19: Revelations of the Truth
I sighed heavily then, leaning my forehead into my hand with my elbow propped on the table. “I guess that means I’m still going to have to help him after all,” I groaned.
“What?” Freya asked, confused.
I sighed again. “Nick. He keeps somehow getting his bistin lodged in the resonator at his house. He’s got a strong grip, so knowing him it probably just slips out of sweaty hands like a bar of soap.”
Freya’s brow furrowed. “You actually go in and get it for him?” She asked in disbelief.
I sat up straight and nodded. I didn’t realize I had never told her about it. “Yeah, why?”
She tapped her chin with her index finger, her other arm crossed underneath her chest as she thought it over. “How bad is the damage when you come out?” She wondered.
“I’m basically a skeleton most of the time. Sure, I have some tissue left, but it’s certainly not a pretty sight when I’m done. He always looks like he’s going to be sick.”
She nodded in agreement, lost in her own thoughts. “You know,” she finally said. “He might be doing it on purpose.” She then gave me her full attention when I glared. “He might not realize the intention behind it, but that may be one of the tasks he’s getting paid for.”
I scoffed. It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought of that, but why bother after the first time, when obviously it wasn’t going to kill me? “But why?” I finally asked in disbelief.
She shrugged. “Maybe the people behind this shadow company are trying to see if they can give you cancer or something. Though they should know that’s not possible…” She shrugged again. “But maybe they’re desperate to eliminate their target after almost two centuries. For instance, if this shadow company is actually a hitman business responsible for orchestrating deaths, then they may take it as a personal failure that they haven’t been able to kill you, even after all this time. Possibly, that’s why they’re still after you.”
I groaned in annoyance. “For the most part, I’m glad to be immortal – at least, I am now that I have you and Lily in my life. But I really wish I had a lethal superpower, so I could eliminate this mess once and for all.”
She reached out and clasped her hands around mine. “I’ll be your weapon,” she whispered, her crimson eyes intense.
I grimaced. “Not that I’m ungrateful, but I hate the idea of you having to fight my battles. You shouldn’t have to get involved with this.”
“Well,” she huffed out a sigh, “I kind of am, and so is Lily unfortunately. We’re in this together now, so we need to work together to destroy the demons that are still haunting you.” She looked at me meaningfully then.
Somehow, I knew she meant that in other ways too. Like healing my heart from all my grief. A lump reappeared in my throat and I had to look away. Her warm grip tightened around my hands.
“Plus,” she added after a moment, “if you really do have some form of astrakinesis as a superpower too, then you might be able to help after all.”
“How?” I wondered seriously.
She bit her bottom lip. “Honestly, I don’t know for sure what the implications might be, but it’s possible that you can do more than just bind your soul to another body.” She paused, her expression suddenly becoming extremely reserved as a new realization dawned on her. “For example, you might be able to do that with other people too – switch souls between bodies…” She stopped abruptly, fear appearing in her eyes – a very different kind of fear. Her eyes were wide, and her bottom lip started trembling. For once, it looked like she was slightly afraid of me.
“Freya,” I gasped, trying to consider why she was looking at me that way. “I would never do that to you.”
She nodded slowly, her volume almost completely gone now. “Not even to keep Lily?”
My back straightened so fast, I almost felt like I might have left my body again. “No,” I said firmly – almost harshly. “Absolutely not. That would be no different than killing you.” But I could see she wasn’t entirely convinced. The realization that I might be capable of such a thing was weighing heavily on her mind. I quickly reached out to grab her face, causing her to flinch. Her hands fell limp to her lap, trembling helplessly. Ironic, since she was a lot stronger.
I took a deep breath, determination in my eyes. “Freya, I need to explain something to you. It’s not that I have a preference for Lily over you. I do love her, but I love you too. The preference stems from the fact that I was with her first. I’m not a cheater. If I had met you first, then the situation would be the opposite.”
She blinked at me in surprise as my words settled in. “Really?” She asked breathlessly.
I nodded confidently, because it was the truth. “Yes. I grow attached like you do, although maybe not to the point of imprinting,” I smirked at her and she gave me a weak smile in return, “but when I met you, everything was in reference to my preexisting relationship with Lily. If we had started something first, then I wouldn’t have dumped you for her.”
Her eyes were brimming over with tears now. I reached out my thumbs to gently wipe them away as I continued. “I’m sorry you thought that’s what was going on.”
She nodded silently. She then reached up to wipe a few more tears that had slipped out, prompting me to move my hand.
“Or did you think something else?” I wondered when she was still quiet.
She shook her head. “No. I mean, I know I’m attractive, but no one can deny that Lily is super hot.”
I smirked at her. “You and Lily are both easily in the top ten most attractive women in the world. Surely you know that. Besides, my attraction isn't all physical anyway.” I paused then, thoughtful. “Although, I guess that makes me the luckiest bastard in the world.”
She finally smiled, it slowly widening into a grin as her expression became more playful. “I guess technically you are a bastard. Your parents weren’t married after all.”
