by Apryl Baker
“I learned my lesson when it comes to falling for my charges. Ella’s my friend, my best friend, and that’s all.”
Mattie laughs. “My poor little Guardian Angel. You just need to open your eyes and accept the gift you’ve been given.”
Dan kneels beside her. “Give him time, Squirt. You can’t tell people this. They have to come to it in their own time. Let him go through everything that comes with falling for a girl. You can’t tell him to do it.”
“I’m not falling for her,” I sputter.
They both laugh.
“I’m not!”
“Sure.” Mattie’s hand goes to Ella’s forehead, and warmth radiates from her.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping her.” The heat coming from her blazes hotter than the heat I’m giving off. She’s her own furnace. “Give me your hand, Eli.”
I do so without hesitation.
She places it on Ella’s forehead and then puts hers over mine.
“Close your eyes and let me show you how to do this.”
“I…”
“You’re a natural healer, Eli, but you need to know how. You’ve done it once before, and I can show you how to do it again so she doesn’t die. Ella’s not like me. She’s fragile. You need to be able to help her so her physical body doesn’t die again.”
She’s right. I close my eyes and let my Guardian magic reach out and touch hers. There’s a deep darkness pulsing in it, stronger than it was before, but the light overwhelms it. This is Mattie. Her light always shines brighter than the darkness in her. I should have seen that from the beginning, but I have to accept the consequences of my own actions. I lost her. But I can’t lose Ella too. I’ll learn this.
It only takes a few minutes for me to understand what her magic is doing and to mimic it. I can see the wounds in her, and all I have to do is imagine them healed. Physically, that is.
“Stop.”
Mattie’s voice is a command I can’t ignore, and I do without a second thought.
“We can’t heal her completely. They need to see the wounds, or they’ll know you did something, Eli. She must be protected against the Army at all costs.”
She’s right. I look down to see almost half of her wounds are gone. The deepest ones remain. I hate seeing them on her flesh.
“You didn’t fail her, you know. You got her out, and she’s still alive because you took her straight to the hospital. Both of you would have bled out if you hadn’t.”
How could she know what a failure I was feeling?
“I think we need to get a move on.” Dan glances at his watch. “If you want to go talk to this thing, we have to hurry. Daylight will be upon us.”
She nods, and they both stand. “Eli, pick Ella up. We’re going to take you to the healer, and then the three of us are going to go have a talk with the creature.”
“Talk? Shouldn’t we just kill it?”
Dan sighs. “That was my first inclination as well, but there’s something wrong with that setup in the meadow. That bench bothers me.”
“You’ve already been there?”
“This thing…I saw it kill you, Eli.” Mattie’s eyes go hard. “You’re my family, and nothing gets to hurt what’s mine. I’m not about to let it kill you, but Dan’s right. There’s a reason that bench is there. We need to understand. Pick up your girl, and let’s go.”
I want to deny Ella is mine, but the words won’t go past my lips. I know why, but I push that back. I won’t go down that path again.
Instead, I pick her up, and Mattie takes hold of my arm.
A haze comes over us, and then we’re in a world of white static. It’s like the snow you see on TVs when the channel used to go off for the night. I don’t think they do that anymore, but they did when I was little.
It’s cold, and I can hear things scuffling around.
And then we’re standing in another room. The old woman who sits at her table doesn’t move. Her dark skin is leathery and her brown eyes worn and tired. This must be Hattie.
“I wasn’t expecting you, demon.”
Mattie smiles tightly. “I’m just here to deliver the girl into your care. They couldn’t see her leave, and this was the simplest way.”
The old woman nods. “You’ve done your job. Now leave this place.”
“Put her down on the bed, and then we need to go, Eli. Dan’s right. Daylight will be here soon.”
Hesitantly, I lay her down and glance to the old woman.
“She’s safe here, boy. Go do what you need to do.”
