by Maya Daniels
“No.” She chuckles creepily.
“Then I guess that was a stupid question, huh?” I rasp before thinking about it. I close my eyes, wanting to just die for my idiocy. I really am going to get killed one of these days because I can’t keep my mouth shut, not because of anything else.
“You entertain me, witchling. It has been a very, very long time since I have been this amused,” she says thoughtfully.
“I aim to please.” Yup! I’m an idiot. It’s official. I think I was born without self-preservation skills. That’s the only explanation I can come up with, and I say as much to Azalea. No use pretending, right?
I’m expecting pain again, but to my surprise she only chuckles (it’s extremely creepy coming out of a huge spider, take my word for it) and everyone around me becomes animated at once. The girls crowd around me as if trying to physically protect me with their bodies. Meda is sobbing loudly without a care for who can hear her, and the other three are visibly shaking, though they all hold on to me tight, like I might try and escape their protection.
Well, if there was danger to protect them from, I would, but I’m not telling them that. My sisters are like piranhas. If they sense it, they will figure out a way to stop me, I have no doubt about that.
Lucifer materializes in front of our human-made cocoon, wings outstretched to hide us from Azalea, and to my surprise Will and Archie stand on either side of him, brandishing their weapons. Well, I guess that at least answers our question of whether we can trust them.
“Oh, stand down, will you? If I wanted her dead, she would’ve died while you watched,” she snaps in that hard tone, sounding like rocks grinding together.
No one moves.
“She’s right, guys. Let me go,” I say loud enough so they can all hear me. Like a spell has been broken, they move to stand aside and gawk at me like I’m the crazy person here. I raise my eyebrows silently and say, “Well, she has a point.”
“You have one hour to get out of my woods. You may keep the pendant, but it has served its purpose. It’ll be useless now. If you are still here after that time, no one will leave this place alive. You can all wait on another lifetime and the angel can return to the Source,” she says, shuffling around to leave.
“Thank you,” I tell her, and she stops as if surprised.
“Why, you are very welcome, witchling. Manners will take you a long way. They should learn a thing or two about it. Now move along. It would be a shame to cut your threads of life. As I said, it’s quite entertaining to watch everything unfold.”
With those words, the spider lifts into the air, pulled by a spun thread that reflects the moonlight in parts. Within a second, she’s gone and I think I can finally breathe again. I realize I’m still clutching the pendant when Meda slowly pries my fingers from around it. To my shock, and everyone else’s, when she opens my hand, we all see a perfect pentagram seared into my palm.
Chapter 24
“What on earth …” Jezzinta gasps as we all stare at the palm of my hand.
“What the fuck is wrong with people and their new-found obsession with branding me?” I growl, staring at the pentagram as if simply by my anger I can make it go away.
“Let me look at the other one.” Remi motions with her fingers for me to give her my other hand.
Placing my hand in hers, I let her inspect the brand of the apple on my wrist while my mind is swirling. There must be a meaning to all of this, but I have no idea what it is. Checking everyone around me I see they’re as lost as I feel. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to dwell on it if we want to keep our lives, and if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think I care anymore. I don’t think I’ll live long enough for it to matter anyway.
“We will think on this later. Lucifer, you said you can remove the wards on the building, right?” I look at the angel, retrieving my hands from Jezzinta and Remi.
“I said so, didn’t I?” He frowns at me.
“Just making sure we’re on the same page, angel, I’m not doubting your word,” I tell him tiredly. “So we’ll create a distraction while you remove the wards. After that, we go in, grab Philip, and kill those that get in the way.” I look at all of them, seeing determination erase whatever worry is in their eyes because of my newly-branded skin.
“Let’s do this. Then we’ll deal with everything else.” Remi squares her shoulders.
“Let’s do it, but don’t play the hero, Alexia, or I swear to the Goddess I’ll strangle you,” Jez says through clenched teeth. I lift one eyebrow at her and her scowl deepens.
