating equipment.
I took a steadying breath to fight the waves of fear that continued to clench around me. My imagination was running wild as I looked over every inch of the space with the flashlight. I wasn’t a huge horror movie fan myself, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t sometimes forced to endure them.
Every moment I feared that the light would land on a figure crouched in the dark or light up a gruesome bloodied face that would eat me alive and leave my bones for the others to find later.
I shivered against the images. I am afraid and I don’t care.
After scanning the entirety of the chamber and finding nothing I locked light on the two additional passages that led into more harrowing darkness.
I am a badass and nothing can conquer me.
I was going to start worshipping the sun after this.
Two paths…which one to take? Neither one of them seemed appealing, to be honest. Why did I want to come? Serves me right for trying to be helpful. But I was getting tired of that steel and concrete warehouse. A change of scenery, even one as dark and nerve-racking as this one was in a way refreshing.
Left or right. Come on, Heather—just pick one. I looked at the doorways carved out of stone for both of them and pointed my flashlight down them. But neither revealed any signs that would tell me which one would be the best pick. What if I entered the wrong one and just ended up in an endless maze of stone whereas the other could be where pertinent information is stored.
I sighed audibly. “Well this is a fucking pickle,” I said out loud, my voice echoed in the darkness.
I pointed my light into the left hallway and noticed that my fear dulled slightly. Hm. I turned towards the right hallway and again felt the talons of terror squeeze my senses. Back at the left, they released. So maybe the left hallway would be my best bet.
Just as I began to cross the threshold into the left one, I felt that thread in the back of my mind again, and it tugged me backwards.
The hell?
I paused and turned to look at the right hallway again. The dark emptiness felt like it was growing from it. Every instinct in my body was telling me to go into the left, follow the one that felt safest. All of them except that strange tug.
I swallowed and approached the threshold of the right. My chest felt so tight and even my vision wavered slightly upon staring into the void. Why would I be more afraid of this one than the other? They both were equally ominous—it didn’t make any real sense.
The tug pulled harder, this time forward.
Maybe this fear was a sign. Maybe it meant that there was something important down here, and the part of me that was angel could sense it. So maybe this fear wasn’t a human reaction at all, but more of an alarm sounding in my body.
So, with another deep-steadying breath, into the right passage I went.
At first it was as simple as putting one step in front of the other to overcome the growing ache in my stomach. But as I was engulfed completely in the darkness of the passage the air became thick, making it harder to breathe it in.
I tried to make as little sound as possible to keep my ears open to any potential threat that I couldn't see. But the only sound I heard was the thumping of my pulse as it quickened the further inside I went.
Heather. A whisper said. I whipped around and shown the light towards the airy sound—nothing.
My
heart pounded. My mind is playing tricks on me. The fear is overcoming my common sense. I panted for air when I heard the airy whisper again.
Sați.
What the actual hell?
I circled around, pouring the light of the flashlight over every surface around me. There was nothing. I swallowed the lump in my throat and took another couple steps forward. It’s all in your head.
Don’t let it conquer you.
When I only heard silence the hairs on my arms rose. I spun around again and again. Checking my surroundings every second. And soon, I had forgotten which way I had come from. Everything looked the exact same, solid stone wall.
Shit. Where am I? I needed to get back; I knew this was a bad idea.
Every muscle in my body felt tight, and soon I was struggling to breathe. Panic beginning to rise. I touched my hand against the stone wall to stay standing. My vision was blurry, and my skin felt prickly.
I need to get out. I need to get out.
Then my flashlight started to flicker and dim.
My panic rose. “No. No, no, no, no.”
I tried shaking it and banging the side of it, but the light sputtered and then went out completely. Leaving me in pitch darkness.
I felt for the wall again, cold stone meeting my hand. I couldn’t hear anything by my frenzied breathing. I was trapped, and I had no idea which way would take me out and which one would bury me further underground.
My breath hitched with every harrowing thought that swam through my mind, turning each time I thought I heard something.
Help. Somebody help me.
“Seere? Iaoel?” I spoke out loud, my voice was quiet, breathless at first. I gulped down, clearing my throat some.
“Seere!” I yelled. I heard the name echo into the darkness, but I didn’t hear a response.
I pinned my back against the wall and slid down until I was sitting. Both of my hands touching the surface for stability. My knees clenched against my chest.
Stay where you are so others can find you. First lesson of being lost.
“SEERE! IAOEL!” I screamed louder.
Please find me. I begged internally. God, what I would give to be able to use that stupid supernatural web right now.
My hands touched something cold, and I felt for it again—the flashlight. I had to get it working. It must have rolled away because my hands scanned for it and didn’t find it.
“Shit,” I muttered. “Seere! My flashlight is dead! I need you!” I called out again.
If they were looking, maybe the sound of my voice would help lead them down the right passages.
Unless they were too far into their own passages to even hear me. I certainly couldn’t hear them. Damn these old Greeks who created such a soundproof library.
