21. Paige
Paige
T here should be a trench in the middle of my living room for how long I’ve been pacing back and forth.
Aries is gone.
He’s not in the library.
Or anywhere in this apartment.
And the passageway in my closet is wide open.
Every time I look at it, my heart thuds heavier against my ribs.
Fear is a clawed hand clutching at my throat.
Last night, Aries promised me we had a future.
This morning, he’s decided to take off into some creeper tunnel that leads to who-knows-where and get himself possibly killed before that future can even start.
If he’s not back in the next ten seconds, I’m going in after him. And if he’s not dead, I’ll kill him myself.
A noise makes me turn from where I’m wearing the path toward my bedroom.
I whirl just as a body flies out of the open passageway and crashes to the living room floor.
I cry out in surprise then freeze at the sight of a bloodied, naked Aries sprawled out on my floor.
Panic races through my veins as I sprint and fall to my knees beside him.
“Aries?”
No answer.
“Aries, you better not be dead, or I’ll kill you.”
He groans and rolls over so he’s face up, and I go limp with relief. Then panic crowds in again as I take in the extensive amount of blood coating his body.
“What the hell happened?” I screech. My hands flutter toward the gashes in his chest, but then I stop, unsure what the hell I can possibly do for him. I’m tempted to rush into the bathroom for the usual hydrogen peroxide and bandage routine, but even I know it won’t work.
Not when there’s this much blood.
It coats his entire body, and there are so many lacerations on his chest and legs that I can’t even tell where the hell it’s all coming from.
“Aries,” I scream when he doesn’t respond.
He cracks open an eye and stares up at me. “How was your morning?”
“You asshole!” Without thinking, I slam my fist into his shoulder, and he groans again. “Shit. Sorry. What happened? Where have you been? You can’t leave me like that!”
Aries fumbles around beneath his back then lifts a leather-bound book and offers it to me. My fingers brush the smooth cover as I read the title. Constantine The Great.
“Where did you get it?”
“Constantine... is Morris,” he manages.
“Holy shit.” My eyes widen as I stare down at Aries, who looks way too calm considering his beat-up body. “That asshole was from a book.”
Aries nods.
“And these wounds?” I ask, fury building as I think of Morris-slash-Constantine hurting the man I love.
“He brought some friends from their books, too,” he says, gesturing to—well—all of him.
“We need to get you to Hoc. He needs to—”
Aries coughs and rolls to the side. He curls in on himself and heaves, bile dripping from his mouth.
And then I see the twin fang marks on his back. Each one the size of a drink coaster, they’re oozing black with dark lines of venom snaking up through Aries’s blood-slicked skin.
“Oh no.” Fear claws at my gut as I stumble to my feet. I grab my phone and tap on Hoc’s contact information then, as it rings, rush forward and slam the passageway door closed.
“Paige? I’m ready when you are to—”
“Get up here now. Please. Aries is injured.” The words leave my lips on a choked plea.
“On my way.”
“Bring Blossom,” I add quickly. She may not know exactly where Aries is truly from, but should any of Aries’ fight follow him out, there is no one else I’d want with us.
“We’re coming.”
I throw my phone down then jump to my feet and grab an armful of water bottles from my fridge. Falling to my knees beside him, I open one and pour it over the wound to flush the venom.
He doesn’t even react.
“Please don’t leave me,” I whisper as much for myself as for him.
Less than two minutes later, Hoc is shoving my front door open and rushing inside. Behind him, Blossom’s blade is out, and she scours the room as the man who raised me falls to his knees beside Aries.
“What happened?” Hoc asks.
“Some kind of fight.” I dump another bottle over his injury. The water flushes the wound, but the black continues seeping out. And in.
Please don’t leave me.
“Here?” Blossom looks around at my tidy apartment dubiously.
I nod at the closed closet. “There.”
Blossom stares at me like I’ve lost it. Finally, she traipses over and pulls the closet door open. When she sees the passageway yawning at her from the back wall, her eyes widen. She looks back at me incredulously. “What the fuck is this, Paige? Narnia?”
