THEO
"Theo?" Devon said to me as I ran a hand over her arm, absentmindedly.
"Yeah?" I replied.
We were both lying in bed few minutes after Melvin had left. Devon had called her mum and had told her that she was going to be having a sleepover at Karla's house. "What's on your mind?" She asked, drawing weird shapes on my chest. I closed my eyes, Melvin's words replaying in my mind.
'He knows what you are, Theo. He's going to try everything he can, to get rid of you. He hates you and wants you dead because he thinks you're a threat to him. He despises the fact that you have so much power. You have to strike him with his own weapon even if it means using the last ounce of energy you have'.
"You're not scared, are you?" She asked. I smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I'm not" I said.
"I'm just worried though. We don't know what Dwain actually wants to do" she said. "Everything is going to be fine" I said.
"You're still weak, Theo. What if that's what he actually wanted. He knew you would take off the chip even after he used the Tryx on you"
I smiled.
"It will take a lot more than that to keep me down" I said. I was mostly not worried about Dwain.
"I don't want to lose you, Theo. Besides, you still have a date with me on Thursday" Devon said and I grinned.
"You won't lose me, kitten" I said. She closed her eyes and sank into slumber. I remained awake. My body was exhausted but my mind wasn't. I shut my eyes, willing myself to relax.
'Theo?'
My eyes shot open when I heard Luke's voice in my head. 'Yeah?' I replied using the mindlink.
'I think we've got a problem'
My heart sank.
'Dwain is here. I can see his energy signatures but I can't see him' Luke said and I slowly moved Devon to the side. She stirred.
"Theo? What's going on?" She asked, her eyelids heavy with sleep.
"It's okay, go back to sleep" I said, stroking her hair.
She closed her eyes and went back to sleep. I slipped out of the room, still communicating with Luke.
'Luke please, stay with Devon'
'Theo, you can't face him alone. What if he brought some other creatures with him?'
'That's the point. Just watch over her, please. I can handle this'
'Theo-'
'Please-'
'Fine'
I slowly stepped out to the passage way and set up a barricade in front of Rachel's room. Dwain wouldn't be able to get in if he tried to.
I moved further, ignoring the dizziness I was feeling. There was absolutely no way I was going to give Dwain the satisfaction of winning.
Never.
I stepped out of the house and into the porch, my eyes glowing brightly in the dark. Just before I turned to the left, I saw a flash of green. I rolled backwards and turned to face the devil himself or like Devon would say, the looser lord.
His ebony eyes burned with resentment, his lips curved into a malicious sneer.
"There you are. I've been searching for you" he said.
I clenched my fist.
"You look a little bit worse for wear. Thanks to me" he said, the mockery in his voice sending liquid fire rushing through my veins
"You really have much confidence in yourself, don't you?" I said, smirking.
He gritted his teeth, conjuring a red ball of energy. I moved to the side, deflecting the blasts of energy he sent at me repeatedly. Deflecting the blasts only drained me further.
By the time he stopped, I was on my knees, every part of me aching like a bitch.
"Surprise" Dwain drawled.
I rolled my eyes and stumbled to my feet.
"Is that all you've got? Come on, you can't tell me you came to face the crown prince of the four lands with such unimpressive moves" I said.
His face twisted into a sneer and he pulled out his double swords.
A silver spear appeared in my hand. His eyes widened and I swung it forward. It was dark and the air was getting colder. None of it mattered now because I had to fight. My life depended on it.
I ignored the aches in my bones and attacked him head on. We clashed, silver sparks flying in the air. We fought until sunrise and I was drained, my exhaustion rooted deep in my bones. I sank to the ground, trembling. My vision was fading fast, black dots dancing around my vision.
"Pathetic" Dwain spat, dropping his swords to the ground.
"It's time to end you once and for all. I am your superior! You will always remain inferior" he said.
I felt it before it happened. The air became hotter and my eyes began to burn so brightly, it almost hurt. I was literally on fire. I arched my back as my black shirt was ripped off my body by the wind. The flame tattoo on my back began to burn and I slowly rose to my feet.
Dwain took two steps backwards, fear in his eyes.
I laughed.
That's what it felt like.
The sudden rush of power, it was ecstasy. I knew at once that my dragon had taken over.
Dwain's fear was growing to my delight.
"Scared?" I mocked as my golden sword materialized in my grip.
"No. I will never be scared of you. You are nothing. You're just a forgotten-"
"But, am I?" I said, tipping my head sideways.
I saw it coming even before it happened. The blazing red blast of energy came hurtling towards me. It was going to kill me, I knew. But there was absolutely no way I would let that happen. With one sharp thrust of my sword, I sent the killer blast hurtling backwards. I watched Dwain scream in pain as he sank to his knees. He was starting to get rotten on the inside. His skin cracked, blood pouring out of his skin. I watched him shatter into nothing but ashes. That was what he'd wanted to do to me. Unfortunately, he'd died from his own weapon.
