Before Limbo (After Life Book 1)

by Isabelle Crusoe

  "Where the hell are we?" Odell asked.

  "Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner." Tell snorted, then jumped to his feet and gave me a wide smile. He removed bits and pieces of leftover bug creatures from his t-shirt and shook his head in amusement, making the purple tips sway.

  "Go easy on them. It's been a long day." Rigel flexed his fingers around the staff.

  Tell spread his arms, spinning slowly in place. "Welcome to hell!" He boomed, his voice fading into the air.

  "What?" Odell’s eyes ran across their serious expressions, color drained from his face. "This is hell?"

  "Not exactly," Aris explained. He pointed toward the river. "See that vague outline of what looks like mountains?" I limped forward, leaned on his shoulder, and squinted to where he pointed. "That's hell," he said. "This? This is just the waiting room."

  "Limbo?" I interjected.

  "No. This is what awaits before Limbo. To get into Limbo we will have to make our way across Styx," Rigel explained.

  I paused. My brain tried to wrap around what he just said. "So, this is... purgatory?"

  "Does it matter?" Lux threw his hands up with an exasperated sigh. “We’re here, and we need to find the key, while keeping them safe.” He gestured to my friends.

  "What happened to us?" Odell’s shoulders slumped, and he scratched at his elbow, sad eyes running over our faces. "Did those..." His head swayed, like he was chasing a thought through the air.

  "Are we safe here?" Salma scanned the surroundings. Every twitch of movement in the deserted area got her attention.

  “We have to get to Necs before we can relax," Cas said.

  "Who's injured? We need to deal with that now, our powers are fading." Rigel scanned our little group with unseeing eyes.

  He worked his magic on my ribs and hip, and continued to Odell's shoulder. A hand grazed my back. No point turning around, the cedar already invaded my senses, and I had to steel myself not to fall at his feet, and beg him to hold me. I needed to focus.

  "We need to talk." The low tone of his voice rattled through me.

  Time to gather some strength, and kill this crush once and for all. "Okay." I couldn't look at him, my feet glued to the ground. If I turned, I'd lose it, and throw myself at him. "What's up?"

  "I want you to take this. I'll teach you how to use it, when we have time."

  Damn. I tucked the feather into my pocket, squared my shoulders, and turned to him. He cradled one of his swords in his hands. It was the first time I'd seen the sheaths. The golden and blue dragonflies embroidered on it were beautiful, and I reached for them. Pads of my fingers bumped along the pattern.

  "Take it, Mira. I need to know you can protect yourself, if anything happens."

  "Okay." With a shaky hand, I accepted the sword. “Thank you.” My heart was torn, and when my mind swirled, I searched for refuge with Salma and Odell. Focus on the key. My fingers reached for it, but found the glass pendant instead. My gaze automatically moved in search of Cas.

  "City gates to the east. Desert is just beyond that." He shouldered the crossbow. "Let's move out."

  "And how lucky we are to finally have you here," a voice boomed from above.

  The chins of everyone in the group tilted up to see Daniel standing on the roof of one of the ruins.

  "Do you remember, baby? A roof not unlike this one." He mocked, and I dashed for the hole in the wall that used to be a door. He needed to die. I was gonna—

  Big arms appeared and lifted me from the opening, curses rolling off my tongue as I kicked and screamed to be let go.

  "Calm down, Bambi. He's not worth it."

  "I’m gonna kill you for what you did to Daniel," I roared, struggling to get free.

  "Oh, this one?" He sauntered along the edge of the roof,. Tat confident look that used to make my heart skip a beat was now lighting bonfires of rage in my stomach. I struggled free from Aris and stepped forward, eyes primed on the demon.

  "Why are you doing this?" Rigel asked. "You know all promises are hollow from the mouth of the snake."

  "You really should think about behaving this time." He snaked around the roof. I shuddered when he returned, an arm around a blonde witch.

  “Caroli?” Cas exhaled in shock.

  "This one has fond memories of you. Or should I say, had? I helped her create new ones. Better ones. With me.” He ran his tongue along her cheek, and barked a laughter. Something gleamed in his hand. “How about we play a little game." He pulled Caroli’s head back, baring her throat. "Who gets to live?" He pressed the knife to her skin. "You decide." A shimmer, and Elize was kicked to her knees, an axe rested against her head. The teleporter licked thin lips, his black hair slicked back behind his ears.

  “Stop this,” I demanded. “I’ll give you whatever you want. Just stop.”

