A hand brushed along her back, “You are more powerful than any of us here, just try to remember that.”
She turned to see Aimee forcing a smile. She nodded and smiled back.
There was no way she was as powerful as any of them.
Ophelia looked to the right. Lucas sniffed the air and suddenly Ari made a half scream and vanished.
Her scream continued on a rooftop above them, as abruptly as it had stopped. Ophelia felt her stomach twist as she looked up at the pointed rooftop where Ari stood alone. A pair of feet hung over the edge next to her.
Aimee smirked and in a flash Ari was standing back beside Ophelia.
Aimee was gone again as Ari’s feet touched the ground and instantly she was standing next to the man's feet. Ophelia watched in horror as Aimee put her hands on the man. His feet twitched for a second and then lie still again.
Ophelia looked up at the silhouette of Aimee on the rooftop. Her long lean body was outlined by the stormy night sky. Her blonde hair blew in the wind and her eyes glowed like platinum. She was the scariest thing Ophelia had ever seen.
Ophelia felt her right arm grabbed, a sharp wind in her face and an abrupt stop. New smells filled the air around her. A forest and dead leaves mixed in the cool night air. She stood alone in the forest.
"Hello sister."
She turned to see a guy standing beside her. His breath was visible like smoke in the damp forest.
"Where are we?"
"Ireland. It will take them a minute to find you."
She felt her hands trembling, "Who are you?"
He laughed and stepped into the light of the moon, he looked almost exactly as she did. Dark hair, one light eye and one dark and pale skin but with one difference, he had fangs in his smile. Her stomach dropped seeing them. She gasped and stepped away.
He laughed, "Thorry they're new. Father had Daniel turn me latht week. I am having a hard time. They jutht pop out."
She remembered Giselle and started to laugh. The fear she felt melted away.
"How is this all possible?"
He closed his eyes for a second as if concentrating.
He looked up at her and smiled a bright white smile minus the fangs.
"You grew up in a normal family. I keep forgetting that."
His face made her heart ache, "Have you always known about me?"
He nodded in the moonlight, "Always. I thought that you were dead for a while but the balls of light told me you had to be alive."
"Is it all true?"
"There are things you can't imagine. Werewolves, vampires and witches are just the fun stuff you see daily. The Fae are a broad spectrum. Siren's, Elves, Goblins, whatever you can imagine."
She looked around, "This is so weird."
"We only have a minute before they get here. We need to help each other. I don’t want to die. I'm sure you don’t want to. I sent a friend to help you. His name is Oliver. He has a plan to get rid of father. It's the only way any of them will leave us alone."
She gulped, "Have you seen mother?"
He shook his head, "Never. Not even a glimpse. He keeps her trapped in this ungodly tower, like a fairytale."
He took a step toward her, "Please Ophelia, trust Oliver. He's there to help us. Father killed his son." Tears filled his eyes, "He was my best friend."
She felt sick, "I will do whatever I can. I just haven’t caught up on it all. I don’t know what I'm supposed to actually do."
His gaze lowered, "They will explain it to you. Don't trust them O, trust yourself and our sisters." He reached for her hand, "It's good to finally meet you."
Ophelia felt a lump in her throat, "Again."
His laugh was weak, "I suppose it is again."
He was gone. He had called her O. Was it a message from Abbey? How had he learned to flash travel?
A voice broke her thoughts, "Ophelia I got a text to come and find you."
She looked up at Sam standing at the edge of the dark forest.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, "No. My brother came to see me."
He nodded, "I've never met him."
She shrugged feeling lost suddenly, "He seemed really nice."
Sam put a hand out for her and before she could open her eyes from her blink, they were in Giselle's massive living room.
Lorri stormed across the room gripping her shoulders with intensity, "What happened?"
She shook her head, "Nothing. My brother came to see me. He seemed sad and alone. He wanted to talk to me. Alone." She didn’t want to tell any of them anything.
Lorri gripped harder, "What did he say?"
"He said that he needed my help and that you would explain what I was supposed to do."
Lorri looked annoyed. She processed the information and let Ophelia go with a slight shove. She paced the huge room. Everyone sat in silence spread across the grand furniture.
All eyes were on Lorri.
Lydia spoke after a moment, "It's time to tell her what she must do Lorri."
