by Holly Martin
But Seth either couldn’t or didn’t want to hear. He punched me again, then he fastened his hands round my throat. If Lucas wasn’t quick enough Seth was going to kill me, himself. As he choked me, I put my hand up to his cheek, tracing his lips with my thumb, as he had done to me so many times. Seth froze and in the split second before Lucas dragged Seth off me, I knew Seth knew. His horror struck face said it all.
I scrabbled up, putting the agonising pain I could feel across my body and face at the back of my mind. Lucas hadn’t had time to incapacitate Sophia, and as she moved to run away from me I lunged for her. I had no power but I did have years of martial arts training. I kicked and punched her, she had no clue how to defend herself, she tried to punch me but I was quicker and ducked or blocked her every attempt to hurt me back.
She screamed for help and Eli, Alexandria and Mason, who were waiting at the top of the stairs near the entrance, were suddenly by my side, the air spitting them out. They looked momentarily confused at why or how they had slid to me and not to her, but then Lucas obviously explained in their heads as Eli suddenly turned angrily against her.
I barged past him, continuing my attack. Sophia staggered backwards but I was relentless, unleashing every move I had ever been taught on her defenceless body. She staggered to the edge of the cliff and somewhere in me, something made me pause for a second. Did I really have it in me to kill her? I had killed before, the Reapers and those two pilots that had tried to shoot down our helicopter all those months ago. But those deaths had been with my powers and they had been in self-defence, a self-preservation thing. Sophia was completely helpless now. The threat was over. I could allow her to be thrown in jail. But I wasn’t sure how these drugs worked, could she change at will now her shape shifting gene had been activated? As soon as the drugs wore off she might be able to shift into a bug and escape. And if she escaped she could come back, someday, somehow and kill Seth. I thought about how much pleasure she had got from her plans to kill him, I remembered vividly the prophecy I’d seen of her killing him and I felt sick.
Seth flittered to my side, as her face changed to a furious hatred, she lunged at him. It was stupid of her, knowing how I would react, knowing even if she did get past me, she couldn’t defeat Seth in a fight. I knew then, that whatever it took, if I didn’t kill her today, she would not rest until Seth was dead. As she flew snarling through the air, her hands outstretched towards him, something snapped inside me. In a moment of furious rage, I delivered the final kick to her stomach and she flew over the edge. I looked down at her corpse lying awkwardly sprawled on the rocks below, then turned away from it to face my Guardians.
‘I hope you were right Lucas, or we’ve just stood back and watched someone kill the Sentinel.’ Mason muttered.
‘Eve?’ Eli said, warily.
‘She can’t speak,’ Lucas explained, ‘or use her powers.’
Seth was at my side, remorse and guilt written all over his face. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he gently touched my cheek and as I remembered feeling the bone snap, the pain suddenly returned. I stroked his face again, stroked his lips and he kissed me, so softly, not wanting to cause me any more pain. But the pain was intense and I wobbled a bit trying to stand.
‘We should get her to the infirmary,’ Lucas said.
Seth didn’t take his lips off mine as he scooped me up into his arms. I wrapped my arms round his neck as he carried me up the steps, still kissing me.
We arrived in the infirmary and Seth put me down on one of the beds, then sat down holding my hand, my personal guard behind him.
Cassidy came rushing over, Freya looked up, from where she was colouring on one of the beds, but not seeing anyone interesting she stayed where she was. Cassidy looked at me in confusion and Lucas quickly explained.
She put one hand on my throat and one on my head, removing the drugs on my voice box.
I tested it out. ‘Hey,’ I said quietly. Seth smiled, sadly, as Cassidy moved to heal my cheek bone.
‘My collar bone is broken too,’ I explained to her. Seth hung his head in his hands as she healed that too. I cringed inwardly at the pain I was causing Seth. As I told Cassidy about my broken rib and my forearm, Seth let out an anguished growl. After healing my broken bones, she moved both her hands to my head, to lift the drugs off my mind to release my powers. She frowned as she struggled to lift it, but suddenly I could feel my power trickle through and the majority of the drugs were gone.
