The Everlast Series Boxed Set

by Juliana Haygert

  We reached the tunnel, and I took a long, calming breath.

  “Micah,” Keisha said, her voice holding a warning tone. “You might want to speed up.”

  Micah glanced at the rearview mirror, and I turned back.

  A wave of fire entered the tunnel on our tail. Raisa was low in the seat, eyes closed, her ears clamped, and she sang one of the songs Olivia had composed to try and calm herself. Perhaps I should sing too. It had always helped my wacky nerves.

  “Fuck,” he muttered, speeding even more and bringing my attention back to the fire.

  “More.” Keisha’s voice rose. “Faster.”

  “I’m trying.” Micah shifted gears, and the car lurched.

  Oh my God. I wouldn’t die being devoured by a demon. No, instead I would die in a car crash in a dark tunnel.

  The flames illuminated more than the car’s headlights did, and I could feel the heat closing in on us.

  We wouldn’t make it.

  We exited the tunnel and demons formed a wall in our way.

  “Hold on!” Micah yelled.

  He didn’t stop; he didn’t reduce speed.

  We collided with the demons as they charged us. One dove at the window, right in front of me. He smashed through the glass on the passenger side, sending shards flying everywhere. I screamed, throwing my arms up to protect myself, but big claws pushed my arms out of the way, closing around my neck.

  “Nadine!” Micah yelled, punching the demon’s arm with one hand, while trying to maneuver the car free from the rest of the demons with the other. He had slowed down a bit, but I was sure he didn’t mean to.

  Keisha cursed behind me, followed by grunts and the clanks of a sword.

  I wanted to glance back and make sure the girls were okay, but the demon pulled me forward, its hand tightening its grip on me.

  I choked. I fingered the seat for a weapon, any weapon, but couldn’t find anything. I couldn’t do anything other than stare at its ugly, terrifying face, with its yellow, hungry eyes, sharp teeth, and nasty drool.

  “Oh, Lord,” Raisa muttered, her voice teary.

  “Hang on!” Keisha shouted. I could hear slashing and growls, which meant she was still fighting in the back.

  I held on to the seat, but the demon was stronger than I was, and it dragged me forward a little more. It was worming itself out, and then it would pull me out too.

  “Oh, no, no, no.” Micah’s hand clasped my upper arm.

  My vision dimmed.

  “Take this!” Keisha said to Micah.

  Two seconds later, Micah lowered a short sword over the demon’s wrist, cutting its hand off in front of my face. The demon screamed and I gaped. Micah took advantage of that moment and swerved the car, sending the demon flying off the car.

  I unlatched the demon’s claws from around my neck and yelped as I threw it out the window.

  Keisha pushed the last demons from the top of the car with her sword. “Demons and fire gone.”

  Micah kept driving on I-78 south.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, stealing glances at me.

  “Yeah. Yeah.” I leaned back in the seat, feeling as if I had been through a war. Well, this was somewhat like it. I touched my neck where the demon’s claws had sunk in. I brought my hand back and stared at it. Blood. Not much, but there was blood. I hid my hand before Micah could see it. “Just pay attention to the road.”

  The slashes didn’t hurt much yet. I knew the shock would soon wear off, and then they would probably hurt. Until then, I could pretend I was fine.

  I glanced back at Manhattan. The island had transformed into a giant mountain of fire. It reached the sky and lit the world with orange lights.

  My eyes watered.

  My classmates, my teachers, my residence, my colleagues, my job, my scholarship, everything I owned burned with the island.

  At least Raisa was with me—shrunken and trembling in the backseat, but alive.

  Keisha rested her elbows on the back of my seat and looked at me. “Are you okay?”

  Wiping my tears, I nodded and faced forward.

  Without looking at me, Micah reached over and took my hand in his, entwining his fingers with mine. Under normal circumstances, I would have yelled at him for being such a Casanova, but right now … right now, I welcomed the comfort. I rested our hands over my thigh and squeezed.

  I let my eyes wander. The chaos was a normal level here. Destroyed roads and buildings, a couple of bats here and there, but no fire, no Omi.

  “So, what do we do now?” Keisha asked. “Just drive south and that’s it?”

  “At the moment, the only thing that matters is to get as far from New York as we can.” Micah let go of my hand and shifted gears. He didn’t return his hand to me and disappointment burned in my chest.

  “Did you have friends or family in New York?” I asked in a gentle tone. This wasn’t an easy subject.

  “No,” she said. “I’m from the Chicago area. I came with the exhibition.”

  “Exhibition?” Micah asked.

  “Yeah, the ancient weapons exhibition at the university gallery.”

  “Speaking of which, where did you learn how to use those weapons?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I never had any training.”

  One of Micah’s eyebrows rose. “You just knew what to do with them then?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, believe me, I think it is, but it’s the truth. I just took them and used them.”

  Regaining a bit of herself, Raisa took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “She was kind of badass back there.”

  “Hmm.” Micah returned to his attention to the road.

  “I have a question. That guy, on the dark cloud …” Keisha paused and shook her head. “I still think I hallucinated him. Anyway, he was talking about a woman. A girl.” She turned to me. “Was he talking about you, Nadine?”

