by L. C. Davis
Sebastian scoffed. "Come on, Remus. Just because Victor is representing the vampires in Selene's fucked up play doesn't mean he is one."
"He's right," Gaia said, linking her arm in mine. "One of the hybrid's gifts is perception, after all. Tell me, darling, have you figured out what the other one is yet?"
I nodded. "Sacrifice."
"That's right. That's why I'm here. Selene created an imbalance long ago when she created both the wolves and the vampires, and I'm here to restore that balance," she said, looking between Victor and Sebastian. "I see that you've already chosen, but go ahead and say it out loud. Words are important."
"I have," I said, swallowing hard. "I choose the wolves. I choose Sebastian." My voice hitched on his name and I couldn't look at either of them.
Gaia gave my arm a reassuring squeeze. "There. I'll make this as quick as possible," she promised, pulling me further away from the faultline. "Everyone step back, please."
Hunter complied immediately and Clarence went to his side. Arthur looked too shaken to move, and Hunter reached out for his arm, pulling him over. He draped an arm around Arthur's shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Arthur looked up, clearly startled, and managed a shaky nod.
I turned back to Selene, who was biting one of the nails she had been examining so carefully before. I followed her gaze to the faultline and the floor began to tremble again before it grew wider. Soon there was a chasm no less than five feet in width separating the two halves of the temple and the skylight shattered above us. Sebastian and Victor both shielded me from the falling shards, but I was more focused on the deep, black ink overtaking the lava seeping through the broken marble.
An awful whooshing noise filled the room and a wind that seemed to have no effect on the tree branches visible through the skylight rushed around us.
"What's happening?" I cried.
"It's the portal to the aether," said Selene, her tone grave. "It's coming to take the souls of the vampires. Forever," she said pointedly, as if to remind me of all that was riding on my willing sacrifice. Like I could think of anything else.
The door to the temple flew open and the front door immediately after it. Oscillating shadows of varying colors passed through one door, then the other, filing into the void like water pouring down the drain. The flow picked up rapidly until it was all just one indiscernible stream of shadows.
"What is that?" asked Sebastian, turning pale.
"Those are the souls of the vampires," Selene said, her voice cracking. "My children."
"You brought this on yourself, Selene," Gaia said, her smooth voice taking on a hard edge. "There are consequences to all decisions. The balance of nature will not be ignored."
Selene turned away from the void and for a moment, I almost felt pity for her. Then I reminded myself that she wasn't really losing her children. If this all worked the way it should, neither of us had to lose anyone we loved. I was the ultimate rebalancing agent, after all.
"Victor," Sebastian cried out, falling to his knees to catch his brother in his arms. Victor was clutching his chest over his heart and a spray of blood hit the marble floor when he coughed. "What's happening to him?" he demanded, turning to Selene.
"He's a vampire," Hunter said, his eyes wide as he stared at my fallen lover. "I can see it. His soul..."
Alex put a hand on Hunter's shoulder and watched with a somber gaze. "He possesses the same gift as Saban now," he said by way of explanation, giving me a sympathetic nod. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
I turned back to Victor, choking back a sob. Even though I knew it was only temporary, watching his soul being ripped from his body was worse than any torture I had endured at the hands of Jeff or his parents. "Victor..."
"No," Sebastian cried, leaping to his feet. He looked frantically between Selene and Gaia, his teeth bared in a snarl. "Stop this. This isn't right, he's a wolf. You have to stop it!"
"I'm sorry," Gaia said, lowering her head. "Victor's soul is not that of a wolf, but of a vampire. As such, he must be taken with the others."
"The hell he will," Sebastian roared, grabbing Gaia by the front of her robe. He lifted the smaller woman a foot off the floor and shook her hard. "You're lying. Leave him alone!"
"Sebastian, stop!" I cried. "It's not her fault, it's mine."
