Jordyn
Dread washed over me in a tidal wave of icy water as I turned to acknowledge our newest obstacle. My confidence from the battles I had already conquered today took a nosedive as I eyed the one being that made me question my own skills.
"Hey, everyone, look, it's Gaab's errand boy," I mocked him, ignoring the pounding in my chest that felt like a freight train.
Kale's smirk left his face at my words. Obviously, he didn't have a sense of humor when he was the butt of the jokes. "I'm nobody's errand boy," he snapped, advancing on me. "Although, I'm sure this will win me brownie points when I hand deliver you, and then lock your boyfriend in the Valley of Death."
"You have to catch him first," I mocked with more confidence than I felt.
"Sweetheart, that's only a matter of time. Our army was already closing in on him when I decided to come see if my hunch was right," he said, taking another step toward me. I stepped back unconsciously, not confident I could fight him and win. Previous encounters with Kale had screwed with my head. My eyes swept over to Maximus, who flashed a smile of encouragement. He'd seen me take out a half-dozen daemons and three vatcans. Of course he would believe that I could defeat Kale with one hand tied behind my back, but I did not share his optimism. I was afraid he would witness my failure.
"Aw, come on now, Jordyn. Seeing you so frightened by my touch is taking all the fun out of this." He took another step toward me, closing the gap. I froze as he made a move to touch my cheek with one of his fingers. I felt the singe as he grazed my skin and I could smell my flesh burning. "Just think how much fun you'll have watching your boyfriend burn in the Valley of Death. I do believe Luxem will enjoy turning him into barbecue," he taunted in my ear.
Perhaps it was his taunting or maybe his slimy head so close to mine, but something inside me snapped. If Kale wanted me, he would have the fight of his dead life doing it. I grabbed his greasy head in my hands, holding it in place. He reached up to grab my forearms, but before his hands could make contact, my forehead smashed into his nose, sending him staggering backward. His face lost its smirk as he snarled at me.
"You're going to pay for that, bitch," he growled, making a grab for me that I sidestepped. All of the training I had done with Emrys came back to me as I used speed to evade his acid-like touch.
"Kalie boy, you're starting to look a little winded. What's the matter, old man? Can't catch little old me?" He growled again, making another grab for my arm. I darted to the side before he could reach me and countered with a punch that caught him in the mouth. I grinned broadly at him as he spit out a mouthful of teeth.
"I guess it's a good thing you don't eat," I sang as his teeth landed on the ground at his feet.
"You're going to pay for that," he threatened, swiping wildly in my direction. I was slower to duck since I had been too busy showboating. Emrys would have been disappointed. Kale's punch hit me square in the jaw and my head snapped back. Stumbling back in pain, I shook my head to clear it. This time it was his turn to gloat, even though his grin was much more distorted since he was missing more teeth than he had left.
I countered his attack with one of my own, which also found its mark. This time my blow broke his nose. He tried to reach for me again, sick of getting punched in the face. I darted to the side so he only grasped air as he made his move. I was able to throw another punch in the vicinity of his face though it only grazed his cheek. His next hit rang true, hitting me square in my right eye. He took advantage of my slight stagger and grasped my arm before I could move out of harm's way. The intensity of the pain in my arm was staggering, but I ignored it as I straightened myself. Without taking my eyes from his, I grasped my dagger in my free hand. An evil grin spread across his face, thinking he had won. That grin was still on his face when I buried my dagger deep through his left eye. Dropping his hold on my arm, he staggered back and dropped to his knees. Pulling my knife from his eye, he frantically tried to grab at me, but I kicked him to the ground. Opening my bag, I pulled out the one provision that Emrys had insisted I have. I stood over Kale's helpless body. He was no longer the Soul Trader who had made me doubt everything about myself. I struck one of the matches in my hand and dropped it. His clothes instantly ignited and within moments his entire body was engulfed in flames.
I watched his body burn until nothing remained. Emrys had explained that there was only one way to kill a Soul Trader: you had to burn the body it needed for its earthly visits. Kale was nothing more than a lost soul now.
"I think I'm in love, but we have to go," Maximus said, stepping over Kale's remains.
"Ah, that's sweet, but I'm taken." I curtsied. There was no way to tell by the time, but I already sensed we were late for our rendezvous with Emrys. I had Robert lean on me as we hurried through the rest of the tunnels behind Maximus, who was keeping a brisk pace. We ran across one more solitary daemon, but he appeared drunk, which made me wonder if he had just left the funhouse. He was a pile of ash on the ground before he even knew what had hit him.
We arrived back in the cavern where we were supposed to meet up, but only one person was waiting for us when we got there, and it wasn't Emrys. Seeing Due standing where Emrys should have been put me into major freak-out mode.
"Where is he?" I asked, looking behind Due.
"You think he's hiding behind me?" she asked bemused.
"Cut the shit. Where is he?" I demanded, grabbing the short red dress she was wearing.
"Drop your hands unless you want to lose them," she snarled, showing her true form. My hands only tightened as I got a glimpse of the true daemon beneath her facade.
"Where is he?" I repeated, shaking her. Dread filled me. I knew he had been captured. He was probably being dragged off to the Valley of Death as we spoke.
"I'm right here," Emrys answered behind me, sounding more amused than he should. Without thinking, I hauled off and punched him in the gut for scaring me before throwing my arms around him and bursting into tears. Everyone, including Lynn, who was still cradled in Maximus's arms, regarded my tears with shock. I was surprised too, but it didn't stop the flow of tears from continuing down my cheeks. This was another example of my human nature coming out.
