Chapter 4

Brandon, Ireland, was situated in County Kerry, just on the Brandon Bay. With the green hills at one end and the shores of the bay on the other, it always seemed to make sense to Telese that Morgan would prefer to have her home here. She had loved the Irish countryside since she had stepped foot on the lands, but none of the Sirens could resist being close to the water. Even Telese felt the need to leave Washington D.C. to visit the seclusion of the Chesapeake.

As she sat on the front step of Morgan’s bungalow, she felt just as refreshed smelling the bay waters of the Brandon as she did breathing them in by the Chesapeake.

She sat silently, trying not to make eye contact with passersby. Occasionally, she would fail and somebody would say something in Irish. As Telese knew absolutely no Irish, she would just nod and smile brightly.

“How long have you been sitting here looking like a dunce?” Morgan’s voice asked from beside her.

Telese didn’t even look up at where her sister had just appeared, “I think they’re trying to tell me something. Maybe it’s important. Maybe I’m missing important things. They keep saying the same thing over and over again. Do you guys have dangerous animals lurking around here? Is this what they’re trying to warn me about?”

“Tráthnóna maith!” a blond woman said with a wave as Telese accidentally made eye contact with her.

Telese smiled and waved. “What does it mean?” she asked her sister, looking up at her finally. “Bear? Wolf? Bear-Wolf?”

“It means ‘good afternoon’, you dolt.” Morgan said, crossing her arms and looking stern. “How often are you here and you haven’t learned any Irish yet?”

“I don’t talk to people here, Morgan.” Telese pointed out, standing up as her sister unlocked the door.

“Why don’t you?”

“Because I don’t speak Irish. Duh.”

“Argh!” Morgan pushed the door emphatically and shoved Telese inside.

Morgan’s bungalow was modestly decorated. The walls of the sitting room were still white, just as when she bought it nearly ten years ago. Every few feet was an artifact from some civilization she had assisted with hanging from the wall or standing in a corner. Her odd obsession was rugs. She had various rugs of varying sizes, shapes and colors covering her floor. Random spots of green, then orange, then blue, then red lead around the premises.

Between Morgan’s strange rug fixation and Telese’s lack of social skills, it was understandable that Morgan never had many visitors aside from her sisters.

“Tea?” Morgan asked, stepping into the kitchen across from the sitting room.

“Coffee.” Telese answered.

“That stuff is terrible for you, Telese. It’s full of caffeine. I think with the levels of stress you’re always under"“

“Oh, don’t worry. I can assure you that father won’t let coffee take his reward for being so generous to me all of these years.”

“That’s not funny, Telese Persephone!” Morgan scolded, stepping out of the kitchen. Her hands were balled into fists on her hips and her black eyes had a deep violet glow to them.

“Relax, Morgesta Athena, I’m simply pointing out that coffee won’t kill me any time soon.”

Morgan’s eyes dimmed, but her expression remained cross. Behind her, Telese heard the coffee brewing in the kitchen.

“Did he say that? About being generous?” Morgan asked.

“Of course. You know him. It’s not a productive day until one of us is threatened with death.”

Morgan scowled. “It always seems to be a select few of us that he singles out.”

“Yeah,” Telese said. “The ones that have the bad habit of forming opinions.”

“Or can’t keep their mouth shut,” Morgan said, her stern look returning as she went back into the kitchen. “Seriously, you’ve been pushing Father’s buttons for a long time"“

“Since I was able to talk, apparently,” Telese clarified.

“"but honestly, what you did yesterday was near suicidal. Whatever happened after, I’m sure it was gentler than what he wanted to do.”

“Right, I know,” Telese said bitterly, thinking of the torture her father had put her through after the meeting. “He was such a peach. I should send him some flowers.”

Morgan glared at her from the kitchen and muttered something that Telese was certain were curses in Irish. “You know what I mean, Telese,” she said in English. “He’s waiting to have a chance at showing you who is in control once and for all. And just in case you forgot, it’s definitely him. You need to control your temper.”

“Look at who’s talking,” Telese said indignantly. “You’re The Morrigan! You’re known for your temper.”

“And you’re that one Siren that destroyed Atlantis and Pompeii. My temper, in retrospect, is not quite as . . . you know . . . . “

“Epic?” Telese suggested.

Morgan raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking cataclysmic. Look,” she said, pouring Telese a cup of coffee and adding the usual amount of cream and sugar. “I just want you to be careful. Just don’t incur any more of his wrath than you have to.”

