Horns and Halos, page 10
“Okay.”
With that, Janet headed off, and I stayed focused on rinsing. I was over in record time and thought I would start on another round. The water in the washing basin was still relatively clean so I threw in a few new pieces and started scrubbing away. By the time I started rinsing the clothes I noticed that the once clean rinsing water was more soapy than clear, and I sneered at it. “Should be a little fresher,” I said to myself and picked up the first bucket, chucked out the dirty water, and started for the river.
Draki’s eyes were shut, and he appeared to be resting in the boughs of a thick tree. His robes swayed in the breeze like a forgotten favor from a maid in a fairy tale as they hung down from the twisted branches. The thick canopy was hiding his pale face from the blazing sun overhead. I had to wonder how comfortable one could be resting on such an old desert ironwood tree.
When I was under him, I heard his voice call out to me, “Careful.”
I looked up at him, but he wasn’t looking at me. He remained lounging lazily in the arms of the ancient branches with his eyes closed. Nodding as if he could see me, I silently slipped by him and went to the water’s edge.
I lifted and dipped the large bucket into the flowing water. I never regretted something as quickly as I did at that moment. The rush of the water being caught in the container had far more force than I had anticipated. The bucket was almost ripped out of my hands, but my stubborn mind fought against the river thinking that I could bring the bucket back to the banks. Not only was it ripped out of my hands, but my stunt had thrown me off balance, and I fell toward the water below. I had managed to turn and catch a glimpse of the setup that we had for the laundry, but any hope of seeing someone there to save me was snatched away as the river swallowed me beneath the current.
Instantly, water engulfed me and filled my nostrils, and I felt my injured shoulder hit the bottom of the river. Fighting the current, I pushed off the floor and tried to swim to the surface. My lungs were blazing, and my nose burned. As soon as I faintly broke through the surface, I gasped for air and my voice cried out, “Help!” right before my back slammed into a boulder. Hands reached out to grab it, and my nails scraped over the rock. I screamed as I couldn’t keep hold. The water was too strong, and I slipped back under the surface. My hands and feet sloppily tried to find a rhythm as I attempted to swim back to the surface. As I breached the waters, I drew in a hasty breath. Sweet air mingled with river water, and I coughed and gagged while I desperately screamed again, “Help!” I didn’t want to die. This wasn’t the way I wanted to die. I never knew how much I took the simple act of breathing for granted as I went back beneath the strong current.
I could see bright rays of sunshine glittering on the surface of the churning waters overhead. If I could just reach it again and take in another breath, I could last a little longer. Trying to reach the top, I pushed and kicked my legs relentlessly. Rolling water forced me back down when I was almost there. My heart sank as I hit the rocky bottom. Everything in me wanted to scream in frustration over my failure, over my stupidity. I reached up, trying to swim again. But I saw a shadow blot out the happy beams of sunshine and then there was a splash. It all happened too fast. My mouth opened, my brain knew I would only get a mouthful of water, but even as it rushed into my mouth, my body reacted on its own and inhaled. I coughed underwater and tried to fix the mistake. But my vision blurred and darkened. I went limp just as I felt hands on me.
The heat from the sun washed over me, and every moment from the river to the shore was a blur. I was on my back, the clear sky greeted me overhead, and I saw Draki look me over and dip down. My tired vision went in and out, and each time the details of the world came back he was a little closer. I felt like I was still floating, still swimming. It was as if my limbs wanted to move but I didn’t know how to perform the action. Lips were on mine. Heat blazed over my mouth, and I felt a jolt hit me as his hand laid over my chest. Pain blossomed through my lungs, and my eyes shot open. I felt awake again.
“Breathe, SIA!” Elijah screamed as he came crashing down on his knees next to me. “Mom! Mom! What do I do? She’s over here! Mom!”
“I’m ... coming,” Janet panted as she ran over to us.
Turning to the side, I opened my mouth and water gushed out. Coughing racked my body. Janet turned me fully on my side and patted my back while Elijah moved my braids from my face. His worried expression was burned into my memory as his misty eyes looked me over.
