by EJ Everette
My ever logical twin raises his fist above his head, indicating we need to form back up, fix our lines, and be ready. I can hear the approaching group of demons they are sending in next, my hands naturally tightening their grip on my swords. I love my dual shorties. I tried out a slew of other weapons when we first started training with Mitch’s family decades ago, but something about these two blades was just so right. They move perfectly with my body and have saved my ass a few times in the past.
“We need to move while we can. If we can get to the portal, we can at least send Gray through with someone while the rest of us hold them off here.” Rip’s voice reaches each of us though he keeps his volume low so as not to broadcast our intentions.
“Hell no! I am not leaving without all of you. Fuck that. We go together or no one goes. You came here to save me, but I won’t let you get stuck here because of it.” My face lights up at this beautiful girl’s statement. She may not know it, but those words mean more to us than anything she could do or say right now. It has always been all or none of us, our own musketeer code. To include herself in that, without even knowing, and firmly say she wants all of us at her side… my heart is pounding and I can tell by the stunned silence all of my brother-in-arms are feeling the same damn way right now.
We are some lucky sons of bitches, that is for sure.
Rip looks like he is going to protest, but just like she did the day we told her about her true identity and who we all are, my girl puts his ass in his place.
“No, don’t even try it Rupert. I’m staying until we all go, and that’s final. Try to force me, and I’ll jab you with Mr. Stabby here.” She raises her shitty metal blade, barely even able to be classified as a sword, to stress how serious she is. What she does not know about my brother is that he must have control. He has always been like that. He has never gone violent or crazy without it, but it is by far his preference. Each time she challenges him, she gets to him in ways none of us can. And frankly, it is fucking awesome to watch. Even now, at her use of his full name, his jaw is ticking, his hand tapping his blade against his thigh. Mother fucker probably wants to spank the sass out of her so badly right now. I need some popcorn, this is epic.
“Fine,” he grits through clenched teeth. Gray’s eyes widen as if she is a little afraid of him right now and she should be. Not that he would ever hurt her, but that look on his face tells me all the dirty thoughts running through my dear twins’ mind right now and when the day comes that he can finally be with Gray, well our little goddess is going to have a shit ton of payback coming her way in the form of excessive pleasure and the best kind of pain.
I shift a bit, parts of my body definitely not in battle mode, needing to change the topic and get all of our heads out of the gutter.
“Rip’s right about needing to move. We will wait,” I look at Gray to show her we all heard her request and will honor it despite how much we all just want to throw her ass through the portal and get her to safety as quickly as possible, “until we can all go through. I can hear the brutes coming from the rocky area back over to our left. When they get here, we may have to double up to take them down, but the plan is the same. Gray, stay behind us. If our circle is ever broken, find whoever is closest to you and get to them as fast as your feet can take you.”
She straightens her back, something fierce coming over her, her entire countenance changing. Her body starts to glow some, taking my breath away, as small blue and red flames dance over her completely. I want to run to her, to protect her, but just like Chance said, the flames don’t bother her. Instead, her eyes start to light up more, their blue becoming almost white. By the gods she looks gorgeous. She looks over her body then, checking herself to make sure the flames aren’t burning just as I had. Seemingly satisfied, she steps forward toward me and this girl, this goddess and princess of all the realms, the girl who has my entire heart, fucking winks at me.
“I think I’ll be fine, boys. Let’s get these fuckers and get the hell home, shall we?” Her voice is rich, smooth and powerful. I stare in awe for another moment before the first few brutes get close enough that I need to focus on the fight. It physically pains me to turn my back to her when she looks like that, but I have to protect her despite what she thinks she is capable of. Chance’s eyes lock with mine for just a moment before he, too, turns away from her, eyes on the battlefield.
“Do not call fire, Gray. Whatever you do. Don’t.” His voice is deep, serious, and a little intimidating even to me. We have not discussed her ability to manipulate fire, nor if she can just make it appear or if she needs a source, but his warning is important nonetheless. We have to keep her ability hidden as long as we can.
