My eyes go wide as I hear a voice in my head that I don’t recognize, but understanding quickly slams into me. I’ve been alive since the beginning of time, so I’ve seen it all. I used to sit around the campfire and listen to the other Demons talk about their first time breaking Hell’s barrier and possessing humans.
‘How?’I growl out.
That’s the only question I have for the Demons that somehow possessed me. There has to be more than one inside of me. It makes no sense that only one low-level Demon could overthrow me even with a weapon stabbed into my back, no matter what Adam had put on it.
It’s confirmed when I hear multiple voices laugh in my mind.
‘Aww, poor Lilith, can’t figure shit out.’A squeaky voice chuckles.
‘She wants to know how we got here. Should we tell her?’a guttural voice answers.
‘Nah. That’s too easy. Sleep, Lilith,’a voice demands, and I’m plunged into darkness once again.
CHAPTER6
Emotionally Drained
Matthew
Sitting back in my desk chair, I look over my new office while sipping at my tea. I needed a small break before tackling the last few boxes and meeting up with the guys. I don’t want anything to pull me away from my first time going to Earth with Lilith. I know how crazy that seems with me being over 400 years old, but if it wasn’t one thing, it was another.
I’ve been to Earth before, actually, I was born there, but my time there didn’t end on a high note. My parents were magic users, and they kept to themselves mostly. My father worked as a farmer, growing and cultivating the land. It was the safest line of work, and it allowed him to use his magic to grow the crops during times of harvest. My mother was a midwife. She loved healing the women without them knowing and bringing healthy babies into the world. That was actually how I met my first friend, Dorcus Good.
My mother helped deliver her and her younger sister. I didn’t think much of what my family did until the witch hunters came for them. Dorcus was thrown in jail at the age of four with her mother, and my family was taken along with them.
My magic started to manifest early, around my sixth birthday, so my grandparents were called upon, and I stayed home that day instead of following my family to work. I would have gone down with the hundreds of names accused as witches during the Salem Witch Trials. It still makes me sick to my stomach to this day thinking about how I would have swung from those ropes if it wasn’t for the Fates and how they intervened.
It’s taken years to understand I wasn’t to blame and to let go of the guilt, but try telling my grandparents to do the same and you’ll get a big negative. They have been the reason why I haven’t gone back to Earth since then. When I’ve had the chance, I’ve either had to cancel trips to take care of them, or their guilt ate at my resolve until I gave in. This time though, nothing is stopping me from being with Lilith and the rest of my family. I’m ready to start a life. We’ve even talked about adoption while we’re there since Lilith can’t have children, but that’s if what Carl is working on doesn’t work. It’s everything I was hoping for.
A knock on my door pulls me out of my musings. “Come in.” Setting down my cup of tea, I straighten my jacket before bringing my attention to the door. Standing at the entrance is my old classmate and dearest friend, Abi. Her petite frame is dressed in a yellow sundress today, and her plum hair is down to her shoulders.
“Did you hear?” Abi says, waving the paper in front of her face.
“Hear what?” I ask, shaking my head in confusion.
“They found her! The missing Fate,” she says, walking in and throwing down the newspaper on my desk. Quirking an eyebrow at her, I pick up the paper and scan the front page.
Missing Fate’s Body Found In Stream
Well, fuck! For the past month, Purgatory has been up in arms looking for the missing Fate, Liliwen, and now it looks like they found her. That means they will start looking for a new one, and I guarantee that will take time. There’s not much that we know about the Fates, only that there are always three, and once one has passed, one will appear to take their place. I’ve never heard of a Fate going missing, or even them looking for a new one, but I guess it happens.
“Does it mention what happened to her?” I ask, my stomach churning at the thought of her passing. I take one look at her paling face and decide I don’t want to know. “Nevermind. I don’t want to know,” I say, waving her reply away. The distressed emotion coming off of her is enough to know it’s bad.
How does a Fate even die? They are like gods to us, all-powerful and all-knowing. They’re the top dogs, followed by the council, which I will be stepping up to when we come back. The so-called ‘Leaders of Nova’ are really just the governing body with enough power to keep all of us in line, but the Fates hold the real power.
Hell, without the Fates, no one will be able to travel to Earth. They set up the schools around Purgatory to teach us to learn and control our powers. Once we learned those, we went to the Gauntlet. Think of it as the final exam to end all exams. I barely survived that nightmare of a task. The Gauntlet is a week of hell that makes you encounter monsters and situations to test how you handle yourself. Each day you lined up and prayed to the Fates sent you somewhere decent. I had to survive in a swamp and fend off the monsters that lived there, but at least I had a group of students with me. Abi saved my life more than once during that week. She always said I returned the favor when I helped set her up with her mate. Either way, our friendship has blossomed to what it is today.
“Do you know what this means?” Abi says, bouncing on her feet.
“Yeah, it means I’m leaving at the right time,” I say, getting out of my chair. I grab one of my boxes and move it over to the empty bookshelf.
“No! Silly. It means someone will gain the late Fates power and transform into the next Fate. I heard that anyone could, even a Vampire!” Abi squeals. I can’t help but laugh at her excitement. I move back over to Abi and look down at her five-foot-four frame. She’s always been comfortable as a Vampire, but she’s been curious about the unknown for as long as I can remember, and the Fates are the pentacle of that.
“If anyone deserves to earn those powers, Abi, it would be you.” I smile down at her and pull her in for a friendly hug. Ever since school, she’s been like a little sister to me, and I want what’s best for her.
A throat clearing makes me pull away and look up to see my Queen standing in the doorway with a frown on her face. Immediately I’m put on guard. Shit, maybe she heard some bad news.
“Hi, Lilith! Are you excited about heading to Earth in the morning?” Abi greets Lilith with a smile.
