Infernal

Nina's POV

I was beating my foot on the margin, eying the slight fog above the solid water. My bones were trembling from the abnormal drop of temperature.

"Do we run?" Rory whispered.

Romeo shook his head.

"Don't use while crossing."

"Why?"

"Because it may attract unwanted company. That's why." Romeo's gray eyes were highlighted by the bluish-moon glow. It's beauty was more amazing than before. "It's a bit foggy, try not to get too behind and remember: don't stop walking."

Without further ado, our guide made stepped up onto the frozen lake. He took another and another. Nothing cracked. It was good enough for Rory and Cam. I had no option but follow. The ice below my feet was translucent in some places, I might have been born and raised in San Diego where snow and ice were a rarity, but even I knew that meant the ice was still very thin.

Cameron was heavier than me, so, logically I stepped where he did. Everything was going good, up until I felt something move. Romeo said never to stop, I didn't. But I glared down, trying to find out what I'd felt. Maybe the ice had—

Another small quake met my feet.

Quickening the strides, I grabbed Cameron's wrist. I couldn't make out his eyes in the darkness, they were too identical.

"Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" He murmured.

"Something underneath... moving." Cam's profile stayed hidden. No clue what he was thinking. "Do you think the ice isn't strong enough?"

"Is this going to be like the plain ride?" He hissed with a playful poke to my side. Ow. "If you tell me a Californian girl is afraid of water I swear I'll lose every ounce of respect I have..." he trailed off just as a thud sounded from beneath. Told ya'. "Maybe it's the water moving." He believed that as much as I did.

"Can't you see what's below?"

Cam glared down, squinting. He shook his head after seven seconds.

"Too much ice. The water's dark too, as in pitch black. You'd think its poisoned or something." Looking to the front, where the older-than-sin pair were, he gave me a trademark up-to-no-good-smirk. "I can fix our problem."

His hand lit like a road flare.

I had no idea how I screamed so high, for such a long time. Or maybe it wasn't long at all. Maybe it was just when I saw a yellow eye, the size of my fist, staring back at me. Or when something thick and monstrous broke the layer we were on.

Cameron pinned me to him before a burst. Then we went flying—rolling over the ice.

"Shit!"

I was so absorbed in what I'd seen, I had no idea whose voice I'd heard.

"I told you to keep walking!" It came from afar.

Cameron wasn't listening. His head was locked one way.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." the words fell on deaf ears as he moved faster than any human boy, never letting me slip. "What the hell's that?" Cameron yelled.

The hiss was grotesque. Prying my eyes from his shoulder, I caught a slithering tail, thick and scaly like an old crocodile's body. Good God, I thought horrified, how long was that thing?

"...don't let her look into its eyes!"

The sentence jolted me.

"Cam, what's—"

He was too busy keeping us alive to listen. Not that I was complaining.

There were several animalistic cries, angry and bloodthirsty. Cameron was moving fast. I couldn't keep up with all the jumps and throw-downs he made.

He cursed when his legs were swiped. I felt us going down, and half-waited for a freezing lake to welcome us. Instead, Cameron landed on his backpack.

"Nina," he wheezed. "Whatever you do, don't look behind." My body stilled, his hand pushed my blond head deeper into his shoulder.

I was close enough to feel his erratic beating heart.

"What... what is it?"

"Something really, really fugly." I would've laughed. But then I saw the creature's reflection on the ice.

Its head was nut shaped, only a million times bigger. The size of my new car. Down its body were multiple scales, some a lighter green, others nearly black. It was a mix between a dragon and a snake. There were no wings, but there was a large dorsal fin.

It howled worse than anything I'd ever heard, the teeth were curvy and pointy, ready to strike.

"Nina, whatever I do, you keep your eyes closed. Promise me." He talked fast and right now, I wouldn't be caught dead questioning him. "Okay. Trust me."
The second his words were out, I was tossed aside, released from warmth and safeness into a black world. I was supposed to keep my eyes shut. Why? The sounds of a roaring animal reached my ears.