He froze, slowly lowering Gaia to the floor as he turned to me. She shirked out of his grasp as soon as her feet hit the stone but seemed otherwise unaffected. "What?"
"It's true," I said, holding Victor close as he shuddered in pain. I could feel the energy from his soul vibrating through his skin. "Victor has a vampire soul."
"You know?" His face contorts in disbelief and he shakes his head. "You knew this was going to happen?"
"I'm sorry," I choked. "Selene told me that night when she pulled Hunter and me into the pond in the scrying room."
"How could you choose?" he snarled. "How could you choose the vampires knowing he'd go with them?" His eyes widened. "Did he know?"
I looked down at Victor, but his head raised before I could answer him. I could tell it was taking all his strength just to hold it up. "It's not his fault. It was my choice, Sebastian. I had to force his decision or you and everyone else would be in that pit right now."
"No," Sebastian said, stalking towards us. "I'm not letting you do this."
Victor held up a trembling hand and an invisible wall pushed him back. "That's why I didn't tell you," he said, the corner of his lip twitching in a knowing smile. "After all this time, you're still just my meddling little brother. I can't tell you anything without you getting in the way."
Victor's body seized up suddenly and the next time he coughed, there was a puddle of blood on the floor. I held him close, stroking his hair. "Shh, don't get so worked up," I pleaded.
He took my arm, running his fingers over the rough texture of my scars and looked up at me with a serene expression that unsettled me more than his pain had moments earlier. "I don't think my blood pressure is much of a concern at this point. Be good, pup. Take care of him."
"No," Sebastian roared, pounding on the invisible wall keeping him in place.
"I will," I said shakily. I would, too. The best way I knew how, which was keeping them together.
Victor's eyes fell shut and I was sure I had lost him. A second later, he coughed again and let out a scream of agony as a thick black shadow tore itself from his mouth with far more violence than the one that turned him into a beast.
"No," I cried as the shadow streamed into the abyss, trailing after the last few souls trickling in.
Before I could process what had happened, Sebastian lunged and grabbed the edge of Victor's shadow, letting it pull him into the abyss.
"No!" Gaia cried, lunging for the aether at the exact moment as I did. When I hit the floor on my hands and knees, it was solid marble again. There was a flash of light and the moment my vision returned, the temple was returned to its pristine estate. From the ceiling to the stone altar, everything was intact and as it should be.
"What the fuck," Hunter cried, looking around. "Where's Gaia?"
I tore my attention away from what had once been the faultline and my only chance at reaching Sebastian and Victor, but she was nowhere to be found. Selene was still standing in the room, gawking at the floor.
"You," I seethed, staggering to my feet. I stalked across the room and grabbed her by the shoulders, digging my nails into her flesh. "Where are they? What happened to the portal?"
She let me shake her, standing limp and staring vacantly at some point just beyond me. "I--I don't know. It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
"Where is Gaia? She has to fix this," I cried, casting another hopeful glance at the uncracked floor. "We have to offer the sacrifice. That'll bring them both back, right?"
"Sacrifice?" asked Hunter, walking towards us with Clarence and Arthur close on his heels. "I thought the vampires were the sacrifice. What's going on?"
My mind was reeling with too much infor
mation to formulate a lie. Selene saved me the trouble.
"This was never supposed to happen and it's your fault," she seethed. "If you two had just come to your senses earlier, we would have had time to do things the right way. If your bitch of a mother hadn't interfered, I would have had my sacrifice on the last harvest moon."
"Where is Sarah?" I asked.
"She's in the either now with the rest of them!" Selene cried, throwing up her hands. "Sebastian doesn't belong to the aether. You don't just go in without an invitation, the dumb jock probably broke something."
The sound of impact rang through the room before it could register that had I slapped the moon goddess across the face. She and the others were all staring at me in equal shock.
"Calm down," I said firmly. "A hysterical goddess is the last thing we need. We have to find Gaia. All I have to do is offer myself in exchange and she'll send them all back, right?"
