Chapter 39 — Into the fire
Amara:
I feel like a statue made of bone and mass. All I can do is stand there and watch as the man I love and his friends fight the evil that Marael and Taylor have wrought upon us. I try to fight the spell that keeps me from moving, but it’s impossible. So, I simply gaze into my boyfriend’s eyes and try to broadcast all the love I feel for him. He looks so desperate to save me. It’s almost heartbreaking to see the hope in his eyes.
If only I could break loose from this spell, but all I can do is scream inside. I feel like a soul trapped inside a dead shell. My body jostles painfully when Taylor pulls me over his shoulder and carries me away. I can hear Kell’s footsteps following close behind us. Suddenly, a loud crack resounds in the room, and Taylor and I are weightless. My stomach flips as our bodies descend rapidly through a black abyss. I close my eyes as my body plummets to its death.
The breeze stirs my hair, and my body is pelted by falling rubble from the wreckage of the floor. Just as I think I’m about to crash into the ground, a bright light fragments around, separating me from Taylor’s hold. I can feel my body now. The overwhelming feeling of falling through the air overtakes me. I yell out my distress as I continue to fall through the blinding light. My arms move in front of me to block the outstandingly bright light. I close my eyes and take a deep breath when my body finally lands on the firm ground. However, I don’t feel a stitch of pain. All I feel is my body bouncing on some unknown surface.
I take a few deep breaths, trying to gain some control of my pounding heart. After a few moments, I open my eyes and focus on the area around me. I blink a few times and lift my hand to shade my eyes from the glare of the sun. That’s when it hits me. I’m no longer in the church or possibly in Arcata. It should still be the middle of the night in Arcata. Also, the terrain is different from home. It’s the place in my vision. The place where I saw the monster that I know now is Taylor. However, unlike the one in my dreams, this place does not have any dead bodies. How is this even possible?
Feeling a sense of trepidation, I take a few hesitant steps and call out. “Hello? Is anyone here?” My voice echoes through the desolate expanse without response. It’s unnervingly quiet without a living thing other than me within its line of sight. I don’t even see the monstrous Taylor, which unnerves me even more. Who knows where he’ll pop up? With that in mind, I start walking forward. The train of my dress drags behind me, creating an ominous sound as sweat dribbles down my forehead, back, and upper lip. My body feels tight and heated under my dress. Minutes pass, but there’s not a soul in sight. There are no buildings or signs of living beings anywhere.
Suddenly, the ground begins to shake uncontrollably, and the sky goes dark. It’s as if someone turned off the light in a room. My heart begins to quake in alarm. I open my mouth to call out again but stop when some kind of storm cloud crystallizes a few feet in front of me. The cloud begins to expand and move towards me threateningly. Unsure of what to do, I watch it for a couple of seconds. But something inside me tells me to move away before it touches me. Listening to my instinct, I turn around and begin to run. A large whooshing sound resounds around me like a horn startling me into speeding up my pace. I look back, shocked to find a green rain gale down from the cloud. It touches the end of my dress, dissolving it before my eyes. The storm is like a tempest of acid, chasing me to my death. My breath is heaving as I run forward.
Just then, I notice a form standing up ahead. It’s Taylor in his monster form. His back is to me. He looks as lost as I am. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to notice my form descending down upon him. I look around to find somewhere to hide from his view, but it’s too late. He must hear the sound of the incoming cloud of power because he turns towards me and lets out a loud roar. His teeth are as sharp as knives, and his body rippling over his extremely large muscles. The storm is nipping at my heels at this point. Unable to find another way of avoiding it and Taylor, I try to think of a way to save myself. Taylor rushes towards me with an intent sneer on his horribly grotesque face.
Unsure of what to do, I kick out at him and catch him in the knee. But he doesn’t even flinch. Instead, he takes me by the shoulders and lifts me over his head. Without another thought, I use his momentum to slide down his back and onto the ground. I look back to see the tempest approaching us and kick Taylor on his back hard, sending him tumbling into the rioting acidic rain. Taylor lets out an excruciating cry as his body buckles under its own weight. But I don’t bother to see if it killed him. Instead, I rise up as quickly as I can and start running from the rain again.
Several minutes pass until the roaring sound of the fog and Taylor’s cries die down. Just as suddenly, the sunlight reappears. I hesitantly look back to see that the fog and Taylor are nowhere in sight. But I’m still perplexed about how I came to be here. I gaze around, desperate to find some way out. That’s when I see the lone form in the distance, looking as lost as I am. My eyes go round when I spot his golden hair and tall build.
“Kell!” I break into a run. “I’m here!” I yell again, but he doesn’t notice me.
Elation fills me as I get closer. “Kell!” I yell again, covering my mouth to give some resonance to my voice.
