by JK Ensley
Kias looked up at him. “For what?”
Alastyn sighed. “Her anger, it’s eating her up inside. Thank you for helping her release some of it. I worry for her. I have done all I know to do. You are a gift from the gods.” He stared unseeing at his teacup. “She’s the last soul I have left in this world. I cleave to her for hope’s sake. Yet daily I fear she will slip into darkness.”
“She is broken,” Kias whispered.
“She is.”
“I wish to see her healed.”
“As do I.” Alastyn gave the other man a level stare, letting him know his obvious want of Jezreel had not gone unnoticed. “If you damage her further, I promise, I will see you dead.”
A slight smile was on Kias’s face as he took his next sip of tea. “I will not harm her.”
“You didn’t show up here by accident, did you?”
“I did not.”
Silence hung in the air between them.
Alastyn stood. “I’ve not slept this past night. I am weary.” He turned back to the seated man. “You will be here on the morrow.” It wasn’t a question.
The white-haired man with the ancient, ageless face didn’t meet his gaze. He only nodded slightly.
“Very well, then. Good night.”
“Rest well,” Kias answered.
When Jezreel entered the kitchen, she stopped short at the sight of the boiling cauldron and the many baskets of rose petals. Kias was adding more wood to the stove.
“You asked to be reminded about your rosewater, mi Sharna.”
Chapter 44
Munenori
(moo-nah-NOOR-ee)
She slowly raised her head and looked at him. Munenori wiped her tears.
“You were meant to be cursed, beautiful lady.”
“But… why? I don’t understand. Why would I be born, be created, simply for the purpose of being cursed?”
“Your destiny was to be marked and cursed by Prince Merodach. You were meant to be carried away by his Shadow Wraiths and brought to his side. That is why you were formed.”
“No. You’re mistaken, Munenori. That’s just not possible.”
“It is possible, Little Fire. That was your original intent. I told you before. You were meant to bring peace and harmony to Ashgard. To accomplish that, you were created to change the heart of its ruler.”
“But I did change him.”
“You did, eventually.” He looked into those ethereal eyes, still so full of innocence and wonderment. “Ah, Naga, you weren’t meant to know of the Vanir until after you were fully made. Until after your humanity had faded and only Angel remained.” He brushed some curls back from her face. “This is also one of the reasons you’re having such a hard time learning to be… accepting what you are.” He sighed as he looked up at the passing clouds. “Everything you’ve learned, you have learned backwards. Yet, somehow, it seems to suit you.”
“I’m all scrambled up inside, Munenori. Your words are just making it worse.”
He continued to play with her curls. “Merodach was meant to mark you, take you, and then… he would fall in love with you. That was your destiny.” He waited for his words to sink in. “Remember not how you felt with Dante, Merodach’s mask? Almost immediately, the deep attraction and undeniable pull was evident to you both. Don’t look at me thusly. You know my words are true.” He playfully covered her eyes with his hand. “Your one, well, your first wrong decision was to run away to the Thralldom Mountains in search of Valadrog.” He laughed softly. “That was no little ripple, Naga. It was more like a tsunami.”
She cocked one eyebrow.
“It’s a giant wave, never mind. The point is, you not only changed your destiny, tiny Angel, you altered the fate of the whole universe. And not for the better, I might add.”
“So, I should have just let things happen? Not fought back? That’s the most unnatural thing I could’ve done.”
He laughed again. “But you are Angel, little one. Made to serve, not question. That is your humanity talking, Naga. That’s your rare fire.” He pushed her hair back behind her ear. “I like it. I like the way your eyes glow, how the soft set of your jaw line goes rigid.” He ran his fingertips down the side of her face. “I especially like the way it tastes on your skin. It turns me on. Yes, your fire… I like it too much.”
“I cannot recall if I’ve said this aloud or not, but… I hate you, Munenori.”
He only smiled softly. “You have. And I know you do. It matters not. Your feelings don’t change mine. Mine are my own. They stand, regardless of their reciprocation.” He took her chin in his hand. “And you cannot threaten my desires away. Fear not. I have no intention of acting on them. You heard Daichi, same as I. He’ll turn me to ash if I touch you.” He chuckled then. “I was only acknowledging they were there. That’s all.”
She pulled her chin away. “Your acknowledgement was unnecessary. I already knew they were there.”
“Did you, now? And just how did you glean that little bit of knowledge?”
“Easy.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Your body trembled from my scent alone. When your tongue first touched my flesh, I thought you might explode.”
He took note of her superior smirk. Munenori tightened his grip, pulled her face close to his. His breath tickled her nose. He sensed the tiny jolt of panic and fear as it washed through her. It thrilled him.
“Is that so? All I can recall of our first meeting was how firm your grip upon my hip felt.” He moved under her, pressed against her for emphasis. “How you pulled me back against you and held me there.” His lips now brushed hers as he spoke. “Do you deny it?”
“I do not.” She bit her bottom lip. “Varick was right. I play too much. I’m too much like my brothers now. I push things too far. I’m even more reckless than before. I have changed. I take too many chances. Ask myself, what if, way too many times. I am darker than I once was. Yet it feels so natural… I don’t even try to fight it.”
