19

I awoke slowly from my blackout, feeling like the world was spinning as I opened my eyes. I held my head, rubbing my eyes in an effort to make the sensation go away. As it did, I blinked and realized that I was now back in my bedroom, lying on my bed.

How'd I get here?

The last thing I remembered was being outside of the school and seeing Cass using Noah's body to fight Saffron. Then that wall had been busted and those large pieces were about to fall on me.

But they didn't. Something had appeared and protected me, and they'd spoken to me before I passed out.

Hold on, that voice...

"I see that you've finally woken up Kitten."

I sat straight up as I heard that familiar voice. My attention was drawn to the far corner of my bedroom. A man was standing there holding my mother's cross necklace, twisting the gold chain around his fingers.

I stared at him in both fear and awe. I would've known him anywhere now. Beautiful emerald eyes and hair that reminded me of the darkest silk.

It was Jade.

It felt like my soul rejoiced as I saw him. After all this time, he had finally returned to me. I finally had him back.

But this happiness quickly subsided as reality set in. No, this wasn't a good thing, no matter how my soul felt about him. He was the original writer of the contract in my eye, and this time, Saffron had not succeeded in killing me before he found me. There was no telling what was going to happen now.

"Jade..." I breathed. I wanted to say so many things, but none of them would come out.

Jade looked pleased that I said his name, tossing the cross aside as he came over to sit beside me on the bed.

"There's the girl that I remember. I was beginning to wonder if perhaps I'd been presumptuous about all of this, but it looks like your memories were unlocking rather quickly. No wonder he was willing to take on a White Light in order to be rid of you."

"Where's Noah? Is he okay?" I quickly asked. I was extremely worried about him now. What if something bad had happened to him?

Jade frowned, "Please, spare me the theatrics. That Nephilim made it out without a scratch, thanks to the one that he agreed to help. Saffron wasn't so lucky, but he did manage to get away. How unfortunate for him when I get a hold of him." he scoffed.

I breathed a sigh of relief, certain that he was telling me the truth. Noah was safe. Whether Jade liked it or not, he was safe.

I was pulled out of those thoughts by the feeling of my left eye becoming warm. I looked at Jade to see that his left eye had lit up, the same contract glowing there.

That's right, I thought. This is my link to him. I would carry it in my left eye, just as he would.

He brushed my hair back from my face as he leaned a bit closer. My heart pounded as I stared at him, a feeling of longing rising within me. No, I couldn't deny the pull my soul still had to him, no matter who I was now.

"It took me over eighty years, but I finally found you." he whispered.

"You really were looking for me all that time?" I whispered back.

A bitter chuckle escaped his throat, "I suppose that one could say that. After all, you have died every time I've come close to finding you. I was beginning to believe that I would never face you again in the flesh."

I knew the truth behind those words. I'd known back then too, even though I was too afraid to believe it. Jade had made a bet with me back when he'd written the contract. If he could learn to love me, then he'd keep me forever instead of devouring my soul. Even before my first death, the signs had been there. He'd grown attached to me. He was learning to love me, and Saffron had destroyed it all.

"Why does he hate me so much, Jade? Is it really because you pay more attention to me?" I asked him.

I knew that Saffron had claimed to love me, but I didn't believe it. Love was gentle and kind, not murderous.

Jade was quiet for a few minutes, then relented on answering me.

"His attachment to me is only a small part in all of this. The reason that Saffron ended up falling wasn't only because of me. It was also for the overwhelming jealousy he carried. When Saffron wanted something, he became extremely possessive of it. It was what lead him to kill in the Heavens and continue to do so after he was banished. Even now, his following you is not out of hate. It's out of twisted love." he explained.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that he's doing all of this to me because he really does love me? He's killing my friends and family, and tormenting me, for that?"

I could barely believe this. There was no way even a demon could be that twisted.

Jade wasn't fazed with any of this, "Not much to say there. Saffron's personality twisted a long time ago. It happened long before we even met." He thought about his words before continuing, "I'll admit that I'm no saint myself. I was a murderer as well long before we met. But when it comes to being devious, Saffron has always had me beat. I should've considered that from the beginning, but I simply chose to believe that having him on my side would always give me more of an edge in any situation I faced. However, I didn't quite count on his getting so close to you. I honestly didn't think that it was possible."

A memory flashed through my mind as he said that. It was of Saffron talking about why he really fell. He'd claimed that he'd loved the wrong person, and it drove him to do many things that he wasn't proud of. At that time, I'd simply believed that it was because of Jade's influence on him. Now I was starting to think that it had all been a clever lie.

"So, you're telling me that the real reason he fell wasn't because of you." I surmised.

