Imps & Angels

by Indra Frost

  Walker put a hand on my shoulder, shooting magic at Selasi, and I looked up at him, trying to stand.

  This is my fight, I should be the one out there risking my life, not them.

  He stopped me from moving forward by pulling me into his side, sending me off balance. Unable to stop myself I fell into his arms and he picked me up. I wanted to fight his grip, but when I tried it sent pain flaring through me. It was a sign that my body wasn’t going to tolerate much more abuse. Walker didn’t hesitate before turning and running from the fight, from his team.

  I tried to protest, but he didn’t listen, throwing spells over his shoulder as he took me away from the fight that was mine. I looked over his shoulder as best as I could, watching as the guys fought the demon who starred in my nightmares.

  Selasi was staring at me, anger and pain lining his face and it sent cold fear through me. Something about his expression let me know that he was done playing. He hadn’t expected the hit, and he had just been messing with us before.

  “We have to get them out of there,” I said, my voice more panicked than I had intended.

  Now wasn't the time to play it cool though. Walker slowed, looking down at my face as I pleaded to him with my eyes. I would fight him if I had to in order to save the others, I only hoped he would help me instead of stopping me.

  If Selasi wasn’t using his magic, it was because he was saving it for something big. Something that would bring death and pain to those I was starting to care about. I wouldn’t be responsible for their deaths; it wasn’t going to happen.

  He came to a stop and with a sigh, and he turned and placed me on my own feet. We were a couple hundred yards from my enemy, an enemy that had now realized I was missing.

  “Walker,” My voice wasn’t more than a breath as we both watched with fear as the power he was holding continued to grow.

  “No. No, no, no,” Walker started to walk closer, whispering under his breath as he did, hands held uselessly in the air.

  He wouldn’t be able to cast an effective spell, not from this distance. And I wouldn't be able to channel my fire and hit him either. We needed the guys to come to us, we needed to get them out of there.

  We watched with horror, moving closer as the others realized what we had moments ago. Unless they got out of there now, they were going to die.

  Reed lifted his hand, shouting something I couldn’t hear. The others turned and ran toward us as him and Jesse tried to hold him off, but Selasi wasn’t fighting, he was staring at me with a sick, twisted smile on his face.

  I hadn’t known them long, hardly knew them at all, but they had gone out of their way to be kind, something I wasn’t familiar with. They had fought for me, stood up for me just because they could, even though it jeopardized their mission. They didn't have a guarantee I would help them, and aside from those first moments, they hadn't pressured me to.

  I realized with a sudden clarity that I cared about them. I cared about them deeply, and in that moment, as I stared back into Selasi’s eyes, I knew that I had feelings for them. I had come to care about these guys, as friends, and more.

  Selasi almost seemed to pulse. His magic gathered around him and he closed his eyes, his face a mask of ecstasy as he caressed his power. Roark nodded to something that he said and turned to run down the street, not looking back.

  Reed and Jesse took advantage of his momentary distraction to turn and run toward us. Using their speed to try and get away while Copeland and Blayze strained to reach us. We were all injured, and not able to move very fast. I watched with growing horror as the air around Selasi seemed to go even faster. The concentration of power so immense the buildings almost seemed to be bending toward him.

  I latched onto Walker’s arm desperate to help them, to do something.

  My eyes flicked around, trying to find anything I could use as I squeezed Walkers arm hard enough to make him wince. He didn’t stop me, instead he placed his hand on my own and squeezed right back. I bit my lip as we watched my new friends, his family, try to run to safety.

  We weren't safe, even as far away as we were, but we stood a better chance than they did. An idea came to mind and I looked at Walker, knowing what I was about to do would hurt both of us, but he should survive. And if it worked, so would the others.

  They were almost to us, yelling that we needed to run, but we didn't have the time.

  “I’m sorry,” I told Walker, his gaze finally meeting my own.

  He looked at me with confusion, the fear for his brothers still in his eyes. Before he knew what was happening, I started to siphon off his magic. Pulling it from him and watching with tears in my eyes as his face contorted with pain. He called out as I pulled harder, needing more power if this was going to work.

  At the same time as I was pulling from him, I pulled on the energy around us. I even pulled on some of Selasi's energy, though it was awful and slimy against my own.

  I wasn’t a witch, I couldn’t use their magic the way Walker could. But just like with the fire before, I could convert it. Then I could control it in my own way. I stopped pulling from the demon, his magic making me sick, and turned to myself and Walker for more.

  I felt the well of power Walker held deep inside, pulling faster as Blayze and Copeland got to us. I looked at him in surprise when I didn’t feel him fighting me. He was letting me pull it, only watching me in pain as I took more.

  He collapsed to his knees as I stood straighter, his magic temporarily blocking the pain from my injury. Walker still didn’t stop me, even when his eyes started to flutter, on the verge of passing out. His gaze switched between me and his brothers, absolute trust in his gaze.

  It made me pause, awed by that trust. I would have to look into that later, but I continued until I had to slow down. I stopped before I could steal his consciousness. Pulling my hand away as he fell to all fours, panting for breath, a shaking, sweating mess.

