“What about our mother?” I interrupt him before he can continue.
“Your mother was not a threat to him in the beginning. He had only cursed the more powerful gods at first. They were all his family, his brothers, sisters, parents, children. He didn’t want to be without all of them. But then he created us. Only some knew the real story, those were the ones that picked off the other gods that wanted to free their king.
“Your mother kept her want to free them to herself. She’s the one who told me many years later about the truth. We were going to amass an army to free the gods, but after she had you she was captured. Now, all the gods are sleeping.” Edmund goes quiet, lost in his thoughts of the past and the regret of losing our mother.
Alex finally speaks up, “Who is our mother?”
Edmund looks up at Alex and smiles blissfully at him. “Selene,” he says reverently.
Alex still looks confusedly at him so I tell him, “the moon goddess.” His eyes widen with shock and I see doubt creep into his eyes.
“Are you all going to sit around here and expect me to believe that my parents are an angel and a goddess?” He stands up and throws his hands in the air. “This is bullshit. What kind of game are you guys trying to play here? You’re all insane.” He stomps over to me. “How can you believe this, Alexis?”
I look down at my knees and mumble, “It’s different when you figure something out than when it’s told to you.”
“Did you ever think that they led you to figure it out so that you would believe it more? They’re pretenders. They aren’t telling the truth.”
The fight is leaking out of him so I take the opportunity to convince him more. “Alex, we don’t know who are parents are and we can do things that aren’t normal. This explains it. Do you need to see more evidence? I can have Cole control you or…” I turn to Edmund. “What can you do?”
In a blink of an eye Edmund disappears. “You can disappear like Alex?” Alex looks stunned, staring at the chair that Edmund was just sitting in.
“I don’t technically disappear,” Edmund’s voice comes from behind us. Alex and I turn around to look at him. “I teleport.” His face looks grave as he watches Alex’s response.
Alex sinks down on the settee that I was sitting on and puts his head in his hands. We wait quietly while he talks to himself. I sit down next to him and Cole scoots over. I don’t try to talk to Alex and I don’t want to console him in fear that he’ll slap my hand away. I’ve never seen him so mad, frustrated and doubting.
Edmund goes back to his chair and nurses his drink while waiting. Kaitlyn finishes off her glass and reaches for the bottle to pour some more. Cole amuses himself by looking at his watch, probably counting how many minutes it takes for Alex to talk himself out of everything he’s been told and shown.
“I didn’t ask for this,” Alex looks at Edmund with loathing. “I was happy in my ignorance.” He waits for Edmund to say something but he doesn’t. “What do you want from us?” he demands.
“To be a part of your life, Alexander. That’s it. It wasn’t my choice to let you go. I made a vow to your mother that I would take care of you once she was gone…”
“Then, why didn’t you?” Alex seethes.
“I was… hunted. I couldn’t let them find you two. They would have put you with your mother. You are going to be more powerful than you are now. Much more powerful than Cole or I or any other angel. You are more than a demigod. Have you never heard the stories? Theseus, Achilles, Helen? They are real; they are strong, beautiful and immortal. You are more than them. And because of that I had to protect you. I had to let the humans raise you.” He glances at Kaitlyn, the only human in the room, and gives her an apologetic smile. He turns back to Alex and I. “If the angels find out about you, they will take you away.”
“Then, why didn’t you stay away?” Alex glares at him. “Aren’t you going to lead them to us?”
“Maybe,” Edmund confesses. “But I couldn’t stay away from you. You are my children. Your mother wouldn’t want us to be apart. Besides the angels don’t know what you really are, if they know anything at all.”
“I don’t think they do,” Cole consoles Edmund. “Samson asked but he doesn’t know what to think. He’s been watching them but I don’t think they’ve given anything away.”
“Samson?” Alex asks. “You mean Ollie is an angel too?” I nod my head to him and look over to Kaitlyn to see she is taking everything in coolly. I nudge Alex to move over and he takes the hint, going back to the couch to sit with Kaitlyn and ask her how she is.
