Page 77 of Avelina

We slowed to a walk as we reached the corner of the house. Aaron peeked around. They’re all still at the doors, he thought. They must be under Projection, otherwise one of those idiots might have thought to check for an escape route.

They are. I can see it, Spirit thought. Their spirits have a dark purple haze around them, almost an indigo color. It’s strangely hypnotic. It’s beautiful.

“Stay with me, Spirit,” I whispered. “Don’t go near them. Stay close to me.” Spirit didn’t look at me, instead drifting toward the überzombies. Spirit! Stay with me! I thought to her urgently. She turned her eyes to me. Focus. I need you to direct Axel’s thoughts to me. Tell me what he’s thinking.

Aaron gasped. What is this? You can read minds now?

Spirit can, not me.

Spirit shook her head as if to wake herself up, and then I heard Axel’s thoughts drifting in. They were audible, as if coming from a radio station with poor reception, but somehow also conveyed context, feelings, and desires. I knew what Axel wanted and what he would do to get it. His voice was Spirit’s interpretation, though, and didn’t remotely match the voice I heard with my ears, sounding instead like Jafar from Disney’s Aladdin.

One moment more, Axel thought, then I get to do my favorite thing. He gazed down at the torch he held in his hand, entranced. This man loved fire. He itched to burn down the house, regardless of what Aaron did. The only question was who would be inside the house when it burned down and how much the rain would impede his efforts.

Axel glanced over his shoulder at Ward, who lay on the ground, soaked and muddy, but essentially okay. Two men, one with long, dark auburn hair, and one with short, curly black hair, stood on either side of Ward, their dark eyes strangely blank.

A third man, the smallest of the group, stood beside Axel, holding an umbrella. He was really too petite to be called an über-zombie. He was even shorter than Aaron. The last man, much larger than the rest, stood a bit farther away, rocking back and forth as if agitated. Axel didn’t notice his distress.

Axel pondered his next move. Should I throw the dog back in the house? No, I suppose not. We might still need him. He looked back at the house. I hope they come out. I want to see this girl the Holy Daughter is so afraid of that she let her linger here for more than two months. It would be a waste to kill her without at least using her first.

Aaron and I both cringed at the word “using.” This man’s RTA had officially reached a hundred percent. He intended to rape me right in front of Aaron. To him, that was the most humiliating thing you could do to both a woman and her lover, and he liked doing it almost as much as he liked burning down houses with people inside them. He anticipated doing both today, but I wouldn’t be the one burning in the house as he’d been instructed to bring me back to the palace in one piece. He’d opened the front door and left it ajar with the intention of catching me and Aaron in the foyer so he could complete the task. Aaron’s plan had saved us from that.

Aaron squeezed my hand so hard I almost pulled it away from him. Sorry, he thought, relaxing. He cocked his crossbow, imagining Axel’s neck explode.

My attitude toward Aaron softened despite Spirit’s chastisement. Maybe I overreacted, I thought. I somehow heard Spirit roll her eyes.

Aaron turned to me, gazing down into my face. I won’t let him hurt you, he thought to me. I love you.

Aaron’s eyes widened as he heard himself think that last part. He hadn’t meant to send me that thought. He looked into my eyes, searching for my reaction.

I froze, not knowing how to respond. The sentiment squashed any anger I had left, but it was such awkward timing. Not only were we in danger, but I had literally just recognized that I’d probably been in love with Spirit, or at least had loving feelings toward her. I wasn’t even sure what that meant.

Now that my righteous fury had subsided, it was obvious to me that I would have regretted leaving the farm with Ward. I would have missed Aaron’s intensity and the way he listened so carefully to everything I said, thoughtfully commenting. Aside from his jealousy, he was very accommodating, tolerating my messiness and my strange Earth ways, and patiently teaching me what I needed to know about surviving life on Monash. I would have missed his beautiful face and his warm hands. I would have missed him terribly, but did that mean I loved him? I didn’t know for sure. The question made my stomach twist into knots.

The answer is simple, Spirit thought to me confidentially. Can you see yourself staying with him forever and having his babies?

Spirit—

It’s okay, she thought. It’s okay to choose him, to trust him. He’s kind of an asshole, but he won’t do what Drew did to you, Lina. He’s all in. That, I know for sure.

I stared up into Aaron’s face and sighed heavily, then nodded. The answer was yes, I could see myself doing those things. Dammit.

One corner of Aaron’s mouth twitched up, though I knew he wasn’t satisfied with that lukewarm answer. Nevertheless, he bent down and kissed me, holding me to him a little too tightly. Okay, he thought. That will suffice for now. Let’s go.

Chapter Twenty-two

“You mustn’t give the key to Mortier,” said Syndeth. “We would be stuck here in her realm forever while she’s out causing havoc and misery throughout all of creation.”

“I know,” said Linorra, “but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if any harm came to Viktor because of me.”

“And what about me?” Syndeth asked.

I dropped my pack at the side of the house, tucked it under a bush, then followed Aaron out into the open. I got a look at Magister Axel for the first time, standing just outside the door. He appeared younger than I had imagined, like a man in his prime who took excellent care of his health. He was tall and slender, statuesque even, and would have been attractive if not for the crazed expression of bloodlust plainly imprinted on his features.

The sleeves of his tunic were rolled up like he was prepared to do heavy work, and his wide-brimmed hat dripped with rainwater despite the umbrella. His tunic was belted with leather, and a matching sheath held a long dagger with an intricately filigreed golden handle.

The petite man had to stretch to hold the umbrella high enough that it didn’t catch fire from Axel’s torch. Axel gazed at the flames as if they were a precious treasure, then turned to Ward again, spotting us in the process.

“There!” he shouted, pointing a long finger at us. “Get them and bring them to me,” Axel said. He sounded thoroughly annoyed.

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