After a moment, I was able to get control of myself. I glared at my friends as they looked at me with a mixture of humor and awe. "What are you looking at?" I snipped.
"Not a thing," Robert laughed, in his typical joking manor, only weaker.
"Where were you?" I asked Emrys now that I wasn't a slobbering mess.
"Checking to see if the coast was clear," he said, shooting a worried glance at Maximus.
"How does it look?" Maximus asked, though it was clear by Emrys's expression that our current situation was not good.
"They're sealing up the tunnels. I heard Gaab give the order to send in more daemons. Even with Jordyn and me fighting, it'll be too many. Gaab called for the entire Sixth Circle to be brought in."
Maximus looked troubled at Emrys's announcement. "The entire Sixth Circle?" he asked, looking like the situation had turned hopeless.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means there's going to be a ton of daemons in the COG very soon. You remember when I drew in the sand where the COG was located, and how it butts up to the Dark Realm?"
I nodded.
"Well, Gaab has obviously gotten permission to open up the passageway so the Sixth Circle can enter. Picture a war movie where the troops are marching off to battle and times that by ten and you have the Sixth Circle. We don't stand a chance against them," he said, sounding dire. I could detect a sense of real fear in his statement. I knew we were in trouble.
"I can help fight," Robert said, standing up straight even though it was obvious his strength wasn't there.
"I appreciate the offer, man, but even if you didn't look like a stiff wind could blow you over, we still don't stand a chance," Emrys said, eyeing me with something akin to desperation as he reached for my hand.
Sensing impending doom, Robert reached for Lynn, though he could barely hold his own weight. I watched as he slid to the floor with her cradled in his arms. Anger surged through me. We had come all this way only to lose now? I wouldn't go down without a fight, but how long would Emrys and I be able to fight them off before they overpowered us? That was the question.
"There is a way."
We all turned to Due, who I had forgotten was even there.
"There is no way," Emrys answered. "Every tunnel leading to the entrance has already been sealed. They have completely shut down both hubs. We are sitting ducks."
"I know of another way to get you back to the Earth Realm."
"What are you talking about? There is no other way. The Earthly Realm has no secret entrance."
"Not true. There are passages that are not spoken of," she answered. She even looked bored with the conversation.
"Due, we don't have time for these games. How do you know about these passages?" Emrys demanded.
"Gaab let it slip, almost a century ago. I've collected a lot of secrets in my travels. I've kept this little morsel of information tucked away for a day it might come in handy."
"What do you want in exchange?' Emrys asked apprehensively.
"You," she purred as I let out a howl of rage.
"How about I choke you out, bitch?" I launched for her throat, but Emrys held me back.
"Due, stop screwing around," he chastised as she laughed in my face.
"Oh, come on. She's an easy target. Her reactions are priceless."
Emrys wrapped an arm my shoulder as I continued to glower at her. "What do you want?"
"I want to be able to remain on Earth. I'm sick of having to deal with the underlings down here. I want Earth to be my permanent home."
"I don't have the power to grant a wish like that," Emrys said, sounding exasperated.
"You know the appropriate people who can make it happen."
"Due, they're not going to make a deal with a daemon that's going to be harming the humans they've vowed to protect."
"That's too bad. I guess they must not want their secret weapon here all that bad," she said, looking at me pointedly. "I think if they knew she was going to perish, they would offer up a deal for little ole me. After all, they've already ponied up for you and Maximus here," she said, running her fingers over Maximus's chest. He responded by backing away from her with a look of fear and disgust.
"I was able to make a deal because we aren't daemons," Emrys insisted.
"Like I said, that's too bad. I guess I'll go ahead and mosey on down to my quarters. You all have fun with your battle," she simpered, making a move to leave.
Emrys reached out a hand to stop her. "You better not be yanking us around. And I can't guarantee they'll agree, but I will tell them your demands."
"Oh, this isn't my first hop in the sack, lover," she said, winking at me. "You're going to have to promise more than that," she answered. All the playfulness was now gone from her voice. She was going to win.
"Fine, if they won't agree, I'll give you my deal," he snapped out, looking hard at me.
"What? You can't. You deserve to move on," I said, hating that we were even in this position.
"Jordyn, we have no choice. If we stay, you'll be captured, and the rest of us will perish. It is our only hope," Emrys said. "Do we have a deal?" he asked Due, holding up his hand with his palm facing out. For whatever reason, they didn't shake hands like humans.
Due smiled triumphantly before placing the palm of her hand flat against his. I felt sick that Emrys was willing to give up his deal to leave his soul trading life behind. I didn't want to admit there was a part of me that was happy I would still see him if we got out of this alive.
All the deal brokering ended when I felt the abundant presence of daemons nearby. "We have to go. Like now," I said, plucking Lynn from Robert's arms and tossing her to Maximus, who didn't miss a beat in catching her. "Get us out of here," I ordered Due.
"Say please," she said, smiling when I raised my fist at her. "You need to seriously learn to settle your differences a different way," she grumbled, darting out of the cavern. Emrys followed directly behind her with Robert's arm slung over his shoulder. Maximus followed right behind them with Lynn cradled in his arms, and I brought up the rear so I could fight anyone who came up behind us.
We had only turned down two tunnels going the opposite direction from any that I had traveled before when I heard Emrys let out a string of swear words. We were squeezed in a narrow tunnel and panic seized me. I was contemplating climbing over Maximus so I could help when I realized I didn't sense any daemons nearby.
"What's going on?" I asked Maximus.
"The passageway is located in the Valley of Death," he said over his shoulder.
"Of course it is," I answered, snorting at the irony of the situation. My dream had been accurate in one aspect. Emrys would be in the Valley of Death.