10. Help Not Wanted

Kairi's back popped as she stretched it out the next day. Sleeping on the ground never got comfortable no matter how times you had to do it. She frowned as she took in her appearance. She was filthy after walking around for only a day. Grunge was definitely not her best look.

She glanced up and did a head count to make sure everyone was still present. She hated to think one of her friends could have been killed by demons in the middle of the night. They could be quite the pest here.

Everyone was still alive and awake thankfully. Liam was sitting nearby and studying his notebook. He smiled when he noticed her staring at him. He stood and sauntered over to her. He tipped his head in greeting and sat down next to her. "G'day, dearie. I was just checking my map for the quickest way to purgatory. Glad to see you're up though. We'll need to hit the road soon."

Kairi grinned. "Thank you so much for helping us. We really, really needed this."

"No worries. I'm glad to help." He scratched the back of his head. "But why do you need to get to purgatory so bad? If you don't mind my askin' that is."

Kairi bit her lip, unsure how much she should tell him. Saying she was going to meet with Death might scare him off and then they'd have no way of finding purgatory. Sydney's weariness of him came to mind as well. They still didn't know who he was. Did he really deserve to know that much about them?

"It's a secret you want to keep, I see." Liam gave her a knowing smile. "Very well. I won't ask again." He jumped back to his feet and held his hand out to help Kairi get up. "We should get going, yeah? You have a deadline to meet."

Kairi, Cade, Sydney, and Liam had been hiking through the Land of the Dead all day and it had been pleasantly uneventful. Liam had proved that he was familiar with the underworld and his handmade maps were accurate. He led them through the terrain like he was the Land of the Dead's official tour guide. Despite their best efforts, they still couldn't get Liam to answer any questions about himself. They had given up and spent most of the walk in silence.

"I have to say, we're making ace time. We might make it there sooner than I thought." Liam studied his maps. "We'll still be cutting it close, but might have time to take a break at some point."

"How about now?" Kairi suggested, not wanting to admit how much her feet were hurting her. "It's almost night time anyway."

"True enough." Liam examined the area around them. "But I don't think you want to stop here. I've seen quite a few demons in this area and if we stop, we'd be begging them to attack us."

"Demons?" Cade asked.

Liam nodded. "Pesky little things. Their teeth are sharp enough to tear a diamond to pieces, but what you really need to worry about is their breath. Demon's breath is the most poisonous gas in existence. One breath and you'll be a goner."

"What do they look like?"

"Creepy." Kairi shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "They're small, but deadly. Half the time, you can't even see them coming because they morph into the shadows. Their bodies are solid black except for their glowing eyes, which are this haunting yellow colour."

"You mean like that?" Cade pointed to the top of cliff where two glowing yellow orbs were staring directly at them. A high pitched shriek pierced through the air.

Kairi yelped and covered her ears. "Yes! We need to move, now!" Kairi pushed her friends into motion. They ran ahead and around a corner for cover. If they could outpace the demon, they'd be safe. The girls turned another corner and slipped through a narrow gap.

"No! Not that way!" Liam tried to stop them, but they had already squeezed through. Liam groaned and followed them inside. "It's a dead end."

The girls had realized that seconds before he said it. They spun around to escape, but found that the demon was blocking their only exit.

The demon screeched again, the haunting sound reverberating around the walls. Its body stuck out at awkward angles. Everything looked sharper than it should have been, its elbows, its feet, even its three fingers had the appearance of daggers. On top of its head sat two antennas, twisted and bent in acute corners. They were constantly twitching as if they were searching the area for prey. It flashed its icicle shaped teeth, and black fog oozed from its mouth.

Kairi gasped and pulled her shirt over her mouth. "Don't breathe that in! One whiff and you'll be dead!"

The others followed her lead and quickly covered their mouths.

"How do we get out of here?" Cade searched the area. The demon had them trapped in a corner with no path of escape in sight. The walls surrounding them were not climbable.

"Can we hit it with something?" Sydney stared at the ground, looking for a rock or bone to throw at the monster coming towards them. "That should stun it, right? And then we can get away."

"No!" Kairi shook her head as if that was the worst idea she had ever heard. "That will only make it angrier. We need to run away from it. The only way to survive demon's breath is to not breathe it in in the first place! The only things that can survive demon's breath are other demons and people who are Shadowed."

"She's right," Liam added. "Demons are very temperamental creatures. If we don't figure out a way to get out of here now, we will die in seconds."

"Well, I'm open to ideas!"

Everyone scanned the territory in a desperate attempt to find a way to avoid their death. No way presented itself. They were surrounded by unclimbable walls and the demon occupied their only straight shot out of there.

The demon continued its deliberate walk towards them. It took its time, like a tiger toying with its prey before the kill. The fog emitting from its mouth continued to spread out and close in on its targets.

Sydney gritted her teeth. "We're going to have to jump over it."

"But the poisonous gas!"

"You can hold your breath can't you? Look, it's the only way. Do you want to live or not?"

No one answered. They knew she was right. They just had to hope the gas wasn't too thick and try their best to not breathe any of it into their lungs.

