by J. J. Melvin
“No, but…” He paused, then said, “You started making noises.”
“I’m so embarrassed, Liam. I think I was dreaming of the last night that you were in my room.”
Liam smiled. He seemed to be content with my answer, and it scared me how easily I could lie to him. I felt awful for lying to Liam. It seemed as though I were cheating on him, but I couldn’t stop thinking of Erebus. What is going on?
The next morning, even though it was mortifying to tell a teacher, I told Mr. Schwartz about my dream.
“He’s accessing your mind through your dreams, Erika. He wants you to remember your love. Erebus did not mean to kill Adhira, and he will die trying to get her, YOU back. You may be more important to him than eternal life. We should not underestimate his love for Adhira.”
We had three days until the big night. We trained vigorously, and Mr. Schwartz tried to teach me to block Erebus from accessing my mind.
That night Sofia suggested we all sleep back in our rooms. Through Liam’s visions we knew the Collectors would not attack until Saturday. Sofia’s argument made sense. We were in the same house, it didn’t make sense that we had to be in the same room. Plus, it was hard to get a good night’s rest sleeping on the floor, and we all needed our strength.
Though things were back to normal with Liam and I, I was still a little distant. A part of me wanted to go to sleep to see Erebus. The love that Erebus felt for me—for Adhira— was so strong. I couldn’t read Liam’s mind because he was a Point and our powers didn’t work on each other, but with Erebus I could hear all his thoughts. He loved Adhira more than anything in the world, and it felt so good to know and feel that with certainty. With Liam I just had to trust that he loved me. I knew if Erebus had Adhira back, he would never leave her again. What I didn’t know was whether or not Liam would leave me.
I knew I was supposed to block Erebus from my thoughts, but I think a part of me actually invited him in. In my dream he visited me that night. He pushed away the white sheer curtains that hung from my canopy bed and awoke me with his kiss. It was like I was awake, but I knew I was still dreaming.
He was happy that I invited him in. He smiled, and his white teeth shone bright against his olive skin. His green eyes pierced my soul as he gently laid his body on top of mine. He started kissing my lips, pulling down my nightgown and kissing my shoulders. I didn’t ask him to stop.
He sat up, taking off his shirt, displaying his soft olive skin and his chiseled body. He pulled me up to him, and I raised my hands so he could pull off my nightgown. He stared at me, and his eyes and his thoughts told me he loved me. He gently laid me back down, and I could feel his soft bare chest against mine.
His lips met mine, then moved slowly to my neck, and then lower. I was nervous, but still I let him move on. He kissed my breasts, and looking up at me with his green eyes, he smiled.
I didn’t want him to stop. He kissed my stomach, my body tingling as he climbed back up to my lips. He laid his body on mine. I wanted him inside me again, inside me like before. I started to untie the knot that held his soft, light linen pants over his perfect body.
Knock, knock, knock, I was brought back to reality. I looked around for Erebus, but he was gone. I looked down, and I was still fully dressed. I was starting not to know what was real and fantasy anymore. The knock came again. “Yes?”
Liam walked in. “Hey sleepy head, you missed breakfast.”
“I did? What time is it?” I asked.
“It’s 7:30. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I better get in the shower. I’m in my nightgown, do you mind?”
Liam laughed awkwardly. “When did you get so shy?” he said just before walking out.
I looked in the mirror before taking a shower and noticed I had a little red mark on my neck.
No, it couldn’t be. It was just a dream, right? I was scared. I’d thought it was a harmless dream, a flashback, but what if it wasn’t?
Was I cheating on Liam? I had to make the dreams stop! I was determined to block Erebus from my thoughts.
Chapter 27
LIAM OR EREBUS
I met Liam and the others on the lawn. I ran up to Liam and gave him a kiss.
“What’s that for?”
“It’s because I love you,” I replied, feeling utterly guilty.
“Has anyone ever told you guys that you are so gross?” Sofia asked.
“Only you, Sofia,” I replied.
“Good, as long as someone said it,” Jayson added.
