I bet their Three wouldn’t even be selfish.
“Is it hellfire or eternal flame? One we’ll survive. The other we won’t,” Gage states dryly.
I look down and back up. “How would I know? I can’t feel anything physical.”
Ezekiel runs a hand through his hair. “They’d have had to put hell stone up here to hold all this lava. The fire beds would have taken a while to prepare, but something of this caliber would take much longer, and it would have drained the individual a large amount. How badly do they really want us dead?” he asks the other three.
“They knew there’d be no way across without running out of the gauntlet or siphoning. Both would disqualify us and likely cost us our lives. What happens when dark angels who never died before finally do die? What if that’s what all this is about, and they need us to die?” Gage asks.
“If anyone cares, I vote you stay there while I try to channel enough protective mojo to knock some of this away or something.”
They ignore me, since they likely know that’s a last ditch effort.
“I doubt anyone could want us dead this badly,” Kai says, deciding to risk it.
“No!” I shout too late as he steps onto the fire.
It happens so slow and so fast, all at once. The fire rushes up his leg, and a feral sound of agony explodes from him. The guys rush to grab him, just as the lava evaporates, a path around us quickly being carved out and stretching across the fiery lake.
The fire is still licking up Kai’s leg, and I dive, landing on him. The flames extinguish along his leg, and he roars that same inhumanly sound again as his body tenses and contorts with excruciating pain.
I push off him, my eyes tracking the lava that continues to retreat as though someone is peeling it away now.
None of that power is coming from me. That’s way above my fear-induced, what-will-happen-this-time, beginner’s level. It’s an intricate and complex power that hums through me and makes me envious, almost covetous.
I have to blink a few times to keep from going into a rage about it. It makes no sense, since I’m really grateful someone is helping out.
I whirl around, finding a familiar redhead perched on a rock like it’s her favorite seat in the house, as she chews a piece of gum around a smile.
Lilith.
Why the hell did she just save them?
The guys start carrying Kai, rushing across before the devil’s eldest daughter changes her mind. I watch her, even as she never sees me. She stands and spins in a circle, twirling her hair around her fingers as she walks away with an exaggerated hip shake.
I turn around, watching as the lava starts closing back in, slowly at first, but steadily growing speed the longer she’s away.
My gaze snaps back to see them running faster now. Jude turns and grabs Kai, putting him over his shoulder and running behind them, but losing a little too much ground.
The other two turn to grab them, and launch them way ahead. By some miracle, they manage to make it across just in time, and all of them collapse a great distance away from the lava.
“Energy sucking fucking rocks,” Jude groans, arching his back like he’s in pain.
“They don’t just want us dead; they want us fucking tortured too,” Kai bites out, his leg still charred and slow to heal.
“I’ve seen him slice a thumb off with one of his soul sucking blades, and the damn thing healed back immediately. What’s taking it so long this time?” I ask aloud, again forgetting they can hear me now.
“Hellfire,” Ezekiel answers, kneeling to rip the jeans up and away from the worst part of the leg. “It’ll take days for this to heal. We still have to cross over the last ridge, that will likely have lethal monsters, and dragging him up there is going to take a lot more energy than those rocks left us with.”
“Lilith never bestows a gift without offering a curse with it. It’s how she maintains balance,” Jude says as he tears his shirt off and starts putting more pressure on Kai’s leg when he bleeds through the first one.
“She wants us to have to choose to attempt to make it by dragging him to the line, knowing there are only twenty places available. We might all die if we’re slowed down too much. Or we could leave Kai behind so we can occupy three of those spots and ensure we survive, even if it means sacrificing his life,” Ezekiel goes on.
My heart sinks.
“Is there a way to speed up the healing?” I ask, getting closer and kneeling beside his leg.
He hisses out a sound that tells me he really doesn’t want me this close right now. Since he hates me and all.
“No, not in here, and we can’t waste anymore time. Tie it off and cut it off. It’ll grow back in a couple of weeks. We have time before the second trials. It’ll make it easier on him that way. The hellfire hurts worse than amput—”
Gage’s words cut off as I run my hand along the wound, tears in my eyes for no reason at all. I really don’t like Three. He doesn’t like me. But it still feels like my heart is breaking.
So much pain.
It’s almost like I can feel it too.
I look down as the skin tries tugging together under every swipe of my hand, and my spine stiffens. My hand freezes against his leg, and he hisses out another sound as the skin starts to slowly pull together, the charred pieces breaking apart like brittle fragments hiding new skin.
It’s a little slow, but it keeps going, and he sucks in a breath of what sounds like relief as his body relaxes. It’s not completely healed, but the burns are gone, and the skin is healing faster on its own now.
He darts a gaze to me—a mix of wary curiosity and guarded appreciation, but it’s gone before I can be sure.
“She put the fire out, and she healed his leg. I’m starting to think she really is a damn protective spirit to balance out the scales that have been tipped against us,” Ezekiel says as he studies me with narrowed eyes.
One corner of my mouth tugs in a grin.