He finally notices me and starts to run in my direction. “Amara!” He yells out. I jump into his arms, making him stumble back when I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.
“Oh, Kell, you found me,” I lay a few ecstatic kisses on his lips as I sift my fingers through his silky locks. Whooping with joy, Kell wraps his arms around me and holds me close. “Oh, shit, beauty queen. I thought I lost you.”
I nod my head as tears of happiness run down my face. We both gaze into each other’s eyes, a bevy of emotions projecting through our eyes. His tux is torn, and he’s riddled with cuts and bruises, but I have never been so happy to see anyone in my life. He’s still my beautiful golden angel. We continue to hold each other, frightened of letting go. “Oh, Kell, I was so scared that I’d never see you again,” I whisper tearfully.
He makes a few shushing sounds as he wipes at my tearful cheeks and gives me a disbelieving scowl. “You know I’d go to the ends of the earth to find you. You’re everything to me.”
I nod, chastened by his words. “I know, Kell, and you’re everything to me too.”
After a moment, he settles my legs back on the ground and glances around with a cocked brow. “It looks like I did go to the ends of the earth for you. Where are we?”
I shrug my shoulders and point to where I just came from. “This is the place from my last vision minus the dead body and bloody lake. It must be some kind of dimension we fell into when we went through the floor.” Taking his hand, I maneuver him back to where I came from and stop after a few steps.
Kell gives me a questioning look and gazes back at the area. “What is it, babe?” I gulp loudly and take a deep breath. “Kell…I…I killed Taylor…I think.”
He tilts his head in surprise then looks around as if trying to find a body. “What? How?”
Biting my lip, I lay my forehead on his shoulder and inhale his manly scent of sandalwood and leather. “There was this weird acid storm chasing me. And when Taylor tried to take me, I pushed him into it. I could hear his screams as I ran away.”
Kell rests his hands on my shoulder and pulls me back to look into my eyes. “Then, you did him a favor because I was planning on killing him myself.” His eyes turn icy, making me shiver. “Do you know how we can get out of here?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t know. It was a vision the last time.”
His jaw clenches becomingly when he runs his fingers through his hair and gazes around for an answer. “There has to be some way for us to get out of here. I found this place when I went into the basement of the church. I had to push through some magic wall to get here. Marael must somehow be controlling this dimension. There has to be an end to it; some kind of magic wall.”
He extends his hand towards me and ushers me towards where I came. “Maybe we should go where you started from. There has to be something there.”
I nod in agreement. “Yeah. Okay.” Hand in hand, we make our way to where I started. Fortunately, there’s no acid fog or Taylor insight. Kell tightens his hand around mine, snapping me from my thoughts. “Do you see anything?”
At first, I’m about to say no, but then I notice something odd in the texture of the air. “Do you see that?” I point to an indistinguishable wave of light a few feet away. It looks like an electromagnetic vibration. Kell gazes towards where I am, gesturing with a frown. “What?”
I point again. “There! The warped wave of heat. It looks like a vibrating light. Do you see it?”
He gazes in the direction again with a furrowed brow, then stops with a jubilant grin. “That’s it! Let’s go.”
We both rush towards the wave, which becomes more perceptible as we come closer. The light pulses in and out, expanding into a large fissure in the sky, the closer we get. We both stop in front of it, then look at each other. Kell tightens his hand around mine and nudges his chin towards the fissure. “We both go in together. No matter what happens, don’t let go.”
I grip his hand back and give him a nervous smile, and whisper. “I love you.” He smiles arrogantly and whispers back. “Always.”
We’re about to step forward when Kell cries out in pain. I look on in horror as a sword tip materializes in the middle of Kell’s chest.
“No! Kell!” I say desperately. I place my hand over his wound in hopes of preventing the blood from seeping out of his body. But it’s hopeless. Blood spreads over his soiled dress shirt like a red stain.
Kell releases my hand and grips the tip in surprise, then looks back at me. Blood dribbles from his mouth as he stumbles forward, gasping for air. My eyes home in on the form standing behind him. It’s Taylor. Taylor steps back, pulling the sword from Kell’s back with a satisfied sneer. Unfortunately, there is no sign of injury on him. The acidic tempest must have not affected him the way I thought it would.
As Kell reaches for me with his hand extended, I rush forward and catch his falling form. His body is heavy, but I held on tightly. I look at Taylor, feeling rage rise through me like lava. My body begins to quiver with an excruciatingly dominant heat. I close my eyes feeling the rush of power overtake my body. It’s the same feeling I get when I have a vision. But that’s impossible. There’s no way that I’m having a vision. It must be the sight of my love being slain before me that has somehow triggered something inside of me. Taylor lifts his sword up again and points it towards me this time.
