by G. Bailey
Nix
“Hey,” I say, handing Evie a protein bar and sitting down next to her. She looks at the bar in her hand, and shrugs, opening it up.
“You should be resting,” she says, not looking at me but still keeping an eye out. Azi came back an hour ago and set the fire up with our help. We have three tents set up in the cave around the fire. Azi offered to swap with Evie, but she didn’t want to and told him to sleep in case they need another portal. It’s clear something bad happened between them, and they clearly still have feelings for each other. Or, at least, Azi does. I’m not sure about Evie. She turns to look at me, her bright-blue eyes reflecting the light from the fire in the cave, and it makes her look so very innocent and stunning. She may be stunning, but we all know innocent isn’t a word I would use to describe her. She has let her hair down, and it frames her face. The dark blue is stunning, so natural and like it was always meant to be that colour.
“I needed some fresh air,” I tell her, pulling out my own protein bar from my coat and opening it. I bite down on the chewy crap, hating the fake plastic taste.
“These are crap,” Evie voices my thoughts on the bar, scrunching her face up and putting the bar down after she chews a bit.
“Crap is a nice word,” I say.
“How does your arm feel?” she asks, not exactly concerned but more curious.
“Better. I’m alive, and I owe you for it,” I say, keeping my eyes locked on hers. I will pay her back for the debt one day. I will never forget what she did.
“Can I sit?” Connor asks from behind me, his question is clearly for Evie more than it was for me from the way he stares at her.
“I don’t own hell, you can sit wherever you like, Connor,” she replies, and he chuckles, going to her other side and sitting down.
“You both should be sleeping,” she comments.
“If you keep telling me to go to bed, love, I might start getting excited that you’re going to join me,” I tease her, watching how she turns to look at me with a small grin.
“You’re a flirt, Nix,” she says with a low chuckle, and looks back into the cave.
“Is Azi really your ex?” Connor blurts out, looking at where she is looking. Her whole face tightens with her fists as she looks back at the entrance.
“Yes,” she replies dryly.
“You really dated a demon? A demon overlord?” Connor asks in shock. Evie laughs, shaking her head.
“Demons aren’t that different from humans and Protectors,” she tells us. I’ve lost count of how many demons I have killed, how many I’ve sent back to hell on missions. Demons aren’t all roses and sunshine, that’s for sure. I’m certain Azi has done his fair share of evil things.
“You know he is an overlord? Do Protectors even know much about overlords?” she asks us.
“We know there are ten overlords, all brothers. All very powerful and that our old king killed one over three hundred years ago,” I tell her, and she nods her head.
“Azi said his brother deserved to die, that his sin was controlling him, making him evil. I still wouldn’t bring up his brother again,” she suggests.
“Sin?” I ask.
“Each brother has a sin that makes them an overlord. Think the seven deadly sins, and you get a rough idea,” she shrugs.
“What is Azi’s?” I ask.
“Not my secret to tell,” she replies quickly, with a little smirk on her soft, pretty, heart-shaped lips.
“You protect him, even though he clearly hurt you. What happened?” I ask.
“Why should I tell you?” she replies quickly.
“We are likely to die down here, so anything you tell us will be kept secret,” Connor says, making her laugh.
“I’ve seen you all fight, you might not die down here,” she says. That was almost a compliment. She might be starting to like us, after all.
“Then we will keep our mouths shut, so the deadly assassin doesn’t come after us,” I tease her, and she laughs, but it dies off. We are silent for a while before she starts speaking.
“Azi saved me from hell when I was eighteen. I fell in here by accident when I was fighting a Protector. I think he was trying to send me here, anyway,” she says, clearing her throat as my fists tighten in anger for her. A Protector came after a child? Why the hell would they do that? “Azi and I hit it off instantly, and I fell for him. I was young and stupid, and he was hot, knowledgeable, and well, off-limits being a demon overlord and all. I have always liked the dangerous shit in life. He was just different from anyone I had met. I trusted him,” she stops, anger burning over her eyes.
