37. Chapter 37
T he other’s laughter from the room below wafted up the stairs in waves that rose and fell. Lennox stood with her hand on the knob of Rosalyn’s room, where she had slept the last three nights after Alaric and Eden almost killed her only to be saved by Aron. Her breath suspended as she mentally shoved the betrayal into a box and shoved it into a corner to be opened later. Just get through this and you can go to sleep for the night. Not that sleep helped, the nightmares were worse than ever last night and she had woken Rosalyn up every few hours. She had been so understanding each time Lennox woke her up, though it didn’t stop her from the guilt.
From the top of the stairs, she watched as Wyatt pulled off his jacket and ruffled the snow out of his hair as it fell on the carpet. All in a span of seconds, the memory of Eden played in her mind like a broken movie projector. Lennox’s eyes went wide as she realized he probably had no idea who she really was. Oh my gods, Wyatt is dating my daughter. I have to tell him.
She seized the opportunity to pull his attention and put a hand on the banister. With a simple tug of the thread she sent a vine down at lightning speed toward the hook by the front door. It swiftly scooped up the jacket by the collar straight out of Wyatt’s hands and let it hang just above his head. Wyatt jumped and looked around in confusion before a smile formed on his face when he saw the plant life. He tugged it down from the leaves and put it on the hook before he turned to face the stairs. As Lennox walked down, she saw the dark circles under his eyes the closer she got. Greeting him with a hug she found the forced smile seemed to come slightly easier than upstairs.
“Well hey there stranger.”
“How are you doing? It’s been a few days since-” He paused and cleared his throat.
“I’m okay, I’m rooming with Rosalyn for a few more days while she helps me get things cleaned up.”
“Good, I’m glad you’re not alone or I’d be offering up my room.” He smiled and turned to the common area as voices continued to drift in.
“I appreciate it, but I’m sure you’d much rather have Eden over.” Lennox brought up the name to see his reaction mostly but knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep so close to Armaros.
“I’ve got time for everyone.” His attention turned toward the common area and she saw the tips of his ears go red. “Are you ready to join the party?”
“I do but we really need to talk.”
“How about over some drinks?” He smiled and peered over to her.
Lennox scanned as much of his face she could see. Wyatt avoided her eyes for a second and it was all she needed as their gaze met and his usual smile masked. He knew something . With a nod she started to follow behind him, her view mostly blocked due to the top of her head level with his shoulders. From the bottom of his short-sleeved black t-shirt, her eyes fell to bits of silver on the back of his arm. Only able to see an inch of a few silver lines, her brows furrowed as they distracted her from trying to figure out how to warn him. Those look like my chains… No, he would never.
“Did you make a deal with Xemos?” The words of disbelief came out with no filter and no way to retract them as a hand reached out for a second before she pulled back.
Wyatt’s feet stopped and his whole body seemed to turn to rock. “Yes.”
“You hate him why would you-”“Because I need to be stronger to keep everyone safe. I can’t do that if I can’t fight the hunters.” He snapped as his eyes filled with a storm that hid something else within.
Taken aback, Lennox took a small step back to give the demon some room. She forced herself to hide the pang she felt at his raised voice and let the others chatter fill the silence. It had been a long time since she had seen him this stressed which only helped her push her own issues aside for the moment.
“You aren’t alone in keeping everyone safe, Wyatt, you know that.”
“I know, there’s just so much going on right now… We almost lost you that night.”
You almost lost me twice thanks to your girlfriend… My daughter. She shuttered internally. “Does it have anything to do with Eden?”
Wyatt’s jaw clenched as his eyes shifted to the left. “It’s complicated.”
“It’s much more complicated than I think you know… Wyatt, she’s-”
As Lennox went to give him the warning, his expression shifted from happiness to fear. With a swift step toward her, he reached out and took her by the shoulders. The movement sent a wave of shock through her, surprised at the action that told her everything she needed to know. Lennox took a step away from him to put her at arm’s length, a light tinge of green filled her vision as her eyes reflected the advancing magic. Held in a stand-off, they didn’t move for a few seconds before the burn of betrayal in her chest caused her vision to shift red.
“You’re dating my daughter… And you already knew that. How long were you going to wait to tell me?”
“Excuse me? Nox, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He shook his head as a spark snapped behind his head.
“You’ve never lied to me before Wyatt, I wouldn’t start now… You know exactly who she is don’t you?” Her heart dropped at the look in his eyes.
“Are you two making out in here or something?” A new voice echoed down the hall at them.
Lennox peered over his shoulder and saw two of their friends with their heads around the corner. Octavius with a devious smirk on his face and Rosalyn with a raised eyebrow and cheerful tone. Immediately, the heaviness in the air faded away like it was never there. A fire burned deep within Lennox as she wanted to demand answers. How long had he protected a hunter, probably the very one who killed two of the most important people in her life?