"My involvement with him was only a piece of how he ended up caught, but he'd been twisted long before we met. He'd even bragged to me that he'd killed others before just because they got in the way of what he wanted. I know that he told you that he came upon one of my murders, but the opposite is true. He approached me by killing the one that I was after because he'd decided that he wanted me by his side. He believed that creating a connection between us would be in both our benefits." Jade explained.

I sensed that he was telling me the truth. Although Jade and Saffron had been lying the entire time that they'd been with my soul, there was always a hint of truth hidden within those lies, and given Jade's current position, it probably wasn't in his benefit to keep lying to me.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Jade standing up and looking out of the window near the bed. I betted that he was keeping an eye out for any sign of Saffron being around.

"Um, what's going to happen now?" I asked meekly. Yes, I feared the answer, but I had to know.

"For now, it's time to regroup. It's been over eighty years since this mess began, and I know that he's not giving up this easily." Jade answered.

It wasn't anywhere near over yet. I had to lay down and curl up as I processed this.

"So, I'm still going to die?"

I felt Jade lie down behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me back against him. The embrace was gentler than I expected, and I didn't have the heart to pull away from him, only lying still.

"Of course not." I heard him whisper, "I most certainly do not plan on allowing this pattern to continue. The biggest issue will be getting rid of that bastard without letting him touch you. For that, I'll at least need tonight to think all of this over. I must outsmart him this time, while I still have the chance."

Silence fell over the room as we laid there. As much as I hated admitting it, this was very comfortable. Maybe this comfort between us would allow me some leeway to talk to him about what had happened back when Faith Evans died.

"Hey, since it's just us here, can I ask you about something?" I requested, shifting so that I could turn to face him.

"That depends on what you want me to tell you. There could be a lot of answers with how that's worded." Jade responded, a slight smile crossing his face as he opened his eyes to look at me. Same old Jade from what I was remembering. He was always cocky before.

"I want to know what we were talking about before I died as Faith Evans. I know that you were there, and so was I as her. We were in that train station, and you looked really surprised about something that I said right before I died." I told him.

Jade's eyes dimmed as I asked this, and he diverted his gaze from me. I almost didn't think that he'd answer, but after a few minutes, he finally relented on it.

"You still can't remember that one." he sighed, "Well, I'm not that surprised that Saffron would block it. He wants to make himself seem like less of the bad one, even though he caused your deaths. Although I admit that even I don't know exactly what he said to you to drive you to that station that morning. You were talking in circles. The only thing that made much sense was when you accused me of lying to you about him and told me that you were going to kill yourself to break our contract."

"Yeah, I feel like I was. But he killed me right after we started talking about that." I nodded.

Jade touched my cheek, "You were mistaken at that time. A suicide would not have broken our contract. He lied to you about that. However, there is something else that I'd like to see for myself. I want to know what he really did to you, and how he got past me." he requested.

I hesitated. Did I really want to let him see that? I didn't know what it was either yet, but I also didn't want Jade to become angry and maybe end up hurting me for refusing to let him see, so I reluctantly agreed.

Jade turned me onto my back and leaned over me, and I closed my eyes as I felt his forehead touch mine. Images of Faith Evans life replayed through my mind as he did.

I admit that I was shocked at how much influence Saffron had in her life. He'd manipulated her so easily and so quickly. He'd gotten easy access to do so when Jade went off to wherever he went, and his lie about his fall drew her in like a moth to a flame.

Saffron quickly earned Faith's trust and affections, especially after the incident in a parking lot where a woman drew a gun on her. He'd use gentle words and actions, often seducing her and then goading Jade about it later. They fought almost constantly over all of this, but Saffron always made sure that he came out of those fights looking like both the victim and her loyal friend.

But then, things changed drastically one night, and it felt like I was her again as my soul relived it.

I'd had a nightmare when it began. I'd dreamed of a burnt woman, and a beaten and broken man, whom I recognized as my husband that Jade had killed. Then, Saffron had appeared. He'd grabbed me and threatened me, then thrown me off of a cliff. I'd woken up afraid, and he'd found me when I'd left my room looking for Jade.

But he wasn't comforting towards me now. He'd grabbed me when I tried to get away from him and whispered about how I would die soon, and that he would tell me two things. One would be the truth, and other would be a lie. The first one was that he and Jade were the same being. The other was that if I committed suicide, then I could end the contract and be free.

I believed that first was indeed a lie. But the second, I had believed to be the truth.

I gasped as Jade let me go and I was pulled back to my current reality. Those memories had shaken me to the core of my soul. I'd been so used back then. Saffron had used me for everything I had.

Jade sat up, his green eyes smoldering, and I grabbed my ears and screamed as he punched a hole through the wall beside the bed. He was extremely angry now that he'd seen all of this. I laid there as still as I could, not sure of what to do. There was no way for me to get up and run.

"So that's how it was." he growled. He let out a long breath to calm himself before leaning down over me, his head resting on my shoulder, "All of that time, he worked right under my nose. He made me out to be the true monster in it all."

