by Maya Daniels
I’m all talk, acting tough as shit while I’m scared out of my mind. I’ll be stupid not to be afraid. It’s not like I want to die or be tortured so entities can play a power game through me. All my sass only helps me push through the crippling feeling, so I hold onto it with all I’ve got. With that in mind, I straighten up.
“It’s just you and me, coward, so why don’t you show your face?” The calm of my voice hides the fact that my hands are trembling, and my palms are sweaty.
“A brave thing, calling me a coward.” The words are just a purr in the wind impeding my attempt to pinpoint the direction of whoever speaks.
“Yeah, well, it’s not me hiding from view now is it?” My taunting chuckle ends up sounding a little constipated, but whatever.
“You think you can stand against me, little girl? When millennia old creatures cannot?” There is no anger or animosity coming from the jinn, just pure curiosity.
“You came after me, all of you.” Spitting the words, I grind my teeth. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t start it, but I have no other choice but to finish it thanks to you.”
A cracking of plastic sounds off around us, echoing like a shotgun in the silence. My heart skips a beat before jackhammering in my chest. Swinging my body in that direction, I look around wildly to spot any movement, any shadow or outline telling me where the jinn is.
“They are getting closer, but not here yet.” The jinn sounds like he is gloating. To my horror, his words drift from somewhere behind me, and I flip in that direction fast.
“What do you want?” Maybe if I keep him talking, I’ll figure out where he is. “I’m sure you didn’t follow me so we can chat.”
“You picked a side.” The hiss is so angry that I take an involuntary step back, almost toppling over the stupid cow’s feet. “You should not have chosen any of them!”
“What the fuck dude!” Anger like no other races through me at his accusation. “I picked a side?” My body is vibrating with rage, the entire building groaning and shuddering from it. Glass bursts somewhere, the faded sound from it hitting the floor lost in the buzzing in my ears. “I picked my own side, you dumb fuck. It’s a crime now to not want to be killed or be used as a fucking pawn?”
“First you side with the Heavens, now you side with Hell. It tips the balance, little girl.” The words sound stronger, angrier, and a hell of a lot closer than I’m comfortable with. “We cannot let that happen. You must die.”
Power surges through the air, enveloping me in it like a bubble. My whole body seizes, all my muscles clenching like someone just shoved a high-watt wire in my chest. It’s so painful that my mouth hangs open, but no sound comes out, although the screams in my head are so loud I think my eardrums will burst from it. The hilt of the dagger bites into my skin, my fingers involuntarily tightening around it before I start convulsing, and losing any remaining energy, I drop on the ground.
The strength of it keeps increasing while I flop around like a fish out of water. Colors sparkle behind my closed eyelids, the pain so unbearable I’m not sure how I’m still alive. My heart should’ve exploded by now. Or maybe I died, and this will be my eternity, dealing with pain until the end of time. Forcing my eyes open to tiny slits only makes me wish I kept them closed. The statue of the cow is the only thing I see, one arm lifted, ready to start chopping. I wish it can chop off my head to stop the pain.
“Helena.” The sound of my name snags my gaze away from the damn cow.
“Co…” My teeth clench hard, cutting off my words, and I almost bite off my tongue.
Colt walks up to my flopping body, his gaze scanning me from head to toe like I’m some worm that got stuck in the sole of his shoe. What the fuck? Why is he strolling around like he is in a park instead of helping me? Tears stream down my cheeks, hot rivulets sliding over my chilled skin, disappearing in my hair. His face blurs every time a new flood fills my eyes. A further thought strikes me in my delirious mind. Was Eric’s brother working with Mammon and the jinn all this time? Did I let our enemy walk willingly among us? I know he dislikes his brother, but surely he doesn’t want him dead. And where the fuck is Beelzebub?
Fire starts building in my chest. The burning hits so suddenly, and it’s so strong that it overrides the pain still holding me in its grasp. A scream, a terrified, horrible sound that I never thought I can possibly make, is ripped from my throat. My back bows off the ground, almost snapping me in half. Oh, God, please let me die. Colt walks around me, still watching me like I’m some exhibit in a zoo. His boots stop right above my head, and I look up at his face with all the anger and hatred I can master portrayed in my eyes.
