Alex opened his eyes. It took a minute for his vision to come into focus. The world around him was blurry without his glasses, but he could still see the rod iron bars in front of him and feel the hard dirt under his body. The air around him was filled with dust and smelled of animal shit. When he tried to sit up is when his headache hit him, his entire face started to throb, and his ribs screamed at him. He'd given the Forti that came after them a hell of a fight, and they'd kicked his ass ten fold in return. He just had to head butt the elf that put him in cuffs when he knew damn well that he was beat, instigating the blow that knocked him unconscious. Dumbass. He was strong, but not that strong. From a spectator's perspective, it had to look like a redneck had gotten up from the couch to grab another beer, only to find himself in a professional MMA octagon.
He lay back down on his right side, gritting his teeth against the pain. His wrists were still bound behind him by handcuffs. He searched for the magic inside his veins, but it was gone. These were handcuffs laced with Midnight Powder. Not only that, he couldn't feel the compass around his neck.
"Goddammit," he muttered.
He cursed himself for throwing Mavis off that cliff. He hadn't meant for Kevin to go with her, and hoped to hell that he hadn't killed his best friend in the process. At the time, it seemed the better alternative to Mavis fighting the Forti. She was a smart woman, and quicker on her feet than she gave herself credit for. She'd find a way to survive the fall using her magic. She'd mastered the wind a few times in training, and they'd talked about using it if she ever found herself having to jump off a building or something else high from the ground.
Now, he wasn't so sure. Now, the Dark Army had him, and there was no telling if Mavis and Kevin were alive to tell Aurora. They'd kill him soon. If they didn't, Lucinda sure as hell would. If she'd given into the monster Mavis had seen in her memories, no one was walking out of here alive. Knowing there was nothing else he could do, he closed his eyes, rested his pounding head against the hard ground, and did something he hadn't done in a long, long time.
He prayed.
He apologized to God for turning away from Him in the years following the accident. He'd been so angry at Him, blaming Him for Samantha's death, but blaming himself even more. After he almost got his team killed in Brazil, he didn't feel worthy of God's forgiveness, so he didn't ask for it. Instead, he cut himself off from the Lord completely, accepting the fact that he was past the point of being saved. Only now, being so close to death, had he realized how stupid he'd been.
He prayed for the safety of his team, and that they'd survived their fall. He prayed that Kevin, who was struggling with his own demons, would eventually allow God back into his heart. He prayed that, if it was His will for Mavis to meet Beau and Lucinda, He would give her the confidence and strength she needed to kick their asses. He prayed that God would see the good in her and spare her life because of it, just as he had done.
Alex sucked in a painful breath so he wouldn't cry. He wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him cry today, not even himself. He whispered the end of his prayer out loud. "Lord, I stand before you knowing I've been far from perfect. I'm asking you for forgiveness, and to judge me as you see fit. I'll trust in your decision and accept what I deserve."
"Fuck around, Alex," said a familiar voice. "You should be a preacher. You've even got me wanting to go back to church."
Alex looked up and squinted through the bars. Even with his blurry vision, he recognized that dark head of hair and stupid smile. He was both relieved and shocked. "Kevin? You survived? You and Mavis both?"
"No thanks to you, dick."
"Did Mavis call the wind?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, and I never wanna do that shit again." Kevin opened the door to the cell and knelt down next to him, pulling him upright by the shoulders. "You're a lucky mother fucker, Alex. You know that?"
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The Good Ones
الخيال (فانتازيا)Young veterinarian, Mavis Rogers, has two goals for her new career- don't kill anything and don't reveal to her mentor that she can talk to animals. Because the universe has a twisted sense of humor, she accidentally kills her first patient and disc...
