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Chapter 68
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2024-10-29 19:42:56John
"Thanks, John," Benji said.
I turned back to Kaylee and frowned. She'd nearly exhausted all of her power, the glimmer of magic within her growing lighter. She probably didn't realize how close she was to passing out. I needed to warn her, but that also meant I'd need to get closer to the demon.
The wounds on my shoulders ached at the thought. Even still, I moved forward slowly, slower than even Hunter had moved. I kept my eyes on the cat-like demon and stepped up between Kaylee and Hunter. I rested a hand on Kaylee's forearm, drawing her attention to me.
"You've got to stop now. Let go of what's in your mind and break the connection between you and the demon."
She shook her head. "She's in too much pain. I can't. She'll go into a rage if I don't keep it up. "
The demon's head shifted towards us and I froze, not wanting to encourage any more movement from
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EZRA"Are you sure?" I asked Anissa as I fed another handful of sticks to the fire. She and her sister were sitting on the opposite side, their expressions serious. The rest of our group were gathering our things and taking down most of the camp in the late morning light. Everything except for what Benji and his daughter, and the twins now, too, would need for another day or two.Anissa nodded. "Yes, Tessa and I have decided we would like to stay with Benji and Kaylee if he will let us. He can help us just as well as you can.""Perhaps, even better," Tessa said, as she reached up to tie her braids back, "since he trained with the family before they were all killed."Benji let out a sour laugh. "Barely, I was hardly more than a kid."He sat to my right and Kaylee still slept curled next to him. From what John had described about her powers yesterday, and how she'd he
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JOHNOn the other side of the door Amna had led me through was a large cavern-like room, its ceiling vaulted up to a small circle of what could only be clouded glass. The skylight allowed just enough light into the room to see that the walls were painted and decorated just as the corridor had been on the climb up here. Full of jungle landscapes and great battles with demons were just as common as scenes showing them living alongside the monks peacefully.Only one piece of furniture stood in the room. A single, long stone table that reminded me of the Avery's Family Altar. He'd helped her and the other men in the Manser line move the giant relic last summer after Nathan had shown his true colors. And the table before him could have been the exact same one."Come," Amna insisted, walking over the mosaic floor comprised of small stones and crystals set in concentric circles that wound tighter and tighter to di
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EZRAI closed my eyes as John let loose another scream of pain that ripped through the room and my soul with raw agony."How long will this take?" I asked, looking over that Amna. She'd come out of the room shortly after the chanting started, trading places with the older monk who'd questioned us."As long as it does," Amneh said gravely. "You are welcome to wait here, near your friend. I can show you where you may bathe if any of you would like to wash the long journey from your skin while you wait."Avery gave my hand a quick squeeze. "I like the idea of a bath.""I'm not leaving," Hunter said quickly, with his hands wrapped tightly across his chest. He'd started to pace outside the archway, getting as close as he could to John, without actually being in the room with him."I'll send food and drink up here while you wait," Amna said before lea
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EZRA"Hello, Ezra."I stared across the room, convinced that all the stress and fatigue of traveling through the jungle and across realms had finally gone to my head. Poe was dead. Nathan killed him in a fight months ago. There was no way he could be standing here in front of me now.Lightning struck again, the flash sending a shadow of Poe's form across the murals along the wall. He was haggard-looking, with his dark, tousled hair and an unkempt beard. With the exception of his clothing, he was just the same as when he first appeared to me in the Stanwood Vault nearly a year ago."You can't be real." I felt rooted to the spot as Poe took a step forward. "I thought-" I choked on the words as they caught in my throat. "I thought I'd lost you."Poe reached out, his thin fingers pressed against the center of my chest. There was substance behind his touch. "You can't lose me, not really. I'm always right here, inside you."
