Koa grumbled and came to her feet. She didn’t know why she was so tired, but she could barely keep her eyes open now.
“You still haven’t told me where we are.” She walked along the path, beside Halston.
“The Valley of the Jem. You’ll probably see many of them, but don’t worry. My presence will keep them away.”
Koa sucked her teeth. “Of course it will.”
He chuckled again. “Yes, you must be tired, we’ve been traveling for nearly 34 hours now.”
Koa stopped. “You’re joking!”
He shook his head, with a smug grin. At least he had his humor back, but Koa’s patience was growing thin. “Jems move fast. I move even faster.”
“I don’t remember a thing.”
Halston shrugged and continued on. “Excellent. Now, let’s go.”
Koa shivered at the cold and frowned. If she had known it was going to be so cold, she would have brought a jacket. She clutched her arms and scampered ahead. She followed Halston along the rocky path that led to a small opening in the mountain. The rocks and stones shimmered beneath the light of his shield. The gray stone went from dull to the brilliance of diamonds.
Sleep overtook her before she could fight it.
Chapter 20
Koa woke when a brisk wind blew her hair into her eyes. She rolled over and felt Halston’s angelic shield warm her face. It was nice, like a warm fire. She yawned and sat up. She felt sore all over. She grimaced and rubbed her shoulder. She’d been sleeping with a rock underneath her.
Halston heard her and glanced over his shoulder. “Everything all right?”
Koa nodded and rubbed her eyes. She brushed her bangs from her lashes and scooted closer to him.
“Can you let your shield down for a second?”
Halston gave her a look. “Would you like to be snatched away again?”
Koa sighed. She shook her head and warmed her hands as close to his shield as she could. “No. Not really.”
Halston gave her a side grin. “It’s kind of nice to see you need me.”
Koa couldn’t help it. She returned the grin. She couldn’t deny the power such a simple gesture had on her, even when she was angry, even when she was afraid.
“It doesn’t happen very often,” she teased.
He lifted a brow. “I protect you more than you know, Koa.”
Koa met his gaze. “Do you now?”
Halston nodded, gave her an odd look that made his grin fade, and looked away. Koa didn’t like that look. She was left with questions that she was too afraid to ask. She followed his gaze to the Valley of the Jem. She tensed. She didn’t realize that she could actually see them gliding along the road, with their pikes, searching, patrolling.
Their feet didn’t seem to touch the black pathway that was lit with those odd, circular bulbs. Koa leaned forward, nearly over the edge of the cliff as she watched them. The Valley of the Jem actually had trees. They were black, and charred, but trees nonetheless. She could even catch a faint glimmer of a river. Koa squinted in the darkness. She’d never imagined that the Netherworld was such an odd depiction of the human world. It was a darker version, but it obviously mocked the human world.
“So,” Koa began as she continued watching the Jem. “How much longer do we have to walk before we reach the center?”
“About half a day.”
Koa rubbed her arms. She wished that Halston would put his arms around her. She gave him a sidelong glance. “I missed you, Halston. More than I thought I ever could,” Koa whispered. She didn’t know where she had the courage, but she needed him to know how she felt.
Halston grinned and looked at her with longing. Koa held her breath. Everything inside of her waited.
“I think I missed you more,” he said softly.
Koa smiled. She felt warm joy fill her heart. She felt like she could say anything.
“So, what was it like when you lived in the Netherworld?”
Halston’s grin faded. Koa realized that she had chosen to say the wrong thing. She gripped the space between her eyes and winced. She shook her head then looked at him with one eye open. “Sorry. Bad timing I guess.”
Halston was silent for a long while. Koa was about to apologize again, thinking that he didn’t hear her.
“It was bad.”
Koa nodded, hoping that he would elaborate. “You don’t like to talk about it?”
Halston looked down. “It’s something that I am not proud of.”
“We all make mistakes, Halston.”
Halston shot her a glare that made her coil back. Her face flushed. “Don’t compare petty mortal mistakes to what I did. You were born with sin. I was not. I was created to be perfect. I was supposed to be better.”
Koa covered her mouth. His face went red with anger. Koa watched in terror as his shield had gone from gold to red as well, and his face was covered in black veins that moved like worms.
He almost looked like…Bund. Koa screamed. The scream echoed throughout the valley.
Halston’s shield vanished and he caught her in his arms. She was shaking. She opened her eyes to see that his were closed.
His eyes were squeezed shut. He was focusing. The black veins slowly started to dissipate. He held her tightly, as if he needed her for strength. Koa was afraid, but she managed to stay still until he returned to normal.
She wrenched out of his embrace and came to her feet. She stumbled backwards and catch herself with her hands. She slowly stood. Koa was afraid and worried for Halston.
After a moment, his shield returned to its prior intensity.
