Chapter 21 Take Me to the Bane
Take me to the Bane
Ididn’t know how long I thought it would take to walk across the path to a new world, but I definitely thought it would be longer than forty-five seconds.
Yes, it was forty-five seconds. I counted.
I followed behind him, and as I moved, placing my footfalls exactly where he had, the mental counting was the only thing that drowned out the eerie wailing around us.
Just as I had before, I gripped his hand tighter with each step, and Raymond responded, squeezing his around mine, letting me know I would be okay. He would keep me safe. Only this time, I didn't hear his voice in my ear as we moved, just the counting in my head.
One. Two. Three.
Step. Step. Step.
Seven. Eight. Nine.
And then, ahead of him, there was light. It had a strange turquoise glow to it, like walking into the center of a jewel. I followed him because I trusted him, and I knew wherever that light led, I would be safe with Raymond.
A gentle breeze brushed across my skin as I took the last step from the darkness into that turquoise light.
Then, my senses were completely overwhelmed.
As my eyes adjusted to the brightness, a strangely sweet scent like pear filled my nostrils.
My ears rang as they adjusted to the pressure of this world, and then I could hear the lapping sound of nearby water.
In the distance came the strange calling of a bird I couldn't see.
“Are you alright?” Raymond asked me, and I turned to see him standing by me, his brows bunched, his eyes stared at me as if he was waiting for something. “Breathe, please.”
“I am breathing.” I laughed at him, and his jaw relaxed. “Sorry, this place is just nothing like I expected it to be.”
“I told you it wasn't the fiery pits of hell you were imagining.” He chuckled. “The Bane is a beautiful world full of terrible beings, but we care about our home, and we treat it as precious as it is.”
“It's beautiful, and it smells so,” I took a deep breath, “fresh.”
“There are worlds that exist without pollution.” Raymond smiled, proud of his home. “Noville wasn’t trying to be rude when he asked how you live there. Most newcomers to Earth find your world suffocating.”
“Does it hurt you like that to be on Earth?” My chest tightened thinking Raymond suffered like that in my world.
“No,” he tapped my chin with his finger. “Don’t worry about me. I'm made of tougher stuff.”
“Where are we?” I looked around the area.
We stood on a small hill, in a simple plain of grass, but I could tell even by the landscape we weren’t on Earth.
The trees looked…happy, their branches lush with leaves, waved in a praise dance in the distance.
There were also small fuzzy plants at the base of each tree, like something I would have seen in a children's’ book, soft and purple.
“This is a safe space, but not exactly where we need to be. I used to come here whenever I needed to clear my head.” He looked around.
“To be honest, I’ve dreamed of this place for so long, almost every night I’ve been on Earth until recently.
It felt like the perfect spot for you to get acclimated before being thrust into the chaos of the coming days. ”
“This is your spot.” The statement sounded more intense than I meant. This was a special place for Raymond, and he thought to share it with me. He turned to me again, those eyes carrying words he wouldn’t, or maybe couldn’t, speak.
“Yes, it is.” The corner of his mouth lifted just a bit.
“Are you okay?”
His hand returned to mine. “Why do you ask that?”
Damnit! I have to say something. This is too heavy to let it hang out there between us.
I took a deep breath and then let the words fall free. “Because something's different between us. I know it, I feel it, and I know you do too. Whatever we're about to face together, we need to be open and honest about how we're feeling.”
He paused, glancing off into the distance before his eyes returned to me. “How are you feeling?”
Okay, I could go first.
“I’m scared. Borderline terrified right now. I’m worried about Natalie. And I'm hoping I make it back home.” My honest words filled the space between us.
“I—” he started, but I put my finger up to stop him. I had to get it out while I still had the nerve.
“But I'm happy you’re here with me. It's strange right now with what we're facing, to have this underlying feeling of happiness.
I don't know why I'm telling you now, but I think I need you to know.
You make me feel safe, like my feet are on solid ground.
Facing this…I'm glad that you're here with me.”
“You wouldn't be facing any of this if not for me.” He hardened. “You wouldn’t need me to keep you grounded if I hadn’t walked into your life to begin with.”
