A Price to Pay
Heaven
“And there you have it,” Allie finishes as I stare at her. The plan is extreme and painful. I almost feel sorry for the idiot – ‘almost’ being the keyword.
“Well, as long as no one gets in trouble.”
“Na, we’ve always done stuff. The Westwood side of my family gets physical far more often and more violently; it’s totally normal. The Rossi side just has attitude and crass language.”
I smile faintly. “Well, I can’t deny that, but my father was a charmer, though.”
“True, true. Chris was too damn good for the Rossis.”
I smile slightly. Allie isn’t one to be sympathetic, but comments like these made me happy.
I miss my dad.
“So, when are we doing this?” she asks.
Before I can reply, the front door opens, and I cancel the spell that I had put up so no one could hear us as Uncle Liam appears in the doorway. He’s handsome, and with blond hair, he sometimes reminds me of my own father, although no one can beat my dad.
“Hey, you girls should come inside. They’ve decided the destination,” he says.
“Destination?” Allie asks.
“For our little trip,” he answers with a smile.
“But I haven’t shared my list.” I try not to sound offended, but I am.
“I’m not sure, but you will be staying the night and leaving for the Academy together with my boys.”
“Staying the night? I haven’t brought anything,” I point out.
“We’ll find you something, don’t worry. As for the destination, why not come and ask the rest? It wasn’t exactly my idea,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Well, I do want a word with whoever decided this,” I say, walking towards the door, keeping my tone polite although I’m extremely annoyed inside.
Oh, I hate this!
Uncle Liam steps back, and we walk past him. I enter the lounge, where the mood is a lot lighter than it was earlier.
“Where are we going?” I ask, looking at Uncle Rayhan and Aunty Delsanra.
“Down by the River Thames; we’ll book out a cabin, and we’ll get to spend some time together.”
What an awful choice for a trip! What are we, poor?
“May I talk to you in private?” I ask Uncle.
He smiles, looking a little amused, and I don’t know why, because this is not funny!
“Sure thing.” He kisses Aunty’s forehead before he stands up and walks over to me. I look at Aunty Raven.
“May we use the dining room?”
“Of course! Go right ahead,” she replies with a smile.
I lead the way to the dining room, and the moment Uncle shuts the door behind him, I frown, showing my displeasure.
“I’d rather not go to the River Thames. I was thinking maybe Utah, or Greece, or Dubai. I mean, I’d settle for Scotland, or Wales.”
“It’s safer to remain in England,” he says apologetically. “But we can plan a destination holiday at some point.”
“This is awful.” I cross my arms, and Uncle smiles.
“I’m sorry. Any way I can make it up to you?”
By changing the location, maybe?
“It’s fine.” I sigh. “But Uncle Liam said we’re staying tonight. I haven’t even brought my clothes, and I am not going to wear someone else’s underwear.”
“Don’t worry, what else is Ahren good for?”
I smile at that. “Well, that’s a good point,” I answer haughtily.
“Exactly, just let your mom know what to pack.”
“So, how come we aren’t just going home?” I ask quietly.
“Well, Uncle Elijah offered, and I think it would have been rude for us to refuse. I think it’ll help us to move past things; we have to start somewhere.”
He has a point.
And if I’m here, I guess Allie can put her plan into motion.
“Well, if I’m able to get my things, then it might not be so bad. I’ll go text Mama a list.”
“Great.” Uncle gives my cheek a gentle squeeze, his eyes glimmer with a wave of sadness, but it’s masked quickly. I’m sure I’m not the only person who hides their emotions well.
I step closer to Uncle and wrap my arms around his waist, giving him a small hug. I’m about to step back when he wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head.
“How was your party?”
I look up at him and smile. “It was good, Holden was very happy that I came. I’m genuinely glad I went.”
“Good,” Uncle replies, smiling down at me.
I’ll figure out a way to get Sienna back, because I have to, for the sake of us all.
It’s not over, not as long as she’s alive.
“Heaven, Heaven!” someone hisses.
The urge to sink deep into the comfortable bed and ignore the voice almost overcomes me, but then I remember why I need to get up.
“I’m up,” I say quietly as I sit up and look over at Katara, who is fast asleep. “Now?”
“Yes, he’s kicked out of his room, and I know exactly where he will be,” Allie whispers. She’s dressed all in black, her hair pulled into a ponytail.
I feel sorry for whoever got his room.
I nod as I grab my satin gown and wrap it over my matching, floral pink, satin pyjamas. I put on my heels from the day before as Allie waits at the door, motioning for me to come. Mama didn’t pack me slippers.
I cast a final glance at Katara, who had offered up her bed to me whilst she and Allie slept on the floor. I whisper a spell just in case she wakes up. If she does, it’ll appear that Allie and I are still in our spots.
Theo says he needs time, but we know he doesn’t. Hades is the only god who is so easily accessible because he loves the drama humans bring. He’s not afraid to bend rules set in place for centuries.
That’s why he is really our only choice.
I follow Allie through the house and down towards the basement. I have a spell in place, but even then. I’m a pro at walking quietly even in heels.
I don’t like basements. They’re one of those things that always have something going on in them in horror stories and movies. Well, I guess Theo being down there makes sense. He’s a horror.
“Are you sure he’s down there?” I murmur.
“Yeah, the quints made the basement their gaming pad, and Theo is definitely down there,” Allie murmurs.
“What if one of the others is down there, too?” I murmur doubtfully.
“Na, I checked. Jayce is in his own room, Renji and Ares are in the lounge, and Carter is in the other lounge. Only that asshole is missing.”
