The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) Page 7

  “With that, he bound us all to human-kind and used his immortal life blood to send the power into every human alive. It merged with their dna and gave them the chance to be able to unlock the power that he had gifted them with. It cost our brother his life forever as he knew it would, but not before making us promise that we’d never enslave your men or women. He loved you so much that he sacrificed everything! Therefore, that is the quality I seek when I mark a human. Genuine self sacrifice for the thing called love. It is the one thing that I know cannot be taught. Either it is who you are or it does not exist.”

  Selene reaches for my hand and holds it tight. I squeeze it back.

  “I want to protect you, but I see that there is something else in you that has the potential to be a force all on its own,” Selene tells me.

  I think about their words. “Will I be able to kill the demon that killed my family, or fight the man who started all of this?” I need to know if I will have that kind of power, and at this point if I owe Diana a service, I don’t care what it is.

  “Think wisely before you make any rash decisions, young one. I can feel it in the air that you are thinking of revenge. If you allow hate to rule your heart, I will not help you,” Diana warns.

  I turn, let go of Selene’s hand, and look Diana squarely in the eyes, this time unflinchingly. “Diana. My family deserves justice and if I can be the blade that delivers that justice, then so be it. Still, that will not be my sole purpose in obtaining power. If I can grow strong to protect people so that they never have to go through what I just did, then I will do it. After what I witnessed, I never ever want to be weak again. If you refuse to help me, I will find another way.”

  Diana remains quiet for a couple seconds, then nods as she stands up, turning her back towards us. “So be it young warrior. I will mark you as one of mine and your journey will begin to become something more, something that has always been hidden inside you. I will help you unleash the power that you humans have lost.” She turns back towards me and motions for me to stand up. I do so without hesitation. “This does not mean that you will succeed. And even if you do unlock the power within you, you may not be worthy of the title protector. Knowing this, knowing that this could possibly be the death of you, if you are still willing to go through with this endeavor, you will have three moons to finish your business in this world before you and your witch enter mine.” She looks toward Selene in acknowledgement.

  “Normally, I would not allow someone who was not marked or my cohort to enter my realm, but your persistence about me meeting your lover was admirable and I know you would not want to be separated from her in this great time.” Diana smiles with flawless teeth.

  Selene bows. “Thank you Diana. I am in your debt as well.”

  Diana turns back to me. “When you come to me, be prepared to forget all you once knew about right and wrong. You have lived in a world that is oblivious to its true self and therefore, you can no longer see things as you once did. I hope you understand that.”

  I nod.

  “Now, take off your shirt.”

  I blink a couple times and get ready to open my mouth to question her, but quickly change my mind and do as she commands. Once my shirt is off, I swear I see a look of appreciation in her eyes as she gazes upon my round breasts. Hmmm.

  With a motion so quick and fluid, I barely see a long knife materialize from the air and Diana grab it until I realize that she’s sliced her hand down the middle. The knife goes back where it came from and Diana takes the pointer finger that isn’t on her bloodied hand, rubs some of the blood, and draws a symbol right above my heart. When the symbol is complete, she says some unintelligible words and then slams her opposite hand into my chest right where she drew the symbols. My skin is being branded and I can’t help myself as I hiss at the pain. When Diana releases her hand, the symbol is now a part of my flesh, tattoo-like. It glows brightly for a second, then, it disappears into my skin. Confusion paints my face.

  “If the symbol stayed visible, supernaturals could find out you were marked and try to kill you,” Diana explains as if reading my thoughts. “It will manifest itself when needed. Now, it is done. As I stated previously, you have three moons to summon me again.”

  Diana waves me away in her queen-like demeanor and motions for Selene to step forward. “I leave her in your hands. She is marked with my blood now, so keep her safe. Now, for my payment.” Diana grabs Selene the same way that she grabbed me, but this time when she grabs Selene’s face, she kisses Selene in a hard and demanding way.

