by Karen Swart
My face dropped so fast it almost slammed into the bed.
Crap.
“Oh, well thanks.” It took all of me to manage that simple thanks.
He stood up and moved towards the door.
“Rest, we can talk later,” he said before leaving my room.
Why do I suck at this whole bond thing?
My door burst open and the team stormed in. Nanini and Raven jumped on the bed and I was jostled around, my body bouncing off of the bed.
“Wow, wicked show Kas,” Nanini said with a grin.
“Scared the crap out of us,” Lada mumbled from behind her.
I gave them a small smile.
“Next time I am going too. I don’t care what Caim and Zurita says.” Raven didn’t look happy at all.
“Kas, how are you feeling?” Max asked. His face was filled with concern.
“Except for the train that hit me, Okay I guess.”
He nodded, but no smile greeted me.
“Did you see how freaking huge you are in your hellhound born form?” Nanini asked, jumping on my bed with excitement.
Huge? “Ah, no I haven’t,” I replied.
“Well, you make Max look like a school girl. Wow Kas! You were like Godzilla big,” she continued.
I looked at Lada and Max for some support or maybe an explanation.
“Michael said it was because of the first kill. Your body has already grown to accommodate the rest that’s coming,” Lada said with a smile
Great, so I am a huge freaking hellhound now.
“How does it feel when the lightning runs through you like that?” Lotan asked, coming to sit next to me.
“Like I am being fried alive, I guess. It’s no fun at all,” I replied.
“Well, you gave us an awesome laser show. I can't wait for the next one,” Nanini replied, her face beaming with happiness.
I must have gone white, because they all started laughing.
I don’t see anything funny about this.
“Okay guys, scoot. I need to check on Kas,” Maia said, stepping inside the room.
The team said farewell and went outside while Maia checked my vital signs and wounds. The air shifted and Melissa was suddenly standing on my other side.
“Kas, you are always in a mess.” She wasn’t so glad to see me.
“You know me.” I retorted, trying to make her laugh, but this time she didn’t think it was funny.
“I almost killed Raphael when he came to fetch me.”
Okay, that was news. I looked at the two buzzing around me. Maia checked my eyes with a light while Melissa checked my injuries lifting up some bandage and pocking with her finger.
“Your eyes have started to become like theirs,” Maia said, releasing my eye.
“What do you mean like theirs?” I didn’t like the sound of that.
“Haven’t you noticed that the Archangels have what we call light eyes?” she asked, shaking her head at me when my mouth fell open.
“No. When does that happen?” I asked, utterly confused. Their eyes appeared normal to me when I looked at them.
“When they go into battle. A gift from our sire. They can see what others cannot. For example, the evil inside a human.” Maia explained.
“So, I will be able to see stuff I couldn’t before?” I was so confused with all of this.
She nodded as she sat down beside me.
“You are going to be so special Kas. Everyone is waiting to see what you will become. I remember when Ch-” She was cut off when Chax stepped inside the room, no longer disheveled from our fight, but clean and dressed in new clothes.. With a blush, she looked away from him.
“Is Kasadya healed?” he asked, his eyes blazing with disapproval.
She hurried off the bed and stood next to Melissa. “Yes, she is fine Chax,” she answered.
The fire in his eyes was brutal and focused solely on her. He made her nervous when he turned that look on her.
“You are not going to put her through that again, are you?” Melissa blasted at Chax and even met him face to face.
Wow, Melissa was mad.
“We have no other choice,” he replied, not backing off.
“So, you are going to put her through all that pain just to create another Arch?” Melissa was not mad, she was livid.
“Do you think I enjoy seeing her going through that? I was by her side every second trying to take her pain away. I saw what she had to endure.” His face was ablaze with fury, his lip curled up in a snarl.
She didn’t give a damn; she kept her stand against him.
“Melissa, it’s alright. I know it looks bad, but we need to stop them before they breach the wall,” I said, trying to reassure her.
She looked at me and I could see tears in her eyes. Without even a goodbye, she shifted out.
Crap, I don’t like this.
“I need to go too. Good luck, Kas,” Maia said and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Chax.
He didn’t look at me.
Taking a deep breath, I got out of the bed and walked over to the bathroom. The quicker I got this done, the quicker I could avoid the pain and save the world.
“Kasadya,” Chax called from behind me.
With a brave face, I turned to look at him. He looked miserable.
“We have a job to do Chax, so let’s get it over with and save lives,” I replied before he could say anything.
I turned around and walked into the bathroom, closing the door without looking at him again. I showered slowly, my body aching with each movement. At last I finished and made my way back into the room and started to put on my gear.
I heard voices outside my room, but couldn’t hear what was being said. Slowly getting up, I picked up my swords and placed them into their sheaths. I looked at myself in the mirror, finding dark circles under my eyes and liking haggard complexion. Sucking in a breath, I headed for the door and stepped outside. I found Zurita and Maia in the hall, their heads bowed, whispering to each other. But when they saw me they stopped talking and looked very guilty trying as they quickly broke apart.