Cameron would kill me for this... I opened my eyes just enough to see what was around me. I screamed bloody-murder when another hybrid-snake broke the ice cage. Its body swung towards me, maybe seventy-feet long, and I ran the other way. Going somewhere was better than staying still.

Among the fog and cries, I saw another human shape. Long hair swished about. Courtney...!

There were more Loch Ness Monsters climbing to the surface. I repressed a yelp when another came from underwater, mouth open in attack. A large tooth nicked my shoulder.

I ditched my backpack to gain more speed. I went left, right, back—they were coming from all sides. Leering, trapping us. It was hard shutting my eyes, without them I was utterly defenseless to avoid—

Multiple cries rang over the lake. Shocks crawled up my legs—then stopped. As if they'd been told I wasn't a target.

Water. Electricity. Cameron.

I saw an explosion of white and blue behind my lids. Relief vanished as soon as it settled.

Water was rising all around me.

My hands grasped for the near ice-plaques—but slipped. The electricity didn't seem to know I was a friend now. It was licking at me, toying until it pounced.

It never did.

A hand fished me out.

Imagine my surprise when I was pressed against a woolen sweater, instead of a leather jacket.

"You okay?" Romeo cocked his head, seeking out my bright eyes. With adrenaline still pumping my system, I nodded. "Let's get out of here, then."

Romeo guided me for a few seconds before I screeched, scrambling to get back, as a large, hard-looking head fell in front of us. He wrapped me to his side, eying the Demon. It just slid into a large crack, going under water.

"Is it... dead?"

"I don't think so. Knocked out? Definitely." His hand grappled my arm strongly, but not hurtfully. "Keep walking. Come on."

He took us through blinded chaos, fast and accurate. I gazed around several times, trying to catch a glimpse of Cameron. Finding someone wearing dark clothes, with dark hair and eyes in a dusky place like this was very challenging, more even when the bursts of electric current had stopped.

"What were those things?" I knew he was alright. Somehow.

"Basilisks," Romeo breathed shortly. "They're Beasts." No kidding. "I told you not to stop walking. If you hadn't stopped they wouldn't have gotten a good target."

"Maybe we wouldn't have stopped if you'd told us this was a lake infested with giant snakes!" I hissed getting a glare in.

"I didn't think you'd want to cross it if you knew. No one likes it. Humans and beings who don't have a quick healing ability die if they look directly into their eyes." Oh, so that was why. "We are paralyzed after looking too much. Eventually it wears off, but it's enough time for them to feed."

I gulped. What if they...?

My foot met solid ground. The kind only a massive earthquake could split. We'd crossed over.

"Did you swallow any water?" I shook my head and he relaxed.

"What would happen if I did? Isn't it just water?"

Romeo looked at me like he couldn't believe what he'd heard. His eyes read 'we're in Hell, everything is deadly here'.

"Basilisks have venom in their fangs. A few drops of that can contaminate a small well for one hundred years. This lake, like you said, is infested with them. The water never stops being deadly. Didn't you see the color? It's black!"

Their fangs were...

I archived the nagging feeling in my shoulder for later. Rory sped toward us in a matter of seconds—dropping my backpack at our feet—and behind her, was Cameron. His jeans were torn at the knees and scratches were healing away.

The moment he dropped his backpack I ran, not caring about privacy, and lunged my arms around his neck. He took a step back, taking me with him, outbalanced.

"What happened to your eyes?" The whisper left me as I began wiping the blood trails away. During the harnessing ritual the same thing had happened.

"I looked a little too long into their eyes." His arms were heavy with exhaustion—Cam's face paled. "Nina!"

My shoulder had been throbbing for a while now. I vaguely remembered something scrapping me before. It all happened so fast, though. Pain had been disguised by a rush of fear. Now, the burning in my veins was evident.

"When did you get that?" Cameron's voice swam. Or maybe it was my head. "Hey, answer me!" He shook me.

