Chapter 8
I landed in Oculus with a kind of quiet surrounding me. The flight over here was helpful for my mind and thoughts. I liked the wind hitting my face and the feeling of limitless direction. I nearly flew right over my destination because I was so involved in my own thinking. I hated being away from Dani, no matter where I had to go and its importance, but I had promised Reese I would meet him, and the guy was still my best friend.
I was starting to understand that Dani, despite our connection and the love we both had for each other, needed her space. I fucking hated it, but I was slowly coming to terms with it. I had flown as close to Natalia’s house as I could, realizing that no one could miss her giant home due to the small lights adorning the balconies and around the roof. Reese sat on the steps right outside, drumming his fingers on his knees.
He lifted his head up when he heard my footsteps, quickly hustling down the steps to meet me halfway. “So, how’s the girlfriend?”
I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to correct him. “She’s fine. Frustrated over something she doesn’t even understand.”
Reese hummed, nodding towards the house for me to follow him inside. “Putting all the things I’ve said about her aside, I do think Ariel, the whole Dimitri-Lilith combo and you know pretty much dying can be a mind fuck, so from where I’m standing, she’s doing pretty okay.”
“Did you just pay her a compliment?”
He made a shooing motion with his hand, dismissing my comment. “I never said I didn’t like her, Nick. I just didn’t trust her. Now well, you guys are like practically married so…”
“What the fuck, we aren’t marri—” I was cut off by Natalia’s lyrical voice from around the corner.
“Nicholas, just the person I wanted to see.” She gave me a smile that warmed my insides and put me at ease. Both her biceps were decorated in gold jeweled bands and for the first time ever she wore a short dress. The royal blue color complimented her dark skin and long legs. I had to bump my shoulder against Reese’s harder than I anticipated due to him staring at her for too long.
“Me?” I asked.
“Just checking in to see how you were doing. Yesterday was about Dani, yes, but I do like to make sure everyone else is thought about as well. Especially with what was said on the balcony about your…”
I cleared my throat, backing away from her and started rubbing the back of my neck. “Oh no, I’m all good. One day at a time and all that.” I looked around the room, a thought brewing in my mind. “You both didn’t want me to come here as some sort of family intervention. He isn’t here, right?”
I wasn’t ready for that. I missed my father; I could admit that. I could miss him and also want my distance at the same time; it didn’t mean I loved him any less. I just needed to look at our relationship from this new viewpoint he’d finally shown me. I had no idea at this vantage point, the new view of my past—of my life—would give me vertigo.
I had made a lot of progress when it came to myself and maybe I could admit I wasn’t strong enough at the moment to face the man I’d looked up to my entire fucking life. I could admit that I wasn’t ready to hear him really talk about— her .
Natalia and Reese both looked at each other in slight confusion and then as if in sync, their faces morphed into mild disappointment and shook their heads. Reese stepped over to me and gripped my shoulder. “He’s not here. We know you aren’t ready for that, even if it would probably be for the fucking best.”
The High Priestess shushed him as he patted my shoulder. I flinched just a little at the pressure of his fingers. Dani’s newest burn spot was fresh, and the press of his fingertips just made it worse.
“You okay?” Reese asked, raising a blonde eyebrow at me.
I readjusted my jacket and tried to remain casual. I really, really, didn’t want to explain this to them. I had told Dani we could let them in on things tomorrow, so I would uphold that statement, as much as Reese would have a field day with this kind of information.
I nodded, shrugging. “Never better.”
“You don’t sound like it.” Elise stalked down the stairs, Beetee at her heels.
“Leave him alone, Ellie,” Beetee scolded.
Elise scoffed, walking past us towards the veranda. “I’m allowed to make fucking statements. You all just hate it cause I’m right.” Beetee mouthed an I’m sorry before following her.
“You actually enjoy spending so much time here?” I nodded toward the overtly grumpy demon.
