Between (31 page)

I couldn’t believe what she was saying, but she was right. “Yes, of course,” I answered quickly.

“
Then set him free. Michael doesn’t think about himself, nor does he think about the consequences of his actions. He follows his heart and that alone gets him in whole lot of trouble.”

“
I don’t know if I can let him go,” I said, and immediately regretted sharing my feelings with her. I didn’t need to explain anything to her.
I should just keep my mouth shut
, I thought.

“
I didn’t think you were, but you are quite selfish. You don’t think about anyone else except for yourself,” she huffed, then crossed her arms.

My mouth dropped as my eyes rolled in aggravation. She had no idea who I was and it felt like a slap on my face for her to think that I was selfish. Then I thought,
am I being selfish to hold onto Michael when I know our relationship is forbidden
?
Will he be damned to Hell forever because of me?

When she realized I wasn’t going to say another word, she opened her wings again. “Come on, let’s go. I don’t have all day.”

I didn’t move. She let out an irritated sigh. “Don’t worry. I won’t drop you, I think…unless you’re heavy,” she laughed wickedly.

I couldn’t tell by her tone of voice if she was serious or teasing. Either way, I was sensing warning signs, but I had no choice. If she was going to do whatever with me, she had the strength to do so.

We ended up on a mountain that had an entrance to what looked like a cave. I didn’t know where I was, nor had I ever seen this place before. I wondered if this place was actually located on Earth or somewhere between.

“
Come on,” Trinity lured. “Don’t want to keep him waiting.”

It was dark, but there was just enough light that I could see the path, slanting downwards. I followed behind her, trudging along, hearing nothing but my own steps, grinding on the pebbled ground. The cool air made me shiver, or maybe it was just that I was scared. I tried to stay calm by telling myself that if Michael and the venators trusted her, I could too, even though I thought she was two faced and conniving. In order to wash away my fright, I tried to think of the surprise Michael had waiting for me, but the further I walked in, the faster my heart hammered with fear, and the dreadful foul odor that smelled worse than the gym made me think twice of Trinity’s intention of bringing me here.

When we finally reached the center of the cave, there was a pool of water. It was odd to see such a thing, but it was mesmerizing to see the colors that were reflecting the light, beaming from high above. While I was looking around, I came to a dead stop when I saw Vivian. My instinct told me to run, so I did. As I ran for my life, thoughts of Vivian flashed through my mind and guilt settled in hard.
How can I just leave her
, I thought. I knew Trinity could stop me, so I stopped.

She yanked my shirt and spun me around. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Out of breath, I looked squarely into her eyes. I was not about to let her intimidate me. “Let Vivian go. I’m the one you want, not her.” Vivian’s hands were bound against the wall with the same cuff that the venator had used to bind the alkins. Her eyes were wide, blazing with anger. She couldn’t make a sound. Her mouth was bound too.

“
Don’t worry about her. If I were you, I would worry about myself.” She dragged me toward Vivian.

“
What do you want from me?” I yelled and tried to release myself from her.

“
Don’t worry. I don’t want your soul. I just want you dead. When you are gone, there will be no reason for Aliah and the other demons to come after you. And then there is this issue with Michael. Once you are gone, Michael will come running back to me. It’s the perfect plan,” she smirked.

“
It would have been a perfect plan, but too bad it won’t work,” Davin said, approaching us with the venators and the alkins.

Trinity hooked her left arm around my chest and held a small dagger against my neck. “Don’t take another step!” She looked bewildered. “How did you find me?” They stopped abruptly.

“
I told them where you might be,” Michelle gloated. “This is one of Aliah’s hide outs. How do you know about this place?”

“
I’m not working for him if that’s what you are insinuating.”

Michael stepped forward. “Trinity, don’t do this. Let Claudia go and I will be yours.”

I knew he was just saying those words to save me, but his words stung like a knife through my heart.

“
Michael, do you think I’m a fool? As long as she is alive, you’ll never want me.”

“
No, that’s not true. I was guarding her, pretending to have feelings for her. I was lost without you. She is just a replacement. Now that I know you still care enough for me to go to this length of trouble, I know that we belong together.” He took several steps closer, reaching out to her with such a look of soft passion in his eyes that even I was almost convinced.

“
I…I…want to believe you, but I can’t.” Her dagger pricked my skin and I felt a sharp pain. I could feel blood oozing from my neck.

Michael’s eyes displayed no emotions. Solely focusing on Trinity, he said, “Do you remember when we used to talk about our plan to escape Aden, and how we could build our lives somewhere Between?”

“
Yes. But that is gone now. I thought you were dead. Do you know how much it hurt thinking you were dead and that I was never going to see you again? And to see you with her is even a thousand times worse.”

“
Trinity, I thought you were dead too.” Michael reached out his hand, closing the gap between us. “You and I can go find our Between and start our lives together.”

The venators and alkins dispersed around the cave. I couldn’t see them anymore from my skewed point of view.

Trinity’s hold on me was less tense. Her heart rate that had been accelerated had finally found a normal beat. Then she spotted Patrick lunging towards her. She swiftly jerked backward with a tighter grip on me. “I told you not to come. Now you just…” She didn’t finish her words. Her eyes grew wide, pierced with fear, looking behind Michael to see white demons gravitating forward with Mr. Cain-Nicholas.

