Jesse's P.O.V.
This is so not okay. I mean what the actual fuck? Kidnapped by demons? This can't be right. Who the fuck messed this up? What would demons want with me?
I watched them from the spot on the wall they had chained me to. The place was literal hell, hotter than the devil's balls. Sweat gleamed all along my skin, matting my short hair to my forehead. I had just cut it yesterday, thank the shadows. I think I'd die if it were any longer right now.
My face itched as a bead of sweat ran down my nose and onto the clay colored ground beneath me. It sizzled as it hit the ground, evaporating into the air. I strained to hear what the demons were saying, wondering how they even got me down here. Judging by the dead body covered in ancient ruins before me, I'm going to say it was some kind of dark magic.
"You idiot, that's not her mother." I could hear one of them scolding the other in its raspy voice. One that pricked my ears like a million needles.
"It's still her family, he'll still come," the other defended. His voice was just as bad, only it didn't hurt my ears. Instead it sent a prickling sensation down my back, as if I were being lightly scratched by thorns.
"He better, or it'll be your head the boss takes." His voice stabbed my ears again, making me wipe it against my shoulder as if that would help somehow.
"What do you want from me?" I asked them again, hoping maybe they would answer this time.
'Jesse!' Luz scolded me.
'I know, bad idea, Jesse.' I sighed, already knowing she was going to lecture me.
'No shit. We don't want their attention. We need to get the hell out here.' Luz was scared shitless. Who wouldn't be when they're randomly brought to hell surrounded by a handful of powerful demons.
'Was that a pun?' Umbra laughed, taking this lightly as always. Umbra never seemed to take anything too seriously, always joking around. She was the most playful shadow to exist. I guess that's why she's an original. She's powerful and unintimidated by a lot of things.
'No it was not a pun. Will you take this seriously for once? We're in hell, Umbra. HELL!' Luz had grown annoyed with Umbra through the months, to the point I thought they may actually fight inside me. I think she was ready to kill her.
"Quiet!" The demon who's voice hurts my ears, yelled at me, only making me feel like they would bleed. His yelling hurt more than his normal voice.
"Geez, alright. Cranky much?"
What's the matter with me? I'm literally poking at a demon.
"If he doesn't come soon, I'm going to tear her tongue out before we kill her," the demon whose voice prickled my back spoke next.
"If you want me to be quiet you could just answer my question," I shrugged, saying it as if it were the simplest of answers.
I think I have a death wish.
The demon seeth, the orange cracks in its charred skin glowed brighter as its anger rose. It held its clawed hand up ready to strike when a gold feather struck through its palm. I'd never seen a feather so strong. As I looked ahead to the long dark cavern I saw the glow of Ares’ lilac eyes and Auggie’s blue flames.
They came to save me.
I pulled on Umbra feeling the power rise in me as a blue haired woman stepped through first. She was so fucking beautiful that she had me believing I loved women for a second, but then I remembered how much I love Liam's dick and the feeling faded quickly. I used Umbra, taking control of the darkness and had her pick at the lock on my shackles. A fight erupted all around me as Ares, Auggie and a dark-curly haired girl stepped in. She was the one that had thrown the feather seeing as her wings held a million more of them. She jumped into the air spinning as she sent more feathers flying. What I didn't expect was for them to now be coated in fire as well.
What is she?
More demons poured in from the left and right, quickly outnumbering us. The curly haired girl pulled a sword out of thin air, one that flamed to life beside her. The sword of the righteous is what Toni called it. She must be part angel.
"You won't be getting out of this alive. If you want her back you'll have to trade. Who do you love more, your sister or your daughter?" The demon spoke to Ares with a chuckle in his voice.
"Obviously his daughter. I see why you wanted to get Andy instead. Tougher choice, but I would gladly die for my niece," I interjected just as the shackles were released from my wrists.
I rubbed at them as I locked eyes with the demon in charge. His bright orange holes for eyes seemed to grow brighter as the hell fire in him rose. I traveled beside Ares, glad I had continued to practice with the darkness all summer long. It didn't strain me as much to use it now.
"No one is dying here today."
"Time to go, dearies,” the blue haired woman said.
