Everlasting Flame

by Katelyn Anderson

  Chapter Two

  Immortality was just a word. Everything and everyone could die. It didn’t matter that Tainted Beings didn’t grow old after reaching a certain age. It didn’t matter that we could heal scratches and broken bones. It didn’t matter that we were classified as immortal when severely damaging the heart and brain killed us. We could die, just like everyone else.

  I despised the agency even more; they made me an orphan. They killed my family. I would never forget that moment, the blood, the lifeless bodies of my family, the man responsible for their death, the sorceress who delivered the final blow, or agents who aimed their guns at me. The nightmarish scene would never leave my mind, no matter how hard I tried to bury it. I didn’t want to see it over and over again but it was stuck in an infinite loop.

  I could no longer cry. My reserves were empty. My chest ached. My whole world was falling to pieces. There was nothing I could do. All I could feel inside me was an endless rage. I just had to pretend I was dreaming. I would wake up soon and everything would be as it was before I entered this nightmare, my new reality.

  When I came out of my haze, I woke to find myself in the back seat of a car. Wet clothes were plastered to my skin. A blanket was wrapped around me, keeping me warm. The bag I had on my back was gone but I noticed it on the floor, soaked from the rain.

  My feet were sitting on Damian’s lap. He was carefully pulling out the shards of glass, using the car light for guidance. Wounds didn’t heal if foreign material was still stuck. That prevented skin from healing over unwanted materials and causing infection.

  Damian held my ankle when my leg jerked from the sharp pain.

  “I’m almost done,” he assured me gently. “I was hoping to finish before you woke up.”

  “Did we lose the agency? Or are we being chased? Lorenzo is driving like a maniac,” I muttered, wincing when Damian yanked a fairly large piece of glass from my right foot. “Ow!”

  Golden eyes settled on the rearview mirror when Lorenzo glanced up. I got lost in those eyes. They were so beautiful.

  “This is how all Italians drive, young lady, rain or shine,” Lorenzo said.

  “Keep your eyes on the road. The storm may have eased off but the road is wet,” Damian stated, shifting my legs to the floor when he was finished. “Slow down. We aren’t being followed.”

  “Your wife is gonna kill you. Just saying.” Lorenzo eased his foot off the accelerator.

  “Most certainly but I wasn’t going to let Joan fend for herself.”

  “The agency will continue to hunt her until they find her, putting your wife and your family at risk. You know how persistent Dane can be and how unregistered children make him nervous.”

  “Why? Why does he see unregistered children as threats?” I asked, clinging to the blanket tighter.

  I wasn’t sure how I was functioning. Perhaps I was blocking out all of the negative things. If I let the events of tonight overwhelm me, I knew I would break into tiny pieces. If that happened, it would take a lot more than Damian’s love to glue me back together. I just had to focus on something other than my parents’ death. It was the only way I would make it. How could I be so strong when all I wanted to do was scream and cry? I didn’t want any of this to be real. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. I couldn’t.

  “There’s a prophecy based around an unregistered child that will be the undoing of the agency,” Lorenzo mentioned quietly. “That’s why the agency takes no risks.”

  “Screw the prophecy. A child can’t do crap. I’ve seen what the agency is capable of. A child would die instantly facing them. That prophecy is a load of rubbish,” I said, expressing my opinion without holding back.

  “Children can grow up and become legends, Joan. Just keep that in mind,” Lorenzo said, glancing over his shoulder for a moment before returning his attention back to the road. “Damian, it will be wise to keep her away from Cyrus and Renée. The resistance isn’t going to last much longer. If they find out about Joan, those two will undoubtedly turn her into a weapon to use against the agency they are so hell-bent to destroy.”

  “Maybe I want to be that weapon. They killed my family. It’s only fair I return the favour and bring them down,” I replied, clenching my fist. “They deserve to pay.”

  “Don’t put ideas into my niece’s head, Lorenzo,” Damian snapped. “I’ll cash up some favours to get the bounty lifted. Joan won’t be hunted and my family won’t be at risk. Problem solved.”

  “Cashing up those favours to keep her safe will undoubtedly make Dane suspicious,” Lorenzo mentioned.