“Are you okay? Sia?” he asked.
I nodded through my hacking and spitting up water. There was another form there, crouched at my feet and watching me quietly as water dripped from his hair and robes. Those golden orbs of his held the same heat as a summer wildfire. He glared at me, and I didn’t know if I wanted to be gifted with fresh air in my lungs anymore.
“I told you to be careful,” he growled.
I couldn’t reply. I could only stare back at him. If it wasn’t evident, I wasn’t going to make a dumb mistake like that again. I had learned my lesson. Part of me knew that he didn’t save me because he cared. It was only because of our deal. It didn’t make me any less grateful. I mouthed the words, thank you, before turning to Elijah and Janet.
“Silly child! What were you thinking?” Janet cried as a shaky hand ran over my hair.
My eyes fluttered and I tried to smile, but when I tried to sit up I winced and grabbed my shoulder. Blood mixed with the water and it was running down my arm. Elijah saw it and instantly gasped. “Why were you so close to the water when there was no one else here, you—”
“Fool. Yes ... I know,” I rasped.
“As long as you’re aware,” he muttered.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed, and it made my chest flare with pain. I coughed again, and he was there, picking me up and bringing me to my feet. “Come on. I’ll take you back to the village to patch you up.”
“I’m fine. I can still—“
“Go. With. Him. Sia!” Draki barked at me. I froze in mid-sentence and held my shoulder, pretending that pain had halted my speech. “Or I will unveil myself and carry you there over my shoulder.”
It took everything in me not to turn my astonished gaze toward him. I remained still and in shock as I stared at the wet imprint I had made on the ground. His powerful voice thundered over me. “Don’t forget that I veiled myself because of a request. I’m not obligated to stay hidden to perform my end of the bargain.”
“Sia?” Elijah called softly.
I shook my head. “It was just really painful for a moment,” I lied. “You’re right, I need to get patched up.” It was directed at him and Draki. “Let’s go.”
“Mom,” Elijah started.
She rubbed his back with a soft expression. “Don’t worry. I’ll finish what I can with the water that we have and dry them. I’m not going close to the river anymore today. It’s too dangerous. We can come back in a day or two when the river will be calmer.”
Chapter 9:
The Sacrifices We Make
Walking back proved to be quite the chore. What the cold water had numbed away in the field of pain was slowly resurfacing as I hobbled my way back to the village at a snail’s pace with Elijah as my new, human crutch. It wasn’t my proudest moment—that was for certain. However, I did rather well to hide the pain in my ankle and the soreness in my torso. I think I had damaged a lot more when I was tossed around like a river-ragdoll than I wanted to admit. Despite wanting to heal on my own, I knew I was going to have to ask Draki to heal me. And I had a feeling he was going to do it whether or not I wanted him to.
As soon as the devil slithered into my mind, I remembered him looming over me, and then his mouth on mine. My body reacted to the memory, and I bit my lower lip. It wasn’t a kiss. It was the devil’s version of CPR, stupid. No matter what sort of spin I tried to put on it, my mind didn’t want to believe it. Apparently, it was a kiss. A lifesaving, toe-curling kiss. Did all kisses burn? Or just his?
I felt heat lapping at my cheeks, and I tried to talk to Elijah to escape the thoughts in my head. “You got back at the same time as your mom. I figured she would have sent you to the house for the clothesline.”
He looked lost for a moment and then gave a nod, “Right. That. My dad had finished his chore early and saw the rope on the table and put it on top of the basket of clothes.”
“Oh, so when your mom came to see if you had grabbed it or not ...”
“Yeah, we walked back together, but I heard you cry for help. Mom took the basket from me and told me to run. I didn’t think twice.”
I watched our feet as we walked. “Did-did you pull me out of the water?”
He quickly looked at me, and I knew the answer the minute we had our eyes meet. “No. I thought that you had climbed out ...” His words trailed off and he looked at me, perplexed. “Didn’t you climb out on your own?”
