Due to lack of seating, there was no way to keep the two groups separate. Bethany ended up squeezed next to the guy with the same color of hair as Caius’s, with eyes that were an impossible shade of teal.
When Caius finally got around to introductions, it turned out the guy was Malik, his younger brother, only about a hundred years separated him from Caius which made him the next oldest in the demonborn group.
Bethany looked decidedly uncomfortable sitting next to him. I ended up wedged between Ryan and James with Caius seated across from me in the booth with Blondie and Rowen next to him.
Though my appetite was nearly insatiable, Caius’s was worse. I guess dumping a bunch of your blood into someone else could do that to a person. He cleaned up double what I ate. As I watched him finish, I started to wonder where he was putting it all.
Blondie spent her time divided between eating her food and shooting glares at me as if the fact I existed offended her. Come to think of it, it probably did. The only reason she was here was for Caius. If his well-being didn’t hang so much on mine, there was no doubt she would be more than happy to end my life.
I returned her latest glare and then turned my attention to Rowen. “How are we going to get to Between? The minute we step foot in Midtween it will all be over.”
Rowen mopped up the last of the ketchup on his plate with a fry and nodded. “If we went in through Midtween it would be a problem. However, there are ancient archways here in the mortal world that are portals to the Between. We can get there without having to go through the city.”
“Why didn’t we use one of those rather than going back to Midtween last time?” I asked Caius.
“For the same reason I’m wary of them now. They don’t put you across in any set place, they just drop you wherever. In addition, if everyone in the group isn’t holding hands, it will drop us in all manner of different places.” He ticked off another finger. “And because we already knew we were being hunted, it was possible those portals were being watched. It’s still a possibility.”
Great, so we might have to fight our way to an arch. “How far is one of these portals?”
“North. About a hundred miles.” Caius sucked down the last of his third large drink. “We’ll all shift and fly there.”
I nodded, not really interested in how we were getting there. The heavy knot settled back in my stomach now that the need for food was taken care of. I stared out the window at the night. A thick copse of trees at the back of the diner caught my eye and I knew exactly what I needed. I was going to take Bethany up on her offer.
When I stood, Rowen started to stand with me. I waved him back down. “Just need to use the bathroom.” I turned to the next table. “Bethany, wanna come with?”
She looked relieved to get out of the booth and away from Malik. As we headed toward the back of the diner, she seemed to pick up on my vibe. “We aren’t going to the bathroom are we?”
“Nope.” I pushed through the door across from the bathroom, marched across the parking lot and into the woods beyond.
When I finally stopped somewhere deep among the trees Bethany asked, “What are we doing out here?”
“You offered to scream with me in the woods if I ever needed it. I need it.” I gauged her reaction, hoping she didn’t think I was losing my mind.
She raised her eyebrows and shrugged. “On the count of three?”
I could have kissed her then. Instead, I only nodded. She counted slowly to three then we both sucked in as much air as our lungs could hold and let it out in a scream. I put every shred of fear, frustration, anger, sorrow, and confusion that I’d been keeping bottled up into it. When I ran out of breath, I took another and repeated it, with Bethany joining in. I screamed at the night until my throat was raw and I sagged against a tree feeling drained, but better.
Bethany smiled at me from where she stood. “All good?”
I could sense her ready to scream some more with me if I needed it. “Yeah.” My voice sounded scratchy. “I’m good now. Need a drink.”
She chuckled and linked arms with me as we walked back toward the diner. When we reached the parking lot, we found both groups headed our way, tension thick among the Children. With the heightened senses of the two groups, they must have heard the screaming even over the din of the diner. Only James and Caius seemed relaxed.
James glanced at Rowen. “See, I told you.”
Rowen didn’t look happy. He didn’t sound it either when he said, “Was that necessary?”
Bethany nodded. “Absolutely.”
Chelsea let out a shaky breath. “We thought you were being killed. The only reason we didn’t charge straight in there was James and Caius insisting you were both okay.”
“I get Jo.” James shrugged and handed me the drink in his hand. “Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I think a day like today warrants some screaming.”
Caius stood with arms crossed, his family arranged around him. Of course, he wasn’t worried I was being killed, he would have known if I was injured. Though his physical stance seemed aloof, he watched me with something akin to concern in his eyes. Did he think I was coming unhinged from the stress?
I took a long drink, emptying the cup. The liquid soothed my raw throat. “I needed to let off some steam. No big deal.”
Rowen came closer as Bethany unlinked arms and skipped over to join our friends. “Jo, this is a lot to handle. It would have been better if Caius hadn’t shared the news with you yet. A lot has been thrown at you in one day.”
“No, I’m glad he did. I’ve had enough of people keeping things from me. Don’t worry, I can handle it.” I shrugged away from the comforting hand Rowen placed on my shoulder. “Are we going to get to this portal or not?”
A scowl crinkled Rowen’s brow and he looked like he wanted to talk further. Thankfully, he only nodded and turned to the others. “Let’s go.”
Everyone moved under the cover of the trees, we didn’t need any mortals freaking out because a bunch of people turned into birds. In moments, a flock of ravens took to the sky, followed by a bunch of too-large-to-be-real birds of prey. At least it was dark so no mortals would see the demonborn in their unusually sized bird forms.
