by J. J. Melvin
“Oh, so that night you were making all those noises, you lied to me when you said you were dreaming about me!” he continued to scream.
“Liam, please stop screaming,” I begged.
“Erika, I need time to calm down. You need to get out of my room right now and go back to yours.”
“Liam, please.”
“Okay, if you don’t leave, Erika, I will.” Liam stormed out.
A few minutes later Sofia walked in. “Erika, are you okay?”
“He doesn’t understand,” I said through my sobs.
“Don’t worry, he will calm down. You guys will work it out tomorrow.”
“I don’t know what’s going on. I am so confused, I love Liam. I don’t want Erebus to come to me. I don’t know— maybe a part of me does. I never wanted to hurt Liam. I have to keep Erebus away. Can you help me, Sofia? Can I stay with you tonight? Can you help me keep him away?”
“Of course you can sleep with me tonight and I will do what I can, but I think it’s up to you to block Erebus.” Sofia was right and the look she gave me just made me feel worse.
Chapter 28
BATTLE
The first thing I did when I woke was to go to Liam’s room. He was not there. I went to my room and found him asleep on my bed. I climbed up and sat on my knees beside him.
“Liam.”
He opened his eyes and sat up. “Erika, I am so sorry, I’m stupid, I’m jealous… I just can’t stand the idea of losing you. I know none of this is your fault.” Liam hugged me.
I pulled away. “Liam, you’re wrong, some of it is my fault. I didn’t tell you about my dreams. I couldn’t tell whether they were real or fake, but still I didn’t tell you.”
“Erika, you’re right, you should have told me, but we are not just dealing with some other guy. We are dealing with a man that doesn’t even have a body, we are dealing with a spirit.”
“Sounds pretty creepy when you put it that way. Liam, do you forgive me?”
“Do you promise to tell me about these things in the future?”
“Yes, I promise. But hopefully we can get rid of Erebus and Akeldama tonight so I won’t have to.”
“Sounds good to me,” Liam agreed, kissing my lips.
We met the others downstairs. “Is everything okay this morning?” Sofia asked.
“Yes,” we both replied.
“Okay, because we do kind of have an important night ahead of us.” Jayson looked worried.
“Maybe I should start the rain now, maybe we can start to scare them a little.”
“Remember Sofia, they have all the same powers that you do— and they both possess all of your powers, not just one. Do not underestimate them,” Mr. Blithe warned.
“They know of our plans,” I announced.
“How do you know that, Erika?” Mr. Blithe asked.
“Erebus. I heard his thoughts. I don’t know why I can hear them but I can. I think he can hear mine as well. They plan on accepting our challenge, and they are definitely coming tonight.”
The room got quiet.
“Well, that is what we wanted.” Liam pushed his hair back.
We spent the day preparing and as night fell, the Watchers and Diamonds started to arrive. We welcomed them all to the party, which was fully equipped with a DJ, disco ball, and loud speakers to drown out the noise we would be making outside. All of the balcony doors were locked and the windows covered by thick burgundy curtains that were reminiscent of Medieval Times. I pushed the heavy drapery aside. Looking out the water-streaked window, everything was a blur. I shivered, not knowing what the night held. I looked around, seeing Watchers stationed at each exit to keep the party goers inside. I watched the Diamond revelers walking in, huge smiles covering their young, unknowing faces. Laughter filled the room. I wanted to stay in there with them, forget about what was coming, what I was meant to do tonight. I wanted to be normal and have fun. But I knew I couldn’t. If I did, all the mirth would cease. There would be no smiles, no laughter, no Diamonds.
It was around 9pm when Mr. Smith came running in through the castle doors. We had all been waiting for his arrival in the foyer, trying to blend in, trying to act as though we were there for the party.
“Mr. Blithe, seventy extra guests are walking up the drive,” he said breathlessly.
“Okay everyone, it’s time.” Mr. Blithe looked at the four of us, and we nodded to let him know we were all ready. “Mr. Smith, block off the streets. Make sure no more late Diamond guests arrive.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Blithe.” Mr. Smith ran out the door.
