Claimed

by K. H. Kate

  My eyes closed against my will. No, I couldn't think about that now. I didn't have a beloved, I was already promised to someone else. That man, Lex was just messing with me.

  It had to be it.

  Besides, if he did kill me then why save me in the first place? Why bring me here with him? Why didn't he got punished for his doings? For a second, I imagined asking for Demos but again, betrayal was what held me back.

  Just like Alexei, Demos lied to me.

  And a lying demon was not my definition of a safe life.

  "Or what, Seeker?" Someone laughed bitterly.

  "I'm only going to say it one more time. Walk away now before you get hurt." That same voice demanded.

  Shit. I forgot why I woke up so abruptly in the first place. Someone was fighting outside.

  I had no idea what I planned to do once I made it there but I kept hoping someone would come and stop whatever was going on. I was just walking toward it when I found fingers wrapped around my wrist. Surprised, I turned around to see an anxious Allegra standing before me.

  "I don't think you should go there just yet." I had never seen her this nervous which made me more curious to know about the newcomers.

  "Why not?"

  She pressed her lips together in displeasure. There was no doubt that she didn't exactly look too happy to tell me why but the fight seemed to be dimmed down when a voice spoke with malice.

  "If any of you want to live, I suggest you walk away."

  A chill ran down the length of my body. I wasn't the only one affected. People began to scatter as I realized who they were, warlocks, and I didn't blame them. Shadows swirled around them in a circle. Someone actually cried out. "He's a dark creature! A shadow!"

  He looked angry, no, he was more than angry. Murderous perhaps? Near him, there was another one who held the same emotion but unlike Lex, he was actually grabbing a warlock's wrist in a warning.

  "You do not speak-"

  "I had it handled." Someone spoke up from behind him. A girl?

  I could see his anger even from here when he gritted out. "Your definition of handling would lead us in a cell, sweetheart."

  "Fine. At least let him go. He learned his lesson."

  "Emie, get back inside for God's sake-" Allegra's voice was long forgotten as I kept walking. Now that the crowd dispersed, Lex's hands went back to normal, just as his face went back to a usual smirk playing on it. Which was so contraindicating with his previous emotion that I had to wonder...

  Did this man ever smile?

  "Be glad I was here before little miss Reaper could take half the warlocks down with her. Allegra should be more careful with her Coven, I mean, having petty gossips behind Lana? What are we? Five? And if Lana is being taunted for who she is, I don't even want to think about..." Lex trailed off to the duo, who had their back on me.

  "Even if you wouldn't stop them, I was this close to losing it anyway. They dared to hurt 5132 in front of me, they actually fucking dared." The other person sneered which I assumed was the first person whose yelling had woke me up. But unlike then, he sounded relieved.

  Was he a friend of Lex's?

  "For devil's sake! These warlocks are too much of a dic-" Lex suddenly stopped talking, his gaze accidentally meeting with mine. Immediately he looked at the girl and then me. Something like panic flashed over his face for a second before he was walking toward me with determination.

  "Emie."

  The duo tensed immediately. While that looked a little weird to me, my attention could not be on them any longer. Not when Lex had my full attention.

  "So you finally came back from your room." He accused, his gaze pulling heat on my face. "I thought I had to wait another century before you'd see my face."

  I shrugged, still dazed at the sight in front of me. Now that I knew who he was, it was hard to pretend that I didn't feel a certain emptiness whenever he was around me. Before Demos, he was in my life and then he wasn't.

  I killed you.

  "The screams woke me up." I finally said, totally ignoring any words Lex had to say about them. "So I came here to see what was going on."

  His jaw clenched. "It's nothing, fights like this break out here almost every day. Mikhail, why don't you take Lana with you so we can talk in private?"

  The man who started the fight, Mikhail nodded hastily before tugging the girl with him and they would've left if I didn't feel a sudden wave of emotions around the girl. I couldn't explain it in words but something told me that the girl was someone important to me.