My eyes wandered around our surroundings in a panic, and I tripped over my footwork. Holding me closer to him, Elijah stopped walking to make sure I righted myself first. Once we started moving again, I answered with, “I’m not sure of what happened.” It was a partial truth. “I remember crying for help. I remember going under.” I paused and screwed my eyes shut. I remembered the loss of hope and seeing the surface of the water out of reach. I remembered inhaling water and feeling it blaze through my lungs. And when I thought death would have me, I remembered Draki over me ... his lips over mine. Whimpering, I drew my lips into my mouth and shook my head.
“Don’t worry about it. You must have been close to the shore and the water luckily threw you up to safety.”
“Right,” I whispered and nodded. “That must be what happened.” But I knew the truth. The devil that saved me knew it too.
Back at the house, Marcel came and took me and helped me inside, asking what happened. While Elijah and I explained everything, I mentally prepared for the pain. It was easy to get lost in my own thoughts. Anything to get away from the agony of a few new stitches and the sting of a thorough cleaning of all the wounds before fresh bandages were applied. As I was mended, I had my memories playing a cruel game with me. I must have looked like I was being tortured because Marcel kept apologizing to me. If he only knew that I welcomed the prick of the needle instead of the tortures that my imagination had me going through. In my mind, all I could see was Draki dripping wet, looming over me, his mouth blazing over my own.
After Marcel was done, I excused myself saying that I wanted to rest for a little while and did my best to hide the limp in my gait as I headed for my bedroom. I was still pretty shaken up after everything that had happened, and I just wanted to be alone and change into a dry set of clothes.
Behind the safety of the closed door, I pressed my forehead to the wood and sighed. Flashes of me desperately trying to swim to the surface and helplessly being repeatedly dunked deeper into the waters barraged my mind. I held my head, groaned, and stepped away from the door. Spinning on heel, I faced the bed and felt sleep tug at me. My emotions and body had been through so much. I just needed to lie down for a moment. While I could still keep my eyes open, I quickly changed clothes.
By the time I reached the edge of the bed, I felt him behind me. Draki was standing there in total silence and close enough that I could lean back and I’d be resting on his chest. I almost wanted to do just that. When he spoke, it was different than when he usually said something to me. It was scarier, but he didn’t raise his voice in the slightest. It washed over me like a warning. He didn’t need to yell for me to know that I was in deep trouble.
“I told you to be careful.”
Those words reminded me again of what he looked like back by the river, dripping wet and full of anger. I turned around and half expected to see him still soaked. His gaze caught me at the same time his hand reached out with lightning speed and squeezed my neck. Out of reflex, I tried to loosen his grasp, only it was useless. In a panic, I kicked and threw punches wildly at him. He acted unaffected by them all. He tilted his head as he watched me. A look of dissatisfaction overtook his usual calm features.
“You defy me at every turn and treat me as though I am your servant.” He threw me to the bed, and I was thankful for the air my lungs were gifted with. “Do not forget that everything I’ve done for you has been me fulfilling requests of yours out of my own generosity ... not because it’s owed to you, Sia.”
Gasping for sweet air, I looked at him while rubbing my neck. “It was ... a mistake,” I wheezed between choppy inhales.
He moved faster than anything I had ever seen. I almost didn’t register the movements. His body loomed over mine, and his golden hues pinned me in place. “It was a mistake that almost took your life from me. We have a deal. You almost turned me into a being unfit of keeping a simple pact,” he snarled.
My mouth unhinged, and I felt my heart throw itself against my chest like it was trying to claw its way out of me with every beat. “I’m sorry,” I expressed softly.
His lips twitched into a half-smile that swiftly faded. “I’m healing you.”
“No—”
“I wasn’t asking your permission.”
I shut my mouth with a hard frown. We stared at each other in heated silence. He was mad at me for not listening to his request. I was mad at him for not listening to mine. “Aren’t we even, now?”