He is about to strike again when it happens. When I raise my hand as a shield, Kell’s body with mine, a bright spark of light shoots out of it and tosses Taylor's form back. Taylor’s giant body flies back at the impact and lands roughly a few feet away. Kell wraps a weak hand around my neck and makes me face him. “Go, Amara…get out…” He begs weakly, as he tries to push me towards the entryway, but I resist his push.
“I’m not leaving you, Kell. We’re both getting out. Just hold on to me, please.” I plead desperately.
But he doesn’t respond. His unconscious body simply falls to the floor into a terrifying faint. Dread crushes me, but I don’t let it take me over. Kell’s life depends on me keeping a clear head. Rising from my perch, I wrap my arms under his armpits and drag his body towards the opening. But Taylor is undaunted as he rises from the ground, shakes himself off like a wet dog, and stalks towards us purposely.
I raise my hand again, but this time, whatever spurt of power that stopped him before does not reemerge. He chuckles at my attempts and comes closer. Resting Kell’s body as gently as I can on the ground, I stand before him and try again. This time it works, but Taylor is too strong in this form. Before I can try again, he grips me by the neck and lifts me from the floor. “I’m going to finish you this time, you whore!” He growls out angrily. His voice reverberates through the room like a loud boom. However, he doesn’t sound human. He sounds almost demonic. I flail my legs as I desperately try to release myself from his deadly hold.
His grasp finally loosens when a body slams hard against his brutish form. It’s Kell. Somehow he is able to find the strength to try to protect me. His wings flap around, agitated as he claws at Taylor’s form. He looks magnificent with his glowing eyes and pointed teeth.
Taylor wrestles his body from under Kell’s and raises his arms, trying to shove him roughly away. Kell uses his wings to stay up, but you can tell that he doesn’t have much strength left. He staggers slightly as he disregards the pain of his grievously injured body. His tuxedo shirt is now completely drenched, and his body is wavering from the loss of blood. But he continues to fight. And I know that it’s because of me. He’ll fight until he can’t anymore, for me.
I rub my throat and rise from the ground, frantic to protect my love. Somehow knowing that he’d do anything to protect me makes the blaze inside of me intensify to a nearly unbearable level. Power spills from me like molten lava, engulfing all of us in its radiance. Taylor looks down at the flow with a contemptuous scowl and tries to move out of its way. But the power continues to shadow his steps until he swells over him and immerses his body. He flails wildly and struggles to release himself from the power’s hold.
I cry out when I see that my power has also begun to immerse Kell in its grip too.
“Kell!” I cry out in desperation.
Kell stumbles under the weight of his injuries and the blazing power as it attempts to submerge him. Desperate to save my love, I close my eyes and try to pull back the power before it can fully consume him. At first, nothing happens. Desolation consumes me at the thought that it’s going to kill him, and there is nothing I can do about it. But then the blaze stops and swirls around his chest until it completely disappears. I blink my eyes, shocked to see that all signs of his injuries are gone as if they never existed.
Kell looks down at his chest in wonder, then looks back at me. “Am I...? Did you do this?” I nod my head and wrap my arms around him with relief. “Oh god, Kell. I thought you were going to die.”
He pulls me close and looks back at a struggling Taylor. “What happened to him?”
I shrug in bewilderment. “I don’t know, and to be honest, I don’t care. Please let’s just go before whatever it is, wears off.” But Kell doesn’t move towards the exit. Instead, he leans down and picks up Taylor’s sword from the floor.
“Let him free, babe. I need to finish this.” Understanding settles in my gut as Kell steps forward and aims the sword in front of Taylor’s chest. Taylor struggles harder as he reaches for Kell. “You can’t kill me. I’m a God! I will kill you and everyone who has gotten in my way. You hear me?!” Taylor roars out, enraged.
His voice makes dread settle in my chest because I know that he is beyond saving. Taylor is too consumed by his greed that he doesn’t care who he hurts. He proved his inhumanity when he began kidnapping and killing those girls. Not to mention that I’ve seen what will happen if Taylor and Marael follow through with their plans. There is just no scenario where the world will be safe if Taylor’s alive.
So, I reach within me and somehow release him from my magical hold. Once he’s released from the hold of the spell, he goes on the offense. I watch as he pulls his power and materializes his ax. With a whoosh, he wields it at Kell’s head. Kell tilts his head back, thrusts his sword in the ax’s path, and halts his progress. Using his sword, he pushes the ax back towards Taylor’s chest and kicks him in the stomach. Taylor stumbles back and falls to his knees as he strikes at Kell’s legs. Kell jumps over the ax stepping over it, and kicks Taylor in the face before he stabs him in the shoulder with the sword. Taylor cries out painfully and releases the ax to cover his wound. Kell uses this advantage and punches him in the face several times until Taylor is squirming on the floor. Taylor’s face is bloody and bruised. His breathing hitches heavily as he looks up at Kell contemptuously and says, “You can’t win. I’m going to kill you and everyone you love.”