“Liam, Jayson, Sofia, Erika.” Mr. Blithe licked his chapped lips, biting down on his lower one as he gathered his words. “We have trained and prepared for this day. You are all ready. We will all make it through this. Remember what’s at stake. Now let’s go kick some ass.”
The four of us followed Mr. Blithe to the entrance of the estate and waited at the castle gates. We were soon joined by the other Watchers, the rest of our battalion, our protectors— ready and willing to give their life to maintain good in our world. Staring through the iron gates, we watched as our enemy’s army marched forward. Erebus and Akeldama led the pack. Erebus was in the form of the barista from Audrey’s, a pale young man who was most likely a student at Oxford. I looked into his eyes and I saw nothing but nothingness, emptiness being shuffled forward. I still knew it was Erebus from the feeling I got, the connection I felt, when I peered at a body that was not his. Is that what he sees when he looks at me? Adhira, in a body that is not hers? Is her presence so strong in me that he doesn’t sense me at all?
“So nice to see you again, my Queen Adhira,” Akeldama spoke.
“Her name is Erika, and she is not your Queen,” Liam replied back.
“Erika and I are well acquainted,” Erebus taunted. “She is both Adhira and Erika.” He turned to address me. “Erika, we can stop all this now if you come with me. No one will have to die, I will even let your ex-boyfriend here live.”
“I am not her ex-boyfriend, and why don’t you come in here and try to kill me?” Liam challenged.
“Erika, do we need to play such little-boy games? You know you belong with me. No one has to get hurt, all I want is you.”
Listening to the torrent of words spilling from Erebus’s mouth. I couldn’t help but wonder— was giving into him a way to stop everyone from getting hurt? If I went with him today, could I turn him good later?
“If I go with you, Erebus, what happens to everyone else?”
“Erika, what are you talking about?!” Liam grabbed my hand. I kept my eyes on Erebus.
“If you come, Erika, then we leave,” Erebus replied.
“Erika, he lies. He may spare us today, but if you choose the dark side, you offset the world’s balance. We will all be in trouble; everyone will be in danger,” Mr. Blithe warned and in his voice I heard his faith in me waver for the first time.
“Come Erika, you can be my Queen once again.” Erebus waved his hand, unlocking the gate. We all took a step back as the gates magically opened.
Our enemy’s army advanced, Erebus placed his hand up, halting their progress. He reached the other out, waiting for mine to once again join it.
“Erika, don’t!” Sofia screamed, making the choice for me. Sofia created a gust of wind, throwing Erebus back. I watched as Erebus’s form flew through the air, landing on the stone gravel drive.
The battle had started. Erebus’ army had an assortment of weapons: rifles, handguns, knives. I stood dazed and unmoving like a statue in a beautiful garden. I looked down at the plush grass that cushioned my feet. It was like I had one eye open and one still in a dream, trapped in a beautiful dream with a nightmarish scene unfolding like clips from a movie. I watched Liam blinding our opponents, making them look around jumbled and confused. Sofia created a tornado that swirled around each of them, stripping them of all of their weapons. They all followed their training, they all moved as they were meant to. I stood there scared, not
knowing what to do, not remembering. I was failing my friends, failing the world, failing at the task that I had been unwittingly given.
Akeldama faced Sofia now. He held her suspended in midair and yet I still did not move. Jayson charged Akeldama, picking him up and throwing him far into the distance. I heard a thud as his body smashed against the trunk of a large tree. I turned to see Erebus’s eyes on me, hearing his footsteps leave the gravel and silently float above the grass. I watched the rain shower over his body, his dark hair plastered to his head and dripping water into the eyes that never released their gaze on me. I could hear his thoughts. I listened to his words as I watched his crimson lips, the rain washing away the blood that dribbled from a split in the middle. His mouth never moved, but I heard him as clear as if he were standing by my side speaking directly in my ear.
“Adhira, Erika, I love you. Come with me. I will never leave you again. I love you, my Queen. Come back to me. I cannot live eternity without you.”
Erebus’s words awakened a need I knew I had, a need to know that I could be loved forever by a man that would never leave. I could feel his desire, his love.
“Erika, block him out!”
I felt someone shaking my arms. I turned my head to the figure that stood before me. As the figure shook me, his blue eyes came into focus.
