Page 36 of Blood and War
Several minutes passed, maybe even an hour, before she finally stopped hearing the motor in the distance. Demitria let a shaky breath escape through her parted lips. She wouldn’t look back. Couldn’t. Fearing that if she did, leaving would be that much harder. Her eyes scanned the landscape again, begging for this journey to be easy. She didn’t have the elevated senses of the Horseman, and part of her wished she’d just waited until morning, but she knew her own questions wouldn’t be answered if she did. If she could just figure out why they wanted her dead, maybe she could change whatever it was they were so afraid of. Walk a different path than the one she was on.
She didn’t want to die. Had fought so damn hard to survive in this fucked up nightmare that she would push to her limits for just one more day. One more year. For her entire life, because twenty years was too soon for her. Her parents had sacrificed themselves so she couldlive, and she’d be damned to have some…some monsters take that away from her.
She pointed Atlas in a similar direction to the one she’d taken with Kellan. The last reports she’d seen placed the angels along the edge of the canyon somewhere. She’d start her search there, looking for any sort of clue on their whereabouts. They’d been spotted from time to time in the ruins of the old city beyond the mountains, and she wondered if they hid out in one of the many abandoned buildings. Her people hadn’t entered the cities in years as most had been overrun by demons the moment they fell. She would risk it, though, if it meant getting her answers.
The rhythmic beats of Atlas’s hooves pounded in time with her throbbing heart. Each step away from her lifeline brought her closer to answers. She hoped, anyway.
Hope.
Demitria couldn’t help but laugh at the audacity of her thoughts. Despite Stella’s urging to let herself feel it, to believe it, she just couldn’t open herself up for the hurt she knew would follow. So, she locked it away in the darkest corners of her mind, behind that steel-clad wall she’d erected and enforced for so many years.
Atlas flicked his ears back and forth, listening for anything that moved across the barren land that surrounded them. From memory, she knew they wouldn’t run into any other community for days yet. There was nothing until after the canyon, beyond the ruins of the city. When they perked forward again Demitria knew the area was still clear. She wouldn’t let herself feel relief, it all could change within the blink of an eye.
Her thoughts drifted back toward the community. To Jace. Even to the Horseman that was probably sleeping soundly in the infirmary. Their rooftop conversation had been… enlightening, and she hadn’t expected most of the things he’d had to say.
Kellan had been through much the same as her. Losing his mother in a most gruesome way that no one should ever have to experience. Even if he was one ofthem, that didn’t matter. At least…not to her anymore.
She wondered about the council. About their involvement in the lives of the beings they’d openly slaughtered. Why hadn’t any of them revolted? Why hadn’the? Kellan had mentioned his siblings on numerous accounts, and she wondered about them, too. Were they similar in the way they moved? The way they thought? Would they have the same questions about her involvement with the very balance of their worlds? She and the Horseman had come to an understanding on that rooftop. Likean unspoken truce between them, despite every bone in her body protesting against it. She hated to feel it. To…trust someone like him, but there was a nagging in her chest,roaringat her to believe it.
Pulling Atlas to a halt, Demitria looked up at the sky. At the moon shining bright overhead and the flickering stars above. Her thoughts drifted to Jace. That feeling of despair and grief welled in her chest with each stuttered breath she took. She let the tears burst free and fall freely down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands, the sobs wracking through her body.
She would let herself cry. To show that weakness that she hated so much. For nearly twenty years they’d been by each other’s sides. Her rock. Her soul. The only family she had left. They were supposed to stay together, no matter what. Had made a promise to one another all those years ago, and she’d seemingly fucked that up too. Demitria hated those creatures. The High Council, and whoever else wanted her dead. So, she made a vow to herself.
She would find the angels in the mountains. She would get the answers to all her questions, and would beg if she had to. Would get to her knees and do anything they asked of her if it meant changing the course of her life.
She would go home.
