8. Chapter 8
O nce she was finally alone Lennox changed out of her funeral dress as quickly as she could. From the drawer she took out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and quickly shoved them on. She approached her desk to her laptop in an attempt to distract herself. It took a conscious effort to convince herself everyone would be fine in their rooms tonight. She pulled up her latest essay and started to type with the hope that a little work would tame her thoughts. As much as she wanted to begin a hunt for Rue’s killer, Rosalyn and Fang had talked her down. Lennox’s attention wavered in and out as she wrote about practical ways to use magic during certain star positions. After about two hours of work, the sun had already disappeared and the moon had taken its place in the sky.
Her gaze drifted around her darkened room. She stood roughly from her fuzzy pink computer chair and walked a few steps over to the small altar she had dedicated to Xemos. After striking a match, she lit the handful of candles she had spread out across the table. The soft glow of the candles on the small desk illuminated the room just enough for her to see things clearly. Her eyes stayed on the dried purple asters placed in sets of six on either side. Her offering cup once full of whiskey, now dry. The flames danced out in her peripheral vision. In the back of her mind the images of flames winding their way up vines from her back as a man with lightning scars held her wrists. The sound of her own screams echoed from within her memory.
The silence in the real world was almost deafening despite the screams in her mind. She hadn’t realized it until now just how loud it was. High pitched ringing filled her ears slowly getting louder as she stood motionless. Until her name was called. As if underwater, it took her a moment to register. Lennox? It sounded like-
“Rue?” She spun around.
The dark room was empty. For a moment she could almost see Rue sitting on their bed and Felix in her chair, spinning with a drink in hand. The vines around her room shook a little as if trying to get her attention. One of the branches wound its way over and tapped her on the shoulder. Smiling softly, Lennox’s face softened.
“Thank you ámpelos,” she sighed, taking comfort in the little companion she had created when she arrived. The ivy had grown all over the room over the last twenty years and even taken on its unique personality over the years. “I guess it’s time… I should clean out her clothes.”
Turning towards the closet, she let herself take a breath before stepping over and opening the door. Lennox reached in and started to pull each item off their hangers one by one. Memories surfaced with most of them. Trips they had gone on, nights spent in, parties they had gone to with Felix. When she pulled down a pair of sweatpants and accidentally knocked the ring box from her jacket pocket that was hanging on the back of the door. It fell to the floor with a soft thud and her heart jumped as she quickly bent down to pick it up.
A wave of new emotions overcame her as her eyes were glued to the box. This wasn’t supposed to happen… I was going to propose… And they took her from me. Took them from us. The rage she had pushed down all week started to rear its head. This time there was no pushing it away, no fighting for control. Anger filled her every thought down to her core. The vines around her shook again. This time much more aggressive than before as the candle flames grew taller. Vines started to wind their way around the room like snakes, covering the door and locking her within. She had the window cracked for air. Ivy had found it and started to grow out the window and down the side of the house.
Unable to find anyone to blame for the tragedy, her mind circled to her human life. All the death that had always seemed to surround her wherever she went. The curse. The whole reason she was here in the first place. I thought I escaped it when I died. It must have followed me. The vines stopped as the faces of all her friends standing by the tree earlier crossed her mind. First, Felix, now Rue, and the others… they are all in danger. Anyone I love… Is in danger… It’s my fault. I can’t be here, I have to leave. The guilt caused her feet to carry her toward her door. The vines over the door spread apart for her. Lennox quickly made her way down the stairs and into the night.
The cool wind blew across her face as she made her way down the sidewalk toward the large iron gates. Lennox had nothing but the clothes on her back as she managed to get to the entrance of the school without being spotted by the security team. She placed her hand on the cold iron and paused. Her stomach twisted as she turned to face the school, a lump forming in her throat. I can’t leave without telling at least one person, they might think I was hurt like the others. Not wanting them to worry more than they had to, she thought about who might be the least likely to talk her out of this. Anyone in Omega would stop her and she knew it. It was then she remembered the very demon who had made the very curse she was scared of now. The face of Wyatt Steele came to her mind’s eye. Her heart sank deeper down into her stomach as she could already see the sadness in his eyes. He has to understand why I need to leave. He hates that curse as much as I do.