“Let’s run then discuss what she is or isn’t,” Jude says as he helps Kai to his feet.
Kai is able to run now, not slowing anyone down. I look around for the woman in red, curious if she’s still watching. Fortunately, no one is.
I don’t really want anyone knowing they have a protective spirit.
That’ll mean more people than them trying to figure out a way to get rid of me.
I look back and quickly cover the same ground they just made in half the time. Kai looks over at me as I run beside him, but I don’t meet his gaze.
If he’s nice right now, I’ll rant about what a jerk he’s been. If he looks at me like I’m still gum on his shoe, I might just let them all die the next time and not give a damn.
Either way, it’s not a good time for either.
Running through Ezekiel and stealing some of those tingles, I keep going until they finally stop, heaving for air.
“What’re you doing? We still have to climb over the ridge,” I remind them.
“We’re lucky we haven’t come across any hell beasts yet, but we’re about to go up a ridge that is notorious for them. Those stones stole a lot of our energy, so we need a break before we climb that thing.”
My eyes lift, seeing the lava evaporate, and then sensing lives before I see them. A massive spiel of people who were likely trapped there are being let through, but this time it’s the Gemini twins who are atop a rock and grinning.
“I’m not sure how many are going to survive, but I strongly suggest running again just in case it’s more than twenty,” I point out.
“Shit,” Kai groans, turning to start climbing.
A surprise burst of tingles happen down below, and my eyes dart down to see a hand poking out of my pubic bone.
“What are you doing?” I ask Jude, knowing without a doubt those dark tingles are his.
“Seeing if you somehow offer a power charge too. Unfortunately, the answer is no.”
“Then can you withdraw your hand? At the rate I’ve been saving your lives, I�
�ll be powering up anytime now, surely. I’d rather not turn whole while your hand is in my vagina.”
Gage grins, and Jude laughs under his breath as he withdraws his hand. I stare at the ridge before us. It’s really like a thousand feet of mountainside that mostly goes straight up with a few ledges where you can hike instead of climb for a bit.
Already I see something scurrying into a dark cave on the side, a long tail whipping behind it a second before it darts out of sight.
A chill runs along my spine. Not cool.
That looked way too snake-like.
“What kind of monsters are we talking about?” I ask them as they start ascending, looking for footholds and such.
The horn of death wails loudly in the background, announcing a lot of fallen competitors. I suppose the Geminis are a little crueler than Lilith.
“What are the point of these trials? Other than to cull the weak? To show everyone how cold they can be?” I ask, turning to start scaling the mountain beside them.
“It’s another balance system. They can’t have the weak. The weak will betray far faster than the strong. They want to know who sticks with their team. They want to see how many will cheat. It’s called hell for a reason. Not the most trustworthy applicants are applying for these jobs,” Kai explains through strain as he hauls himself up.
It’s way easier for me to climb. I’m not pulling a muscled body up the oddly angled side.
“But some will always have favorites they want to succeed, because they usually already know the ones they don’t trust,” Ezekiel adds.
Another long tail whips over my head, and an embarrassing squeal shoots out of me before I can help it. It’s just a tiny lizard. In my head, that tail was forty feet long.
“Good thing you look like a leather-wearing badass today,” Jude says from above me.
“Fully equipped with unusable weapons,” Kai adds.
“Fake it until you make it. I’ve saved your lives more than once. Speaking of which, why was that girl going to stab one of you? That’s breaking the rules.”
“Like we said, they want to know who will disrespect tradition. Bad applicants don’t make it past purgatory.”
The clang of a sword has my gaze darting up, and I get a little queasy when I see the huge lizard snapping at Jude, raising a scorpion-like tail like it’s about to strike.
“No!” I shout, just as Kai launches his sword into the air.
The beast screeches and darts away, scurrying into a hole as the sword flies up.
“Yelling brings more,” Kai growls.
My eyes dart around in a panic, and I look around, worrying the entire climb where the rest are.
Screams from below me have me looking down—terrible idea, by the way.
I get dizzy as I stare below, watching the monsters pile all over the men and women, ripping things to shreds.
“At least it called them down there instead of to us,” Gage says, a hint of sadistic delight in his tone.
I’m busy staring down still, unmoving. I never knew I had an issue with being on the side of the mountain until this moment. Then again, it is the first time I’ve found myself in this predicament.
For a moment, I don’t realize I’m falling until the world is whirring by me. My eyes come up in a panic as I see Kai grab for me, his hand slipping through my body on my way down.
In the next breath, I’m suddenly clinging to the wall again like a wet cat dangling above water, my whole body shaking as I clutch it for dear life.
Jude’s chuckle comes right beside me when I see it’s him I’ve just landed by. I really like this being able to move without actually moving thing right now, even if it does leave me a dizzy and disoriented.
“A protective spirit who’s afraid of heights,” Jude mutters under his breath, still laughing a little as he pulls himself over a ledge.
I zap there too, happy that I seem to have that down pat, at the moment.
“It’s more of an aversion to being on the side of a mountain than it is the actual height,” I correct.
