Chapter forty three

Maisy

The blackness was tainted by a drop of white and the light slowly enveloped it. I got to my feet wondering where everyone was. I was led by a buzzing sound and each step brought me closer to a blinding light. I felt like it was calling to me.

"Stop." A voice thundered before me and a figure crept out of the light.

"Who are you?"

"I can't believe you've forgotten the voice that told you fairytales every night." She replied.

She got out of the light and my heart missed a beat.

"Mom?"

"Aren't you going to hug me?"

I jumped at her, holding her in a tight embrace as I silently wondered why she was here. It had been years since she passed, She should be in the afterlife.

We broke the hug and she looked into my eyes, tears escaping her eyes.

"They said you would die but I didn't realize how painful it would be when it actually happened. You shouldn't be involved in this mess... You don't deserve this."

Her words brought flashes of what definitely brought me here. I remembered the grip on my throat, The soulless eyes, and Eric's overwhelming fear.

"This is not a vision right? I'm dead, aren't I?"

"Not yet," My mother confirmed. "It's up to you to make the choice. Do you want to stay or do you want to go?"

Of course, I wanted the home I had unfinished business and a burning desire to get revenge for what was done to me. I wasn't about to let go but she had to be telling me this for a reason and I was still puzzled as to why she hadn't ascended.

"Why are you here?"

"It's the choice I made. You see, I bargained with a spirit to be here at this time for you."

"You knew I would die?"

"I knew you would need help. Maisy, This isn't just a fight for revenge. This battle has been destined to happen a long time ago. A time where we wouldn't have to hide in the shadows anymore."

"What do I do then?"

"I know all you want right now is to kill him for murdering Tatia but you can't. The spirits can't help you kill and using a favor that can't be granted without payment will leave you scorned by them. You need to be smart."

"But everyone is scared, They don't see him as the monster. They see Eric as the monster and I'm sure they know I am too."

She reached for my hands and held them compassionately, in the way only a mother would and told me.

"You have to stand with your humanity. The greatest monster is within us but you're battling a deceiver so you have to be a wild card. Like the old ones would say, Knowledge is everything."

"Knowledge?" I repeated.

She nodded and just as I proceeded to say something else, Darkness tainted the light and my existence slowly began to fade. Something... A black hole snatched me away from my mother's arms and I watched the light consume her at a slow pace.

"Seems like you've made your choice," She yelled. "Finish that bastard and tell your dad I love him."

I didn't even get to reply before it all turned black.

***

Eric

I laid there lifeless hoping Maisy would just snap out of it. I was glad her family wasn't here. It would break them. Father Nicholas resumed to poisoning the people with his vendetta.

"This is your king. This is the very people you entrusted your life to. They were nothing but bloodthirsty monsters!"

"No," Someone from the crowd shot back. "You're the master of the Chimera. You are the one behind those brutal killings. They are monsters but you are one of them."

"No one said this when my only daughter was murdered. No one remembered this when the ripper terrorizes the Kingdom for years. Did you care to know who those culprits were? The monsters who killed my daughter were the King's personal guards. Werebears who raped my daughter till her body couldn't handle it anymore. To cover their tracks, They burned her like wood and we're covered up by the late king himself but why wouldn't he? Your late king had secrets of his own. For years, Nodith was terrorized by his brother. You knew the killer as the ripper but let me tell you this, It was a werewolf and that beast who terrorized you for years was the late King's brother."

Yes. That was one of the twisted things I remembered about my family. It was the reason I despised our name but I couldn't fight the truth. Maisy couldn't die for nothing. I was going to take a stand even if it cost me my stupid life. This man was the reason Tatia was dead and I was a hundred percent sure he was responsible for Conrad's murder. It all made sense no I pushed Maisy aside and prepared my wolf for a battle to the end.

"You didn't tell them the whole story Father Nicholas, " I faced the crowd who were still shaken stiff by all that had happened and began. "My father loved his brother but he became unstable after the war between the paladins and the supernatural. When he found out my uncle couldn't be saved, He took his life for you all. He was never a monster unlike you Nicholas. We trusted you and all you do is betray us. You killed Tatia, You killed Conrad..."

