"So that's why you'll wait for the other Prince," Eros pointed out. "I'll have you know, ours is infinitely better than yours. You have a cruel master, but ours is capable of kindness."
Quix burst into laughter. "Kindness? None of them are capable of that. They're all selfish and only do or help with things that will benefit them. You're clueless if you truly believe that yours is any different. But I'll let you prove it because there's nothing more that I love when someone is proven wrong. The shock on their faces, it's like a drug."
Ruby rolled her eyes at him. "Lust, while I'm not as fanatic about it as Quix, he has a point. When you've served these masters as long as we have, you realize the truth of them. You know that Death will get her in the end."
Eros laughed now. "Do you think Death is the only one after her?" he challenged.
Krim who had been standing by the side and scowling turned at that. "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. I heard Dagon myself, all of his brothers are after her, and once he discovers her, so will their father."
A silence settled over the group. It was broken by Holly. "I really hate being talked about like I don't exist. Can you please explain what's going on? The Four Horsemen herald the end of the world, don't they? Why would they want anything to do with me?"
"Your soul," Lachesis answered. "Holly, you're you, but your soul has lived many lifetimes now. It makes you a target to those that devour souls."
Eros turned. "Devour? No, that's not what Dagon wants."
Lachesis shook her head sending her wild curls bouncing around her shoulders. "Doesn't matter if that's what he wants. It's the way of all demons. No matter how advanced they think they are. In the end, they will attempt to consume her soul, they won't be able to resist. Like a predator and prey locked up together. Eventually, nature takes its course."
Eros clenched his fist. "I won't allow that."
Lachesis laughed. "And you're going to fight against all the others? All those that clamber for her? You're a fool."
"You're ignoring me again," Holly growled at the group. "It's all, she, and what's going to happen to her. My name is Holly, I don't care if I have a soul that's lived other lives. All that matters to me is my life."
Ruby crossed her slim arms over her middle. "You can't live a life separated from all of this. It doesn't matter what you want, Holly. You can curse your fate, you can be angry, but none of that will change how things are. The facts remain. Because of what your soul has done before, you are wanted."
"None of that has to do with me," Holly argued. "I just want to go home."
Krim chuckled. "Spoken like a true coward. We're supposed to see your good points? All I see is someone that does whatever they want, and to hell with everyone else."
"Krim, be quiet," Ruby demanded with a handheld up. "Holly, if you really want your normal life back so much, why do you cling to something that has nothing to do with it?" she tilted her head toward Eros. "He was never part of those memories."
"He's my friend," Holly defended. "Even if he wasn't originally part of my life, he is now. Of course, I'm upset that he never revealed the truth to me. But all he's done since he's been with me is try to take care of me. He's tried to save me from you."
"For his own ends," Lachesis piped up. "He will devour your soul if you stay with him for too long."
"Never," Eros argued. "I'd never hurt her."
"I believe you, Eros," Holly interrupted. "I do. I'm not even mad at you about this. I'm just disappointed that you didn't think you could trust me with the true you. I don't believe them when they say you'll devour me one day. You've been my friend and my partner. I trust you more than anyone else in this world."
Eros's eyes misted over and he wiped them away. "Holly, thank you. I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I promise I'll never make that mistake again."
Krim laughed again. "See? He's already planning for the next life when you're already long gone, it's only the soul he cares about. The shell could mean less to him."
"That's not true!" Eros's fire flared around him but with effort he forced it away and let his weapons fade. "That's not true," he repeated again.
"Holly, I love your soul, and I care about you. I've been with you this long, and I plan to be with you for this entire adventure, no matter what you choose. I don't love you yet, but I know I will fall in love with you regardless."
Lachesis sighed. "Are we done with this standoff yet? I still need to help Holly find her magical powers."
"What if I don't want to?" Holly demanded. "What if I just want to live my boring ordinary life here and don't want to get involved in all this crap you guys are spewing?" She turned toward Eros then. "Would you still stay by my side then?"
"Without regret." Eros smiled at her. "As you said, we're partners. Not romantically, at least not yet, but partners none the less. And I'm not going to abandon my partner."
"What smooth words for a sin," Quix had pulled out a notepad from seemingly nowhere and was scratching down Eros's words and actions. "Guess I'll learn some tricks while hanging out with you, I might get Ruby yet."
"No," Ruby replied.
"Come on, Holly," Lachesis ordered with a smile. "Now that this is all settled, let's get back to your training. You can say you don't want to, and you want to reject it all you want, but I know you. One of those things that doesn't change about your soul no matter what life you're in, you never give up if it means others are going to get hurt."
Holly sighed. She wanted to argue that point, but even she knew the truth of the matter. Eros gave her another small smile and a nod and she smiled back at him.
Who would have thought that her pet could turn into such a handsome form? Or would that be, this handsome man was able to turn into such a cute pet form?
"Eros, I'm depending on you to make sure that these guys don't betray us. I'll continue to train with Lachesis."
"You think we're going to just let you walk away from us? No, you can train in front of us. Who knows, maybe one of us can help you with your magic." Krim announced with a smirk.
Holly glanced over at Lachesis. "Should I?"
Lachesis shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me." She was biting one of her perfect nails as she studied the group before nodding. "Sure, the more the merrier. I guess that means we don't even need to leave. So we've tried elemental magic, and we've tried power transference."
"That's all you've managed?" Ruby questioned with a raised brow.
