Rival Demons (4 page)

I still wore the white ritual dress the Order
had put me in on the day they intended to sacrifice my life. It was
stained with blood and dirt and a long tear ran up the side. I
could only hope Jackson wanted to show me a fresh pair of clothes
and a place to take a shower.

Mary Anne and Lea both slept toward the back of
the cave, and we were careful not to disturb them.

My feet ached against the rocks at the cave's
entrance. No shoes. I frowned down at my dirty feet, pale against
the craggy black rock. This was going to be a problem.

Jackson wrapped his arms around me and pressed
his lips to my ear. "Look," he whispered.

I had been so busy looking at the ground, I
hadn't even noticed the shadow world beyond the cave. When I lifted
my eyes, the beauty of the place took my breath away.

The sky shone in silvers, blues and pinks that
shimmered against the water of an endless ocean. I knew we had been
hiding out in a cave, but for some reason, I hadn't noticed the
sound of the water crashing against the rocks below. All that stood
between us and the ocean was a small ledge about ten feet wide that
ran a winding path up and down on either side.

"It's beautiful," I said, wishing I had stronger
words.

In some ways, it was like earth, but it was also
different. The colors were brighter and more alive. More shimmery
and full of motion. And somehow everything just felt... bigger.

Daring to look down, I stepped carefully onto
the rocky path and leaned out over the edge. The side of the cliff
was steep and cut almost a straight line down to the water. If I
had to guess, I would say it was at least two hundred feet down.
Still holding on to Jackson, I turned and looked up, shocked to see
the top of the cliff was almost just as far away.

"How did you even find this place?"

He smiled. "Aerden and I found this cave when we
were really young. We used to explore all over the place back then.
Besides, it's not quite as scary when you can fly."

I laughed. He had a point.

"So this is close to where you grew up?" I
turned back toward the water and sat down on a smooth black rock at
the edge of the cave.

Jackson sat down next to me, but when I moved to
take his hand, he pulled away.

"Relatively close," he said, acting like nothing
had happened. "We're close enough that we could get there before
nightfall if we walked it. But Lea and I wanted to make sure we
were far enough away that we could avoid being detected by the
Sentinels."

"Sentinels?" I asked. I tried to keep the
conversation going, but I couldn't help but feel something was off
with him.

"The king's guards, I guess you could call
them," he said. "They're supposed to patrol the countryside and
protect all of the towns, but they really only protect the king and
his council. When we first came through the portal, we were trying
to avoid casting any magic, hoping they would never know we'd come
through. After the tigers came after you, though, we had no
choice."

"What's wrong with magic?" I asked, not
understanding.

"Our magic leaves a signature here," he said.
"Something others can trace, even from great distances."

I stared out over the water, speechless as a
second sun rose, sending a blast of lavender-colored light across
the silvery clouds. There was so much to learn about the shadow
world and how things ran here. I had so many questions, I knew
there was no way to get them all answered this morning. I chose my
questions carefully.

"How come Lea doesn't want to see her father?" I
asked. "Wouldn't we be safer in the city if we had the Sentinels to
protect us?"

"It's complicated," he said. "When Lea left to
come to the human world, she was in direct disobedience to her
father's orders. The king doesn't take well to being
disobeyed."

"You're saying he would hurt her if he knew she
was home?"

"No." He bit his lip and ran a hand through his
hair. "I don't know. Maybe? He would definitely punish her,
probably lock her away for a while and never let her leave again.
For her, that would be the same as torture."

"So why even risk coming back here?" I asked
softly. I knew she hadn't come back because she cared about me. It
was obvious Lea didn't give a crap about me. In fact, I was pretty
sure she hated me. So why risk everything?

"Because I asked her to," Jackson said.

His words were simple, but to me they cut like a
knife. All he had to do was ask and she was willing to risk her
entire life's work? Leave her best friends behind in the human
world? Ever since Jackson had first introduced me to Lea, I knew
there was more to their story than just an old friendship. Now,
with him acting weird and pulling away from me, I wondered just how
much there was between them.

I wanted to ask, but I was too afraid to find
out the answer.

"Thank you," I said finally. "For coming to get
me. You saved my life back there."

Hesitating, he took my hand in his and brought
it to his lips, kissing my skin softly. "I was so scared when they
took you away from us. I couldn't bear it if something happened to
you."

The feel of his lips against my skin felt
amazing, but I was confused. What was really going on between us? I
turned to meet his eyes.

The sadness that crossed his eyes twisted my
gut. "They held you captive for eight days," he said. "Those were
the worst eight days of my life. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you
again. I'm so sorry, Harper. I told you I would keep you safe, and
I just let them take you."

I scooted closer to him on the rock and put my
arms around him. He stiffened, then slowly returned my embrace,
hugging me tight.

"It wasn't your fault," I said. "I never should
have gone wandering around in that field. I never should have left
the camp. I got too confident that we were okay after all that
traveling. I completely underestimated the Order." I looked down at
my tattered dress. "I won't let that happen again."

Footsteps sounded behind us, and Jackson pulled
away as if I'd burned him.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Lea asked,
tension in her voice.

Jackson sighed, then excused himself.

Together, they walked back into the cave,
whispering too low for me to hear. Lea seemed to be lecturing him
about something, and whatever it was, Jackson wasn't happy about
it. A dark feeling came over me when Jackson returned, his
expression tight.

His jaw tensed and he began to fidget. "Harper,
there's something else I brought you out here to talk about."

The seriousness in his voice made my insides
twist. I shifted on the rock, suddenly feeling very
uncomfortable.

"We're leaving today to go to this place I was
telling you about earlier," he said. "The Underground."

