by Lia Davis
The large, hand-carved wooden staircase stood in front of them, leading to the second floor. It split off into the separate wings of the upstairs and circled around to another staircase above the door that led to the third floor.
A high-pitched squeal followed by a tiny giggle brought their attention to the three-year-old toddler, who came running out of the living room. She was dressed in pink, footed pajamas and carried a baby doll in the crook of her right arm. Ayden stepped into her path and scooped her up in his arms as she ran by. Another excited squeal escaped as she looked at Ayden and threw her little arms around his neck. “Ayd! Save me. The dragon is coming!”
“Oh, no. Where should we hide?” Ayden asked, playing along.
“Come on, princess. It’s time to wash up,” Bethany said, walking into the foyer. Her face brightened into a smile when she saw Lydia. She held out her hand. “I’m so sorry I had to run yesterday. And again at your brother’s passing…”
“That’s okay,” Lydia said softly and accepted Bethany’s hand.
“Dinner is almost done. I’ll be right there. I’m going to get Cassia washed up.” She took Cassia out of Ayden’s arms and turned back toward the living room.
Everyone followed Bethany and was greeted by Noah and Vanessa.
“Melaina, it is so good to see you,” Vanessa said, pulling Melaina into a tight embrace.
For the average human, Vanessa looked thirty-something instead of three hundred nineteen. Her chestnut brown hair was curled into large ringlets at the bottom. She had the same golden brown eyes as Zach.
When Vanessa pulled out of the hug, she had tears in her eyes. The two women were sharing their sorrow for the friends and loved ones they’d lost. The scene pulled at Kalissa’s own heartstrings.
Noah stepped up beside his lovely wife, drew her to his chest, and kissed her on top of the head. Looking at Noah, Kalissa could see where Ayden and Zach got their looks. Noah wore his light brown hair long. Most the time, it was tied back in a loose ponytail. Noah’s eyes were the same baby blue with swirls of silver as Ayden’s.
Noah held his free arm out to Melaina. She walked to him and let him hug her. For the first time, Kalissa realized how close the surviving six Divinities were. They were family, friends, they loved and cared for each other. The bond between the three Elders in front of her was still very strong.
Vanessa pulled away from Noah first, looped her arm with Mel’s, and led her into the living room.
Noah motioned everyone to take a seat while they waited for dinner to finish. “We’ve had too many lives lost,” Noah said absently and to no one in particular.
“Why did our mother hide the Sinew,” Khloe asked after they’d taken their seats.
Noah sighed. “We didn’t really know what to do with it. After we rebuilt the coven, Hecate paid us a visit, apologizing for leaving us so abruptly the night of the attacks. She didn’t give an explanation, but I figured it was because she was wounded.” Noah turned to the group. “She told us the demons had used the Sinew to harvest the Divinities’ powers, which killed them. Our magic is our life force.”
It was the same thing Zach had said when Ayden and Kalissa had arrived at the cabin. Kalissa was glad the Sinew was safe and protected. The Divinities had reunited and, for the first time in centuries, they had taken a stand in the war against the demons.
“Will you tell us what happened the night of the attack?” Khloe asked softly. Kalissa had always wondered herself but was too afraid to ask. She wasn’t afraid of Noah, but she was nervous about how he would feel if she asked.
He looked at her, and after a brief pause, nodded and began telling the story as he’d seen it three hundred years ago.
There was a loud, thunderous boom so close that it shook the house. Noah ran out of his bedroom toward the front door. He got to the entryway and stopped. The crystal vase that held twelve long-stemmed red roses lay on the floor in front of him. The vase had shattered into a million pieces, scattering its contents over the hardwood floor.
Another rumble from the windows, and visions flooded his mind like a dam breaking. The images came at him like a slideshow on fast forward. Some of the scenes he recognized from dreams he’d had over the past several months; others were new. They all had something in common. Fire. He focused on the newest one and controlled the speed, slowing the images down so it was easier to focus on just one. It cleared, confirming his greatest fear. A fireball the size of a Volkswagen Beetle flew through the air, landing on top of the community center. With even, steady breaths, he calmed his panic. He knew it was coming. He had seen it many, many times since his visions had started coming to him at the age of ten. He just never thought it would come so soon.