  Odell, thinking he was a hero, lunged forward trying to protect Elize, and met the butt of an axe as a result. A familiar looking ginger leaned over him with a grim smile. Kaito stared at me, his bottom lip trembled. He was probably hoping for answers, but I couldn’t give him any.

  Cas' hands went for the crossbow, but Daniel’s grip on Caroli’s hair tightened enough to force a whimper from her lips.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” Daniel snickered, and nodded his head to the neighboring building where a pink haired girl stood, bow raised, and an arrow primed at my chest.

  "And don’t try any of that glowing shit.” He nailed me with narrowed eyes. “Who's it gonna be?"

  Ice curled my fists. "Stop this," I growled, my breath trembling. My eyes flicked back and forth between my friends and Daniel. My chest tightened, and rage bit into my back. "Please." The word tasted bitter on my tongue.

  He laughed, icicles clinging to the high pitch. "How about we kill them all?" He raised his hand.

  "No!" I leaped forward, my hands raised with the vain hope it would stop him.

  He lowered the knife from Caroli’s throat. “Eh. We only need one of you dead, anyway.”

  The teleporter disappeared from Elize, and took Opus with him. “So? Who’s it gonna be? You, or her.” He nodded to Caroli. “What do you think?” The devilish eyes turned to Cas’ tense figure.

  My arms dropped to my sides, mind in a fury.

  Shut it off.

  Close it down.

  I didn’t have to focus as much as before. The bricks had become a switch, easily flicked. I raised a hand to stop Cas from answering.

  “Me,” I sneered. “He’ll chose me. Come and get me.”

  “I failed. We’ve lost her,” Rigel exhaled behind me.

  What was he talking about? Daniel released his grip on Caroli. “You truly are your father’s daughter.”

  The teleporter showed up behind them. Daniel spun a finger in the air. “Pick one, Castor.”

  The teleporter kicked Caroli over the edge, grabbed Daniel, and disappeared.

  Eyes ran to the pink haired girl. And everything slowed to a crawl.

  Chapter 50

  The girl with the pink hair tilted her chin away from her hand. Her fingers released the string. The arrow took flight. Caroli fell. Cas screamed, and the muscles in his leg tensed as he pushed off the ground toward her. Lux spun on his heels, eyes on mine, the dust swirled around him and he lunged toward me. Aris' hands reached for me, his nostrils flared, face ashen with fear.

  This was how I'd die.

  Then, everything happened at once. A flash of black. Arms grabbed me. Wings spread and pressed down. My stomach swirled to my head when my feet lost contact with the ground.

  I was pressed against a hard body, and we shot through the air at breathtaking speed, wind forcing my eyes shut. My arms wrapped around a muscled back, every beat of wings rippling through my fingertips.

  We pivoted, and I found myself falling toward the ground, unable to breathe. My heart raced in my chest, and then hitched. We pulled up, and landed safely on a rooftop.

  Hands gripped my shoulders and shook me violently. “Are you insane? He would’
ve killed you. What’s wrong with you?”

  When the shaking stopped, I blinked, trying to focus on the being glaring down on me. Coal colored skin shimmered on a naked body, pointed ears peeked through long silvery-white hair, black wings rose over his head. Cause it was a he, no doubt about that. My cheeks flushed, and I kept my eyes above his waist. Well, I tried at least.

  “Sorry about the nakedness, but the loincloth you made isn’t much use when I’m in my natural state.”

  “Aym?” Hand to my chest, I stumbled back. Shock slipped into happiness, then crashed into fear when the memory of his betrayal surfaced.

  “You let them steal the key.” I turned to run. I wasn’t going to let him kill me, not until I knew my friends were safe.

  A swift ruffle of feathers sounded before onyx wings folded around me, and I was trapped in a downy prison. Thorns of fear dug into my spine.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Hands pushed along the soft feathers, but they held firm. With a slamming heart and shivering breath, I turned around. “You let them take me, and the key.” My eyes stung with tears, and I refused to lift my chin to look at him.

  “I don’t understand.”

  My gaze travelled up the shimmering feathers, brows furrowed. “They’d ripped your wings clear from the bone.” Fingers reached for the wall of feathers. “How…” I caressed them, so gentle against the pads of my fingers. The switch rattled inside me.

  “No one took my wings. I’ve been down here looking for your mother.” He pulled back the curtain, and folded his majestic wings along his back. My fingers twitched, longing for the softness he’d taken from me.

