Hidden Runes

by G. Bailey

  “You never have to thank me,” he replies. “And you are different, but not in a bad way. Your old life built you up for this moment. Now you just have to deal with the new storm on the horizon.”

  “It seems like the storm has never ended from the moment I met my real family. It’s almost ironically sad how I met my sisters in death, never truly getting to know them. Now there is nothing but death, and I don’t know where to run anymore,” I say to him, not sure why my sisters are who I am thinking of right now. I wonder how different everything could have been if I were brought up as my aunt’s child, a cousin to the throne until the test came up and my mother admitted who I was. I could have known my family rather than the cruelty of the streets. Then I wouldn’t have met Rita, or had a chance to look after Hali for her. I would never have met Azi, for that matter. As much as I wish my past was kinder, that it prepared me in a different way for this life now, I know it was the past I needed. I hope my sisters are somewhat happy in death with my mother and their father.

  "What are you thinking of, Vi?" Azi asks, coming to my side as the sun is hidden once again in the clouds, and I'm left once more watching the city pass by.

  "Of the past," I admit to him, knowing I can tell Azi the deepest part of my soul, and he will never judge me for it. "The pressure of needing to fix the world when I used to live happily in the shadows."

  "You were never meant for the shadows, Vi," Azi says, placing his hand on the middle of my back. "The shadows were only guardians, keeping you safe until you needed to fight in the light."

  "Poetic, but you are basically saying it's not the time for hiding anymore," I say, turning my head to look at him instead of the world. He is a much better view anyway.

  "Not when you have the world to fight for," he says, turning to face me and leaning down, pressing his lips ever so gently across mine. "Not when you have a future, a damn good one at that."

  "With you and my Protectors. Oh, and Star," I say, smiling at him as he straightens up. Azi looks to the double doors in the room and back to me with a small smile as someone turns the handle.

  "And one more person," he tells me. The double doors are pushed open, and Hali walks in, grinning widely and looking exactly like the day I had to let her go.

  "Hey, Evie. Did you miss me?"

  Eighty-Three

  "Hali!" I shout, running to her and pulling her into a hug. I'm not a big hugger, but I don't want to let go of Hali in this moment. I've missed her so damn much. She hugs me just as tightly, and until now, I didn’t realise how much I’ve missed her. It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve had Hali close to me. With everything that is going on, having Hali here now is right.

  "I will take that as a yes. I've missed you too, by the way," she whispers to me as I breath in her coconut and almond scent from the hair products she has always used.

  "You have no idea how proud I am of you and how much I've missed you, Hali," I say, pulling back only so I can really look at her and make sure she is okay. Hali is half braided on the one side and the other is smooth, straightened, shiny black hair that falls to her shoulders. I've never seen her with this hairstyle before, but it makes her look older than when I last saw her. Though her hair is different, her clothes are similar to what she usually wears, and overall she looks healthy and okay.

  "Seems like Seth has been looking after you like I asked him to," I comment, seeing how relaxed and happy she looks.

  "Seth is alright under all that grumpiness," she explains to me. I wouldn’t call him alright, but whatever.

  "I'm not grumpy, Hali," Seth states, coming into the room with a girl following right after him that I recognise as his daughter even though I haven’t seen her in a long time. "Evie darling, it is good to see you awake. You can have your pain in the ass charge back."

  "Dickhead," Hali mutters, and I sneak a little grin at her. She isn't wrong, so I'm not correcting her. Looks like my girl is getting all grown up.

  "Why are you here?" I ask. “Not that I’m not happy to see Hali, but surely bringing her to me now isn’t the smart move I’d expect from you, Seth. Not when your life depends on keeping my Hali safe.” Seth narrows his red eyes on me as I glare right back, my hands instinctively going to my sides for weapons that aren’t there. Well, holy fire always works. Azi grabs my arm before I can do anything, and Hali steps in front of me, somewhat protecting Seth which is a little confusing. Wasn’t she just calling him a dickhead?

