“Don't worry about me, Kelsha. I knew from the beginning that he was not really mine. I knew it was a false life that I helped instill in him.”
“Will you be able to face him during battle? Will you be able to fight him if you need to?”
“Of course, Kelsha, my loyalty is with you and your cause. Shep was fun while he lasted, but I know where I belong and what I believe. I will stand with you as the reigning Levannahs crumble.”
Kelsha seemed pleased with Fionna. Fionna left her to watch the training, but not before offering a quick hug, which Kelsha reciprocated. Fionna kissed the baby, and walked away. Kelsha was confident in Fionna, her first mistake.
She watched as Danu lined the Specials up on one side of the massive room, the Hybrids in the middle of the room, and the creatures on the other side. They were a glorious sight to behold. She watched as Danu began to match up Specials with Hybrids, Hybrids with Creatures, Creatures with Specials, until they were all partnered with a different species. He began drills, teaching them to fight entities not of their own species. She watched as a man with scales for skin and a forked tongue fight a Special with the ability to fly. It was fascinating as the Special swooped down, attempting to take a swipe at the Hybrid. The Hybrid was waiting, though, and with every swoop, his tongue would flick out quickly, attempting to inject his poisonous venom into the flying Special.
In another corner was a beast with crimson leathery skin that housed large smooth muscles and horns protruding from its enormous head. The beast stood on all fours and was a most frightening creature. It stood still, and Kelsha wondered what it was fighting as there was nothing in sight. Then, without warning, a large Special perched itself on the back of the beast as though it had been there the entire time. He grabbed the beast by the horns and held a sword to the beast’s neck. Danu approached the duo, clearly pleased with only one of the fighters. Kelsha had a good idea which fighter he was not happy with. She could hear him chastising the beast.
“Damien, if you fight like that in a real war you will not last a minute! You have to use your senses. There are a large number of Specials that can be invisible at will. You will not always be able to see your opponent. You must use your senses. Smell them! Listen for their movements! Their heartbeats! Again!” he screamed. The Special once again vanished, and the beast was still. Kelsha expected the same outcome, but suddenly the beast roared and pounced, pinning the Special beneath his giant body. Danu clapped and laughed.
“That is better, Damien, much better.” Then Danu moved on to the next duo. Yes, he was doing a wonderful job training.
Kelsha left the training in search of Heren. He had been gone for longer than she had expected, and she was beginning to worry. She made her way to the kitchen, half expecting to find him there, slaughtering his latest kill. No one in the kitchen had seen him. She hurried to their room. Maybe he was there, changing out of his dirty hunting clothing, but she found nothing. Her heart began to speed up. She didn't wish to raise alarm, so she quietly slipped out the front door, in search of Heren.
She hurried across the grounds, keeping her eyes alert for him. She searched the grounds to no avail. She patted her brassiere and felt her blade securely tucked inside. She opened her mind to listen for thoughts. Worry laced her own thoughts when she was not able to hear him. The island was fairly small and unforgiving. There was only a small amount of land Heren could have hunted by foot and that land surrounded the homestead.
She was ready to turn back to organize a hunting party when she heard voices. She stopped, listening closely. The voices were talking in whispers and were close. She followed the sounds which lead her to an ice wall. The voices seemed to be coming from the other side and were becoming louder and louder. She could hear Heren now, which made her feel a little less panicked, although his voice was strained. She couldn't make out the owner of the other voice. She pushed the voices out while she concentrated on finding a way inside.
She ran her hands along the frozen wall, trying to feel for a possible hidden opening. She looked up, wondering if she could scale the wall, but it seemed to go all the way to the sky. Climbing over the wall would be impossible. She could hear Heren again. His voice was agony in her ears as it assaulted her with anguish. She felt, pushed, and hit the icy barrier, frantically trying to reach him. His anguished voice was becoming louder in her mind. The other voice broke through Heren's sobs and seemed to speak directly to her.
“I know you are coming, Kelsha. You will come looking for him, but will you really want to see him like this, broken by you?” She froze, panic rising in her throat. A wave of nausea washed over her as she realized it was Jax. He had Heren.
Damn. She thought. He would tell Heren all her dirty secrets, including the paternity of her dead child. She began screaming.
“Let me in, Jax, I know you have him. Let me in and let him go! Damn you, Jax Bane, let me in so I can face you!” She was pounding the wall when a small area opened up, inviting her in.
The air inside was chilled and dry with a stark stench of death. The walls were ice as was the floor and ceiling, preventing light from shining through. She ran her hand along the wall, using it to guide her way to the voices. They grew louder as she listened to Jax taunt her and Heren sob. She came to the end of the ice hallway and was assaulted by fire, smoke, and death. She spotted Heren on the far side of the fire, sitting hunched over, his face in his hands. His body was broken and crumpled, but not from physical beatings. She tried to run to him, to console him, but was physically restrained by an invisible force. The force knocked her to the ground where she lay when Jax came into view.
“Hello, my dear Kelsha,” he taunted. His voice was low, almost a whisper, and filled with vengeance. “Nice of you to finally join us,” he said, his voice sinister.
