As the three Nephalems fought against their enemies, the intensity of the battle threatened to destroy the highest tower in Salem’s Hearth. The fight became separated into parts with one person squaring off against another in the wide and spacious hall. Hannah faced off against Jintu and her double-sided spear, Garin got tangled up with the archer, Manilo, and Cleo went head-to-head with Reah.
“I’ve never fought a demon before, but I’ve heard that they’re quite slow. Let’s test that theory, shall we?” Manilo said to Garin.
She moved so quickly that Garin could barely see her hands as she grabbed several arrows from her pouch and fired them at him. Garin moved pretty quickly as well and was dodging and deflecting the arrows she was firing at him while moving closer to her so he could close the gap between them and even the playing field a little bit by maximizing their proximity. He was fast but not fast enough to deflect or dodge every arrow because one of them got him directly in the shoulder.
Garin grunted in pain when the arrow hit and it was certainly the most pain he had ever experienced from such a small wound. He pulled out the arrow and kept closing the distance. Manilo kept firing but when she saw that he was about to reach her, she stopped collecting arrows and used her bow as a shield to block his swing of the sword.
“My turn,” Garin said to her and punched her in the stomach with his other free hand.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, Hannah wasn’t doing so well against Jintu. The angel was finding it difficult to keep up with the Nephalem’s attacks because she was moving too fast and was attacking from above and below with her double-sided spear blade.
Jintu swung her weapon at Hannah, causing the angel to duck underneath it but this left her open for other forms of offence. Jintu jumped in front of Hannah and kicked her with both feet while spinning in midair. Hannah was blasted back into a wall with so much force that it cracked. The angel looked at her opponent who was now hovering in the air.
Jintu threw her spear at Hannah’s head but she tilted slightly to her left and the blade missed her face by inches and stabbed into the wall.
“Had enough yet?” Jintu asked and called her spear out of the wall and back into her hand.
“I’ve barely even started,” Hannah responded and released her powerful wings.
She jumped into the air and attacked again, drawing her sword against Jintu’s as both blades clashed against each other with fire and rage.
While Hannah and Garin were fighting for their lives against opponents that were arguably stronger than they were, Cleo and Reah hadn’t begun their fight yet. They were still sizing each other up and getting some pent-up grievances off their chest first. They had some history between both of them that was a lot more personal than just torn allegiances.
“We’ve never had to fight, Kileppa, but it was super easy for me when I killed both my pairs and became a sole warrior. I could take you with my eyes closed but I don’t want this to get messy for you. Believe it or not, I still care for you and I’m imploring you not to fight me and just accept your fate,” Reah said.
“What fate? That I’m forever bound to a maker that doesn’t even care about me? Is that what I should accept?” Cleo raised her voice and her sword as well.
“This is why we were made, Kileppa. This is the entire reason for our existence. A privilege that you and our sisters threw away,” she scraped her dual swords together to create a little spark.
“That’s all bullshit, Reah,” Cleo nodded her head at the insanity, “You’re just a blind and loyal servant without a mind of your own. I can’t believe I ever loved you,” Cleo said.
“I can! I’m quite the catch,” Reah replied and went on the attack.
The rest of the nine Nephalems that were in the Hearth appeared on the upper level of the tower and were watching the fight like it was a television program. With their numbers, they could easily defeat Hannah, Garin and Cleo but they didn’t raise a finger. This was the trio’s fight and they were just going to spectate.
Reah proved to be more skilled than Cleo had thought. Not only was she fast with her swords but she was also chatty and quippy, making faces at Cleo while conversing with her during the fight; some sort of sly tactic to get under her skin and cause her to lose her focus and slip up.
“What’s the matter, Lover? You seem to be much slower since the last time I saw you,” Reah said with a taunting smile.
“I’m not your lover,” Cleo growled and swung angrily. Reah’s games were getting to her.
The Nephalem spun away from the swing and took one of her own but Cleo dodged it. Reah was moving as if she was fighting a child; it was almost like the fight was too easy for her because she knew exactly what to do and when to do it.
She threw one of her swords at Cleo who used her sword to deflect it. Reah jumped at her with the one sword and they clashed a few times before the other blade flew back into her hand and she sliced Cleo on the thigh.
“Did that hurt?” Reah taunted again.
Cleo growled and charged at Reah again, unleashing a flurry of stabs and thrusts that Reah was able to defend against but she didn’t see the folded right fist of Cleo’s that caught her right on the chin, causing her to stumbled backwards.
“Did that hurt?” Cleo asked, mocking Reah with her own words.