She handed Telese her coffee and took a seat on the chair across from her, sipping her tea.

Telese lazily stirred the coffee with her spoon. “Maybe more of us should ‘incur his wrath’,” she muttered.

“Oh, please, Telese, not this again,” Morgan sighed.

“Do you know about a book that’s gone missing?” Telese asked.

Morgan squinted at Telese from over her tea cup. “I really can’t say I do.”

“Well,” Telese said, leaning forward a little. “Apparently this book has everything. Everything about us, the Creator, the Dark One, the Lords, the minions and everything about our dear old father.”

“Uh-huh,” Morgan said. “And it’s ‘gone missing’. It doesn’t seem like something he would leave lying around. So, let’s call a spade a spade. Who stole it?”

“I have absolutely no clue,” Telese said. “But it’s landed in the hands of humanity. Our father has kindly asked me to retrieve it.”

“And have you found it?”

Telese remained silent. She watched her sister with her favoured unreadable expression, taking a sip of coffee.

Morgan fearfully glanced behind her shoulder. “Telese, if you know where it is, you need to retrieve it right away. Nothing good will come from this. If humans know everything"“

“Then they’ll become too powerful to overthrow. And then we have that force that you talked about to take on Father.”

“And do you know how many humans will die because of this?” Morgan pointed out.

“What is that thing about eggs and omelets?” Telese asked innocently. “Anyway, how many will die if we don’t do this? Cara estimated about 6.3 billion. And that was a conservative estimate. And if this happens, we’re one step closer to freedom. Think about it"no more death threats, no more punishments….”

“No more wars,” Morgan said wistfully. “We can leave humans to themselves and live a quiet life.”

Both sisters sat silently for a moment. “Telese, think practically. We would need the Light World and the Dark World to assist us.”

“Guess who I ran into when looking for the book?” Telese asked brightly. When Morgan gave her an inquisitive look, she responded. “Vangelicus.”

Morgan nearly dropped her teacup. “Vangelicus? The missing Lord of Mathematics? Where did you find him?”

“He’s friends with this human that has the book. Eric Fenterton, or something-or-rather. I call him Fenny. He likes it.”

“So Vangelicus is hiding here on Earth.”

“Yes,” Telese said. “Posing as a college student with some brightly-colored hair and torn up clothes that I just don’t understand. His little buddy is a genius when it comes to languages. He can translate absolutely anything. He even translated one or two words from Father’s book. It’s really impressive.”

“Yes, well, one or two words is not enough to unlock the secrets,” Morgan said skeptically. “Anyway, think about it; do you really think Father only sent you to find this book? How many of our sisters or nieces do you think will be so willing to challenge Father? If he finds out that you disobeyed him on something so important"Telese, you understand that this is just one step under an all-out rebellion.”

“Rebellions are more ostentatious,” Telese countered. “I think of this as a subtle coup. Or it would be if we can get more of the Sirens on board. And we have Vangelicus. The Light Lords rave on and on about him like he’s a superhero. I’m sure he can rally quite a few of them.”

“And the Dark Lords?” Morgan asked.

Telese scowled a little, thinking about something unpleasant. “You let me handle the Dark World.”

Morgan groaned. “No, please tell me you aren’t even entertaining….”

“He’s not as bad as you th"okay, I can’t even say that with a straight face. He’s a slimy, obnoxious ball of sleaze, but he’s got a lot of power, a lot of connection and, apparently, a line to The Dark One himself. He’ll be useful.”

“And you think that The Dark One,” Morgan said, “that didn’t want any of us to exist in the first place, will be an asset?”

“Against the one who slighted him by not taking his side? Yes. I always count on all three of the powers-that-be being that self-absorbed.”

“You’re taking a gamble.” Morgan said.

“It’s never steered me wrong with Father,” Telese countered.

“Assuming I even want a part of this suicide mission of yours,” Morgan began, “what is it that you would be asking from me?”

“To do what you do best. Guide the troops. There are going to be skirmishes between us and those who are terrified of Father.”

“Which will include our own sisters and nieces, Telese,” Morgan said in a harsh whisper.

“We won’t kill them, Morgie,” Telese said impatiently.

“What do you intend to do with them, then? Ask ‘pretty please’?”

Telese was quiet for a moment. “Remember when Father sent me to the ‘correction rooms’ of the Dark World for that fling?”

