“Thank you, Genia, but you shouldn’t risk being near me. As soon as I’m healed, I fear the Demonic guardian, called Slyth, will take over again. I would not wish to hurt you. Slyth almost made me kill a man before. It was only the intervention of the man’s guardian that stopped me.”
Nicole and Ridge stood behind Genia and he could see from the stubborn looks with lips drawn thin that they were not going anywhere, no matter what he said. After seeing the way the two of them had fought Liliath, Sayell, and over a hundred Demonic Midworlders, he was not surprised.
Genia laughed, and it was not the reaction he had expected.
“The fact a guardian intervened and enabled you to take back your power makes me think we might have a chance in defeating this.”
“Look into my mind, Genia. You’ll see it’s a Demonic with no love for our kind, nor for humans. He’s been here hundreds of years and has no intention of going back, especially now that he’s in the body of a Midworlder.”
Genia placed her hands on either side of his head, and he opened up to her. When she moved them away, he could see the tears forming in her eyes.
“Heath, I am so sorry for you. I could sense he was the cause of Elizabeth’s death as well. No matter what you say, this cannot be allowed to continue. I don’t know if we can save you, but this evil must be purged from you and returned home.”
Heath grabbed Genia’s hand. “All I ask is that you make Evie relinquish her bond to me. You can protect her until she can receive a guardian.”
“I don’t think that’s your choice. I’ve no bloody intention of going anywhere.”
It was his beloved’s voice, but she sounded weak and breathless. He looked across to see her leaning against the doorframe nearby. Ridge and Nicole rushed to her side, as her legs gave out beneath her. Heath managed to sit up, but the stabbing pains of his injuries still wracked his body. She was placed down on the other couch nearby. He wanted to touch her so badly. To hold her in his arms and say sorry, but he could already start to feel Slyth clawing his way back. She was smiling at him, and he could tell from her thoughts she was relieved to see him. He got off the couch with Ridge’s help and knelt before her.
“I don’t know how long I can hold out, but I want you to know I’m truly sorry for what happened.”
She put her hand up so her fingers touched his lips. “You forget, I lived with that darkness for a long time, and I know what it’s capable of. I forgive you, and we don’t need to talk of it again.”
“What has happened? How were you hurt?”
Evie started to cough, and Georgia offered her a drink of water and some tissues. Heath noticed there was blood on the tissue as she tried to fold it in her hand.
Genia placed her hand on his shoulder, and he looked up. “We believe, since we removed the Demonic presence, her original injuries from the accident have started to return.”
“Can’t you heal her?” Heath gazed at Genia, but she shook her head, and so did Calloue and Georgia.
Evie gripped his hand. “I died, Heath. I shouldn’t be alive anymore. Even Genia can’t fix this. I know you don’t like bad language, but I’d say we’re fucked.” Evie took his hand in hers and tried to laugh but started to cough again.
Ridge came forward. “If she can be transformed, then she might survive. As a Midworlder, her body would heal itself.”
“I sense a big ‘but,’” Heath said.
Nicole bent down and looked him in the eyes. “Genia thinks we may have a chance in the conduit to remove this Demonic, and then you could try to transform Evie.”
“I’ll do whatever is needed, but you should know it will fight. In the conduit, its powers are increased.” The effort to keep his thoughts shielded was taking its toll as Heath became lightheaded and thought he would pass out.
Namid stood up. “I believe you both need to rest, and the journey may be too much. But I fear we don’t have any time to waste.”
“Evie can’t come. The Demonic in me will kill her,” Heath said.
“You’re a bigger idiot than I thought you were if you think you’re going anywhere without me, Heath,” Evie said, trying to pull herself up.
Ridge entered the discussion. “I think Heath’s right. The journey across may very well kill you. After we sort this out, we can come back and save you.”
Nicole grabbed Ridge’s arm. “For once, darling. Shut up. I know what it was like when you went over to Pergor, and I nearly lost you. I wanted to kill myself with the despair I felt. Evie goes with us. There are enough of us to surround and protect her while Genia does what she has to.”
Ridge shook his head, but Heath knew both their women were strong-willed and would do what they believed was right.
“Well, let’s get goin’ before the sun comes up,” Ridge said.
Evie’s aunt came over and kissed her on the forehead. “I wish I could go with you. Make sure you bring her back to me safe, Heath.”
Nicole came across and picked Evie up in her arms. Heath leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. The soft touch of them made him want to take her into his arms and run away, but that would solve nothing. He couldn’t protect her from himself, let alone anyone else. Nicole closed her eyes for a second, and her wings appeared. Evie reached up and touched them.
“It’s amazing to think you were human like the rest of us before the transformation.”
“Once we get this thing removed from Heath, we can help you through yours,” Nicole said, as she looked down and smiled.
Evie glanced across at him, and she wasn’t smiling. He knew her well enough to see she thought it would never happen.
