by Hadena James
Chapter Six
“Gabriel was in his twenties when Sonnellion decided that he needed to die for being different. I had gone through it already, Vampires Mature at twenty. Beal was getting ready to mature, although we didn’t know it at the time. We were all pretty close to the same age, a few years apart, being part of that group your father plucked from the waves.
“I think Sonnellion was waiting to see when Gabriel started the Maturing. He didn’t like the Angel, much as Chiron doesn’t like you. He didn’t have a reason, except that he was different. Of course, hate doesn’t need a reason to exist.
“One night, the three of us, plus Pendragon and Vishnu, played a practical joke on Sonnellion. Turned out, the Demon didn’t have his brother’s sense of humor. He was furious, I mean furious, more enraged than you can imagine. We rushed for the safety of Lucifer’s house after the joke fell flat. We all made it too. Sonnellion lodged a formal complaint with Lucifer because we didn’t have a Council back then. Lucifer inflamed matters by saying something about ‘boys being boys.’ He would punish us, but only to the extent that such an offense would allow. Since I can’t remember the joke or the punishment, I’m guessing neither was bad enough to leave the impression that the following week did.
“We thought everything was good. We were punished and life continued to go on. About a week later though, Sonnellion stood up in the middle of dinner and walked out. He just left, vanished. He returned the following morning, begged his brother’s forgiveness and was of course, welcomed back.
“During his absence, he had created a weapon, a sword. A big, unwieldy thing that had more brute force in the tip of it than should be placed in any weapon, it had only one purpose, to cleave. That night, we all did our usual stuff. Gabe and I were farming, working at picking the harvest. We never saw Sonnellion coming. He hefted the sword and smashed it into Gabriel’s skull. It severed the head at the neck. I ran off, I had to get help. I had Matured, but that didn’t mean much to us back then. Lucifer and Beezel were the protectors of all, not our own powers.
“When Lucifer returned, Sonnellion had broken open Gabriel’s skull. He had pulled out the brain and taken a large bite of it. It is the first time any Overlord killed. Lucifer didn’t give him time to react or to think, he just lashed out. One minute, Sonnellion was there, the next, Sonnellion was dead. Lucifer and Beezel worked all night to save Gabe. We are immortal, but there are things you can do to us that leave a permanent mark, and this was one of those things.
“Gabriel healed; it took forever though, even with the Demons helping it along. Since then, Gabriel has not been able to feel anything. Not physically anyway. His everyday world is as lost on him as it would be to a blind person in a room full of light, because he cannot feel, does not have the ability to sense touch, and he has chosen to be celibate. And much like my curse, he does not seem able to heal the damaged portion of his brain that is affected.”
“I guess he really means it when he tells me to heal the others first,” I gave a loud, long, sigh, and looked at Anubis. “Does it hurt to become mortal?”
“Not really, you won’t even notice it until you stop healing at your normal speed.”
“Or die.”
“It won’t come to that.” Anubis stood up, stretched, and refilled his glass. He came back with both bottles and set them on the table. “Furthermore, your metabolism will change a bit. Anything you imbibe will stay in your system longer. Best to get sloppy drunk tonight, tomorrow, we’ll know if you’re mortal when you wake up.”
“How will my waking up prove whether I’m mortal or not?”
“If you wake up with a hangover, we’ll know you’re mortal. If you don’t, then at least for the time being, you’re still in the realm of the immortal.”
“Wait, does that mean if I go on a diet, I can lose weight this month?”
“Nope, it just means you’ll be on a diet. Once your metabolism gets back to normal, you’ll go back to your ideal weight. You seem to forget, you’re a Demon as well as a Human. You can’t judge your weight based upon what you see in the Human world. By Demon standards, you’re kind of small and puny.”
“And by Human standards, I’m obese and unattractive.”
“Humans change standards pretty often. There was a time when your height and weight were considered ideal, and you would have been celebrated for your figure.”
“Stuck between both worlds for eternity.”
