The First Male (37 page)

“Is this what you had in mind for yourself when you poisoned my son,
witch
?” Rebecca asked, her voice a scathing whisper. “Because of you, my son is wandering this world, not answering my calls. He is lost to his mother and to the shadows. Do you know the pain I feel as a mother, unable to protect my child from harm?” She brought her hands to her chest. Her voice carried pain, a mother's agony. “He could be anywhere, lying dead or dying because of you!” she yelled. She stepped back and took a few seconds to calm herself. “Until I find him, you will not have a moment's peace. I will keep you teetering on the edge of death forever, so I can have the pleasure of torturing you and tasting your blood,” she said as she licked her fingers clean. She slapped Clara across the face. Clara made a gurgling sound, as if blood were caught in her throat.

Addie fought back angry tears that burned in her eyes. This madness was about to end. Abruptly. She balled her fists and clenched her lips tightly together as a tremendous force suddenly pushed through the room, blowing the door off its hinges. The door hurled swiftly through the air and flew directly into Rebecca, one of its edges hitting her directly in her chest. She crashed into the wall with a bang and let out a painful scream.

Addie flew into the room, her feet hovering inches above the ground, her black hair blowing in the wind. She watched Rebecca
struggle to dig herself from underneath a pile of rubble and lurch clumsily to her feet. When Rebecca looked up and saw Addie's face, shock caused her body to shudder.

“You!” she screamed. Rebecca flicked her wrist and attempted to throw Addie across the room with her power, but Addie absorbed it and sent it back to Rebecca, who once again crashed into the wall, banging her head hard.

“You may be The Dark Mother, Rebecca, but I am the Priestess Supreme of the Thibodeaux Sister-Clan. You have no power here,
demon
.” Rebecca stood on wobbly legs, her beautiful white dress now stained red with blood. “You will not touch her again.” Addie's words were absolute. “You will not even look her direction.”

Rebecca stood up and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, as if she was dizzy. She steadied herself and then faced Addie, letting out a maniacal laugh. “Is this your payback, my dear? Payback for all of the things we did to you while you were locked in that decaying body for decades? Is that why you are here? Vengeance does not suit you, Adelaide Thibodeaux. If vengeance is what you seek, you shall not have it!” Rebecca waved her arms and attempted to disintegrate into shadows, but Addie clenched her fist and held her together, firmly in place. Rebecca's neck craned as she looked around the room, shocked that she had not been able to easily fade away.

“Your powers are great,” she said to Addie, “great, indeed. Enjoy them while you can,
Priestess
. The Ascension—your day of reckoning—is upon us. We will rid the world of your kind, once and for all. We—my sons and I—shall usher in a glorious new era. And when my sons reign as kings I will make them give you to me. You will be kept as my slave, chained and gagged. I will have you walk across hot glass on all fours, like the animal you are. I will feed you the feces of goats on a silver platter; after all,
you are a
high priestess
.” Rebecca spoke in a pleasant tone as a smile formed in the corners of her mouth.

Addie didn't speak.

“Have my words frightened you? Are you afraid of the truth I speak? You cannot win. The time of the great protectors—the sister-clan—is over.”

Addie would never show weakness or concern, but Rebecca's words about the Ascension had, indeed, unsettled her. The thought of the world plunging into darkness chilled her to her bones. She would do anything and everything to prevent that from happening. Her options were few, but until her last breath, she would remain resolute in her opposition.

Addie chuckled. “Idle threats from The Dark Mother. Is that all you offer? The world of which you speak shall never come to pass. It was your son who freed me from the dark magic. He is good and decent and will never succumb to your will.”

Rebecca's head recoiled as if she had been struck by Addie's words. “I am certain that you used one of your witchy tricks to convince him to free you.”

“The only trick I used was love. Simon is full of love.”

“Love; an unstable emotion. Love will not save you. I am his mother. I can feel his longing for me in the whispers of the night. His spirit calls out to me. You can never compete with that, old woman.”

“And yet, you still cannot find him. Pity.”

“That is because of your magic, witch! You have kept me from my son and for that you will suffer!”

Addie flicked her wrist again and Rebecca screamed out.

“You will not threaten me again.”

“Listen, Adelaide. Listen carefully,” Rebecca said, taking a deep breath. “Our offer of immunity still stands. Forget what I said
earlier. If you let me go, you will be allowed to live in luxury after they ascend. We do not have to be enemies. You are the grandmother and I am the mother—we are forever connected; neither of us can change that.”