Outside, he stood beside Ridge and closed his eyes as his wings sprouted from his back. It had never hurt before, but this time, he found himself groveling on the ground as the darkness inside him tried to prevent it. The fight was on, and he had no idea who would win. His whole back was taut as the muscles clenched. This darkness had hate, but he had love, and it was stronger. The darkness fought only for itself, whereas he fought for Evie as well. He felt the skin on his back sting as it stretched and shrunk when his wings fought to break free.
He took a deep breath and forced them through his skin. As he took flight, he knew his own blood dripped from his wings for the first time. Ridge looked over as they flew.
“I’m beside you.”
Heath would not send out the message to open the conduit. The darkness would stop him if he tried. He would fly into the sky kicking and screaming if he had to. He watched as the stars faded around him and the conduit opened. The pain intensified, and he could feel darkness fighting to make his wings pull in so he would fall to Earth again. Heath curled up in pain but then felt Evie reach out to him with her mind.
I believe in you. Don’t let that bastard win. I owe him a kick up the butt. Destroy him, and you’ll get the best real-life sex you have ever had.
He smiled through his pain, as her thought gave him more impetus to fight on. They stopped. The stars were gone, but there was a strange pink glow in the space between worlds tonight. He looked to Ridge and nodded, knowing his friend would try to open the conduit. It was at that point he could feel Slyth start to slide over his brain like ice forming on the surface of a pond. He fisted his hands and gritted his teeth as he fought, but the power of the darkness seemed to be amplified by this space.
You will not take me back to that forsaken world that is only a remnant of what we came from.
He doubled over in pain, as if a red-hot poker had been shoved into his stomach. Nicole flew across to be by his side.
“Get away, and take Evie with you. It’s fighting me, and I don’t know how long I can hold him back.”
“I love you,” Evie said.
Those were the last words he heard before his mind left his control.
> He could see Ridge and the others not far from him and sent out a burst of energy. Where it would normally be pale blue and pure, it was now streaked with black. He laughed as he watched them all curl up in pain. If they thought their powers would defeat him, they would learn the hard way.
They didn’t stay down long and were charging for him instead of using their power. He threw them back again with a blast of energy. They circled around him so that Ridge, Namid, and the others were in front, and Suzie and Genia were behind him. The onslaught of their power was strong, but he could turn it back against them. As they sent out another blast, he formed a shield around himself so that the explosion was turned back. They fell back. Now was his chance to flee and return to Earth, where he could take his time to gain complete control of this Midworlder’s body.
Before he could flee, Suzie hit him with a discharge of power and grabbed his arm. Ridge took the other arm.
“So, you are cowards to try to kill me while you hold me?” Heath closed his eyes and sensed the darkness growing in power, as it absorbed the strength of the two holding him. Black tendrils flowed out of his hands and wrapped themselves around Suzie and Ridge’s chests.
He opened his mouth, and more black poured forth, aimed at the others. He could smell their wings burning, and he would laugh as they were destroyed until they resembled nothing but a pile of ash. Suzie and Ridge’s clothes were smoldering, and they would soon be dead, too.
“Stop, Heath. They’re your friends.”
It was the woman who spouted love yelling at him. He wanted her dead as well. Someone clutched his head from behind. He had forgotten the healer Genia, the bitch had crept up on him. Her hands were like acid on his skin, as she tried to heal him. He didn’t want healing. This was what he had strived for. She would lose. There was a gust of wind, and the colors changed as the conduit opened. No, he would not be taken to Pergor. He would kill them all.
They were not moving though. Something was forming before him. An Angelic. But that wasn’t allowed. Angelics could not come into the conduit in solid form. As on Earth, they could only project their form. She floated before him real in all her annoying, pixie-like appearance with her pretty wings.
“Mira,” Nicole said, as she went to move forward but was halted as the Angelic put up her hand.
Two more beings arrived, an Angelic and Demonic. One of the Angelics carried a crystal-covered oblong box that was about a foot in length. He knew it was meant to take him home, but he no longer considered Homeworld his home. Damn them to hell, if he believed in it. This Angelic reached out with her hands, which resembled claws more than the cute fingers of a pixie. The Demonic’s hands didn’t look much better, with their claws aimed at him and their eyes bright red, but he knew he had to fight now or give up and go back.
“Ridge, you’re my friend. Will you let these creatures hurt me? They’ve done nothing for you but gloat from a distance and watch your pain.”
Ridge held onto his arm tight, as he gazed into his eyes.
“Heath, you’re someone I’d give my life for, but this ain’t you. We’re here to help.”
The Angelic called Mira came up close, and her clawed forefinger scratched down his cheek. Blood seeped into the corner of his mouth. He could feel its warmth and faintly copper taste. She stood before him, placed her hands on the sides of his head, and opened her mouth wide. The heat that poured forth made his eyeballs sting. The other guardians placed their hands on his body, and they felt like they were covered in sharp needles. They were drawing him out, but he would cling on. Their claws punctured his skin, and he could feel the agony in each wound as his blood oozed from his body.
