by Tony C. Skye
“Wait,” Jennifer says while holding her right pointer finger in the air.
Jennifer leans forward and looks at Julianna, “I got this.”
Julianna nods.
Jennifer turns her focus on Caroline as she begins speaking, “Lilith was brutal.” The tall cheerleader grins within her confidence before returning to her sleepy nature on the couch. Caroline rolls her eyes.
“That brutal mindset saved Lilith. She was only one against the tribes,” Julianna informs.
“But how’d she defeat multiple people all by herself?”, Caroline questions.
“Wait!”, Jennifer says while sitting forward again, “I got this, too.”
Julianna watches as Jennifer looks directly at Caroline. The tall girl narrows her brows.
“She did it one by one,” Jennifer says with a whisper. She uses her right hand to mimic a knife slicing through her own throat.
Caroline scowls as she uses her left hand to gently push her friend’s face away. Jennifer laughs as she returns to her now favored position on the couch.
“I think I like Lilith,” Jennifer says more to herself than to anyone else around her.
“She’s a warrior,” Julianna agrees with the girl’s sentiment.
Caroline looks at her cousin, “Okay, I get it about Lilith, but still don’t understand the whole tree bit.”
“The tree was there as a test to free will,” Julianna explains, “But as long as the thought of eating from it was always negative, then the test would always be one-sided. Lucifer was allowed in to offer a positive thought about eating from the tree.”
“But why didn’t God just give them the positive thoughts of eating it,” Caroline questions, “It was His test, right?”
“It was,” Julianna confirms, “But He can’t go against Himself.”
“Why?”, Caroline pushes for more information.
“The Creator isn’t capable of it. It’s no different than a tree attempting to get up and walk. The ability to walk isn’t there.”
Caroline stares at her cousin for a few moments before turning her focus onto the coffee table in front of her. She reaches forward and grabs the bottle of liquor.
“Listen up, bitches,” Jennifer calls out with closed eyes, “I want my question answered. No paradoxes, no trees walking, no crap about a garden that doesn’t exist on this planet anymore. I want to know why Julianna mentioned vows whenever we had a deal.”
Caroline puts her lips to the bottle and downs a long shot. She hands it off to her cousin and sits back. Julianna takes a shot and sits the bottle down. She leans forward and looks at Jennifer.
“You have been getting you answers, bitch,” Julianna says with a challenging tone.
Caroline’s eyes widen.
Jennifer’s eyes pop open. She turns her head towards Julianna and looks.
The tall cheerleader sits forward, “Are you ready to walk this road? Because I’m nothing like my bff. I don’t know how to stop.”
“Get out of here with that,” Caroline attempts to diffuse the situation.
Jennifer glares, “Both of you together couldn’t stop me if you tried.”
“I can’t even remember a time when you got in a fight.”
“Some people should never do it,” Jennifer partially agrees with the claim, “Brutality sister. Some of us are born with it.”
Caroline rolls her eyes, “Whatever. Just stop it.”
Jennifer turns her cold stare back to Julianna, “I’m ready whenever you are.”
“No you’re not,” Caroline says as a matter of fact, “Sit back and shut up before she turns you into dust or something.”
Jennifer’s stare remains fixated on Julianna. The challenger is looking back at her with a devious grin. A moment later, Jennifer’s brain processes the scene.
“Oh gawd,” Jennifer releases her tension as she sits back, “You’re not baiting me, you lesbo.”
Julianna laughs.
“What did I miss?”, Caroline is suddenly really confused.
Jennifer answers while closing her eyes, “Your cousin here likes to get spanked. No I take that back. She loves it.”
“Oh that.”
Julianna’s left brow arches upward as she looks at Caroline.
The cheerleader grabs the bottle, “I figured it out whenever my mom and I were discussing things. Well, I didn’t know exactly. But now it all makes sense.”
“Heh,” Jennifer lets out her quite amusement, “Too bad and I’m not into the whole girl thing. I’ve got a lot of issues. Smacking someone around sounds like fun.”
Julianna’s face flushes red within her embarrassment as she takes the bottle offered by her cousin.
Caroline playfully hits Jennifer on the right shoulder, “Stop it. Be nice.”
Jennifer opens her right eye and looks at Julianna as the girl tilts the bottle back.
“Out of things to say all of a sudden?”
Julianna wipes her mouth and looks at Jennifer.
“Heh,” Jennifer amuses before closing her eye again.
“I’m sorry,” Caroline lips without making a noise.
Julianna reassures her cousin with a wink. A moment later, she looks at Jennifer.
“Your verbal vow, Jen,” Julianna explains, “Is a physical action that causes a reaction in the sprit-realm. It is how you’ll get that power you seen in my hands. But I don’t know to what extent.”
Jennifer springs her body forward – her eyes resting upon Julianna, “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place? Do we need to strip down and paint blood on ourselves so Caroline can get possessed again?”
“That’s not funny,” Caroline counters, “That was terrifying.”
“No blood ritual,” Julianna informs, “Just verbal. You vow yourselves to me and that’s it.”
Jennifer opens her mouth, but doesn’t say anything when Julianna holds up her left index finger.