Praying she agrees with him, Dean and I move forward to take on the first brute. These bastards are huge, standing just over eight feet and as wide as a truck. Their weapon of choice is generally their bare hands, armor covering most of their body making it difficult to reach their kill spots. Difficult, but not impossible. We have fought them many times before, know their weaknesses, and move together like a well-oiled machine. I glance over to Dean who is already ready. With a short nod, I pull my arms out to my sides, my blades extending just over two feet out each way past my grip on their handles. Dean crouches down, pulling too small throwing knives from his chest harness. It's go time.
Right when the brute comes up, raising his hand which holds a small club of sorts, Dean flicks his wrist lightning quick, sending the two blades directly into the demon’s crotch. Dumb asses never wear any protection there and we learned long ago that apparently even demons hate a blow to the loins. The brute bends forward in pain, lining his body up perfectly for my strike. I use Dean’s offered knee, leaping from the ground and using him as a booster. In the air now, my arms bring my weapons in close just as I reach the still bent over brute. My twin swords find their mark, deep in the back of the giant, and I force my weight backed by gravity into the blades until they are embedded so deeply in the bastard its body buckles beneath it and we both fall down to the ground. I curl, rolling away from the falling giant, back on my feet within a snap, just in time to see the demon exhale its last breath, my swords jammed through its back and out its chest denying it even the smallest of breaths to stay alive.
I grab both of my babies from their latest victim, needing to tug a little harder to pull them from its body. Dean and I give each other a fist bump, something I actually like that we picked up from Deeter. The guys are all working on two more brutes, their moves just as coordinated and sure. I have no doubt both enemies will fall quickly.
One of the first things I learned in training, before I ever touched a weapon, was never to get cocky in battle. Confidence is vital. You have to believe in yourself, your team, and your victory completely no matter what the odds. However, cockiness gets people killed, makes people sloppy, and will be your ruin. All it took was one brief moment, a small snap in time where I was so sure of our victory I temporarily forgot my mission, for everything to go terribly wrong.
Gray’s scream pulls me from my stupid musings, my eyes snapping to find she is no longer in the middle of the circle. The gaps widened when we were all forced to team up, but she could have remained where she was and been safe. Why did she move?
“A goddamn damper,” I hear Dean growl next to me, his feet already moving his body in the direction off to our right. Sure enough, my eyes seeing what his had caught, a damper demon standing over our princess as she hovers on the ground in pain. Oh hell no.
I am tearing across the way in time to see Gray’s cowering body start to shake, her glow intensifying, flames covering her so brightly I almost lose sight of her. Her hand is wrapped around the ankle of the damper demon, her fire consuming it from the ground up. It begins to wail in pain, pulling away from her finally, before falling over and gasping for breath. Frantically the creature swats at its leg to put out the flames, but Gray now rises up from her spot on the ground. Dean and I both stop short when she raises her little blade high
above her head. She spits on the demon at her feet before bringing the blade down in a swift motion, stabbing straight through its gut before pulling back to repeat the motion over and over again, tears falling from her face.
My feet move again, Dean right beside me, as we approach her. Slowly at first, not keen on getting stabbed by accident, we whisper her name to get her attention. She seems to snap out of whatever she was consumed by, her frantic eyes full of terror and pain when they meet mine. My girl is so deeply wounded. I recognize the anguish behind her eyes. We each have our own version of it inside of us. And one at a time, we have all worked to patch up the gaping, festering wounds within each other until nothing but strong scar tissue remains. Together. We will do the same with our princess. My life’s purpose will be to heal every deep, bloody wound that brings that look of fear into her eyes until she no longer carries the weight of so much pain.
