The Supremacy

by White, Megan

  ***

  “Erin,” I heard my name whispered, “Erin, sweetheart, it’s time to wake up.” It was the softest voice, almost melodic as she spoke my name, “Erin,” An angle’s laughter filled my ears as a feather-light touch tickled down my cheek, “wake up, baby girl! We have a special day planned for you.” Soon, the angelic voice began to sing,

  “Hear the whispers in the wind.

  That’s when time begins again.

  See the colors of the ocean.

  Feel the warmth blanket your skin,

  Hear the songs played in moonlight

  as the night comes rolling in.

  It’s the ravens crying ‘it’s midnight!’

  That’s when time begins again.”

  Mom! My eyes flashed open to see the most beautiful smile shining down on me. Her warm hand brushed over my cheek and she leaned in, kissing my forehead, “Happy birthday, baby!”

  I breathed her in, daisies. She smelled warm, like the meadow in springtime.

  “Mommy,” I choked out and studied her face, pale skin over sparkling dark eyes, here waist length brunette hair flowed down her back in rivets of waves. She was there. She was beautiful. The most beautifully, striking woman I had ever seen.

  “Get dressed, sleepyhead. You wouldn’t want to miss your fifth birthday!” She sang happily while clapping her hands together.

  My fifth birthday. The last birthday I had with my mother.

  ***

  Springtime in the meadow breathed in new life. The birds flew lazily overhead as we watched the clouds roll by in the midday breeze, “Look at the clouds, Erin.” She breathed lightly, holding me close to her, “What do you see?”

  “A butterfly.” I pointed at the cloud above my head.

  “A butterfly?” She laughed contently as she held me to her chest, “What else is up there?”

  “Space!” My father’s voice boomed from overhead, his finger pointing toward the sky, “Infinite space, galaxies and stars. Stars as far as your eyes can see.”

  “Daddy has always been a dreamer,” Giggling, she planting a sloppy kiss on his lips.

  They held me close and chimed, “Happy birthday!” in unison before handing me a small box with a smile, “Open it, Rinny!” they clapped excitedly.

  I held the tiny box in my hands, enjoying the thrill of the surprise just as much as the promise of the present nestled inside.

  Slowly, I opened it, “It’s beautiful!” I cried out, holding the silver necklace in front of me. The pendant shined in the sun, glinting and twinkling in its rays.

  “It’s a star.” My dad professed once he fastened the chain around my neck, “Your very own wishing star! Anytime you want to make a wish, all you have to do is hold this star close to your heart, and wish.”

  I held the star in my hand and curled into their embrace, content just to watch the clouds roll by.

  ***

  “Erin.” Declan’s voice crooned in my ear, “It’s over.”

  “No.” I didn’t want to wake up. I wanted to hold on to the memories of my parents for as long as I could. They were happy. I was happy. It felt so real. Why couldn’t it be real.

  “Tarant will be here soon.” He warned as I felt the bed dip.

  His warning worked, I was awake.

  “There we go.” He smiled once my eyes opened, “What were you dreaming about? I almost didn’t wake you.” He asked, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, “I have never seen you smile like that before.”

  Stretching my tight limbs, I looked into his eyes and cleared my throat, “I never had a reason to.”

  “You looked so…” He paused and looked down at my clenched hand, “Happy.”

  “I was.”

  Standing from the bed, he walked to the door, “I wanted you awake while Tarant was here. You must stay in this room, but you will be able to hear every word spoken.”

  I was expected to stay hidden. Declan did not need to explain to me why. If any knew how well I was being treated, it would have been a death sentence to both of us. It would have been seen as a betrayal. As far as Tarant knew, I remained bound by chains, left alone and in the dark.

  It was not long before the chiming of a bell told of Tarant’s arrival, but announcing his entrance into Declan’s home was not necessary. Every hair follicle on my being stood at attention while tiny goose bumps covered my skin as the chill of death neared.