  Important enough for me to be reckless apparently cause I forced the girl to turn around before she could protest.

  And then we just stared.

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my arms were suddenly covered in goose bumps. I was dreaming, I had to be.

  No way in hell it was real...

  Before I could spit one word out, I fell into the familiar darkness with Lex's scream following mine.

  "Managed to kill anyone yet?" Lex's voice taunted from somewhere, making me want to throw my two cents in but the image around me was changing drastically. Unlike every time, I wasn't just in the scene. I was having massive flashes around myself.

  The other woman named Hannah in my memory popped out next. "Welcome to the ritual room."

  Then there was fire, all around me, my past shelf and that woman.

  "You have to control your powers rather than letting your powers control you..." The whisper was right beneath my ears before the sight changed again, now a boy running for us with blood in his hands.

  "He killed everyone. Holy God, he killed them!"

  Who killed who! I wanted to ask but as always my mouth was strapped shut. And my heart? It was beating so fast that I was afraid it would fail me altogether.

  "By the way, I do." Lex's cheeky voice reached my ears, forcing me to turn back. And I wished I didn't.

  Because right against the wall, they were kissing. My eyes opened wide as I stared at my past shelf and Lex lost in their world. No, we couldn't have. I didn't kiss him before, did I?

  "Oracle es ja lighten, son nete onni sighten."

  My own voice made me gasp. It sounded like I was in a trance. I had to get out of here or I'd go insane. For the last time, I opened my mouth to scream but I was looking at a mirror now. Not those two people kissing each other.

  Only it didn't show my reflection, no, it showed someone who was quite familiar to me. I knew I saw that woman somewhere, I could swear it on hell. But where? And why would she look so much like me?

  My answer was questioned when I saw the woman gave birth to two female children only to abandon them in the end. And when I saw the woman walking through the graveyard to dig a grave, I knew just where I saw that woman.

  The first few weeks when I was in Hell, there were prisoners left in the hands of hellhounds for punishment. I was one of the higher-priced prisoners before I was picked by Demos while that woman was taken by the hellhound Sage. Now that I stared at the woman I thought was no one but a stranger, the brutal truth slammed me right out of the darkness.

  It was my birth mother.

  "Someone wants to tell me what I just saw?" I calmly asked, looking at the four people in front of me but no one dared to open their mouth. After I regained my consciousness, Allegra was there as usual to give me the potion. According to the Volkios, the demon King ruined me too much for me to become normal again. My marks were disappearing from my skin but I couldn't deny that I had to confront Demos. But before that, I had to regain my full memory. I turned my gaze on Lex who looked tensed as if this wasn't supposed to happen.

  Funny, the more he told me to trust him, the more I was starting to see why I couldn't.

  "Well...do you want to share something I'd like to know?" I asked my look-alike who nodded with a smile. Lex was lying to me, they all were.

  "Eh...this wasn't exactly the get-together I was thinking but oh well..." The girl stammered before a full-grown smile formed on her face. "I
prefer 5132 but my name in the certificate says it's Lana Gill or Deshayes, or simply Lana or whatever you prefer to call me."

  Her name was Lana but if she preferred the number one...

  "I love 5132. It's...unique."

  Her whole face lightened up hearing me. Before I could say more, I was engulfed in a tight hug along with a little squeal. I smiled at my sister's enthusiasm but I couldn't help but think about all the things I saw earlier.

  "There's so much I want to tell you! They won't let me see you. Everyone said I was a bad influence, as if! Oh my god. I could teach you to hunt. Or, we could go together!" She started to pull me off the bed but the man from earlier stopped her with a grimace.

  "No hunting outside, remember? Think of the civilians."

  "Fine. You're no fun. Emie, this party pooper here is Mikhail, a Seeker, and my beloved along with Zach who you will get to meet soon." The said man, Mikhail waved at me with a smile of his own.

  "It's nice to meet you, Emeline. I have heard so much about you that you are practically a legend."

