Bladed Wings (56 page)

              “Now, Seth, this is what’s going to happen. You are going to let me back inside that nice body of yours, and I’m not going to murder your girlfriend here. Do you understand?”

              “Why would I trust you not to kill her anyway?”

              “Seth, don’t do it,” Kayla felt her voice break. It looked like they’d won. She thought, for a fraction of a second, that they were free of Sasha. But they weren’t, and now he’d give in to her. Kayla could see it in Seth’s face.

              Vigo was down. His soldiers were still Sasha’s. Despite getting ejected from Seth’s body, she never lost control of them. The Alliance couldn’t help them.

              Seth didn’t look at Kayla when he said to her, “Don’t worry.” He put the weight of his focus on Sasha. He concentrated, his eyes flickered, and two of Sasha’s soldiers raised their guns. They clicked, ready, locked, aimed at Sasha’s chest and skull. He’d make sure she dropped this time.

              “Are you willing to die?”

              “Are you?” Sasha asked. “I still have more of them. And I’ve got your girlfriend.”

              “I can’t save her.” The grin dropped from Sasha’s face. Obviously not the answer she expected. Kayla didn’t speak. She didn’t know what would happen, but she couldn’t do anything. If she triggered her abilities, they’d kill her. They’d kill Seth a second later. She wouldn’t be the one to pull the trigger.

              “I can’t save her,” Seth repeated, “But you can.”

              “You’re right. I can, and I even want to if that means I’ll get out of here alive.”

              “Damn it Seth, you can’t let her go,” Vigo said, still pinned to the floorboards by his own troops. They held him in place with no reaction. None of them would break free. Nor would their leader. “She’ll kill you.”

              “Be quiet,” Seth didn’t even glance over at Vigo. “You get to decide what happens here, Sasha. It won’t be me.”

              “That’s not true. It’s your choice. You can let me go.”

              “And I’ll do that, if you let her go. Run away now. I won’t stop you. But I won’t let you take control of me again either. If I’m here, I’ll know you didn’t break your promise.”

              “Sorry. Doesn’t work that way,” Sasha said. Her weapon didn’t waver or shiver. Kayla felt her breath quiver, like she couldn’t breathe too deep because that might break someone’s concentration. That might open up a gruesome fight that no one would survive. Because she could see that fight in Seth. If something happened to her, he’d die. He’d die ripping everyone else here apart. “Fighting me on this means a death sentence for your girlfriend.”

              “You’re evil. Aren’t you?”

              “What tipped you off?” Sasha asked. She mistook his tone. She thought that was surprise in Seth’s voice, the revelation of someone who really believed the universe worked out well. Most people saw things like that, Kayla knew. She was one of them. But Seth wasn’t.

              “You mistake my meaning. You’re evil. You know that. And I am as well. I’ve lost everything. There is only one person in this world who gives my life any meaning at all. You might kill her right now. I can’t stop you, but if you try, I will make sure you don’t survive. Look at me.” Sasha actually did it, and she saw the set determination in his face. He wouldn’t flinch, and he wouldn’t break. “I’m evil. I’m willing to die. There’s no redemption for me, so I might as well get started with hell now. But only if you take her away.”

              Silent at prayer, Kayla waited, hoped, and pleaded that Sasha would break off. Kayla knew she could die, but that didn’t scare her. Of course she wanted to live and see her family and have the future she’d spent her life preparing for, but that fear of death was for Seth. He wouldn’t come back from something like that. He’d already been marked, almost destroyed by the loss of his family. He wasn’t lying now. It wasn’t a threat. He was in hell already. Someone had to get him out, and Kayla couldn’t be the one to do it if Sasha didn’t back down.
Please God, please let her listen to him. Please, help me save him. He’s good. We both know it. Please God, just please help me save him.

              “You’re not what I expected,” Sasha made it a compliment and insult. In one motion, she lowered her weapon, spun around with a kick to Seth’s chest. He blocked most of her force, but it still knocked him back.

              Kayla called on her abilities. She was going to stop the demon, but Sasha was faster. She called on her puppets. They jumped in front of her so Kayla’s attack rammed into them. The demon burst back through the door and ran. Seth acted once more; he focused on the Alliance fighters and cleared their minds. They blinked back to consciousness to hear Vigo shouting for them to follow.

              They ran after Sasha. “You need to go with them,” Kayla told their leader. It wasn’t a threat, not an explicit one, but he heard the danger there. That’s why Vigo let her help him back to his feet. He stumbled back into the dark, leaving Seth and Kayla alone.

