Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2)

by Anderson, Holli

  “What the… ?” Seth stumbled backward. When he righted himself, he extended a cautious hand through the door. His hand stopped as it reached the inside edge of the doorframe. He pushed harder. I smiled as I realized what the problem was.

  The porch light reflected off clear, plastic wrap that had been stretched taut across the doorway from top to bottom. I laughed. Halli joined me—she’d figured it out, too.

  Johnathan and Alec were still confused until Seth let out a frustrated growl and punched his hand through the barely visible wall. He ripped it all down, wadded the plastic wrap into a ball and flung it out into the yard.

  Seth stomped into the house, muttering, “Where’s that stupid Imp?”

  A warm hand touched my back before I entered the house. I turned and smiled up at Johnathan.

  “Let’s stay out on the porch for just a minute,” he said.

  Alec made kissy noises as he and Halli went inside. As soon as the door closed behind them, Johnathan embraced me in a fierce hug, lifting my feet off the porch. I hugged his neck with equal ferocity; the stress of the last hour leaked out as my body soaked up his warmth. We stood—well he stood, I dangled—for several minutes.

  When he finally released me to the ground, my hands went from around his neck to his face. I cupped his dimpled cheeks in my hands and pulled him toward me. The softness of his lips never ceased to amaze me. It was like kissing a warm rose petal. His hand tangled in my hair, pulling me closer.

  The kiss was much too soon interrupted by a commotion coming from inside the house.

  “We’d better go see what’s going on. I have a feeling it has something to do with Surpy and Seth.” Johnathan released his embrace with reluctance. I instantly missed the extra warmth he’d been providing me. His hand grasping mine was not enough.

  The cause of the commotion we’d heard was quite apparent when we stepped from the entryway into the great room. Seth stood in front of the cupboard that contained drinking glasses. The cupboard door was ajar and a few Ping-Pong balls still dropped to the counter and floor from a box that had been leaning on the closed door. They met up with at least a hundred others. Seth’s face was crimson. Joe, Halli and Alec laughed without restraint.

  “Surpy!” Seth yelled, stepping over and around still rolling Ping-Pong balls. As soon as he was clear of them, he broke into a run.

  “Halli, maybe you’d better go make sure he doesn’t kill your little friend,” Joe said, still laughing.

  She shook her head. “He got himself into this, he gets what he deserves.”

  I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.

  Halli half-smiled. “Besides, I doubt Seth will be able to find him. He’s a master at hiding.”

  She was right. Seth searched everywhere he could think of and finally gave up, returning to the living room where the rest of us lounged on the couches, chairs, and floor.

  We filled Joe in on what we’d found out. He creased his brow in concern when we told him about Mariah’s act of violence and subsequent refusal to discuss it. “That isn’t right. Alec, you might want to distance yourself from her.”

  That was all he would say on the matter.

  When more yawning than discussing was taking place, we decided to go to bed and figure out what we were going to do after we all got some sleep.

  The cool sheets of my bed felt wonderful.

  urrr-peee!” Seth’s voice resounded throughout the silent house.

  Almost afternoon, and Halli and I were the only ones up and about. We sat at the kitchen counter talking when Seth’s bellow reached our ears. We looked at each other before we jumped off our stools and ran to see what the Imp had done this time.

  Seth met us at the top of the stairs, coming from the basement where he and Alec had chosen their rooms. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, held there with just one hand. In his other hand was a pair of boxers—frozen solid.

  I had to give Surpy credit for his stealth and bravery. He would have had to sneak into Seth’s room sometime the night before to filch the boxers. He had to have soaked them in water then put them in the freezer for several hours before sneaking back into Seth’s room in order to put them back where he’d found them.

  “I. Am. Going. To. Kill. Him,” Seth said through clenched teeth.

  “He’d probably stop targeting you so much if you’d quit threatening his life, Seth,” I said, trying not to laugh.

  Halli took the boxer-icicle from Seth, holding it between her thumb and index finger like it was a rat about to bite her. “I’ll go put these in the dryer.”

