Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Thank you, Odyssa. I know it's a lot to ask. I have one more thing to ask of you though, this goes for Althea as well. Please don't say anything about what's happening right now. We're about to go into this great big fight and I don't want to distract anybody from what's really important," I explained. Both Althea and the dark-haired witch nodded at me. Together, the three of us made it to Isla's house, where everybody else already was.
"Who's that?" Is the first thing I hear as we step through the door, the words coming from Theo's mouth.
"Everybody meet Odyssa, an eleventh generation witch, she's going to help us with Asklepios," I introduced, waving my hands towards the girl of great beauty.
"How?" This question came from Mason.
"Well... we don't know yet," Althea returned, sitting beside Theo on the couch.
"Where's Lucy?" I said, scanning the group and noticing my favorite redhead was missing.
"She's running late, she said she was going to stop and get something she thinks would help," Liam informed me.
"Okay, whatever plan we come up with tonight, we'll tell her later. No texting it, we can't risk it being seen by anybody," I said.
"So Liam says you think we should kill Asklepios?" Voiced Corey, raising an eyebrow me.
"I do. He won't stop until he's got what he wants, and that comes with the price of many, many lives. One evil, horrible life, for a countless number of innocent ones," I reasoned, hoping the people standing before me would not be against the idea. "I know it's a very different path than you guys have taken in the past but... I will find a way to make sure you don't get blood on your hands," I continued.
"So how can we do this?" Theo asked, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees and rest his chin in his hand.
"Lucky for us, we have a wide range of supernatural abilities. Corey can mislead Asklepios, Liam and Theo are obviously crazy strong fighters, as goes for Isla, I know for a fact she can hold her own, and being immortal helps. Mason, Nolan, and Lucy should be our eyes and ears, I love them both a lot but I don't want to risk them getting hurt. Odyssa will be near but out of sight, helping us from the side lines. Althea, you'll stay close by in case we need your voice, but try to avoid the big fight, I know it's not your thing," I explained, receiving a few words along the lines of 'fine' or 'okay'.
"What about you, Briar?" Isla wondered aloud.
"Well, as you all know, I'm an Earth fairy. It's a good thing we live so close to a forest. That's where we'll lead Asklepios," I determined, starting to walk towards where I knew Isla kept some weapons. Gesturing for everybody to follow me, we headed to a cold, dimly lit room, filled to the brim with swords, spears, knives, stakes, even guns.
"Shit," Theo mumbled, eyes looking around the room.
"I get it if you two don't want to fight with weapons, but I think you should bring at least a knife or something with you. If you get stuck in a position you can't get out of, Asklepios won't be expecting a werewolf to be carrying around a knife. You too, Corey," Isla spoke, gazing at Liam and Theo at first, but Corey at the end.
"I think Nolan and I should have something, too," Mason interrupted. "If he finds me I need to have something to protect myself. We'll bring something for Lucy, too."
The next couple of hours were spent deciding what weapons would work best for who. Theo and Liam ended up with small, yet sharp and thin knives that were easily concealed. Corey and I had a slightly larger hunter's knife, while Mason decided he needed a giant spear and Nolan decided he was most comfortable with a gun. Althea had a bow and a knife, while Isla picked up her favorite sword, made of some kind of metal that I could tell was deadly just by looking at it.
"So we're locked and loaded then, right?" Nolan questioned, anxiety prominent with every word.
"Nolan, you don't need to be worried, we're going to put a stop to this and then it'll be over," Isla spoke softly, placing a hand on his bicep.
"I know, I just have a bad feeling," Nolan responded, looking at her with his gentle blue eyes.
"Okay, we're all going to need as much rest as possible for tomorrow. Odyssa and I are going to figure out how to stop Asklepios, but the rest of you should get some rest," I said, receiving nods from everybody else. Nolan, Mason, Liam, Corey, and Theo had all come together in one car while Odyssa and I would be in another and Althea would be staying with Isla.
Before getting in the car, Liam called out to his male friends, "Guys, I'll be there in a second, I need to talk to Briar for a second."
"What's up, dog breath?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"What aren't you telling me, Bri?" He questioned.
Well, there's a few things, actually, I thought, but decided to only say one of them. "I know this seems like a 'we could die tomorrow, let's be reckless tonight' kind of thing but um... we've been dating for a few months and you've shown me a life I never thought possible for me, even in a million years. In the nine months we've known each other, you've made me happier than I've ever been, and I guess what I'm saying is that I love you. I love you a lot, Dunbabe," I rambled on.
"For once it's you rambling and not me. How does it feel?" Liam teased.
"Oh gods, please say something in response to what I just told you!" I exclaimed, lightly pushing on his shoulder.
"You didn't have a reason to be nervous, I obviously love you, too. I've known for about a month and a half but I wanted to let you realize your feelings first before I told you, so you didn't feel pressured," Liam replied, giving me a small, soft smile.
At this, Liam and I shared an embrace and a passionate kiss — to which Corey shouted "gross, come on Liam!" — and said goodbye, knowing what was to come tomorrow.