"Wait, you planned this?" Arthur asked, frowning.
"For a boy genius, you're not very quick on the uptake, are you?" Selene taunted, rubbing her cheek. Apparently, I had gotten away with my insubordination for the moment. It seemed to have calmed her down, even if that wasn't my real intent. "Remus is right. I created him to serve as a sacrifice in exchange for the wolves and the vampires. One way or another, he's going to fulfill his purpose."
"You can't do this," Arthur growled, taking my arm. "I won't let you."
"I don't have a choice, Arthur," I said, shrugging out of his grasp. "This is what I was created for."
"And I was created to kill you!" he cried. "That hasn't stopped me from loving you."
I stared at him in shock. "Arthur..."
He looked away, cringing. "Forget it. I just meant that we don't have to do what they say, the moon or the sun or any of the other fucking planets. Life isn't a horoscope, you don't have to live it according to destiny. I spent my whole life dreading mine and look what happened. Nothing."
"You're different, Arthur," I said softly. "My will isn't as strong as yours, and even if it was, I'd still make the same choice. I could never make a choice between Victor and Sebastian and now I know it's because it was never the choice I was supposed to make," I said, casting a glance at Selene. "My entire life has been about division. If I can unite them, if I can save the vampires and the wolves, then I'll finally be whole. I can't think of any greater destiny than that."
"It's not fair," he said through gritted teeth.
I reached out to touch his cheek and when his startled eyes met mine they were full of tears. "I love you, too, Arthur. More than I ever realized until this moment, but you have your own path to follow just like I have mine. I'm going to bring the vampires back along with Victor and Sebastian, but I need you to help them stop the hunters. Without you, this world doesn't stand a chance. That's your destiny. If you love me the way I think you do, you'll let me fulfill mine."
He watched me for a long while and I could tell he wanted to argue, but he clenched his jaw and wiped his eyes instead. "Alright," he said, straightening his spine. "How do we get Gaia back here? How do we make this right?"
"We can't. She's not a normal spirit, she doesn't come when she's called," said Selene.
"Okay," he began impatiently, "So how can we get to her? Where does she live?"
Selene simply pointed at the floor.
"Fuck," Arthur muttered. "I don't suppose it's as simple as getting a shovel and digging?"
"Not really," said Selene, pressing a hand over her mouth in deep thought. "All the dead go to Gaia before being sent back to earth. Dying might give him an audience with her."
"All I have to do is die?" I asked in disbelief. "Isn't that what we're trying to do in the first place?"
"The hybrid must be sacrificed in body and in soul," said Selene. "If she accepts your offer, it's more permanent than mortal death."
I shivered. I had assumed as much, but hearing it out loud was sobering. "Okay, so does it matter how I die?"
"Remus, you can't be serious," Hunter muttered.
I gave him a look. "You of all people should know what it is to be willing to die for the people you love, Hunter. You're willing to die just to avenge them."
He flinched, but my words seemed to hit their mark and he looked away. "I don't want any part in this."
"That's fine, we don't need you," said Selene, stepping forward. She looked past him, glancing Clarence up and down. "You'll make a fine delivery driver."
"What does he have to do with any of this?" Hunter asked protectively.
Clarence stared at Selene in equal confusion.
"He's a professional messenger." Selene rolled her eyes when her explanation failed to satisfy anyone. "You really did hit your head hard in the fall, didn't you, Clarence? Never mind, it's nothing I can't fix," she said, reaching for him.
"Hey," Hunter cried. Before he could get between them, Selene touched Clarence's forehead and he went stiff, his eyes widening and his mouth falling open with a strangled gasp. Hunter shoved the goddess away and helped steady Clarence as he staggered back. "What did you do to him?"
"I just helped him remember who he is," she said with a wicked grin. "Tell me, Clarence, is slumming it with wolves everything you dreamed it would be?"
"Shut up, Selene," he growled, pressing a hand to his forehead. He gently pushed Hunter aside. "I'm fine."
