“It takes great courage to come to the dwelling of an enemy.”
What was the point of his inane musings? My sister was dying before his eyes and yet he wanted to babble on about insignificant details! I could have reached out and slapped him, though I knew I would not live to feel the satisfaction.
“Follow me.”
The man began to ascend the staircase, gliding effortlessly up its steep steps. We were climbing each one carefully, looking back to see the ground floor getting further and further away. As we walked, I looked at James, knowing he felt the same as I did. We were climbing into the lion’s den. It was not clear whether we would ever emerge from its depths again.
We could not worry about that. I would do or say anything to save Violet. Once she was healed, I would claw my way out of that place, utilizing every new skill or enhancement that had overtaken me since landing on Pangea in the process.
Adam led us to a room with blankets sewn from the skin of animals covering the floor. The walls were startlingly light-colored and blank; we had only seen those detailed pictures covering the walls from floor to ceiling since we had come inside. Adam beckoned to the animal skin rugs and James laid Violet down on them.
“Brynna!” She cried out, her blank eyes darting around in the empty space frantically as she searched for me.
“I am right here, honey,” I grasped her hand in both of mine and rested my forehead against hers, “I am right here with you and I am not going to leave you.”
Adam had his eyes closed. I should have wanted to shout at him to get on with the life-saving but I knew that he was calling out to someone. The doors opened only a minute later and a girl around my age walked in, pulling with her by a leash made of vine one of those hissing, snarling creatures. Its nonexistent lips curled back to reveal the rows of long, jagged teeth. Its blank, unseeing eyes rolled around disturbingly in the rotting sockets.
“What are you doing?!” James exclaimed in a rage as he jumped up to his feet.
“Do not question me, Protector,” Adam held his hand up to silence him, “You know not of our healing ways. Please ask your woman kindly to step away.”
“I am not going to step…” I started to say.
“I know that you will not do it on your own. You will not do it even if I tell you that remaining where you are could put your life in danger. You are very stubborn and your love for this girl blinds you to any pain or threat that could befall you. Perhaps if your mate suggests kindly that you move away…”
“Come on, Brynn.” James was lightly grasping my shoulders now and tugging me away from Violet.
“No!” I exclaimed and shook him off.
“Baby, just let them do this.” James urged me gently. I looked at Violet, who was fading before my eyes. I looked at Adam, who I could not possibly trust. But James’s hands on my shoulders kept me grounded. I trusted him, certainly. If he felt that the situation was under control, then I would force myself to believe the same. I let him pull me away.
“Do not bring that thing near her!” I screamed at them as the girl led the creature over to Violet.
Adam held up a tightly wrapped bundle that he began to patiently unroll. Once the fabric had been pulled away, I saw that he was holding a dagger.
“What are you doing?!” I was desperately trying to get to Violet now. I would not let him hurt her. I had brought her there so that she would be saved. Now, he was going to kill her because she was, as he said, my father’s offspring. Or perhaps it was because, as I had said, she had been so very stupid and thus undeserving of his pity and even her life.
No. I would never allow him to take her life for simply behaving as most her age would have. I would lose my life trying to end his if he tried to take Violet from me.
A look passed between James and Adam. After a short hesitation, James’s hands tightened on me from behind just as the dagger was plunged deep into Violet’s stomach. She let out one long exhale of air before clenching her teeth together tightly. I could not hear the sound she made because the scream that exploded from me bounced off of every blank wall and reverberated around the large room deafeningly. I was sure that she had screamed, too.
“Stop it! Let me go!” I shrieked furiously. I was trying in vain to claw and bite my way out of James’ grasp. I kicked him, swung my fists back to punch him, and sunk my teeth down into his arm three times before he curled his hand around my neck and held my head up against his shoulder. His free arm wrapped around my middle to lock my arms to my sides.
“James, let go!”
Adam moved the dagger into my sister’s stomach, allowing the blood to fully saturate the blade.
“I need a willing sacrifice of blood from one that possesses a heart that beats for her.”
What in the name of all deities and Gods I did not believe in was that supposed to mean? Just as I acknowledged that I had no clue what he was suggesting, I thrust my arm out, understanding perfectly. He frowned at me in consternation and said curtly:
“I do apologize.”
He cut into my arm with a quick motion that left a deep, spraying cut. I watched in horrified fascination as my blood on the knife’s blade mixed visibly with Violet’s. Our blood was dripping off of the dagger as Adam brandished it above his head, moving on his knees closer to the enraged creature. It snapped its jaws at him, gargling and snarling as it lunged forward.
With the same swiftness, Adam plunged the knife into the waxy, white flesh of its chest. It put up far less of a fight before its death than I had been expecting. Immediately upon being stabbed with the blade doused in my blood and the blood of my sister, it crumpled.
When it hit the ground, it erupted into a blazing, perfectly formed inferno that stood on end. I watched, eyes wide as it burned into nonexistence. Adam reached forward into the fire, allowing the flesh on his arm to burn as our blood and the blood of the creature was singed into a hard crust on the blade. Once the blue blaze had snuffed out, he pressed the dagger to each wound on Violet’s body.