  "Our hiding place was attacked. Dad saved Hali and me," the girl blurts out, pulling my attention to her as she stands close to Seth, looking like his female double. They both have white hair, the same length, but the girl’s is wavy and braided on one side, just like Hali's. I assume she can hide her succubus side, the pink hair and skin, now that she is older. I’m not sure if I prefer this side to her or the pink succubus side. I catch Hali smiling at her clear friend, and I'm happy they get along. I remember her as a kid, but she is older now, less childlike and somewhat the same age as Hali, if I remember right. Though I struggle for her name which is still a blur.

  "Cheri, you have grown up since I last saw you," Azi responds and nods once at Seth as a thank you. I suppose the demon can live for now if he doesn’t continue to piss me off, that is. How this idiot is Azi’s brother, I will never understand. They are complete opposites.

  "I don't remember meeting you, uncle. After all, I was only two years old, and you have been just a story since then," Cheri replies, making it clear she isn’t happy about being ignored for so long. I don’t exactly blame her for that.

  "Maybe we can change that fact in the future when it is safe," Azi suggests, and she nods once with a little smirk.

  "What happened at the hiding place?" I ask, cutting into this nice catch up because we really have a lot of other things we need to focus on, but first I want to know who attacked my Hali and how they even found her.

  "Yellow demons. Cheri and Seth saved my life when I was cornered," Hali explains to me, making my heart pound in my chest as I take her hand. “I was fighting them off with weapons, but there were just so many of them. My arm was bit by one of them, and I was cornered when Cheri sent a ball of fire into the demon closest to me, and then Seth helped her kill the rest so we could escape.

  "Luckily, I know how to use my demon powers like my dad," Cheri adds in. “And Hali has witch healing already, so she soon healed her arm while we waited for you to wake up, Queen Evie.”

  "Either way, they were very lucky Cex sent his demons when he did because I was visiting and I could save them both. Cheri is still a minor and has not come into all of her powers yet. And the witch is powerless, as you know," Seth explains. “Cex knew they couldn’t have outpowered that many demons on their own.”

  "I've said thank you, no need to be mean," Hali huffs. “I can’t wait to turn eighteen and get these powers.”

  "I wasn't being mean, child, I was pointing out the obvious. I swear I need a drink to talk to you. You are as bad as Evie," Seth mutters. “Stubborn and annoying.”

  "I wouldn't call it bad, more practice at being perfect," I say, wrapping an arm around Hali's shoulders. I pause, feeling a wave of dizziness, and intense pain shoots right in my heart, which makes me sway a little. I hold onto Hali tightly as I close my eyes, seeing deep red swirls of darkness before someone's hand gently shakes my shoulder, and I force my eyes open, the dizziness disappearing instantly.

  "How are you feeling?" Azi asks, suddenly right in my face, and Hali is behind Seth, holding Cheri's hand and looking frightened. I glance at my hands, seeing red swirling lines under the skin of my hands, but it soon fades until it completely disappears.

  "I'm fine," I mutter when I can, knowing it’s a big old lie because my heart literally still hurts, and my hands feel like they were just burnt, but there are no marks.

  "No, you're not, but I know where we need to go to get help," Azi growls out, rubbing his hands through his hair.

  "Can't we just stay here? I might just
need to lie down," I suggest instead.

  "We can't stay anywhere more than eight hours at the moment," Azi explains to me.

  "Why?" I ask, though I’m not sure if I want the answer.

  "Cex is your knight, and he can feel where you are. Keeper Grey told us that we need to keep you moving every eight hours until you wake up," he tells me. “We take you from here to New York next and then somewhere else if we can’t get help. Somewhere far away.”

  "The keepers are alive?" I ask, relieved.

  "Yes, but we can't take you to them because then Cex would find the last of the Protectors," Azi explains to me. “And you could hurt them all on your own with how out of control you are.”

  "I understand...so what do we do now?" I ask. “Can we go and find Cex and kill him? I’m game for that plan.”