“Ew, Ros, No.” Her tone came out harsher than she intended.
“Hey, it wasn’t that bad that one night.” Wyatt folded his arms over his chest and seemed relieved someone interrupted them.
“I’m not saying it was bad. You and I looked at each other, even drunk off our asses, and couldn’t take any of it seriously.”
“Still, I wasn’t that bad. Come on, Len. I got a reputation to uphold.”
“I just can’t see you as anything more than a brother.”
“Eden seems perfectly fine with your reputation. Come on you two, we have to start planning for the party!” Rosalyn said lighthearted and pulled Octavius back into the room.
Lennox shook her head and followed her down the hall before she spun on her heel to face Wyatt when Rosalyn turned the corner. “Don’t think we won’t talk about this later.”
The two entered the room one after the other, and took the two remaining seats on the couch in front of the coffee table. She sank into her seat and tried to appear as normal as possible while the conversation turned to the topic at hand. Rosalyn opened her planner and set it in her lap with a pen in hand as she looked between the three of them.
“Alright, so Wyatt has already agreed to keep him distracted in the town over until about lunch. I was thinking then Lennox if you could have him help with something in Omega while the rest of us set up inside Kappa.”
Her nerves flared, “I think I might be better at setting up. If I’m distracting him he’ll know something’s up.”
“You two are always hanging out, why would that be suspicious?” Rosalyn’s eyebrow rose at her and she shrunk ever so slightly.
“Yeah, Len’s not really great at secrets at times.” Wyatt agreed and took the attention off of her. “Octavious could drag him somewhere?”
“Whoever, I just need someone to keep him out of Kappa until seven.” Rosalyn waved her hands as she wrote something down. “You guys figure that out then.”
The next hour was filled with job assignments and things they needed to get for the party. Wyatt had agreed to call the brewery in Millstone Grove to supply them with a keg of his favorite beer. Octavius would make the playlist and Rosalyn would gather the decorations. As the others talked between each other, Lennox found herself slowly fade into her memories as if she were only a ghost. Armaros’s black eyes haunted her in the sunlight even with the new mixture of the red bandanna. It had made it almost impossible to connect two such different people as one. Aron had never once acted like Armaros and if he really didn’t remember her or Rosalyn until recently how was she supposed to stay mad at him? It doesn’t change anything… He’s always been Armaros even if he didn’t remember us… He knew who he was and chose to hide it.
Wyatt’s voice echoed from far off and a lump twisted itself into her throat as she recalled the look in Eden’s eyes. The frustrated, why won’t you die, played in the back of her mind followed by the sound of glass as it shattered behind her. As she relived the moment over and over, she realized he had used a single wing to push Eden away. Her heart skipped a beat and she clasped her shaking hands together. Possibilities of how much he knew were listed in her mind like a checklist. Is there a possibility he knew she was just a hunter and not Gemma? No, the look on his face wasn’t shocked at the information. Has he been protecting her this whole time? Or is that why we found Octavious alive? I need answers.
Lennox kept her gaze on her hands and continued to let the others converse with each other as the water dissipated from her eyes. Betrayal settled into her stomach and made her feel queasy. Aron was Armaros, Eden was Gemma, and Wyatt knew exactly who had killed their loved ones. How could he protect her?
“Love makes people do strange things, Miss. Cade.” A familiar presence washed over her and the voice of Xemos sounded clear.
Love makes people blind. She told him with a huff as another pang of betrayal fell into the pit of her stomach. How much of this did you know?
There was a pause as Xemos sent a wave of discontentment over her. “You’ve questioned me more this year than you did the year you made the deal. In eighteen years, have I not proven that you can trust me? I have always kept you safe, have I not?”
You have but-
“You needed to discover this on your own. Trust my judgment. I will not let harm befall you and in time you will understand, Little Phoenix.”
The nickname Xemos had called her occasionally over the years always caught her attention. She could sense in his voice that this wasn’t a matter he would be going into an explanation about. He only used it when she questioned him about this plan he told her he had for her the day she walked through the gates of SCHUni. When it came to her devotion over the years, she knew there was more to come that would indeed make sense later.
“Alright guys, I think we are all good. Lennox? Did you have any other ideas?” Rosalyn’s voice pulled her back into the moment.
“No, I think that’s good.”
“Alright people, let’s make it happen!”
She watched as Octavius stood and approached Rosalyn while out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Wyatt watching her closely. Her attention drifted toward Wyatt as she struggled to find anything to say to him. This may be a part of Xemos’s plan for her but that didn’t mean the feeling of betrayal was going away any time soon.
“Lennox,” His voice was hardly a whisper. “I promise, I had no idea about what Alaric did.”
“Stop… Not here.”