“Although I know it’s wrong and beyond dangerous…” He paused, searching her eyes, desperate for a glimmer of desire. Yet terrified he might find that very thing. “I want nothing more than to kiss you,” he whispered, purposefully brushing his lips over hers.
“It is my curse,” she said. “I am a delicious poison.”
“Delicious… poison…” Munenori closed his eyes but remained as he was. Yes, you are that.
Daichi’s warning played through his mind… Your desires are a misplaced weakness. You know her for what she is. Do not drink of the poison you know will destroy you. Play not with her. Remember this. She is blended. You cannot say for certain how she will respond to your words or how she will react to your revelations. She is light and dark. She is heaven and hell. She is glorious and dangerous.
He held her tight against him as he battled this extreme temptation.
She sensed his internal war, watched part of it play out on his face. She felt a tinge of wickedness spring up inside her. When she could tell he had regained control, mastered his desire, she spoke.
“Were I only a fraction more evil…”
His eyes flew open at her words.
“I would have licked you just now,” she said.
His breath hitched. It only served to fuel her impious little game.
“While you waged your internal war, it took all my strength not to tempt you further. I am almost… that… evil.” She winked at the same time she quickly touched the tip of her tongue to his top lip.
In but a blink, she found herself looking up into those mossy lavender eyes, felt the whole of his weight upon her.
“Do that just once more, baby Angel, and you will find yourself with child. This I promise.”
Jenevier looked at the flame burning deep in his eyes. She got tickled. First, it was only a snicker. But soon it was an all-out laugh.
He sighed and dropped his head.
“Oh, Munenori. Tell me more of your sweet promises.” She laughed harder.
He rolled h
is eyes, collapsing onto the grass beside her. “As I said, infuriating.” He sighed.
Her incessant giggles made her words hard to understand. “As I said. It’s my curse.” She turned to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “And now, I don’t hate you quite so much anymore.” She smiled at him. “You have proven too much fun to hate.”
He gently pushed her away. “Well, I hate you all the more.”
“You do not. Actually, I believe you’re quite fond of me. Perhaps one day we shall become great friends.”
“Let’s not go too far, Naga. Now, stop your play and listen to my words. You say you are cursed. But know this… Every curse has a blessing and every blessing has a curse. You would do well not to forget that.”
Her giggles slowly ebbed as she inhaled deeply. “I have heard this many times before. Please, explain yourself, Angel.”
“Explanations are not necessary. Think upon it, Naga. It will come to you.” He reached for her hand, interlacing their fingers. “Your babes were a great blessing to you. But you were cursed with many sleepless nights and will always carry the burden of worry in your heart. Your mask was a blessing from God. Yet, you had to become the executioner. You were cursed by your misguided vision of Varick’s infidelity, it completely destroyed you. You even had to be remade. Yet, you were blessed beyond counting because of it. I mean, look at you. Even your scars are enchanting.” He touched the one on her cheek. “I will say it again, Naga. Every curse has a blessing and every blessing has a curse.”
Her silent tears were all the proof he needed. She understood what he meant. He bent down and lightly kissed her lips.
She smiled. “I knew you didn’t hate me.”
“Before this is over, I am certain I’ll wish I did.”
“The war that’s coming to Jinn… is it my fault? Is it because of my altered destiny? Will harm now find my sons because I ran from the wicked Prince of Wrothdem when I was but a child?”
“In part… yes.” He exhaled a deep breath and sat up. “Your destiny was altered, Naga. So, the universe had to be altered. You were never meant to go to Vanahirdem. You were never meant to love your Guardian. No matter how strongly he believes you were. And on top of all that, you killed the very man you were created to save. There was no more reason for your existence. Thus, your execution summons came down.” He looked at her then; she seemed so tiny, so scared. “You are Angel, Kagi Naga. You are made from much rarer things than are others. More is expected of you, as it should be.” He sighed. “Yet, Father was moved by your repentance, by your willing sacrifice. Because of this, your soul was used to fulfill your original destiny.”
“Then… I had to start all over.”
“Yes. Naga, you had the amazing chance to start over with a brand new name, a brand new soul, and a brand new destiny.”
“The healer.”
“In part, yes.” He chuckled. “An executioner and a healer.”
“But I messed that up, too. Didn’t I?” She sat up beside him, dusting off her hands.
“You did. And in record time, no less.” He playfully pinched her arm. “In only hours, you went from a shiny new soul, full of hope and peace and love… to utterly destroyed.”
“Not only that. I willingly gave myself, the whole of me—heart, body, and soul—to the devil.”
“Ahh, that you did, Little Fire. But forget not. Father blessed your union, exchanged your manacles Himself.” He twirled one of her curls around his finger. “You still have no idea what it was you accomplished with my darkest of brothers. Your love healed Apollyon. I can hardly even say the words and believe them myself. You are accidentally amazing.” He chuckled and patted her head. “And that brings us back to Daichi.”
“Daichi?”
