First And Last (18 page)

As crazy as this was, and oh, it was crazy, I just never put two and two together. Plus, I could see on every face here that they wouldn’t be stopped. It appeared they all thought they owed me something for Lazarus’ destruction, saving Dante’s soul from Magnus, helping Rynn or any of the other trouble I’d gotten myself into. I knew they wouldn’t listen to reason.

Kyden rubbed the small of my back, drew my gaze back to his. “They’ll buy us time so you can draw the rune.” He sighed deeply and stared at me, nearly begged for me to listen. “It’s the only way. Without their help, our efforts will be meaningless.”

Resigned that I had no say in this, I sighed and glanced across every face here. “Please do not get yourselves killed. You’ll give me a pile of guilt I’ll never get over.”

Low laughs rumbled through the night sky.

“Worry about yourself.” Kyden grasped both of my hands, pulled me close to him. “Nothing else.”

My mouth parted to answer him, when abruptly, I was ripped from his arms and wrapped in someone else’s. It took me a second to realize Talon hugged me fiercely, and whispered in my ear, “I love you and undeniably so. You have become so dear to my heart.”

Talon was about a zero on the emotional scale, so this was quite huge. “Oh, Talon, I love you too.” I began to cry all over again.

He released me, took my face in his hands and kissed my cheeks. “See yourself safe.”

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him as tight as I could. Fate had always handed me a difficult card to deal with, but in moments like these, I also saw what it brought too. Family. Just cause it wasn’t blood, didn’t mean it wasn’t just as strong. “You be safe as well…”

Suddenly, a shriek cut me off. I backed away and saw Haven, hands on hips as she glared at Finn. “I’m going, so don’t even think about stopping me. Remember what happened last time you acted stupid. I’ll do it again. Don’t push me.”

Finn leaned in and whispered something to her.

“No. I’m going.” Haven flicked her hair over her shoulder, full of defiance. “I’m done talking about this.”

My gaze met Zia’s and she smiled at me. I wasn’t even sure if I sent her a telepathic message or she just knew where my thoughts were headed. It didn’t matter, as long as we were on the same wavelength, I was happy.

Haven would throttle me for it later—if there was a later—but this was a choice I
was
going to make for her. She didn’t need to come to this, it was just too dangerous. I would never risk her life, or her younglings, and that was that. If I had to face her wrath later, then so be it.

Zia snuck in behind Haven and reached out to touch her shoulder. A second later, Haven started to drop and Finn immediately caught her in his arms. I always envied that ability of Zia’s. Spirit gave me the magic to heal, but not the power to manipulate the body in any other way as Zia could. I couldn’t have it all.

Finn smiled in thank you as he scooped her up in his arms. “Let me take her home, then I’ll be back to join you.” He turned and began to walk away.

I trotted forward and grabbed his arm. “No, Finn. Stay with her.” His mouth parted, his objection almost near, but I put a finger over his mouth to stop him. “Choose her. It’s more important.”

His eyes softened, objection forgotten. That’s why I loved Finn so much. His world revolved around Haven. He couldn’t argue my point and the small smile on his face told me he wasn’t about to. He nudged my arm with his, playfully. “Get in and get out.”

“Simple, right?” I grinned.

He laughed, leaned in and kissed my cheek, then gave a nod of support to Kyden before he left.

With Haven safe, I glanced back out to the crowd and felt surrounded by love. Everyone was here to make right all the things wrong. The strength from this crowd exuded around me. I swear I could feel the spark of it through the air. Confidence, loyalty and adrenaline made the wind smell rich with power.

Suddenly, a hiss followed by a deep growl came at my feet.
“Do you know what you are putting me through?”

I looked down at Willow. “Putting you through?”

“I’m your protector, and you keep going off to the Underworld where I can’t help you. You’re giving me so much stress I’m starting to lose my hair.”
She wiggled her butt, where her hair did look a little thin.

“So sorry, Princess Willow.” I scooped her up and kissed her fluffy face. “Let’s hope this is the end of it.” I handed her to Kyden.

