“Are you sure you can handle it?” I ask.
“Yes, now hurry!”
I signal to Miku that it’s okay for her to sing. I warn the others and they take cover by blocking their ears.
Miku opens her mouth and starts to sing her favorite melody. The song is dripping with sorrow and torment. It brings us to our knees within moments.
Things are worse for Rage, who at this point can no longer move at all and cannot block Miku’s song. However, the good thing about Miku’s melody is that it is just as detrimental to the Craygos.
They were tearing into their own flesh, going around in circles and howling from the agony of their self-inflected wounds.
“I found it,” Jay shouts over Miku’s song.
I tell Pretty to stop singing then I get Emmy out of the Holder. Miku’s song has caused Emmy’s nose to bleed and she has dug into her wrist using her nails.
“I’m ok,” she says before I can even ask.
“Let’s go before they multiply again,” I order.
Emmy heads for Jay while I pick Rage up and throw him over my shoulder. Jay guides Emmy and Ameana to the pattern on the floor. It begins to glow while Miku stays behind to sing softly to the new pack of Craygo.
“That’s enough, Pretty, let’s go,” I order. She stops singing just in time for another pack of Craygo to spring up.
We run onto the edge of the forest. There is a large gap between the forest and the cave.
The gap contains a dark swirling void that will send us straight to Lucy, should we fall into it. It looks like there is nothing between the forest and the cave expect for the void.
Normally anyone would be fearful to cross an invisible bridge but the Craygo had multiplied yet again and are on our heels. We simply don’t have time to be afraid.
“Find something happy and hold on to it,” I instruct the team as I place Rage on the ground.
“Only one of us can go at a time, can you make it?” I ask the Akon.
He nods and steps out into thin air. Thankful a crystal platform displays with every step he takes. His steps are unsteady and a trail of blood follows his every move. His movements are so uncertain we are relieved when he makes it to the other side; Ameana most of all.
The relief is short lived when Rage collapses onto the landing in front of the cave.
Ameana takes off after him without a second thought. Fortunately the bridge appears promptly before her. Luck is finally on our side as the Craygo roar angrily as they watch us make it to the other side. Well, most of us.
“Miku, come on,” I call out to her as Emmy tries to stop Ameana from touching Rage.
“You know what will happen if you two touch: Ameana, you have to get back.”
“Emmy, I have to check on him.”
“If you touch Rage both you and Aaden will die and he wouldn’t want that.”
Meanwhile Jay calls out for Miku to finish crossing the bridge. She stands still, frozen in terror. She is stuck in the middle of the crystal platform. The crystal behind her have disappeared the ones ahead of her refuse to appear, she is standing on one piece of crystal.
“Pretty, you can do this,” I urge her, but looking into her eyes Jay and I both know she is in deep trouble.
Rio…
Miku’s life is in shambles since the death of her twin. She hasn’t been able to find any sense of peace let alone happiness. The bridge now knows that; the crystal that Miku is standing on begins its descent into hell. Without any warning, Jay dives off the edge and goes after her.
“Jay, no!” Emmy yells.
It’s too late. Jay is mid-dive and falling quickly. He manages to land on the crystal that holds Miku but his balance is off. He waves his arms around uncontrollably as he starts to fall off. Miku grabs hold of him just in time to pull him back onto the crystal. But the added weight makes the crystal start to break apart. It’s also causing them to sink even quicker into the abyss.
Miku looks up at Jay, shocked by his bold and desperate move to save her. He pulls her close to him as they continue to sink into Lucy. He starts to whisper something in her ear.
And the two of them disappear into the void.
We’re too stunned to speak or even move. We stare down into the void, not ready to accept the death of Jay and Miku.
No, not them; please don’t take them…
I turn to Emmy and Ameana. They look back at me, horrified by what just occurred. I don’t know how to make sense of what just happened. Did I actually stand here and watch my team disappear into hell?
