I remembered a time when she tried to rip my jugular out with her fingernails. Clearly, I needed to avoid that scenario again.
We flew to the ground in a mess of legs and arms and swords. She hit the dirt packed ground first while our swords still pressed together in an unforgiving battle of wills.
We were too close for my sword to be of any use so I pulled my fist back and slammed it into her face. She choked on a surprised laugh but blood erupted from her nose as my awkward blade clamored together with the other two.
She had the advantage over me because she only carried one sword and was able to keep one hand open. Her free hand immediately reached up and grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked me back. My neck strained against her fierce hold and I let out a frustrated growl before I kneed her in the gut.
Her hand grew slack for just a moment before her grip tightened and I could feel hair strands pulling free from their roots. I tossed one of my swords out of reach and dragged my nails across her face from temple to jaw. They dug deep into flesh and I felt her skin bury beneath my fingernails. She screamed at the top of her lungs and pulled harder on my hair.
Then she tossed her sword too and wrapped her hands around my throat. My Light shimmered and burst brighter as I tried to get myself to the point where I didn’t need to breathe.
I returned the gesture and wrapped my free hand around her throat and pushed as hard as I could into the ground. I would shove my hand all the way through. I would decapitate her by the sheer force of my will.
Suddenly glass exploded overhead and showered down on us. Some of the larger pieces fell directly on me and sliced open clothes and skin as they did. I ducked my head just in time for a palm-sized piece to hit Seven right in the forehead and slash more of her face open.
She screamed louder out of pain and rage. I screamed right back.
Somehow she managed to get a foot underneath me and shove me off her. I rolled to the side and grappled my sword back into my possession before leaping for her again. She’d recovered her sword by now and stood ready for me.
In my hysterical attempt at murdering her, she had somehow managed to find calm. Her sword dodged mine and stuck me right in the side as I flew by her. She wrenched the blade out of me and I felt the pressure of my neatly kept insides explode out of the wound.
I fell to my knees and burned with every ounce of power I contained. The entire warehouse lit with me and every single glass panel exploded from the force of it. Glass shattering screamed through the night and the metal and brick walls bent and creaked under the pressure of my heat
As soon as I knew my side was healed I reigned in my Light and jumped to my feet. While our injuries healed extremely fast, nothing helped them more than our true essence. Lighting up was the only way to keep me battle-ready for the rest of tonight. But even while I was carefully stitched back together, I felt the soreness and trauma my body would need a longer time to recover from.
Seven stood a few feet away panting and seething. Her sword was held out and her face a mask of fury. She wouldn’t let me do that again. Next time she injured me, I had no doubt she would expect all my brilliant Light and jump into it with me and take my head.
We watched each other for three silent seconds before converging on each other at once.
We were like two bullet trains coming from opposite directions but sharing the same track.
Her force was as deadly and dangerous as mine.
I saw what she planned to do before she could execute her steps, so I mimicked the motion. Like going in for a layup, I took two giant steps and jumped into the air. We met each other there with more swords fighting and cussing. She screeched at me while I deflected each of her hits and delivered some of my own.
When we landed on the ground again, she managed to get the upper hand by landing on my feet. Off balance, I tipped backward. I should have let my sword fly her direction but for a split second I was more concerned about staying upright than what damage I could do with wild limbs.
She took advantage. She tossed her sword into her opposite hand, pulled back her elbow and let the tip of the blade drag down the inside of my forearm.
I lost control of my grip immediately. My sword slipped from my useless fingers and clattered to the ground. She looked down at my gushing arm with a triumphant smile.
But that didn’t last long.
I lunged to the right and punched out with my left hand. My fist connected with her nose; felt and heard the bones crunch beneath my knuckles. More blood gushed down her face and layered on top of her already red dress. She reared back while blood spurted from her nostrils. She shouted something at me but it was lost in gurgling blood and a muffled face.
I smiled at her. I was starting to pick up on this grotesque but satisfying act of violence thing. Sure, I shouldn’t have loved breaking her nose as much as I did. But honestly, any hurt I could inflict on her was deeply satisfying.
“Oops,” I shrugged.
She punched me back. In the throat.
I choked and sputtered and grabbed at my neck while my still-healing forearm ran rivers of blood over my chest.
“Oops,” she shrugged, mimicking me sarcastically.
Quickly we were hissing and clawing at each other with nails and fists and feet. I pulled her hair this time and she scratched her fingernails over my eye. We were both screaming and acting crazily when the voice behind us slowed us down simultaneously.
“If I had known I had this to look forward to, I would have come much sooner,” Aliah said smoothly, the innuendo in his voice obvious.
Both Seven and I stepped back and dove for our swords. I knew why I was grasping for mine but I didn’t understand Seven’s reaction to Aliah’s voice. Maybe she didn’t realize it was him at first? Maybe she thought he was my backup?
Or maybe she was that afraid of the contract.
Could this be considered hurting me? Would Seven pay for this?
I looked down at my bloodied, battered body. I hoped so.
“Don’t stop on my account,” Aliah smirked. “I was rather enjoying the show.”
