Page 8 of Whispered Warnings: Part One

Evander nods once, listening to Doc and conceding that he is right. That reaction is definitely different from the Van that I knew, his pride would have taken over at that moment and his stubbornness. I am glad that he has learned to listen.

We don’t waste another moment as we all turn and head back the way we came. Normally I am a fairly decent runner, I have to be in my line of work, however I am currently running on empty thanks to going to see the Darkness, otherwise known as Friend. Either name suits it if I’m being honest, but it’s only when I am actually in the Darkness that I tend to call it Friend, I don’t know why. My point is that I am running on empty, I am already exhausted, and running is very quickly expending the little energy I have left. This probably isn’t going to end very well for me. I don’t really know what other choice I have though, it’s not like I can say to the guys, ‘sorry, I’m too exhausted to run, you guys go ahead, and I’ll just let it burn me to a crisp.’ Death by fire is not a nice way to go, especially magical fire, that shit justburns differently. Plus, even if I were willing to do that simply because I am too tired to run anymore, I have no idea what would happen if I died in such quick succession and without properly recovering in-between.

And I have no desire to die again.

With all of that in mind I’m going to have to pull up my big girl underwear and carry on going. I may be running on fumes, but I am sure as hell not a quitter.

I have once again gone off on a tangent that I had no intention of going off on, and it takes me a moment to refocus my thoughts and get myself back on track. It’s only when I feel the heat at my back that I remember.

There is a magical fire that is chasing after us and will easily burn us to a crisp in a matter of seconds if we are not careful.

“It’s gaining on us already!” Doc yells, running behind me and helping to propel me forward because I don’t want to risk slowing him down and causing him to end up in the fire.

“It’s moving faster than any magical fire that I have seen before,” Ransom yells back, not sounding out of breath at all, the bastard.

“I think we are nearly back to the van now,” Reed says.

I really hope he is right because I have black things floating in my vision now, and my head is starting to feel light. I don’t know how long I am going to be able to stay upright for, there is a good chance that I am going to pass out, I can feel it begin to come over me, encroaching on the edge of my vision. I just hope that I am going to be able to last until we get to safety, for the obvious reason, but also because I don’t want the guys to view me as a liability because I die so easily. I would be mortified if they told me they couldn’t have me on their team because I had a propensity to die too regularly.

Digging deep, I manage to find a tiny sliver of more energy and hold onto it with both metaphysical hands.

Finally, I recognize the path that will take us back to the lot, and I spot the small break in the trees that leads into it. I let out a relieved breath. Movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I turn my head slightly to see what it is that has gained my attention. I’m worried that one of those reanimated corpses somehow survived the melting and burning and is now coming after us.

Watching that happen will definitely make an appearance in my nightmares tonight.

Thankfully, when my eyes finally focus on what has caught my attention, it’s not a freaky ass zombie, but the giant moose that was among the animals that helped me to get to the guy's place a few days ago after the last time that I died.

I think Winston said that his name was Wallace, and his showing up here is not a good sign, not at all.

I might be in worse condition than I thought I was.

It occurs to me that I lasted a lot longer on barely any energy after the last time that I died. I know I was in bad condition when I finally got to the guy's place, but it took me a while to get to that point. I’m starting to think that the spirit guides that accompanied me were doing more than just walking with me and encouraging me to stand when I fell.

I owe them even more than I thought I did, and I am going to have to find the best way to thank them.

I hear the jingle of keys and pull my gaze away from Wallace to see that Van has the keys in his hand, which strikes me as odd because we have Doc with us, so isn’t he just going to zap us out of here? My mind is too fuzzy to come up with an adequate reason for why he has the keys, so I abandon that line of thinking entirely. I probably won’t even remember to ask later.

“Thank fuck,” Van says as we break through the trees into the lot and see that back up has arrived. Van looks at Ransom, “Help the mages counter the fire. I will help the elementals and waterusers hold it back. Everyone else liaise with the rest of the agents and fill them in on what happened.”

Everyone disperses, and since I am new to the team and have no idea what to do in this situation, I move over to the van, trying to remain as casual as I can and not give away how badly I am struggling. Even if I weren’t struggling right now, I would still make sure that I am out of the way. I worked with HID for a long time, but I was never a part of a team, so I don’t know what my role in this situation is supposed to be.

Finally, my heavy feet get me to the van, and I lean heavily against it, desperately trying to keep myself conscious. It would be really embarrassing if I passed out and made a scene in front of all of these agents. Not a great first impression, especially since I am human and therefore, they all think of me as weaker anyway.

“Not human,”my inner voice reminds me although even she sounds exhausted and is lacking her usual sass.

It is by sheer fucking stubbornness that I stay upright and aware as I watch the agents work like a well-oiled machine, and within no time at all, the magical fire is out, and all that remains is the charred forest. My heartbeat slows and my eyes droop as I try to keep them open, the guys are all talking to the other agents no doubt trying to fill them in on what they need to know and what they should be looking out for when they go through the forest.

The world tilts, and instead of landing on the hard gravel of the lot, I end up leaning against something soft, not really having gone very far at all.

“I’ve got you,”the familiar voice of Wallace echoes through my mind.

My gaze is still on the guys, and I see Raiden stiffen as his gaze finds mine. His eyes are swirling magic, but I can still see the fear in them as they widen. He says something, although Ihave no idea what he says or who he says it to. All I know is that he is coming for me. The relief I feel is almost overwhelming in its intensity, and I know that I shouldn’t be feeling this much for him having only known him for a few days.

“He is yours,”Wallace says into my mind, but it makes absolutely no sense in my current state, Raiden is not mine.

A heaviness covers my entire body, and I struggle to hold onto any thought that tries to form in my mind.

The only thing that is keeping me anchored is Raiden, and his beautiful eyes.

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