“There’s three things you must know,” Julianna says, “First, the power is demonic. But I will, personally, train you on how to pass them through.”
“Gee,” Caroline quickly gives her answer, “How about a no?”
Julianna looks at the girl, “You didn’t have the ability to pass them through you before, Caroline. But if you vow to me, then you can. It changes everything.”
“How so?”, Jennifer questions.
“You get to control how much control they get,” Julianna explains, “They are bound under their king’s orders. My inner-circle falls under the same category as I do.”
“I’m in,” Jennifer gives her answer, “I don’t need to hear anything else.”
Julianna glances at her hesitant cousin before looking at Jennifer once again, “Secondly,” Julianna continues on with her list, “The reason you will be receiving this kind of power is because I blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. It is the only unforgiveable sin. I’ve heard preachers say it’s nearly impossible because you have to fulfill a bunch of criteria before you can do it, but they’re full of crap. Blasphemy is blasphemy. There’s no such thing as a criterion. You either blaspheme or you don’t.”
“You don’t have to believe in something in order to make it true. And you don’t have to believe in God in order to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. That’s stupid. But these preachers say that in order to make themselves feel better. I did it without knowing. And whenever I did it, I felt the change.”
“If you vow yourselves to me, then you are physically accepting the fact I have blasphemed. This means you will be condemning yourselves to the Place of the Dead. There’s no coming back once you make this vow. The consequences in the spirit realm are irreversible.”
The room’s ambience is solemn and void of voices. The quiet playing stereo is the only thing keeping the room with life. Caroline decides to break the awkwardness of the situation.
“Is this why the people who accept your son’s mark will be sent there?”
“It is,” Julianna answers Caroline, “He will publically
blaspheme. I did it in private. But to blaspheme is to blaspheme. The consequences are still the same. A thrown rock is still a thrown rock. Whether or not you toss it gently or slam it against the wall – it doesn’t matter. You have still thrown it. And if you vow yourself to me, verbally, then it is no different than those who take the physical representation of my son’s mark. Everyone involved is accepting the consequences of blasphemy. There are those who do it on purpose and others who have no clue.”
“So you’re saying that intent has no part,” Jennifer asks for clarification.
“That’s what I’m saying. Not everyone who accepts my son’s mark will have the understanding of what they’re doing. If some of those preachers are correct, however, then a person could accept the mark and still make it into Heaven. That’s completely ridiculous. Their own literature speaks against this very thing.”
Julianna looks upward before returning her gaze upon Jennifer, “He has made the promise to send everyone who accepts my son’s mark to the Place of the Dead – everyone.”
“Because of blasphemy,” Caroline attempts to convey her understanding, “Against the Holy Spirit.”
Julianna nods.
“And what is this Holy Spirit?”, Jennifer questions.
“Eh - basically,” Julianna answers, “It’s just a part of Him.”
“Hmm,” Jennifer contemplates with a verbal sound.
Caroline stares blankly at the table before her.
“You guys following me so far?”, Julianna questions.
“Still with ya,” Jennifer replies.
Caroline nods.
“The final thing you need to know,” Julianna finishes her list, “Is that leaving is prohibited. Anyone I make part of my inner-circle can only be excused through death. Do I need to explain why?”
“You have a lot at stake and need to keep your identity a secret,” Caroline answers with a distant tone, “Power like this cannot be allowed to go rogue.”
“You alright?”, Jennifer concerns over Caroline’s recent behavior change.
Caroline moves her empty gaze from the coffee table to Jennifer. She doesn’t say a word as she returns her stare back to the coffee table.
Jennifer speaks, “You could have just asked for our vows without frying our minds in the process. Your selling skills suck.”
Julianna looks at Jennifer, “Lasting friendships can’t be built on lies and deceit. You should know everything before making this kind of decision. I’d feel guilty if I did to you what was done to me.”
“It’s up to you now,” Julianna says, “I think I’ve covered the basics.”
“I’m ready now,” Jennifer objects, “I made up my mind when I heard Danny. I’m not abandoning him again. If I burn because I love my brother, then so be it. And if I can help my friends on the way there, then all the better.”
Julianna nods. She and Jennifer watch Caroline struggle internally as the girl stares through the Crown Royal bottle in her hands.
“Take your time,” Julianna says, “If you choose not to, I’ll understand. And don’t use your recent finances to make this decision. That money belongs to family. As far as I’m concerned, you and your mom should have never been without it.”
Caroline, slowly, looks at Julianna with appreciative eyes. She studies her cousin to see if she can find anything which should spook her away. Oddly enough, she feels the exact opposite of what her brain is telling her.
Her mind screams run away; yet, her heart says that she belongs with Julianna. She can feel the connection between them – electricity that fires throughout her body with soft rhythmic pulses of an unknown nature. It seduces with its alluring call. She isn’t sure why, but her mind attempts to relate the growing hunger with her knowledge of fictional vampires.
Maybe it is the alcohol. Maybe it is the insanity of her recent encounter with Jamés. Maybe she is losing her mind. Regardless, there remains a hidden hunger inside of her. She can feel it call to her – beckoning in conjunction with the connection to her cousin. And it is a hunger that seems to be fed by staring into the eyes of the Mother of Darkwaters.