He drew in a sharp breath and nodded as she stood from her spot. With a step around him she passed the laughing couple, the sight sent another wave of irritation over her. She walked right out of the room, her chest tight as she stepped into the hall. With every intention to go upstairs since it was almost curfew, her feet started to carry her toward the front door. Before she left, she grabbed her green and cream-lined winter jacket from its hook and left Omega house.
Footsteps followed behind her as Wyatt stayed close behind her. With every exhale, she saw her breath drift away on the wind. The moment the winter air touched her face her lungs expanded; an audible gasp sprang forward. Lennox continued down the steps, she lifted her hand and a small flame sparked into existence. The dull warmth brushed against her face and she kept her eyes locked on the closed gate in the front of the school about a two-minute walk away.
“Nox, please talk to me.” Wyatt’s voice made her stop.
Lennox spun on her heel. “What am I supposed to say? You knew she was one of them and never bothered to warn us?”
“Like you called the moment you found out?” He shot back.
“She stabbed me!” Her eyes widened.
“Her mother locked me in their basement!” He stepped closer to her. “Neither of us are handling this right. We both want to protect the people we love.”
“We do but there’s a hunter on your list.” Lennox lowered her voice.
“She’s on yours too. No matter if you want to admit it or not, you want to protect her too. You’re the Protector of Witches. Eden is a Witch. You can’t hurt her.”
“I don’t want to, but I am done with funerals. She has a family, and they do not belong here.”
“She belongs with us. That family is terrible. If you care about her at all, you’ll show her there’s more to life than anger.” Wyatt’s gaze hardened before he went back to the house.
The grounds of the school were eerily quiet as she followed the small path to the front. She let her gaze drift to the stone pillars that held up the tall, curved, and spiked gate, she spotted the mostly burned candles she had left over the years as they poked just an inch above the snow. Quickly, she knelt down and used the flames she carried with her to carefully melt the snow around them. Being careful to not let it get too close to the wax she revealed two purple and one black pillar-shaped candle. Each stood about seven inches tall and had many hardened drips over the edges.
As she guided the flame over the wicks she let them spring to life, each tall and strong. Lennox closed her eyes and let the silence of the evening clear her mind. She kept the orb of light above her head now as she placed the palms of her hands down on the exposed ground beside the candles. The image of purple asters filled her mind’s eye and slowly she tugged on the thread of magic and allowed it to flow into the ground.
Leaves and stems grew from the wet soil and sprouted buds. Within seconds purple asters surrounded the candles and grew slightly up the stone and brought some color to the winter. A small smile pulled at her lips though frustrated, she leaned into her devotion.
“The Greeks believed this flower gave them wisdom and faith… I’ll trust you, but I don’t know if I can handle what you’re putting me through.”
No response came, in fact the only sound was the soft flapping of wings. Paranoia filled her mind as she thought Armaros was trying to sneak up behind her. Her eyes flew open and scanned the grounds behind her but found nothing. A sudden loud caw sent her attention to the lower part of the gate almost at her eye level.
A black raven sat perched above Lennox, twisting its head to the side a few times and letting out another more mellow coo. Her eyebrows met as she watched it, utterly confused. Xemos never sends ravens. Another caw sounded loudly as it peered back toward Omega Alpha House before it turned to her again. She rose to her feet and took a step back, as the hair rose on the back of her neck. The raven opened its wings and cawed again.
Lennox’s head tilted as something inside her intuition told her to head back to the house. However, curiosity at this black bird and why it was determined she went back held her in place. The two didn’t move as it occasionally looked around the grounds behind her and let out another demanding caw. Inside her mental barriers, something brushed against the shield as if it instructed her home. The touch made her spin around and look around the empty grounds. Her eyes drifted from Omega to Kappa and back before a final caw made her jump. She turned her head just in time to watch the raven start to disappear into the sky.
With a swipe of her hand she sent a small rush of wind to extinguish the candles before turning back for the house. With her arms wrapped around herself she peered up to confirm it was gone and found it circled over her while she walked. The raven followed her until she made it to the stairs of the house, once there it vanished from view. What the hell is going on?
As she pulled a sweatshirt over her head, Lennox couldn’t let go of the image of the raven as it watched her. Her thoughts raced as she considered Eden had somehow watched her through the bird and waited for the right time to corner her again. But I’ve never seen a raven around before. If it was Eden, it would have been around a lot more. Eventually she chalked it up to the curious nature of the creatures and brushed it off as Rosalyn walked through the door. The door shut with a soft thud as she started to get ready for bed.
A heavy silence settled into the room as Lennox ran a makeup wipe over her face, erasing the pink eyeshadow she wore everyday. She brushed it over the permanent dots along her eye sockets and symbol of Xemos over her forehead. As she looked in the mirror, she attempted to find a semblance of familiarity in her features.
“You know, Nox you’re really shitty at hiding when something is going on. I think that’s the quietest I’ve seen you at any meeting… Like ever.”