  "You need to get dressed, armed, and then we are going to see an old friend, because going after Cex without an army is a death wish, Vi. Lamia is the only demon in the world who might be able to help us, but it will come with a hefty price," Azi explains to me.

  "I can pay it," I automatically state.

  "No, I will. I will pay any price for the help we need from her," Azi informs me, looking stubborn.

  “We will give you some space,” Seth suggests, ushering the girls out of the room with him as I meet Azi’s red eyes. He is angry, more than angry, I suspect. His demon wants to control the situation, no doubt making all his emotions much worse than they need to be.

  "Azi, you don't get to be the one to make that choice. We are a team—"

  "Team?" Azi asks, shaking his head with a sarcastic laugh leaving his lips. "What part of you was thinking of me when you didn't run and instead chose to take half this deadly power into your body?"

  "I'm not saying sorry for trying to save the whole fucking world!" I angrily reply. What else was I meant to do? Let his brother destroy everything the Protectors have spent years protecting? Even if this power kills me, at least he will not have it.

  "I don't care about the whole fucking world. It can burn for all I care, but I will not lose you!" he shouts right back, and I lose every trace of the argument I had ready to say. I step closer and throw my arms around his shoulders, slamming my lips onto his and kissing him like the world itself will wait and give us this moment. When I break away, breathing heavily, Azi rests his forehead against mine, both of us forgetting anything but each other.

  "We will fix this. I'm not leaving you, Azi."

  "Then we fix this mess because there isn't another option."

  Eighty-Four

  I finish plaiting my wet dark blue hair, so it falls on my left shoulder, above the grey vest top I have on. Azi found me some black leather trousers, knee-high boots and a belt for me to clip two daggers onto that Seth gave me. I miss my sword and bow though, but beggars can't be choosers. I rub my hand across the steamy mirror, and I can do nothing but look at my face for a long time, running my eyes over the marks that signal my status as queen. I won that trial, but at the time, I never got to look at the marks that now appear on my face. It's almost like if I want them to be there, they are, and if I don't, they disappear.

  I place the tip of my finger on the swirling triangle mark in the middle of my forehead and trace down the swirls on both the left and right side that swirl and circle just above my eyebrows and down to the side of my eyes. My mother had these marks, and I don't even know what she would say about me being the queen. Likely nothing good, considering in my time of reign, the Protectors’ city has been destroyed and my people are hiding or running for their lives.

  "Dammit," I angrily whisper to myself, knowing I've somehow let them all down, even though there was nothing I could have done. I can't stop thinking back to the dream I had and the black magic power that is angrily swirling inside of me, begging to get out and destroy everything. I know the red dust is a mirror image of the power, and the reason I can never stop crawling through it is because if I stop, it will destroy me. It could destroy everything and everyone in this world. This magic is dangerous, unknown, and I've never been scared of myself until now.

  "Evie, you coming out? We need to go before it gets dark," Hali asks, knocking on the door. "Or at least that is what Azi said," she adds.

  "Coming out now," I reply, shakily letting go of the sink and picking up the black hoodie off the cabinet. I pull it on before opening the door and walking out into the living room of the fancy apartment. The sofas are black, facing large windows that have incredible views over the city. There is a small kitchen on the one side and a dining room area on the other where the door to the bedroom is.

  "Whose place is this anyway? It's pretty posh," I ask, assuming it is Seth's, who is standing by the window with Cheri, showing her a pretty silver sword. It's not as nice as my purple one though.

  "One of my homes, and you are always welcome back here," Azi tells me, walking over to my side with Hali next to him. Hali has a whip wrapped around her wrist, and I pick her hand up, turning it over to see the black and silver whip with very sharp ends she has on.

  "Seth taught me how to use it and said I could keep it," she explains to me. “It’s faster, more deadly than a sword, and Seth says when I have magic, I could use elements with it. It’s a favourite witch weapon.”