I rolled my eyes and managed my Light. The building was going to crumble around us if I kept using the full force of my essence. The kids were the only reason I wanted to avoid that scenario.
“You’re not supposed to be here, Starling,” he chided me with a patient tone. “Seth worked so hard to keep you busy tonight.”
“He was too late.” My words and tone were even, but inside my body recoiled at the insinuation.
“Obviously,” Aliah grunted. “It’s a wonder how you found this place so quickly. I don’t believe your best skills include sniffing out mischief.”
It wasn’t me. He was right. This was all Serena. And she’d shown up earlier today without a hint of doubt. Although I would never let Aliah know all that.
So I shrugged a casual shoulder and feigned cocky surety. “Did you have trouble finding this place? You’re awfully late to the party.”
His dark eyes flashed dangerously. “Come, Pet,” he called to Seven. “Stand at my side, where you belong.”
She obeyed immediately. I knew she would. What was more perplexing was why she hadn’t wandered over to him sooner.
I had a small advantage of standing closer to the mysterious door than Aliah and Seven. Their backs were to the open warehouse door and the street where Nate and Serena still fought tirelessly. I could see the flurry of movement and their distinct Lights flash and move in the darkness outside. By the looks of things their fight had heated up again, probably thanks to the entourage Aliah kept with him at all times.
Once Seven was situated in her rightful place, Aliah allowed his focus to return to me. “Does it burn?”
“Um, what?”
“Curiosity. Is it burning inside you?”
“Not particularly.”
“You’re not the least bit curious what your beloved is up to tonight? What trouble he’s inciting? What mayhem he conducts?”
&
nbsp; I swallowed down the volcanic bile that rose in my throat. “No,” I forced out. “I’m more concerned about the children that you stole.”
“He’s really gone off the deep end, Stella.” Aliah tsked as though he actually cared. The careless smile put his delight into obvious contrast. “I mean, he’s really gotten himself involved with some… unsavory activities. Even I can’t seem to control him these days. It’s almost like he’s just given up completely. It’s almost like… he likes being without a soul.”
I had taken four steps forward with my sword drawn before I even realized what I was doing. Aliah threw his head back and laughed loudly.
“I meant it, Aliah,” I growled, desperately trying to recompose myself. “I’m here for the children. I don’t care about Seth.” Lie. Lie. Lie.
My heart ached painfully in my chest and every single instinct inside me told me to abandon this mission and go after him. He needed me.
I was his Counterpart and yet I forced myself to pretend I didn’t even care what he was up to. I cared. I cared about Seth more than anything else. More than killing Seven. More than ending Aliah. More than the children I had come to save.
My grip tightened on the hilt of my sword and I fought with my frantically beating heart and trembling lungs until my body had evened out.
“You should care about my brother,” Seven hissed at me. Her face more furious in this moment than any other time tonight. “You’re the reason he’s like this. You’re the reason his darkness glows brighter and brighter and brighter and brighter and bright-”
Aliah put a warning hand on her shoulder. “That’s enough, Sweet. Darkness cannot glow brighter, it must dim darker.”
Aliah corrected Seven but I understood exactly what she meant. Darkness was the antithesis of Light, obviously; but Seven had meant metaphorically his evil had become as bright as his goodness once was.
Maybe she wasn’t as crazed as I believed. Maybe there was rational, coherent thinking in there yet.
Maybe not.
She whimpered under the pressure of Aliah’s fingers and he released her with something that looked like pained longing.
Not possible.
Aliah’s focus swung back to mine with renewed fury. “You’re going to have to leave, Starling, before I consider breaking my contract.”
That made me smile. “Sometimes I forget you’re as bound by the contract as Seth is.” I started moving slowly backwards toward the door Seven came through.
“I can kill others though,” Aliah threatened. He shot a telling gaze toward the large open doors of the warehouse.
“Fine,” I shrugged. “Go kill them.” By now, I trusted Nate and Serena to hold their own against Aliah. They ran this planet for one more year and they were much better fighters than me. If they needed my protection now, we were seriously all screwed.
Aliah didn’t turn back to the street but advanced on me, like I knew he would. He left Seven staring after him, with that mixture of insanity and child-like innocence as plain on her face as the blood I’d put there myself.
“They’re not yours,” Aliah growled.
“They’re not yours either.”
“I will kill you before I let you take them. Have no doubt.”
“You can try,” I taunted.
He didn’t have a weapon in hand, but in the end, he didn’t need one. All he needed were his words and it was enough to render me defenseless.
“Friday, three days from now.” Those were the words ominous and debilitating enough that I hesitated with my next step. He stopped too and let his triumph show in the satisfied curve of his lips. “An invitation if you will. Seth has a particularly nasty job to complete. I’m sure he would appreciate an audience. Your company… would give him the added incentive to perform with excellence.”
Violent chills turned my blood to ice. “Seth’s a big boy,” I said but my voice was shaky and weak. “I’m sure I won’t have any effect on his job performance.”
“What little faith you have in your charm.” He stepped closer and I refused to back down. I couldn’t see a weapon within reach or on his body but I had no doubt he would be resourceful enough to find one.