"Okay," I said, waiting for the bomb to
drop.

"I just thought it would be good for you to
understand how things work down there," he said. "As far as rules
and magic and politics."

I cleared my throat, finding it difficult to
swallow.

He rubbed his palms against his jeans. "There
are some rules I'm going to need you to follow."

He pulled a small vial from the pocket of his
jeans. The liquid inside glowed deep purple.

"What's that?"

"Joost made potions for you and Mary Anne before
we left the human world. They will make you see all the demons down
here as if they were human. It will also make you hear everything
in English rather than the demon language. He thought it would help
make your transition here smoother."

"That was nice of him," I said, taking the vial
from Jackson and uncorking it. "How long will it last?"

"For as long as you're here in the shadow
world," he said.

I stared down at the liquid. Part of me was
curious to see the demon world exactly as it was. I'd seen Aerden's
true form a couple of times before and even though it was
different, he hadn't really scared me. Still, an entire city of
demons speaking in a foreign language might get to be a bit
overwhelming. Especially if they all were staring at me like they
hated me.

I took a deep breath, then emptied the vial into
my mouth and swallowed. Surprisingly, it tasted sweet.

"What else?" I asked. The first part hadn't
really been a rule, I noticed, but I let him continue.

"We can't cast any magic until we get down
there," he said. "It's too easy to track."

I nodded. No magic. Easy enough as long as we
weren't being attacked.

"You said it was just until we got to the
Underground though, right?" I asked. "Can we do magic once we get
down there?"

"Yes, they are so deep under the surface and
buried under a special stone that blocks the trace from being seen
or felt by anyone up on the top," he said. "Once we get down there,
magic use will be fine. Still, you'll want to play it very low key,
okay? It will be very important that you listen to me and do what I
tell you."

I chewed on my inner lip. I had never been one
to respond well to the phrase 'do what I tell you'. But I would try
to behave.

"What else?" I asked, suddenly feeling that the
worst was yet to come.

He looked up, staring out across the ocean. His
knee jerked up and down. There was still something he was nervous
about having to tell me.

"Just say it," I said, my stomach full of
butterflies. "How bad can it be?"

Jackson ran his fingers along his forehead, then
finally met my eyes. "You know how I feel about you, right?"

Ouch. That was never a good start to a
conversation. "Yes," I said, a tremble in my voice.

"Once we leave this cave, we can't let anyone
know we have any sort of relationship beyond the fact that you're
connected with my brother."

I swallowed, but felt a lump of worry stick in
my throat. Was he breaking up with me?

"It's forbidden for shadow demons to have
romantic relationships with humans," he said. "The way my people
see it, that's how we got into this mess with the Order in the
first place. Friendships are tolerated when the human is
sympathetic to our cause, but never more than that."

I tried to breathe, but despite the open air, I
suddenly felt very claustrophobic. I couldn't find my voice.

Jackson stood up and stared out at the water,
his body tense. "It's not like I wanted things to be this way," he
said, finally turning toward me. "But we don't have any choice. The
Underground is the only place where I can guarantee that you'll be
safe."

Safe. And completely alone. It was obvious he
and Lea had already discussed this, which only hurt me more. The
idea of staying down there forever was bad enough when I thought we
were going to be together. But the thought of never kissing him
again or feeling his arms around me? Or worse - watching him fall
in love with Lea? What kind of life was that going to be?

"I won't go," I said. He couldn't make me go
somewhere I didn't want to go.

Jackson's face grew red. "Yes you will," he
said. "I won't sit back and let the Order take you away from me
again."

I stood, scowling. "No, but you'll willingly
take yourself away from me in the name of safety. How is that any
different?"

"At least this way I can watch over you," he
said. "You'll be alive and safe."

"And completely miserable?" I shook my head.
"That's not the life I want."

"You'd rather have no life then?" he shouted.
"Don't be stupid, Harper."

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I swiped at
them. "I don't understand why we can't just keep running," I said.
"If you really love me, why wouldn't you do everything you could to
be with me? There has to be someplace else where we could hide. The
mountains. Somewhere out there on the ocean. This can't be the only
choice."

Jackson put both hands on my shoulders and held
me tight. "Harper, don't you know that I would give anything to be
with you?" he said. There were tears in his green eyes for the
first time. "Believe me, if I thought there was any chance we could
run from the Order, I would run until the end of time. But they
would find us. They would kill us both. The Underground is our only
chance. It's the only place you'll be safe."

I pulled away and leaned against the side of the
cliff. This couldn't be happening.

"Harper, please." Jackson stood behind me, the
warmth of his body against my back. He leaned his forehead against
the back of my head, but despite his closeness, I could already
feel a deep well growing between us. "Please."

Tears streamed down my face. There was no
winning this argument. He had already made up his mind.

"Okay," I said. My heart shattered deep inside
my chest. "I'll go."

I didn't want to look at him. I just wanted to
stare out at the ocean and let the sorrow crash over me like a
wave.

But Jackson pulled me closer. "Harper, look at
me."

I met his clear green eyes as he leaned in to
kiss me one last time.

Our lips were wet with salty tears, and for a
moment, I thought I might drown in them. I wrapped my arms around
his neck and pulled him close as if he were my life-raft. The kiss
deepened and he pulled me tighter, both of us desperate for it to
never end.

But eventually, all things must come to an
end.

Back inside the cave, I sat beside Mary Anne and
waited for her to wake up.

Jackson and Lea moved toward the entrance to
discuss plans for the journey to the Underground, but I wanted to
be as far away from them as possible right now. Inside, my heart
was breaking. How could Jackson do this to me? How could he sweep
me away to this place, give me hope of a better future, then take
it all away? It wasn't fair.