Syndrome of Mortality (Break of Breath Book 2)

by Eden R. Souther

  Ravin let out a breath. “You’re not,” he clarified. “You’re… different. You’re a good person, who genuinely cares about the people of Eartha. Plus, you have awesome taste in music.” His voice trailed off as he looked down. The words were caught in his throat.

  He didn’t want to lose two people at once. He couldn’t control his rage and confusion. He hadn’t found the strength to move past the anger stage. “You’re amazing,” Ravin whispered.

  Finally Loviel turned around and let out a long breath. He felt a bit better knowing directly that it wasn’t him Ravin was mad at. “Have you any thought as to what Paul meant?”

  Ever since their ‘couple’s massage’, Loviel had been racking his brain trying to figure out the mysterious clue. He had been back several times to speak with the salon’s owner, but to no avail. Either he was hard at work with another client, or he was out.

  “I don’t have any idea,” Ravin admitted.

  “You’ve looked for the right answer, but just not in the right place,” Loviel echoed and rolled his hands through his sandy curls. He repeated it in whispers over and over again. Why could he not figure it out? On the surface, the riddle seemed like it would be simple.

  He paused. “Where have we looked as far as an answer goes?”

  “I’ve asked some contacts at the bar.” Ravin leaned back and crossed his legs. “Fae, mages, and a few others. I spoke with Xina directly and he told me what a terrible idea vampirism would be.” He thought harder and furrowed his brows. “I also spoke to Sin, who said to basically, get over it, and forget about the best shot we had. I’m still not thrilled about that response.”

  “Vampirism,” Loviel breathed. Then it hit him like a metric ton of rocks. His eyes lit up like golden fireworks. He reached out and offered his hand to Ravin. “I know the answer and the right place to look for it.”

  Ravin jerked up with wide eyes. “Are you serious?” He tilted his head. “What is it?” He was dying to know the revelation that had struck Loviel. Even if it was just the faintest glimmer of hope, it was something. He grabbed Loviel’s hand tightly.

  In a flare of wings, the two landed in an old dusty library. It easily dated to pre-equilibrium times. The walls were made of stone, and the bookshelves were made of a thick rich mahogany. Ancient knowledge filled the air with the delightful scent of old books.

  Loviel, still saying nothing, scoured the shelves, carefully and methodically. His finger ran over the spines of the worn tomes until he came to one that was sheer black with golden embellishments. He pulled it from its place and blew the dust from the tome.

  The writing on the front resembled the markings that made up Michelle’s tattoo. Loviel traced his hand over the bright gold words. It was exactly what he was looking for.

  “What is that?” Ravin kept close to Loviel; he didn’t want to get lost in this place of ancient knowledge. Something about it seemed familiar, yet it was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. “I hope you can read it.”

  “These markings say ‘Origins’.” Loviel smiled and opened the book. On the first page was what appeared to be a table of contents. The angel scrolled through until he found one that caught his eye. He started flipping through the pages. “This is the Book of Origins. There are copies of this book with each of the major factions on Eartha, thought to be gifted by the Archaics. This one is in Haelic.”

  Ravin arched a brow. “You seriously think the Archaics left books around the world?”

  “If there were any better explanation, I would give it,” Loviel countered. “This book was found by humans in their original language. It is how they had mythos of the fae, elves, and dragons without ever have seeing one. No one has any idea where the books were formed or how.”

  That seemed too extraordinary, even for their world. From what Ravin knew, the Archaics were the first, the most powerful beings to ever live. They created the world, or, had it made for them. The details were fuzzy. No one actually knew for sure. The number of people who had been around for the creation of the races on Earth and Terra were few; he didn’t even know if there were any of the originals left.

  What he did know is that they created the races, from reapers to elves, demons to angels, though stories went that vampires created themselves. The Archaics didn’t interact with the world. They stayed in whatever other realms they inhabited. He knew where the Archaic of his species rested, in theory.

