by Trina Bates
The plan we come up with is sound. Two with me at all times, mainly Gor and anyone of my guys that fits the situation best. Thankfully though, there is little concern that we will get split up. Vieruz has apparently agreed to taste my blood, so if we do get separated, he will be able to find me as well as Cynide and Rhett. That appeases my guys and the rest of our group, making the next part that much easier to figure out.
-Cynide, where’s Lucifer's castle from here?-
She turns her big head away from me and to her right, which if this place is anything like my world, I would assume it’s east, but there’s no sun here, though there does look to be three moons in three different directions all in the shape of a triangle. Eerie.
-It is about an hour’s walk from here, though if we all shift or let someone ride with us, or fly, we could make it there much faster. You fly, let Gor and Rhett ride on Vieruz, Ebbin can shift to Rigar, and I can carry Merrick while Rhydian runs in Kigiree's form.-
-What about Blue?- I ask her, rolling my eyes, knowing she left her out on purpose.
-What about her? She’s a Witch, can’t she just ‘poof’ herself there?- Cynide laughs at the end making me snort and try to cover it when everyone hears.
-You know damn well that’s not how that works.-
-Well, ask Rhydian if Kigiree would mind letting her ride on him? He’s huge.-
That thought right there has my blood boiling, I’m still so angry at her, yeah, she went off the deep end and fucking killed my daughter, who wouldn’t be pissed? But inside, I know she wasn’t in her right mind, and something is really happening with her, I just don’t want to be mad at her, she’s the sister, mother, and best friend I always wanted, she gave that to me. I just don’t trust her right now.
-No, Cynide, I hate to ask, I do. But can you carry her, and I will carry Merrick with me?-
-That is not wise, not because I don’t want to take her, I don’t... but are you sure you can carry someone of his weight with you? You have yet to try that.-
She’s right, but I don’t want her or Rhett with me just yet, not with the way things have been going with those two.
-I have to try.-
I tell everyone what we talked about, leaving out the Blue and Rhett talk of course and my shoulders drop hearing the next words...
“You don’t need to carry me, not only is that embarrassing, it’s fucking weird. Love, if anyone is going to carry anyone, it's me. Can we figure something else out?” Merrick asks, his face scrunched in disgust simply thinking that I will carry him.
“I don’t really see any other way…” I trail off trying to think of something else, but find no other way around this.
“I will carry Merrick. Not only are you pregnant, but you are our best defense right now, we have to keep you open in case anything happens, Rhydian states, saving me some of the trouble of this argument and coming up with something better than me carrying an embarrassed and angry Merrick with me.
“Why the fuck do any of us have to be carted around like children?!” Rhett whines, his voice higher than normal which makes me roll my eyes.
I look to him and purse my lips at his outburst.
“Shut up and let’s fucking go,” I say with slight annoyance, though I know his feelings are validated. It really is awkward. Readying my wings, waiting for the rest of our group to shut up and saddle up.
We finally have a direction to head in though still no plan. There really isn’t much we can do about a plan since we don’t know what’s going to be here. We have to wing it and stay together.
Rhett bumps into Ebbin’s shoulder before he starts to change and says, “You should use Rigar’s wings, and Enbarr’s tail, that would be hilarious to see in the sky.”
I can’t help but shake my head and smile at their antics. It seems like for every strange thing that goes on in our lives, another, goofy happening takes place after, lessening the stress a little, that we all share.
“I think I’m good. We need to all just get out heads back in the game. I’ll make you a deal though, you learn to diss us right, and I’ll give you your own personal show of that,” Ebbin says, smiling brightly to a wide-eyed, gleaming Rhett who nods his head vigorously in return. That’s all it took for me to lose it and start laughing. The others join in and so do a few strange new animal noises.
Finally in the air, everyone situated, even a simmering Cynide with Blue on her back flies with ease as we all follow her large form in the sky. Vieruz is right behind her, next to me and I swear I can see the strange thing looking at her large rump, salivating at the mouth.
