"When i tell you so, make a run for it, i can hold them back for a few and well run together. Here take the bag." I handed ivy the messenger bag that had the plant inside. She put it over her shoulders.
"that's not a very good idea."
"It's the best there is right now, we have to run like hell, no pun intended." I knew i could do this. She gave me a small nod.
This meant a lot of things. We were currently in the ever-after. A few weeks ago i had found a spell in one of Al's books that expanded the lifespan of pixies. The spell wasn't difficult, and the only downer seemed that i would get another smut in my soul; like i needed any more. But there was another bad thing. One of the ingredients required was a rare flower. The flower was similar to a lily but the petals were black and purple and it was only grown in the ever-after. Human world didn't have the magic in the soil to sustain it.
So i stole the spell from the book. I copied it over in a sheet of paper. I wasn't going to ask AL to lend it to me, he would simply refuse. I talked to Ivy about it and told her that i had found a spell to expand pixie life span. As soon as i told her i needed to make a trip to the ever-after to get an essential ingredient she opposed the trip. Saying it was simply too risky. I had told her i would do it with or without her approval, i wasn't going to let Jenks of Matalina die. She accepted on one condition. To come along.
So now here we were, in the ever after. Where the the sky was eternally night, and the buildings ruins of what they once were. This was a depressing place. Scary but over all sad. The ruins screamed abandonment and death and the trees seemed to cry with it. I had come with a map of the ever-after, courtesy of AL, who thinks i should get familiar with the place anyways. I jumped the lines with Ivy and we landed in the church. The one that had been a safe haven when i had come here with him, which seemed like an eternity ago.
From the church we had to go through the line of trees to remain unseen by anything. After the Trees followed an old road that still had proof of of the life that had once inhabited the ever after. And after the road we made it inside the cave of secrets. That's what the map calls it, i kid you not. And it was indeed a cave of secrets. Where the rest of the ever after seemed desolated, dry and dead the cave was all but. Water ran through it, and the water reflected across the ceiling. And inside where carvings that made it seem more like a temple than a cave. Carvings of elves, and Celtic symbols, beautiful. It made me think that one, perhaps thousands of years ago the ever after was beautiful. We made it through the cave without any incident and at the end of the cave we found the flowers were were searching for.
Our trip back out of the cave was uneventful, but as soon as we were on the road i felt eyes on us, i heard movements here and there. Ivy knew we were being followed, she had simply to look at me and we fell on silent agreement, to pretend that we knew nothing until they decided to come out. That way it'll give us time to get to the trees. And we made it halfway through the trees.
I was surprised that the first sign to make themselves known was not an attack. Dogs for a lack of better term surrounded us, Ivy and i came closer together, our backs pressed against each other, guarding ourselves. We were surrounded by trees, like in woods. The air was cold, i could see my breath in front of me.
The dogs that came forward were strange dogs, huge the size of a large Irish wolfhound. But i think these would more likely be called hell hounds. They were beautiful and sleek, with glossy black fur and eyes the color of winter, a very pale blue. They weren't growling. But they looked ready to pounce at any little thing. Their eyes calculated every movement.
A few seconds later a man emerged from the Trees. He reminded me of the hunt. He was wearing dark green robes- what is it with demons and green. He was tall and majestic, with long white hair hair and skin as white as his hair. From his feature he wasn't old maybe 30 at most, but his aura was a different story. There was an oldness to him, ancient. I stared into his lizard eyes. I could smell the Cinnamon in him. For all his beauty he was a demon. I think I've read about him and his dogs. And they weren't good things.
"Rachel Morgan." There was amusement in his voice, he was mocking me.
Crap on toast, i much rather be here with Newt. This guy scared the hell out of me, it was an internal fear, made your heart ache and your stomach turn, It made your mind desperate. That was one of his powers, the fear he radiated. He slowly stepped towards me. I held my open palm out, as if trying to stop him, like that would actually stop him.
He smiled at me, if i didn't know any better i would think that he was sweet. Yeah right. Sweet my ass.
"Alistair" I whispered.
"You know of me." And to that i gave a small nod. He looked at Ivy who was surrounded by the hell hounds. "A vampire...I haven't had a vampire in a very long time." By having he didn't mean eating or sex oh no, he meant torturing, ah crap. This wasn't good.
