Chapter 30 Chapter Thirty - Gabriella
My head briefly spins from the experience, as it’s something I’m still not used to, but Jartre’s arms around me help the spinning pass faster.
I smile up at him, lift up onto my tippy toes and just manage to kiss his chin, “Thank you for bringing me home.”
He steps aside, gesturing to my coffee table where my purse and phone are residing safe and sound.
I look up at him in bewilderment, “How…”
I start to ask my very obvious and pointless question when I hear a perfectly timed knock at the door. I shake my head, choosing to accept my animai’s – still a weird word – ways, and make my way over to the door, placing my bag of clothes on the kitchen counter. I open it to find my new neighbour, Kaley, standing at my doorway looking dishevelled and wet.
“Kaley, are you okay?” I ask in concern.
“I’m so glad you’re home! I really don’t mean to be a bother, but I’m hoping you have a number for the building’s plumber. I can’t find my list of contacts on account of unpacking and the pipe under the kitchen sink burst. If this were a hole in the wall, Callie could have it patched up in minutes, but unfortunately, neither of us are plumbing experts,” she says, sounding utterly exhausted.
“Jesus, that’s shit timing. I mean, a busted pipe is never good timing, but when you’re just moving in is especially shit. One sec.” I keep the door open with my foot, lean around the wall, and grab my list of building contacts off the refrigerator. “Here you go,” I say, handing her the list. “You’ll find his number on here. I hope he can fix it quickly.”
She takes the list, beaming at me with relief as she throws her arms around me in a tight hug, “You are an absolute angel! I can’t thank you enough for this. I promise to bring this right back,” she says fervently.
“Don’t mention it. I know where to find you if I need it,” I say lazily, patting her back warmly.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. Sorry again for interrupting, but I’ll speak to you soon,” she says, rushing back into her apartment across the hall.
With a smile and a shake of my head, I close my door.
“Who was that?” Jartre asks.
“My new neighbour.” Which reminds me… “Speaking of,” I start, earning an inquisitive look from my white-haired fox as I take a few steps forward and lean against my kitchen counter. “I found it extremely surprising that the same day Julie tried to goad me into a fight in the hallway, she mysteriously moved out and, come the following day, I have new neighbours. I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that, would you?” I ask pointedly.
“Not sure I’d call that ‘mysterious’. Perfect timing sounds more appropriate,” he says unperturbed, sliding his hands into his skin-tight jeans.
“That’s not an answer.”
“What kind of answer are you hoping for?”
I roll my eyes. “The only kind that matters; an honest one. Did you have anything to do with Julie moving out?” I ask more forcefully.
He stares at me, his expression calculating as he thinks up his answer. If it’s a fucking lie I’m going to be livid.
“Yes,” he says bluntly, stunning me.
I stand up straight, “You did? Why?”
“I think the why is obvious. Next question.”
I grumble in annoyance, “Fine. What did you do?”
“Introduced her to a friend of mine,” he says nonchalantly.
“You’re only friends with other Gods. Who the fuck could you have introduced her to? And why?” I ask in confoundment.
He takes a deep breath and runs his thick fingers through his long mane of hair while I try not to get distracted by the action.
“That woman – and I use the term loosely – is a cunt. I will not tolerate my animai to be so grossly disrespected by the likes of someone like that. That… thing, “he spits venomously, “Was long overdue a punishment befitting her crimes.”
“And so you took it upon yourself to punish her?” I question, becoming more astonished by the second.
“Of course not,” he scoffs, and I relax a little. “I called upon Merlos to do that for me,” he casually adds, raising my blood pressure again.
“What the fuck Jartre?!” I screech, “Who is Merlos and what the fuck did she do?”
“Merlos is the Goddess of the Void, more commonly known as the Goddess of Darkness and Shadow. She has the ability to see the darkness within all people and things and has a penchant for punishing those guilty of great betrayal. After reading Julie’s mind I knew she was deserving of Merlos’ wrath,” he calmly explains, though the tension in his jaw is very prominent, even through his beard.
“All because she screwed my now ex-boyfriend?”
“While that and the words she spoke to you are more than enough to warrant me striking her down with all the fury I possess, that’s not why I called on Merlos,” he says, his voice dipping low.
“Then why did you?” I hesitantly ask.
