by E. L. Davis
“We didn’t need finding.” She ignored his second comment. “What is your message for me?”
“I will only tell you. They all have to leave.” He glanced at Demetri, Roman, and her two bloody friends.
“Well, I wish for them to stay.”
“Then you will not get your message.” Alexia didn’t want to deal with this man right now, as she wanted to shower and go to bed. She was tired and was sure that there was a lecture from Demetri and Roman in the near future.
“You know I will tell them what you say anyways.”
“I am aware of that, but I have my instructions. I tell you the message alone.”
Alexia turned to the group standing behind her and rolled her eyes. “I swear I’m going to tell you what he says anyways, so just stand outside so I can hear what he has to say.”
They hesitated but left her alone with him. Before Roman left he told her, “If he tries anything, pour some of this on his chest.” He pointed to the Wither.
She gave him a strange look but nodded. Once they all left, she asked the man, “What’s the message?”
“They are lying to you,” the man responded.
“Lying about what?”
“Everything.”
“Listen, Silos, I am tired, I just fought a man twice my size, I’m covered in blood, and want to shower. If you’re not a little more descriptive, then we’re done here.” She turned to leave.
“Wait, there is more.” She turned back and tapped her foot impatiently “They are lying to you about how you became Immortal.”
Now that she thought of it, they hadn’t really told her about how she had died, only that something went wrong, and she was sent into reincarnation. “Who is this message from?”
“Amarantos.”
“He used to be the leader of The Union?”
“So they have told you some truth. Yes, that is who sends the message.”
“Is there anything else he wanted you to say?” she prodded.
“Yes.” He paused. “He won’t stop until your dead. You may be Immortal but there is a way to eliminate an Immortal.”
“Why does he want me dead?” Alexia was clueless.
“He wants Demetri and Roman to continue being punished. He wants them to have the ultimate punishment.” Alexia wanted her brain to make sense of this, but it didn’t make any sense at all. What were Demetri and Roman being punished for? And how would her death be the ultimate punishment? Silos finished by saying, “That is all I have to say to you. You can send your boyfriends in to kill me now.”
“Neither of them is my boyfriend.”
“That’s right, you can’t decide who you love, can you?”
“How do you know…” she stopped herself. This man couldn’t possibly know that she was struggling to decide who she liked. He had even used the word ‘love’, and she didn’t know Demetri or Roman enough to love either of them. She shrugged it off and turned to leave the kitchen.
“What was the message?” Roman asked when she joined them. They were all sitting in the living room waiting for her. Alexia debated a moment about how much she wanted to tell them.
“Just that Amarantos won’t stop until I’m dead. Silos wants you two to go kill him now.” The words sounded so strange coming from her mouth, and she had expected them to be harder to say.
“Was that all he said? You were in there longer than that.” Demetri was pressing her to tell more but she had made up her mind. She was not going to tell them that he said they were lying to her.
“Yeah, he said Amarantos wanted me dead to punish you guys. It just doesn’t make sense. He said my death would be the ultimate punishment for you guys. What does he mean?”
“I don’t know, Alexia, you’re sure that’s all he said?”
“Yes, that’s all. Can I go shower now?”
“Yeah, you should all go upstairs, you don’t want to hear this.” Cheri and Ellie rose from their chairs and followed Alexia to their room.
As soon as the door was closed, Ellie asked her, “I know your hiding something. What else did he say?”
“Nothing. That was all he said.” She flashed her a wink and put a finger to her lips indicating that there was more to say, but she didn’t want to be overheard.
“Well, how do you think they are going to kill him? I thought he was Immortal?”
“Don’t you remember that Demetri had mentioned that there was a loophole or something?” They heard a scream come from the kitchen unlike any they had ever heard.
“Apparently that loophole is very painful.” They were silent for a moment and then Alexia rose to take a shower. “I can’t believe I am covered in blood right now…”
The shower calmed her nerves and she was ready to collapse into the comfortable bed and sleep. After the day that she had, she was surprised that she could hold herself up. Before leaving the bathroom, she stared at herself in the mirror for a long time. She felt different, but she didn’t look different, as her face hadn’t changed at all. In a way, she was hoping to find something different about her appearance, and then she remembered her appearance would never change again.
“Alexia?” There was a knock on the door. “We are both still really bloody and need to shower, so are you almost done in there?” She opened the door to find Ellie with pajamas in hand, ready to shower.
“Yeah, all done.” She tried to smile but it was too hard. Cheri was sitting in the old rocking chair trying not to get blood on anything. “You know, I’m sure you can use one of the other showers. Just go ask Demetri or Roman.” She tossed her bathroom bag into her suitcase and flopped onto the bed.
“That’s a good idea, but I don’t want to walk in on them disposing of a dead body.”
“I’m sure they have killed him by now.” There was a moment of silence and Alexia had a feeling her friend was thinking the same thing she was. “It sounds strange to say that in such a casual way…”
“I know what you mean.”
“Do you want me to go ask if you can use one of their showers?”
“Could you?”
“Of course.” Alexia got back on her feet for what she hoped would be the last time for the night. The kitchen door was closed but she could hear voices on the other side. She knocked and waited, as she didn’t want to walk in on anything.