“Liam.” I rubbed my eyes, trying to see clearly. It wasn’t the rain blurring my vision. I felt like I was outside my body, hazy, drugged, not cognizant of my own surroundings.
“Erika, please wake up. I love…”
Liam’s words were cut off as his body was propelled back by a forceful gust of wind. My hair flew from the breeze as I watched Liam land on his feet and swiftly charged back at Erebus. When their bodies collided, I felt my control reemerge. I looked around again; everyone was locked in battle. Jayson ran from place to place to heal the wounded Watchers that lay spread across the castle grounds. Jayson was a bolt of lightning, quickly disappearing and reappearing next to another soul in need of his healing. Sounds of fists, knives, bullets mixed with the thunderous noise of the rain.
“Stop!” I screamed. Everything and everyone froze except the Four Points and the Collectors. Weapons hung suspended in the air, the Watchers and our enemies frozen like forgotten toys on an empty playground.
“Erika,” Sofia yelled, “how are you doing this?”
“She can do anything she wants, she is stronger than all of you combined.” Erebus walked towards me, smiling.
“Just one thought of death, Erika, and all these people will die, die like the lapidary at the coffee shop. It’s that simple for you to kill. You are that strong, and together we can be stronger than anything the world has ever seen. Can you feel your power, Erika? The power Adhira has bestowed upon you?”
“That’s the difference between you and me, Erebus, and why I will never be yours. I do not thirst for this power. Now, with everyone else frozen, it is how it is meant to be: the two of you against the four of us. No innocent people will have to die.”
What happened next none of us ever foresaw. We watched in horror as Erebus took a knife out of his pocket and slit his own throat. Akeldama did the same, leaving two crumpled lifeless bodies discarded on the grass like a pile of trash. We looked around in a panic, wondering where the spirits had gone. Movement from Mr. Blithe and Mr. Vijack caught our attention, and we watched them thaw and come back to life. Mr. Blithe started walking towards me, and I was immediately aware that I was no longer looking at Mr. Blithe. Erebus had taken over his body.
“Would you really kill your beloved Mr. Blithe, Erika? Ahhh, how sweet… he does care so much for each and every one of you.” Jayson, Sofia, Liam and I paused, looking at Erebus and each other, not knowing what to do. Erebus was inches from my face now, smiling, thinking he had won.
“Erika, kill him. Mr. Blithe is dead now. Kill him, Erika!” Sofia’s screams penetrated the silence.
Mr. Vijack grabbed Jayson and began crushing him. Sofia and Liam ran to help Jayson, but Erebus and I remained still. I could hear Mr. Blithe. He was alive, but he wasn’t asking for help. He was asking me to trap him… but I knew if I performed the spell it would trap both Erebus’ and Mr. Blithe’s souls in the diamond forever. Mr. Blithe would die.
Sofia had Akeldama wrapped up with vines from a tree. He was trapped. I turned back to Erebus, but he was gone. A large gust of wind blew, and I shielded my eyes from the particles that threatened to blind me. When the wind settled, the vines were empty and Mr. Vijack was gone. We looked around, but they were nowhere in sight.
“Great, what do we do now?” Sofia asked. “How do we find them?”
“The map! We need to make a fire, Sofia!” Sofia immediately followed my request knowing my plan, she made a small fire on the lawn stopping the rain briefly to give the fire life. As we held hands around it, the map appeared in its flames. We saw all the Diamonds grouped together, and among them were the black ones. Erebus and Akeldama were inside the castle.
“I thought they wouldn’t attack the other Diamonds if we were here! That’s what Mr. Blithe said, that they would only come after us.” Sofia’s words sounded panicked.
“Well, it looks like Mr. Blithe was wrong. Plus, Mr. Blithe is doing the attacking now.” Jayson was the first to release his hold. “Let’s go find them.”
Liam didn’t let go of my hand. He held on tightly. A tear threatened to fall from my eye and I wiped it away, pretending I was wiping away the rain.
We entered the castle. It was like entering a different world. We were welcomed with the roar of music and laughter.