“Only because you consider yourself stuck.” Anubis refilled my glass. “Drink up, your mood will lighten.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to get me drunk.”
“I am,” Anubis said, pushing my glass towards me gently. “Every being should spend their last night before hitting their prime, hitting a bottle instead.”
“You’re in your prime?” I asked sarcastically.
“Have been for a billion plus years.” He leaned his head back and rested it on top of the chair. “Time will allow for adjustment to life, the universe, and everything.”
“I’ll drink to that.” I downed the glass in one drink and refilled it. “Okay, I have a question. Why is it that wolves mate for life, but Wolf Lycans are not monogamous?”
“Because wolves live much shorter lives than werewolves; eternity is a long time.”
“Oooohh! You said werewolf, you are so gonna be in trouble with the Council and the Lycans.” I was definitely starting to feel the effects of the alcohol, as I filled a fourth glass.
“Ah, well.” Anubis just shrugged.
“How long were you mated?”
“Roughly 2 million years, give or take a couple of centuries.”
“Wow, and you only had one child? That seems astronomically unlikely.”
“I wasn’t a big fan of her, there were centuries where I couldn’t convince myself to touch her. Plus, Elder breeding is a crapshoot. When the females only ovulate once every 100 years and the males all seem to have low sperm counts, it’s kind of a miracle we reproduce at all.”
“My father is obsessed with procreation. He gets so excited when my siblings are expecting. Why do they breed faster?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the Human component.” Anubis refilled his glass, emptying his bottle. “While Elders have bred with Humans in the past, it seems far more common now. It’s as if something has changed. Now that Lucifer has had children, it seems to be easier for everyone to breed.”
“I could see that. He is a powerful emotional force to deal with. I would know. I’ve put up with him for years.”
“Not nearly as long as some of us though and we were all raised as his surrogate children at one time or another.”
“Huh,” I looked up at the ceiling. “In three days, I’ll turn thirty years old. I’ll never celebrate another birthday, never age a day, the world will stand still for me.”
“Yep.”
“How boring,” I finished the glass of wine I was holding. “I think I need a refill.”
Sunlight was filtering in through the curtained windows. I was on my couch. Anubis was sitting in the chair. His glass was still in his hand. It was empty. There were three bottles of wine, a bottle of scotch, a bottle of port, and a bottle of whiskey on the table. They were all empty.
Somewhere in the recesses of my brain, I could remember finishing off the first bottle of wine. Everything after that though, was hazy or completely lost. I had gotten smashed. My glass was empty, sitting on the table, like a sentinel protecting the bottles.
“Breakfast?” Anubis asked as he pulled his head forward. It had been draped over the back of the chair. His eyes closed, snout towards the ceiling and completely asleep a few seconds earlier.
“Ugh, as long as its donuts and not some fancy concoction created to make me eat healthier.”
“I was going to grab the box of donuts that were delivered a couple of hours ago from the hall
way. I was going to pour out two glasses of milk and that was going to be the extent of it.” He squinted at me. “I’m guessing the others will be along shortly, it’s after 10 a.m.”
“You have a hang-over,” I said to him.
“Nope, just feel like I drank too much last night.” He stretched, closing his eyes and wrinkling up his face, while he extended his long limbs. “A little food on my stomach and I’ll be right as rain. How about you?”
“I feel like I drank a bit last night.” I yawned. “Nothing that I don’t already associate with a good binge.”
Elders don’t get hangovers, as a rule. They do suffer from some strange morning cravings after they have binged on alcohol. Usually, it’s food and a trip to the bathroom. Our bodies metabolize alcohol so quickly that by morning, not only have we slept it off, but also our bodies have completely broken it down and filled our bladders to the point of bursting. Elders have been known to urinate so much that the toilet flushes itself before they get done after a good rout of drinking.
“I only have one bathroom.” I told Anubis as I stood up.
“That’s why you have a kitchen sink,” Anubis answered as he picked up the box of donuts from the floor.
