18. Chapter 18
H er room was still in the night and Lennox lay peacefully asleep. The vines along her walls sleepily shifted around the room while she rolled under her sheets. The dorm room was still until black smoke filled through a small crack in the window. It collected on the floor spreading to cover the floor a few inches high. In the far corner of the room, the shadows rose and formed into a human shape. A demon in a black suit with tattered bat-like feathered wings stepped through the cloud. His silver hair slicked effortlessly away from his face as a smirk crossed his face. It only took a few steps for him to close the distance between himself and where she slept.
The man sat on the other side of the mattress, careful not to make it shift under him. His black eyes rested on her sleeping form and he reached out with his blackened hand to touch her shoulder. Lennox shifted again under the covers and pushed his hand away in her sleep. When it didn’t move she tried again.
“My dear,” His deep low voice made her eyes shoot open. “It’s time to wake up.”
She shot up and reached out to grab his hand from her shoulder. However he was faster than her, his fingers wrapped around her wrist. His grip tightened harshly as he peered down at her with the same venomous smile she remembered. Armaros shook his head as suddenly the sounds of chains caught her attention. Lennox’s attention turned to the room around them and discovered what was once her room was now a cell in hell. Her heart started to race and she desperately tried to pull at her magic.
“No magic right now, Miss. Cade. I thought we’d have a little chat about that daughter of yours.” He held a knife in his hand as he spoke.
The last time I saw him was before Xemos came to get me. The memory came to the forefront of her mind. “You leave her out of this.”
“Oh but mommy dearest, don't you want to reunite with her lovely soul?”
“No! Not here, she will never follow in my footsteps!” Lennox yelled and went to attempt to stand.
Armaros bent down and shoved her backwards. Unable to stop her fall, she fell back. Her head hit the stone wall behind her which sent stars over her vision. He held the chains above her head to keep her suspended a few inches above the floor. His gaze was locked on hers as her body shook. In this moment she was reminded of just how strong he was. How easily she turned into a rag doll. Without complete access to her magic from Xemos during her transition from life to death, she was no match for the fallen angel. His free hand wound behind her head and his fingers twisted through the back of her hair. The demon pulled her closer, gripping her at the base of her head.
“My dear, I will get my way and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. One day, who knows how many years from now, I will make a deal with her. She will follow in Mommy’s footsteps. Now, I just need to know where precious little Gemma is. If you think about the answers, it will be a lot less painful. However, I don’t mind doing it the hard way.”
As she fought for control of the memories that forcibly came up, Lennox yelled out in pain. The hand that had held her chains had moved down, wrapped around her waist and pulled her to him. Something is going on… This isn’t how it went.
An arm held her waist tightly as she fought against the grip. No… No no no, let me go. Lennox couldn’t speak. No! You can’t have her! With a free arm she reached where another grip had appeared around her shoulders and clawed at the iron grasp around her. Her nails missed and dug right into the damaged skin between her shoulder blades which caused her to let out a louder scream than before.
“Len! It’s time to wake up!” A combination of two familiar voices echoed as the face of Armaros smirked darkly down at her.
She couldn’t pull her eyes from his black pits. “Please, anything else! I’ll do anything, just don’t touch her.”
“Lennox, you’re dreaming. Everyone is safe, come back to me.” Armaros’s low voice started to fade as the grip around her kept her in place as she thrashed.
Her eyes flew open ready to face the cruel gaze of Armaros above her. However, she found the face of Aron. Looking at her with a mix of fear and concern. He had an arm around her shoulders and the other wrapped around her waist. His grip was tight and she could feel her heart race and body shake as she tried to figure out what was going on. The light from her desk was dimmer than before and her gaze traveled to the barrier of foliage around herself with Aron bent over the edge.
The vines on the side he had slept on had been ripped apart which left enough of a hole for him to get to her. Her eyes drifted to the edges of the opening and noticed it had formed into poison ivy in defense of itself. Her eyes moved to his arm which had angry bumps that covered his exposed skin. I… I did that. She tried to speak but found a lump in her raw throat that wouldn’t allow words right now as she finally met his eyes again.
“It’s okay, breathe Lennox.” Aron’s voice instructed calmly. “We can talk in a minute.”
He held her as her mind raced and her magic tried to continue the fight to be unleashed. Why would the vines make a barrier? Was it just the nightmare causing this? What is he going to think of my ability to run this house? Embarrassment filled her as they stayed in silence as Aron kept her close to his chest while her body shook with adrenaline.
“Breathe with me.” His voice instructed softly as something wet dripped down her back suddenly hyper aware of herself it drew her attention momentarily. Her words refused to come and her breath hitched. “In and out.”