And then I blink.
Beelzebub is looking down at me, and there is no sign of Colt. Another blink and Michael is smirking at my misery. Lucifer, Amanda, George, Jared, Cass, Hector, Raphael, Maddison, Eric… the faces keep flicking from one to the next, some of them I’ve never seen before in my life. They keep changing so fast I have to close my eyes so I don’t look at it anymore.
“Not a coward anymore, am I?” The fucker is snickering like the deranged asshole that he is. “I thought you were tougher than this. What a disappointment you turned out to be, little girl.” He is clicking his tongue in disappointment.
“Kill me!” That’s the only thing I summon enough energy to say.
“Ah, ah, ah…I have other plans for you.” His shoes scrape the ground, telling me he moved to my right. “We might even have some fun before you become useful for once in your life.”
All sorts of depraved thoughts flash through my head behind my closed eyelids. The jinn is making me see things. Bile rises in my throat, the acid burning as strong as the fire trying to eat me alive. The rage I usually manage to push down with deep breaths, and Eric’s calm presence, erupts from me with such strength I’m expecting my ribs to split open. My body lifts in the air, floating in front of the jinn, and my eyes snap open. My gaze locks with his, although I’m looking at him upside down, and the shock and disbelief that widens his eyes would be comical if I wasn’t wishing I was dead. All his faces disappear, leaving a stunningly beautiful creature gaping openmouthed at me.
I have no idea what I look like, but the horrified expression replacing the shock and twisting his face makes me smile. Take that fucker, I think to myself before a dark blur barrels between me and the jinn. It tackles the creature, and I drop on the ground with a sickening crunch of breaking bones. Beelzebub roars, and I turn my head to the side just in time to see the jinn disappear in a puddle of ash and smoke from under the wild and pissed off fallen angel.
“Helena!” Colt drops to his knees next to me, hiding Beelzebub from my view.
“I hope the fucker is dead…”
I’m not sure I say it out loud, but that’s enough for me because at this point I couldn’t care less. The pain is gone, and I feel so empty like I’m a speck of dust in the wind. Closing my eyes, I know nothing more.
Home.
The smell of home pulls me back to wakefulness. I can’t explain the scent exactly, but it relaxes my muscles, and it makes it easier to breathe. The feeling of safety comes along with it, and I stretch my arms and legs. Well, I try to stretch them. A sharp pain shoots up my side and my right arm, and a pained gasp is ripped from my throat.
Everything comes back to me, the fight with the demons, running through Atlanta and my brush with death in the confrontation with the jinn. My eyes snap open. Although I still feel the pain, my body coils up so I can defend myself. Only the destroyed penthouse meets my searching gaze. There is no one here but me. Flopping my hands down, the fingers of my left hand glide through something silky and soft.
Eric’s handsome face, his eyes still closed in a healing sleep, is there when I turn my head to see what I accidentally touch. Gliding my fingers gently through the feathers of his wings, I let his presence calm down the swirl of fear inside me. No wonder I smelled home before I fully woke up. Beelzebub and Colt laid me down next to Eric. His presence always
anchors me. Even when he pisses me off, I feel safe around him.
“I really need you to wake up, monster boy.” A lump forms in my throat, and his face gets blurry when tears sting my eyes. “I have a bad feeling I won’t survive this round without you.”
Eric doesn’t answer, but he never does. I have tried coaxing him to come around before unsuccessfully. But he breathes, and that’s enough for me right now. I inch closer to him, careful not to get on top of his wing. That’s when I notice the idiots have moved him to the edge of the makeshift mattress so they could place me next to him. With effort, I push myself up and, kneeling, try to think of how I can pull him to the middle of it without jostling his hurt wing.
“What are you doing up?” Beelzebub’s deep voice scares the shit out of me, and an embarrassing squeak passes through my lips.
I glare at him over my shoulder.
