Black Hellebore

by Maya Shepherd

  Lia steps out of the water completely unashamed. Mike is watching her, but when she reaches and stands right in front of him, he averts his gaze and pushes her clothes towards her. The fire is already burning, and a smoke trail is rising. Twigs are crackling and fill the air with the scent of wood and fire. As Lia takes her clothes, Mike turns around like a gentleman and she casually slips into her underwear, then her linen trousers and finally her brown top.

  Mike turns shyly back towards her and places the salt water-filled bowl onto the fire. He keeps his distance from her, seeming uneasy around her but she sits down right next to him.

  Her fingers stroke his bare forearms and make the hairs stand on end. He can’t say that he doesn’t like the way she is touching him, but his feelings are unsettling him too.

  “Isn’t it a beautiful night?” she huskily breathes into his ear, making a shiver run down his back. He tenses lightly and just nods in reply, staring straight ahead. Lia’s hand moves up from his arm to his head, and she runs it through his damp hair, winding his curls around her fingers. Mike suddenly grabs her by the wrist as he turns to face her, his eyes like thunder.

  “What the hell, Lia?”

  “Don’t tell me that you don’t like it.” Lia retorts amused. She has tilted her head, not taking him in the least bit seriously. It all seems like a game to her to pass the time. Her behaviour makes him angry.

  “A few weeks ago I wanted nothing but... that, but all that is over now.” He says loud and clear. Lia just smiles and shakes her head. She strokes his cracked lips.

  “I can make all your wishes come true.”

  He pushes her hand firmly away from his face.

  “I don’t want that. I have fallen in love with Lindsay!” There is no doubt in his voice. It has taken a long time, but he has finally figured out what he wants.

  Lia’s laugh sounds fake; it is not her voice nor is it her laugh. Her eyes are glowing brighter than normal for a human. They shine a green light towards Mike, luring him towards her.

  “It doesn’t matter what you want. I will take whatever I need.”

  His body stiffens as if all the life had been sucked out of it, and all that is left is a statue without any free will. Lia eagerly presses her lips against his. Her teeth sink into his bottom lip, breaking the skin. She suckles his blood and feels the energy pouring into her. Without any control over his body, Mike returns the kiss, allowing Lia to take the energy from his body into hers.

  Deep inside, Lia knows what she is doing is wrong, but she is just as helpless against it as Mike is. Being close to him makes her feel safe and secure. That is something that has stayed the same amidst all this chaos. Mike is her best friend. It has always been that way and will always stay the same.

  But suddenly he falls backwards into the sand as a hand smacks him hard in the face. Burning with anger and trembling with rage, Lindsay has squared herself up in front of them.

  “Have you finally got what you wanted?!” she shouts at Mike in disgust. Tears shoot out of her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

  Lia shakes her head in confusion, as if she had just woken up from a deep sleep. Her gaze moves from Lindsay to Mike and she throws her hand over her mouth in shock, tasting the remnants of Mike’s blood on her lips. She gasps for air.

  “Oh please, don’t play dumb now. You can stop with the innocent charade, because no one is buying it anymore. You are and always will be a slut!” Lindsay shouts in a hysterical voice.

  Her words hurt more than any slap ever could, but the worst thing for Lia is that she is right. She is behaving terribly. She is hurting the people she loves the most. First Orlando, then Tru, over and over again, and now Mike and Lindsay too. She doesn’t deserve theirs or anyone’s friendship. She is not capable of living with humans anymore. She can’t even apologise to Lindsay, because she can’t even promise that it won’t happen again.

  But Lindsay doesn’t wait for an answer from either of them, as she storms off as fast as her legs can take her back to where she just came from. Thunder starts to rumble in the sky above them. Mike throws Lia a short look of disappointment and then runs after Lindsay.