“So, what happened to make you hate him like you do now?” Connor asks gently.
“I walked into our apartment, seeing him with a half-naked demon girl standing between his legs as he sat on a chair. I opened a portal to hell and made sure they both went into it. I haven’t talked to him until the club the other day,” she tells us.
“Then, he is a fucking idiot, blue. If he had you, he had something he never should have thrown away,” Connor tells her, and she laughs.
“I know, and he knows that now. I’m sure when he came back to his apartment to see all his designer clothes cut up, his expensive shit destroyed, he realised his mistake,” she says, and I laugh.
“I bet that annoyed him,” Connor laughs.
“It did, but I was more bothered about other things at the time. Vi also stole my lucky cat statue, which I want back, by the way. Can we talk, Vi?” Azi asks from behind us, and Evie stands up.
“Stop calling me Vi, and you’re not getting your cat statue back,” she snaps and walks around him as his glowing red eyes fill the cave with light. “I’m going to nap.” We all watch her walk until she disappears into the cave.
“Don’t even think about touching her, she is mine,” Azi states, placing his hands on his hips. I laugh as I stand up, walking over, so we are eye to eye.
“She sent you to hell, which you deserved. You don’t stand a chance, and she fucking isn’t yours. She is a Protector,” I tell him, seeing him slowly lose his temper. Connor places his hand on my shoulder, pulling me away.
“Evie doesn’t belong to anyone, not the Protectors, not the demons. I know that from just knowing her a few days,” Connor tells us both. “This alpha macho shit won’t get you back in her good graces, Azi,” he tells Azi, and then walks away from us both to the cave entrance.
“I’m watching, go and sleep,” Connor tells me. I pull my eyes away from Azi’s, walking around him. I’m surprised when he doesn’t say a word to me, but maybe he can’t because he knows Connor’s right, Evie isn’t anyone’s. But I like her, and I’m damn well going to try to make her notice me. Evie is worth pissing off a demon for.
Evie
“Is that bacon?” Connor asks, groggily waking up from his nap, and his tired eyes meet mine. He looks like a cute lion teddy in the morning, with messy gold hair, his gold eyes look brighter somehow. I clear my throat, looking back at my pan as I cook the bacon.
“Yes, my bacon,” I explain to him. I look around at Azi and Nix talking by the door and to Trex who is resting his back against a wall, watching me like a hawk, like I’m about to try and stab him or something. I mean it’s not a move far from my mind, because he is an ass, but I care more about my bacon at the moment.
“She doesn’t share bacon, man. She would most likely stab you for touching it,” Azi warns Connor, who chuckles.
“I hate to admit it, but he is right. I don’t share bacon, not with anyone,” I say seriously and Connor grins, standing up. I watch as he stretches his arms above his head, lifting his tight shirt to show his flat, toned stomach, the gold hair that trails down his stomach and into his trousers. I wonder if the carpet matches the drapes? I pull my eyes away from Connor to see Azi glaring at me, his eyes drifting between me and Connor.
“Connor, we need to have a look around, see if we can spot an entrance to the mountains. Come with Nix and me. Evie and Trex can stay here and wa
tch out,” Azi demands, picking up his sword and walking out of the cave. Connor laughs, clearly picking up on Azi’s jealously as he leans closer to me.
“See you in a bit, blue,” he twirls a bit of my blue hair around his finger, making me wonder if he is an idiot or just a brave idiot, before grabbing his sword and coat, then walking out. There’s an awkward silence as I finish cooking my bacon, eating it slowly, and cleaning my pot before putting it back in my bag.
“Why do I have the feeling you are going to try and attack me, Trexy?” I ask him, knowing he is thinking about it. The way he has been watching me, the dagger hidden in his right hand, tells me all I need to know.
“What the fuck did you just call me?” he growls.
“Trexy . . . it suits you, I think,” I chuckle, standing up as he does. We walk in sync with each other in circles. At least he isn’t pretending he doesn’t want to kill me.