“I’m fine,” she says. “It’s just so bizarre.” I’m glad she is here with us. She’s our best friend. I just hope she doesn’t get hurt by knowing about us.
“I’m going to have to stay in the shadows for awhile,” Edmund says. “I don’t want Samson or Malachi seeing us together. Especially you,” he says to Alex.
“I think that they would have already put it together once they first saw Alex, if they were smart,” I say, referring to Alex and Edmund’s similarities.
“True. Maybe they’re waiting. Maybe they think that as long as you don’t know then you’re not a threat,” Edmund says.
“How would we be a threat?” Alex asks.
“You could be strong enough to release the gods,” Cole admits. He stares at Alex, trying to give him the message through his eyes without speaking it aloud.
“You think we can?” Alex asks. There is longing in his eyes again. He’s wanted to know his mother a lot more than he cared to know his father. I wish he would have told me about his longing.
“Are you willing to try?” Cole counters.
“I don’t know,” Alex lets the words hang there. He’s seriously considering it.
“It’s nothing we have to worry about just yet. I hate to say it but they’ve been there for so long now. I doubt they know how much time has passed. You and Alexis aren’t strong enough yet to attempt it,” Edmund tells us.
“Where are they exactly?” I ask Edmund.
“Mount Latmos. It’s in…”
I cut Edmund off as I realize where I have heard the name before. “Turkey,” I say. “How poetic.” I laugh.
Edmund smiles, getting the joke. “Yes, it is, isn’t it? Almost ironic.” I hear Cole chuckle next to me. Alex and Kaitlyn look confused.
“What’s so funny?” Alex interrupts are private joke.
I look to Edmund but he gives me the nod to tell him myself. “There is a story about our parents.” I remember Cole telling it to me the first night I met him. He knew everything all along. I later looked up the story to read it again because I found it beautiful and magical. “Selene fell in love with a mortal man named Endymoin.” I roll my eyes at Edmund and he grins.
“The stories aren’t always accurate but there is truth to them,” he interrupts me.
I continue, “She wanted to keep him with her always so she asked Zeus to put him in an eternal sleep so he will live forever. She would visit him every night and…” I stop and look to Edmund. “Do we have siblings?” He motions for me to continue and I look back at Alex. “Anyways, he slept on the side of Mount Latmos.” Alex just bobs his head up and down to tell me he got it. “So do we?” I ask Edmund.
“Not anymore,” he says sadly. “She chose a mortal life and so died a mortal death.”
“We can do that?” Alex asks hopefully.
Edmund shakes his head. “You can, but think about it before jumping into it. Once you decide there is no turning back. Menai begged us to help her get her immortality back when she was dying.” Edmund’s head sinks down as he remembers. “It broke your mother’s heart. She never wanted to have any more children after that. And we didn’t, until you.”
“Why did she change her mind and decide to have us?” Alex steals the question that I was about to ask.
“Hope,” he says.
I lean against Cole and he wraps his arm around me. I feel so emotionally drained. But I’m glad this day has f
inally come and I don’t have the burden of keeping secrets from Alex any longer. He seems more relaxed now too. I am surprised he has accepted everything in a day when I thought it would take weeks.
Chapter 21
“I’m going to step out and take a run real quick. I’ll only be half an hour,” I tell Cole from outside the bathroom door. We left Edmund’s house late last night with the promise of meeting him today when we go tour more of New York. Alex seems to really like him and wants to get to know him more despite the fact that he so adamantly told me he had no concern for knowing our real parents. He was wrong.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Cole opens the bathroom door in just his towel. He has another towel in his hands, trying to dry his hair.
“No, you just got out of the shower,” I state the obvious. “I’ll be real quick. I promise.” I give him a quick kiss on the cheek and then grab my iPod before jogging out the door. It’s only seven o’clock in the morning. Alex and Kaitlyn are still asleep, or at least they are still in their room.
