Echoes in Eternity (The Pella Series Book 1) (60 page)

“You know what is interesting?” I ask
nervously in an attempt to delay my inevitable death and continue without waiting for an answer. “I’ve seen the Horns of Consecration today…” I say and clear my throat, then correct myself trying to remember how many days I’ve been falling, “or nine days ago, whenever my soul left Arizona. But, that one was quite small. Small enough to be hidden inside a ring’s stone.”

Shedding whatever was preoccupying him
like a shaking off sleep, his head snaps up. The intensity of his gaze grapples me; in fact I can see all his faces revolve beneath the surface. Each persona is alert of some danger that I’m not aware of, making me completely nervous.

“What ring? What exactly,
exactly, exactly
did you see?” he asks emphasizing on ‘
exactly
’. I guess he wants me to be completely specific.

“Someone was wearing a ring and it was inside it. I though
t it was the legendary ring of King Minos…”

“Was it active?”
he probes. Active? Like what?

“What do you mean?”
I ask bewildered.

“The
rings… were there any figures in it? Were they active or just stationary like carved tiny figurines?”

“It was active and had some sort of power. It burnt me or shocked me. I can’t remember…”

“Think. Hard!” He enunciates looking into my face. His Cherub faces flash behind his old Pueblo man skin once again. Is he anxious? Nervous? I take a deep breath.

“Why?”

“Because until now I didn’t know who would become your
resurrector
. It couldn’t have been anyone from the chosen few who are already in your service because they may not be fully capable of reanimating you after your death. That’s why it’s important, because it will determine my actions, and how I kill you to suspend your life long enough for you get through the passage.”

“
Resurrector?
”

“Yes. Someone from outside, from the living world must resurrect you. Humans can’t do it. A Nephilim, a
Fallen
, a Psyche with some trace of humanity… But it’s not guaranteed. So, tell me exactly what you saw!” I nod.

“A buyer, a client of Alex
’s whom I’m told is a very old acquaintance of his had a ring on the middle finger of his right hand.”

“You said ‘his’. What is his name? Are you sure it was a man and not a woman?” He asks anxiously.

“Yes,” I say exasperated. “I’m quite sure it was a man. In fact he was devastatingly and familiarly handsome. His name was Duke Maximillian Courcillion.” Nieto’s eyes scan me for a minute wordlessly.

“Why
are you looking at me like that? Do you know him? Is it bad that he has the ring?” He ignores my questions and continues with his probing

“Was there anyone else with him?”

“Two bodyguards.”

“Male or female.”

“Both male. What’s that got to do with him?”

“What was the demeanor when he spoke to Alexandros?”

“Alex?” I ask. He nods impatiently.

“Tense. Very tense in fact. Mostly Alex was yelling at him.”

“Was there a woman with him?” I think back squinting my eyes.

“No
… no, I don’t think so. He was alone other than his bodyguards.”

“Good,” he says with some relief. “Now describe
the ring to me. What scene did you see?”

“Well, the second his hand touched me, I felt a cold vibration rush o
ver me and froze me in my place. I don’t know if I saw the vision the ring displayed or whether that scene played in my mind. I have been having dreams…” I say shrugging.

“Memories,” he corrects me.

“What?”

“Your dreams are your
past memories. Out of sequence, little bits of information your mind is trying to remember to piece you back together again.”

Now it’s my turn to be surprised.

“All of them? All the dreams?”

“You will
recognize the difference between memories and dreams. Memories will have repetition of the place, scene, people, and events. Now, describe the scene you saw inside the ring.”

“There was a topless woman
, not like a beach scene. She was purposeful, regal and very proud. I think she was a goddess holding a snake with her wings up in the air, and had the double axes in the other hand. The horns of consecration,” I say pointing the towering altar before us, “…she was wearing it like a crown on her head.”

“Which
hand was she holding the snake with?”

“Left hand,” I reply quickly. “Does it make a difference?”

“Yes, it does. What else did you see?”

“Three demons and three angels with dark wings and one human worshipping this goddess.”

“Was the human male or female?”

I think hard. “I can’t remember… I…” furrowing my eye brows I try to remember but I can’t.

“We’ll get back to it. What else?”

“A man… There was a…” I
say placing my index finger and thumb on the bridge of my nose, struggling to remember the face inside the ring. “There was a crouching man before that woman! The other human was a woman!”

“Was he kneeling before her or crouching like a tiger?”

“At first I thought he was kneeling. But then I remember the goddess swinging the ax. He leaps to protect someone, blocking her.”

“Does he?” he asks intently
, and then stops trying to reword his question to get a specific answer. “This is very important: does he save what he’s trying to protect?”

“The other human… the woman… that was me! The man was protecting me from the ax.”

“Good,” he says in a very low whisper. It must be the Cherub equivalent of a sigh of relief.

“What did the ax wielding goddess look like? Did you ever see her before?”

“Honestly, I… uhm… I don’t think I’ve seen her in real life. But her face…” I say thinking hard trying to remember, I close my eyes and rack my brain in an effort to grasp my recollection. “I might have dreamt about her.” My voice goes lower, trying to pull a memory behind the hazy curtain of a past life. “I think, I remember the pernicious demeanor of her face she had when she wielded her ax. That expression, the contours of her face, her reckless abandon, the fury and hatred… I remember seeing it once before… in a dream. In that dream, she pushed me into the cold waters of a river,” I murmur trying to remain stoic.

“And
I ask you again: Are you quite sure that the man crouching jumped to save you?”