  The Archaics who had created angels and demons were brothers, so the tales went. They’d feuded for ages until the Ruler of Heaven, along with all the other Archaics, had sealed the Ruler of Hell away for all time. After that, his son had taken up the mantle in Hell. And, from what Ravin could tell, he was doing a great job. Suffering was at an all-time high for tormented souls, and their hellamarketers employed more demons than ever.

  “Here we are.” Loviel found what he was looking for. “The Book of Origins not only tells us where each race began, but how a member of each race may be created. Vampires, for example can be birthed from two vampiric parents or a transfer of blood.”

  The angel turned the book so Ravin could see images that depicted a human, then a human with a dark orb on its chest, then a demon. On the page beside it, there was a similar pictograph. Except for the end image was an angel.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Ravin breathed. “What are those orbs? How is that possible? Does it describe a ritual?” His eyes scanned over the words, but he couldn’t understand a single syllable of it. “How do we make this happen?” He could barely contain his excitement.

  This had to be what Paul meant! It seemed like the perfect solution.

  Loviel shook his head. “It only says the Demon can be created by way of Fellion. The darkness of the demon will transcend the human into demonic nature.” His eyes flicked to the second page. “Likewise, the Angel can be formed through Exalt by the breath of light.”

  It wasn’t a lot of information, Loviel knew that, but it was a starting point. As long as they knew it could be done, they would be able to keep their search strong. Somewhere, someone would have the answers they were looking for, he knew it. There had to be a way.

  “You have to have contacts in Heaven.” For the first time, Ravin had something tangible to hold onto. “They have to know something about this, I can watch over Michelle while you’re gone. While you’re doing that, when I go to work, I can ask Sin about Fellions. Then, we can give her a choice. I won’t choose for her.” In his heart, he knew he could never force either option on her. It was up to her to make the decision.

  “I will seek audience with the head of my order, Mother Cleoph.” Loviel nodded. “If anyone knows, it will be her.”

  Chapter 16

  Ravin slid the plate of fluffy sugar-covered donuts over to Michelle. “I got you something tasty.” He gently put an arm around her. It had not been the easiest day for his girlfriend, so he wanted to make the rest of it better. He hated seeing her so miserable. She deserved so much better than what she had been dealt.

  More than anything, he wanted to tell her about the possible cure they’d found. Yet, he decided he would keep his mouth shut until he knew it was a done deal. Sin had to know about it already; and she’d refused to help. In fact, she’d done more than just refuse. Tensions were just a little bit high since that realization had struck.

  There was no point in giving Michelle hope, only to crush it moments later. How many more of those treatments could she survive? How much longer could he sit back and watch her suffer through them? That, he already knew the answer to. Not much longer. He was done with seeing her in pain.

  It made him want to flip his long-unused rage switch. Some part of him was ready to go berserk at any moment. It was some foreign piece that was gathering dust. The anger that lay behind it didn’t feel as though it was meant to be part of him. It was almost as if it was something that had been forced upon him. Everything about it just felt wrong.

  “I hope you like it.” He gave her a smile in an
attempt to distract himself from the thoughts that were swirling around his head.

  Michelle reached over and took one of the puff balls of pure carbohydrate goodness. She nibbled at it quietly and leaned on Ravin. There wasn’t much energy behind the action; her body was spent. Exhaustion weighed on her shoulders as she did her best to forget about her morning.

  “It’s good.” Her voice was muffled by a mouthful of donut. The sweet taste gave her a nice boost in energy and spirit. There was just something about deep-fried dough covered top to bottom in sugar that lifted her mood. Maybe it was the rush.

  Between bites, Michelle rubbed her eyes. She hadn’t been awake long. Very little of the time had been spent sitting up. Once her first donut had vanished, she reached down and grabbed another one. They were nice and warm in her belly.

  She tilted her head and looked up at him. “I feel like a shell. I hate it.”

  Ravin leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss into her lips. Sweet granules of sugar clung to them, making her taste even sweeter. “Well, that just means that inside this shell is an amazing, beautiful, and stellar soul that is amazing and strong.” He nuzzled noses with her.