  “It’s better than the alternative. Besides, Dane knows the consequences of challenging the council. He’s on thin ice enough as it is but they don’t want to get involved in this war. I’ll make some calls when you drop us home.”

  “Being in the council’s debt is going to come with a heavy price, Damian.”

  “They owe me. I’ve been behaving myself. The outcome if they refuse my request is fairly obvious. They will lift the bounty off Joan because the consequences if they don’t will be much worse.”

  “You’re forever playing with fire, my friend. Be careful you don’t get burned. What if they call your bluff?”

  “They wouldn’t dare.”

  “Register me and I won’t be a threat. You won’t need to cash up favours or be in debt to whatever council it is you’re talking about,” I suggested. “If you make it look like I was always in the system, then I will no longer be hunted, right?”

  “I see intelligence runs in the family,” Lorenzo commented, a slight sarcastic tease to his voice.

  “Registering you will involve forging papers,” Damian replied, ignoring Lorenzo’s remark. “Neither of us are in a position where we can do that subtly. I will have to reach out to Renée or Cyrus... or the council. I will be in the same dilemma regardless of what I do.”

  “I have no concerns about Renée. Cyrus is the one we need to be careful with. Leave the council out of this,” Lorenzo said.

  “You don’t have any issues when beautiful women are concerned,” Damian muttered under his breath.

  Lorenzo chortled in response. I was too dead inside to feel amusement or laugh. I just stayed quiet.

  “You’re right, though. I’ll touch base with Renée and get her to come by first thing tomorrow morning, alone. I don’t want Cyrus anywhere near Joan. He’s bad news,” Damian said.

  Damian sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It was dark brown, a similar shade to mine, but his was shorter, shoulder length. Mine went half way down my back. You could tell we were related. He shared many similar traits to my mother... I let the thought disappear before it brought on another emotional breakdown.

  “Why is Cyrus bad news?” I asked, unsure if either of them would answer my question. I was hoping one of them did because I needed the distraction from my troubling thoughts.

  “He’s not a very nice person,” Damian finally said.

  Lorenzo barely managed to stifle a laugh.

  “That’s sugar coating it. Don’t call Renée. Cyrus will get involved,” Lorenzo said.

  “The severity of Cyrus’s crimes doesn’t come close to the things I have done.”

  “Wait, what?” I blurted, unable to believe the words that just came out of Damian’s mouth.

  “Yours is in the past, buried. Cyrus is still adding to his repertoire,” Lorenzo began, dropping the sarcastic personality. “You’re a different person now. The council may keep a very close eye on you but there’s no need. You’re not the problem, the agency is, but the council are too busy pretending it’s not their issue to deal with. Meanwhile, the resistance are getting their asses handed to them and the whole world has gone topsy-turvy. The council is all about balance and peace but they haven’t done anything to stop this war. What the hell are they doing?”

  “They don’t want to get involved with magic nobody can fully grasp or understand. They don’t want to mess with it due to the magic’s origin. I�
��m sure they’ll intervene if Dane triggers something that will be catastrophic. Until then, we are on our own,” Damian replied. He let out a heavy sigh and gazed out the window.

  “The origin? The creator of immortal kind, you mean?” I asked, puzzled.

  I had no idea what was going on. The issue was my exhaustion, the trauma, basically everything, and I hadn’t read any books about magic. I had a feeling magic was real, our existence was solid evidence that it was. I just never imagined there were powerful sorceresses and other people out there who could bend power to their will. They defied physics. My mind was so overloaded with new information, I was surprised my head hadn’t exploded. Maybe I was using the information as a distraction to hide from the truth. My parents were gone.

  “It’s more complicated than that,” Damian answered my previous question. The quiet and dark tone of his voice made me hesitant to ask for more information. It was clear to see it was a sensitive subject.

  For now, I didn’t need to know. My only goal was to take down the agency once and for all. I didn’t need to know anything about the origin of immortality. I didn’t need to know because the organisation was run by humans. Humans were a lot easier to kill.

  Could I really turn into a killer? I knew I would have to make sacrifices. I knew there would be a high price to pay for freedom. Wars weren’t won without bloodshed. I wasn’t old enough to be a Trojan horse. I could spend the next few years training so when the time came, I would be ready to infiltrate the agency.