“
Not again. How many girlfriends did you have, Caleb?” Davin teased.

“
Apparently too many,” Caleb replied, half joking, but he obviously felt nervous from the last attack, remembering how long it took him to recover.

“
Ahhh…what a happy reunion.” Nicholas clapped his hands. “You’ve done well, Trinity. But I’m a little bit disappointed that you didn’t tell me you were coming today. You have betrayed me. And for that, you shall be punished.”

All eyes were on Trinity. Her betrayal ripped their hearts out.

“
Didn’t I tell you to take your stretched out marshmallows back to hell?” Austin said.

“
How could you, Trinity?” Holly’s eyes filled with betrayal and hurt. “I trusted you.”

“
Trinity… no,” Patrick said out loud.

“
I…I didn’t…just wanted…” She didn’t get a chance to finish. Nicholas pointed at us and the white demons charged in full force.

Trinity moved the dagger away from my neck and it magically became longer. With her hold still around my chest, she fought the demons. Austin came from behind her and demanded her to release me. Instead of doing so, she attacked him. Then we were surrounded by the demons. The venators and the alkins were encircled by them too.

“
Trinity,” Nicholas called. “Give me Claudia and I’ll spare your life.”

“
Very tempting, but you need to spare one more…Michael. You let us go then you can have the rest.”

“
You’re dead,” Holly said to Trinity. “I’m coming after you.”

Trinity looked down, shamefully, knowing she had lost her only friend.

Austin took this opportunity and managed to place his bow on Trinity’s neck. “Let go of her. And release the bond on Vivian,” he demanded.

Trinity had no option but to do as she was told. Austin pulled me to him and flew us to the back of the cave, behind some boulders.

“
Here– take this and defend yourself next to me.”

It was my bow. “I…thanks,” I said and held onto it tightly, hugging it, afraid to move.

“
Claudia. I’m right here. Shoot anything that comes close to you,” Austin directed.

I stood nervously with the bow in my hand, wondering if I could summon up the courage to even shoot it, let alone aim it correctly.

I peered past Austin to see Michael fighting alongside the alkins and the venators, but he turned his head every so often.

“
Where’s Claudia?” Michael yelled. I wanted to tell him I was safe, but the words wouldn’t come out. I was afraid to attract any attention.

“
Austin has her,” Davin replied while cutting off the white demon’s claws.

“
Where’s Trinity?” Holly asked lunging forward. “I don’t see her.”

I was so busy watching them that I hadn’t noticed a few demons approaching. In fear of them finding me, my heart thumped too fast for me to catch my breath. Austin dashed out in front with his bow, shooting out the silver flames. I didn’t want to sit there hugging my bow so I tried to build up the courage to fight back. What was the point of the lessons and what was the point of even having a bow if I was too chicken to use it?

I stepped out to the left and shot the closest demon. The silver flame bolted through its body. It snapped its head to me and charged in anger. As I thought my stomach would burst from fright, I focused the flames to its dreadful claws. Unbelievably, it pierced right through the claws and the demon sizzled to the ground. I couldn’t believe I had actually killed one.

Feeling elated, I quickly got ready to shoot another one. But I became distracted when I heard Michael’s urgent voice inside my head telling me to hide behind the boulders. It was more of a command than a request. Austin was right, he sounded extremely upset. Then like a rush of heat, I felt a warm sensation run through my body. My hands felt hot and tingly, like the feeling when your legs fall asleep. It was the same feeling I’d felt in the bathtub. Startled, the bow slipped out of my hands. Michael must have spotted me because the next thing I knew, he was standing in front of me.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Demons and fallen surrounded Michael. He could see Claudia from a distance, holding one of the venators’ bows, ready to face her enemies.
How did she get one
? he thought angrily. He knew it would be impossible to intervene so he would have to get there as fast as he could. Claudia managed to eliminate one. Michael was so proud of her for being brave, but also thought how
impulsive she was to risk her life the way she did. There were plenty of angels protecting her, but he knew she was too stubborn to follow anyone’s orders.

Concentrating on her and blocking attacks at the same time, he telepathically commanded her to hide behind the boulders. She didn’t respond; instead, her eyes revealed a look of shock and she didn’t move back to guard herself from an incoming blow. Her hands were clasped together and the bow was on the ground.

With a swift motion, Michael stood in front of Claudia, shielding her from the demon. “Claudia, move back,” Michael said with a forceful tone, blocking an attack. His sword contacted the claws with a loud screech.

Claudia moved to do what she was told. But when she turned to go back, someone muffled her mouth. She tried to wiggle free from the hold, but she was shoved to a spot near the pool of acid water. Michael was not only devastated, but shocked to see her gone when just a minute ago, she had been safely standing behind him. Claudia was now once again in the hands of Trinity.

“
How did this happen?” Austin snapped.

“
She was right behind me,” Michael replied, blaming himself for his careless act.

Nicholas stopped the demons and glided towards Trinity. All was focused on her.

“
Stop where you are!” Trinity shouted when she noticed Nicholas closer to her than before. “I’ll kill her.” Her dagger was firmly placed against Claudia’s chest and Claudia gasped from the force of the unyielding hold against her.

“
Trinity, let me have her and I will let you free, along with your precious Michael.”