" ...and you killed Maisy. I'm going to make you pay " I growled, my wolf took over and I felt my senses heighten. The bloodlust went haywire.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I didn't kill Maisy. Your brother did. If you want to cause someone pain, He's all yours." Father Nicholas, said, clicking his finger.

As if under his command, Anthony approached me with the aim to cause me harm. He was under some sort of spell.

"What did you do to him?"

"I thought it would be beautiful if history repeated itself. Your father killed his brother when he became a vargulf. So I thought why not make Anthony one?"

"You drove my brother insane? You are a monster."

"Don't tell me you are heartbroken? You should be a king and not a whining baby. Kings make the sacrifice, don't they? Aren't you a king?"

No has had to handle this in the history of Kings. Of course, it had to happen during my regime. I looked in the direction of my pack members. They were all dead, Maisy was no more, The entire kingdom knew of our existence and it was somehow on my shoulders to fix it. I took a look at the bastard that did all this and it made my blood boil. I charged for Nicholas shoving my brother out of the way. Just before I could deal with a winning blow, I felt the air knocked out of me. Valentine, the chimera managed to catch me unawares. Her uppercut sent me reeling backward and I tasted copper.

My quick defeat excited Father Nicholas.

"You are not a king Eric. Accept defeat and maybe I'll spare you and your fellow rats."

I wish Osei were here to see him. One of her one being the monster they feared we would become. But now, I was beginning to fear something had happened to them. I got to my feet to try again. I was a Clarke and...

"And you are not a man of God. Run and maybe you can be saved." Someone took the words out of me.

Someone who shouldn't be alive. I turned to face that certain someone and was surprised to see Maisy alive.

***

Maisy

My mouth was filled with the coppery tang of blood, and it felt like fire was rushing through my veins. I wanted revenge. I clench my fist, my nails digging into my palms and ignited whatever powers worked within me. In seconds, The jewelry of my neck let out a strange, bright light. I watched it flicker, giving out a vibrant red-purple glow.

"Favors?" The spirits queried, a little crowded than usual.

It had to be the necklace. It was somehow acting as an amplifier to my abilities. I closed my eyes and remembered my mother's words.

"What are you going to ask them for gypsy girl? That they kill me? That they turn back the hands of time? There are some things they can't give you girl." The false priest taunted me.

It was a bid to let me make the wrong choice. To be brash and ask for a favor in a fit of rage and even if I wanted that right now, I had to be smart about it.

"So what's it going to be gypsy?"

"It's going to be knowledge." I retorted.

I faced a spirit and asked what it wanted.

"Kill that bastard priest!"He growled.

"Done," I assured. "Give me knowledge. Knowledge of those before me. Give me the wisdom of an old one."

I slumped immediately whatever I asked for surged inside me. I moaned as my vision shifted and the world erupted with colors. I heard Father Nicholas command his monster to go after me and end me the second time but this time, Eric beat them to it.

My head at first, hurt, but then I suddenly feel confident, filled with power. I looked into Father Nicholas eyes and I saw fear. Eric was still in a combat with his brother while the chimera charged for me, convicted to end me with one slash. My lips began to chant words I barely understood myself the faster it got to me and the moment, It dealt the striking blow, It exploded to nothing but chunks of flesh and insides. It fulfilled me. Deep down, I knew it wasn't me performing those miracles. It was something else. I felt empowered... More like possessed. My feet left the ground and I raveled as Father Nicholas cowered.

"Anthony, stop her." I heard him say and I twisted my head backward to see Anthony in full wolf form coming at me like a rabid beast.

This pathetic excuse of a villain was sending puppets to do his work. I directed a finger that shot a beam of light at Anthony rendering him unconscious. I wanted to stop whatever I was doing right there but it soon occurred to me my body wasn't mine anymore. I could feel someone or something calling the shots. I knew what it planned to do with Father Nicholas and I wasn't up for it. I could visualize the atrocity already.

'Who's this?', I sent.

And I got a reply. It was something that scared the daylight out of me.

'Merihem, The red death'

I was possessed. As horrifying as it sounded, I didn't even know why.

'What are you doing inside me?'

'You asked for knowledge. I was the only being the could give it. In return, You offered me a place to stay.'