  "It was our mother’s, if I remember it right," Azi says, coming over to us and looking at the whip with me. I never saw Rita fight with one; she preferred her swords and daggers and sometimes a bow, though she could make her swords buzz with lightening, and her arrows into swirling arrows of water and fire.

  "No one could use it like she could, except for Trouble over here who I caught playing with the whip," Seth explains, eyeing the whip like a long lost relative itself. It makes me wonder why he gave it to Hali in the first place. I have a funny feeling he has a motive which Hali will find out when he wants. And I will stab him with the whip if it ends up hurting her.

  "It's different and almost natural to use," Hali explains to me. “When I saw it, it was almost like it called to me.”

  "You are not fighting, so it doesn't matter, now does it?" I say, dropping her hand, because I’m sure the whip did call to her. I’m a true believer that some weapons have their own magic, their own owners which they choose. "Though I will admit it is pretty bloody awesome, and I can’t wait to see you train with it."

  "Time to go, it will be morning where we need to get to," Azi explains, looking my way. "Ready to go, Vi?"

  "As I will ever be," I reply, crossing my arms and wondering exactly who this woman is that Azi thinks can solve all my problems. I’ve never met anybody who Azi trusts, other than Seth and me, that is. Azi holds his hand out, pushing a portal into existence before walking straight into it. I hold Hali's hand before walking into the portal and pulling her through with me.

  We come out onto a busy street in the middle of New York, with people pushing past us and going about their daily lives like they can't see us. A woman walks right in front of me, before carefully walking around me and carrying on like I’m not there. Seth, Cheri and Hali come through the portal just after us, and the moment the portal disappears, it is like time just stops. Every person on the street is frozen, the cars on the road behind us are paused, and there is just silence in New York City. I wave my hand in front of a random woman’s face, and she doesn’t flinch or move at all. What the hell is going on?

  "Seems like Lamia knows we are here," Azi mutters, looking at the house right in front of us. It is completely out of place here in the middle of all these high rises. It's an old fashioned house, made with dark wood timbers, and there is an odd white picket fence around the front garden of weeds and grass. A small gate is right in front of us, and I step forward to open the gate when Azi catches my arm and stops me. "Wait."

  "Salvatore...I have been looking forward to your visit," a voice speaks into my mind, the sheer pressure of her voice making me grab the sides of my head and mentally beg her to stop talking. "Come inside with only the death-marked wit
ch at your side."

  The voice stops, and I gasp, sucking in air as Azi holds me, trying to ask me what is wrong, but everything is silent for a second before sound just seems to return like a smack to the face.

  “Vi, what the hell is wrong?” Azi demands, holding my face with his hands and looking into my eyes like he can see the problem and wants to destroy it with his gaze alone.

  "A woman, I’m assuming Lamia, said to come inside with Hali only," I explain to him, and he grits his teeth in anger, but the mere fact he doesn’t immediately say no means Azi really does trust this woman. I’m a tiny bit jealous, but I know Azi well enough to understand this isn’t a woman he loves. Just knows and trusts, I assume. "I can keep myself and Hali safe. Just wait for us."

  "You don't understand who she is," Azi bites out as Hali comes to my side, clearly not needing a pep talk to follow me into a creepy haunted house because a voice in my head told me to. That's my girl.

  "Well, I'm about to find out, aren't I?"

  Eighty-Five

  "Stay behind me, just in case," I whisper to Hali as we walk through the open gate and down the cracked stone path to the stairs that lead to the house. Hali doesn't say a word, but she squeezes my hand once to let me know she understands. Any demon, or whatever this woman is, that can stop time and have Azi's trust must be extremely powerful. Whatever she is, if she harms Hali, then I will never stop until she is dead. I make sure my thoughts are loud, hoping that she is listening in on them as we walk up the creaky wooden steps, and the black wooden door slowly swings open. I step through the door, feeling a wave of magic sweep over me before we get into the dark corridor that smells like freshly baked cookies, and the door slams shut behind Hali. Not creepy at all. I keep my hand on one of my daggers just in case Azi got this wrong.