I watched as Sofia used her powers to disarm the Watchers pretending they were the attacking army. It was the plan we’d devised so that hopefully no one had to die. She used the wind like a tornado to whisk the guns, knives, and other weapons away. I was the second line of defense. If Sofia’s powers didn’t work, then I would use my telekinetic powers to make the weapons fly out of the hands of the Collector’s army. Liam would be there to blind and confuse the attackers, and Jayson would be there to heal the wounded.
We also practiced making the Four Points Diamond to trap the Collectors. Jayson was in charge of holding the black diamonds that would store the souls of Erebus and Akeldama. The black diamonds were to be the Collector’s forever home, encapsulated vaults to imprison their spirits for what we hoped would be eternity. But the thought of never seeing Erebus again unnerved me.
Later that day, I told Mr. Schwartz about my dream— well, some of my dream. I told him that Erebus had come to visit me again, and that the lines were becoming blurred as to what was real and what was a not. I chose not tell him about the mark Erebus might have left behind. I was determined to make the dreams stop and make Erebus go away. Mr. Schwartz did his best to teach me blocking methods. I was to close my mind, even in sleep. It was not by chance that Erebus visited me in my dreams, he knew this is when I was most vulnerable. This is when I was most Adhira. Confidence in my being was paramount, it would keep me Erika even in my dreams. The key was accepting myself and liking myself. I wondered if Mr. Schwartz understood how difficult that was for someone who grew up hating who she was.
Later that night, I asked Liam if I could stay in his room. We broke Mr. Blithe’s new house rules and Liam held me tight as I drifted off to sleep.
This time I had a flashback. I stood in a beautiful ornate room watching a scene as it unfolded before my eyes. Erebus was angry. I could see Adhira pleading with him. He was in a rage. Adhira’s husband walked in to see Erebus with no shirt on and Adhira in a nightgown, crying.
The King attacked Erebus. Adhira screamed as Erebus knocked the King unconscious. Adhira wrapped her body over the King as he lay bleeding. She gently turned his face towards hers to examine his injuries, but the face was no longer the King’s, it was Liam’s.
I jolted awake, sitting up ready to scream.
“Erika, are you okay?”
I looked at Liam. “Yes, I’m sorry I woke you. It was just a bad dream. I’m okay now.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, no I just wanna go back to sleep. Can you hold me?”
I laid on my side, staring at Liam, inspecting every line, every freckle, every mark on his perfect sleeping face. Was my dream foreshadowing what was to come? As I lay there watching Liam sleep, I knew I would protect him with my life. I would never let anyone hurt him.
I tried not to fall asleep; I knew I couldn’t to block Erebus from my dreams. I felt him constantly tugging at my mind, but I could no longer stay awake… I drifted off.
Erebus came again. I woke up in his strong arms as he carried me back to my room. He never spoke. He just peered at me with his deep green eyes.
He laid me on my bed. A part of me wanted to reject him, but the part that wanted him was stronger. He laid on top of me again, and I could smell his familiar scent as he slowly kissed my neck. My body yearned for him. I knew I had to stop, but I didn’t have the willpower. My body wanted him.
He rolled me on top of him. I sat up, placing my hands in th
e air as Erebus lifted my gown. He slowly caressed his hand down my neck, over my breasts, down to my hips where he held me firmly. He rolled me over again. I now laid on my back staring up at him. He pulled off his shirt.
“Erebus, I’ve never…”
“It’s okay, my sweet Queen, it will all come back. I will be gentle.”
A knock at the door startled me awake. I opened my eyes and watched as a puff of black smoke seeped its way out the window. The knock came again. I looked down and saw that my nightgown was off. I quickly put it on.
“Yes?” I replied to the knocking.
“Erika, it’s Liam! The door’s locked, open the door.”
I walked over to the door and opened it.
“Why’d you leave? Why are you in here?”
“I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to wake you, so I came to sleep in here. Is it morning?”
“No, it’s 4am. Come back to my room.”
Liam took my hand as he led me back to his bed.