Gray drops her blade on the ground, collapsing into Dean’s arms as mine still hold on to my own swords. She looks absolutely breathtaking, despite all of the terror there. Her cut, patched with small butterfly stitches earlier in the day, is completely healed. Her hair falls in a dark curtain around her as if she just stepped from the shower. Her eyes are back to their gorgeous crystal blue, watery with unshed tears as she tries to lock herself back up. I want to stop her, to reach out and take her in my own arms and let her come undone, but right now is not the time. Dean whispers something in her ear I am unable to hear causing her to nod in agreement before he helps her to her feet.
A shimmering motion to my left catches my eye, and I see the portal just a few feet from where we stand. I indicate to Dean with my sword, his eyes catching the sight and relief allowing his shoulders to droop just a bit. I turn to holler at the guys to make their way over when the last brute, one I hadn’t seen before, comes barreling at me. My reaction time is usually spot-on, but the slightest delay means my swords don’t rise up fast enough to meet its oncoming attack. Gray screams out but I no longer see her, or the brute. In fact, the only thing I see in the moment is my stupid ass twin brother throw himself in front of the charging sword meant for me.
Rip! Fuck!
I sense Mitch and Chance as they tackle the brute but my eyes stay on my brother, slumped over as he holds the bleeding wound in his chest. He looks at me, his face already pale from blood loss, as he reaches for my hand. I immediately drop to lift him up, carrying most of his weight as I sling his arm over my shoulder having already placed my blades back in their sheaths. He coughs, harshly, and blood specks fly from his mouth. No, this can not be happening. No, you idiot! What were you thinking?
“You will not die on me, today, brother. No arguments.” I push the words out though I can see the life already starting to leave my twin. My insides are tearing apart at his pain, the blessing and curse of our twin nature, rare in our world, causing me to feel a fraction of what he is suffering from. This is not real. I do not exist without my brother. He simply can not die. Water droplets land on my cheeks. No, they are tears. Tears of anguish mixed with tears of agony from the connection between my brother and me. I take a few steps forward, but my knees are already weak beneath me. I do not think I can do this. My entire body hurts, whether from Rip’s wounds or the feeling of losing my best friend, I am not aware. All I feel is death around me, no matter how hard I deny it access.
“Quick, we need to get back through the portal. We have to go now, while his body can still handle it. Right now!” I know I am barking at everyone. Mitch and Chance come up beside me, attempting to take Rip from my side in order to carry him through, but I refuse. He is my brother. This is my fault. I will bear his burden.
Dean escorts Gray up to the portal, glances around to ensure we are all together with no immediate threat, a task that is usually mine to carry out but nothing will take me from my brother right now and they know it. When he sees we are all clear, he pulls a sobbing Gray into his chest then jumps through the portal, disappearing beyond the shimmer. Mitch steps aside to let Rip and I go next, he and Chance standing guard at our backs as we all step through the entryway.
As soon as we reach the other side, safely in the realm of Deeter, Mitch goes about deactivating the portal as I lay my twin down on the grassy ground in the park area where we departed from what feels like a lifetime ago. It looks to be just after sunset, the street lights are already on but, thankfully, no humans are around to be curious as to what our large group is doing in the small field.
Rip coughs again, blood starting to drip from his mouth now, and my heart feels like it is burning inside of my chest. I shake him, pulling his head into my lap, as our eyes meet. Keep breathing, damnit. You do not get to leave me! I need you. Gray needs you. I refuse to allow this.
“You must protect her no matter what, brother. She will see you, the real you that you hide, and you will heal. Let yourself finally be free, Reid. It has been my honor.” With that, he pushes his emotions at me so I can pick up what he is feeling. Love. So much love. My tears fall faster, hard sobs shake my body. No anger, no remorse. Pride for saving me. Happiness that I will get to be with Gray, protect her. Fuck why does it hurt so bad. He is telling me goodbye but I just… this is not how we are supposed to end.
One more cough causes me to look down at my lifelong best friend, brother, and the man I have admired my entire existence. His green eyes, perfectly matched with mine, close slowly and my world shatters as my brother takes his final breaths in my arms, leaving us to live on without him.
