Chapter Thirteen
I went home needing privacy and time. Feeling shaky, I checked all the crevices of the apartment to ensure no one was there before pushing the sofa up against the door, just in case. Then I took Thea’s journal into the furnace room and sat in the far corner so I could see the door. I’d left all the lights off in the apartment in my paranoia. Sitting in the dark corner with a flashlight reading her journal, I even went so far as to push a towel up against the door so there would be no chance of light seeping out into the kitchen.
The first few pages of Thea’s journal were drawings of strange symbols I didn’t recognize followed by pages filled with spells, some vocal, some powders and potions. They started off seemingly simple. Basic herbal ingredients. They became more complex and terrifying the further into the journal I went. A page titled Necromancer caught my eye. Not only to raise the dead but to control them. Another page was titled Spirit Possession. This one was just how it sounds: To take over someone else’s body both temporarily and permanently. More symbols lined the pages. The back of the book was focused on evading death and prolonging life. This part I read in depth:
Guardian
Gifted and Dark can never become the Lost. They are banned from ever staying on after death. Never to wander, even if they have unfinished business. This is a trial to break the balance of nature, to create life after death for Darks and Gifted. It will strip the Gifted or Dark of their powers, making them completely mortal. They can then wander and become Guardians to the Sanguisuge.
Patient Zero:
Willa – Powerful Gifted, it took a large portion of my energy to strip her powers. She didn’t survive. Her powers removed, she shriveled up into nothing. I finished the spell, but Patient Zero did not make it to the next stage. More subjects needed. More focused power needed to strip patients while keeping them alive so they can wander.
This was followed by a spell in an unrecognizable language, more symbols, and ingredients for a potion of some sort. The next few pages were dedicated to more of her test subjects. She seemed to be taking their powers, consuming and absorbing them. All her spells were designed to build her power, to make her untouchable. She described her continued tests focusing on ways to kill a Gifted or a Dark, while absorbing their powers and allowing them to wander. The journal ended abruptly, with her unsuccessful.
I stared in the dark, letting my mind fill with horrifying images of her victims. Greta and Nicole flooded into my vision. Closing my eyes, I tried to find a happy thought. I focused on Patrick and our afternoon together, but my mind wandered to Detective Ash and his cerulean eyes. Eventually I found peace, drifting off.
It was a bright day. I was lounging in the sun on a blanket, my eyes closed as I let the rays lick my body. Every part of my being was relaxed, and I smiled. I felt a slight breeze, and I opened my eyes, blinking rapidly into the sun. Shielding my face with my hand, I saw that the breeze had come from Greta as she’d passed by me. She sat down on the ground in front of me, legs crossed, barefoot, pale hair shining. She smiled happily at me. I felt relieved. She was okay.
“Greta!” I sat up quickly, hugging her happily. “Thank God you’re okay! I was so scared.”
“Lorelei. I’m okay … I think. I have a message for you. It’s from Thea.” She continued to smile, as a cold stab of fear ran through me.
“No, Greta. That’s not possible. She’s blocked from entering my mind.”
“She is. That’s why she sent me. She says to stop playing games. She’ll kill us. She will rip Nicole’s throat out and torture me to death. Only you can save us. You have to go to her. Text the number in your cell phone. It’s listed under a new contact. You’ll figure it out.” Her face never altered. The sweet smile was set in stone as tears rolled down my cheeks. Reaching forward, I grabbed her hands. “Greta, I’m coming. I will save you. I promise you. I will save you. Do you hear me? Hold on to that, please.” I clung to her as she started to evaporate.
I awoke with fresh tears on my cheeks and anger coursing through my veins. I meant what I’d said. Feeling more determined than ever to save Nicole and Greta, I grabbed my phone and went through my list of contacts until I found the one I was looking for, Temperance. Of course she was a step ahead of me. I quickly texted the number. The reply back was an address and a time, seven p.m. Good. I had all day to plan.
Immediately, I got in my car and drove straight to Bast’s. My phone had several missed calls and texts from Anabel, Patrick, and Heath. Anabel’s was simple: “Call me when you’re ready.” Patrick’s and Heath’s were urgent and numerous. Ignoring the voicemails, I scanned the texts. It would be no time before they found me.
