The Supernatural Seals (Book Two)- BATTLE

Chapter Twenty-One

Grace

Parisa and I are sitting on a white bench, in the middle of what looks like a fancy backyard. It's actually a place called The Pond, which basically contains a few trees and benches all sitting around a pond. As I'm staring at the water, I realize that there are no animals here. Or at least none that I have seen.

"I suppose all dogs don't go to heaven," I say.

Parisa giggles beside me. I look over at her as she swings her feet back and forth, a few inches off of the ground. I notice that she's barefoot, which I guess makes a bit of sense. I don't know why, but I kind of expect an angel to be barefoot. I watch as she sits up straighter on the bench and then turns to look at me excitedly.

"Do you want to see something really cool that I just learned?" She asks.

I smile at her and nod. I watch as Parisa crosses her legs underneath her, and then holds her arms out on either side of her, palms up. She looks at me and then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. I watch as a soft breeze picks up, sweeping through my hair, and hitting my face. I look around and I'm amazed as I notice droplets of water rising from the pool. I watch as they all rise into the sky, reflecting the light and making it look like there are a million stars everywhere. I look around as the water begin to float around everywhere. I hold my palm out and hold one. I look up at Parisa, who's grinning like a toddler.

"I just learned this," She says.

"It's beautiful," I tell her.

She lowers her arms and all of the water floats back into the pond slowly. Then, we hear what sounds like a fire alarm. Parisa stands up quickly, and I do the same.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

She turns around to look at me.

"It means we've got another person in Limbo. I think Alexander and your friend must be here," She says.

She holds her hand out and pulls me with her until we reach what resembles a small shed. She opens the door, and I squint as my eyes adjust to the brightness in there. When the light dims, I see Alexander standing in the middle of the room. He raises an eyebrow and grins when he sees me.

"Gracie!" He exclaims, opening his arms.

"Where's James?" I ask.

Alexander's smile vanishes and he takes a few steps towards me. I reach over and grab Parisa's arm, pulling her behind me to shield her from Alexander.

"Is that really how you greet an old friend? No hello, no handshake?" He asks.

"Where is James?" I ask.

Alexander stuffs his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"He's alive and well. He has my powers and I am no longer in his head," He replies.

"What happened?" I ask.

I can't believe that they found a way to get Alexander out.

"Daxia is still alive, which is very unfortunate for me. And I realized this when she tried to link with James. So I interfered with the link, and sent myself into her brain instead, with the intent to kill her, Lincoln and Nicholas myself. However, I happen to have run into a bit of a situation, and I wasn't able to stay inside of her head," He says.

"That's great. This means you're finally gone for good," I tell him.

Alexander smiles and then chuckles.

"Oh, that's cute. You think I'm just going to stay here? If I die, all Leviathan's die. There is no way that I'm letting my people die," He says.

"You're already dead," I hear Parisa say from behind me.

"True, which means that in a few hours, all Leviathan's will be dead as well. But you're going to help me make sure that none of that happens," He says, turning to me.

"I'm not going to help you do anything," I say.

"Oh, I think you are. Because you see, you aren't dead. Which means that you can still be hurt. You can still die. And if you don't help me, I will kill you," He says.

Then he laughs.

"Actually, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to keep you here, alive. So that you're stuck in this limbo forever. Until you die," He says.

"I'd rather be stuck here than help you," I say.

"You need my help, Grace. I know things that you don't know. I've been alive for thousands of years and unlike any other original creature, I remember everything," He says.

"So? You're not important just because you remember the fall of the Roman Empire," I say.

Alexander shakes his head.

"No, but I am important because I know everything about every creature. Even ones that you've never heard of. Ones that are all after your good friend Daxia," He says.

"Why are they after Daxia?" I ask.

"That, my darling, is my leverage. And I'm not going to tell you unless you help me," He says.

"I'm not releasing you out into the world so you can kill all of my friends," I say.

Alexander laughs.

"Not all of them. Just the ones that can kill me," He clarifies.

I shake my head. Alexander sighs.

"Here, I'll make you a deal: If you help me and bring me back, I'll let you keep me hostage. I'll be a prisoner. But you have to promise that you won't kill me," He says.

I narrow my eyes at him and I feel Parisa move out into the open to stare at Alexander and me.

"Why would I believe you? How do I know that you aren't lying? How do I know that the minute you're out of here, you won't go on a killing spree?" I ask.

"I'll give your little friend here my powers. That way, when we get back, I'll just be a weak, defenseless human," He says.

I look over at Parisa.

"Can he do that?" I ask.

She nods, not taking her eyes off of Alexander.

"He can give me his powers, which I will keep until I feel like they can be returned," She replies.

I turn to look at Alexander, who holds his arm out to Parisa. I watch as she takes careful steps towards him, and places her arm on his wrist. I watch as Alexander cries out in pain, and Parisa slowly moves her arm further and further away from his arm, a bright green light following it. I watch until the light turns into a small circular light, and Parisa grabs it. It disappears. She turns to look at me.

"There. It's done," she says.

I look over at Alexander.

"How do we get back home?" I ask him.

"We can't yet," He says.

I raise my eyebrow at him.

"James is using my powers that he gained from my intrusion to teleport the Headquarters. If we leave now, he won't be able to use my powers anymore and they won't be able to get back. So once he's done, we'll go back," He says.

I nod slowly.

"How do we know when that is?" I ask.

"I can see them. And if you don't trust me, then ask your little friend here to tell you, she can see them too," He says.

I look over at Parisa.

"He's telling the truth. James is almost done. You should be able to go back in about an hour," she says.

She turns around and looks at Alexander.

"In the meantime," I watch as she extends her arms out, and a cage appears around Alexander, trapping him in place.

"Really?" He says, shaking the bars of the cage.

Parisa shrugs.

"I don't trust you," She says.

Then she turns to me and leans in to whisper in my ear.

"And I don't think you should either,"