Mountain [18+] ✔️ Complete

Seventeen • Green

In Damien's arms, high as a kite, the gentle sway of his gait lulled me into

sleep, and here I am, and here he is.

"Do we happen to fall asleep at the same time?" I ask, wry smile on my face. "Or do you know when I'm here?"

"I can come and go," Marius admits, turning towards me. He's practically glowing here, the fogginess lending a diffusion to the moonlit night.

I swallow hard. "I'm sorry I let you get captured."

"Not your fault, love," he replies, and reaches out to me.

I take a step back. "Before you get me all flustered, I need to ask you about the demon," I insist. "How smart is it? It's doing a pretty shit job keeping us away from it. We're almost to your location."

"It's a lot smarter than I gave it credit for," he says. "I didn't think it would be able to figure out who I was or what I was. I thought it was just a manifestation of evil, of darkness, that would just kill. But it clearly can think if it's thought to capture me."

"And there's no way it was a coincidence?" I ask, mouth dry.

He shakes his head. "I guess anything is possible, but it's definitely unlikely. I can't see any other motivation for the series of events thus far."

"Are you... are you okay?" I ask, wringing my hands. "Has it hurt you?"

"I'm fine," he says. "I tried to refuse food and water, figuring I could kill it by dying, but it... persuaded me."

"Well, good!" I snap. "You're not allowed to just fucking give up."

"Come here," he demands, and pulls me to him. His lips crash against mine and my head swims, from the weed or his mouth or his scent or his arms or my fear and adrenaline and everything is just too much, it's too-

"Saph!" Damien cried, and my ass hit the dirt. I shrieked and rolled backwards as he erupted in flame.

I shook away the cobwebs in my head, the haze of lust and sleep, eyes widening at the swarm around us. At first I thought they were bugs, maybe even bats, but as they slapped and sliced at my face I realized they were dead leaves.

A rush of anger swelled up in my chest, sending white-hot rage through my nerves. This demon threatened my friends, my lovers, me, and the mountain itself. Now it was taking my plants, killing them, and using them against us.

I was finished. Just fucking done.

I threw my arms forward and a rock jutted up from the ground, lifting Damien higher to he could roast the fuckers. Fire engulfed him, flames lashing out to fry the leaves into ash.

Lyla sent a whoosh of air, simultaneously fanning the flames and pushing the swarm into them. Archer stood behind her, hands on her lips, face concentrating. I wondered if he were somehow amplifying her magic, like we'd done when we meditated together in a circle.

I rushed over to them and wrapped an arm around each of their waists, burying my face into Lyla's neck as she sent wave after wave of wind. Electricity licked my nerves, like I was plugged into a socket, and I held fast, unsure of how to do what I was doing but hoping it helped.

Archer let go of us and Lyla staggered back against me. I held her close and raised my head as Archer doused the entire area I front of us with water, Damien included. The leaves were gone, but tendrils of smoke hissed up from various foliage and I assumed that the fire had gotten a little out of hand.

He fell to a soaked knee and the three of us scrambled up the makeshift cliff to get to him. When we reached his wet form, he sputtered, pushing his hair up off of his forehead.

"Thanks," he said, clapping Archer on the shoulder. "I couldn't tell if I should stop or not, couldn't really see."

"That was intense, man, you were like inside the fire," Archer replied, flabbergasted. "I wasn't sure if you were still in control or not."

Damien shook his head. "I wasn't really sure either." He looked to Lyla. "You wouldn't happen to be able to give me a blow dry, eh?"

She barked a laugh and ruffled his matted hair. "Definitely not."

I gave him a wet kiss and looked around us, perched on a big rock surrounded by charred earth.

"Did we, like, amplify your magic somehow?" I asked Lyla.

She nodded. "That's what it felt like, didn't it?" She inclined her head to Archer. "When you took my hips, it was definitely easier to pull the wind, and then when Saph hugged us it was almost like..."

"Electricity," I offered.

Archer pointed at me. "Exactly." He shook his head. "We could use this to our advantage. I mean we kinda knew that we were stronger together, but if we were all holding onto each other to fight the demon..."

"And Marius, too," I added. "With the five of us, channeling his light magic, we might stand a chance against this thing."

Damien stood up, and held out his hand to me. "Sorry for dropping you on your ass, kitten," he said.

"You'd better be," I replied with a mock pout, and let him help me to my feet. I wiped my hand on my pants in an exaggerated attempt to dry it off, and he rolled his eyes.

We turned to the horizon, where the sun was just about to peek out over the trees. We were almost there. The demon wasn't visible, at least not to my eyes, but I could feel it, down there. I wondered if it could feel us coming.