  Copeland and Blayze arrive, the vampire baring his fangs as he ran to Walker’s side. Blayze didn't seem to know what to do, but he didn't glare at me like his friend had. He looked torn between helping his friend, or standing by me, and I snarled at him to get behind me.

  Jesse and Reed were getting closer to us, but they weren’t going to get far enough away from the blast zone to survive. They would make it to us, if they kept going, but they were tiring.

  I took a step toward them, and as soon as I did, Selasi opened his eyes.

  His eyes were pitch black, the power he was pulling forcing his rotten soul to shine darkness from his eyes. He smiled at me, pure joy at the thought of causing me pain crossing his face. But determination filled me. I wouldn’t let him take the lives of these men; I wouldn’t let them die.

  I took another step forward, Walker too weak to stop me, and both Copeland and Blayze letting me go. I gathered my power, bringing everything that I could. When that wasn't enough, I started pulling on the only thing I had left to use; my soul.

  Selasi and my eyes met mine as he raised an arm toward us. I mirrored him, terrified but trying to hide it. My hand was shaking, and I continued to pull until I couldn't anymore, knowing that I didn’t have anything else to give. If this didn’t work, we were all dead.

  For a moment I thought back to Clara, wondering if this was it. If this was the way she saw me die. I wouldn’t have the chance to ask her.

  Reed and Jesse, were a few feet away, panting as they tried to get to their teammates.

  When Selasi smiled at me again, I decided to smile right back. If I was going to die, at least I was going out on my own terms. My soul, what was left after this, would still be sent to Greg to do with as he wished, but I didn’t care. The guys would be safe.

  Reed and Jesse were still too close to him, we all were. When I felt Selasi release a stream of power he held, I knew I only had one shot of making this work.

  Copeland tried to grab for me but ended up releasing my arm with a yelp as his hand smoked where his flesh had met my skin. I turned to look at him
one last time as I felt the destructive force getting closer. He didn't look angry anymore, Blayze was holding Walker a few paces back.

  I gave them a smile, dodging Reed's grip as him and Jesse finally joined us.

  “Thank you,” My words wouldn’t make sense to them, but I didn’t care.

  I turned, taking a few jogging steps forward, and shoved all the magic I was able to gather out of my hands with a flare of light.

  Pain ripped through my back as fire flared around me. Forcing the flame higher, I saw a shadow fall across the ground. The shadow of my wings rose above the men, nothing more than an image in smoke. I wanted to protect them, but I wasn't willing to give away all my secrets. And though my wings looked like smoke, they were still a physical presence on my back, the weight of them heavy and aggravating on my wound.

  Blue and red flames swirled together, creating an almost purple color that should have been impossible. The flames landed creating a wall of living flame that spread to cover us. It ran from building to building and an iridescent wall grew from within. It continued growing until I knew it was tall enough to stop the threat, if I could hold it that long.

  Flames continued to pour from me. Angelic and demonic runes running throughout in a spell that I knew in my heart was brought into existence for just this purpose. The iridescent wall captured the runes and caused them to glow as it took in the spell putting it into action.

  The others were watching me, Reed looking at me with something unreadable in his eyes. Selasi's power churned faster, growing in force, and they seemed to sense it and brace themselves. Ready for when Selasi’s power cracked through my wall of living flame.

  For a moment we sat in silence, six souls waiting for death. Just as I started to think it wasn't coming, or that he had killed his wave of power, there was a crash. It rang out through the evening with a sound like thunder. The pressure and power was so intense that I cried out in pain.

  Copeland and Reed wrapped an arm around my waist, careful of my phantom wings, even as I could smell their flesh burn. They were trying to keep me on my feet when I would have fallen to my knees, and Jesse stood at my back. The pain and power were overwhelming.

  I thought it couldn’t get worse, that it was leveling out, and we might make it. Selasi's smile reached me through my wall of flame as his gaze flicked to my wings, probably able to see their outline still like I could Blayze’s other shape. The power he was throwing seemed to double, then triple. I was left whimpering as I tried to fight it, to hold on just a little longer.

  All the power I had pulled from Walker was now gone, leaving only my own limited power. I tapped deeper, pulling everything that I had, everything that I was, and put it into the wall of flame and runes. The power on the other side still seemed to be growing, pushing hard against me. I felt warmth on my lip as I pulled more power, burning up and damaging my body, all to protect the only people that had ever been kind to me. The men that I cared about.

  It was a reminder of why I was doing this, putting myself through a pain so intense it made the brand seem like child’s play.

  My vision started to go white around the edges, the guys the only thing keeping me on my feet. My legs shook and my stomach heaved, angry at the pain I was causing myself. But still I held on, forcing more and more of my life force, of my soul, into the runes. Forcing the wall of both hellfire and holy fire to blend and protect us.

  I wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer, and just when I thought I was going to collapse, that I was going to fail and watch the guys burn, Selasi stopped.

  He threw me another smirk, the action ten times scarier with his face covered in his own blood, and then he was gone.

  With a pained grunt, I pulled my wings back into my body. The rest of my flames faded with them and they burned, pain radiating from where I could still feel them inside me. But that would have to be dealt with later.