I tried to gulp down air, even as my throat felt like it was closing up.
“You’re fine. You’re not hurt, they’ll come find you. You’re afraid and you don’t care,” I recited to myself. “You are a badass and nothing can conquer you.”
I felt like a child, terrified of the dark. My fingers felt around the cold ground for the flashlight. I winced as something sharp cut me. A piece of broken pottery maybe. Or maybe the flashlight broke and a sharp piece was poking out.
I gave up on searching for the flashlight and clutched my legs, hugging my body as close as I could. I closed my eyes, a more comforting darkness than the one in front of me.
Nothing can conquer me. Nothing can conquer me. Nothing can conquer me.
I chanted it in my head, even whispered it out loud over and over. But the fear never subsided, and there were no sounds of Seere or Iaoel coming to find me.
I was stuck here alone. All alone.
Something touched me, something wet and solid. I opened my eyes and though I still couldn’t see anything, I felt it. Slick, slimy vines touching my legs, my arms, my face.
And a whisper that sucked all of the life out of my soul.
“Finally.” The voice wasn’t human, and I wasn’t safe.
And then I was screaming.
THIRTY-FOUR
“HEATHER?!” Seere called as she rushed back to the main chamber.
She’d heard Heather yelling and it was based on the sheer terror in her voice that motivated Seere to go back for her. Maybe asking her to go alone on the human’s first trip wasn’t a good idea.
But Heather needed to start conquering her fears at some point, otherwise this alliance would be the death of her.
Once Seere reached the original antechamber they had split from, she went to go down Heather’s passage when a figure appeared. Seere backed away when she saw Iaoel coming through it holding Heather in their arms. Heather was cradled in close—her eyes were closed but eyelids fluttering frantically.
“What happened?” Seere asked.
Iaoel was smaller than Heather, but their angel strength didn’t struggle to hold the human’s weight.
“I’m not sure. I heard her screaming. When I went in to find her, I found her like this. She’s not responding,” Iaoel explained.
Iaoel put Heather down so that they both could assess her. Heather’s muscles were twitching frantically, but she never opened her eyes.
“Heather?” Seere asked. “You alright?” but the human didn’t reply. “She seems catatonic.”
“Something mental then. Maybe she’s in a dream,” Iaoel theorized.
Seere shook her head. “Why would she suddenly start dreaming? What did you see down there?” she asked.
“Just her huddled on the floor. Her flashlight was five feet away, working just fine. I don’t know if she saw something or what. But I still don’t sense someone else down here, I can’t make sense of it.”
Seere touched Heather’s forehead. It was hot to the touch, a fever. Seere didn’t have any mental abilities besides some feeble shielding that Kale helped her develop when she was younger. And Iaoel’s didn’t extend beyond their visions and the super-web.
“We should get her to Kale. He’ll be able to see what’s going on.” Seere said.
Iaoel nodded. “My thoughts exactly.” They cradled Heather under her arms and legs and lifted again. “Let’s go.”
Seere gripped Iaoel’s shoulder and then light surrounded them. Her eyes remained on Heather’s unconscious body while they winnowed through space. Heather’s eyelids were fluttering and twitching nonstop.
Whatever she had seen or heard in that passageway, they’d have to return to it later to inspect it. But for now, they needed to help their Nephilim.
A few minutes passed and then the light cleared, they were inside the pentacle.
Before Iaoel could take a step they too collapsed to their knees. Seere caught Iaoel quickly enough to steady them so they didn’t drop Heather.
“You okay?” she asked.
Iaoel panted. “Yeah. I think there were wards down there, winnowing through them nearly knocked the wind out of me.”
“Wards? Why didn’t we sense them?” Seere demanded.
Iaoel shook their head. “They must’ve been old enough to be barely noticeable. I wouldn’t have even realized they were there if I hadn’t been carrying you two with me.”
“People only ward places when there’s something to hide.” Seere stated. Iaoel nodded in agreement.
“Or if they’re trying to keep something in.”
Kale’s voice echoed through the large room, already having sensed Seere’s distress through their connection.
“What happened?” he demanded.
He jumped directly off the top of the stairwell and crossed the distance to the pentacle within seconds.
Iaoel still held Heather to their body. “We don’t really know,” they answered.
Kale looked over Heather’s body and then locked eyes with Seere. “Show me.”
She let him into her memories. Replaying every moment since they decided to go to Alexandria up until the moment the winnowed back. Hours of memories that compiled and played out to Kale in a matter of sec
onds.
Kale nodded when he received all the information.
“Hand her to me,” he instructed.
Iaoel didn’t hesitate to exchange Heather’s body into Kale’s waiting arms. He walked out of the pentacle towards one of the tables covered in weapons and workout equipment on the other side of the room.
“Clear off the stuff.”
Seere did so, Iaoel helping until there was nothing left. Kale lowered Heather’s unconscious form onto the metal table, his eyes puzzled as he watched her eyes.