  “You should go get dressed before you lose that towel.” I twisted my face into a grimace. “I do not want to witness that.”

  “Ugh. I really don’t want to put on dirty boxers, but those were my only clean ones.” He grumbled the rest of the way down the stairs.

  Seth was the last one to gather in the living room for our pow-wow. He still had a scowl on his face.

  “Seth, relax, your boxers are almost dry,” I said.

  “Oh, he didn’t just freeze my boxers,” he growled. “He stuck my toothbrush in a cup of water and froze that, too. I just spent the last fifteen minutes running it under hot water so I could brush my teeth.” He dropped to the couch.

  “You have to admit, Seth, he’s pulled some pretty cool punks on you.” Alec slapped him on the back as he sat next to him.

  Seth responded with a grunt and a scowl.

  “So. What’s the plan?” I asked. “The bartender said this Gathering is taking place on Friday—today’s Monday, so that gives us four days.”

  Joe’s voice shook with emotion as he spoke. “I’d hoped to have you better trained before you faced something this big. Don’t for one second underestimate the potential danger here.”

  I watched from the corner of my eye as Surpy slunk into the room and hid behind Halli’s chair.

  Johnathan tightened his grip on my hand. “What makes you think this time is any more dangerous than what we’ve already faced?”

  “I have a bad feeling,” Joe said. “But it’s more than just a feeling. There are multiple indications of Dark forces amassing here.”

  “Like what?” Halli asked.

  “Like the Demon Shalbriri’s unconcerned reaction at being sent back to the Netherworld. And his strange comment about gathering blackness and the jaws of Hell. A Greater Demon here in Moab, recruiting downtrodden and just plain evil people.” He looked at me and then Halli. “The deadness of the area next to the refuge. You felt it… both of you.”

  I nodded as a shiver coursed its way down my spine. I remembered the nauseated feeling the Darkness caused. I pressed myself closer to Johnathan’s side.

  “Well,” Alec said. “We still have a few days. Teach us, Sensei.”

  “I plan to. Let’s decide on a plan of action for Friday first. That might give me a better idea of what to include in this crash course.”

  “Well, let’s start with what we know,” I said. “We know a bunch of scary people—and probably worse—are meeting on Friday. We know where they’re meeting. We have an idea of a time.”

  “And, we don’t know what they’re doing or why they’re gathering,” Alec chimed in. “We don’t know what the ‘payment’ for participating is. And the time it’s going down is questionable. We have no idea what creatures or how many are involved. And… we don’t know if Brone will be there.”

  “Well, now we’ve established what we do and don’t know. Let’s make a plan.” Johnathan leaned forward, eyes sparkling and muscles taut.

  After the plan was set, we spent several hours in Trey’s fenced-in backyard practicing the spells and defenses we already knew, and learning new things. The most amazing thing Joe taught us was how to communicate with one another without talking. I’d completely forgotten Joe used this method with us back in the Underground the night Brone found our hideout. Joe had called to us while we slept by speaking—yelling, really—straight into our minds.

  “This i
s so awesome, Joe!” Alec exclaimed. “Why didn’t you teach us this sooner?”

  Joe’s mouth twisted into a half smile as he tilted his head down and raised his eyebrows at Alec. “I didn’t want to hear you in my head. Some of you can be quite obnoxious at times.”

  Alec folded his arms across his chest. “You can’t mean me, right? You must be talking about Seth.”

  “Hmph.” Joe shook his head. “No comment.”

  “I know what you mean, Joe,” I said. “I don’t want those two in my head either. But, I guess this method could be very useful. How far away does it work?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. The farthest my Five were ever separated was by maybe ten miles and it worked loud and clear at that distance. But, I’m sure there’s a limit to its range.”

  Thin, gray clouds blew over us, dimming the sun. “Now what?” Halli asked.

