Splendid Fall

Ch. 43 Bloodstains

Chapter 43

With the sun beaming down on the golden desert, Apollo looked to the rounds to find Ares and Clare standing side by side next to the iridescent sides the jinns were constructing.

"How much longer?" Birdie averted her eyes from the sky and looked over to where Heyder stood conversing with Ali.

"We just have a few more clans," Heyder said. "You should really be back at court. I don't want you out here."

"I'll be okay," Birdie shook her head and looked up to the sky once more, letting the warm sunlight hit her face.

"How will we house everyone at court?" Hayden wondered, his eyes on the shield the army of jinn were knitting together.

"We can't," Heyder said. "Some will have to leave the veil."

"They're not going to like that," Clare spoke up from where she stood.

"It's either that or they stay out here with the blood sucking sandy vampire," Heyder snorted.

"How the hell did this thing even get here?" Ali wondered, causing a ping of pain to blossom inside of Birdie's heart. "The portal on the 7th floor was sealed."

"There may be other portals we don't know of," Ares said. "The veil is always changing. New territories could be appearing that have portals in them."

As Birdie's heart began to beat faster in her chest, she felt Adan step up beside and brush the back of his hands against her. Her gaze flickered up towards him as he passed her a gentle smile.

"Oh great," Heyder groaned. "More maps to make. More explorers to send out. More magic to learn about. I'm old. I want to just die in peace."

"Baba," Birdie clicked her tongue and poked the jinn's shoulder.

"I'm serious," Heyder shook his head with his ring clad hands on his hips. "I just want to see you settle down and then I want to kick the can and be in a wooden box six feet under."

"You'll have to deal with Caspian and Posey in the underworld," Ali reminded his friend as he patted his shoulder.

"Hell is big enough," Heyder said. "I'll find a corner away from them."

"Why are you so sure you're going to hell?" Clare laughed.

"Cordelia, do you know this man?" Ares arched his brow. "Of course, he's going to hell. Tobias probably has a plaque with his name on it and everything."

"Wow, all this isn't morbid at all," Adan noted.

"We should head back to court," Hayden insisted. "With everyone going there, who knows what the tension might be like inside."

"Another thing I don't want to deal with!" Heyder complained. "It's bad enough I saved all these monkeys and now I have to babysit them and make sure they all play nice too?"

"No, you just have to make sure your mother plays nice," Clare scrunched up her nose.

"No, don't get me started," Ali sighed, shutting his eyes and pinching his nose. "I just want to do my job and Heyder's job in peace without her breathing down my neck 24/7."

"I'm surprised you haven't asked her to leave court yet," Ares looked at Heyder. "She's really been very vocal about her dislike regarding your policies."

"I can't ask her to leave," Heyder muttered, shaking his head. "That'll bring on a whole new plate of problems. But I am interested in what you have to say about your comment earlier."