Deadlands (The Healer Series, #2) (9 page)

Chase smelled his armpits and smiled widely. “Well…you got me on the smelly part. But me? Have fleas? That’s just gross! I may not be a pretty boy like you, Warlock, but I do know personal hygiene.” They continued laughing until Chase joined in again.

Willow couldn’t help b
ut feel a little sorry for her Werewolf friend. Sure, Elirana rejected him, but she was Chase’s temptation, just like Declan was hers, and temptations were never a good thing, because giving in was a lot easier than resisting, especially when both boys were irresistible.  

“Something strange is up ahead,” Elirana said seriously looking at the three behind her. “I can’t tell what it is yet, but it’s vast and raised high.”

“Huh?” Willow asked.
Sometimes, the formal way Elirana talked didn’t make sense.

Chase narrowed
his eyes trying to see if he could determine what it was. “It looks like a big clump of something. Eli’s right though, whatever it is it’s deep and wide.”

“Should we keep going this way?” Declan wondered.

“I don’t see a way around it,” Elirana said dismally.

Walking in silence, all joking aside, the atmosphere turned
grave and worrisome. Willow itched to hold Declan’s hand to somehow calm the fear creeping inside of her. But with Declan on one side and Chase on the other, she figured that would have to suffice. She refused to acknowledge her need for Declan. Was she in denial? Abso-freaking-lutely.

As they drew
closer and closer to the object, Willow was finally able to tell what Elirana was describing. It was a thick, impenetrable forest of curling vines and branches. On the woody stems, sharp pointed thorns jutted out randomly. There were no leaves, just thorns. Some spines were so huge they were bigger than Willow’s head! They were dark and scary and there was no clear path.  

The thorn forest
stretched out in front them, towering higher than trees, stretching wider than any lake. “We aren’t going in there, are we?” Willow asked.

“I believe we have no choice,” Elirana said looking from her left to her right. “This forest seems to go on for miles
in both directions.”

“
Great! Just great! How are we supposed to find a way through those thorns? There’s no path!” Willow whined. Elirana stretched out her hands and the branches instantly parted, making a way through. Willow watched surprised. “Oh.”

“Wood is easy to manipulate,” Elirana shrugged and started forward.

“You’ve got a good one there, Chase,” Declan patted his shoulder and followed after the Elf. Chase looked proud as Elirana continued to make a way.

“Come
on, Lover Boy,” Willow said and pulled Chase’s arm to start their journey through the thorns.

“Hey, you’ve got to admit, he
r powers are pretty cool,” Chase whispered next to her, “influencing the elements of the earth and all that jazz.”

“Yeah they are
. But don’t tell her I said that, we don’t want her to get a bigger head than she already has,” Willow said. “She’s just as cocky as you are sometimes.”

“Hey! I’m not cocky,” Chase said lifting an eyebrow, “I just
know how amazing I am and need to share it with the world.”

Willow rolled her eyes at him.
Chase was so ridiculous sometimes (well…most times), but that was what she loved about him. They continued on in silence, everyone was lost in their own thoughts, while keeping their eyes and ears open for any dangers. If creatures made this thorny forest their home, she certainly didn’t want to encounter them. 

With no one talking, i
t was quiet. Way, way too quiet, and they sounded way, way too loud navigating through the forest. Every time Elirana moved the branches away, they would crack and snap so loudly, it made her jump every time. The deeper they got into the forest, the more she felt like someone was watching her. Willow looked up. The thorns created a canopy above her so that the orange of the sun could barely be seen through the cracks. There was an eerie glow to the thorns above, like it was pulsing with evil, enshrouding the area with a dark veil.

After a while, Willow saw something above.
Hanging on a branch far above her head was a long red ribbon, blowing softly in the subtle breeze. Willow gasped and grabbed onto Chase’s arm in a death grip making him jump in the air. “What is it?” he asked loudly and took up a defensive crouching position.

“Shh,” Willow quieted him and pointed. Everyone looked above them.

“A red ribbon…oooh I’m scared,” Chase said and relaxed. “I thought you saw something actually evil. You scared the crap out of me, Healer!”

