The lightning hit the top of the cliff wall to one side of where the jeep was parked. Huge pieces broke off and fell, crushing the jeep and partially blocking the exit. I jumped to my feet and helped Halli get the two hundred pound gorilla off of her. He was turning blue, the muscles in his neck straining to try to get air in through his crushed windpipe. I hit him with a blast of air strong enough to knock him several feet away from her.
Halli jumped to her feet. Without saying anything, we knew what the other was doing. Halli turned her attention to the two burned men, to reinforce their binding before it wore off. I turned to Grease Ball. He was slowly getting to his feet—and I didn’t want him to succeed. I ran to him and planted a kick to his abdomen that caused him to double over. I spun around and delivered a power infused roundhouse kick to his face. His nose, along with multiple facial bones and teeth crunched on impact. Blood flew from his destroyed face, spraying all over me.
He fell to the ground, hard. I didn’t think he would get up from that one, but I put a binding spell on him just in case. I’d watched enough slasher movies in my pre-magic life to know better than to assume he was out of play.
The guy Halli had throat-punched no longer struggled. He laid still, eyes staring into the cloudless sky. It looked like I wasn’t the only one with blood on my hands.
I glanced at Halli then followed her gaze to the exit. We silently walked over to inspect the rubble strewn opening between the cliffs. No way we were getting out through there. We could climb it, but that would take too much time. Plus, the newly fallen rocks didn’t appear to be very stable.
As the adrenaline wore off, my arms hung limply at my sides, too heavy to lift. I stared at the ground, too tired to raise my head. The fatigue caused by using a bunch of magic in such a short amount of time made me feel like a marathon runner that had to crawl to the finish line.
“Well,” I began, “Any ideas what we should do now?”
“Finish closing off that exit, then portal out of here so we can go get Joe, Johnathan, Alec, and Seth.”
“Hal, I’ve never portalled myself before, only rocks and stuff, and I haven’t even done that with any accuracy since before… before I went blind. I don’t know if I can do it.”
“You can do it, Paige. Your magic is so strong. Now that you can see, you can do it. I know you can.” I wish I had her unquestionable certainty.
“Any other ideas? You know, ones that don’t include the possibility I might end up lost in the between forever?”
She shook her head. “It’s our only way out, unless you want to risk climbing. I guess you need to decide which one is the bigger risk.”
As I stood, considering the options, a rock that probably weighed a ton, came loose from the cliff side and tumbled down onto the pile below. All the other rocks shifted, dust spewed forth, and we backed up—away from the precariously balanced rock tower.
The still shifting boulders pretty much made up my mind. My trust in magic was much stronger than my trust in defying the laws of physics. “Portalling it is. Let’s bring down some more rocks. I don’t want to risk that these specimens of wasted human flesh might be able to climb out before we can return.”
“Okay, let’s bring down the other side.” Halli grinned.
I decided to stick with lightning, since it’d worked so well before. Halli wanted to practice a spell she’d been working on. I threw a lightning bolt and sent a shower of rocks down. She picked up a cantaloupe sized rock, heaved it in the air, then hit it with a thrust of power that sent it hurtling toward the rock cliff. The fast moving projectile hit with incredible strength and caused a chain reaction. A rockslide ensued that filled the opening up to the top of the cliffs.
When the dust cleared, only one small piece of one tire of the jeep and the hand of the man with the broken neck were visible.
A groan came from one of the men behind us. I smiled a tight lipped smile at Grease Ball. His face was a disaster. His eyes were already swollen almost shut. Blood came from his nose and mouth—where he’d lost several teeth.
“What didya’ do that for? How we s’posed to get outa here?” We turned to face the burned men, still under the binding spell.
“You aren’t,” I said.
“But you can’t just leave us in here. We’ll die!”
“And, what exactly were your plans for us, sleezeball? A nice tea party and a lift back into town? Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? Take pity on you?” I laughed.
“It was all his idea!” The burned, bound man looked at Grease Ball.
