39. Chapter 39
S he fixed the messenger bag strap on her shoulder and made her walk down the halls to the front entrance. Lennox’s eyes scanned the area before she turned each corner as the memory of the anger in Eden’s eyes haunted her once again. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end with the memory of the dagger as it found its way into her side. As she turned the final corner the demon came face to face with the very photos of Rue and Felix she spent so much time in front of. After weeks of chaos it felt as if it has been years since she saw their faces even in this form.
She came to a brief halt in front of them, grief struck her though it wasn’t as strong as it had once been. Instead, it was replaced with a deep anger that fueled her from the core. My own daughter killed them. The concept was almost too wild to be reality, but it was. Eden resembled Lennox in so many ways it was surprising she hadn’t noticed it before. All the Cade women had pin straight black hair and sharp features. Within her mind a new thought sparked to life and pulled itself forward. The purple eyes should have been a dead give away, the thought scolded.
“Tragic what happened.” A new voice sounded from beside her.
Lennox jumped, turning on her heels to face the person who stood almost a whole foot taller than her. Her eyebrows met as she looked up at him, trying to place him from any classes over the years yet she couldn’t. She eyed his ginger hair and distinct scar over his eye. She would have remembered seeing him before. How did I not hear you coming?
“It was…” She responded quietly and returned her eyes to their photos after the man did as well.
“I regret not getting the chance to know them- Is there anything you regret?”
The question sent up red flags instantly as her body tensed. “I’ve never seen you around before, are you a part of Kappa Theta?”
“I’m just passing through the grounds for a few weeks, I’m a friend of Eden’s.”
At the very moment the man spoke her name, her feet carried her a few steps back from him when Aron’s voice clearly echoed within her mind. A new connection forced its way through the barriers in her mind and to the forefront of her mind’s eye. Images swam in her vision as emotions that didn’t belong to her mixed with her own nerves from the man next to her. The connection was strong, dark and precise as it demanded her attention. An image of where Aron was layered over the unknown man sending a chill down her spine. How did you- There wasn’t time to finish her question as she attempted to use the foreign connection to ask him.
Motionless, she watched Rosalyn who stood about ten feet away, her hands and blackened eyes alight with purple fire. Pure anger resided in every burning flame visible by the pure brightness of them. It had been twenty years since she had seen her friend this angry.
“You took everything from me… You. Took. It. All.” A strained scream from the woman pierced her mind and deep within Lennox an overwhelming fear for her life took hold. The fear wasn’t hers, it was his.
Come to me!
Within seconds every nerve was alight with energy, the strange man was completely forgotten as the vines sprang from her back and twisted into wings. She let her feet carry her once more, this time for the doors. She whipped it open and took to the air as fast as she could her now also blackened demon eyes scanned the grounds. She forced the thread as close as she could and allowed the magic to drive her faster, silver sigils and green eyes alight. Finally, she saw a large purple ball of fire formed in the space between the back of the grounds and lake. She dived toward it and pulled up just as the wings unfurled to land heavily between the two of them.
Crouched down, her hand touched the earth, branches from the trees behind them rushed forward and tangled into a barrier in front of Rosalyn and the fire. Before it could finish, purple light rushed over the wood, heat blew through the small openings when it blew over her face. Her wings opened wider and blocked the heat from Aron. As the fire attempted to burn the branches, she pushed more magic in to reinforce them. However, the magic didn’t block out the same scream the woman had let out the other night. Once the color faded from the branches she moved them to the sides to look at her best friend.
“I know you want him dead, but we should talk about this before you do anything.” She attempted to reason with her.
“Talk! Lennox, are you fucking serious? That’s Armaros!” Rosalyn pointed behind her, fingertips still alight. “You know the demon who killed my husband. The demon I lost my child because of! He used me as a pincushion for fun and played his little mind games on both of us and look at you, falling for it- How can you stand between me and my revenge? You should be beside me.”
Still glued to the spot, Rosalyn’s words slapped her in the face. She knew she would confront him, however, Lennox had hoped that after their chat by the lake she would get to her before that happened. The last sentences sent guilt through her and sank into her chest. From her perspective she’s right but… I can’t hurt him, not while he’s still inside Aron. Not without a good enough reason.
She turned her head to the side, her eyes darted to the man she was protecting. Aron’s red bandanna was falling off revealing several deep cuts coupled with mostly severe burns. He had himself propped up as he watched her, their eyes met for the first time since she arrived. Fear plain in his drooping eyes as he fought to stay awake.
“Len, come on we can finish this and rid the world of a monster like him.”