I winced feeling lightheaded.

"...rude..."

"Rude? I don't give a crap about being rude—you have a scrape on your shoulder!"

"I think it's pretty evident where she got it." A droning, male tone snorted.

Cameron stewed in anger. Thankfully, he didn't let me fall to punch Romeo.

"It's Basilisk venom, of course." Romeo clarified. "It'll kill her in a few minutes."

Kill her. I blinked. Kill... me?

"You... can't be serious." Cameron's eyes betrayed his calm disbelief. They were wild.

There was walking behind me.

"Oh, I'm very serious. You're just lucky I know what will heal her." The smugness went unnoticed when Romeo said 'heal'. "We have to climb this dirt road so we can get to the forest. There's a place where Mandrake grows. It'll cure her."

Sounded good. Way better than the unbearable heat wave assaulting my body.

"Don't move her a lot, the venom will spread faster and she's already a small thing." A guttural noise came from Cameron's chest.

In seconds, I wasn't upright anymore. A hand hooked behind my knees and another below my shoulders.

"You didn't need to go and poison yourself just so I'd carry you." I conjured a smile, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Take deep breaths, lovebird. Your heart needs to beat slower, otherwise..." The faster my blood pumped, the faster the venom would advance.

I appreciated the effort he was making. Staying calm. For me. When I found the rhythm of his heartbeat, I simply felt mine matching it.

***

I was lowered onto something soft. There was a hushed conversation and Cameron was replaced by Rory.

"Romeo went to get the Mandrake fruit, hang on, hon." The way she matted my hair aside reminded me of my mother. When I'd been a kid she used to stroke my hair until I fell asleep. "When you feel better I'll help you out of those clothes, okay?"

"Huh..."

She smiled, "I'll make sure they're looking somewhere else." My cheeks flared as I recalled my earlier dream. God, that had been embarrassing.

I heard twigs being bent, broken. I wanted to see what Cameron was doing but couldn't risk moving.

"What's he doing?" Talking was a good distraction from the rippling pain.

"Playing boy scout," the image of Cameron in a boy scout's uniform made me chuckle. "He's building a fire."

There were incandescent sparks. Crackling started softly, white turned into red as lightning burned the sticks.

"I can hear you, you know." My smile was tarnished by an ugly cough. A hand much firmer than Rory's touched my cheek. "Don't talk," his eyes traced my lips.

"You want to boss me around even when I'm dying?"

"Don't say that." He snapped, eyes bristling. "You're not dying. I'm the only one allowed to have near-death talks."

"Is that right?" I dragged in a rougher breath.

Cam's finger ran over the chain of my necklace, brushing my skin. "Yep, and what I say goes." He shrugged.

"Then go... back to your fire?" It was hard being near him when I couldn't touch him.

His mouth parted—

"Look what I got?" Cam's head snapped to the side. "They always grow in the same place. Here, she has to swallow one."

Cam crouched and I saw the orange fruit. It was the size of a cherry tomato.

"Isn't Mandrake poisonous?"

"All but the fruit."

Cam nodded—not towards the Cambion—to me. He helped me sit, tapping the fruit on my lips. I bit it and felt grossed out. Probably how Phillip felt when someone mentioned vegetables. But it would keep me alive. I munched the whole thing down.

Romeo held out another, pointing at my shoulder.

"Split this one open and clean the wound with it."

Rory snatched the berry. Cam threw her a wide glance.

"She has to take her clothes off for that." My face became flushed. "Plus, she needs to change out of those." She gestured to my dripping outfit. "Turn around—both of you."

Cameron spared pervy comments. Lucky me.

He stood, putting some steps between us. I saw him whirling a staring Romeo.

"Relax, mate, I'm not peeking." I rolled my eyes at the mirth.

"You have the hots for my aunt. We are not 'mates'."

