Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2) Read online

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  For Harley and Rayce, who bring more joy to my life than I ever thought was possible.

  halbriri. I should have guessed—the Demon of Blindness.” Joe threw something, probably a small rock, at the boulder that made up one of the walls of our new hideout. I heard it hit and then fall to the sandy floor of the multi-boulder enclosure.

  It took us about a month to walk the thousand miles from Yakima to Moab, Utah. We’d stayed as far away from civilization as we could most of the time, but Joe allowed us an occasional trip into a town for a night in a hotel room where we could actually take a shower. At one of these stops, Johnathan and I had our first date—and he vowed to find a way to fix my blindness. That vow caused a flood of terror to spill through my veins—following through with a vow to save Johnathan’s soul was how I’d lost my sight to begin with.

  One benefit of walking that many miles was that we were in the best shape of our lives and had plenty of time to train and learn about what and who we were: the Quinae Praesidia—the Five Protectors, or, just The Five for short. I also took advantage of the time to invent a sonar spell that bounced off things in my path and warned me when I needed to change course or step over something, meaning I learned to walk without holding on to someone. I would have preferred to have one of those amazing seeing-eye dogs but my sonar was a better solution than tapping a cane.

  Joe, a member of the previous Five and now our mentor, hadn’t said a whole lot about the deal I’d made with a Demon in order to save Johnathan from a Lycanthropic curse. That is, until we reached our destination and found a suitable hide-out. Then he hit me with both barrels. He sure sounded angry to me, but he kept insisting on using the word disappointment to describe his feelings.

  “Yeah, I guess that does make sense,” I half-whispered, laying my head back on the huge boulder Johnathan and I were leaning against. He lifted my hand to his mouth and pressed it to his lips.

  “You are very lucky to be alive, Paige,” Joe continued. “Do you know what a huge disadvantage you would have put your friends at if you’d been killed—or possessed? Not just yourself, but Halli, too.” I pictured him moving his steely gaze to her.

  “Joe, you can’t blame Paige for my part,” Halli protested. “She told me not to come and told me to stay away from her while she summoned him… it.”

  “Yes, Halli, you made your own choice. I should be glad that you did, since without your help, Paige would be dead and a Demon would be roaming around free. I just can’t stop thinking about what could have happened and the consequences of losing two of you this early in the game.” His statement made me shudder as I realized the implication of the words this early. He fully expected to lose two or more of us at some time in the coming game.

  “But Joe, everything we do is dangerous; I don’t understand why you’re so disappointed by my decision. I saved Johnathan from a lifetime of torment. How is that so bad?”

  “It’s so bad, Paige, because you chose to put yourself and Halli in danger. And, you broke an unwritten rule by summoning and making a deal with a Demon. A demonic possession of one of the Five would be a world-destroying disaster. And, the result of your deal with Shalbriri has weakened your ability to fight, thus weakening the entire group. Do you think Johnathan will be able to concentrate in a battle when he knows you are unable to see what’s coming at you? He’ll be too busy protecting you to protect himself. That is why it’s so bad, Paige. That and many more reasons.” Joe’s feet thumped across the sand as he walked to the entrance of our boulder cave.

  “Joe, take it easy on her,” Johnathan came to my defense. “We aren’t going to have to worry about it for long; I’m going to find a way to get her sight back.”

  “You will do no such thing, Johnathan.” Joe’s raised voice echoed through the large cavernous space. “I would hope that we’ve all learned through Paige’s mistakes that we are not to dabble with Demons.”

  “Johnathon, he’s right. Don’t even try. I knew what I was giving up. I can live with the consequences.” At least part of that was a huge lie—I’d had no idea what giving up my sight would be like. How hard it would be. I was already having trouble remembering exactly what Johnathan’s face looked like.

  “Paige…”

  “Johnathan,” Joe interrupted. “Leave it alone. This is dangerous business and we can’t afford any more bad decisions from any of you.” I imagined Joe’s cold stare boring into me. I repressed a twinge of guilt from escaping the careful walls I’d constructed around it. I knew I’d done the right thing and I would do it again without hesitation.

  Johnathan tensed beside me. “You can’t tell me what I can and cannot do, Joseph.” The quiet coldness with which he uttered those words chilled me to the core.

  “John, he’s right. Don’t put yourself in danger—”

  “Really, Paige? You’re gonna tell me not to put myself in danger for you? That’s pretty hypocritical, don’t you think?”

  “I could never forgive myself if…” I stopped as I realized how he must feel about this whole thing. Just as I felt at fault when the changeling bit him, he took the blame for my loss of sight. He was right; I was a hypocrite.

  “You could never forgive yourself if something horrible happened to me because I was trying to help you.” He touched my face, ran his fingers down my cheek—so gentle. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye; he caught it and wiped it away. Then he kissed me. A quick kiss—his warm lips lingering for a too brief moment on mine.

  Joe sighed and stepped back into the cave, stopping in front of us. “At least let me help you, Johnathan. Promise me that much. Please.”

  The fact that Joe said please must have taken Johnathan by surprise, he hesitated before answering. “Yeah… maybe.”