“Where are the Watchers, Erika?” Mr. Schwartz asked as we entered. I was actually surprised that the world inside the castle had kept going when all life and movement outside had ceased.
“I have them frozen. I’ll explain later.”
“Erebus has taken over Mr. Blithe’s body, and Akeldama is in Mr. Vijack’s. They are in the castle,” Liam said swiftly, notifying Mr. Schwartz of the disastrous situation.
Mr. Schwartz grabbed my arm, his words urgent and panicked. “Erika, you have to convince Erebus that you are Adhira. You have to draw him to you and then trap him. It’s the only way. All the Diamonds here are in danger. There are not enough of us left to protect them. They will kill us all if you don’t, Erika. Do you understand? It is up to you.”
“How Mr. Schwartz? I don’t know if I can.”
“Erika, you can concentrate. Communicate with him, but do not let him know it is a trick. You yourself have to believe. Remember all of our exercises. You can do this. I know you can.”
Mr. Schwartz and I had spent countless hours together with him teaching me the skills necessary to clear my mind and get into others, but I still had doubts. “But what if I believe too much and Adhira takes over? Mr. Schwartz, what if I lose myself?”
Liam answered, “You won’t, Erika. Please think of me, think of our love. Their love is not stronger than ours.”
I wanted to believe Liam, but what if he was wrong? I thought about all the time and effort Mr. Schwartz put into me. I could not fail him, or fail the belief the others had invested in me.
“Jayson and I are going to look for Mr. Vijack, I mean Akeldama. You and Liam find Erebus.” Sofia looked at me with a sisterly smile of encouragement. “Erika, I know you can do this. It’s time to believe in yourself.”
“We can’t trap them while they are inside Mr. Blithe and Mr. Vijack, Sofia. They’ll die.”
“Erika, that is the only way. The only other way to force them out is by killing their bodies, but then their spirits will just choose a different host. Erika, Mr. Blithe and Mr. Vijack are already gone.”
“No Sofia, you are wrong.” I turned to Jayson for help. “Jayson, please believe me. They are alive and I can save them. I will force Erebus and Akeldama out of Mr. Blithe and Mr. Vijack’s bodies, but you have to heal Mr. Blithe and Mr. Vijack when I do, Jayson.”
“Erika, if you can force the Collectors out, and our teac
hers still have a soul to heal, I will heal them,” Jayson answered.
“And Erika, if you’re right, I know you will save them.” Sofia hugged me. Her embrace filled my body with confidence and energy.
“Jayson, do you have the black diamonds?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where Mr. Blithe keeps the white diamonds from the cave?”
“Yes Erika, but why?”
“Jayson, please trust me. Just grab two and bring them with you.”
“Okay,” he agreed.
I turned to Liam. “Liam, I have to do this alone. It is the only way Erebus will believe me. You have to go with Sofia and Jayson.”
“Erika, are you crazy? I am not leaving you alone with that man, that spirit.”
“Liam please, this is the only way. I will be okay.”
“Liam, Erika’s right. Erebus will not come to her if he senses you,” Mr. Schwartz defended my decision, reinforcing the fact that we all knew this was the only way.
Liam grabbed me, pressing his lips hard against mine. I closed my eyes, hoping it would not be the last time I felt his lips.
“Erika, you are my past, my present, and my future. You are my heart and my soul— remember that.”
“I will, Liam. I love you.”
Everyone had disappeared in that moment, until Jayson’s voice reminded me we were not alone. “How will we summon each other when we have a Collector trapped?”
“I will make all the lights in the house flash when I trap Erebus. I will trap him in my room,” I answered.
“And when we find Akeldama, I will make the branches of the trees hit the windows. Liam, come on, we have to find Akeldama.” Sofia pulled Liam’s arm. I watched them disappear into the sea of dancing Diamonds.
I looked up the staircase. I knew Erebus would come if I called him from my room. I went to my room and stood in front of the mirror. I closed my eyes and concentrated on calling Erebus. I opened them when I felt a soft kiss on my neck. The reflection in the mirror was not of Mr. Blithe and me, but of Adhira and Erebus. Two beautiful bodies pressed against each other, their caramel skin tones complementing each other in the glow of the light reflected in the glass.