“You’ve been through who knows what here and you want me to do what? Let you get hurt more? I’m ready for whatever they have in store for us, Jez, and I will do everything I can to stop that asshole.”
“We didn’t go through much, A-Ma. A few beatings, yes, but he knew we were the only leverage he had against you, so it was not very bad. We can still fight.” Meda seems more determined than I have ever seen her. The rest nod their heads in agreement.
“I can start picking them off before we show ourselves there,” Archie adds, and I turn my head his way.
“Will your arrows work on them?” I sound skeptical, but I can’t help it.
“They work on anything but gods,” he assures me, “or angels.” He adds that last part for Lucifer’s benefit, since the angel is glaring daggers at him.
I smirk at him, and now I’m the target for his peepers. It just makes me smile bigger. He’s scary and powerful beyond anything I’ve ever felt, but he keeps it under wraps for some reason. Regardless of what it is, I’m almost certain he will not use it against us. You shouldn’t take my word for it, judging by my poor choice of who I trust and why we’re in this messed-up situation to begin with.
“Well, we don’t have much time to strategize. This plan is as good as any, unless someone can come up with something better?” I phrase it as question.
“We don’t have much of an option, do we? If Archie can take them out as soon as Lucifer removes the wards, you can all go in and bring Philip out. I’ll stay to guard your back so you don’t have to worry about anyone coming in while you’re inside,” Faith offers.
“I’ll stay with you,” Jez says.
“Okay! It sounds good. When we get inside, Remi and Meda, you grab Philip.” I look at them and they nod. “Lucifer, Will and I are going to make sure you’re covered until we can get out.”
“I’ll open the portal as soon as we are out of the building.” Lucifer nods as if it’s a done deal. I only hope that it’ll be as easy as it all sounds.
“Let’s go. There’s no time like the present,” I turn around to walk towards the bushes where we were doing our surveillance, but then I stop. “I just want you to know I love you more than you’ll ever know, including you, Faith, since you’re one of us now,” I tell my sisters.
They all get teary-eyed and mumble “I love you as well,” and something settles in me from hearing it. They must be okay; get out of this cursed realm and be happy. If they’re not, then my life is pointless.
“What? No love for us? What are we, chopped liver?” Will teases from somewhere behind me and it makes us chuckle.
“Nope. No love for you unless you grow ovaries, since all the men that have come into my life are assholes.” I grin at him. Well, more like baring my teeth.
“I would be very upset if I were you, Lucifer.” Archie snickers next to the angel but cuts it short when he gets stared down by him.
“She said ‘men,’ fairy. I’m not a man. I’m a male.”
Will and Archie bristle at the fairy comment and we all laugh quietly. Leave it to them to find something more important to be angry about than creatures waiting to end our lives.
I chuckle under my breath and move. We have shit to do, creatures to kill, revenge to get. I’m almost giddy with anticipation about flaying the skin off that betraying manipulative ass, Derik.
We crouch again and check the building one last time to see how many creatures ther
e are before we make our move. There are about two dozen walking in pairs, one with a lantern and one without. Nothing else is around, but I know Derik is expecting us. Thankfully he couldn’t get here before we did, or I’m sure he would’ve moved Philip elsewhere. We cut diagonally through the woods, which brought us here much sooner. Well, that’s my hope, anyway. If Derik had a chance to hide Philip, we’re totally screwed.