Good grief! Tatia had warned me about the deals I made but this was beyond it. I cut it out when I landed before the terrified Father Nicholas. The things going through my head were unheard of and I wanted to stop. I managed to temporarily gain control of my eyes and use the corner of my eyes to find Eric. He was beaten up and I could sense the air of worry in his expression. He wondered what I planned to do to Father Nicholas and the moment, I sprouted a pointed tail, He knew something was wrong. He limped for me begging me to stop and that was when I lost control again.

"Beg for your life." I snarled, or rather the demon did.

Father Nicholas was a fool to mess around with what resided in me and I scoffed when he grabbed some sort of talisman and began to chant a repelling spell. I witnessed the tail behind me slice the charm off his hands effortlessly leaving him in pain.

"Maisy, What are you doing?"

"Watch," I replied, giving a wide-toothed grin.

My imagination was flooded by Father Nicholas' scream and I could not be surprised when his bones began to bend, twist and break in the most inhumane way possible.

"Stop!" Eric yelled, trying to stop me but I shot him back with a telepathic wave so strong, He flew two feet away from where I stood.

Father Nicholas stopped screaming in agony and I realized he was gone. I hated myself instantly.

"Get out of me!" I wept.

Eric got up and limped at me once again. I got another vivid imagination of what the demon planned to do now that he was done fulfilling what he thought I wanted. Nodith was going to burn. Everything was going to die. No!

Eric gave me a puzzled stare and I realized I was in control again. The demon was still very much there but for some reason, It wasn't manifesting yet. I felt it's a struggle to gain back control. It was now or never.

"Eric, I think I've been possessed..."

"How?"

"Listen to me! There isn't much time. You have to stop it. It wants everyone dead. You have to kill me." I instructed.

I lost control again but hijacked it from the demon just in time to convince Eric I was dangerous alive.

"Maisy, We'll find a way around this. Be strong." He tried to comfort me but I knew better.

Whatever the demon was doing, I was sure if it gained power over my body again, it was game over.

"Eric! Do you know what your duty is as King? You have to put your people first. Their priority comes before yours and definitely before mine. So do your duty."

He nodded. His eyes shifted to the side again and became glazed with a glossy layer of tears. As he blinked, they dripped and slid down his cheeks. I bit my lip tightly in an attempt to hide any sound that wanted to escape from my lips when he wrapped his hands around my neck. My heart sank.

"I love you, Maisy Quinn."

The demon was on the verge of total control but I managed to hold it down to let him hear me say those words. My lower lip quivered as the words slowly made their way out of my mouth. "I love you, Eric. Always and forever." I began, yet what followed was engulfed in tremors. "Do it."

He tightened his grip on my neck and the last thing I heard was a cracking sound.

***

Eric

The world will never forget someone like Maisy. Maybe that's why everyone fell silent. Against all the numbness and filth I felt for myself right now. I knew Maisy deserved better. She would have wanted me to be strong. I took her lifeless body in my arms for the second time in one night and headed outside. It surprised me when I saw people tailing behind me. It didn't matter what she might have been. To them, Someone fell trying to make things right. A queen sacrificed her life for her people. They did the traditional right of singing; a belief that the spirit shouldn't wander away from her ever after. When we reached the sepulcher, The tombstone was rolled away and I went in to place her to rest. Inside, I had the last chance to look at her before she would be encased like the rest of the bodies here. Maybe tomorrow, She would be embalmed. I held her hands and kissed them. I was lost in the torrid vortex of the moment. It was a moment that would carry me forward until death decided to free me from its clutches.

"It sucks being a Clarke," I mumbled.

"You hate that name so much." Maisy retorted, blinking her eyes open.

"God..." I didn't question anything else. I pulled her close to me in a tight embrace. I literally locked her in my arms hoping she would never drift away from me again.

"How am I alive?" She asked herself but I didn't care. She was alive and that was all that mattered. But then I realized what had happened. Maisy was pale and alive but I couldn't hear her heartbeat.

"Maisy, Did you drink the vial I gave you?"

"Yes. It tasted terrible."

"It was vampire blood. It was a last resort to keep you safe. Guess it was handful after all."

"Eric, I couldn't stop thinking about you... I can't believe I'm seeing you again."

"It's mutual love."

In that moment, space and time, I pressed my lips against hers. I chuckled beneath the salty tears, "You're never leaving me again". Then we hovered right there, quite soundless for a long time, simply feeling each other's presence. It was just as I imagined it, Perfect.