It was Roman who opened the door, and he didn’t try to conceal the room behind him, so she assumed the man had been disposed of.
“Can Cheri use your shower? The blood is drying and is super uncomfortable.”
“Of course, she can. My room is at the end of the hall. I’ll go put fresh towels in there.” He didn’t look her in the eye as he spoke and pushed past her without another word. She had expected a lecture but was glad she didn’t get one.
Demetri was sitting in the kitchen, washing the island with a blood-stained cloth. His face looked tired and his eyes didn’t seem to glow as they usually did. “Are you okay?” she asked him.
He tossed the rag into the sink and sighed. “Killing somebody isn’t something I enjoy doing.” She wasn’t going to get a straight answer from him. If he said he wasn’t okay, it would make him look weak and he wanted her to think of him as somebody who could protect her.
“How do you kill somebody who is Immortal? Doesn’t it kind of defeat the purpose of being Immortal if you can die?”
“It’s not an easy thing to do. There are certain things you need, and most of them are pretty rare.”
“Tell me, please.”
“You need this potion kind of thing called Wither.”
“Is that what Roman had told me to pour on him if he tried anything?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s it,” Demetri nodded. “Basically, it’s like acid. Normal acid won’t hurt us, but Wither…it’s unbearable pain. To kill an Immortal, they need to have three things in their system: Wither, the blood from another Immortal, and the blood from a Tera. You remember what a Tera is, right?”
“Somebody like us, bu
t they haven’t died before their time, so they aren’t Immortal.”
“Exactly, the combination of the three creates a gas that is deadly to us. It burns your insides and eats its way through your body, until you are just a pile of blood and bones.”
The thought made Alexia sick, so she leaned against the counter for balance. “So… how are those things rare?”
“Making Wither is a long-complicated process. You need many things to make it as strong as possible. Things like werewolf blood, the feather from an angel wing, the oil from an olive tree grown on Greek soil, and then there are more common ingredients like…”
“Hold on, did you say werewolf blood?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re joking right?”
“Uh, no.”
“You mean there are real werewolves?” Alexia was staring at him like he had gone mental.
“There aren’t many anymore, since they are almost extinct, hence why that ingredient is so rare.” Demetri paused and looked at her. “Come on, you can believe in Immortals but not werewolves? Don’t tell me your surprised angels and vampires are real, too.”
“No, I’m not as surprised about angels, but werewolves and vampires… That’s just weird.”
“Anyways, that’s the only way to kill somebody like us.”
“How did you get all of those ingredients?”
“We are always prepared.” The answer was a little brief, but she was too tired to push for a better one. Demetri decided that was enough questions. “You should go to bed, Alexia, you look really tired.”
“I am very tired. Good night.”
“Alexia?” he called before she could leave.
“Yeah?”
“Do you promise you won’t take off like that again? I know you were able to handle yourselves with those two guys, but you just never know what else is out there.”
“I promise.”
∞ CHAPTER ELEVEN ∞
Ahaz arrived first thing in the morning. Roman was the only one awake to greet him and it made him slightly uneasy to be with the man alone. He had to tell him about Cheri and Ellie using the anger defense. He had to tell him about their brief time outside when Silos tried to attack Alexia. He had to tell him about the message from Amarantos. Most unfortunately, he alone had to tell him how Alexia had snuck off with her friends while they questioned her almost-attacker. Ahaz seemed very interested in the fact that the girls were able to fight off two full grown Immortal men, but so far, he was not giving any clues as to why Ellie and Cheri were able to use the defenses.
They were in the living room, with Roman sitting and Ahaz pacing back and forth in front of the two huge windows. Glancing outside now and then seemed to help him think. Once and a while he would stop pacing and run his fingers through his hair, attempting to keep it out of his face. They had been alone for over an hour now and Roman was getting anxious. He wanted answers but knew that Ahaz wanted to hear from Alexia, Cheri, and Ellie first.
“Should I go wake them?” Roman asked. “I am sure you don’t have all the time in the world to wait for them.”
“Perhaps that is a wise idea.” Ahaz glanced at his watch. “I have a Union meeting at two.” He turned and faced the window without another word. Roman marched up the stairs, eager to get a moment away from Ahaz. He truly hated being alone with the guy. He had heard stories of what he did to people who crossed him. Roman didn’t know if they were true and wasn’t willing to find out. When he reached the long hallway, he debated for a moment who to wake first, his brother or their guests. Hoping to steal a moment alone with Alexia, he knocked lightly on the door. When there was no answer, he turned the knob and walked in.
They were all fast asleep. Cheri was cuddling Alexia and Alexia was cuddling Ellie. A white socked foot hung halfway out of the blanket and Roman got the urge to tickle it. The blanket was wrapped mostly around Cheri leaving Alexia and Ellie to freeze. No wonder they’re cuddling up to each other, he thought. He wished he had a camera, as it would have made for a good blackmail photo if he ever needed one. Everything about the way they were sleeping made him want to burst into laughter.
