The Devil's Third (24 page)

“Mystical chasms?” I echoed while slyly slipping my seatbelt on. I had no idea what he was blabbering about and would like to know, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to happen.

I was right.

Brayden scooted to the edge of the seat and leaned behind Bael, feigning interest. He rested his arm on the headrest behind Bael. “Are you talking about parallel universes?”

“Yes, along with--”

In one swift move, Brayden reached around the top of Bael’s seat and twisted his neck. I heard a “pop.”

“Brayden! What the hell?” I screamed, and then everything seemed to go in slow motion.

The human Bael had occupied slumped against the driver’s side door–lifeless. Brayden leaned over the console and took hold of the steering wheel, but we must have been going fifty miles an hour. I looked out the windshield, thankful there were no vehicles in sight. Brayden jerked the wheel to the right. I sat back, digging my nails into the cushion, my heart thumping in my ears. I thought about my mom dying in a car accident. I was immortal, so I wouldn’t die, unless I lost all my blood or head. I thought about Nathan. I had to see him and explain everything. He’d understand. I wasn’t going to give up on us or on myself. I had to fight, and I’d figure out a way to protect the ones I loved and not allow Bael to corner me ever again. All those thoughts raced through my head in an instant. My quick, immortal mind, logging and etching them onto my very soul. A strength I’ve never experienced before rose, like a phoenix from the ashes, reborn.

The Tahoe fishtailed, then spun several times. I braced myself, unable to see what Brayden was doing. I closed my eyes, and my body jerked sideways. We hit a bump or something, causing me to bounce, but the harness held me in place, preventing me from knocking my head against the roof. I was forced to my right when I heard an “Oomph!” Everything stilled. I opened my eyes. The Tahoe was on its side, and the safety strap prevented me from falling against the door which was pressed against the ground.

“Are you okay, Brayden?” I asked, trying to push myself up enough so I could see him. I walked my hands up the seat toward my body, lifting myself.

“Other than bumping my head on the dashboard and trying to get this human off me, I’m fine. What about you?” Brayden was struggling with the dead body, lying on top of him. His hands were on the human’s chest. He lifted his arms, locking them in place, suspending the lifeless figure above him. The head lobbed to the side in an unnatural manner. Brayden hefted him against the dashboard and wormed his way on top.

“I’m okay,” I finally answered. “I can’t believe what you did, though. What about Tree?”

“Bael is a man of his word,” Brayden said, unconcerned. “You did nothing wrong, so Tree is safe. I, on the other hand, will now be on his shit list. But let’s talk about it later. We need to get out of here before somebody discovers us.”

“Okay, so what’s your suggestion?” Before he could respond, I unlatched the belt and dropped against the door, smashing my shoulder. A sharp pain zapped my shoulder blade, as if someone drove a nail into it. A yelp escaped my lips, and I flipped myself onto my stomach, anchoring my feet against the door.

“Are you all right?” Brayden asked, peeking through the gap between his seat and the door.

“Yeah, just crushed my shoulder. It’ll be fine.”

I could hear Brayden moving around, the soles of his shoes squeaking against leather. His hand flew up, gripping the headrest, and he lifted himself to where his backside pressed against the door. He looked over at me. “I want you to do the same thing. Push yourself up and lean your back against the door to where you’re half standing like me.”

I moved my hands like I was going to do pushups. Bending my elbows and ignoring the pain in my shoulder, I lifted myself. Again, I walked my hands on the seat toward my body, and as soon as my butt touched the door, I slowly dropped back.

“I’m going to bust the windshield with my fist, so cover your face,” Brayden told me

“What about you?” I didn’t want glass to get in his face either or cut himself for that matter. I knew he’d heal right away . . . hell, my shoulder was already feeling better. But he’d still feel the pain. “Isn’t there a better way to do this?”

Brayden lifted his fist. “Maybe, but we don’t have much time. Don’t worry about me”–he pulled his arm back and met my eyes–“Look the other way and cover your face.”