She sat up, trying to compose herself. She could feel the fury growing inside her. What the hell was he doing here? He was dead! She saw it with her own eyes! She ran the situation over in her mind, trying to make sense of it. She looked at him. Yes, he was the same Jax, but a little thinner. His skin was slightly paler with a touch of transparency. He moved with grace, as though he were floating not walking. She realized, while watching him move, this was not really Jax, rather his ghost.
“What are you doing here, Jax?” she asked as she stood up and gathered herself.
“Well, I could ask the same of you. Last I knew you were making yourself right at home in my compound, with my people. What are you doing here?”
“How did you know I was there, have you been watching me from the other side, Jax?” she asked, feeling her ego soar at the thought of him still watching her.
“I have heard reports of you,” he confirmed before continuing, “but no, I have not been keeping tabs on you. Although it seems maybe I should have been. I have been preoccupied with death, but you should know that, right my dear?”
“What are you doing here, Jax?” Her patience was wearing thin.
“Have you no idea what this frozen oasis is, my dear woman? Did you not research the place before you moved a colony of Specials here?” Her silence confirmed his answer. He continued on.
“Well, Kelsha, let me be the first to welcome you to the island of lost souls. Yes, this is where us, bad seeds are banished to. We are stuck on this floating ice cube, unable to ever leave. It's hell, but instead of fire and brimstone we have ice. We are frozen here. We can move around the island, but we are unable to leave the borders. I am not alone here, and many of the evil souls are much worse than I could dream of being. Much more restless,” he warned, his devious smile spreading across his face.
He was just as handsome in death, she thought. The idea of bedding a ghost crossed her mind, and she chastised herself for having such thoughts. She was angry that he easily seemed to penetrate her exterior. Heren's sob brought her back to reality.
“What are you doing to him, Jax?” she demanded, and he chuckled while still floating around the frozen room.
“W
ell, I had word that you were here, trying to build an army. Is this correct?”
“Maybe, who brings you word of me and why?”
“That is of no importance. I am also aware that the child you gave birth to died. I am also well aware that the child was mine.” She heard Heren's cries grow louder, and she wondered why he hadn't looked at her. He didn't seem to know she was there. “And,” Jax continued, “you have led this man to believe he was the father. That is evil, even for you, Kelsha. Don't worry, though, I have told him the truth. He seems to be taking it rather hard, don't you think?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Why would you deny my parentage of our child? Did you not learn a lesson from your sister about denying my children’s paternity?”
“You are dead, Jax! Heren is a good man, would have been a good father, and he loves me! I was not going to give birth to a bastard! Our child needed a father,” she spat.
“And you thought he would be better than me? Is that why you tricked my own son into killing me? I know what you did, Kelsha. The scene plays over and over in my mind. You killing Annie and James. You whispering in Shep's ear, planting false seeds in his mind...you knew what you were doing. You knew I would discard you as soon as I had Annie, so you got rid of your barriers. This man was stupefied by you. He admires you greatly. At least, he did. I can't guarantee his feelings for you now. He feels rather betrayed and that his manhood has been compromised by his foolishness.” He laughed his wicked laugh as Kelsha paced the room. She hadn't been frightened of him when he was living, and she was surely not frightened of him in death.
“What do you want, Jax?” she asked, ready to get the hell out of the frozen cavern. He floated unnaturally around her, coming within inches of her without ever touching. She was growing tired of his games and increasingly worried about Heren. He had yet to look up at her. He just sat with his face in his hands. His choked sobs rang in her ears. She wondered why he didn't acknowledge her. He would be upset to know the baby was not his biologically, but she was confident he would understand and forgive her omission. She tried to go to him, but was stopped immediately by Jax.
“What do you think you're doing, sweetheart?”
“He is in pain and needs me, Jax! Now let me go to him!” She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks and beads of sweat sprang out despite the freezing temperature. She tried to maintain an air of authority with Jax, but seeing Heren in pain caused her emotions to falter and her voice to crack. Jax didn't miss a thing.
“You really love him, don't you, Kelsha?”
“He is a wonderful man,” she replied quietly. Maybe Jax would back off if she backed down just a little.
“I have never seen you actually care for someone other than yourself. It's endearing, Kelsha. It really is.” His voice was condescending as he spoke to her in hushed tones. He was taunting her, and she didn't take kindly to his games.
“Damn it, Jax, what do you want from me? Please tell me, I will do it, just tell me!” He floated around her, humming in a low voice. Every noise he made was unnerving and Kelsha was beginning to lose her patience.
“Are you begging me, Kelsha?” he taunted. “No, don't answer. You don't need to. I can see you are desperate for this man. It is a bit of a blow to my self-esteem, I must admit.”
Kelsha cut him off. “Oh, now you know how I felt always coming second to Annika Levannah. Even when I carried your child, you were still ready to toss me to the side. I did everything for you, Jax, and we could have been great together, but you just wouldn't let that woman go! I have plans for my life, Jax, and despite my feelings for you, I will get to where I am going. You made yourself an obstacle rather than an ally. I didn't want to have you killed, but you gave me no choice. It was you or me. You can't fault me for choosing myself! There is nothing you can do to me now. Give me Heren and let us go!” she demanded with a shaky voice.
