THEO
"Did you find her? Is she okay?" Luke asked me as soon as I stepped into the house. His eyes widened when I didn't reply. "Where could she have gone to?" Luke said and I shut my eyes briefly.
"I tried to track her, but the rain is making it hard" I said, grabbing my pendant from the night stand.
"What are we going to do now?" He asked.
"There's only one person who can track her now" I said, not bothering to take off my wet clothes.
Luke's heavy gaze met mine.
"Melvin?"
"Yeah. She touched the pendant before she left and I realize that she never went home. I have to tell Melvin about this" I sighed.
"I'm coming with you" Luke said. "You don't have to-"
"I want to"
Wordlessly, we stepped outside. The rain was pouring down heavily, but I didn't care. Finding Devon was all that mattered.
Together, our wings stretched wide, lifting our bodies into the air. We landed quietly on the front porch of Devon's house.
I knocked on the door and the door opened. Melvin was standing there fully dressed. His eyes were glowing and he looked like he was waiting for us.
"Melvin-" I said and he held up a hand.
"We don't have much time. Hand me the pendant. We'll need Karla for this too" he said. He didn't look upset in anyway, he only looked worried.
"Come on, let's go" Melvin said.
....
We arrived at Karla's house few minutes later. We had to sneak into her room through the window. She was sitting on her bed, wide awake when we got in.
She rose to her feet immediately she saw us.
"It's Devon, right?" She asked, pulling her hair back into a bun.
"Can you at least, use your powers efficiently?" Luke asked. "I've been doing some studying" Karla replied as we got out of her house.
"What the hell? You're using Google?" Melvin asked and she rolled her eyes.
"No" she drawled, her brows furrowed.
"I woke up one night to find a mysterious manual on my nightstand. It looked really old and it was written in a strange language. I understand the language though I don't know why. The book has been really helpful" Karla said as we left her house.
We were standing a few feet away from Karla's house when I felt it.
Devon's fear.
Dread wrapped it's cold tentacles around my heart and I became more desperate.
Melvin squatted, with my pendant dangling from his fingers. It started to glow and his pupils turned white.
Few seconds later, he was on his feet looking very tense.
"A demon has her. The demon is keeping her in different phases of time. That way, tracking her would be difficult. But since Karla is here, she can help us figure out where exactly she is"
Karla took the pendant from Melvin. Luke glanced at me.
"We'll find her" he said, trying to assure me. I bit my lower lip, hoping that everything would work out fine. Karla closed her eyes and opened them sharply, her eyes turning lemon green. I was getting impatient, I kept tapping my feet against the ground.
Maybe it was all my fault.
Maybe if I'd stayed behind, Devon wouldn't be gone.
A horrible thought invaded my mind. What if Barza kills her even before we find her? My breathing quickened, my hand trembling slightly.
I started to see an image of Devon's lifeless body floating on a river of blood.
I blinked but the image didn't disappear.
"Snap out of it. She's messing with your head" Luke said, gripping my hand. The image disappeared and I could finally breathe.
Karla's eyes flew open.
"I know where she is" she breathed. "We need to hurry" Melvin said.
Karla immediately opened a greenish portal and we all stepped into it. The world began to spin so quickly. If I was a mere human, I would have been sick to my stomach and would probably have puked the moment my feet touched solid ground.
We landed on a foggy environment with a lot of hard rocks and hills. We looked around but there was no one in sight.
"There's got to be something. I can't be wrong" Karla said, her voice heavy with despair.
We moved further but found nothing. "Are you sure she's here?" I asked.
"I'm sure... I-"
I froze when I realized something. I couldn't feel Devon anymore. It was like she was no longer attached to me. Horrified, I took a step backwards.
"What's wrong?" Luke asked.
"I-I can't feel her anymore" I choked out.
"What? No... that's not possible-"
I shook my head, refusing to believe that Barza had taken Devon away from me, forever.
"There's got to be some sort of explanation.... She might just be unconscious... She's not dead. She can't be" I said, my voice shaky.
"She's not. You're right. She's around here somewhere. We just need to go a bit farther" Melvin said, moving forward. As we walked, I started to see her track...... She was here. I knew it.
We were close, I could feel it.
"Wait" Melvin said, blocking my path with his arm.
"What?" I huffed impatiently.
"She's expecting us. She knows we're coming. She's prepared" He said.
"Who?" Karla asked and Luke replied, "Barza"
'Theo! Help! Please!'
Devon's frantic screams cut through my consciousness like a sharp blade.
'Where are you?' I asked through the mindlink. I almost sighed with relief because she was alive. I wasn't prepared for what she said next.
'The cliff. She's going to push me off the cliff'
This can't be happening.
Her dream....
It was a warning.....
I moved ahead, the others following closely.
A strong whiff of sulfur hit my nose and I grimaced.
I saw the Drax demons first, followed by the wall of iron and hellish fire. On the other side stood Barza. She was gripping Devon's hair painfully and was holding her at the edge of the cliff.
"Go ahead, Theo. We can take 'em" Luke said, taking out his blades.
Karla was really developing her powers. She was really good. She was opening wormholes and using them as weapons against the demons. With Luke and the others facing the Drax demons, I moved on to the wall. Once I pressed my palm against it, my palm began to burn. I hissed in pain and glared at Barza through the wall.