“Are we the first?”, Caroline asks.
“Um - no,” Julianna isn’t sure why Caroline cares, “There’s five others, but they didn’t get the same sit down as I’m doing with you guys. I invited them without understanding what I was actually doing.”
“Oops,” Jennifer replies, “Sounds like five people had bus tickets to hell shoved into their mouths.”
Caroline gives Jennifer a warning stare.
“I think I’ll just shut up now,” Jennifer informs. She snatches the bottle of liquor from Caroline’s hand and tilts it back. She sits the nearly empty bottle down on the table.
“You know,” Jennifer breaks her promise of silence, “Becca will do whatever you do. She can’t stand the thought of being bested.”
Caroline gives Jennifer another warning look.
Jennifer holds her palms outward in a defensive nature, “But no pressure.”
Caroline rolls her eyes and looks away – her eyes fixate onto the table before her.
“Can you promise me that I won’t become possessed again?”, Caroline questions while staring at the coffee table.
“It’s a guarantee,” Julianna answers, “It’s like the walking tree. Possession can’t occur because of the design. You can have them inside of you and allow them to play, but whenever you’ve had enough, they will have to leave you be.”
Caroline’s right brow lifts slightly as she turns her head to look at her cousin, “Play?”
“They’ll have as much reign as you give them. No more and nothing less. When you want it all to stop, you just release them from you. I’ll teach you everything.”
“Sounds risky,” Caroline sees all sorts of holes within her cousin’s logic.
“Normally, yes,” Julianna agrees. “But with my inner-circle, no.”
“How can you be so sure? Aren’t you new at this?”
“Uh - yeah. It’s a feeling. I just know it.”
“Don’t worry, Caroline,” Jennifer chimes in, “It’s okay to gamble your everlasting soul on Julianna’s lesbo tendencies.”
Caroline looks at Jennifer.
“What?”, Jennifer speaks with a faked innocent tone, “I’m just saying.”
“You’re an idiot,” Caroline says.
“Oh my,” Jennifer seduces while leaning closer to Caroline, “You are so beautiful when you speak to me like that.”
Jennifer puckers her lips. Caroline places her small hand on Jennifer’s face and pushes it away.
“Heh,” Jennifer amuses, “Maybe next time.”
Caroline turns her attention to Julianna. She takes a deep breath and exhales while staring into her cousin’s green eyes. Caroline forces a partial-smile.
“I’m in,” Caroline says, “I’ll be by your side for life. I vow myself to you and put my life into your hands.”
Julianna begins to smile.
Caroline points her right index finger, “And you better keep me safe or I’ll torture you forever in hell.”
Jennifer stands up with a loud clap, “Now that’s the spirit!”
Caroline throws her head back, “Oh gawd! Don’t you ever shut up?”
“Mine,” Jennifer speaks with a creepy whisper.
Caroline’s eyes widen in horror as she looks at Jennifer.
Jennifer points to her own forehead as she speaks, “I think your makeup’s wearing off.”
Caroline scowls, “I took a shower before I came over here. And we’ve been drinking all freakin’ day. You’re an ass.”
Jennifer fakes surprise as she uses her right hand to cover her open mouth. She lowers her hand and holds out both her arms, “I love you.”
“Gawd,” Caroline answers while standing up. She hugs Jennifer.
Jennifer whispers loud enough for Julianna to hear, “You’re so hot when you talk dirty.”
Caroline shoves Jennifer back in a playful manner.
>
“Heh,” Jennifer replies.
Caroline shakes her head and looks at Julianna. She watches her cousin stand up.
“What happens now?”
Julianna holds out her newly healed left hand. It is starting to itch. Caroline takes hold and offers her left hand to Jennifer. Julianna leads them around the coffee table to an open space by the stereo. Together, they join hands to form a circle.
Julianna stares at Jennifer and waits. A few moments pass by in silence.
“I’m not feeling anything,” Jennifer says.
Caroline speaks up, “She’s waiting for you to vow yourself.”
“I already did.”
“I don’t think I’m in is going to cut it,” Caroline counters.
Jennifer looks at Julianna, “Really?”
Julianna smiles patiently.
Jennifer looks upward, “Fine - whatever you bitches want.”
The tall cheerleader lowers her gaze back to Julianna. She stares into the eyes of her new friend.
“I, Jennifer the Awesome Hammond, do hereby swear my allegiance…”
“Stop it,” Caroline chastises, “This is supposed to be serious.”
“What?”, Jennifer sounds hurt, “I was making my vow.”
“No you weren’t,” Caroline complains.
“You really need to have sex.”
Caroline glares.
Jennifer grins while shifting her eyes to look at Julianna. She winks with her right eye, “I vow myself to you.”
“Ugh…”, Jennifer grunts as her head forces itself upward. She can hear sounds of whimpering to her right where Caroline stands. Julianna is speaking a language she doesn’t understand.
Jennifer’s eyes widen as she sees black mist begin to form by her ceiling. It thickens in density. Her hair sways from an unexplainable breeze. She knows there are no windows in this room that could cause such a thing.
