by Eloisa Clark
NIKO FOLLOWED BEHIND Juliet as they hurried to the lake. The path was as treacherous as always, but they were cutting it close, so Juliet kept up a fast pace, her every footfall more confident than the last.
As they walked, he asked Juliet to go over again the details of what happened last time. She kept it matter of fact, leaving out emotions and just telling him the blow-by-blow of what went down. He was trying to work out where he went wrong; what choice he made that he could have made differently.
He knew that none of the training at Livingstone would be of any use. From Juliet’s accounts, there was no way to physically overpower or outrun the Demon. Their only chance would be to outmatch him mentally.
Through the trees he was able to make out the flames that had engulfed the lake. They were too late to stop Phobos from rising, but maybe they could still make a difference.
Before leaving their position of cover, Niko reached out and took Juliet’s hand.
“No matter what happens, don’t let go.” He said and she nodded with a weak smile.
If they both died, Fiona would just have to get someone else to jump and hopefully save them both.
With their hands linked, Niko could feel the increased strength running through him. Something had changed when they’d connected. They’re Demons had in some way become forged, each one strengthened by the other. It reminded him of a feedback loop, where the strength of his original Demon was doubled by its connection with Juliet’s and his new doubled strength in turn then doubled her Demon strength which bounced back, doubling his again and so on. He hadn’t had a chance to test out his theory, but he had a suspicion that as long as he was in contact with Juliet, the limit of his power would know no bounds.
If Juliet hadn’t told him what to expect when they arrived at the lake, Niko probably would have turned and run. The burning lake alone was terrifying and the sight of Elijah and Odette standing frozen in terror offered no comfort.
They approached the shore at the same time that the creature began to form and move towards the water’s edge. Niko knew he was out of time and sent off a quick, silent prayer to the universe that this would work. He let his Demon rise to the surface, and he felt Juliet’s do the same.
“Stop.” They commanded.
The force of their combined voices blasted forth like a sonic boom. They froze everything around them including the raindrops falling from the sky and the flames surrounding the lake. He heard Juliet’s mental gasp of surprise, but he wasn’t celebrating just yet. He still had to come up with a command that would be free of loopholes and enduring, but he didn’t have time to think of something solid, so he went with the first thing that came to mind and hoped for the best.
“You will not harm us. Forget about revenge. You will go back to where you belong and never return.”
After the echo of their combined words faded away, Phobos remained. Niko could feel the energy rolling off him. He was trying to find a loophole, some way to fight the compulsion. As his eyes turned black, Niko knew he was losing.
“Do not be so sure băiat. You meddle in things that you do not comprehend.” His silent sneer was directed at Niko, but his blank eyes were fixed on Juliet.
“I have tasted the ambrosia and I will have her seed.”
Niko growled, ready to compel him further, but before he could say anything a lightning bolt struck the creature. His body exploding into tendrils of smoke that bellowed towards them, smothering the fire, and turning the rain to ash. The force of the explosion knocked them all off their feet.
Niko shook his head and reached immediately for Juliet’s hand, having lost hold of her when he’d fallen. Her Demon was still at the surface, her eyes a glossy black. She shook her head and the Demon receded; its protection no longer required.
Juliet grabbed his shirt and pulled herself into his arms. He held her tightly as he watched Elijah and Odette make their way towards them. He checked his watch; three-oh-seven. Had it actually worked?
Scott came bolting out of the forest, causing them all to jump in alarm.
“Jesus Christ!” He yelled, running up to them and falling to his knees at his side.
“Well done, mate.” He said to Juliet.
“How many goes did it take you? You don’t look like you’ve aged but us Demons don’t age like Witches do so it’s hard to tell.” He was speaking his usual mile-a-minute and his Australian accent was coming through thicker than usual from his obvious excitement, Juliet’s mouth opened as she stared at him in with wide eyes.
“Well? How many times did you jump?”
“Just once.” Said a voice from the trees.
Fiona emerged, or at least Niko assumed it was Fiona. It sounded like her, but she’d changed, just like Juliet had described.
She approached them slowly, smiling as she sat down next to Juliet, taking hold of her free hand. The glistening of tears was visible even in the dim moonlight.
“My dear, sweet girl. You did it. I knew you would.”
“But how?” Juliet asked.
Looking from her, to Niko and back again.
“Your soul-bond.” She said, “I can see it now.”
Juliet shook her head.
“But we were bonded before.”
“No.” Fiona replied, tilting her head to one side, “Not like this.”
“I felt it too.” Niko said, looking at Juliet, “When we were together in the cabin.”
Her eyes widened.
“Our connection is forged now. It makes us both stronger. I… We… never would have been able to compel Phobos like that before.” He explained, although he still didn’t understand the mechanics of how it all worked exactly.
Fiona nodded.
“I’m only sorry ‘dat I couldn’t ‘ave worked it out sooner. You ‘ad to go ‘trough losin’ Niko, in order to know your true feelin’s for ‘im. Only ‘den would you be able to accept the soul bond, and ‘trough its connection, defeat Phobos.”
“But how could you have known that?” Juliet asked.