For no apparent reason, he couldn’t help staring at Cheri for a moment. The way she was wrapped in the blanket with her hair spilling out over the pillow made him get slight butterflies. Then he turned his gaze to Alexia. Her head was sunken into a soft pillow, and he could make out a slight puddle of drool on it. Even while she slept she was beautiful, and he wanted to wake her with a light kiss on the forehead, but he didn’t know what her reaction would be. They hadn’t had very many personal moments yet and he didn’t want to offend her by being so forward.
“Alexia,” he called softly.
Clearly still asleep, she muttered, “Of course Demetri, climb in the bed with us.”
Roman’s heart plummeted into his stomach. She was dreaming of Demetri. Why Demetri? He knew they had not spent enough time together yet but once the danger was over he had big plans to win her over for good. But was it too late? Had Demetri beat him to it? After all these years, the time had finally come where he could be honest with her, be with her forever, and she was dreaming of Demetri! But could he really be honest with her? Or would the truth chase her right into Demetri’s bed? No, he couldn’t think like that, he couldn’t let those kinds of thoughts pollute his brain.
He backed away from her, slowly hoping to get out of the room without waking anyone up but as he turned to leave he tripped over one of their open suitcases and fell flat on his back. All three girls bolted upright, hair all over the place, tired eyes glancing around for the source of the noise. When they realized it was only Roman and not another attacker, they laid back down in unison with a grumble of annoyance.
“I am so sorry.” He got off the ground slowly and awkwardly, stumbling over his words in embarrassment. “I came to wake you guys. Ahaz is here – he has been for a while – and I don’t think we should keep him waiting too much longer.” As if they had been electrocuted, they shot out of bed. Roman felt slightly intrusive watching them all scurry around the room in their night clothes.
“Why didn’t you wake us earlier?” Alexia started digging in her suitcase for something comfortable with a hood to hide her bed head.
“I’ll give you all a minute to put some sweaters on or whatever.” He backed out of the room awkwardly and stood for a moment trying to catch his breath. That had been heart-breaking. His confidence was near extinction. He had to make a new plan of action to win her over.
“Are they coming down?” Ahaz was still facing the huge window with his hands behind his back.
“Yeah, they just need a minute. I’ll wake Demetri.” He didn’t even want to look at his brother right now; it would just make him feel a billion times worse. He banged hard on his door and yelled, “Ahaz is here, get up.” He waited a moment and then knocked again until he heard the creaking of the closet door opening. Then he made his way down the stairs and took his spot back on the squishy armchair. Roman could sense Ahaz was impatient, and he didn’t blame him, as it seemed forever before Demetri and the girls descended the staircase.
“Alright, were all present. Do you have an explanation for what happened with Cheri and Ellie?” Tiredness lingered in Demetri’s voice, showing that he had not had nearly enough sleep. Finally, Ahaz turned away from the window to face them. Alexia thought he looked almost sleepier than Demetri did but of course he was the leader of The Union. In some way he was sort of like the President of the Immortals, which would be a big job.
“There is no way for a human to use the defenses, which means they are either Tera’s or full-fledged Immortals. Tell me this, before the night that Astropos and the boys brought you here, had you ever experienced rage like that?”
“No,” the girls said together.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes,” they spoke in unison again.
“Is there any possible way that you could be related to somebody who is Immortal or a Tera?”
“Yeah, me neither,” Ellie added.
“Something must have happened for you both to become Immortal… but what could that something be?” The room was silent. Just like that, it had been decided that Cheri and Ellie were now Immortal.
“Is it possible for somebody to become Immortal without ever being a Tera?” Alexia had assumed that it was necessary to be a Tera before turning Immortal.
“It’s not common. Every hundred years or so there is the rare case.”
“I wonder what caused it?” Alexia questioned
“Maybe it’s because we are so close? We have always been more like family then friends.” Ellie sounded a little shy when she said this, as if she already knew that it wasn’t the right answer.
“Or somehow you guys are connected, related or something?” Demetri suggested.
“You think that somehow the three of them are related?” Ahaz asked. “Even if that were the case, that doesn’t explain why as soon as Alexia changed they did too…”
Connected. The memory came to Alexia and played like a private movie in her mind. Alexia, Cheri, and Ellie were sitting on the floor of Alexia’s room. They were younger, probably about eight years old. The young trio were just as close then as they were in the present. Young Alexia, Cheri, and Ellie all had their hair pulled back into long ponytails, and they all wore pink princess dresses with ballet shoes on their small feet. Until seeing this, Alexia had forgotten how they used to dress alike all the time. If she would have been able to pause the moment in her mind, she would have, just to laugh at how silly they had been. Each of the girls had a small sewing needle in each hand, she watched as the young version of herself pricked both of her index fingers and squeezed a little blood out, and her friends had done the same.
“Best friends forever,” Alexia had said. “No matter what happens, we will always be connected to each other.” Then they pressed their fingers together and rubbed, mixing their blood together.
“Blood sisters forever!” Ellie had said in a high-pitched voice before they all broke out in a fit of giggles. The image faded from her mind and she came back to reality. This must be why her friends were Immortal, too. They were connected; they had her blood running in their veins and vice versa. It was hard to believe that something they had done when they were eight years old had caused their entire life path to change.