“Actually, it was an evil Warlock named Brone’s idea. That makes no difference. You’re evil men who were going to carry out a heinous act. If anything, you’re worse than your swollen-faced friend over there. At least he was doing it for money—you were just joining in for a little depraved fun. Now, shut up. I don’t want to hear your miserable voice anymore.” Just to make sure, I pointed at him and said, “Mutus.” I repeated the muting spell on his burned companion.
I looked at Halli, then at the collapsed entrance. I rubbed shaky hands over my face. My guts twisted into knots at the thought of portalling out of here “I’m scared, Hal. I’ve used up a lot of magical energy today. I’m feeling a little drained. I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can do it. You’re so much stronger than the rest of us. You could probably portal clear across the world if you wanted to.”
“Yeah, right. Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to smell the stench of these losers anymore. What’s our destination?”
“Well, since it’s your first time, let’s just go somewhere close. How about to just outside the rock cave?” Halli suggested.
I concentrated on picturing the pile of boulders in my head. I focused on one spot in front of the main entrance into the cave. My stomach roiled. I closed my eyes tight and planted the picture firmly in my mind. I forced my will into the spell with all my strength to open a portal. I was sucked into the void. I opened my eyes to complete darkness. I couldn’t breathe.
My heart raced, quickly using up what little oxygen I had left to fuel it. I’m blind again, was all I could think for a moment. Then I remembered the two times Joe had portalled us. The darkness was so thick it felt like a living being. I still couldn’t breathe.
It was taking too long. Something was wrong.
Little stars exploded beneath my eyelids. The lack of oxygen was taking its toll. Joe was wrong, you don’t float in the void forever if you get stuck in the between; you just die. What a relief…
harp pain shot into my ankles as my feet slammed into the ground and I fell to the sandy, rocky earth like a boneless jellyfish. I gasped for air for what seemed like the first time in hours, though I knew it couldn’t have been that long. My lungs ached with starvation for oxygen and they drank it in hungrily.
I opened my eyes and saw the sunlight above me. Relief washed over me—I could see. And, I was alive.
“Paige! Oh, Paige! You scared the crap out of me! You left before me and I’ve been here for at least two minutes. I thought you were lost.” Tears streamed down Halli’s dirt streaked face. “I thought you were lost.”
I sat up. My body ached with exhaustion. “I thought I was, too. Help me up.”
She pulled me to my feet. “We should wait a while, so you can get some strength back.”
I shook my head. “If we don’t go now, I think I’ll just slip into a coma for two or three days. Let’s head back into town.”
Halli reached up and buttoned my jacket over the ripped shirt.
“Thanks. I forgot about that.”
Over two hours later, we finally reached town. I didn’t think I’d ever been that exhausted before. I sat on the curb next to the Italian restaurant we’d eaten at the day before, my body shaking uncontrollably. I inspected Halli, sitting next to me—we must’ve looked like homeless waifs. I’d healed Halli’s cuts but the goose egg that had formed on her eyebrow remained. It had shrunk a little and now turned a horre
ndous purple color. Some of the blood was obviously draining down around her eye as the skin there was getting more colorful by the minute.
“Where do you think they are?” Halli asked. “Should we head back to the house?”
I folded my arms around my knees and laid my head on them. The thought of walking another step made me want to cry. Except, I was too tired to cry.
I heard a group of people exit the restaurant behind me. A girl laughed flirtatiously. I raised my head.
“What should we do now, girls?” Alec’s voice drifted to my ears.
I turned toward the sound.
My heart stopped. Alec and Mariah stood hand in hand in the middle of the sidewalk, but that isn’t what made the blood in my veins turn to ice. My lungs ceased to work and the pain of being unable to breathe spread throughout my chest to my head until all ability to think, to move, to exist, just stopped.
