“In my pocket. It doesn’t seem to work too well anymore. No one can ever get through.”
“Okay, we’ll get that seen to. So…” he said leadingly. “How are you doing?”
“Great. We’ve reversed four children today—”
“Only four?”
“Yeah. It’s normally a quick process, really, you know—once I finish, I put Em in charge of after-care and move on to the next. But the Lost have needed many hands just to make it hard work. There is no ‘easy’ with them.”
“So it’ll be a slow process then?”
“Very slow. And I’m so—” I let out a bit of a jagged breath, trying not to cry. “I’m just really tired.”
“I imagine you would be. Are you eating well?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Need to keep up your strength. You’re growing a little being of your own right now.”
“Argh. I wish I could forget. My feet are aching right now, and she’s been assaulting my insides all day.”
“Assaulting? Is that because of the electricity you’re using? I’ve been worried how that might affect her, you know, since—”
“No. Arthur says it’s fine—that babies just do that at this stage.”
“Right,” he said quietly. “And… how are you, I mean, I… when we drove away, I wondered if we probably should’ve stayed a few more days, maybe even weeks—”
“Why?”
“I just… we shouldn’t have left you so soon after the funeral.”
“I’m okay. Mike’s here.”
“I know. But, I don’t know, maybe I should’ve left Jason there.”
“You need him to settle Pepper.”
“But you need him, too.”
“David. I’m fine.” I grabbed my own phone from my pocket when it rang, smiling when I saw the caller ID. “I gotta go.”
“Okay. But you’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “Call me tomorrow and let me know what’s happening with Pepper.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye. Hello,” I said into my phone, passing Quaid’s back to him.
“David got a black eye,” Jason said, before anything else.
“What?”
“Serious. We went into Pepper’s cell today and she completely freaked.” He laughed. “She went right for him. Took six guards to restrain her, and she hit him square in the face. His nose actually burst, and blood went all over the place.”
“Oh my God.” I covered my mouth, looking at Quaid to see if he’d heard that. He didn’t. “Is he okay?”
“Course he is. He’s a vampire.”
“Right.” I whacked my own stupid head. “Duh.”
Jase laughed. “Anyway, after the first session of mind erasure she was, what the supervising psychologist said, calmer than she’d ever been. Should have seen it, Ar. The entire Institute went nuts, excuse the pun. All the staff came running in to see what the big deal was, and when they realized I could do what I could do, I was dragged from one room to the next, erasing the minds of every patient the staff had favorited since they’d been there. I’m exhausted,” he said with laugh.
“Wow, so obviously no one knew you could do this before now?”
“Nope. Never told a soul.”
“And clearly with good reason.” I shook my head, imagining the excitement around the asylum today. “But, at least it’s been put to good use now—your talent.”
“Yeah, but it’s got me more popularity than I can handle. They want me to stay on—be a resident doctor here.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I said no, though. I’ll take care of a few patients and maybe come back every few months for follow-ups, but I don’t wanna work in this field.”
“Fair enough. Well, I mean, you already have a job here, right?”
“That, I do. Oh, by the way,” he said, stopping then to chew something crunchy. “David got a call from the IVRS.”
“The what?”
“The Institute of Vampire Research and Science.”
“Oh. That’s right. And?”
“Apparently word got around after that article in the Lilithian Times,” he said, mouth full of whatever he was crunching. “They want us to put on another show—just for them.”
“Oh, so they take it seriously now?”
“It seems they do. But they also said they’re interested in working with us if this proves to be true. David told them we don’t operate under the king—Drake, that is. I’m not sure if you knew this but the IVRS is greatly controlled by the old system and most of them are still faithful to the old king. They said it wouldn’t be an issue and, if need be, they would switch their allegiance to the Lilithian throne.”
“Really? Just like that?” I snapped my fingers.
“This power of yours could stand to make them a lot of money.”
“How so?”
“Think of the attention it’d get from the human realm if they could immortalize their troops for the purpose of war and then turn them back before anyone was the wiser.”
“And what makes the IVRS think we’d let them have control over that kind of contract?”
“They think they rule the world.” He laughed. “But their ignorance is our gain. They’d be a great asset to your rule.”
“Okay. Cool. I’ll speak to Walt about arranging another show. So, when are you guys coming back?”
“Well, Pepper’s calm enough to transport, so it would’ve been tonight, but they need me to stay on and take care of a few other cases. How are you doing?”
“I’m good. Been busy. I’m tired. But it’s that good kinda tired you get at the end of a hard day’s work.”
“I’m glad to hear that. And how’s my baby?”
“She’s good.” I touched my belly. “Making herself known more now.”
He laughed. “I can’t wait to get back and see you both. I miss you.”
“Me too.”
“And did David tell you we won’t be putting Pepper in a room at the Institute for the Damned?”
“No, he didn’t. What do you plan to do with her?”
“Well, mentally, she’ll be fine by the time we come back. He’ll be putting her in a guest room until she’s ready to relocate.”