After he gave her a scratch and she snuggled into him, he placed her on the ground. She looked back up to me.
“Just don’t go and do something stupid, like get killed.”

Willow could be a little bitch, but she was mine, and I only hoped this wouldn’t be the last time I saw her.

Kyden tucked his finger under my chin, raised my gaze to his. “Are you ready then?”

I let out a harsh gust of air. Was I ready? Could I ever be ready? I doubted it, but this needed to end. For all I’d gone through already, what were a few Demon Lords? Scary, for sure, but I didn’t have to face there alone. There was some resolve in that.

Whatever happened, it happened with us together. “Yeah, I’m ready to go knock on ol’ scratch’s door.”

The moment we landed in the Underworld, Kyden’s hand tightened around mine. His protectiveness flooded me as we stood staring at all six Demon Lords and the entire Underworld standing strong behind them.

Traitors!

One thing was clear, however, they were here for a fight. Their gazes locked on me. Their determination shone fierce as they glared my way.

The night was so dark. We stood on flat ground with open fields surrounding us. Behind us was the community of houses. I could feel the darkness all around me. The only assumption was that the return of the Demon Lords had given the Underworld a renewed strength.

In the middle of the field, a pentagram was drawn. A really big pentagram, the size of a baseball diamond. We’d either interrupted their plan to begin the ritual to draw strength from the rune, or they were just getting ready. Whatever it was, my need to stop this engulfed me.

Mammon smiled cruelly as he stepped forward. “We want her.” He pointed at me. “Only her. If you leave now, we’ll spare your lives.”

An icy shiver raced through my blood. Fuck, he sounded scary. Before I had a chance to answer, Kyden stepped in front of me, shielded me with his body.

“You will not have her,” Kyden roared.

Mammon cackled, the rest of the Demon Lords followed suit. It was bizarre to say the least. These guys could have been your Sunday night football buddies. They just appeared so normal. Sure, I could sense the dark power within them, and their eyes told me they were anything but human, but it was hard to grasp how evil they were when they look so friggin’ ordinary.

“As you wish.” Mammon continued to laugh and the crowd behind him tensed, expectant of the awaiting battle.

“Be strong, all of you. Let good prevail.” Talon stepped forward beside Kyden, raised his sword, and let out a battle cry as he lunged forward.

It took all of one-point-one seconds for all hell to break loose.

“Quickly,” Kyden shouted at me and pulled me against his back so his body sheltered me.

Quinney, Tyde and Misa took protective stances surrounding me. I was safe from all angles from what was coming towards us, and by the looks of it, six very pissed off Demons—well their weird black smoke, to be exact.

My guards shimmied into their black form and screams poured out around us. Wind roared through the air. Magic created loud rumbles along the Earth’s floor as fire ran along the ground around us. Witches fought witches. The Guardians and werewolves fought the warlocks. The Demons however weren’t fighting, they were protecting the pentagram. Assuring no one would get near to free the humans.

It was impossible to tell who was who. The battle was a complete blur before me. Fear mixed with anger was all-consuming as it drifted through the air. Breathing was difficult.

“Nexi,” Kyden shouted. “Now.”

Just as his words ended, the Demon Lords hit his shield, and the emotion that went through our bond stole my breath. Nothing had ever been so dark.

The Demon Lords screamed and searched for a way to get to me, but were unable to. Quinney, Tyde and Misa circled me to provide a barrier that the Demon Lords couldn’t break, while Kyden provided a shield against them. The Demons were shit-out-of-luck. They couldn’t drain and consume me.

The sky filled with light as magic erupted all around use. God, I could only pray that no one was being hurt.

Only a split second had passed and exhaustion settled into Kyden. The horror he must be facing as the Demon Lords tried to sneak their way through must be horrific. But he grunted deep, and determination coursed through my blood.

I needed to end this. I raised my hand to draw the rune when suddenly a soft cry stopped me. The sound meant only one thing…a child. I peaked around Kyden’s back to see a young girl stood in the middle of the battlefield sobbing.