Halston spoke. His voice was as low as a whisper. “I’m sorry, Koa, for yelling.” He put his face in his hands and rubbed his forehead. “It’s just that I was a perfect angel when I was tricked into leaving Heaven. I immediately saw my error when I arrived on Earth, and by then, it was too late to go back. I had already disobeyed. I wasn’t allowed to return. I had lost God’s favor.”
Koa held her arms close. She watched him with a deep sadness. She wanted nothing more than to take him in her arms and hold him close to her. Still, she was shaken up by what had just happened.
“Instead of trying to win back His favor, I took the darker path, and I am regretful of that.”
Koa nodded as she bit the inside of her lip. She knew why he worked so hard. “That’s why you do what you do, Halston. You do so much for the humans so that you can go home. I get it. I really do.”
Halston sighed. Silence passed between them.
Koa pressed her luck. She pointed at his face. “What happened…when your shield turned red and your face got all weird?”
Halston sighed. “Let’s just say, you should never make an angel angry. Things don’t go so well.”
Koa shivered. She covered her arms with her hands and hugged herself. “I’ve never seen you that angry.”
Halston looked up at her. He seemed embarrassed. He wouldn’t make eye contact. “Only you can do that to me.” He glanced at her. “For some reason, you do something to me that makes me forget my composure.”
Koa frowned. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Um. Ok. Thanks…”
Halston chuckled and shook his head. He motioned to the smooth rock she had been sitting in before. “Sit down. You needn’t fear me. I could never hurt you, Koa. I swear it.”
Koa believed him, despite what she had just witnessed. The look in his eyes had struck terror into her very soul. She took a deep breath and returned to her seat.
“So, why is it that I can make you that angry, Halston?” Koa spoke in a soft voice, it was almost timid, and she didn’t recognize her own voice in that tone. There was something that she wanted to hear from him. She was excited, and yet fearful at the same time. Her stomach filled with anxiety.
“I don’t know. I guess I care about you too much. Your opinion of me matters too much.”
Koa sat up straighter. They locked eyes. “You care?”
Halston j
ust nodded, then broke their gaze. He didn’t look back at her. “Go on. Go back to sleep now. We will need to move quickly tomorrow.”
Koa let out a long sigh, her hopes dashed. She nodded and snuggled into the little pocket of soft dirt where she had been sleeping. She lay there for a while. Tomorrow she would meet Jax. She would learn about her past.
Koa felt like she was waiting for Christmas morning- all giddy with excitement. She looked up at the dark sky of the Netherworld. No stars. No moon…just faint streaks of light crisscrossed in every direction. She fell asleep trying to make sense of the pattern. The melody that Tunes played repeated over and over as she dreamed of Shadows, and Bund’s face over hers.
Chapter 21
Hours rolled by like days. Not being able to tell time made Koa feel anxious. She was tired of walking. The soles of her feet hurt and she almost took her boots off to give her a bare feet a chance. There were actually bugs everywhere. Odd, giant, cockroach looking bugs that made Koa decide to keep her boots on and deal with the pain.
Koa watched them skitter across the black path, busy with whatever it was insects did. Their red stripped bodies made Koa grimace. She kicked one off the path and shuddered when it took flight.
“Gross.”
Koa heard a faint whistling sound. Her ears perked up to better hear. She narrowed her eyes as she saw a light approaching them. Halston stopped on the craggy path and held a hand out for Koa to do the same. “Wait.”
A swoosh of air made Koa’s hair blow furiously past her face. Whatever flew past them cast a dim light onto their surroundings. Koa drew her Lyrinian sword.
Halston stood his guard and they watched as a woman landed before them. She had blood red hair, shaved on one side revealing a set of cryptic tattoos. The other side was long and wavy, reaching her elbow.
Koa stared at the woman and positioned her feet in a battle stance. Her Lyrinian sword was held ready. The power started to pulse within her veins. The feeling was intoxicating.
The woman smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. Her eyes were large and a dark blue. Koa held her breath when the woman drew her own sword, massive and curved like a hook. The mists curled around it as she held it towards Koa’s face.
“Don’t draw that sword little girl. Unless… you plan on using it.” Her lips curled into a grin that made Koa uneasy. The woman reached out towards Koa with her other hand.
Koa swung her sword up with lightning speed. It rested at the tip of the woman’s throat.
“Oh, don’t worry. I intend on using it.”
The woman’s smile widened, revealing perfect white teeth. She withdrew her hand. "Fiesty. We might get along." Her eyes turned down to look at Koa’s blade. She didn’t move as Koa had expected. Instead, she held her position before Koa’s sword, and turned her gaze up to Halston’s.
“What took you so long?”
Koa’s eyes went from Halston to the woman. Her heart raced. She stared at the tip of her own sharp blade. Halston didn’t draw his infinity gun as she had expected. He stood completely still, and let his shield fade.