  It was sappy, but she needed that. Michelle deserved to hear something cute. There was enough badness without him contributing to it. He was great at adding to bad, so for once he’d change his tune and bring light into the world. After all, Michelle had become the light of his life. It was just a little way of reflecting some of the light back onto her.

  He pulled her into a loving hug. “It might also need a little bit of warmth, and I’m more than happy to provide it.”

  “Nerd.” A smile appeared on her face and she rested her head against his chest. Her injections always left her feeling more than a bit hollow. Whatever fire had been burning in her had been stamped out. It would return, but it would take some time and lighter fluid. The compliments and cheesy words were nice, too.

  She rested against her demon’s warm frame. It reminded her of when she was younger, and her dad would spend the whole day with her. When she woke up, they would play imagination games or go get ice cream. It would be just the two of them.

  Then, she remembered her favorite pastime after her shot.

  She sat up, slightly more alert. “Ravin, we have to make a blanket fort.”

  Ravin’s eyes lit up. “That is an utterly brilliant idea,” he praised. There was plenty of space for it, and more than enough blankets. Oh, he already had a beautiful plan in his head for the best kind of fort. “Living room?” he asked with glee in his eyes.

  “Duh.” She smiled and slowly rose to her feet. Her legs felt shaky. For a moment as she stood there, she thought long and hard about where the blankets were stowed away. “Meet you there?”

  It only took a blink for Ravin to get all the information he needed. “Meet you there.” He jogged up the stairs to the linen closet and pulled out as many blankets as he could carry. With his mind he located as many pillows as he could, then floated them along behind him as he made his way back down.

  It wasn’t hard to find a string of fairy lights that would help support a higher roof for the fort.

  All of his treasures came back downstairs and into the living room. All he had to do was exert a little bit of power to make the couches rearrange themselves into the perfect shape for their fort. He carefully laid down one thick layer of blankets for a cozy bedding. Then he arranged the pillows for maximum cuddling.

  Michelle made it to the top of the stairs and was impressed by her boyfriend’s work. Oh yes, this skill definitely made him a keeper. On top of making the fort, it would make tear down just as easy, which was perfect in her book. Right now, she would welcome anything that indulged her laziness.

  As Ravin made the finishing touches, Michelle picked her way into the kitchen and grabbed a handful of snacks. The pantry had been pre-stocked with her favorites. Her parents were too good to her. A box of fruit twist applesauce was followed by some crackers and a bag of pretzels. In the fridge, there was some dip and various sodas. She grabbed one of each, but found the load to be getting on the heavy side.

  Determination spiked. She wouldn’t allow a few snacks to best her. If she did, the sickness would win. As heavy as the food felt in her arms, she made her way one step at a time to the blanket fort. Ravin had done well stringing up the lights. It looked like a very comfortable and cozy hideaway.

  “Look at you.” She slowly set her load beside the entrance. “All fancy shmancy.”

  “You’ve got me pegged.” Ravin winked. He floated the food inside the fort so that they could access it easily. “You’re the one with good taste though. This all looks delicious.” Some strange feeling pierced through his heart as he watched her crouch down. It was like déjà vu mixed with nostalgia; the feeling was tainted with sadness, then replaced with elation. He couldn’t figure out why, though.

  In an effort to push the confused tangle of emotions away, he grabbed one of the sodas. “Alright, we should put on a movie or something,” That would help put her mind off the pain of the treatments, or so he hoped.

  On her hands and knees, Michelle crawled inside and flopped into her favorite pillow. The familiar scent of home was a comforting one. Maybe being back here wasn’t the worst thing in the world, even if she was already missing Lian and Jo.

  Using the bulk of her strength, Michelle pulled a blanket over her midsection. “That would be fun.” She paused. “How are things back in Seneal?” At least she had him to keep her up on the current gossip. Even if it had only been a day, Michelle didn’t want to fall behind.