I hate leaving her, but the hunter in me is ready to fight. I need to do this. Laying a kiss on her forehead, I stand up. “Stay safe, Shortcake, and get better.”
Dan holds out his hand, and I grip it tightly.
The world tilts again, and we’re in that same snow. This has to be The Between. I’ve heard Mattie talk about it before, but it’s crazy that we’re actually traveling through it.
When we reappear, we’re in the meadow. My first thought is panic, and I look toward the woods where the creepy mini-monsters are.
“Tell me what happened here.” Mattie’s looking toward the woods as well. Maybe she senses them lurking beyond the trees.
I explain everything to her, from the moment Ella spoke to Shane to when we had to pull her out of the rotten cabins with hundreds of those things rushing us.
“I’ve never seen anything like them before,” I say at the end of it. “They swarmed her like rats.”
Mattie shudders. “I hate rats.”
“As long as they stay in the woods, we’ll leave them alone for now.” Dan draws his sword, and he seems to grow, become more of everything that he is. It’s the sword. He holds one of the four holy swords. His is the Sword of Truth. It’s the sword of judgement. I hope to never be at the end of that thing. It cleanses your soul through death.
“Who are you and why are you here?”
The voice is raspy and sends chills down my spine.
Mattie goes and sits herself on the bench. Dan and I take up guard on either side.
“I came to talk to you, creature.”
It walks out of the woods, a cloak hiding its appearance. It reminds me of some scary Halloween flick Ava and I would watch when we were kids, or a Goosebumps novel.
The thing sits beside her, and she hisses. Actually hisses like one of a thousand dark creatures. It unnerves me, and Dan stares me down, his eyes measuring. He knows how I feel about her demon blood. I can’t help it. I’m slowly getting over my prejudices, thanks to the people here, but it still makes me uneasy when I see that side of her or Jordan.
“What are you?” it asks in a voice that sounds ancient.
“Someone who’s killed your kind before.” She turns her head toward it. “Why are you here, and why are you killing the townspeople?”
“You ask instead of trying to kill me first?”
“This is odd, this place. I want to know why there is a fence and a bench.”
It laughs. “So many just come in and try to slay. They never speak first.”
“I won’t try,” she says softly. “I’ll just kill.”
“Who are you to threaten me?” The sinister tone is unmistakable. Dan and I tense, ready to protect her.
We didn’t need to, though. She lights up like a lighthouse, golden white light surrounding her in a blaze so bright I have to look away.
“I don’t threaten.” Her voice has gone hollow, eerie. “I just do.”
The thing hisses and shrinks in upon itself. “How is this…you are an abomination.”
“Yes, I know.” She gets cheeky. “Now, beast, tell me what I want to know before I decide you are of no worth to me.”
“I protect the town.”
“You murder their people.”
“No, it was a bargain made over a century ago.”
“Tell me,” she commands in that same voice I know is meant to make others do her bidding. Her father has the same gift. You can’t
lie to either of them, but I don’t know if it works on dark entities like this one.
“They trapped my children here using my blood. They thought they could keep me here as well, and they found out that is not the case. Without me here, the circle is useless. My children would swarm the town and surrounding areas, feeding and breeding more and more until there was nothing left of the humans who inhabit our world.”
“But then there would be no more food.”
Its laughter echoes around us. There is an answering laugh from the trees. Dan and I see the glowing red eyes at the same time. Hundreds of them surround us. If Mattie weren’t here, I’d be a little more nervous, but I know she can get us out before they have time to blink.
“Why do you think I agreed to their plan? I understood that even if they had no idea of what was going through my head when they offered the bargain.”
“What bargain is that?”
“I must feed every so often to stay alive. If they allowed me to feed just enough to sustain myself, then I would stay here and contain my children. They reap the benefits of my protection, and I reap a willing pool of donors for my food. I believe they call it The Reaping Season. Fourteen deaths are all I require. It is not many to keep the entire town safe. I sleep from feeding to feeding. I am content to sleep. I’m old and tired. Those who foolishly wander in are sustenance for the creatures you see in the woods now. That was part of my bargain as well. My children could not starve.”
