"Your condition? You think it's your skin that's the problem? My God this is hilarious. I've met some people who refuse to believe but you take the whole gluten-free cake! Angel it's not a disease. It's who you are. It's what you are," Hunter told her exasperated, moving away as if she had just insulted him. "You're not the only one with this so called ‘disease’ you think you have."
"You know nothing, you haven't dealt with what I have," she cried out.
Hunter laughed cocking his head backwards. "You'd be surprised Angel. How's this for a story? A virginal human female fucks an all too charming Grigori, has an enhanced pregnancy lasting six months, finds out their true nature and flees. I've seen it enough times. I guess it's hard to contemplate thinking you've been with a fallen angel. As soon as the Nephilim is Unveiled my senses are enhanced enough to make it possible to find them. But they must want my help.”
Unveiled?
Luxor's head spun shaking her head vehemently from side to side, there was too much information to absorb. It was true. All true. Every single thing she'd read. Except for their images.
Hunter crouched down in front of her and steadying her head. "Remember I told you my mother died giving birth to me, yours did too, and don't try to lie. That's what happens when humans give birth to a child of a Grigori. Some say it's punishment, but the truth is a mortal woman's body isn't equipped to handle such a strong and powerful baby."
“And the markings, that means I’m…” Luxor held her breath. Silently she prayed he was playing a cruel joke.
"Deep down you already know the answer."
`"I am nothing like you, there’s something seriously wrong with me, a medical condition from various medications, a hex put on me, but I'm not a Nephilim. I am wholly human."
Hunter let out a disgusted sigh. "Ooh, I believe there's something wrong, I'm guessing it's more mentally. Have you been seeing Valencia lately?" He paused looking at her wrists annunciating the next few words slowly and precise to make sure she understood completely. "Let me help out.”
“Valencia? How, how do you know about her?”
“Because we are the same. Me, Castor, Theo, Melita, Coach Davis, and yes Dr. Lawson."
Luxor slipped her arms through the jacket.
It can't be true, I can’t be like them. There's no way I can have the blood of a demon coursing through me.
"That's the real reason I borrowed you the book. Passages were highlighted. You could have saved yourself and me so much trouble. Did you even read it?” His tone softened. “You needed to hear the truth. You are one of us.”
“Shut up!” Luxor dug her fingernails in her scalp about her ears, pacing about and hummed to block him out. “I need time to process. Logical explanation. There has to be.” Even though she claimed to be in denial, deep down she knew it to be true. It explained everything, including the perennial darkness which refused to go away.
Hunter punched the wall and she jumped. He pounced like a tiger, clasping her wrist and all but dragged her back to the kitchen. “Looks like we’re doing this the hard way.”
“No, let me go!” Luxor kicked out, halting and attempting to walk backwards. She tried to out manoeuvre him.
He around in his back pocket and shoved her back, latching onto her arm and maintained a tight grip. Enclosed in a cage she was held against her will. “Want proof?” He produced a sterling silver Swiss Army knife and held it against her skin. “This is the only way.”
Luxor’s eyes widened and she tugged her arm away. “Hunter, please don’t!” she screamed out, begging him to stop. Her control was slipping away, her inquisitive nature having dire circumstances.
His sturdy and hard grip cut off her circulation. “I should have done from the start.” Pain etched in his toffee eyes as if he was in turmoil and when their skin connected Luxor experienced a dose of torment and conflict. “I’m forced to. There’s no other way.”
The tip was pressed in the middle of her palm, his fist around the body of the knife. Luxor continued to tug her arm away in any way possible, back, forward, left and right, but it was useless.
Before she could scream Hunter pressed his lips against hers and muffled her anguish.
The sharp blade slit Luxor's palm with a searing heat, deep until her raw flesh was exposed and flapped open. Tears blinded her vision, and she knew this was the end. She gasped and slumped down onto the cold, hard ground.
Hunter released her and sliced his own palm. "Let the tainted blood flow."
