Fated to Return (The Death Eater Series Book 3)
Page 7
The blackened veins faded, and the color of clear skies replaced the darkness of the demon in Zane’s eyes. She wanted to look away and deny what she’d done, but the proof pooled at her feet in scarlet red. Even as his skin paled and his fingers clutched at the jagged line on his throat, Zane—not the demon—looked up at her, a smile on his face.
She fell, unable to stand any longer. Her legs entwining with Zane’s and Thomas’s, she curled beside her lover, listening to his heart beat fade. “No. No. I’m so sorry, Zane. Oh no. What have I done?” Remorse rocked her, the knowledge that she’d taken his life hitting her hard enough to overwhelm everything else in the room. “I’m so sorry, my love. Forgive me for this, for all these years. Forgive me for all my wrong doings. I love you.”
In her mind’s eye, she saw that far away day, when she’d taken her life on the battlefield. The answer came to her then, as if she’d always known. The words from the tomb clearly etched across her memory, ‘They lived, loved, and died according to their own demons.’
She had possessed the power all along to end their terrible fate. She’d condemned them both when she’d made the deal with Eurynome, but she’d always been able to undo it, if she’d only been brave enough. By giving life to her and Zane’s dying souls, she had forsaken their destiny in God’s master plan. She’d defied the laws that held life and death sacred, and her own vain love had been their downfall for lifetimes.
That had been her demon, the inability to let go of a love she’d seen as greater than God himself. Zane’s demons were far different. He’d been vain in life and in death. Too sure of himself to make the choice to end it for both of them, he’d bent to Eurynome’s will.
With resolution, Vega dragged herself into a sitting position and raised the glass shard once more, her arm trembling with the effort. She turned to look into Zane’s eyes, seeing the last vestiges of his light fade away into a darkness that had nothing to do with demons, only death.
In her final moments, she whimpered a prayer for forgiveness and drove the glass into her jugular. In the clarity of her final moment, she accepted that they’d always been fated to return to the death that had tried to claim them so long ago. Falling backward, her head landed in the crook of Zane’s shoulder, and she felt no pain. The world turned cold and dark, but her heart was finally at peace.
****
Thomas’s eyes opened, and the throbbing pain in the back of his head radiated until it felt as if the orbs might push forward from his sockets and land on his cheeks. He felt the weight against his legs, and slowly the memory of what had occurred hit him with a sudden force.
With a deep gasp, he rose onto his elbows, and his eyes fell on the two lovers—dead by his side. Leaning forward, he felt the blood seep from the wounds at the back of his skull and run down his back, but he did not care. Ever so gently, he closed Zane and Vega’s eyes, giving them a final show of respect.
Beside the bodies, the ghostly apparition of a priest wearing an ancient habit appeared. He looked to Thomas with a nod, made the sign of the cross, and to the fallen lovers said, “May you go with God, and may he bless your journey.”
Epilogue
Vega stared up at the massive demon before her as she and Zane lay dying in each other’s arms. Great billows of black smoke filled the sky behind him, and the smell of gunpowder filled the air. With a massive, clawed hand, Eurynome drew a hand across his face to clear away the dripping blood from his chin.
“Your lover is dead and gone, child. Only the power of a one such as I, can resurrect such things. Your life force is nothing but a tiny grain of sand in the vast desert, only a greater demon, such as I, can restore such a thing. Do you ask these things of me?”
Vega swallowed hard against fear and instinct. “No!” she screamed the word, as she clung to the quickly fading memories of lives lived in hell because of a deal made with the demon.
The demon tossed his long black hair out behind him as he laughed with raucous supremacy. “You are not smart. You must know that you will die, and that taking your own life is a sin.”
Drawing on the little strength she had left, she stared into the soulless, black eyes of the greater demon. “Our love is strong enough to carry us both to our destinies. If I must perish in Hell for not being able to live without the man I love, then I will see you there, demon.”
His wide-mouthed grin revealed dangerously sharp teeth. “I will see you in Hell, little one.” With those words, Eurynome faded away, leaving her to die in peace.
Vega took one look at Zane’s graying face, hating herself for her selfish need of him. “May God go with you.”
Bending down, she placed a farewell kiss onto Zane’s lips before she laid herself down to die. Darkness ebbed away her vision, and the sound of her weakened heartbeat drowned out the sounds of the battle that raged around them. Succumbing to the hand of fate and death, she closed her eyes on the world.
****
Vega meant the brightest star, and even when surrounded by darkness, she shined. That is the light that drew another being across the battlefield and to her side. The priest, who did not know he was a saint in the making, knelt down and touched her lifeless cheek. Sorrow filled the man as he confirmed that Zane had also gone.
Around them, a sigil glowed blood red, visible to only the priest’s eyes. He saw the sign of the demon that had come in search of a sacrifice to make his power greater. He could smell the stink of sulfur and the char of brimstone in the air. This had not been God’s plan, but the work of the devil.
Falling to his knees, the priest lifted his hands to the sky, and implored his Lord to renew the life that had been stolen. He begged for forgiveness for the girl who had taken her life, and he argued the strength of the boy who had fought a demon in battle. In all his prayers, he asked that the Lord giveth what had been taken, if only to place the world at rights once more.
As others came, drawing around the priest, they too prayed for the fallen children. The boy had been brave and strong, and the girl had brought joy to their lives. They held hands and sang songs of praise, asking for the spark of life to be returned.
A strong breeze lifted the congregation’s hair, and whipped at their clothes. It blew through the valley and cleared the smoke away. The sun shined down, a spotlight to light the lover’s faces. The voices surrounding Zane and Vega rose in hope and jubilation as they watched the Lord’s hand at work.
Vega’s eyes fluttered and Zane’s fingers pressed against hers as the first stirrings of life reanimated his limbs. A miracle had been bestowed, for with the power of love, they’d learned to conquer evil. Though, it had taken lifetimes of pain to discover such a lesson.
In the years to come, a statue was erected in the town. The marble masterpiece did not depict two star-crossed anonymous lovers, but instead, it honored the founders of a town that had survived a war with bravery, kindness, and faith. The two figures stood together, hands linked, and surrounded by a bed of white lilies—no roses with their deceptive sweetness and piercing thorns. Upon the stone at their feet an inscription read:
Ζούσαν , αγαπούσε , και πέθανε από το δικό τους φως.
They lived, loved, and died by their own light.