She winked at me as a white fog began to wrap around my ankles, moving up and slithering around my whole body. The demons all lunged at once as the curly haired angel sliced a few of their heads off before we all traveled out together. I'd never traveled through light before. It was warm, unlike the icy embrace of my shadows.
We were out of hell, allowing me to breathe in the cool fresh air. I almost shivered even though there was a warm summer breeze. It felt oddly cold compared to the heat of hell. I looked around finding tall trees and a familiar crack in the air. Only this one didn't feel like the ethereal plane crack I'd traveled to before. Although still enchanting, it didn't give off the same inviting feel. It called to the dark side of me, pulling me towards it, but my soul knew it was not a good place. The blue haired woman stood before me as she placed her hands on either side of the crack. She pushed it together, ultimately sealing it shut.
"Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it'd be. I swear gods can be so over dramatic sometimes." She rolled her eyes as she waved her hand down in complaint.
"I don't think we're done," the curly haired girl chimed in just as demons and ghouls began to surround us.
"I knew that was too easy," Auggie complained, letting his flames grow tall.
"We got this," the blue-haired hottie smiled, taking a spot beside me for some reason. "I'm in charge of keeping you safe, so I won't be but a few feet away from you, cutie."
Her wink caused me to blush for some reason, making me feel like the school girl I was. I shook my head, trying to focus on the battle ahead. These weird thoughts, and feelings can wait until after battle. I took a stance, but this blue haired beauty grabbed my hand. I was about to complain when I was suddenly struck with immense power. Her hand held mine tightly as she shared her strength with me. It was euphoric, like tasting heaven. I moaned as it rushed through my body from my head down to my toes.
"That's a pretty sound." She smirked before letting my hand go and punching the nearby demon that lunged at me. It flew 30 feet, knocking down the tree it hit on the way. This woman was damn strong and I could feel that same power coursing through me. I hit the ghouls around us with my shadows sending them flying as well. When a demon came next I decided to see if I could punch just as strongly as her now. Turns out I could.
"Fun, isn't it?" She asked me.
"Extremely."
My mouth split into a shit eating grin as she and I fought side by side. She was amazing and the power she lent me made me feel great too.
I don't know what she is, but I hope she sticks around for a while.
Ares' P.O.V. Frances leaped in front of me, shielding us with her large wing as hell fire was spat from a demon's mouth. Her wings were apparently impervious to it, making her perfect for this battle. I see why the gods chose her. The moment the hell fire stopped, she dropped her wing, allowing me to attack. I pushed my shadow out, grabbing a few ghouls and crushing them. They popped like water balloons inside my shadow cocoons, causing blood to leak and splatter as I let their bodies go. Frances stayed by my side the entire battle, proving to me why she alone was called on. She was strong, agile and had abilities that mixed so well in battle. I called on Andy's light magic, pushing back the darkness around the demons, essentially weakening them further. Frances noticed and used her elf magic beside me, setting ghouls aflame all around us. Her back was towards mine as we fought in a circle. She was small, but she was damn powerful. I kept the visions only 30 seconds out, allowing me
Andy's P.O.V.I was dancing around the room, cleaning and popping my hips to the music. Makeba by Jain was playing and it was really giving me the dancing fever. I was putting our clothes away, happy that thanks to Jesse, Ares and I were able to be intimate with one another. We don't get very many chances at doing that with Elara around.I love Elara, deeply. It's just sometimes you can use a break, even from the people you love the most. By the way, I've been wanting to wrap myself around Ares I could tell my mating season was coming soon. I need to be careful, we can't afford to have another baby. Elara is a full-time job, one I get overtime in daily. She's worth it though, more than worth it. She's an amazing child. I just hoped that Ares and I could do a good job at raising her.Yesterday proved that we don't only have to worry about what we teach her, but also about how we will keep her safe. Other dark creatures will want to take her from us. Perhaps even angels will try. I know
