The fight had been well fought, but not hard. The demons had been sent in no given pattern, and they had underestimated the groups combined abilities. In short time, and with Elaya’s help, there was not a demon left alive and Sera pulled herself into Elaya’s arms, breathing a sigh of relief at being told Arya was still alive. Lairia looked relieved too, but she still hadn’t spoken, drawing herself off to the side of the group where she was still present but visibly excluded. Her hand kept rising to her neck, as if expecting to find something there, but she had given her pendent to Elaya, and she was not ready to take it back. Not till she felt she deserved it. And right now she felt far from it.
As Elaya and Narxis flew off a second time, Tatia made a much more audible noise and looked to Amitiel, “So I’m now on arrest for wanting to leave? I told you all last week I wished to retire. For this reason-”
She swept her hands around at the carnage. She’s been shaking since the fight ended, a sign that Tatia was far from recovered. Something had triggered a bad memory and she was fighting off tears as she snapped. She only moved when Rythert took her hands and led her to a tree stump to sit and calm, helping her destress away from the group. She had told them everything now, all the pain, all the torture, even the parts she was brainwashed. She had confided in them the first night in the Palace and they had cried for hours with her, but their bond grew. She had…well she had also told them she loved them that very night. It was the small joyous part of a night full of tears, but some of those tears had been in joy. She loved her Rythert, and them her, and no one was going to take that away again.
While they sat off to one side, Lairia sat off to another, leaving Amitiel, the cats, Gerry, and Sera in the middle, all not too sure what to do. Leaving the cats to the men, Sera stepped off to where Lairia was sitting on a large rock, sliding in beside her.
“Want to talk about it?” Sera murmured.
Lairia’s blue eyes looked up, catching hers, “About how your all risking your lives to protect me again when it is unneeded?”
“How’s it unneeded?”
“I didn’t give any of you a contract. I didn’t ask for you to throw your lives at the line for me. And now we are stuck out here.”
“What did you expect Lairia? You faked your death, we couldn’t just let you sit in your room all day. Elaya made the right call-“
“I thought you were the leader here?” Lairia asked, not accusingly but confused. Indeed Elaya had taken over the boss role, and Sera had yet to make a fuss over it.
“I was never the true leader,” she shrugged, “I can tell the group where to go and what contract we chose, but Elaya has always been the one enforcing it since she started. Face it, she gets things done. I don’t mind it. People aren’t my forte like they are hers.”
Lairia fell quiet to that.
“None of that matters now though Lairia. We are disbanding. Some are retiring, others have a family on the way,” Sera hugged her belly at that moment, “And some have gotten themselves into quite the mess.”
“I know,” Lairia groaned, “I hadn’t thought they would pardon me. I’ve seen much crueler trials in my lifetime in that city. I just…didn’t want to die. Arya was suppose to leave my body once we were in my room and then get me out of the city hidden within a casket. Our plan was to tell you after we were safe, and for me to go into hiding. I…I was actually going to try and find my father again. He’s been missing for decades. I’ve tried a hundred times to track him down, but now I have all the free time in the world to do so.”
Sera nodded, “But if someone recognises you there would be hell to pay.”
Lairia fell silent at that. Just then Elaya returned, and all heads swivelled in her direction. Sera stood, squeezing Lairia’s shoulder in an act of kindness before moving to Elaya, allowing her to see her fiancée and their unborn child were safe and unharmed. She didn’t get a moment to say anything though, as while she had been busy talking to Lairia, Rythert had taken another stab at Amitiel to get them and Tatia free. Elaya’s order came with icy silence as no one spoke, only watched and listened. Even Seraphina fell quiet. Even knowing Arya was still alive was not enough; she was still in pain, still hurting. And it was Sera’s doing. Her eyes only looked back up as Lairia stepped up to her side, mouth open to speak.
“Elaya,” she started, “I did what I did thinking there would be no pardon. But the Circle does not know I am alive, and won’t know. I…we, none of us are children. We know the risks of our actions. Even I knew, if I was to live, it would be in hiding.”
