Scarred Protector(32)

Squeezing her eyes shut, she pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged her middle. Her insides were on fire, as if someone had rammed a red hot poker into her and was twisting it. Then the pain started to spread so that it reached out in burning tendrils to the tips of her fingers and her toes. Holding her hands up in front of her, she saw the marks Calloue had made were now glowing red.



             Evie took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Calloue was still in the same position, and Heath was trying to come to her but Suzie and Namid were holding him back. The shooting pain speared up her spine into her head and she thought it would explode. Her body went into spasms as she bowed off the bed. The darkness knew what they were trying to do and would find some way to stop them.

Then everything changed. She was no longer in her body, but floating above it. Calloue appeared different, as if another translucent form covered his body. She knew it was friendly but wasn’t sure how.

The pain was gone in her ethereal form but her body was writhing in agony below. Her eyes were wide open, showing the whites, and she was screaming. Maybe this was it, and she was dying. Heath was yelling, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Then her body below went rigid, and the blackness oozed out of her like a dark cloud. It seeped from her abdomen just above her belly button and then from her mouth. When it stopped, she laughed, and her eyes turned completely black. It was at that moment she knew she should stop them. This was what it had wanted all along. The problem was she was up here floating near the roof.

“Calloue.” She tried to call with her floating form. She didn’t hear a sound but the ethereal form covering him glanced up and pulled its human connection eyes upward as well.



Her eyes returned to a normal color as the black finally seeped out and she was sucked back into her real form. The pain was gone from her body and for the first time in years she could sense her body was hers alone. The darkness was really gone. Calloue continued to chant, but she could see the sweat beading on his brow. She needed to tell him to stop now and put the darkness back in her.



             She glanced across to see Heath had collapsed in the others’ arms, and they laid him back on the other bed. Calloue turned his attention to him as the darkness hovered above Heath’s body. They thought they could remove what was in him as well, but the darkness had shown her its plan just before it left her. Within a second it entered through his open mouth. Heath’s body started to shake uncontrollably as Calloue continued to chant more loudly. Evie cried, thinking her love was now putting up with the torment she had suffered these past years, and had seen for a moment what the darkness wanted to do with him.

Evie pushed herself up off the bed and slipped her feet down. Damn it. Now she could move, but it was too late. Her body felt drained, but she had to be near him. She knelt beside his cot and placed her palm on his chest.

“You can beat it, Heath. Don’t let it take your power. It’s what it’s been waiting for. It didn’t want me. It wanted you.”

He stopped shaking and opened his eyes and gazed at her and smiled. Calloue kept chanting above her, then a yell was heard from the entrance to the cave. The other Midworlders ran in that direction. When she turned back, Heath stood up from his cot and within seconds, his wings erupted from his back. For a second, she thought he was preparing to fight until she saw his eyes had turned completely black.

Evie backed away but knew he would be too strong for her. He laughed as he grabbed her in his arms and held her tight against his chest. The others were outside, fighting whatever had attacked. Evie screamed but before anyone could stop him, Heath had run through the entrance to the cave and rose into the sky. Peering down, she could see the fight below and saw Luke point her way. She just had to hope they would find her and believe Heath would be strong enough to defeat the darkness.





Chapter 17



Arthur’s Secret



It might’ve been Heath’s body she was clinging to, but there was no mistake his mind had been taken over by the darkness. All she could wish was that she would be able to connect with the man she had grown to love and that he would fight through it.

She expected the others might be following them, but after seeing Charles at the entrance to the cave, she knew they might also have their own fight as well. Her heart raced as she tried to control her breathing. It was cold, and the air hurt her lungs as she breathed in. Heath kept flying higher until they reached the top of the mountain behind Kingston. He swooped back down and landed on a small flattened area surrounded by a few trees. He let her feet drop as he let her go, and she collapsed to the ground. Her legs were like Jell-O. She glanced around trying to make out her surroundings as the sun went down. Evie knew it was pointless trying to run, as he would catch her before she could get far.

Heath held his arms open wide as he took in the vista below. She could hear his deep intake of breath, as if the darkness in him was trying to get used to his body.

“For fuck’s sake, Heath. What are you doing? Take me back to the others. You need their help.”

Heath sauntered back to her and bent down so his face was inches from hers. The light was fading, but she could see his sneer, and then he licked his lips.

“Don’t be coy, Evie. Don’t you want to be alone with me? I mean me. Of course, we both know Heath is hiding like a frightened mouse at the back of his mind. You on the other hand, are real, and it’s been a long time since I was with a woman. Hundreds of years, in fact. Maybe we could have some fun.” Heath laughed.



             Evie’s stomach turned as she struggled to keep down the drink Calloue had given her earlier. She shook her head, trying to get her thoughts together. Heath would never forgive himself if he hurt her, and being possessed by some strange creature would not be a sufficient excuse for him. He would blame himself for not being stronger. Somehow, she had to find him in there. Before she had a chance to think or move, Heath pounced on her and flipped her onto her back. His weight was pressed down on her, and she could hardly breathe. He was hard and pushed his erection against her lower abdomen. This was not Heath. He would never hurt her. She would have to get through to him somehow.

“Heath, this isn’t you. Fight him. I love you.” Heath’s lips came down hard on hers, as he forced his tongue into her mouth. His hand came up and gripped her breast and squeezed it roughly. Damn, but she wasn’t going down like this.



She bit down on his tongue. He moved away, wiping the blood from his mouth and then slapped her across the face. Tears were forming in her eyes at what had become of the man she loved. Her cheek stung, but she wouldn’t give up. She had always feared being assaulted after what had happened to her mother, but she had never considered it would be Heath who would attack her.

“He can’t hear you, you stupid bitch. So shut up and let me get on with what I want.” It seemed so wrong to hear Heath’s voice utter such words, as he pushed her legs apart and started to fumble with the button on her jeans.

In the next moment, Heath’s weight was off her body as he jumped up and stood with his back against the tree beside them. She pulled herself up, ready to run, but something stopped her. She could hear sobbing. Heath was crying. She moved across to him and placed her hand against his cheek.



             “Get away from me while you can, Evie. I don’t know how long I can hold him off. I’m so sorry.”

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for. I’ll find the others and come back to help you.”

It was one of the hardest things she had ever done in her life, turning away from him like that. Evie stumbled over rocks and tree roots in the darkness as she made her way down the hillside. Tears streamed down her face, and she wiped them away with her sleeve, but they kept coming. Threading her way through the trees, she dreaded to think of what Heath would do to stop the darkness from taking control again. The thought that he would try to kill himself was uppermost, and she had to reach the others and get them to stop him. She had lived with the darkness a long time and knew how powerful it could be.

She tried to get her bearings, but it was so dark, and all she could see were trees and the lights of the city below. Peering over a rocky ledge, she was still high up on the mountainside, but she could make out the cars of the others with their lights on below. Then, one minute she was upright, the next she was falling head over heels. When she finally came to a stop, she had a bump on her head and could taste dirt in her mouth. Spitting it out, she wiped her face, got up, and moved on.

She could hear wings flapping and squatted down with her hands over her head to shield her face. All she could do was hope it wasn’t Heath, taken over by the darkness again.

“It’s all right, Evie. It’s me.” Suzie was before her with her glorious wings reaching up from her shoulders, and it was one of the most wonderful things Evie had ever seen. “The others are searching for you both as well.”

Evie stood up and let out a long breath, and as her body relaxed a bit. “The darkness has taken him, Suzie, but he’s fighting it. He let me go, but I don’t know how long his good side will last.”