Fiona laughed softly, she was still the same Fiona, in spite of her white hair and wrinkles.
“I ‘ave come to know many ‘tings.” She said.
Her voice growing serious as she continued.
“Before, I told you ‘ow I turned to black magic, to try ‘n divine a way to stop Phobos.”
Juliet nodded, while the rest of them stayed silent, having not lived through that encounter. And Niko wondered how it was that Fiona could remember something she shouldn’t.
“Then, I didn’t ‘ave time to tell you everythin’ I saw. Now I do.”
Elijah and Odette came closer, clearly intrigued to know what Fiona had seen.
“You ‘ave to understand. I am not a seer. The visions ‘dat came to me were ‘trough dark means so I was not permitted to see everythin’ like an Oracle would. ‘Tink of it like tryin’ to pick pocket someone. If you’re very good you might get your ‘ands on a wallet. When an Oracle “pick pockets”, ‘dey just ‘ave to ask nicely ‘n the universe gives ‘dem what ‘dey really need, maybe not the wallet, but the money within. When you use dark magic, the universe wraps the wallet in barbed wire ‘n takes out all the important stuff, just leavin’ you a few quid, if you’re lucky.”
Juliet and Niko nodded, enjoying the way Fiona was always able to explain magic with such skill.
“So, what I saw was incomplete. Scraps of images, symbols ‘n the like. ‘Dey ‘ave little meanin’ to me ‘n can only act like a compass as you try to navigate the future.”
“What did you see Fiona?” Elijah asked as he crouched down.
“It begins wit’ a lake, quite obvious really.” She said, looking at the now peaceful water reflecting blue moonlight across its surface.
“The next image I saw was of a burnin’ fiddle. ‘Den a heart in a cage. ‘Dere was a statue of the Virgin Mary, only it was a netlin’ doll, y’know; one o’ dose dolls that’s filled with another doll, inside another doll until it’s just a te
eny tiny little ‘tin’. After that…” Fiona looked down at her Grimoire and began to breath heavily, her eyes squinting as her mouth turned down in pain.
“What is it Fiona? What else did you see?” So far none of it really made sense except the fiddle obviously related to Juliet.
“I saw the outcome. The unavoidable one. What will happen no matter what. It is certain.”
“What is?” Niko asked.
“Death.” She said, clutching her book and squeezing her eyes closed.
When she opened them again Niko could see faint images moving across the irises, as if they were black and white television screen.
When she spoke again her voice was distorted by static and echoes.
“The End will begin with disease. A virus whose cure breeds destruction and war. With Day against night and Black against White. Bees will abandon their hives. None with white wings will fly in the skies lest five times Venus lies black in the fore.”
She blinked a few times and her eyes returned to normal.
Niko looked at Juliet, wondering if she could explain what the fuck any of that meant, but she was looking down, her brow lowered in deep thought. Even Elijah and Odette looked equally puzzled.
“What the hell does any of that mean?” Scott asked. Running his hands through his hair.
“What does what mean?” Her voice returning to its usual Irish lilt.
“Do you ‘ear ‘dat?” Her eyes were scanning the trees, a half-smile forming on her face.
She lifted herself up and began to edge closer to the forest. They all looked at Scott, who merely shrugged.
“She tends to get distracted easily.”
Niko raised his eyebrows but said nothing, a thousand years reliving the same hour of your life was bound to mess with your head. They all looked in Fiona’s direction. She was still focussed on the trees and didn’t respond when Niko called out her name.
He lifted himself up off the ground before helping Juliet and they made their way over to her. She was still smiling and seemed to be humming softly.
The sounds of the forest were beginning to return, the chirp of crickets and birds banishing the residual effect the Fear Demon.
“Fiona, honey.” Juliet said, “Could you come back to the group and help us work this prophecy out?”
“What prophecy?” Fiona asked before she laughed, “You ‘ear ‘dat right?”
“Hear what Fiona? What do you hear?” Niko asked.
“Drums.” She said. “I ‘ear drums.” She started to move towards the trees.
Niko reached out to stop her, but before he could touch her, she turned to Juliet and handed over the Grimoire.
“Look after this will you?” She said, making Niko instantly nervous.
“Fiona.” He said, “What’s going on?”
“She’s going to need it.” She said, still talking to Juliet.
“Who?” Juliet asked.
“All of them.” She replied mysteriously before turning to Niko.
“Don’t give up number forty-two. She will come for you.”
“Who are you talking about?” Juliet asked, her voice rising but remaining gentle.
But Fiona didn’t answer, she just turned back to the trees and resumed moving towards them. Niko again reached out to take hold of her arm, but his fingers slipped through as if she were made of mist. He tried again but instead of flesh in his hand it was only white smoke that swirled in the air leaving darkness where Fiona’s elbow had once been.
Juliet gasped and tried to take her hand, but she had the same effect. Niko grabbed Juliet’s hand to stop her from trying again. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. He didn’t know how to explain to her what was happening. He didn’t understand it fully himself. But he knew Fiona was no longer here, not really anyway.
“Thank you, Fiona.” He said, thinking quickly.
