Monsters & Fairytales (53 page)

“Not even that Joe fellow?” Carlyle asked.

His head was facing his soup. I wasn’t exactly sure he had spoken at all. I stared at him for a couple seconds,
then
decided to answer him.

“No, not even that Joe fellow.”
I sneered.

Was that his problem? Did he think I wasn’t good enough for Sebastian because I’d had feelings for Joe? What was with them and Joe, anyway? He was a
human,
I was a human, it’s perfectly normal for another human being to be attracted to another human being. Or was that it? Was I supposed to be too special for that kind of attraction? Was I supposed to shun it and only see the Angel, Sebastian? They couldn’t blame me for that. I was getting tired of it.

“Then it is settled.” Loki said.

“What is?”

I straightened my posture out after realizing I was still sulking after Carlyle’s comment.

“After our meal, we will all see the Minakai, as planned.” He nodded.

I began to speak, however I quickly realized interrupting the leader of a tribe in front of them would be insanely rude. I kept my mouth shut and just accepted his words. I imagined I’d find out why all of them had to go when we got there.

“This is impossible!” Carlyle roared from nowhere.

I was the only one who seemed to be afraid of his outburst. Everyone was still eating like normal. I was incapable of finishing my meal. He was so angry. I just wanted to ask him what his issue was and call him out on this nonsense. He was ruining everything over pettiness.

“Calm yourself, son.” Loki urged him.

“No. I will not sit here and let some human, some blinded human, decide the fate of our race and her race alone. She needs to know everything. Her decisions are not as pure as our
brother here thinks.”

He stood up. His shoulders were moving with every breath he was taking.

“Decide the fate of my race?
Of humans?
What are you talking about?” I asked, looking up at him.

Sebastian had said I could give my soul to the Zahn and stay in this world forever. He never mentioned about it affecting humans in that aspect. He did say to better them, though. Is that what he meant? What did they need bettering from that was so intense that I had to give my soul? Am I the sacrifice?

“This is what I mean!” Carlyle said, interrupting my thoughts. He looked to Sebastian. “You know she deserves it.”

“That is why the Minakai will tell her. I can’t do it, you know that!” Sebastian hissed again.

“This is insane! You know you are hoping he’s just going to tell her what you want to hear. Well, I won’t allow it!” Carlyle threatened.

Fate of the world kept ringing in my head. What the hell was going on? Why was no one else paying attention to this?

Carlyle stepped closer to Sebastian. Sebastian tried not to look at him. I couldn’t help but to look at Carlyle. This whole fiasco was the demise of a wonderful evening. I hated him for it. 

“If you don’t tell her, right now, I will.”

Carlyle bent down and whispered something into Sebastian’s ear. Sebastian roared. He flipped his food up and lunged at Carlyle. I screamed. The food went all over me. No one had stopped eating. They all kept acting like this wasn’t happening. A part of me wished I knew their secret, but then I’d be denying reality. This was something I had to face.
             

Teeth were bared and claws were extended as the two brothers
hurled
one another against the walls. They were leaving dents everywhere they went. I couldn’t believe the ferocity behind them. What was so important? Why was Carlyle strangling Sebastian over not telling me something, when he had been so silent this entire time? I couldn’t
bear it any longer. It was my turn to bare
teeth.

“Enough! Stop it, you guys!”

I stood up and jumped over the table towards them. Throwing my hands out, the food fell to the floor off of my clothing. I hadn’t noticed until I stepped on a piece and lost my footing. With such a tight grip around his neck, Sebastian was incapable of catching me.
             

As I hit the floor with my hip, I could tell it only infuriated him more. He roared a deafening blow and threw himself backwards over Carlyle. They tumbled towards the other end of the table. Everyone was ducking appropriately to avoid being hit. That was the most of their interaction I had seen all dinner.
             

Picking myself up, I shook the rest of the food off of me. I made sure to lunge past the stuff on the floor and stormed after them. This had gone too far. 

“Enough!” I screamed again.

That time I was furious. It seemed to send a shockwave down the room. They stopped, finally. I walked up to them and stood in between them like a mother stopping, well, stopping siblings from fighting.
             
             
No one was eating anymore, either. I didn’t care. They could watch and take a lesson in courage, for all I cared. How dare they ignore the struggles, however mediocre, of two of their
kind.
It made me sick.
             

I looked at Carlyle and then to Sebastian with complete disgust. Whoever thought fighting solved anything was surely an idiot. Sebastian had a lump on his head, and a bloody lip. He looked pathetic. I was angry at him. I was even angrier at Carlyle for starting all of it. He was only bleeding from his eyebrow, but he was far worse off in my book.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked.

“Tell her.” Carlyle said.

“Tell me.” I looked to Sebastian.

“I can’t.” He said through his bloody teeth. I watched him spit and then wipe his mouth.

“Why not?”
I faced him.

“Because he’s right.”

Sebastian’s shoulders slumped over.

“What?”

“I want him to tell you that your only option is to go through the Zahn and become one of us so you’ll be scared enough to leave. It’s too dangerous for you. It’s what I’ve been trying to do all along.”

“But, you said that you only did that to test my purity. You said you wanted me here. You said you loved me and only saw your life with mine? If that’s not what you wanted, why come back for me?”