Shit. Lennox sighed as she turned to face her best friend as guilt bubbled up and she met her eyes. “I know… It’s just that a lot has happened these last few days.”
A smile found its way to Rosalyn’s heart shaped face and she came over. The kindness sent her stomach into knots as she knew it had come time to tell her. She had no idea that Armaros was not only on earth for the first time since they left hell, he was their friend.
“Well then, pop a squat and tell me what’s up.” She motioned to the two small maroon vintage arm chairs in the foyer opposite from her desk.
The two sat and Lennox bit the inside of her cheek before deciding to speak. “After the night when Alaric broke into my room isn’t the only thing that’s been going on. Yesterday, I was on my way back here and Eden Miller cornered me.”
A gasp from Rosalyn made her pause. “Eden? But why-”
“Because she’s a hunter… She’s… Also Gemma.” She let the words hang so they could sink in. “She’s mad that I left her at the orphanage and didn’t believe me when I told her that I was coming to get her the day I died. She had a Death Dagger. I would have been dead if Aron hadn’t shown up in time.”
“Well that’s a good thing right?”
“Yes, but there's more to the story than just that.” Lennox prepared herself.
“What, like he knew when it was going to happen? How come you haven’t told Coyote or Fang… We need to-”
The demon shook her head and shifted in her seat. Slowly, she lifted the bottom of her school sweatshirt and revealed the still healing stab wound. Around the soon to be scar, deep red colored her veins like darkened spider webs. Rosalyn reached out but retracted her hand as her brown speckled eyes went to the injury in utter shock.
“How are you still alive?” Rosalyn breathed.
“Eden stabbed me with someone else’s dagger and by the look on her face, it was meant for Aron- But it didn’t have his name on it” She accentuated the fact.
“Stop beating around the bush, Len. Whose name was on the dagger?”
The question was unavoidable and she deserved to know. “Armaros-”
Rosalyn tensed at the name and looked at her with disbelief. “Why would Eden create a dagger for him if he’s still in Hell?”
“Because he’s not in Hell anymore. He’s here, Ros… He’s residing inside Aron. I don’t understand how or why he’s here but-”
Lennox’s words faded as she watched her friends’ eyes widen as they darted from the door and back to her. For a millisecond she seemed to fade away which caused Lennox to hold her breath, she knew she was reliving every second of the decades she was trapped. She didn’t move for the longest time until suddenly Rosalyn’s hands flew to her head as she let out a scream she figured would echo across the campus. She slammed her eyes shut and when they opened again they were filled with purple light while lavender flames danced around her body.
Lennox raised her palm up and sent a barrier around the room so her fire wouldn’t catch on anything and burn the house down. She watched carefully as Rosalyn pulled at her magic and the fire grew steadily. Over the years she knew there wasn’t anything she could do to help the situation other than be there at the end. She knew Rosalyn had been training in case they ever ran into Armaros again. It was showing now as the heat turned the room into a sauna. The barrier prevented any more of her screams from being heard from the outside.
Her own memories of the screams inside Hell attempted to push their way forward remembering every one of the demons she had been chained beside. As the flames continued to shoot in various directions, Lennox went over to each entry point in the room and held her palm aiming above it. Slowly a protection sigil drew itself on each in green fire in the shape of a triangle with a single, longer line through the center followed by a smaller horizontal line at the point of the shape.
It took just over a half hour for the flames to slowly die down. Meanwhile, Lennox busied herself with the extension of newly created vines over the door and windows and left the sigils out for her to see. The room slowly darkened; the only source of light was from two lamps by the bed. Lennox turned and peered over to her with a calm expression, she stood under the sigil and tried to appear as unthreatening as possible. Rosalyn’s chest heaved as she attempted to catch her breath, her still widened eyes on Lennox.
“I’ve made it so no one, not even them, can get in.” Her eyes darted above Lennox’s head but she didn’t move. “Why don’t we go to bed and talk more tomorrow?”
Rosalyn moved as if in slow motion, pure exhaustion in her face. With a small nod, she stepped toward the bed. Lennox followed and went to the other side of the bed while she watched Rosalyn out of the corner of her eye. Once under the blankets, both rolled opposite ways as her eyes fell onto the ivy-covered window. The last thing she saw before she attempted to sleep.
That was until the sound of music drifted in from outside, just loud enough to cause the ivy to shake. ámpleos sent an alert to her that someone untrusted was nearby. Her violet eyes shot open and Lennox carefully sat up and moved the blankets off of her. As she glanced in the darkness she heard the music drift in from the window closest to her. With a glance to make sure Rosalyn was still asleep, she shifted her feet to the floor and crossed her arms as a shiver wracked her body. With a simple wave of her hand, the plant life retracted and enabled her to see. In the shadows of the night traced along the snow banks stood a familiar man, as he held up a speaker and a nervous look on his face.