Reese ran a hand through his blonde locks. “Enjoy, no. Would I rather be here than at The Skies, living under Ariel’s thumb, fuck yes. Although, most of the time, I stay at your house.” He had a laughing tone to his voice when he finished, but that quickly dissolved into an awkward silence.
I let out a joyless chuckle. “Right.”
Natalia slipped her arm through mine and guided us towards where Beetee and Elise were settled. The hustle of Enchanter around her home was practically nonexistent, it was as if at a certain time of night, she simply wanted peace and if the High Priestess wants peace, she gets it.
A small silence hung in the air and then both Reese and Elise spoke at once.
“I overheard Ariel securing someone to babysit us.”
“I’m going to head back to Purgatory.”
Natalia, Beetee and I all let out one collective, “huh?”
Reese opened his mouth to speak, but Elise placed her hand at his mouth and pushed him away. “I’m going back to Purgatory. I’ll use your key or get your majesty here to send me there, but either way I’m going.”
Beetee’s voice was small and laced with shock. “You never told me that.”
“I decided today. Simple.”
I pulled my eyebrows together. “No, not simple. You can’t just make that decision.”
“I just fucking did. What are you going to do, stop me? I would really like to see you try, although I don’t think that would work out too well for you, pretty boy.”
Natalia shook her head in disbelief. “I think you know I will not be opening a portal for you to go there.”
Elise clucked her tongue, her gray eyes raging in annoyance before she peered over at me. Before I could answer, Reese beat me to it. “Just let the tiny psycho go. She wants to be on the front lines and destroy herself then so be it.”
“Believe me, Blondie, no such thing will happen. I am delighted you are on my side for once. Maybe I’ll start thinking about fewer ways to erase you from this realm from now on.” She gave him a smile that showed all her teeth and held her hand out to me. “I don’t have all day, Nicholas.”
I grabbed her hand, shoving it away. “You are out of your fucking mind, if you think any of us are letting you do that.”
“What are you even planning to accomplish, Ellie? You alone can’t stop both Lilith and Dimitri.”
Elise whipped her head towards the pink haired demon, who had more hurt and concern written on her face than anger. “It’s insulting that you underestimate me.” The look she gave her was one that told me they were having some sort of silent conversation that none of us were invited to.
“What about Dani?” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest.
Elise stepped up to me with the kind of confidence that would suffocate someone who hadn’t stood up to her before. She volleyed my own question back to me. “What about Dani?”
“I think he means, it’s shitty how you want to completely leave her out of a fight she is pretty damn determined to participate in.” Reese explained.
“Her determination to figure her powers out is due to this whole mess and you just want to go and be…” I added, my voice trailing off, but Natalia picked up where I left off.
“You want to go and be a hero.” Natalia let out a small, satisfied laugh. The concerning nature of the situation no longer troubling her.
Elise turned her hands into fists at her sides. “No, you witch, that’s not what I said.”
“That is how it seems,” Beetee offered, playing with the ends of her pink hair.
The grumpy demon threw her hands up. “I’m here not trying to deal with any of this shit anymore and you dumbasses are standing here telling me you don’t want to just settle this?” She turned to look out towards the front yard, tapping her foot against the floor.
I let out a loud sigh. “No, fuck, Elise, your help is appreciated I promise.” I slowly approached her, not wanting to increase her already boiling temper. “Dani tried to do whatever shit on her own in Purgatory before and look what happened. I’m not going to let that happen again, but I also won’t let you have her make all this effort for nothing all because you’re fucking impatient. Whether you like it or not, she’s your fucking friend and you need to have some faith in her.”
Everyone was watching us, but I focused all my attention on her. Elise tilted her head to the side and placed her hands on her hips. Her t-shirt rose up a bit as she lifted her shoulders in an overly exaggerated sigh. “I have faith in Dani believe me and the fact that you make it out like I’ve just forgotten seeing her dead body in Purgatory is fucking…” She pressed her lips together, halting her sentence. Elise closed her eyes, taking small, calculated breaths in and out. She opened her eyes and her gray irises flashed red for a small moment. “I don’t think you quite understand how different Dani and I are. Purgatory?—”
“What about Purgatory?” We all spotted Garrett as he walked out on the veranda. “Zane told me you all were out here. From the looks of it, it’s not for pleasant conversation.”