  I feared that was all the commitment Joe was going to get out of him.

  The sound of footsteps and laughter came from outside.

  “Sounds like Alec and Seth are back.” Halli had been so quiet I’d almost forgotten she was there.

  Alec and Seth stampeded through the entrance like a herd of buffalo. “Hey guys! There are some really hot girls in Moab!” Alec exclaimed.

  “That’s very important information, Alec. More importantly, were you able to get the supplies I sent you for?” Joe asked.

  “Oh, yeah… we got tired of carrying them, so as soon as we were out of sight of town I portalled them to the creek behind our hideout.”

  “I wanted him to portal us,” Seth said. “What? It’s a long walk into town.”

  “Seth.”—Joe sighed—“I don’t know if he’s ready to portal himself and another person. Don’t tempt him to break the rules—he doesn’t need any help with that.”

  “Come on, Joe. I was good. I told Seth you’d hex me in my sleep if I lost him in the in-between.”

  “I’d do more than hex you, Ale
c. I’d sic Halli on you.”

  That even drew a laugh from me. Not because it was funny to think diminutive Halli could do any harm to burly Alec—just the opposite in fact, we all knew Halli could beat Alec to a bloody pulp with her bare hands.

  “Come on, Five. Let’s get a bathroom set up. You’re all starting to stink.”

  Johnathan helped me up and we followed Joe out to the small trickle of water he called a creek.

  He put me to work gathering softball-sized stones to stack and lay the pipes on that Alec had portalled. I used my sonar spell to find just the right sized rocks. The project didn’t take long. With Seth’s engineering ability combined with some handy spells to make water run uphill, we had a functioning shower and a toilet, of sorts, that emptied a good distance away from our abode.

  We roasted hot dogs for dinner and sat around the fire afterwards listening to Seth and Alec try to outdo each other telling stories.

  When Joe got up to put the fire out, familiar dread filled me, just as I’d felt every night since my sight had been taken. I’d hoped at least one good thing would come out of being blind—I thought maybe I would stop having nightmares. I was wrong to hope. The nightmares were worse than ever. Relief from a nightmare comes upon waking, the opening of eyes to let the light in. There was no light for me now. The nightmares continued with my eyes wide open—worsened, became real. The monsters kept coming when there was no light.

  Johnathan walked with me to the cavern Halli and I chose as our bedroom. He kissed me on the forehead and held me in his arms. His touch, his hands on my back, his warm breath on my skin, was both soothing and aggravatingly exciting. My heart sped up; his scent filled my nose as my breath came faster—the lightheadedness and tickling in my guts were physical manifestations of how much I loved him. And that just from a hug—a kiss nearly sent me over the edge.

  The warmth I felt while in his arms quickly dissipated when Johnathan left for his own cavern-room.

  I had a hard time falling asleep. I’d slept well the first night, but this, our second night here, found me tossing and turning, stirring up dust, probably keeping Halli awake. My stomach flipped, unsettled and anxious. The icy dread of impending doom enveloped me like a cocoon.

  I rolled onto my back and pictured Johnathan’s face firmly in my mind. I did this every night, in hopes that I wouldn’t forget what he looked like. I did it for an additional reason tonight, though—to help calm the irrational fear coursing through my veins. It worked to some extent as I fell into a restless sleep.

  I was dreaming—some disjointed, nonsensical nightmare—when I felt a heavy pressure on my chest; like someone was sitting on me. I worked to breathe as it became a little harder to push air in and out of my lungs. The feelings of anxiety and doom returned ten-fold and my eyes flew open. Of course all I saw was darkness. An immense black hole where there used to be light.

  With a rush of adrenaline I raised my hands to push at whatever was on my chest. I twisted my hips, trying to turn to my side. Something gripped my wrists and forced my hands to the ground beside my head. I felt the weight shift down and legs like a wrestler’s wrap around my knees, pinning me in place with the strength of a bear. A scream froze in my throat. No sound could escape through the icicles of my vocal cords.

  A mouth pressed against my ear. The breath unnaturally hot as an unfamiliar man’s voice whispered, “Shhh, Paige. Everything’s fine. You want this. You want me. You’ll never want anything more than what I’m going to give you right now. Just relax and enjoy.” His voice flowed like melted chocolate—smooth, sweet, and addicting.

  The most terrifying thing about the words he breathed into my ear was—I believed them. The fear that wrapped around my heart like the tentacles of an octopus just slithered away—replaced by desire as his lips closed over mine, hot and moist. I kissed him back with great intensity. My mind became fuzzy and thoughts were slow to form.

  When his lips moved to the tender area of my neck just below my ear, Johnathan’s face flashed in my head. With that image, my head cleared and the terror returned with a rush of adrenaline.

  “Get off!” I whispered hoarsely.

  A hand clamped over my mouth and his lips moved against my ear again. “Shhh. You want this, Paige. You’re a very lucky girl to have been Chosen. Relax. Enjoy.” His lips returned to my neck, sending a shiver of equal parts ecstasy and revulsion coursing across my skin.