I gawked at her. “Hey, that was rude!” I retorted, though I didn’t mean it.
She shook her head in disbelief. “Oh Sam, you’re ridiculous sometimes.” But I could tell it meant a lot to her for me to consider myself so lucky to have her in my life.
“Are you sure you want to put up with me forever?” I asked jokingly.
Her expression was suddenly fierce in its intensity. “Sam, I love you. Specifically you. If I had your power, I’d eagerly shove your soul into an immortal body so I could keep you forever.”
I stared at her in shock. “Poor guy,” I said breathlessly, referring to the person who’d probably have to die to make that happen. “But we don’t know if I can really do that,” I quickly added.
She nodded in agreement. “Which means we need to eventually try to test out what you can do.”
My eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
Her expression became more determined.
Well, shit. She was going to turn me into a villain at this rate. “I can’t do that,” I hissed quietly. “I’m not going to try switching two people around just to see if I can.”
She leaned back, clearly surprised by my assumption. “What? No, not with people. I figured you could try it out on a couple of animals – maybe like a snake and a chicken or something. They’d probably act really weird if they switched bodies, so it would be obvious if it worked or not. Plus, you might be able to switch them back.”
I looked at her apologetically. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I can see how you thought that. I wasn’t very clear about what I meant.” She was pensive for a moment. “We should also consider other implications too, like seeing if you can affect real world objects with your astral form.”
“Like how?” I wondered.
She grabbed her coffee and leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs as she took a sip. Her knee was still pressed against mine. She then gestured towards my cup half gone. “Why don’t you see if you can pick it up without moving your physical body?�
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I gawked at her for a moment, before staring down at my coffee. Could I? How would I even do it? I guess maybe if I could stand without standing…Could I move my arm without moving it?
I tried to focus on my second-sight, to consider its existence as a separate ability from my body’s eyesight. I tried to remember how it felt to have those functions split – having the origin of my second-sight be a few feet above my body while I could still see with my eyes at the same time.
It had been a surreal experience, but with a little bit of focus I unexpectedly discovered I could sense the distinction quite easily. It made me wonder why I had never noticed it before – but then again, why would I have? It’s not like I had any idea that I was anything other than my body.
Looking down at my hand, I focused on the me within that wasn’t my hand.
And then it happened, as naturally as breathing. I felt myself reach out, keeping my physical hand motionless, and touched my cup of coffee on the circular table.
It began to tip immediately, prompting Freya to reach out like lightning and snatch it before it fell and spilled all over her papers. I smirked at her, using the opportunity to see if I could touch her too. It was weird not having to physically reach out to grab her. I stayed motionless as I wrapped myself around her wrist, causing her to freeze in place as she abruptly stared at me.
“What’s that feel like?” I wondered.
She stuttered as she tried to explain, but ultimately wasn’t able to get anything coherent out. After a second, she took a deep breath, looking at her wrist held firmly in place by seemingly nothing. “N-Not like a hand,” she admitted. “I feel a light pressure that’s evenly spread out, like a shackle or tentacle…or something wrapped around me.” She looked up at me again. “It doesn’t hurt and there’s no sense of temperature,” she clarified, “but…” She tried pulling away slightly to illustrate her next words. “It feels like I can’t move at all. Like my arm has been chained to this position.”
I thought about that for a moment, slowly moving her hand up and down, watching her eyes widen when she saw she couldn’t resist. I then glanced down at my own hand, realizing I could still feel my fingers just fine. I tried moving them, shocked that I could do it just as if part of me wasn’t outside of my body.
Really, it was like I had gained an extra appendage. I felt completely normal – completely whole. Except in this moment I had three arms instead of only two.
“It’s weird to think about,” I began, “but I think a tentacle might be a fairly close description. When I grabbed you, I didn’t feel like my hand was snagging you – it was much more like I was wrapping around you.”
She nodded hesitantly, her bottom lip trembling a little. “Can you let me go?” She whispered.
I did immediately, pulling myself back into my arm. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
She shook her head, eyes still wide. “No, it’s not that. It’s just…” She bit her bottom lip to try to keep it steady. “I’m afraid of ghosts,” she admitted, wrapping her arms around herself. “So that was a little freaky for me.”
“Oh.” I laughed then. “So, you don’t like scary movies then?”
She glared at me. “Horror does not entertain me, no. But it doesn’t scare me either.” She then shivered. “But ghosts are different. That does bother me. A lot.”
I was still grinning at her. “Aww, poor baby. Come her and let me hold you.”
I didn’t move though, and her eyes widened in fear. “You better keep yourself in your body!” She warned. “I’m serious Sam. Don’t make me hurt you.” Though I could see in her eyes she was doubting she could now – that I might be able to stop her if I really wanted to.
“Fine,” I said, acting like she was my mother chastising me for playing too much. “I’ll keep it in my pants.”
She smirked for a moment, before relaxing a little. “This may be a good thing though. At least it means you may be able to defend yourself after all.”
I nodded, revealing I had a one-track mind. “Could make sex more interesting too.”