  I nodded, oddly noticing the way Lex was fidgeting in a corner. "I-I am not that famous."

  5132 gasped, her hands rubbing her chest. "Shhh...don't let another soul hear what you just said. You have no idea just how strong you are and I'm here to help you figure it all out!"

  For the first time I came back from that place, Lex spoke up. "Lana, she just woke up. We should give her some time alone before you literally fry her brain off with your bucket list of craziness."

  "Dude, my bucket list is far better than what you planned. Remember herb date-"

  "Just leave!"

  My glance ventured down to his lips and for the briefest moment, I wondered what it would be like to be kissed by them. As the thought crossed my mind, I could feel a blush spread across my cheeks. So before he could notice my gaze, I looked away.

  It had to be the effect of that memory of us kissing, nothing else.

  "Fine, you wife hogging caveman, I'll leave for now." She winked. "But know this, Emie, I will always be there for you. We all will. You are not alone, not anymore. Never forget that, okay?"

  With those last words almost bringing tears to my eyes, she dragged Mikhail along with her. Now that they were gone, it was just Lex and Allegra left in the room.

  "I've to talk to Allegra, it's important." I looked up at Lex. "Alone."

  His jaw clenched again. "Should I go then?"

  I nodded without looking at him. I saw him stare at me from my peripheral vision until with a huff, he was gone.

  "OK, what was happening in there?" I asked the first question that came to my mind once Lex was out of our sight.

  "Do you know what your sister is?" Her voice was nothing but a whisper.

  "I-I don't know." Hell, sometimes even I didn't know who I really was. A Reaper? Former witch? Or the lie said by Demos?

  "A Reaper. Just like your-" She paused, suddenly grabbing my hands. "Promise me you won't try to run after learning about yourself."

  "Allegra, I don't know-"

  I started to pull my hand out of her grasp but her grip tightened. "Promise me you'll stay here until we know for sure that you're going to be all right. I am a Volkios, a witch leader, Emie and I know it's selfish of me to say this but...I want to be sure that one day my Coven will not suffer because you lost yourself by your own naivety. At least give me that."

  Shit. "Ok, I promise."

  She took that as a yes and started to explain. "Today I had guests from a nearby clan. They have the Seeker bloodline and they hate Reapers. Like, kill you on first sight hate. So some of them were taunting her, which they will be punished for later. Her beloved just tried to stop but they hate him even more because he didn't fulfill his purpose in life. He doesn't hunt Reapers, he has one as a beloved. You good?"

  "Yeah. Now my second question." Taking a deep breath, I choked out. "I remember my mother."

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  "What?"

  I etched to just yell at Allegra but it came out as more of a whisper. I couldn't believe my own ears. I always had my doubts but to actually hear it from someone else...

  Allegra shrugged, not that interested to see the turmoil in my eyes. "Yes. She told me that she remembers some things from the past like how Hannah let her stay in the shop and oh, she remembers Keisha."

  Just with those words, my blood ran cold. She remembered that bitch.

  "Just how much?" I spat out.

  She actually winced. "I don't know how much but she thought her mother was still after her. I had to let her know about Keisha's death status and only then she relaxed. Are you angry about Emie not being able to remember?"

  "Of course I am!" I snapped at her as if she was to blame. In a way, she was the one giving my little soul the potions so she should've made sure to let her remember the important details.

  Like ME!

  "You know I can't do anything about it if she doesn't remember on her own." Dammit.

  "Fine! What about her marks? How's that coming along? How long do you think she'll need the potions?"

  Again, she winced. "For a normal being, she should be fine by now but Demos is more powerful than we are, Darkness. His hold on her is too much to ignore a-and even now unconsciously she does things that scream the Demon King's influence."

  "So, what do I do? Wait for centuries to pass before she becomes my little soul?" The words were as bitter as I felt inside. Perhaps she would never remember. Or she'd remember only to walk away and I wouldn't even be surprised.