“I should have known Miku wouldn’t be able to cross the bridge. She’s been mourning Rio right in front of us, how could I even let her try to cross the bridge?” I scold myself.
“They can’t be gone. They can’t,” Emmy pleads.
“Why didn’t I go after them? I should have gone after them,” I rage.
“You couldn’t go after them because you know you’re the only one who can assemble the Shoma. We need you,” Ameana reasons.
“I DON’T CARE. I SHOULD HAVE SAVED THEM!”
“What is that?” Emmy asks peering down into the void below.
She gets down to the ground to get a better look at the abyss below. Ameana and I get down to the ground beside her so we can get a better view. Something is quickly emerging from it. It’s too far away for us to make out what it is.
“Wait, I think it’s…” Emmy can’t finish her sentence because the thing coming out of the void defies words.
Emerging from the depths of the void are two figures standing on what is now a solid piece of crystal.
“It’s them!” Emmy shouts as the couple ascends higher and higher from the void.
Jay has pulled Miku close to him and is whispering in to her ear; whatever he’s saying to her is lifting the crystal. Ameana shouts at Jay to keep talking but she didn’t really need to do that; not even Omnis himself could have stopped Jay from whispering to Miku.
In fact whatever he’s saying to Miku is not only lifting them up from the void, it is also strengthening the bridge so that it appears completely formed before them. And although no two beings are allowed on the bridge at once, Miku’s internal happiness is so strong, both of them cross the bridge effortlessly.
When they make it to the landing of the cave, Emmy leaps into their arms and embraces them tightly. Ameana embraces them next and I follow.
“What did you say to her?” I ask Jay.
“I just kept repeating the same thing over and over again,” he replies.
“Well, what was it? What were the words that saved Miku’s life?” Emmy pushes.
“I love you!”
Getting Jay and Miku back from the depths of hell is a major win. But we don’t have time to celebrate; not with a member of our team on the ground bleeding to death. Rage’s wounds are far worse than I first thought. A whole chunk of his side is missing, his arm is barely attached to its sockets and his wings are badly damaged.
It’s all we can do to keep Ameana from touching him. She keeps calling out his name but he does not respond. The only way we know that he is still alive is by the occasional movement of one of his wings.
We take out the vial of Blocker that Tony gave us. Emmy applies it but we’re not sure it will work on a demon. And even if it does, we simply do not have enough to cover all of Rage’s wounds. Emmy does the best she can and applies the Blocker to the nastiest wounds.
“He’s still bleeding,” Ameana says.
“It may not work on demons. We have to wait and see,” Emmy says.
“We can’t wait, he’s bleeding to death,” she counters, frantic.
“If you don’t calm down, you’ll upset Aaden, Mimi,” Miku warns.
“He’s in a lot of pain, losing consciousness is his body’s way of coping; it’s a good thing,” Emmy says with authority.
“Are you sure?” Ameana asks.
“Yes, I am. Also there’s a chance he can hear you so if you are going to speak, stay positiv
e. You want him to know that he’s going to be okay, and you love him too much to let death take him,” she replies, with certainty.
“How do you know so much about this?” I ask.
“I took care of you when you were attacked by the Sive, remember?” she asks.
“Yeah, I do…” I reply gazing deeply into her eyes.
We exchange a look that causes a surge of emotions in both of us. For a moment the entire world disappears and all that’s left is her face; her perfect face with its awe inspiring eyes.
I long to hold her so much, it physically pains me to stay away. I can tell she’s affected too because she clears her throat and looks away from me.
“It’s still not working, he’s bleeding out,” Ameana says, beside herself.
“Mimi, it’s going to be okay,” Miku says taking her away from Rage’s body.
“Yo, he’s not looking good; We need to get him to a Healer” Jay says softly.
“We have to find the second Alpha. We’ve come too close to turn back. And even if we did try and find a Healer, the only way out of the forest is through the Craygo. That would be a suicide mission with Rage in the shape he’s in. The only other way out is through the cave.”