***
“Her ability to put away unpleasant emotions is her asset and her downfall. It allows her to cope and, at the same time, strips her control.” ~Caius
Chapter 37
I soared through the night sky with Rowen flying ahead of me. James and Bethany flew to either side, the others were scattered behind and below me. Somewhere above, higher than any of us could fly, Caius and his family rode the updrafts.
We’d been in the air for nearly four hours so we had to be almost there. I searched the ground below, wondering where this arch that contained a portal would be. Nothing but pine forests sheeted with snow that reflected the ghostly light of the full moon slid by under us.
Rowen was angling toward the ground when screeches from above shattered the silence. I rolled in flight as a couple of massive birds tumbled past me, their talons locked into each other and the wind from their passage buffeting me.
More angry cries rang out as Caius’s family descended toward the ground in the midst of a full-fledged aerial battle with what looked like other demonborn in bird form. I made a full flip to avoid the reaching talons of another bird. Hannah, flying just below me, let out a cry as the talons of yet another dug deep into her black feathered body. The sound of her wing snapping was audible to me as it was crushed against her body. And then the bird released her.
Hannah fell, her one good wing flapping uselessly as drops of her blood flew through the air. I dove toward her, desperate to reach her though I had no idea what I would do once I did. Even if I managed to catch her in my claws, I wouldn’t be able to lift her or slow her descent enough. If I shifted so I could hold her, we would both fall to our deaths.
Lilly, her golden feathers streaked with crimson, plummeted past me and reached out with her claws, sn
atching Hannah from her fall, before diving toward the ground. I hoped Lilly didn’t go nuts over the scent of Hannah’s blood and end up killing her after saving her.
I kept up my dive for the ground. In an aerial battle against the larger demonborn, I was useless. I was still ten feet or so off the ground when white-hot pain ripped down my side. I lost the raven and fell the rest of the way, crashing into the blanket of snow. I did my best to roll with it. The snow acted as a little bit of a cushion and I came out of it relatively unscathed, other than the wound that ran from under my left arm almost to my hip. Not my wound, Caius’s.
Standing knee deep in snow, I held my right hand out letting my energy rush into it. My staff appeared, glowing bright in the darkness. I held my left arm tight against my side, trying to stem the flow of blood. The pain nearly swamped me and I had to force myself to focus on my surroundings. The quiet whisper of the breeze through the snow-covered pines filled the silence as I strained to listen for danger.
My ears picked up the crunch of a boot in snow. I spun as a demonborn I didn’t recognize burst out of the trees. He charged toward me, changing into his demon half mid-stride. Farther away, obscured by the forest, the sounds of other battles echoed in the night. I sent up a prayer for my friends and faced my own opponent.
He came at me with his own staff and I knew I was going to lose. I didn’t have the necessary training to take on anything more than an eater. Blood ran down my side, soaking the waistband of my jeans.
When I had more experience, I would be a match for a demonborn. As it was, I hadn’t fully grown into my powers yet and was already wounded. I ducked a sideways swipe of his staff then danced away from another attack, barely blocking it. The strain of fighting with such a dire injury had me gasping for breath.
Frustration and fear built inside me then turned to anger because he was trying to kill me for things I couldn’t control. Markings flared across my skin as crimson shot through my staff. The borrowed power from Caius flashed through me and rolled down my arm. A fireball blasted the demonborn, throwing him into the trunk of a tree.
Staggered, I stared at my arm. It kept happening on its own and I didn’t know how to control it. It’s not like it helped me much. It didn’t stop him; he was a child of the Hells.
Unharmed by the flames, he came back at me with a roar. Even in his demon form and roaring, he wasn’t as frightening as Caius had been that first night in the Yukon. Either that or my good sense was draining out with my blood and I was too stupid to be afraid.
I dodged his staff, barely missed being raked by his claws, and stumbled in the snow as four lines ripped open across my thigh. Another wound that wasn’t mine. The throbbing in my leg matched that in my side. The demonborn moved with speed I couldn’t match. I brought my staff up, blocking his at the last second and got the distinct feeling he was playing with me the way a cat does with its prey.
My shield flickered briefly and then disappeared as I narrowly scrambled out of the way of his next attack and managed a lucky swipe, scoring him across the back. With a howl of rage, he twisted around. His fist caught me in the side of the head and sent me flying into a tree. A broken branch narrowly missed stabbing me, but left a slash that started at the top of my forehead and ended somewhere in my hair.
Blood gushed from the wound as my momentum carried me past the branch and cracked my skull against the trunk. Everything spun as I staggered drunkenly away from the tree. I’d never been struck in my life, the experience left me dazed and confused. The blood pouring down my forehead blinded me in one eye. Unable to focus through my newly tilting world, there was no avoiding him when he stalked toward me and grabbed me by the throat. I couldn’t breathe as he lifted me off my feet.
Gripping his arm in both hands, I did my best to kick him. Ignoring my struggles, he reached out with his other hand and dragged his clawed finger across the slash in my scalp. A strangled scream bubbled in my throat from the lance of pain it sent through me. When he brought his bloody fingertips to his mouth and smiled, I nearly fainted.