  Before I find words to make a fool of myself, I see that she’s not really kissing Selene, but taking something from her. There is a white glow coming from Selene’s mouth into Diana’s. When Diana is finished, Selene falls to the ground. By the time I reach Selene on the floor, Diana is gone. I barely register the fact that my ankle is no longer in pain. Damn, what did she do?

  Selene is able to get up on her own and forces me to go lay down on the couch while she makes us both something to eat. I don’t even get to tell her that my injuries are healed. When she finishes, she sits beside me and we both eat in silence. Three moons? I have three nights to decide if this is what I really wanted. They say that life can change in only a matter of seconds, but damn, I am facing a hurricane of issues and wondering if before all this is over if I will drown in my own sorrow.

  “What did Diana take from you?” I ask Selene as I try to get my mind off of death, destruction, and apocalypse.

  “Well, I told you about chakra or chi right? There is also another part of that. Chakra is what is inside of us, but when it is on the outside it becomes our aura. It is an invisible field that surrounds us all. The stronger the individual, the more powerful the aura will be. It is our strength and our life force. Soon, you’ll be able to feel the aura of others. What Diana did was pull some of my aura from me as payment for inappropriately summoning her to this plane without a proper tribute. Because of that, I cost her some of her own aura to travel and she was simply replacing what I made her lose. She had to do so in order to replace any weaknesses from traveling, jet lag if you will. Don’t worry, she didn’t take enough for it to be a danger to myself, it just made me light-headed. I owed her. I didn’t realize how high maintenance the Immortals are.”

  “I see. So how do you know about Diana?”

  “I really don’t. She’s the first immortal that I’ve ever met and I still don’t know how she heard the call as opposed to someone else. It was actually a long shot, but one of my contacts was familiar with the spell. I’m really good with supernatural history. I know the stories behind the immortals and the humans so I just knew I had to bring one here to see you. You are what I think you are Rayne don’t you doubt that. You’re special. I’m just so fucking sorry that it had to take this for me to realize it.” Selene seems to have her own what ifs going on and I try to stop her train of thought.

  “Ok, so what else don’t I know about? How many different types of things go bump in the night?” I ask. I’ve wanted to ask all night.

  “You have no idea. Hell, I have no idea about them all, because a lot of the races, like the immortals, don’t even walk this plane anymore and have to be summoned. Some, like the fae have died out, or so they say. Vampires, werewolves, and even angels are nothing like the stories. For instance, angels are not ones to fuck with. They are a race of true warriors that usually only live in the otherworld which is where you go when you pass on. If you see one here, that means war or apocalypse is about to break out. They are the balance keepers and from what I’ve heard or read, completely unstoppable, or at least as close it as one can get.”

  I listen intently and with mild shock as Selene reveals all this to me. I watch her mouth move and curl up into a smile at just how excited she’s getting by telling me all of this. It’s amazing how much of a secret her whole world has been to me and I start to wonder if I would have ever known about it otherwise.

  “You’ve met a demon, and trust me, they
get much nastier. Some are only incorporeal in this realm, but can wreak much havoc by feeding off of chaos or other things. Some can change forms and live among us. They can also breed with humans in some cases, but the offspring will always be male for some reason. Half demons are not always evil, but they are almost always volatile, terrible tempers. Other demons can…”

  I stop Selene right there, even though I don’t want to. “Okay, okay, so I have a lot to learn. My brain is definitely on overload right now. How about you just pick the main things that I need to know right now and teach me later?” I suggest.

  “Ok, but there’ll be a quiz at the end.” Selene smirks and winks. “Let me run you a shower. It’s been a while since you had one and in the morning you can contact Damien.” She gets up and walks back toward the hallway where I came from. Seconds later, I hear water running. Then, Selene comes back and helps me to the bathroom.

  When I reach the shower, I see that there’s a stool for me to sit on. Selene helps me out of my clothes. I think about milking it for all it is worth because the attention she’s giving me is awesome, but I finally give in and tell Selene that Diana somehow healed me. I get a punch in the arm for my confession.