  Selasi had left, and none of us were dead. This was bad. This was so very, very bad.

  I didn't know what this meant, but I knew it would come back to bite me in the ass the next time we met. And there would be a next time. He wasn’t done with us. He was playing with me, and I didn't know why. I didn't know what he wanted.

  And that was scarier than dying would have been.

  Everything seemed to catch up to me all at once. I was so drained I couldn’t feel an ounce of power inside me. The barrel empty and my soul just a sliver of what it was. My vision blackened around the edges and I felt my body go limp.

  For the second time that day, I felt that I would pass out. Voices were calling out to me, saying words I didn’t understand. While my body was shutting down, not meant to be used and abused this way. I knew as my vision faded; my life was as well. I couldn’t feel the pain, or the anger I expected at the unfairness of it all.

  Instead all I felt was fear and relief. Relief that the guys were going to make it, they were going to live to fight another day. But Selasi was still out there, and he was up to something.

  Something warm touched my face and I smiled, not seeing anyone, my vision long since having faded. But I knew that I was being held, that I was surrounded by people that cared about me, even if only barely.

  It was more than I expected. More that I could have hoped for.

  “Sorry about the pizza,” I muttered, and I thought I heard a watery chuckle.

  I probably sounded like an idiot, but they had survived, and with that thought, my world went black.

  The next time my eyes opened it was with confused suspicion.

  That I was waking up at all was cause for concern. Last I knew I was dying in Copeland's arms, and now I’m waking up in a bedroom that I’ve never seen before.

  I glanced around, wondering if this was the purgatory that awaited me until Greg was back to claim my soul. That didn’t seem right, and using more effort than it should have taken, I pushed myself from the comfortable bed.

  My legs wobbled the slightest bit, but held my weight, so I took it as a good sign that I may not be dead after all. But if that was the case, how was I still alive?

  I shouldn’t be, I knew that much. I should be dead and waiting for the demon who owned my contract to come claim my soul from the void. I tried to walk and stumbled, catching myself against the dresser that was on the wall across from the bed.

  It thumped against the wall when my weight hit it, with a rather loud noise. I hope this wasn't something nefarious, or I had just given away my position. I heard a clattering of feet coming from somewhere outside the door I had been trying to get to.

  I waited to see if I would have to use my limited strength to fight. I tried to get into a better position, but I still had to hold onto something, so my chances weren't good. Though I seemed to have survived the impossible, so what did I know.

  Not a minute later the door swung open to reveal three men tumbling into the doorway. Copeland, Walker and Blayze all pushed their way into the room. Reed and Jesse following after, calmer than the first three.

  I stared at them not believing what I was seeing, and they stared right back as if seeing a ghost. Maybe they were. Maybe I had died, and it was my ghost that was haunting them.

  The pain I was in should indicate otherwise, but I couldn’t be sure. I haven’t ever chatted with a ghost to see if they were able to feel pain. It would suck if they could. I wouldn’t want to feel something like this for the rest of my life, or un-life as the case may be.

  After a couple more seconds of awkward staring, I finally decided that I had to be alive. And that meant the guys in front of me were real, and not a figment of my imagination, as I had thought for a brief moment.

  “Hello?” My voice is tentative when I speak, and I immediately feel like an idiot.

  I’m pretty sure they saved my life, and the first thing I’m able to mutter is ‘hello?’. They should have let me die, at least then I wouldn’t feel the embarrassing heat in my cheeks when I looked at them.

  “Hi.” Jesse said back, his se
rious tone breaking the growing tension and making me laugh.

  The others joined in and soon enough we are all laughing, relief and genuine happiness spreading through the room. Jesse just watched us as we laughed a small smile on his face. It was one from his own happiness at seeing us laugh, as I'm not sure he completely understood why we were laughing.

  “I’m so glad that you guys are okay,” I said, meaning it from the bottom of the shriveled thing I called a heart. “Now who wants to tell me how in the hell I’m still alive?”

  They didn't give me an answer, but I think it had something to do with Reed and his healing abilities.

  Turns out the guys are more than happy to gang up on me, especially when they want me to eat and rest.

  “But what did you guys do? How am I still alive?”

  Blayze fluffed my pillow with an annoyed face, the look odd considering he was annoyed at me for not resting, instead of having to fluff my pillow. Which didn't need to be fluffed at all.

  He was the one that said it needed to be fluffed, I was just happy to find out this was a spare bed I was able to use. The first one I would be able to use for longer than a night. Aside from the rooms at Clara’s it was the first bed I would get to sleep in at all.

  I kept that to myself though, knowing it wouldn’t go over well with the suddenly overprotective men in the room. I don’t know what happened, what was going on, but I wasn’t going to fight it. Yet. As soon as I felt better all bets were off.

  They were going to tell me what had happened, and what was going on. I would make sure of it.

  Turns out time flies when you almost die. I was currently pacing in a panic, Jesse standing in front of the door to their house so I couldn’t leave.

  “You don’t understand, I have to leave, I have to be there when Greg gets back.”

  Greg was due to come back either tonight or tomorrow morning, the week having passed while I was recovering.