Lorri snarled and continued to pace.
Ophelia looked around the room. Oliver watched her from the corner. His eyes never left her.
Lorri walked to her and grabbed her arm.
Cold wind swept around her and when she looked down her feet stood on rocks. The night sky was filled with stars. She turned to see Lorri sitting on a rock outcropping. The night air was warm and dry compared to where they had been in Portland.
"Have a seat kid."
She walked, trying not to look down the mountainside.
"Where are we?"
"Iran."
Ophelia frowned, "This is random, even for you."
"This is where it happened."
"What happened?"
"Where your mother lived, before we fell."
Ophelia decide not to ask any more questions. She sat on the sharp crumbling stone hillside.
"Below us here is the original Garden of Eden as you people have called it. It was the scared garden. God could speak to Adam and Lillith there. He taught them how to garden and how to grow food. He taught them how to build a hut. He tried to guide them with love and kindness."
"So much for that."
Lorri snorted, "You have no idea. Lillith was defiant and obstinate. Adam was, well, he was a man. He thought with his dick. He asked God for a companion. It was his only request. God told him his wife would show herself to him. He misunderstood. He came upon Lillith bathing in the lake. Anyway, the story takes a turn for the worse. Lillith erupted in rage, like any woman would. She drew the magic from the ground and the garden in and cursed him as he was inside of her. He got her pregnant. She had intended herself for the king of the elves. She wanted the magic and purity of their life. In an instant she was ruined. Adam impregnated her. When the King came she was pregnant. As her babies grew so did her sadness and pain. When she gave birth each of the children was already cursed. Not only with magic but also with vulnerability."
Ophelia had no response. She couldn’t imagine such a lonely and painful existence.
"When she took the magic, she stripped the garden of its natural magic. She took it into herself and made it something corrupted and polluted. She cursed the land and the garden. The Middle East has never recovered. The strife here is the direct result of the anger and pain she suffered. The land can never be at peace. Not while Lillith lives. She must die to remove her stain on the world."
Ophelia felt her stomach twinge, "Die?" She turned her head to see the hardened look on Lorri's face.
"Die. There is only one way to kill Lillith. All of her children have a piece of her power in them. Once they die their power is left behind. They are part of her stain on the earth. You have to kill your brother and convince your sisters to give you their power. Then you will be strong enough to kill her."
Ophelia frowned, "You want me to kill my own mother after I kill my twin brother?"
Lorri swallowed, "What I am asking of you is a sacrifice, obviously but no one is planning on letting this continue. Your father is planning the same thing, only in reverse. He intends to have your brother kill you and use the magic to strip your mother of her powers. Once she's stripped he can kill her but maintain her stain and darkness. He can use your brother so they can take over. Humans will become sheep."
Ophelia shook her head, "This doesn’t even make any sense. So both my parents are evil?"
Lorri shook her head, "No Lillith isn’t evil. She can't help what she has become anymore than you can. Magic was never meant to be inside of you people. The Garden was the magical birthplace of your mother and Adam and eventually Eve. The magic came from the earth. God didn’t create the earth. That's a whole other story and I'm not giving a history lesson because I like talking. God just needed a place to create, the birthplace of creation needed to be strong and powerful. Lillith took the magic and the power. That's why God needed Adam's rib to create Eve. He needed a place to start the magic after Lillith took it."
"Why can't we just kill my father and free her?"
Lorri looked up at the starry sky, "I know this is hard to hear kid but they both have to go. He's mine though. You wouldn’t stand a chance. He would flash and be gone before you reacted. Your magic is subjective to your circumstances."
"What about that Ari girl? She could push my mom or dad and make them change their minds."
Lorri shook her head, "She would knock them out for a bit. The soul has to be pure and intact."
"Oh."
Lorri pointed, "This place is a scar on humanity. It is filled with sadness and pain. We need to go back."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sam
"I have a plan."
"Sweet god, tell me it fixes home boy here. I'm getting tired of his part in the coma patient."
Sam glanced up at Ari and Luke staring at him.
Aimee pulled her hair into a ponytail nodding, "Yeah Sam this has to change. You're driving me insane." She turned and looked at Ari, "Yesterday he slept for sixteen hours. Not even kidding. I thought he was dead twice."