He began to clap and whistle like a madman while Heren sat unmoving.
“Bravo, my dear, bravo! That really was a wonderful little speech, nearly brought a tear to my eye. Whewee, really got me right where my heart would be had you not stopped it from beating.” The hysterics faded and were replaced with a darkness Kelsha had never seen. She was frightened now, but she couldn't let him know that.
“You listen to me, you little bitch, I am just as dangerous to you in death, if not more so. This little island you have brought all these innocent Specials to is home to things you only have nightmares about. You are not so smart, Kelsha. There are many souls here like me, demon souls and they don't take kindly to strangers, especially those with warm blood pumping through their veins. They are frozen here, unable to leave, as am I, and we will not share our home with trash. We will force your eviction unless you do exactly as I say.” She was visibly shaken and chose not to speak. She shook her head in understanding.
“Good, finally the whore learns to submit. Thing is, you took something from me, something far more important than my life. Now that Annie is dead, her spirit has moved on to the Otherworld where she lives for eternity with James fucking Mender!” He stopped to compose himself. He had to stay in control.
“I am stuck here, frozen in time for eternity! I will never grow old, never be permitted to leave this frozen hell. I will never be permitted to join the afterlife. I will never be with her again. All I have is visions of her, visions of me raping her, of her loving James when it should have been me, visions of her lifeless body, angelic and resting with him, and visions of you planning my death. This is worse than prison, worse than death and I find it unfair that you go on with your life. You lived in my house, fucked another man in my bed, passed my child off as his, and then came to my island, my only sanity, to flaunt your new life in my face. That really is cold blooded, even for you!”
“I didn't come here to spite you, Jax! I had no idea you were here! This was the safest place for my people to continue training for the battle. You are right about one thing. I did coax Shep into killing you. I didn't plan it, but it fell into place so easily. He was so eager to protect Lilly, it was simple. The opportunity was there and I took it. Would you have acted differently, Jax? I think not. Now tell me the point of all this,” she demanded, waving her hands through the icy air.
“You took my life, my love, my child from me, Kelsha! It's now time for you to lose!”
“Lose what? You're already dead. You can't touch me,” she said, her tone less forceful than intended. She tried to step past him, to Heren, but he stopped her again.
“Not so fast! The advantage of this frozen hell is I call the shots. I am not alone here. Like I sad, there are many dark souls roaming the island and all will stand beside me at my asking. Your precious Heren is seeing images of our lovemaking over and over. He can't escape seeing you naked in my arms. You can free him, though, but you must choose.”
“Between what?”
“Your darling man, or the precious child you tricked my son into stealing for you. My grandchild!”
She began laughing hysterically in his face. She couldn't help but wonder just what the hell he thought he was doing.
“Please, Jax, you cannot take care of a baby. You’re dead, or have you forgotten? Nor can you not keep Heren here!”
“Oh, can’t I? Kelsha, not all the dark souls on the island are dead!” Shock registered on her face. He saw it and was pleased. “Yes, every now and then a bad egg was born and the Levannah family was quick to banish them to Ellurrah. A spell was cast centuries ago, holding them hostage here. Some have great abilities and were just misguided, while some are truly evil. Either way, we band together, the living and dead. For instance, Malachi, a Special with the ability to inject images into your mind, is holding your true love hostage inside his own head as we speak. Heren cannot move nor talk. He will remain in his own hell forever, should you choose the child. Give me the child, though, and he can go. He can leave with you right now. Don't fret over my ability to care for the bundle of joy, there are plenty o
f dark mothers on the island,” he finished, staring at Kelsha. His once dark mysterious eyes were now deep pools of black. There was no soul behind them.
Kelsha had to think quickly. She would never turn the child over to Jax, but could she leave Heren? She didn't have a choice. “Fine, keep him. You cannot have the child!” Jax didn't seem surprised by her choice and was good on his promise to let her go. Within minutes of uttering the words 'keep him' she was outside the frozen tomb and running to the safety of her home.
~Chapter Twenty-Eight~
I followed my companions out of the Asrais’ cave with a heavy heart. Seeing Calista so ill, and knowing that my healing ability couldn't help her weighed heavily on my conscience. Leah and Denali were quiet as well until we reached the outside of the cave. I wasn't sure of our plans, but knew we had to come up with one quickly.
I was surprised to find the rain had ceased when we exited the cave. Serephina had told me the rain was constant on the island, keeping the flowers bloomed and colorful and the ground green. I turned to Leah, whose face showed a serious concern.
“It's not raining,” I said out loud to no one in particular. The three of us stood staring up at the dry sky, dumbfounded.
“It's changing. The darkness is creeping through the light,” Denali stated flatly. We didn't have a lot of time to accomplish our tasks. Our situation grew bleaker day by day.
“We don't have the luxury of time to stand and gawk at the offending sky. We need to move.” The sound of my voice must have brought them back to reality because they both turned to look at me.
“We have to find Shep,” Leah exclaimed, and though I knew finding him was important, it was not first on my list. Calista informed me he traveled back to Earth, but I had no intention of leaving Neveah until my son was in my arms.
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