  Lia’s lungs are on fire and she gasps for air as her heart sharply contracts. Tears form in her eyes and run in hot streams down her cool cheeks. She staggers to her feet and heads in the opposite direction, away from Mike and Lindsay. She doesn’t know where she can go in this unfamiliar world. There is no place she can think of that would offer her solace. Maybe Tru was right and her mother simply doesn’t want to be found. Maybe all this was for nothing, and she has sacrificed everything that ever meant anything to her in the process. How could Lindsay and Mike ever forgive her?

  She loses her balance and falls to the sandy ground. A deep cry of pain escapes her throat as she buries her face in her hands.

  A hand glides softly and delicately over her still damp hair. Lia lifts her head in surprise and stares into eyes as green and bright as her own. The woman’s face is full of compassion and her smile is kind. There are black shadows surrounding the beautiful woman’s slim body. Her hair is glowing brighter than the moon itself. It is fiery red. She reaches out her hand towards Lia, pulling her to her feet.

  “You found me, my daughter.” She whispers in a sweet voice.

  “Mother?” Lia sobs in disbelief and Lilith wipes the tears from her face.

  “You are my first daughter, and you have awoken me. I have waited for you for thousands of years and finally we are together... But you are weak. My blood will heal you.

  The hand that stroking Lia’s cheek stops and Lilith places her wrist in front of Lia’s lips.

  “Drink from me and you will forget all your pain and sorrow.”

  There is no more hope in this world for Lia. It can’t get any worse; she has reached the end, and so she sinks her teeth into her mother’s waiting wrist. Her blood is strong, and like a red mist it spreads through her head making her forget everything. She is engulfed in darkness, and the only thing she can see are her mother’s emerald green eyes still staring at her.

  The pain starts in her back and spreads out through her entire body. It is like fire, and burns through her, making her skin burn and her bones buckle. The air is expelled from her lings.

  It is as if a thousand needles are pricking her skin at once. She writhes back and forth screaming in the sand as she pulls at her hair. She spits her mother’s blood out at her feet, and then the pain subsides, but it is too late. Lia staggers to her feet. She has the feet of a monster. Instead of toes, she has long sharp claws. Giant bat-like wings are protruding from her back.

  If only she had died. Death would be better than life as a monster. She looks listlessly at her mother.

  “Finally I am the same on the outside as I am inside. You have turned me into a monster.”

  Lilith’s kind smile vanishes. The cold tone of her daughter’s voice cuts her deeper than any blade.

  - 36. Lindsay Sullivan -

  The sky rumbles and then lightning strikes with a loud bang. The land is momentarily bathed in bright light in all the places where there was nothing but darkness before. The first drops of rain fall from the sky, only to be followed by sheets of rain mere seconds later. The water pours down onto the cracked clay soil, which is far too dry to absorb the sudden floods of water. It flows like a river down the flattened paths, causing Lindsay to trip up. Her feet keep losing their grip as she continues running towards the village where she doesn’t want to stay for one more second. The only source of light is the stars and the lightning streaking across the sky. She clearly senses the person who is following her. She can hear his breathing and his footsteps over the rumbling thunder. The longer they run the closer he gets.

  Just as the village comes into view, Lindsay slips on a piece of plastic and falls forward onto the ground. Dirty rain water sprays into her face and open mouth. She gags and coughs as the rain mixes with her tears. The pads of her hands are burning, but it is too dark to see what damage she
has done. She would love nothing more than to just lie here in the middle of nowhere feeling sorry for herself, but she doesn’t need to look around her to know that Mike used her fall to his advantage. He is now standing right behind her, and as his slim, feminine fingers touch her shoulder, she jumps as if she had been struck by lightning. She turns around and slides a few feet away from Mike on the plastic. He is only a black shadow standing before her. The stars are shining behind him, and Lindsay doubts that she will ever be able to look at stars or rain like this again, without remembering the way her two best friends had betrayed her. She can’t even decide which part hurts more; the fact that Mike will just never want her, or the fact that Lia doesn’t care about her feelings at all?