“If you urinate in my sink, I will kick you out and never let you back through the door.”
Anubis began to laugh as he closed the door and went into the kitchen. His voice carried and filled the entire condo. It was melodic and pleasant.
“The delivery boy woke me up, I have already been,” he finally said as I tromped off to the bathroom.
I urinated, showered, flushed, brushed my teeth, brushed my hair, and pretended to care about what I looked like. For several seconds, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror trying to decide whether to gussy up a bit or leave it be. The debate was easily won, everything stayed exactly as it had been. My options were limited as it was.
Anubis was right; the others were clustered around my kitchen when I came out. Some were holding donuts and I hoped they hadn’t gobbled down the entire dozen. I would have to get more if they did.
Every morning, like magic, a delivery boy shows up at my house with the first dozen cake donuts baked that morning. It’s a small pleasure, but possibly the greatest one on the planet. Usually by noon, I have eaten about 1/3 of the box, and I usually eat the last donut right before bed. If others show up, I do share my donuts, but it’s rather grudgingly.
On a plate, in front of an empty chair, sat two cake donuts. One was white with chocolate icing and peanuts on it, the other was chocolate with chocolate icing and no extra toppings, next to the plate was a tall glass of 2% white milk. It was a good way to start a morning. I picked up the chocolate donut and began to eat it.
“Feel any different?” Fenrir asked as I took my second bite of the donut.
“Ask me after I’ve finished off both donuts,” I responded as I chewed.
“She’s not hung-over, so she isn’t mortal yet,” Anubis answered.
“But it will start today?” Alex asked.
“Yes,” Fenrir put a hand on my shoulder, “and the fun will begin.”
“Whatever is being planned, is being planned on the sly. There doesn’t seem to be a single whisper about it,” Marcus chimed.
“Overlords, lieutenants, Lycans, Vampires, Angels, Demons…” I shrugged. “Chiron would have to be completely crazy to attempt anything.”
“And Djinn,” Fenrir added. “Vishnu will be joining us later in the week. Morgana was going to dispatch some Fey, but the Leprechauns started creating some chaos yesterday after the meeting, and she is busy with Fey issues as a result.”
“Leprechauns,” I gave a little shiver. I wasn’t a fan. They were kind of cruel and demanding. How anything that small could demand things of beings four, sometimes five times its own size, was beyond me.
There are four types of Fey beings; Sidhe, like Morgana, Sprites, Leprechauns, and Nymphs. However, they all have the same basic power, Mature at the same rate, and are all just considered members of The Fey. The real deciding factor though, is that Morgana can kill all of them.
“Planned or just coincidence?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Anubis looked at me.
“Well, we all know how I feel about Leprechauns. Vile, revolting beings that should not be allowed to walk among decent folk. Is it possible that they planned it to keep Morgana or any of the Fey from helping me?”
“It is possible,” Ba’al answered instantly. “However, your prejudice against Leprechauns is shared by the Centaurs. I don’t see them creating an alliance.”
“I’m sorry, I’ve tried to like them over the years, but they are mean, callus, cruel, and one bit me, like a fucking dachshund or something. It left an impression.” I defended my own bigotry.
“That’s a maybe,” Anubis made a complicated gesture with his head that would have looked odd on anyone else, but he somehow pulled it off. “But do we really need for you to make more enemies at this point?”
“Not my fault, they started it.” I started on the second donut.
“Do it,” I heard Gabriel say. A moment later, pain blazed through my shoulder. I jumped from the chair, dropping my donut. It hit the table and bounced before coming to rest against someone else’s plate. I turned to see Ba’al holding a knife. Blood dripped from the end of it.
“What the fuck?” I asked, snatching the knife away.
“We were checking to see how fast you heal,” Ba’al spun me around and sat me back down. I felt Gabriel’s fingers brush over the skin, inspecting it.
“She is slowing down,” Gabriel said with a sigh. “It wasn’t deep, it should be healed by now and it’s not.”
