Chapter 69

“I agree, Chris. However, right now, we don’t have a choice,” he says. “Anyway, I have placed everyone else into groups of four. Each group will contain an angel, one wolf, a witch and a fae. The angel’s job will not only be to help fight and lure the demons into the portal but also heal the members of their group. Not every angel is good at healing so some groups will have two angels.” We nod our heads in understanding and agreement.
“What about my grandmother?” I ask, the thought of her being in the king’s possession or worse, trapped in the underworld, eats at my insides.
“For now, we are not even sure where she is being held. One thing I am certain of is that it is a trap,” James responds without an inch of emotion in his voice.
“So, you want to leave her to rot!”
“I understand, Kayla, I really do. However, our main priority is stopping Lucifer and making sure he does not gain entry to the angel realm. Because if that happens, we are all dead. It is the fate of one person or the world?” His words are like knives to my heart. My anger bubbles over. The floor beneath my feet shakes.
“Kayla, calm down, you know he’s right,” Chris says softly and calmly. Cole appears a few feet away. His hair wet and in a new change of clothes.
“Calm down! How can I calm down? He wants to leave my grandmother to become the king’s new toy.” Sparks shoot from my hands like lightning. They zap around the room, burning and bouncing off the walls. Everyone ducks and rolls to avoid being hit.
“Your grandmother can take care of herself,” James yells as the sparks fizzle out.
A new wave of anger erupts, along with a huge gust of wind that turns into a twister.
“Stop!” Misty yells. My body goes limp. I am exhausted, and my eyes droop. A cloud of darkness engulfs me.

***

I open my eyes and greet a blackness that seems to suffocate me. A heavy weight holds me in place. My eyes adjust to the darkness, and I see Chris sleeping beside me.
I snuggle into his arms and fall back into a restful sleep. My new powers simmer under the surface. More powerful than my fragile body can take.
The next morning, I quickly shower and dress and follow the smell of breakfast. Misty stands over a pan of frying bacon and another of scrambled eggs, waving a spatula at James, who stands a few paces away, wearily holding his plate out.
She slaps his wrist with the spatula then piles a heap of scrambled eggs and bacon on his plate.
“If you want toast with that, hunt the toaster out yourself,” she says, turning back to her cooking.
After grabbing my breakfast, I sit down at the table. I avoid eye contact with James.
After breakfast, the day drags on. James, who I’ve now calmed down a lot about, has me doing various exercises and activities to help me control my powers. The more time that passes the more frustrated I become, which causes my powers to become more erratic.
After an exhausting five hours, I give up and go in search of food again. James is not impressed. He’s turned into Chris’s double when it comes to pushing me to my limit.
“Hey, come on, it is time to learn to fight and defend yourself,” Chris says while I’m still only halfway through eating my cheese sandwich. I ignore him and continue to eat. He takes a chair beside me. I can feel his eyes on me but refuse to look at him.
“You need to learn, Kayla,” he says softly. I roll my eyes and carry-on chewing.
When I finish eating, I say what needs to be said. “Yeah, I need to learn. I’ve needed to know and learn a lot of things for a long time. But did it bother you before? No. Now you want me to spend every waking minute practicing with my powers and fighting. No, Chris, that won’t happen. I’m tired, and I’ve had enough.”
I know in my heart I need to get stronger and learn to control my powers, but I feel pressured and lost. I have to learn in a very short period all the things they have had years to learn. My main issue though is with myself. I’m scared I’m not good enough. My nerves and worries are constantly playing on my mind which makes it harder to concentrate.
I push all doubt away and lock off my heart like I did at the castle. I need to shut myself off. If I don’t my emotions are going to consume me.
I stand, and with a feeling of fresh determination, look at Chris. “Come on then, let’s do this.” Chris raises his eyebrows at my sudden change of heart. I will get through this and, save my grandmother in the process, whether they like it or not.
We stand in the hotel’s garden. I cross my arms and wait for instructions. Chris stands a few feet away, staring at me.
Without warning, he lunges for me. I jump to the side. My reaction is too slow and too late. He grabs me by the back of the neck and holds me in a choke hold.
“You’ve got to be a lot quicker than that,” he says, letting go.
“How was I to know you were going to run for me?” No one said anything about a surprise attack.
“The enemy is not going to give you any warning before attacking you.” I shrug. Alright, he has a point. I prepare myself for his next attack.
He circles me, and I keep my eyes firmly on him. I watch his eyes for any sign he is going to pounce. I see a small change and ready myself.
He dives towards me, and I drop to the floor, sticking my foot out. He trips and rolls. We practice different moves and strategies for the next hour or so. It’s hard at first, but towards the end, I find myself enjoying the training.
After a couple of hours, my body is aching and bruised, so I call it quits. Chris wants to carry on. What is wrong with these people?
Back in the kitchen, Misty stands at the cooker, Cole and James are seated at the kitchen table looking over the map and writing in a notepad. I head upstairs to take a shower.
When I return, Misty plates up what looks like stew. “When did I become a housewife for a bunch of children?” she moans.
“We are not children, Misty,” James answers, giving her an amused look.
I sit beside Cole and watch her put on her stern face. “Then stop acting like children, squabbling every second about what will work better. Honestly, it is like working with chimps.” I suppress a laugh as she berates them. I can tell by the twinkle in her eyes that she’s enjoying playing mother hen.
She places a warm meal in front of each of us and takes a seat herself.
“So, how is the plan going?” I ask.
“We have everything in place and are just securing it now. We need this to run as smoothly as possible,” Cole replies.
“How do you feel about going up against your father,” I ask. Fire leaps in his black eyes but quickly dies away.
“I must admit, I am not exactly over the moon about it. But I know the difference between right and wrong, and he needs to be stopped.” His tone is cold and matter of fact. I turn away from his deadly stare. I've always known he didn’t like his father, but the hate I see in his eyes sends chills down my spine.