He couldn’t thank her enough for all she had done, the cumulative acts of charity were astounding. She had given more than her own life to save them.
Juliet’s eyes widened with alarm at his words. Realising the deeper meaning behind them, that he was saying goodbye. He pulled her into his arms, wanting to shield her from the pain of yet again losing someone she loved.
He heard her thoughts begin to race, searching for a way to fix things so that Fiona could be saved too. But he heard it in her thoughts when she came to the same realisation that he had come to, that it had always been too late. Juliet had jumped without enough time to go back to before Fiona’s first jump.
He felt a tingle of static electricity against his chest and looked down at the talisman wrapped around Juliet’s neck. The blue and gold stone was changing, somehow illuminating, and fading at the same time before eventually disappearing altogether, the magic within it dying.
Juliet clutched onto his shirt as they turned back to Fiona and watched her go, the others joining them, each saying their own quiet thank you. Their own goodbye.
Niko blinked away tears as Fiona walked deeper into the woods. Light seemed to radiate from her, sending prisms of colour into the trees as she ventured into the darkness.
The light began to fade as she dissolved like mist in the night, until there was nothing left but the sound of a robin singing in the trees above.
Chapter Forty-Five
In the living room of her grandmother’s apartment on the Upper East Side, Juliet sat perfectly still as the small woman approached and sat next to her.
Despite not knowing Geneviève very well, she let her take hold of her hands and listened with rapt attention as the story of her maternal lineage was finally revealed.
“My grandmother was a siren.” She began.
“She lived for a thousand years in complete isolation, on a small island off the coast of Norway.” Juliet felt like there should be a picture book in her lap, with images of fairies and mermaids.
But the last twelve months had taught her the truth, that the creatures of both nightmares and fantasy were real and she was one of them.
“After centuries alone she could no longer go on, the solitude unbearable. She became silent, knowing that a Siren must sing to survive. Her silence meant that no sailors would hear her call and without being heard she quickly grew weak.
When by chance a ship was sunk not far away, and a handsome man washed up on her shore. Believing him to be human, she silently nursed him back to health and as he regained his strength, he asked her questions which she would not answer. She knew that her voice would ensnare his mind like it did to all humans, and this would lead to his death.
So instead, she drew pictures in the sand to explain that her island was far from any others and that none would come to rescue him. He gave up hope of ever returning to his home and grieved for the Kingdom that would fall to his enemies now that their heir was lost. She comforted him even though she didn’t understand these ideas of Princes and Kingdoms.
The pair fell in love and soon she was pregnant. She feared that she would not survive the birth as so few Sirens do. The only way for a Siren to survive bearing a human’s child is to consume the father’s lifeforce, which she refused to do. She would rather die than kill her Prince.
As she gave birth, she could no longer hold her tongue. She screamed in pain and felt her Siren call reach a distant ship. She felt the vessel change its course in their direction and she knew that she would be dead before they arrived, which meant she could not harm them. As she watched the sunrise, she was full of relief that her Prince and her baby would soon be rescued.
When she knew she was too weak for her voice to affect him, she began to tell him her story. She begged him to raise their child well and to love and protect her. She told him of her long life and how it had all meant nothing to her until he had arrived.
He screamed at her words, crying with sorrow because he was not human. He had thought all of his life that he was but while on his ship he had reached his maturity. He was a Spirit Demon. She died in his arms and the ship arrived shortly
after. He made it back to his Kingdom with his daughter in his arms.”
Geneviève took a sip of water before continuing the story.
“Upon his return, the truth of his Demon lineage was revealed, and he was married to a pure blood Spirit Demoness who could give him legitimate heirs. My mother, a half Siren/half Spirit Demon princess fell in love with a married nobleman, a pure blood Spiritus, but he wouldn’t leave his wife and their three sons. She gave birth to me in secret and took vows of chastity and silence. She died a year later in a convent in Italy. I was raised by my Uncle and his wife who were kind to me even though I wasn’t a pureblood like them”.
She took a moment to clear her throat. She wasn’t crying, but her eyes were lowered, and her mouth was drawn into a thin line.
“The Siren’s power remains with the women in our family. Your mother and I both had success as singers and while our voices do not destroy the minds of men, we instead need to feed off the adoration and desire of those who hear us.”
She stood and went to a nearby bookshelf, collecting a large album from its collection and returned to the couch, placing it on her lap.
“I sang for many years in the Opera. Like your mother I was beloved for my voice and my beauty. Singing is how I met your grandfather. He was an admirer for many years, but his family forbade our union.
He was pureblood Spiritus as well you see, and by the thirteenth century, purity meant more than royalty where bloodlines were concerned. They were more influential in the Otherworld than the human realm and they saw my family as half-breeds, impure and tainted. They couldn’t accept that our mixed lineage made us stronger, more adaptable, and more resilient than their blue blood “purity” which was seeing them become sterile and only able to produce male offspring.
When your grandfather and I married, they cut him off and vowed to never speak to him again. As devastated as he was by their rejection, he would not turn his back on me and when your mother Vivienne was born, he found an entirely new purpose in life.