“He’s right, once we get past Anora, we should be able to fly,” Miku says as she brings a calmer Ameana back towards us.
“So we wait to see if the Blocker works then we go inside the cave,” Emmy says.
We wait several agonizing moments to see if the Blocker works. So far, the blood seeping out of the Akon shows no sign of stopping. Ameana is barely holding on to nerves. She turns to Emmy and whispers to her.
“How did you face this all alone in your apartment with Marcus? How did you watch him bleeding out and not lose it?” she cries.
“I had faith,” she replies.
“In Omnis?”
“No, in Marcus; I knew he’d never leave me…”
Nearly half an hour passes before the blood finally slows down. Ameana hovers over us as we inspect Rage’s wounds.
“It’s better, I think the Blocker is starting to work,” I tell her.
“Are you sure?” Ameana asks.
“Yes, but I don’t know that we can wait for it to stop completely. We need to keep moving,” I reply.
“How can we with Rage unable to move?” Emmy says.
“You may have to stay here with him.” I inform her.
“No, I’ll stay,” Ameana says.
“I can’t spare you, Mimi. And you’d want to reach out to him and that would be the last thing you do. So, it’s better if Emmy stays with him,” I reply.
“No need to fight over me, ladies,” he says.
We look down and Rage has regained consciousness. He is instantly bombarded with questions from team about his health.
“I’m fine, gonna miss my arm though,” he says as he winces.
“No, we’ll get you to a Healer in time. Don’t worry,” Ameana assures him.
“The bleeding has stopped but that arm is all kinds of crazy,” Jay says.
“Yet, I’m still better looking than you,” Rage jokes in a whisper.
“Don’t lie to yourself,” Jay counters.
“I’m glad you’re awake. We need to go into the cave, aside from finding the second Alpha, it’s the only way we can get out of here and get you help. Are you up to it?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he lies.
Before he goes anywhere, we make him an arm brace out of Jay’s jacket. It helps to keep his arm in place. He tries to get up on his own but can’t so we help him to his feet.
“I’m ready,” Rage says weakly.
“Okay, let’s go. Just let us handle things and hang back,” I order.
“Is Aaden okay?” Rage asks.
“No, he’s feeling the same thing his mother feels: Pissed off,” Ameana replies.
We are all taken aback by her burst of anger. We look at each other not sure what to say.
“What’s wrong?” Rage asks.
“AFTER EVERYTHING YOU STILL QUESTION WHO WOULD BE A BETTER FATHER FOR AADEN THAN YOU? LOOK DEMON, YOU ARE A PART OF THIS FAMILY. WE LOVE YOU. WE WANT YOU AND ONLY YOU. AND IF YOU EVER DOUBT OUR FAMILY AGAIN, I SWEAR I’LL SEND THE SHARPEST SPEAR I CAN FIND FLYING INTO THE AIR AND RIGHT INTO YOUR DAMN CHEST, DO YOU HEAR ME?”
Her tone leaves no room for argument. Her lips are curled in anger and both hands are perched on her hips. She looks at Rage with the intensity of a thousand power balls. Even though she was just yelling at him, all the guys stood up straight as if we were the ones in trouble.
“DO YOU HEAR ME?” she roars.
“Um…yeah,” Rage says, shocked.
Ameana turns on her heels and heads inside the cave; the rest of the girls follow her.
Rage hangs back for a few moments.
“Moving slow because of your wounds or because your future wife wants your head on a stick?” I ask.
“The second thing,” Rage replies.
Jay and I nod with understanding. In truth, all us guys fear the wrath of the pregnant girl far more than we do any demon…
CHAPTER TEN:
ANORA
The team and I head down the dark and eerie cave. A cold breeze whirls around and whispers in our ears. The ground beneath our feet is rocky and uneven. There’s a foul odor in the air; it’s a mix of burning flesh and sewage. The further in we go, the less light we see. We are on high alert because there is no telling what we will find as we enter Anora’s lair.
