Chapter 43
Chapter
Forty-Three
Elijah
“ H ey, E, it’s time to rock and roll.” Kainda stroked the hair back from my face as she spoke. I hadn’t been asleep, but I hadn’t been ready to face this day, so I’d laid there with my eyes closed, pretending time had stopped, and a battle didn’t loom.
Opening my eyes, Kainda knelt next to me, dressed in all black. Another tactical get up with cargo pants tucked into her combat boots and some skin tight spandex sweat resistant shirt partially covered by a multi-pocketed vest. The pockets bulged with their contents. A knife stuck out of her right boot, handgun strapped to her right thigh, and potion vials set in loops on her belt and pockets. Symbols newly painted onto her skin in some black, chalky paste on the backs of her hands and around her throat. Her hair braided back out of her face and she was ready for battle.
Uttu’s amulet hung around her neck. The thick gold chain with fist size pendant shone even in the gloom. A large red ruby sparkled from the center of the pendant. Tiny ribbons of metal arched off from the sides of the ruby. It looked like a spider. Emeralds and diamonds ringed the edge of the golden disc that the ruby spider sat on. Cuneiform inscribed in the precious metal all the way around. This was the key to Uttu’s demise.
“Morning.” I gave her a smile I didn’t really feel as the reality of today sank like a lead weight to the pit of my stomach.
She backed up and stood, giving me room to sit up. “You should have something to eat and get dressed. It’s almost go time.”
“Alright.” I tugged over my pack with my clothes as she looked around nervously. She wasn’t ready for this deep down, any more than I was, if her actions were any indication. Getting dressed I could manage, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on eating something. The thought of food soured my stomach. I was fairly certain if I tried to eat something, I’d choke on it. Or throw it right back up.
Someone called Kainda’s name across the room. She looked over her shoulder to see who and gave them the hold on gesture. Turning back to me as I stood, she tried smiling again, but it fell as flat as the last one. “I’ll be back in just a minute.”
Once she took off, I headed for the small bathroom. It was little more than cracked tiles, stained sink, cloudy mirror, and small toilet. The state of the bathroom didn’t matter, though, all I needed was a door to put between me and everyone else for just a moment. I made use of the facilities and changed out of the sweatpants and t-shirt I’d slept in into a pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt.
I stared at my distorted reflection in the mirror as I silently prayed to any and every deity I could think of to get us all through today and to successfully send Uttu back to Gehenna. It all came down to fate and luck now, and those weren’t concepts I had much faith in at the moment. Stalling wouldn’t help anything, though, and I was doing exactly that. Grabbing my pack, I opened the door and came face to face with Kainda’s teammate, Hida.
“Elijah, it’s time to head out.” She took my pack from me and tossed it over to my sleeping bag. “Let’s go, everyone is waiting for us.”
“Where’s Kainda? I need to see her before we head out.” I looked around the open building, but Hida and I were the only ones inside.
Hida tossed her head toward the door. “She’s waiting for us outside. Delmira is having a hard time and I needed Kainda to speak to her before the battle. Now let’s move it before we lose our advantage.”
Outside, everyone started breaking up into their respective groups and heading for the trail heads. The shifters in their animal forms began to drift into the trees and underbrush, melting into the landscape until invisible to the naked eye. Everyone else took off on foot. Delmira and Kainda stood off next to the corner of the building, talking in hushed tones, but the looks on their faces showed the conversation was less than kind. The older hunter’s lips twisted as she spoke before she turned from her friend, giving her a one fingered salute and storming off.
It still surprised me how easily they called each other names and flipped one another off, then in the next breath shared a bag of chips and a soda. Their family dynamic took some getting used to, but I could manage. Evin had tried everything in her power to get me to cuss, but had thus far failed, mostly because it drove her nuts that I didn’t crack. Kainda would then say she’d heard me curse, which made Evin pout and tell me that I didn’t like her. Hida would roll her eyes and toy with her knife or flick green magic between her fingers. Only Delmira didn’t seem to join in the comradery, too consumed by grief and depression.
Kainda tossed her head back and threw her arms wide, for a moment I thought for sure she’d vent her frustration by screaming to the heavens. But Kainda was too smart to let a moment of stress potentially give us away to the enemy. She straightened and came over to me. This time, the smile she gave me didn’t seem so forced. Hida patted my arm before jogging after Delmira.
Everyone else had left already, leaving just the two of us. Kainda looked around one more time before she threw her arms around my neck. Arms around her waist, I squeezed her to me. She kissed me just briefly. Resting her forehead against mine, she whispered. “Please be safe today, E. You know the plan. Just do everything we discussed and if someone gives you an order, you follow it. Do you understand me?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bracelet, holding it out to Kai. She took it and carefully slipped it around my wrist, using a tiny spark of magic to get it to fit. Then I patted the pocket where the key stayed. She blew out a breath, and a few seconds later, I felt our connection get weaker, but this time it didn’t disappear entirely.
“Yes, ma’am.” I kissed her once more before letting her go and walking away. If I didn’t do it now, I never would. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the treeline, heading for the battlegrounds.