The door opened.
Luke, Rachel and Devon stepped out.
"Woah...." Devon said as she looked at me. I sent the sword back to my room, my eyes going back to normal.
"He's gone?" Dev asked.
"For good" I said and she heaved a sigh of relief.
She embraced me and I kissed the top of her head.
"Come on, let's go back in. You look like you're going to collapse anytime soon" Luke said to me.
He was right though.
All I wanted to do at the moment was curl into a ball and fall asleep.
*******
DEVON
Theo had fallen asleep as soon as his head had touched his pillow. Apparently, he'd been too tired after his brawl with Dwain. It was Monday morning and I was stepping out of my car and started to make my way towards the school entrance when Karla walked up to me with a smile on her face. I gasped when I saw the bruises on her neck and jaw.
She ignored my shocked expression and embraced me. "I'm so glad you're okay" she said.
"But you're not. He hurt you, didn't he?" I said and she shrugged.
"It's nothing I can't handle. Come on, let's go in. The first bell is about to go off" she said. "How can-" I was interrupted by the loud ringing of the bell.
"I'm a wanderer, remember?" Karla said, grinning at me. I chuckled and followed her into the school hallway.
We were both having chemistry class. It was quite an interesting class. Robin, one of the students in my grade had suddenly jumped to his feet while our teacher was still teaching. He'd screamed and had taken off his shirt. Only for us to see two bugs crawling on his skin.
"Get it off! Get it off!" He'd yelled as the whole class burst into laughter.
He was such a pitiful sight.
"Robin's gonna be stuck with that stigma for the rest of senior year" Nichole said to me during lunch.
"He's in senior year. We just have only a few months left, remember?" Karla put in. "Yeah, you're right. His stigma isn't going to be as bad as Kayden's. Remember when we were still in the seventh grade and Kayden opened his locker; only for bees to attack him. It was a horrible sight" Melanie added.
Karla and I both froze at the mention of Kayden.
"We have practice today, right? Nichole asked.
"Uh-yeah" I said.
"Great"
I forced out a smile.
I caught sight of Luke walking in with his own tray containing his lunch.
"Damn, he's a sight for sore eyes" Nichole said.
She was totally ogling him.
"Luke! Over here!" Karla yelled. Luke smiled and walked up to our table. The gazes of the other girls followed him right to our table. They all looked jealous and I found it amusing.
"Hello, girls" Luke said as he took his seat beside me.
Nichole and Melanie blushed hard.
"You look really nice today, Luke" Melanie said and I resisted the urge to burst into laughter.
"Thank you, beautiful. You look nice too" he said and her face burned a bright pink. Nichole and Melanie giggled to themselves, whispering things between themselves.
"How's Theo?" I asked Luke when I was sure Mel and Nichole weren't listening.
"He's still asleep. When I went to check on him right before I came to school, he threw his pillow at me and grumbled to himself" he said, smiling.
I laughed, shaking my head.
"A tired Theo is a grumpy one" he said and I laughed harder. "He'll be fine though. He's badass" Luke said, grinning proudly.
I really admired the relationship between Luke and Theo. It's very rare to find such loyal friend. I can say the same about Karla, though. She's been a wonderful friend.
"So, Luke... tell us.... what's your favorite movie?" Melanie asked and I chuckled.
"Gossip girl, maybe?"
"No way! You watch chick flicks?! Who are you? Gossip girl is totally my favorite!" Nichole said. "They're totally flirting with him" Karla whispered to me, pointing out the way they were both batting their fake eyelashes at him.
It was funny, really.
...
The bell signalling that school was over for the day went off. I headed straight to my locker. I was exhausted and there was a dull ache in my temple. I rested my head on the cold metal of my locker and closed my eyes, my fingers clutching the pendant I was wearing.
"You okay?" Karla asked and I nodded. "I just need to use the bathroom" I said.
She nodded and I went towards the restroom. I froze halfway when I recalled that the last time I'd suddenly felt the urge to go to the bathroom, I had almost gotten myself killed.
I turned around only to bump into someone.
And that someone was Kayden. He grinned, black eyes watching me intently.
I tried to move away from him but he grabbed me by the hair. From the corner of my eye, I saw Karla running forward to help me. He sent a ball of energy towards her and she flew across the hall, her head colliding with the wall. She slid down the wall, unconscious. My heart started to beat faster.
Where was everyone else?
"W-what do you want?" I gasped. Kayden smirked.
"I want to claim what is mine" he whispered.
I shivered, eyes going wide.
There was a loud crash and the glass window broke. I heard footsteps. A very unhappy Theo stepped in. And honestly, I've never been so happy to see Theo step in. To my horror, Kayden looked happier.
"Hello, soulmate" he said to Theo who glared at him.
I stared at the both of them, confused. Did he just call my Theo his soulmate?
What the hell?