              Seth had stood there like an angel of war ready to battle any threat. He would’ve slaughtered wolf packs, armies, legions of monsters if that’s what it took. But when Sasha and the Alliance had left, when Kayla just heard the shouts of battle somewhere in the distance, Seth fell to his knees. He broke down, drained and empty.

              Instantly at his side, Kayla took his hand and put her arms around him. He tried to push away, but fighting Sasha free from his mind took too much. Or more likely, he just didn’t want to let her go.

              “You have to leave,” he said. “Get out of here. Go back to your life.

              “I’m not going anywhere.”

              “They’re right. I was right. I shouldn’t be near you. I killed someone. I have blood on my hands, and I always will. There’s a child out there who lost a father because I wanted him dead. I wanted it, Kayla. I wanted to see him beaten until his heart stopped because of what happened.”

              “I’m not leaving you, Seth. You deserve forgiveness.” When he didn’t answer, Kayla held her hand over his heart. She could feel his beat, “I know you can’t bring him back, but you’ve done everything you can to help. You helped me. You saved me. If you hadn’t been there, I would have been hurt more than I can even imagine. But I didn’t have to go through that.” She lowered her voice, barely a whisper. He wasn’t a Christian. He didn’t believe in God or goodness, but that didn’t stop her.

              “Please help him. He’s in so much pain, and I can’t heal him, but You can. Please Lord. Please see his suffering. Please help him. I know he can get through this, because you’re there. Please Lord.” Over and over again, she begged for his soul.

Epilogue:

              When Kayla awoke that morning, she didn’t know what would happen. She opened her eyes and half-expected a sword pointed at her throat. All she saw was an empty room. When she got home, exhausted and dirty, her parents weren’t even around to yell at her. There’d be a fight, she was sure, but not that night. Not even that morning.

              The morning was quiet. Her parents disappeared to work or wherever they went so they didn’t have to be home. The fights wore on their nerves too, especially after yesterday. Kayla didn’t even find any outraged messages on her phone. She wondered what she told the judge before deciding that she didn’t care.

              Through the morning, Kayla waited to hear from Seth. Last night, they’d been quiet. Kayla knew she wasn’t supposed to see what happened. That was his secret, one he didn’t want to share. They held each other until they were both strong enough to go home again. He said goodbye, but it sounded like a blank farewell. She didn’t know what it meant.

              Maybe it was over. Maybe Vigo was done. Seth saved his life, and he believed in the kind of honor that meant he’d go find some better targets. If nothing else, Seth’s abilities meant they would continue their search. For now, Sasha was still the greater threat since she actually wanted to hurt others. The Alliance would deal with her first, and that would give Seth some more time.

              Or Seth would disappear again. He gave up his last life to get away from the Alliance. He could do it again. Kayla called him, but no one picked up. She tried to tell herself that he was just asleep, but that didn’t sound right.

              Kayla didn’t know what to expect. Part of her wanted to drive back to his house and see what happened. He’d said goodbye and she wouldn’t chase after him, not like that. She loved him. She wanted to be with him, but she had to give him time. She just hoped he’d come back. That part stung because she couldn’t do anything about it.

              After a quick breakfast, she looked at the clock. It was Saturday. Youth Group would meet today for prayers. If she didn’t go, she’d be giving it up. She didn’t want to lose that connection, so she got up, ate a banana without tasting it, got dressed, and started driving. The roads were empty, the air still cold. Through one stop sign to the next, Kayla didn’t know what was about to happen. She didn’t know if they’d shove her out. She didn’t know how much she’d care, but she wouldn’t vanish.

              When Kayla pulled into the parking lot, she parked, but didn’t get out. She saw a few other people from Youth Group. They weren’t friends, but they weren’t enemies either. When Allie showed up, Kayla wanted to crumple down. That should’ve been funny. She held off a demon last night, but fighting with a mean girl still made her cower.

              They were outside the church, the place where Kayla always felt safest and most connected to God. Allie wanted to block her off, remove her from that community like some kind of infection.

              No, she thought. Kayla wouldn’t let that happen.

              She opened the door, stepped out into the cold, and started walking. She got to the steps before she stopped. The doors were big, strong, and imposing. They made her think of the stability and foundation her faith gave her each day. Going in meant another fight, another little war. It meant thinking about her family and everything bleak that happened.

              Kayla took a breath. She could do this. She would do this.

              She was ready to step inside when Seth tapped her shoulder. She turned around and grinned like an idiot, the same way he grinned back at her. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. He’d stay with her. They’d be together. All of that and more came through his touch, when he took her hand and went inside with her.

The End