He focused harder on the images in his mind to get a clear visual of the present moment. If he concentrated hard enough, his visions were so real it was like he was there. Choking on the amount of smoke from the scene as he stood in the middle of the large gymnasium, he took in his surroundings. The building was completely engulfed in flames. He felt the scorching heat of the flames crawling up the walls and out the gaping hole in the ceiling. The smoke was so thick he couldn’t see past a couple of feet in front of him.
He broke off from the vision and ran out the front door. Once outside, he saw large flames shooting up into the sky where the community center was located. Noah was overcome with fear and sadness. He took off toward the center but was cut short when a large cat knocked him down.
“Get off me, Kris. Now!” Noah demanded.
In tiger form, Kristof Rayners outweighed him by a hundred pounds.
The huge, white tiger’s head shook side to side in a no. After a few seconds, Kris changed to his human form, willing clothes to cover his body at the same time. “It’s too late. They’re gone,” he choked out, looking Noah in the eyes. Kris’s emotions pooled over onto Noah. Somehow, Divinities were connected. Kris was wracked with sorrow and fear. He wanted blood from whoever had done this.
Every coven member had been at the community center for their monthly meeting. As an Elder, Noah’s mother had to be there.
“No.” Noah struggled to get up. “We have to try.”
“I already did.” Kris stood up and held out his hand to Noah. “We have to get the children to safety.”
After a few seconds, Noah stood up, took one last look at the burning community center, and followed Kris to collect the children.
The coven children were to meet at a centralized location. Every other week, they had drills in case of an attack. Noah hated the drills, and knew the other children did, too, but they were necessary.
Noah and Kris reached the playground a couple of feet from Noah’s house. The children were huddled together, secure behind a magical circle. The sobs from the toddlers pulled at his heart. He wished he could turn back time and take their pain away.
“Is everyone okay?” Noah asked when he reached them.
“As well as one would expect,” seventeen-year-old Melaina said with an eye roll as she tugged eight-year-old Angelica Preston behind her to open the circle. “We just lost our parents and friends and have to spend gods know how long in a room eating canned food.”
“We both saw this coming,” Noah said softly. He understood her anger. He was angry, too. Melaina was also a seer, and she had seen this outcome just as Noah had. The Elders took precautions by strengthening the wards and performing bi-monthly rituals to bring extra protection to the coven. Noah feared that the additional security had only held off the demons until they found a way around it, or possessed enough power to break through the wards.
Noah reached out to Melaina. She shook her head. “I don’t want to cry right now. The others need us to be strong.”
Heavy sobbing from behind Melaina made Noah swallow a lump in his throat. He would break down later, but Mel was right; the younger children needed him, Kristof, and Melaina to bring them to safety. He stepped around Melaina to find thirteen-year-old Connie hiccupping with sobs while being
hugged by her best friend, nineteen-year-old, Vanessa. Noah was flooded with relief to see Vanessa alive. He fought everything inside to keep from pulling her into his arms.
Noah was just about to ask where the sixth Divinity was when he heard footsteps running up the dirt path behind him. Ten-year-old Caleb Rayners, Kristof’s baby brother, was carrying a wooden box in his hands. Kris cursed and walked over to his brother. “Where have you been? I told you to come straight here.”
“I’m sorry, Kris. I th...thought we m...might need this,” Caleb stuttered out, trying to hold back the tears. He held up the box to Kris.
Kris took the box and squatted down, eye level with Caleb. “We could have managed without this. I cannot bear to lose you, too.”
“I’m sorry,” Caleb whispered. “I saw them. They’re here.”
Kris pulled back and turned to look into Noah’s eyes. He turned back to Caleb. “You saw them how?”
