by Ana Calin
I’m a creature so old most people can’t even wrap their minds around my age. I’ve experienced it all in my first centuries on Earth, and I never thought a woman could affect me so strongly. I thought I was forever above sexual cravings until the moment I tackled Lucia Red to the ground, held her wrists above her head, and looked into her face. My heart skipped a beat, and something sliced through my heart like a knife.
I turn my eyes to the road, my eyebrows furrowing in determination. This will be over soon, the Lord Protector will take over, and I’ll never have to be this close to the girl again. But what if the Lord Protector asks for more of my assistance. Her case is peculiar to say the least.
While it’s not unusual for young witches to unlock their powers on a Halloween night, it’s not common for one to rip the membrane between realms, creating a leak for demons to enter the mortal reality. Besides, this girl isn’t even a witch. I can’t pick up the viscous essence of an elemental in her. She does have some of a sage’s allure, but that’s by far not enough to make her one. And yet she managed to rip the membrane, and almost set a horde of demons free.
The Lord Protector’s mansion emerges from the enchanted veil of fog that’s keeping it hidden from mortal eyes—an extra measure even though the mansion is located in the heart of the Thorny Forest, where humans rarely venture. It’s an enchanted forest, and people are instinctively wary of it.
When it comes into sight Lucia bends forward, the leather jacket slipping off her shoulders, revealing her white skin. I look quickly away, my hands tightening on the wheel.
Fuck, I feel lust, after ages and ages of having been free from it. After centuries upon centuries during which no woman moved me. What’s so special about Lucia Reid that it messes up my senses and my moral compass? She’s only nineteen, and thousands of years my junior, she should be a child to me.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe this place is real,” she whispers, fascination in her voice.
“The Lord Protector’s mansion.”
“The Lord Protector?”
“A sort of guardian of the world.” There’s one way I could describe him that would help her understand in a second what he is. But I have to limit myself, at this point it would scare the daylights out of her. “You’ll understand as you go.”
She stares fascinated at the mansion. “I knew much of the thorny forests of Silverdale were private property of some ridiculously ultra rich Lord,” she says, bending over the dashboard and staring up at the high mansion through the windshield. “But to be honest, I never thought it was true. Otherwise someone would have found his castle by now, or met the Lord himself.”
“The Lord Protector owns vast areas of the forest, surrounded by a special fence no one can get past. Besides, the road to and from the grounds is secret,”—and enchanted, but I leave that out for now—“no one can find it unless the Lord Protector wants it to be found.” I slow down as we wait for the gates to open. “As for the Lord Protector himself, I feel I should tell you—you can feel special for getting to meet him in person. It’s easier to get an audience with the President than with him, even for supernaturals.”
The big wrought iron gates open, the spiked tips of the iron bars piercing the fog.
“Jesus, it’s beautiful,” she whispers as I bring the SUV to a halt in the cobbled driveway.
A minute later I open her door, taking her hand as she steps out of the car and stares up at the imposing gothic mansion with the vines crawling up its majestic walls. She walks up every stone step with a certain kind of reverence.
“Master Aries,” Gordon the butler greets.
“Gordon,” I nod at him, placing a hand reassuringly on the small of Lucy’s back. “This is Miss Lucia Reid. I assume the Lord Protector has already made arrangements for her?”
The butler’s upper lip curls under his coiled moustache in what I’d say is disdain.
“Follow me,” he says, and turns to lead the way before I get to read more in his face.
Lucy stares at the man as he walks with us. He’s an old warlock with a stiff spine and eyebrows raised above their already high natural arch, the line of his mouth denoting he thinks little of most people. He failed in the world of magic, and ended up working as the Lord Protector’s butler, which filled him with frustration. I guess bitterness and disdain for those he deems under him comes with the territory.
As he leads us up the grand staircase Lucia takes in her surroundings in awe, swiping her hand over the intricate carvings of the banister, and admiring the chandelier the size of an SUV that hangs from the vaulted ceiling.
She draws close to me as Gordon turns the knobs and opens the high doors leading to the guest room she’s going to occupy.
“I wouldn’t get too comfortable, Miss Lucia,” he says stiffly. “I suspect you will only be staying for a couple of days.” He motions to a door in the side wall. “That’s the walk-in closet. You will find anything and everything a lady could need in there. This guest room is especially tailored for ladies, so there’s something for every size and every taste.”
Lucy spins around the room like a little girl who was just transported to the world of fairy tales, her muddy rags flying around her. She looks so young, and fresh, and carefree.
“We will leave you to your privacy,” Gordon says, stepping outside and waiting for me to follow.
“No, wait,” Lucy calls behind me. I turn to see her crystal blue eyes hanging on mine. “Please, Silas, stay. Don’t leave me alone just yet. I don’t know anything about the Lord Protector, how am I even to behave in his presence?”
“If I may bring to your attention that supernaturals aren’t at mortals’ disposal in this mansion, Miss Lucia,” Gordon says.
“It’s all right, Gordon. I won’t be long.”