  “My Son,” I heard Tarant’s sickly sweet voice sing through the living room, “It’s so good to see you again.”

  “Likewise, how are you feeling today? Better, I hope.”

  To hear the way Declan spoke to his leader struck a chord in me. He spoke with such reverence and loyalty. Declan knew his role well. He too was playing a part. I could not see how anyone would distrust someone that regarded them in such a manner. It left Tarant complacent; someone of his power had no need to fret about the safety when he could kill any that stood in his way with the wave of his wrist.

  “I’m not as young as I used to be, Declan.” His voice lowered, and you could almost hear his scowl, “That’s why I have you. I will not be here forever, but I know that when the day comes, I can trust you to lead our people.”

  “No,” I heard Declan breathe in exasperation, “Don’t talk like that. You will get better.”

  “Just to get sick again. Son, we all must go. That is the circle of life. I am at peace knowing that I have brought up two sons that are capable of preserving our way of life.”

  ‘Son,’ My head began to swim as I grasped that Tarant was not using the word as an endearment, but that Declan was really his child, his flesh and blood. And his own child blood was plotting to kill him. That facet was hard for me to grasp.

  The reason could not have been power. Declan would have already been in the works to inherit his father’s rule. I was beside myself, never in my wildest dreams would I have put those two puzzle pieces together, never could I imagine a son wishing to kill his father.

  “I know you won’t allow this planet to go into ruins again.” Tarant continued his rant, “The way those heathens nearly destroyed her with their greed. You will serve our people proud. The same way you always have.” Hacking coughs echoed through the large space as Tarant tried to catch his breath.

  “Here,” I heard Declan press, “Drink this. You need to keep your strength.”

  “Thank you.” He choked out between heaves, “Where is the girl?”

  My breath caught, my heart dropping into my stomach. Tarant wanted to know about me. “She remains chained, just as you ordered.” Declan answered his father’s question without wavering, “Whoever tried to kill her almost succeeded. I’ve been healing her, only taking from her as she strengthens.”

  “The one has already been disposed of.” Tarant answered tersely, “One thing you must always remember is that you must never show mercy. Mercy is a sign of weakness and your enemies will exploit any weakness you show. You are my son, my successor, everything I have done, I’ve done for you.”

  “And I will be eternally grateful.” I heard Declan profess.

  “I have to go now. Keep the girl here. I cannot risk anyone else seeing her.” He paused on a deep inhale just to begin another fit of hacking coughs, “I will be back again, maybe next time I will receive a decent supply.”

  My rigid body did not relax until I heard the front door close, signaling the beast’s retreat.

  Walking to the towering floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the courtyard, I watched as the black cloak of Tarant floated above the cobblestones as he proceeded toward a black car. It wasn’t until a second Keeper opened the back door for him that my heart stopped.

  The woman that greeted the Head Supreme with a kiss was dressed elegantly in a long flowing dress, the midday sun glinting off the jewels that hung from her neck and ears. She smiled lovingly at the man that held her in his arms. Her petite frame leaned into his embrace with familiarity as his withering hand caressed down her cheek.<
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  I stood at the window, frozen, as I watched Tarant slip into his car and drive away. My mind, already filled to the brink, felt as though it may explode at any moment.

  I remained still, even as I heard the bedroom door open, even as Declan’s cold hands rested gently atop my shoulders. I could feel nothing. I was numb.

  “So he’s your Father?” I asked him without turning from the window.

  “Yes.” He whispered as if talking to a corned wild animal. His precaution was unwarranted. I did not have the energy to fight.

  “And Corina is your Mother?” I asked flatly, the image of her kissing the cheek of Tarant threatening to break the barrier that had constructed itself around my emotions, leaving me in a pleasant state of detachment. It felt like I had been missing a piece to the puzzle, and maybe that was it. Maybe I wasn’t singled out by Declan for his father’s mealtime poisonings; maybe I was singled out because I was the wretched stepdaughter of his mother.