What the hell was she doing here? She wasn’t a supernatural, just a normal four or five year old girl. A sweet little thing, soft curls, big brown eyes that were wide with fright. Her little arms trembled as she watched the battle before her.

“Help her,” I screamed.

“What?” Kyden’s voice came out strangled.

“The child,” I yelled. “She’s going to die. We have to help her.”

Kyden broke his focus and glanced around. With the distraction, a demon pushed his way through. Kyden lost a little strength and sank to his knees. Instantly, he rebounded and lunged himself on top of me. We both tumbled to the ground. He went rigid against me as the Demon Lord attempted to enter again.

Thankfully, his attempts were useless and Kyden’s shield held strong.

Kyden quickly pulled me up, brought me close to his back, and I noticed the sweat forming on his body.

This was beginning to wear on him. I couldn’t waste another second.

As much as I knew this needed to end, I wouldn’t sacrifice the child. If I didn’t intervene she was going to die. I pushed past Kyden and ran as if my life depended on it, which it did. His loud roar came right behind me, as he stayed right on my heels. “What child?”

A breeze swept past my back as he tried to stop me. My feet hit the ground hard, sent splices of pain with each step that jammed into my lower back. I never stopped running toward her. She was so frightened and terrified.

The child was surrounded by magic. I screamed, prayed she’d be all right. She alone, was my only focus. Time slowed, every second felt minutes long.

To my complete horror, a large wave of energy headed right for her. Her wide eyes grew wide and her face streaked with tears. Without thought, I drew on my magic, no real a plan, just knew I had to stop this. I dug down deeper than I ever had, and with a push that came soul deep, my magic poured from within. I gave into the power that sat deep within me and let go of all my restraint. Heat and adrenaline gripped me.

The blood coursing through my veins boiled as my insides began to burn. I’d never felt anything like this before. Never had my magic been so powerful. There was no pain, but it was explosive. My body felt that in any moment I’d disintegrate into tiny particles.

Just as the power grew to an uncontrollable level, the burst from my body and the cause of that, forced me to fall to my knees. Since I was running at full speed, I did a complete face plant in the dirt and skid across the ground. The moment I stopped, I jumped to my feet, spit out a mouthful of dirt as I took in the scene around me.

Nothing could have prepared me for what was before me. Nothing at all. The world had stopped. Everyone held in limbo. Time no longer existed as it froze.

Royally confused, I glanced back at Kyden. His expression was fierce as he was broke into a run, completely frozen in time. It looked so ridiculous it was almost funny, but I just couldn’t find it in me to laugh right now. Considering that behind him the Demon Lords were in hot pursuit.

Zia had her hands raised to the sky as witches were drowned in water. Azar had obviously just blasted his energy out, since the air appeared to ripple around him. Warlocks were pressed hard to ground with horror caught in their expressions.

Talon had just decapitated a witch, her head was in mid flight. Valor attacked a Warlock as Briggs had bitten into a Witch’s throat with Rynn on her leg. Go Rynn! I couldn’t help but feel a bit proud, even in the current circumstance.

Sabi and Ryker were back-to-back, working together. Sabi provided protection against the magic as Ryker used his sword to finish the job.

It only took seconds to see that the rest of our crew was safe and all alive. That provided instant relief, but then the shock of the situation set in. Holy shit, what had I just done? Stopped time? How was that even possible?

A whimper drew me away from the battle and I glanced back to the young child who smiled up at me. She was the only one not frozen in time, besides myself of course. Which made me wonder what that was, but first, I had to give her some serious hell. “What are you doing here?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, her smile grew and she waved at me.

I stomped forward, ready to give her a serious spanking. Okay, I’m not one to do the whole physical punishment thing, but hell, this little stinker deserved a good throttle.

“Oh that smile isn’t going to work on me, little one,” I snapped at her. “You shouldn’t be here. But first, we’ll take you somewhere safe, and then, you’re going to explain to me how you got here in the first place.”

The smile on her face remained as she reached a tiny hand out to me. I took it immediately, struck with pure power. A sense of lightness fluttered inside me as a greenish-blue light spread throughout the sky.