“It would be if tiny psycho over here wanted to play by the rules.” Reese shook his head.
Garrett raised an eyebrow. “Elaboration seems necessary here.”
Beetee answered. “Ellie wants to go to Purgatory to play hero and save us all because somehow that is so much better than admitting that she has a heart and cares…OW!”
Elise slapped the back of her head, groaning. “That’s not what I fucking said!”
“Is it untrue though?” Natalia challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. Elise ran a hand down her face in frustration. I had a feeling if she could strangle all of us right here, right now, she would have.
Garrett cleared his throat, looking over at Natalia. “You plan to portal her to Purgatory?” His voice sounded hurt. It made sense since we had been continuously telling him we weren’t going to just dive back into Purgatory, while Elise kept begrudgingly reassuring him Axel would make sure his family was safe.
Natalia walked up to him, tentatively touching his shoulder. “No, I’m not. Elise made a false assumption.”
Elise growled in annoyance, but Natalia paid no mind. “Pretty boy here also refuses to be of assistance.”
“I want to help, but not at the expense of everyone else, Elise.” I touched the portal key that I’d tucked into my shirt. I snuck a look over at Garrett, who looked slightly more exhausted than usual. “You want to have this kind of discussion, make these kinds of decisions, then we all need to be here.”
Everyone gave slow nods confirming that they agreed, or they were in their own worlds at this point. I felt Garrett’s large presence before I’d turned to face him. “Your key can still get us back to Purgatory with no issue?”
I nodded, remembering that he had only been present when we were heading out of Purgatory. He licked his lips, placing a hand on my shoulder and nodded in understanding.
“Does anyone actually give a shit about what I was saying about Ariel earlier or are we all just ignoring that?” Reese said, but his voice was clouded by Garrett’s.
The Enchanter’s hold on my shoulder became a bit harsher and his fingers dug in deeper. “Please try to understand.”
I tilted my head to the side, confused. It was like it happened in slow motion when his hand reached out towards my neck. His fingers trapped the chain of my portal key in their grasp, and he yanked. I hissed at the quick burn of the metal pulling at my skin as he ripped the key from my body, before he pushed me backwards into the railing
“Garrett, stop!” I yelled, gaining everyone’s attention.
Natalia tried to step in front of him, but he used his elbow to shove her to the right. Reese ran over to catch her before she hit the ground, looking over at me in question.
“He has my key!”
Elise groaned. “Oh, for fucks sake.” She darted out of the room with Beetee behind her. Natalia shooed us away from her as she followed after them with us on her heels. I heard a grunt as we turned the corner and saw Garrett on the floor with both his ankles tied up with Elise’s tail.
We heard rushed footsteps from upstairs, telling me that Zane would be here in mere moments.
“Just give us back the key, Garrett. Please,” Beetee begged. Her lilac-colored eyes looked more sad than angry.
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Garrett refused, placing his hand on Elise’s tail and pulling. Her grip on him was taunt and unmoving. “Let me go!”
“Give us the key and we will,” Elise offered.
Garrett shook his head. I saw the chain of the portal key dangling out of his closed fist.
Natalia walked around us and towards his head. “Garrett, we will work together on this. This isn’t the way to do this.” The High Priestess knelt down and placed her hand over his fist.
“I can’t do that, your Highness. I am sorry.” He threw his palm out towards her, and a stream of colorful magic spewed out. It hit Natalia in the stomach, sending her flying backwards into one of the walls.
He directed his magic at Elise, causing her to lift her hands to block his magic. He grabbed hold of her tail and tiny sparks moved up her deadly appendage. A popping sound followed by her own yelp, had her releasing his legs.