“That’s interesting and bad,” Anubis frowned at him. “So we know that Daniel is right and that means he is a Prophet.”
“That phrase is not allowed to be said for the rest of my Maturing,” I nearly yelled at him.
He nodded acknowledgment of my displeasure, but continued with what he was saying.
“So, she isn’t entirely mortal, but the process has begun. None of us would have thought to start checking her if we hadn’t been told it would start early. This means we have two days before she is fully mortal, unless things progress at a break-neck speed. Not entirely out of the question,” Anubis took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Essentially, you’re saying it’s started and we’re fucked,” I paraphrased and finished the last of my donuts. For a moment, I stared at the box debating a third.
“Not exactly,” Gabriel moved the box away from me as I went to grab that third donut.
“What?” I glared at him.
“We need you to pay attention. You’re becoming mortal. You can now get sugar highs,” he scolded me.
“Wow, people can get high off of sugar?” I asked, eyes wide. “Damn Elder genetics.”
“You wouldn’t like it,” Anubis told me. “It’s like healing someone. It sort of sucks when you come down off of it.”
“But I can get a sugar high now, while I’m mortal?” I asked.
“Yes and hang-overs,” Anubis responded. “Along with a host of other illnesses and problems.”
“Interesting.” I nodded a couple of times while my brain contemplated the idea.
“Brenna, you need to focus.” Ba’al touched my shoulder again.
“Yes, yes, all right, I’m focusing,” I said testily, still irritated that he had cut me.
“No, she doesn’t,” Anubis stood up. “I think we have schedules arranged, so we are essentially done. She can have the third donut, drink some soda, and be mostly normal for the day.”
“Wait, I have a question,” I announced as shuffling of feet began.
“What?” Gabriel asked.
“Um, I don’t want to sound rude, but what are we supposed to do all day, every day, holed up in my condo with each other?”
“There’s a reason that cards, mov
ies, and board games were invented.” Ba’al smiled at me.
“Oh,” I said it like it answered the question, but I had my doubts that the bunch of us could entertain ourselves for so long a period of time with simple amusements. I could imagine us casting spells and using powers on each other to break the monotony of Monopoly or Canasta.
As I chewed the third donut, reveling in the sudden silence in my kitchen, the first spell I was going to cast came to me. It was a simple incantation that would result in a sneezing fit on whoever crossed me first. I was betting it was Gabriel with his healthy eating habits. Then again, it might be the first person that I lost a game to; I was capable of pettiness when I was bored.
The door opened and feet shuffled out. It closed behind them. I opened up and felt the auras of Anubis, Ba’al, Gabriel, Jonathan, and Fenrir in my living room. For a moment, I wondered if there weren’t too many alphas in my living room. This many Overlords could be bad for everyone’s health. Hopefully, Jonathan and I, as measly lieutenants, could defuse any situation that might arise from a power struggle.
“What first?” I asked as I plopped down on my couch. My ass was half on the couch, half on Fenrir’s leg. I scooted over a bit and gave him a sheepish smile. I had not intended to sit on the Lycan, but I’m not particularly graceful or careful. Most would consider me clumsy and oafish.
“It’s been less than five minutes,” Ba’al said to me.
“Yep, and I have five men in my living room, so six people including myself. Do we watch a movie? Can six people agree on a movie? Do we play a game? I vote for Uno myself, but I can play just about any card game.”
“It’s going to be a very long month,” Fenrir gave me a smile. “I forgot how wonderfully annoying you can be.”
“I hadn’t,” Gabriel took out a book from his bag and opened it on his lap. “I spent three days with her before the Maturing. She can get to you in ways that no one else on the planet would even think of.”
“Ya sound bitter,” I smiled at Gabriel.
“Bitter, no, exasperated, yes.”
“Bitter, exasperated, it’s all the same in the end.” I put my feet up on the coffee table, picked my book up from the side table and went back to reading of the great Sherlock Holmes.