  “Jacqueline looks pissed,” Lorenzo said when he parked the car in the driveway; he left the engine running.

  Jacqueline was standing on the veranda and was sheltered from the rain. The light above her head kept the shadows at bay. She was wearing a fluffy, pink dressing gown. Her arms were folded. Her blonde curls were tied back, revealing the tightness in her jaw. Her brown eyes were narrowed; they looked so dark against the fairness of her skin. Her lips were slightly parted, ready to begin an argument for when Damian left the confinements of the car.

  “That’s merely her resting face,” Damian admitted.

  “Be thankful she doesn’t have immortal hearing, else she’d kill you,” Lorenzo countered, laughing. “Good luck. Call me if you need anything. I will help in any way I can.”

  “I know, thanks. You might want to leave before your ears bleed from the incoming yelling,” Damian suggested. He got out of the car and shut the door.

  While Damian was making the short walk to my side of the car, I decided to push my luck with Lorenzo.

  “You have to tell me about Cyrus, Lorenzo. I need to meet him. I need to become the weapon to bring down the agency that murdered my parents. Don’t take that away from me.”

  “Joan, I am not going to be the one responsible for converting Damian’s one and only niece to the dark side. Don’t become the darkness. Once you do, it’s hard to find the light.”

  “But I–”

  “I get that you’re hurting, I do, but you weren’t the only one who lost someone precious to them tonight,” Lorenzo cut across me. He never glanced back at me when he spoke. “Charlotte was Damian’s sister. He’s hurting just as much as you and he’s not going down the same path you’re planning on taking. Be as strong as him and don’t give into the darkness.”

  I didn’t know how to respond so I stayed silent.

  Damian opened the door and helped me out of the car once I had retrieved my bag from the floor; I left the blanket in the car. I was still unsteady on my feet and was finding it a little hard to walk. I didn’t have the nerve to ask Damian to carry me. I had more dignity than that. I just held onto his arm for support.

  Lorenzo reversed out of the driveway when we reached the veranda. He was leaving before the inevitable screaming match began. I wish I could have done the same but unfortunately I was stuck where I was.

  “Is that blood?” Jacqueline asked; the rage in her voice melted away into concern.

  “Yes, dear. I’ll explain everything later. Right now my main concern is to get Joan some dry clothes and a room to sleep in,” Damian replied softly, moving past his wife to get inside the house.

  “I already said no,” she stated, tone cold.

  Jacqueline’s response made Damian stop in his tracks but he didn’t turn around to face her.

  “Not now, my love. Please.” The please came out strained.

  “She will be a risk to our family. I will not–”

  “Both my parents are dead!” I whirled around, interrupting Jacqueline with my outburst. “I have nowhere else to go. If you want to throw me out on the street and feel no remorse for my situation, then you are just as cold as the people who killed my parents! I am your niece! You are the only piece of family I have left!”

  Jacqueline opened her mouth to speak but the angry words she wanted to say didn’t come out. Her eyes widened with shock.

  “Damian, I’m so sorry,” Jacqueline apologised.

  “I had already taken the risks into consideration before bringing her here. After I make a phone call with a certain council member, Joan will no longer endanger our family. Goodnight,” he said.

  Damian never glanced back at Jacqueline and walked up the stairs without a second thought. I followed after him, staying quiet. I didn’t know what else to do or say. I had already said enough. I had already done enough.

  The stairs and hallway were lit with dim lights. I kept my head down. There was too much going through my mind to absorb my surroundings. All I focused on was the beige coloured carpet becoming soaked with footprints. I decided there was no point getting to know my new home. I had a feeling it wouldn’t last long. I knew when I was unwanted and Jacqueline didn’t want me here. Perhaps that would change when Damian made a phone call to get the bounty on my head lifted.

  “I thought Lorenzo said to leave the council out of this,” I mentioned quietly. I didn’t want to wake my cousins up. I guess I should have thought about that before screaming at my aunt.

  “The woman I’ll be contacting knows all about discretion. The only person she will be alerting is Dane.”

  “Do you trust her?”

  Damian nodded once and grabbed a towel from one of the cupboards in the hallway.

  “With my life,” he said, leading us into a room.

