Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(13)

Typically, a witch came into their full power on their sixteenth birthday, and though it seemed I had, over the summer my power had altered, growing and transforming my body chemistry. Maye called it an additional transformation because of my unique conception, but I thought of it as a curse. It made me different and dangerous. It made me like Asmodeus.

"S, it's okay." My hands were pushed away from my face to reveal the silvery sheen of tears. Ash's expression held concern and determination. He swept me into his arms and carried me into the living room to place me on the couch. Kneeling before me, he grasped my wrists and repeated his earlier words, as if saying everything was okay, would make it so.

Willow was suddenly at my side. "It's okay to be different," she said. Hearing those words from anyone other than Willow would have been irritating. The two of us had changed drastically, and had to come to terms with that. Izzy, on the other hand, was in denial. She continued through her days as if she were entirely alive. We placated her, which made her words all the more surprising.

"Willow's right, we're all different. It's not like there are a bunch of ghosts around for me to hang with. Willow is a freaking dog, and you are a kickass Anakim." I could tell that Willow wanted to explain the difference between a Hellhound and a dog, but Izzy ignored her and kept talking. "There isn't anything wrong with any of that." She shrugged. "Besides, who wants to be normal anyway? We get to be unique. We can use our differences to do something amazing with our lives ... or in my case, death." She smiled and plopped down onto the opposite end of the couch with a proud expression.

Ash was still holding my wrists, and was currently tracing his thumbs over the sensitive inner area. The gesture was reminiscent of his behavior when Asmodeus had possessed him, which made me uncomfortable. I moved away to settle myself into the corner of the couch with my knees pressed close to my chest.

"I suppose, but I still think this sucks. All I want is to close my eyes and wake up to a normal life."

I couldn't help but think of the irony behind my words. When I’d came to live with Ash and Maye, I thought what I had was a normal life. Now, I wanted something entirely different. Would I always wish for an alternate life, or was there a small chance that I might learn to appreciate what I already had?

"If you had a normal life, you wouldn't be you and all our lives would be the worse for it." It didn't matter that Willow was the one to voice it, because the look in Izzy's eyes, and the gentle caress of Ash's fingers on my ankle, told me that they felt the same way.

I looked up, and for the first time since Asmodeus had wreaked havoc on my life, I thought that I might have a real future. I was surrounded by friendships that could outlast a demon, death, and hopefully the blood-strewn future I’d glimpsed in my vision.





CHAPTER 4


WILLOW

The sleepover hadn't gone as expected, but the situation with Savannah's loss of control had given me some closure. We were all eccentric in our own ways and could survive anything. I would survive, and I wouldn't be losing them entirely. I would part ways with them for a little while, but we would find our way back to one another. True friendships could never be broken. Izzy had proven that when she’d come back as a ghost. Savannah had demonstrated it with her eternal struggle to fight off the ropes that attempted to tie her down.

My resolve to complete my bargain with Death invigorated me. All I had left to do was say my goodbyes. It was easy to part with the coven. None of them knew it was a final parting. Leaving behind my friends would be harder; I would be faced with their pain in the wake of my own.

Ash and Liam took the initiative to bring my things to the threshold earlier in the day. I think it was their way of taking a little of the stress off my back. I didn't know what to expect during my last few hours with Izzy and Savannah, but I was relieved when they didn't propose anything outlandish. Instead, we spent the day as though it were any other, stubbornly refusing to allow my impending departure to ruin our last day together.

We visited our shed in the woods and the bookstore. Afterwards, we baked apple pies with Josephine and Maye. They were the only adults in the coven who knew I would be departing. Josephine, though older, had an easy friendship with Maye. They moved in sync, the way lifetime best friends could. Each maneuvered around the kitchen in their usual routine, bickering and teasing like sisters.

I wondered if I would have a friend like that. I always thought that Savannah, Izzy, and I, would make it to old age with our friendships strengthening along the way. My departure left that future uncertain. I would be limited to visits, which I doubted would be enough to build a connection that rivaled that of Josephine’s and Maye’s. Time would inch by and I would fade from their minds; more and more time would pass between visits. It seemed inevitable. The hands of the clock would move on and our friendships would evaporate until all substance was gone. Memories would be all I’d have left. Would they be enough?

Half an hour before our meeting with Death, we found ourselves making our way through the forest. My suitcase was suspended by a rope near the threshold and I was thankful when Liam got it down. I wasn't exactly tall. Jumping to try to grab hold of my things would have been humiliating. This night would be tough enough.

The threshold opened at exactly midnight. Light from the other side pierced through to create a fissure, which then spread to show a pathway. We each walked through until all of us were in the glistening beauty that represented the other side.