She gawked at me, considering the implications of that. “Maybe,” she finally admitted, “but we need to make sure it’s not dangerous. Obviously, I was fine when you were slow and gentle, but we should probably find out what would happen if you actually tried to hurt something.”
Not wanting to wait to find out, for fear that I could accidentally hurt her or Lily, I reached out towards the table again with…well, with a tentacle of myself – sticking out like an invisible third arm from my body.
I reached out much further than my arms could, all the way to the next table over. At first, I gently touched the surface, sensing that I could pass right through it when I relaxed. Then, after a moment, I brought the end of it up, constricting it to a point just before jabbing it rapidly into the metal top.
Not being able to see what I was doing, Freya jumped in her seat when it sounded like someone shot a nail through the metal. She gasped and looked around urgently, before her eyes fell back on me. “Was that you?” She whispered. When I nodded, she stood up quickly to get a better look at what I had done, before returning to her seat.
The puncture hole I had easily created was only about the diameter of a pen, but I suspected I could have created a much bigger gap if I wanted. Her expression was reserved now. “Well, it looks like you may have gotten your wish after all. Your true superpower appears to have the capacity to be highly lethal.”
I nodded, suddenly concerned about how Lily was going to react when she found out.
20: Unexpected Reactions
“Still love me?” I asked Freya hesitantly.
The reservation in her eyes disappeared. “Always,” she said firmly.
“Think Lily will have a problem with it?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Honestly, I don’t know.” She paused. “I don’t think so. But it is a lot to tell her.” She sighed. “The fact that her life could be in danger might bother her more than your superpower.”
I leaned back in my seat. “I hate stuff like this,” I admitted. “I like to get all the big stuff out in the open towards the beginning of a relationship. That way if they can’t handle it then we aren’t wasting each other’s time.” I glanced at her. “But this? It bothers me to have to tell her something so major at this point.” I sighed. “What do I even say? Oh, hey Lily. By the way, your life may be in grave danger by an organization responsible for successfully killing my last wife and child. Oh, and also, my true superpower is highly lethal to the point that I could probably kill almost anyone I wanted without even moving a muscle.” I took a deep breath and slumped down in my seat.
Freya was quiet while she listened to me ramble on. Once I stopped, she spoke up. “Well, for what it’s worth, nothing is going to scare me away.” She paused when I reached out to grab her hand, causing her to smile. “And honestly, I think Lily will be okay. It is a lot to accept, but she really loves you Sam. You mean the world to her.”
I knew she was right. I knew Lily probably would be okay with it all, but it didn’t make it easier having to tell her. I sighed.
“At least it’s not like you were hiding it,” Freya added. “You didn’t know until now, about the threat or your power. Besides, I’ll be there too…” She paused. “Well, unless you want to tell her in private of course.”
I nodded. “Honestly, it might be best if I tell her separately. I don’t want her to feel obligated to react a certain way because you’re there. The fact that you’ve accepted it so easily might make her feel bad if she struggles with it.”
Freya’s shoulders slumped slightly. “Yeah, you’re right.”
I paused as I took in her somber expression. “Can I ask you a personal question?” I wondered hesitantly.
She perked back up. “Yeah, of course.”
I bit my lip. “You don’t have to answer this, and I’d prefer you didn’t rather than tell me a lie.” She grimaced at the idea t
hat I thought she might lie to me, so I quickly continued. “But I was just wondering how you felt about Lily, especially considering what I just told you about how I feel about you.”
She stared at me for a moment, seeming to consider my question for much longer than necessary. “You mean about the fact that you wouldn’t have dumped me for her?” She clarified hesitantly.
I nodded cautiously, worried about what she was going to say. “And that you’d probably have me to yourself if I had met you first. You wouldn’t be the third wheel essentially, not that I’m suggesting I view you that way.”
Freya held my gaze as she thought about it. After a moment, she sighed and leaned back in her seat. “I guess I feel like it’s fair, in a way.”
“Oh?” I hadn’t been expecting that.
She took another sip of her coffee. “Yeah, I mean we basically have the same problem. Both of our abilities have prevented us from having a normal intimate relationship. She risks burning everyone alive she’s close to…” She lowered her voice briefly. “And I have my bloodlust hurdle preventing me.” She sighed again. “Honestly, I had given up on it. I never would have imagined that someone like you existed, and what’s even more crazy is that I actually like you – a lot. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d shove your soul in an immortal body if the roles were reversed.”
“I like you too,” I whispered, not wanting to even think about that idea. Part of me hoped I wasn’t capable of such of thing, so that it wasn’t even an option. Really, it wasn’t an option either way. I absolutely would not consider it. I would never be able to look at Freya’s body and know it was Lily inside of her. The guilt would kill me. I’d lose them both that way, not to mention I doubted Lily wanted to have Freya’s vampiric problems, even if it meant she could live forever.
She continued. “So anyway, because of my immortality I think it’s only fair she gets a chance at a normal life while she can. Granted, it would be a lot harder on me given different circumstances. Her allowing me to be a part of your relationship helps.”
The Daily Struggles of an Immortal Page 13