"What do you want?" I managed to ask. Inside i could barely make a coherent thought. Oh god.
He cocked his head to the side, a gesture that reminded me alot of his hell-hounds. Inspecting me, waiting for me. He lifted an eyebrow. A small whimper escaped my lips and that brought a beautiful smile to his face.
Choices, Choices, choices. We could run, but these hell-hounds were extremely fast, ivy could probably outrun them but chances were that i couldn't. And if we run from them how can i protect us so that a fireball or an arrow or something will not hit us. Aw man!!This really sucks. Okay think Rachel, Think. Can i make a circle around ivy and i while we run?, No no that's too sketchy and if we run and i couldn't keep the circle in place it would be disastrous. What about if i make the circle around Alistair and his hell-hounds, its gonna be a hell of a big circle and it won't hold for long, but we don't need long, just a head start.
"When i tell you so, make a run for it, i can hold them back for a few and well run together. Here take the bag." I handed ivy the messenger bag that had the plant inside. She put it over her shoulders.
"that's not a very good idea."
"It's the best there is right now, we have to run like hell, no pun intended." I knew i could do this. She gave me a small nod.
"Okay on R."
"Okay."
Alistair was definitely amused. His smile was enough to see that. "This shall be fun, a hunt, how i love those. I want to see what you can do love, i always love a woman who fights back. I am going to enjoy breaking you, see how long you last." His voice a low and sweet. Except for the words that were coming out of his mouth.
"Run." WE ran as fast as we could until we were no longer surrounded with Alistair and his hounds, And at that i called.
"Rhombus!" and the circle came up around Alistair and his hounds. It wasn't going to hold off for long so we kept running.
When your running and your afraid the run seems like a very long time, and eternity. Like you've been running forever and nothing matters but to keep running. That's how i felt. I looked over at ivy and she seemed to feel the same way too. We ran for what seemed like hours but was probably only 15 minutes. The circle weakened with each step until i felt nothing at all.
Ivy made it first, opening the door to the church. I was still a good distance from safety when i heard Alistair and his hounds gaining on me.
I heard Alistair call my name.
"Rachel, love where are your manners?" He didn't sound angry, but rather like an adult correcting a child.
I didn't dare look back. I was almost at the doors when i looked at ivy and saw that her eyes were wide and she was staring at Alistair.
As any other person i looked back and saw that he had indeed gained on us, but he was just standing there with his hound, and his hand he had a very scary looking energy ball.
"Oh don't worry love, it shan't kill you, but you'll have to be back for answers." He said when my eyes fell on it.
He threw the energy ball at me and just as i reached the church it hit me. Damn worst of luck. When the energy ball hit me, it hit me in me lower back. I thought i would've felt fire or shock, but that's not what i felt. I knew it hit me in my lower back because it felt cool. It started cool at one point and then the coolness spreads all over my body.
I reached ivy then and i literally tackled her and sent us both out of the ever-after.
***
"Rachel are you okay?" Ivy got up from where she landed and walked towards me. She held out a hand and i took it.
"Yup, could be better, but yup i am good."
"Are you sure?, i saw the energy-ball go into you." She looked at me skeptically, searching for any signs of harm.
"I am-" That's when the coughing fit started. I coughed so many times that i lost count. I could barely pull in a breath without it leading into another fit. I covered my mouth with one hand and leaned into the island with another.
"Rachel." I could hear the worry in Ivy's voice.
"It's just-" Cough. My coughing seemed to calm a bit. And Finally i was able to stand straight. I looked at ivy and her eyes were wide. She looked at me with the same worry that was laced in her voice.
"Rachel your bleeding." I looked down at my hands and noticed that the one i had over my mouth was covered in blood, but they didn't have a cut in them. The blood was from the coughing. "Your nose too." She whispered.
My clean hand automatically reached for my nose and came with blood. My head felt light, and my vision was starting to blur. I blink trying to clear it but it did no good. And it a course of a few seconds i couldn't see anything at all.
"Ivy, I can't see." I felt my strengh waver with the use of words. Second after second i felt weaker and weaker. And i hurt. My body hurt all over, and i couldn't point where i was hurting, the pain seemed to be coming from my blood, from my very cells.
"I hurt..."I lost the world at that moment. My hearing was also dimming, my senses fell far away and then i really lost conscious.