"Sorry, sweetheart but there's no way I'm letting you ruin this" Barza said, smirking.
"Barza, you don't want to do this. Please just leave her alone" I said.
"I don't care about what you think. I'm not afraid of you, Theo. I want you and I'll murder a hundred mundanes just to make it happen" she said.
My heart sank when she raised Devon's head. Her frantic gaze met mine and I felt like I couldn't breathe. She was bleeding from a nasty wound on her head. Her nose was bleeding as well and there were tear tracks on her cheeks.
"You can't save your little bitch now, can you?"
I gritted my teeth and pressed harder against the wall. It still refused to budge. Barza cackled and pulled at Devon's hair harshly.
"Stop! Just stop! Stop hurting her!" I yelled.
"Say hello to Theo" Barza said, taking off the gag from Devon's mouth.
"Theo! Please don't come over. It's a-" Barza covered her mouth, her red eyes darkening.
"It's a trap! It's a trap!" Devon screamed.
I narrowed my eyes.
What did she mean?
'What are you talking about? Please, talk to me' I said, through the mindlink.
'There's someone else here.... I can tell he's here... I...'
'He? Can you describe him?' I asked, hoping that it wasn't my psycho uncle.
'He's got white blond hair...as long as yours..... There's a birthmark on his temple... it's almost like yours.... except....'
"Stupid and unwise. Did you think I don't know about the stupid mindlink? Anyway, now that you're here.... I can do what I want to do" Barza said, smirking.
"No, wait-"
Barza laughed humorlessly and pushed Devon over the edge. For a split second, I stopped breathing only to realize that Devon was still hanging on. I pressed my shaky hands to the wall, using every ounce of energy I had. It hurt.
It really hurt but I didn't care about the burns. I needed to save Devon. The wall started to crumble and the smirk on Barza's face vanished.
That's right, bitch.
She started to hit Devon's arms in order to make her loose her grip.
"Hold on, Devon!" I yelled and pushed the wall harder. It crumbled to the ground and I pushed Barza out of the way. Just as I made it to the edge of the cliff, Devon's fingers slipped. I immediately grabbed her hand to stop her from falling. Little did I know that Barza had other plans. The pain hit me before I saw the flaming whip. It was draining me quickly and I could barely focus. I tried to hoist Devon up but another hit to the back, stunned me.
Devon was crying and screaming at Barza to stop hurting me.
"Theo... please... just let go" she whispered, tears crawling down her cheeks.
"Never" I rasped.
"She won't stop hitting you until you let me go" she moaned.
"I don't care" I said.
"Theo... I understand how you feel. I know you don't want to loose me but I don't want to loose you either.None of this is your fault. I hope... I truly hope that you'll find someone else-"
"No, stop. Don't say it. I can't bear the thought of loosing you. I'm not loosing you today. I won't let that happen" I said, black dots dancing around my vision.
One of the flying demons snatched her out of my grip and released her. She was falling.
Oh my God, she was-
I felt my wings extend themselves as I followed after her. I grabbed her midway down. She let out a gasp, sobbing weakly.
"Y-you saved me" she whispered, burying her head against my chest. Tears of relief made their way down my cheeks. I'd almost lost her.
"Your wings are so shiny...so beautiful" she breathed, gazing at my huge wings.
She just had a near death experience and she's complimenting my wings?
Seriously?
When we landed safely at the top, I gently placed her on her feet.
"Where's Barza?" I asked Luke as Melvin embraced his sister. "Edom. I banished her back to Edom" he replied and I nodded.
"Thank God, you're okay, princess" Luke said, embracing Devon who smiled.
"I was so terrified" Karla said, wrapping her arms around Devon with tears in her eyes.
"Let's go" I said.
I lifted Devon off her feet, her arms placed on my neck.
"Put me down, Theo! I can walk" she whined.
"Nope" I said.
She heaved a sigh and closed her eyes. We all stepped into a portal conjured by Karla. After the whole spinning thing, we arrived in front of Devon's home.
"Home sweet home" Melvin sighed.
"Oh, God. I'm going to be sick" Devon groaned and I set her on both feet. She heaved on the ground and I rubbed her back gently.
********
I laid down beside Devon who smelt of roses and coconuts. She had cleaned up nicely and I had healed her injuries. She was still exhausted, though.
"I'm so tired" she groaned as I entwined our fingers together.
"I'm right here.... you should go to sleep" I said.
"Theo.... your back" she gasped when my shirt rode higher to expose my injured back.
"It's nothing-"
"I want to see it" she said, her voice firm.
Slowly, I turned my back to her and she raised up my shirt. "Oh God....." She gasped.
"Does it hurt?" She asked, her voice sounding weary.
"Not so much" I lied.
"Why hasn't it healed?" She asked.
"It was a flaming whip.... it's going to take three days to completely heal and vanish" I shrugged.
"I'm sorry you had to-"
I placed a finger to her lips.
"No apologies" I said and kissed her. She let out a contented sigh.
"Theo?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for not letting me go" she whispered, gazing at me with twinkling eyes. I think I was falling for her. I was falling for her, hard.
"I'll never give up on you" I said and pressed a kiss to her head. I would never let go. Never.