“Alright then.” We stop outside the basement door.
“I know it’s locked, but cast a spell so he doesn’t hear us,” she whispers.
“On it.” I smile as I whisper a silencing spell before unlocking the door with a touch of magic.
We open the door a crack, and both of us squeeze inside, making our way down the steps, my spell keeping our cover.
The light is off, but the TV is on, the colours illuminating the room with flashes of colour.
There’s a snooker table to one side, a ping-pong table, a basketball hoop, a bar – I forget they’re over 18 sometimes.
There’s a huge sofa in front of the TV, and the soft sound of light snoring reaches my ears.
I internally scoff. Of course, he’s a snorer; he has to be annoying in every way.
We tiptoe over to the sofa. He’s shirtless, and the first thing I notice is the way his abs rise and fall with every breath.
He has a lot of tattoos, not as many as Uncle Leo or Grandpa Alejandro, but they cover his torso and arms, reaching down beyond the band of his pants.
I look away, my cheeks burning at how awkward this is. We just intruded on him while he’s asleep.
This is wrong…
“Are you sure we should do this now?” I murmur.
Allie nods. “He’s a deep sleeper; it’s now or never.”
“I don’t know, I feel he would be more careful with us in the house…” I muse but push the thought away. I shall not manifest that! “Well then, I’ll get to work. You got the treats?”
She smirks, a sinister one that reveals her teeth. “Oh yes, ready to unleash.”
“Excellent,” I reply.
I feel slightly bad for the unsuspecting man who is sleeping without a care in the world. I begin making the circle. This spell isn’t one of captivity but one that he can walk away from as long as he speaks the truth. His lies will be his own prison.
I smile as I circle the sofa. This can go one of two ways: either he will get extremely angry, or he will help us… I do want to ask Ahren for help, too. I know he may have been able to talk to Theo to persuade him, but I’m not sure he’d let me do this. He’ll still see me as his little sister.
Sighing, I kneel down and etch the symbols into the ground, watching as Allie begins opening the bag she has been carrying all along. The moment I see the two large jars she takes out, I shake my head.
“Allie… you said something to scare him. These are horrible.” I stare at the jar of angry wasps and a jar of raw wolfsbane.
“He’ll live,” she says, caressing the jar of bees as if they were her babies.
I gaze down at the sleeping man.
Oh, I’m so sorry…
“That’s a high dose of wolfsbane,” I try one final time.
“I know.”
“Well, ok then, let’s finish this.”
I finish my markings on the ground before placing a finger to his chest, my attention falling to his tattoo ‘LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG’. I don’t like the meaning of that.
I look away from the tattoo and gingerly draw the final symbol on the centre of his chest. This is so awkward. I avert my gaze as I finish off, binding him to the spell.
A faint barrier glimmers around the sofa, and I look at Allie.
“Now,” I command her, moving away, but just as she opens the jar of wasps and I’m about to step out of the barrier, a hand wraps around my wrist.
“Oh, Blondie, how could you make me such a thoughtful cage and not hang out in here with me?”
“Fuck!” Allie growls as Theo yanks me back with immense strength, and I’m thrown into his arms. His aura glows around him, and I sink lower as the wasps dart around, hitting the barrier and getting angrier by the minute.
“As for you, Zombilesandra, couldn’t come up with anything new?” Theo remarks, sounding completely at ease as he sits up, still holding me tightly against his chest.
“Unhand me!” I demand, my cheeks burning. He’s naked!
“Once I know why I’m being bullied,” he says teasingly, “I’ll consider releasing you. I already said I’d help, and then you had to go pull this kind of prank. If I had feelings, I’d be really hurt by now.”
I flinch as a wasp stings his bare arm not far from me, and I’m suddenly not trying to fight him. His legs are on either side of me as I sit on the ground, and I sink lower, trying to think of the best spell that won’t send the entrapment spell into chaos.
Allie snorts from behind me. “Well, you don’t. The thing is, we don’t have time. We need you to ask Hades right now.”
I begin whispering a spell to paralyse the bees hovering nearby, but before I can even utter two words, Theo clamps his hand over my mouth.
I struggle, but he doesn’t budge, holding me tightly with one arm around my waist, trapping me completely. His chest presses against my back, and heat blooms through me despite my annoyance.
“Hades isn’t a dog you can summon at will,” he says, voice low and mocking. “Well… not without a treat, of course. To call him, there’s a price to pay. And if you girls are so desperate, I’m willing to prepare that price right now. Might go faster if the three of us work together.”
I stop struggling, blinking at him, realisation dawning. I yank free of his hand and look up at him. “What do you mean by ‘prepare’? What do we need to do?”
He leans closer, a smirk curling across his lips. “What else? Send a couple of souls as tribute.”
I freeze, and Allie’s frown deepens.
Theo chuckles, low and dark. “What did you think? That you could just bake him coffin-shaped biscuits? He’s Hades, God of the Dead. So, let’s go kill.”
My stomach twists. Unease and fear flare through me. Kill someone?
“I told you, there are consequences for everything. You were confident there weren’t. I told you, you aren’t prepared for this, no matter what you both think.”
He lets the words linger like a blade hovering over the throat, and I realise the bees have stopped trying to attack us; a soft hue surrounds us, deflecting them.
“Fuck,” Allie mutters.
“And remember,” he adds, tightening his hold slightly, “I’m doing you a favour here. Cross me, and it won’t be just the souls that pay the price.”
The smirk never leaves his face, but there’s something in his eyes, gleaming amusement wrapped in a shadow, that makes me realise this game just got far more dangerous than I expected.