"But you are a monster. You both are." I whispered.

"You'd really think so? Especially when you're aware that everything that was done back then was on your orders?" Jade challenged as he raised his head to look into my eyes.

I refused to back down, "I never said that I was good for what happened, but I'm not Faith Evans anymore. Faith Evans died when that train hit her." I countered.

"This is true, but your soul is still hers. No matter what you became in subsequent lives, her past will always remain yours, just like that contract has remained in your eye, considering that it's never truly been fulfilled." Jade replied.

"Fine, but I'm still not her now. I didn't choose to give my soul to monsters, or to have one follow me and destroy everyone and everything that I care about. My entire life has been lived for her mistake, and I'm sick of it. I just want you and him to go away and never come back." I went on.

"Is that so?"

I cried out as he held my wrists to the bed, using himself to effectively pin me there. My heart began racing as I looked at his eyes. They were catlike now, reminding more of a predator.

"Jade..." I managed to squeak out.

"Do you truly believe you have any power in this now?" he goaded me as he squeezed my wrists harder. It hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes, "I could do whatever I wish to you at this moment, and no one would be able to stop me!"

"Please..." I whimpered, tears falling down my cheeks as I closed my eyes so that I didn't have to look at him, "Please, don't... Jade..."

His grip slowly loosened, "Do not whimper like this. You know I cannot bare it when you do." he relented.

I managed to sit up with him as he let me go, rubbing my sore wrists, "If he really bothers you, then don't do things like that. I'm not her." I reiterated.

"I suppose not." Jade relented. He changed the subject to our current situation, "I believe that you understand now that none of this is going to be easily dealt with. However, given what has just occurred and what's happened in the past, I suppose I can tell you about the failsafe I included within your contract, and that he never removed."

"Huh?" I looked at him as I wiped away my tears with my sleeve.

"There was one spark of truth that Saffron told you." Jade went on as he gently touched my damp cheek, "There was always a way to break the contract and make both him and I leave. However, it never involved your own death. Instead, I had written in that it was the destruction of the contract itself. If something destroyed your eye with the contract in it, then it would be null and void. That was what I decided to use as a fail-safe when I agreed to write him in."

I couldn't believe it. There really was a way out of this without me having to die?

"But why tell me that now, after everything that's already happened?" I managed.

Jade looked remorseful now, "As I said, I made a mistake then too. I handed him too much power. I wanted to believe that Saffron would go along with my plans, but he still ended up going against me, and it cost me what I'd been waiting so long for. For that, I apologize. I made my mistakes, but I thought that I still had a chance for what I'd wanted in the first place. I see now that it isn't going to happen that way, and if it cannot be, then I have to let you go."

"So you're going to destroy it?"

That was scary for me to think about too. Losing my eye would more than likely be very painful.

Jade shook his head, pulling into a firm embrace. I closed my eyes without hesitation as I held onto him. Even with what he'd just done to me, all of this felt so beautifully familiar. But why wouldn't it? There had been a time when I was deeply in love with Jade. Even with the closeness that I'd developed with Saffron, I'd loved Jade the most, and that small piece of my soul always would.

"Not yet. I cannot. I know what I am, and I will never deny my true self. I am a liar, a murderer, and I am possessive as well. I am a true demon, and there is no redemption for me or my deeds of the past, or even what I am capable of now. But in the end, I have never had any intentions of dragging your soul to Hell with me. I would have allowed you to remain with me always on this plane. But I see now that things are never going to be that way for us. So if it must be in the end, I will allow you or another to destroy the contract, and you will be free from us forever." he explained.

"But what happens if I do? Will I be able to go to Heaven when I die?" I asked softly, pulling back a little to look at him.

"Perhaps. Perhaps it will give you enough redemption if you manage to survive. At least, that is my hope. I see now after all of this time that I'm wrong. You do not belong to me. You were never mine to take, and perhaps you should have never been his to save. But I will end this very soon. That I can truly promise you." Jade assured me.

"You're not lying to me, right?" I asked, feeling my eye become warm. I didn't realize that I was giving him an order.

"Not anymore. I will not. However, you do recall how I told you that everything comes with a price. Just be prepared for that." Jade reminded me.

"I know, but what about now? Can Saffron get to me here?"

"Not as long as I'm here." Jade assured me, "But for now, I believe that it may be in your best interest to remain with me here. We can proceed with what needs to be done first thing in the morning."

"What's that?" I dared ask.

"I cannot tell you for now. He's probably listening. However, it will involve a bit of stepping down on my part for them." Jade answered.

"Them?"

"Those Nephilim."

I suppose that defeat is a bitter pill to swallow, especially for something like him. But knowing that Jade was going to turn to Noah and his family for help only solidified that the end of all of this was coming. I just hoped that I was ready to face it.