Eternal

by B C Morgan

  I crouched down beside him, careful to keep my foot in place as I wrapped my fingers around his throat. I finally removed my boot and lifted him up by the very throat, that I had clenched within my grasp.

  “I know you used your ability against Luna that night in Venom Malachi, I wonder what the owner would say if I was to inform them of your total disregard to their rules.”

  He knew better than to treat my words as an empty threat, but he was also too proud to cower and show me any fear.

  “I had to know what she was, I didn’t realise that she had no awareness to our world. What the hell were you thinking bringing such a creature to that place.” He practically spat his words at me, as his own anger started to build.

  “What kind of creature would that be?” I asked, trying to find out if he had discovered exactly who she was.

  “An innocent, yeah she may play tough, but she’s still just an innocent. Are you even aware of the dangers that you could have unleashed upon her if she had come across the wrong being that night. Maybe you were aware and you just didn’t care, but she deserves to know the truth especially with what she is going through.”

  “What the hell are you going on about?” I screamed the question into his face, as the control I had on myself began to waiver and I knew I was growing close to actually ending his life.

  “She’s changing, whatever she is, the power that is contained within her is starting to look for a release. If that happens without her awareness as to why it could destroy her, you have no idea of what she possesses. If that isn’t bad enough, she’s also going through a lot with what happened when she was fourteen.”

  I stared at him dumbfounded, what the hell was he talking about, I knew her mum died when she was that age, but I had a feeling he was referring to something else.

  “I take it you are not talking about her mother’s death,” I said trying, but failing to hide the fact I am completely clueless at that moment. It’s at that moment he seems to forget about his precarious position and a huge shit eating grin spreads across his face.

  “So that was the event she was talking about, she wouldn’t say what started it all and I have been wondering ever since. So, no I was not referring to that moment and if she hasn’t chosen to share with you her big secret, then I sure as hell won’t.”

  His total disregard and lack of respect was my undoing, as I pulled a jagged edged knife from the inside pocket of my jacket and pulled it down across his cheek, starting from the corner of his eye and ending at the corner of his mouth. He tried to move away from the blade, but my hand around his throat kept him in place. He refused to scream out, but he couldn’t hold back the inevitable flinch that occurred, especially as I then began to push the tip of the blade into his other cheek and smiling with pure delight as the jagged edge catches on his skin as it pushed through.

  He couldn’t hold back his scream any longer and I finally pulled the blade free and released my hold on him.

  He fell back down to the floor as he sat there, holding his hands against the wounds I had caused.

  “Stay the hell away from her Malachi, class this as a warning, next time I will take your life.” I followed it through with a kick to his abdomen before I shifted back to my bike and rode away.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Unya

  I couldn’t understand why Marcus would bring me here, and then I let my eyes take in our surroundings.

  There were floor to ceiling bookcases filled with numerous amounts of books, some were definitely handwritten, which was clear to see just from the binding. There were also candles that stood upon some sort of alter and a clear floor space, where Marcus was now sitting, cross-legged as he watched me size up his room.

  He patted a spot beside himself, indicating for me to take a seat, which I did without any hesitation.

  “What is this place?” I inquired, as my eyes continued to wander from place to place.

  “This is where I store all the items I may need, for that to make sense I will need to tell you what I am. So here goes, Unya I am a sorcerer.”

  “So, you are like Calliah? I asked, putting two and two together and hoping that it came up with four.

  “So, you have been doing your research, and yes I am similar to the great Calliah but nowhere near close to her league. She was the most powerful sorceress this world has ever seen and all sorceresses and sorcerers alike aim to be like her.”

  I sat there and pondered his words, trying to choose my words carefully and hoping he will truly be willing to answer the questions that are turning around in my mind.

  “What can you do? Is Kat a sorceress too? And what exactly is Lawson?”

  “Hey calm down, I will answer anything you wish to ask, but I can only answer one question at a time. I can set up wards and protective spells, as well as enchantments. I can locate anyone as long as I possess an item of theirs or something they have touched. I can control the elements and even hide someone from detection if I so choose, as well as obviously teleportation.” He says all this so matter of fact, that I know I cannot disbelieve what he says, even though it all sounds utterly crazy.

  “So, you’re basically a witch then?”

  “Of course not, witches and warlocks are weak in comparison to my kind. Although we are more human than most beings that are out there, we still hold a lot of power within us. A witch uses the magic that is around them whereas we pull from the magic that we already have. A bullet cannot harm us, I can heal myself within a day or two and natural fire will leave me unscathed.”

  “The person that enlightened me to this world said it was impossible for me to be a sorceress as I was already presenting with the God’s powers instead, do you know if that is accurate?”

  Marcus stood up and fetched a book from one of the book cases,’ he opened it up to a certain page and then set it down in front of me.

  “It’s true there hasn’t been a person, born within your family that has possessed both god and sorceress powers, since the death of Constantine, but just because it is improbable, that does not make it impossible. So, with that said, I would like you to read from this passage and we will see what happens.”