“What does it look like I’m doing asshole?” If I had the energy to stand up, I would so kick his ass right now. “I can’t believe you pushed Eric on the edge to put me next to him. He is hurt for fuck’s sake!”
“And you were not?” One eyebrow climbs up his forehead, his red eyes staring daggers at me. “Get back down before you lose consciousness again.”
“I’m fine!” Snapping at him, I waddle around Eric on my knees, still contemplating how to move him. “Eric, on the other hand, is not.”
Beelzebub is next to me faster than I can finish the sentence. Dropping on his knees, his fingers wrap around my shoulder firmly, and he stops my movement. His grip is not painful, but it’s firm enough that there is no other option but to stop unless I want to fight him and make him release me.
“Do you remember everything that happened last night?” He searches my face, but my thoughts halt at his question.
Snapping my head around, I look at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the apartment. It’s pitch black outside. Beelzebub said last night, which makes me hope the fallen doesn’t understand how time moves in the human realm. Otherwise, I’ve been sleeping for over twelve hours easy. If not longer.
“We confronted the jinn tonight, right?” It sounds more like a demand for him to agree with than a question.
“No,” Beelzebub says slowly, not looking away from me. “That was last night. We brought you here, and you were replenishing ever since.” His thick fingers flex on my shoulder, “You expended a lot of power fighting him off, Helena.”
My face burns with embarrassment at his words. Fighting the jinn off, my ass. Fighting to stay alive is more like it. Or wishing I was dead. Clearing my throat, I take a deep breath.
“Thank you for showing up when you did.” See? I can be an adult and thank people, even when said people are fallen, and from Hell…oh fuck! “I’m sure he was going to kill me if you were a few moments late.”
There! That’s out of the way. Let’s move on.
“What?” Beelzebub snorts the word, an incredulous look replacing the concern on his face. “I wanted to kill Colt because he listened to you and we separated. I have no idea what that fuck did to you, but I came too late, Helena. You destroyed him before I had a chance to fight him off you.”
“Say what now?” Dropping my ass on my curled-up legs, I’m debating if the jinn messed with Beelzebub’s head. “I couldn’t fight him. He was ripping me apart from the inside out. I was burning alive when you got to me. I saw you tackle him.”
“Yes.” A tired sigh passes his lips, and he drops on the floor as well. “But the jinn was gone, and his essence burnt out of him. Do you remember exactly what you did?” He looks reluctant to say more but continues regardless of that. “You were glowing…fuck! I haven’t seen anything like it in my entire existence. The power pulsing out of you…” he trails off again, my gut clenching from the expression of awe on his face. “It felt familiar and foreign at the same time. I got there first; I could’ve helped sooner, but you held me back. I’ve never felt so powerless. So…useless.” His shoulders slump.
“You must be wrong.” There is no other explanation, he must be. “My anger surged, yes, but I did nothing of the sort. I think I only managed to fight off the hold he had on me for a split second. That’s when he showed his real face.”
“You saw the jinn?” The shouted words bring Colt racing in the living room.
Beelzebub snaps his head at Eric’s brother, eyes bulging in his head. I almost reach out to catch them in case they fall out of his sockets. An uneasy feeling churns inside my stomach. Colt strides purposely towards us, crouching next to Beelzebub and frowning at me.
“What’s wrong with her?” His frown turns on Beelzebub.
“Really asshole? No matter what happens, your first thought has to be that there is something wrong with me?” Hissing at him, I just glare at both of them.
I would’ve crossed my arms over my chest for emphasis, but my right one still hurts, and I settle on displaying my anger with my gaze. It would’ve been hilarious, and yes, I would’ve been gloating for days to see Colt flinch away from me as if scared. But Beelzebub’s words that I destroyed the jinn pop uninvited into my head, and I almost hurl whatever is left in my stomach where I’m sitting.
“She saw the jinn,” Beelzebub says faintly, awe, incredulity, and fear evident in his deep voice.
Colt plops on his ass, widening his eyes, matching his buddy’s expression.