35
Gray
“Move. Move!” I shove at Dean who has been holding me as I sob profusely all over his shirt. Rip just fucking died. Like, he was fine, battling with the guys like an unstoppable force one minute and now he is lying on the ground, dead. My chest aches, as if a huge part of it has been torn out and left bleeding and dead on the floor beneath me. This can’t be happening. I refuse to let it. Why does everyone die around me?
While we were in the demon realm, Gash, I had felt this weird pull from the ground while I was standing and watching the guys fight. It felt so familiar, and my energy naturally reached out to touch it, finding so much strength and power within its essence. Of course! The ground was full of living things. I had pulled a little in, already feeling stronger, more alert, just as the next wave of demons had come. This time the group was made up of a few linebackers which the guys seemed to quickly enter into full-on battle matches with, fearlessly. I had stood back to watch when suddenly I was grabbed from behind and drug over to an area half a football field from the battle faster than I could react. Once I realized what was happening, I geared up to fight but I was suddenly back in my cell in the dungeon.
My heart froze in fear as I found myself on the cold stoney surface once again, Dagnoroth’s sneering face hovering above me coated in glee. He raised his arm and I was hit again and again by an unseen force. I crumbled into myself, protecting as much of my body as I could in a fetal position. He laughed, loud and terrifying, above me and my body convulsed from the horror that I must have been dreaming this whole time. I had never escaped, never found Chance, never got to the guys. I was bound in my cell where I would always be, forever.
Suddenly it dawned on me that the ground was smooth beneath me. Too smooth. Gone were all the jagged rough pieces that stuck into every piece of my exposed flesh day after day in this hell hole. Matter of fact, the floor didn’t even seem to be made of the same type of rock. This wasn’t real. This was the dream. I had to get out of this. I cannot let fear control me any longer.
Pulling from the energy I know I had just absorbed before I ended up in this dream world, I pushed everything away from me with a force like a mighty gust of wind during a hurricane. Assface and his minions flew away from me, as did the cell and imagery I had been trapped in. In an instant I was back on the battlefield, a startled demon standing over me. I could feel it try to recover, reaching back into my mind, but I wasn’t having any more of their games. I reached out, wrapped my hand ar
ound its leg, and siphoned the shit out of the fucker. It was only later, when Dean told me I was safe and he would always protect me that I realized I had gone full crazy and stabbed the shit out of the demon.
I had felt better, ready to return home, as Dean and Reid helped me up, but then everything went bad so fast. Now we are back and all I can do is look at Rip laying on the ground, no longer breathing in the fresh air of my home. Fuck that. That isn’t all I can do. I just have to figure out the next part.
All of the guys move out of my way, save for Reid who sits like a statue holding his twin, his eyes frozen in disbelief and anguish. Don’t worry, Joker, I am going to fix this. I think. Taking deep breaths just like Mom taught me, I drop to my knees by Rip’s side and close my eyes. My hands fall onto his still chest, emotions warring within me that I can’t afford right now. I have to focus and I can’t do that if I let myself believe he is really gone. Deep breath in, slow breath out. I hear the guys saying something behind me, but I push them out as well, focusing only on getting to my happy spot.
It takes more effort than usual, likely due to the gaping hole in my own chest from Rip as well as my nerves battling for first place in my mind, but I finally get there. I open my eyes within my mind and I see a large pale green space, like a white room only instead of stark brightness I see a green the same shade as the twins’ eyes. I take a few steps ready to get to work, when I hear my name called. I turn to see Rip walking toward me, his gaze warm, friendly.
“What are you doing here? I need to focus. I have to figure out how to bring you back, you can’t be gone, Rip. I won’t allow it.” I reach for him and he pulls me into his chest, comforting me over his death in an ironic twist. He makes soft shushing sounds, his hands running through my hair as it falls down my back. The last hit I took from that demon sent me all glowy and fresh again, so thankfully his hands find my hair free of knots.