Koa felt her fury intensify. Why wasn’t he protecting her? He just stood there.
Before Koa could react, the red-haired woman grabbed Koa’s blade with her hands and yanked it from her. She held both swords and ignored Koa’s frustrated gasp. She was quick…quicker than Koa.
Koa frowned. No, the bitch just caught me off guard, she reassured herself.
“Stop playing around Evina,” Halston said as he glanced at Koa’s angry face.
Evina stepped closer to Halston with a lascivious grin. “Oh, golden boy,” she purred, pressing her large bosom into his chest. She played with a lock of his hair and he pulled his face away. “Who said that I was playing?”
Koa was furious. The woman had disarmed her as if she were a child with a plastic toy sword. Her cheeks reddened. She wanted to smack that smug look off Evina’s face.
Koa noticed that Evina wore very little clothing. Her black and red corset pushed her bosom nearly up to her chin, and her tiny waist was wrapped with a belt loaded with weapons. She wore leather gaiters that reached to her thigh and a thin cloth that draped her front and back. She looked like something out of one of those fantasy books Koa had read as a child.
Koa didn’t like how Evina was leering at Halston. Her brows furrowed and she balled up her fists. Koa’s nails cut into her palms. She felt her ears grow hot.
“I didn’t think you’d actually bring her back.” Evina looked Koa up and down. She tilted her head with a curious look. “She still looks like a child.”
Halston cleared his throat. He seemed uncomfortable. “Koa, meet Evina…princess of the Central Dominace of the Netherworld. Prince Jax’s sister.”
“Better known as Lyrinia,” Evina said with a smile. She watched Koa expectantly.
Koa didn’t return the smile, but she couldn’t help catching the connection between Lyrinia and her Lyrinian sword.
Koa’s perplexed look made Evina laugh. It was a seductive laugh that made Koa cringe. Evina tossed Koa’s sword onto the rocky path as if it were rubbish. She stroked Halston’s cheek, giving him a lingering look. She stepped out on the path.
"A lot has changed since you left, Halston. I have changed. Jax has changed. But one thing remains the same. Father.” Evina’s eyes darkened when she mentioned King Greggan.
Halston nodded. “I knew Jax would be punished for what he did. We all did.”
Evina watched Koa. Koa felt uncomfortable. She wondered what Jax had done to be punished. She frowned and looked at Halston instead, hoping Evina would stop staring at her. There was something about the vampire princess that Koa didn’t like, and it wasn’t just the fact that she was a pretty girl.
“When is the last time you saw your father?” Halston put his hands in his pockets and awaited an answer.
Evina looked past him, towards the Gate. She looked frightened for a second. “Not long.” She looked back at them. “We’ll talk more once we reach the city.”
“Halston.” Koa pulled Halston to the side. “What is happening right now? Why is she here?”
Halston glanced at Evina and whispered to Koa. “She’s our guide to Jax.”
Koa frowned up at him and put her hands on her hips. “Does she know that I intend to kill him?”
Halston made a face. He shook his head. “I don’t think you understand why we’re here, Koa. No one is killing Jax. We need him.”
Koa dropped her hands to her sides. “What?” She’d been going over in her head just how she would kill the vampire prince. She would force him to change her mother back and then stake him. It was a simple plan. Why was Halston getting in the way?
Halston shushed her and she felt her rage start to simmer again. She narrowed her eyes at him. She hated being treated like a child.
“Don’t you want him to break your mother’s curse?”
Koa bit the inside of her lip and nodded. She tried to control her tone. “Of course. But, he’s evil. Why can’t I kill him after he breaks the curse?”
“Has she lost her mind,” Evina asked as she glared at Koa. “You will not lay a finger on my brother.”
Koa gave Evina a look, rolled her eyes, and looked back to Halston. “Can I hit her? Just once?” She held her hands up as in prayer. “Please…”
Halston sighed. “You’ll understand why we simply cannot kill him soon enough. You’ll know why once you meet him.”
“Done whispering? How rude,” Evina said. Koa could picture herself just flying over to Evina, grabbing her hair, and smacking her around…just a little bit…enough to make her shut up.
Halston turned to her. “Where is Jax kept prisoner?”
Evina picked up a black disc of some sort, and stepped onto it. She was lifted into the air. She hovered and waited. Evina folded her arm across her chest and tossed her hair out of her face. “Well, he was kept in the dungeons back at the palace, until he got free. Now, father keeps him in the Ivory Tower. Do y
ou know how long it took to get him free from the palace?”
“What is the Ivory Tower?” Koa asked Halston in a whisper. She didn’t want Evina to know how ignorant she was about this place.
Halston sighed. “It’s a prison full of the Netherworld’s most notorious, and dangerous, criminals.”
“The most notorious, and dangerous, criminals,” Koa repeated. She folded her arms and nodded. “Right…and we’re supposed to trust this guy?”