Bast answered the door, her eyes glistening. “I’m glad you came. Come, I have someone for you to meet.” I followed her to a sitting room off the front door. While Bast’s office had been modern and chic, the sitting room was set in a French country style with a homey feel to it. An oversized sofa with two upholstered antique chairs in a rustic gold and red dominated the room, while a bureau stood in the corner and in the middle of the room sat a low-lying coffee table. Oversized mirrors and tapestries lined the walls, with large planters and urns in the corners. The sofa faced the door with armchairs across from it. Seated in the center of the sofa was a young woman with pale blonde wispy hair and delicate features.
Bast motioned me to one of the two chairs, seating herself in the other. “I’d like you to meet my sister, Freya. Freya, this is Lorelei, the one I’ve been telling you about.” I couldn’t help but stare. Where Bast was tall and lean, with sharp green eyes and dark hair, Freya was her opposite. She appeared fragile, as if one hug would break her into a million pieces. Her features were small, delicate, airy. Nothing about her seemed powerful or intimidating. I had a hard time grasping how she was a Dark.
As if reading my thoughts, she met my eyes, and a sudden cold fierceness radiated from them. I shuddered. “Pleasure to meet you,” she said, her voice authoritative. And there it was. Despite appearances, they had the same deft and commanding spirit that came from within.
“What did you think of the books my sister gave you? I assume you studied them.” Where Bast’s eyes were a fierce green, Freya’s were a watery grey.
Calculating the similarities and differences to ease my comfort, I nodded, “Like my life depended on it.”
“Freya and I have studied the heritage of the Dark and Gifted our entire lives. We delved farther into the Dark than anyone had in centuries. We’ve given you a tool to help you.”
“That’s what I don’t understand. How does it help? How do I defeat her? And why is she doing any of this? If she is who you say she is, why is she playing a game? Why not just kill me?”
“The kill is a means to an end. It’s the chase, the hunt that is the thrill. Why end it when she can keep you running? She’s wants her game. And you are finally a worthy opponent.” Freya turned to her sister, exchanging looks.
“So, why help me? Why give me those things?”
“Is she always this inquisitive?” Freya asked Bast, wearily.
Bast sighed. “Sadly, yes.”
“Have you ever heard of the Blood Countess?” Freya directed the next question to me.
“You mean the one who supposedly bathed in blood? Yes, Elizabeth something. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Elizabeth Bathory. She was a sorceress. Did you know that? She was also one of the inspirations for Dracula and one of the descendants of Thea.”
“Great, so a psychopath. Of course.” Bast smirked at my comment, and then it hit me.
“Wait … what? How is that possible? You mean ancestor, right? Descendants come after, not before. And how did Thea become the leader of the Dark if she wasn’t a descendant of the bloodline? She killed that Agatha woman and her entire family.”
&n
bsp; “She was distantly related,” Freya threw out.
“The point is, Lorelei, that all of this—you, me, Freya—we’re all the same. It’s our actions that define us, not our heritage. Yes, in every generation there is one truly powerful Dark and one truly powerful Gifted to balance nature. Temperance Becker is completely unnatural and, to be perfectly honest, who’s to say she was ever real? What if she was far older and far more powerful, just assuming an identity? Which is why she must be destroyed. She seeks out the Gifted to destroy them. That’s why your family put you into hiding—to save you until you were ready. And look where you are. You’re sitting in a room with the most powerful Darks in the world! And you, you are the most powerful Gifted, and together we will end her reign of terror.”
“Why would you do that?” I asked suspiciously. “I mean, if she’s a Dark, like you? Who do you think she is? Do you think she just assumed this Temperance woman’s life or what? And why are you so invested in this?”
“Thea. She would sooner enslave us—or, worse, torture us and steal our powers—than let us be free. When she’s done with you, she’ll come for us. Besides, Thea isn’t a Dark.”
“We cannot fight.” Freya’s voice hardened.
“It would be cowardly for us to sit on the sidelines, sister,” Bast replied, her voice equally stone.
“No. We cannot, and we will not. If you lose, Lorelei, then we will find a way, but the world cannot afford to lose all the most powerful of our kind in one night. This isn’t a war, not yet.”
“You mean it’s not your war? Not until she comes for you directly. So, who is she really? At least tell me that. You’re talking in circles.” I felt the anger rising through me.
“We can only speculate,” Bast said, turning to Freya.
“Come off it. You’re involved, and you know a hell of a lot more than you let on. Be honest with me. I may die tonight.”