  “Well, you won’t be needing this then,” Selene tells me, snatching the stool out of the shower.

  As Selene stalks out of the bathroom, shaking her head, I say, “Thank you,” quietly. She freezes in place before shutting the door silently behind her.

  Finally alone, I stand there as the hot water beats against my body. This is the first time since everything’s happened that I can be truly alone with my thoughts. I’d never see my family again. I’d never hear my little sister’s laugh or get to talk to her about that boy Justin that she liked. I’d never get to hug my mom and dad again. And, I’d never get to tell my mom that I was sorry for arguing with her and that I wanted us to have a better relationship.

  Then, I think of all the employees who were just collateral damage, the girl whose body they burned because she resembled me, the torture of that man in my dad’s building, the pain of having my ankle shattered. Suddenly, I don’t feel so safe anymore and I look around suspiciously at the tiled walls and bright yellow shower curtain as if the demon with its horrible mouths and terrible stench will come through the door at any second. My breathing quickens as the walls feel as though they are closing in on me.

  What had my sister felt? How did she find the courage to call me instead of just looking out for her own self? Why couldn’t it have been me instead of her? Why, why why? I want to break something, pull my hair out, but I can’t. I fall to the floor and bawl my eyes out, screaming at the top of my lungs. I want to be rid of all this pain. I want my cries to rip this feeling from my body, this helplessness, this…

  I lie there crying, sobbing, shaking. The water has long gone cold but I don’t care. Selene doesn’t check on me, but I know she’s outside of the door beating herself up, knowing she cannot help me right now. Knowing this is a battle that I have to fight alone. I cry, until tears are no longer able to fall. I mourn for the death of my family, the innocents that were our employees, and last for the woman that I once was, but will never be again.

  Rest in peace.

  Chapter Nine

  After I finally reach for the strength to turn the water off, I stand and wrap a towel around my shaking body. I’m positive that I’ll catch a cold from this, but that’s the least of my problems. When I look in the mirror, I see a stranger in the reflection. Eyes puffy red with black circles under them, a frown that seems to be glued to my face, nose red as well. Quickly, I turn away, unable to bear another glance at myself.

  I open the door and Selene is sitting on the floor across from me, her head in her hands. She’s had to be so strong for me that I almost forget that she needs to do mourning of her own. At the very least, she loved Jazzy as if she were her own little sister.

  Yet, Selene simply wipes her eyes on her sleeve and stands up trying her best to force a smile on her face for my sake. This is a woman that has done so much for me, but has yet to tell me that she loves me. It doesn’t matter, she’s proven it every step of the way. I smile back at her as I understand that between her and D, they’re all I have left.

  “Where have you been sleeping?” I ask Selene as I reach for her soft hands.

  “In the room across the hall from yours.”

  “Well, take me there,” I tell her.

  She seems shocked at this as if she had expected me to not want to be near her yet, but it’s just the opposite and that’s what I say to her.

  “Where else would I want to be Selene? You’re my home now.”

  For the rest of the night, we cuddle and allow our closeness to compensate for the voids we feel in our hearts.

  ◊◊◊

  By the time I reach Damien, he’s already in some meetings but he’d been so shocked to hear from me that he cancelled the rest of his obligations for the day and drove straight to the safe house. As I open the door for him, he rushes in, scoops me up in his arms and refuses to let me go for at least five minutes. His broad chest heaves up and down in sobs as he whispers over and over how glad he is that I am okay.

  It takes Selene reminding him gently about the need for people to breathe to get him to finally allow me back my personal space. Even then, he keeps a close distance as if I’m going to need him to come to the rescue at any second. After asking me about ten times, he finally accepts that I’m doing fine. Next, we spend half an hour explaining the visit we had from Diana, what an immortal is, and telling him that I will be leaving in two more nights to learn how to possess power that humans had long forgotten they had. He isn’t happy about that at all, but at the same time, there is a hint of relief in his eyes that I can and will be safe.