“So, if you die, then the circle is broken, and your children are free to roam the lands?”
It nods.
Mattie sighs. “I could kill you, but then I’d be loosing the wild pack.”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Then you get to live today. Your bargain will remain intact…what is your name?”
“Acrozazel.”
“I will leave you in peace, Acrozazel.” She stands and motions for us to follow her.
Everything in me says to stay, to strike, but that thing is definitely not a vampire, and my short dagger would do nothing but irritate it.
So instead of striking out, I follow Mattie and Dan out of the clearing and to where my Jeep is still parked. We get in, and I’m glad the keys are still here. I’d left them when we went into the meadow earlier.
“What was that thing?” Dan asks as we drive out of the woods. I turn the Jeep toward the wolves’ compound.
“That was a primordial evil.”
It scares me so badly I lose control of the steering wheel, and Dan grabs it before we wreck. “Dude, you straight?”
“Yeah, sorry.” I shake my head and focus on driving. “I…I know what that is, and it scared me to my core that we were sitting there talking to it. Those things were created in the dark before the light of day was brought to chase it away. It is something so old, nothing can kill it.”
“I can.” Mattie leans back in the back seat, and I glance at her in the rear-view. She’s not boasting. She made a simple statement of fact. “I have before.”
“Why have the hunters not hunted you down?” The words slip out before I can stop them.
Dan growls. “Because if they do, I will kill every last one of them, and they know it.”
“They don’t know what I am or what I can do. They suspect I’m something that needs to be hunted, but they are also starting to see I’m the one who’s trying to help them.”
“The Hathaway Foundation?”
“You’ve heard of it?”
“Gramps told me about it. He doesn’t think you’ll be able to do it, though. Hunting is a solitary occupation.”
“Eli.” Dan turns in his seat to face me. “If you ever try to hurt her, I will kill you, brother or not.”
She needs to be hunted. I know it in my soul, but I love her. “I would never harm a hair on her head. She’s my charge. I’ve literally died to save her, and then I almost died again to help her when Kristoff had her.”
“That’s why I didn’t kill you where you sit.” My brother leans back, settling against the seat. He’s changed so much. The man I knew before would never speak of murdering anyone in that cold way. What happened to him? He was good and kind. Gentle. It has to be the sword he carries. I know it changes its bearer, but I had no idea it could do this.
“Why didn’t you kill it then?”
“Because those things…they are of the same darkness Acrozazel is. It took everything I had to kill the other one. I wouldn’t have the strength to kill hundreds of them. They are all mini-mes of the creature and hold some of his power. If I’d killed him, they’d be free to roam. This is the best option. The pact was something made out necessity, I think, on both parts. Some things we have to accept, Eli, and this is one of them. This agreement saves not only this town, but everyone. It protects us all.”
I hate that she’s right.
Dan’s hand grips my shoulder. “I want to go back and murder them all, too, but even together, the three of us aren’t strong enough to do it. I’m not sure a small army could do it. This is best, Eli.”
“I know that. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
My brother smiles darkly. “One day, maybe we will be strong enough, and we’ll come back and play exterminator on the little rats.”
“Can we please not talk about rats anymore?” Mattie grouches from the back seat.
“Congratulations on getting married. I should have said that earlier, but…”
“But you love her, and it hurt.” Dan doesn’t sound upset. It’s a simple statement of fact.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’ve seen what she’s seen, so I know you’ll find your own happiness, and then the three of us can really be a family. No resentments, no longing, nothing but love. I’ve seen it, Eli, so I know it’s true. I’m your brother, and that means I will love you no matter what. The three of us are going to be in it for the long haul.”
He means it. I sense it with every fiber of my being.
“I love you, Dan. I should have said that more.”
“I love you, too, little brother. Now, let’s get you back to Ella. She doesn’t need to be alone.”