“Yes, Naga. Daichi—your Blessing, your gift, your everything. He was made in the likeness of all whom you love. Father peered into your heart, formed him to look like the most beautiful Angel He’d ever created—Apollyon, your Vindicus—so he would be pleasing to your eyes. Then, He gave him Vareilious’s mischievous nature, so you would always laugh, always know joy, always have a best friend at your side.”
Hmm, only just today I was comparing him to Vareilious. It was uncanny—the things he said as we sparred, the set of his shoulders when he moved to attack, and that infuriatingly superior smirk… identical.
“Have you any idea just how much you mean to Vittorio?” Munenori asked. “His only desire is to see your smile, see you happy. Father knows. And He blessed that extraordinary Guardian because of his especially amazing heart, gave him back his life along with a brand new shiny set of wings. That’s why Daichi cares for you more than even himself, worries over your happiness above all things. He will always put you first, always make you smile. He will ensure your bliss, same as Vittorio always has. To Daichi, you’re the rarest treasure, one of a kind, irreplaceable.” Munenori brushed back her hair, stared into her confused, terrified eyes as he continued. “Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Daichi loves you above all things in this universe, same as Varick. He will never be keeper of his own heart, Naga. That tremendous responsibility is yours alone. Never take it lightly. It is an awesome charge.”
But… no one can love me as Varick does. That glorious man would forgive me anything… has forgiven me, she thought.
Munenori’s words were hard to accept, almost too much to take in.
This is beyond bizarre. How can I even consider such an outlandish tale? It goes against everything I thought was true. But… Daichi warned me of this very thing, did he not? He begged me to listen, pleaded with me to believe. Jenevier studied the mossy lavender Angel closely.
Munenori chuckled. “Don’t furrow your brow at me, tiny Angel.” He playfully tweaked her nose. “Look at it this way. Your Blessing… is the greatest of all magic. Never again will you be alone. Never again will you have to search for love or acceptance or belonging. Daichi will never leave you, cannot leave you. The suggestion alone would be unfathomable to him. He is the one man in all existence who can truly complete you. He was created for the sole purpose of being your absolute everything. And he is your greatest of all blessings, Naga.”
Yes… but every blessing has a curse, she thought.
“Open your ears and hear me, little one.” He cupped her cheeks in his hands. “Although you have sent many giant waves rolling throughout this universe, Father is pleased with you. Your destinies were accomplished, albeit by extraordinarily different means. Alas, what you were meant to do, you did.”
“So, why do I feel the weight of the world is upon me?”
“Because… it is.” He sighed heavily. “You have heard it said… Every life you touch is changed by that touch. Because of your wrong choices and extremely altered course, you passed through people’s lives you were never meant to meet, never meant to touch. Thus, your ripple altered their ripple, you might say.”
“And… tiny ripples grow as they spread,” she whispered.
“Exactly.” He stood, reaching down his hand. “Do you know what happens when those ripples reach the banks?” He pulled her to her feet.
“They return from whence they came.”
“Ahh, that they do, Little Fire. What you have sent out into this vast universe, returns to you now.”
“My tidal wave?”
He chuckled. “Normally, but in your case…”
“A tsunami.”
“Yes.” He glanced at her profile. “Don’t take such worry on your heart, Naga. Many ripples have been added to yours. Many are to blame for this coming war. Yours is but a part of it.” He took her hand in his as they walked. “Every being has a choice. No matter what obstacle, or ripple, was sent their way. They had a choice to make. They are each responsible for their own actions, their own decisions. They will also have to answer for their part in this.”
“Yet it comes back to me.”
“Yes, it does. It will all come to your doorstep first, Milady.” He gave her hand a little squeeze. “I
t’s not because of guilt, Little Fire, but because of responsibility. You’re the one who has been blessed with such amazing things, such rare abilities. Remember what I told you never to forget?”
“Every curse has a blessing and every blessing has a curse.”
“Very good.” He patted her head like an obedient child. “You have received the greatest blessings, Naga. Now, you are cursed with the awesome responsibility. It is as it should be.”
“So, ending this war is my responsibility?”
“It is. Only you have been blessed with the talents to accomplish such a thing. The responsibility comes along with it.”
“As it should,” she whispered.
“Yes.” He gave her tiny hand another comforting squeeze. “As it should.”
Chapter 45
Dimthe Leard
(demth LEE-ard)
When Vittorio touched down in Dimthe Leard, he looked out upon an endless sea of demons, dark Angels, and dead men.
“Hell has spilled out into the day,” Vareilious grumbled.
“Aye, that it has, Brother. Do ye doubt my words now?”
“I do not. How can I?” Tears, caused by the realization of what this forced apocalypse could only mean, spilled down Vareilious’s blood-stained face.
“One thing bothers me aboot all this,” Vittorio said.
Vareilious snorted. “Only one?”
“Aye, Brother, I’m haunted by my heart. How is it I can still feel my wee lass dancing aboot inside me?”
Vareilious looked at his brother Vanir.
“I always thought mine would quit beating the moment hers did,” Vittorio whispered.
“The first five layers are lost,” Varick said as he approached.
“And what of Praetoria?” Varillum asked.
Varick shook his head. “I am certain of nothing. Reports.”
“Aye, Brother, I was on Lyra. If any lived, they were in hiding for I saw them nae.”