"On the count of three. One. Two. Thr-"

"Subsisto!"

The demon became frozen in a green glow and the black fog encompassing it dissipated.

The group stumbled out of their ready-to-jump positions, not able to cancel their momentum. Their eyes shifted around in an attempt to identify who or what had stopped their attacker.

With one final shriek, the demon was tossed away into the shadows. There was a pause as everyone waited to see if it would re-emerge, but after a few seconds passed it was clear it was gone for now.

"How-" Sydney's eyes traced back to where the demon had been only moments before. Her fists tightened and a surge of anger filled her as she recognized the three familiar faces that had appeared before them. She rounded on Cade. "Oh no, they won't come after us. They'd never be crazy enough to do that."

Cade glared at her boyfriend as he and his friends approached. "You told them?"

Sam chuckled nervously and kicked at the ground. "Surprise?"

"Really? That's the greeting you're going to give us?" Fred folded his arms. "You're not going to thank us for saving your lives?"

"Us?" Joe frowned at him. "Sorry, I must have the part where you helped."

The girls scowled at them, not at all pleased with their arrival. The boys took an uneasy step back, surprised by their reaction. They expected smiles and excited greetings, not glares and cold-shoulders. They paused and took in the girls' appearances, noting the dirt and injuries.

"You're hurt," Joe gasped and ran over to Sydney. He tentatively reached up to examine the bloody bandage on her forehead.

Sydney pushed his hand away. "How did you get here?"

"I warped us." Joe proudly smiled, tilting his chin up. "And it actually went well. I think I'm finally getting the hang of warping."

Sam scoffed. "If you call falling through the sky well..."

"That wasn't my fault!" Joe defended himself. "That wouldn't have happened if Fred didn't grab The Book."

"You warped by yourself?" Sydney ran her hand over her face and shook her head. She hesitated as the rest of what he said registered. "You warped with The Book? You know you're not supposed to use your magic around it! You are doing all the things I told you not to do!"

"I didn't know Fred took it!" The corners of Joe's mouth turned down. "What's wrong? Why are you all so unhappy to see us? We came here to help."

Kairi gazed at Fred with somber eyes. "You being here is only going to make things worse."

"Beg your pardon, but who are they?" Liam spoke for the first time since the boys had arrived.

The boys frowned, as if they had just now noticed Liam was there. "Who is he?" They all asked and crossed their arms.

"A friend." Cade waved her hand dismissively. "I think we need to have a talk. Alone."

Joe shifted nervously under the glare from Sydney. "I'm sorry, okay? I know I shouldn't have warped without backup."

"Do you know how badly you could've been hurt?" Sydney put her hands on her hips. "You could have died!"

"At least I would have ended up here either way," Joe attempted a joke, but immediately knew it was a terrible attempt to lighten the situation.

Sydney had dragged him away from the others so they could talk. They were completely out of their sight. Kairi and Cade had done the same with Fred and Sam. Though Joe knew these talks were more likely to lead to scoldings from the girls.

"You can't be here. Take Fred and Sam and go back to New York."

"No," Joe shook his head, "we came here to assist you guys because we want to be there for you. You three may think you can handle everything on your own, but it never hurts to have excess help."

"It's much too dangerous for you here." Sydney continued to glare at Joe.

"Why do you want me to leave so badly? You know I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. You're the one who trained me."

"That doesn't matter. You can't be here."

"But I am. So I'm staying."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"I have been responsible for enough deaths!" Sydney snapped. "Yours will not be one of them!"

Joe's face softened as he reached to touch her face. "Sydney..."

Sydney sharply smacked his hand away. "Go home, Joe. Now."

"No." Joe crossed his arms.

"Yes," Sydney stomped her foot impatiently, "if Death finds out you're here he will kill you."

"Why? I didn't do anything."

"No, but I did. Death and I are not on the best of terms. The moment he sees an opportunity to take you from me, he will."

Joe laughed and shook his head, earning an angry glare from Sydney.

"What are you laughing at? This isn't funny, Joe!"

"Only you would make an enemy of Death." Joe reached out and brushed Sydney's hair away from her face, careful to avoid her injury, and cupped her cheek in his palm. "We're here to pay Kairi's debt, not yours. I'll be fine."

"You can't guarantee that. Please Joe, go home. I have lost enough people in my life. I can't risk losing you too. You and the kids are the only real family I have left."

"You aren't going to lose me." Joe wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close. "I promise."

Sydney sighed and stared up into Joe's green eyes. "There's nothing I can do or say to make you leave is there?"

"Nope." Joe smirked. "It'd be a waste of time, and I'm assuming we don't have a lot of that to spare."

"You're right." Sydney nodded with a sigh. "We still have to figure out a plan to trick Death into ending Kairi's debt. Liam says the purgatory portal moves in four days and we need to get there before then."

"About him... who is he?" Joe tilted his head and tried to hide the jealousy he was feeling.

Sydney scoffed. "I wish I knew. Any time I try to find out more info on him, he manages to dodge my questions. He seems okay, but I have no real way of knowing."