“Trying to kill me now is your best option. The others will be back soon, and won’t let you attempt it,” I say, wanting to get this over with. He does what I thought he would, run straight at me. I dive under his dagger-holding arm, grabbing his wrist and twisting. He drops the dagger and I grab, kicking his back, making him stumble. He turns around, glaring at me.
“Is that what they teach you at Protector school? If so, no wonder you guys are so easy to kill,” I say honestly, and he runs at me again. I chuckle, running as well and diving onto the floor, skidding across and grabbing his leg, bringing him to the floor. He grabs me, trying to pull me to him, and I let him for second, before kicking his face with my boot and jumping on him, pressing the dagger to his throat. He watches me carefully with his dirt-smothered face, his green eyes that are far prettier up close. He is more gorgeous than I thought now that I’m closer to him. Shame about the hating me and engaged thing.
“Why the fuck do you hate me so much, Trex?” I ask him, wanting to know why.
“You killed my uncle. I was eleven when they dragged his body to our home. He was my uncle, and you killed him,” he growls.
“I was hunted, I had no choice. We aren’t that different in age, I was only a child when your uncle tried to kill me. You know what’s worse? I don’t even remember him, just another Protector that came after me. I don’t like to kill but I had, and have, no choice,” I tell him.
“You do like to kill, it’s who you are. I can see it your cold eyes,” he chuckles darkly.
“You don’t know a thing, Trexy,” I bite back, holding the dagger closer, trying to resist the urge to kill the bastard and prove him right.
“Go on, do it, be the assassin, the killer we all know you are,” Trex taunts me. I move my legs closer around his waist and lean down, pressing my lips close to his, but not close enough to touch. His whole body goes tense as his eyes burn with anger.
“That’s the funny thing, though . . . you don’t know a thing about me,” I reply sweetly.
“I know you kill anyone that gets in your way, I know your name is whispered in fear by every Protector,” he spits out, and I lean back with a dramatic sigh.
“Then you don’t know me at all. I never kill anyone that doesn’t try to kill me first. Maybe you should get your facts right before trying to attack me again, Trex,” I say with a smirk as his eyes widen in disbelief. Of course, he would never believe that his precious, stuck-up race would send their soldiers to kill me. I chuckle, moving my knife away and climbing off of him as I hear footsteps. Connor walks in, covered in black slime and stops in his tracks as he stares at us. Even covered in disgusting-smelling crap, he looks hotter than he should.
“We have a big fucking problem, so stop flirting, and get the hell outside,” he shouts and then walks straight back out. I run and grab my weapons, and my bow before running out of the cave, stopping in my tracks at the sight of Azi, Connor, and Nix fighting with massive green, disgusting-looking creatures. They are dripping with green slime, the only part of them describable is their black eyes and long mouths full of spikes instead of teeth.
“What the hell are those?” Trex asks in shock.
“Get back!” I shout at the guys as I pull my sleeve up and call my blue rune. Once Connor, Azi, and Nix are at my side, I make a wall of holy fire, which burns when the creatures run at it.
“Azi, have you seen anything like that?” I ask him in shock, and he shakes his head, running his hands through his hair.
“No, but I don’t want to stick around to make more explode. They stink,” Azi says, and I just now notice that all of them are covered in the green slime. And they stink.
“I found a track, this way,” Nix points to our right and to a small path through the caves that leads up the mountains by the looks of it.
“Brilliant, let’s go,” I say, looking back at the creatures once more before walking up the path after getting out bags.
Evie
“We are getting close to the gate to the next level,” Azi tells us as we continue to climb. I stop, needing a break like everyone else seems to as I look back at them. We have been climbing straight uphill for over five hours, with the freezing cold wind and harsh snow. Every part of me is freezing and thank god for the thermal gloves or I’m sure I would have lost my fingers.
“Time for a drink,” I say, holding my hand up so they all stop. I lean against a wall, pulling my drink bottle out of my bag and see that’s its frozen solid.
“Fuck,” I mutter, struggling to even get the bottle’s lid off. Two hands cover mine on the bottle, gently warming up slowly. Azi doesn’t say a word as he defrosts the bottle, and steps away.
