Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(49)

A large boulder of liquid lava crashed through the doors, disintegrating them upon impact. The fire began to spread throughout the bookshelves, seemingly alive as it jumped from one piece of furniture to the next. A darkness that cloaked areas was set into the giant mass of fire, giving it the illusion of a face. Its eyes lingered upon mine before it noticed the scroll in my hand. A sound of war erupted from its core and it came flying towards me.

Rafe's body took on an icy sheen, repelling the fire before it could harm his skin. Maloc altered until he seemed to be made of hardened lava himself. Neither of them were harmed by the blaze. They took turns taunting it, driving it away from me and Izzy. Rafe jumped sideways against the wall behind the creature, then dashed up the bookcase, using the shelves as though it were a ladder.

Izzy hissed at the creature when a fireball flew towards me, catching my abdomen. She quickly put it out with her hands, pressing until the fire disappeared. It was agonizing; the wound felt more on fire than it had when it actually had been burning. Looking down, my skin was charred and burnt away in an exposed, raw-white wound. Izzy's hands hadn't been affected by the fire.

Maloc was growing tired. His breathing came in heavy pants as he danced with the creature, keeping its attention divided and away from the rest of us. Maloc's hardened skin had softened to a peach hue, the creature wounding him with minor burns.

"Get up here!" one of the guys shouted from the skylight. Handing Izzy the scroll, I rushed up, but nearly fell when I stretched my hands towards Liam. Pain shot through my abdomen, causing me to keel over.

"I can't!" I screamed through the blaring noise of the creature and the alarms in the distance. Izzy grabbed my lower legs and lifted me to the skylight. Griffin and Liam each grabbed a hand and pulled me through. I looked down at Izzy's helpless face. She stood below, her eyes moving from the warriors back to us. With one last look, she disappeared from my sight. "No!" I nearly fell reaching for her, trying to keep her from going head to head with that beast.

Rafe's voice was faint but direct as he ordered Maloc to leave. "Get out of here. You're tired and they need someone to protect them."

"I didn't fight all these years to go down as a coward, boy!" Maloc hissed back, his hands raised with a blinding white light propelling towards the creature.

Rafe shouted, "Dammit! It doesn't make you a coward, it makes you a protector! Our orders are to protect them, not argue!" He flipped over the creature’s head and landed on the other side of it. His fist connected with what seemed to be its face. I thought it was strange that he was able to physically touch it.

"Why don't you go then?" Maloc shot back, shoving the light across the creature’s belly, eliciting a painful groan. Izzy tossed Maloc aside just in time to prevent liquid lava from pouring down on his face.

"I can keep this up longer. It gives them more time to get away. Now, go!"

Maloc sat stunned on the floor as Izzy took his place in the fight. The creature had begun to gain ground as Maloc had weakened, but now was forced to give up ground once more. Grumbling, Maloc climbed onto the roof with the rest of us. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

My feet remained rooted. "What about Izzy and Rafe? We can't leave them with that thing." I wasn't going anywhere without them. I had already been forced to abandon Ash and Maye.

Maloc glanced at me with a miserable cast to his eyes. "Rafe is right. We're a liability. Rafe and your friend are the two most capable of taking on a fire creature. If we stay, we will all die."

When I still refused to move, Maloc walked closer. I noticed a limp in his step that hadn't been there before and some slight burns around his throat and cheeks.

"Rafe will know where to find us and he will bring the phoenix. You're not saying goodbye forever, but we need to get moving before another creature catches our scent."

I looked through the skylight at the scroll. Izzy had discarded it when she had gone to confront the creature. I knew I couldn't take it. Lifting my gaze to Izzy's, I sought reassurance that this wasn't permanent, but she was distracted. Her wings were slicing into the creature, tearing through its exterior to reveal softer insides. Rafe took advantage of those vulnerable spots, sliding low to the ground and jamming his dagger into them. Together they were quite a pair, terrifying, but capable.

I parted ways with my best friend and family in a single moment. Following Maloc and the others, I smelled fumes of both the fires, and something vaguely like chemicals. The sound of battle and the termination of lives boxed us in. The guys halted at the edge of the roof; Isis held back with me, placing a comforting arm around my shoulders. I sank into it gratefully. When we reached the edge of the roof, the reality of our situation crashed down on my shoulders. The grounds surrounding the Ether were flooded with supernatural creatures from the haven, fighting for their lives against creatures born of nightmares.

The cool night air was a welcome relief from the intense heat inside the compound. The breeze carried embers towards us, stinging not only our eyes, but our flesh. Tears that had begun to dry were now covered in the ashen tracks of new ones. I could taste the bitterness around us, the pandemonium taking place before the gods laying waste to the grounds, drenched in blood.





CHAPTER 11


WILLOW

Kali ushered me into her domain, hurrying me along with a smile until I was standing beneath a giant willow tree. The cascading branches fell around us in a nurturing embrace, capturing the warmth of the room and encasing us within it.