"We spent a lot of time on elemental." Lachesis defended.
Ruby walked forward and as she did so her black reaper robes faded away revealing a woman in dark red jeans and a black tank top. "Here, let me give it a try," she offered.
Eros snorted. "Why would we trust you?"
"It's not your decision," Ruby replied with a smile. She held a hand out to Holly. "You, you want to prove yourself? Let me help you. I'll see if you have any magic inside of you to start. All you have to do is trust me."
"No," Eros answered.
"That's not smart," Lachesis argued.
"Yes," Holly said.
Ruby smirked and taking Holly's hand in hers she led her a bit away from the others and to a chair. "Sit, and we'll get started. There's no point in continuing to search for magic inside of you if you're not capable of it."
Holly didn't hesitate. If these reapers did attack her, she had every faith that her friends would protect her. Besides, there was something mysterious about this woman. She took her seat.
"Good, now close your eyes and don't move. This could be uncomfortable, but endure it."
Holly didn't question her and closed her eyes. Ruby walked behind the chair and put her hands on Holly's shoulder.
As Eros, Lachesis, and the other two reapers watched, a dark red fog appeared out of nowhere and hid the two from sight.
Eros moved forward to go to Holly's side, but the mist shoved him back as strong as a wall.
Holly was trapped on the other side, in the grip of one of those that had chased her for so long. Eros couldn't break through to her side.
Holly tensed as the fog completely covered the two of them and all contact from the others was halted."Relax," Ruby ordered her fingers moving in small circular patterns on Holly's shoulders. "Just relax.""But, the others," Holly whispered."Not important right now, I need to focus on you and see if you have magic inside, and for that, you're going to have to relax and trust me."
Holly wasn't surprised when Ruby took away the barrier or when Eros grabbed her and hugged her hard. "Don't you ever do that again," he hissed.Holly pushed at him. "I was with Ruby, it's okay, Eros. She's my friend now.""Friend?" Eros stared at the reaper. "Why in the world would you befriend her? You do remember they are our enemies right?""You're the one that suggested they stay with me, right?" Holly challenged with a smile. "That will work out much better if we're friends."
"How are we going to figure out what magic she has anyway?" Quix questioned as he walked around Holly. "It could take forever if we try it one thing at a time. Besides, I'm sure that not one person knows all the branches of magic here. Even if all of us worked together, we might not cover them all."Eros sighed. "I don't understand how Angel figured it out so easily. He should have shown up by now, or at least Tydeus." He stopped then turned on his heel. "Wait, Holly, didn't you mention something about Tydeus? While we were arguing.""Yes, he visited me in my dreams," Holly responded. "He insisted on calling me Juni
Holly didn't waste any time, she shoved Quix back and knocked him onto his back as she held a hand against her lips."Please, don't do that again. I'm not a toy for you to mess with. You can't just do what you want to try to make me blush."Quix raised himself on one elbow and grinned at her."But that's the fun of it. Ruby doesn't do anything but roll her eyes. You do all kinds of wonderful things for me. Your breath gets shallow and fast, your heart beats faster, your cheeks change color.
Holly must have fallen asleep, though she didn't even remember her eyes closing. There had been a loud bang, like glass shattering. Had that been part of her dream?On the end of the couch, Quix was snoring, hugging his braid as if it was a stuffed toy. Was this truly one of the people she had been running away from in terror for so long?She leaned forward as she watched him sleep. Was he faking it?"Are you done pouting yet?" hissed a voice behind her.
Eros's warmth was nice, but there was a point it became suffocating. Holly moved her friend to the middle of the couch where he whimpered for a moment before cuddling against Quix.She held back a chuckle. Even though she was still upset with him, she couldn't deny he was cute.What had woken her up? The sky was dark outside which normally meant she'd be in full running mode at this point.It was strange to not be running at all. Her Chasers were not what she had expected. Ruby was a f
"Fake?" Holly repeated. She didn't have the strength to try to free herself any longer. "All fake?""Every last one," Krim agreed. "This entire world has been created for you. To study you, to judge you.""Judge me?" Holly frowned. "I don't understand. Why am I being judged? By who?" how could she even ask questions? Her mind was still trying to comprehend what Krim had revealed. There was no way this entire world was fake, was there? None of it made sense.Krim picked up his pace as they got farther and farther away from the others. "Death can explain more if he feels like it. I don't know how much I should give away. I don't need to put myself in danger over this.""You said you'd tell me everything," Holly reminded. Inside, her world was spinning. None of this made sense. "Why would this world be created for me? Why? And who did it?""You want all those answers?" Krim twisted his neck to study her. "Then I need something from you. It's the only
Holly followed Death but as they traveled their surroundings blurred around them. Holly stopped but was tugged along by his grip on her. "What is this?" she whispered. Every step was taking them away from her friends, the only ones who might be able to save her from this awful choice of hers."You didn't think that I lived in that old shack, did you? I live wherever I want, and right now I'm taking you straight to my throne so we can talk." Death smirked. "I hope you don't give me what I want though, it's more fun when I hear screams and begs.""Throne?" Holly frowned. "I don't understand. Why would you have a throne? You're one of the four horsemen," she looked around. "Without a horse.""Nah, I've got a ride but have no reason to pull my baby out right now. You came to me willingly enough, so I let that escort of yours live. If you had denied me, you'd be drenched in his blood right now."Holly swallowed. "I don't understand any of this.""