Prophecy: Tome of Blood

4. Endless Road Bleed into the Horizon

Once again Lorelei had taken command, and she was beautiful. The rest of the gang fell in line behind her, doing their part, but it was she who bore the brunt of the attack, held the cultists at bay. It wasn't a demon problem Dill had been contacted with this time, no, rather their newest-oldest-threat. The Anchoress' cult. She offered them no mercy all the same, though some of them were human, and she moved in graceful patterns that were well thought out. Her heel swept through the air, nailing one across the face before she came to a standstill, fading back into another that she struck at with her elbows.

Then a flip, up and over and onto the shoulders so she could snap the neck. The dead body was the perfect projectile to launch at the enemy, and she bowled over several others with the weight. It felt good to fight, to stretch her muscles, and she smiled over her shoulder because she knew she wasn't the only one. Austin seemed almost as pleased as she did, and she admired how far he'd come. He might even be able to put up a good fight against her, if they were to go toe to toe.

With a fluid motion he brought the end of his staff up, connecting with the jaw of a cultist, and before the move was even through he'd already planted the other end into the ground, using it as leverage to jump up, swing his body around the stick to knock another foe in the chest. She wasn't even worried for him when several more cultists took interest, knowing without doubt who he was, and his importance to their queen. Austin earned her faith, twirling his weapon through the air and pushing them back.

Of course Toby kept a close eye on him, did his best to protect his love despite fighting his own battle. Though even he could not deny how well he was doing all on his own, and they easily beat back the cult. It wasn't long until they'd called a retreat and scurried off, leaving the heroes to cheer in victory. It was a shame that the others couldn't join them, but Lorelei had always been confident that her two companions were all they would need for the task. With a big smile plastered to her face she headed over to them, taking deep breaths to replenish her air.

"That'll show them. But maybe next time we should try to capture one, you know, maybe find out what the hell they're doing back here." She pursed her lips, glancing over her shoulder.

"Hey, are you feeling okay, you don't look right," Austin moved, putting his hand to her forehead when he grew concerned over her unusually pale complexion.

"Yeah, you look like shit," Toby agreed.

"You're no bouquet of roses yourself, I'm fine." She told them, certain. For only a moment she stared at them, wondering why they would even ask that, until her stomach heaved without warning and she hunched over, vomiting. "You jinxed me."

"We need to get you to see Nina, come on," Austin didn't mind a little mess, and he went over to where she was and put his arm around her.

"No, I'm okay really." But she was defiant, militantly so. He might've taken offense to that, had he been unaware of why that was. But he knew. So did she. The first thought they all had was the same-her cancer. The disease that she had, the one she was supposedly doing well with. Perhaps she wasn't doing all that well after all.

"It's not a request." Now Toby moved closer to her, "do I have to push you flat on your ass and carry you there, or can we go?"

"Fine, but you're overreacting." Looking between both of them she relented. In truth Lorelei knew it was the right idea, the best idea, but she was afraid to hear the news she'd been hoping against all along. That was the problem; hope. She'd been so cavalier in accepting hope, in putting all her faith in it, and if she were to find out that it had failed and she was going to die after all, well, she wasn't sure how she would handle that. But there weren't many options, so even though she was afraid she let them take her. After all, it was the only thing she could do.