James had released my hands and I was squeezing his arms that were wrapped around my neck. I could feel his forehead pressed against the back of my head as he whispered soft assurances to me that I was finally able to hear.
“I promise you, everything’s going to be alright. I’m not going to let anything happen to her. I promise you, Brynna. I promise.”
The burning of Violet’s skin brought about more pain in me than it did in her. She hardly jumped, though I assumed she had lost consciousness. With each press of the blood-caked blade on her wounds, I could hear her heartbeat growing ever closer to its normal speed. I could hear her lungs clearing as sweet breaths of perfect air filled them to their capacity.
I wanted to cry. But I had believed for years that my tear ducts no longer worked, so the tears I would have shed were forced to drip, unused and unwanted, back into whatever recesses they used as their dwelling inside my body. I turned to James and wrapped my arms around him, my entire body trembling as though I had just reached up to grasp an exposed wire while standing in a puddle. My body tingled with the same uncomfortable shock that I would have received in that case. His lips pressed to the soft skin of my neck twice, gifting me with that warmth that soothed me always. They traveled up to press to my cheek and then my forehead. I closed my eyes and just let him kiss me like that. I needed all the comfort I could get after such a harrowing event.
“She will live.” Adam’s voice snapped me out of whatever daze I had allowed myself to fall into. I turned back to him, still holding both of James’s arms around me as I dropped to my knees beside Violet. I reached out with one trembling hand and stroked her blood-soaked hair.
“I was not entirely sure if she would ascend. But she has, for which you should feel immense gratitude.”
“I do.” I looked down at her as she slept peacefully. Her pain was gone. I could allow the calm to wash over me like a cleansing, holy rain. Only one pressing matter was still at hand. I did not want to address it
when I felt such relief but I knew that it was an unavoidable topic, so I spoke again. “What do I owe you?”
Adam laughed softly, a sound that sent chills down my spine. There was plenty I could give him as payment but none would be sacrificed willingly. I owed him a debt that I knew he would not let me escape.
“You fear me because of what I have done.”
“That does not answer my question.” I was finished listening to his random observations and ramblings. It was manipulation at its most obvious; he was controlling where the conversation went whether it was relevant to anything I said or not.
“I know that it does not. But I believe that someone with a strong heart such as yours deserves an explanation.”
I could not turn down an explanation, surely. Whether I had a strong heart or not was debatable.
“I sent my people to where yours were dwelling because your kind are not welcome on our Orb.”
“You have to understand that we have nowhere to go anymore.”
“I am aware of the destruction of your Orb. That is precisely why you are unwelcome on ours.”
“So, what?” I asked, looking up at him as my eyes turned red. I was playing with fire now. If he was offended by my anger, he could kill all three of us with a swift movement we would not see coming. I did not underestimate his power, even then. “You want us to board our ship again, fly through space and then plummet into nothing as we all wait to die?”
“No,” He shook his head and tried to suppress a somewhat devious grin unsuccessfully, “I want to harvest the ones who do not belong here and keep the rest.”
“And what exactly is your method for determining who is worthy of their lives and who is not? Besides, the way it appears to me is that you and your people are just killing at random.”
“We most certainly do not kill at random!” I had finally made him angry but I stared him down still, unflinching. I would not be intimidated into backing off of the subject. I wanted to know his reasoning for killing innocent people.
“Brynna, maybe you should stop talking.” James suggested and I could hear only the tiniest hint of fear in his voice. I could also feel in him the desire to fight with Adam, to destroy him if he stepped towards me threateningly. I reached back and grasped his hand, still not tearing my gaze away from the centuries-old man standing before me.
Adam looked taller, thicker and even more menacing. His eyes glowed with a deep red that rivaled my own. I had infuriated him with the suggestion that he and his people were killing innocent bystanders, abiding by no rhyme or reason. However, he had given me no choice but to believe that was true.
“How well do you know those you saved from the destruction?” He demanded of me.
“There were too many,” I replied calmly, “I do not know a thing about some. With most, I know very little. With some, I know quite a bit.”
“Destroyers, tempters…” He snapped in pure disgust, “Craving all things while giving nothing in return... You know nothing of this?”
“Are you telling me that they were evil people? Even if they were, their deaths were unwarranted. Who are you to judge them?”
“I am not able to judge them as I did not Create them. But I am able to keep them off of my land.”
“So this is your planet, then? Are you the all-knowing, all-powerful leader? Perhaps you should speak to my father; he could surely take some useful notes from a man of your high standing.”
There was my disdainful condescension rearing its head at the worst time. James sighed and let go of me with one hand to cover his face.
Adam, however, seemed to be softening as his earlier calmness resurfaced. His eyes dissolved back into their strange light green.
“I am almost all-knowing. I am very powerful. But I am simply a vessel. This is all not important. You must understand that those who died did not belong here. If they were not embracing darkness, then they simply were not changing.”
“So you know that we’re changing, then?” James spoke up finally. “Is it because we’re here?”
“It is because your planet is gone. You have lost your home and must now fight to survive. Nothing more. You all must live ages before you’d be worthy of our air.”