I did what he said and heard his fist smack the glass. A cracking sound filled the silence, followed by a tinkling noise as shards of glass scattered everywhere. One stung me in the ear. My hand flew up, touching the skin where the glass tagged me. I thought some landed in my hair as well, but I’d worry about it later. I turned and saw Brayden using the sleeve of his jacket to brush off the dashboard. Without saying a word, he climbed out the corner of the windshield. I followed suit, awkwardly scrambling between the two front seats, trying not to allow gravity throw me backward.

“C’mon, Paige. I think somebody is coming,” Brayden said.

I was in the front seat and braced my foot against the passenger’s window. Boosting myself up, I crawled out and slid off the hood into a ditch where the Tahoe lay sideways. Brayden reached down and offered his hand. I took it, and once he lifted me to higher ground, we fled into the forest. I breathed in the smell of decaying leaves, tree bark, and earth, loving mother nature’s aroma. As I ran, I leaped over tree stumps and an occasional log. When I came across a bull elk with a six-by-six rack, he was lapping at some water in a creek. I stepped beside him and hurtled myself to the other side. When my feet smacked the ground, I continued to run. I knew Brayden was beside me, because I could see his image out the corner of my eye. To anybody else, though, we’d be a blur to where their minds wouldn’t be able to accept the reality of it and in turn shrug it off. But since we were moving at the same speed, side by side, we could clearly see each other.

“I think it’s safe to stop,” Brayden said after we were probably twenty miles away from our starting point. He halted in his tracks, and I did the same. “How’s your shoulder?”

I slowly rolled it forward and backward and smiled. “Perfect.”

Brayden grinned. “Isn’t it great being immortal?”

I nodded. “It does have its benefits.”

Brayden turned in circles, surveying the area. He pointed west. “I think Astoria is that way, but we need to get to the nearest airport, which is Portland International.”

I scratched the back of my head and made a face. “Are you seriously thinking we hop a plane and go to Africa?”

Brayden shrugged. “Yeah, why not?”

I gave him a doubtful look. “Do you have a passport?”

“In my back pocket.”

“When did you get one?”

“After I became immortal, Cassondra insisted I get one and carry it on me at all times, like my driver’s license.”

“What about shots?”

“I did those as well.”

“Me, too. Anwar had me get them before we went to the island, because he knew I wanted to travel and see the world eventually. He told me more than likely his friend Shem could taxi us to wherever we wanted to go; however, there would be times when we’d have to fly commercial.”

Brayden glanced over his shoulder. “I think if we run we can make it to Portland in about a half hour.” He looked at me and frowned. “You look tired.”

“I am,” I admitted. “Aren’t you?”

He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “I can use a few hours of sleep.”

I looked around. We were deep in the forest, and I had no idea where we were, except between Astoria and Portland. I listened, reaching out my sense of hearing beyond the woods. I pushed the sound of a squirrel gnawing on a nut, birds scampering in a bed of dried leaves on the ground, bees buzzing around I was guessing, a hive, and other sounds of nature aside, so I could hear other rackets of life. I cocked my head to the side and continued listening. And then I heard the choppy roar of several motorcycles not too far away. I glanced at Brayden. He was listening, too. Our eyes connected, and a smile crept across his face.

“I think we should go the edge of the forest and see what’s up,” I suggested.

Brayden pointed at me. “Good plan.”

We took off again, and shortly after we were facing a narrow, black, curving road. There was a yellow, diamond shaped deer crossing sign on the other side of the street. We had to be close to civilization. I rubbed the back of my neck and blinked several times. I could feel the heaviness in my limbs from the exhaustion pouring in them. I needed to sleep soon, otherwise I would be useless.

“I think we should follow in the direction those motorcycles went,” I said, thinking it was early morning, and maybe they were heading off to get some breakfast. It was a long shot, but the only thing my sluggish mind could think of at the moment.

Brayden glanced down the street where the noise of the bikes had gone. “Okay,” he said, fixing his eyes on mine. I could see the smile in them and knew he was enjoying himself. He then broke away, and I followed, easily catching up with him despite my fatigue. We kept hidden behind the trees, close to the shoulder of the road. We ran for probably fifteen miles when I spotted a gas station and convenience store up ahead. Brayden looked at me and jerked his finger forward a few times, indicating to keep going. I nodded and continued to run beside him. The trees were starting to thin out, and I heard traffic up ahead. Brayden grabbed my wrist. We stopped behind a huge Douglas fir and saw at the end of the road there was a four way stop sign.

