by Con Template
As if my own thoughts were becoming obscured by an eclipse, I was beyond reasoning. My future husband shouldn’t have taken so long to get to me because now I was distracted with the Demon of Lust, and what a distraction this beautiful creature was. I nodded slowly, unable to ignore his tormented plea because my own needs were being tormented as well.
I wanted him just as badly.
I hesitantly lifted my head and grazed his upper lip with both of my lips, barely feathering them over his and barely kissing him. A tempted growl emitted from the depths of his chest, and I smiled. It made me feel happy and proud that I had this effect on my Demon of Lust. With my previous exes, I behaved like a shaky virgin, barely unleashing the dark depths of my own carnal desire. But with Eclipse, there was something about him that encouraged me to utilize my power as a woman. Prince Charming may encourage my innocence, but this alluring Demon demanded my promiscuity.
In that heated second, I didn’t want to be good.
Unable to help myself, I continued to tease him by giving his lower lip the same treatment.
I bit it, a bit harder this time and I could taste his blood. I continued to play with him, barely brushing my lips against his because I knew he was waiting for my first move. Once I kissed him, then he was free to take me as he wanted. He was free to dominate me, worship me, and have his way with me. For the time being, I was solely in control and I didn’t want to give it up. I wanted him to be at my mercy, just like I was going to be under his when he dominated me.
I poked my tongue out, tasting the heat that surrounded his lower lip. His muscles tightened above me. Each tendon rippled like waves beneath my nails, telling me how much restraint he was holding in. It wasn’t until I heard his guttural voice that I deigned to stop.
“Please, Gracie,” he uttered.
I was amazed because I had never heard him plead like this.
I finally nodded, tilting my head up, closing my eyes, and puckering my lips for a taste of lust in its rawest form. With a sigh of need, Eclipse lowered himself, and I felt the increments of time come to a stop. Our lips grazed, lighting the inferno that was ready to burst between us. And just when we were about to finally get our official first kiss . . . reality came pounding in.
“Hiiii!”
“Ahhhhh!” I screamed, leaping up as I scrambled to make sense of the sudden interruption.
Unfortunately for Eclipse, I rose up too fast when I got spooked.
Clunk!
“Oww! Oww!”
“Bloody fucking hell!” Eclipse howled, springing off of me once my forehead collided with his.
Stars exploded in my eyes, and I was sure it was the same for Eclipse. Rubbing our heads in pain, we turned to the ones who interrupted us: Phix and Coco.
“I have good news!” Phix announced while Coco was smiling uncontrollably next to him. Both were dressed in jeans and white t-shirts.
Eclipse glowered at them disbelievingly. From the rising and falling of his chest, I surmised that it took all his willpower not to throw those baby Demons off the cliff for ruining the romantic mood we were in.
“You’ve figured out a way for me to put the moves on my woman without brainless idiots interrupting us when I was about to finally get some action?”
My jaw dropped at his hostile and rude comment.
Phix’s demeanor turned fearful. His frantic eyes darted from me to Eclipse. Realization dawned over his face once he processed what he had interrupted.
“Errr . . .”
Coco’s mouth formed an “O.” She eyed me with a sneaky smile. “Were you going to give a little something, something to his Dark Majesty before we interrupted, Gracie?”
“No!” I lied, my eyes wide as I awakened from Eclipse’s seductive spell. Rationale returned to me. I was secretly horrified that I had become so weakened under his seduction. “No, of course not!”
Eclipse snapped his head back with the ferocity of a cobra. He proceeded to glare at me like I had said the most offensive words he had ever heard.
“It’s my birthday,” he said to me, as if it was his birthright to get whatever he wanted from me on his special day.
“I took you hiking, rented a cottage, and had a party for you,” I retorted, astounded that he could think to demand any more out of me than that.
“Party?” he critiqued harshly. The sexual frustration that radiated from him transformed into rage. “Forcing my inner fat kid to hike up a mountain is considered a party?”