To leave this body would mean everlasting torment if he went back. There were people he had hurt, families who had lost loved ones because of him, and they would seek revenge. He could see his essence in the form of a dark cloud starting to leave through the wounds in the Heath’s chest. They would not win as he encircled the Midworlder’s brain with his power. If they wanted him, they would have to kill Heath, but he knew they were weak and would not risk it. He looked across and saw Evie in Nicole’s arms.
“Save me, Evie. Don’t let them do this to me.”
Evie struggled to leave Nicole’s arm, as tears streamed down her face, but Nicole hung on. He turned his attention on the Angelic before him. The fools didn’t realize he had been expecting this for a long time and had one more trick up his sleeve. He started to suck the energy from the Angelic called Mira. He could see the shock, as her eyes opened wide and she screamed in pain. It was a glorious sound. She fought him and tried to stop the leaching process, but he was going to infiltrate her mind.
There was a stabbing pain in the back of his head, as someone else placed their hands on him. It was Genia again. Between the two of them, and with the others helping, he couldn’t win. He clawed at the Heath’s brain with his mind to stop what was happening. He would be nothing more than a dribbling cripple by the time they had finished with him.
The world sounded different, as he was drawn out with a popping sound. Voices sounded far away like echoes, but he could see the faces before him. They didn’t gloat but gazed upon his essence with sadness. He didn’t want their pity. He grasped the edges of the box with black tendrils of energy, but they continued to force him in with the power of their minds. The lid snapped shut, and he knew this was the end. What he could make sure was that this was not just the end for him.
Turning his power inward, he let all restraints go so all his power would be dissipated to destroy the others. He liked the idea he would be the first Demonic to destroy some of his own kind for centuries. If their old planet had not died, the Angelics would have been annihilated long ago. Earth had been a mistake for the Demonics, but he had decided it was better than death. Now he was ready to go out in a blast of glory.
Heath tried to breathe into his damaged body, but every tiny movement sent pain hurtling to every nerve ending in his frame. He struggled to lift his head and saw that Ridge and Suzie were holding him upright. Peering down at his chest, he saw blood soaking his shirt. They were in the conduit, but he couldn’t remember getting there. Someone had shaken his skull, so his brain felt like mush, or like someone had been in there with an electric mixer. One thing he knew for sure, he was rid of the darkness that had been within him. His body might be broken, but it was his again.
He looked into the conduit before him and could see his fellow Midworlders, but he could also see Angelics and a Demonic. What the hell had been going on? One of the Angelics held a box, and he didn’t need to be told to be sure whatever had been inside him was now contained within.
“We need to get you back to Earth so you can heal,” Ridge said, as he placed Heath’s arm around his shoulder and took his weight.
Heath glanced around, as if he was missing something important.
“Where’s Evie?” He asked, but before he could get an answer, the box the Angelic was holding exploded, throwing him out of the conduit and back into Earth’s atmosphere.
Chapter 22
Pergor
Evie’s head hurt like she had just collided with a truck. The idea of opening her eyes at the moment seemed impossible because she knew the action would bring pain, and she’d had enough of that recently. Her left eye was swollen, and her jaw ached. Squinting, she viewed the world from a strange angle. She was lying on the floor with her cheek flattened against its cold surface. The room was white and way too bright for her eyes. Someone had left all the fluorescents on at the same time, and it wasn’t doing her head any favors. How the heck did she get here? Another question−where was here?
After a gargantuan effort, she managed to move enough to prop her body up on one elbow. The dizziness hit, and the white room spun. She gazed around and saw it was just like a small box room, but the walls looked like someone had sprayed them with fake sn
ow. Where was everyone and what had happened? Had she passed out again? Rolling onto her back, she looked from side to side and saw Nicole was with her. The woman she had only just met was flat on her back and appeared to be out cold at this point.
Evie crawled across the room and checked to see if Nicole still had a pulse. She did, thank goodness, and it was strong. The side of Nicole’s face was swelling, and her lip was split. She would have one hell of a black eye come the morning. That was, if they made it to the morning. Nicole groaned and slowly opened her eyes.
“Shit. Not here.”
It wasn’t exactly what Evie had expected to hear, but she hoped it meant her new friend still had some fight in her. Nicole sat up and tenderly touched her cheek.
“Do you remember anything?” she asked.
“I was in your arms and watching them try to remove the darkness from Heath. Then someone hit me. I didn’t see them. It all happened so fast. The next thing I knew, I woke up here. Looking at my watch, we’ve been out for hours. Do you know where we are?”
Nicole nodded. “We’re in Pergor. It’s the staging post between their Homeworld and ours. When I first met Ridge, he brought me here to get a new guardian. It’s also where we had a fight with Liliath when she tried to kill me and use my body to get to Earth. Lovely lady, or whatever that freak is.”
Scarred Protector (Midworlder Trilogy Book 2) Page 20