Caleb glanced at Noah and then back to Kris. “In my mind’s eye. You know, like when you dream or meditate.”
Kris looked up at Noah. A mutual acknowledgement of Caleb’s newfound gift passed between them. “We’d better get inside,” Kris said and stood.
Noah nodded. He figured it could be a good thing to have three seers. He also recognized the box that Caleb had gone back to get. It was their mother’s runes and crystals. Noah didn’t understand why the kid wanted them. Noah and Mel didn’t need those things to see the future.
They got everyone inside and down to the panic room in the basement.
“Connie?” Noah spoke softly. When she looked up at him with her tear-filled eyes, Noah took a deep breath. “Can you help Vanessa with the little ones?” Connie nodded.
Vanessa grabbed his hand. “You’re not going back out there.” It was half question, half demand. She looked him in the eyes and shook her head. “I can’t live without you.”
He cupped her head in his hand and kissed her on the lips. Pulling back to look into her tearful eyes, he said, “You won’t have to.”
“Noah?” Kris called from the door.
Noah gave Vanessa another quick kiss before turning toward the door. “I love you,” he said before sealing her and the other children inside.
They exited Noah’s house and stood on the front lawn, looking out at the destruction. It looked like a bomb had gone off. The houses were on fire and half tore down. The community center was a pile of smoking rubble.
Noah’s sadness turned to fury. The demons were going to pay.
Hecate appeared in front of them. “Are you ready, my children?”
They were surprised to see her there, and wondered why she had come. They went down to their knees and bowed their heads without questioning her. “Yes, Goddess.”
“Then stand and let’s kick some ass,” she prompted.
They didn’t have to look very far. A group of demons stalked toward them like a wave. Noah felt a surge of power rise up in his body. It ran through his veins, building and strengthening. On instinct, he thrust his hands straight out in front of him toward the demons. White light left his palms and hit the first couple of demons, sending them flying backwards into the demons behind them.
He looked down at his hands, stunned for a few seconds before looking at Hecate. She was engaging four demons. They charged her two at a time and then all four at once. She was too fast for them, or so he thought before she took a hit in the side that made her cry out. Noah made a move to go to her, but her voice filled his head, stopping him. “Don’t worry about me. Use your magic. Think about what you want and will it so.”
He looked over at Kris and Mel. They’d also heard Hecate’s command. They nodded to Noah, and together, they fought the demons with powers they never knew they possessed.
One of the demons cut Kris across the back with a sword. Kris whirled around to face the demon. His eyes glowed amber like dancing flames. Noah had only seen Kris’s eyes like that when he was in animal form or when he was calling out to his element, fire.
“Back off!” Kris demanded. Noah and Mel backed off slightly. When they did, Kris threw his hands out in front of him and then spread them wide, sending flames out like a blowtorch to encircle the group of demons.
It was the coolest thing Noah had ever seen. Kris was a human flamethrower. He wished his element was fire instead of earth. Then he had an idea. He called out to the earth and the forest that surrounded the coven. He willed the vines covering the trees to him. The vines snaked and twined along the ground, unseen by the demons until they took hold, wrapping and twisting around the demons legs up to their torsos.
Mel took that opportunity to call her element. She called a light breeze to blow Kris’s fire toward the demons. The oxygen from the air fed the fire.
All together, they sent everything they had into what they’d created. The vines twined around while the air intensified the flames and pushed them over the demons, burning them all in a matter of minutes.
Everything fell quiet. The three of them looked up to see Hecate walking toward them. She was still as beautiful as she had been before the fight began. Then again, she was a goddess. She stopped in front of them and held out an amulet of some kind. Being about five inches in diameter, it was too big to be worn as a piece of jewelry, and Noah wondered what it was. The center was a crystal sphere that seemed to glow with multi-colored energy waves. Surrounding the sphere was a labyrinth-like symbol: Hecate’s Wheel—the symbol of knowledge and life.