  “What happened?”

  I told him, head bowed, studying my fingers. His hands caressed my shoulders. “It wasn’t me. I haven’t been to see you since we visited the portal.”

  “I called you. You didn’t come, and then…” Relief flooded my chest, and I swiped away the tears stinging my cheeks. “You didn’t… they…” My heart unraveled, the thorns along my spine retracted. I exhaled, and threw myself into his arms. For a second. Then something twitched against my abdomen and I jumped back, cheeks burning once again.

  “I’ll get something to cover up. I promise.” He laughed, sending warmth through my soul.

  “But? You’re black?” Where was the little maroon creature that covered me in glitter? This was a full-grown man, a chiseled-in-marble-molded-to-perfection kind of man.

  “I had to be something small and cute, or you never would have accepted me.” He smiled, a hand carefully caressed a strand of hair from my face. “It’s good to finally meet you, as me.”

  I slapped a hand over my mouth. “Oh, god. My friends. We have to go back.”

  “They’re fine. Nybbas has retreated to lick his wounds, and by that, I mean his pride.”

  Another thought hit me. “Aym? Can you get them out of here?”

  “I’ll do my best.” He pulled me into his arms and cradled me to his chest. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “Don’t leave me again.”

  He chuckled. “As soon as your friends are back at Effulgent, I’ll never leave you again. I swear on yellow summer sandals.”

  The switch flipped. My heart swelled in my chest and my arms wrapped around his neck, as I snorted at the memory of how we met.

  Wings stirred up dirt as he pushed away from the roof, using powerful thrusts to get us high enough for me to spot the gates of hell looming in the distance.

  “Do you know who took the key?”

  Silver white strands tickled my face when he shook it. “I didn’t even know it was missing until I felt you.”

  “You felt me?”

  “Yes. I’d picked up your mother’s trail, and suddenly your pain bit into my back. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you, but I had to get pass three Sins, and the Ferryman, and was unsure if your friends would let me live, if I just showed up.”

  “You felt me?” I repeated. “Seriously?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Well, let’s see. I have one guy who reads my mind, one who controls it, and one who feels me. Seriously? Is nothing sacred anymore?” Heat crashed through my chest, and crawled up my cheeks. “Do you feel everything I feel?”

  He bit his lip to stop from laughing, and I threw my head back in a groan.

  “That’s just brilliant.”

  My heart soared when I spotted my friends, and Aym dove to meet them. Softly his feet connected with the ground, and I slipped from his arms, my fingers laced around his, while I waited for my friends to reach us. Cas had the crossbow pinned to his shoulder, eyes narrowed at Aym. Salma’s cheeks burned red, her gaze locked at the sky. Kaito hitched a brow in appreciation and wrapped me up in his arms.

  “Are you okay?” Lux asked, and glared over my head.

  “I’m fine. Where’s Caroli?”

  “Rigel’s trying to heal her, but we don’t know what they did to her.”

  Aym caressed my hand with his thumb. “Calm down. Let me look at her.”

  Hesitant glares followed him as he walked with us back to where Rigel and Beid kneeled next to an apathetic Caroli.

  “Do you mind?” He arched a brow, his eyes lowered to his hand, and I realized I was still holding it, and hurriedly let go.

  He placed his hand over Caroli’s face, and flames of red danced along his skin.

  The reaction came almost immediately. Caroli hurled to a sitting position with a shriek. Cas dropped the crossbow and fell to his knees next to her. Hands cradled her face. “I’m here. Caroli? I’m here.”

  She blinked away the confusion, fingers padding the lines of his face. A light came on behind glazed eyes, and she threw her arms around his neck.

  Aym backed away, and I searched for his hand. He spared me a side glance. “Jealous?”

  I looked at the couple kissing between tears. “You tell me.” Then I turned and caught Lux's openly hateful glare pinned on Aym’s back, and my heart stopped.

  A light squeeze on my hand. “Don’t worry. He won’t hurt me.”

  “Yeah. This is gonna be fun. Having you around.” I pressed air between my lips. “Why’d you have to tell me,” I complained.

  Odell held Elize close to his body. A bruise had appeared over his temple where he’d been hit when they knocked him out. I closed my eyes, and breathed deep. I waited till everyone had welcomed Caroli back. With a clearing of the throat, I looked over at my friends' suspicious and confused expressions. Aym stepped behind me, his hands folded over my shoulders. My heart swelled, and warmth curled up my legs.

  “I have good news.”

  The End