Salazar disappeared in an instant, just as Xur took flight over an arch on the castle. Without command, Rahul went after him and I feared for the castle's safety at that point. The dragon meant no harm to us but there's no telling what kind of damage he would do without meaning to. His size wasn't his best quality at the moment.
"Guys! Over here!" Odis called out. Kade and I turned our heads that way, finding him leaning over Maeve's motionless body with a troubled look. I settled next to him and checked the witch's pulse.
"She's still breathing," I assured quietly. Kade combed a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut with guilt.
"God... guys, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen-" he began to say before someone cut him off.
"Stop apologizing... we know you didn't mean to." It was Maeve and she seemed to be slowly recovering herself. Her eyes fluttered open just as Odis helped her sit up. "Plus there's more important things to worry about." She tried to stand but by her trembling and the sound of her raspy voice, it was clear her strength wasn't fully restored.
A sudden gargoyle screech came from inside and made my skin crawl. More followed it and then people started yelling.
"This is my fault," I whispered. "I'm the one Salazar wants. He's doing this because I turned him down." My guilty eyes locked with Kade's as he shook his head.
"It's not your fault. It's not like you could've said yes to the guy! His ways of manipulation are always this dirty, trust me," he assured. He tried to sound convincing but I was nowhere near that point. I couldn't shake the thought of being the reason people may die tonight. The chaos beginning to break out was all because I was being stubborn. However, my inflexibility for these situations was what was saving my ass the most.
Warm hands suddenly met my cheeks and pulled my gaze up. "Stop, Bella. Stop thinking this is all your fault because it's not. If you keep letting your guard down like that, the vulnerability you offer will allow the madness to consume you," Kade pressed. "Although you only have half, you have no experience with it like I do. Focus." I was unable to do as he asked and could only stare, losing concentration with every passing second. It was like my subconscious wouldn't even allow me to refocus and proceeded to drift. Was this the madness taking over?
I snapped out of my stupor once the doors of the balcony burst open again. Surprisingly, it was Lord Farlen... and he did not look happy. It didn't seem he was angry with us, more like highly worried and relieved to see us all okay. "You guys?! What are you still doing here?! You need to be on your way!" he yelled.
Kade stepped forward and emphasized his surprise by pointing inside towards the commotion. All I could see were angry gargoyles and supernaturals facing each other head on. There were screeches and yells and the occasional chant of a spell. Things were aflame and smoke crowded the room as an angry, thick cloud.
"Your castle! We have to help in this fight!" Kade said with urgency.
"You may be the reason they're here, but you're not to blame. You told me your story and I believe you. It's not your fault you're being hunted. Leave now before they get to you. My castle will be fine, I can assure you that," Farlen responded. "I'll open a gateway that can get you to Louisiana. Rumor has it, the castle's settled somewhere in New Orleans. That's all I can tell you at the moment." He waved his hands and surely some kind of portal opened, but I couldn't see past the bright light that followed it. It was nowhere near as intimidating as Salazar's, though. I felt safe just standing next to it. "Hurry!" Farlen shouted as he pushed us towards it.
Odis took off his jacket and tied it around Maeve's waist. Then, he picked her up and settled her small body onto his back. The jacket was so no one could see up her short, red dress. "I'll take care of her. Let's just go!" he said. Kade and I didn't hesitate to step through the portal first.
The light was even brighter going through and I lost all sense of direction. Kade was the next thing to disappear which made my skin crawl with worry. Was it even possible to get trapped in a portal? I didn't want to test that theory and continued to push forward with my arms raised in front of my face as a large gust of wind struck me suddenly. It started to make my eyes water and seemed to bring brighter white light with it. My feet felt as if they were trudging through thick molasses and started to ache. Thankfully it all ended when I stepped onto hard ground again. Although my heels didn't help with the feet thing, I was pleased to know I wasn't stuck in the portal.
The light and wind dissolved into a night sky with gleaming stars. I observed my surroundings and was surprised to find myself standing in the middle of an alleyway. Kade was to my right, leaning against the wall and also staring up at the sky. I felt something bump into me from behind and stepped aside to let Odis through the portal with Maeve, who seemed to have fallen unconscious again. Instantly, Farlen's gateway and its bright light vanished into thin air, leaving no evidence of its existence behind.
