Eternal

by B C Morgan

  “Your grandmother, my daughter, was a twin. They were both two beautiful girls, but not identical, in every sense. Your grandmother, Julianna was very feisty and only believed in her logic, even if she was proved wrong in a belief and had the facts right in front of her, she would never concede. My other daughter Aria was quiet and kept to herself, she shied away from confrontation and allowed Julianna to treat her something rotten.

  It wasn’t that Julianna was a bad person as such, she was opinionated and head strong.

  As they grew older, they did seem to grow closer and Julianna become her protector of sorts. Now they knew all about our history and the significance of my hair, but due to the general rule, they would never possess the abilities that we have. Now they both had beautiful chestnut brown hair, but Aria had an ebony strip running through her fringe. I never thought much of it, thinking it was just a coincidence until they hit eighteen.”

  “I remember Julianna running into my room, screaming at me to come quick, that I had to save Aria. I flew from that bed as fast as I could and found Aria rolling around her bedroom floor, with the shadows flying off of the walls and almost trying to climb inside of her. It was very disturbing, and we quickly made sure no light could get into the room so the shadows would go. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done, for some reason the darkness had been drawn not just to her, but in her as well and as the night turned into day she began to slip further and further away.”

  “She would sit in the corner of her room, slowly rocking back and forth as the shadows wrapped themselves around her, almost hiding her from our sight.

  I tried to reach her, but every time I laid my hand down on her, she would howl as though my touch actually caused her pain. She started to talk to herself sometimes in whispers, other times shouting back responses to voices that only she could hear.”

  “The ancestors went out of their way to inform me that she was not speaking to them and even they did not know what was going on. By the third night myself and Julianna were exhausted and then our Aria suddenly got up and walked over to us. She crouched down low and said she had fulfilled her purpose and she was now free. She then placed her hands to her head and cried out in pain, before she collapsed to the floor.

  When I turned her over, her eyes were wide open and covered in black veins, just like the rest of her body, but unfortunately she was gone.”

  My heart went out to Mihaela right then and even though I had lots of questions, I thought it would be best to leave them for the time being, until she came back from that dark memory that had sunk its grip into her.

  “I’m sorry dear, I should have told you sooner I know that now, but it brings up a lot of pain that I tried to bury long ago.”

  “I don’t blame you Nonna, I can’t imagine it could have been easy for you having to go through that. But I have to ask what that would have to do with Jackie and mum?”

  “Julianna was twisted that night, I honestly believe that the good in her died right along with my sweet, sweet Aria. She decided I was cursed and that she had been blessed when the power skipped over her. She vowed to make sure her daughters never be felled the same fate as her twin, she couldn’t actually stop it per se, but she wouldn’t let a child of hers grow up with the cursed hair.

  She was over the moon when Jackie and your mum came along with dark blonde hair, without a sliver of ebony to be seen. She had promised me she would not hold our history secret and she kept that promise, only she twisted the truth and painted a much darker picture.

  Your mum become terrified of the possibility that her child could be cursed to suffer with madness and be turned to the side of evil when they eventually came of age. She vowed she would never have a child so our bloodline would die with me.

  Your aunt on the other hand was seething, she felt as though she had been cheated out of some sort of inheritance. She got it in her head that if she could somehow reach a being from the underworld then she could change her fate and become all great and powerful. That girl was born evil, spoilt rotten and twisted to her very core.

  She made a deal with someone who promised her all the power she could ever want if she was able to deliver me to him. So, I faked my death and went into hiding, it’s not that I was scared of her, far from it. I just did not want to have to stop her from attempting it, as well as the fact there is clearly someone out there who wanted my life to be solely in their hands and without knowing who that was, I felt it would be best to just disappear.”

  My family was messed up, but the jealousy that Jackie had portrayed towards me finally made sense in that moment.

  “But my mother did get pregnant, she had me so why would she if she was so scared of what I could become?”

  “I wish I knew Nipotina, but unfortunately the reasons as to why your mother did anything continue to elude me. Just because I can convene with the dead, does not mean that they will always talk back. I’ve never spoken to either of my daughters or your mother, they seem to elude me every time, and the ancestors refuse to tell me why that would be.”

  I allowed her words to sink in and I wished that I kept my next question to myself, but right then, I had no idea what would happen once the dreaded idea popped into my head and me and my Nonna had our first official fight.

  You see I had the marvellous idea she could try to take me with her to the other side. I thought if I went there myself and asked my own questions, maybe I would get some new information, maybe the ancestors would pity me and decide to finally fill in the missing blanks in my knowledge of my own history.

  My Nonna did not like my idea and refused it point blank, she wouldn’t even consider it as a possibility, shooting me down every time I tried to argue my point home to her.

  She was being pig headed and dismissive and I threw my arms out in frustration, accidentally setting the wooden beams ablaze in angry flames. My eyes grew wide as I just stood there completely shocked and frozen in place, luckily Mihaela was quick to action and managed to put the flames out before any real damage could be done.