She slid her hand off the gate and started the five-minute walk over to Kappa Theta. She cursed herself for not sliding her phone into her pocket as she walked the grounds for what she thought was the last time. All the while she considered various ways to get Wyatt’s attention without waking up the rest of the house. Lennox glanced around the area once she arrived and found a handful of small pebbles. Taking a few steps back she tossed one at a time at his second-story window every few seconds. After about five pebbles that hit the glass with a loud thud, the window opened and Wyatt popped his head out. When she saw his eyes fall on her she waved sheepishly.
“Lennox? What the hell? Hold on, I’ll be right down!”
With a nod, she wiped her face with her sleeve after he disappeared. Maybe he won’t notice I’ve been crying- Maybe this will be simple… Who am I kidding? She walked around to the front of the house. After about five minutes the front door opened and the demon stepped out stretching and rubbing his face. His hair was a mess in the bun on the back of his head dressed in a band shirt and sweatpants. He walked down the two steps off the porch and made his way over to her, concern clear on his face. Lennox could see every emotion written across his tired face. Even though she woke him up, he seemed happy to see her.
“Well well, look what the cat dragged in at two in the morning. Little Miss Nox, I was having the most wonderful dream about my future wife! Wait- What's going on?” The smile on his face dropped when he finally got close enough to see her. He pulled her into a hug and took a small step back in attempts to catch her eyes.
Lennox looked at her hands and avoided his eyes knowing that her face was still flushed from the rush of emotions. This is it… It’s over and this will make it real. She took a deep breath in, wishing she wasn’t about to say what she was about to.
“Wyatt… I’m leaving, I couldn’t go without telling someone.”
Silence followed her words. Lennox squeezed her eyes shut in attempts not to cry. The full weight of her words caused a lump to form in her throat again. Feeling his finger under her chin, Wyatt used a single finger to lift her face to meet his gaze. She opened her eyes to look into his. Clouds of confusion and sadness, his grip tightened slightly as if he was trying to hold her there. I don’t want to go. Her heart shattered at the thought. Heartbreak was written in her eyes as she bit back the words she wanted to say.
Wyatt’s eyes darted between hers as if to decipher what was inside her head. His gaze caused her breath to hitch in her chest and a few tears to escape. She remembered how much she hated him when she found out he was the reason behind a four-generation curse that had passed on to her. Wyatt’s expression softened. He took her face in both hands and ran his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping away the tears trailing down.“Why? Lennox, this is your home, you can’t leave- Not now.” His voice broke as he dropped his hands. “Just… Come inside and we can talk about this. I’m here for you.”
Her eyes went wide at the thought of stepping foot inside Kappa Theta, the memory of Felix still fresh in her mind. “I can’t… I should get going before someone notices I’m not in my room. I didn’t want anyone to think something bad happened.”
She turned to leave but he grabbed her hand lightly. “Wait. Come just sit on the porch with me. One hour, that’s all I’m asking for.”
She sighed, evidently wrong about Wyatt not trying to stop her. “One hour, but then I have to go.”
He moved to stand beside her as she carefully made her way towards the stairs to the porch. Doing her best, she averted her eyes away from the dark green door and pushed the face of Felix from her mind. Stepping up they sat on two chairs the other members of the house had left out. She peered over at him and slowly relaxed enough to even herself out as he patted her knee. As Lennox’s eyes met his, a sad smile appeared on her face and her heart tore a little more at the break caused by grief.
“I’ve known you for seven years, Len. You’ve always said how happy you are here. What’s changed?” He asked.
She paused and considered her answer. She knew the moment she told him the true reason it would become real. In the seconds that followed, memories of the last seven years followed freely. The first time they met in the courtyard after their many fights over the decades. Principal Moon and Felix had to pull the two apart. Once expulsion was threatened, she avoided him. Until he drunkenly shared his biggest regret. The creation and release of her curse. It had taken over a year for her to begin to forgive him. Multiple nights of long conversations laced with anger. Eventually, the night he won her trust.