She stepped away from Sera and closer to Rythert and Tatia, whom had joined her lovers, “Which is why on the way here I agreed to getting Rythert and Tatiana home safely, using my magic skills. They have a place no merfolk can touch, a place safe for the cats and them. I’ll be staying there, helping them build their home and raise the cats. I can protect them there. Not out here. Not in the open.”
She stepped forward and knelt beside Elaya, placing a hand on her knee in a friendly manner, “I’m sorry. This is my mess and my fault. But none of you were meant to be dragged into this. I won’t involve the Metuzi, or you, any of you. You have a family now Elaya, you have to focus on them.”
“How will we visit you?” Sera spoke up, making it clear she was not going to stop them.
“We can send word to you on how once we get there,” Lairia explained, “We’d be hidden and safe.”
Sera nodded, looking at Elaya, “I’m not stopping them Elaya. They can leave come morning. It’ll be safest. Out here, Lairia is right. We are risking too much. But Elaya is also right. We are making camp and waiting for Narxis.”
Her chocolate brown eyes turned on Amitiel, “Go find him and aide him. Undoubtedly he needs a friend right now. And Arya needs our help too.”
Then she took Elaya’s hand and pulled her up, “As for us we are making camp, c’mon everyone. You two Tatia and Rythert. Not till morning.”
~
Arya was lying in the tiny hospital bed. She had no idea what one she was in. The guards had carried her. She wasn’t even sure if this was helping. But it beat lying in the hot sign bleeding out.
However there was nothing stopping her now from thinking. All the emotions she normally could bury bubbled up, with no way to push them away. Fear and panic were the first, the fact that her powers were gone were terrifying her. Then came confusion, and now she just lay there numbly, trying to decipher why Lucifer was doing all this. If he wanted to torture her, why this way? If he simply wished to let her die, why hadn’t he?
It was as if her questions had summoned in. Suddenly a light was shining in her left eye and she hissed, shrinking back as her other eye popped open, glaring at him.
“Go away,” she snapped. She didn’t want another lecture. Lucifer simply snickered at her.
Of course she was still bleeding to death. Why would he have made this easy for her? She flinched when he leaned in, the smell wafting off him almost making her homesick. It had been so long…
Suddenly she let out a scream, her wound burning as he gripped it, tears filling her eyes. It hurt worse than she could imagine, and nothing would lessen that pain.
“He’s not here you idiot!” she shrieked, confused as to why no nurses or doctors had come running in, “He doesn’t even know I’m here! You can’t give something up you don’t have!”
It wasn’t completely true. She hadn’t stopped thinking about him since she left Octavia’s grave. Not that she had control over that, or at least it felt like she had no control. Her emotions were still confusing, all these new things hitting her at once. Being human sucked.
She was still crying from the pulsing wound he had left raw when he grabbed her by the hair, yanking so hard it forced more tears out. His threat and warning was well heard.
“If I wasn’t made for feelings, why give them to me?” she growled, taking on a defensive stance as her anger flared, the only emotion she truly understood and gripped onto to, letting it burn with rage within her, “You made me this. I think your just jealous. Jealous you never got the loyal mutt you wanted when you made me for Baal. I was always loyal to him. I just got stuck with you.”
Now it was her turn to sneer, “Your threats are empty Lucifer. I am here, and Narxis is probably out of the city by now. So go threaten some other hellspawn.”
Her false bravado lasted all of three seconds before he cut into her chest and she cried out again, then her eyes widened seeing her heart in his hands. How did he…? She flinched as he squeezed it, suddenly feeling like she couldn’t breath, the room getting brighter as she felt her body numbing…was she dying…
With a jolt everything was back to normal, and Lucifer was gone. She touched her chest, feeling the skin smooth and untouched. His threat suddenly felt a lot worse. What was he going to do to her? Or worse yet, what was he going to do to Narxis? What was I thinking, encouraging him?! I have to warn Narxis…I have to find him…before Lucifer hurts him.