  “No!” He gritted his teeth with a snarl, “Why are you asking about her?”

  “She was in the car waiting for Tarant.” Even to me my voice sounded vacant.

  His voice lowered an octave and he removed his hands from my shoulders, “I didn’t know she was coming with him.”

  Almost too casually, I pulled away from him and made my way to the bed, “I think there is more to this story than you have told me.”

  “You’re right.” His hands went up in front of him, “You wouldn’t have believed the truth unless you saw it with your own eyes. It’s still not the time for you to hear it.”

  I looked at him and stared blankly into his cold blue eyes, “I think it is the perfect time.”

  “How much more can I throw at you before you break? I can see it now! You’re already on the edge, and you’re teetering.”

  “I deserve the truth,” I breathed in calmly, “You can keep me prisoner, you can take whatever you want from me, I have no choice either way, but it will be by your hands alone. You will have to take it. Without the truth I will not willingly do anything for you.”

  “No!” He screamed, falling to his knees in front of me. “Please, Erin, You know it would kill me to do that.”

  “Then tell me the truth.” I demanded flatly.

  “It’s too soon. You need more time.” He moaned, “Please, Erin, look at me.”

  “I am looking at you.”

  “No. I mean really, look at me.”

  He was kneeling in front of me. His strong arms draped over my thighs as his eyes pleaded with my own. Pain, torment and regret swam through those sad eyes, but none of it mattered, I could not feel for him, “Start talking, Declan.”

  “It’s a long and very complicated story.” He exhaled in a rush, “I didn’t want the truth to come out this way.” He shook his head as he stood, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Apologize later. Those words mean nothing to me right now.”

  He walked to the window, peering out as if lost, “We aren’t so different, you and I.” He breathed softly, his hands clinching the floor length curtains in frustration, “I grew up without my mother too.”

  “How would you know that?” I had never told him about my mom. Ever.

  “Because what happened to yours, also happened to mine.”

  My fists clenched at my sides as I watched his back tense. I could not find the will to speak. I wasn’t even sure that I believed him at the point.

  “Before we seized power, we worked along-side the leaders from all the super nations. We sat back and watched as humans depleted their environments’ natural resources and crippled their economies through their own greed and surmounting consumerism. We waited until the end, when there was nowhere else for them to turn. It was easy.” He sighed, “The masses welcomed us with open arms, all but begging for a new ruler and a system that would not fail them again.”

  “I already know this, Declan. I am not hearing where we compare. The prince and the pauper, we are as alike as fire and ice.”

  “Please,” He begged while turning to me, “Listen to everything I have to say before you make your judgments. I promise that everything will make sense when I am finished. But to hear, you must keep an open mind.”

  “Got it.”

  “Alright,” He huffed as he sat down next to me, “My mom was compassionate,” A smile flitted across his lips as he stared off into space, “She opposed my father’s unrelenting search for power. He craved the riches around him with a fury, neglecting everyone and everything that could not promise him what he desired. My mom fought him. She couldn’t see justifying the enslavement of an entire race for selfish gain. She was content with what we had, with our family.” Declan paused, grabbing my hand in his and squeezing it gently, “Tarant was never satisfied. Corina appealed to him. She worked for him, shared the same ambitions as he did.” His entire body shuttered next to mine and his gaze dropped to his lap. “Shortly after Corina took over Tarant’s treasury, my mother became ill.” Declan turned to me, his eyes heavy with emotion, “She died two weeks later.”

  My breath caught as his words sunk in, “Corina is one of you?”

  He nodded, “Yes.”

  “And she killed your mom?” She killed our moms. My body began to tremble as I pictured my own mother, healthy and vivacious only to be dead shortly after my father met Corina. A lone tear broke through the barrier that held off my emotions.

  Declan’s cool fingers brushed the side of my cheek only to have me pull away from him once more. “I can’t prove anything,” He continued, “but I don’t need proof to see the truth.” No, you do not.