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JOHNI was floating in a sea of darkness. Nothing but the ghost of pain lingering faintly in the distance. Shifting cloth and the shuffling of feet came and went. The whispering of voices that I couldn't quite hear. I couldn't move, even to turn my head to the side. I fought against the weight that seemed to hold me in place, but nothing came of it.Was this it? Would I be trapped like this forever? I swallowed, my body beginning to shake with panic. This couldn't be it.A hand pressed into one shoulder, then a face came into my vision. But I had to be dreaming, he couldn't have been here. Poe's dark hair fell forward as he leaned across me to place his other hand against my far shoulder. The pressure was calming, but I couldn't stop the tremors."John," Poe's voice was almost the same, the difference was that it was kinder, softer than he usually spoke to me. His face wavered in my vision, and I closed my eyes against the tear
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EZRAIt was well past sunset. A young monk had visited us in the twilight hour, bringing fresh food and lighting the candles set in little alcoves along the walls of our room. Avery and I sat on the far side from where Hunter was still parked near the doorway. He'd curled on to his side, using his arm as a pillow. Even with his eyes closed, I didn't think he was asleep. I could see the tension in his body clear across the room.Avery offered a piece of the green fruit she'd peeled and I took it. The thought of eating turned my stomach, but it was something to do, and I knew I'd probably feel better if I did eat. But honestly, I was more concerned with what was happening with John,I kept trying to distract myself by making plans, but my thoughts just circled. What were we supposed to do now that we'd gotten John here? We still needed to head back to Tamner's village and meet up with the twins and Benji. And Hunter still needed to lear
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JOHNI had the sensation of someone sitting very close to me, with a hand wrapped around one of my own. I didn't want to wake up just yet. A heaviness had filled my body and there was no resisting the exhaustion that threatened to pull me under.Whispers drifted across the room and I forced my eyes open. Poe and Ezra stood in the doorway across the room, but I couldn't catch what they were saying to each other.The hand around mine tightened. "John?"Hunter was perched on the edge of the bed, leaning over. I felt a smile pull at my lips as I struggled to keep my eyes open. "Hey.""How are you feeling?" His voice sounded as tired as I felt."Sleepy," I mumbled. I pulled at his hand weakly. "Lay down with me."As Hunter stretched out beside me, the thin wooden bed protesting our combined weight, I felt whole. More so than I had before I fell through that first portal with Ezra last year. More than when I left
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JOHNBreaking the surface of the water, I gasped for breath before pushing back my hair. The stone room was brighter than before. Brackets were added to the cave walls while we were gone, allowing more torches for light. And that wasn't the only change. The monks of the Temple had added more storage chests, another bench, and a rug. There was even a table and chairs. And yet, despite the attention to detail, it still felt off. Wrong.I felt wrong.Sinking into the water's embrace again, I concentrated on the way it drew the feeling of death from my body, the way it tried to leech the chill that had set into my bones. The night had been long, our escape from the camp nearly flawless, or so I overheard Benji tell Ezra.I was like I was disconnected from reality. I could remember parts of the last six hours. Hunter pulling me away from the greenhouse. Anissa fighting hand to hand with a witch I didn't recognize. Going through Benj
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JOHNMy power spread from one plant to the next as it wove its way through the connected root system. Then, like a wave of death, the plants shriveled and fell, decayed and useless, to the earth in a spreading circle around me."No!"My father's scream echoed through the plastic enclosure."John!" Hunter's voice was a relief to hear. In my rush to grab the plants, I hadn't cared about the roar or what had pulled my Dad off me. Now, I could clearly see as I sat up, Mai, Hunter's panther-like demon growling over my father."Are you hurt?" Hunter knelt down in the dirt next to me, reaching to help me up.Shaking my head, I took stock of myself. Besides the dirt on my hands and clothes, and the relative trauma of physically fighting my dad, I was fine. I still had the power Poe had given me. Still could feel the essence of the plants I'd killed.In the skin of my hands, the dark designs appeared, the swirling patterns tracing their way up
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EZRAThe house was quieter when we returned. Benji and the others had yet to come back, but I found Kaylee and Thea curled up together on the couch in a nest of blankets with the baby demon between them. Kaylee had offered to look after it while we investigated Lyssa's house and I'd let her.It chirped softly at me, flapping its wings in a way that could only be described as a 'pick me up' motion. I obliged, before the demon decided it was upset and screeched."Shh," I whispered to it, cradling it in my arms. There was no need to wake the entire house."William, is that you?" Mom's voice called softly from the kitchen. Avery and I followed Dad as he went to find Mom. Her eyes watered as soon as she set eyes on us, as if she already knew what we'd found."How bad is it?" Mom whispered."We think Nathan took her-""No, we're p
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JOHNThere was none of the dizzy vertigo like when I travelled through Ezra or Benji's portal. It was more like a long step through a doorway that led me right back where I was only weeks ago. The freshly cut grass left a thick scent in the air that brought back many memories of family barbecues and parties.I turned back to the portal. Cameron and the other Witches still appeared awestruck, but Hunter looked as though he wanted to jump through after me, the pain clear on his unhappy face."I'm sorry," I said, and shut down the portal.My chest throbbed. Part of me had wanted Hunter to come, because I didn't want to face this alone. What if we were caught? On my own, I would at least have a chance to escape again, but after what'd happened after they'd caught Ezra, they probably would kill Hunter on the spot.Facing the house, I distracted myself by focusing on the details. New cushions covered the patio furniture and ne