“Nice to see you’re up, Kas,” Zurita greeted.
I nodded and passed by her and Maia, not interested in their shady conversation. I went down the stairs and straight for the kitchen, my stomach growling as I took each step
Walking inside, Michael and Raphael, who were sitting at the table, greeted me. Max already had a plate of food ready and handed it to me.
“Thanks.” I took it and stuffed my mouth full before I even put it on the table.
Gulping down the food, I noticed that the two angels were looking at me.
“What?” I asked, wiping my mouth with a serviette.
“Hungry, hey?” Raphael taunted me.
I frowned at him, “How long was I out this time?”
“Well, let see, that would be two and a half days,” he replied with a grin.
I am going to smack him again.
“How does your body feel?” Michael asked, intercepting what was the beginning of a small war.
“It’s better now than a few moments ago. Have you arranged another battle?” I asked, cutting to the chase.
“Yes, when you’re done we will summon the rest. With you down so long, your waking days will only be for this, until you are done.” I nodded.
Glad to know that. Hell, waking up will be so much more fun.
I finished off my plate and thanked Max again. Making my way outside to get some fresh air, I walked past Chax’s study and stopped.
“You have no choice, as her mate you will not fail her,” someone was dishing out from within the room.
“I cannot stand by and watch her get hurt like that!” Chax bellowed at the person.
A smile spread across my face. Knowing Chax cared helped a little bit.
“You will not interfere again. Is that clear?!” This time I could make out that it was a woman’s voice.
The door flew open and Ariel walked out, st
raight into me.
“Kas, how are you?” she asked smoothly.
Her frown was instantly covered by a weak smile.
“Ah, peachy I guess,” I replied, looking past her to see Chax staring at us.
He was pissed off again.
“Good. Are you ready for your next battle?” She searched my eyes, waiting for a reply.
“Yeah, let’s get this over with.” My eyes drifted to Chax who turned around and escaped my view.
“Good.” Ariel motioned at me to walk with her.
“Why are you mad at Chax?” The question slipped out before I could stop myself.
Ariel sighed and looked at me disapprovingly.
“It's not polite to eavesdrop on private conversations, Kas.” She pinned me.
Raising my chin, I replied “It's not polite to speak about someone behind their back.”
She nodded and looked straight ahead.
“Chax has become over protective of you. We fear that he will intervene with your divinity.”
Mm, that was news. Chax had always left me for dead, but now he wanted to save me.
Why didn’t he all the other times?
I thought about that, reaching the arena outside where more Fallen were waiting. I looked around and caught sight of Nina. She was indeed a sight. With her head held high and proud, she listened intently as another Fallen spoke to her.
She looked pretty badass from where I stood. Her head turned and she caught me staring at her. I lifted my own chin, showing my own pride. A smile spread over her face and she started walking towards me. I braced myself for whatever she had in mind.
“Kas, nice to see you.” I rolled my eyes, yeah I just bet.
“Nina, nice to see you too,” I replied dryly.
Her smile never faded. Instead, she strode around me, checking me from head to toe.
“Mm, so you are destined for great things? I just wonder if our Sire didn’t waste his time with you. I mean, come on now Kas, you know you are going to mess this up too.”
I didn’t move a muscle, afraid that at any moment I might kill her.
I felt his hand on by back, which pushed calming emotions through me.
Chax to the rescue.
“Nina, I am honored to have such a fine warrior on our side,” Chax said, essentially putting a stop to the showdown.
“Thank you Chax. Fighting with you has always been a pleasure,” she purred in response.
Fury spiked tenfold inside me and Chax had to work hard to bring my vision back to normal.
Why is she always pushing me to kill mode? What the hell have I ever done to her?
But no, she had to push it even further. Walking to stand just mere inches from him, she leaned towards him and whispered something in his ear. He frowned and pulled away. With that, she smiled at me and walked back to her Fallen team who waited cautiously for her return. My eyes followed her every movement, my body anxious to act against her.
“Come Kasadya, another battle awaits us.” Chax steered me away from her towards Michael and Raphael, who were talking to Vulcan and Thonyn.
“We can begin,” Chax stated when we reached them.
His hand never left my back and I started to wiggle myself out of his hold. Michael nodded and instructions were given to the other Fallen. We shifted to the same position where Max and the others waited. Chax however, did not participate in the release of the ball that would trap the demon prince. Instead, he nodded at me and walked towards the other Fallen, which were ready for battle.
In his place was Caim, who nodded at me and smiled.
“We'll watch your back, Kas. You just do your part,” he reassured me.
I turned around and pulled out my swords. I shifted to hellhound form before Luxuria's face came into view. With a quick smile, she left the square, as well as the bellowing demon prince.
“Luxuria! You traitor!” The prince yelled.
His eyes landed on me and he transformed to his demon form, saliva dripping from his fangs. I steadied myself, knowing that he would use some sort of power like moving earth or disappearing.
I just wondered what this one can do.
