Chapter 28“Who said I was going to the portal?” I said sarcastically, as I locked eyes with the red haired bartender from earlier. He didn’t look amused. “No one had to say you were, it’s obvious. What else would you be doing this far away?” He huffed.“I was obviously exploring. Can’t you see all the sightseeing this ghost town has to offer?” I replied, while motioning at all of the barren land in front of me. I was definitely being sarcastic at this point.He looked at me with a death glare. “Who even are you? Why do you want out of here so badly anyways?” I asked him. He looked at me for a moment as if he was contemplating whether or not to answer me truthfully.“My name is Sage and I was banished here by The Ancestors a very long time ago.” He said. “And why did they banish you?” I asked. “That’s a story for another time. Just know that I was wrongfully sentenced here and I deserve to be free!” He exclaimed.I had a bad feeling about Sage. Something told me he was banished here fo
Chapter 29(Katrina)I sat up from bed as Rowen walked into my room and softly shut the door behind him. I had changed into a pair of shorts and just a tank top for bed. My hair was up in a bun, out of my way, and I’m sure I looked like I hadn’t slept in days. That was true. The ritual had to happen as soon as possible, but looks like I wasn’t the only one running on no sleep. “Hey.” Rowen said softly. “Hi.” I replied. He came and sat on the foot of the bed. I watched as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He seemed a little nervous. “Are you ok?” I asked him and I put my hand on his arm. He looked at me with those rose gold orbs and I just melted. I hated the way I felt around Ramses’ brothers. I worked so hard to be faithful to Ramses, even though he didn’t reciprocate it, and that was fine! I have literally never been tempted by anyone else. They can all fuck themselves, for all I care. But when it comes to Ramses’ brothers, it’s like they are a drug to me, and I can’t
Chapter 30I’m not sure when I drifted off, but I woke up intertwined between Ramses and Rowen. A flood of memories raced back into my mind from last night, which caused me to silently scold myself for my inhibitions. I planned to tell Ramses first thing, once he was back. I contemplated getting his permission and just having my way with Rowen, but I didn’t actually think I would be able to go through with it. My undying loyalty was sickening at best, and I knew this. But that’s just who I was. I looked over at Rowen and he was still asleep. I turned over and just stared at my ceiling for a moment contemplating the events that were to take place today. The ritual to open the portal required six Human sacrifices... We would be murdering six innocent people today… And in doing so, spilling a lot of innocent blood. These sacrifices would not revive either. It was heavy, but necessary… I didn’t care if it took 100 innocent sacrifices... I was getting Ramses back. The lengths I was will
Chapter 31It took me quite a bit of time to get the incantation just right. I didn’t want to miss a thing. Everything was riding on every part of this whole ritual being perfect. To say I was stressed, was an understatement. But when I finally was able to get it right, I felt that it was perfect. It definitely took longer than I wanted, but it was ok. I would rather take my time and get it right than fuck up trying to hurry. I was surprised though, because Rowen sat with me the entire time and offered his help. He was fluent in Latin, as they all were, so he was able to help out with translation. I was honestly getting used to him being around and I didn’t like it because I knew he would be gone as soon as Ramses came back. He had his own covens to run in the underworld. He had his own home, his own space. He didn’t live in New Orleans… He didn’t belong here, he didn’t belong with me... The thought made my heart ache.The biggest difference between Ramses and Rowen is, Ramses was a
Chapter 32(Ramses) Sage and I had come to the middle point between the two X’s on the map, and stopped there. Everytime I pulled out the map the X moved but only between those two spots, so I figured this was as good of a spot as any. There had to be a reason they were moving between those two spots, and with as weird as things are around here, I didn’t doubt for a second that the portal would be opening up right where we sat. It was the best option we had, in my mind at least. The spot we were in was a clearing between the forest edges. It seemed like the only clearing in the whole area, which confirmed my thought even further that the portal would appear here, vs either of those other two spots the X marked. I just hoped we were here in time. I still wasn't sure what time it was, or how much time had passed. The sun never rises or sets here apparently, and things always just look the same. Sage attempted to talk to me multiple times, but I just kept brushing him off. I needed t
Chapter 33Small flakes of bronze fell from my wings as I flew up to Sages level. The bronze flakes fell softly, like snow, spreading bronze flakes across the ground. Raziel was next to join me. His wings were gold, leaving gold flakes floating softly through the air. Raphael's wings were silver, shedding silver flakes rushing in the wind. It was then that I realized Rowen wasn’t with us. I knew he went to check on Katrina. Something bad must have happened to her, because he hadn’t returned. A panic struck through my guts like an ice pick as I glanced over to see him cradling her body in his arms. I couldn’t tell if he was crying, or not. As much as I wanted to rush over there with them, I couldn’t leave this battle. And we were going to need Rowen too. I mind linked him. “Brother, I know it might seem bad but we need you… Otherwise all of us will end up the same.” I pleaded. “I know.” He said back calmly. Within seconds he was airborne, with a pair of rose gold wings sprouting fro
Chapter 34Kember let go first but Kiera didn’t seem to want to. She pulled away from me after a few moments. “I love you, Ramses. I’m glad you’re ok.” She said, and she kissed my cheek softly. Then she turned away and started walking with her sister. She hung onto my hand until the last second when she finally let go. “I know you do, beautiful.” I said softly under my breath but I knew she heard me. I then materialized to Katrina. She was in her bedroom, lying in her bed. Still unconscious, but her heart rate was increasing so I figured she would wake up here soon. To my surprise, Rowen wasn’t in her room with her. I sat on the bed next to her and I just took in every feature. She was so beautiful, even in this state, covered in soot and dried blood. I was the luckiest man in the world to have her attention. I know just how my brother, Rowen, was feeling too. I know it had only been a few days for him, but it didn’t take long to realize how special this woman was… I moved some of
Chapter 35(Rowen)“You will be ok, this is going to work. Everything is perfect.” I whispered into Katrina’s ear. I could tell she was extremely stressed trying to make sure everything was perfect. She seemed to overthink things and overstress in serious situations, but she always made sure shit was perfect. In fact, she was perfect. I sat there for a moment and just admired her. Even in her most stressed out state, she was radiant. We were sitting here, in her living room with six blindfolded women. All of which we were about to murder, in order to open a magical portal to save my brother. Katrina was calm and collected on the outside, though I know her emotions were raging on the inside. I couldn’t believe it, but I think I was falling for her. I couldn’t be... I had known her, actually known her, for a total of four days. And in those four days, it's been chaos and total hell. But I couldn’t deny that my feelings were growing.I knew she liked me, but it wasn’t me she liked. It