  “Well,” Ravin scratched his chin. “Lian has settled into Kaz’s place pretty well, from what I can tell, at least. It’s kind of adorable really.” The two of them were already so domestic. It was like they were meant to live together. They even had a chore wheel setup. Who did that?

  “I think it’s working out.” He took a sip of his drink. “Jo and Marius are also doing well; he’s still training every day, and she’s still working at the rink. So, basically nothing has changed. Hm… Letvan and Xina are being way too hot for their own good… the hockey team is at the top of their game…” It had only been a day, so there wasn’t much for her to have missed. In the coming weeks, he’d have to find more to tell her.

  Michelle nodded and settled into her pillow. “And the world keeps on spinning.”

  “It tends to do that.” Ravin leaned over and kissed her head. “No matter how hard we try, otherwise, it’s always going to.” They could try to fight it, but there was no true way to win. He layered a cracker with one of the dips and offered it over to her.

  Carefully, Michelle accepted the cracker and nibbled on its edges. Even though the donut had sat well, she was worried of upsetting her stomach if she threw caution to the wind and gorged herself. As the first half went down, she continued to take small bites. It was tasty, to say the least.

  “I should feel better in the next few days.” She finished the second half. “I won’t be as sore. Maybe I can show you around town for my birthday. That’s coming up.”

  “That sounds like a lot of fun,” He wanted to see the place that she’d grown up in. It would be lovely to have a day to enjoy themselves when she felt well enough to do so.

  There were so many places they could go, so many things they could do. Michelle entwined her fingers with Ravin’s and closed her eyes, imagining all the places on the plaza. There was a little elvan shop run by a couple of Autumns. Past that was the frozen yogurt place, called Lorenzo’s. Sweet memories of walking there with her parents bubbled up inside. Lian would always caution Michelle not to get too much.

  Of course, Michelle never listened.

  On the other side of the walkway were a few restaurants. There were always vendor’s stands set up in the square’s park offering this and that for sale. Inside the park was the standard playground equipment and an old tire swing. It would be nice to have someone to push her in it.

  Michelle let the m
emories flow in her head like the swell of an ocean tide. In and out they ebbed and flowed. It was easier than talking. She didn’t have to worry about stringing sentences together.

  Each image flowed through Ravin’s mind as they worked through Michelle’s. The idyllic image of small town life was completely stunning. That only made him more excited to see it with her, in person. They could enjoy some food, then the sights. Maybe they could even see the mountains that surrounded them.

  “Is Loviel okay?” After fifteen minutes of silence, Michelle had finally opened her eyes and mentally returned to the room. “I haven’t seen him since I woke up.” Again her mind drifted off, but this time into worry. Had it been too much to ask him to come? She knew that because of their link, he could feel her pain.

  Hopefully, he wasn’t too bent out of shape or upset at her.

  Ravin bobbed his head. In fact, if they were lucky, Loviel was in Heaven as they spoke. If they were even luckier, things would work out in their favor. Maybe there was a chance that Michelle would take the path of an Exalt. If it’s what she wanted, then he wouldn’t fight her. Though, a tiny, selfish part of him hoped that she would chose Fellion. That way they could be the same… but that would push Loviel away. Either way, someone would lose, in that respect. But no matter what, everyone still won in a way, because Michelle got to live.

  “Yeah.” He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. “He just had to run to Heaven for a little bit. Nothing big, he shouldn’t be too much longer. I think he wanted to give us some private time.” The demon winked at her slyly.

  Michelle let out a half-laugh and ever so slightly squeezed his hand. “Getting up the stairs and grabbing snacks expended most of my energy, but nice try.” She knew he was just joking around. Even still, the thought of anything more than laying there was exhausting. Maybe after a full night’s sleep, she would be recharged.

  “Do you have work tomorrow?” She yawned and cuddled into Ravin; his warmth was a constant comfort. No blanket could compare. Plus, she liked his familiar smell. It was hard to explain, but it was almost like cinnamon. Did he use body spray? She’d figure that out one day.