I was angry and hurt and I still didn’t exactly know why.

“Because it didn’t work.
I want you; of course, I just wanted you to not want me anymore. I wanted you stay there and save the human race. I didn’t want you to give yourself up. There is no guarantee for anything. And that’s the truth.”

“Save the human race? That’s not even-”

“This is why we need to see him.” Sebastian said to Carlyle; he was stuttering.

I could barely focus, anyway.

“I don’t understand. How is that even possible? You said I was welcoming you in, that I was ready to give it up. You were testing my love for you. It was all a lie?”

“It wasn’t a lie; you were just supposed to choose the other option.”

“What other option?!”

“The one where you stay a human and go back to save them.”

“That’s not possible.”

“This is the way it’s meant to be.”

He didn’t even look back when he said it. He reached for my hand and started pulling me forward with him.

“No.” I whispered. He kept walking. I dug my feet in. “NO!”

He stopped. Everyone kept walking past us to leave the room. I had forgotten they were even there. I had no idea where even Spike, Carlyle, or Loki
were
. My eyes only saw Sebastian and my heart only ached for him.

“We have to.”

Sebastian turned and faced me. He wouldn’t look me in the eyes. I was so hurt.

“You can’t force me.” I said.

“He’s done it before.” Carlyle said, walking up beside me.

He grabbed my arm out of Sebastian’s grasp and dropped it free. I felt like my heart had just plummeted through my feet and into the earth. Could it shatter again? Was there anything left of it? I wanted to collapse into the ground.

“This isn’t a game, Carlyle.” Sebastian threatened.

“I couldn’t agree more, brother.”

Sebastian took a step towards me and Carlyle grabbed me in his arms. He held me very tightly towards his chest. I didn’t react. I felt no reason to try to get back to Sebastian. He’d betrayed me. He’d known everything all along and he could have told me the truth, but he didn’t, because he was being selfish. He wanted me to live a life without him. That wouldn’t be a life at all. I needed him.

“What do you want?” Sebastian hissed.

“We go to the Minakai, now.” Carlyle said.

“That’s where I was taking her.”

Sebastian reached for my hand but Carlyle pushed it away.

“No. We all go there and we help her. We make sure the truth in its entirety is told and she chooses her fate, not you.”

“Fine.”
Sebastian reluctantly agreed.

He turned and headed out of the now empty room. There was another option? I had more choices? Could I save mankind and stay here? Why would Sebastian hide that? Wouldn’t he want it all? Why was he hurting me so much? Was it another test?
             

I looked to Spike and wrapped my arms around his neck. I just wanted to go back home and pretend nothing had ever happened. I wanted my reality back. The pain of my mother seemed mediocre to this, and that hurt even more. She should be
my everything
. My family should be my only concern. I didn’t care about the world. They had turned their backs on me a long time ago. They had turned their backs on us.

Spike whimpered in my arms. He knew I was upset. He always knew. He hated not being able to help, even though to me, he was the only one that did help. I loved him. I owed him my life. He kept the sunshine in.
             

A hand on my shoulder, Carlyle was urging me on. I knew Spike would be left behind again. I wanted him with us. Could he come? Could Carlyle fly him to the fortress? Of course they could.
             

I stood up and smiled at Carlyle. He was looking past me. I turned and saw Loki staring at us.

“Do not be afraid.” Loki said.

“I’m not.” I responded.

“He was talking to the dog.” Carlyle whispered.

“Oh.”

They’d read my mind. Loki was going to fly Spike. My heart felt better, already. My puppy, my life, he was going to be a part of this journey the way he should have been from the beginning. I hoped Loki would hold on to him tightly.
             

Carlyle scooped me up in his arms and curled me into his chest. I looked back at Spike before we took off into the air. Loki was wrapping his arms around his chest and hind legs. Then we took off into
the air.
             

Who said
anything

about
love?

((
what
a silly emotion, love
))

We were all sitting in the Minakai’s office, delicately waiting on his to arrival. Spike was completely enthralled, though. His grin was even obvious behind the woozy look from flying. I smiled and patted his head as he trotted up to me and finally sat down. His eyes were still as wide as they could be. He wasn’t missing any chance to take in everything he could when he could. I didn’t blame him one bit. I was the exact same way when I got the ability to see this world.

I wanted to ask what he was thinking, but I knew asking Carlyle would create more tension. I couldn’t ask Sebastian with the obvious state of distress he was in. He kept fidgeting, staring out the window and biting his fingernails. Usually such a display of humanity would have made my heart melt, but this time it only made me disgusted. He was ruining everything by acting like this. A part of me wished, in spite of it all, he would get everything he deserved.

“So, you grace me with your presence again?” The Minakai said, finally coming out of his hidden office.

“So it seems.” I nodded to him.

With teeth bared and gums flapping, a protective Spike took off towards the Minakai. I wasn’t paying enough attention to catch him before he lunged at the leader of a world. Panicking, I started calling his name and clapping my hands together. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed my best option was to distract him. It wasn’t working. I couldn’t tell if he was deliberately ignoring me or not, but however, he was insanely focused on letting the Minakai know he was a threat to me.