by Jaimi Wilson
The room quietens and I sense their eyes on me, but Liam's gaze is the only thing I can see. As he stares at me, his eyes widen with horror and lifts his gaze to the right, where I assume my father is. "I would think she was a wolf going through her first shift."
"Exactly. But she can't shift because that part of her that is wolf is locked away in a cage her mother put on her after her birth. If she tries to shift now, she will die and no magic, not even her mother’s, can bring her back."
Eleven
Pain. I thought I knew what it was before, but the agony ripping through my body makes me wish for the pain my mother used to put me through, because at least that I know I could survive. But this? I'm not too sure.
Liam runs through the forest, following after my father to the secret underground place my mother and the Soldiers live. He’s holding me tight to limit my jostling, and trying to keep my pain under control but even so, the agony is still unbearable.
Finally we come to a stop, and my father starts barking out orders. "Shit, they found us. Protect Jasmine. If they get her, the world as we know it will end."
The panic in my father’s voice has me trying to look for the approaching threat, but I barely move before intense pain shoots through me and I stop.
"Fuck, is that what I think?" Benji growls from somewhere to my side, his voice filled with both awe and fear. Shit, what the hell is going on? Where are we and why will this pain not end?
Liam places me down on the ground gently, his body vibrating with the need to shift and protect his mate.
Jenkins suddenly appears above me, his eyes glossy with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, Jasmine, but this is the only way for you to see the truth."
Before I have a chance to respond, my pain reaches an all time high and the breath is stolen from my lungs. Then I register a new, different kind of pain along my neck moments before darkness claims me.
Daughter of the sun, moon and earth, open your eyes.
I wake, the ethereal voice in my head making me jerk in surprise. I do as the voice says, opening my eyes slowly to take in my surroundings. I gasp at what I see, astonished at the immense beauty before me.
The walls, ceiling and floor are made up of what looks like darkness, but as I stare longer, I begin to see the glittering of stars. They twinkle mischievously like sentient beings, but I turn back to what first drew my gaze when I opened my eyes. There hang the sun and the moon, side by side in the night sky. I attempt to take a step forward, only to realize I’m not actually touching the floor, I’m floating above it. Holy shit...
I stare for a moment in shock, with no idea where the hell I am. As I continue to watch, the sun and moon start to shimmer and emit a soft glow. I watch in fascination as they shrink before my eyes until they’re nothing more than the size of a golf ball. Then with a loud pop, two people appear in the place of the glowing orbs, a man and a woman, with auras so bright it’s hard to stare without feeling like my eyes will be burned.
The sun is a young man with golden sun-kissed skin, and hair that looks like spun gold. He takes slow measured steps towards me as if he’s worried about scaring me off. He smiles at me warmly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Those golden eyes hold a myriad of emotions as he gets within a few feet of me. Hope and amazement are the two most prominent expressions in his gaze. As I watch, I find myself drawn to this man, wanting to be close to this person who was once the sun shining bright in the sky.
Glancing between the man and the woman, I'm reminded of how opposite they are. I turn to look at the woman I know is the moon. Her skin is so pale it almost glows in the dark. Her blue eyes are darker than any I've ever seen, but still shine bright. The wisdom in her gaze shows her true age, despite her youthful outward appearance. Her dark hair runs down her back, thick and wavy. When she looks up at me, she smiles, which makes my heart skip a beat for some reason.
The moon is taking slow steps towards me too, and is the first to reach me, her eyes filled with sympathy as she looks me over. "I'm sorry, my dear. Things had to happen this way so we could speak with you. I hope you don’t hold this against your new mate. He was just doing as I asked."
I nod slowly, trying to process what she’s saying. Jenkins did this to me? Sent me here? But why?
I glance between the sun and the moon, who stand side by side before me. I’m completely filled with awe from the power and strength radiating off them. "What exactly happened? The last thing I remember was this excruciating pain."
The sun smiles sadly. "Yes, I am sorry for that. When you tried to complete your mating, I attempted to push your animal forth. Unfortunately, though, your mother bound your second nature, which is what caused this. I'm sorry for causing you pain. I didn't realize what lengths your mother had gone to."
I consider his words for a moment. Both of them radiate such honesty and kindness, though, that I quickly realize he must be telling the truth. “That's okay. I realize that neither of you were the cause of my pain. But you said you wanted to talk to me, right? What is so important that you had to bring me here? Wherever here is? And are you really the sun and moon?" I ask in a rush, my questions spilling out before I even have a chance to think them through.
The woman smiles fondly at me. "Yes, dear. We are what the humans call the sun and moon. My name is Selene and this is my husband, Helios. And this is our domain. As to why we had you brought here, well that's complicated. If you don't mind, my husband and I would like to tell you a story."
Is she serious? They summoned me here just to tell me a story? But then again, do I really have much choice in the matter? I doubt there’s any way for me to leave this place without their permission.
Helios smirks at me, apparently able to hear my thoughts, not that that should surprise me. He is the sun, after all. I’m sure his powers are near-limitless. "Nope, you're stuck here until we let you leave. We just thought you would be more willing to listen if we made it seem like you had a choice." His grin is so contagious, I can't help but chuckle.
