by Auryn Hadley
I turned to look at him, careful not to hit his horns this time. "How many people fall their first time?"
"Most." His voice dripped with warning.
"And they were immortal, right?" When he nodded, my throat tightened. "So, what happens if I get blown away?"
"Then I will catch you," he swore. "It will take a few minutes, so do not panic, but I will catch you, Sia. Just keep that image in the back of your mind, like a buffer for the winds, and you'll be ok. I won't let anything happen to you."
I nodded, looking at the gaps I'd made. "How many people die from this?"
"Demons can't die, nor angels."
"K." I pulled my arm to my face, his hand still twined around my wrist, and kissed the back of his forearm. "Nick, you'd better not let me fall too far."
"You'll be fine. You can't do amazing things if you can't do this. Think of it as Muse puberty."
I laughed, feeling some of the tension drain out, and checked the pattern again. "Ok. So, do I just let go?"
"Yes." He turned me to face him, looking at the space around me, shifting his hand to rest inside mine. "Baby steps, my little Muse."
I let go with my right hand first, but the world felt no different. My heart pounded from the warnings they'd repeated. Over and over, they told me to never let go in the corridor, that it was too dangerous, and that humans couldn't stand in the winds between worlds. I swallowed away my fears and loosened my fingers, focusing on the pattern, then gently lifted my hand free.
Once my contact with Nick was broken, I could feel the currents myself. They teased the symbols of my aether, my identity, but it held, flexing in the flow like a net. Slowly, I smiled, realizing I was doing it. I was standing on my own, touching nothing but the ground.
"Take one step," Nick said. "Just one, and keep the pattern with you."
I nodded, my mind fixed on the interlocked swirls, and stepped. When my foot left the ground, the world swayed, like someone had rippled the sheet of reality. The rules of the corridor were so different from that of time and space. I staggered, and Nick reached out, but I caught my balance before we touched. I heard him sigh in relief as I tried to walk again, feeling like a child trying out her legs for the first time.
First one foot, then the other, I took a pace forward, finding the ground and meeting it without the world floating away. Secure in my balance, I looked up and grinned, gesturing around me. "I just walked the corridor! It's like a spacewalk, but cooler."
"That it is," he agreed, offering his hand.
Feeling very proud of something that sounded so simple, I took it, not shocked at all when he tugged me back to Earth's reality. His blue skin tanned and his horns faded away, the cloak blending to a simple t-shirt, but I was excited enough not to care. Nick was beautiful regardless of his form, and I had just taken my first steps between worlds all on my own!
"So that's good, right?" I asked.
He sank into the chair and sighed deeply. "That's fucking amazing, Sia." He looked up, a twisted smile on his lips. "I just forgot to mention one little thing."
"What?"
"Never, in the history of humanity, has any human managed to walk in the corridor without being lost."
"What?!"
He nodded. "Luke and I talked about it a lot. We can think of three Muses who probably tried. All three knew about the other worlds and simply vanished one day." He paused, glancing up at my face. "The winds will tear a human apart if you don't have someone able to catch you. Without that stone, finding you to catch you would take a miracle. Distance doesn't work the same in the corridor as what you're used to."
"But..." I couldn't find the words. I didn't know if I was pissed, shocked, or horrified. "You..."
He tapped the necklace. "I could have found you. It's not that fast of a thing, and they didn't have a mentor. Humans last for months between the worlds, slowly wasting away. With this, I would have been able to catch you in minutes."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Shocked. That was the emotion I decided to go with.
He rubbed a shaking hand across his mouth. "Because you do better when you aren't afraid."
"And has that little theory of catching someone been proven?"
He nodded. "A few times. Any human can be caught in the currents. Luke slipped through the veil and saw a man tumbling toward him, so reached out and snagged his arm. It was a freak thing, and if he hadn't caught the poor soul, his body would have tumbled across the mirror of the world. So, he pushed back to his home, tugged him back to Earth, and started these crazy myths about zombies or some shit."