My features twisted into a frown. I couldn’t believe I was about to give my first kiss to this guy.
“The moment is over,” I said flatly, my voice pounding with conviction. “I got caught up because we’re in the middle of nowhere and it feels romantic, but I’m sane again. I’m not going to give in to you anymore.” I looked at Coco and Phix, my eyes welling with appreciation. “Thank you for interrupting us. I almost lost control to this seductive Demon and betrayed my future husband!”
Eclipse’s frown darkened. He wheeled around to face them, the rage he had for me being transferred onto them.
“Since I’m not getting anything tonight, give me good news before I bring my hellhounds up here and throw a party of my own.”
“We found something,” Phix announced at record speed, knowing that he was going to be the main attraction of this hellhound party if he didn’t hurry his ass up. “When we dug more into Gracie’s past, we found out something.”
Interest piqued in our eyes.
“What did you find?” Eclipse and I asked at the same time.
“Gracie had a nanny,” Coco answered, and I swore I could hear tires screeching in my mind. I hadn’t expected to hear that.
Eclipse looked at me curiously. “You had a nanny?”
“I – I don’t remember,” I replied honestly.
“She was Gracie’s nanny up until Gracie turned three,” Phix went on to explain.
“What happened to her?” Eclipse inquired, his expression uncertain if this development was relevant or not.
“She died a couple of days after Gracie’s third birthday,” answered Phix.
Eclipse tipped his head at them. His eyes were critical. “Why is she of significance?”
“She was a nun.”
Chills shot through me like a bullet.
“What?” I asked, stunned.
“She was a nun,” Phix repeated. “She was a nun before she became Gracie’s nanny.”
I recalled the story Father Baek told us at the cathedral.
“There was a nun who helped deliver me on the night of my birth,” I said to Eclipse, who was recalling the same thing.
I swallowed apprehensively, feeling uneasy with this new information. I thought back to Father Baek. The first I heard about a nun was from him. I didn’t understand why he didn’t mention this crucial detail to me.
“Why didn’t Father Baek mention that she became my nanny?” I uttered to no one in particular.
“Maybe he forgot,” Phix offered.
“Or maybe he omitted this on purpose,” said Eclipse, echoing my thoughts.
Eclipse locked eyes with me, and I knew that we were both on the same page. Awkward (or unfinished) sexual tension aside, we knew when to get back to business. There was more that Father Baek kept from us, and we’d be damned if we didn’t go back to him to find out what it was.
We thought it would be a little while longer before we returned to Serenity, but as it would appear, we were returning much faster than I could have anticipated.
The second road trip to Serenity was about to begin.
I cast an apologetic glance at Eclipse after we got up. I was sorry that we had to end his party so soon because my soul business was alive and active again.
“Happy birthday.”
Eclipse laughed roughly, fastening his backpack on. “Hell celebrates my birthday all week, Teacup,” he dismissed, causing me to stare at him in nervousness. “Your gift to me is on hold. It’s not over yet.”
I didn’t say anything because I had no idea how to reply to that without sounding like an incoherent bimbo.
“Party’s over?” Phix and Coco asked timidly, both already discerning that they were accompanying us on this impromptu road trip.
Considering what happened the last time we visited Serenity—being ambushed by a horde of Demons and all—we needed all the additional help we could get.
“It’s over for now,” Eclipse told them while I crouched down to pick a sleeping OinkOink up. “Dim your powers, pack up, and warm up the car. We’re heading back to Serenity tonight. If fate is on our side, then let’s hope we don’t run into anything on our way there.”
I glanced at Coco and Phix, both of whom were looking worried. I knew that in their minds—as well as my own—we all nursed the same hope. I hadn’t forgotten how crazily exhausting and “busy” my last outing in Serenity was. I prayed to the God-who-will-never-answer-me that this particular expedition would be less eventful.
Unfortunately, as with all of my prayers, this one would go unanswered. We had just witnessed an eclipse and according to the omens of life—as an eclipse was considered the harbinger of evil—there was nothing good coming our way.
