Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(26)

The wall at our backs shuddered violently, causing a frame to collide with my skull and a stabbing pain spread from the top of my head to my temple. Blood trailed across my forehead and into my eyes, giving my surroundings a crimson tint. I didn't have time to dwell on my injury, because a giant fissure began to open at our feet. I tried to grasp the doorknob, but the opening expanded, making my movements precarious.

Izzy hissed at the chaos, while I unsuccessfully attempted to call on my power. I was lightheaded and dizzy, but coherent enough to know true fear. I had begun to take my magic for granted, but now it was failing me, and I was at a loss.

Black steam arose from the cracks in the floor, emanating a pungent odor, and raising the temperature several degrees. Crying, I gasped for breath and attempted to hold onto the wall to avoid slipping through the hole in front of me. Suddenly, everything stopped; the sound, steam, and shuddering disappeared.

I stood in the eye of the storm, knowing that it was a premonition of more to come, when I looked down into the hole at my feet. A giant eye peered through the hole at Izzy and me. Tendrils of the black steam expelled from both corners of the eye to tangle around my left leg. The black tentacles released spikes that hooked into my flesh. Each time I tried to pull away, the hooks dug deeper, and then the creature drew the tentacles back towards the fissure. I screamed, attempting to grab onto anything in the hopes that I wouldn't be dragged into Hell with this monster.

Izzy was in motion; she hissed at the creature and then released a sound that was pure poison. The waves of sounds became visible, burning through the tentacles around my leg in an acidic rain. The acid spewed into the eye, evicting a roar of agony. Izzy grabbed my arms and pulled me out of and away from the hole.

A beam from the ceiling fell, but Izzy protected me with her wings, screaming in pain at it knocked into her. We reached the front door just as it opened and were pulled out. I had only moments to feel the strong arms wrap around my body, as I fainted into the relative safety of the yard.

I caught bits of information when I came to, only to succumb to unconsciousness again. Faint voices broke through, but I couldn't concentrate enough to understand who was speaking and what they were saying. The single sound that was consistent and oddly comforting, was the hissing that I now associated with Izzy. Occasionally, I would feel something soft and warm brush against my arm or face, but otherwise I was merely aware of an intense cold that had swept through my body. My veins shriveled in response to the intense temperature, making me feel as if liquid nitrogen had been intravenously dripped into my veins. I succumbed entirely to the frozen sleep that awaited me.

"What the hell are we supposed to do with her? I don't know what you expect, it's either keep her locked up or sedate her." A crisp female voice whispered from close by.

I immediately thought they meant me and I sprung up as if I had never been injured. I was ready to fight my way free. There was no way I would ever willingly be locked up again! However, when my feet landed on slippery tile and I took in my surroundings, I saw that the door to the room was wide open.

Standing on the opposite side of the bed was Ash and a woman wearing a lab coat. She was short with very little curves. Had I seen her on the street, I would have thought she was a teenager, but from the medical chart in her hands, I guessed that she was a doctor. Her smile seemed hesitant, her eyes sincere, and a bit nervous. She had a pixie haircut with deep brown eyes that were worn by the dark circles beneath them.

"S," Ash's voice held concern and urgency. "Do you remember what happened?"

It took only a moment for me to remember the events that landed me in a hospital bed and less than that to become concerned over Izzy. "Izzy?"

Ash started to speak, but the woman interrupted him. "We had to lock her up. She wouldn't let anyone near you. She had already injured some of my staff." She grimaced.

"Um..." My eyes narrowed at Ash, as a wave of dizziness swept through me. Ash rushed around the bed, helped me regain my composure, and forced me to sit down.

Ash kneeled in front of me. Caressing my knee, he spoke in a gentle voice that I had almost forgotten, "They already know what we are and Izzy had to be locked away if anyone was going to be able to help you."

"I don't understand. All I needed was some stitches or healing. I don't need a hospital."

"Savannah, is it?" I nodded. "You didn't need a few stitches; you needed an entire ritual to heal you and to force the poison from your veins. It was attacking your organs. A short while longer and you would have died."

"Poison? I was poisoned?" I looked to Ash for confirmation and knew that it was true. "How did you know?"

"Liam and I felt helpless sitting around the house waiting for you to help Izzy. Neither of us knew much, but we overheard Aria tell you that she would leave a journal in your room. When we found it..." He cleared his throat, as if hesitant to continue. "We brought it to my mother, and you're lucky we did. We needed the strength of both covens to create a protective shield, strong enough to repel that thing."

I turned to see Liam standing in the doorway with a wicked smile on his face.

"I'll let the three of you talk." The doctor signaled that she was going to leave, but paused at the threshold. " If you need anything or have any questions, there is a phone next to the bed. Dial the desk and ask for Dr. Hartman."