Johnathan walked out of the restaurant behind Alec, with a bleached blonde girl in tight jeans and an even tighter sweater—hanging onto his arm like she owned him. He dipped his head down to listen as she whispered in his ear. He smiled even as he shook his head and his cheeks flushed red. Time slowed as she went up on her tiptoes, put her hand on his opposite cheek, and kissed him. She kissed him. She aimed for his mouth but mostly missed because of the angle of his head.
But, she’d kissed him. And, time ceased to exist. My vision blurred all around Johnathan and the harlot until I could only see the two of them as if at the end of a dark tunnel; surrounded by darkness, the only light shining directly down on them.
I tore my eyes away from the awful scene playing out before me. I bowed my head and tried to breathe through the sharp pain that wrapped around my chest. A barrage of tears sprang to my eyes and there was nothing left inside me to dam the flood. My legs wouldn’t respond to my brain’s plea to move—to get away from there. I didn’t want him to see me. I just wanted to be anywhere but there.
A breath hitched in my throat as I tried to stifle a sob. I clutched at my chest as I stood, wobbling, and took a step backward. Halli grabbed my arm to steady me.
“Paige?” Alec saw us.
I couldn’t speak. My throat constricted and the pressure in my chest threatened to suffocate me. I shook my head and took a step away from them.
“Paige, wait!” Johnathan pleaded. I tried to walk away. My feet wouldn’t obey. I couldn’t make my muscles work without any oxygen getting to them.
“Johnny, who’s that?” the blonde girl asked. “You know her?”
“Yeah. Stay here, ‘kay?”
He stepped up next to me and whispered, “This isn’t what you think. She’s just a friend of Mariah’s.”
I cringed and pulled my arm away as he tried to touch me. I turned to flee, but again, my exhausted legs betrayed me.
“Paige, look at me.”
I refused. He stepped in front of me and lifted my chin. “What happened to you? Are you okay?” He brushed the tangled hair from my face. I jerked away from his touch, causing a wave of dizziness that threatened to knock me out.
Mariah whispered to Alec, “I thought Paige was blind?”
“She was. I’ll explain later.”
Alec joined us. “Halli, what happened to your eye? What the heck did you two get into?”
Halli looked at me, anger and pity all mixed up in her eyes. I stood, silent, with tears falling slowly down my cheeks.
“We need to talk. Where’s Seth? And, Joe?” Halli looked around.
“Seth’s inside paying the bill,” Alec said. “Joe’s at the house, I guess. I’m not sure. What’s going on?”
Johnathan looked at Halli’s face then closer at mine. “Paige, your face is bruised, too. Who did this to you?” His voice filled with anger. He no longer tried to keep the level down where his little blonde companion couldn’t hear him.
“Just go Johnathan. Go enjoy your little date. We’ll take care of this ourselves.” It came out quietly, I didn’t have enough air to speak louder. “Just go.”
I tried to step away, but my knee gave way and I almost fell. Johnathan reached out and caught me. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine. Let go of me.”
“Come on Paige, tell us what happened,” Alec pleaded. “You’re obviously not fine.”
“Thanks for talking to Johnathan for me, Alec. You’re a great friend.” My voice dripped with tired sarcasm.
I shrugged Johnathan’s hand off my arm, squared my shoulders and started to walk away.
Halli put her arm around my waist and walked with me.
“Paige, come on. What happened? Tell me who did this.” Johnathan’s voice was menacing. I kept walking.
“Come on, Johnny,” the blonde said. “She doesn’t want to talk to you. Let’s just go. We have plans, remember?” The suggestiveness in her voice made me cringe.
“Katrina, shush,” Mariah said. “You guys go ahead and figure out what’s going on. I’ll see you later.” I turned my head in time to see her blow Alec a kiss and usher her disappointed friend back inside the restaurant.
Seth came out looking very confused. “Hey, aren’t you guys coming with us?” he asked.
Mariah nodded toward me.
Seth’s mouth dropped open. He looked from me to Johnathan to back inside the restaurant. He stepped closer to us and his face went from confusion to anger in a flash. “What happened to you guys?”