Then, the world faded around me. There was no danger or evil—all that filtered through me was heavenly delight—happiness and an odd weightlessness. Strange but true. I wasn’t here or there but floated through a gateway that was taking far too long. Portals I’d experienced were quick and forceful. Not this one, it was quiet and gentle.

When the sensation dissolved and my feet were firm on the ground, I had the real sense that I wasn’t alone. I blinked once, then a world came into view. Butterflies fluttered smoothly as lush green grass sparkled with dew. Flowers of all sizes spread throughout the grounds, all exquisite colors with odd shades that were soft, yet bright somehow. The world glittered with beauty before me.

“Welcome, Nexi,” a soft voice sang behind me.

I spun around to see the loveliest woman. Her hair was long, nearly to the ground, blonde with a slight white shine to it. It wasn’t just her hair that glowed; her whole body did, which only intensified as she smile. Her baby blue eyes drew in smaller as kindness spread across her face.

She didn’t feel like a theat. Was she a human? No, she didn’t feel human, but didn’t necessarily feel supernatural either. Best get answers and quick. “Where am I?”

“This is the realm of the Fae.” She waved out.

“Holy shit,” I gasped.

She laughed and it sounded songlike—blended together with nothing more than an air of joy.

My mind worked quickly to piece this all together. How in the hell did I get here? The battle, the Demon Lords, the kid. Now, it all made sense. “The little girl, she wasn’t real, was she?”

“It was an illusion created to bring you toward the gateway.” She winked. “We knew you’d be obligated to help her.”

“Well it worked.” As much as all this fascinated me, I had much more important things on my mind. “I have to get back to Kyden and the others. They need me.”

She shook her head and her hair flowed around her in a wave. “You’ve stopped time. They’re unaware that you have left. I promise they’re safe.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked urgently.

“Please trust me, Nexi, no one will be hurt while you’re gone.” She smiled gently and eased my worries.

If they were all safe, I could indulge myself here. I examined her a little more. Intrigued by exactly who she was and why I was here. “Who are you?”

“I am Aaliya.”

Oh, wow, now I took notice of her. This was her. The creator. The most powerful being known through time. My shock must have shown on my face because she laughed again.

Suddenly, beings began to appear slowly around us. Thousands of them, all looked human with the only difference being the glowing light that exuded from them—a bright aura of white light.

“Er…” I couldn’t manage anything else.

Aaliya stepped forward and took my hand. “We’ve waited a long time for you to return home.”

I burst out laughing. “Come again?”

Aaliya’s face showed no sign of deceit. “Come…” she pointed to the ground below her feet, “let’s all sit and I’ll tell you a story.”

Everyone complied. It was only right I did the same. I hesitantly stepped forward and sat next to her.

As I did, she began, “Long ago, we connected our realm with the Earthworld due to her energy source. It made us stronger and more powerful. Since then, we’ve become her protectors. We see to her survival because it secures our continued existence.”

There was so much of what she just said that made my jaw drop, but I suspected this was only the beginning of my shock. “And just how did you do that?”

“As the Earthworld evolved, it basically became a sponge, soaked in the energy fed by the sun and because of that it provided a perfect outlet to siphon power from. Since joining the worlds, we as Fairies, have flourished.”

That explained the glowing bit.

“When God and Satan’s power grew stronger so did human followers—they all began to divide within the two leaders—believed what they were being told was the truth.”

I found myself leaning toward her, my entire body tense. I took a deep breath to settle myself and straightened my spine. No need to sit on top of her.

“The Fae had long been in hiding, secret from the Earthworld, but a vision I had needed us to act.” She glanced around at the crowd who were all locked into her story, then she looked back to me. “The vision that came to me told me I needed to intervene. If I didn’t, the two would see to the Earthworld’s end. We couldn’t allow that.”

“Obviously, they didn’t object to this?”

“That’s right. It was in the best interest of God and Satan to leave these realms. Start worlds of their own. It was a way for them to get what they wanted, and they held no objection to doing this. But, as you know, it only grew worse.”