“Of course I do,” Morgan said. “And if you’re suggesting that we send our sisters and nieces there to be tortured"“

“If I can finish,” Telese said. “There are all sorts of hidden, unused rooms just beneath it. Father doesn’t know about them.”

Morgan was shocked. “He doesn’t?”

Telese smiled a little. “There’s a price to making your slaves do everything for you because you don’t want to dirty your hands. Father looks down upon any and all things that concerns anything less than lording over all of creation. And Dark Lords?” Telese scoffed. “He wouldn’t be caught dead consorting with them.”

“And how do you know about these rooms?”

“Because there was an oh-so compassionate soul that told me about it while I was there.”

“Oh, a compassionate Dark Lord. That’s a first,” Morgan said dryly. “Who told you?”

“Okay, fine, it was Mortimer. He came in an hour or so after each ‘session’ to talk to me. Or at me, rather.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure this was a condition of my torture.”

“And he just happened to tell you about these unused rooms,” Morgan repeated doubtfully. “And you believed him?”

“He just happened to tell me about all of the useful things that I could use against Father. He keeps hoping to bind me in a pact.”

“Servitude to Mortimer for a few hundred years,” Morgan said thoughtfully.

Telese groaned. “I would rather go back to being tortured. Anyway, if these rooms exist, we could lock up the more obstinate sisters and nieces until all is said and done. No torture, no pain, just remove them from the conflict. After everything, we let them out. Maybe have one or two Sirens stationed each day to make sure they’re okay. You know, fed, taken care of, all of that.”

“And how do we find these cells?”

“Ah, see, that would be another tiny little favour I would ask of you.”

Morgan watched her for a moment. She brushed her black hair away from her face. “So let me see if I have this right. You want me to poke around the Dark World, find these cells that supposedly exist, according to Prince Slime, and then support battles against our father, sisters and nieces, as well as any Light or Dark Lords who think that Father’s interests are theirs?”

“Also,” Telese said as an afterthought. “If you could start rallying up supporters, it would be very helpful.”

“Of course,” Morgan said. “Why not? Hey, while I’m at it, should I request of Father a beheading or just one clean stab through the chest? Which one do you think he’ll be more apt to go for?”

“Look, I have a feeling Roxy and Layla are going to consider this. If I can convince them, I’ll ask Roxy to do the rallying thing.”

“If we do this, Telese,” Morgan hissed, “we will die. There is no getting around it.”

“We’ll die if we don’t, Morgie,” Telese hissed back. “Do you believe what he said about letting us live after the purge? He’ll have a new group of slaves. And to let the Dark World overpower the Light World? What do you think will happen when the Light World becomes so severely crippled by this war?”

“He’ll take over,” Morgan answered. “To ‘rescue’ them. He’ll make it look like altruism, but he’ll have the power of Earth and the Light World behind him.”

“And once that happens,” Telese said. “It’s not long before the Dark World falls.”

Morgan thought about everything for a moment. Then something became clear.

“If you give this knowledge to the humans, they’ll be able to be more conscious participants in pacts. They’ll be able to weaken the hold of the Dark World and restore some power to the Light World.”

Telese smiled. “Exactly.”

“You’re trying to play Father’s same game. Shift the odds in the favor of the other side.”

“I’m just trying to restore some balance.”

“You’ll get a lot of resistance from the Dark World, no matter who you think is in your corner,” Morgan argued. “Mortimer is only the Chief of Minions.”

“Yes, I know,” Telese said. “He’s only in charge of the things that make pacts to begin with. If I can convince him to ease up"“

Morgan’s laugh interrupted Telese’s thoughts. “Ease up? Seriously. Mortimer. Not bind humans. That’s possibly the most absurd thing you’ve said so far. Telese, Mortimer has made a very comfortable living for himself making pacts. How is it in his interest to stop?”

“If his favorite Siren makes him a deal, he’ll consider it.”

Morgan’s smile faded. “Just a moment ago you assured me that you would rather be tortured than bound to the Dark World under Mortimer’s command. Now you’re telling me it’s your selling point?”

“Oh, rest assure, there will be no bind, no pact. But there will be some favors. I’m a Siren,” she said. “Arguably the most powerful creature after those three. It’s more mutual aid.”

Morgan was silent one more time. Telese didn’t dare move. Silently, she said a prayer to her mother that she would help convince Morgan.