“Garrett! Stop!” I ran over to him as he sprung up from the ground. His body ran right into Zane’s.
The High Priestess’s bodyguard looked flustered and pissed, if both emotions could be displayed at the same time. “What is the meaning of this?” He held onto both of Garrett’s shoulders.
Garrett didn’t speak, but he did pull his arm back and connect his fist to Zane’s jaw. The bodyguard was thrown off, staggering back. Garrett kicked his foot out, colliding with Zane’s stomach before trying to make his way to the front door. I caught up with him, pulling him back by one of his arms. He used that to his advantage and threw his arm forward, slamming me into the closed doors.
I groaned, this level of pain, not doing my fresh burn any favors.
Reese ran up to grab his other arm, but Garrett reared his arm back ready to throw a punch in his direction. A large burst of purple-teal magic struck Garrett’s back. He clamped his teeth together and fell to the ground, on his hands and knees.
His head was lifted up by some invisible force and his eyes began to bug out and look around rapidly. His throat appeared as if something was cinched around it. Garrett let out harsh breaths, trying to consume as much air as he could. My mind traveled back to when I’d landed in Oculus, hoping to learn about Dani’s past from Natalia. That’s when I noticed the tiny blue sparks coming from his neck and looked past him, focusing on Zane.
The large Enchanter looked as if he was doing nothing at all, but I knew this magic was his. “Restrain him.” Zane commanded. Other large Enchanters hustled over to Garrett, yanking him up and pulling him away from the door and over to The High Priestess.
Natalia held her stomach, leaning on Beetee for assistance. She didn’t look upset, but more disappointed. Reese slapped his hand against my bicep, nodding at me as if confirming that I was okay. I gave him a nonchalant shrug and walked over to where they all surrounded Garrett. Zane had removed his magic as Garrett sucked in breath after breath.
Elise shoved in front of us and brought her fist to his face, shaking off her hand when his head was knocked back. “I applaud your effort to want to get your family back, but don’t fuck with my tail or I will make it so the next time you see your loved ones they won’t recognize your fucking face.” She rolled her shoulders and stepped out of our way.
Garrett pulled against the other Enchanter hold on him. I looked to Natalia, just to confirm they had him. She gave me a small smile, pushing away from Beetee so she could stand on her own. “He can’t move at the moment, and I’ve nullified his magic for now.”
I flicked my eyes towards his closed fist, the portal key chain still hanging out. Through all of that, he never let it go. “Garrett…”
“Your majesty, we can throw him in the…” Zane offered, but Natalia shushed him.
“I am fine, Zane. Let him speak.” The High Priestess inclined her head towards me. Her hair was done in multiple braids that started from the top of her head and ended in curled pieces; and they fell over her shoulders as she moved. “Go ahead, Nicholas.”
They still had him on his knees, so I got down on mine. Garrett’s head was slightly down, and his eyes were staring at the ground. His jaw ticked as if he was holding in so much that it was hard to just stay still. “Hey, Garrett, look at me.”
He didn’t acknowledge me, his eyes still fixated on the ground.
“Garrett, I need you to look at me.”
Silence.
I closed my eyes and let out a few breaths. I could be gentle and give a little tough love when it was needed. I grabbed his face in my hands and lightly shook him. I forced his head up and forward. “Look. At. Me.”
A few seconds went by before he did what I asked. I sucked in a breath when I saw that his golden eyes didn’t have the same glow as before. They had dimmed and it looked as if tears could fall at any moment. Garrett wasn’t a threat. He was a father that missed his kids. He missed his wife.
He missed his family.
“I understand why you did it. We will get them back to you, but we will do it the right way. I know it hurts but you are going to have to trust us.” I removed one of my hands from his face and brought it over to his closed fist that was still holding my key. “You don’t want this to be the story of how you saw your family again. Believe me when I tell you that you are already a hero in their eyes, so don’t tarnish that.”