Lennox returned her attention ahead and saw Rosalyn had her hand out to her. “This is so much more complicated than I originally thought. He explained everything to me and he’s not like Armaros. If he was, he would have gone after you when he realized you were here.”
“I’m not worried about him coming after me, I can hold my own- But he doesn’t deserve to draw another breath.” Lennox fell quiet as Rosalyn extended her hand once more. “Why are you not next to me in this?”
“Because he saved my life when Eden tried to kill me the other day. The Armaros we knew would have never helped Aron to save anyone.”
“Saving you once doesn’t mean he’s instantly not the Armaros we knew.”
The demon scanned her face as the conflicted thoughts inside her mind reflected in her eyes. The fire around the woman’s fingertips grew in strength as her eyes hardened and her hand dropped back to her side.
“You care about him.” Her voice broke at the refusal to join her.
“I care about Aron, not Armaros- I would love to see him burn too but you do that and you’re killing our friend- We’ve lost too many already, Ros.”
“He’s no friend of ours and as long as you protect him you can leave me out of the equation.”
“Rosalyn-”
“I’m not ready to talk and as much as I want to go through you to get to him… I won’t this time. But Cade, next time you try to stop me I won’t let you.”
Lennox shifted toward her as she turned away, the fire faded into smoke and left the clearing silent. Finally she got a good look around as she guided the branches back to their trees and the snow was mostly melted thirty feet in all directions around them. Her gaze drifted to Aron who sat up in the charred grass breathing heavily, Lennox swiftly made her way over to him. Her wings folded back as she reached him and knelt down. She scanned him for the most severe injuries and her face dropped as she realized the extent of the damage. It was much more than she could heal with magic alone. Her gaze trailed up to his face which had bruises already forming by several deep cuts.
“Hey there Lenoard, right on time a second later and I would have been literal toast.”
“I’m sorry,” The knot in her throat blocked the questions she wanted to ask as her eyes returned to their usual purple irises. Did you even fight back? Rosalyn hadn’t had a scratch on her and she assumed from his state, he didn’t.
“Don’t be, it’s okay. Not letting her kill me definitely makes up for it.”
His eyelids slowly started to close as he seemed to be unable to stay awake. “You’re in good hands, I promise.”
Aron smiled gently as he held up a hand to her as he lifted his pinky with raised eyebrows. “Got each other’s backs, right?”
Lennox looped her pinky into his for a second, he blacked out and went limp. Carefully she slid her hands under his legs and shoulders and slowly lifted him from the ground. She unfurled her wings once more and used the energy from the summoning he did to fuel the strength she needed to carry him. As she flew she looked around the grounds for the red-haired man, the memory of Eden’s new friend sent a new wave of fear for their lives over her. I’ll have to call Fang when I get back.
With a quick tug on the thread, the balcony doors to her room opened as she approached. A few feet before she landed, Lennox pulled her wings in tight. They vanished into her back the moment her feet touched the ground. Gently, she placed him on the bed before she turned to the vines surrounding the walls. With a simple motion, she directed them as she did so many times before, they covered the door and the window. Once she felt they would both be safe she turned to her alter and worked as fast as her hands allowed. She snapped her fingers and brought the candles on the sacred space to life. She drew in a deep breath and turned back toward Aron, standing beside the bed.
Fear clutched her chest as she went to pull out her phone. Quickly, she went to text Wyatt to tell him about the strange man and what had happened. However, she paused as her mind raced. Can I trust him? He knew about Eden… Did he know about what she was going to do to me? Does he know this strange man? She stared at the screen as the cursor blinked. How can I tell him about Aron without telling him about Armaros? Her fingers danced across the screen.
Lennox Cade- I need you to keep an eye on Kappa. Aron is with me, we are planning some more defenses. You and I still need to talk. -Sent 4:13 PM
Wyatt Steele- You got it boss, Kappa is safe with me. We will when we are both ready. -Sent 4:14 PM
As light as she could, she pulled the bandanna from his hair and placed it on the side table. Her eyes drifted to the burns that covered forty percent of his body, clearly seen under the singed clothes caused her to grimace with sympathy. Lennox lifted her hands just above his chest and pulled at her magic for the final time that night with the help of the energy that hovered by the altar. Slowly the silver glow brightened when it illuminated the slowly darkening room as she directed the magic toward his burns and cuts. As her hand traced over him it left healed skin behind it. The magic pulled at her already lowered energy from the summoning but finally petered out once it was done.