  Mike bends forward and reaches out his hand to help her up. There is a look of sorrow on his face, but Lindsay cares as little about that as she does about his sympathy. She slaps his hand away as hard as she can. He pulls back and stares at her in shock. She staggers to her feet, and just as she turns to storm off, his fingers wrap around her arm and hold her back. She stands there in disbelief. This is not the Mike she knows. He was always so shy and unsure about everything, but now he seems confident, decisive and... even bold. She balls her hand into a fist and aims it directly at Mike’s nose, but he catches it mid-swing and holds it just as tightly as his other hand is holding her arm. He has her trapped, but she stares at him with a look of contempt.

  “Don’t you think you should at least give me a chance to explain?”

  “Why?” she shouts in his face. “It won’t change anything!” the last words come out in a hysterical sob which Lindsay would smack herself for if Mike weren’t holding both of her arms.

  “It will change everything.” He says seriously and with that lets her go. She has the choice to leave, but his words awaken the last remnants of hope left in her shattered heart.

  When she doesn’t leave, Mike takes that as an invitation to continue talking.

  “When you moved to our school, I thought you were a vain, shallow cow. I was jealous of you because you always got on so well with Lia and she was always happy when she was around you. He pauses and purses his lips. “I didn’t want to share her with you or anyone else.”

  Why is he telling her this? Is he trying to rub salt in the already open wounds? Thick tears stream down her face and she is grateful of the rain so he can’t see her cry.

  “Congratulations!” her voice is brimming with sarcasm. “You got your wish. I don’t want to speak to you or Lia ever again. You’re both dead to me.”

  She has heard enough. It’s enough. She turns her back to Mike but again he doesn’t let her leave. This time he grabs her hands, but his grip isn’t tight or deliberate. It is gentle and pleading. This is Mike, the one she fell in love with. She can’t leave, even though it is breaking her heart to stay.

  “But Lindsay, that is all in the past.” He explains quietly. The thunder has stopped and the rain is falling gently on their drenched clothes. And wet bodies.

  “I was such an idiot!” he yells and Lindsay turns back towards him with a sceptical look on her face.

  “Letting you leave the morning after we spent the night together was the biggest mistake of my life. I was blind to what was right in front of me the whole time.” His voice breaks.

  Despite the darkness, Lindsay realises that she is not the only one crying. Mike’s eyes are swollen and his lips are trembling. He isn’t ashamed of his tears like other boys would be; he wears them with pride because they are a sign of his feelings. Lindsay loves him all the more for it. Her heart beats wildly at the sound of his words, and a flame of hope starts to burn in her as Mike continues.

  “You are beautiful, smart, funny and honest. You have more heart than anyone I know.”

  Lindsay blinks rapidly in disbelief against the rain, and is absolutely speechless. Like in the movies, Mike gets down on his knees, but it’s not to ask her to marry him - which she would have declined - but for something much better.

  “Lindsay, I only want you, please forgive me!”

  His words are better than anything she could have ever imagined him saying to her. Despite everything that has happened between them, there is only one way she can think of to react. She presses her lips against his. They can both taste each other’s salty tears. It took a trip to the desert to bring together what had always belonged together.

  Their hands fit perfectly together. Every touch makes Lindsay’s heart beat a little bit faster, and every look from him makes her smile. From the corners of their eyes, as they walk back to their hut, they see all of the buckets and tubs placed out by the local people to catch the rain. Rain showers in the desert don’t happen often, but for that they are all the stronger. They are a gift from the heavens for the people and animals in the area. The locals kneel in white robes in front of the ruins and bow down, thanking God for the miracle her has granted them on this night. Lindsay was never a person of faith, but she too sends a silent prayer to the man up there - although her gratitude is not for the water.

  When they arrive back at the hut, all eyes focus on them and everyone is in uproar. Lindsay thinks it is because of the downpour, but Tru’s snappy question brings her back to reality.

  “Where is Lia?” she asks almost accusingly.

