Chapter 128

Chapter 128
“You seem almost like a different person than the one we met in the cave.” I couldn’t help but notice the strength that was pouring out of Eira now. It was more than just finding her mate, right?

“This is the real me. I was trained to act submissive and like a servant in front of others. Toril said that she didn’t want me to catch any negative attention. As her servant, no one would bother me or even notice me, which meant they would speak freely in front of me. I guess you could say I was a good spy. Who minded a meek, quiet servant?” She turned and looked at me with a small smile. “I never had any trouble playing my part until I met Squall. Trying to keep up my act … was difficult. You’ll need to let me know how I’m supposed to act in the Lycan Kingdom.”

“You don’t.” I shrugged, and Darren nodded his head in agreement.

“We just want you to be you.” Darren agreed.

“I want to know the real you.” Squall turned his giant black head slightly so that he could look at Eira.

“I was raised by Toril. I’m respectful, but confident and determined. I tend to hold my emotions close and observe first. I can’t close my emotions like Toril can, but I can mask them. That’s why drangel are known to be vicious. They can close their emotions off so that they don’t make a decision based on them. They prefer to lead with logic. I admire Toril … she’s been through a lot.” I could see her eyes studying Squall’s features. “If this … is really going to work then you have to accept Toril’s presence. Not as an enemy. She’s important to me, and—”

“Then she will be important to me, too.” Squall looked ahead as the Lycan Kingdom came into view. “I’m not narrow-minded. I will listen to you and your heart. Darren, I would like to request a room in the Lycan Kingdom for an extended stay. For about ten years or longer.”

“You’re more than welcome. After all, you did rescue my Ally.” Darren rubbed his arm against my side. “I’m afraid we’re bringing you back to our kingdom during a messy time. What with the brainwashing and—”

“I can help with that.” Eira smiled as her eyes glowed slightly. “I’m a water dragon. I can create a potent, pure water to clear the mind. Honestly, I think my way is better than the way Dayanara would have done it. It’s easier for the body to accept. However, I will need to warn you. There will be … some mental trauma that I can’t fix. Everyone will keep their memories of what they did during the brainwashing. Things that were out of their control. Dayanara would remove that. The problem is they would wake up as they were before the brainwashing. They will be older and have no memory of their life.”

“My mother wouldn’t know she had children?” Darren looked at me as Eira nodded her head.

“If she was brainwashed during that time, then no. It would add an entirely different type of shock.”

“What do you think, Ally?”

“I think it’s a shame that they were innocent and forced to do things. However, I think it would also be cruel for them to lose all their memories. They weren’t constantly being manipulated. They had good times along with the bad. Not remembering any of it … they would lose so much of their lives. A young woman could find out she was married with children. In the case of your mother, she wouldn’t know any of you. You’d be strangers. I don’t know … I guess maybe that could be a good thing, too. Not to remember. Well … should we ask them? Can’t they make this decision, even though they’re brainwashed? They still are themselves at times.”

“I would like to add that knowledge is power. Even though it’s painful, these memories can serve them. There are things they might know and can help with. I don’t agree with the wiping of their memory. Dayanara’s magic can only work that way, but it doesn’t mean it is the best way.  I think you can end up stuck losing five years, ten years, thirty years or more of your life. It would be like you were a child, and then you woke up as a mated adult. That shock alone could freeze your mind.” Eira shook her head slowly. “The pain and trauma is unfortunate, but also a part of them now. I think proper emotional counseling and even groups would be best, if it were my decision,” Eira added with a small shrug.

“Darren, this affects your family. Your mother. What do you think is best?” I laced my fingers with his, staring into his eyes.

“I don’t think we should erase their pasts, no matter how hard the path forward will be after this.” His voice was quiet as he looked at the kingdom. “Eira, how long will it take for you to prepare this pure water?”

“I can have it ready in a couple of hours.”

As Squall started our descent, I felt … him. I jerked my head toward the trees, scanning the ground, looking for Alfred. I could sense him. He was near. Was he a trap? Was he looking for help? Or was he here with Ivy? Maybe brainwashing someone else?!

“What is it?” Darren asked as he followed my gaze.

“Alfred … he’s close, which means Ivy is most likely close.”

“Squall, take her back and—”

“Dare.” I shook my head. “Together. We go together.” I watched as he pursed his lips in a thin line. “I can find him. Squall, head over to the far side of the maze there near the trees.”

“Alright, but any sign of danger and I’m barbecuing all that I consider an enemy.”

“I agree with that.” Darren curled his arms around me and planted a kiss against my temple. “Stay close to me.”

Squall landed and Darren took me in his arms, jumping off of his back. Eira landed with him. She was on the defensive as she stood between me and the forest. Squall shifted to his human form and was by her side.

“I smell blood.” Squall growled.

“It’s Alfred and … someone else.” I moved toward the scent, which was strangely muffled. It was hard to tell where it was coming from.

We headed into the forest and were soon near a stream. Just beyond that was another territory, where the scent was coming from. We had barely crossed into the next area when I saw him.