The strain caused her body to heat and her face flushed bright red as she took a heavy seat in her pink computer chair. Lennox gave herself a moment to breathe as approval washed over her from the familiar source of Xemos’s presence. She peered to the side through the small breaks in the vines and saw the sun was already making its way down the horizon. With a glance down at her smart watch she realized it was almost curfew which brought forward a string of curses. Completely drained she had no way to bring the vines around both houses and Aron was incapacitated.
Fear tugged at her as she realized it was the perfect chance for the hunters. As for how many were on campus she was unsure now, to go after more students. Picking up her phone once more she was met again with Wyatt’s messages.
“Can I trust him?” She asked out loud to Xemos who for the first time in a while formed in front of her with an amused smirk on his face.
“Yes, but I can understand if you didn’t want to trust the Curse Bringer. I don’t always either.”
“How long were you going to wait to tell me about her? Did you truly have to hide it?” She questioned as her voice broke with the realization they were both now devoted to the god.
“Little Phoenix-” His tone dipped and he tilted his chin down slightly. “These are not questions to be asked yet. Right now I will assist you again to protect your friends from her newest friend if you so choose not to trust Wyatt.”
Lennox nodded and didn’t push the subject too tired to insist. “Thank you, Xemos. For everything.”
“I admired the asters you left. Your faith has never gone unnoticed.” He told her kindly before he faded from the room.
The demon turned to the notepad on her desk and quickly wrote a note for Aron.
“Aron, I went to Kappa to put up the vines. No one will be able to get into my room while I’m gone. Here’s a shirt of Wyatt’s, I noticed yours is a bit damaged. I found your phone in your pocket and if you need me before I get back you know how to reach me. ~Lennox.”
She placed it on the side table by his bandanna and moved the vines and left the room to go to Kappa Theta. With her phone to her ear it rang to Elder Bloodfang as she made her way down the stairs When she walked into the main entrance, she was met with Bastien and the same red-haired man from the hallway in some deep discussion. For a second they looked at each other before Bastien motioned toward the door behind her and started to move closer.
“What are you two doing here? It’s curfew.” Her hair stood on end as his eyes bore into her, but she didn’t back off.
“We are going to spend the night at Eloise’s and wanted to see if Eden was coming.” Basiten said, quickly and stepped between the two.
“Was she there?” The question tumbled out and her eyes widened slightly.
“No, We were going to check around campus.” Bastien explained.
Lennox eyed both men up for a second while her stomach turned. Her attention moved to Bastien, her friend for the last few years. He’s one of them… This whole time. The bitter taste of betrayal had already started to become overly familiar. This last week had shown her she didn’t know the people around her like she thought. He cried beside the rest of us at their funerals.
“Just don’t get caught on the grounds-” Lennox put a hand up and her eyes hardened. It took everything in her to maintain her composure until it was time to confront him. She still had to tell Coyote everything that had happened. “I didn’t catch your friend's name though.”
The red-haired man smirked a bit and held a hand to her. “Holden Holloway, and I’m guessing you’re Miss. Cade, Head of Omega?”
“I’m impressed. When you walked in you didn’t seem to be the type of person who could dig far enough to find anything.”
Holden held up a hand. “And just what is that supposed to mean, Pinky Pie?”
“It means, you look like you have everyone else doing the hard work for you.”
“I’ll see you later, Lennox!” Bastien interjected and started to push Holden through the door with a nervous laugh.
“Bastien,” she stopped them just before they left.
“Yeah, Len?”
“Make sure that next time you or Holden come to Omega make sure you call me first. These are very dangerous times, wouldn’t you agree?” She raised an eyebrow.
Bastien came to a brief halt and peered over to her. He seemed unsurprised but sad as he nodded. “They are, I’ll call next time.”
She watched as they two turned and closed the front door. Happy that two of the people she was worried about wouldn’t be inside the house for the night, she quickly took a head count and sent it to the security team. After, she entered her room quietly once she moved the barrier out of her way. She slipped through the door and allowed it to form again, thankful it ran on its own magic source. Lennox peered around to the bed where sat Aron now awake and upright with no shirt and his back to her. It seemed he had just woken up as he unfurled the note she had left for him. Frozen with the door mostly closed, her eyes scanned multiple scars all across his back all of various lengths, depth, and layered one over next. The sleepiness she had felt previously was replaced with a barrage of new emotions.
“What happened?” She breathed before she could stop the words.
The man jumped and whipped his head around to meet her eyes before he quickly shoved the new shirt over his head. “I fought off a dragon when I was in the hills of Scotland a few years back.”
As he covered his back once more, Lennox made her way over to the bed. She shook her head at him and sat next to him and put a hand on his knee. She waited for him to look at her first and hoped he would open up a little. With everything I’ve learned over the last couple days, I still feel like he’s a huge question mark.