  He sat himself back down and stared at me almost curiously, I began to say the words that were clearly written in Latin, and luckily Marcus was on hand to correct my pronunciation whenever necessary. Once I was able to say it precisely, I began to say it once more and after the first successful attempt all the candles around us combusted until even the wick was alight. If that wasn’t bad enough, the fire began to spread, almost as though it was coming straight for us, until Marcus quickly muttered a few words and the flames were instantly extinguished.

  He informed me, I had just proven to be an exception to the rule and I did possess Calliah’s ability as well. He then told me that my power is to unrefined and without proper training I could endanger myself and any who wish to be around me.

  “When I first started channelling my magic, I also had trouble controlling it, so I used to wear a talisman that is specifically made to channel your powers so you don’t unleash the full force of it every time.”

  He passed me a chain, that had a black sapphire surrounded by a silver rope on it and placed it around my neck. I had no idea what I was supposed to say to this guy, who I barely knew, who had just given me such a beautiful gift.

  “Why are you doing this for me?” I asked, as confusion set in.

  “Because you have clearly been through a lot in these past few days and you deserve to have someone to show you and treat you with kindness. I do not want anything in return, but if you wish me to help you to better control your sorceress side, I would be most willing. That aside, I must also warn you to be on your guard where Lawson is concerned, do not trust him even for a moment. He will make you regret it for the rest of your life if you do.”

  “You don’t need to worry about that, Lawson has already told me himself that I shouldn’t trust him and I really don’t plan too. All I
need him to do is teach me how to defend myself better and then he can wipe his hands of me for all I care.”

  “I wish it was that simple Unya, but Lawson is a complicated case and although he may have once been a kind and caring person, now all he is, is a beast to the first degree. He does not care who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants and the thing that is most important to him is his self. Don’t ever doubt his self-preservation, he would kill you in a heartbeat if it would guarantee his own existence.”

  I don’t know if I truly agreed with what Marcus had said about Lawson, but I chose not to argue about it as I asked him once more, what exactly Lawson and Kat were?

  “Kat is one of the Erinyes, but you might be more familiar with their earth name, which is Fury. Originally there only used to be three of them, until Kat came to them wanting vengeance for something I cannot speak of with you. The Erinyes agreed to act out justice in her name, but that wasn’t what she wanted, she told them she wanted to do it herself and although it was very unorthodox, they agreed. You see the Erinyes had grown bored of always doing the same thing and they believed that they could find some excitement in watching Kat carry out her own brand of justice, instead of theirs.

  Once she was finished, the Erinyes decided that they approved of her style and turned her into one of them; because she was originally human, she managed to keep her outer appearance while still maintaining all of the strength and abilities of an Erinyes.

  The only problem was the more she did as one of them, the more she started to lose the humanity that still resided within her. She said I had helped her to hold on and she didn’t want to lose the parts of her that made her human. But now that she has finished with me, I don’t know if she will soon lose herself completely and give in wholly to their nature.”

  He looked utterly devastated by the prospect he may lose her entirely, that I wrapped my arms around him and tried to offer him some sort of comfort. He seemed surprised by my actions but soon returned the cuddle, while he quietly composed himself and then pulled away from me.

  “Thank you Unya, I appreciate your kindness, but you asked about Lawson and I cannot speak of him without losing some of my calm nature.

  He is a demigod, he is the bastard son of a god that chose to mate with a human. As far as I know he is virtually unkillable, although if he was decapitated or had his heart removed, I can’t really imagine how he could survive that. He has a very unique ability that has to be seen to be believed and he is incredibly deadly, without his gift. He can wield any weapon known to man and is fluent in most fighting styles. He is ruthless and quite frankly revels in taking the life from someone. As far as I can tell, the more gruesome the better in his opinion.”

  “I knew that he enjoyed killing, I could see the enjoyment he took when he slit Martin’s throat, but I can’t believe that he is the same person that you are describing. Although to be fair, I really don’t know him in the slightest, and I know in the deepest part of me I could never trust him. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t confide in him about my deepest secret, but he seems to read me so well. It’s almost as though he knows me in every way.” As I say this, I see Marcus actually flinch and even though I wonder what had caused that reaction, I chose not to question him on it and instead we took to reading through some of his journals and practicing more spells.

  He said one day I could perform the elemental ones without requiring the words, but for now I needed all the practice I could get.

  We stayed like that for the next couple of hours, until Marcus decided to call it a day. We agreed to meet up every day for my training and although we never actually agreed not to tell Lawson and Kat about our plans, I did kind of gather that it was implied.

  I felt they wouldn’t appreciate that we had been discussing them and I didn’t want Kat to think I was interested in Marcus in the romantic sense. Although we had become friendly with one another I didn’t doubt she would be pissed if she believed that he had moved on so easily, especially when that was far from the truth.