Lilly crashed into his back, the fangs I remembered so clearly from that night othersiding prominent in her mouth as she ripped his throat out. I fell into the snow gasping for air and trying not to moan from the agony in my side, the fire in my leg, and pounding in my head.
Lilly turned on me with a snarl. Suddenly weary beyond words, I just looked at her. The fog between my ears made it hard to focus. She stalked toward me, her gaze on the blood that melted the snow next to me.
Too tired to care, I pressed my cloak to the wound and sighed. “You know what, you want to eat me, go ahead.”
She swallowed hard, her voice thick in her demon form. “I’m not going to eat you. That would kill Caius and he’s in enough trouble as it is from trying to defend your lot.”
That got my attention. “What do you mean?”
“He bleeds, you bleed. But the injuries you suffer aren’t as deep as his.”
That’s the way it always happened. When Nadia slammed him into a wall and cracked the back of his head, he’d bled more than me. When the silver band had cut and blistered my wrist, his wrist mirrored mine but to a lesser degree and when he took claws to the stomach, his marks were deeper than mine. If one of us bled the other did, but the reflected injury was less severe than the original wound.
“Where is he?” I tried to pull myself up. “Can you take me to him without losing control, Blondie?”
She raised her lip in a snarl. “Nothing, not even the sweet scent of your blood, could induce me to harm Caius.”
I gritted my teeth and started to haul myself out of the snow when she shoved me back down. A second later, another unfamiliar demonborn charged at us. Lilly ran to meet him.
While they snarled and tore at each other, I staggered to my feet and limped through the snow, holding my side and trying not to pass out from the pain. How I was still on my feet was a mystery to me. I should have been down and going into shock or something.
From what I could tell, the fight still raged in the forest around me. I paused to lean on a tree, my breath coming harsh through my clenched teeth. I needed to find Caius. Someone was fighting not far from where I stood; I could hear the intensity of it. Four more long scratches opened up across my chest and stomach.
The sudden addition of more pain made my muscles quiver. The forest tilted and spun. My stomach roiled. I doubled over, holding one hand to the new injuries, and vomited. Fighting the desire to smother my wounds in the snow and go to sleep, I managed to right myself and push forward. I froze a few steps later.
A branch snapped. Snow cascaded off the low branches of a nearby pine as they quivered. I crouched near a leafless bunch of shrubs; the sudden fear drying my mouth lent me the necessary adrenaline to ignore the pain.
I watched the pine through the one eye that wasn’t full of blood, and the tears trying to wash it out, with wary resignation. I was in no shape to fight another demonborn. I could only hope if it was one of them, it would be a friendly. The tree quivered again and then a mess of red curls came into view, gleaming in the moonlight.
Relief made me weak. I let it wash over me for a moment before pushing myself back to my feet. Bethany’s eyes widened as she hurried to me. Other than a large scrape on her forehead, she appeared unscathed.
“What happened to you?” Worry laced her voice.
“Caius.”
Alarm flashed across her features. “Caius did this to you?”
I shook my head which did weird things to my balance. “Some are his wounds. It’s the bond. One bleeds, the other bleeds.”
Bethany put the arm on my good side around her shoulders and helped support me as we shuffled through the snow. Hopefully any enemy demonborn left wouldn’t come across the bloody trail I left in my wake.
***
“She was out there somewhere, taking the same injuries as me without a demon side to fall back on, to give her the extra strength needed. My hands were full; I couldn’t seek
her out, only focus on the enemy in front of me.” ~Caius
Chapter 38
About thirty yards later, we came to the edge of a small clearing where Caius, his cloak gone, was in the process of ripping apart three demonborn. They couldn’t match his speed or his strength. In full demon form with his markings glowing bright, he was terrifying to watch.
A short way from where he fought, a golden-haired man that looked like he’d been even taller than Caius and possibly just as flawless, lay on the ground with his throat ripped out. Bethany followed my gaze and gasped, her voice thick with disbelief, “He killed a Sentinel. How can he be strong enough to kill a Sentinel?”
That was a Sentinel? Not what I expected. I should have been more disturbed by the sight, but my current condition made it impossible to focus on all the death.
A fourth demonborn on the far side of the clearing from us grabbed a short, slender branch and threw the broken, pointed end toward Caius like a spear. He dodged it easily. The makeshift spear, with the power of a demonborn behind the throw, sailed across the clearing and slammed into me a few inches below my collarbone, knocking me back.
I stared at the branch sticking out of my skin, feeling kind of dazed. It hadn’t gone in that far and I was so strung out on adrenaline, the pain hadn’t hit me yet. “Well, that sucks.”
In the middle of the clearing, Caius roared in anger. The demonborn who had thrown the branch looked in astonishment at me, then at the blood blooming on Caius. A calculating smile split his face as he shifted into a giant eagle and lifted off the ground. Indigo shadows jumped from Caius’s hand toward the bird and missed as one of the three still in the clearing slammed into him. The bird disappeared into the trees before Caius could finish the three he was killing and go after him.
Unveiled (Raven Daughter Book 1) Page 24