“What’s the big fucking deal?” Angry that they don’t tell me what’s so weird about that, I snap at them. “We all know I’m not human, so what if I saw the jinn? Will I grow a second head now?” A thought strikes me, and my left hand flies to my head. “Will I grow horns? You better answer no to that question really fast or I’ll stab you both in your sleep.”
“No,” both of them say at the same time.
It’s like a weight has been lifted off my chest, and I almost smile. Almost. But these two killjoys won’t keep their mouths shut if their lives depend on it.
“No one sees the true form of a jinn.” Beelzebub mumbles and Colt nods firmly backing him up.
“You two do.” Pointing an accusing finger at each of them in turn, I narrow my eyes. “Lucifer and the Holy asses, as well as Mammon, do, too.”
My chest contracts when the two jerks shake their heads vehemently. A shiver races up my spine when Colt opens his mouth.
“No.” His head is still shaking, the hair flopping around his forehead. “No one sees the true form of the jinn.”
Well, Fuck!
“Are you sure, sure? Or are the two of you just guessing here?” I sound very hopeful. There must be an explanation for this.
“We know of them, yes. We can tell--Beelzebub moves his head left and right slowly—“somewhat when we come face to face with one of them. Only if we are actively searching for the signs. Otherwise…” he trails off.
“Maybe I was hallucinating from the pain and the fact I was burning alive from the inside.” I almost pat myself on the back for coming up with a plausible answer.
“Maybe…” Beelzebub looks thoughtful at that, and I already feel better.
Turning to see Colt is a terrible idea. The asshole is watching me with narrowed eyes, and I can tell he doesn’t believe a word I said. My hand itches to slap the squinting look off his face.
“Where is Narsi?” Changing the subject is for Colt’s sake. It has nothing to do with the anxiety trying to dig a hole in my stomach.
Beelzebub looks over my shoulder, and I twist around to follow the direction. I wish I didn’t. My heart breaks in a million pieces when I spot the curled-up lump in the corner of the spacious living room. The Trowe looks so miserable and sad, tears prickle my eyes. Hugging his bony knees, his tiny body is squeezed into a tight ball, and his face is half hidden behind his legs. The eyeless sockets are still creepy as anything, but the sadness radiates from him in waves.
“Why are you hiding there?” I didn’t see him because usually he is a ball of energy, and I was expecting to wake up to him clinging to whatever limb of mine he can get.
/>
“The mistress doesn’t want Narsi.” He hisses, or whimper-hisses, at me. It’s so low I can barely hear him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Frowning disapprovingly at him, I turn more to see him better. “Just because I left you to look after Eric while I was gone doesn’t mean I don’t want you.” I don’t tell him that I’m still not sure how smart it is that I brought him here with me. “I didn’t leave you behind, did I?”
“I am tasked to protect you, not Shadow.” He gets louder, hissing for real this time. “Mistress almost died while I watched Lucifer’s spawn sleep.”
“Hey!” At my snap, he jolts back, hitting his head off the wall. I glare at him. “That spawn is my mate. You should be honored I trusted you with his life.”
“I care nothing about Shadow.” The Trowe lifts his pointy chin stubbornly.
Beelzebub chokes, and Colt snorts. I ignore the jerks.
“Then you don’t care about me either.” Turning away from him, I wrap my fingers around Eric’s leg.
Thankfully, no one came while all of us were scattered all over Atlanta. I have no doubt after hearing the damn creature he would’ve sat there gloating if anyone tried to hurt Eric. It’s quite an unsettling thought. Why on earth do I trust all these creatures? Have I lost my mind?
“I can see your mind churning from here,” Beelzebub says gently, his deep voice soothing despite the fact he is one of the rulers of Hell. “I can tell you now that whatever it is that you are thinking, you are wrong.”
“What? You are a mind reader now?” I don’t even look at him, still watching the rise and fall of Eric’s chest.
“I don’t need to read minds to know that the damn Haltija made you doubt all of us.” The hurt in his words is unmistakable, so I lift my gaze to see him through my lashes. “None of us here want to hurt you, or Eric.”
“Right.” An unladylike snort escapes me. Not that I’m a lady or anything, I just don’t usually snort. Mostly I only swear at anything and everything.