“Sorry. I’m a little on edge,” W
illow apologized as they continued forward. Elirana kept parting the never-ending branches, when suddenly, a shadow passed over them. It was quick and sudden and then disappeared as fast as it came upon them. They all ducked as if something in the air was descending on them. But nothing came and the area around them lightened some, but not by much. Everyone wheezed deeply, inhaling rapidly as if they had just come out of being held under water for a long time.

“What was that?” Willow asked breathlessly, her lungs convulsing with pain. She breathed in a few more breaths and then felt normal
again, but that feeling of compression on her lungs felt very wrong and…
unnatural
.

“Can’t…breathe!
” Declan coughed. Willow rushed up to him. He was holding his chest with his hand and was taking extremely shallow breaths.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Willow touched him, sending bolts of power through him. A sharp intake of breath had her reeling around. Chase was on his hands and knees crawling, trying to suck in breath as if his life were wasting away and he was drowning in his own lungs.

“CHASE!” Willow called and rushed up to him. She closed her eyes focusing on finding the cause to his ailment. What was going on with them? Willow nearly fell to her knees when she found the origin: black cells flowing through his veins, rapid poison rushing to his heart, making it pump faster, harder, his lungs shrinking and crumbling within his chest cavity. What was going on? He was dying!

Elirana was meeting the same fate. She extended her hand and blasted the vines in front of her. “GO!” she shouted breathlessly.

“NO!” Willow said. She didn’t want to leave them there suffering! And then a gut-wrenching fear settled over her when she saw that the path in front of Elirana opened into a clearing. In the middle of the clearing sat a young girl. She couldn’t have been more than seven years old. She had dirty blonde, knee length hair and a pale face. She was sitting cross-legged and was wearing a tattered blue dress.

Willow stepped into the clearing. “WHO ARE YOU?” she screamed at the girl. The girl sat there with her head dipped into her neck.
There was no response from the girl, and Willow freaked. “ANSWER ME!”

The girl’s head snapped up and Willow
screamed and backed into the thorns that struck into her flesh, trying to escape the black eyes staring death into her. Her heart nearly exploded in fear as those big dark eyes landed on her. She knew the girl was inflicting pain on her friends. She could feel the evil all around her, her black eyes pierced through her, pulsating and sending waves of energy everywhere. Willow sensed the energy’s purpose: disease, sickness, death. A shadow passed over the girl and she smiled showing brown, rotting teeth.

“Willow!” Declan called to her from behind. She whipped around to look at him. “Acheri!”

Acheri! That was it! The little demon child was an Acheri! Thriving on human misery, the demon grows happier the more sickness and pain it inflicts on its victims. The shadow of the Acheri causes a non-treatable disease to penetrate through whatever it crosses. Willow wracked her brain trying to remember the antidote to get rid of the black poison and disease flowing through the blood of her friends. She couldn’t perform continual healing here! Not with three people all at once with a demon in the midst! She would pass out just from the endurance of keeping them healthy!

A black shroud passed over Willow again and she turned
back around and screamed. The girl was standing inches from her! Her black eyes stared up at her. The girl was frowning like she wasn’t sure why Willow wasn’t affected by her shadow. “Die,” she said simply.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Willow shrieked and pushed the girl backwards. The little girl screamed a blood wrenching cry and Willow covered her ears.
“DIE!” She shrieked again and Willow felt a blast of energy aimed directly at her. But nothing happened. Her lungs compressed only once, but the disease did not hurt her, it did not penetrate through her skin like it was supposed to. She looked back at her friends. They were all lying on the ground in fetal positions gasping like fish out of water. They had minutes to live.

Think, Willow, Think!
She searched her brain desperately for the cure, but nothing came to her! How was she to save her friends? To save Declan? Declan! She watched him writhing on the ground before her, unable to breathe! He was dying right before her eyes! Her panic clouded all her thoughts! What was the spell to disarm this rare demon? She cried out in alarm and looked up towards the canopy. Movement caught her eye. She saw the simple red ribbon flowing in the wind eerily. That’s it! The answer was staring her in the face! It was the Scarlet Charm!

