Divinity: The Gathering: Book One (39 page)

China would never do this.

“China?” I called
out calmly to her in more of a question, to see if she was still, China. I trembled on the inside, feeling as if I’d lose control of my bladder at any moment.

She was driving faster, cutting through traffic with incredible speed and efficiency
, and I was mortified as I grasped onto the door grip and braced myself.

“China?” I called again louder.

She didn’t answer.

This wasn’t good. My mind raced with a million and one bad thoughts all with no positive explanation or outcome
, but I think I had an idea.

The sound of my heart pounded inside my own head loudly
, and I felt myself tremble from the inside out.

“Is Jack coming over later?” I asked her.

“Jack?” She questioned sharply still not looking at me. She leaned into the steering wheel with focus, pushing ninety five now.

My heart hammere
d with fear and helpless anxiety.

“Your boyfriend,” I replied eyeing her profile and pressing myself against the passenger side door to keep some distance between us
, just in case.

“No! He’s at a party or something
, I guess.” She snapped as if I were asking a stupid question.

I wanted to faint. My stomach hurt and my head felt like it would roll straight off of my shoulders
, as tears began to stream down my face involuntarily.

I now knew where the shadow had gone.

“Stop! Stop the car! Pull over now and stop!” I finally found my voice and demanded.

She laughed, “Can’t do that Starling…I saved you from them and now I have to get you to the portal in one piece quickly! No blood, no blood, I’ll be rewarded! I have to do this right so don’t make me hurt you and shut the fuck up!” She shot back at me in a viscous tone.

The voice was no longer hers.

Oh my God. What was she
— it saying? No blood? Portal? No, no…not China, please God…not my best friend!

             
The urge to cry, reach out and grab the wheel or beat the crap out of the thing inside my friend, which would be impossible without hurting her, bombarded my reflexes all at once until Cam’s words entered my head again.

Don’t show fear or anger. Why did his advice resonate so much with me?

It was worth a shot.

I got a hold of my emotions and thoughts, taking a moment to stave my fear and ignore the fact that we were shooting down the street at warp speed
, without regard to other traffic, people, trees or brick walls.

“Okay, well you’re not going to get me there in once piece at this speed
, so slow down! I’m a human being, I can be killed easily and so can my friend. You can do whatever you want or take me wherever you’re trying to take me but don’t you dare hurt or get her killed and I mean that.” I then stated trying my best to keep the fear out of my voice.

China then turned to me
with an actual dumbfounded expression, but it wasn’t her jade green eyes anymore. I could tell that much even in the dark.

There was no light in them at all.

“I said to shut up!” She squeaked with anger.

“I’ll shut up when you slow down. If you don’t I’ll open the door right now and turn myself into road bits, which will be a hell of a lot of blood and you won’t get me to this portal at all then now
, will you?” I then said, calming my own tone. It was actually working. I no longer felt as terrified and angry and…China or the thing possessing China, didn’t know what to make of my sudden shift in attitude or threat.

The Range Rover began to slow just a bit
, but I saw it was more because we had reached a forested area. It was ominous and dark, and she turned onto a narrow, dirt path roughly.

The car bounced and jostled
wildly as I braced myself and held my breath, but hitting the back of my head on the window anyway with a hard thud, which made my eyes tear up again.

I was going to fling the door open and make a run for it. I didn’t know where I was
, and it was dark but it was just China’s body regardless of the thing controlling her. I could outrun her any day, but I didn’t want to leave her behind and in the hands of that shadow either.

I made note of the direction of the main road as she drove on, wondering what exactly this portal was, what it looked like and more importantly
, what would happen once I was taken there.

             
The red and blue strobe flashing lights from the police car caught up with us in the distance, and it was coming fast. It was one cop car and there was no blaring of sirens, which was a good thing, I think. I felt dread, terror and sick all the while hoping this was another dream, and that I would wake up at any moment.

I didn’t know which was worse…careening dangerously in the woods amid thick, tall trees or possibly being shot, tased or a
rrested once we were stopped.

In a split second decision
, I sprung over, grabbed the wheel, and turned it sharply to the right in the hopes that China would do exactly what she did next.

“No! What are you doing! He’ll get you!” She shrieked as she fought against me and slammed on the brakes.

I scrambled for the small, square lever behind the gear shift console and jerked the emergency brake upwards for extra precaution.

             
The force of the car stopping abruptly, made me cry out as the seatbelt pulled taut against my neck when I was thrown forward, missing the glove compartment dash by mere inches. The Range Rover thumped hard against something that now blocked our path, but not hard enough to engage the air bags.

“Look what you did?! Now I have to carry you!” She screeched through clenched teeth.

It took me a moment to gather my senses, and she was already opening her car door.

I brushed my hair from my eyes seeing the refle
ction of the blue and red lights in the windshield getting closer.

Shit!

I fumbled for my seatbelt; barely unclicking it when the passenger side door was wrenched open with such a force, the whole SUV nearly tilted over.

             
China reached in and grabbed me, pulling hard, and I tumbled out as we both fell.

She was incredibly strong. She’d have never been able to do that so easily
, and without effort before regardless of my petite size. The demon inside of her was giving her strength, and there was no doubt in my mind now — that she was indeed possessed.