“You say you cannot judge because you are not the Creator. Yet here you are, judging us. Have you ever heard of individualism? Perhaps you could brush up on the subject instead of resorting to generalizations.”
I was pushing my luck, I knew. I was expecting and even craving another outburst of proud rage. To my slight disappointment, he only chuckled again.
“You have a fire-tongue. You are changing over nicely.”
“I have always talked like this. Please, do not give your race credit for my oddities.” I was the one getting angry now. The whole conversation was not going at all as I expected. I did not like surprises in either circumstance or discussion.
“Oddities? That is what you have been told? What is your name?”
“Don’t tell…” James started to say.
“Brynna.” I answered proudly.
“Well, Brynna, whoever told you that your ways are oddities is wrong. It was always meant for you to behave this way. Have you sensed things? Have you known things that one cannot possibly know?”
I nodded.
“Welcome to Purissimus.” He smiled now, revealing his straight white teeth. I saw his fangs gleaming in the dim light.
“What about him?” I pointed at James, “Why is he growing muscle at such a rapid rate?”
“Muscle?” Adam furrowed his brows in confusion.
“You know…” I held my arms up and flexed, revealing that I, too, had toned up quite randomly since our arrival, “Muscle.”
“Ah, yes, his size. Females know all. Males know much but are more apt to protect. Of course, females are able to defend themselves quite efficiently. However, males are able to crush a threat with little effort. That is why he is ‘growing muscle,’ as you called it.”
“So all of this is a direct result of us fighting for our lives?” I asked, not knowing when to stop posing questions that were borderline offensive. I was on a roll now; I had to know everything. “You are part of the reason why we are fighting for our lives. So how can you be so calm about us changing into your kind?”
“I am calm about it because it was meant to be. Some were meant to change. Some were meant to die because they cannot or will not. I am pleased that your sister was able to be spared. I hope a long life is in store for each of you.” He nodded to us and turned to go.
“Wait!” I called after him, “What are we supposed to do now?”
“I cannot tell you, though I do know much.” Adam replied easily, “What is that excellent Earthean expression? About cards and what you all call ‘fate’?”
I was drawing a blank, something that was new for me. Then, I realized what he was trying to say and answered his question.
“'Let the cards fall where they may.'”
“Indeed. Such a wise and true philosophy should be kept in mind. Please, remember those words that you just spoke. Great darkness is coming.”
The door out of the room opened slowly. James and I turned around to watch it. When we turned back to question him further, he was gone.
“Well, that was just about the weirdest thing to ever happen.” James told me in a quick show of forced, lighthearted sarcasm. He picked Violet up again and turned to the door. “Let’s go, baby.”
But I was staring where Adam had only just stood, his final words to us tossing around in my mind. Great darkness?
I could feel it as well. The lurking danger was the voice whispering in the trees. It was the creatures that attacked Violet. It was the Reapers. It was my father.
Together, they created a swirling mass of destruction. The ones in the path of that chaos would feel every last moment of pain. We would be touched by death. How it all was going to begin was irrelevant. What mattered was the fact that the end was nowhere in sight.
War. I
t was coming. It would consume us in its tornado of catastrophe and pain.
But why? For what reasons would this great conflict arise?
Of all the things I knew, I could not begin to decipher the reason. But I did know that the cards were beginning to fall.
Quinn
As much as I wanted to run into the city after Brynna and James, I couldn’t. My feet just wouldn’t move forward. My new acquaintances would not be welcomed but they also wouldn’t be killed. I knew that if Alice, Elijah, Nick and I were to follow them, we would not be met with any kindness. In fact, a swift death would be our fate. I didn't know why James and Brynna were special but I knew that no harm would come to them within the city limits.
We stood waiting for them to return. It wasn’t until nightfall that they came walking back. Immediately, we all jumped up and Elijah ran forward to make sure his sisters were alright. Penny was right behind him, her childish concern evident in her wide eyes.
“Is Violet okay?” She asked Brynna as James laid Violet down on the ground.
“She is just fine, honey.” Brynna assured her softly as she patted her hair. “Everything is fine.”
“I didn’t know if you all would be coming back…” Elijah told them weakly.
“We’re back.” Brynna was in no mood for forming her usually long and overly detailed sentences. The emotional insanity of the day had run her down.
“What’s it like?” Alice asked eagerly and I scowled at her. If Brynna wasn’t up for rambling in her weird way, then she certainly wasn’t up for describing the city.
“It’s huge, to say the least.” James answered to spare his girlfriend the task. “There’s a huge castle at the end of it. That’s where their leader lives. That’s where we went.”
“What was he like?” Elijah asked, “Was he the same guy who came into the campsite?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there.” James replied but Brynna nodded.
“And he didn’t try to kill you?” Elijah pressed, “I mean, thank God, but it’s a little inconsistent, don't you think?”
“He was slightly bemused by us being there.” Brynna explained dully. “He said something about bravery. Whatever the reason for our prolonged survival, we’re here now and Violet is alright. I also know that we shouldn’t expect the same kindness again. They do not want us on their land. He made sure that was clear.”
The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) Page 41