I knew now that Erebus was visiting me for real. It wasn’t a dream. I was betraying Liam, I was cheating on him and I felt awful.
Tomorrow was the big day. I knew that Erebus and Akeldama would come. They knew of the trap and they were prepared. Erebus was confident that I would go with him, he was confident that they would win. I was scared. I knew a part of me was his, but was the part of my heart he held larger than the part reserved for Liam?
The castle was quiet that day as we all prepared. We knew what we were supposed to do, but we did not know how it was all going to go down. We asked Liam what he saw, but all he would say is that futures are forever changing, and that what he saw today could change tomorrow.
“Liam, can you see the past of Erebus and Adhira?” I asked.
“No. Maybe that’s because I can’t see your past. Maybe if I were face to face with Erebus, I could see. Why, is something worrying you?”
“No, I was just wondering, what would make Adhira do what she did?”
“Maybe she was just an evil bitch,” Sofia said. “No offense to you of course, Erika.”
“None taken Sofia.”
That night after dinner we joined hands to see where the Collectors were. We saw all the white shining Diamonds in England, and there I stood, the lonely grey one amongst the white. The two black diamonds were close, probably just a few miles from us. We all decided to take one last dip in the pool that night and rest our muscles in the spa before the big day.
“Erika, what’s that on your neck? It kinda looks like a hickey.” Liam moved the strands of hair that had escaped from the tight bun atop my head.
“Don’t be silly Liam, it’s not a hickey. It’s probably a bruise or something from training,” I replied, rubbing my neck and trying to hide the mark left behind by Erebus.
“Liam, really, who’s she going to get a hickey from? We are the only people any of us ever see. Stop being so paranoid,” Sofia sighed.
“Sorry for being suspicious,” Liam apologized. He kissed my lips.
While gathered in the spa, the others joked and laughed. I was quiet wallowing in my treacherous guilt.
“Well, I guess the fate of the world is in our hands. Tomorrow decides it all.” Jayson leaned back, resting his outstretched arms on the spa’s landing.
“Yeah, no pressure,” Liam added.
“What happens if we lose?” I somberly asked.
“Well, you’ve heard of the Black Death, right Erika? The most devastating pandemic in history, where something like one hundred million to two hundred million people lost their lives… well, that’s what happens when Diamonds lose,” Sofia answered.
“That sucks,” was all I could think to say. I could barely think of anything other than the fact that I’d betrayed Liam. Now I had to think of the deaths of two hundred million people, all because I couldn’t get my hormones under control.
The Watchers did their best to prepare us with what they knew, but usually Diamonds, Points, and Watchers lived uneventful lives. It had been hundreds and hundreds of years since Erebus and Akeldama were free.
“I wish there was a way to kill Erebus and Akeldama.” Upon finishing my sentence, I felt an intense feeling of guilt riddle my body.
“You okay Erika?” Liam asked.
“Yeah, sorry, just started not feeling well.”
“Thinking of them makes me sick too.” Jayson ended his sentence pretending to throw up.
“Since the Watchers haven’t figured out a way to kill them, the best we can do is trap them,” Sofia added.
“Hey Erika, do you want to hear what Sofia and I were thinking we can all do when we trap Erebus and Akeldama in the black diamonds?”
I smiled, giving Jayson permission to continue explaining his plan.
“Sofia is going to part the Pacific Ocean way out in the middle of nowhere, and with your telekinesis, you are going to dig through the ocean floor. We’ll bury the diamonds miles and miles beneath the Pacific Ocean. Have someone try to find them then.”
“That’s a great idea, Jayson.” I tried to act enthused, but I wasn’t. “I’m ready for bed. You, Liam?”
“Don’t forget about Mr. Blithe’s rule, Erika. No Points in each other’s room after 10pm,” Jayson teased.
“I don’t think Mr. Blithe would mind, since tonight may be our last night alive,” Sofia added.
“So Sofia, is that an invitation?” Jayson winked.
“Would you like it to be, Jayson?” Sofia asked flirtatiously.
“Uhhh, of course I would.” Sofia just looked at Jayson, smiled and walked away.