“What do you think?” Brayden asked.

I pushed my hair off my face and rubbed my eyes. “I think we should go east.”

“Why east?”

“I don’t know,” I said with a sigh, trying not to sound grumpy. “It’s just a guess. Maybe because I hear more traffic in that direction.”

“Let’s cross the street, and then over to the north, so we can keep to the forests,” he said.

“Okay.”

Looking both ways to make sure there weren’t any cars coming, we zipped across and over, behind the safety of the trees. We stopped, and to my relief, on the other side of the street stood a structure made out of logs with a red wooden sign beneath the peak of the roof that said:
Timberlake Lodge
. It looked like an A-frame house, reminding me of Nathan’s house. Attached to it was an elongated building in a U-shape with dark, wooden doors lining the face. I imagined they were rooms, and I longed to be sleeping in one.

Brayden elbowed me and grinned. I returned his smile, and we jetted over there. When we stepped into the lobby, a bell dinged and a burly looking middle-aged guy greeted us. I noticed the kindness in his brown eyes right away, and I began to relax while Brayden stepped up to the glossy, oak counter to get us a room. There was a rustic couch made out of cedar logs in front of a blazing fireplace with a matching chair beside it. I was tempted to sit down, but knew if I did, I’d probably crash right there. So I waited for Brayden, enjoying the smell of pine, wafting off the burning logs.

“If you two get hungry, we do have room service,” the guy told Brayden. “The menus are on the bedside table.”

Brayden thanked him, and with the key in his hand, we stepped outside. I followed Brayden to the end of the building. He stopped in front of room 22, stuck the key in and opened the door. I entered first and discovered there was only one king size bed. I knew I should have said something about it–to remind him I wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship, but I was too tired to hold a lengthy conversation, and frankly I didn’t care at the moment. All I wanted to do was sleep. I kicked my shoes off, crawled into bed, and I was out.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nathan

Ameerah squealed again. “I can’t believe I’m able to come inside of here.” With a grin on her face, her arms opened out wide, she turned in a circle. “Do you realize what this means?” She stopped and shook my arm.

The corner of my mouth lifted. “I have a good idea.”

“It means I’m not evil, and my intentions are genuine and good. Maybe,” she said, “I will be forgiven for all the heinous stuff I’d done.”

I squeezed her shoulder. “I think you’re on the right path. Now let’s see if Jade can help me find Paige.” I walked toward the house with a purpose in my stride.

“Right,” Ameerah said, jogging to keep up with me.

When we reach the porch, the door swung open. Layers of different incense filled my nose: sandalwood, sage, and lavender. We climbed the steps and entered the house into a small entryway. I paid no mind to the empty coat tree on the wall or the oak bench across from it. I continued moving forward, anxious to see if Jade would help us or what I needed to do to reunite with Paige. To my right, tendrils of gray smoke reached out of a spacious sitting area like tentacles from an octopus. I entered the room. It was dark, except for the dozens of lit candles, displayed on the hearth of a stone fireplace on the far wall and silver candelabras in each corner. There was no furniture except for a low table with a black, velvet cloth draped over it. On top of it was a couple more lit white tapers, a tiny brass bowl, and a book. The wood floor had a large, round blood red rug with a black pentagram on the face of it and gold thread heavily stitched in loopy designs around the edges.

“I hear you need my assistance,” Jade said behind Ameerah, causing her to jump and move aside. Jade’s robe swished past us. She turned and lowered her hood. Her skin was black as tar, and when her striking green eyes met mine, I couldn’t help but think how attractive she was.

“May I inquire where you received word?” I asked.

“Carrie,” she replied, smoothing out her shoulder length hair.

I jerked my head back and blinked “Carrie?”

“Just a short while ago you spoke with her, yes?”

“Yeah, I--”

“Carrie and Paige’s friendship and love is boundless. After you spoke with her, a part of her spirit reached out to me–the part that is a witch as well.”

“Carrie is a witch?” Ameerah asked, sounding as surprised as I felt.