The thought of having sent Lucifer at Narxis, at the image of her demon being tortured and flayed by her master chilled Arya to the bone and her stomach knotted. No. She’d fix this.
The nurse appeared and Arya couldn’t hide the growing bloody stain on the blankets, the wound opened again. She still bled black and the doctors didn’t understand it, but Arya had given them much for answers.
“I need stitches again, I think they pulled out,” she whispered, letting the nurse look. As she rushed out of the room Arya had her mind set. The door had not even closed and Arya threw the blankets off, falling off the side of the bed. She rushed to get up, her balance unsteady as she toppled a rolling table with knives and tweezers on it, then a clipboard that had her information – all faked – on it. She stumbled to the closet in the corner she had seen the nurse open to grab bandages and opened it now, grabbing two pieces of gauze. There was a bottle of rubbing alcohol and she remembered the woman using that too, although it stung. Something about infections. Gritting her teeth she splashed the alcohol on the wound, cleaning it as the pain lanched through her, still not as bad as Lucifer’s tampering. Then she stuck the gauze on halfhazardly, and grabbed a large bandage, wrapping it around her torso tightly to keep the gauze and everything in place. Seeing a roll of tape she grabbed some of that too, taping the bandage down and shrugged. It would have to do.”
Getting dressed, she threw away the mesh shirt, seeing how wide the holes were in it now. Instead she zipped up her jacket, hiding her torso and the wound. It hurt to dress, but she had to get out of here. To find Narxis.
Stumbling to the door, she peaked out, seeing the nurse down the hall with her back turned, talking to a doctor. Time to go… Arya stumbled out, almost hitting a gurney as she tried to balance herself, but her wound made it hard for her to stand straight and her knees were still jelly from her little trick with Lairia. All she had done is make a protective barrier of the sorceress’ heart, so when that arrow had hit it actually embedded itself in Arya, not Lairia. Now her good deed was backfiring in her face. Well not entirely a ‘deed’. Arya had striked a deal. An eye for an eye, so it was. A favor for Lairia, in return for an uncashed favor for Arya when the need arose.
Making it around the corner she rammed into a small cart full of tiny cups, some with a pill or two in it. Swearing under her breath she looked at the cart and spot bottles underneath, each with different inscriptions and tags on them with patient names. She spotted one with her name and picked up the bottle, seeing that it was a pain killer.
“Oh thank god,” she groaned, stuffing it in her pocket and stumbling away. She could hear someone yelling that the room was empty, and to find the patient but before anyone could stop her she opened the front door, happy the secretary was missing, and slipped into the afternoon crowd in the streets. She made it a block and a half before she slipped into an alley and crashed against one of the walls, wincing as her side throbbed. Checking it, the blood was just starting to seep through, but not enough that it had soaked the bandage yet. Pulling out the bottle of pills, she fought the lid open and swallowed two pills, hoping it would help. Then she pocketed it again, and stayed there for a minute, trying to discern where to go. She had to get her warning to Narxis. But how? A communication spell, perhaps? She was in a city vibrant with magic, after all. Surely one of the stores on this road could help. Fixing her clothes she stumbled out of her hiding space, looking left and right till she spotted a store sign and headed that way, walking slowly and achingly. Her mind was set on one thought, not letting it trail off or get confused again. Help Narxis. That was what mattered. Who mattered. Why did he matter so much? Already she was getting sidetracked by her emotions…Focus! He needs help, not my mental breakdown.
Stepping into the shop, the pain was lessening, the drugs doing there job as she stepped up to the counter, “Where can I buy a communication spell…I need to contact someone.”
“There’s a shop two doors down that sells communication artifacts. Try there kid.”
She nodded, turning and walking out without a thank you. One step closer to warning him. She just hoped Lucifer wouldn’t make another surprise visit and catch on.
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