He doesn’t like it, but I outrank him, so he’s forced to leave the room alone, though I can hear him mumbling down the hall. Something about the realms spinning out of control if supernaturals start to take mortals more seriously than pets. Now that we’re alone I turn and face Lucy, pushing my hands in the pockets of my jeans.
She stands there in her Halloween witch dress, the material ripped to reveal a round white shoulder that glistens in the daylight filtering through the white curtains, playing on her tangled red locks. She does resemble a young witch in mortal terms, but to me she’s just, well, sweet. The kind of sweet I want to taste.
“Help me, Silas. I feel like I’ve just woken up in a world I know nothing about, and I’m going to meet the king, no less. I can’t even believe this is real, and I’m frozen. I don’t know how to behave.”
“The Lord Protector is royalty, so certain manners will matter around him,” I begin, walking to the arched window, and gazing out into the foggy forest. “You are expected to—”
“Why don’t you tell me more about yourself first,” she interrupts. “You are my anchor in this new world, and I’m sorry if it bothers you, but I’m clinging to you like to a rock in a stormy sea. I’m sure that the more I’ll know about you, the more comfortable I’ll become.”
Her words get to me, making me feel things I haven’t felt in so long they seem completely new.
“I want to know where you come from, what part you play with the supernaturals, and how come you found me just before the demons could pull me to them,” she continues. “I need to know who you really are, Silas.”
“I’m your guardian angel for now.”
“But what will you be later? What have you been before? What are you to other people?”
I stare out the window as I speak. Anything to avoid her gaze. “My name is Silas Aries, and I carry the blood of Ares, the god of war.”
From the corner of my eye I see her lowering herself onto the bed, her hand searching for balance.
“Can you believe that?” I ask, glancing at her with a smile.
“For some reason it feels right. It explains your surreal aura, too. And I feel deep down that it’s true. But... Does that make you
a god?”
“A demi-god. My mother was human. And mortal. She was happy that I inherited the gene of eternal life from my father, but she never took into consideration what losing her would do to me.”
“I’m sorry.” I can sense she really feels those words, and what she says next explains why. “I think I understand how you feel, but I’m not sure. I never knew my biological parents, so I never really lost them. But I always felt their absence, somehow. I was raised by a foster family.”
I nod, eyes down. Bonding with her fuels my lust, so I better block it now.
“So you inherited eternal life from the god of war,” she says on a lighter note. “Have you inherited his looks, too?”
I would laugh, but I haven’t done it in so long my face muscles don’t remember how to.
“Let’s just say I am my father’s son in many ways. I inherited a good chunk of his job in the world, too.”
“Why only part of it?”
“I have brothers. We share the tasks. But one is to protect the mortal world from invasions.”
“Invasions,” she repeats. “Invasions by demons?”
“Yes. Even though demons are not the only dangerous creatures that can make it into the mortal realm.” I walk around as I explain. “What you know as the real world is only one of many realms, Lucy. Such as Heaven and Hell.”
“Heaven and Hell are realms?”
“Realms, worlds, dimensions of reality, you can call it any way you want. They are two of the many. But tonight it would seem you ripped the membrane between the mortal realm and—” Okay, this is going to freak her out. “Well, Hell.”
“Jesus Christ,” she breathes.
“Things are more complex than that, but that’s the gist.”
“Are there more realms as terrible as Hell?”
“There are higher and lower realms, with Heaven as the highest and Hell as lowest. The realms just above Hell aren’t exactly nice either. “
“So the realms have a layered structure, and a ladder-like hierarchy.”
“Yes, something like that.”
She squares her shoulders, as if trying to cope with this.
“Okay, all right, I get it, Heaven and Hell, I already knew about those, didn’t I. But if you’re the one that guards the mortal world from hell invasions, what kind of a guardian is the Lord Protector?”
Here we go. I clear my throat and fold my arms across my chest before I say it. “You know the Lord Protector, Lucy, at least you’ve heard of him. Every human has. He oversees humans’ exit from the mortal world.”
She stares at me confused. “Their exit?”
“He’s the Grim Reaper. Death.”
She gasps. “Jesus Christ!”
“No, he’s not, well you won’t meet Jesus Christ, he’s not from these parts.” I try to bring some light-hearted spirit into the discussion, but it misses its mark. There’s an awkward silence before Lucy can utter another intelligible word.
“Is that why you said the Lord Protector didn’t interact with humans much?” she breathes. “Because he kills them if he does?”
“He can interact with humans in his human form, without killing them.”
“He’s got a human form?”
“He’s got many forms. He’s like this energy body that can inhabit any vessel. But the Grim Reaper is made to deal with humans, so he’s actually more human than you would think. His human form is also the one he’s most comfortable with. He has a deep understanding of human emotions and thoughts, even if he’s above them. And he is the highest ranked supernatural in this realm and the Flipside.”
“The Flipside? What is that?”
“The Upside Down of reality. It’s... A version of the world inhabited by supernatuals instead of people. Every country and city, every building has its version on the Flipside.”
