The ride is a quiet one.

I look between the both of them. But mostly at Karim. He has never died.

He chose to sit next to her instead of me, I am furious. Artemis is seated next to me and the rude boy curtly informed me himself he is Thoren is driving.

The girl, okay her name is Emmeline Adel, courtesy of Artemis but I won't call her that name, I prefer the girl. Jealousy so potent boils deep within me. They aren't talking or doing anything in front of us but she has his attention in a way I never have.

His eyes constantly flicker towards her, it make me angrier. I humph and fold my hands over chest. Childish? I know. The Jeep bobbles over some bumps and I decide to focus on the outside to distract myself. The place is a bare wasteland.

There's completely no sign that there was any human or darkling civilization here. I see occasional shadows but my eyes can't make out anything definite. It is too shadowy but am certain there are shadows in the shadows.

It feels like we are traveling over a cursed desert somewhere. It feels like am not supposed to be here like this place will somehow swallow me.

Where are we even going? We have been going for a while. I contemplate asking my look alike but I don't feel like talking to any of them.

I just keep looking at the lifeless cursed place with a broken moon. It is still cold though and I can't tell if it is daytime or not what with the shadowy red atmosphere, it almost looks like Mars. At least mars in the movies was bright.

What if we are on Mars? It would be an entertaining notion but even I know that would too good be true.

"You like him don't you?" A musical whisper reaches my ears. My head whips around automatically.

"Don't you know how to mind your own business?"
I am met with Artemis's understanding but also questioning gaze. I just slump even more. I can't talk about my problems with her, especially boy problems at that, how ridiculous.

"It is just a mistake you know."
She continues regardless of my indifference but I am listening and she knows that.

"Ahmad loved her. It was the purest form of love in this place I had seen. So seeing his other self from another realm was her undoing."
Ahmad? Another him? Did she mean Karim?

I am confused and something tells me I don't like the answer to those questions.

"He died a few months ago and it devastated her. She almost killed herself too. She blamed it on herself you see and she still does. So seeing Karim like this is......"
She trails off her void eyes boring into mine hoping I get the message. I get it plenty.

"How did he die? This Ahmad I mean"
I look directly at her. She looks away.

"That is not my story to tell." Wow.

" So you are just going to leave me hanging? So much for her not being  demon.

"Sounds like Romeo and Juliet bullshit to me regardless."
I say with much indifference as I can muster as imagine how Karim's mirror self must have died under some tragic circumstances.

If Karim were to die......I shudder at the thought booking it away instantly.

"He was my best friend just like how you have Karim. And I loved him. I still do." Her voice is so quiet I would have missed it. She turns to look outside her window. I do the same but I notice Thoren looking at me intently in the driving mirror with a small smile on his lips.

His black eyes fixed on my grey eyes, I feel a bony chill and rivet my eyes further outside. He gives me the creeps.

The terrain has changed. There are huge boulder like rocks arranged in two columns to form  pathway big enough for two lanes. 

They are glowing emerald green with a huge archway above us. I gape. Enchanting.

Thoren pulls the Jeep over, the wheels crunching in the dirt. He proceeds to jump out and Artemis does the same. I jump out too and follow the rest staying behind Karim, safely out of his view. Not that he would see me anyway. He has eyes only for pink haired Emmeline.

I pick at my crystal necklace which I wear on my wrist as a bracelet. She looks Spanish. But why was her name not Camille Sanchez or something else, it suites her better. I wouldn't like to offend her though.

We have been walking for a short while now. The emerald green lane gives into purplish boulders with some sort of markings that leads to a cave entrance with another archway towering above a few feet from us fascinating me more. What is this place?

A movement catches my attention. A tall boy with a huge toothy grin is waving at us from the cave entrance. He is wearing the same gear and as we get closer, I noticed he has the trademark black eyes too, well no surprise there actually.

He has a mop of black hair, as black as Artemis's. But pale skin like the both of us. Despite his height, he doesn't look more than fifteen or less even though and he exudes a boyish charm that is infectious. He's seems so easy to like and get along with.

He could be barely lethal but all these thoughts skid when I notice a bow and quiver with lethal looking knives strapped to his hip as he strides to us casually.

I think safety and baby proofing are very overrated here.

"Sis, I have been waiting as instructed." The dark Angel envelopes Artemis in a huge hug.

Sis? Am I missing something? Clearly. He holds Artemis at arms length as he grins widely. Then his eyes flit to me. He frowns a bit at me before quizzically looking back to his sister.

"Jake you were no where to be found this morning, we have a situation remember?"
I am sure she is raising a brow at him. I would do it too.

Did she just call me a situation? My inner goddess hollers.

" I was.... occupied." He prolongs till he finds a simple way to place it. I have a feeling I don't want to know what he was occupied with at all.

