Forfeit Souls (The Ennead Book 1) (22 page)

Suddenly I realized that their prejudices against Paul were much like Carla’s previous prejudice against me.  They were afraid of the unknown. When the only known was a destructive demonic force, they could not trust that there was an alternative.
Preconceived notions
, I thought, and with a sigh I shook my head as I placed it in my hands. “Do we become monsters ourselves, so that we may protect ourselves from other monsters?”

I felt Paul’s hand on my back and I looked up as the doors opened from Lilith’s chamber. The two women that left the room came toward us with equal grace, but though Lilith moved as though she was floating on air, Siris could have been gliding across an iced over pond.

“I have heard Lilith’s account of the boy’s history, and I we have discussed the potential threats he may cause.” Siris’ eyes were no longer the grey stormy waters, but now a placid blue sea. “I see no reason why the boy cannot remain in her protection, until he disproves his loyalty to the Lilitu way of peace.”

“That’s it?” Carla practically threw herself from her chair as she stood, her momentum sent it backward to the floor. “I came to you for help and you’re allowing this beast to stay?”

“If you do not feel comfortable being here, you are more than welcome to return to Atlantis with us,” Siris said to Carla with an apologetic crease in her forehead. “You can stay for as long as you wish.”

“So I am supposed to leave my home to make way for this mongrel?” She was livid. “How does that add up in the scheme of things?”

“I am sorry, but I cannot condemn him to death, regardless of what he is.” Siris looked to Paul. “I do not know that you will never succumb to the true nature of your kind, but until you do I will not treat you as an Asakku.”

It was then that I heard the howling moan of a banshee.

-Paul-

The prissy one had murder in her eyes, and it was directed at me. How does one hold on to the wind? The answer is: you don’t.

The two Naiadu women tried to hold her, but their hands went right through her arms. The male Naiadu stepped between us, but she threw him to the side with a hurricane force gale. She flew toward me, as though she were weightless, and I sat as still as I could. The best way for me to remain alive was to let the others stop her, though my mouth salivated at the thought of killing her.

She was suddenly cut off from my vision by a dark blue satin ruffle, and my desire to kill was cut off with the breaking of my line of sight.

Ellie stood in front of me in a very casual manner, though her skirt still swayed from her sudden appearance in front of me, and I couldn’t see the force that was Carla as she crossed the final feet to get to me.

But nothing happened. Ellie didn’t move, and there was no wind demon threatening to kill me; it was as though a storm had just fizzled out before it began.

I peeked around Ellie’s ridiculous skirt and saw the fuming wind demon standing rigidly in place. She seemed to be calculating her odds.

“You will not harm him Carla,” Ellie said to the livid woman in front of her. “I will stop you. Even if it means that I have to kill you.”

She backed away from Ellie. If she’s had hackles, they would have been up. Her lips were pursed and her eyes were narrowed. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted,” she spat. “You are going to turn, and it will be to the detriment of all of us.”

“I am not the one who told you to leave him alone.” I saw her head tilt towards Lilith. “Or haven’t you noticed that no one is coming to your aid.”

I looked around the room and saw the others. The Naiadu were clustered near Siris, all staring at the exchange with emotionless expressions. The rest of the Lilitu where scattered about the room in their usual groupings, some looked horrified, the big one that had wanted so much to kill me in the first place was staring at the floor, ashamed of his mate. Siris and Lilith wore expressions of expectant concern, as though they knew the outcome, but were unable to circumvent Carla’s display.

The furious blonde left in a violent swirling of air and Earl followed quietly after her, as though he was sucked out by the remnants of her fury.

“Well, that was interesting.” the younger Naiadu said in a bubbly voice. She looked at me with her head tilted to the side… “I’ve never seen an Asakku in person before.”

“They don’t look that menacing, do they Jill?” The older female said. “He’s domesticated though, so I’m not sure he’s an accurate representation of the species.”

“He’s scary enough, Lydia,” Jill said as she shied away from me, stepping behind the male.

“He won’t bite,” Ellie said, and I heard the humor in her voice, though I wasn’t sure that anyone else did.

“But will you?” The male asked, looking at her quizzically. “Carla was right in her decision to walk away from you. You are most certainly not a demon to trifle with. But you are quite a specimen; I wouldn’t mind if you were protecting me.”