“You know, I hated you for that first semester.”
A tense laugh escaped Wyatt. “Until I helped you get that Witch to safety from her mother trying to drown her.”
“I would have died in that undercurrent if you hadn’t pulled us out.” A shiver ran through her spine as she remembered how her wings had been twisted in the current and scraped the river bed.
“You’re stalling.”
“I have a whole hour, right? Won’t you miss our late night chats?” Lennox tilted her head toward him.
“I won’t- Because you’re not going to leave.” Confidence laced his raspy voice.
“Wyatt, I-”
He stopped her with a simple hand. “You had every right to hate me… Every right to still hate me.”
“You’re not the demon who threw that curse out into the world for fun anymore.”
Silence drifted into the air briefly. His lips turned up a bit more and gratitude filled his eyes. He didn’t need to say it, Lennox knew how hard he had worked to change. When he had come to the school he had told her he was on a mission to become better after meeting a demon in Texas. A demon with a red bandanna… Aron. A new piece clicked into the puzzle and regret stirred in her stomach. Wyatt had only ever spoken highly of the Crossroad Demon who helped him realize he may find peace here at the school and drove him to be a better man. I judged him too harshly.
“Len,” His voice broke her thoughts. “What’s really going on?”
“The curse… It’s back.”
Wyatt’s face shifted from a comforting smile to ghost white. “That’s impossible, Nox. Xemos himself told us it was broken when he took you out of hell.”
“Look at all the signs, Wyatt. Felix and Rue, a friend and a lover. Die under mysterious circumstances. You designed it to kill anyone the victim loved.” Her brows furrowed.
“I did, but it couldn’t have come back. You told me your daughter didn’t have the mark when she was born. That’s all thanks to you.” He told her gently, his expression softening in understanding. “I never told you, but- When you were worried about Rue when you two met, I went to Xemos by myself. He told me it’s a one in a million chance of it coming back.”
“For all you know, it’s been lying dormant within me! It’s trying to, I don’t know, reactivate?” Lennox’s voice rose and broke and the bushes shook beside them. “First it was my mother, Olivia, of cancer. I was three... My father, Cyprus, was in a car accident. I was ten... His sister Arya took me in and was murdered a month before I turned eighteen. Then Mason months after I found out I was expecting Gemma… Now hunters have come and randomly targeted people I care about? What are the chances that even just the mark on my right shoulder didn’t act like some sort of magic bad luck beacon and the single chance is happening? What if you’re next? Rosalyn? Octavius? Eden? Donnie? The pattern is continuing again and I seem to be the only one seeing it.”
Wyatt took a deep breath as he watched Lennox. Silence fell between them. His expression shifted into regret and seemed just as upset as she was at the thought. She knew it was the darkest spot in his past and she had just brought everything to the surface for both of them. His hands covered his face for a moment, the black rose on his right hand standing out in contrast against his pale skin. Slowly he ran them down his face before he peered at her apologetically.
“I’ll never forgive myself for releasing that curse into the world.” He paused and watched her face. “If there’s anything I know, it is broken. All traces are gone. You are not cursed anymore, Lennox.”
She shook her head, incapable at accepting his words. “Why don’t we test it? I leave and if they follow it has to be back right?”
“If the threat is here, what is leaving going to do? You will be gone and we will still be in danger, but if you stay you can fight.” He countered in an attempt to reason with her, and tilted his head down.
She stood from her chair and turned to him, desperation in her eyes. The edges of her vision threatened to burn red. He can’t see it and I’m going to have to bury more people. Her next breath hitched in her chest and her hands shook as she broke from his gaze. I have to go. Her feet started to carry her toward the stairs.
“I am the reason they are here. If they are targeting me, they will follow me.”
Wyatt quickly reached out and took her hand, giving her arm a light tug which caused her to face him once more. “My hour isn’t up. Stop, take a second. Think about what you want to do. Do you want to run? Or help us protect everyone who’s still here?”