“This is the Sinew. It is the source of all magic and knowledge. Guard it with your lives. The demons must never have it again.” Hecate gave them the Sinew and vanished.
The stove timer went off, causing everyone in the room to jump. Vanessa stood up. “Dinner’s ready.”
Everyone took that cue to move to the dining room.
Chapter 24
After dinner, Ayden was finally able to get Kalissa alone. He asked her to go for a walk, and she said yes without hesitation. He smiled, knowing she was as glad to be alone as he was.
It was nice to have everyone together. It was like old times. When he’d come to visit as a child, they would have dinner parties all the time. Kalissa’s parents, his parents, and sometimes, Melaina would come down from Maine to visit. Back then, he and Kalissa would sneak off after dinner.
“I remember doing this,” Kalissa said.
“You mean sneaking off after dinner?” Ayden asked with a chuckle. “I was just thinking the same thing.” He stopped, drew her into his arms, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “So, you know where I am taking you?” He watched her flush and look away. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He pulled her toward the barn.
“I also remember that Zach used to come looking for us.” Kalissa giggled.
Ayden’s heart swelled at the sound. He didn’t expect to ever hear her laugh again. The sound of her laughter drifted out to him like a soothing caress, and the light in her eyes when she was happy guided him home. From this day forward, he would make sure that light burned for the rest of their existence.
“Wow,” Kalissa said, walking through the barn’s eight-foot-tall double doors. “Noah’s barn is three times the size of mine, and in better shape. I really needed to fix it up. Don’t ever show this barn to Teddy-Bear. They’ll leave and come here to live.”
Ayden chuckled and quickly followed her as she walked over to the ladder in the middle of the barn that led up to the loft. When he reached the top, Kalissa was peering out the opening that overlooked to the back of the property. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She sank back into his chest with a sigh. His lips brushed her cheek and moved down to her neck.
A small moan rose in her throat, and she pressed into him more. She reached behind her and ran her hand up his thigh to the growing bulge in his jeans and cupped him.
Ayden turned her to face him so he could capture her lips with his. Kalissa wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her fingers in his hair. She immediately opened for
him and returned the kiss with her own eagerness.
He lowered his hands to her hips and cupped her ass to lift her off the ground. Kalissa’s legs clamped around his waist, pulling their bodies closer. Holding on to her back for support, he lowered them to the floor of the loft. He broke the kiss to look into her eyes. They were so full of passion and need that they almost glowed. Never had he thought to see that dreamy-eyed desire in her eyes again. The more he had her, the more he wanted. He loved her, and he was going to show her how much for the rest of their existence.
“What is it?” she asked in a whisper.
He smiled widely at her, stroking her cheek with his hand. “Just admiring how beautiful you are.”
He lifted her torso off the floor and removed her shirt, then lean down and kissed her lips. Her skin smelled of vanilla and jasmine as he trailed kisses over her cheek, down her neck, and farther to her breast. The scent intensified the more she was aroused, making him grow harder as it crawled inside and wrapped him in its grip.
The clasp on the front of her bra opened by his will to free her breasts. He captured a pink nipple with his mouth and gently sucked. She arched her back and moaned. Her soft curves under him felt too right. The way she moved. The sounds of pleasure she made when he caressed her.
He slid his hand down her side to her hip, gathered her skirt, and pulled it up to slide his hand up her inner thigh. The strip of her panties was the only barrier, but not for long as he pushed them to the side to rub his fingers over her clit. She was wet and ready for him. Her hips lifted and pushed into his hand, meeting his strokes. He wanted to taste her again but knew they didn’t have much time before someone came looking for them.
After the last shudder had left her body, he pulled his hand away to undo his jeans and release his hard cock from its confinement. He leaned down over her, pressed his lips to hers, and slid inside with a quick thrust.
Damn. He was lost. Kalissa sent him places he’d never dreamed of, the way she captured his heart and commanded him when he was in her. She wrapped her legs around him to take all of him and met every thrust he gave her until they both climaxed and were left a trembling pile of bodies.