“Alfred.” I gasped, seeing his battered body laying on the ground. Blood pooled around him, and every inch of him had been whipped and bruised. Was this his punishment for letting me go? I took a step toward him, but Darren held me back.

“Someone else is here.” Darren’s voice was a harsh whisper. The bushes moved, and a bloodied Ivy stepped out. Her face was cut, and blood oozed over her body, pooling between her legs. The round bump she was growing was gone. I felt my chest constrict as I looked at her wild eyes.

“You can’t take anything from me now. Do your worst.” Her voice was brittle, and she was not herself.

“What happened?” I asked, trying to make sense of the scene.

“You escaped. Apparently, my life meant nothing if you escaped. My father punished us. My mother wanted you for some damn reason. They took everything … everything!” she screamed with wild eyes as she planted her hand on her stomach. “We endured for so long before we managed to escape. My father ripped Alfred to shreds, and my mother … ripped my child from my womb. They left me alive to bring you to them. Alive … as if I’m alive. Everything … everything … EVERYTHING IS GONE!” She screamed as her body shook. She was mentally unhinged. I couldn’t see any recognition in her eyes. As if she was also a puppet … and maybe she was. Right now, she was broken and dangerous.

“Why does she want you? She said your bloodline had to end. You have to end … but she has to end it.” Her eyes moved to my stomach. “You shouldn’t get to have what I was robbed of. You … you.” Her eyes appeared to glaze over, losing focus as her body swayed like a sapling in the wind. “It will all be okay. It will all be over soon. I just have to prove myself and then it will be over. Yes, it’s okay. My baby is okay. It’s fine. It’s fine.” Her voice, soft and trembling, filled the air with a fragile resolve. Suddenly, a series of unsettling cracks echoed as her form began to twist and contort, shifting unnaturally under her skin. “It’s fine,” she repeated, her voice now warping into a low, menacing growl. “It will be JUST FINE!” Her jaw unhinged with a sickening snap, dropping from her face in a grotesque, unnatural manner. It descended into a cavernous maw lined with jagged teeth, gaping open like a terrifying abyss, ready to devour everything in its path.

“What the fuck—” Darren pulled me behind him as her eyes grew larger.

“Shit, it’s taking over.” Eira glanced back at Darren. “Get her out of here.”

“Wait a minute. What’s happening?!” I growled, planting my feet. How could I just leave?

“Ivy, no, it's too soon!” A voice rang out as a gust of air raced past us. A ghost-like creature, semi-transparent with pale skin, raced in front of her. He turned and hissed at us as he scooped Ivy in his arms. He pressed his finger against her temple and she lost consciousness. “You’ll have to come with me now.” The next second, their bodies began to fade.

“No!” Eira yelled, diving forward with her claws extended. As she reached them, they vanished. “No!”

“What in the world was that?! What happened?!” Darren growled as he looked around for them.

“That … is the real enemy,” Eira said as Squall came to her side. “Ivy was a creature created by magic. A changeling hosted the body, masked with the blood of each and every pretend father. But these children were meticulously planned. They were not the child of the father they knew. Their nature was hidden—masked so well that none could know. Unknown. Never revealing themselves until a point of desperation or awakening. With the masked ability of the father, like a vampire or lycan. That’s the form they would present until … this moment.”

“She’s a changeling?” Squall turned to look at Eira as she shook her head.

“Much worse. So much worse. She’s what you would call a nephalem. A creature made from a god and a demon. Angelica has called herself many things. A priestess, an enchantress, a sorceress, but Toril said that none of those are true. The truth is she is … was … a god who took a demon for a mate. They took part of her and him and planted their new species inside changelings. The nephalem. The reason why you are important, Allissa.” Eira turned and looked at me. “Because your child will be tasked with their destruction.”

“Wait, you know all of this. Then you know about me … and Angelica?” I watched as she nodded her head. “And if Angelica is a god, then—” She nodded her head, and I looked at Darren in shock. Angelica was my ancestor, a god. That was why I was chosen! I’m a mix between a god and hellhound. Shit. What the hell was all of this?! “So what took her?”

“A creature tasked with collecting the nephalem when they have their awakening, and–”

“Ugh.” A soft groan came from the bloodied corpse that wasn’t a corpse.

“He’s alive?!” Squall ran to the body and checked Alfred over. “You need to decide right now. If you want him to live, we have to act fast.”

“We save him.” Darren spoke up before me, making the decision he knew I would have.

“What about Ivy?” I asked. Eira shook her head.

“They have her now. Her kind … she’s gone.”

“He’s choking on his blood. We’ve run out of time.” Squall looked over at us and Darren let out a roar. It echoed through the land and to his kingdom. A command for the healers to be ready.

“Get him to the lycan kingdom, Squall!” Darren barked. Squall lifted the man, wings spread from his back, and he was in the sky. Eira grabbed Darren, who held me, and followed after Squall. I wasn’t sure if we could save Alfred, but I hoped for the best. Nothing was his fault.

Inwardly, I was shook. Azrael didn’t tell us this news. Maybe he couldn’t. Eira did what he could not. Knowledge they must have been given by Sven, who knew because he’d invaded my mind. I needed to know more about all of this. And the nephalem.