"Okay then, tell me a story," I say with a smile and a small shake of my head.
Selene beams at me and I feel my inner power bask in her presence. "Very well, I will try to give you the quick version, but I've been told I have a tendency to ramble." She shoots a mock glare at Helios and I smile in amusement when he winks at her as if to say he won't take back those words.
Helios claps his hands, and a plush chair suddenly appears behind me, floating like we are. "You can sit, Jasmine. This is probably going to take a while."
I smile gratefully and take a seat. The chair rocks back and then forward, acting more like a swing. Eventually it comes to a stop, but I try not to move, not wanting to lose my seat by accident. Selene waves her hands around the room and the starry background changes to a desert scene. "This was what the earth looked like when we were born. Our creators made us just appear into existence without a plan. We could feel them on a spiritual level but we will never truly know why they put us on the earth. But this is the place where Helios and I started out our lives. We already knew there was something special about us, because the humans we came across all seemed to radiate towards us, wishing to please us any which way they could."
I watch the scene plays out before us, versions of Helios and Selene wandering the earth, holding each other’s hands as adoring humans trail after them, holding out gifts for them.
"Over the years, we wandered the earth, and we noticed that the sun, which provided daylight, and the moon, that would light even the darkest nights, were starting to dull. We watched helplessly as it happened, with no idea how to fix them. We each seemed to have abilities the humans didn’t, such as our way of healing humans and making the plants grow. However, we knew neither of those would help fix the sun or the moon high above in the night sky. And without life, the sun and moon would die, resulting in natural disasters all over the earth that would kill the humans.
“We both had a vision, one in which our creators told us we could save the
sun, the moon and the earth. We just had to accept the roles of the sun and the moon and infuse our healing energy into the earth."
I nod slowly to indicate I’m following, although it’s a lot to take in.
Helios chooses that moment to take over, continuing with their story. "We didn't know what kind of side effects there would be. We just trusted that the powers who told us to do this knew what the consequences would be. So we fed our energy to the earth first, and from that act, our daughter was born. However, when our energy was depleted, something terrible happened.
“A band of humans attacked us, ones who didn’t trust us and wanted our power for themselves. Some humans tried to separate Selene and I, and it was like some survival instinct kicked in. I shifted into a massive golden wolf, and killed those trying to keep me from my beloved."
He looks over at the moon, his eyes shining with a love so pure. I feel myself let out a sigh, their affection so strong in the room it feels like something tangible.
Selene smiles warmly at him in response. "A similar thing happened to me. When the humans tried to pull us apart, an anger came down on me in a red haze. I was suddenly so hungry, ripping into humans all around me and draining them of all their blood.
“But, unfortunately, the humans had weapons. We were overwhelmed, despite our abilities. That was when the energy of the earth acted. What you humans call an earthquake shook the ground beneath us. You could feel anger and pain echoing out of the earth herself. Her pain at our hurt brought humans loyal to us rushing to our aid, which gave us the opportunity we needed to get free.
“Light flared around us, and Gaia appeared before us, our daughter the earth. The energy we had put into the earth had a human form. She began attacking the humans who tried to hurt us, using nothing but energy. But that pure energy changed the humans who were within its sights.
"And that was how our kinds were created. Every human my husband bit turned and became a massive beast. Every person I drank from turned into a bloodthirsty monster. And the humans our daughter called were the ones who wielded magic and became responsible for hunting down the abominations my husband and I had created."
I sit still, my gaze flicking between Helios and Selene as I try to comprehend what they’re saying. Because even though she didn't say it in as many words, my mind has made the connections. The vampires descended from the moon, the werewolves from the sun and the witches from the earth.
Helios leans down in front of me as I take in deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart. This changes everything. I grew up learning about the earth being the creator of all of our species. But why would she claim credit for the wolves and vampires if that weren't true?
"Jasmine, I know this is hard to accept, but that’s only part of the story." Helios lifts my chin with gentle hands and I look up into his eyes. Selene moves to his side, crouching down to meet my gaze, or would that be floating down since there doesn't seem to be a floor?
I focus on the background, watching as the image of Helios shifts into a wolf and Selene attacks those trying to hold her captive. Then a bright light fills the scene. I close my eyes to shield them from the onslaught of light, but open them a moment later when Selene whispers in my ear, "You must watch what happens next, Jasmine."
Helios and Selene move to either side of my chair, and I find myself gripping their proffered hands for support, fairly sure what I'm going to see next won’t be good.
Sure enough, a woman appears in the scene on an empty grass field. I recognize her from my vision of the earth when I was with Jenkins. Selene and Helios arrive shortly after and their expressions, which start out warm and welcoming, turn to ones of fear when the woman I now know to be my mother walks towards them menacingly. Her skin glows with the brightness of the sun, but her aura is dark, like the moon, only twisted somehow. As she walks closer, that darkness seems to corrupt her. She lifts her hands, a glow emanating from them before she shoots the energy at her parents. I watch as Helios and Selene are blasted back, crashing to the ground. They don't get to their feet, and I watch with a heavy heart as their bodies dissolve, their essence rising into the air.