There was another stretch of silence before he smirked and looked away. I was thankful for it. When he wasn’t looking at me, I felt like I could breathe a little more easily. When he looked back to me, there was still a sting to his gaze that penetrated my being. “I’m healing you,” he said again.
Instantly, I put a hand to his shoulder as if to ward him off. “Wait. Don’t. If you do, they’ll know that something isn’t right. They’ll cast me out for sure.”
“Why should that bother me? Why should I care? Am I not fit enough to tend to you? Am I not capable of upholding my end of the bargain? I promised that I would protect you, Sia. Why are you hindering me from that objective?”
“I want to feel normal, Draki. I don’t want you to make me feel like an outcast wherever I go! I want to make memories along the way. I don’t want to feel alone. So if I have to suffer as I go through the motions then let me. I can handle the pain. Pain heals.”
His face dipped down dangerously close to mine. “I have a world full of nothing but pain that I can share with you since you’re so willing.”
Fear soaked every fiber of my being, but I glowered at him with newfound courage despite my urge to push him away and run. “No,” I whispered harshly.
He drew in air slowly and gave another quick half-smile before pushing one of my undone braids off to the side. His eyes trailed over me, but I didn’t feel like he was looking at me. It was like he was looking at things that hovered around me like a second skin. I shifted uncomfortably under the look. He reached up and quickly pulled my shirt down over my shoulder. Instantly, I gasped and squirmed, and his free hand pushed my other shoulder into the bed to keep me still. A claw raced over the edge of the bandage and lifted it from my flesh. A hard expression settled in as he took in the damage that was underneath.
With a sneer, he said, “I’m healing you. Not healing you is putting you at risk and that goes against our agreement.” His eyes flicked back up to mine. “I don’t care if you want me to or not.”
As his words sank in, I realized that he was right ... but I didn’t like it. I didn’t like him being right, and I didn’t like him taking away options from me. Slowly, I licked my lips as I tried to blink past my welling tears. “I hate you,” I whispered the lie, feeling defeated. My options, the last thing that gave me some semblance of freedom, were going to be ripped away.
He gave a dark chuckle and said, “Love and hate are two sides of the same coin, Sia.”
When he healed me, it didn’t feel like it. In fact, it felt like the opposite was happening. It felt like fire was kissing my skin and claws were scratching me from the inside out as if they were trying to slowly rip me apart. Though the pain was short-lived, I found new things to torment myself with. For starters, I knew that I couldn’t stay past tomorrow. The longer I lingered, the more at risk I would be. And if they turned on me and tried to hurt me because I had a pact with a devil, then Draki would wind up hurting them. No matter what, staying was no longer an option. It was for the best because I felt like I had already overstayed my welcome. If I remained, I didn’t know how much longer I could deny what was slowly developing between me and Elijah.
The discomfort from reopening wounds, the excitement of almost drowning, and the sadness that came from leaving a place that could have been home, all made me so tired. Taking a short nap would give me the recharge I was in desperate need of. It would provide me with an escape from Draki, as well. So I fell asleep sooner than I thought I would have after having my wounds tended to.
A few hours later, I woke up and the house was eerily quiet. I noticed that the room was darker than it had been when I fell asleep. Throwing my legs over the edge of the bed, I held my head while I yawned.
“It’s late,” Draki said.
I turned toward where I heard his voice coming from. At first—in the murky depths of the corner—all that was there were two glowing, gold orbs. Their piercing intensity sent a shockwave of ice coursing through every nerve in my body. Instinct told me to scream. Sense told me it was a devil tucked into the shadowed corner. But the fear was an emotion that traveled with the being. It was part of him. And now, because of our agreement, it was part of me too. He manifested from the darkened void and walked in as he burst through clouds of twisting smoke.
Digging up my courage, I faced him and sighed. “I can see that it’s night.”
“Then continue to rest. I think we both know that you no longer can remain here in this village.”
That hurt. Hearing someone repeat aloud what I had been thinking hurt more than I thought it would. “I know,” I whispered.
