Infernal

Cam's POV

Everything about this place was dark, menacing—twisted. My nose twitched as I breathed. Even the air.

The sheer dampness weirded out my lungs. The atmosphere was so saturated I thought I was going to be sick. Last night, we'd made camp at the edge of a forest. Today, we were inside that forest.

I didn't like it.

It definitely wasn't like the forest around my property. Or any other I'd ever seen. Branches of thick black-wood trees converged with each other, wrapping above us, creating a wooden canopy. Only tiny cracks of light broke through. We were lucky Hell's sun was a blazing blood-orange.

Smaller ones, reminded me of willow trees. Willow trees with ashen bark and white leaves.

I kicked at the dusty ground.

Between mangled branches and robust ivy, I didn't see a way out.

I stole a glance at Romeo. My teeth bared, muscles coiled—tight as springs ready to be unleashed. Rory might trust him, not me. Not for one single second. Still, I had no choice—not if I wanted to reach Phillip.

"I hope you're not leading us in circles." I chimed, with a smirk he couldn't see. "I think we've crossed this tree a thousand times now." My head jerked to a thick monstrosity growing out of proportions.

They should book a gardener.

"What's wrong? Feeling tired, are you?" Cocky son of a bitch didn't miss a heartbeat. If I had a map to Phill's location there would be one less Cambion.

He might have saved Nina's life last night, but he pretty much put it in jeopardy in the first place. He should've told us what lived inside that lake. Snakes.

I hated snakes.

Nina was shouldering her backpack on the unwounded one. She'd move the injured one often, though.

"How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine." She snapped.

I rubbed my neck. She'd been snapping at me ever since I woke up. The first thing I'd told her was "good morning" and then I shared my Oreos with her. Who snapped at a person offering you Oreos? No one!

Maybe it was that time of the month? I looked at Nina. Strained and fierce. Joking was off the table.

"I'll bite," I murmured under a huffed breath. "What did I do to deserve your wrath, my Queen?"

Her eyes deviated to me. Only fleetingly. She kept them firmly on the road-to-nowhere. Miss Snappy Mouth was hiding something.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Her head cocked.

"Sure you do," I pushed. "You've been using me for a punching bag since morning. I just don't know what I did to piss you off. It'd be nice if—"

Her smaller hand gripped mine, halting me. I could hear her frustrated sigh and looked straight into her gaze. It didn't take me long to find a twisting fear and anxiety inside her—I could feel her feelings transferring into me. Becoming my own.

After giving a tiny nod towards the duo up-front, Nina mouthed 'private'. A very carnal part of me whispered hopes of her tight little body against mine. I waved those away. Not a good time to find a dark corner and grope one another.

But damn. Just her hands on mine set off fireworks.

"Cameron?"

Right. Private.

"Hey! Nina needs five minutes to catch her breath. We'll be right behind you."

Rory nodded. stopping a few feet ahead.

Nina socked my arm.

"I'm tired?"

I spared a trademark smile.

"You said you wanted privacy. You got it. Now," I tapped her nose. "Spill it."

Batting my hand away, Nina began whispering about her dream, looking over her shoulder occasionally. My chest throbbed with what I heard. Nina tried to spare me—I told her not to hold anything back. Making her remember everything to the last bloody detail.

"I don't understand," she tucked a loose hair. "I was never able to make out that much detail. And the conversation...? It never happened before! It was like I was right there—with him."

"Where was that, exactly?" I mumbled, unfocused.

"I... don't know. I asked, I think, but he didn't tell me. It looked like a..."

"A dungeon from the middle ages. Got it." She drew her arms around herself. Bitterness crippled my voice, "Who was coming in?"

"I don't know..." her eyes went downcast.

"That's not useful at all, is it?" Nina hugged her elbows. Shit. "I didn't mean that. Not like that." Sweeping a hand through my hair, I tried calming myself. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Woke me up—?"

"Because there's nothing useful about it!" She yelled out, eyes pinning me. "I knew you'd ask me all these things... and I knew I wouldn't be able to answer. I didn't want... I didn't want you to be disappointed."

Crap on a cracker. Those eyes were shinier than usual.

Wrapping a arm around Nina's waist, I leaned my head down.

"You don't need to be afraid of telling me anything. I didn't mean what I said, Nina. I'm just... angry. Not at you. At everything else—at myself. Not you." She looked up as I combed her tawny hair.

"You're lying to make me feel better."

"Nope," my finger pads lingered on her nape. Hairs stood up. She shivered into me. "Do me a favor? Tell me again. From the start."

She looked doubtfully at me. I nodded giving her no other option.

The blind fury had subsided. Hearing about Phillip's wounds and the Golden-bracelet still made me want to pop eyes out. I managed somehow.

"Dreams and visions of the future aren't accurate. The future can change anytime. Like a math equation. If you change a variable everything goes downhill." I knew all about math equations gone wrong. My one true weakness. "You weren't actually with Phillip. You understand that, right?"

"I..." she bit her lip.

"Listen, what you saw might be real. The place he's in and the wounds, too. But that talk? It wasn't him. Power protects its user—you got a warning."