"How's Maeve?" I whispered to Odis. Her head was planted on his shoulder, allowing him to casually glance at her face.
"Let's just say... she'll live," he murmured as if not entirely confident in the statement. I peeped over at Kade to notice his guilty stare in our direction. He looked down at his feet and angrily kicked a rock into the street ahead. He then wrinkled his nose with fury and tugged at his hair.
"Kade... calm down," I consoled, approaching him cautiously.
"I can't. Not with knowing the fact that I hurt all of you and didn't hesitate to do so!" he yelled.
"Kade... buddy, we know you didn't mean for it to happen. You couldn't control yourself. I promise you we're not mad," Odis added. His amber eyes widened as he tried to calm Kade down with them. His brown hair was a mess, even for a thick buzz cut.
Kade remained silent and so did we. I guess there wasn't much to be said. "Whatever... let's just find somewhere to stay for the night," he eventually mumbled.
"Somewhere safe," Odis added. "This city is very known for its ghost population. If we get caught up with them, things could get dangerous."
"Ghosts?" I questioned with a squeaky voice.
"Yes. Years ago, a necromancer screwed up some kind of magic and raised a lot of spirits from their graves not too far from here," Odis answered. "Ghosts are normally lost and confused, but some can be very angry. If you set the wrong ones off, serious damage can be done."
I was about to give my word of understanding when the scream of a lady cut me off. "Somebody! Help me! Please!" she yelled. Our heads turned to the right as a young woman, probably in her early twenties, came sprinting down the alleyway. Her hair was a dark brown, flowing in tangles down to her elbows. Her eyes I couldn't see in the dim light but I could tell they were widened with fear. The thing that shocked me the most was the long white nightgown she wore, covered in blood splotches in various locations. She was bleeding but still managed to run at an incredible speed, stumbling only a few times on her bare feet. As she neared, my dazed focus prevented me from realizing she was about to run right into me. I tried to step out of the way but it was too late, I'd already wasted enough time.
My eyes went to squeeze shut in preparation, but they immediately widened when the woman passed right through me. She didn't go around or push me out of the way or even jump over me for that matter. She went through me in an almost transparent form.
My stretched eyes went to Odis for some reason as the woman continued running until she rounded the corner of the alleyway and disappeared. Her wailing could still be heard in our awkward silence.
"Ghost," was all that Odis managed to mumble in his surprise. Kade was in the same stance we were and stared after the lady, even though she was gone. My mouth opened to say something but like before, I was cut off by more crying and screams.
"Somebody! Help me! Please!" It was the same as the previous wail, made by the same voice and possibly even the same woman. Sure enough, she came running from the right, stumbling in the exact same spots as before. Her path hadn't changed so I managed to step out of her way in time. And like before, her frail and bloodied body disappeared around the corner at the opposite end, and her screams sounded painfully until they randomly cut off without a fade.
"What the hell?" I heard Kade whispered as he exposed my exact thoughts. "Why did-"
"Somebody! Help me! Please!" It came again... the woman's screams. I didn't have to look to know she was advancing on us. When she stumbled and passed by us, my eyes stayed fixated on Odis for a clear explanation or at least a theory on what was happening.
"It seems her spirit is stuck in a loop. This must be the final event before she died," he said as the lady cried and came by us again.
"This is sad... shouldn't we help her?" I asked.
"That's not a good idea. Telling a ghost who doesn't know they're dead that they are could end in havoc," Kade finally said. I didn't want to know what kind of havoc he was talking about.
"But this lady is living in an endless loop of fear. Could we at least give it a try?" I know they were thinking 'she isn't living' but my point still stood. It broke my heart to see the fright in her clouded eyes as she made a last minute attempt to get away from whatever was pursuing her. Just as she was about to pass by us again I said, "This lady needs help."
My whole body froze as my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. The woman actually stopped. Her eyes stared forward as her bloody feet settled onto the ground. Her head slowly turned towards me, a hopeful and relieved look on her beaten face. Chapped lips slowly curled into a smile as they opened for speech.
"You can see me?" she asked.