I need to run so I can think. I couldn’t sleep at all last night, trying to think of how to accomplish waking my mother up. I imagined so many scenarios of being able to rescue her and meet her. I want to know her so bad it hurts my chest to think about it.
When the elevator door opens to the lobby I’m greeted by three beautiful men, obviously expecting me.
“How’s it going Lexi?” Ollie asks me.
I jump back in surprise. “What are you doing here?” I ask him dumbly.
“We heard you were in town for the weekend,” he answers.
“Oh, so you want to hang out, go see the sites with us?” I put on my poker face. I know this is not a good situation. They’ve probably been following us and saw us go to Edmund’s yesterday. If they saw then they know that we know. I need to play ignorant until I can get away.
“I wouldn’t mind hanging out with you. I know some sites you should see while you’re here.” I glance at the other guys while Ollie talks to me and see them all smirk at his comment. I hear the elevator door open behind me and I step over to let the person pass.
“Oh, yeah? Which ones?” I’m mentally telling myself to prepare to fight. The hairs on my arms are raised up and something inside of me is telling me they are here to hurt me.
I wait for Ollie to reply but he just grins at me as someone covers my mouth and nose with a cloth and I black out.
*
Note to self. Tell myself that chloroform will not make me unconscious. I awake with a major headache. I’m in another apartment, just as grand as Cole’s but I’m not comfortable in this one. I’m handcuffed to a chair. They have handcuffed my feet to the legs of the chair and my wrists to the closed arm on the chair.
My mouth is parched and my eyes burn from the brightness in the room. I look around to see if anyone is in the room with me and am met by a pair of bright green eyes. This angel is very handsome with a straight roman nose, sensual mouth and a body that was meant to cause damage. The only thing I’m put off by is his red hair. It’s not unattractive but I know it means that this is Cerviel.
He’s sitting at a little table in the corner of the room, reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee like a woman isn’t being held hostage right in front of him.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Alexis.” He looks up at me and puts his paper down.
I want to say, ‘It’s nice to meet you too, Cerviel,’ but decide it might be better to continue to play ignorant. “Who the hell are you?”
He smiles at me but doesn’t answer. “Why have Kakabel and Astaroth taken so much interest in you? What are you to them?” he demands in a voice that radiates anger while his face still reads extreme pleasure in talking to me.
“A really good artist,” I reply back.
He laughs at me like I have said the funniest joke in the world. I keep my face neutral, not wanting to show any emotions while he finally collects himself. “You are amusing. Aren’t you scared? Why do you not fear me? Do you know what I have done to Kakabel? What I intend to do to you?”
I shrug my shoulders, wanting to appear as calm as possible. “I won’t be scared if I tell myself there is nothing to fear. You cannot hurt me because I will tell myself not to feel pain. I don’t know what you did to my art professor so I won’t know what you will do to me.” I play with him with words because I know he will not understand.
“Where are your wings?” he demands, angry now because I’m not giving anything away.
“What this?” I nod my chin to the necklace around my neck. He comes forward and yanks it off my neck. “Hey, I like that,” I whine like a spoiled child.
“Malachi,” he calls towards the other room. In a few seconds Malachi is by his side. He takes Cole’s wings that Cerviel hands him and studies it before laughing. “I thought you would like that.” Malachi throws it on the floor and stomps on it. “Go back to Samson,” Cerviel orders him. Malachi is gone in the blink of an eye, leaving me alone with Cerviel again.
“That’s my necklace.” I pout. “There’s no reason to treat it that way.”
“It will hurt your lover,” he informs me with a malicious smile. “If you will not cooperate then we will torture him.”
“How?” I challenge him.
“His wings,” he indicates to the necklace lying on the floor, “contains a link to him. They’re still connected even though they’re not attached. If you hurt one than you hurt the other.”
“You’re insane,” I act like his notions are ridiculous.
“Want to test it out?” he picks it up and places his hands on either end like he’s about to twist it or break it in two.
“No!” I scream. Games up. I lost this match. Shit!