  “Now, I have a gift for each of you.” He reached into a duffel bag he’d set at the edge of the lawn and pulled out five shining daggers, then handed one to each of us in turn. “These daggers are very special, and very old. They’ve been handed down to the Five for hundreds—maybe thousands—of years, but that isn’t what makes them so special”

  “What does?” Alec asked.

  Joe looked us each in the eye, one by one, before answering. “The blades are blessed. There are some creatures out there who can’t be killed by magic—they aren’t even affected by it. Things such as Wraiths and Wights—some, but not all, of the undead. These holy daggers will kill them.”

  Halli tossed her dagger up and caught it by the intricately engraved handle. “Is that why you made us practice with wooden daggers so much on our way to Moab?”

  Joe nodded. “Keep them with you at all times.”

  “Let’s sit down for this next lesson.”

  Joe sat on the grass. We joined him, spread out in front of him in a curve that reminded me of kindergarten story time. Joe picked at the grass in front of him, looking down as he spoke. “I won’t always be with you guys. You’re going to be on your own—again—at some point. You need to be able to access my bank account. The money there belongs to the Five. There’s plenty there—it’s been amassing for centuries.”

  “What?” Alec said. “I thought that money was from your store.”

  Joe glanced up at Alec and then back down at the growing pile of pulled grass. “Some of it is.”

  “Joe,” Halli spoke softly. “You aren’t leaving us now, are you?”

  He looked up at Halli and held her eye as he spoke. “No, Halli. I’ll stay with you until… well, for as long as I possibly can.” His somber gaze shifted to the clouds.

  Silence ensued. I wondered if the others were thinking the same thing I was. He’ll stay with us until he dies. I didn’t voice it out loud, and neither did anyone else.

  “So, how do we get to your money?” Alec asked, breaking the silence.

  “Right, that’s what I was getting ready to tell you. I’m going to teach you how to mute your magic long enough to use an ATM machine. I’ll give a debit card to whomever does it best. Also, remember that there is money with the other items stocked in the refuges.”

  Muting the magic coursing through my every fiber turned out to be one of the hardest spells I’d ever tried. I was terrible at it. The worst, actually, followed closely by Johnathan. Halli ended up being the one who could mute the best and the longest. She got the debit card.

  “Now, I need to take Halli to the bank and show her how to access the account. I’m also going to add her to the account in case the card gets lost or becomes damaged. That way she can go into a bank and draw money out.”

  “So, we’re done here?” Johnathan asked.

  “For now. Everyone plan on meeting back here no later than eight o’clock tonight, at which time we’ll practice battling.”

  Johnathan smiled at me. “Are you up for a little adventure?”

  I nodded, mesmerized by his gorgeous eyes staring into mine.

  “Good, I’ll go pack us a lunch while you get your shoes and socks on.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead before standing.

  The house was empty by the time Johnathan finished with our lunches and we got them all packed up, along with water, in his backpack.

  “So… where are we going on this little adventure?” I asked.

  “I thought we’d start by portalling somewhere close to the Arches. There are some amazing slot canyons I want to explore. Is that okay?” He looked into my eyes as he pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. The light touch of his hands as they brushed across my cheeks made my heart skip a few beats.

  “Hmm. Alone, with you, in a beautiful and dangerous canyon. Sounds like heaven to me.” I pushed up on my tiptoes and swept my lips across his. He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

  “Let’s get going, then,” he said.

  We chose a spot we’d both been to near the park and portalled there. I appeared there only a second behind Johnathan. I was getting faster.

  He held my hand as we hiked deep into the National Park. The red rock canyons and arches were eerily beautiful, the terrain like nothing I’d seen before—like exploring another planet. We were in an area that was restricted—limited to tours with experienced Rangers only—and there were no tours this late in the year.

  Squeezing through a small opening between sheer vertical cliffs that rose a hundred feet into the air above us, I felt like we were the only two people in the entire world. What a wonderful feeling. The temperature was likely below freezing and not many people chose to visit the park that time of year. The warming spell made it feel like a warm spring day even though we could see our breath with each puff of air.