“Serenity,” I whispered glumly, knowing deep in my fearful heart that I was in for another hellish ride. “Here we come again . . .”
“Thou shall not seek the forbidden?”
28: Return to Serenity
“How was the party, Gracie?” Phix asked from the backseat of the car.
From the wariness in his voice, I could only assume that he was at his wit’s end with fear. Eclipse had made it abundantly clear that he resented both Phix and Coco for interrupting us during our “party.” I knew that the poor baby Demon was on edge. I surmised from his hopeful demeanor that he was praying that we had an overall good weekend. A good weekend meant that he would be spared from Eclipse’s wrath.
“Really good!” I chirped enthusiastically, thrilled to share my success. I was eager to both assuage Phix’s fears and shamelessly announce that my surprise party wasn’t such a bust after all. “Eclipse really enjoyed my surprise.”
“Wow, really?” Coco piped in surprise while Phix’s face illuminated with relief.
I proudly bounced my head before poking Eclipse, who was driving the Rav4 in the burgeoning rain. Why was he being so quiet? I needed confirmation from the birthday boy that the weekend I set up wasn’t a failure after all.
“Tell them how much fun you had.”
“I had a lot of fun,” Eclipse confirmed, making me smile in elation. A sly grin quirked on his lips before he impishly added, “The flower picking part was my favorite.”
An onslaught of heat boiled on my face. I was already hot because I was wearing a pink scarf, a puffy baby blue jacket with a white sweater underneath, dark blue jeans, and black boots. His teasing words brought the heat to another level.
“Yeah? Flower picking?” Phix voiced in amazement, oblivious to how quiet I had become. There was a dumbfounded expression that swept his baby-like face. Nevertheless, he was pleased that Eclipse had such a good time. “I never thought you’d be one to enjoy flower picking, your Dark Majesty. Gracie must’ve planned some fun flower picking activities.”
Unbeknownst of the betraying blush on my cheeks, Coco cheerily patted me on the shoulder.
“Good job, Gracie!” she praised, her voice genuinely proud. “We doubted you, but it’s good to know you didn’t have to use your body to give our Prince a good time.”
Eclipse smothered a laugh at this remark. He had changed from white shorts to black pants and a red hoodie. Along with his stifling laugh, the dress attire made him look younger, more handsome, and just more playful. It was awful that I was tempted to jump on him in the same manner that I did in the garden when he brought up the flower picking. The temptation was difficult to resist as his mellifluous laughter settled over me like fine whiskey.
Ashamed of myself for my current naughty thoughts, my face turned rosier from embarrassment.
“Any – anyway,” I started, subtly shifting gears as rain and wind hammered against the car. I didn’t need the whole car to know what a wanton I was when I picked flowers. “Do you guys know anything else about this nanny?”
Phix and Coco shook their heads.
“Information about her is pretty obscure,” explained Phix. “The most we could find out was that she stopped being a nun in 1990 and became a nanny instead.”
“Basically right after I was born,” I murmured. My thoughts migrated back to Father Baek. I recalled the heartfelt conversations we shared with him. I couldn’t fathom how my nanny didn’t come up in the course of our conversations. He mentioned a nun who was there on the night of my birth, but he said no more about her. “I can’t believe Father Baek didn’t mention that the nun became my nanny.”
“No kidding,” Eclipse said grudgingly, bearing right at the curve of the slick road. His face was rife with resentment. “That old man is going to get a piece of my mind when I see him again.”
“Maybe it’s because we didn’t ask him about her specifically,” I tried to defend. I was beginning to feel resentment towards Father Baek as well, but the logical part of me wanted to find other reasons as to why he omitted this information.
“Maybe,” sighed Eclipse, the irritation on his face diminishing faintly. His eyes connected with mine. “But he was unusually secretive. Even when he knew it was you the entire time, he remained very guarded. We had to push him to even learn how you were born. With this track record, I would place money on the fact that he knows more than he lets on.”