Morgan closed her eyes. She lifted her closed right hand to her chest and tapped it three times against her heart. It was a move that made Telese stop breathing for a moment in silent, incredulous euphoria. The three taps were to remind Morgan that her heart was her battle drum, lending her the spirit she needed to emerge victorious amidst the oncoming fray.

She opened her eyes and looked at her little sister with her unmistakable, focused determination.

“Okay,” she said quietly, feeling the power surge throughout her body and the battle lust begin to pound with her heart. “Where do we start?”

 

***

 

“Pro: I get out more.”

“Con: You die.”

“Pro: I learn more about the world. Maybe even a new language.”

“Con: You die.”

Eric and Van were playing the pro and con game, discussing in detail every part of Eric taking part in Telese’s plan. Eric had encountered a few ‘pros’ but Van’s ‘con’ was always the same. Exasperated, Eric threw himself onto his bed. “You’re the one that told me to take risks,” he said. “What happened to that idea?”

“Yeah,” Van said. “I meant, like, going to Japan or something. Not defying the most powerful being on the face of the Earth.”

It still didn’t register that Eric was talking to some billions of years old creature. Perhaps he still couldn’t fathom it, but Van seemed to just be his roommate still. Eric wondered if the reality of what Van really was would hit him later. In the meantime, he still looked to him for advice.

“Van, is it true that the majority of humanity will die? I mean, that’s . . . that’s billions of people.”

“Right,” Van said, sitting up from his pillow and looking at Eric. “There are billions of people in the world. Let Telese ask one of them.”

“But to translate this,” Eric said, holding up the book.

“To translate it, you need to be a genius with languages. Eric, you’re a genius with languages, but there are over 7 billion people in the world! I’m sure there are one or two other genius linguists as well.”

Eric was silent for a moment.

“Telese said that she has wings,” he said, changing the subject.

“She does,” Van said cautiously.

“She said you . . . Light Gods or whatever . . . you guys have wings, too?”

Van sighed. “Light Lords. We’re Light Lords. And yes, we have wings.”

“Can I see them?”

“I can’t show them to you,” Van said.

Eric scoffed. “This again? Van, I promise I won’t go spastic and try to kill you from their sheer brilliance. I think I’ve been processing everything very gracefully.”

Van looked at Eric with confusion. “Spastic? What are you talking about? I can’t show you because it lets others know where I am. I’m not on Alexandros’ good side, I need to stay hidden.”

“Oh,” Eric said. “Telese said she couldn’t show me hers because I would go crazy.”

Van looked at Eric with a sad expression. Then he sighed. “Yeah, she would tell you that. But Telese doesn’t show anybody her wings because they’re ruined.”

Eric tilted his head as he did when he didn’t understand something. “Ruined?”

Van sighed. “Look, the only reason I’m telling you this is because you shouldn’t pester her about seeing her wings. It’s a source of shame for her. You can’t tell her that you know this.”

Eric nodded. Van looked around, as though Telese might be in the room with them.

“Sirens age with experience in life, not with years. They can be young one moment, and then suddenly about ten years older in Siren years.”

“Okay?” Eric said.

“So Telese was born just a few million years before humanity started to evolve. She practically grew up with humans. Despite her Siren-nature for being a bit dismissive of humanity"a lot of them think they’re above you guys"she has a soft spot for humans.

When Telese was about the equivalent of 17, she met a human from Italy. It was around 1695, and the life expectancy of humans was not very long. This human was going to die five years after she met him. Her father forbade her to involve herself with him in any fashion. But, Telese, being like a 17-year-old, felt she was in love. She didn’t tell the human what she was, but she committed an unforgivable sin of all-knowing beings"she tried to alter fate. She begged the human"Alfonso was his name"to leave Italy with her. He would have agreed, but his mother suddenly became suspect of witchcraft. In order to save his mother, he agreed to marry the magistrate’s daughter, who was unmarried but expecting.

Telese was heartbroken, and confronted him later, the night before the wedding. He told her what was happening, and they said goodbye. In a very intimate, controversial way.

Alfonso was killed five years later. Apparently, his wife found out that he had been ‘unfaithful’ the night before their wedding. Only after she found out he was dead did Telese’s father break the news that she would be sent to what’s called the ‘correction rooms’; his own personal torture cells in the Dark World.”

“He had his own daughter tortured?” Eric asked with disgust.