  We picked our way slowly through the narrow, maze-like canyon. The trail we followed opened up a little, enough that we could walk side-by-side again.

  Johnathan squeezed my hand. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too, John.”

  “I just want you to know how wonderful you are to me.” He stopped walking and stared up at the narrow strip of visible sky above. “I’m not great with words. I know you felt my love when we soul-gazed, but I want to be able to tell you how I feel, too.”

  I stayed silent, letting him sort out the words he wanted to say.

  He stepped in front of me and held both my hands in his, then gazed into my eyes. “I never want to spend another second apart from you. You make me laugh. You make me proud—your strength, the way you care about others, your fierce loyalty as a friend. Everything you’ve been through has just made you stronger. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d refused to forgive me for being such an idiot. I’m sorry for being such an idiot. What I’m trying to say is, I love you forever. You are my world, Paige.”

  Before I could utter a word, the intensity of his feelings lit up his eyes. He gripped my upper arms and pushed me against the canyon wall. For a split second, my still-healing mind flashed back—first to the time in Seattle when the beast-infested Johnathan had nearly lost control in the alley, he’d pushed me against a building then. Then, I flashed to the incident outside the Fun Center, when the Incubus had done the same.

  I opened my mouth to protest, the images still flitting across my brain, when Johnathan’s mouth came down on mine. The gentleness in his searching kiss was unexpected. All thoughts, images, and flashbacks ceased to exist. My mind was filled only with intense love for my Johnathan. His lips were fiery hot and so, so, soft. His warm body pressed up against mine as he kissed me harder. In that one, finally uninterrupted kiss, all our feelings for each other flowed.

  He released his grip on my arms and placed his hands on the rock just above and to the sides of my head. I placed my hands on his chest and leaned into the kiss. A quiet moan escaped his throat. My heart sped up and my breath came faster. His love wrapped around me and bound me to him forever.

  I moved my hands to the muscles of his shoulders before snaking them behind his neck and tangling my fingers in hi
s hair. Just at the point when I thought my heart would beat out of my chest, Johnathan pulled back. He laid his forehead against mine as we both breathed heavily, trying to catch our breath. He pulled me into a tight hug that lifted my feet a few inches off the ground. I buried my face in his neck and felt him shudder as my lips caressed his bare skin.

  With one last rib-bruising squeeze, he lowered me to the ground. He cupped my face in his hands and groaned, then kissed me quickly one more time.

  He grabbed my hand and started walking down the trail again. “Being alone with you could be dangerous.” Hearing the huskiness in his voice caused butterflies to erupt in my stomach.

  I nodded and tightened my grip on his hand.

  We found an area where the canyon widened out for a few yards and we sat there and ate our lunch. Gazing at Johnathan as I chewed, I realized that one of the great things about our relationship was that we talked, laughed, and had long stretches of silence together—and I loved every moment. Neither of us mentioned the danger that lay ahead, we just enjoyed every second of the time we had alone with each other.

  Johnathan took one last bite of his apple, wrapped the core in a napkin, and shoved it in his backpack. He looked up and caught me staring at him, a half smile dancing around my lips. He tilted his head and smiled. “What are you thinking about?”

  My face instantly flushed red, but I didn’t avert my gaze from his. “Kissing you.”

  Eyes sparkling, he put his hand behind my neck, and pulled me to him. His lips teased mine, oh so softly, for only a short time before he pulled away and laid his forehead against mine. “I love it when you get embarrassed—it’s so cute when you blush.”

  I bit my bottom lip. That all too short kiss had started a fire in my chest. I put my arms around his neck, tilted my head and attacked his lips with a ferocity I didn’t know I possessed. A surprised laugh bubbled up from his throat as he kissed me back, his lips perfectly in sync with mine. He laid me back gently onto the hard-packed, red earth, never breaking the kiss. My head rested on his arm as his tongue trailed a circle around the inside of my lips, finally finding the tip of my tongue—teasing it with gentle touches.