The tears that had settled on his bottom lid started to fall. I peeked over at Natalia, who gave me a small smile before nodding over to Zane and the others. Garrett’s body seemed to relax when the magic was removed, and his head tilted up towards the High Priestess. “I am so sorry, Your Majesty.” His voice was cracked and small. “I just…I miss them…I…”
She grabbed his chin and patted his cheek with her other hand. “Never be sorry for loving someone that fiercely, alright.”
I felt the chain of the portal key in my hand as he released it. I snuck a glance over to his palm and noticed the indention his hold had left. I looked down at the key to see that little spots of blood were on it. I placed my eyes back on his open palm to see that the indentions were deeper as if he had held on so tight, he had started to break skin.
He hadn’t been prepared to let that key go without a fight.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone…” I looked over at him when I realized he was speaking to me. “I miss them.” He felt the need to keep repeating this notion, as if he thought that if he stopped saying it, it would make it untrue.
I placed my key in my pocket and returned both my hands to the sides of his face. “We got you.” I had to quickly regain my balance when he practically collapsed against me in a mess of tears. I remembered being in the same position with Dani holding me in Purgatory, where all I could do was cry and feel all the things I was harboring. I wasn’t afraid to admit that I could one day be in that position yet again, crying into the arms of the girl I loved, but knowing I could hold it together for someone who needed me to be in a stronger position than them made me feel good.
It made me feel like myself again.
I didn’t push him off to someone else; I wrapped my arms around his shoulders best I could and rubbed his back. “How about we go outside, sit down and you can tell me all about them.”
It had been a little over an hour before Garrett started coming to the end of all his stories about his family. The way his eyes flickered with life when he was laughing over the past and even all the things they planned to do in the future made me smile. His voice was more put together and the only tears that left his eyes were happy ones from a fond memory or from his overbearing laughter.
Reese and I remained outside with him while the others cleared the mess inside. Zane kept a close eye on us from one of the windows, per Natalia’s orders. Garrett spoke of how Elise was probably right, and Axel was guarding his family just fine. I would bet celestial coins on that, especially knowing that hellhound was immovable when it came to the people he cared about.
Garrett and I sat on one of the wooden benches that was placed near the tree lines, while Reese leaned up against a tree with his head tilted to the sky. The Enchanter cleared his throat when the silence of his finished stories wrapped around us. “Thank you for this. I thought talking about them would hurt, which it does, but in a way it doesn’t. It feels good to speak about them even when the future is still so unknown.”
My best friend let out a cough that wasn’t a regular everyday cough. That was a cough that was directed at me and at Garrett’s words. I gave him a knowing look and twisted my body so I could swing one of my legs over to the other side of the bench. “Um…you mentioned a day or so ago about my powers?—”
“You want to learn to use them?”
“Oh, uh…no, well I don’t think so. I just want to understand it.”
Garrett scratched his chin. “I’m no history buff, Nicholas, but I can tell you that power was always very rare and kept tight within the world of Enchanters. Going off and marrying any other being that could somehow diminish that power line was unheard of. The fact that you even have it is astounding.”
“Transference.”
Garrett looked at me with raised eyebrows.
“That’s how I got it. Natalia’s mother took it from…my mother, who apparently got it from another Enchanter and gave it to me. I don’t remember any of it.”
Garrett slowly nodded and leaned over, placing his hand on my knee. “I was there when your father told us as much as he could muster about your mother. I can understand wanting to keep it together for the sake of your children but trust me when I say it’s hard trying to be the strongest one.” He jostled my knee so I would look at him. “Your mother keeping this power alive by holding it within herself and then giving it to you means a great deal to those of us who thought we were the only ones left. I would like to point out how it did come in handy when you needed it.”
I ran a hand through my hair, blowing out a breath as a soft breeze blew in. “Yeah, I guess it did. I guess I just don’t know what it means for me now.”