  Micah looked at me, and I was sure his hard expression meant: don’t tell her anything.

  “I don’t know,” I said, not too happy about lying.

  A pop song started playing, saving me from having to say more.

  “It’s my phone,” I said, looking around. “Where’s my tote?”

  “Here,” Raisa said. She handed it to me.

  I grabbed the phone from inside my bag and glanced at the screen. My eyes watered again. “Hi, Mom,” I answered.

  “Oh, good Lord, please tell me you’re okay. Please, tell me you were able to leave the city.”

  “I did. I’m out of the city.” She whispered a thank you, and I heard her sobs. “Mom, I’m okay. Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” she mumbled through sobs. “This is just a relieved cry.”

  Micah’s cell phone rang, and I tried to ignore it.

  “Is there anything like that happening there?” I guessed I knew the answer, but I had to confirm it.

  “No, dear. Only New York City.” She cleared her throat, probably trying to rein in the tears. “You’re coming home, right?”

  I hadn’t thought much about that yet. If I went home, I could attract demons there. However, I did want to see my family. “Yes,” I said, not sure if I was telling the truth or not, but it was the answer she wanted to hear.

  “Good, good.”

  We talked nonsense for about two more minutes, then my sister called her and she had to go. By then, Micah was off the phone too.

  We all remained in silence for about ten minutes, until I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Who was it?”

  He glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. “Jealous, darling?”

  I stilled. “You wish.”

  Keisha laughed. “See what I mean? You two act like a couple. In the middle of a break-up or a fight, but still a couple.”

  Micah winked at me, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Hey, wait. Was there anything between you two?” Raisa asked, sounding more composed, more like herself. “I always thought your thing was with Victor.”

  “Who i
s Victor?” Keisha asked.

  Micah lost the amused expression. “A nobody.”

  Raisa told Keisha all about Victor, Micah, and me. Everything she knew about, which wasn’t much. Not wanting to hear even a simpler version of that mess again, I tuned them out.

  “You’re not gonna tell me where we’re going?” I asked Micah, crossing my arms.

  His knuckles turned white around the wheel. “You’ll see.”

  7

  After almost two hours of nonstop driving at a high speed, Micah exited the interstate and took us down a side road. At first I thought he was searching for a motel, but there was nothing out here. No buildings, no hotels, no gas stations. It was just the broken road, the dying trees, the darkness, and us.

  When he turned onto a dirt road, I began to worry.

  “Please, tell me where we’re going.”

  He was tense. I could see it in his strained neck, the way his jaw popped and his hand tightened around the steering wheel. More than that, I could feel it.

  He didn’t answer at first, and I thought he wouldn’t.

  “We’re here,” he said.

  The tires made a crunching noise, rolling over dirt and rocks as Micah slowed the car to a stop in a clearing.

  “What’s here?” Keisha asked the question on my mind.

  Without answering, Micah exited the car. I opened my door, and before I was completely out, he was by my side. Rok flew into the clearing and perched on a low branch, well in sight. I smiled at the bird, though my smile vanished when I looked up at Micah. He was staring at me, his eyes … worried? Micah was worried? No. It couldn’t be. I must have misread it.

  He averted his eyes and clenched his fists.

  I followed his gaze and almost fell back.

  Ceris and Victor appeared from behind the trees.

  “Who are they?” Keisha asked, sliding out of the car. Raisa was right behind her.

  “People I would rather not spend time with,” Micah said in a low, hard tone.

  Victor’s eyes met mine, and my heart squeezed. Even dressed casually—in jeans and a sweater that fit his long, lean form—he looked too handsome.

  However, Ceris was a vision from another world.

  With each step she took, her white dress and her white-blond hair floated behind her as if she was a model on a catwalk with those giant fans for wind effect. Her skin looked silky and her clear blue eyes shone.

  I glanced from Ceris, to Victor, and back to Ceris. God, they were soulmates. Like husband and wife. For thousands of years.

  Since the beginning, I never stood a chance against Ceris, but I hadn’t known about her. I hadn’t known who Victor was. I hadn’t known my feelings had been messed with against my will.

  “Same here,” I whispered.

  Keisha shot me a what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about look, and I shook my head.

  Frowning, Ceris halted and pointed to Keisha. “Who is she?”

  Keisha straightened. “I’m Keisha Cross.”

  Raisa stood by her side. “I’m Rais—”

  Ceris waved a hand at Raisa. “I don’t care about you.” She squinted at Keisha. “I didn’t mean your name.” She turned to Micah. “Her aura …”

  Micah sighed. “I know. It’s different.”

  “What? My aura …” Keisha asked, looking around herself.

  “Hey,” Raisa called. “What about me?”

  Nobody paid attention to her, and I pulled her to stand behind with me.

  “I don’t really know who she is,” Micah continued. “She was helping Nadine when I got there.”

  “What are they talking about?” Keisha asked me in a low voice.

  Ceris narrowed her eyes. “Helping Nadine?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Keisha answered, dropping her head. After all she had fought against and all she had seen, always standing tall and proud, she now seemed afraid of Ceris. And calling her ma’am? What was the deal?

