Soul Drinker: Chapter Eighteen – Cyn’s Workshop
Eris sat on top of the mountainside that held their cave, the place that had been his home for the past three thousand years. He didn’t particularly like it here in the wild; even when he was human, he preferred the comforts of his home. The wild was Selene’s element. And yet he felt more comfortable in the darkness of the woods than he did in the place that was formerly his home.
His fingers tingled, and he wondered if he was dreaming. If only. Letting out a heavy sigh, he let out the same wish he did every night: that he had died centuries ago by his sisters’ side.
“Eris?”
Turning around, Eris looked up at Jeanette and Blake as they approached him. Jeanette stared down at him cautiously, her hair tied down while her bangs blew in the wind. Standing by her side, following her slow steps was Blake with his arms crossed, as usual. There was a cut on his cheek, a deep one that was not healing as it should.
“Did you get in a fight with Lilith?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Jeanette?”
“I made him an antidote to speed up the healing process. He’s fine, but something needs to be done about her. You can’t leave her in charge, Eris.”
“I don’t think Selene wants to be in charge anymore. She hates me, remember?”
“She doesn’t hate you,” began Jeanette. “Well, not as much as she used to. You were able to enter her dreams without resistance.”
“But so can Jason because of his stupid Touched Born ability. If he’s there while I’m spellbound, he can kill me. I can’t keep entering her dreams without him noticing. Jason will eventually catch on.”
“Why did you push her off the roof?” asked Blake.
“To wake her up. He was about to enter; I couldn’t let him.”
Jeanette stared down at him, confused. “How do you know he was about to enter?”
Eris shrugged, pointing up towards the sky. “I can tell. The sky darkens over, reflecting his inner monster.” Eris looked away, back towards the horizon as the silence filled the air.
“Well,” said Blake, coughing slightly to grab their attention, “Lilith isn’t pleased with the turn of events. She wants Jason, and she wants to keep her position.”
“She can’t have everything,” muttered Eris. He bit down on the tip of his thumb. “What about the others?”
“They are growing more powerful by the minute. We can’t fight them and the Darklings on our own. We need Selene.” Pulling her hair over her shoulder, she began stroking it, an old nervous habit of hers that never seemed to vanish. “Is there anything we can do, Eris, without her?”
Eris shook her head. “Selene and I can kill them, but I need to handle the Shadowlings. We have to get Selene to fight.”
“I think Selene’s fighting days are over,” muttered Blake.
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Eris jerked around, rising to stand by Jeanette and Blake. He knew that voice, even if he hadn’t heard it in years. Shadows rose up from the ground, swirling in a mass, rising higher and higher until they reached his own height.
Before them stood Ettore, Void, Vega and Negal at the forefront.
“She killed every Vampyre you sent after her,” continued Void.
“And she nearly killed me.” Negal’s lips curved into a sly smile.
“The fighter in her is not gone,” continued Vega in her small and gentle voice. “All you have to do is reopen the wounds.”
“She’ll hate me. I just got her back!” exclaimed Eris, fist clenched.
Jeanette gently touched Eris’s shoulder. “You won’t lose her, Eris. But,” she began, waving at the Shadowlings around them, “this is all out of your control.”
His chest rose and fell, and subconsciously his hand fell to the hilt of his sword, the other half of Nuri’s Shadow, a gift from Shira. Finally, he sighed, his anger subsiding. “What do I have to do?”
***
Lilith sat with the doe-eyed Vampyre with purple eyes, Conliana. Lilith hated looking like her; she looked too much like Selene. Except she lacked the parts of Selene and ultimately made her admirable: the passion in her fight and the fire in her eyes.
In the end, though, Lilith pitied the poor girl because her failing was similar to her own: an unfortunate attraction to Jason. He could never choose anyone other than Selene, but Conliana looked like her, and apparently looking like Selene made the passage of time go by faster. But not by much. A sudden thrill ran through her body.
“What do you want, Lilith?”
“How old are you? I never paid attention.”
“I’m a hundred and eighty-six.”
“Hmm, you’re still young but powerful. Tell me, when did you fall in love with Jason?”
“I don’t love him.”
“Oh, pathetic doe, you do love him. Did you honestly delude yourself into thinking he ever loved you any of those times he stared at you? Did you really think he ever saw you?” Holding back the mocking laughter, she watched, satisfied as Conliana’s eyes turned a cold blood red. Like that, she looked like the Selene that Jason loved, only far more vicious.
“He could have if she didn’t exist.”
“Do you think he would love you if she were gone?”
“Yes.”
“Would you and your kind like to help my fellow Darklings and me kill Selene?”
Conliana’s eyes narrowed, shifting as if finally taking in the situation. “Jason told me not to trust you and to never help you.”
“Really, darling? Not even to win his heart?”
Conliana stared at her, her eyes shifting around the room, giving off her conflicted mindset. The poor girl was obviously torn. She wrung her hands together before finally looking up to meet Lilith’s poisonous gaze.
“What do you need?”
Lilith smirked at her. “Just your unyielding devotion and that of the other Soul Drinkers.”
“You have it.”
***
Lilith strolled down the street looking for a meal. The great thing about being toxic was that her meal always appeared to die of poison. The drawback was that her meal lost its desire when the poison became too much. Stretching her arms above her head and looked up. Her muscles tensed when she saw the street sign, and her good mood vanished. None of the cities were creative. Each city had between five and thirteen districts. Only the two great metropolises had more. Nephilium and Seraphim. Every district named their major streets the same way, though. This street was no different. Michaels Street. It was this street where her ancestors died. The blood in her veins boiled with her rage, and in the distance there was laughter, further enraging her. No one was allowed to laugh here, not in her presence. No one was allowed to laugh and live where that bitch Selene murdered her ancestors, Kyra and Larkin.
