Chapter 11
Jimena watched as Stanton fell to his knees and clutched at his chest. Despite herself, she quickly found herself on her knees beside him, tightly clutching his shoulders. His breath was coming in jagged gasps.
"Stanton? What's wrong?" She cried, her voice worried. He didn't answer at first, and when he did she had to lean close to hear him. "Serena…" He whispered.
"Serena? Do you know where she is?" Tianna asked, kneeling down in front of him and looking into his eyes.
"She's in danger…"
"Where is she? Where's Serena?" Jimena repeated, her voice hard with frustration.
"I have to save her…" He said, struggling to his feet. Jimena pushed him back in, and the fact that she could do it was surprising. He was Prince of the Dark, second in command to the Atrox. He was a lot stronger than she could ever hope to be.
"You're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on." Jimena said.
"I just told you. Serena's in danger! Now let me go, I have to save her."
"Let us come with you. We can help." Vanessa said, coming up next to Jimena to lend her support.
"There's nothing you can do, she's beyond your power now," he said, dissolving into shadow and whipping away before they could say another word.
"Damn it!" Jimena said, pounding her fist into her hand.
"Come on," Tianna said, grabbing her arm and leading her to the van, "Maybe there's still something we can do."
"But how? We don't even know where they are." Catty said, falling into step behind them.
"Then we'll just have to drive around until we find them," Jimena said.
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Stanton reappeared in an alley. She was close. Real close. Where was she? He knew that the Atrox had turned the key towards darkness. And he knew that all she had to do was commit one act of true evil, in favor of the Atrox, before she was allowed to keep her immortality. He intended to stop it.
In his heart he yearned that it could remain like this. He could bind her to him for an eternity, and she would come willingly now, but although he was Prince of the Night, first in line for the throne of the Atrox, the fourth most evil creature in the universe, the Atrox being the first, Aura and Lambert falling in second and third and that was only because he held his love for Serena deep in his heart when he had stepped into the cold fire and when he had willingly turned back to the Atrox, he wanted to protect Serena. Their greed and lust for power drove them in ways that he would never understand. She was in danger now, and would be until the day she turned seventeen and had to make her decision, possibly as long as she lived. Whether she was a force good or evil he would always love her and protect her. This wasn't the way she was supposed to be. She was a daughter to both Selene and Hekate.
Stanton… her cool voice whispered across his mind. He turned to face his true love and saw with a start that her eyes glowed phosphorescent although he had expected it. He knew what had happened. She had stepped into the cold fire. Whether it was by choice or by force he wasn't sure. He could see from the reflection in her eyes that his own glowed as well but that wasn't what caught his attention.
"I thought I left you in the pits of the underworld. You said that you would wait for me there. What made you change your mind? Did you not think that I could handle the Daughters on my own? You know that you can't help me in order for me to remain immortal," she said, her voice showing the depth of her confusion in a way her expression could not. Her eyes contained too much lust for vengeance and evil.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, now every bit as confused as she apparently was.
"After you pushed me into the fire, the Atrox asked me to destroy the Daughters in order for the key to turn in full. You know that. You were standing right next to me," she replied.
"Serena, I wasn't there. I was with Jimena and the others, where you should have been, only I supposedly pulled you out a window and vanished," he said, his suspicion deepening. Something was very, very wrong.
Serena eyed him unbelievingly. How could he say that after all they had been through this night? Wasn't this something that they had been waiting for almost since the day they had met? She had gone into the cold fire, even if it hadn't been by choice in the end, and now they could be together for all of eternity as evil was unleashed upon the world of light. They would rule over it together. "What's going on with you?"
"No. The question is: What's going on with you? Why did you all of the sudden decide to step into the fire. We've talked about this. You belong in the world of light, and I in the world of darkness. If you turn, then all hell breaks lose in the world of light."
"I know that. Isn't it great? It's what we've been waiting for!" She said, twirling in her excitement.
"No. It's what I've been waiting for." A voice said. A figure appeared from the shadows behind Stanton. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. Standing behind him was…himself….