I reached out for Seth, who was looking away from me, in anger at what he had done. ‘Seth, look at me.’
He obliged, with tears in his eyes.
‘I love you so much.’
‘I tried to kill you Eve.’
‘You tried to kill me because you thought you were protecting me. When I got off the helicopter, you looked at me, her, with such love. In that moment, I felt so lucky to have you in my life.’
‘Great, the moment when I was wrapped in the arms of another woman,’ he smiled, dryly.
I tutted and moved my attention to my Guardians. ‘Hey guys, see, it is me in here.’
They all smiled back, with relief.
‘Thanks Lucas.’ I said out loud. ‘I’ve never been so glad to have you in my head before.’
He grinned at me.
Cassidy stopped then, the warm fizzy feeling disappearing.
‘Eve, I’ve healed everything I can, but I don’t know how to access the shape shifting part, so you can change back. I’ve not dealt with shape shifters before. We can get a Zeki up here who is trained in dealing with shape shifters but my guess is the drugs will wear off by themselves soon. It might be real soon too, especially as we have now released your powers, though it might be another day. Sorry.’
‘No that’s fine. I’ll go and rest in my room for a bit anyway, when I wake up I might be back to my old self.’ My heart suddenly leapt. ‘Quinn! I have to go and get him, they had him drugged, but James might go back and kill him.’ I swung my legs off the bed and stood up.
Seth pushed me back down onto the bed. ‘Wait. Listen…’
I stood up again, angrily, wobbling a bit with the speed I had done so. ‘No, I can’t leave him there, you guys can all come with me…..’
‘He’s back, he flew into the fort a few minutes ago. Gave the Guardians a fright when they saw him shift, even more of a fright when he shifted into his human form, considering he was standing outside the main entrance, naked, shouting about you. He’s just gone up to his room to get some clothes on, then he’s coming down to see you,’ Seth said.
‘Oh,’ I said, embarrassed.
Seth kissed me on the forehead. ‘See, it does pay to listen to me sometimes.’
‘Let’s go and see him then.’ I made to walk towards the door, but Seth caught my arm, holding me back, then in a fast, but gentle movement he scooped me up in his arms. ‘Seth I can walk you know,’ I protested.
‘Humour me,’ he said.
I nuzzled against his neck, as he carried me out the infirmary. He moved his nose, gently over my formerly broken cheek bone.
‘I’m sorry Eve, you know I would never do anything to hurt you.’
‘I know,’ I muttered, sleepily.
‘And I love you, so much,’ he said, quietly.
‘I know, I love you too. I had to kill her. She was going to kill you, I couldn’t let that happen.’
Seth cocked his head on one side as he carried me. ‘She was here to kill me?’
I explained how she was Mia’s Mum, seeking revenge for her daughter’s death and Seth shook his head in disbelief. He had spent so long trying to protect me, none of us thought that one day someone would come to kill him instead.
We had arrived back at our corridor at this point and as we walked down it Quinn appeared out of his room.
‘Quinn!’ I called and Seth put me down.
I ran to Quinn, throwing my arms around him. ‘Are you ok? You’re not hurt are you?’ I pulled away as I checked him all over for injuries. Happy that he wa
s unharmed, I hugged him again.
‘Eve?’ he asked hesitantly. I remembered that I still didn’t look like myself. I nodded, against his chest. I felt him sniff my hair and then hug me tightly to him.
I smiled. ‘Do I smell like me?’
‘You have a unique smell.’
‘Sweaty, nice,’ I giggled, relief washing through me that he was ok.
Quinn kissed my head. ‘Turns out I wasn’t much good to you after all. Stuck in your pocket, I had no idea that you had been knocked unconscious. When Sophia pulled me out, I thought it was you. She injected me with some tranquilizer or something and that was when I realised what was going on. I tried to shift, I bit her, but I was unconscious a few seconds later. I’m sorry Eve.’
I shook my head, against him. ‘You have nothing to apologise for, I was just so glad to have you along for company.’
‘Though I did miss out on most of the conversations you had with the Oraculum, since you did it telepathically.’
‘Yeah sorry about that, I’ll have to fill you in,’ I pulled away.