  So that was how the rest of the week continued, with me spending my nights at Mihaela’s, occasionally going around to Addy’s, even though it felt kind of awkward to me now. Seeing as I hadn’t told her about everything that had been uncovered, I just didn’t know how she would react to it and I did not want her to see me any differently. I knew I should have had more faith in her and I probably would have felt guilty if I had been a normal person, it was in moments like those that I was kind of relieved I was so different.

  The day of my training with Lawson arrived, but Marcus and myself agreed to do our training first. It could be very tiring, heavy-going and all-consuming but he was clearly taking it easy on me this time.

  We had been working solely on perfecting my elemental control and I could now light a single candle without it trying to engulf us both. He had told me that the following week would be the summer solstice, which was a very important time for beings like us. It was where we would have a complete power surge and I would have an understanding of what I would be capable of when I finally hit eighteen.

  “So, are you nervous about your training with Lawson?” he asked, as we were sitting down taking a break from my new focus on controlling the earth. I had unwittingly caused a minor earthquake when I attempted to make a flower bloom and we decided we should probably leave it there for the rest of the day.

  “Not at all, I asked him to train me anyway, and it’s not as though I’ll be in any real danger,” I replied in a matter of fact way, but this time when he visibly flinched, I refused to ignore it.

  “Ok Marcus, seriously you need to explain to me what the big deal is with me spending time with Lawson, you’ve practically been trying to turn me against this day for the past week, and enough is enough.”

  “I’m sorry Unya, it’s just that I know things about Lawson that make me worry about you, I wish I could tell you what they are but out of respect for Kat, I can’t.”

  I did not appreciate his obvious avoidance and I wasn’t willing to let it go, I felt as though I deserved some proper answers for once.

  “What has Lawson’s business got to do with Kat?” I asked, trying to portray annoyance, rather successfully if I do say so myself.

  “Because she was the one that told me in confidence, she was having trouble with the weight it had placed on her and she confided in me. Just because we are no longer seeing one another, it does not give me the right to break that confidence.”

  “Fine, but if you’re not going to answer me on that, then maybe you would do me the courtesy of answering a couple of other questions that having been plaguing my mind lately.”

  He nodded his consent, as he kept his gaze down cast towards a book that he had been unsuccessfully trying to read for the past five minutes.

  “Ok question one is, are you the reason that Lawson was able to find me up on that cliff that day? And number two is do you have any knowledge of an apparent prophecy that was made about someone within my bloodline?”

  I noticed his pupils dilate, even though he still refused to look at me, which I believed was quite rude of him. So, I placed the tips of my fingers under his chin and forced him to finally make eye contact with me.

  “I did a locating spell to find you, I hadn’t wanted too but he made Kat get me involved. It’s one of many reasons why their relationship is so strained now, as far as Kat is concerned, he pushed her too far and she isn’t willing to harbour that friendship anymore. As for the prophecy I do need to ask how you came to know of such a thing, and while we’re on the subject, how did you even come to know of what you were in the first place?”

  I hadn’t really anticipated him asking me about that, but I knew I could not reveal Mihaela to him, even though I knew I could trust him, I could not betray her like that.

  “All I can tell you is that somebody brought it to my attention, I wish I could tell you, but I can’t break their trust, which I’m sure you could understand.” I knew I was using his
loyalty to Kat to make my point, but I had no regrets about doing such a thing.

  “Yes, I do understand. Look as far as the prophecy is concerned, I have heard whispers about it, but nothing conclusive, all I know is whoever they spoke of is highly sought after. For your sake I hope it isn’t about you because you would be in great danger. But if knowing the exact words to it are important to you, then I will be willing to ask around, but it will take time.” He said this, but I could tell that he wasn’t happy about offering it to me,

  “You would really do that for me?” I asked, not understanding how I had earned such a level of kindness from him.

  “Of course I would, Unya I consider you a friend and I intend to help you and look out for you as best as I can, I care about you.” His eyes were alight with an unknown emotion and even though I did not know what that meant, I still clasped his hand within mine and thanked him for coming into my life.

  I spent the rest of the night researching what an Erinyes really was, it was hard to fathom that Kat could be one once I found out enough to know

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Unya

  I had finally arrived at Kat’s and was surprised to find that only Lawson was in, I asked about Kat and he just said that she had important matters to attend too. He didn’t offer any further information and I didn’t ask, instead he took hold of my hand and led me down into the basement. It had clearly been converted into a training room and I was gobsmacked to see what they had stored down there.

  There were various kinds of swords hanging on the walls, anything from a broad sword to the Japanese katana and even a scimitar. There was also daggers in various shapes and sizes, lances, wooden fighting sticks, I’m still not entirely sure of their actual name, nunchucks, bow and arrows, crossbows and even a wide array of guns.

  “What the hell is this place?” I asked, failing to keep my question to myself.

  “I didn’t really want to bring you down here, but it is the best place to train, as you can see there is an abundance of room for us to practice hand to hand combat, such as deflection, disarming and various other kinds. You will also notice the other exercise equipment if you allow yourself to stop looking at the arsenal that has clearly stolen your attention.”