Third Person P.O.V."Good job, Ellie," Petra, the demigod, told little Elara as they wrapped up their magic training.Elara has always enjoyed being praised, smiling widely at the demigod. She thought today’s events played to her favor, allowing her to learn many new things. Her finger was still glowing bright, evidence that she had mastered pulling at her magic."What next?" she asked Petra with gleaming eyes, wanting to learn more, ready to devour the demigod’s teachings. She really wanted to learn how to travel the way Petra did. Her father’s way of travel always felt cold and dark to her. It would leave her with a funny feeling, only because it would pull at the darkness she didn’t know she had inside of her.“Let's train your body now,” Petra answered."My body?" Elara did not like the sound of that. She wanted to focus on her magic. She didn’t want to do more physical training. Her father and mother do plenty of that with her already."Yes, the stronger your body, the better it c
Andy’s P.O.V.“Okay, El, we’ve decided to take you to school with us. With Gabriel’s help we were able to enroll you under the name Elara Moon. Be careful to not share your age or who your parents are with anyone that doesn’t already know you. It’s very important that no one knows your real identity. You will take the potion so that you look older. You will also attend an independent study with Stella in the witch’s building,” I began to explain to Elara, hoping she could understand.We were taking an enormous risk by enrolling her and having her go to classes on her own. She needed to learn these things while she was still young. Seeing her excitement while Petra taught her showed me just how much she desired to learn. It also made Ares and me realize how much she needed it. Her magic hasn’t bursted out of her as easily since Petra’s lesson. I can only imagine what a lesson with an actual witch would do to help her.“Okay, Mommy. I will stay quiet.” Elara nodded. She wanted this just
Third person P.O.V.Today was the day Elara would start school. She was excited having had dream after dream of what it would be like. She knew she had to be careful with who she spoke to and what she said, but the excitement outweighed her worry.“Ready?” her mother asked her as they stood just outside the large archway of the academy. Their hands had long ago parted, allowing Elara to walk freely beside them. She nodded, feeling her stomach turn with a slight nervousness. “You’re going to do great. Let’s go check in and get our dorms assigned.”Ares, Andy, and Elara headed in, crossing under the West Ora Academy letterings. The moment Elara stepped through the archway, her magic swirled inside her. She was suddenly more aware of it than before, hitting her hard, and causing her steps to falter. Not wanting to give away that something was wrong—for fear her parents would send her back home—she quickly composed herself.The pull to her magic was strong, as if it had been amplified. Wha
Ares’ P.O.V.I hated leaving El behind all alone. I kept the future open, but with her it’s always hard to see. There are times where she’s faded out, or her future is so blurry it gives me a headache. I am not sure if it is because she is a prophecy child or if perhaps it is her power itself that keeps it hidden. Either way, I hate not being able to see clearly into her future. Thankfully, I saw that she would do well here. I was allowed to see that much.“She’ll be okay, right?” Andy asked me as she squeezed my hands with nerves. She hated leaving El as much as I did. I was grateful that my mate was willing to raise her with me, but I loved that Andy loves her just as much as me.“Yes,” I answered, even if I didn’t feel like she would be.We silently walked together until a pair of lean arms wrapped around both of us.“If it isn’t my second favorite couple,” Percy, or as I call him Perry, pushed his head between ours.“Second favorite?” Andy asked, she didn’t really care, but I could
Third Person POVElara had enjoyed her time with Leaf and Icarus during her first week of school, finding at least one of them in each of her classes. It wasn't uncommon to find them contradict one another as they spoke with her, but Elara paid it no mind. She decided what to believe of her own accord, not what her friends told her to.She slept with her mother Andy for the entirety of her first week, but tonight she decided she would sleep in her own room. Elara wanted to be a big girl, or so she thought. She wanted to prove she was growing, already feeling like she was seven.When she entered her dorm she found things strewn on her bed, items that did not belong to her. Her white brows furrowed as she stared at each object assessingly, seeing uniform blazers, ties, undergarments of various colors all over. She picked at one with her nose wrinkled in disgust, pinching it with her thumb and forefinger. She tossed it to the floor, doing the same with all the items on her bed until it wa