  The dam broke when I looked over his desolate face. I had seen it there before, fleeting in a moment of clarity, but I had seen it nonetheless. The mirror, the way his pain reflected my own. We were polar opposites on the outside, yet mirror images within.

  He held me while I cried. He did not speak; he just wrapped his arms around me and waited.

  “H-h-how?” I stuttered out through tears, “What could Corina want with my father?”

  “Shh,” He crooned, rubbing my back, “That part of the story I’m still not sure you’re ready to hear.

  I wasn’t sure I could handle any more insight, but that wasn’t going to stop me, “P-p-please,” I begged him, pushing away so I could look into his eyes. I wiped the tears from my face and begged for the answers I wasn’t yet ready to hear, “I need to know.”

  “I will tell you the truth,” He whispered as he tightened his grip around me, “But I think knowing will break you.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible.” I was already in pieces, shattered, and broken beyond repair.

  He nodded, knowing me well enough to realize that I wouldn’t give up until I knew the truth, “Corina knew my father’s number one enemy. He was a man that had the ability to unite the masses. He was a man loved and trusted beyond disparagement. A man that was passionate about civil liberties. This man saw The Supremacy for what it was long before we made any real changes. Corina knew this man.” Declan breathed deeply. Tightening his hold on me, he pulled my stiff body to his chest. “Because her sister was married to him.”

  My body convulsed and my head spun. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be possible.

  “No.” My breath rushed from my lungs. I was barely hanging onto the edge of my sanity.

  “Yes.” Declan’s hand rubbed up my trembling back, “Corina is your aunt.”

  I shook my head not wanting to believe it, “My mom was…”

  “Yes.” He breathed out, “Claire was a Supreme.”

  My vision faltered as the room spun. It tilted on its axis and crumbled to the ground around me.

  “And Trent?” I muttered, teetering on the precipice.

  “My brother.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  I could hear it, the sound of humming through the darkness. A familiar melody I knew well. My mother’s lullaby filtered through the empty recesses of my mind, pulling me toward it. To a light I did no
t want to see, to a consciousness I could no longer handle.

  “Hear the whispers in the wind.

  That’s when time begins again.

  See the colors of the ocean.”

  Running from the hypnotic voice that sung to me was an impossible feat. The light called to my body, lured me to an unwanted consciousness

  “Hear the songs played in the moonlight

  as the night comes rolling in.

  It’s the ravens crying ‘it’s midnight!’

  That’s when time begins again.”

  I was warm, wrapped in the arms of my Siren as my mother’s lullaby spilled from his lips, “Erin,” my name floated above me as brilliant light tickled my face. Strong arms held me tight as the words of my mother continued to pull me, “Erin, you are safe with me.” The hypnotic voice whispered, nuzzling my ear, “Please come back to me.”

  My eyes fluttered open to Declan’s worried face, his lids heavy and red-rimmed as he peered down at me, “There you are.” He breathed in with a smile, his arms tightening around my torso, “You were gone for so long.”

  I pulled myself up, freeing my body from his hold. I did not want to see the face of the man that within a few moments had taken my world, turned it upside down, and shattered it into a thousand indiscernible teeny tiny pieces.

  My entire existence was a lie. I no longer knew who I was, what I was. Half monster, a hybrid of the very species I despised. The memory of my mother forever tainted by the beast that now watched me, waiting for me to break down in front of him, but he was waiting in vain. I was an orphan, alone in a world where creatures roamed waiting to make meals out of the humans that were once top of the food chain. And I was one of those creatures.

  I had no one to care for, no one left to worry about. To some that might have felt lonely, but to me it felt like freedom. Everyone I loved had died at the hands of The Supremacy.

  I vowed then and there to be a part of the demolition crew, starting with Tarant and Corina.

  Looking out the window as the light streamed in through the open curtains, I wondered idly how long I had been asleep. The sun was higher in the sky, much higher than it had been when I watched the floating black cloak of Tarant retreating.