"To stay away from Phillip?"

"To stay away from the place he's in. It doesn't want us going there."

She frowned. "It would be easier if my Power flat out showed me why we shouldn't go to Phillip. I hate guessing games."

She should try playing Pictionary with Phill. Guy always won.

"The future doesn't work that way. I told you, it changes. The only way you can 'see it' is through signs and symbols. You have to interpret them as best as possible."

"Like the snake." It dawned on her. "Because unless I'm having PTSD I'm not seeing any other reason for a snake to show up. It was totally out of the blue."

"A snake can mean lots of things," I started. "In some cultures they're a symbol of wisdom and knowledge, others even worshiped them, treating them like deities. Others just associate them with evil and sin because of the whole Eve-ate-the-forbidden-fruit-myth."

She picked at the piece of cloth I'd wrapped her palm in.

"It's incredible how much you know."

I chuckled, "I never met a girl who liked me for my brain before."

"It's not just your brain." We eyed each other, startled.

What did she just say?

Whatever could've happened after Nina's admission never happened.

"What is that?" She tapped my shoulder, pointing behind me.

I turned around, cocking my head.

"I..." I murmured. "I have no idea."

Thanks to the cracks of magenta sun-light, I saw something moving. Fluttering. My ears picked up whooshes of air, wings beating. The dark moving shadow became clearer and the noise grew—I cringed, pulling some of my hearing back.

"Some sort of bird—demon bird." I added with a joyless smile. "Time to go." I pulled Nina along, exerting her muscles so she'd run as faster.

Rory was just up ahead. The look on her told me not to peek over my shoulder.

On pure instinct, I dove for the ground taking Nina along, shielding her with my body. There was a sharp wince. I cursed holding myself above her, making sure not to touch the bad shoulder.

"A giant bird. Great. Giant sea-snakes weren't bad enough." She grumbled keeping her body folded under mine.

Whatever beastly-demon that bird was, it was fast. I had to get us to the ground before the thing swooped down. We'd ended up under a shelter of thick, protruding roots—

"Cameron..." I followed Nina's eyes—she was frozen in place.

Grr.

That wasn't a sexy, girly 'grr'. That was a snarl. From a very dark-furred wolf with red glowing eyes.

This Beast I knew.

We'd stumbled into a Hell Hound's lair.

"Good puppy," I whistled lowly—it growled at us. Nina jolted into me, I held her with one arm. "Stay, stay..."

I pulled out of the wooden-cave with unnatural speed just before the Hound snapped its teeth at me. A wail of attack came from above. Shit head was back. And because one monster wasn't bad enough, Fido jumped from his hidey-hole.

Yuppie-yay.

"I can't see Rory or Romeo anywhere!" Nina yelled over the screech of the crow-crossbreed-harpy.

I was going to take her word for it. My eyes weren't leaving our hungry pals. Energy surfaced to my left hand, ready to be shot at any of them.

The wolf's tail twitched, its eyes shone. Not at me. At the avian.

The minute the dark feathered creature cawed, the Hound ran away—going for his shelter, but never reached it. The bird's talons, glinting and keen, sunk deep into the animals back.

Dark feathers spilled as the powerful wings slapped, taking the predator and prey higher.

Talk about villain-team-up gone bad.

"Did we just get lucky?"

I sighed in response to Nina's whisper—a dozen caws came from our left, from where the creepy bird had hailed from.

She'd spoken too soon.

"I don't know what they are, but I'm guessing it's feeding time. Do me a favor and look for them—I'll hold them off." Her eyes slitted. "This isn't arguing time, go."

Shaking her head, Nina ran deeper into the woods. Victory!

Breathing a lungful, I relaxed my shoulders, cracked my neck and opened my hands. My fingers twitched as electricity sizzled throughout my body, white sparks hurtled all around with no direction. Until I gave them one.

The horde of flying Demons.

Electricity reared before charging like a tidal wave, crackling and illuminating every hollow corner of this forest. My Power hummed in contentment. It was the same feeling every time the leash broke.

Dark fulfillment swept me over. This was the only time I could enjoy having this ability—when I was killing Demons. When I had a target. All the other times it felt like a curse.

Times like these, it felt like a blessing.

Power responded to emotion. All I had to do, was feed mine anger. I didn't need to dig very deep. Anger was my second name. The cries kept me going, never flattering—

Pain exploded in my head. Like someone was hacking my mind.

***

Nina's POV

This was wrong. I shouldn't be doing what Cameron ordered me to. Who did he think he was to order me around?

I was older than him!

Okay, that wasn't very mature. Point made. But leaving him to fend off winged Demons was tearing me inside. My heart kept beating at thunder speed as I dodged branches and searched every nook, every inch, for Rory or Romeo. Just a glimpse.

There was nothing.

I slammed the brakes when a tree trunk popped out of nowhere. Too late. My chest and hands pounded against it. I fell on my butt, wincing.

Stumbling to my feet, I saw the tree I'd plowed.

A round white tree. Its silvery, long leaves fell around the trunk. I backed into it, sheltering myself, breathing crazily fast.