Movement gets my attention, and I see Archie motioning with his hand towards a big, thick tree right on the border of the woods. He mimics climbing and shooting arrows, letting us know he found his spot to help with creating a distraction. I nod and he creeps away from the rest of us. We wait with bated breath until he’s up and we see the first arrow fly. In a couple of seconds, without a sound, we see one of the creatures holding a lantern drop to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his neck. All of us burst from our hiding spots before the shriek pierces the air, the creature without the lantern letting his buddies know there is trouble. The shriek is cut short by an arrow sticking out of his neck as well. Archie is damn good with his bow. I make sure I have a shield in front of us before we start advancing towards the creatures, who are now gathering at the front of the building. Arrow after arrow flies above us, hitting marks left and right. The ground shakes, and I look behind me to see Jezzinta kneeling, her palms pressed on the dry, dead earth below our feet. Dead roots spreading like tentacles from long-dead monsters sprout from the ground and pierce creatures where they stand, making a living—or undead in their case—wall between us and the building. Faith sneaks to the corner of my shield and throws fireballs at them before hiding again.
With every green flame they throw at us that hits my shield, it gets colder and colder inside my chest. They are thankfully focused on us now, and I see Lucifer from the corner of my eye creeping towards the building below where we are slowly advancing.
“They’ll see him. We need something more dramatic,” I yell so they can hear me above the roaring of the fires from the dry roots that have caught the flames.
Remi nods and closes her eyes for a second before reaching back her arms and throwing them in front of her. Like a brick wall, strong winds slam the creatures against the building. The ones in the front row struggle with it, not paying attention to the dark smudges their friends from the back row leave on the walls. They redouble their efforts, throwing flames towards Remi as soon as the wind stops. When she throws the winds their way, the arrows stop flying. Obviously Archie doesn’t want to waste them, or so I hope. It’ll suck if he has none left. We still need time until the wards are off.
My fears are for nothing, because as soon as the wind stops, arrows take the creatures down again. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold the shield. The more flames that hit it, the weaker I feel. I need my strength to face that weasel, so I make a fast, and obviously stupid, decision. I change the shield so it’s around each of my sisters, leaving me open but I can fight now without disturbing their protection.
Flames burst from my hands, double the size of the ones they’re throwing at us. Like the creatures have been waiting for it, they run towards me at full speed, their cloaks doing that creepy thing and flapping above them like living entities. I remember Lucifer’s teachings and turn the fire balls into whips of fire in one hand and liquid ice in the other. Flicking my wrists left and right, the ropes start beheading creatures. A couple of their flames hit me, one in the thigh and one in my stomach, but I can’t afford anything more than a grunt. With each hit, my insides are freezing and my body shivers. I don’t think I’ll ever be warm again. The ground shakes again and new roots sprout, taking down more creatures. There are only a few left now and, with a hard wind, Remi splats them against the building like pancakes. In that same moment, the building shimmers like tiny little ripples and the wards wink out. I turn around to see Archie running towards us on one side and Lucifer showing up on the other with Will on his heels. Still shivering but doing my best not to show it, I grin menacingly.
“Showtime!” I yell and run for the doors.
Chapter 25
Wind slams full force into the double doors before I reach them. I look at Remi and she shrugs one shoulder as if to say “I felt like doing it, what are you going to do about it?” Shaking my head, I jog inside and hear Faith, Jezzinta, and Archie taking their places on the outside to watch our backs. The rest of us enter the building, and I gag from the stench of blood and urine. Bright light from the center of the open space blinds me. On the sides, along the walls, metal cages made for animals are lined up and, by the looks of them, most of the inhabitants are dead. In passing you can see an arm or a leg sticking out, some in late stages of decay.
Shielding my eyes, I try to see where the light is coming from. A clear crystal, the size of my fist sits on a column in the middle of the warehouse. It glows bright, like a tiny sun with one beam shooting out of it towards a lump on the floor a few feet away from it. At first, I can’t see what it is, not until I hear Remi’s choked sob and the lump jerks. That’s when I see the wavy brown hair and a head turning towards Remi’s voice. Oh, sweet Goddess, no! As Philip turns, I can see his cheeks are sunken, like he’s been starved. His skin is graying as we watch, and his body is emaciating by the second, turning into those creatures we were just killing outside.
“You’re late.” Derik shows himself from behind the glow, Tiamat tethered to him following in the air. Next to him stands Tomas, smirking at me. My blood boils just seeing all three of them.
