We reappear in something that looks like a cave, but this one is different. It is brightly lit, and the faint susrsur of water trickling encompasses me. Crawling plants in full bloom decorate the blood-red walls. I look at my hand and I realise that I'm the source of the light, and the feel of a second heart pulsing within me drags me out of my thoughts.
Shay yelps, and blinks out of sight in a ball of light but comes back, in the next moment. Something is preventing him from answering the call. I know either Graham or Mason would call for him. It doesn't. He keeps disappearing and reappearing several times and each time, Shay lets out a yelp of pain and whines.
Lowering on my heels, I pull him in my arms and hug him tight. I don't know what else to do. He is still vanishing and reappearing uncontrollably.
" I'm sorry little fella. I don't want to hurt you," I say when he reappears again and turns limp in my arms.
I'm devastated. I'm doing this to him and I have no idea how to make it stop.
" Well, well..," I raise my head at the familiar-sounding voice and I notice Eagan strutting inside, with Lissete. The crazy bitch beams, and I rise to my feet, struggling to support Shay's weight. I'm not letting go of him when he's vulnerable. I wouldn't hurt anyone to defend myself but I would definitely try my best to defend Shay.
" What do you want?" I seethe because at this point I'm sure that they are the ones who dragged me here. I don't how they did it but it's simple math. I'm here, and they are here.
" Someone wants to see you," Lissete beams and I feel the pulsing grow stronger. Whatever is happening to me is imminent and it better happen fast, because I don't have a lot of time. I know they need me alive. And that is to my advantage, but not necessarily conscious.
Eagan takes a step forward, and I take a step back. Lissete cackles like a crazed witch and pulls one of her daggers out.
Just as the first time I met her, she had an entire armoury of blades strapped to her, but Eagan was unarmed.
" Tell Micah to go fuck himself," My anger is seeping through. I'm tired of being the punching bag.
Eagan laughs and then sighs," You're a charmer aren't you," An amused smile dances on his lips, but I already know that he is an asshole of the finest quality.
" Screw you, Eagan," He frowns at me, his expression hardens, and looks at Lissete who seems just as surprised as he is that I know his name.
He recovers rather quickly, "You would like that, wouldn't you? You are welcome to join us before Micah crucifies you to that slab of stone and makes you his whore," He taunts, and my anger rises further. I hate him, and I hate Lissete.
" Don't flatter yourself, Eagan. I wouldn't touch your filthy skin with a ten-foot pole. Tell me," I smirk, " Is it exhausting to be a murderous asshole all the time, or for you is it just a hobby?" I can feel each pulse increasing in intensity matching the beating of my heart which is about to rip through my ribcage and jump out of my chest. Shay is still in my arms, and I find some relief that he is still breathing, barely. We need to get out of here.
" You bitch," Lissete seethes and they take a step forward. I look at Shay once more and take a step back, my eyes snag on a hole in the roof of the cave, and I know that is our way out. And that's how far my plan goes.
Lissete sniggers with a sinister smile on her lips and I already know she is preparing to attack.
The first blade is thrown, aiming for my legs, and I step aside like I've seen Graham do so many times. A simple move, but effective that allows me to keep my eyes on them.
Anger rises within me, the walls of the cave have become translucent, fluid like water, rippling at a force unseen to the naked eye. That can't be good.
Eagan notices, and nods to Lissete in command to apprehend me. In one swift move she lowers herself to one knee and pushes herself off the ground into an arc and I know she will land right in from of me from the angle of her descent.
Fight or flight. I make a quick decision. I don't have time to ponder, and I see Lissete approaching from high up at full speed, ready to tackle me.
However puny my survival instincts are, they take over nonetheless. My muscles lock, I curl my hand into a fist and wait impatiently for her to be at arm's length.
She comes in swiftly, but she doesn't get a chance to land her blow, my fist collides with her face, sending her crashing into the opposite wall of the cave.
Graning she pushes herself up, " That will cost you butterfly," She wipes the blood from the corner of her lips, and stands.
" Send me the bill," I smirk while the floor beneath my feet begins to ripple like the still surface of a lake, right when you throw a rock into it.
I feel before I see, the power, violently surging, and expanding out of me, obliterating the cave walls, and sending Eagan and Lissete flying through the air until they are nothing more than little specks of dust on the horizon.
Silence encompasses me, and I'm standing in the middle of a wasteland surrounded by nothing but red sand. Shit. Where am I?
I look around me and there is nothing. Shay is still out. So, I'm pretty much stuck in the middle of the red dunes in sweltering heat with nothing to go on. At least I had dinner. I have a vague idea of the general location because there is only one place that has red sands and that is Helej Norun. Once known as the Devils Dunes, former Middle East. The Seventeenth District is somewhere around but without a map. I'm stuck.
The sand around me has been turned into glass. Red glass. It reminded me of the stories my father used to tell me, of how Helej Norun had turned red from golden. During the thousand wars battles, so much blood was spilt that the sands were imbibed with so much blood, turning them crimson red. Even after thousands of years it still holds its crimson shade. The rock that formed over the centuries holds the same colour.
I sigh, at the miles and miles of glass around me. The sun is unforgiving, beating upon me from the sky, and I know the reflective surface of the glass will magnify it. It will cook us alive.
I look down at Shay and begin to walk. I try not to think of what just happened. I try to focus on keeping us alive until Shay wakes up. It is not a good time to lose my head. Survive. We need to survive.
Otherwise, I'm pretty sure that Graham will resurrect me, just to kill me again, if something happens to Shay. Plus, I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself if the little fella dies on my watch.