"How'd the guy end up in the corridor?" I was horrifically fascinated.
Nick lifted his eyebrow and looked up at me. "Do you have to ask?"
"Angels." I nodded. "Probably some punishment?"
"I'd guess. That, or he was just foolish enough to pull away when they tried to gather slaves."
I took a long, deep breath, feeling elated and worried all at the same time, probably like someone who'd just finished her first skydive. With a nervous chuckle, I claimed a spot in Nick's lap, wrapping my arms around his neck as I pressed my head to his shoulder.
"Ok. So I lived through that. No one's really done that before?"
A laugh barked out before he could stop it. "Human, you imp. I'm pretty sure I'm still someone!"
"You know what I meant."
"None that we know of."
"So why'd you let me try?" I leaned back to see his face, not surprised at all to find him smiling.
"Because you're stronger than any demon or angel I know. There's no reason you couldn't do it." He shrugged. "That, and you said you wanted to reap the dead. It's kind of an important part of that unless you want me holding your hand the whole time."
"I might." I cocked my head to the side. "I mean, since you're so worried about me killing off sick, old, and dying people."
"Then I'll hold your hand." He reached up to trace the line of my face. "But I hope you can do this. I don't ever want to see you hurt, but if you can reap?" He sighed, his lips lifting at the thought. "You can pull so much aether, my little dove, that you could raise a legion. All the legions. You could secure the veils. You could stop the atrocities the angels are doing."
"Why me?"
His eyes looked between each of mine. "I don't know. All I know is that you're like a Muse, an angel, and a demon, all at the same time. You do things I can't even fathom, and you do it unconsciously. You are the answer to every prayer we demons have dared for the last million years."
"But no pressure or anything," I teased.
"No pressure," he promised.
Chapter 32
Since I'd managed to stand on my own two feet in the corridor, Nick insisted I also learn to step through without assistance. Thankfully, that was easier. I'd already come close a few times on my own. Granted, it took a few hours of practice, but each time I tried, walking became easier. At first, Nick was right there, ready to grab me if I stumbled, but he eventually realized I had this figured out. The sun was setting outside when he declared me good enough to do it on my own, but only between the corridor and Earth.
"So, does that mean I can make it to the living room?" I begged.
He chuckled, well aware that's where the rest of the guys were hanging out. "You've done enough for one day. The guys will be just as excited tomorrow."
"Nick!" I whined. "I've been busting my ass to learn all of this as fast as I can so you'll let me out of Muse jail. C'mon, please?"
"Dove, no matter what, you still have a big arrow in the veils pointing out your every move. Being able to walk in the corridor isn't the only thing you need to learn. Unless we can get you into Daemin, you aren't safe outside the wards." His voice was sympathetic, but the set of his jaw said he wasn't about to budge on this.
"So how do we stop that? The veil bending?"
"We figure out why you're bending them." Then he shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. "But it's still not safe."
"I am not made of glass!" I snapped. "I get it, you want to protect and pamper me. It's sweet. Honestly, it really is. It's also going to make my puny little unevolved brain snap into a billion pieces, and your superweapon will be nothing more than a drooling moron. I can't sit here studying for years at a time!"
"Oh."
"Oh?" I had no idea what he meant. "Nick?"
With a groan, he leaned back in his chair. "You work so hard to learn everything I show you. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that you live faster than I do and a week is a big deal."
"It's almost been two. Half a month since I've stepped outside this house!"
He huffed around a wry smile. "Exactly my point. How about if we mix up your training a bit, and give you something besides aethersmithing all day, every day?"
"I still want to go out, see people, enjoy the sunshine, and do all those normal things that crazy artists kinda like."
"I can get Luke to help me shield the yard. I'd planned to teach you how to do it, but you're not quite that adept at working systematic patterns yet. If you're that desperate to just get outside, I'm sure he'll help. It won't be as safe as the house, and I don't want you out there alone, but at least it's a little more freedom."
