Another Ornek announced its arrival, its growl raised the hair on my neck. It swung its claw at my face, and I jumped back in time, feeling the swoosh of its talons against my cheeks. My heart pounded, and I stepped into it feigning right. The creature fell for it, and I let my sword drop on its side. It shrieked, trying to claw me as it collapsed on its knees. With a growl of my own, I raised my sword and pierced its back.
I pulled my sword back, nausea swirling in my stomach. I wasn’t one to feel sick easily, but I was deliberately killing—demons, yes, but killing nonetheless.
I put a hand over my stomach but had to focus back on the fight when an Arak and an Ornek charged me.
Coordinating their attacks, the Arak parried my blow, and the Ornek caught my wrist. It twisted my arm in hopes I would let go of my sword. I groaned with the pain. The Arak clawed my shoulder, and it was about to do it again when I decided to make it or break it. I bent my knees and let my whole weight pull me down, bringing the demon with me. Holding the demon’s arm, I fell on my back and pushed it over me with my legs. It toppled over the Arak, and both tangled to the ground. Ignoring the pains and aches, I jumped up and pierced my sword through both demons. The sounds of cutting flesh and the nasty smell of their gooey blood made me sick, but I pushed all I could, making sure both were dead.
“Wow, darling, that was impressive,” Micah said. I pulled my sword from the corpses and looked up. He winked before slashing the throat of the demon he fought. Then he turned to me with one of his cocky smiles. “And hot too.”
I rolled my eyes. Great timing.
The ground shook as a loud boom echoed through the forest. Micah gripped my elbow, and we used each other to stay upright.
I looked around.
Ceris produced a large shield around us, and Omi cast a huge, heavy bolt. He threw it at the shield. It hit and broke the barrier, causing a similar boom that vibrated through the air and the ground.
“Keep moving,” Victor said, pushing through the bodies on the ground, toward the border of Zelen’s shield.
We moved, fighting the few demons that reached us around the shield. A new boom resonated through the air every few seconds, almost sending us to the ground.
“Here,” Zelen said. He was a few feet in front of us. “The shield ends here.”
Micah grabbed my hand again and pulled me forward, killing demons that stepped in our way as if he were a machine. Victor had an arm around Morgan’s waist, hauling the priest to Zelen.
Izaera was right behind us. “Ceris!” she yelled. “Come, sister.” She raised her scepter and vines shot out from the dying grass and wrapped around Omi. “Now!”
Ceris raised one last shield, and then made a mad dash. Her steps dragged as if she were running in slow motion. At the barrier, Victor waited for her, his hand extended.
“Come on,” he said. I could hear the urgent tone in his voice, and it tugged at my heart, almost like a jealous pang. He still loved her. “Come on.”
We waited with him, hands already clasped.
“Izaera,” Zelen said. “You can take them out of here.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know where to and only the Fates know how long it would take to find her again.”
Zelen opened his mouth, but he was interrupted.
“Aaaahhhh!” Omi broke free. Without wasting a second, he destroyed the shield with one of his bolts. The fire was back, stronger and bigger, and more demons made their way out of the trees.
Keeping one foot on the other side of the barrier, Victor reached for Ceris. When her fingers brushed his, he clasped his hand around her wrist and pulled her to him. She bumped into him, knocking them back, just outside the barrier. His arms tightened around her.
Behind them, a sea of red bolts flew toward us.
“Oh, God,” I whispered.
“Ceris, now!” Izaera shouted.
Ceris closed her hands over ours and transported us to safety.
21
Wincing, I opened one of the cabinets and grabbed a bottle of Tylenol. I ached all over. Thankfully I had only a few scratches and exhaustion, which was better than Morgan and the open gash across his stomach. After cleaning the wound as best as he could, Victor stitched the cut. One of the perks of being a former medical resident.
Victor also checked on Keisha, but like me, she only had scratches. He tried looking me over, but I knew enough about cleaning scratches to do it on my own. Now, I needed painkillers. Lots of them.
I closed the cabinet, and the mirror on it showed Ceris behind me standing under the doorframe of one of the partitions in the infirmary, her hair tangled, her dress stained with blood and dirt, her expression tired.
I unscrewed the cap, took out three pills, put them in my mouth, and swallowed them.
Sighing, I turned and leaned against the counter, crossing my arms. “How are the others?”
“Morgan will be fine,” she said. “It’ll take him a while to heal, but he’ll survive. Keisha is camping in his bedroom tonight, to keep an eye on him.”
“What about Izaera and Zelen?”
“They are in shock, to say the least. They lost their forest and were forced into hiding. However, Zelen seems worse since he had no idea his nymphs had been corrupted.”
I still wondered about how that happened. “That was a shock to all of us.”
“It was.”
I hated seeing this side of her. Caring, compassionate, a true mother and guide to her herd. It made the rage I felt over all she had done to me seem unreal, misdirected. She had been evil, hadn’t she?
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
Her brows slammed down. “Not really.”
“I should get some rest then,” I said, walking toward the door.
She stepped to the side, allowing me to pass. “Yes, you should. Everyone is in need of rest right now.”
I walked out, then one of my mental notes prickled in my mind and I couldn’t ignore it.
I stopped and turned, staring into her eyes. “Earlier today, Zelen mentioned I was different, that my aura is powerful but not strong.” How could something be powerful but not strong? “Imha said the same thing when I was with her, and the Fates said it too before. What does that mean?”
She held my gaze, and I wondered if she would lie to me. “I don’t know.” Even though I wanted to believe she was lying, I could see in her eyes that she wasn’t. “I honestly don’t know. Yes, you’re different. I can feel it too, but I don’t know what you are.”
“But I am something?”
“I don’t know.”
Great. More doubts and worries for me. I nodded and resumed my walk, thinking of what I could be. Apparently, not a hero, not a priest, not the vision girl.
“Nadine.” Once more, I turned and looked at her. “I’m sorry. For your family. I’m really sorry about that.”
My family. I tried not to think of them much. I tried to keep those feelings and memories bottled in a dark corner of my mind, where I wouldn’t stumble on them. However, when someone mentioned my family, the memories came rushing back to me.
Tears burned my eyes, and I blinked so I wouldn’t cry in front of her. “Me too,” I whispered.
Since our return from the forest, one thought had clouded my mind. So, after grabbing the Tylenol and bumping into Ceris, I went looking for Micah.
His bedroom door was closed. I knocked, hoping he was here so I wouldn’t have to search for him all over the shelter.