She stood there frozen to her spot, locked eyes with the storm inside. All of the previous lightness lost, tinted with a wave of dark anger just beneath the surface. Wyatt’s hand was still wrapped around hers, completely encasing it. Her eyes fell to the rose as he pulled her toward him. Lennox decided to meet his eyes once more as he seemed to search for the reasonable side of her. Gently, his other hand took hers and he held them to his chest.
His lips parted to speak again. “These hunters have taken two of my best friends already. I’m not about to allow the loss of anyone else. We need you- I need you.”
It was all he needed to say and he knew it. She could never walk away from someone who needed her, no matter the cost. “Wyatt-”
He’s right, you know. The deep voice of Xemos echoed in her mind, outwardly her determination wavered. Exhaustion filled her as the God moved easily through her mental barriers.
You said there was a chance. She tossed back as Wyatt watched her closely. It wasn’t the first time he had witnessed the two mid conversation. He only looked mildly annoyed as he waited. She didn’t take it personally as she knew the two hated each other.
That chance has not come to pass, nor does my Sister. Rest easily, about that. Xemos reassured.
“What if I just cause more pain?” Lennox said aloud to both of them, her voice broke slightly.
There it was. Her fear from her human life laid out on a platter for him once again. She had watched Mason’s parents cry at their son’s funeral. To this day she could still hear the woman’s sobs as he was lowered. The woman’s words to her as she left. I’m sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye. He loved you more than I’ve seen anyone love another person. The grip he had on her hands loosed slightly as she was brought back to the moment. Wyatt’s eyes softened as he brushed a piece of her hair from her face and released her hands finally. With a long sigh Lennox stepped back over to her chair once more, soon joined by him once more.
“You won’t, the only pain you’ll cause is to the people who did this. Besides, even if they do follow you, do you plan on facing them alone?”
Lennox’s eyebrow rose. “Why would I put you guys at risk?”
“You don’t even know how many of them there are. The crazy cult people tend to run in packs.”
“I’ve taken on hundreds of humans.” Lennox folded her arms over her chest.
“Hunters? Trained supernatural assassins? How many at a time? Two? Four? Nine?”
“Two, Rue and I-”
Wyatt held up his finger. “That’s with Rue, what about completely alone?”
“... No.”
“If you are outnumbered and you’re too far from the grounds we won’t make it in time. If you die, there’s nothing stopping them from coming right back here and picking each of us off.”
His last words shook her as she saw the image of each one of them dying, herself already in the ground unable to stop it. The spark of the calm, rational version of her ignited. It slowly illuminated the dark edges of her mind. Guilt pierced her heart as she met his eyes for the third time. Whether he knew it or not she had subconsciously blamed him.
“It’s okay,” His voice came out softly. “I understand why you feel the way you do, why you would only believe this to be the only rational explanation.”
“I’m sorry-”
“Don’t be. As long as we are together, we can take on anything. You will not have to bury anyone else… Are we in this together?”
Lennox nodded as words refused to come out. Her entire demeanor shifted as her body untensed. A smile appeared on the man’s face followed by a long exhale. His tired eyes lit up with his usual spark as he patted her knee.
“Thank you for coming to me. For trusting me.”
“I couldn’t let you guys think the worst.” Lennox admitted.
He nodded and pulled on his leather jacket as he stood and offered his hand to her. “How about we go back to Omega and hang out with Rosalyn for the night?”
“I’ve spent so many nights there already. I don’t want to intrude.”
“Well, you could come up to my room if you wanted.”
“Aren’t yours and Aron’s rooms conjoined?” She asked, her nose wrinkled slightly.
It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her. “And?”
“And, I don’t want to see him… Not yet, I- I have an apology to make but I’m not ready for it yet.” She paused and considered her options. “Why don’t you spend the night in my room? If you are okay with that.”
“Nox, I love sleepovers and I’m already dressed for it.”
Wyatt offered his hand to her and this time she took it. Lennox stood easily from her chair and followed him toward the dark grounds, back to her home. The whole way back she explained how the whole night had ended up this way, from her summoning to the moment she found the ring box in Rue’s jacket pocket. Wyatt had swung an arm around her shoulders and offered to help clean up with Rosalyn’s help in the morning which Lennox gratefully accepted.