  It’s safe to say that my actions did not help my case as Mihaela looked at me with cold eyes and told me to never ask that of her again, she then retreated to her room without looking back. I, in return stormed out of the back door and gave it a nice hearty slam behind me, making sure she would know I had left the building, with no clear idea of when I would be ready to return.

  Z

  I sat down on the bench beside her grave side yet again, I couldn’t understand why she would be so dismissive, all I wanted really was the chance to see my mum and maybe finally get the answers that I’ve wanted from her for so long.

  I couldn’t help the annoyed sigh that escaped my lips as my privacy was yet again invaded and I knew without looking that Malachi had returned yet again.

  “What’s wrong little Luna?” He asked, but I highly doubted that he actually cared about what was bothering me.

  “I’m sick and tired of asking questions that no one is willing to answer, all I want is the truth. Why is that so hard for some people?”

  “That seems like a very loaded question, I always find the best people to ask are those that cannot lie.”

  I looked at him like he had lost his mind and he just shot me a dazzling smile, I shook it off and returned to my hunched position, placing my head into my hands trying to clear my mind.

  “There are certain beings out there that when they make a vow, they cannot break it, whether they would have the answers you seek remains to be seen, but you should know there are always options. Even when the situation seems completely hopeless, you need to remember that things are never as they seem.”

  I could see he was slowly inching closer to me, but had refrained from trying to make contact with me so far. I looked up at him more carefully this time and was shocked to see such painful and ugly marks marring such a perfect face.

  He could obviously tell where my eyes had landed as he raised a hand to one of the scars, in a rather absent mi
nded way. I asked him what happened and it seemed as though he did not want to answer, but clearly changed his mind at the last minute.

  “Your boyfriend was rather unhappy about my performance in Venom, this was his way of warning me to not do something like that again. As well as staying away from you as well, he was rather adamant about that one.”

  “Wait, you mean Lawson did that to you? What the hell is he playing at? Oh, and for your information he is not my boyfriend. To be honest he’s nothing more than my work out buddy I guess.”

  I’m not sure why I didn’t tell him about the training I was doing with Lawson, I guess I was just trying to protect myself from the one being I had been warned about profusely.

  “I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have gone to such extremes if that was truly the case, but it’s of little consequence to me. I just wanted to see how you were doing after our last conversation; you sure did leave in a hurry.”

  “I’m grand, I didn’t want to believe you, you know. I wanted to kid myself into believing I really was more human than anything else, but alas it was not meant to be. Turns out my father wasn’t human in the slightest, I have no idea what he is or was, but at least I know now. The other thing I learned was what your kind does and I’ll tell you this for free, no way in hell am I ever going to become another one of the lifeless bodies you leave in your wake.”

  Malachi’s eyes grew dark and he practically growled in response until he was suddenly standing between my legs, with his arms locked in place on either side of my head. His face was only inches away from mine and I could feel his breath as he breathed in and out in ragged strokes.

  “Just because my species is known for something, that does not mean that we all practice it. Yes, I may have sex and feed off of the woman while it’s happening, but I can also do that with a simple kiss and sometimes just a touch of our skin connecting will suffice if I only need a little pick me up. But I not drain them of their lives.”

  His eyes were blazing and his breathing became more ragged, I also noticed his clenched jaw and the tick in his cheek. He couldn’t stop pacing, until he halted in his movements and stopped right in front of me.

  “When I was growing up, I did kill a couple of ladies, but once I learnt how to control it my death toll never went up, unlike Lawson who kills for no other reason than for the sake of doing it.”

  I didn’t know what to make of what he had said to me and I wished I could have held in my flinch when he placed the pad of his thumb upon my cheek. I expected to be bombarded with emotions and sensations, but nothing happened. The question must have been shining in my eyes, as he was kind enough to explain to me that he could switch his ability on and off. Just because we were making contact, it did not mean he would feed from me or make me feel something that was not real.

  He sat back down afterwards and resumed his previous position, if only slightly further away from me than before.

  “I’m sorry if I insulted you, I guess the people that I’ve been getting my information from are quite biased when it comes to your kind.”

  “Most are Luna, unfortunately I haven’t met a single one of our female counterparts that doesn’t kill their play thing, but that is their choice. It is in our nature to kill but I choose to enjoy the experience itself and I’d much rather leave them in the same state they were in when we first met, if not a little more tired and usually hungry.”

  “Why haven’t your scars healed?” I asked, presuming that he would have found someone to heal him by now.

  “I’ve had to rely on humans lately and the dagger that Lawson used caused more damage than you can see, if I tried to use them to heal my scars than they would have died, and it may not have even worked.”

  I’m not sure what made me say my next words, maybe I thought I should have felt guilt, knowing this happened because of me or maybe I felt connected to him in some messed up sort of way.

  “I’ll help you heal if you want, but I’m telling you right now that I will not be sleeping with you to do it.”

  His eyes lit up as they locked onto mine and he slid over until our thighs were pressed together.

  “What would you get out of it?” He asked, clearly trying to decide if this was some sort of trick.

