| |
I had no idea how long I screamed into the darkness when dizziness finally forced me to stop. The cramping in my stomach had been consistent, my nerves having come together in the pit of my womb obviously. I slumped down and let out a long cry, my voice almost shot from trying to get my father's attention.
Sleep finally took me and I slept off and on for who knows how long. It seemed like a day or maybe more by what I could tell. Eventually the flapping inside of my head died down and I could begin to think again. After being at the edge of losing my sanity, I knew without a doubt that I wouldn't survive much longer in the hole. I would break and ask for death or pledge servitude.
Anything but this.
Pressing my hand to my eyes, I resigned myself to simply waiting. Bentos wasn't going to make this easy and I had no way of getting a hold of him. Dying in this hole wasn't the concern, but simply losing my grip on reality. I was so close to cracking in half simply due to the overwhelming emotions of loss.
I wept until there were no more tears to give. My thoughts assaulted me over and over, forcing me into a deeper hole in my mind than the one I sat in. I needed a way out, not just physically, but mentally.
There had to be a way to create light. I moved my hands around the small space around me, trying to locate my backpack and doing so quickly. Digging through it, I pulled each item out and set them on my lap, mentally forcing a picture of what I had with me.
"Ugh," I growled into the darkness before patting around to find my journal.
"If you can help me... do it." The air in the tiny hole rose up a little, the sound of pages fluttering causing my heart to quiver in my chest. "It's just the magic. It's not going to hurt you. Chill out," I whispered to myself.
Funny how the dark makes everything worse.
A soft glow lifted from the pages as they stopped moving, the book warming in my open hands. I lifted it to my face and sighed with relief. It might not be much and it might not last, but it was more than enough for the moment.
I read through the history of the Grollics again, the ancient language so much easier to see now that I was forced to pay attention to its cryptic message. A page I’d never been able to read mysteriously became legible. The Grollics were created as a weapon by a fallen angel, his name being Malaz. I sat up and stared at the dirt walls. The Red Riding Hood story now had more background. The wolf had to come from somewhere.
"That's who you are." I paused, holding one finger in the crease of my spot in the book and flipping to the back to the ink blot that resembled a dark angel to me. It was the same painting that the old woman in the woods had. His name sat at the top of the page. I didn't dare whisper it for fear of him showing up like he had in the woods outside of Joshua's place. It seemed there was no need for an incantation for conjuring him. His name was powerful enough.
Was he the same creature that attacked me in the dream? I shuddered at the thought.
I moved back to my original spot and read a bit more before the muffled sound of voices forced me to stop. How long had I been in the hole? Was Bentos back already? The voice was too high to be his. I could barely hear them, but there were several.
I dropped everything and stood as the light faded beneath me.
"Hey! Hey... help me. I'm down here. Help! Help me!" I started to beat on the walls as the earth crumbled against my fists. I didn't relent and even began to jump up and down, but nothing seemed to be working. I grabbed the book and tossed it to the ceiling of the hole, trying to get the sound to come through the floor, but nothing.
"Please?" I screamed again, but my voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper. Realization dawned on me all of a sudden. If there was a Grollic above the ground, I could control him.
I dropped to my knees and took a deep breath before releasing my power and focusing on the image of a huge beast above me. I moved him toward the opening and forced him to scratch at the circle, hopefully alerting his companions to where I was.
A moment later, the earth above me began to move. I dropped the spell and stood, screaming again and jumping up and down.
"Rouge?" Grace's voice was music to my ears and I wept, pressing my face to my hands and bending over. Her gasp told me that she realized I was down there.
Someone dropped into the hole next to me and pulled me close. Joshua.
I crumpled into his arms and cried harder.
"Shhh... It's okay, baby. We're here now. We got you." He moved a little, but still held a tight hold on me. "Rob, grab my hand and pull. I can lean back and walk up if you hold us."
"Let's do it."
I pulled away, dropping to the ground and gathering all of my stuff back into my backpack as I continued to sob. I couldn't see through my tears, but I didn't need to. The items were all piled up beneath our feet. Joshua pulled me back up, kissing the side of my head as I clung to him.
A few minutes later and we were out of the hole, Rob and Grace having smothered us in a tight group hug.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Rob pulled me to himself and wrapped his big arms around me. "You scared the hell outta me."
I glanced up and wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. "I don't know. I just wanted to end this to save you guys. Caleb said I was completely evil and I wanted to prove that I'm not."
"You're not, honey. Just don't scare us like that ever again." Grace moved in between me and Rob as she gave me a motherly look.
I leaned into her hug and took a deep breath. "Wait. Where is he?"
"Who?" Joshua asked, moving toward the door and opening it for the rest of us.
"Bentos." I moved to the door and pulled my backpack over my shoulder, my eyes scanning the green field just outside of the shed. The house sat quiet from activity from what I could tell, but he had to be close. He wouldn't risk losing me again.
"No one's here. We checked the house first." Joshua took my hand and moved out of the shed.
I couldn't help but glance around as panic rolled over me. "No. This is too easy. He's here."
"No. He's not." A bold feminine voice forced me to turn sharply to the left, the beautiful angelic woman who saved my life the last time I was in danger stood before me.
"Rebekah?" I stiffened and took a step back. The subtle tightening of her expression told me that she didn't like the fact that I called her by her name, but she was nothing to me. She was Rob's mom, not mine.
Joshua slid his arm over my shoulders and pulled me in tightly to his side. "She's the only reason we found you."
"I thought you were with Caleb and Michael." I turned to look around, half expecting them both to be there.
