Because I've Lost Everything

Chapter Twelve

Saturday: October 24, 2015

Caleb Grimm

I drew in a deep breath. "You feel that?" I asked.

Beside me, Xaphan nodded. "They're coming," he said.

"I can't imagine how many, but I can feel it," I said. I poured myself another drink as I continued to drown in my sorrows.

"I don't know."

"Think they've come for a fight?" I asked.

"I would imagine so," Xaphan said. "I don't know what else they would want at this point," he added.

I sighed before taking a drink. "Think we can beat them?" I asked.

"I would hope so. Us beating them is the best chance we have at getting Laura back," he said.

"I know," I breathed. I felt so damn lost without her. I hated that feeling, the feeling of emptiness, of worthlessness. I only mattered when I was with Laura. I was only important when I was with Laura.

"Yeah, we'll beat them," Xaphan declared. When I glanced over at him, I realized that he had made a knife appear out of thin air. "I've been perfecting this, you know. I can summon just about anything that I want to."

I was silent for a moment. "We could use that against them... couldn't we?"

"How so?"

"If they have weapons--and you know they will--you can just steal them," I said. "When you summon something, you're taking it from a certain place. Can you choose where it comes from?" I asked.

"Uh... I'm not sure," he said quietly. "I could try, but I really don't know." My drink disappeared as I went to take another sip. I heard the glass shatter. The shards were on the ground by Xaphan's feet. "I can choose where it comes from," he said quietly.

"Except you need to better yourself at actually catching things," I said. "If they have a sunshot, we're  both dead. You know that. So, if you do the summon thing and fail to catch it the right way, you're dead," I said.

Xaphan folded his fingers toward his palm, beckoning me. "Give me something else to take. Now."

"I'm not letting you break more glasses in my office," I said.

"Give me something else then!" he exclaimed.

I glanced around before grabbing a tennis ball off my desk. I held it in my hands and looked back up at my best friend, my partner in crime. "Go for it," I said.

Xaphan pushed a hand through his hair once, his gaze focused on the ball in my hand. It disappeared from my hand and appeared above him. When it fell, he caught it. A grin formed on his face. "Woo!" he shouted. "Caleb, man, we got this!" he exclaimed.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I laughed, genuinely laughed. For a brief moment, I felt complete, happy. Reality, however, had other plans and came crashing down around me. My smile vanished and the laughter died on my tongue. "Think it'll be enough to get my Laura back?" I asked.

Xaphan opened his mouth to say something, but obviously decided against it. After several silent moments passed, he simply shrugged. "I sure hope so, brother," he said quietly. "I guess we'll see," he added in a whisper.

***

When the door to the bar opened, I froze. I didn't tense up, I just stopped drinking. Slowly, carefully, I set my glass back on the counter. I kept my posture slack to prove that I wasn't scared, because truly, I wasn't scared. "Welcome to my domain, boys," I said quietly.

The air in the bar seemed to thicken at my acknowledgement of their presence. It was like they hadn't expected me to be prepared. More than likely, they had assumed I would be too drunk, too drunk to notice, too drunk to care.

Too drunk to fight.

They were wrong.

"Grimm," one of them said.

I could sense at least four of them, but I still hadn't turned to look at them. I didn't know what they were, but I knew they weren't fallen angels. They didn't feel immortal, either. The air around them didn't give off the immortality vibe. They'd be easy to kill.

"Laura. Is she alive?" I asked.

"For now."

"When do I get her back?" I asked.

"She's our hostage. When Boss gets you, she goes free," he said.

"Aha." I cleared my throat and straightened my posture ever so slightly. "Is she with this... boss?" I asked.

"She is."

"Is your boss Ghost?" I asked.

"Yep."

"Thought so," I said quietly. Where the hell was Xaphan? "How's my girl treating you?" I asked.

One of the guys laughed hollowly. "Quite a handful, I tell you, Grimm."

"She's a feisty one," another added.

I laughed, but it sounded cold. "I could've told you that." Finally, I swiveled in the bar stool to face the men. There were four of them; I had gotten that part right. And they definitely weren't fallen angels. They were... werewolves? What did werewolves want with me? "So, which one of you took her outside of my house? I know it was one of you. I can sense it."

One guys lifted his hand and gave me a two-finger wave. "That'd me."

One second I was sitting, the next I was standing in front of him. The knife in my hand pierced his heart without a single thought. As I held him against me, I twisted the knife. As he went down, his teeth tore at the flesh of my shoulder. I let out a surprised scream as I stepped back quickly, shaking his blood off my knife.

I held the knife up by head, waving it. "Who's up?" I asked.

Between Xaphan and I--if he ever planned on showing up--we'd have them all killed. We'd find Ghost, and I'd end him, too. He'd regret the day that he took my girl.

Hey, guys! Gosh, I am SO sorry for taking so long to update. I've been busy with other things, and I've been stuck on this particular book forever. I'm on spring break for the next week, so I'll be doing my best to update. However, my ribs are out of place and I'm in a lot of pain, so I can't promise anything. Either way, I'll try my hardest. Love you guys. See you in the next update!! :)