  “Is this something that you truly want to do, especially this quickly after this whole thing? Do you want to clear your head first, finish mourning?” Damien asks, even though he knows me well enough to know that my mind is already made up.

  “This is not an opportunity I can wait on. If Diana is telling the truth, it has been over 200 years since someone has been marked, well at least by her. What that tells me is that she believes I am capable. Me lying in bed for more weeks crying will not change anything, even if I want to, and trust me, I want to so bad. I want to give up and just waste away, but I won’t. I owe my family too much. I owe them justice,” I answer D without a second thought. He can hear the passion in my voice and doesn’t push. I watch as Selene goes to the other room to give us more privacy.

  “Don’t worry about your affairs Rayne. Even though it seems as if you are dead, your father has secretely been putting money aside for you for years in overseas accounts. You have more than enough to never even have to work again. Plus, I was able to transfer Jasmine’s undisclosed money into your account as well. You can do as you wish with it. No one can touch it but you and me. As far as the company goes, I am in charge now and though I am going to make small changes, you will always have a say and hopefully, there will be a way to bring you back from the dead and you can run it yourself,” Damien tells me.

  “I don’t want to run the company, that much I know, you can keep it as long I get updated on major issues and changes. All I want right now is to know what was so important that my family had to die. What was such a secret?”

  D takes a deep breath and sighs heavily before leaning back and taking off his sunglasses that he loves so much. He rubs his face and says, “We were working on special weapons that would help combat supernatural threats in many ways. Modern technology doesn’t really seem to have an effect on their kind, so we had to change our way of thinking. Bullets have no effect unless you shoot them repeatedly with kill shots and besides, most are too fast to even be shot. We’ve been studying their nature and developing new tools based on their perceived weaknesses.”

  “We had plans to sell it to the government. There’s a branch that deals with the Supes but they are limited on their research becau
se they are a new group and have only found out about the existence of supernaturals about fifty years ago. Even then, only a handful of higher ups are privy to this information. They’d very much like to keep exposure nonexistent as well as deal with the more dangerous of their kind quickly and quietly.”

  I nod and Damien continues, trying to quickly get through the background info. “Since then, it has been hard because many of the supes actually have been working in government and are even feeding misinformation to humans. They are doing their best to keep the accurate knowledge to a minimum. They’ve been extremely successful because most people don’t know what their powers are or how to recognize someone as ‘different’ from the rest of us. Your father was a brilliant man however, and brought together the most excellent team, best contacts, and finest researchers out there because he felt that humans needed more protection against such a potentially dangerous threat. You see, when your father was in the military, he came across a werewolf that was on a rampage. His team was on a mission in the Ukraine and apparently the wolf had been recently turned without learning to control its urges. He was able to kill it only because it was too consumed with ripping apart the body of one of his comrades. That incident was covered up like many others.”

  “It wasn’t hard to connect the dots. If one existed, then they probably all did. Jason was not prejudiced and didn’t feel that they were monsters that needed to all be taken out, but that we mere humans needed extra security. As his research and business grew, so did his reputation. Jason started to attract the wrong kind of attention and many of the people in the supernatural community who had inside knowledge of his weapons wanted him to stop production, sell his products to them as well in order to use it against members of other ‘races’, or just for added protection for themselves. Small stuff, like security enhancements he didn’t mind, but things that could be too dangerous in the wrong hands, he refused.”

  “His intention was to give the weapons to the government, the humans he wanted to protect. He even hoped that one day we could market them to the public under a guise like colored contacts that keep vampires from glamouring people for example. If the government had gotten a hold of some of these weapons, then I’m sure the same thing would have happened. They could have started a war themselves, and this is where Jason and I disagreed.” Damien takes a small sip of the drink that Selene had given him once we sat down and then stares me down hard.