Caged by Damnation (Caged #2)(71)

The thought of Griffin made me feel guilty about not visiting him. Truth was, I was afraid of what I might see. We’d nearly died together, and he still might. Somehow I felt I had failed him, as if his soul had been torn into the netherworld and I could have saved him, but had been too slow or frightened to make it in time. I could almost feel his fingers slipping from my grasp, his scream swallowed by the River Styx, while souls pulled him down into an inky hell.

My bed squeaked as Maye lifted herself from it. "Well, I think we best leave you girls to yourselves. We need more rest than we did at your age." She held her lower back, emphasizing the comment about her age.

"I don't know about needing more sleep, but I agree that it's best to leave the young to themselves. We would ruin your fun, anyhow." Josephine smiled, following Maye from the room.

Izzy shouted at them, "I thought you said that you're only as old as you feel!" They turned back with a smile.

My friends took to the bed. Izzy sat at the end to give her wings room to breathe and Willow curled up between us. We filled in the gaps since we had last seen one another. It felt like a decade had passed, but it hadn't been very long at all.

Willow squirmed, her habit when she couldn't find the right way to voice her thoughts. "We're all different," she said.

I smiled. "No, we're still us. We just have some new ... aspects. Besides, the changes aren't all bad. You're the big bad Hellhound – by the way, it's a little strange to think of bookworm Willow being an all-powerful Hellhound. Although, Izzy definitely gives you a run for your money."

"We're not the ones with the fate of the world resting on our shoulders." Izzy had meant it to be teasing, but all humor vanished from my face.

Willow and Izzy opted to room with me for the night. We were all reluctant to part after understanding of our doom had set in. Willow and I would share the bed since Izzy's wings would get in the way.

Archer, one of the Draconians, brought her a cot for the floor. It would allow her to sleep on her back without locking her wings. His visit was brief, but kind. He didn't direct animosity at Willow for being a Hellhound, and was kind to Izzy and me, insisting on making Izzy's cot up, and even fluffing the pillows for her. He wasn't like the other Draconians. His gray eyes were more subdued, as if life had grown tiresome. I wondered what horrors he had seen that had wrought such a weary gaze.

Izzy sat on her newly-made cot, ogling Archer’s back as he left. "Dying and being reborn really makes you appreciate the finer things in life." She tilted her head to watch, as he turned through the doorway to walk towards the main section of the cottage. "Do you think he'd notice if I started following him around?"

"Leave it to you to check out a guy at a time like this,” Willow smirked. “Besides, I'm pretty sure he's off limits."

Izzy rolled her eyes and shot back, "Like you didn't notice. And how exactly is he off limits?"

Shrugging, Willow's face scrunched up, mimicking the studious face she used when confronted with someone who didn't understand material. "He's a Draconian, and in case you haven't noticed, Draconians and Hellhounds don't mix. I'm not sure why, but it's probably a good idea to stay away from them."

"Uh, Willow, I don't think that rule applies to Izzy. She's not exactly a Hellhound. Plus, if you want to stay out of the feud, you might want to avoid making decisions based on them. Otherwise you're going to end up smack in the center."

"I guess. It's just that I want you guys to all get along. Plus, it doesn't help that I know next to nothing about the Draconians. This Hellhound thing should come complete with a manual." As she spoke, Willow turned pensive, holding the purple pendant around her neck and staring into a void about which I knew nothing.

Kit, seemingly irritated with being cooped up inside, chose to release some tension. He darted out of my body, stalked to Willow, licked her cheek, and laid his head in her lap. Absently, she gave him a few pats. A purr that clattered, like a muffler gone bad, rose from his chest and settled into an easy tremor.

"We will." I locked gazes with Izzy and she backed me up, repeating the same. "We should get some rest."

Willow nodded and soon we were tucked in for the night.

I tossed and turned, the knowledge of my destiny crippling any true rest that I might have gained. Eventually, the moonlight fell on my face and I gazed at the man in the moon, knowing he would protect me. My mind softened, drawing me towards a deep sleep, which made dreams inevitable.

One moment I was aware of Willow's frenzied movements and the next I had been chained to my dreams.

Asmodeus smiled down at me. "Now you know." We stood beside the window to my room, with Willow and Izzy. Our sleeping forms were undisturbed.

"Know? Know what? Are you talking about the prophecy? It's cryptic, I don't know anything."

He grinned. Pressing his palm into my cheek, he gazed at me gently. "In denial, my little Anakim?" He chuckled.

I slapped his hand away and moved backward. "It's not denial. The prophecy has many interpretations."

Asmodeus recited the prophecy – as if I needed to be reminded; it was engraved into my memories. He said, "What do you want it to mean?"

"I don't know. What kind of question is that? As if I have a choice. The fates have woven my tapestry. I'm simply the design, and a flawed one at that."