  Now that Lindsay has finally got what she has been wanting for so many months, a hint of guilt flickers in her heart. She feels deep down that Lia had not wanted to hurt her on purpose. She probably didn’t even really want to kiss Mike - but seeing them together like that just hurt her too much to re-think her last words to her. She regrets what she said and now fully understands Tru’s concern. They had been gone for several hours, there was a rain storm of a ferocity which none of them have ever experienced before, and they had returned without Lia. Where could she be? Was she still on the beach? The tide must have been incredibly strong and water attracts lightening. Tru doesn’t wait for an answer from either of them and rushes out of their broken down shelter.

  - 37. Mary Cromwell -

  Like a princess, Mary is sitting inside the hut in front of a mirror while Nemesis combs and braids her hair. They are both wearing the traditional local furs which are coloured red and white. They have been hearing the sounds of drums and trumpets all day long. The humans are laughing and dancing. The Dolgans are celebrating the return of the sun. The polar night is finally over, meaning Mary will now have to leave. Cain had announced that they must leave Greenland on the day the sun returns to go into battle. Nemesis will follow them. Ever since Cain transformed her, she rarely leaves his side. But Nemesis’ transformation has brought good fortune to Mary as well, because she has not forgotten the little girl’s attempt to rescue her. Just one word from her and Cain no longer sees her as one of many. She is thankful for her help against Victor and the other monsters. Still, whenever she speaks of them her eyes fill with hatred and her rough hands ball into fists. She truly is the goddess of retribution and Mary fully understands her, but still she fears her in moments like this, when she doesn’t seem to be herself.

  As the first sun rays of the year and the last of the day shine a golden light over the white snow, Mary steps out of the hut. It was her last day in her new home, and she asks herself sadly how many more times will she have to move until she reaches a place where she can finally settle for more than a few months.

  Orlando is waiting for her outside. He is wearing a robe made of white polar bear fur and a white shirt underneath. The rest of his clothes are as black as his wavy hair. When she first met him so many centuries ago, she fell in love with him almost immediately, but that was a long time ago. She doesn’t regret how everything turned out, because she thinks it is much better to have him as a father and brother, than it would have been to have him as a lover and eventually grow to despise him. Despite everything, she is still not blind to his beauty. His cool blue eyes not only ensnared Lia - many other women lost their minds over them too, but Lia is the first woman for whom he felt the same
way. To this day Mary can see the sorrow in his eyes when he thinks about his lost love. He has changed in the past few weeks. His self-satisfied arrogance is gone, replaced by an almost docile seriousness. He is more caring and attentive towards her than he has ever been. Even now he is charmingly offering his arm to her and she quickly takes up his offer and links arms with him. They walk down the path towards the village together. There are smoke signals in the clear starry sky from the huge bonfire. There are women in sheer robes and short red dresses, dancing barefoot around the fire. Their necks are covered in bite marks, which explains how they are so unaffected by the cold. Their eyes stare into space as if in a trance. Cain is lying in front of the fire atop several furs with Nemesis at his left side. When he sees Mary and Orlando, he enthusiastically waves them over, indicating a spot at his right side. The other vampires look on with envy. Every one of them would welcome the honour of sitting at their father and creator’s side. Victor, who would have been very keen on the position, is now nothing but the mute slave, serving glasses of blood to the other vampires. A sneering grin appears on her face as Mary takes a glass from his tray. There is a promise of revenge in his eyes.

  When the dancers finish their show, Nanuk steps into the firelight with a drum. The music stops. The drum is made from reindeer skin and there are little bells tied to the sides that jingle with every move he makes. He falls to his knees and starts banging the drum. Nemesis bends down to Cain’s ear and whispers an explanation of what is happening.

  “Nanuk is a shaman. With the banging of his drum, he is transporting himself to the realm of the dead and will look into the future.”

  Cain nods, but there is doubt in his face.

  Nanuk’s song starts off sad, but the pace then picks up and his drumming becomes increasingly irregular. His body starts swaying back and forth gently and then his eyes open suddenly, with only the whites showing. He begins to shake uncontrollably as foam starts coming from his mouth, and bloody tears roll down his cheeks. Mary looks towards Nemesis in shock but she remains unmoved. Mary assumes that this is what’s meant to happen. Orlando seems to be quite unsettled too.