"B-b-blue. My blood is blue," Luxor stammered, the colour draining from her complexion. She wrapped the sleeve of her jacket around her palm.
"And the darkest blue I've ever seen." Hunter twirled the knife around, his electric blue blood dripping next to hers.
The sticky blood gushed out thick and fast in a heavy stream. A puddle accumulated on the floor and she almost slipped when she unsteadily rose. She held herself up with one hand, smearing a handprint over the iron wall and trailed her hands up and down, spreading it about. She tried to see the opening but the darkness concealed it.
A misty fog blindsided her vision. "I need to go to the hospital," she straggled out.
It wasn't her veins that were the problem they were only the symptom.
"And tell them what?" Hunter replied incredulously.
"I need to be stitched up, I'm losing so much blood." She heaved, and held her palm against her midsection.
"You'll get over it," Hunter said dismissively and blocked her exit. "The moment I saw you, I knew there was something extra special about you that made you stand out more than the rest of us. You have this electric energy surrounding you making me feel alive, you give me sparks of I don't know. Hope."
"Well right now I hope you fuckin' die," Luxor spat, writhing against the wall, and slumped down.
She visualised happy thoughts, of the beach, the serenity of something so pure to eradicate the pain. It didn't work, only constant agony consumed her.
Hunter shrugged, holding out his hand to help her up. "I tried to tell you, remember that first day in the library when I told you your tongue was blue?"
Luxor slapped his arm away. "I told you I ate blueberry liquorice," she groaned, willing him to go away.
"Mere coincidence. You had a Band-Aid on your finger and you stuck it in your mouth. I'm right, aren't I?"
Luxor remembered that incident perfectly. Before going to the library, she nicked her finger on the picture frame that had been shattered by her sneaker.
Hunter tugged her back into the kitchenette, turned the faucet on and held her palm under, a gush of cold spouting onto her skin. His thumbs circled around her wrist and palm as he massaged her skin, washing away any remnants of his crime.
I’m too tired to fight him. He'd done his worst what more could he do?
Hunter loosely wrapped a white cloth around her palm. "Look at your palm."
She flitted her eyes open, but something had changed. The fogginess that had previously enveloped her mind had evaporated, and her perception was clearer. Looking down she examined the marks. The bleeding had stopped, inch by inch the last bit of her skin closing up right before her eyes. She ran her thumb over the incision to make it more real, to confirm she wasn't seeing things.
"Jesus Christ." Luxor gaped and blinked repeatedly, peering in closer.
"Not quite but you could give him a run for his money." He laughed rinsing his palm. Blood began to trickle out again at the same rate, he wrapped toilet paper over the wound like a bandage.
"Why are you still bleeding?" She shouldn't have cared and wished for the worst pain. But she couldn't.
And she hated herself for it.
"Genetics," he told her in a way of explanation. "Your strengths and abilities come from how strong your father is. To be able to heal that fast with a deeper cut, yours must be very gifted and strong."
Luxor's stomach churned at the sight of her tainted blood which made her want to drain it all out. She didn't want it running through he
r system, pumping blood to her heart, keeping her alive.
She wondered what kind of traits has been passed on to her? From her visions, her father was evil and he’d hurt her.
Was what happened with Verity really an accident of part of who I am?
"I need time to process, I-I've got to go, go somewhere, anywhere." Luxor paced around the room not sure what she should be doing.
The walls closed in further and Hunter's larger than life presence made everything worse. She was lost in a maze of her own thoughts and afraid of the next step to make. It was hard to contemplate normality from here on in.
Hunter moved away no longer an obstacle in her way. "Aren't you sick of running and being alone?"
Luxor was sick of pretending to be normal. "Everything about this is crazy," she told him, and thread her fingers through her hair.
"That's an understatement. Are you ready to accept who you are?" Luxor snorted in derision, rolling her eyes. "Like you?"
"Of course," he said proudly.
"Yeah I can tell by the abundance of tattoos," she said sardonically.