  "I can't tell you what to do with that but I have an interesting question for you. When she was telling me about the nightmares as she refers to them, she saw you deny that you two were beloved. Why is that?"

  Did I deny that? Since when-

  "Shit." I cursed aloud. "I told her we were nothing because that was the truth. I didn't know yet."

  "You didn't know? What on earth..."

  "Until I married her officially I didn't know that we were beloved." I clarified with a sigh of my own. "Besides, the prophesy clearly said that she'd die by my hand. I didn't think that a woman who was meant to be dead by my own hands would turn out to be my beloved."

  "That's freaky."

  "Yeah. So, if that's all, I should go and see how she's doing." I turned to leave but Allegra had me stop by calling my name.

  "Yes?"

  "I've been meaning to talk about something else. There's been a problem going on in the Coven and all of us Volkios are worried..." She paused, looking up to me with hope glinting in her gaze.

  It was her Coven and I wasn't her member. So it really shouldn't be any of my business. Then again, where was Zed when he was needed? At least my master would've helped the Volkios just fine.

  "Look, Allegra, I appreciate your hospitality so far but I don't think I'll be of any help. You can just ask Emie or Lana."

  She shook her head.

  "I know but I don't want them to know." I had to lift an eyebrow in interest. "There were some people that should have been dead but their family said that they saw them alive. It's just not here, it's happening all around the world. It can't be a coincidence."

  My heart skipped a beat. "What are you trying to say?"

  "I am trying to say that the dead has risen again and they are picking out witches from their home for the last few weeks, surprisingly right about the time Emie appeared. Now between all of us, who has the power to awaken the dead?"

  Emie.

  "You can't be sure. She would have said something if it was true!"

  "That's what I am trying to find. Also, there's a rumor that they are joining a rebellion against the devil."

  A rebellion? Now that was interesting.

  "So where do I come in?" At my question, she pulled out a file from her desk.

  "I have been tracking those people but every time we were late to catch them. From what we gathered lately, those dead people can't use the magic of their own so they are taking in witches to help
them and still they hadn't succeeded in taking down the devil. Raphael thinks it's because they can't function properly without their leader. Darkness, I haven't told you or the girls but we've seen those witches Emie brought back. They looked so confused and utterly dysfunctional without Emie. We had to banish them in last resort. The same thing will happen here. Soon enough they would try to search the person who made them alive." Her gaze met my own in an unknown emotion. "You know who the person would be."

  Hell, no.

  "You mean to say that as Emie has the power of necromancy, she has brought back some dead people to take the devil down? Wonderful. I thought being unpredictable was my thing." My sarcastic response did nothing to stop her.

  "Or maybe the demon King told her to do so? That's why I need your help, Darkness. I'm kinda desperate here as you can see. I need to find the truth. As much as I want to suspect her, there are still some things that don't make sense."

  I couldn't hide my surprise. "You mean to say there's another suspect?"

  "Yes. Have your friend ever told you anything about prophecy?"

  "Who are you talking about?"

  "Zedkiel." She hesitated only for a second before continuing. "Did he mentioned anything about prophecy recently?"

  Prophecy? There was another prophecy?

  "You got to be kidding me." I practically growled in frustration. "What has fate done now? Who is the new victim of this...prophecy?"

  "That's the thing. There's been no sign of any prophecy since you ended Emie's."

  I shrugged in relief. "As far as I am concerned, that's what's best for everyone else anyway."

  "If you say so." She gave in. "But Zedkiel might know more about it since I saw him study in the library all day and night. So if you know even a thing from him-"

  "Dear master is just paranoid. But if anything comes up, I'll let you know." I found myself amused by the way relief flashed through the Volkios's face. But I soon got to know that I wasn't done yet.

  "So, about the rebellion problem, will you help?" If little soul wasn't involved, I wondered if Allegra would have gotten on her knees to beg for help. She looked that desperate. For the heck of it, I took a minute to answer, to wait it out. Only when I saw her eyes flash in irritation that I smiled.