"In that case, we should head back. It may not be the smartest idea to leave him alone with everyone else." Joe looked up and searched for the way back. "Um... you remember which way we come from, right?"

Sydney gave him a look of confusion. Her eyes followed his and she noticed what he did. The fog had thickened around them, hiding the path back to their friends.

Sydney stepped back and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Kairi! Cade!"

There was no response.

Sydney groaned. "I really hate this place."

Kairi pinched the bridge of her nose. "What made you think it was a good idea to come here, Fred? We didn't tell you for a reason."

Fred tilted his head and squinted at her. "Why? We just want to help. Sam told us how you're here to pay a debt."

"Which is exactly why you can't be here." Kairi sighed. "And yet I know if I tell you to leave, you won't."

"Of course not. I'm here because I was worried about you." Fred pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. His nose was filled with the pleasant scent of cinnamon, even after trudging around the underworld she still managed to smell amazing to Fred.

"But you have no reason to be. The Land of the Dead used to be my home. I'll be fine here without your help." Kairi stared up into Fred's blue eyes. "You don't understand how risky it is for you to be here."

"It's no more dangerous for me than it is for you."

"Yes, it is." Kairi looked away.

Fred ran his finger down her jawline and pulled her face back to his in a gentle kiss. "I'm not leaving. I'm sorry that you're mad at me, but once I found out where you were and what you were doing I knew I had to be here for you."

"I'm not mad, just scared. If Death finds out what you mean to me..." Kairi trailed off, not wanting to think of Fred's fate if Death knew who he was.

"I promise I can handle myself. I'm not scared of Death."

"You should be."

"But I'm not." Fred kissed her again. "I love you, princess, and I'm here to be your knight in shining armor. You think I would let you go on this adventure without me?"

Kairi giggled. "I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised that you showed up. Though I am surprised that got Sam here. This doesn't exactly seem like his cup of tea."

"Trust me, it was not easy getting him to come along." Fred shrugged. "But here he is."

They looked over at Sam and Cade, who were caught in the middle of a heated discussion. Kairi frowned, thinking back on their earlier conversation about Cade and Sam's relationship. She knew they were meant to be together. Kairi was never wrong about love. She believed that everyone deserved to find their special someone and to experience that magical happiness that came with it. Kairi couldn't just sit around while two people close to her were struggling to find that happiness.

"Come on." Kairi tugged on Fred's hand and lead him back to Sam and Cade. "We should stick together."

"What are you doing here, Sam?" Cade put her hands on her hips and frowned.

"Hey, I didn't want to come." Sam held up his hands in defense. "Joe and Fred made me."

Cade sighed. "Of course they did."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, that dangerous adventures like this aren't what you do. Just go home. We both know you'd be happier there."

"But I-" Sam started, then shook his head. "I'm happier when I'm with you. I wasn't dying to get out here because I know you can fend for yourself. I trust you and I have faith in you." He grabbed her hand.

"That's not the point." Cade took her hand back. "I'm glad you think I'm capable of doing this on my own, but you should have come because you wanted to. Do you even care about me?"

"Of course I care! I came because- I wanted to-" Sam paused and took a deep breath. "They're not coming back, Cade." Sam offered her a sympathetic smile.

"Who's not coming back?" Cade squinted at him, confused.

"Your parents," Sam answered. "I know the reason you came on this insane mission is because you think there's a way they can be brought back to life. I wanted to be here to help you understand that."

Cade's jaw dropped. Her moment of shock ended and immediately turned into anger. "That's why you think I came here? Sam, I know my parents are gone. I'm not crazy enough to think that they are ever coming back." She shook her head in disbelief. "I came here to help my friend. Kairi needed someone to play the decoy as her debt payment. I can't believe you."

"Oh." Sam's cheeks reddened. "Cade, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Save it." Cade held up her hand for him to stop talking. "I've heard enough."

Sam ran a hand over his face. This was not how this was supposed to go. He didn't like where his and Cade's relationship was headed. He really did care about her, even if their friends couldn't see it. He wanted more than anything for her to be happy, but clearly he wasn't succeeding in that regard.

"I hate to interrupt." Liam awkwardly stood next to them, apparently having heard their entire conversation. "But we really don't have time for this. The portal to purgatory isn't going to remain in its current spot forever. We need to get going."

Cade nodded. "Right." She stepped towards Liam, ready to leave.

"Purgatory?" Sam asked. "That doesn't exactly sound safe."

"We have to go, Sam." Cade frowned at him. "That's where Death is expecting to meet us."

"Death? You're going to meet Death? Are you crazy? You could die!" Sam fought the urge to drag Cade away from Liam. He'd drag her all the way back to New York if he had to. He just wanted her to be safe. He didn't want to lose her.

Cade fixed him with a long, hard stare. "I'm going. Whether or not you come with me is up to you."

The words nearly broke Sam's heart. "Don't make me choose like that."

"It shouldn't even be a choice! I love you, Sam, but this relationship is becoming too much."

His knees wobbled and the world spun around him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what you think it does." Cade turned to face him head-on. "Sam, I can't be with you anymore. I'm sorry, but it's over." And with that, Cade stormed off into the fog.