The Nephalem didn’t like this and her eyes glowed in anger. She threw one of her blades at Cleo and the weapon began to attack in the air and all on its own. Cleo was blocking the attacks of the floating sword and it made Reah see an opening at her back. She teleported behind Cleo and attacked with her sword. Cleo had to switch between defending against the floating sword on one side and Reah on the other. She was matching both attacks with defensive moves but the numbers caught up to her and the sword slashed her in the back.
"Argh," Cleo groaned.
Right after that, Reah kicked her in the abdomen, sending her to the floor.
Garin wasn’t doing too good himself. He had several arrows sticking out of his arms and feet but Manilo seemed like she was on vacation. She dashed in front of him, causing him to swing his sword in defence but she ducked underneath it and whipped him on the head with the full brunt of her bow. Garin was blasted off the ground and he slammed into Hannah on the other side of the hallway.
Cleo looked over at the parents of her dead sister and was certain that if they remained here any longer, they would end up dead as well. She had to get them out of Salem. Reah walked over to her but before she could say something smug, Cleo sped away from her to the Celestials and used her power to create a powerful wave of energy that spread from the centre to the corners of the hall, blasting her siblings into the walls.
That burst of power took the wind out of Cleo and she looked exhausted.
“Cleo, are you okay?” Hannah asked her.
“Don’t worry about me,” Cleo said quickly before the others would get back up, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to get you to see Jasmine again. I really thought she was still alive. I couldn’t save her but I can save both of you. You have to get out of Salem. If you can make it out, they won’t follow you back to Earth,”
Cleo placed her palm on Garin’s and smiled at him. A bright light shone within their palms and a marking appeared on Garin’s hand.
“Get back to the river. Dive as deep and as fast as you can. When you get enough speed, raise your palm and a gate will open. Go now!” She urged them.
“But, what about you? They’ll kill you,” Garin asked.
“Forget about me! Just go,” Cleo yelled just as her sisters got back up.
“Come on, Garin, we have to go,” Hannah said and pulled him away, breaking his hold on Cleo’s hand.
The couple ran through the hall and when they reached the stairs, they jumped down to the bottom.
“Don’t let them escape,” Reah shouted at the others.
The nine Nephalems jumped off the upper level and chased after Hannah and Garin. The couple reached the door and Garin kicked it open. They jumped out of the Hearth and released their wings. Hannah and Garin dropped into the rotating river and right behind them, the Nephalems did as well. They swam deeper into the water as fast as they could but their pursuers were hot on their tail.
Garin grabbed Hannah closer to him and put his palm out. A light came from out of nowhere and sucked them into it, just before the Nephalems would have caught them. The portal closed and they managed to escape.
.
.
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Josh and Isabelle had been through an awful lot just that night, hiding away from demons and escaping death several times. They didn’t have a roof over their heads anymore seeing as Josh’s country home was now in ruins so they opted to spend the night in a hotel and leave for L.A first thing the next morning.
They found a nice hotel and paid for a room. They lodged in and put their bags away silently, without uttering a word to each other. Their silence was because Isabelle had told Josh about his death earlier and how she was able to save him by reversing time and now, they didn’t know how to feel about the entire thing, especially Josh because she had told him that he died and if it wasn’t for her, he would be dead right now. Neither of them wanted to discuss it so they chose to remain silent instead.
“I’m going to get a quick shower,” Isabelle finally broke the silence.
“Okay,” Josh replied, “I’ll order us some room service while you’re in there.”
Isabelle went into the bathroom and Josh went to grab the hotel phone. It was really late and he wasn’t really hungry but he just needed to do something; anything to get his mind off the thought of his death. He knew he was probably going to have a hard time falling back asleep so it would help to have something to nibble in the middle of the night.
Josh called room service and ordered some cake and juice and the hotel told him that they would bring it up soon. He went to the bed and fell onto it. He could hear the shower going off inside the bathroom and more than anything, he wanted to join Isabelle, to feel the water cascading on both their skins as they hold each other. He wanted to make her feel a bit better because she was still so shaken about witnessing his death. He wanted to hold her and assure her that he was still here and that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The doorbell rang and he heard a woman’s voice on the other side of the door call out “Room Service” so he got off the bed and went to open the door.
“Good evening, Sir,” The woman said.
“Good evening,” Josh replied.
He noticed that she carried the small meal order in a large pushing tray so he opened the door widely for her to push the cart in. Josh also noticed that she was a little too young and quite pretty to be in a job as Room Service in a hotel but he didn’t make a comment about it.
“Right beside the bed is fine,” he pointed for her to keep the cart.
“Well, excuse me then. Have a pleasant night,” The young lady replied and as she was about to leave, Isabelle walked out of the bathroom with a towel around her body.