“Worse,” Van said, darkly, “Telese went through some terrible, unspeakable things, for certain. But the one source of pride for all of us"Sirens, Light Lords and Dark Lords"are our wings. Hopefully, you’ll get to see them some time. Mine are emerald green with blue tips. Others are tiger-striped or bright red"every color and pattern you could imagine. Telese’s were really no exception. They were dark green and then faded into a soft purple and then again faded into a fire-orange. It looked like a sunset.

Telese made it through her torture for a hundred years and still was defiant. She refused to offer her strength to the warriors, even though her father repeatedly requested it during her torture. When she was set to be released, her father led her to a dark chamber and had her wings broken, plucked and mangled. He sliced into them with the Eternal Blade"a special blade that is the only thing able to maim or kill a Siren"until they were bleeding and useless. They never healed to be what they were. They’re still mangled and broken. Telese never shows them to people. The only other person that has seen them since then is Morgan, the sister directly above her in age and her best friend.”

Eric took all of this information in. “What kind of monster would do that to his own daughter?”

“The kind that wouldn’t think twice before lopping off your head, Eric,” Van said. “If you want to toy with the idea of defying Alexandros, you need to understand exactly what you’re defying. He tortures and threatens his own daughters, do you think he has any remorse for eradicating a whole world of humans, much less just one?”

Eric couldn’t fathom this. His parents had always been a bit demanding, but ultimately understood whatever decisions he made. Could somebody really despise their own child so much they would shame them in such a horrifying way?

“And this is the guy that holds so much power over us?”

“Yes,” Van said. “He holds power over all of humanity. He officially has to concede to the Dark World and Light World, but even with us, he gets to make all of the decisions in regards to how we handle humans.”

Eric was silent again, thinking. “And that means that we as a species are at his whim?”

“I"well, yes, it does,” Van said. “But it’s important for you to realize that nothing can change that.”

“There’s no talking to the guy,” Eric asked. “No pleading our case?”

Van laughed. “Plead your case to Alexandros? No, that’s what Telese’s job has been for the last few hundred years, and you can see how much he respects her pleas. She has to ask a human and a Light-Lord-in-hiding for help. That’s a pretty desperate point. Sirens don’t let humans know they exist, much less that they need help.”

“What about you?”

Van was confused. “What do you mean, ‘what about you’? What about me?”

Eric shrugged a little. “If this whole thing goes through, aren’t you in trouble?”

“Probably,” Van said. “But to go against Alexandros outright? That’s a death sentence.”

“So you’ll hide forever.”

“We’ll hide forever,” Van corrected. “I’m not just going to let you get eaten up by whatever blast is around. But whatever Telese has in mind isn’t going to be enough. Alexandros is too strong. It’s a desperate attempt of a suicide mission by a Siren that is all out of options.”

“What about all of these other Bright Lords?” Eric asked.

“Light Lords, Eric! They aren’t enough. We would need help from the Dark World, too. They currently hold more power.”

Eric looked at Van. “I suppose they’re not willing to talk to you guys either.”

Van shook his head. “We don’t always see eye-to-eye. You heard Telese. Our entire existence was created solely to counter each other. We depend on the Sirens to keep order.”

“And what happens if he does decide the Sirens are expendable? Humans will be the new Sirens. We’ll be forced to do . . . okay, I’m not really sure, because I’m new to all of this, but Telese doesn’t seem so happy and fulfilled, so I’m sure humans won’t fare any better.” Eric said, resuming his pacing.

Van watched him for a moment, stood up, walked to Eric’s desk and picked up the red book. He looked over it and then held it out to Eric.

Eric watched him, confused.

“You heard Telese,” Van said. “Start where you left off. Read a sentence out loud for me.”

Eric took the book from Van and looked down at it. It was thick, but for something that held every secret and meaning of all of existence, it was not as thick as he would imagine it to be. Was the universe really that simple?

“The language,” Eric said. “The language is more complex than I’m thinking it is, isn’t it?”

Van just watched him silently.

“Can you help me with it?”

“I told you in the store,” Van said, shaking his head, “that I can’t read it. Only Sirens can read Sireeni. Look, you’re still in shock. And Telese rushed everything. To explain to you the beginnings of the entirety of existence and then to tell you that the existence is slated to end soon . . . it’s still a lot for me, too, and I already knew the first part. But this is completely out of your league, no matter how smart you are,” Van said. “There’s just no way to stop Alexandros. I can’t emphasize that enough. If he wants something, he’s going to get it. He’s ended civilizations countless times when something was out of control.”