"I was, but Bentos took off at the sight of us and the guys went with him. I stayed behind to find you." She glanced toward Grace and Rob. "I found these two wandering along the road and Joshua far ahead of them. It would seem their tracking skills are as good as ours. I figured you would want them to find you, so I simply prompted them to where Bentos had his cabin. I was about to figure it out myself if they didn't move faster."
Her smile was warm and motherly. I wanted something to exist between us, but I couldn't muster it in the moment. I turned toward Joshua as he looked down at me. His dark hair dropped over his eyes, the concern in them searing me. He loved me.
"How did you track me here?"
"You're my mate, Jamie. I can hear the whisper of your heart from anywhere. You can't hear mine because you've yet to accept us." He winked. "In time, love. In time."
"Okay, enough of this mushy shit. Let's get Bentos and jack him up." Rob moved toward me as Grace reached out and took his hand, pulling him back.
"No. Let Caleb and Michael take care of him."
"I thought Michael was sick?" I moved out from Joshua's hold, guilt slamming against me due to the look on Grace's face. She might accept whatever became of me and the large Grollic beside me, but she didn't have to agree with it or like it.
I turned back to my mother, wanting a few minutes to lay to rest some of the questions that plagued me where she was concerned. "You should be dead... how is it that you're not?"
"I am to some degree. I'm much like Michael and Grace now."
"A Hunter?"
"A free spirit who has no hold to life."
"Then where have you been for the last ten years?" I asked, my tone growing a little darker than I meant for it to. Rob had suffered the loss of his mother and she had been alive all this time. Why not tell him and ease his suffering?
"Fighting alongside the Hunters in Europe. I pledged an oath to remain dead to those I loved from my previous life. It was a way of protecting me, yes, but mostly protecting the two of you. Forgive me?"
"It’s all good, Rouge. I'm good." Rob moved up beside me, reaching over and squeezing my shoulder.
"Well... I'm not." I glanced back to the beautiful guardian who looked like a perfect blending of me and my brother. "Thanks for bringing those that love me to find me."
My comment hit home as her eyes dimmed. I turned and focused on Joshua. "What's next?"
"You’re going with Rob and Grace back to Colorado Springs. I'm going to find out what your father’s up to. You should be dead and yet you're not. We need to know why."
"Easy enough. I'm a weapon that he can use to remove the Hunters from existence."
"What? Did he tell you that? You know you cannot believe anything he tells you." Joshua reached out and brushed something from my cheek. His need to touch me had to be due to our mating. I wanted to tell him to stop, but with all I had put him through, there was no way I was pushing him back again.
Grace's voice caught my attention as she turned from the crowd and walked back toward the woods. She and Michael spoke to each other through their connections, but when things clouded their ability to speak clearly they spoke out loud.
"Yes. We have her." Grace glanced toward me as I jogged up beside her, leaving everyone else behind. I wanted so badly to hear his voice.
"Is he okay?" I asked, tears filling my eyes.
Grace stopped and turned toward me, a sad smile on her face. "Then come here and tell her, Michael. I'll take your place with Caleb. I'm stronger than you anyway."
She let out a long sigh as a tear rolled down my cheek. I brushed it away angrily. Grace's pretty face contorted as if she were trying to force him to see her point of view. Michael could be so difficult at times, actually, all the time.
"Fine. Be careful. I love you." She closed her eyes and brushed her hand through her long blond hair before growling loudly.
"Grace. Talk to me, please. How is he?"
"Sick. Very sick, but he won't listen to reason for anything. He's not leaving Caleb, but he's going to die if they reach Bentos."
"How do you know that? He's much stronger than you give him credit for." I reached out, but she jerked away from my touch.
"I keep having the damn nightmare where he does. It can't just be a dream. It has to be a vision." She pinned me with her steely blue eyes. "I know that you love him. We need to get you to him or he's going to fade, Rouge. He gave his heart to you and though you didn't die in reality, the vision of the two of you being one is dying. Help me save him. Stop running from the truth and stand up."
"Stand up for what?" Joshua's tone was unyielding and his expression almost hateful.
"Stand up for the fact that she's in love with my brother. She's not just a Grollic and yet you and Rob are forcing her to take a side. Her mother is a damn Hunter. She's half ours!"
"Stop it. Both of you." I pulled from them and walked toward my mother and Rob, the two of them having turned toward us. "We have to get to Caleb and Michael. They'll not survive meeting up with my father. Caleb might, but Grace says Michael is extremely ill."
"It's the Sioghra." Rebekah glanced around me. "Grace. Come with me and let's meet up with them and prepare for battle.”
"I'm coming too," I said, my voice a scratchy mess.
"No, you're not." Joshua moved up beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders again. "You're still pale and we just pulled you from a hole in the earth. You're coming home with me. Let them do what they do best and we'll catch up with them when this is all over. They may think you’re like Rebekah but you’re one hundred percent human. You need food."
"Michael needs her," Grace yelled and stepped forward, pressing her chest to Joshua's. "You're getting on my nerves, wolf boy."
"I'm not a boy, little girl," Joshua growled at Grace, his fingers starting to elongate into claws.
I pushed at the two of them and turned my attention to Joshua. "Stop it. I have to make sure Michael isn't going to die. I care for him even if I've chosen this life with you. You and Rob go back to your place and I'll be there in a few days."
"Hell no." He shook his head and glanced at Rob.
"I second that. I'm not going anywhere." Rob shrugged as if there was no changing his mind.
I let out a long sigh and pressed my fingers into my hair. "Fine. Stay here and wait for the villain to come back, but you're not going with me. I have to do this on my own and I'll meet you back here."
The hurt on Joshua's face was palatable, but he simply pulled me to him, leaned down and kissed me firmly and turned, walking back toward the house.
"Come on, Rob. Let's find out what we can and hopefully the asshole shows back up. I have some aggression I need to let out."