Kell must see the futility of saving him too because he pulls back the sword and says, “No, you won’t.” Then he plunges it into Taylor’s heart. Taylor’s body shudders and shakes violently. Black fluid oozes from his wound and sizzles like acid as it touches the ground. His body begins to lose mass and change back to its original form until all that’s left is the body of a teenage boy in its place. Pity consumes me when I look into his lifeless eyes. Stepping forward, I close his eyes and whisper. “I’m sorry that it had to come to this, Taylor.”
Just then, the world starts to warp and fade away until we’re standing in what I assume is the basement of the church. As the last bit of the other world fades, Taylor’s body vanishes with it. Kell and I look around in amazement. There is no weird desert world with acidic storms or a monster walking around with an ax.
“The magic must have worn off after Taylor’s death.”
Taking my hand, he leads me to an old broken doorway. “Let’s get out of here.”
I follow Kell through the door. “What about Taylor?”
Kell shrugs. “There’s nothing we can do for him, beauty queen. He vanished with the world.”
Feeling pity for Taylor and his misguided attempts to gain power, I turn back to the stairs. Everything is eerily quiet. We cautiously gaze down the hallway, wary of who or what might appear, but everything is calm. Walking cautiously forward, I gesture to another door down the hallway. “Where are Azazel and Mathias? Shouldn’t they be here?”
Kell shakes his head with confusion. “I don’t know. I ran after Taylor as soon as he ran off with you. Let’s just hope that they’re alright.”
Kell moves to open the door to the chapel as quietly as he can. The door squeals on its hinges then lunges out violently.
That’s when the sound of voices reaches us. Kell stumbles back, keeping me behind him and covers my body with his. I hold onto his forearm and glance around him.
Relief surges through me when I spot Azazel and Mathias standing in front of us. Both men look worn and bloodied. Their clothing is torn and stained. Both men sigh with relief and lower their weapons as soon as they see that it’s Kell and me. “Bloody hell, mate. We thought you two went knees up,” Azazel mutters with a relieved grin.
Mathias rolls his eyes at Azazel’s tactless comment and steps back with a stern frown. “Where’s the creature?”
Kell points to the basement stairs and exhales in exhaustion. “Long story short, he’s dead. Where’s that psycho bitch, Marael?”
Mathias’s mouth puckers in anger, and Azazel scoffs. “She got away! That blasted witch cast some kind of enchantment that made the entire place fall nearly into rubble. It almost shook the church from its rafters before she vanished. She must think we’re daft after we botched this. I just don’t bloody understand how she was so strong. The power should have been temporary at best.”
The blood drains from my face at the thought of Marael running free to find another girl and completing the ritual. Then, a thought hits me. “Wait! Taylor said that Marael had a siphon for her powers. Something about a girl from who she absorbed power, but the girl didn’t know it. He said that the girl was the gateway to hell. The only thing they needed was a very strong supernatural. That must be how she was able to maintain her powers.”
Mathias and Azazel look at each other in surprise. “Did he say who it was?”
I shake my head. “No, he never did. But he said she was close to Marael. Maybe it’s someone she knows.”
Azazel and Mathias look thoughtfully at each other then back at us.
Mathias takes a deep breath, relaxing his muscled shoulders. “Perhaps we can speak to Kira Serapova and see if there is any information she can give us on the boy. Maybe he left something that can lead us to Marael.”
Kell takes my hand and waves to the doorway. “I know that it’s important that we find Marael, but can it wait? We just went through some crazy shit, and all I want to do is take my mate home for some needed rest.”
Mathias nods in agreement. “You’re right. Let’s get you two out of here. We can talk more after we’ve gotten some rest.”
Happy to escape this nightmare, I tighten my hand around Kell's and follow them out the door. Everything is still as if the end of the world didn’t almost happen. The wind blows a soft breeze over the grass and tree branches, making them sway rhythmically. A howl hoots off in the distance, followed by the howl of a wolf. The sky is becoming lighter, indicating the coming dawn. I take a couple deep breaths and close my eyes as I let the sounds of the night permeate my senses.
Leaning my head on Kell’s shoulder, I rub my hand up and down his bicep and whisper. “I don’t want to go back to my house. Can I stay with you?”
He pulls me close and lays a kiss on my forehead. “Yeah, baby. We can go to my place.” Relief surges through me because I know that I’ll be okay as long as Kell is by my side.