I didn’t disagree with that. “Why wouldn’t he tell us?”
Eclipse pondered over my query. “Perhaps he wants to—”
“Protect me,” I finished for him, knowing exactly what he was thinking because it was pooling in my mind too. It didn’t slip from my attention that Eclipse, like myself, didn’t jump to any incriminating conclusions about Father Baek and automatically label him as a “bad guy.” Whatever Father Baek’s intentions were, we truly believed it was to keep my best interests at heart.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it when we see him,” Eclipse assured.
Eclipse wasn’t thrilled with the inconvenience of traveling back to Serenity, but I knew he couldn’t bring himself to be severely angry with Father Baek. Due to the strange bond we formed with him, the old man had garnered a soft spot in both of our cold hearts. Logically, even though it was justifiable for us to harbor ill feelings for him, it simply didn’t come out that way. For now, we would give him the benefit of the doubt. Once we received his explanations, we would take it from there.
I peered out the rain-streaked window and studied our rural surroundings. Rain had inundated every part of the land, leaving the world drowning under the storm. After leaving the cottage, the weather grew significantly worse. It was difficult to believe that it was so sunny and beautiful just hours prior.
“I have no more powers,” Coco announced to the car, yanking our thoughts off Father Baek and back to our immediate reality. We had just entered a new terrain when she stated this.
After Coco announced her ailment, I instantly noticed the color difference in the rural land; the vegetation was greener and healthier on this side of the country.
“You just started to feel it?” Eclipse questioned, his eyes on her through the rearview mirror. When she nodded, he darted his eyes to Phix’s reflection in the mirror. “Phix, do you still feel your powers?”
“A bit,” Phix reported, his face alarmed, “but it’s decreasing the more we drive over the land.”
“Does that mean we’re human right now?” asked Coco.
I didn’t miss the small breath of hope in Coco’s voice. While Phix was concerned, Coco appeared relieved. Even though she wasn’t happy that her powers were stripped from her, I suspected that because she missed being human, being momentarily “normal” again was a blessing in disguise for her.
“Yes
,” confirmed Eclipse. “As long as we’re in the radius of the Holy Land, you’ll be ‘human.’” His voice took on a solemn tone. “However, if you actually step onto holy ground, then you will turn to ashes.”
Phix and Coco held their breath and exchanged worried glances.
Eclipse went on. “We’ll keep driving, but once we get close to the border of the Holy Land, Gracie and I will continue on foot. After that, wait for us in the car until we come back.”
Phix and Coco nodded glumly, and just like that, the once carefree ambiance in the car was replaced with grimness. No one said anything, but I suspected that we shared the same eerie sensation.
There was something extremely menacing about the weather that we couldn’t ignore. The freezing temperature, the torrential downpour, and the imposing darkness—everything was just so dark and sinister.
My dazed eyes continued to trace over the terrain of the gloomy world we were in. I was silently ruminating when I spotted a man several yards ahead of us, stepping onto the rainy road . . . right in front of our car.
Holy—!
“Eclipse, stop!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.
At my command, Eclipse floored the brakes.
Screech!
The Rav4 screeched to a halt against the pavement of the road, lurching the car forward with one final force before it came to a stuttering stop. The scent of freshly burnt tires filled my nostrils, nearly suffocating me with its potency.
I gawked at the scene in front of me in utter amazement. The hood of the car was an inch away from hitting the man, and the crazy thing about this careless lunatic was that he made no move to get out of the car’s way. Whereas the entire car was stunned out of our minds, the man, who was smoking a cigar, looked eerily calm. If anything, I would go as far as saying that he looked amused.
Reeling from the aftershock of the scare, I dazedly appraised him from head to toe. He was dressed in a pitch-black business suit and had black hair that was slicked back to the nape of his neck. His face was defined in a savage but regal way. He reminded me of someone, but in my befuddled state, I couldn’t figure out who.