I shook my head and kept walking.
Johnathan and Alec continued to try to talk to me as we walked.
“Paige,” Alec implored. “I did talk to Johnathan. I told him he was being a big weenie. I thought it might help him… you know… forgive you or something if he went out with someone else. Not like a payback or anything… just, sort of, like a… I don’t know. To even things out a little or something?”
The only thing Seth chimed in was, “I had nothing to do with this. I thought I was meeting Mariah’s friend.”
Johnathan stepped up beside me. “It was nothing, Paige. We were just eating as a group. I was thinking about you the whole time…”
It took all that was left of my waning strength to put one foot in front of the other. My vision was blurred by tears that I just let roll down my face, too tired to raise a hand to wipe them away. The aching in my heart made it almost impossible to breathe—so much so that I felt, fleetingly, that death would have been a sweet release. Among the bitter anguish I felt a seething anger. A murderous rage. My broken mind constructed multiple scenarios of painful death to the blonde; but, I couldn’t bring myself to even think about Johnathan’s betrayal.
After several unsuccessful attempts to get me to speak, Alec and Johnathan both lapsed into silence when they finally got the message that neither Halli nor I were going to talk to them.
I didn’t think I would make it up the hill to Trey’s house. I leaned heavily on Halli, who wasn’t faring much better than me. As we started up the incline, she fell to her knees. I dropped beside her. Halli vomited violently into the gutter as I held her hair out of her face. She vomited until there was nothing left in her stomach, and then she dry heaved several more times.
“Is she okay?” Seth asked
“She probably has a concussion. She got knocked out.”
“You have got to tell us what happened,” Alec stewed.
“Just help us get to the house.” I sighed. “We’ll tell you then.”
Johnathan stepped forward to help me up. I pushed his hand away and said without looking at him, “Seth can help me.”
Alec helped Halli up. She staggered and put a hand to her head. “I’m super dizzy.”
Alec picked her up without saying a word and carried her up the long hill to the house. Seth supported most of my weight as we trudged along behind them. Johnathan brought up the rear.
When we reached the house, Alec carried Halli into the large family room and deposited her gently on the couch. I slid into the nearest chair. Joe hurried over from the kitchen as soon as we entered.<
br />
“Where have you two been?” His agitation quickly turned to concern when he got a look at us. “What happened?”
Halli could barely keep her eyes open.
“Should we try to keep her awake?” a worried Alec asked.
“I think it’s okay to let her sleep,” I said, closing my eyes. “We just need to make sure we can wake her up every little while.”
“What. Happened,” Joe repeated.
I detailed our dangerous encounter.
Joe and the boys were eerily quiet through the whole thing. The only interruption occurred when I told them how Grease Ball had described his Demon. Seth said, “That sounds like Brone. Is he here?”
“It sounds like he was using a projection spell. He could be anywhere; he just projected his image to that spot.” Joe shook his head. “He has gotten so much stronger over the years.”
Johnathan kept his head bowed through the entire account. Forearms resting on his bouncing knees, his hands balled so tight they shook.
“So,” I finished. “The question I put before you is, what do we do with them—those that survived, that is.”
“Kill them,” Johnathan growled, still not looking up.
“I agree.” Alec’s voice was deadly quiet.
Seth nodded.
Instead of answering the question, Joe asked me, “What do you think Halli would say? Should we wake her up to ask her?”
“She didn’t want me to kill them. In fact, she stopped me from doing so. She wanted to see what you all wanted to do.”
Joe was silent for a few seconds. “I understand how you all feel. I feel the same rage as you do.” His voice shook, so he took a deep breath. “But, the purpose of the Five is to protect mankind from those from other realms. We are not here to mete out justice to our own. I don’t think we should kill them. But, I don’t think it would do much good to turn them in to the authorities, either. Things might be brought out about us that I would rather keep out of the public eye. We have another choice”—he looked at each of us in turn—“send them to the Netherworld.”
Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2) Page 10