“Because you’re not her first victim. Your little neighbour actively chases after taken men. It’s her favourite little game to play. Seduce men, get them to leave their girlfriends or wives, and then when she gets what she wants, she gets bored, dumps them, and then repeats the process. She’s a homewrecker in every sense of the word and she loves every second of it. She has destroyed many relationships, and she was going to keep doing it, so I stopped her,” he says with more force.
Fucking hell. I knew the bitch was crazy and a massive cunt, but this takes the cake. I mean, I don’t think she’s entirely to blame. I’m a firm believer that no one can steal your spouse from you. If someone loves you and is loyal, no one can steal them. If they give into the first piece of ass to come along, then it says all you need to know about them. She’s still a cunt, but she also clearly has horrendous taste in men, and this is coming from someone who also has shit taste in men. Or at least I did.
I take a deep breath and scrub my hands down my face. I don’t want to ask this next question, but I’m not dealing with humans here, so I feel I have to ask.
“Is she dead?” I cautiously ask, feeling my stomach ball up into a knot.
“Tempting, but no. Death wasn’t good enough,” he scoffs boorishly.
I sigh with relief. Thank fuck for that. “So, what did Merlos do exactly?” I ask, walking over to him.
He looks at me carefully, once again assessing me. Just hopefully not reading my mind.
“Do you recall placing genies on your list?”
I frown in confusion. “Um, yeah, but you called them something else…” I wrack my brain and thankfully the answer pops up. “Visums, right?”
He smiles slightly, “That’s right. Merlos is the Goddess who created them. Anyone whose soul is tainted with darkness and has committed terrible acts of betrayal; she turns into visums. Beings cursed with immortality, forced to spend eternity granting the wishes of others.”
My frown deepens. “How is that a punishment?”
“Visums become magically bound to anyone they touch, unable to leave their side until they grant them a wish. I’m told the bond is excruciatingly painful when activated. Julie will forever be a slave to the wills of others. Dragged around all creation by any who touch her and will have no say in the wishes she grants. Eternal, painful servitude is her punishment.”
I force down a large gulp as I stare up into his intense, silver eyes. “And I thought the genie in Aladdin had it rough,” I quip.
“I don’t regret my decision and I won’t apologise for what I did.” He reaches up, cupping his large hands around my face, staring down at me as his eyes pierce right through me. “Those who would so easily betray another’s trust do not deserve your sympathy, and anyone who dares to put a mark of hurt – no matter how small – upon your soul will face my wrath,” he says with a force that rocks through my body.
I feel very conflicted right now. On one hand, who am I to tell a bunch of Gods how to do their jobs? It sounds like they’ve been at it longer than this Earth has existed. I always thought Julie was a disgusting human being deserving of a smackdown. I had no idea just how deserving – until now. But on the other hand, this was my life. I guess since she hurt so many people the matter is out of my hands, but I really don’t think it was the other people she hurt that swayed Jartre’s decision. I’m pretty good at reading between the lines and based on what Jartre said, it’s her sins that made him call in this Merlos person. If her only sin was hurting me he would have done something himself and I don’t want that. It’s my life. He doesn’t get to step in and decide to be my saviour, especially when I don’t need saving. This feels like it’s more about him than it is about me. Which now means I have two issues to worry about.
“I’ve left you with a lot to unpack. I’m going to give you some space to process this,” he says, leaning down and placing a tender kiss on my forehead. “You know how to reach me.”
I nod, unable to form words right now. Before I can even blink, he’s gone. The second he’s gone I feel that heavy, yet comforting feeling disappear from my loft and quickly I find myself craving his return. Jartre is quickly becoming a dominating and consuming force in my life and I’m incredibly conflicted about it. Part of me is loving the fuck out of it. The other side of me is unnerved by it.
Suddenly feeling utterly drained, I flop down onto the sofa and pull my handbag towards me. I pull out my phone, opening the screen to find several unopened texts and 4 missed calls. All of them from Wyatt. I scroll through my texts, my eyes zeroing in on one in particular that was delivered at 7:43 am. My heart pounds furiously in my chest when I read the word ‘hospital’ and in a flash, I’m grabbing my bag, checking for my keys, and racing out the door, cursing myself for leaving my fucking phone at the fucking club.