  Ceris scoffed. “You could have done better.”

  What the hell did she mean by that? More importantly, who cared what she meant? Not me. I gathered my courage. “Okay, enough of that. What are we doing here? Why did Micah bring me here?”

  “I called him and asked him to meet us here,” Victor said.

  “Why?”

  He straightened his back like a commander about to give an order. “I think we have to stick together. All of us. These past three months have been hard on each of us, and I believe part of that is because we insist on being separated.” Wait, what? He was separated from Ceris? “We can only win this if we do this together.”

  Raisa leaned into me. “What is he talking about?”

  “Ditto to that question,” Keisha whispered.

  “I’m not sure you want to know,” I muttered.

  Victor eyed Keisha. “How strong is her aura?” I had forgotten he couldn’t sense auras.

  Micah nodded a little. “Stronger than Nadine’s.”

  “Then perhaps she’s involved in all of this,” Victor said.

  “That’s impossible.” The words fell from my mouth before I could stop them.

  “Is it?” he asked.

  Not really, but improbable. If she was involved, who was she? What was she? Where had she been? And how the hell did I cross her path like I did?

  Keisha kept her head lowered and said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

  “We have more important topics to discuss right now.” Ceris waved her off. “I’m not sure I agree with Levi. We can’t function as a group.”

  “Who is Levi?” Raisa whispered in my ear.

  “I agree,” Micah said, his tone absolute.

  “Of course you agree.” Ceris showed him one of her evil smiles. “You only think about yourself, Mitrus. What you want is to see us fail, so you can join Imha in her chaos party.”

  Teeth gritted, Micah took a step forward. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Not an easy feat considering his size and how much stronger he was than me.

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he snarled.

  “I don’t? You’ll probably turn your back on us and go find Imha. Or you’ll go make your own Black Thorn and finish what you started.”

  “Ceris,” Victor said in a warning tone.

  Micah clenched and unclenched his fists. “You think so little of me?”

  “Think so little of you?” Ceris snorted. “I know who you are, Mitrus. I know how you are. Imha might be evil herself, but you’re not far from it. I know you’re waiting for a golden opportunity to derail our plans, to betray us again.”

  “You …” He lunged forward, but I held him again.

  “Enough!” Victor shouted. “I won’t tolerate this kind of behavior from any of you.”

  “You’re not the boss of me, Levi.” Micah spat at his feet.

  Victor shot him an irritated look before taking a deep breath. He clasped his hands together. “True, I’m not. But I am what brings us together, what balances all of us. I am the centerpiece of our existence, and you have to respect that even if you don’t respect me.”

  Micah jerked out of my grip. “With all due respect, I don’t want anything to do with you.” He gave me the keys to the car. “Don’t forget to ditch it after a couple of days. Police might not be worried about a car theft right now, but I’m sure if you’re caught, you’ll be in trouble.”

  “What?” I glanced at the keys in my hand. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m out.”

  He turned and walked away. Rok jumped up from the branch and flew after him.

  “Mitrus!” Victor shouted. “Mitrus, come back here. We have to stick together!” He sighed when Micah disappeared into the shadows of the trees. “It’s the only way we’re winning this.”

  With my jaw hanging open, I watched as Micah walked away from me once more. The weight in my heart dragged me down.

  “See?” Ceris smiled. “I knew he would walk out on us.”

  Victor glare
d at her. “You said you disagreed with me, that we shouldn’t stay together.” He gestured in Micah’s direction. “There you have it.”

  “It isn’t my fault,” she responded. “We don’t need his help. We can do this, the two of us.”

  Victor shook his head. “No, we need everyone. You know that.”

  Was he suggesting everyone as in me too? As nice as saving the world sounded, I couldn’t stay with Victor and Ceris. I would pull my hair out and scream until I was out of air and passed out. No way.

  Besides, what could I do? Heal them, yes, but nothing else. I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t sense auras. I wasn’t part of their creed, and my visions were gone. They didn’t need me.

  I turned to the car. “I’m out too.”

  “What?” Victor approached me. “Why?”

  Ceris sneered. “I knew she was weak.”

  Three months of anger and frustration and deception surged into me, and I exploded.

  “Weak?” I glared at her. “You threw me into hell and watched as I struggled. I—”

  “I didn’t just watch. I was there. I helped.”

  “You lied. You deceived me. If you stop and think about it, you’re not much better than Imha.”

  “Don’t you dare compare me to Imha,” she snarled.

  “It’s true,” I said, looking into her eyes.

  She advanced a step, but Victor rested a hand on her arm. “Don’t, Ceris. You’re not helping.”

  Ceris jerked her arm from his touch. “Are you defending her?”

  Victor sighed. “I’m not defending anyone.”

  “It doesn’t look like it. From where I’m standing, you’re on her side.”

  “I’m on everyone’s side.”

  Tuning them out, I marched to the other side of the car and opened the driver’s door. “Raisa, Keisha, are you coming?”

  Raisa rushed to the car without sparing a second.

  Keisha looked lost for a moment. “Yes.”

  We entered the car, and Victor held my door before I could close it.

  “You need to help us.”