  The bedside lamp was already lit, illuminating the bedroom in a faint glow. There were cotton pyjamas lying on the double bed. The curtains were closed but I could still hear the rain splatters hit the window. The wardrobe doors were open and had been stripped bare. The room was much bigger than my old one but it seemed so empty. It had been cleared out for my things. The bed was the only item in the room that hadn’t been stripped. The assortment of pillows looked inviting.

  Damian took the soaking bag off my hands and replaced it with a folded towel. I caught a glimpse of a silver mark in the centre of his palm, a crescent moon and something else. I knew the other symbol would be a ten-pointed star because my mother had the exact same markings in her palm. She told me it was a birthmark. More lies; it was the mark of their coven.

  “I’ll put your clothes in the dryer,” he said, gesturing to the bag. “Chuck the wet clothes you’re wearing into the basket by the wardrobe. The towel is for drying off. The bathroom is also at the end of the hall if you were wondering where it was.”

  “What will happen once you make the call?”

  “You’ll no longer have a target on your back and you can rest easy. Dry off, get some sleep. My room is the second on the left if you need anything.”

  “I don’t think I can sleep. The nightmares will keep me awake.”

  Damian laid a gentle kiss on my forehead before making his way to the door.

  “I’ll be here for you after I make this call. Promise. I’m just outside.”

  “Ok,” I said, watching him shut the door behind him.

  I was too proud to say I didn’t want to be alone. Being alone made the distractions disappear. Being alone gave me too much time to think abo
ut the awful things I had been through. At least he was just outside.

  I unzipped my jacket and threw it into the basket. I peeled off my shirt and pants. Trying to get changed out of soaking clothes that insisted on sticking to my skin like glue was hard work but I managed; they joined the jacket in the basket. I used the towel to dry off and got changed into the pyjamas. I sat on the edge of the bed and buried my face in my hands. There was no way I would be able to sleep.

  I heard pacing outside my door. If I didn’t know any better, Damian was nervous about calling the council. The agency was on top of the food chain. On a human scale, there was nothing that overpowered them or challenged their authority. However, this council wasn’t ordinary, not from what I had heard in the car. They were a magic council. That in itself trumped everything.

  Damian stopped pacing and dialled.

  “Name, please?” an Irish woman answered on the fifth ring. “No one should have this number.”

  “I wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t a life or death situation. It’s Damian.”

  “Chevalier?” she asked, sounding very surprised.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, well, well. What can I do for you?”

  “I need a bounty on a Tainted Being lifted.”

  “You know the council doesn’t get involved in matters concerning the immortals.”

  “I’m also asking you as a friend.”

  “Damian–”

  “She’s my niece. She’s also the last immortal left with direct ties to both ph–”

  “Alright. You don’t need to say anything more. How soon do you need this done?”

  “Now.”

  “Now?” she repeated, making an abrupt sound of disbelief. “You’re unbelievable.”

  “The agency makes calculated and swift moves where the prophecy is concerned. We don’t have much time left.”

  “Something of this magnitude needs planning and precision. What do you expect me to do with such short notice? Get up in Dane’s face and resort to making threats until the bounty is lifted?”

  “I will quite happily do it myself but the council won’t approve of my tactics, which is why I called you for discretion.”

  She laughed, the disapproval visible.

  “Oh, you’re funny. Really funny,” she snapped sarcastically. “Fine. I’ll do it because nobody wants to repeat that part of history. This better be the only time you call me for a favour.”

  “I won’t make it a habit.”

  “I’m grateful you called and didn’t take matters into your own hands. I’ll be as discreet as I can. This is a one off, Damian, a one off. I mean it.”

  “I know. Thank you.”

  “If Dane comes after her, let me know. He will be a fool if he does, especially after I’m through talking to him the first time around. He won’t be wanting a second visit.”

  “I need to go. Thank you for helping me. I didn’t know who else to turn to.”

  “You made the right decision. I’ll be in touch.”

  Damian let out a heavy sigh when the call ended.

  “Is it done?” Jacqueline asked in an almost hush.

  “Yes, it’s done. It’s not a temporary fix, that much I can tell you. I need to keep a close eye on Joan tonight. We’ll talk more tomorrow. Please take Isabelle and Jason to school on your way to work in the morning. It’s going to be a rough few days and I need to be there for her.”