In the distance shapes start to erupt from the ground beneath, large towers capped in what looks like blood. Cynide wasn’t joking when she said Lucifer had a damn castle. The thing is immense. No protection walls, crazy motes or any bridges like I had envisioned before. It’s a giant square with four towers in each corner and a larger one to the back with an open courtyard of sorts down below. There’s no one guarding any part of the castle walls that we can see, and that makes my hackles rise. It doesn’t seem right that the ruler of Hell doesn't have some kind of guards, or lookouts.
-Mira, this is where things will get much worse. The beings that guard this place, they are Dark Walkers. They are only able to be seen when there is light, and they are fearsome creatures. Think of the tall green men on your planet, but take away the eyes and give them a mouth of a great white shark and they have no corporeal form. The only way to kill them is by Hellfire, which from what I’ve witnessed of you, you have. You will need to be at the forefront of all of this.-
-You’re just now telling me this Cynide?! What the hell! No one is going to like that at all.- There’s no use in waiting, so I tredge on, laughing inside with what I’m about to put on my mates.
Opening my mind to everyone, I send them all an image or what I had in mind of what the Dark Walkers looked like and told them all what Cynide told me.
“Mira!” Rhett shouts to me, “Why the hell didn’t you tell us this before?!” I say, his eyes ablaze and his fists holding tightly to Gor’s back as they sit atop Vieruz.
“I didn’t know, she just told me. Don’t be mad at me!” I yell to him trying to hold back the glare I want to give him for being such a dunce.
I look ahead and start to stress, I have yet to try and mess with my fire. The only time it’s happened was when we were in Yggdrasil and even then it was out of my control. I know how to pull my magic forward, but not the fire.
Still in everyone’s minds, I tell them, -Drop down. I know everyone has a lot to say, and there’s something I need to work on that you will all have to give me some space for. Rhett, I don’t know if your barriers will hold, so Blue, you will have to help fortify it. I need to see about this Hellfire.- I know everyone wants to say something, but so close to the castle, and without knowing how to use my abilities right, it’s stupid to think we can go into this now, the way we are. I drop steadily to the ground and wait for everyone else to land. Surprisingly Gor and Vieruz are the ones to come to me first.
“Mira, Vieruz would like to speak with you about your powers here. He seems to know more than what we do. I think between him and Cynide, we will get this all figured out,” he says patting the large beast on its neck and then walking away before I have a chance to say ‘yes’ or thank him. I watch Cynide stride forward with her head unusually low and turned away from me.
“Cynide, stop. I’m frustrated yes, but I’m not mad. We knew coming into this, there were going to be many obstacles. I just wish you would have told me about this particular one before, so I could’ve been practicing,” I tell her calmly, walking up to her and lifting her large head so I can meet one eye and give her big neck a hug while I pat her on the side. I want to comfort her. We all make mistakes, just look at what’s happened before. She just needs to understand that it’s not the end of the world and we will work it out.
-Thank you, Mira. I know I should have told you, but I didn’t know how and part of it
slipped my mind when there were so many things that needed to be done to get here, and then everything got worse when I couldn’t hear you. It won't happen again. Let us figure out your fire, you can’t hurt me or Vieruz since we are of this world and know how to counter it. We will stay by your side. You must touch him though, so he is able to communicate with you.-
“Thank you Cynide. I need you to actually tell me what you know first, and then I want you to go back and tell the others about the rest of the things we might come up against. Okay? Push until you make a connection. They’re right, we need all the help we can get and that means having you inside at least one of their minds,” I tell her, hoping she doesn’t see my request as a punishment. We really do need to be more prepared. I nibble on my bottom lip worriedly, hoping she can make the connection with someone, if not all.
-I will. Thank you.-
“Thank you for what, my little lynx?” I ask, turning my head to the side as I back away from her, trying to figure out just what it is she’s thanking me for.
