by Con Template
“Thank you for helping to take care of her when I couldn’t, Coco,” he replied genially to Coco, who was looking relieved and surprised with Eclipse’s calmness. “Your apology is not necessary. This is all my fault and I’ll make my amends with her now.”
I was glad that he didn’t punish or berate Coco. I would’ve stopped him if he even made a move to, but I was happy that he decided himself that it wasn’t her fault. The only person he should be mad at was himself.
He regarded both of them while I continued to ignore him. “If you two don’t mind, I’d like to spend some private time with her.”
Coco and Phix nodded, flashed me an encouraging look, and left promptly thereafter.
“Gracie,” Eclipse began delicately, moving closer to me once the other two were gone.
“Oh, don’t sit too close to me,” I finally quipped, shifting my chair further away from his. “I don’t want another storm to hit because you’re pissed off at the fact that you’re stuck with me.”
Though he appeared affected by the toxicity of my words, Eclipse kept his cool façade.
“How about we take a walk, Gracie?” he offered instead. “Let’s go somewhere more private where we can talk. Let me explain myself.”
“Go to Hell,” I snapped at him, and he nodded complacently.
There was a somber demeanor to him that obscured his typical easygoing personality. “If you really want me to leave after our conversation is over, then I will.”
My eyes widened when he said exactly what I wanted to hear. I could never get Eclipse to leave by force, but if he voluntarily left, then he would be gone from my life forever. My heart raced. I didn’t know if it was from excitement or dread.
“You mean it?”
He nodded again, his eyes sincere. “Please come with me and let me explain myself. If you still want me to go, then I will. I will leave you and I won’t bother you again.”
I didn’t hesitate to take him up on his offer. I needed to confront him, to get closure anyway. At least with this deal, I could kill two birds with one stone.
“Let’s go then,” I said, getting up from my seat.
His lips curled faintly at the impatience I was exuding. He got up with me, pulled an umbrella over us, and began walking beside me as we stepped out from the noodle stand and onto the streets.
“Where are we going?” I asked when we reached a quiet part of the street.
Under the umbrella, while his luminous brown eyes glowed under the streetlights, he extended his hand out to me.
I smirked wryly, knowing what this gesture meant. He wanted to teleport me somewhere with him. “I see that you’ve gotten your full powers back.”
“Partially, yes.” He moved his hand closer, silently willing me to take it. His eyes were gentle but insistent. “Please, Gracie.”
Not wanting to prolong my time with him, I apprehensively took his hand and felt warm electricity glide through me from the simple exchange.
My surroundings changed instantly.
Instead of standing on the street, we were now on a familiar looking roof that overlooked the entire city. It was the building he took me to that night after the club—that night when I asked him if he was in love with me and he laughed at me for asking that question. Upon being reminded of this embarrassment, I ripped my hand from his grasp, stepped out from beneath his umbrella, and pulled away from him.
As though his only reason for holding the umbrella was to protect me from the rain, he threw it onto the floor of the roof, not even giving it a second thought as the wind tumbled it around the roof for several seconds before it knocked the umbrella over the edge.
“How have you been?”
“You lied to me,” I snapped at once. I would not tolerate useless pleasantries. I didn’t spend an entire week feeling like a fool and rehearsing this confrontational moment to have him charm his way out of it. I glared at him, my gaze scrutinizing everything that encompassed his existence. “You made me believe that you voluntarily came here for me when you were really punished with me.” I smirked at him as the drizzling rain continued to cloak over my head. “Did you have a good laugh, Eclipse? Did you have a good time making me look like a fool in front of your family and friends?”
“I didn’t lie,” he answered with controlled emotions. “Not exactly.”
Gusts of frozen air nipped at our skin, bringing with them the droplets of mist that absorbed our warmth.
“Don’t patronize me,” I said fiercely. The imploding rage in my body was enough to dislodge any cold chill that may have settled upon me. “You may look down on my species as a whole and you may think I’m the dumbest twit there is, but at least give me some credit.”
He sighed at the hostility I was catapulting his way. From the visible muscles tensing under his expensive suit, it appeared that he was equally frustrated.
“I know you’re angry,” he stated coolly.
I snorted. Angry was too calm of a word. I was enraged.
“And you have every right to be,” he continued regretfully, moving closer to me, “but I didn’t lie to you.”
I folded my arms, slanting my head at him disbelievingly. “You’re telling me that Coco lied?”
“No, she didn’t lie either,” he responded, completely contradicting himself. He immediately went on when he saw that my patience was wearing thin. “My deal is to convert you, to own your soul, and take you back to Hell as a Demon. That was the punishment that my brothers gave me.”
“You said that your punishment was to find that Angel’s missing items and that I was your choice. You said that it was your choice to come to me when you made a deal with them.”
I snorted again, my hatred for him compounding by the second.
“Look,” I incited through gritted teeth, having no more tolerance for his lies. I didn’t bother to tell him that I was hurt because I had started to trust him as a friend. He didn’t deserve to know that he affected me like that. All that he needed to know was that I was livid with him. “I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re punished with me. I don’t care if you’re stuck with me and I don’t care if you couldn’t care less about me, but don’t fucking play me for a fool.”