“
Of that I’m certain. But I don’t know if he succeeded in saving me or not, because I pulled my hand away from the Duke’s hold screaming, because the visions startled me. The shock was completely unexpected.”

Nieto looks back as if he hears something.

“It’s time.”

“Why is it necessary for me to see Marcus?
Why can’t I just go back?”

“You’ll find out the answer
soon enough. In each matriculation, he was with you. Not on this one. You need him. There is something he can do for you even if he’s here. He’s still a
Watcher
not a
Fallen
and he’s only here on a
Life for Life
exchange. He can give you something no one else can.”

“Okay,” I acquiesce
wondering what he could give me.

“
You must lie down here,” he points to the stone slab. I swallow hard. I search Nieto’s gaze carefully for any malicious intent. I see none.

“This is the domain of Death. You don’t stop existing here. But because I can’t go with you, you won’t be able to go further with your life intact. There are worse things here than
Kerberos. They would make him feel like a friendly golden retriever in comparison. Under no circumstances can they know you are here especially when you are still alive. But, I’m afraid the news is already out. Marcus is bound. He can’t help you outside of his own allocated dungeon. You will have to die to be resurrected. Your soul and your body will remain intact. But your heart won’t beat until you are resurrected. And I hope you hear the call to your resurrection, and have the will to respond.” Of course I’ll have the will to respond. Why wouldn’t I?

“Will Alex
be the one to call me?” I whisper in such a low voice, I’m not sure if I spoke the words or thought of them. But Nieto hears me loud and clear.

“You have always loved him…” he says looking at the distance. I wish I could say the same for him, I think to myself pining for him. Not out of duty, not out of the bond that was forced upon him
on his deathbed, but really, truly love me… for me.

“He can’t know that, Nieto! Don’t tell him
, please!” I plead with him. If he knows that I won’t be able to set him free. Don’t they always say, if you love someone set him free? If he loves you, he’ll come back to you.

“I only respond to your calls. And to your father’s. I won’t tell him.”

I sit on the cold stone slab. A shiver runs through me.

“I will take away the skin I covered you in,” Nieto says and with a swipe of his wrinkled han
ds, I feel the loss of the protective layer over me. My own hearing and sight is immediately restored. I can feel the cold chilling me to my bones. With shivers shaking my body, I lie down.

“I will puncture one
strategic hole with each fang. Then, I will deliver the poison in those holes, and finally…” he says showing me a glaive very similar, if not identical to Alex’s, “I will liven up your eagles to alert your guardians and finally deliver the poison to stop your heart. Then you are on your own to get to your father. You will borrow your father’s wings. Meanwhile, don’t talk to anyone. Don’t listen to anyone. Don’t respond to anyone. Your wings will get you to your destination. No one will see them.” I look at him quizzically.

“
They’re ethereal. They’ll be hidden from the dead eyes and the
Fallen
. Do you understand me? Now repeat everything I told you…” he orders. I repeat everything verbatim.

Nieto quizzes me
about his instructions a second time. Finally, satisfied with my responses he opens his hands and the fangs he collected appear in his palms.

“Remain lying down and lift your arms up,” he orders. I do as I’m told, but I must have done it wrong, because he gives me a second set of instructions.

“Align your arms with the horns,” he says methodically. I lift my arms up above my head as he instructed me. Nieto takes one fang, “right fang,” he says, and punctures at the base of my right breast, below my arm. I feel the sharp, piercing pain and my own blood oozing from the puncture of the wound. I hear my heart beating louder. So hard that I think it wants to take flight out of my chest. I exhale my breath. My eyes drift to my chest. My heart is really thrumming. Maybe it’s beating for the very last time... I want it to beat its last beats for Alex. He will probably never know how desperately, intensely and irrevocably I love him.

“Left fang,” Nieto says and punctures the junction where my left breast and arm meets. The blood oozes out aga
in lazily, creating a meniscus.

“Now before I puncture your heart with the fang from the middle head, I need to put your eagles to flight,” he says.
The pain is overwhelming. Tears bead and silently flow down my cheeks. Nieto remains oblivious to my sorrow and stays focused on his task. It’s better that way. I don’t think I could handle gentleness right in this moment. Bringing out his small glaive, he punctures three holes on each of my wrists. The flowing blood fills the ridges and burns my arms. But I don’t move. Clenching my teeth, I wait for the pain to subside. The warmth finally spreads, and without even seeing, I know the two eagles are taking flight on my arms.

“Now the heart, and the poison,” Nieto says. “If you survive, I shall see you on the other side. If not, you will not be sacrificed for the
Fallen
to open the gates of Eden, because you’re not alive, or unblemished while you’re here. They need you alive and healthy for that.”

“That’s comforting,” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes. “I’ll see you on the other side. Thank you for seeing me through Nieto,” I say. He nods.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

“What for?”

“This death shall be painful. It’s a condition of the resurrection.”

“Shit! Make it quick.”

“It’s out of my hands. It will be long and it will give you pain making you wish for a quick death.”             

My eyes widen, but there’s nothing I can do.

“Is this anything akin to what my father is going through?”

“Every day... But he’s an angel. His endurance is beyond yours.” This is something my father is going through
for me? Suddenly I want to know what he agreed to, in order to be put through this for my sake.

“Fine. Do it!”

“May you have a good death,” he says, and plunges the third fang into my heart while simultaneously delivering poison from the punctures he created only moments ago. As the worst pain physically that I have ever experienced in my living memory shoots through my nerve endings and rings my entire nervous system, my back arches and for a second, I levitate before my scream echoes through the walls of the Tartarus.