  “Since that night in Venom I seem to be having moments where I can feel, it’s mainly anger and occasionally something will make me laugh. I think you may have jump started it somehow and I’m hoping that a little more exposure may help them come back for good.”

  I knew I had made it clear I would be using him, but isn’t that exactly what he would be doing to me as well. He bowed his head slightly without making a single sound, I wondered if he was going to refuse when he held a finger up and raised his head.

  “Sex would be the quickest way to fix my face, but if you agree to a kiss and that includes however many it may take to heal me, then I will make you feel any emotion you wish. I even promise to never interfere with your emotions without you asking me. And let me just say that I am a man of my word and my promise is sacred to me.”

  I nodded my agreement and told him I didn’t really want to feel anything right now, he then returned my nod.

  He kneeled down on the ground before me, his cobalt eyes falling onto mine, as he pushed his hands over my cheeks and into my hair, curling them around the back of my head as he fisted my hair and crashed his lips to mine.

  It felt like fire had ignited within my stomach and was slowly coursing through my veins, I wasn’t sure if that was a natural reaction for someone when they kissed an incubus, but I couldn’t fight the desire that was flowing through me.

  My arms linked around his neck as our kiss grew deeper, I trailed my fingers down his back and felt him shiver before he suddenly pulled away, disconnecting from the embrace that we had just shared.

  His scars were still there, but they seemed a little less jagged then before and I found myself wondering if I could survive the number of kisses we would have to share to get them to fade completely.

  “I’m sorry Unya, I didn’t mean to affect your emotions I just lost control a little there. I have never had that happen before,” he stated as he looked at me with wonder in his eyes.

  I waved off his apology with a quick brush of my hand, before rising to my feet.

  “It’s fine, honestly I feel good and for someone like me, that is an amazing feeling. I’m not really sure how we’re going to continue our agreement but I do think that maybe we should find a different location.”

  I realised as I stood there that there must have been more suitable places than a bench that sat beside my great grandmother’s empty grave.

  “I will reach out to you once I have found the perfect spot, the only thing I ask is that you do not share this with Lawson. I would rather avoid a repeat of his last visit if I can help it. I nodded my agreement before I headed off to meet Marcus.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Lawson

  I hadn’t spoken to Kat since her little break down in the kitchen a week ago and every time I thought about Unya and Marcus together it did crazy things to my head. I refused to admit to myself that it was jealousy as it felt like I was betraying Lilianna’s memory somehow.

  Her death had eaten away at my every moment since it happened, but the thing I couldn’t accept or even let myself comprehend was the fact that when I was with Unya, the pain lessened a little and I thought of her even less.

  I didn’t think it was fair to her to want to move on, that was why I had thrown myself into situations with woman who I knew could never mean anything to me. I regretted Lilith profusely, but how was I to know that she would become infatuated by the idea of me and her together. She knew the score before anything happened and after one week, she was practically planning our wedding.

  That would never have happened, especially after the fact I still had the ring that I had planned to propose to Lilianna with, burning a hole through my sock draw.

  For a while after she had died and I had got my
revenge, I had seriously considered getting myself killed so I could finally be with her, but it would never have worked. I knew without a doubt I would be destined for Tartarus when my time finally came and Lilianna would never have ended up in such a place. She may have resided in the underworld, but I knew in my heart she had a kind soul, she should have been destined for greatness, not the measly existence that I had to offer and definitely not the untimely and horrific end that she met.

  I shook of my depressing thoughts as I prepared myself to meet with the Oracle, I knew I had to hear the prophecy for myself, instead of the twisted and warped version that was now floating around. Ruined by the years that had long passed since it was first uttered out loud, made to be repeated to Hades, regardless of the Oracle’s wishes. My only problem was no one actually knew where that specific Oracle was, which meant I would have to find their location for myself without raising any suspicion.

  Z

  I made my way down to the underworld purposely avoiding any route that could take me close to Hades palace, all I needed to do was find someone who could point me in the right direction. I walked past the Shades who would forever call the underworld home if they could not find their way to their final resting place, the problem being that they had chosen to drink from the river Lethe and in turn forgot all about their time amongst the living. As far as they were concerned being a Shade is all they had ever known. It’s a sad state of affairs, truly it is, but it dawned on me that I had never truly cared until that very moment.

  So, what if their contribution to the earth was not great enough to grant them access to Elysium, at least they were pure enough not to be sent to Tartarus. Even the thought of that place sends chills down to the evillest of souls, it is one of the reasons why we cling to our existence with all our might, knowing what lies in wait for us is so much worse than our imaginations can conjure.

  Yet these poor souls will always be stuck there, but in a way, they are the lucky ones, as they don’t realise what has been stolen from them. Unlike those who have been denied the chance to forget all their misery and loss. You see when the gods failed to break the lock that Constantine placed upon their gleaming palace, Hades became drunk on the idea of all that untapped power. There was no longer anyone above him, Zeus no longer had any control over what he did so Hades took that chance to make some changes.