“What are you?” he asks again patiently. He takes a chair and places it in front of me. Then, he sits down, folding his legs and hands as they rest on his leg. He’s acting like this is a normal conversation over tea with a friend.
“Can I have some water, please?” I’m trying to buy some time to get away.
“After you answer my questions,” he answers.
“Are you going to let me go after I do?”
“It depends on if I like your answers.” He smiles sweetly at me. “What are you?” he asks again.
“A girl who is starting to get pissed off that you keep asking me that like I’m a freaking alien or something!” I scream it at him. I close my eyes and take a deep breath to calm down when I feel a slap across my face. My eyes dart open and I glare at him angrily. I taste blood on the side of my mouth and lick at it. He stares at the wound and I see a light bulb go off in his eyes. He grins wickedly at me and then produces a switch blade from his pocket.
“Let’s see how much of a pissed off girl you really can be,” he mocks me and then plunges the knife into my hand, impaling it into the arm of the chair I was gripping. My eyes bulge open in shock and horror and I want to scream but I tell my nerves not to feel anything and my hand goes dead of feeling. I’m so glad right now that I’m a freak.
He watches my expression change with amusement and then looks lethal again when I don’t scream out. I drum the fingers of my other hand on the arm of the chair. Acting like I’m bored with this act. “Where are your wings?” Cerviel demands of me.
“I don’t have any wings you freakin’ lunatic. I’m just a girl.” I start laughing because my hand not responding to being impaled is a pretty sure sign that I am not human. I feel psychotic in the moment. I think shock is setting in and I cannot control it. I just continue to laugh at him.
His face breaks out in uncontrolled angry grimace and then he pulls the knife out of my hand and plunges it into my chest. I feel it tear through the arteries of my heart. I’m so shocked he did it that I stop breathing, which ends my laughter.
Go and find her brother,” I hear him bark at someone before I black out again.
*
“Lexi. Lexi. Lexi!” I hear a voice calling me but it sounds muddled,
like it’s talking through water. My eyes try to flicker open and I see a silhouette of someone standing in front of me. I realize by a sharp pain in my lungs that I’m not breathing so I take in a large gasp of air. The effort hurts and chokes me into a fit of coughs.
“Lexi!” I hear the voice clearer now. It’s filled with relief. I look down and try to focus my eyes on the closest thing to me. When my clothes come into focus I notice that my white shirt is soaked through with blood, already drying uncomfortably to my skin. I’m still handcuffed to the same chair.
“What the hell happened to me?” I ask myself.
“Cerviel stabbed you in the chest. Looks like you are an angel after all,” Ollie says to me. He was squatting in front of me, trying to look into my face but now that I have come to, he moves over to the table and leans against it casually.
“I was stabbed in the chest? Are you guys insane? What if I was human? You would have killed me, you stupid a-hole,” I shout at him.
“Relax. Cerviel was quite sure you wouldn’t die after he stabbed you in the hand and you didn’t respond. How did you do that by the way? Angel or not, it would have still hurt. You should have still felt pain.”
“Why should I tell you anything? You pretended to be my friend.” With Ollie standing in front of me talking to me for the first time in months, I realize the coincidence of meeting Ollie and Cole at the same time. I don’t think, now, it was much of a coincidence. “Why did you really come to Virginia?”
His body stiffens at my question. He looks like his debating whether it’s a good idea to tell me or not. “Astaroth and Kakabel were up to something,” he finally admits. “They had been hanging around the state for awhile.”
My mind wanders to how long they were around. Did Cole watch me grow up? Were they always in the shadows, waiting for me and Alex to grow up before they could confront us? Were they waiting for us to be strong enough to defend ourselves when the time came for us to actually know them?
At the moment, I’m upset about it. I’m uncomfortable knowing I might have always been watched from the shadows. Or maybe Edmund really didn’t know where we were. Maybe he drifted around trying to find where the adoption agency placed us. I think I like the second train of thought better.
Lunangelique (The Lunangelique Series) Page 20