I looked at him pointedly. "I hear Daemin's nice this time of year. If I can stand in the corridor..."
Nick lifted a hand in surrender. "That's the plan. The problem is that every spare second I've had has gone to teaching you. It hasn't given me the time to prepare the weaving that will key you in. Never mind that the second you step outside these wards, every angel in five realms will know and come running. Sia, not everything can be solved by simply bending aether. Sometimes we have to do a little more complicated stuff like find a way to trick the veils long enough to key you in or plan for a serious battle. Just a bit longer, little dove. I promise."
I knew he was trying, and I honestly felt a little guilty about pushing. Every day since Luke had flown me back from Angelis, Nick had worked non-stop, aware the angels wouldn't be kept out of this house forever. Not only did he need to train me, but he also had to manage the protections on the property. The confinement might be driving me crazy, but Nick was working twice as hard, and it showed. Between the constant worry and the lack of sleep, he had to be exhausted. And all of it was to keep me safe. If he was willing to give me a little longer leash, I'd take it and be grateful.
"I guess this means I should take Beelzebub up on his offer, huh?" I asked, showing I wasn't going to push anymore.
Nick's brow creased. "What offer?"
"He said he could teach me to fight."
For the first time in my life, I saw Satan himself truly and completely surprised. His eyes widened just a bit and his mouth softened. "Beelzebub said that?"
I nodded. "After you sealed me, he said I should learn because angels won't fight back like I'm used to."
"Beelzebub?"
"Yeah. Big guy, dark-skinned, bit of a pig, but not the fun type like Sam? Pretty sure you know him. He lives in the green room?"
Nick blinked a few times. "Yeah, no. Um, it's just that he doesn't train anyone. Not unless they have a lot of potential."
"So, is this combat training a big deal?"
Nick made a gesture, but I couldn't figure out if it meant yes or no. "Deflecting aether, avoiding physical touches, and quick defensive spells. Beelzebub trained me, and I'm pretty sure he trained Sam. He was formed beside a Chajin – big nasty beast with lots of teeth. It chewed on him a bit, he healed, it chewed, he healed, until he figured out how to stop it long enough to get away." Nick chuckled at that. "See, on Daemin, you can't just kill something. Everything regenerates and, well, we all heal pretty damned fast."
I tapped Nick's nose. "Then we need to figure out something to keep me from dying too soon. I mean, another car accident and your little Muse is toast."
"Bel and Sam can help with that." He reached out and caught my hand, holding it gently. "How to slip at the last minute is a big part of what they do. And if showing off will make you feel a little less trapped -" He smiled at me. "- then you can use the corridor to get to the living room. Ok?"
"Really?" I gasped, trying to imagine the surprise on the faces of my friends. "Thank you, Nick!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.
He chuckled and eased me back so he could stand. "Give me thirty seconds, then step through. If you're not there in five minutes, I'm hunting you down. If you get blown away, just grab that necklace and scream my real name – and I will find you." Then he walked out the door.
I couldn't believe he was really going to let me do this. Waiting, I counted down the seconds in my head. This would be my first spacewalk – well, corridor walk – without a babysitter hovering over me. I was a little nervous, but it was the excitement kind, not fear. After living with three demons and an angel, my priorities had already started to shift. Everything I'd spent my life working for didn't matter. Now, walking between worlds was something to brag about.
I didn't push. That's what they called it when they traveled quickly across space. I just walked, looking at the grey of dead materials along the walls as I made my way toward the brilliant colors of the live bodies. Going for the most impact, I moved right in front of the TV then stepped back across to Earth, seeming to appear right in front of them.
Beelzebub wrinkled his forehead briefly, then his face lit into a massive grin. Sam just stared. Nick leaned over the back of the sofa, a beer in his hand, looking very proud of me, but Luke? He surged to his feet, his mouth open, then looked at Nick before whipping his head back to me.