“His offering is appreciated, you know. We will take good care of his soul,” Tomas says nonchalantly, like taking peoples’ souls is the most natural thing in the world.
Remi is sobbing quietly behind me, joined by Meda. I turn to see Will wrapping his arms around both of them and placing his body between them and the wizards to protect them. Lucifer is vibrating with rage next to me. I look at Philip again and can tell he is fighting it. Tears roll down his face and he doesn’t take his eyes off Remi. It’s as if he tries to imprint her face in his memory as the last thing he sees. My heart shrivels in my chest. What I’m seeing in his eyes is love. He is quietly dying with the expression of happiness and relief on his face brought by the knowledge that she will live.
He is happy, but Remi is not. I can see her breaking in front of my eyes. That’s not how this works. I’m the broken one and she is my rock. Because of me, she has suffered through lifetimes, seeing her sister die over and over again. Now, after giving love a chance for herself, she is losing it, again because of me. All I do is give her pain and tears. I will not let that happen.
Before anyone has a chance to realize what I’m doing, I sprint and throw myself on top of Philip’s fading body. I hear my sisters scream, “No,” and the ground shakes from Lucifer calling my name, but it all fades away the second the beam of light attaches to me. While I still can, I gather as much strength as possible and push Philip towards Remi.
“You were right, Derik, she did do it. Amazing!” Tomas’s awe-filled voice echoes.
“I told you she would. You should listen to me. She will always give her life for any of theirs,” Derik preens.
That’s all I hear, realizing I played right into their hands like a moron, because the pain in my body overrides everything else. It’s like someone has just carved out my chest with a dull knife and is carelessly shifting and rearranging my organs. Something is being ripped inside me like a piece of paper with a whispered sound, almost unnoticeable, but my mind screams, not wanting that to happen. Whatever is being taken from me, I want it to stay there. I’ll never be the same without it. For no reason at all, I remember the mirrors and being asked to choose. Without giving that more thought, I hope that I’ll pass out so I don’t have to feel the pain anymore. How did Philip manage to just stare at Remi and not make a sound? I think I can hear screaming but it’s so far away I’m not sure if I’m imagining it. On closer consideration, it sounds like my voice. Am I the one screaming? If so, then why? Come to think of it, I can’
t remember where I am anymore. I try to open my eyes and it takes me a moment to see. I’m staring at a glowing ruby in front of me. Lifting my arm, I touch my face and glance down at my fingers to see that they’re wet. Have I been crying? Why?
I push with my hands to lift myself off the ground where I am laying for some unknown reason, then I look around. On my left, four women and three men gawk at me with open mouths and wide eyes. They’ve been crying, too. Hmmm. Turning my head again, I see a man ripping the head off of another man. How interesting. Is that why we have all been crying? But I don’t think I’m sad; I’m actually confused. The beautiful tall man in front of me drops the body of his victim and turns those dark eyes on me. My heart speeds up and heat pools in my belly. What a strange reaction. Before I have time to dissect it, a movement on my right gets my attention. Another man stands there smiling at me, reaching his hand towards me as if he knows me. A dragon or a snake, I can’t be certain, floats above him. I tilt my head to look at it. My heart thumps painfully in my chest when I’m seeing this man and his apparition. The sensation rushing over me is not as nice as when I locked gaze with the other man, the beautiful one.
“Alexia?” the beautiful one calls to me. I like how my name sounds on his lips.
“She is not your Alexia anymore, Lucifer. Get out of here, all of you. I have no need for you anymore, unless you want to die,” the man with the apparition snaps at the beautiful one. Lucifer, he called him.
“Alexia,” Lucifer says again, ignoring the other man, and for an unknown reason, I’m very happy that he does.
“How do you know me?” My voice echoes in the empty space, and I must say I like the sound of it. It’s husky and sultry, like a seductive caress, and I see Lucifer shiver. I smile at him.