“Okay. I’ll get that organized too then.” I smiled, wondering what kinds of issues having David’s beloved ex-girlfriend under the same roof as his loathed wife might bring. This was starting to look a little bit too much like Mills and Boon for my liking. “Anyway, give us a call when you’re headed back. I gotta get some food and some sleep.”
“Okay. Sleep tight, sweet girl.”
“You too, Jase. Take care, okay? And… look out for David. I mean, this all must be pretty hard for him.”
“It is. He’s, to be honest, a bit shaken really.”
“David? Shaken?” I scoffed, hiding my deeper concern. “Must be bad then.”
“David showing any emotion means things are pretty bad. But I’ll find a way to keep his spirits high.”
“Well, good luck,” I said earnestly.
“Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”
* * *
Court was packed. It seemed news of the reversal process hadn’t just reached Lilithians on the island. It had spread like an infection throughout the entire immortal community, bringing new faces to the crowd below.
I sat back comfortably in my throne, straight enough to look regal, slanted enough to give my baby room to assault my insides, and listened to Walt deliver the weekly report. The latest on King David’s demise, as far as the people were concerned, was that he no longer planned to kill the old king with the ancient dagger. Instead, we were negotiating peace agreements. And Drake had come to the table too, offering to ‘play along’ for the sake of appearances. Even went as far as to set up peace talks at his New England castle. We hadn’t yet accepted the invitation. I wasn’t sure David would, to be honest. He didn’t have to say it, but every time Drake was mentioned, I
saw flashes in David’s mind of the sad little girl he met two years ago—the same sad little girl that Drake had tortured to ‘keep up appearances’. I could feel the energy in the room change when the old king was mentioned, and I knew David wasn’t sure he could look my uncle in the eye and not rip his heart out.
Walt’s voice projected out over the rejoicing crowd, shushing them and calling the Court to order. I wished David had stayed around for the announcement that he’d no longer be the sacrifice we made for the safety of our people, but I also completely understood why it was more important to… ‘tie up loose ends’ with his ex.
“Effective as of December,” Walt said, moving on from the Drake subject with a rather obvious amount of relief, “it has been declared that no child in the community will be allowed to home school. A facility is being set up”—he spoke louder over the protest—“and all children, both human and vampire, will attend.”
He went on to talk particulars of the buildings being established in the community, including the new Reversal Centre, and informed the people how they could apply for the process. Most of the questioning anticipation on the vampires’ faces eased back to calm after that, and they seemed to sort of stand back, as though that was all they came for, killing my hopes that vampires had come far and wide to sign the Pledge.
“Also, a website has been set up to purchase tickets to the Festival of Autumn—held here at Loslilian Manor. In the same fashion that this annual tradition was held every year during the previous Lilithian reign, humans are permitted to attend the festival, but it is not, nor will it ever be, the slum-soirée Karnivale is. You will respect the rules of our queen’s manor and adhere to the Pledge. You may share blood, but any and all deaths will be taken as acts of murder and the culprit arrested and punished. Costumes are to be modest and respectful, and you are to remember this is a formal event, despite its title.”
Baby and I got a little excited at the thought of the festival. I’d forgotten about it until now, and in my mind, I started planning my costume. I wasn’t sure I’d have a chaperone for it, given that David wasn’t exactly willing to touch me long enough to dance yet, and unless I made my intentions clear to the Upper House regarding my relationship with Jason, I couldn’t really take him either.
Walt stepped back after the morning announcements and I stood to take my place as judge and jury. The way this was done in Drake’s Court seemed somewhat more appealing than the way we chose to assess cases right now. If we ran things like my uncle, I would only oversee the most severe cases of law-breaking, leaving the rest to my High Council or, as we called them, Upper House.
It didn’t normally bother me, but I’d only had enough time to reverse two children this morning before Court, and I was a little eager to get back. Not to mention, I still had a two-hour training session to attend with my knights. Oh, and the Private Council meeting. Which I was looking forward to, really, because I hadn’t seen much of my knights since they all decided I was capable of defending myself while inside the manor.
The morning wore on and just as I dismissed my last case, a ball of white fluff caught my eye, coming in through the rear doors like he owned the place. When the room cleared and the last of my House members left, I snuck back out to the Throne Room and whistled to get Petey’s attention.
He abandoned the fly or other tiny insect he was chasing along the wall and came bounding over to me, skipping four steps at a time and landing against me like a human with a giant, albeit slobbery, hug.
“How are ya, boy?” I gave him a squeeze, then eased his big rough paws back down onto the ground. “You been taking care of my family for me?”
He sat down decisively, his wise blue eyes almost telling me that everything was okay. I reached down and patted his head, moving his fur around the top of his bony skull with the deep scratch. His foot bounced beside his front paw like a rabbit.
“You like that, huh?”
He sneezed then, the slobber splashing my other hand.
“Gross.” I wiped it on my leg. “Come on then. Are you hungry?”