Twenty-One
KELLAN
Kellan’s fist thudded loudly on the old wooden door three times, but there was no answer. Listening for any noise from within, he rapped again with more force. “Open up!” Whispering harshly, he scanned around behind him. The whispers directed at the girl the other day had been harsh and entirely not what he’d expected from them, so he’d tried to keep himself scarce and unseen for her sake. He’d wanted to give her some form of peace on her last day, and had done his best to not disturb anyone else in the community.
He had succeeded for the better part of the day, but only because he didn’t try to find the girl. Kellan imagined she’d probably been avoiding him. He didn’t blame her. Not after how her own people had treated her for bringing him here. He didn’t know what puzzled him more. The animosity toward her, or the fact she’d felt the need to save his life.
A life debt, she’d told him. He couldn’t fathom the thought of any human feeling that way toward one of his kind. Most wanted him dead. Human and supernatural being alike. And the lengths she’d gone to had been honorable.Strange, but brave. More so than most of the beings he’d met in his millennia. Especially since he’d been in service to the council.
When she didn’t answer again, he knocked louder this time, the sound reverberating into the night air as it echoed throughout the empty streets. Kellan cringed at the noise in the early morning air. He could tell by the look on the horizon that the sun was about an hour out from its daily ascent, and had planned on getting an early start to their journey. He wanted to get as far away from this community as he could, but he hadn’t wanted to wake any prying eyes in the process.
Kellan was met with silence once again. He waited a heartbeat before pressing his ear to the door. Listening. There was no one inside.
His boot connected with the door. With a loud crack it snapped off the hinges, splintering as it tumbled into the house, crashing to the floor before him. Stepping foot into the house, he took in the surroundings and was met with darkness. His eyes roamed over the room. At the barely furnished interior, despite looking heavily lived in. A rugged blanket was tossed haphazardly upon a worn gray couch, its cushions torn and fraying in several spots. Several candles lined the area, the wax melted and pooling at their base on each surface. The girl was nowhere in sight. He wandered further into the house, swinging open any door he could find in his quick search of the place. The rest of the home looked much the same as the first room. He didn’t linger in the bedroom, despite her scent being the strongest there. That familiar light, fresh floral smell. So strong, he could almost picture her laying in the bed in front of him. With a shake of his head, he slammed the door. Not a single weapon had been found during his search, and he froze.
Shit.
Retracing his steps, Kellan exited the building, walking along the side of the house to the covered overhang he spotted. The horse was gone.Shit, shit, shit!He had been so aloof all day,dead set on givinghertime to say goodbye to her people, and she’d gotten away.
Kellan wasn’t quiet about the string of profanities that left his mouth, racing to the entrance of the community. Even after their conversation last night, she’d fled.Fucking humans!
The iron gates came into view, surrounded by the town’s Guardians, weapons drawn.
“You woke up half the town.” He couldn’t remember the names of the twins. Didn’t care to, actually. “You think you can just come here and destroy our homes?” The nearly identical bodies stepped toward him, long daggers held firm in each of their hands as they glared in his direction, the challenge in them clear. He would have laughed at them if he wasn’t in such a hurry to get out.
Ignoring them, Kellan’s eyes met those of the girl’s companion. “She’s gone.” Jace’s features fell, face paling at his news. Kellan almost pitied him. “Open the gates and let me pass.”
The man’s face hardened, hands clenching into tight fists at his sides. “She wouldn’t just up and leave. Not without saying anything to me. We spent the entire day together, and she didn’t mention a thing.” He muttered, more to himself than those around them.
“Are you humans really that stupid?” Kellan asked, readying his weapons for the trek ahead. He whistled low, knowing his mount would be waiting on the other side. To his right, one of the twins opened his mouth in rebuttal, and Kellan was quick to silence him with a hand. His conversation was with the leader. The girl’s…friend. “She left to protectyou.” On instinct, his eyes formed into a tight glare, fixated on the human with the hindering connection to the girl.