The rest of the drive is spent in silence, and when we reach the pack’s entrance, we’re stopped long enough for me to be recognized. The guard on duty doesn’t like the smell of Mattie, but I assure him she’s a friend and won’t be here long. He gives me directions to Hattie’s house and waves us along.
When we pile out of the Jeep, Dan hugs me, his famous bear hugs even tighter than Caleb’s. God, I missed him.
“Here, give me your phone.” Mattie holds out her hand, and I fish it out of my back pocket, grateful I fell asleep before I had time to deposit it or my wallet on the coffee table at home. “Unlock it, goofball.”
Laughing, I try to do it around Dan. He hasn’t let me go, and I’m not about to let go of him either. He’s my brother, and though I might not have known him as long as Caleb, Ava, or Benny, I still love him just as much as I do them.
“There,” she says once she’s done messing around with it. “I put my number and Dan’s number in there. I expect daily text messages and a call every Sunday.”
“Same,” Dan says and finally releases me. “They won’t touch me, Eli. Call. Talk to me. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
Mattie pulls me in for a hug. “I miss my brother, too.”
I die slightly when she says that, but I can’t not hug her back. I don’t want to be her brother, but that’s all I can be. She’s my sister-in-law, and I have to accept that. She’s family, and if it kills me, I’ll love her like I do Ava.
And maybe she’s right. Maybe I have been stopping myself from finding love again. Maybe I will try to date.
But not Ella. That’s a whole world of trouble. I know better, and I won’t cause issues with protecting her. I don’t care what Mattie said. My job is to protect Ella, and I can’t do that if I let myself have feelings for her. Look what happened with Mattie. I almost
got her killed at my own hands. I can’t risk that again.
“It’ll be okay, Eli. Everything works out the way it’s supposed to in the end.”
“Can I ask you something?”
She nods.
“What are you, exactly?”
“I am Death. I am Creation. And I am everything in between.”
That hollow tone is back, and I understand exactly what she’s saying. That golden glow. Her ability to heal. I know what she is.
“Your secret will always be safe with me.”
“I know. But I am not always going to be like this. I don’t like it. I kept this because of Ella, but I’m tired, Eli. Have her call for Rhea when she needs help again. My mother will hear her and come. She’s already promised this.”
“You had your gifts locked up tight before, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but they tend to break out when I need them.”
“Good. You should be able to protect yourself, Hilda.”
She socks me in the stomach. “How many times do I need to tell you not to call me that?”
“I’ll always call you that.” I pull her back from me. “Are you okay, though? Really okay?”
She smiles, and for the first time all night, it finally reaches her eyes. “I’m Mattie Louise Hathaway, and I’m awesome.”
“That you are, Hilda. That you are.”
She steps out of my arms and goes back to Dan. “We need to go, Eli, but remember what I said. Text us both every day and call on Sundays. We’ll always be here for you. And I expect you at the wedding. You’ll be there for us, and we’ll be there for you on draft day.”
My mouth drops open. How does she know about my hopes of the NFL? Wait…she said she’d be here on draft day?
She smiles secretively. “Seer, remember?”
And then they’re gone, leaving me with a sense of peace I haven’t felt in a long time.
I knock on the door. Ella needs me now.
Chapter Nineteen
Major Henry Banks
Day 7
10:42 p.m.
The Woods Surrounding Jacob’s Fork
The fog that has descended over the town of Jacob’s Fork has gotten thicker the more days pass. He’s never been in this area of the woods, and tonight is not a night he’d choose to do so. There’s a storm moving in, and dark clouds obscure the moon, giving off no light. It makes the fog even eerier because it’s all you can see. Thick strands of it reach out, snake threateningly around your legs. The place is quiet; no sounds penetrate this area of the woods. Even the animals have gone silent. Henry always hated the dark. It’s a fear that’s stayed with him all his life. Too many scary movies watched in the dark with his brother when he was a kid.