“China, listen to me…fight it! I know you’re in there, fight it! Pray!” I said as she grabbed me by my arm and hair
, and began dragging me forward.

She laughed, “Pray? That doesn’t work! Now stop fighting me! Believe me, I’m saving you!” She replied in an unnatural voice, obviously not hers.

              I winced and sobbed inside. I didn’t want to have to do it but I had no choice. I grabbed her around the ankles and tripped her. She stumbled, her grip on my arm loosening, and I pulled away, quickly scrambling to my feet.

The police car had stopped in the distance and a dark, large shadowed figure loomed at the crest of the shallow hill that we had driven past, now approaching us on foot.

He didn’t say anything nor did he even use a flashlight, which I found odd, but it only affirmed what I had known when he was on my side of the car moments ago.

Now
, I was truly terrified.

I didn’t understand. Weren’t these demons working together? If so, why didn’t the one possessing China just hand me over to him? Why had she taken off like that? Was it possible
that the same dark beings each had different motives for getting their hands on me?

I couldn’t believe I was even pondering all these possibilities and scenarios, still feeling as if this were all a dream
, but here I was —and so far, I felt no inkling that I was going to wake up any time soon.

If I didn’t try to incapacitate China, he may shoot her either accidentally or purposefully. I had to make another difficult choice
, as much as it pained me.

Chi
na was already on her feet, and reaching for me again.

I said a quick prayer and
then —I cold clocked her, missing my mark. I had hit her in the forehead instead.

My ring dug into my knuckle when
I did, and she cursed, covering her forehead and faltering backwards a bit.

“Damnit! You can’t hurt me like that. Your friend’s going to be pissed
though,” She then smiled and chuckled.

“China! Fight it please! You have to!” I screamed looking back at the demon cop getting closer.

And then there was a streak of white light, winding through the trees like a stealth serpent, and it speared itself right through the hulking shadow of the cop, who was making his way toward us. Suddenly — the shadow cop simply vanished into a dark cloud of smoke, and was gone. Spontaneously afterwards, so was the police car, as if it too had also been a figment of darkness or my own imagination.

If I didn’t see it myself
, I wouldn’t have believed it, but the fact that I was still here with China who had fallen to the ground and began to thrash around in a seizure like fit — proved affirmation that this was all as real as the cold, wet, rough, dead leaf covered, and muddy ground beneath my butt and palms.

Not only had I seen some strange comet of unnatural light
, but there was another strange shimmering mirage of light disguised in the darkness that resembled some sort of doorway behind us. It was only a few yards away —and more shadow things were coming through…towards us.

That must have been where the shadow in China had been trying to take me
, and maybe where the ones at the hospice and that cop had been trying to take me too.

Where did that doorway lead to
? Hell?

A
cold numbness began to take over me, leaving me feeling helpless and vulnerable as they slinked closer. I could almost see the evil faces in them, eyes and mouths all smiling at me.

I was alone, scared for the both of us and I had no idea what to do except to continue praying.

Out of nowhere, I felt the urge to vomit and my entire back began to burn, as if being rubbed raw by sandpaper and then doused with alcohol. I gasped and gagged cupping a hand over my mouth as I wretched and heaved, spittle dribbling from my lips, but nothing solid came up. I was dizzy and felt as if I would pass out at any moment, as I pitched forward onto my hands and knees. My stomach lurched and cramped as I gagged, feeling as if my entire back were on fire now.

Something flicked and tugged forcefully at my
, hair and it was then that I knew where the burning sensation all over my back had come from. I prayed again, not wanting to turn around and face any shadow this close up and for what good it did, and suddenly there were many thin, bands of bright, white light zipping past me, leaving both heat and the scent of searing hot metal in its wake.

I whipped my head around in both terror and awe with wide eyes
, and watched as those light bands both encircled and sliced through the shadows that had apparently been behind me, in lasso like coils. The light destroyed all the dark moving shapes instantly upon contact, and they all disappeared into nothing, silently. Then the shimmering door way winked out of existence, as if it had never been there to begin with.

My guardian angel was answering my prayers and he
or she had saved us, saved me once again.

I felt tears
burning the corners of my eyes. But China was still screaming, crying and fighting the entity within her, so why hadn’t it saved her too then? Well, prayer had worked, and now I needed to do it over her to try and help her, fast. I crawled on my hands and knees closer to her and began to pray once again, while holding my hands out over her writhing form; afraid to get too close.

The li
ght from the headlights of her Rover didn’t offer much light in this direction, and I really couldn’t see her face that well.

“China?” I called out shakily
, debating on getting any more closer to her just yet. Seeing her like this was killing me, especially since I could do nothing about it, and then suddenly… she stopped.

She lay
still for a moment with her chest heaving, and she was choking through sobs as if she were trying to speak or call out to me.

Was China back? Did my guardian angel save her after all?

Being that she had finally stopped screaming and thrashing, I should have felt a sense of relief at that point but I didn’t and when I caught sight of another flickering mass of shimmering darkness outlined by an unearthly luminescence slam into and disappear into her; I knew I that I was as good as dead now.