Heath remembered wanting to go back to Homeworld to die, but instead they wanted him to find a rogue Demonic who was murdering people. Now, he knew the rogue had been Slyth. The young man Slyth possessed had gone on a killing spree controlled by the Demonic. So many years had gone by since then, but Slyth knew his opportunity would return. It did when Evie came along.
It was a wet night, and the car had skidded into the junction and hit Evie’s car. The body Slyth was inhabiting was dead with the man decapitated. He could heal most things, but reattaching a head was beyond him. Evie’s body didn’t look much better. Slyth hovered nearby and watched her Angelic leave, and when she took her last breath. He pounced and was in.
Heath’s gut clenched as he viewed Evie’s torn body before Slyth had entered and taken over. She should have died that night. He could feel how, over the following weeks her body slowly healed. He also felt the fear as she awoke up from her drug-induced coma and knew she was not alone. Unlike the other bodies Slyth had possessed, she was aware. She came from a family that could see the guardians attached to them. It was rare, but not impossible.
After Slyth joined with her, she started developing the skills to move things using telekinesis. She fought the darkness and kept him at home in her house, so he couldn’t do any damage. It had worked until the night her father had died and she had been attacked by Charles. It all made sense now why they could not take her across to Pergor. Somehow, Slyth was preventing it, and he had spent hundreds of years perfecting his skills.
The world took focus again, and Heath was back on the cot in the cave. There was something else, he realized; now, he was connected to Slyth. Evie would be dying, now that she didn’t have the entity on board. The only way she could survive would be to become one of them. Once she was transformed, she would heal. With the darkness in him, he could not change her, so he would have to find another way. He had to get back to her and convince her to denounce him and bond with one of the others. In truth, it was probably too late as the pairing had taken hold of them already.
He sat up, but the room spun, and he shook his head to clear it. What he saw when it finally came into focus did not please him. Charles and Sayell were standing before him.
He stood up, refusing to let them see his weakness. “I’m not sure who has sunk lower. You Charles, or Sayell.”
A fight. Let’s see how powerful you really are.
Heath didn’t need to waste his time or energy on these Midworlders. He needed to get back to Evie, or she would die.
Charles snickered. “I sense something different about you. Looks to me that you’ve managed to remove whatever was stopping us from taking Evie to Pergor. I have to say, you look like shit. I don’t think she’d want to be paired with you now anyway.” Charles shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t have time for this. Let me pass.”
Charles put up his hand to block Heath’s way. “I don’t think so. I’d personally like to see you in pain, and then we will go get your woman and do what we wanted to in the first place.”
Heath raised his hands, and blue flames shot forth and hit both of his assailants. He tried to stop the onslaught, but it was just a matter of time. This was pointless, and they would win with two of them against him anyway. They fought back with their own red flame, and he could feel himself weaken. As he slipped into unconsciousness, he could feel the darkness take over. He would fight it with every last bit of strength in him. He would not let another woman he loved die because of him, or because of this Demonic who needed to be sent home for good.
Chapter 19
Abandoned Midworlder
Charles peered down at the fallen figure that was Heath. The fact he had attacked them seemed foolish, and he had never known Heath to be foolish before. Heath was shaking and would be out of action for a while. He knelt down and placed his hand on the side of his head to see if he could read any thoughts that might help them in kidnapping Evie. What he found was a jumble of mixed-up images.
He could feel the sickening love Heath felt for the woman. He never understood why Angelic Midworlders had this preoccupation with finding a life partner. To have someone you were concerned with for all time would just allow for weakness, and that was something he could not condone. Not that he didn’t want Liliath, but that was lust, pure and simple.
He continued to search in Heath’s mind and found death. Murder after murder, but not at Heath’s hand. For a second, he felt the hate spear out in a thought of warning to leave, and he lifted his hand away.
“It would seem our fellow Midworlder here has been attacked by the darkness that prevented us from taking Evie to Pergor. It appears it’s true he even tried to rape her and believes she won’t want him anymore.” Charles laughed. “How delightful. He is fighting the darkness, but I fear it’s winning. I dislike Angelics intensely, but I’m not sure I want this madness running around causing us havoc either.”
Sayell sneered, as he peered down. “I agree, but what do you suggest we do with him? His own have left him here, so they don’t seem to care much.”
“I think their concerns may have been more for our little friend’s interference. You can stay and watch over him, while I kidnap her. Too many hours have been wasted already.”
Sayell shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’ll not let you take our prize over to Liliath on your own.”
Charles knew they were at an impasse. He could make sure Heath would not move for a while, the same way Heath did to him the night they met Evie. Charles stood behind Heath and kicked his lower back with a resounding thud. There was a groan from his victim, but not much more as Heath’s legs went flaccid on the floor. He wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while.
They headed out of the cave, found their car, and made their way back to Kingston. The address they had gleaned from Heath’s mind was not far away from their current location. The problem was there were at least four uninjured Midworlders waiting for them there. Charles was just about to leave the car when he saw a taxi pull up, letting a man and a woman out from the cab.
“Damn,” Sayell said.
“I assume you know those two.”
“That’s Ridge and his bonded and transformed mate, Nicole. She was the last person without a guardian I tried to take over for Liliath.”
“You mean it’s true? I thought that was all bullshit someone had been changed.”
“She has a girl child as well. I don’t like the idea of the Angelic Midworlders swelling their ranks. Trust me, you don’t want to be around Liliath when she doesn’t get what she wants either.”
“I had not considered that a possibility. I think I have an idea how we can get the girl. It may hurt though.”
Chapter 20
Beyond Healing
Evie woke up to see a person she didn’t know sitting beside the bed. She still felt like death on legs. Her lungs ached with each breath, and she had a feeling that if she lifted her top, bruises would be forming across her chest.
The woman had dark shoulder-length hair and smiled at her.
“Hi, I’m Nicole. Are you feeling a bit better? They said you fainted. I’m not surprised, with everything going on.”
She had an Australian accent. Evie hadn’t expected it. She thought she would be an American, as she came from San Francisco. Evie had always wanted to go to Australia but had a feeling she wouldn’t make it somehow.
“I feel better, just a little weak,” she lied. “Have they found Heath yet?”
“No. But my partner, Ridge, has gone out to help them in the search. They’ve known each other for a long time, and Heath helped us when I transformed. I think Ridge feels responsible for him.”
Nicole looked just like any other human she had seen before. The difference was she was a human who now had wings and would live long like the other Midworlders. It all seemed so unfair. Evie’s heart ached with the loss of Heath not being near. The fact was, she would lose him anyway, even if he was.
Aunt Georgia walked into the room with a tray.
“Good. You’re awake. I’ve some food for you. No wonder you passed out. These angels might be able to go weeks without sustenance, but you need something.” The tray was placed in front of her, and the soup and bread smelt wonderful. Evie just wasn’t sure she would be able to keep it down. Nicole sat forward.
“How are you coping, Evie? Being bonded is a strange thing for a human. I found, when Ridge went to Pergor and I didn’t think he would come back, I wanted to die. Don’t try to be brave. We will all help in any way we can.”
Evie ate some food under the watchful eye of her aunt, who was listening intently. It was good to have someone like Nicole here. She would at least understand some of what she had been going through.
“It’s strange. At times I feel as if he’s with me, and then he’s just out of my mind’s reach. It’s like the darkness takes over him and blocks me. He’s fighting it, but I don’t know if he can hold out much longer.”