She noticed how intently the hotel worker stared at her after she came out and it was a bit weird. The young lady tore her gaze away from Isabelle and walked out of the room. Josh closed the door behind her and went back to the bed. He stared at the covered tray but he wasn’t interested in eating anything.
Isabelle went over to the closet and changed into one of the hotel bathrobes. She caught Josh staring at her longingly and he reached out a hand, inviting her into bed with him. Isabelle went to him and they cuddled on the mattress, happy that they were together and alive.
“I’m here, Iz. What happened out there didn’t really happen; at least, for me, it didn’t,” Josh said, “I’m right here and I’m alive. I promise that I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
“You can’t promise that, Josh, because it’s not in your power anymore. I really wish that you could fulfil all your promises but it’s out of our hands. At any moment, something catastrophic could happen and ruin everything and there’ll be nothing that either of us can do about it,” Isabelle said, squeezing on even tighter to Josh.
“We could always reverse time and stop the catastrophe before it even happens. It seems that’s what we do now, isn’t it? Two car accidents and now a dagger to the stomach; nothing can hurt us,” Josh said jokingly, trying to get Isabelle to smile or laugh and it worked.
“First, we need to understand how these powers work and how to use them. We can’t keep hoping that it kicks in at the right time,” ehe chuckled as she said.
“We’ll figure it out. You’ll see,” Josh said and kissed her on the forehead.
******
A portal opened in the middle of a frozen desert and from out of it, Garin burst out and landed on the snowy ground. A little while later, Hannah burst out as well and landed right beside him.
“Garin, are you okay?” Hannah asked him on the ground as they both lay there, facing the heavens as the light fall of snow trickled down on them.
“I’m fine, My Love. You?” He asked.
“Still in one piece,” Hannah answered.
Garin lifted his arm and found one of Manilo’s arrows lodged in his biceps. He pulled it out with his other arm, hissing slightly at the stinging pain as he did so. Garin threw the arrow away and got up to his feet. He gave Hannah a hand and pulled her up as well.
“Where are we?” Hannah asked as she looked around.
“I’m not sure,” Garin replied.
They both looked around, trying to figure out where they were. There were a lot of mountains and hills close by and far on the horizon. The wind was howling softly, blowing snowflakes off of nearby trees that were covered in icicles. In the distance, a pack of wolves barked as they chased a white stag through the hills and a snowy owl hooted in joy after spotting a rabbit scurrying across the tundra.
“Wherever we are, I doubt there’s any human life for miles. We need to get back to Connecticut. Sader may need our help so we have to get there quickly,” Garin said.
He readied himself, about to release his wings but Hannah grabbed his hand because she wanted them to talk about what happened in Salem before they went back.
“I’m sorry that we had to leave her behind. I know you had a connection with her,” Hannah said, speaking about Cleo.
“She chose to sacrifice herself for us. For that, I’ll forever be grateful to her but now’s not the time for this, Hannah. We have to get back,” Garin said plainly and Hannah could tell that he was trying to bury his sadness and anger by acting tough and unbothered.
She knew that discovering that Jasmine was really gone forever was a hard blow to take, for her and for Garin. It was almost like they had lost their daughter all over again. A wound that had been closed for thousands of years was now open again and it hurt just as badly as it did the first time. Hannah took his face in her palm and made him look her directly in the eye. Their eyes met and that was all they needed. Nothing had to be said from that point on. They accepted that Jasmine was gone and smiled at each other, ready to carry on.
“Let’s go,” Hannah said with a loving smile.
They both looked up at the sky and tried to release their wings but they were unable to. Garin tried again but his wings refused to come out; it was almost as if he didn’t have them anymore and it was the same for Hannah.
“What’s happening to us? Why can’t we get our wings out?” Hannah asked.
“I don’t know,” Garin replied.
It wasn’t just their wings. They both felt different, like a part of them was missing and they had lost what made them Celestial; whether it was temporary or permanent, they didn’t know.
They may not have known what was wrong with their powers but they did know one thing for sure; they were trapped here and they didn’t have any way of getting back to civilization.
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Back at the hotel, in Josh and Isabelle’s room, they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. Right across from the bed was the food cart that the room service lady had brought for them and there was an ice bucket on the bottom part of the cart. A dark cloudy mist began to seep out of the bucket and into the room; the same mist that had attacked Isabelle and Josh at the vineyard. The mist floated from the floor and up into the air until it was all over both of them.
Through the holes in their faces, the mist floated into both Isabelle and Josh until there was nothing left. It was completely within them and they had no idea that Summum had taken hold of them. Now, the next time they slept together, there were sure to conceive a Nephalem baby.