“Not even close.”
“Who the hell carved this tunnel into your wall?” Blossom demands.
“Morris,” I say grimly. Both their heads whip up to stare at me.
“The one who tried absconding with the Vetus collection?” Hoc asks.
“Yes, but I don’t think he was alone. Aries said something about Morris bringing some friends he extracted from books before he passed out. He gave me this.” I offer Hoc the book.
“His real name is apparently Constantine. This is his book.”
Hoc’s eyes flash with rage as he reads the title then hands the book to Blossom. Understanding flashes, and her mouth thins. “I’m going to see what’s in there.”
“Wait!” Hoc’s order rings out sharply, and Blossom stops, looking at him impatiently. I glance back down again as Hoc eyes the injuries on Aries’s back. “Son of a bitch.”
“What is it?” I demand as Blossom finally walks over to peer down at Aries. Her breath hisses out.
“Basilisk venom,” Blossom answers. “Shit.”
“Get the antidote. In the cabinet in my office,” Hoc orders.
“On it.” Blossom turns and sprints from the room.
“Basilisk? As in giant fucking snake? Shit. What is going to happen to him, Hoc? What’s going to happen to Aries?”
Hoc grips my cheeks and holds my face steady. “Listen to me, Paige. Everything is going to be fine. You have vodka here?”
I nod.
“Go and get it. And clean rags.”
I push up to my feet on shaky legs and sprint into my kitchen. After grabbing the bottle of vodka from above my fridge and retrieving two clean kitchen towels, I return to his side.
“Sit where he can see you, and keep your hand on his shoulder.”
I do as Hoc says and move around to kneel beside Aries. He’s so pale. So lifeless. And I cannot help but feel him slipping away from me. “Please don’t go,” I whisper.
He jerks as Hoc pours the vodka on his wounds. “The water is likely the only reason he is still breathing. You did good.”
Blossom rushes through the door, Mag at her side this time. She tosses a container of salve at Hoc, who catches it easily. “The gnomes are holding down the fort downstairs and they’re waking Bingo to search for Morris,” she says.
“Where was he attacked?” Mag demands. The fact that he doesn’t ask who Aries is makes me wonder what Blossom told him on the way up. But there’s no time to worry about that now.
“There’s a secret passageway in my front closet,” I tell him.
Mag marches over to see for himself. He takes one look at the gaping tunnel and mutters a string of curses that, even for him, are impressive.
He glances over his shoulder at me then Hoc. “You got this?” he asks.
“I’m doing what I can,” Hoc says tightly. He doesn’t look up from his work as he adds, “both of you, go see what you can find, and report back.”
Blossom steps up beside Mag, and they share a look. Then the two of them disappear into the dark tunnel.
Their footsteps echo then vanish, plunging the room into silence. I watch as Hoc works, silently pleading with whatever gods Aries comes from to please keep him alive.
“There.” Hoc puts the lid on the salve and then manages to lift Aries well enough to get him to my couch. “It’s a good thing I’m part troll,” he comments as he deposits his cargo and exhales. “Because that is a solid dragon you have there.”
I kneel on the floor and grip Aries’s hand, holding it tightly in mine as I try to process.
“Paige, he’ll be okay now. The antidote works quickly. Trust me,” he says. “I’ve been there.”
“Would he have died?” I demand, looking up through tear-filled eyes.
Hoc swallows hard. “Yes.”
I close my eyes and suck in a breath. He could have died. Would have if it weren’t for Hoc. “I’m going to kill Constantine.”
We both look down at the book still lying discarded on the floor. Hoc doubles back to retrieve it. “It’s unfathomable that he was able to escape his book with no one knowing. Even I was unaware of his presence. I’m not sure how that’s possible.”
Aries stirs then. It’s only a breath, but it’s enough to bring tears of relief to my eyes. I tighten my grip on his hand then reach out with my free palm and run it over his cheeks as he opens his eyes. “Paige,” he whispers.