‘Later,’ Seth said. ‘You need to rest now.’
Quinn nodded. ‘Seth’s right, you do look a bit peaky.’
‘Later then Quinn.’
He kissed me again and I leaned against Seth sleepily, as I walked back towards my room.
As Seth opened the door, I wobbled a bit, exhaustion shuddering through me in great waves, Seth’s arm tightened around me, to steady me as he kissed my forehead. Then he looked down at me, suddenly grinning. He kissed my nose. ‘I like this face better, it’s so much more beautiful than the other one.’
Tears smarted my eyes, I felt like he had just punched me in the stomach.
Seth saw my face and tutted. He pulled me into the room and showed me the mirror. My old face stared back at me and I giggled with relief. Then Seth scooped me up in his arms and took me over to the bed.
Seth kissed me and then stood up. ‘I’ll leave you to sleep for a while. I’ll explain to Eli why Sophia was here and the Oraculum will need to be informed.’
I nodded, sleep taking me almost immediately as he left the room.
*
I sat on my beach for a while, watching the rhythmic pattern of the waves lapping onto the sand. I thought about killing Sophia, about what I had become. A few months ago, before I entered this weird world, I couldn’t even bring myself to kill a spider, even though I hated them. If I found one in my room, I would scoop it up in a mug or glass and throw it out the window. When I’d run over a rabbit in my Dad’s car, I’d cried for ages. But now, I had become a killer, a murderer, just as Helez had said. I couldn’t help thinking about Samuel’s prophecy, or what he claimed was his prophecy of me turning mad. Could I really have it in me to turn mad, to kill people, to destroy the world? Sophia’s death had been so easy, would the world be so easy to destroy too? That was a sickening thought. Destroying the world I had been created to save. Killing thousands or millions of people. And no one would be able to stop me, I’d be too strong.
I jerked awake. The room was in darkness, but Seth shifted next to me sensing I was awake. I rolled over away from his unending patient gaze.
Would he stand loyal to me? Would he stand by my side as I destroyed the earth, as I murdered innocent people? What if Samuel’s prophecy was true and with their hope, their single minded ferocity, that I would save the world, the Oraculum were steadfastly ignoring it and pretending it was never going to happen. With Samuel dead would anyone try and stop me? Would anyone kill me if I got out of hand, if I turned evil? Would anyone stop me before I got as far as destroying the world? When the insanity started to take hold, would any of them kill me?
Seth wouldn’t. He loved me. No matter what I did he would always love me. Just like Sophia and her daughter, Mia. Sophia said Mia was sick and twisted and fanatical, but she still loved her. That would be Seth, holding me in his arms, kissing me as I tortured and murdered innocent people.
I needed someone to promise they would kill me if I got that far. Cain had side stepped it when I asked him earlier. I needed someone who would be capable of killing me, who wouldn’t be tied by a pledge to protect me.
Eli, Lucas, Quinn, Persia, Alexandria, Mason? They wouldn’t stop me either, they cared about me too much. Mason. That was a glimmer of hope. He was the only one of my personal guard to be pledged to the Oraculum instead of me. Maybe he could stop me if the others couldn’t.
I lay there for a moment but sleep was very far away right now. I got up, pulled on a hoodie and some shoes.
‘I need to talk to Mason,’ I said to the shadow of my fiancé.
‘Ok.’
Knowing that I was about to ask Mason to kill me I didn’t think it was a good idea if he came with me.
Thankfully Mason and Alexandria were stationed outside my room. I motioned for him to follow me and without batting an eye he fell in at my side as I walked down the corridor. Alexandria followed me too but I didn’t mind. If Mason was to agree to kill me then my personal guard would have to know too.
I was soon walking through the main doors and going down the steps towards the woods. Mason took his jacket off and wrapped it round me. They didn’t even ask why or where I was going. The trees swallowed me as I walked into the darkness.
As I reached a clearing I stopped and started pacing back and forth. I quickly realised that this was where I had asked Seth to marry me.
I eyed Mason; he looked back at me with confusion.
‘How is your pledge different to that of Alexandria’s?’