-For always understanding and never throwing me away.-
That admission along with the rest that she’s told me before keep tearing at little parts of my heart. I love her too much to let her keep thinking this way.
“Cynide, I love you. That’s all there is to it. You’re family and will always be treated as such. I know me, you, and the guys all had a rocky start of things, but there’s always going to be shit that grates on each other’s nerves. That’s where we work together; to see them through, and fix them so we can all be alright again. You don’t ever need to thank me. It’s what family does,” I tell her as I push all the love I have for her into her mind as I hold the sides of her long face in my hands. Her head nudges into my chest, and she lets out a deep sigh as some of her own stress melts away.
I kiss the top of her head and back away. I turn to Vieruz having to look up to see even one of his purple and white smoking eyes. I smile at his beauty and reach my hand out to his purple snout, but wait for him to initiate contact out of respect.
He leans forward slowly and as soon as we touch, the sting of his mind beats in on mine, and I get an immediate headache.
-I’m sorry for the pain, you are not mine and with the way I was made, that’s what I do. I make people feel panic and misery, of every sort. Please forgive me, I wish it were not so.-
Vieruz, his voice is so deep it’s almost hard to understand him, though soothing, there’s also a certain feel of horror that should be had when you hear it. I do my best to stay connected even though I want nothing more than to let go, but before I do, I want to reply.
-Thank you so much for sharing your mind with me. It was strange when it happened for Cynide and I, though I admit, it was nothing like this, but you can’t help it, and I understand.-
The large beast snuffs out his reply and backs away from me. I turn to Cynide and smile seeing the way her large eyes are trained on Vieruz. I can tell there’s something there, and it’s so hard not to get off topic and say something about it.
-Okay, Cynide. Tell me what you know.-
-I know your magic and gifts are tied to your emotions. I felt you when you fortified your barrier, you were hopeful and happy. When you used your fire, you were angry, hurt, and felt deceived. I know that when you used it, you were also left drained. That’s the biggest concern for me, but you are also able to draw from all of us, or we can push our energies into you to keep you going.-
I thought about her words for a moment, and she was right. When I was doing my barrier, I was with Rhydian, and I wanted to show him I could do something right. I was excited to do it for myself. The destruction on Yggdrasil was after my mother’s admissions, and let’s not forget about what happened when I was left alone with that disgusting man in the alley. Hate. All consuming spiteful malice and rage was all I felt for him and that’s when things got even more strange.
“I see what you mean. Okay, well that’s a few things down on how to fuel it. Anything else you can think of?” I ask her. She shakes her head side to side and turns to look at our other companion.
Turning my head I look over to Vieruz and ask him, “Is there anything more that you can tell me? What scares me is how I decimated a giant area around me, I didn’t have the control to ‘aim’ it at one particular spot. How do I hone it and work with it that way?” I doubt he can tell me all that I want to know, but anything at this point will be a huge help.
-You have Hellfire, you are half demon, which means you, in a sense, come from here. Magic from this Realm is much different than any other you will find. It is stronger in a sense, more volatile and it feeds off the user instead of fueling them. For you, I can see what you wear around your neck, and that is good, but you need to take that off. When you do, your powers will grow with the essence of this world. When you are ready to try, you need to fuel your magic with your own enmity, fury, and pain, but you mustn't let it control you. You need to stay alert, and only let your powers free when you see what it is you wish to be rid of.- He kicks his middle leg on the right, once at the ground and looks to an adoring Cynide who is shaking her large head in agreement and continues on. -I think, when you used your powers for the first time, you were too angry at that world. That world held your mother, held your powers and the answers you had been searching for your entire life. If your mother was standing in front of you, I have no doubt that it would have taken her and not the world, but it needed an outlet, and so it went everywhere.-
I had never thought of that, but as he says it, it all seems to fall into place, it makes complete sense, and I feel a little better with just that little bit of knowledge. Scowling, I shift my gaze to the ground. I draw my brows together and remember destroying that poor Spriggan and the area around it. I never really connected the dots between the destruction and what caused me to expel my power in such a force. But it all lines up with what Vieruz said.