Reese chimed in, “Nick, it doesn’t have to mean anything. Or it can just mean that you have this thing that makes you slightly more interesting than we originally thought. If you never use it again, cool. If you do, great. The fact that you know you have it is a big step in itself.”
“Did you just say something just a tiny bit profound?”
Reese placed a hand on his chest in faux shock. “I tend to do that every now and again, so fuck you.”
Garrett chuckled. “The only thing you need to know is that the bigger and more powerful the entity, the more it will take from you. Necromancers have died giving too much. Consider this before attempting to be heroic, alright?”
I felt Reese push me over so I could make more room on the bench for him. I pointed my finger at him. “Weren’t you saying something before?”
Reese narrowed his eyes at us. “Ah, now you guys give a flying fuck about what I have to say?”
I made a motion with my hand that told him to get over it and continue.
My best friend tucked a piece of his blonde locks behind his ear. “Ariel is likely sending someone to watch us.”
“Like a babysitter?”
“Basically. Ideally, he can’t be totally sure that we are here with Natalia, getting your Dani hybrid certified. It’s just something I overheard; I could be wrong.”
“Do you know who?” I inquired.
Reese shook his head. “Nope. Anyone who does Ariel’s bidding like that can’t be all that great anyway.”
Garrett hummed. “Aren’t you two doing Ariel’s bidding?”
Reese and I looked at each other and started laughing. Garrett added to it with a loud thunderous laugh of his own. My laughter ceased when my eyes caught something in the sky. I shushed both of them and pointed towards the dark ripple that was longer than my eyes could make out. It wasn’t there for long, but I couldn’t unsee it.
“What the hell was that?” Reese asked.
I got up from the bench, feeling the need to get back to my girl. “No idea, but it can’t be good.”
The sun would be rising in a few hours, so I knew there were a few angels who would be getting up by now to shower and head to wherever they needed to be. The hallway was still quiet though as I walked, the sound of my own footsteps echoing.
It was odd, though. I felt like I was being watched.
I rounded a corner just to run into two sentries that I recognized, but not well enough to call them a friend. I said a low ‘excuse me’, but neither of them moved. I backed up, prepared to ask them what was going on, but a voice that had my shoulders tensing and fists curling had me backing up even more.
“Back from a little trip to Oculus?” Ariel said, stepping around the two sentries.
“Yes, is that a problem?”
He waved his hand at me. “No problem at all, as long as your time there is spent wisely. I would hate for all the effort that the little demon is putting in to go to waste.”
I wanted to shove my fist down his throat, but I remained calm. “I assure you, we are doing what you asked. It’s not something that can just be achieved overnight.”
“Oh, I am well aware, Nicholas. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you are abiding by our agreement. If that means I need to take precautionary measures, then so be it.”
Ariel is likely sending someone to watch us.
I swallowed the feeling of wanting to ask a million and one questions down. “You have every right to do that, just as long as you keep your end of this deal and let her be free to do as she pleases and not be a pariah.”
“I can’t help how people think of her Nicholas. I am no monster though, so of course I will uphold what I’ve said. I have much bigger things to grant my attention towards. These ceremonies take much preparation, and I would like for there to be no mishaps, distractions or rogue demons who don’t know how to use their own powers.”
I nearly rolled my eyes. “You’re just done looking for Jonah’s power?”
“No need to look for something that doesn’t want to be found. I’m bored of it to be honest, and it would be nice to have that sort of power, but it isn’t necessary for the people to see me as a leader.” He walked over to me, placing his hands in his pants pockets as his green eyes bore into my brown ones. “Did you see the sky tonight, Nicholas?”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
He snickered. “Of course you do. Oculus has a gorgeous view of the sky.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “It does.”
He clucked his tongue. “The sky tonight let all of us know that something is coming and it will be here much sooner than you think.” He motioned with one finger for his sentry angels to follow him as he walked around me. “And if you think that when it’s time that I won’t throw her into the fire along with the rest of you to maintain order…well then I would think again.”