"We both knew that there was nothing we could do to stop her, so we did what we originally planned and let ourselves be absorbed into the sun and moon. We've been biding our time since then, hoping that someone out in the universe would hear our prayers. When we sensed your birth, we knew our prayers had been answered.
"Your mother, our daughter, decided to remain corporeal after years of maintaining the earth and keeping the balance between the new races we had created. But then she grew too obsessed with the power the supernaturals had. She wanted them to grow stronger and offer her more than she was receiving at the time. Which was when the hybrid of the races were created. She figured out how to blend the gifts your grandfather and I were able to give the humans, only they were unstable with no humanity. Until she came across your father who was the first wolf and witch hybrid. His power was at least three times as strong as what the normal races were capable of and in that, she saw an opportunity. She had a child with him after making sure he had the power of all three races running deep within in his blood. But she could have never imagined what your birth would bring. You possess untold power, power that could bring down even your mother, which is why she fears you," Selene says, her voice filled with awe and wonder.
"Me?" I ask, sure they must have me confused with someone else. No way could I have untold power. I know I’m a level one, but even so, I only barely survived my childhood. And only recently did I realize I wasn't wholly witch, but werewolf too. But what she’s saying? It’s completely absurd.
Helios moves in front of me as if he senses my instinct to run from here, far from them and what they’re trying to tell me. His golden eyes stare down at me with sympathy. "I know this is not what you expected. but we can't wait any longer. Our daughter did the unthinkable and created what you call the Soldiers, hybrids of all three of our races, which angered our creators, whoever they may be. We can feel it floating in space, an anger so thick that it scares even us. If our creators come to earth, who knows what kind of terror they might bring with them? Still, we can feel the creators slowly killing her until she will cease to exist. None of her energy will remain. But if she dies before her energy is returned to the earth, all life on the earth will perish too.
“When she realized she was dying, she knew she would have to absorb your power if she wanted the chance to live. She believes that your power will stop whatever it is that is killing her, but nothing will stop our creators.
“And now, it’s not only our creators we have to worry about, it’s those Soldiers," he spits with a grimace. "They’re losing their grip on humanity and have started to crave power just as much as your mother. You have to help them, Jasmine. Only you are strong enough to do so."
I shake my head in disbelief. "I can't. I'm no one. Hell, I still need help controlling my powers. How could you possibly imagine I'm the person for this?"
Selene rests a hand on my shoulder reassuringly, her eyes filled with pride. "There was a very real reason why you couldn't control your magic. Your very natures were denied you. You couldn't reach a balance with your power until your body was fully awakened. Which is why we had your mate do what he did in order to bring you here. I gave him my power, so that when he bit you it awoke the vampire within. Now Helios can bring forth your other form, much the same way as I turned you, except he won’t have to bite you for that."
Turned me? My mind works overtime, trying to figure out which mate she is referring to as having brought me here. That’s when the memory of Jenkins apologizing to me before I blacked out comes rushing back. As if thinking about it brings it to the forefront of my mind, I suddenly feel the same pain in my neck as I did before I passed out. I lift my hand to touch the skin there, feeling sticky wetness, pulling my hand away to reveal signs of drying blood.
My heart races at the implications. I'm a witch, the daughter of the eart
h, the granddaughter of the sun and the moon. I contain untold power and my wolf was somehow locked away by my birth mother. And now on top of all of that, my grandmother turned me into a vampire. I take in a stuttered breath, feeling like I'm going to faint.
"I didn't turn you, Jasmine, I just brought that side of you forth, just like Helios will do in a few seconds. If you think you are calm enough? I don't wish to rush you, but even now you're being carried to my daughter’s prison. We bound her powers five years ago, confining her to the one room until your magic, our magic, crosses the threshold. Once you do, she will be free to access her magic and will try to suck your power from your body. If you stay unconscious for too long, she’ll drain you dry. Then when you’re dead, she’ll move on to your mates, unable to stop herself from draining them to death in her hunger for more power."
"Right," I whisper breathlessly, trying to come to terms with everything. My birth mother is obsessed with power and wants to kill me to obtain it. Oh wait, that's what my adoptive mother did too. Now that I think about it, if my birth mother wanted power all along, then why did she send me away as a child?
Helios seems to hear my unasked question. "She got rid of you because you posed a risk to her, even as a child. We protected you the best we could while you were young, but when she sent you away, she cloaked you, hiding you even from us. We believed you to be dead until we felt the surge from Jenkins when he had to restore your magic after your adoptive mother had taken you. That's also when Gaia felt your power. Her curse ensured you would be hidden until the time your power was strong enough for her to use against you.”
I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth slowly, trying to focus on keeping my breathing under control because all of this feels like too much.
I lift my gaze to meet Helios’ golden one, and wonder what the hell they expect of me. "Even if you reveal my wolf, how the hell am I supposed to fix everything she's done? The Order is gone; Evan and Jessica are dead and who knows where Stephan is.