31 - Late (2 of 2)

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Unaware was I that Belial was just behind us, watching. Her usual indifference hid the slightest curiosity.

“You did that.” She wasn’t asking.

“Did what?” I shrugged, offering Luci a hand. In her puzzlement, she took it, rubbing the side of her head.

“That!” Belial feverishly waved her hands to where the Ethereals disappeared into. “Those things… listened to you, Aramis!”

I shook my head. “That’s… impossible.”

“It’s what I saw,” she countered, raising a brow.

Luci blinked. “What just happened?”

“Exactly,” I sighed in relief. “We better get—“

Before I could finish, a dull, throbbing pain in my head brought me to my knees.

I stared at my arms. The wisps of life-force escaping me kept increasing. I clutched my head and closed my eyes.

No.

‘What the earth demon said is true,’ said Alessandra, watching at me with those mismatched eyes from the mouth of her cave. ‘You are becoming one of us.’

Panic came over me. It was happening again.

‘It won’t be long,’ she said with a grim smile.

With a loud grunt, I forced my mental walls upon her. A door slamming on her face. Strangely, she didn’t push it back. She just… waited.

Was it true then? If so, I didn’t have time to mull it over.

Panting, I coerced my knees to get me up. Sweat trickled from my temples and I was shaking. I leaned on a nearby tree to catch my breath.

“What is it, Aramis?” The concern was apparent in Belial’s voice. Still she was cautious on approaching me.

“Nothing,” I lied.

“You look pale,” Luci noted. “The wraith again?”

“And that’s why I like you so much, Princess.”

“But if you will only learn to control it; maintain a state between an immortal and a wraith, you can exploit Ethereals, wraiths… even Swarths to do your bidding!” she rambled uncontrollably, her eyes having that wild passion that scared me. “I must record this. Perhaps, perform clinical tests in a controlled environment.”

“If you haven’t noticed yet, we’re in the middle of a rescue mission,” I snapped. “This isn’t your laboratory, Luci and I’m totally not your test subject!”

“B-but…” She was giving me the eyes.

As if.

I waved the thought away and urged them to draught faster. It was hard enough trying to keep Alessandra at bay. What Luci proposed was way impossible. She acted like Hector in a dress and that irked me in a whole new level.

As we neared the labyrinth’s borders, I saw two figures dart through the woods. Both were small, but one—the male—was smaller.

We made an abrupt stop and hid behind trees.

Luci and Belial threw me looks that said what now?

I put a finger over my lips, shaking my head. At this point, we weren’t sure who were our allies and enemies.

A subtle rustling sound came from the borders. Next second, someone burst through the walls the willows created and streaked right past us.

As our eyes connected, his face registered to me.

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