"Sia?" he gasped. "How far?"
"Just from the study." I shrugged it away.
That didn't seem to dim Luke's shock at all. He looked back to Nick. "You just let a human walk from one end of the house to the other in the corridor?"
"Yeah," Nick said, letting the smile show. "She's been at it all afternoon. I even pushed her once – lightly – and she didn't fall."
Luke whooped excitedly and took the two steps between us, wrapping me in a tight embrace. "I'm so proud of you!" He lifted my feet off the ground, rocking me back and forth. "Do you know what this means? I finally get to buy you a drink!"
Nick let out a long grunt. "Not quite. She's still got a target pointing at her from the heavens, so can't leave the house."
"But..."
Nick shook his head. "Sorry, Luke. On the upside, I'm going to let her start working with Sam and Bel in the yard. If you want, you can take over her aether lessons while I try to find a way to shield her?"
Luke tossed a proud smile my way. "Definitely. I want to see if we can teach our little Muse how to mind-fuck people."
"Yeah?" I asked, thrilled to have something new and different to look forward to. "Does it work on demons?"
"I'll volunteer," Sam said. "Angels can't compel us like they can inworlders, but we're not completely immune to them either."
"And you're helping me teach her to block," Bel told Sam, then jerked his chin at me. "Go put on something you can move in. I believe they are called yoga pants?"
"I like yoga pants," Sam agreed.
Nick groaned. "Everyone likes yoga pants. Dove, Bel just wants to check out your ass."
"Wait." I looked at each of them, one after the other. "You mean now? I can actually go outside?"
"Yes!" Nick agreed. "Don't rush, but go change. It'll give Luke and me time to throw an aether net over the yard."
With a squeal of excitement, I turned, scurrying for the stairs, intending to jog up them. The guys grinned at me, but they didn't understand. They'd all made at least one trip out of the house since I'd been locked in – even Beelzebub – and I was so ready for a change of pace. Even if that meant getting tossed around for self-defense.
I wasn't even halfway up the stairs before I heard Bel speak up, but it wasn't to me. "Nice necklace," he said.
Luke chuckled right after. "Hers too. Strong bindings."
"Happy for ya, man. Abou
t time you found a girl like that." That was Sam, and it sounded like someone was slapping someone else's shoulder.
Damned demons noticed everything but, this time, I honestly didn't mind.
∞∞∞
Wearing yoga pants – as requested – and a tight fitting shirt, I made my way back downstairs to find the house empty. The silence was a bit eerie after the constant movement for so long, but I wasn't worried. The guys were outside. I turned for the front door they always used but didn't make it more than a handful of steps before I heard someone's voice. It was coming from the opposite direction.
The problem with living in a gorgeous Victorian mansion was that it did not have an open layout. Nope, every room had been designed for a purpose and organized for privacy. In other words, I had to weave through half the house before I made it to the back door. The one that was standing wide open to reveal a lush green yard surrounded by a very tall cedar privacy fence. In the waning light, it looked like my own personal utopia.
"My kennel?" I asked, leaning against the door frame.
Sam waved for me to come closer. "It is safe to cross the threshold," he announced proudly.
Or it was about to be, at any rate. The moment I was on the back porch, I saw Luke and Nick standing in the middle of the yard, hands clasped, with their foreheads touching. The translucent wafts of aether moving around them proved they were still working. It also meant I got a chance to just enjoy the view.
Nick was the taller of the two, but not by much. Mostly, he just looked bigger because of his bulk. He probably had a good thirty pounds on Luke, and it was nothing but muscle. That didn't mean Luke was a weakling. Not by any stretch of the imagination. In all honesty, they looked like the kind of perfect couple that belonged on the front of some gay or ménage romance novel. Nick's dark against Luke's light, and both were sexy as hell.
Literally.
"You're drooling," Sam said softly as he moved to stand beside me.
I smacked at his arm. "Do you blame me?"
"Nope. They're both rather impressive specimens."