“I’m okay.” He tries to move, but I press him back against the cushions. “Don’t worry; Blossom and Mag went into the tunnel to look for Constantine.
“No need,” he grunts. “I took care of it.”
“Yeah, we should talk about your need to rush alone into so much danger,” I say, my tone edging toward annoyed. Now that he’s going to live, I can afford to be truly pissed about him risking himself like that.
“We needed to know who put that tunnel here,” he says. “And I needed to be sure your family would be safe.”
His meaning hits me then, and I have to blink back more tears. Even knowing I was going to leave with him, he still went to check on a possible threat against the people I would leave behind. “Aries... You almost died.”
“The library is safe,” he says. Before I can argue with him further, he glances past me to Hoc. “You should consider upping your security though. Constantine freed all manner of creatures and locked them in a cavern beneath the library. I can’t be sure I got them all.”
“There will be a complete inquiry and overhaul, believe me.” Now that the urgency is passing, Hoc is beginning to look properly dangerous. “But first, we need to hunt down the creature responsible.”
“The creatures I found down there are dead. Constantine is back in his book,” he says as he tries to move again.
“Best to remain where you are,” Hoc says. “If you re-open that basilisk wound, the antidote won’t be able to work as efficiently.”
“Basilisk?” Aries draws his brows together.
“Big fucking snake,” I tell him.
“Oh. That explains it.” He closes his eyes and sucks in a breath.
“You saw Constantine return to his book?” Hoc questions.
“The book was open, and then he disappeared, and it closed,” Aries says.
I exchange a look with Hoc, afraid to ask if that truly means he’s gone. One look at Hoc’s expression, and I know he’s wondering the same thing.
“We will lock the library down temporarily. At least until we’re sure he’s gone.” Hoc’s gaze lifts to my closet where Blossom and Mag vanished. “And we will magically seal that tunnel then ward it so no one and nothing will ever get through it again.”
As if on cue, Blossom and Mag step back out into the living room. Both shake off a layer of dust, and I notice Blossom’s boots are stained with blood. Again.
“What did you find?” I ask anxiously.
“A whole lot of guts and dead things.” Blossom shudders, which tells me more than her words ever could. “Your boy gave them hell down there,” she adds. “That was quite a fucking mess.”
“Mag?” I prompt when he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he’s looking at Aries, a growing amount of suspicion on his hard face.
“Even I’ll admit the destruction was impressive. And don’t take this the wrong way, mate, but who the fuck are you?” Mag asks Aries.
I look to Aries, who’s still trying to sit up despite my advice against it. “This is Aries. He’s my—”
“Boyfriend,” Hoc finishes with a wink at me.
Blossom’s eyes narrow. “How long have you known that damned tunnel was there?” she demands.
“Aries found it and went to check it out,” I reply, hoping to avoid the direct answer.
Unfortunately, my friend is too smart for that. “That doesn’t answer my question, Paige.” She crosses her arms.
“A few days,” I admit.
“And you didn’t think to alert any damn one of us?
Damn, girl. The sex was truly that brain-melting that you weren’t concerned with a tunnel directly to hell?
You know what? Don’t answer that.” She shifts her gaze.
“It led directly into a fucking cesspool,” she tells Hoc.
“Which is where that fucker was living from the looks of it.” She glares at me. “You should have told me.”
“I’m sorry. I—”
“Save it. I don’t do apologies. But don’t fucking keep shit from me again.” Blossom turns to Hoc. “We’ll seal it on this side, but I can’t find the other entrance. He was getting them in somehow, though.”
“Seal it. Set a ward so if he tries to re-open it, we’ll catch him.”
“He’s gone,” Aries insists.
“We have to act like he’s not, mate,” Mag replies. “Keeper protocol. Unless we see him dead or slammed shut, best to assume the worst. For now. Either way, he’s not going to get to our girl again.”
Aries growls low and deep in his chest, so I tighten my hold on his hand.
Mag grins. “He’s a good one, Paige. I approve.” He turns to Blossom. “Shall we go seal this bitch up or what?”