A long leathery tongue wet his white chops as he got to his feet and I led him toward the door. Everyone would be so happy to see the old Manor Canine again, but David’s comment about Petey showing up when things were about to go wrong sent a chill through my skin; a chill that certainly wasn’t imagined. I walked a little slower, noticing a sudden spread of bumps over my forearm.
“Ara?”
My feet stopped in a dead halt, Petey slamming into my calves, and I turned very slowly, scanning the room for the ethereal figure to match the voice. “Eve.”
She moved forward like fog in a breeze, her solidity fading and wavering, making her transparent and hard to see.
“What’s wrong, Eve? Why do you look like that?”
“My connection is dying.”
“What connection? What do you mean?”
Her small hands stretched outwards, cupped around the golden apple. “It’s my Spirit Crux.”
“What’s a Spirit Crux?” I asked, taking the apple.
“It’s the object that connects my soul to this world—keeps me here. But it’s broken.”
“What do you mean?” I spun the apple around a few times, searching for any signs of damage. “It looks fine.”
“It was spun of the earth—holding me here only as long as my soul is restless,” she said. “It needs to be returned.”
“Returned to where?”
“The grounds of the place it was forged.”
“Okay. I can do that,” I said with a small laugh. “I’ll do it now. No need to look so glum.”
Her sad eyes closed, and a tear sparkled against her cheek.
“Eve, what’s wrong?”
“A spirit without a body to bind it must leave when the crux wears down. Once you bury that and reconnect me to the earth, I will cease to exist.”
“What will happen to you?”
“I move on—return to the other side.”
“Then…” I considered the apple. “I won’t bury it yet.”
“But you must.” She cupped her cold, airy hands over mine. “My time here is done, no matter my desires. If you do not return it to the earth it was forged from, My Queen, I will forever be a wanderer. And with no crux to hold me here”—she nodded to the space around her—“I will simply be lost, invisible, unsure who I am or what my purpose is, like all the other spirits in this place.”
“Can you… if I bury the crux and you go on to the other side, can you reincarnate one day?”
She nodded slowly. “As was my mother’s wish—something she begged of me before she gave her own soul. But I couldn’t leave this place—leave her, until I knew she’d be okay.”
I thought for a second about Eve’s connections. About Lilith. About the fact that I had her mother’s soul and was not planning to give it back. “I’m sorry, Eve.”
“Do not be sorry. You are a good queen, Amara of Loslilian, and without my mother’s soul, you could not exist. I am at peace now with her path, but you must know that there are others here who seek to destroy you—as I have done.”
“You wanted to destroy me?”
“I did. And I nearly succeeded, once.”
“When?”
She bowed her head remorsefully. “The day I pushed you out the window.”
“But you said that was because you wanted to—” And then it clicked. “Free my soul.”
“Yes.”
And the realization sunk all the way through me then: she thought if she killed me, her mother’s soul would return to its body.
“I know now how wrong it was of me.”
“Oh, you know now, huh?” I asked sternly, wishing she were solid so I could shake her.
“Now that I have accepted the fate of my mother’s soul, I have accepted you as its eternal bearer.” Her eyes went to my chest then. “But you must be told, Amara, that the key you wear around your neck is not safe there.”
I grasped it
in a tight fist. “Why?”
“You know what it unlocks, don’t you?”
“I…” I thought back to the day Eve tried to take it from me in the Garden of Lilith, shortly after I’d found it on my Walk of Faith. “Lilith’s tomb—your mother’s tomb?”
“Yes. And I know my sister Morgana has been searching for it for a long time.”
“Does she know I have it?”
“She knows you have a key, but she has not made the connection yet.”
“Will you tell her?”
She moved her head in a no. “As I promised, My Queen, I have accepted things as they are and must be.”
“Is that why your crux is failing?” I asked, holding it up. “Your acceptance is like you completing your ‘unfinished business’?”
“Perhaps.” She nodded, her eyes flooding, dark with thought. “But although I accept that you now own my mother’s soul, I cannot say I have all-together accepted her death.” She touched her heart. “I know I will mourn her into the next life. However, I can no longer be here, mourning her eternally, suffering the hopelessness—the reality that she will never return and that, if she does, I will always be dead—never to hold her again.”
The apple in my hand felt wet with Eve’s tears. I smoothed my thumb down it, but when I looked up to make her a promise, she was gone.
“Petey?”
He whined.
“Do you think we should go bury this now?”
Those big strangely-blue eyes focused intently on me, round and sad as though he was trying to say something.
“You’ve been around a while, haven’t you?” I said, squatting down to pat his head. “You’ve known Eve all this time?”
His tongue came out and he licked the apple a few times.
“Would you like me to hold onto this—wait a few weeks, maybe until it gets smaller?” I asked. “It’ll give you some time to say goodbye.”
Petey looked to where Eve was last hovering and then back at the apple, and lowered his head, as if he was looking at something on the ground between his paws.
“Come on.” I stood up, patting my leg. “Let’s go eat and we’ll decide later.”
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Echoes & Silence Part 1 Page 24