“He did? Him personally?”

Van rolled his eyes. “Okay, no, he didn’t, the Sirens did. But you don’t realize how scared of him they are, and for good reason. Telese got off very light compared to what he’s wanted to do all of these years. Personally, I’m amazed she was ever let out of the correction room. But she became an example of what he could do to them if they stepped out of line. Think about it, Eric. If your baby sister was tortured for a hundred years, then humiliated, just for falling in love, would you plan an uprising?”

“But there are over 700 of them and one of him,” Eric argued. “No matter what, they outnumber him.”

Van scoffed. “Since when in history has that ever mattered? Think of whole countries that have been at the whim of a small group of people. And they were not the most powerful creature on the face of the earth.”

“No, but they, in turn, were at the whim of some of the next most powerful beings on the face of the earth,” Telese said from behind Van, making him jump and scream.

“How long have you been there,” he snapped.

She shrugged. “Since ‘there are 700 of them’, I think. What you’re forgetting, Van, is that Light Lords and Dark Lords hold a lot of power over the most powerful humans in the world.” She walked over to the fridge and opened it. “Though admittedly, more the latter than the former,” she said over her shoulder. “You guys need to start bringing your A-game, really.”

“Telese, you were supposed to be back a"quit eating my cupcakes!” Van demanded as she took a bite of his red velvet acquisition and looked at him innocently. “You’re supposed to be back at 2 am and it’s only 1:50. That is ten minutes early.”

Telese swallowed her bite of cupcake. “I figured you were telling Eric all about why he should say no. I wanted to get my closing arguments in before he made his decision.”

She took another bite as she turned to Eric. She chewed slowly, considering her words. Finally, she swallowed and spoke.

“Fenny"“

“It’s Eric,” he corrected, irritated.

“Don’t interrupt me, please, it’s very rude,” Telese scolded. “Fenny, Vangelicus probably told you by now all about how dismal and dangerous this is,” she said. “My father is a powerful man, he’s unhinged, he can kill you with his brain"“

“He didn’t tell me that last part,” Eric pointed out.

“What kind of friend are you, Vangelicus, leaving that information out?” she said to Van, frowning at him. “Anyway, so, yeah, it’s not the best of situations. But I think you understand all of that. And I think you understand, as well, that you’re going to suffer something much worse than death if my father is successful and you happen to live through the massive destruction that ensues. Do I know that we can stop him?” She shook her head. “No, I really don’t. As a matter of fact, I just kind of assume that this isn’t going to work. But assuming and knowing are two different things.”

She sighed, looked at the clock and looked back at Eric. “It’s not in our favor, but there were creatures one time that didn’t have fate in their favor, either. They hid in trees and were picked off by predators easily. They starved, were killed by larger creatures, their numbers completely reduced to practically nothing over and over. They should have died off quickly, but with the help of my mother, my sisters and my nieces, they’ve become some amazing, advanced beings, capable of superior communication skills. They create something from nothing, they can power on a multifunctioning machine with the press of a button and use it to travel through air, land and sea. They can develop the ability to look into a pixelated screen to see and speak to another being all of the way across the world.”

Eric looked down at the book and back up at Telese. “I’m not going to lie,” she said, “I’m supposed to be superior to you. But I’ve never had to fight all of existence just to ensure my survival like humans have. Not until now. I"we­­­"need help from the creatures that have evolved to survive when nothing was in their favor.”

She took the last bite of cupcake and glanced at the clock. She looked back at Eric.

“It’s 2. Time to tell me.”

Eric looked at the woman in front of him. In her green silk shirt, black slacks and black boots, she looked like some successful business woman that had every bit of control. Her curly hair was well-managed, her nails were clean and her demeanor was one of superiority and confidence. Even in her pleas, she was in control and belayed very little about what she was feeling.

But in her eyes, Eric could see a sort of desperation. It was there he could see a woman that had survived pain, torture and violence her whole life. In there was somebody who was desperate enough to chance throwing out the whole order of existence just to change fate.

The creature that had spent her life protecting humanity was now asking for humans to help save hers.

Eric looked down at the book. “I really need to get to bed.” He placed it on his desk and looked at her. “I don’t have classes tomorrow and I think I’m going to need all of the free time I can get to translate this.”