“Uhmmm, I’ll see you guys later,” Jayson ran after Sofia practically falling over his own feet.
“Liam, can we stay in your room tonight?” I stared into Liam’s glistening blue eyes knowing how lucky I was to have him and knowing I did not deserve this man.
“Of course, Erika, wherever you want.”
As we laid in Liam’s bed, my hair dripping from the shower I had just taken, I looked at Liam. “Liam, do you still love me?”
“Of course I still love you. Don’t be silly. Do you still love me?”
“More and more every day.” I kissed Liam’s lips.
“Erika, don’t start. If we are going to sleep in here together, you have to behave.”
I ignored Liam’s request and kissed him again. I opened my eyes, but it wasn’t Liam I was kissing, it was Erebus. I moved my lips away from the soft ones that caressed mine and closed my eyes tightly.
“Erika, are you okay?” Liam asked.
I opened my eyes again hearing his voice, it was Liam. “I think I’m just tired, will you hold me?”
“Of course,” he replied.
I laid in Liam’s arms, using his chiseled chest as a pillow. I felt safe in his arms, I felt like it was where I belonged, but the part of me that was Adhira’s yearned for Erebus. The question was, which one of us was stronger?
I fell asleep. In my dream, Erebus came to me again. He summoned me to follow him. He placed one finger over his mouth to let me know to be quiet. I looked at Liam sleeping peacefully and followed Erebus, my long white nightgown flowing with me down the hall as I followed him to my room.
I sat down on the bed and he sat at my feet. This time he spoke, “My Queen, I have loved you for thousands of years, please come back to me.”
Something, someone inside of me spoke. “You betrayed me. You betrayed our love. You killed me.”
“No, my love, not me. Akeldama did. He didn’t mean to, you got in the way of his fighting, don’t you remember?”
I was transported back, back to a cave in India. There was so much bloodshed. I ran screaming, pleading for it all to stop. The dirt swirled, someone was using the powers of the diamond. It was Erebus and Akeldama, they were out of control. Spears flew through the air as the Hindu people tried to stop them, then a spear came towards me, impaling me. Erebus tried to heal me. He called for Akeldama, and they both stood over my body trying to use the powers to he
al my wounds. Then I heard chanting, a spell… a spell was cast and then everything was black.
“See my love, I tried to save you, and now you have finally come back to me.” Erebus laid his head on my lap.
I wound my fingers through his black thick hair.
My bedroom door swung open, it was Liam. “Get away from her!” he screamed.
Erebus used his powers and hurled Liam across the room, creating an invisible force that held Liam suspended in the air against the wall. “I will come for you tomorrow my love, and we will finally be together again.” Erebus vanished into a swirl of black smoke.
Liam fell to the floor. I ran over to him. “Liam, Liam, are you okay?” The others ran into the room hearing the disturbance.
“What’s going on?” Mr. Blithe asked.
“Are we under attack?” Jayson stood in fight mode, one fist in front of the others, his knees slightly bent.
“Erebus was here.” Liam got up from the floor.
“What? How did he get in?” Sofia asked.
“Ask Erika,” Liam said, walking out of the room. Everyone turned to look at me, but I got up and followed Liam down the hall.
“Liam, please. Liam, let me explain.”
“Explain what? Explain the hickey on your neck? I knew it was a hickey.”
“Liam, please, it’s not like that.”
“Then what, Erika? What is it like?”
“It’s not me, Liam, it’s Adhira. I thought I was dreaming.”
“It wasn’t Adhira with Erebus’s head in her lap, it was you, Erika.”
“Liam, it’s hard to explain.”
“Well, you’d better start explaining if you want to keep me.”
“Liam, you told me you would never leave me,” I pleaded.
“I think cheating on someone is a pretty good reason to make them leave, Erika.”
“It’s not me, Liam!” I screamed.
“It’s your body Erika, it is you!” he screamed back.
I followed Liam into his room. I started to cry. I sat down on his bed, “I am so confused. I didn’t know it was real. He comes to me in my dreams.”