“To be fair, you tripped into my life.” That brought a smile to his face, and something in me softened a little more. “Besides, with my luck and with the way Natalie likes to play with magic, something like this was bound to happen anyway.”
“She does?” he frowned. “You never mentioned it.”
“I didn’t really have the time to. She found a grimoire, but the witch called it back. I’m sure nothing will come of it.” I shrugged. “It wasn’t even the first time. I'll tell you all about it when this is done.”
“Jericha, I'm sorry,” he said in an even tone.
“For what?” My stomach twisted into a knot.
“For all of it. For keeping a secret from you this big, for risking your life by staying around you.
I'm sorry I had to bring you to this world, and I'm sorry for everything you're going to learn about me while you’re here.
I hope that on the other side of this, you still feel happy to be around me.
But I will also understand if you don't.”
“Okay, just stop all that right now.” I shook my hands between our faces. “That’s the wrong thing to be thinking about. I don't want to talk about us…I mean this…falling apart. I get it, this is dangerous, and you have a life here I know nothing about. I won’t hold any of that against you.”
“Jericha, I need you to face something for me. Seriously, think about it. At the end of the day, I am a demon. What you would consider a demon, anyway. To you, I may be the good guy, but to everyone else? I was a horrible person.” He pulled my hands back into his.
“I did terrible things for terrible people. And being back in this world means all of that is going to come rushing back at me.”
I grabbed his hand. “And I'm here with you, holding on.”
“Yeah, you are.” His eyes dropped to our hands, linked between us. “But I won't hate you if you decide to let go.”
I can't explain why I did it, but it was something in the way he looked at me that made my heart flutter and my head spin, and suddenly, I felt like I actually wasn't breathing. I pulled him closer to me, lifted to my toes, and I kissed him.
And once again, it was a kiss that changed things between us.
It wasn't one that would lead to sex, or to flirtation, or to passion, or to any of those superficial things.
This was so much deeper. It touched every part of me, and it made the world, his world, seem so much bigger and yet so much smaller all at the same time.
“Why did you do that?” Raymond breathed against my lips.
“This is your happy place.” I tightened my fingers around his. “It’s the place you go when you want to smile, right?”
“Yes. It is.” He nodded, pressing his forehead against mine.
“So we should keep it that way.” I looked up into his green eyes then moved my hands to push his locs back over his shoulder. “I like when you let your locs hang free like this.”
He pulled me back to him again, this time pressing further into the kiss.
His right hand slipped around me to the small of my back before he lifted me from my feet, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
For a moment, neither one of us had any problems. The sweet scent of his world mixed with the smokey taste of his kiss, and suddenly, nothing mattered.
There were no demons chasing us, there were no friends in trouble, no worlds colliding.
It was just him and me, and it terrified me with how perfect that felt.
“I want to keep you here, in this moment, forever.” He sighed. “But we have to go.”
“We do.” I huffed.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He pulled back to examine my face. “Feeling well?”
“Yes.” I scrunched my nose. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Good.” He kissed my forehead. “Not all humans can acclimate to our world.”
“You forget, I’m not entirely human.” I winked at him, and then my stomach twisted, and that newfound worry must have been written all over my face.
“What is it?” he asked.
“You said humans don’t adjust well to being here.” I shook my head. “I’m not all human, but Natalie is!”
“Shit.” As the word crossed his lips, that shadow wall opened behind him. I expected him to put me down, grab my hand, and lead me through the shadows.
He didn’t. With me still hanging around his neck, Raymond carried me through the shadows.
This time, it was quick. A few steps, and we were out of the darkness again.
When we stepped out, we were inside what looked like a modern condo with large windows overlooking a strange world.
I looked out the window to see a bustling city landscape in the distance.
I admitted, I expected something different, like caverns and archaic architecture, but there was none of that.
Inside the apartment, there was sleek furniture, most of it stone and leather. I could imagine Raymond living there.
“Is this your place?” I looked at him.
“No, not exactly.” He sighed before a new voice greeted us.
“You’re here!” Metice stepped into the room. “Just making sure everything is all set for you.”
“Yes, thank you for letting us stay here,” Raymond greeted him.