“Thanks,” I nod at him and he smiles, almost sadly.
“Dude, I could use some help with that trick,” Connor says, and Azi just scowls at him, walking away a little. “Asshole.”
I drink half my water with a smile and then walk over to Connor, handing him my bottle.
“That’s yours,” he insists, and I push it at him.
“I don’t need anymore,” I say, and walk back to my spot, leaning against the wall. I quickly eat a breakfast bar out of my bag and wait for the others before we start walking again. The end of the path finally comes into view, and the massive cavern.
“The gate,” Azi shouts, but his voice is lost in the wind. I pause when I smell burning, holding my hand up to make the others stop as I slide a dagger out of my belt.
“What?” Connor asks, and I look back at them for a second, placing my finger on my lips. I’ve only smelt that kind of burning once, and if one of those demons are around, we are in deep shit. I keep my footsteps as silent and light as I can as I run to the edge of the path, hiding behind the rocks. The others do the same, staying close to the rocks as I edge my head around, seeing the very demon I never wanted to see again standing with two friends at the entrance. Gragnog demons. Gragnog demons have bodies similar to ours, but they are constantly on fire and their hands are two long, sharp bones instead of hands. They have one eye on their head, and a mouth full of sharp teeth, but their appearance isn’t the worst thing about them. They feed on burning–burning humans mainly. One touch of their fire against your skin, makes you feel like you’re dying, and makes them feel like they’ve had an energy drink.
“Shit,” I whisper as I lean back, and look at the others.
“What?” Azi demands.
“Gragnog demons. One adult, and two teen ones by the looks of them. They are waiting, most likely for us,” I snap out, glaring at the Protectors because this is clearly all their fault.
“We will have to go around,” Nix states.
“We don’t have time for that, we need to get to the next layer, not travel around the fucking mountain. It’s three against five, we can do this,” Trex says, and steps out before I can grab him.
“You are a complete fucking idiot,” I hiss, as the demons turn to us.
“Maybe,” he grins. “Let’s see how deadly the legendary assassin is, huh?”
I don’t have time to reply to the idiot as the demons run at us, and
I throw my dagger straight at the biggest one. He has his eyes locked on me as the dagger hits his chest, and doesn’t even seem to faze him. One of the younger ones goes for Connor and Trex, and Nix is left with the other. I go to fight the big demon when Azi jumps in front of me.
“New plan, get in the cave and dive into the water!” Azi shouts, grabbing one of the demons, and holding him in the air. Azi somehow manages to keep control of the older one by holding the demon’s sharp hands behind his back. I run to the younger demon fighting Nix, burning his chest as he pushes him against a rock with one of his dagger arms. I lean around the demon grabbing Nix’s fallen sword from the floor. I grab the demon’s shoulder, ignoring the heat burning my gloves and swing the sword hard across his neck, cutting its head off, and it falls to the ground with a bounce. Gross.
“Nihil!” the demon Azi is holding screams as his friend dies. I lock eyes with Azi as the demon struggles to get free.
“Run, I will portal to find you!” Azi demands, and I turn around, grabbing Nix’s arm and pulling him towards the cave entrance. I see Connor and Trex finish off their demon, before running after us. The cave entrance is tiny, with a ledge that overlooks a very fast-paced, and deep-looking river. The river has a waterfall at the other end; a large one, by the looks of it.
“Fuck it,” I grumble, running to the ledge and jumping off the cliff into the freezing-cold water.
Evie
I gasp for air as my head bounces out of the water, and into the cold air that feels like it burns my lungs. The river pulls me too fast down it, way too fast for me to be able to swim or control where I’m going. The current pushes me around as I try to look for anything. My head goes under again with the current, and I try to move my arms to get my head above the water again when my arm hits something, cutting me, and I feel pain reel through my arm as I feel a snap. I struggle in the river, more water filling my lungs as I try to swim up. An arm hooks around my waist suddenly, pulling me up, and I gasp again, sucking in air.