Chapter Forty-one
Hamel dropped his forehead onto Melinda’s. Cuzork’s words killed him. Not because of his own life, but what it was putting his mate through. She may not love him, but she wouldn’t want him to die, no matter who he was. He needed to make this easy and guarantee her safety.
He raised his head. “I wish Melinda to return safely to Earth now.”
She gripped her arms around him. “No! You can’t do this.” Her eyes filled with fear and . . . desperation?
He unwrapped her arms from him and brought her hands to his lips. “Yes, I can. I love you, Melinda, and want you safe. I don’t understand how this wish stuff works—”
“Hamel, unwish what you just said. It works because we are in your dream world. Sefu sent your spirit here. Not your real body, like mine. This is my reality, not yours. In dreams, you can make anything happen. Wish me to stay here.”
He kissed her fingers and shook his head. “No, my love. I want you safe. Destroy the serum. Have Sefu help you.” Cuzork stormed toward them. These would be his last words to her. “Find someone who makes you happy.”
Cuzork grabbed Melinda’s arm. With no warning, he flew back as if yanked away, slamming onto the ground on his back. Hamel no longer holding on to her, Melinda was dragged by an invisible force into the portal circle. A see-through wall of yellow light surrounded her. She banged against the solid air, her shouts not breaching the invisible barrier.
He wasn’t sure his wish for her safety would happen. He didn’t really understand what she’d said about him dreaming. Turning from his love, he saw Cuzork raise his hands, aimed at her. Even though she didn’t love him, he would die for her. Hamel screamed to attract his attention and ran toward the downed demon, sword raised high, ready to strike.
The demon’s head snapped toward him, hands readjusting then sending thick bolts of electricity into his body. Pure pain zapped every cell in his body. Fortunately, he died quickly.
***
Melinda beat her fists against the yellow light trapping her in the portal. “Hamel, no. Don’t do this!” He turned from her, either ignoring or not hearing her pleas. He’d told her he loved her, and she believed him. His eyes said it all.
She should have repeated his words to him, but once again, the fucking fear overrode her heart. She so wanted to have control over her fear. Stop missing out on happiness because of one guy from the past who hurt her. But now she had to find a way out of this damn beam. Was she really going to give the serum to the Demon King to save Hamel?
Yes, she was.
Her love ran at Cuzork on the ground. Before her eyes, she watched him die.
Everything in her stilled.
His body settled on the dusty ground, sword bouncing harmlessly away. A tiny white dot of light rose from his chest and floated just on the other side of her prison. Unconditional love and peace flowed through her. The same euphoria she’d had when she imagined bonding with her savior black cat the other day in her home.
She had no doubt this was Hamel’s spirit sharing what he felt for her. It was so strong, so reassuring. Knowing how much he loved her, her fear of rejection was gone. With Hamel at her side, she realized they could conquer anything the world threw at them.
His last words floated in her mind: Find someone who makes you happy. She had.
Him.
The light zipped away, gone from her sight. She’d just lost who she knew would be her greatest love. Guilt, sadness, anger rose inside her, eating away the last of her energy. Extreme exhaustion overtook her consciousness.
In the darkness, she smelled the acidic bite of a campfire. She hadn’t been camping since summer bible camp as a child. The sweetness of flowers, the earthiness of mud, and the tang of blood quickly followed. A voice registered in her brain. The witch doctor. Maybe Sefu could save Hamel. She forced her eyes open.
She sucked in a breath. “Sefu?” Her vision was fuzzy in the low light. The chanting stopped. Melinda launched herself toward the man sitting next to the fire. “Please save him, Sefu. I was wrong. I love him and I’m not afraid anymore. I see how powerful real love is. We can make it.”
The old man peeled her off him and held her at arm’s length. He stared at her for a second then turned his head and looked to the side. Melinda followed his sight line and saw Hamel lying on the floor in the shadows. She dove toward him, letting her tears flow for all the stupid mistakes she’d made where it came to him and her feelings.
She laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms under his neck. His heart beat strong under her ear. Wait. He was dead. She'd watched him die.
“No, child.” Sefu gave a frustrated sigh. “He is alive. Nothing in this plane hurt his physical body, so he lives. Only his soul, his spirit, is gone. Why are you back without him?” Melinda scrambled back to the witch doctor.
“The demon king killed him when I was protected by the tractor beam in the portal.”
His face scrunched. “The what beam?”
“Never mind,” she said. She’d forgotten this man grew up without television or movies. “I saw and felt Hamel’s spirit leave his body after Cuzork shot bolts of lightning at him.”
Sefu jerked upon hearing the demon’s name. “That piece of bug dung is doing all this?”
“Yes,” Melinda said. “Can we save Hamel?”
“He is still alive. He was in a dream state, not reality. So his spirit lives on in the demon plane.” He shook her shoulders to get her full attention. “Had the sun set before you left?”
She thought back to the last thing she remembered. “No, part of the sun was still up.”
“Good.” Sefu dragged three bowls toward him and dipped his fingers into each. “You have until the last ray of the sun to convince him to return to our plane. If you fail, his body will remain in a vegetative state on this side.” He wiped fingers down her arms and cheeks. “Tell him how you feel, little one. Do not let your past control your future.” He began his chanting.
Soothing, lyrical, intoxicating. With the heat in the room, Melinda relaxed and let her mind wander.