I'd lost my backpack somewhere. Amazing. Now I had no clothes, food and the book and seeds Myra gave me were gone along with it.

One minute, we'd been exchanging smoke theories about my dream, the next second, we were being attacked by long bodied crows. Large, deathly versions that could tear my hands off with two nips.

Not cool.

Let's not forget the massive wolf with glowing red eyes.

My mind reverted to Cameron. I rubbed my neck, feeling a little pinch. He had to be okay. They were birds. He could fry them with a look. They had sharp claws and could fly.

I gripped my head—what was it, with the headache? A pained breath bubbled. I shook my head trying to outrun the invisible hammer pounding my skull.

It stopped suddenly.

Ragged breathing combined with twig-snapping sounds caught my attention. I didn't have time to process the weirdest head-pain in history of migraines, before I rushed forward, holding out my arms when he tumbled to the ground.

"Cameron!" I gripped his paling face. "No, no, no. Open your eyes—open them!" There was blood. Too many cuts down his arms, down his chest and torn clothes, down his legs—there was just so much of it. "Why is there so much...? Why aren't you healing?"

I tried stopping a gash on his stomach, that one was especially deep. Cam's blood pooled up beneath my palms, soaking my skin in a warm embrace.

"Damn it!" I cried, patting his face, leaving a red hand print. "Cam—Cameron!"

I shouldn't have left him alone. Why had I done that? Why did I think he could look after himself? The idiot!

"I'm not going to lose you to mutated crows. Look at me." I gripped his chin, turning his head.

I watched, terrified, as Cam's eyes twitched under the low light. Oh, thank God. He wasn't dead.

How come my heart still tugged—like something bad was happening to him? Something besides the bleeding.

His wounds weren't patching up. Maybe that was it.

"Azure Crystal is handy when dealing with supernatural creatures." My eyes pounced at the man behind me. "Wounds left by these Daggers are healed at human pace. It can be fatal, too."

I glared at the Dagger with the silver hilt and blue crystal. Another one like those saved us before. Twice. I was even supposed to have one—the one Cameron stole from Raphael—but it was another lost item along with my backpack.

"Did you do this to him?"

"Jumping all the formalities? I thought you were polite and quiet, Nina."

I could feel my lips turn in a sneer, "I've changed—" the wheels in my head stopped turning. "How do you know my name?"

"You'll find out real soon."

He wasn't human. He was too beautiful and the eyes were like Raphael's, only with darker irises. No Triquetra on his neck, either. Fallen or Cambion. Either way, I didn't like him, his armband tattoo or the purple highlights in his shoulder length hair.

Dawn would kill this guy for his sense of style.

Feeling Cam's shallow breaths, I felt fire raging inside me all over.

His expression was of a condescending asshole. He was laughing at me—inwardly.

"This is how it's going to work," Purple Freak started. "You're going to come with me and I won't kill him. How does that sound?"

"You won't kill him? At this rate you won't have to!" Minor cuts were looking better, but the stomach one...

Dick Numero Uno shifted the Dagger casually—I noticed there wasn't a splotch of blood on it. Or on him. On top of bad taste he had OCD cleaning.

"His body is being drained of blood, yes. But he'll be left with enough to survive. Healing slowly."

I clenched my jaw, wrapping my fingers over Cam's.

"I'm just supposed to believe you? You butchered my friend."

Purple Freak smirked.

"The ball's on your court. You have two options but both have the same outcome. For you. Either come peacefully and I'll let him live or resist. Choose the latter and I'll kill him, then I'll drag you kicking and screaming." He crouched tipping the Dagger against Cam's newly healed throat, there was still a thick scar left behind.

My heart thundered. Was his heart clashing wildly, too? Was he afraid?

"I would love to avoid the screaming part."

My hands were shaking with all the building emotions. I was powerless. I couldn't fight. Couldn't run.

My eyes lingered on the Azure Dagger. If only I was fast enough... But I couldn't risk Cameron's life on ifs.

There wasn't an option.

I swallowed, "I'll go with you."

"Good girl," he sneered. "I knew you wouldn't resist saving your precious Nephilim. With a face and body like his I'd pick saving him, too." He grinned maliciously trailing the dagger's edge over Cam's Adam's apple.

Jaw tightening, I leaned forward, not caring that a guy was checking out my... Well, my guy.

"I agreed to going with you. Leave him alone." I gritted, feeling fear ripple my stomach—fear of losing him.

His large hand zoomed for my hands, holding my wrists in one powerful fist. The Dagger now pressed to my throat.

My eyes caught on Cam's. They were still slits. I bit my lip.

I was going to leave him bruised and bleeding in a forest with Demons lurking every corner. Not much of a fighting chance.

As Purple Dye drove me away with a jerk, I didn't tear my eyes off Cameron. Again, I got a weird feeling. He was in pain, I knew that, but he didn't show a pang of emotion as I was tolled away.

Something wasn't right—something inside me knew it. Whispered it.

Before I could pinpoint exactly what, the headache returned, stronger.

Blacking me out.