"It's called self-expression. I'm not ashamed of what I am."
Luxor kind of believed him, he always oozed self-confidence bordering on narcissism. It would have taken years, and hours upon hours in a tattoo parlour to gain the perfect way to honour what he was. For some people it could be random pieces, but all the images he'd inked was a homage to his identity.
"Congratulations on your self-acceptance. I call bullshit," Luxor challenged him.
"Want to hear bullshit? Everything documented about Nephilim’s is false. As you can see, we're not deformed giants but all tall, gifted and truly beautiful. Like us."
"Don't try to weasel your way out of this, you slashed my palm to match my jeans and try a compliment? That is seriously screwed up." Luxor hung her head in her hands, an ache settling in as her stomach churned into knots.
There were many factors that were being affected by this new revelation. Evie's father said The Book of Enoch was a tale to scare children. Did that mean his beliefs were now compromised?
"Feel better to get that of your chest?" Hunter remarked clearly unfazed by her rant. "Let's get out of here, it's time for a long chat." He removed a bottle of Gatorade from his backpack. Popping the lid, he took a hearty sip before passing it over. "Want some before it goes?"
"I'll pass."
"I promise I don't have germs." He chuckled. "Although by now I think you've established that."
Luxor side-stepped the blood affected areas although it was a challenge, it was everywhere. He drizzled it all over the floor and walls focusing on the areas with the most amount. Their blood swirled; navy mixed with electric blue and ending up being camouflaged by the sports drink.
Luxor gasped. "That's how you did it. That's why nobody thought anything of it when I popped my knee!"
His stance shifted from foot to foot. "Maybe, maybe not. You'll never know if you don't come along," he said cryptically.
Hunter dropped his leather jacket in her arms and left Luxor to ponder her decision. She was in a predicament. Bolt and run or spend more time with a grade A classified psychopath who had just slashed her or finally know everything.
Luxor picked up the jacket bringing it close, and as it always did, his scent consumed her. She shook her head, hanging onto the image of what he'd just done otherwise she would be sucked into the lust infused vortex.
Before she slipped her arms through the sleeves, she gave them a once over to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. No cuts, blood or evidence. She really had healed. It explained so much, yet at the same time posed new questions.
She was all set to go, to be set free of the deception that made up her existence.
"I have to warn you, try anything remotely harmful to me again and I’ll stab you through the heart," Luxor said seriously.
Hunter chuckled. "Oh, Angel I'm going to really enjoy your brazen self." He furrowed his forehead and entered the elevator closing the gates behind them. He pulled down the rope taking them upwards. "I regret my transgressions over that."
Luxor groaned. "Sorry. S-o-r-r-y. It's five letters. How hard is it to say?"
"Very. When you were brought up to never say it,” he said and headed towards the door. “Wait here and listen out for my signal.”
Beep Beep followed by one more long beep.
Luxor peeked out from the window and noticed a silver Saab convertible flashing their high beams. She slipped out and headed towards the car. In another step of misjudgement Hunter had managed to shatter Luxor’s composure and shake her resolve in her decision to go with him. It would have been all too easy to run and hide, but answers awaited.
"Are you coming or not?" Hunter called out from the driver's seat.
Luxor bent her head for a closer look before hesitantly moving closer. "What are you doing?"
"Having tea with the queen what do you think? Let’s drive.”
"In a stolen car, hell no." She stood up straight and crossed her arms. It was bad enough she was teetering on the edge of juvenile detention, being caught in a stolen car would only speed up the process and add time on.
"It's not stolen, I'm taking it for a service drive. Now get in before you get both of us busted."
Luxor surveyed the area before settling into the car. "Where are we going?"
"A surprise."
Luxor slid down further into her seat despite the darkest legal tinted windows and groaned, all too aware the outcome wouldn’t end well. If there was one thing she was well aware of, Hunter was unpredictable and anything could happen.
"I'll be back," he said, leaving the engine running.
"And that ended well when The Terminator said it," she mumbled, wondering where he was off too.