"What did she do?" the priest demanded.
Clarence ignored him, his gaze fixed on me. "Remus, I know how to get you to Gaia, if you're sure that's what you want to do."
"Of course I am, but how?"
"It's not important," he muttered.
"The hell it isn't!" Hunter snapped, planting himself in front of the larger wolf. "You're telling me what's going on. Now."
Clarence looked down at him with a thoroughly unimpressed gaze. "Not now, Hunter. I'll tell you everything you need to know in time, but the residual energy from the portal is fading as we speak. I'll need it to take Remus to Gaia."
"Residual energy? Portal?" Hunter echoed. "Do you hear yourself? You're the same guy who wouldn't know the tarot from a Bicycle deck and all of a sudden you're some sort of metaphysical genius just because the moon goddess touched you?"
Clarence had long since closed his eyes and tuned out of Hunter's ranting. The floor began to rumble again and a seam tore in the center of the air, filling the room with white light. It looked almost like a movie screen had been ripped and the projector light was shining through the tear in the fabric.
"Stop it!" Hunter cried, shoving Clarence's chest.
The other wolf didn't even stagger, but his eyes opened. He grabbed the priest's shoulders and for the first time I worried he was going to hurt him, but instead he kissed him hard. To my surprise, Hunter melted in his arms and returned it.
Clarence was the first to break the kiss, and when he did Hunter's lips remained slightly agape as he stared up at him. "Clarence..."
"That's not my real name," he muttered. "I want you to know it, just in case I don't come back."
"Why wouldn't you come back?" Hunter demanded, snapping out of his trance. "And what do you mean Clarence isn't your real name? Who the hell are you?"
Clarence leaned in to whisper something and Hunter's eyes widened. When Clarence pulled away, he made no move to follow or protest. Clarence turned, slipping his hands into either side of the glowing seam in the air only to tear it open further. The light that filled the room was all but blinding and I could barely make out Clarence's hand as he offered it to me.
"Now or never, Remus."
I took his hand and grasped it as he pulled me into the void.
Chapter 27
REMUS
I had never really given much thought to the afterlife, but apparently I had thought about it enough to form some expectations of what it shouldn't be. It most definitely wasn't supposed to look like an office building full of cubicles and offices with names and titles printed on the glass doors in crisp gold letters. The buttoned-up emp
loyees bustling about with their grey suits and clipboards pushed it over the edge.
Clarence was still beside me and every now and then one of the passing office workers would give him a casual nod, as if they were old acquaintances. "Where are we?" I asked.
"This is the Agency," he muttered. "It's where souls go for processing after death before they're sent back in new bodies or allowed to pass on into the afterlife."
"The Agency?" I echoed. "You know how crazy this sounds, right?"
"About as crazy as a half-wolf half-vampire paying a social call to the incarnation of the planet earth."
I groaned. "How are we even here? I thought I had to be dead to come here."
"You are dead."
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I killed you."
"No, you didn't. I just walked with you through the portal, I didn't even feel anything."
"That's my specialty," he said with a curious amount of self-loathing.
"Your specialty? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm not a wolf, Remus. Not really."
"Then what are you?"
"I know this is a lost cause with you, but the fewer questions you ask, the better," he said, nodding for me to follow him down the hall. "Come on, I think Gaia's office is down this way."
"Office?" I ask, shuffling after him. "How do you know this place?"
"Like I said, the fewer questions, the better."
"If this is where souls come when they die, then that means all those office workers are --"
"Reapers."
"Reapers? As in the grim reaper?"
"Plural," he replied nonchalantly, glancing down one hall only to motion for me to follow him down another. "They changed the layout," he muttered.
"You're telling me there's more than one grim reaper?"
"That's a heavy workload for one person, don'tcha think? Besides, it's more of a job description than a person."
"Then they're human?"
"Angels. It's a special designation."
"How do you know that?" I demanded.