  Before the fuzziness could completely overtake my mind again, I reached up with my freed left hand, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and yanked with all my strength. A startled grunt escaped his lips and his hand left my mouth and grabbed my wrist with crushing force. I inhaled sharply as the bones in my wrist cracked. His mouth crushed once again against mine, muffling the scream of pain that wrested from my constricted throat.

  I fought to not lose myself in the desire as his lips pressed into mine, his tongue expertly exploring. I tried to move my head to the side, but he was too strong, his kiss too intense. I bucked my hips in a desperate attempt to throw him off me. The strength of his efforts and the heat of his lips intensified.

  In full panic mode now, my mind was too muddled to form a spell, my only possible defense. But, I forgot about Halli. A whoosh of air escaped the attacker’s mouth with a pained grunt.

  “Johnathan, help!” Halli yelled.

  My attacker’s upper body lunged away from me, but his legs were still wrapped around mine. I heard Johnathan’s heavy footsteps rushing to our room. The man leaned down and whispered, “I’ll be back for you.” His lips brushed against mine and the weight that had pinned me to the ground disappeared quicker than humanly possible.

  Johnathan let out a roar of anger. His pounding footsteps grew softer as he ran in pursuit.

  I shook my head in disbelief. The spell I’d been under mostly cleared as soon as contact with the man was broken. I sat and scooted up against the rock wall, wrapping my arms around my bent legs. My body shook and I refused to let the threatening tears fall. Anger, confusion, and terror wound their way through my brain. His words replayed in my mind, “I’ll be back for you.”

  And, the part of my brain still muddled from his spell hoped he would.

  he chill in the late October air, even inside the confines of our shelter, brushed against the exposed skin of my face and hands. Johnathan wrapped a blanket around me as we sat in the main chamber of our cavernous home. His arms were around me, trying to fend off the shivers that had overtaken every muscle. My wrist throbbed where my attacker had crushed it.

  “Seth, please start a fire in the pit,” Joe said. He’d built the pit earlier, in the corner of the cavern, where the smoke could escape through a small crevasse in the rocks above. We gathered there, in the middle of the night, after Jonathan’s return from chasing my assailant. He didn’t chase far. The assailant seemed to have just vanished as soon as he shot past Johnathan. There was no trail left to follow.

  “Paige, when you’re ready, please tell us what happened,” Joe said.

  I took a deep breath and whispered to Johnathan, “Can we move closer to the fire, please? I’m freezing.”

  “Of course.” He helped me stand, and with his arm wrapped tightly around me, led me over to the warmth of the fire. His loving concern caused my heart to ache with guilt. I could still feel the desire the stranger’s kiss had evoked. The fear I’d felt remained, but was somehow dim in comparison. My lips tingled with warmth as his spell lingered, while the rest of my body shivered with cold.

  My love for Johnathan was pure and sweet. The feelings the stranger had caused were wrong. They were dark, tainted—still there, and still strong—but unnatural. It reminded me of Sentience, the drug I’d once accidentally ingested that caused extreme, realistic hallucinations. My mind fought to denounce their authenticity, while at the same time, battled to convince me they were real. My mind battling against itself was very confusing.

  “Come on, Paige,” Alec said. “Don’t keep us in suspense, what happened?”<
br />
  Johnathan squeezed me closer to his side.

  “I don’t know exactly what happened. I was sleeping and I woke up to someone or something sitting on me.” I proceeded to explain how he held me down, what he said, what he did. I could feel Johnathan’s anger building, his muscles tense, his breathing rapid. I thought it a good idea to leave out the part where I kissed the stranger back. And wanted more.

  Joe cleared his throat. “Paige, I know you don’t want to hurt Johnathan’s feelings, but it’s very important that you answer my next question honestly. Okay?”

  Dread filled my chest. I nodded.

  “Good. Did you… how do I put this? Did you have… feelings for this… man? Feelings isn’t really the right word. Did you feel, at any time during the attack, that you wanted him to… uh, to keep going?”

  Johnathan tensed, ready to spring. “What are you saying? That she wanted to be attacked? What’s wrong with you?”

  I touched my hand to his face; his warmth felt like a frying pan to my icy skin. He wrapped my hand in his and squeezed. “Johnathan, he’s right to ask. There was something… weird happening. Like… mind control or something. Yeah, Joe, for a brief moment I felt like I wanted him. But my mind was all fuzzy. I couldn’t even form a spell to defend myself.” I squeezed Johnathan’s hand. “I only started to fight back after I saw your face in my mind.”

  Johnathan took a shaky breath. He was exerting a lot of effort to stay calm, but momentarily lost the battle. He removed his arm from around me, picked up a rock, and hocked it across the room. The tinkling of broken shards falling to the ground told me he’d thrown it hard enough against the wall to shatter it.

  “I was afraid of that.” Joe said, ignoring Johnathan’s rock-hocking. “Paige, you said he knew your name…?”

  “Yes, he said my name a couple of times.”

  “Was there anything else you noticed about him?”

  I thought for a second. “He was really hot, especially his lips… and tongue.”