He stormed forward, his swords gliding through the air and I prepared my block. Red hot flames burned my face and I jumped back. Looking back at him, his body, as well as his swords, were now fully covered in flames.
Ah crap, this is going to hurt.
I stormed forward and swiped as fast as I could, trying to avoid getting near his flames. It made no impact at all.
Double crap.
I stepped back, not knowing what to do.
“I am not that easy to kill, Hellhound. Your feeble attempts only ignite my fury even more. You are no match for me,” he taunted.
No kidding.
He lunged towards me, the wall of flames still engulfing his body.
“Kasadya! Your wings!” Chax yelled.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The wall of flames made contact, searing the skin on my stomach. Staggering away from him, I looked down to assess the damage. Blood was running down my side over my leathers. My face was scorched by the flames, the smell of burnt flesh stung my nose.
“Kasadya!” Chax yelled again, bringing my attention back to the demon prince.
He moved so quickly that he was already on me. I tried to protect myself from his assault, but I found myself flat on my back. Bad move. He brought his swords down towards my neck. Releasing my own to grab the flaming sword, my hands were instantly engulfed. Pain radiated from the tips of my fingers to the top of my arm.
“Now you die,” the demon prince said, drool dropping onto my face.
No freaking way!
Fury kicked in, and my born emerged. And, oh boy, was she pissed off.
I stepped back inside her mind, relinquishing control. She looked at the demon and roared, sending some drool flying back onto his face. He was startled for a second, but recomposed himself quickly, pushing the sword down again.
Wings.
Chax said I should use my wings. With all my strength, I ripped my wings out from under me, wrapping them around the both of us. The flames were hell to take, but just like my training session with Chax, I reversed the demon’s flames onto him.
He started screaming inside my wings, our faces mere inches from the other.
“Demon, today you will die,” I said to him.
Pushing out with all my force, I flung him away from me. I watched as the now burning demon hit the ground and started to flail around, trying to put out the flames. I had a hard time getting up. I was losing too much blood and I wouldn’t last very long. I marched over to the prince. I raised my sword, ready to attack, when I was knocked back into the invisible net covering us both. Shaking my head, I looked back at him.
“Did you think it would be so easy to kill Irritum?” he asked, getting back on his feet.
“Yeah I did. Actually, I am going to show you,” I threw back at him, getting back up again.
For a brief moment, I almost lost my footing and fell back, but quickly pushed up. I was getting weaker; I needed to finish this soon. He lifted his hands and the air around me was sucked away.
Okay, now would be the time to start stressing.
I couldn’t breathe; the air around me was missing in action. I looked around, searching for Chax in the chaos.. The Fallen were having a hard time dealing with all the demons. It looked like there were two demons for each Fallen. I found Max in his hellhound form, slicing off the head of an adversary. Next to him was Nanini, throwing light bombs at the demons that were attacking them.
Chax!, I need Chax.
My eyes searched the scene, looking for him. When my eyes found him, my heart almost stopped. He was on one knee, trying to defend himself against a whole group of demons. And he wasn’t looking good at all. Fear coursed through me as I gazed around, taking in our current predicament.
“NO!” I screamed with the little air I still had left inside of me.
Chapter 9
Something was happening; a buzzing started from my toes and worked its way upwards. As it spread, I could feel that part of me rejuvenated. When at last I felt “complete” I took whatever strength I had and let it rip. The air cocoon holding me ripped away in a blast. I could see its webbing disbursing into the air. I took in a deep breath, and without knowing what the hell I was doing, slammed my fist with all my force into the ground. The earth shook and the prince lost his footing. I moved with lightning speed, one swipe and I knew I didn't have to look back. He was toast. My fear for Chax drove me through the net and straight to the demons attacking him.
I sliced at them, the fury bubbling from my pores. Blood splashed across my face and torso. Screams sounded around me. My hellhound born was loose and crazed out. I attacked demon after demon, taking heads, and in some cases ripping them apart. Fallen shifted out and away from me. I could see one female's eyes filled with fear. Approaching the last group of demons, the divinity chose that moment to act, sending bolts of pain ripping through my body. My body gave out and I dropped to the ground. My eyes searched around me for Chax. There he was, a few yards from me, on the ground. Not moving.
I dragged myself towards him, wings bursting up into the air with each bolt that went through me. Nearly in reach of him, I tried to call out to him. Instead, a scream ripped from my throat as the intense energy pounded through my body, leaving me crumpled on the ground. I tasted dirt. With one last look at him, the final energy bolt sent me into darkness.
“Look, they are dying,” The voice said in the dark void.
I could see nothing as it was pitch black all around.
“Can you hear their screams?” the voice taunted.
“I see and hear nothing!” I yelled back.
A giggle sounded to my right. It was the child again. Oh no! I knew what was about to happen.
“There, Kasadya, look there.” And with that, the darkness started to fade into white mist, revealing the same battle where we all would die. I found myself first in the battle. Strong and big, I sliced, ripped and to my utter shock, sent demons flying without even touching them. My eyes were weird too. They were a pink color. Not red or yellow, but pink.