“I chose you,” he reiterated again. “I’m here because I want to be here. I’m not stuck with you.”
I feigned an understanding face. “Ah, so now you’re saying that you’re stuck with the other punishment?”
He shook his head. “No, I want to find Genesis’ missing items as well.”
I expelled a dry laugh. I couldn’t believe this shit-show. The bastard lied so much that he couldn’t even keep track of his own tales anymore.
“Gracie,” he said desperately, “I know how bad this looks, but I can’t be anymore specific. I can’t explain myself any further because there are some things that you can’t know yet—”
“Stop. Just stop,” I interrupted with exasperation. “You are digging yourself into a deeper and deeper grave.” I regarded him with scorn, my stern eyes challenging him to contest what I was about to sum up. “You were punished with me. That was why Sloth asked why you didn’t attempt to scare me into submission . . . because he didn’t understand why you were being nice to me. That was why Tony appeared so amused with me when I went to him to help you, because he knew all along that you despised being with me. I was the dumpster that you were flung into, the garbage that you have to lug with you so you can regain your throne.”
I took a moment to gather my wits before adding, “It’s over, Eclipse. Stop trying to get back on my good side. I know the truth now. I know that you’re nothing but a manipulative bastard. Spare me your acting skills and fess up to it so I can move on with my life.”
I stood there, watching as he stared at me in silence. I could see that he was troubled, like he didn’t know what to do with me. It was palpable that he had never been in this type of situation. He never had to answer to anyone before.
“Cat got your tongue?” I incited, bec
oming angrier at his lack of response. When his silence persisted, the fury inside me worsened. I had enough of this. “Then, I’ve heard what you had to say and my response to that is: Go to Hell and never come back.”
Done with his bullshit, I was prepared to make my exit when Eclipse pulled me back to him. Something akin to a transparent veil appeared over us like a dome. Although it did not shield us from the rain, I knew that it shielded our voices from the rest of the world.
“I went to my elder brother—Wrath,” he began quickly, staring into my eyes. The rain, as well as the beating of my heart, picked up as he spoke. “After I became a Fallen Demon, I went to his Kingdom and told him that to rectify my mistake, I would voluntarily make it up by converting a known Source. In addition to doing that, I also promised that I would search for Genesis’ elusive missing items.”
My attentive silence told him to go on.
“I wanted to atone for my sins, but I told Wrath that the rest of my brothers would not let me go to Earth unless they felt that I was being punished. So I asked him to help me. In order for me to come to the human world, I told him that it must be believed that I would be punished with one thing before I could volunteer for the other. If I volunteered for both assignments, then we both knew that the rest of my brothers would never agree. But if we lied and said I was punished with one duty, then I would be free to come here. Wrath, even though he wasn’t fond of me, decided to help me because he knew it would benefit the monarchy if I were to succeed in either mission. Not to mention, the deal would be even sweeter if I didn’t succeed. It would be entertaining for him either way. Naturally, he couldn’t pass up such a momentous deal.”
The sprinkling rain around us picked up, inundating us like a haze.
“So he helped me and kept this secret between us. When I went to the rest of my brothers and volunteered to find the missing items, Wrath had already injected into their heads that as my punishment, I should also be forced to convert a Source. To make them believe that I was angry about being ‘punished’ with having to convert you, I faked my anger and allowed the storms to come so they’d believe I was miserable.” He sighed, his eyes gazing intently into mine. “You are not my punishment and you are most certainly not garbage to me. I already knew that I wanted to be here when I waged war against the monarchy.”
My eyes bulged as my heart slowed its beats at his simple, yet powerful, words. A flood of realization rammed into the fortress in my mind, trying to spill its knowledge over me.
In a trance, I weighed the implication behind his admission to me.
“Wait a second. You . . . it – it was your plan to become a Fallen Demon?” I gaped at him, finding it immensely difficult to digest what I had just learned. “You waged a war and failed on purpose to be here?”
He nodded solemnly, his grave expression conveying that this was the secret that he couldn’t initially share with me.
“My brothers would never let me come to the human world unless they believed it was a last resort. For a Dark Majesty to leave his throne to convert a Source and search for Genesis’ missing items, it would have been too popularized, especially for someone of my stature. There would be too many obstacles.”
“But if you were ‘imprisoned’ in your Kingdom, then no one would be suspicious,” I finished for him, the wheels of my mind spinning at the insinuation of his words. “The likelihood of anyone attempting to assassinate you or obstructing your goal is reduced because the majority would not know that you are here. And for the ones who do know, it was their decision to let you come here in the first place. So even if they changed their minds, they couldn’t turn back on the deal they made. They have to allow you to stay up here until the deal is completed one way or another.”
As he nodded, my swirling mind pressed on.
“Why me?” I then asked, knowing that he had yet to reveal everything. “Why are you really here with me?”