Freya sighed as she and Bast exchanged a look. The sisters communicated silently for a moment before Freya huffed, leaving Bast with a self-satisfied smirk. Bast turned to me, clearly the victor and started talking.
“Honestly. Our cousin will fight to the death by your side because you’re her leader. So I want you to be safe, to keep her safe because she is very dear to me. What we believe is that Temperance was a real person who either became friends with or became known to someone very high up the food chain. She was Dark on her own and powerful on her own, but someone saw an opportunity, so they used and manipulated her, eventually killing her … or simply took her over for their own ends. When they were done playing, she was discarded, which is why she was never heard from again after the Dark Massacre.”
“Who?” I eyed them both querulously.
“You won’t believe us,” Freya stated.
“Try me.”
“Remember what I said before about the lore of the succubae?” Bast asked me, coming over and crouching before me.
“Yes. The four succubae. Queens of Demons. That I’m descended from Agrat, and you from Naama.”
“And I said that the other lines were supposedly extinct?”
“Yes. So what? You’re saying their lines aren’t dead, and it’s a descendant?” I rolled my eyes, silently begging them to get to the point already.
“N-n-noo. Not exactly.” Bast paused, turning back to Freya, who nodded her head encouragingly. “Not a descendant anyway.”
I stopped. My eyes snapped to hers, and my mouth dropped open. “No,” I whispered.
“If you really think about it, it makes sense.” Freya shrugged defensively.
“You think an angel turned succubus is Thea? That’s insane! I mean, how do you even kill a freaking angel?” I shouted.
“Not an angel.”
“What?” I raged.
“You’re focusing on the angel part when really you need to focus on the demon part. And honestly, Lilith was human,” Freya said, shaking her head at my supposed ignorance.
My body shook with indignation. I wanted to zap her with my energy so badly, but I tried to rein it in. “Seriously, Freya, do you hear yourself? Honestly. And Lilith, really? Isn’t she supposed to be the worst of the worst?” I said through gritted teeth. I’d seen enough Supernatural and True Blood to know that Lilith was a psycho.
The sisters ignored me and continued on.
“We think it has to be Eisheth Zenunium. Do you know much about her?” I shook my head in response, so Bast continued, “She is also known as ‘The Woman of Whoredom.’ Eisheth uses seduction to lure people to do bad things, damning them. Then she kills them or waits for them to die and eats their souls. She also has the ability to manipulate memories. Technically they all do, but she’s the best at it.”
“Lovely.”
“It’s just lore.”
“You sure say that a lot. What does that even mean?”
“That most of that stuff is hearsay, exaggerations, or blatant lies. Mostly not true.” If her words were supposed to bring me comfort she failed miserably.
“It sounds like Thea, I guess. But isn’t she immortal if she was an angel and now she’s this demon?” I asked.
“She could be, but it’s highly doubtful. Otherwise, she wouldn’t fear you—and trust me, she does. If she didn’t, she would have taken you that night instead of running off. Our lore says she always feared her sisters, Agrat especially. Agrat was always far more powerful than she was, and it burned her. But it makes sense if you think about it. Agrat’s element was water; Eisheth’s was fire. Water puts out fire. You’re a natural enemy to her.”
“So, how do I fight her?”
“Like you originally intended. If Thea is Eisheth, you mustn’t let on that you know. She’s toying with you. Tonight won’t be her grand finale. It’s just a warm-up to something bigger, setting the stage. So, proceed as normal,” Freya advised as if she knew I had a plan, which I didn’t. Hell. That was partly why I had come.
“I think it’s time to go,” Bast said. “I’ll walk you out.”
She followed me as I stomped angrily, throwing the door open and clomping down the steps. She stopped at my car door. “I love Anabel. I would never let anything happen to her, not if I could stop it. To beat Temperance or Theadora or Eisheth, whatever she’s going by, just remember: everything she’s transformed herself into has a weakness and that means she has a lot of them. Don’t let your friends die for you.” With that, she walked away.
The barb hit its mark. I’d never let anyone die for me and the implication pissed me off. Not only that but who were they to judge me even if I did. There I was being sent to the slaughter while they stayed safely at home. I was the one with no training being called upon to fight an ex-angel turned succubus. I was the one being told to fight on my own. Was I that expendable? Apparently. I called after her, but she didn’t flinch, even when the stream of obscenities began flowing from my mouth at full speed.