Cam's grouchy comeback caused a splitting grin on Rory's face as she helped me out of my denim jacket. My bloodstream no longer radiated heat, my skin no longer stung and the sweats were close to stopping. The wound throbbed, though.

For the next ten minutes, Cam's aunt helped me undress without tearing my scrape further. She applied the berry's juice—patching it with gauze. Then dug a new pair of undies and a dry bra. Through it all, I pictured myself undressing in the locker room. Convincing myself it was the same thing.

It took a whole lot of convincing.

Once Rory knocked on Cam's shoulder, he turned. I was wearing a thick camisole, a pair of jeans and rocking rainbow-socks.

"Say a word about my socks and I'll push you down the ravine—into the lake." Cam's smirk only grew.

"Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. What's a rainbow without a pot of gold and a leprechaun?"

"Maybe I'll get you a pair of those for St. Patrick's day." He sat beside me, after placing my shoes near the fire, to dry off. I curled my arms around the knees, eying his face as flames flickered. "How did you do that? When I was on ice, I felt electricity all around me, but it didn't hurt me..."

Cam's lips pressed into a taut line.

"It's like stirring a car. It goes wherever I want it to." His brazen gaze shifted to me. It was like hitting me with bulldoze. "When you fell inside the water, I... I knew something changed. The electric current was stronger in the water and I couldn't separate you from the Basilisks, I couldn't stir it away from you."

"That's normal right? The ice was under my feet, water was all around." My fingertips twitched, imagining the shocking current closing in.

Cameron didn't breathe another word about the subject. He tugged his sleeping-bag out, laying it beside mine. He turned his jacket into a makeshift pillow before crawling in. We were inches away.

"Demons don't like fire." He whispered. "It's okay to sleep—" Cam's eyes rushed to where Rory and Romeo sat eying each other occasionally. "I trust Rory enough to keep watch."

I watched his lips slip open—then shut.

"Goodnight, Nina."

A soft breeze made a wave fall to my nose. My eyes dropped, Cameron's soothing voice being the last thing on my mind.

***

A cold touch snapped my eyes open.

The heavy scent of metal made my nose scrunch as I sat up, one hand on my forehead trying to sustain an incoming headache. My fingers felt fresh-out of life, freezing like Popsicles.

Dragging my legs closer, so I could stand, I gazed all around. Into the black. When I squinted, cracks of light showed up waving away the darkness. I was was leaning on a greasy stone wall—a long corridor—where balls of light, the size of softballs, hovered against the walls like... like light bulbs.

Blinking at one of them, I reached out a curious finger. Nothing happened. It went through it. I didn't even feel heat.

Strangely cool.

Drawing my arms around myself, I stalked down the hall hearing shuffling. Chains clinked. Groans—not the happy-kind—rushed all around.

My breathing sharpened—where was I?

My worry was cut off by the sight of several entrances in the hall's walls—on both sides of me. Steel bars made up doors. Cells—I covered my mouth realizing what I was smelling. Blood. It was everywhere inside the little cramped places, partnered with long, glinting objects—Golden Chains.

No ball cast light inside the cells, the only brightness came from the barred window at top of the far wall of the holding places. Just as I picked up my pace at a familiar whisper, something slithered past me. Past my feet.

Everything told me not to look. Not to move a muscle.

The only thing I felt like I could move was my neck and I... I couldn't resist. I tipped my head down, lowering my eyes.

Oh my effin God.

I jumped over the coiled body, sprinting as fast as I could. The corridor felt endless, but I didn't look over my shoulder—I knew it was following me. The threatening hisses told me that much and it was getting closer.

Why the hell was a python following me?

"Ah!" I yelled meeting the ground, barely putting my hands out. It didn't matter that I was wearing jeans, I felt every scale in its skin press against my thigh—wrapping around me. "No, no—what is this?" I fought against the brown patched snake, the longest I'd ever seen, trying to pull my arms free.

A part of my brain whispered I was an idiot, did I really expect to win against an animal that could eat an adult deer?