Aron breathed more exaggerated than usual and waited patiently for her to match the moment. Slowly over the passing minutes, her body calmed and Aron slowly started to let go. At the same time the vines around them retracted to the walls once more. Lennox felt the hum of ámpelos in the back of her mind, the sentient plant mistrusted the demon and he made no effort to hide it. She shoved the thought aside. If he wanted to hurt me he would have. She shook off the thought and turned her attention to his arms to distract herself from the looming sound of Armaros’s voice.
“Let me fix that for you, please?” Lennox asked, the guilt for the poison ivy tugged at her.
He nodded as they sat up across from each other and held out his arms to her. His gaze didn’t leave her face the entire time as she lifted her hand over his arm about an inch above his skin. With a tug at the green thread a dim green glow emanated from her palm and underneath it the rash faded away. Once done, they fell into silence once more. Aron ran his fingers through his hair, his expression fell into worry again.
“I have to ask, what happened?” He asked calmly.
“It was just a nightmare.” She shook her head in an effort to get him to drop it.
“Don’t you lie to me, Cade. That wasn’t just a nightmare, you were clawing at your back. How long has this been going on?” He leaned toward her.
“I don’t know, maybe since Rue died? If you would believe it, mostly it’s the nights I do security. It’s just old things from my past. I’m sorry you had to witness that, Aron.” She turned her gaze toward her hands which did have a little blood on them. Unable to look at him, she drew in a shaky breath.
“Don’t apologize, we all have pasts. Maybe you should take a few days from security?”
“Danger doesn’t take a day off, besides I’ll never sleep easily as long as they are out there.”
“I think it’s necessary, Len. What happens if you drain yourself and you can’t fight if you have to?” He questioned and made a good point.
He reached toward her and rested a hand on her knee. With the embarrassment of the whole situation grew stronger by the second and Lennox wrung her hands for a moment before she stood from the bed. I can’t believe he’s still here after all of this. He barely knows me and I’m pretty sure there are only a few people who would deal with this. She made her way into the bathroom to wash her hands and found her reflection in the mirror, her eyes locked on the purple irises. Her pink hair was a mess and she noticed some red spots on the back of her shirt. Her back seared with pain as her eyes followed the blood to her back where she knew she had dug her nails in.
While she was lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed him move to the doorframe behind her. Lennox stayed within her own mind as he leaned against the frame with his arms crossed and concern in his eyes. Slowly, her eyes shifted from her reflection to the man who stood behind her. There was no hint of judgment in his eyes or body. He didn’t tease her. It seemed as if he understood the darkest moments of life and for the first time in weeks she found herself beginning to trust him.
“I know you want to protect everyone, but thinking a few nights off will be good for you.” Aron insisted.
“Fine, I’ll take two nights off.” She agreed as she dried her hands.
“You’ll take four off.”
“Three.”
“Four, or it’ll be a week. You don’t have to worry, Wyatt and I have it.” he smirked with amusement.
“Fine. you win this time. Next time you won’t be so lucky.”
Lennox walked past him and toward the bed, thankful for the fact she was no longer drunk. She strode over to the desk where her phone sat now dead and plugged it in beside her bed. With a turn she moved the blankets back up from the end of the bed and climbed back into bed with Aron close behind.
“You never told me what happened in your nightmare.”
“Or… We could forget it ever happened.” Lennox smiled sheepishly.
“I don’t think so.” He got comfortable once more. “Remember last night when we said we had each other's backs? I meant that you can trust me.”
“I told you, it’s just history that doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It seems to, I couldn’t wake you up for ten minutes. What would we do if you couldn’t wake up from one of these? What if it’s because you’re draining yourself? I know you probably don’t view me as your friend, and that’s fine but I do still care about everyone on this campus. Last I checked you were still a student here so you count in that. Though I won’t force you to share.”
Lennox sighed as she shifted the pillow under her head. “When I died and was taken to hell to meet with the crossroads demon I had made my deal with, she didn’t show. Another demon took over the honor of her job for a few days. It- Was my time with him that haunts my nightmares.”
“If I may ask, who was he?” His voice was flat, serious, and the concern in his eyes hid something darker she couldn’t place.
She shook her head again, she felt the panic threaten to take over, scared if his name was spoken it would summon him. “ I- I can’t say his name.”
“It’s okay you don’t have to say it right now.” He quickly stopped her. “How about we just go back to sleep?”
“That would be nice actually,” she pulled the covers under her chin.
“Aron?” She whispered before they closed their eyes.
“Yes?” He whispered back.
“Thank you for being here tonight, it’s nice to feel safe here again.”
“Don’t sweat it, Lenny-Boo.”