“Some other time perhaps.” Ellie replied with an obvious dislike for the scaled man.

“Your friend there may not yet exhibit the more odious traits of the Asakku, but given time, I have little doubt that he will succumb to his lesser instincts, the way we all do eventually. As evident by Carla’s outbursts, you should know that our emotions become less easily controlled as we age.” The ripples in his eyes moved toward me and his eyebrows knit together apologetically. “You
will
one day falter.”

I suddenly hated this water demon and his assumption that we were all the same. Though in my gut I knew he was right. Didn’t I want to kill everyone in the room without reason? I wished he wasn’t right about me, and at the same time I wished that there was some reason for me to pummel him. But I inhaled and let the anger go with my exhale.
Just breathe
, I told myself,
he’s not worth the trouble
.

“Fish gotta swim?” Ellie said icily. “Is that it? We’re all who we are because of who made us?”

“More or less.” He said flatly and turned back to the two females, who eyed him with concern, their gazes continually shifting to Ellie, as though they did not trust her.

“I can see why Carla fled to you,” She all but snarled.

It was silly of them to not trust her simply because she wished to help me. They didn’t seem to have a problem with me anymore, but the way they spoke to and moved about Ellie showed genuine fear on their parts, it was strange to me.
Hell hath no fury
, I thought with a laugh. All eyes flickered to me for a moment, and I realized the depth of the tension behind the seeming calm that now blanketed the room.

Lilith and Siris looked at me. Their hands were clasped together and I saw the white tendrils moving up Siris’ arm as shimmery blue ripples flowed up Lilith’s, they were holding a private council now, even as the rest of us sat in their midst.

Their eyes were calm – a still lake and a cloudless sky – as Lilith turned to Ellie. “Joellen, dear, please show the Naiadu around Zephyr. Siris and I have more things that need to be discussed before they leave.”

I could see that Ellie would rather not have spent more time with John, but she nodded to Lilith and was soon headed through the door with the three Naiadu following cautiously after. When I turned back to where Lilith had been she and Siris were gone. The closing door at the back of the room was the only clue that they had ever been there at all.

Billy and Lizzie sat quietly, looking at each other with a worried expression. I didn’t know if it was the Naiadu, Carla, or me that scared them the most, but their wary glances toward me let me know I was definitely a part of the reason for their unease.

I turned to Nate and Christi, both still sitting at the large round table. They were completely engrossed in their own private world. They were playing a new game; I had seen it before, but I couldn’t remember its name, and that puzzled me. It was a tower of blocks, stacked alternately with their long sides placed in line perpendicular to the layers above and below it. Their tower was stacked ridiculously high, it had to have been made up of more blocks than the normal game called for, and they both floated in the air next to it to reach the top.

The base of their structure was pocked with holes from the pieces they’d already removed. The tower seemed to defy physics.

Part of me was in awe of their skill, but another part really wanted to go over and shake the table. I didn’t have the chance though; Nate pulled out a piece that caused the entire structure to go tumbling down. But the clatter and mess I expected never came. The blocks stopped less than a second after they began to fall and then reformed into the complete rectangular tower on the table.

“I win,” Christi said quietly as she floated back down to her chair.

I just laughed and left the room. What a strange place this is. I walked down the hall, away from where the others were gathered. I had no need of their discussion. They knew everything I knew; I couldn’t help them further.

Demetrius walked across the hall ahead of me and I saw his head turn slightly. He glanced at me for only a brief moment, but I had the strangest feeling, as though he wanted me to follow him. I could feel the impulse to stalk and kill him. The Asakku instinct was a more prevalent feeling now than I had experienced before. I turned down the hallway behind him and followed.

My footsteps fell silently and it truly felt as though I was stalking him. It was a strange and exhilarating feeling, it felt good. No, it felt right. Demetrius opened a door and slipped in. I stopped, listening, there was no movement in the room. He was alone. 

I turned the knob; it moved without a sound, and I slipped into the dimly lit space. It was a bedroom, very similar in size to the one that I had been given, but it was filled with old furniture and a large piano, and one entire wall was filled with books.

But Demetrius was not there.

I looked all around the room, but he was gone. “Buggar,” I said through my teeth as I turned to the books behind me. I restrained myself from pulling down a whole shelf-full of books, though I was frustrated enough to set the whole library on fire.