Mason shifted awkwardly. ‘I pledge to do what the Oraculum orders, to obey without question. Alexandria pledged to protect you at all costs and to obey you without question. At the moment the Oraculum’s orders are to protect you, to obey you, so it is the same thing.’
‘So if the Oraculum orders you to kill me, you would have to do it?’
‘Yes,’ Mason said, honestly. ‘But I would kill myself before I ever got close enough to you to carry out that order.’
I tutted angrily. ‘What if the Oraculum orders me killed for a very good reason? What if killing me saves the world, would you kill me then?’
Mason looked shocked at this. ‘No I couldn’t.’
I resumed my angry pacing.
‘Seth’s coming,’ Alexandria said, simply.
Seth appeared out of the air, eyed me with confusion and then went to sit down on a broken tree stump. They all watched me silently as I wore a path on the forest floor. After a few minutes, Seth stood and forcibly stopped me, his hands on my shoulders. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s going on?’ he asked me gently.
I sighed and Seth led me to the tree stump, where I sat with my head in my hands. Seth put his arm round me. Eli and Lucas needed to hear this as well, I called them to me. They appeared looking at me in confusion.
‘Samuel says he had a prophecy that I would turn mad, that the strength of my power would turn me evil, that it is me who destroys the world, not saves it.’
Alexandria gasped. ‘But the prophecies are never wrong.’
I sighed. I explained how there was a rift between the Oraculum and how there was a prophecy that Nereus would kill Samuel over something to do with me, that the members of the Oraculum met in secret now and no one was truthful with each other, how no one knew where or what anyone stood for, who was loyal to me or not. I explained how Cain, Nereus, Helez, Leon and probably Matthias and Sebastian were loyal to me, that they still believed I would save the world. I told them that Cain believed that Samuel had made this prophecy up to try to discredit me, to try to save his own skin.
I finished my explanation and the silence filled the woods.
‘Well that’s ok then, it’s just a load of rubbish. Samuel’s just making it up to save his butt. Eve, there isn’t an evil bone in you, you’re worrying over nothing.’ Seth squeezed my shoulder.
Eli took my hand and I looked up into his calm eyes. ‘Eve you are so compassionate, so caring, so lovin
g, there is no way that prophecy could be true.’
‘But what if it is? What if one day I turn mad and evil? What if I start murdering people and destroying the world? Are any of you going to stop me? Are any of you going to kill me, to stop me?’
The silence stretched on, whether they were communicating silently with each other or whether they had no words, I wasn’t sure but it was deafening.
Eli knelt before me, still holding my hand. ‘We can’t kill you; we are pledged to protect you….’
‘I know, but what if I ordered you to, what if I ordered you to kill me if things go wrong? Do my orders supersede the protection?’ As I asked the question, I knew the answer. I had once ordered Seth not to protect me in an attempt to save him from dying for me, but Eli had told me that the pledge didn’t work like that.
Eli shook his head. ‘No your protection is more important than anything else.’
‘What then?’ I growled angrily. ‘Are you guys all just going to stand by and let me do it?’
‘No baby, it seems the Putarians have drugs to suppress your powers, they’re getting very good at that. We would be able to get hold of some of that very easily. Then we would tie you up, or knock you out if necessary. We couldn’t kill you, but we wouldn’t stand by and let you turn into a monster either.’
I looked at Seth hopefully. ‘You would stop me, promise me you would stop me?’
Seth nodded, solemnly. ‘I promise baby.’
I turned to the others. ‘Will you guys promise as well, that you will stop me, somehow, anyhow, if it comes to the worst?’ I stood up. ‘Will you pledge to me now that you will stop me in any way it takes?’
They looked at each other and back at me and nodded, all of them promising that they would.
I suddenly felt lighter, suddenly so much happier. I had a backup plan and a solid one at that. If I was to turn mad, they would stop me. I could sleep easy now.
‘Thank you,’ I said quietly.
They all nodded.
‘Now how about you slide us back to the castle, it’s freezing out here,’ Seth said.
I smiled and nodded. They all shuffled forward and took hold of me and I slid us all back to the corridor. Isaac was waiting, hovering impatiently at being kept out of the loop.