“Thank you so much, both of you. I’m ready, would you mind going and telling the rest of our group? I want to stay out here,” I ask them both, watching with a smile as they both nod their heads in unison to me and turn like they are well trained-horses in some parade. Strange horses albeit, but amazing all the same.
I turn my back away from my group and venture out further into the desolate wasteland, hoping to get as far away from my group as I can. The only thing that I think is going to be hard is finding something to aim my aggression towards. I can get angry, I have a lot of resentment for many things, most of which are in this Realm. I just don’t know how or what I’m going to use as my metaphorical punching bag, so I keep wandering.
I find a tree a good ways off from my group, turning I see them all staring in my direction, waiting to see the epic show of either my failure or my win. Hopefully, it’s the latter that ensues.
Mira:
I take a deep calming breath and exhale out all my worries and clear my mind of all things happy. I dwell on what my father has done, throughout all his years, but mostly what he’s done to my mother because he couldn't get to me. I think of what he did to Rhett, leaving him there in a bloody mess for me to find, just because he accidentally was taken to Hell through the Dragonstone. I remember his face and how his anger turned to surprise and then loathing when I called him ‘dad’.
I can feel the outrage inside of me growing, swirling in my stomach. I can feel my skin starting to heat up, and that’s when I remembered Vieruz telling me to take off my necklace. I quickly take it off before I lose any more traction than I have, shove it in my pocket while trying to not get it stuck on my armor and start back with my spiteful thoughts.
It’s not hard to find more things to get angry or hurt at, I think about Blue, and what she did to my Alyria. I think about Rhett and the way he was so fiercely angry with me that he had to be taken out of the house. I think about the way I was thrust into this world by a craggly little goblin, Lyra, the Blood Fae that can’t keep her hands off my man’s blood. Soon enough, I can feel the well deep wit
hin me is full and about to overfill. I take one more deep breath and will all of my animosity at the tree in front of me, praying this part of Hell will die and make it one less reminder of my time here.
I thrust out my hand, feeling my hair whipping out in front of me and all around. I take a calming breath, and push with everything I have inside. The anger that seeps out of me is delicious, I stare at the tree watching as the flames spread out of my hand and shoot an endless stream of blue, white, and black fire at the tree. It explodes much like when Rhett had done it the first night they came back into my life.
Splinters and sharp shards of the oozing charred wood come screaming towards me, but fall and turn to dust when they hit the barrier I erected back home.
With a smile on my face, I turn my ire towards anything else in my way, the rocks on the ground literally melting at my feet from my fire, the ground itself cracking from the heat and force of my hate. I feel high on resentment, and I don’t know if I want it to end.
-Bugs.-
-Babe.-
-Love.-
-Gorgeous.-
Their thoughts all ring through my mind at the same time, alerting me to their own distress and discomfort. That tears at my power hungry heart, knowing I am causing them pain helps me rein in my anger, and I let go of my pain to see what’s feeding theirs.
I turn around so fast, my head spins and I see everyone in my group standing there, their hands on their chests and anguish in their faces. Blue and Rhett are bent over, Gor and Torunn are in each other’s arms with pleading eyes trained on each other. I know somehow this is my fault and I need to stop pushing out my power. They can all feel the hurt in my heart. Even Cynide and Vieruz are swaying back and forth on their long legs, unsteady and hurting.
I grab the necklace back out of my pocket and hurriedly throw it over my head and try to think happy thoughts.
I run as fast as I can, pulling my wings inside of me, so they don’t pull me back from the force of the air being trapped under them and reach Ebbin first. Everyone is okay, and taking deep breaths but Ebbin has tears streaming from his face, and his shoulders are slumped forward while he sits on his knees in the iridescent soil beneath him. I drop beside him and wrap my arms around his shaking shoulders and try to stay silently strong, by his side until he’s ready to talk.