“Looking for something?” Demetrius’ voice asked from behind me.

I turned, but no one was there. “I thought we could talk,” I said to the thin air.

“I don’t think there’s anything we need to talk about,” The disembodied voice said from my left this time.

I instinctively turned to it. Again, nothing. “What’s with the hide and seek?” I asked, annoyed.

“Are you seeking?” Demetrius’ voice said with a laugh, and he materialized in one of the high backed chairs. “What do you need?”

I thought about that for a moment. I really didn’t need anything, in the pit of my stomach I knew what I wanted. I wanted to kill him. I fought back the urge to lunge at him. “I want you to stay away from Ellie.”

“You seem to be under the impression that you own her,” he said to me with an amused smile. “I can assure you that she can, and does, make all of her own choices.”

I felt the heat as it began to course through me. I wanted to rip his head off, to dismember him piece by piece. I already knew that I would enjoy every moment of it, the thought of Demetrius’ murder made my mouth water.

No
, I thought and the urge to attack him went away. I knew what attacking him would mean. I had already made myself an outcast from my own kind. I couldn’t betray those who had taken me in, even if it was begrudgingly.

“I know that I don’t own her,” I said cautiously. “But I don’t think that you should be taking advantage of the trust she’s put in you.”

“You don’t know me Paul,” Demetrius said, standing. “I believe that Jo knows how I feel, and I will pursue her no further until I receive some signal from her that she returns those feelings.”

I snorted at that.

“I’m a very patient man Paul,” he said, looking at me with a furrowed brow, and I scoffed again. “When you reach four hundred years, perhaps you’ll understand.” 

“She doesn’t like antiques,” I said spitefully. “And I’m able to wait just as long as you are.”

Demetrius just looked to his left and then to the floor. I followed his first glance and saw the dress that Ellie had been wearing before.

Suddenly all of the rage that I had felt building up inside of me –that I had been able to extinguish until now – was pulsing in my mind. It felt as though I needed to be doused with a fire extinguisher; the room felt as though it was a kiln and I was about to burst into flames. And I did.

I was back in what had been designated as my room. I felt better now that I didn’t have to see him anymore, but I was still agitated. I turned all of my focus to calming down. I stepped onto the balcony and let the thin, cold night air help to calm me. Closing my eyes helped and I stood there like a statue, waiting for my anger to ebb.

I didn’t open my eyes again until I felt something soft on top of my hand, which was clenched tightly around the balcony’s rail. Ellie’s black eyes greeted me, her smiling face allowed all of my anger to fade, as though it was washed away by an invisible wave. It returned, but it was not as strong, and was accompanied by guilt and by jealousy, the latter of which I knew I would be helpless to control.

“I’m going to go,” I said quietly, as I stepped away from the balcony.

“Where are you going?” she asked in a bored tone. She didn’t understand my meaning.

I spoke quickly so that she wouldn’t be able to interrupt me. “I’m leaving. My being here causes too many problems, too much chaos.”

She laughed, as though it was a joke, until she turned to me. Perhaps it was the set of my jaw that told her of my resolve. My teeth should have been powder by now, I was clenching down so hard.

“I would send Carla to live in Atlantis with the Naiadu before I let you leave.” She seemed mad. “We’ve just won you sanctuary, and you want to give it up?”

“This is a choice that isn’t up to you, Ellie,” I said softly, seeing the anger welling inside her. “I’m going.”

Her eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to speak and I almost expected fangs. “What you’re talking about is frying pan and fire. There’s a very fine line between what you’re proposing and insanity,” she said to me, contempt dripping from her words.

“And so what if it is?” I was well beyond the point of fearing death anymore.

She was livid. “You can’t just go on the run. You’ll be fair game to anyone. I mean hell, if you want to die, there’s a few demons waiting just outside that would be more than happy to oblige you.” The anger in her voice was frightening, but she had made it quite clear earlier that she had no intention of letting me take the easy way out.

“Come with me, Ellie.” I said quietly, reaching my hand out to her.

She didn’t move. “And do what? They may not be able to kill me, but I can’t protect you from them at all times.”

Talking to Ellie was like being on an emotional roller coaster and it was my turn to be mad. She was acting all high and mighty about her new demonic abilities. “I don’t need you to protect me,” I all but growled.