"Occupied with what really this time? A faerie? A mer? Who this time? Forget it I don't even want to know. I have to meet the council and deal with this situation as fast as I can without babysitting you Jake." She brushes past him.

His smile diminishes a degree. He moves pressing between Karim and Emmeline who are now....holding hands? Jake stares me childishly but I feel like he is assessing me. It is hard to tell with his façade.

"Your resemblance to my sister is uncanny without your weird colored eyes." He leaves me chocking for a retort. Now am the weird one? That little..... I want to smack him into oblivion.

My eyes are weird? Have they looked into a mirror lately? Those...freaks. I am seething with rage as we walk on not really sure where we are heading. Wait, where are we going?

I walk around Karim to Artemis's side. Avoiding him.
"Where are we going?" I ask noting that now the boulders are glowing a faint white.

"A city in a pocket dimension. Let's say it's a last stand, a fail safe precaution though some call it a last chance. It's called Elyssia though."
She looks at the crystal necklace wound around my wrist frowning.
"I will explain later but only those with tezine key crystals are granted access. How do you own one?"

I look at my crystal necklace. I have had this thing I don't even remember how I got it. The others have one too on their necks. I had not noticed till now.

Jake is in an animated conversation with Emmeline. Wait. If the crystals were keys then....

"Karim won't be able to enter." I shout at Artemis. Everyone freezes and looks at me. I note we stopped a few feet from a white archway and the boulders are now glimmering white with weird lettering and symbols etched in gold, shimmering. I have worries now.

"I considered that but Karim wouldn't have been able to pass by the second gate without disintegrating but he did. Same for you."
She elaborates. Second gate?

I must have look confused because she adds but clearly for my purpose.                                         "The purplish boulders archway entrance to the cave? Raising one dark brow at me. I have to admit she has skills. Oh.

"I don't know why not but he seems ordinary unless Karim you have some secret you are not telling us." She addresses him but he just shrugs clearly baffled too.

"Okay so what happens if he can't get through?" Deep down somehow I already know the answer.

"He gets disintegrated to ashes. It's a protective mechanism to keep demons out."
She says it so easily like she's tossing an insignificant comment. Am rooted.

"Jake go first then Karim follows so that you know, we test my hypothesis." What?

"You can't possibly do this. He is human not a lab rat" Or a sacrificial lamb for the matter.
Test a hypothesis? Maniacal excitement is spread all over her face. I can't believe this.

Ignoring me, she motions to Jake to go first. I look around for a door but I see nothing. Jake walks confidently in front stopping under the white archway winking at me in the process.
The crystal around his neck glows.

The air around him sizzles and he winks out of existence just like that. Am sure my jaw is somewhere on the floor.

I step in Karim's view. I can't allow him to do this. What if he dies? I will never forgive myself. He just smiles lightly at me, adjusts the straps of my bag pack and with determination walks to where Jake just disappeared.

It is his silent way of telling me to trust him, he's got this. I swallow back my bile.
This is very bad and wrong. My instincts are screaming.

I look disbelievingly at his turned back to Artemis's excited face, Emmeline's worried one, Thoren's carefree one. No one is going to stop him? Then I realize, they don't care, heartless demons.

I can't even find the voice to tell him to stop. Blood rushes in my ears, I hear my individual heartbeats as my hands shake. No.

He stands there for a moment nothing happening to him. He turns giving me thumbs up smiling. Phew, he is fine. I give him a small smile my heart slowing down. Does this mean I'll proceed while he waits here? I can't leave him out of the question.

He looks around dazed and confused his eyes momentarily glazing over for a moment before he falls to the ground. White flames erupt around him and engulf him as he screams.

I choke on my bile. My legs unfreeze. I run to him, I need to reach him but a strong arm encircles my waist. I turn around to see Thoren with a sick smirk on his face.

"Let me go." I scream while I scratch at his arms trying to loosen his grasp on me. I don't care. I keep thrashing something dark and sinister rising in me. I start to see red at the edge of my vision.

"Let me go" I scream louder.

"Look at him." He forces me to look at Karim his long fingers digging into my cheeks squishing my face. He has stopped writhing but he is panting and sweating heavily like an enormous pressure is being pressed upon him. I sob. Then he disappears in a burst of white light. I momentarily see a lush green park and a girl with green hair winking at me.

My vision completely turns red as something settles over me. I feel myself being tucked away into some dark corner.

They have killed him. They are responsible. Am not angry. The dark feeling curls in my stomach. I feel it expanding. I stop struggling against Thoren. I welcome the darkness and let it wash over me. I let it command me. I settle in the darkness.

I twist Thoren's hand till he lets go yelping and cursing.
"Bitch"
He screams at me while cradling his hand stepping away from me. I smile at him. But I don't feel happy. I don't know what my expressions look like. 