Turning to her friends
she extended her hands. “MODUM VITTIS!” Suddenly, three scarlet ribbons wrapped around everyone’s neck. A great sigh bellowed from them as they lay there limp, allowing the poison to dissolve in their blood in order to cleanse their system. Turning back to the little Acheri demon, Willow raised her hands towards her. “I’M A HEALER BITCH!” she yelled and uttered the words that sent liquid blood raining down on the demon. Coating the Acheri with blood, the demon screamed in agony and starting running madly waving her hands wildly trying to shake the blood off. She tore through the thorns as if they were butter and instantly vanished in the thicket, the sounds of her screams dying with her.

Willow’s heartbeat
quivered rapidly like a hummingbird’s wings. She leaned over and put her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. That was really scary. Her fear pressed down on her. She had just faced a demon! Her body took the shock and shook fiercely. She was hyperventilating, trying to catch her breath. If she didn’t calm herself now, her legs would give out and she would fall to the ground in a heaping slop of anxiety.

But s
uddenly, she was pulled up into strong arms as Declan embraced her in a big hug. He squeezed her tightly, crushing her to him and she wrapped her arms around Declan and held him just as tight. She needed his comfort. NOW!

She shut her eyes
, basking in the feel of Declan, reminding herself who was holding her and that the demon wasn’t here anymore. His energy calmed Willow down so fast, it was uncanny. She felt Declan’s beating heart. He was alive. The demon child was gone. Breathe, breathe. She was in Declan’s arms now. He would keep her safe.

Luckily, she had remembered that Acheri are easily defeated if presented with the colors red, scarlet, or crimson. If that red ribbon hadn’t been ca
ught in the thorns, who knew if she would remember? Had somebody else passed through here before and met the same fate? Her breath was shaky as she stood there on trembling knees, ready to collapse at any moment, but Declan continued to hold her up firmly, not allowing her to fall.

“You’re okay. We’re okay,” he whispered words of comfort in her ear. She let Dec
lan hold her for a while longer until she felt better. Every sound made her jump, but she realized that Chase and Elirana had walked up close to where they stood.

Willow
pulled out of Declan’s embrace and saw that they were still wearing the red ribbons tied around their necks. It looked funny on the guys, but it had saved them. Elirana spoke and gave Willow a quick nod. “I’m grateful to you, Healer.” Then, she touched her maroon dress and it changed to a bright red color. “Apparently, maroon is immune to the Acheri. I suppose the color it has more purple in it than red. Nevertheless, I will wear red from now on.”

“This is too much like a collar to me,” Chase said and untied the ribbon from his neck. “
It’s making me uncomfortable, but I’ll keep it in my pocket just in case. Way to think quickly, Healer. You just keep amazing me.”

Willow nodded to him but then looked up into Declan’s hazel eyes. She stared straight into them when she said, “Declan is who you
should thank. He told me what the demon was. If it wasn’t for him, we’d all be dead.” The intensity in Declan’s eyes as he stared at Willow made fire explode through her belly. She felt his approval in the depths of his soulful eyes. He was beautiful and Willow’s heart picked up speed from the sudden rush of desire. She groaned inwardly…not again.

Declan walked up to her and cupped her face, t
ilting her head closer to him…closer to his lips. She was trapped in his hands, and right now, if he kissed her, she would allow it. She would devour his lips. Declan’s eyes sparkled when he saw her tongue lightly flick out to lick her lips in anticipation. “You did this. Not me,” he said. His voice was deep and husky. “Don’t doubt who you are, Willow. Don’t give me the credit. You saved us. You are a powerful healer.
You did this
,” he emphasized making Willow’s heart swell with love at his encouragement.

With that, he dropped his hands from her face and asked Elirana to take them out of the clearing
as fast as she could. Smiling devilishly, she obliged and blasted the thorns in front of her with fervent ambition and their pace quickened as if the Acheri’s shadow was right behind them beckoning them forward.