  “Of course. I’ll put those in the dryer for you. Change into these, you’re soaking wet.”

  There was a small pause of silence while Damian got changed. I heard the squelches as he peeled off his soaking clothes.

  “Just remember you have other responsibilities as well. I’ll give you all the time you need but don’t expect me to do everything on my own.”

  “I know, my love. I won’t forget my own children,” Damian replied, voice bitter. “I know you don’t want her here but at least give her the respect she deserves. She isn’t your child, I understand, but please treat her the same as our children. She’s lost everything. We are the last piece of family she has left. Don’t resent her. This wasn’t her fault.”

  “I didn’t want to get caught in the agency’s firing line. I’ve heard the stories of what happens to those who hide fugitives from them. I’ll try to be civil but if she puts our family at risk, she needs to leave.”

  “Jackie–”

  “Don’t Jackie me!” she hissed. “I’m concerned and terrified. My mind won’t be at ease until this mess is put behind us.”

  “My associate is handling the situation. I trust her to be swift. There isn’t anything to worry about, my love. Go to bed.”

  “I hope you made the right decision.”

  “I did. Goodnight.”

  “Night,” she murmured, her voice distant. She was already walking away before she spoke.

  There was a soft knock at the door.

  “Come in,” I called out, lifting my head out of my hands.

  I’m sure Damian already knew I had been eavesdropping. I had nothing better to do and I couldn’t help but overhear everything. It wasn’t my fault. Immortal’s hearing was sensitive and I always had trouble blocking things out; clocks ticking were easy to ignore. Perhaps I was naturally a nosy person.

  Damian had changed into black knee high shorts and a loose, dark blue shirt that brought out the ocean colour in his eyes. His hair was slicked back and tied up, keeping the wet strands out of his eyes. He had a friendly face, the sort of face you’d pick from the crowd to ask for help. There was a kind nature about him. I was grateful to have him as my uncle. I knew I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him and Lorenzo.

  “I’m surprised you haven’t made a fort,” Damian joked with a small smile, moving to the other side of the bed.

  Damian grabbed some of the pillows to make a backrest and sat down on the bed once pulling back the sheets. He eased his back into the pillow stack and slipped under the covers.

  “You can’t sleep at that end of the bed,” he told me, voice soft.

  “I can’t sleep.”

  “You won’t know until you try,” he said, placing a pillow on his lap. He patted the top side of the pillow as an invitation. “Don’t make me drag you over because I will.”

  “This is silly. I’m old enough to look after myself. I don’t need you to hold me so I sleep soundly. Curling up in your lap isn’t going to chase away the nightmares. I’m not a child. Only children curl up in a person’s lap when they’re afraid.”

  “Just shut up and come over here,” he said, still using the same gentle tone as before. “Please. You need to try. Sleep deprivation isn’t good for you. Those wrinkles are permanent.” He scrunched up his face to make as many wrinkles as he could.

  I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous he looked.

  “Ok, fine. You win,” I mumbled, moving up the bed in a crawl. I slipped under the sheets and rested my head on his lap, snuggling into the pillow. “This is still weird.”

  “Only because you’re overthinking it,” he replied, switching off the light. “I’ll keep the nightmares away, I promise. You’re safe here.” He stroked my hair while he spoke. It was comforting.

  I didn’t mean to start crying again. I couldn’t help it.

  Damian tucked me into his warm embrace and held me as I sobbed, still stroking my hair. He didn’t speak. He knew whatever he said wouldn’t mend all the broken pieces of my soul. My parents were dead. I had lost everything. I was consumed by so much rage and sadness that I was drowning in my own emotions.

  Damian tried soothing me with quiet hushes and held me tighter when the sobbing got worse. He started humming. When he realised it was helping me calm down, he changed the humming into quiet singing. Somewhere over the rainbow. Listening to him sing made everything melt away like lemon drops.

  The tightness in my chest faded and my eyes stopped leaking. There was so much warmth in the room. Damian chased away the darkness with his magnificent voice. He san
g beautifully.

  Sleepiness overwhelmed me. I gave into my exhaustion, hoping Damian stayed true to his promise of keeping the nightmares away. Something told me he would never break that promise, not for anything.