The hissing grew closer, more menacing, chilling my blood. I wasn't afraid of snakes but it didn't mean I wanted to cozy-up to one, especially when it was trying to asphyxiate me! I tossed until I couldn't move, yelled until I couldn't breathe, kept my eyes open until I couldn't see.

Blue drifted from inside the darkness, though, as did a too-familiar voice.

"Look at me," he said roughly. I could barely get air in, little alone— "Look at me!" He snapped.

I did.

There was no deadly python wrapped around my body. My clothes and skin felt dirty, torn, from rolling on the ground. I whined feeling bruises forming along my arms—that all vanished when I saw rumpled copper hair.

"Phillip!" I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face into the safe space between his shoulder and neck. "It's you, you're here—how? Where...?" I pulled back when he didn't respond, or hug me back. "Oh my God—Phillip!"

My hands shook at the sight of his tattered Tee, painted in dry blood. Cuts ran underneath it, some were puckered, looking infected. Purplish stains marked his arms, the tan complexion was severely faded and his eyes weren't alive and lush, they were hard, fearful, distrustful—I couldn't believe this was the same boy from four month's ago.

The boy with the smartass comments, with the boyish smile and laid back attitude.

Phillip looked... Well, roughed up would be this year's understatement. Utterly ran down.

"Phillip...?" I murmured, swallowing a pool of unease. "What have they done to you?" A hand touched his face, careful not to graze a gash close to his chin.

Tears bubbled up, I bit hard on my lip, suppressing a cry. This was my fault. I'd put Phill in a position where he had to save his brother's life. It was on me and...

"You shouldn't be here." His voice was raw, like he hadn't used in a long while or maybe he'd used it too much. My fingers curled as I imagined him screaming like I'd screamed just minutes ago, when...

I frowned, "The snake... did you do something to it?"

"What snake?" Although he sounded confused, his expression didn't change its disapproval.

"Are you kidding? It was choking me right here on the floor...!" I took my eyes off his shortly, gazing around. Oh. "How... how did I get in here? Phillip..." I turned to face him. "I was outside the cells, on the hallway, how...?"

He said nothing, just relaxed his pose and I couldn't think about how the snake vanished, how I was now behind bars with him. I only thought about hugging him, never letting go and taking his pain away.

"Why aren't you healing?" I ran my fingers through his hair, tentatively.

"These," he held an arm between us. A bracelet hugged his wrist, shiny and with strange writing. Golden plus Enochian. "Chains weren't bad enough, they made them portable." He grimaced staring with disdain. "The longer I go without using my Power the worse my body gets."

I took his hand in mine, stroking a thumb around the redder skin of his wrist—he sighed with a pint of relief. My heart squeezed.

"You have to go, Nina, it's not safe here."

"I don't really know where here is," I began, taking my eyes into his. "And if I did, I wouldn't just leave you here. Alone. We've been looking for you, Phill. We're finally here—"

"We?" His eyes widened. "Here?" I nodded fast, but he only seemed to get angrier. "No—you can't come here. Tell Cameron not to come here, Nina. Tell him to stay away! He..." his voice dropped when a door squeaked in the distance. Grinding his teeth, he grabbed my face between calloused hands. "You two can't come here. They want you to—don't." He got closer and my heart rate picked up. Memories of that first kiss pounded against my brain. "Promise me."

Blinking free of my old memories, I shook my head.

"I won't—"

"Nina, you don't understand...! He wants both—"

Steps echoed well enough for even me to hear, Phillip released his hold on me quickly, getting up. I twisted around to see who was coming, to ask Phill what he was talking about, but the only thing I saw was his back.

His T-shirt was worse there, slashes had torn cloth right of. The very last image I saw, was of the ink on his right shoulder blade—a triangle.

Next thing I knew, I was jerking off the ground, sweat caking my skin.

There was a dying fire. Cameron slept beside me. Rory blinked at me and Romeo's mouth was half-open.

It had been a dream.