Jesse's POV“Where are you off to?” Petra was at my side the moment I left my dorm room door. Her blue hair was cascading in beautiful light waves around the curve of her back.I have never questioned my sexuality more than now. “To see Liam.”“Oh? Who's that?” She tilted her head to the side, invading my space as if she had no idea what a personal bubble was.“My intertwined.”“Ah!” She smiled, tapping her chin. “You're forever bound. Odd, I didn't see him when I looked into your future.” She pinched her brows together in thought, twisting my stomach with worry at the same time.What does she mean he's not in my future?“What do you mean you didn't see him?”My heart was thundering in my chest as I waited for her response. Does Liam die? Does he leave me? No, there's no way he would just leave me. But the alternative is worse. “Let's go see.” She smiled at me as if she didn't just turn my world upside down, holding her hand out for me to take.I didn't touch it as I traveled us thro
AresIt was stupid, I know it was, but how could I not tell her when she thought I no longer loved her? She may have been on this planet for less than a year but mentally she was so much older, and I needed to remind myself of that.Maybe not old enough for this news, but the alternative could be worse. If I explained to her who she was and what her future determined…well it would blow everything up. There was no way of knowing for sure how she’d react, at least this way I knew she’d be focused on what was going to happen to me and nothing more.“What do you mean?” Her eyes were wide and filled with tears as she held my gaze.“Gabriel had a vision, but I’ll—”“You can’t die!” she interrupted before I could tell her the rest.My skin prickled with goosebumps as the temperature dropped around us, fogging the air with our breath. The shadows licked at her feet, tendrils up her calves. I was loosing her.“Listen to me Elara,” I spoke in a calming manner, trying to ease her.“No! I can’t lo
IcarusI still hated the idea of Lilith being Elara’s teacher, but there was no unringing that bell. Once the blood moon came, Lilith would be here to unlock Elara’s dark magic. She’d grow, body and mind at the very instant she’d touch her mother’s grimoire. I just hope that she won’t be consumed by the darkness that will flow through her. The thought alone sent a knot to my stomach so tight I thought I’d throw up. In no instance could I ever picture Elara as evil. Even though I was buying for the heavens to lose in these ultimate trials, I didn’t necessarily want Elara to fall prey to darkness. She deserves to stay pure and happy. Her parting words to me last week left me questioning everything I’d been working for. How was I supposed to get her to join me when I didn’t even want her to be part of this side of the world?“Icarus!” My attention was brought to the devil in charge. His glowing orange eyes glared into me with as much intimidation as he could seep into them. I couldn’t he
AuggieThey’ve been wrong before. Prophecies aren’t set in stone. We don’t have to choose between brining Ares back or keep Elara from falling into the hands of evil…right?These thoughts had been running through my head all day. It was delusion thinking, I knew that, but it was the only way I could get through the week. I tried to talk with Jesse but between whatever was going on with Petra and whatever traumatic thing she saw in some cave—that she won’t tell me about— she had too much on her mind to be much use. It was clear that she had accepted this fate, and decided to just let Elara be. Her reasoning was that she had passed her first trial and only needed to pass the next to succeed.I don’t like those odds.So here I was, stalking my niece like some creep in the shadows. Sombra kept me cloaked but it took extra effort since Bane couldn’t seem to contain his blazing fire. Ever since he revived me, he’s been too big for his britches. I needed him to calm his ass down and remember
Third PersonElara could still feel the remnants of the heartache that Leif caused her. It ached to feel so rejected by her closest friend. She had found comfort in Icarus who would check on her even more than Leif did while she stayed with the angel.“Got you a snack before class.” He tossed her a bag of flame roasted chick peas made by the fire elves on campus. They'd been selling these in random spots on campus as a way to raise funds to better protect themselves against vampires. It seemed these poor creatures were tired of being the vampires’ first victims on rainy days and blood moons.“Thanks, Icky.” She smiled up at the fallen angel, stirring his heart once more. It wouldn't be long now until she grew again, until he could have her the way he wanted.“I'm never getting rid of that nickname, am I?” He shook his head, causing a few short strands of his jet black hair to fall over his forehead. He ran his hand through it, pushing it back in a way that made Elara's cheeks almost tu