Eclipse averted his eyes, and when it appeared that he had gathered whatever nerves he had to summon, he slowly revealed, “As a Fallen Demon, none of my Arch-Demons are allowed up here with me. I figured if I converted you, then you could help me find the items. In my mind, I saw it as killing two birds with one stone. I would get a soldier and I would get what the rest of the world wanted: Genesis’ missing items.”
I shook my head. Something prodded me in the back of my mind and I didn’t hesitate to vocalize it.
“Tell me, Eclipse. If I were to become a Demon, I would become one of the most powerful Demons in Hell, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then what will happen to you?”
He didn’t say anything, but I knew this was where I got him. I knew Eclipse. He did not seek out soldiers; he sought out weapons of mass destruction.
“You own the soul of one of the most powerful Demons in existence,” I pressed, wanting him to admit it. “What would happen to you?”
“As a result, I would become the most powerful Demon in existence,” he finally answered. “If an extremely powerful Demon were to convert you, then their powers would be heightened unimaginably. However, if a Royal Demon were to convert you, then the Royal Demon’s powers would be limitless because we have our father’s blood pumping through us.”
He swallowed tightly.
“I had planned on getting out of the deal when I returned to Hell with you. The deal with my Elders was to bring you back so you’d serve the monarchy in Hell, but it didn’t specify which monarchy you’d serve.”
I smirked caustically at the loophole he found.
“And when you bring forth the real war against your father’s monarchy, your brothers will have no chance against you.”
I laughed dryly, never realizing how strategic Eclipse was until now. My revulsion for him aside, I couldn’t help but be in awe of someone so sadistic and manipulative.
“I have to hand it to you, Eclipse. You are far more cutthroat than I ever could have imagined. You have thought this through brilliantly. From bringing forth a war that you knew would fail, to pretending that you were desperate and taking on their ‘deal,’ and finally lying to your own brothers and allowing them to send you here—basically signing their own death certificates.” A hollow laugh escaped from me. I was certainly in for a rude awakening tonight. Eclipse was more of a heartless bastard than I had ever given him credit for. “You are truly the spawn of Satan.”
“I can’t change the fact that I came here with a purpose,” he resumed, noting the aversion I had for him. “I’ve told you once before that I’m a Demon and that my intentions are not always the purest. I warned you from the very beginning about what I am. I am manipulative, I am a liar, and I am cutthroat—this is what I am. This is what nature made me out to be.”
“Oh, don’t worry. After tonight, I will never forget that you’re a coldblooded Demon who only thinks about himself.” I let out a strained breath, having enough of this conversation. I didn’t want to be around him any longer. “Are these all your explanations? Because I’ve listened to them and to be perfectly honest, I think I’m more turned off by you than I already was—”
His next statement stopped my words dead in their tracks.
“One of the reasons why I’m here is because I need to set a loved one free.”
My whole world shifted on its axis.
I paused, looking at him as wind billowed past us. It took me several long minutes, where I was blinking rain off my eyelashes, before I was able to pull myself out of my stupefaction. I did not expect to hear this admission from him.
He was here . . . to set a loved one free?
“Your father?” I uttered, staring at him in shock.
He shook his head, and I felt the bewilderment within me escalate. “Who?”
“My eldest brother.”
My jaw nearly dropped to the ground. “Pride?”
He nodded solemnly.
I was struck by the enormity of his words. My voice dropped to a whisper. “Free him from what?”
If my mind wasn’t doing spins before, it was now. “How?”
“Angels,” he replied simply, his expression aggrieved. It seemed that he had never been this honest with anyone, and for an entity who had seen eternity, he seemed unable to sort out how uncomfortable this gesture made him. Nevertheless, to appease my growing disdain for him, he went on without filter. “They have him, and to break my brother out—to have enough strength to free him—I would have to be an extremely powerful Demon.”
He swallowed roughly, taking a moment to stare out at the city vista.
“The monarchy that my father created is in disarray—it is imploding. We do not have a cohesive hold on our own Kingdom. I need to bring order to my race and that can only be done in one of two ways: the first way is with my Elder’s return and the second way is if I become the sole monarch. My first priority is saving my brother, but if that doesn’t work, then I will become the sole monarch.”
He inched closer to me, his eyes more poignant than I had ever seen them.
“I didn’t tell anyone else because I do not want this to get out to the Angels. I also do not want this to get out to any other Demon who may want the monarchy as is: in mayhem. The only person I trust is myself.”
My mind could not stop reeling. “How long has your brother been in captivity?”
“Thousands of years now.” I could surmise from the tone in his voice that he hated that he couldn’t save his elder brother. “My brothers and I have done everything in our power to bring him back, but we are no match for the Angels. My brothers have given up, but I’m still determined to free him.”
And that was when everything started to make more sense to me. “That’s why you need to convert me and find Genesis’ missing items?”
He nodded. “I need to be a powerful Demon, much more powerful than I already was. If I convert you, then my chance of overpowering the established monarchy is almost guaranteed. And if I find the missing items, then there would be nothing standing in my way when I invade Heaven.”