The blaze comes without notice; a sea of flames emerges from above us courtesy of a very pissed off demon.
“Get down!” I shout to the team.
Everyone dives to the floor and out of the way. Before we can recover, another demon sends dual fireballs our way. Thinking quickly, I hurl a Holder into the air, it opens up and encapsulates one of the two fireballs. The flames inside the Holder form a twister of fire but they cannot escape the prison I have thrown at them.
The second fireball however, can’t be stopped. When it hits the ground, Jay Glides around it until the flames are diminished. By this time we are surrounded by demons.
They had been hiding in the cracks of the cave and now they have all come out to “greet” us as only demons can.
The fact that they can fly and we can’t puts them at a distinct advantage. Ameana uses her powers to ram large stones at them and manages to send many crashing to the ground. Miku then hums softly in their ear; they die soon after.
Rage, being a demon, is able to take flight or least he would have been had it not been for his injured wings. But fortunately for us, his fireball powers are working. He rains a stream of fire at the demons and they fall to the ground like flies when sprayed with poison.
Emmy takes cover but she manages to take out a semi-conscious demon that is trying to get back on his feet. She finds the nearest rock and beats him to death with it. She does this without the least bit of hesitation. I am both proud and worried. Her actions are void of emotions. She is on autopilot.
I’m too focused on Emmy to note the demon near me. He tackles me from behind. He gets me in a chokehold and summons up a fireball in the palm of his hand. He plans to sear my face off. I struggle but it’s difficult to get out from under the demon’s hold due to the injury I sustained in the forest.
Just as the flame gets close enough to nearly singe my hair, Ameana sends a jagged stone the size of a football at the demon. She throws the rock with such force that it takes the demon’s head clean off. His headless body slumps to the ground.
Three demons surround Rage in the corner and Jay Glides to tackle them. The demons don’t even realize what’s happened until it’s too late. They die with shock on their faces.
Rage thanks him and blasts the last remaining attackers. Working as a team, we manage to defeat every demon in the area. Flames and demon body parts now surround us.
It’s official: The Guardians are a team and a kick ass one at that.
I go over to
Emmy to make sure she’s all right. Miku checks on Jay and Rage manages to pull himself up without any help. He says he’s better but he looks flushed and he winces when he speaks so I know we need to get him to a Healer, quickly.
“Okay, guys let’s go. Anora can’t be too far from us,” I tell them.
“Wait,” Rage says.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Where’s Ameana?”
Anxious, we look around the cave and sure enough, Ameana is gone.
It’s all we can do to stop Rage from burning down the entire cave. He keeps calling out for her and we are left to remind him that it’s a bad idea to let whatever evil is lurking know that we are here. He looks murderous. Emmy places a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.
“You need to stop panicking,” I warn him.
“The hell I do. My girl and my kid are missing,” he shouts.
“Keep your voice down,” Jay says.
“Back off, Speedy. I need to find her,” he replies as he tries to take flight.
“Rage, we can find her. But what we cannot do is waste time here trying to keep you in line. So pull yourself together like a grownup or get left behind like a damn kid. Your choice,” Emmy says firmly.
He nods reluctantly and we start down the only possible path Ameana could have been taken. The air is even fouler here. There is an ominous red glow a few yards away from us. Miku softly calls out for her best friend. There is no reply.
As we get closer to the red glow, it gives way to a dense fog of crimson. We walk into it and it engulfs us. For several steps we can’t see what’s ahead of us nor can we see the path we took to get here. I instruct everyone to stay close together.
“I don’t like this,” Emmy says mostly to herself.
“Yeah, I felt better when there were fire balls coming at us,” Miku says.
“We don’t have a choice. If Ameana’s here, we have to find her,” Rage replies.
“We will find her,” I assure him.
When the fog clears, we find ourselves in the last place we ever imagined—someone’s kitchen. It’s a big, well-maintained kitchen with traditional decor. There’s a pot on the stove with fire underneath it and the kitchen table is set for two people.