Third Person POVLief felt the shake in his body as if he were a bell being rung. Summoned he thought to himself. Being summoned brought a knot to any demigod or angel’s stomach, placing a fear so deep it shook his very soul.“I’ll be back, little —” Lief cut himself off remembering that just yesterday he flew away from her. She wasn’t here anymore and the emptiness it left in his home was more than he could bear. With a deep breath and a heavy sigh he traveled to the heavens — to the gods and all their fury.“Lief, come join Petra,” his god, Barus, called him forward to stand in the center of their rounded room. Where most have met their end, smited by all the gods at once. Would this be his last day? Would he die without having been able to reconcile with his little one?Lief braced himself as he took his spot beside Petra, seeing her blue hair float around her the way it would in outer space. He felt the power radiating from the ten gods that surrounded him, so strong that he almost
Jesse“Petra, there’s gotta be something you can do!” I accidentally shouted at her in my desperation, hoping that maybe she could prevent all this from happening. She was demigod for crying out loud, if anyone could do something it would be her.“I’ve already told you that I can’t Jesse. I’m not a God and even then, they can’t force anyone to do their bidding but the angels. We demigods can choose to follow their orders or not, but usually if we don’t our godly powers are weakened.” Petra sighed, tired of explaining things to me. She patted the bed beside her, hoping I would listen and come, but I was too upset to sit just yet.“He can’t die.” I warned her, as if she could make sure that didn’t happen.It was probably really out of her hands, but I didn’t care at the moment. I wanted to fool myself into believing that things could be done to prevent any of it from happening. It was obvious that Petra knew what she needed to do on this night, but she wasn’t sharing and it was pissing
AresI didn’t need to feel it through our bond to know that Andy was tense. Her worry was seeping through her pores. How could it not be with the amount of bad news we got on a daily basis? This wasn’t going to be any better, I could already tell by the angel-mermaid, Frances, we met when saving Jesse. She held Gabriel’s attention so fully that he hadn’t even noticed his sister or his cousin arrive.I opened my visions past just myself, Andy, and Elara, to see Gabriel’s future, finding why this woman had him so entranced. Turns out she’s his mate. Maybe that’s the news and it’s nothing actually bad. Then again, who the hell do I think I’m fooling?Nova ran up to Gabriel, giving him a big hug as if she hadn’t seen him in years when she just saw him last week. He hugged her back, messing with her hair like she was still a kid when she pulled away. Auggies appeared next, taking his spot next to Nova with his hand resting on her hip in a possessive grip. Something was going on with him, to
Andy“I know you want to protect her, Baby Girl, but you have to let her learn. You don’t know what it’s like to have a darkness harboring inside you.” Dad’s sky blue eyes looked so haunted as he spoke with me, probably remembering the time he was overtaken by his darkness.“You’re right. I don’t know what that's like, but I do know that I don’t want Elara touching it with a 2000 foot pole. Too much depends on her, and she doesn’t even know it.” I thought of how close she’d come to using the dark magic inside her when she believed Augustus to be dead. I know it’s tempting, or so Dad told me, once you’ve used dark magic, to continue to do so. I couldn’t have Elara falling into temptation, thinking that evil isn’t so evil.“That may be so, but if you don’t let her learn how to use — how to control it — when the time comes, she’s going to fall deeper into its clutches than she should.”“I’ll just make sure that time never comes.” I crossed my arms, huffing like a small child. I knew he wa
Auggie’s POVAfter Russian Boss killed me for the first time I had felt things start to change inside me. Dane had grown so powerful, it was causing Sombra to falter. I had finally gotten the two on the same level, working equally, to now have them at ends once more. Sombra hated being reduced and Dane hated being told how to handle his flames. It was an endless argument in my head between the two. At times I would have to separate them inside of me, pulling them to different corners of my mind. I was honestly just happy that I still had Sombra. If I had lost my shadow I would have killed Russian Boss until he stayed dead.I wasn’t expecting such a crowd when I regained consciousness, nor I was expecting to see Elara look so ragged and frightened. It wasn’t until later that I was filled in on what happened. Elara had almost gone dark because of me, which meant I still had work to do if I was going to make sure that never happened. I can’t have her joining evil because of my misstep. Gr