Hunter pulled out his Swiss Army knife and carelessly threw it in the cup holder dispensers between them. Opening up the ashtray, he gathered out the loose coins.
"If you don't think my intentions are honourable then touch me." He said with no hint of sexual innuendo. "You seem to have this power to tap into people's emotions, so go ahead lay your hands on me and do your voodoo."
"It's only you. Your emotions only," she admitted softly.
"Yes." Hunter fist pumped in an exaggerated manner, the coins jingling. "Means I'm special." He beamed egotistically.
"Yes special."
"So, so, cruel," he smirked and slammed the door, running across the road.
Luxor laughed at his reaction. In some ways she was the female equivalent of Hunter. Or was. He had an over inflated sense of self-importance, and thought he was special, and needed to be loved by everybody. It was also a way to cope with having nobody truly love them so they had to love themselves to the extreme to make up for it. Was it a bad thing? Luxor wasn't quite sure. What she was sure of was finally she was able to relate to him.
While waiting she fully checked out the interior of the car. It was decked out in the finest leather, buttons on the driver's side to control the whole vehicle. Luxor pressed a multitude of buttons, off and on to pass the time. In the cup tray the knife stuck up, and grabbing it she flicked it open. It had her navy blue blood crusted on it. She swiped it off and it fell in flakes onto her lap. Flicking the knife again Hunter's electric blue blood was stained against the silver. Why were they different shades?
Luxor glanced up. Hunter had passed the water fountain, slowing down seeing the yellow tape for the first time. It had been erected when it had been lit alight. The graffiti of Gen 6:4 might have been erased but the charcoal staining the exterior of the fountain remained. She was deeply engrossed in flicking them to and fro when the door swung open.
"Damnit Hunter can you warn me?" She jumped. The knife dropped beside her, on the sly she slipped it into her pocket.
"Couldn't you lock the door after me? Who knows what weirdos lurk about?” Luxor bit her lip to prevent herself from busting out laughing again and spurting something inappropriate.
He slipp
ed in juggling a couple of couple of mini tubs of gelati. "Thought you might be hungry and everybody needs a sugar rush."
Luxor smiled at his gesture. "Thank you."
Hunter kept one hand on the steering wheel he leant over and cranked open the glove compartment and pulled out a packet of Skittles. He tore the corner with his teeth, poured half the contents into the curb and stirred. "Want some?" He offered shaking the bag. She refused, not in the mood for indulgence. "You don't know what you're missing." Hunter revved the engine and clicked the car in D, pulling out from the curb.
“What’s up with all the sugar? You’re going to get fat and lose all your teeth.”
“Energy. My body chews the sugar up at an extreme rate,” he said and poured the remaining Skittles in his mouth. “A penny for your thoughts?"
Luxor let out a deep sigh slouching her shoulders forwards. "That I'm dumb."
"Am I supposed to refute it?" Hunter replied humorously.
She narrowed her eyes. "It's been in front of me all along. Gen 6:4, Castor, Theo, and your tattoos, spray painting the road..."
"What are you on about?"
"There was a fire at the Village Bowl and I confronted him and—"
“I’m surprised you didn’t guess earlier something was amiss.”
“Oh, believe me Castor wasn’t shy dropping extra hints.”
Hunter slammed on the brakes, lurching Luxor forward, her hand grasping onto the dashboard. He turned towards her and clasped her chin forcing her to look at him. "Damn him. Did he hurt you?" She withdrew his fingers, cutting off any physical contact.
"Like slicing my palm? No." Castor threatened her but she didn't want to divert the conversation with what happened in the past.
"You've known all along what I was, what I am. Why? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to so many times, but it's against the rules. You've heard of the Ten Commandments, well there's actually eleven; Thou Shall Honour One’s Life. In other words, you cannot expose anybody."
"Since when do you follow rules?”
"I follow rules which keep the Archangels away, those jerks are hard-core crazy."
Unveiled: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone Page 41