“I doubt my charm will be anything but a distraction for him.”
“I disagree. I think it would be an incentive to do the job to the best of his ability. I think he would be helpless but to show off for you.”
I shivered from the meaning hidden in his words. Aliah didn’t mean that I would be a good influence on Seth. He wanted Seth’s hatred of me and my presence to fuel his wickedness.
I couldn’t help but feel hesitant intrigue. I wanted to see what Seth was like in his natural habitat these days. I wanted to gauge how far he’d slipped, how dark his Darkness truly glowed. But I knew Aliah was right. I knew that my presence would fuel his evil fires and that whatever purpose he set out to accomplish would be intensified and hardened.
“I don’t want any part of whatever Seth is up to,” I spat with the appropriate amount of disgust. “I will tolerate this for one year but then we will end you.”
Aliah smiled and glanced back at Seven. “She still thinks he’ll make it a year. She still thinks he will instantly change back to her darling Warrior the moment she turns eighteen.”
Seven started laughing at that. The sound echoed off the blackened walls and floated through the open ceiling. She sounded deranged but also furious. For the first time since this entire journey began, I wondered if Seven’s affections for Seth were stronger than her ties to Aliah. I would have never thought it possible until tonight. I would never have believed Seven was capable of love or loyalty to anyone.
“You should be more prepared for when it comes,” I taunted Aliah. “Denial will get you nowhere.”
“Yet you sit so perfectly inside it. You are in denial for what Seth has truly become. You are also denying the utter bleakness of your future. Come see on Friday. Come spy on your Counterpart and be the judge yourself. I will not even bother you. You can be free to observe for as long or little as you’d like.”
I started walking backwards again. “I would love to, honestly I would. But it’s just that, well, this sounds like a trap and I’d rather not.”
“No, trap,” Aliah answered smoothly. “I’m under contract, as you know. And that ties up all of my men. So see? Nobody will touch you. You’ll be perfectly safe.”
Except for Seth. But I didn’t say that out loud.
I shook my head. “Your men don’t touch me? They are constantly attacking me despite the contract.” I waved my sword toward Seven. “As well as your women.”
Aliah glared at Seven until she squirmed under the intensity of it. “The men that attacked you before were not mine. Rogues from the Lower Realm. You’ve upset more than the Fallen with your crusade. And Seven will not touch you again. You have my word.”
“Which means so much to me.” I smiled sweetly. “Besides, let them come. All of them. I don’t need to cower behind a contract and live in fear of your pathetic excuse of an army. I didn’t ask for any of this. I’d rather you break it now so that Seth can kill you and I can move on with my life.”
He glared at me. “Your faith in Seth is impressive, Starling. I hope you change your mind about Friday. It would be… enlightening.”
I huffed out an impatient sound and took off sprinting for that damned door. I thrust it open using every ounce of super strength I had. I would grab the kids, one in each arm, and take off for the skies. They wouldn’t be able to catch me.
The open door gave way to a soft summer breeze.
The room was empty. Completely. I walked straight out to the alley through a huge hole burned through the far wall. Charred brick crumbled on either side of the opening.
I was too late.
I’d let Seven suck me into a stupid fight that got me nowhere but a beat-up body. And I’d let Aliah talk me in circles until I had no hope of rescuing anyone tonight.
Nate and Serena appeared on the other si
de of the hole with grim faces.
“They’re gone,” Nate growled. “All of them.”
I glanced back over my shoulder and saw that he was right. Even Aliah and Seven had disappeared into the night.
“And you can’t find them? Feel where they’ve gone?” I felt all hope and optimism sink into despair. Those kids. Where were they now? What malicious plans did Aliah have in store for them tonight? And tomorrow?
I couldn’t allow this to go on.
Serena shook her head. “I can’t. Not anymore.”
I hung my head and fought back frustrated rage. “We’ll find them again. We’ll get to them before it’s too late.” The only reason I was able to say those words or believe them was because I didn’t have a choice. The alternate was too much. Too terrible.
“Any idea where to start looking?” Nate asked with pained tones of faith in me.
“Actually… yes,” I said. “Friday.”
Chapter Twelve
By late evening Friday, I still hadn’t decided what I was going to do.
Aliah’s offer hovered around my head like a migraine and I couldn’t shake it. It was just a little bit too tempting. That was the problem.
Which no doubt Aliah knew. No matter how much I wished it to be true, he was not an idiot. He played me. Easily.
He’d dangled the one thing in front of me that I wouldn’t be able to resist. Seth. In his natural work environment.
I couldn’t help it.
I wanted to see how far he’d slipped. I wanted to see what Aliah had him up to and the kind of chaos and mayhem he could orchestrate. I wanted to see if my presence would make him better or worse.
But mostly, I just wanted to see him.
I missed him. More than anything. And I didn’t want to be away from him anymore.
A big part of me, probably the most foolish part, believed I could stop him from whatever he had been ordered to carry out tonight. That same part promised that Seth didn’t hate me as much as he claimed to and he didn’t want me to die. He wouldn’t hurt me. His words were empty threats. Aliah might own his soul, but I owned his heart.