“We’re almost there. The second we reach the top, stay close. They kick us out when we cross the finish line,” Gage says as he leaps over the edge, joining us.
The other two join us as well.
At least they gave me a warning.
The mountain turns into more of a hiking trail that I managed to glimpse from the ground earlier, but it’s a lot higher up than I realized.
We cut through a huge forest I never would have known was up here, keeping a quick pace. I warily cast a glance in the direction of every sound.
I follow closely, since I have no idea what a finish line even looks like. I doubt there will be a bright red ribbon to run through.
May have to jump through a fire hoop or something.
Something loud roars, and the guys start moving a lot faster as the trees behind us start shaking fiercely.
It’s like a spike of adrenaline hits them, and they move twice as fast, causing me to struggle to keep up.
I see trees flying up as something massive barrels through the forest, a hint of dark fur peeking through the top of the tree-line as we start hiking a steep incline.
That’s not good.
A hellacious roar almost deafens me even in spirit form.
Just as it crashes through the trees and I get a glimpse of a mouthful of teeth, tingles shoot through my hand, and a white light blasts.
Chapter 10
Stumbling into Ezekiel’s bedroom, I look around. I’m not sure how I just ended up here, but a sense of panic hits me when I don’t sense the boys.
Then their presence washes over me, and I relax.
“Where’d she go?” I hear Kai ask.
“Did she make it?” Ezekiel this time.
“I grabbed her hand,” Jude tells someone.
I start to go to them, then realize I’m actually a little drained. Emotionally drained that is.
I’ll wait until tomorrow for the inquisition into all I did today and what nefarious reasoning might have led to it. Or maybe they think I’m their protective spirit now, but doubtful. Jude even mocked it himself.
I’ll save the verbal sparring for tomorrow, because saving their lives has quite honestly exhausted me. I’ve never been exhausted before.
I move through the walls until I reach the third staircase that takes me to the west wing.
Humming softly, I walk down the beautiful halls that go unappreciated. I’d planned on making my bedroom one of the ones on this side, just to show this side some love.
There’s one with a beautiful view of a rose garden so lavish that it’s fit for a king. It was going to be my room if I ever turned whole. They could visit me and sleep there when they wanted.
Back in fantasy land.
In hindsight, it was rather silly to think I’d just be part of the group and fill all their needs.
It’s the first time I’ve been able to stay in this room past ten minutes without revisiting them to put my eyes on them. I soak it in, giving into the illusion once more of having the four of them in here.
All of us a tangle of naked limbs and whispered words…
Still sated with just their presence nearby, I spend the rest of the evening in my fantasy room, kept company by the dust and occasional creepy spider.
By the time it grows late and I assume they’re all in bed, I make my way through the quiet house.
Unable to help myself, I poke my head in Kai’s door, and mutter, “Good night.”
Just as I almost get my head pulled back through, I hear, “Good night.”
I’m not sure why my heart acts like it’s way more excited than it should be. I withdraw completely, trying not to read too much into it.
Moving to Gage’s room, I stick my head through the door, and say, “Good night.”
“Good night,” finds me before I get my head out of his door, and a small smile curves my lips.
They’re a little late, but at least I don’t feel as
miserable about being tethered to them at the moment.
Poking my head in Jude’s door, I whisper, “Good night.”
I wait for a moment, unable to see even an outline of him in the jet-black room, and then blow out a breath. I guess two out of three is better than I realistically expected.
When I turn around, I squeal a little, because Jude is leaned against the wall in the hallway, his hands in his jean pockets as he studies me.
His black T-shirt smells like it just came out of the dryer, and his hair is still damp like he’s just left the shower.
“The spell has been replaced. It should last a while before someone manages to drain it,” he tells me.
“Guess you couldn’t get rid of me like you hoped, huh?” I ask through a dark smile.
“Didn’t try. It’s to keep out harmful intent. Not actual beings. It’s a much more costly upgrade,” he tells me with a shrug.
I say nothing, just stand here awkwardly for a moment.
“You can stay away from us longer now, can’t you?” he asks.
“Seems to be a major perk from my last level-up. All I need is the comfort of your presence to stay anchored now. Major bonus for you guys with your privacy.” I walk by him, and he laughs under his breath.
“Is it necessary to prance around in outfits you know we like to see on women, when you know we can’t touch you?” he calls to my back.
I walk a little higher in my tall boots and go-go dancer skirt that shows hints of my ass with each step.
“I’ve learned I’m an unapologetic tease when men are assholes,” I retort, moving toward Ezekiel’s room.
My outfit changes into a thin, pretty nightgown that stops at my knees.
Before I can poke my head through Ezekiel’s door, Jude is suddenly behind me, his tingles riding all down the length of my back as his lips make my ear tingle.
“Good night,” he whispers, then he’s gone, and I breathe out shakily while fighting a smile.
Instead of poking my head into Ezekiel’s door, I pass through it. Maybe I shouldn’t care that he’s violently thrashing in the bed like he’s in physical pain. But I do.
Four Psychos (The Dark Side Book 1) Page 7