I revel in his pain. I don't even know myself. I am feeling pure rage and more. Power. I don't care what it is but I am drunk on it as it courses through my veins.

I walk to Thoren. My small hand thrusts out circling his neck. I love this feeling. I rise up with him a foot off the ground, I don't know how I do that but I don't care. All is I know is they must die. I throw him into a boulder and he lands with a sickening crunch. He doesn't move.

Am satisfied. I look at my hands, I didn't know they were this powerful before. My veins are golden, I am glowing golden. The golden marks on the boulders are glowing more brightly. That must mean something. I don't want to know though.

Thoren is still unmoving where he landed. I turn to Emmeline. My dear Emmeline. Jealousy consumes me. A m going to break her out of existence.

She has her short sword in one hand assuming a battle stance. I almost clap in glee. This is going to be fun.

I drift towards her my movements almost mechanical more like an out of body experience but not really, more like am someone else now. My body just does things, like it's following some basic protocol but so far, am enjoying it. I unfold my palm upwards and there is a glowing orb of pure white light.

It hurts these people right? I am going to test that hypothesis myself. Just like what they have done to him. I could already tell she's terrified. Am going to make sure I engulf her in my flames and enjoy her burning screams. Like what they have done to him. The orb glows brighter, my darkness feeding it more. Ironic for darkness to fuel light.

Before I reach her, a hand lands my shoulder. I turn my head around to see who dared. It is Artemis, drifting. Like me. Her veins are a pure black with bits of greyish white.

"He's alive." She is holding out her palm towards me. I stare into the depths of her black eyes. They seem darker. I feel myself calming. I believe something about her sentence.

Just like in the dreams. I couldn't be angry at her. She places her hand over the orb and it winks out of existence as her fingers curl around mine. She smiles.

I realize something. I think I trust her.

That electricity sizzles around us again upon contact. Our feet touch the ground. The bond upon contact turns blue cackling as we reach the spot where Karim erupted in flames.

My necklace glows a bright white light. I felt like the air is being sucked out of me and with a pop in my ears I am in a green clearing Artemis still holding both my hands.

I see Jake, then Karim. He is fine. Though he looks tired. I sigh in relief. I see a green haired twelve year old girl staring at me, well and Artemis too. I let go of her hands.

She looks at me like I came straight from her nightmare. But it is unfortunate. All my anger is gone. My knees buckle as green swims before me. I close myself and brace for a painful impact but I land in....arms.

I quickly open my eyes. My vision is foggy. Jake's face swims in my vision. Am in his arms.

He looks down at me....concerned?
"Nice catch" I am breathless and feel drained.

I look around for the little girl again but she has disappeared, I was about to ask where she went when a startled gasp rings out.

Artemis is falling too. I am down in a blink of an eye on time to see a blur catching Artemis before she hits the ground. Whoa. Jake could move like that?.

"Thanks Jake. I feel drained." Artemis's voice slurs her eyes closing while he lays her slowly on the grass examining her with precision and concern.

She brushes him off after a few seconds of recovery as she stands up swiflty and walks directly to me. She looks at me.

"You okay?" She inquires. I feel mushy and woozy. But I'll recover.

"Yeah I guess so." I shrug as I take a deep breath.

The air a few feet from us glimmers and Emmeline appears in a burst of light supporting a thoroughly beaten up Thoren by the shoulders. He's black and blue in the face cradling a blue hand that is rapidly turning purple. She does a double take when she notices me. She looks fearfully at me and Thoren scowls. I smirk this time and it feels so goddamn good.

"What happened back there?" Karim stands besides me. I beam internally. I look at the grass, very guilty. At least he didn't rush off to help her. He gently places his am on my shoulders looking at me with concern providing the support I badly need. I have won this round with him. 

"Let's just say Althea threw a tantrum over thinking your dead and Thoren was at the receiving end." Artemis tries to hide her smirk. I beat up her friend, how isn't she angry? I don't feel humored.

"In simple terms you mean to say, Thoren got his ass kicked by an inexperienced fighter, a girl at that. You won't see the end of this when we tell the others."
Jake doubles over in laughter. I bite my lip to keep my laughter inside. Now am humored.

Thoren limps forward murderous intent written on his face. Artemis is in front of him in a flash. They stare daggers at each other. I get the feeling Thoren hates everyone and is always picking a fight with somebody. So anyone loves to see his ass handed to him.

"So what happens now?" Karim intervenes and I know it's to provide a distraction from the brewing fight. Deep down I want to see his ass kicked again. Maybe not so deep down.

"We go to the Protectors Elder council" Artemis turns to us. "They are the ones who specifically requested for us."
Her black eyes bore into me making me feel the gravity of the situation.

We? I gulp blanching. Sounds bad.

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