Knots tries to get out of bed, but I gently push his chest back down so he lays back. “Just try to rest for a moment.”
“Let me raise the bed for you,” Sierra offers.
We get Knots more comfortable before he starts asking questions.
“What happened?” he asks, gingerly probing his stitches.
“Careful there, you don’t want to cause an infection,” Lennox cautions Knots and holds up some gauze. “May I?” Knots gives his consent, and I introduce him to Lynx’s parents and explain that we’re inside of the door that we found.
“Thank you for fixing me up,” Knots addresses Lennox before he reaches for my hand. “I’m sorry for giving you a scare, Rez.”
“It’s fine.” I give him a smile.‘I’m sure I’ll come up with some other way for you to repay me.’
‘I have no doubt,’he chuckles.
Sierra steps up next to the bed and looks at Lynx. “If your friends out in the waiting room aren’t the ones you’re worried about, then who were you talking about?”
“Like Knots said, L.A.M.B.,” I say, shifting my weight.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. If you needed to go home, why didn’t you just take the portal, and why would you be concerned with L.A.M.B.?” Sierra asks, looking flustered.
“Pfft.” Lynx spits out. “Wish it was that easy,” he says under his breath.
“Why wasn’t taking a portal an easy option?” Lennox repeats.
“Because Asmodeus closed them, and we need to travel the Trail of Worth to open them up again,” Lynx explains.
“Oh dear,” Sierra says, grabbing her chest. “Lennox!” she cries as tears gather in her eyes.
“It’s okay, Sierra. Why don’t you make some soothing drinks for our son’s friends? I’m sure they could use it after traveling the tunnels.” Sierra sniffs and nods before rushing out of the room.
“I’m assuming by her reaction, The Trail of Worth is as bad as we’re thinking,” Knots guesses.
“Yes. There’s some serious work to do if your plans are to run the course,” Lennox says, looking over all three of us before resting on Knots. “If it’s true that you’re a pure angel, and the portals are closed, then I might be wrong and you might have bigger issues than I first realized. But there’s still good news.” He gives us a slight smile. “Think of this area as Limbo for you, so while you’re here, your angelic coil will be able to heal and you will gain back your strength before your trip. As you are now, you are barely holding on by a thread.” He hands Knots the mug of tea. “This will help slow the process and being in this neutral area will allow your natural healing abilities to do their job as long as they haven’t been destroyed. Considering how your body is already trying to heal from my stitches”—he pauses and assesses Knots’ injured head—“I would say you have nothing to fear in that department.”
“Thank you, that’s good news,” Knots says before sipping his drink.
“So, what do we need to know about the Trail of Worth?” Lynx implores his father.
Lennox chuckles. “Nice try. Before we get into that, Son, we need to address something. Whe?—”
A piercing scream rings through the room, and Lennox’s eyes go wide. Without an explanation, he flies out of the room with Lynx on his tail. My entire body tenses as my jaw drops while I look after Lynx, but my arm reaches out for Knots’ forearm.Shit! I don’t know what to do.I’m torn between following him or staying with Knots.
‘Go! I’ll be fine.’Knots says, giving me his permission.
“Thanks,” I say, giving him a reassuring smile and kiss on the forehead before bolting after Lynx.
I find Lynx in the middle of the living room, frozen in place as Lennox is doing something on the other side of the fireplace. From the looks of it, Lynx’s father is wrestling a creature that has a nasty temperament. He finally gets the monster to quiet down, and he slowly turns with a blanket restraining the creature. He looks up at Lynx with relief in his eyes and a small smile that spreads as he steps closer.
“Lynx. Meet Tempest, your sister.”
My jaw drops as I hear “Fuck,” and the thud of Lynx hitting the floor.
CHAPTER 4
Well, This Ain’t Awkward
Zeke