“I know what you’re doing, Aron. What really happened?”
For a moment he was silent as his gaze darted to his hands. “They’re Armaros’s- From what he’s told me-”
Aron’s voice was cut off as a deeper one replaced his, one of his eyes went pure charochol. “I think you might trust it more if it came from me, my dear.”
Lennox’s body tensed at his appearance. Quickly, she removed her hand from his knee with her head held a bit higher to disguise the nerves. “I would have believed Aron just fine, but I don’t think either of us have a say in what you do.”
“I guess you don’t, though none of us really do have a say in what happens to us do they?”
“No, we don’t but we can control ourselves from destroying other people’s lives.”
“You wanted the truth, did you not?” He challenged with a half smile.
“Yes, but you didn’t have to interrupt.” She folded her arms over her chest just as Aron spoke up.
“Yeah, I had the whole thing covered, Armpit.”
“It’s not your story to tell. Let us speak.” The deeper voice seemed to win the internal fight and he took a deep breath. Armaros’s single black eye bore into Lennox’s violet ones. “Before the creation of humanity I was an angel, the left hand of God. After the discovery of things gone awry, I fell from my position as a Throne Angel. After I arrived here and saw Rosalyn, it reminded me of my time in hell. Reminded me how much I hated myself.”
“These are lash marks, they’re recent…”
“They are.” He admitted, almost too quiet for her to hear.
She didn’t speak immediately as she took in the new information. The secrets he seemed to hold so closely had paid off since she could mostly only find a sentence or two about his fall in a few books. A knot tied itself in her stomach as she realized who she thought was a monster for all these years had a heart deep within the darkness. Lennox went to speak but stopped, speechless at the unexpected humanity of the demon. She was still angry, but for the first time a strange pull tugged at her chest as she met both Aron and Armaros’s gaze. Her hand returned to his shoulder, surprising even herself as she tried to comfort her friend. This is definitely going to take some getting used to. Their eyes moved to his shoulder and his body seemed to relax a little. Finally, she seemed to find her voice again.
“Thank you for sticking to our promise.”
“See, you do know how to use your words. Are you gonna finally tell us what the hell you know?” Aron’s voice cut Armaros’s off as he took an opportunity to get answers as well.
“No,” His deep, irritated voice answered.
With the single word, Aron’s midnight eye returned to its normal green iris which flooded with annoyance. He shook his head and rubbed the spot above his temple with a sigh as he turned back to her.
“I guess that’s on his time.” Lennox slid her hand off his shoulder. Aron stood roughly and picked up the bandanna from the nightstand.
“How are you feeling? You should get some more rest.”
“A bit sore and a headache but I think I’ll live. Thank you, Lennox.” He gave her a genuine smile.
“Call it even, ass saving for ass saving.” She smiled in return as he let out a laugh while he tied the red fabric into his hair. “Besides, I gotta go check on everyone in Kappa, I called Wyatt to walk with me back to the house since he was here with Eden last night.”
At the sound of her daughter’s name, she was swiftly on her feet. Lennox’s blood ran cold as she moved the vines from the windows and doors. All at once she realized she had locked everyone in with Eden last night. As her heart raced, she wrung her hands and she made a metal note to figure out a way to lock everyone’s rooms. She would have to make it so only each member of Omega could get through like she did for Rosalyn. Her breathing quickened as panic rose in her chest.
“What’s wrong?” He asked and peered down at Lennox while he put on his half destroyed jacket.
“You’re not going to believe me… The other night when I was talking with Wyatt I tried to warn him about Eden but it seemed like he already knew and was trying to help her hide it.”
Aron stopped and looked shocked at her. “No, that’s impossible. Wyatt may be blind in love sometimes but he would never help anyone who wanted to hurt any of his friends.”
“That’s what I thought too but he stopped me from saying out loud she was a hunter.”
Aron and Lennox looked between each other neither knowing what truly to believe as there was a knock at her door. His eyes widened as he whispered. “Is he on their side?”
“If I’m being honest, I have no idea. I’ll be on standby if you need me, Eden has a new friend named Holden. I saw him here last night with Bastien Miller looking for her.” She told him before the door was opened to Wyatt who smiled as if nothing was going on.
“Hey there love birds! Ready to- Is that my shirt?” Wyatt asked and eyed Lennox with an arched eyebrow.
“Not love birds, bro. Just drop it for now.” He told him as the two left Omega and Lennox was left to wonder how many friends she had left and if her once enemy was now the only one left.