I can tell all this is too much for her, but she forces herself to process it. I decide to cap it before she goes into shock.
“You will meet the Lord Protector after you’ve rested, and he will have many more answers for you. Don’t be afraid, he won’t hurt you. But you have to stay very much aware of one thing at all times—you’re basically a walking portal for the creatures you saw last night. If you are ever alone in the mortal world again, they can easily get to you. You’re only safe here. So don’t even try to make contact with the mortal world again until the Lord Protector specifically allows it, do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal.”
I head over to her. She sits there on the side of her queen size bed, her witch dress fallen off her small shoulder, messy red locks tumbling down her white arm. Fuck, how I want to lick her skin.
“You need to understand how your life is about to change, Lucy. The Lord Protector will examine you to determine what kind of supernatural you are, and what mysterious powers you possess that opened that portal. But you have to realize—if he does discover special powers in you, he will confine you to the magical world. You will be required to cut all ties with your family and friends, leave your old life behind, forever.”
CHAPTER II
Lucy
The first person that comes to mind is Sadie. She’s been a constant figure in my life since I was a toddler, at least until I met Chase. She was our neighbors’ daughter, the only child in the neighborhood the same age as me. My foster parents had their hands full with the other six kids they’d adopted, so I hung around Sadie, who was an only kid, and happy to share her things with me. We clicked from the start, and I owe her and her family the world. Her parents were well off, and decided to pay for me to go to college when I got the admission letter at the same time Sadie did—My own foster parents had warned me not to even dream about college, they couldn’t afford it. Talk about divine intervention.
Chase would be my second. My high school crush, who took to protecting me from the high school bully Jeremiah Gold Fang. I can’t believe how I blew off years of friendship last night. I shudder as I remember standing in front of Chase with the red lipstick smeared all over my face. Do I even want to see him again after I made a fool of myself like that?
I don’t know, but it hurts thinking I won’t. He and I have been close friends for so many years, I barely remember a time when he wasn’t around. I can detach myself from the idea of a romance with him, but not from the deep friendship that’s bound us since I was still wearing braces.
Chase, Sadie and I, we had dreams of leaving Silverdale after college and moving to New York, make our mark on the world. I’ve pictured myself as a kind of Carrie Bradshaw working for Conde Nast for so long, I don’t know if I exist outside of those future plans.
My eyes return to the spot where Silas stood just moments ago. When did he leave? This room seems too big and empty now without him, and panic starts to bubble in my chest. I jump off the bed and hurry to the door, turning the knobs so hard my wrists hurt. I stare down the majestic hall, but there’s no sign of him.
A face appears at the end of the hallway where the spiral stairs coil up and down to the second and ground floor. It’s Gordon the butler. He’s talking to two women who look like maids in dark dresses, white aprons and white bonnets. They’re both staring at me.
I retreat into the room and drop on the bed, the mattress so fluffy and soft that I sink in it, my arms spread apart. This must all be a dream, it can’t be really happening. I stare up at the white veil of the canopy, and an epiphany hits me—I just sat face to face with the descendant of the god of war, the flesh and blood of Ares himself. Jesus Christ! Silas Aries, the beautiful warrior who saved me from the demons is actually a demi-god. Memories of the fireballs shooting from his hands return to me, speeding up my pulse.
And now I’m going to meet the Grim Reaper, Death himself. That’s so huge my mind has trouble dealing with it.
No, this must all be a dream, and I’ll wake up any moment now.
But when I lay my head on the pillow, and feel the solid reality around me, I know that won’t happen. A magical w
orld exists, and I have slipped into it like Alice down the rabbit hole.
Silas
I OPEN THE DOORS TO the Lord Protector’s study. It looks more like a luxurious throne hall in a castle than an office, but I guess that’s what happens when you have as much money and power as Ramses Delacroix, Lord Protector of the Arcane, Grim Reaper Bringer of Death.
“Silas, approach,” he invites. He’s standing by his desk, taking human shape from swirling shadows as he waits for me to close the distance between us.
“Lord Protector, thank you for receiving me on such a short notice.”
He waves a hand at one of the kingly chairs facing his desk, then he takes a seat and fixes his deadly hazel eyes on me.
“I must say, I was intrigued by the urgency. I already said I’d meet the girl personally, and I never take back my promises.”
“I didn’t expect you would. I asked to see you because I have a special request, Lord Protector.”
He waits for me to continue, his princely face unmoving.
“The girl, I spent enough time with her to be certain she’s more human than supernatural. So I was thinking maybe we can return her to the mortal world once we discover what exactly it was that opened the window to hell. And once we’ve closed and sealed it.”
“Return her? After she has experienced the supernatural?”
“She has a life where she comes from, she has plans for the future. She’s a good student, and she’s got chances to achieve her goals. Why rip all that away from her if the portal business was just an accident?”
“Accident? Silas, this girl ripped the veil between the mortal world and Hell. Even worshippers of Satan have trouble doing that. There’s no way she’s not a supernatural, and a dangerous one at that.”