Addie released a snide chuckle. “Is that all you have to offer? Moments ago you were going to feed me goat shit—on a silver platter.”

“I spoke in haste, out of anger. Forgive me, my dear. Let me go and I can assure you that you will have a seat at the table when we discuss the new world order.”

“There will be no new world order.”

“Do not be naïve. Look around you. It is over for you; don't be a fool, you do not have to perish. Death does not have to claim you. You do not have to dwell in this frozen wasteland. Let me go, and come with me. Let us bask on sunny shores.” Rebecca's smile lit up the room. Her voice had taken on an enchanting musical quality as she spoke. Addie found herself becoming lightheaded, feeling as if she were floating. Rebecca continued speaking, her spell spinning into Addie's ears. Addie's eyes closed and she felt as if she were no longer tethered to the floor. The pleasant sound of Rebecca's voice filled the hollow spaces in Addie's heart; the space that longed for her sisters, the space occupied by fear of the future, and even that silent space that still mourned the death of her son, Thomas. When Rebecca's voice tickled that space in her heart that was Thomas, Addie snapped out of her trance, quickly. She remembered that it was Thomas's seed that brought forth The One.

“Your mind tricks won't work tonight.” Addie spoke in a scathing voice. “Dark Mother, I bind your powers—”

“No. Stop,” Rebecca protested.

“I bind your powers now and forever more. I bind you. I bind you. I bind you.”

“Fuck you!” Rebecca screamed, the obscenity projecting from her mouth like a missile. She suddenly became infuriated, her body squirming violently with anger, trying to loosen Addie's grip on her. Her face contorted into an obscene caricature, her jaw unhinging and her mouth twisting into an enormous black hole. Strands of her flaming red hair became agitated serpents, snapping angrily in the air at Addie. “I will drag you to hell myself, Adelaide!” she hissed. Addie suddenly remembered the snakes that Eli routinely set loose on her; she remembered their fangs plunging deep into her flesh, injecting her with their venom. The pain she felt had been unimaginable, and her body often swelled beyond recognition.

Addie blinked and tossed Rebecca into the wall, again. She landed with much more force. Then, Addie moved across the room and stood over Rebecca, who was laid out on the floor. Rebecca's gruesome transformation would not save her now. The hissing snakes continued snapping at Addie, who didn't step close enough to be in any real danger. “I bind you, I bind you,” she repeated and watched Rebecca transform back into her natural state.

As she stood above, Rebecca's words rang in her ears.
I am his mother. I can feel his longing for me in the whispers of the night. He calls out to me
. Addie knew beyond any doubt that simply binding her powers wouldn't be enough to remove the threat. The bond between mother and child was not easily broken. As long as she lived she was a threat. If her connection to Simon was as strong as she claimed, then it was only a matter of time before
he
sought her out. If he found her, she would complete his transformation into the beast Addie feared; that was not a risk she could take. Rebecca had to die.

Rebecca wouldn't be the first casualty in this war, and she certainly wouldn't be the last.

Clara made a choking sound that stole Addie's attention for a
quick second, and when she turned her head back to Rebecca, she had already disintegrated into shadows, attempting to flee. Seconds before she vanished, Addie clawed at the shadows with her fingernails and slit Rebecca's alabaster throat. The floor of the room shook violently. In the back of the room, in the places where darkness dwelled, the shadows bled. Bright red blood oozed from the cracks between the wooden boards of the floor and began to consume the objects it touched, like acid. A pair of high-heeled shoes, a purple blouse and a pair of silk panties melted right before Addie's eyes. She watched, almost mesmerized, as steam rose from the blood, which moved like molten lava. Addie had never witnessed such a spectacle. The blood began to eat away at the floor, dripping onto the first level of the house. The crying and hissing of the shadows could be heard throughout the house, even above the deep rumbling that shook the cold sky. Addie waved her arms and froze the blood, stopping it from consuming the house.

Then, everything was still.

When her eyes landed upon Clara, tears burst from them. The wretched sight of her was almost too much for Addie to bear. She sank to the floor on her knees at Clara's feet.

“My dear sister. I'm so sorry. I should've been here, to protect you.” Addie waved her hand in front of Clara's face and instantly her face was restored to its former beauty, the glass shards that jutted from her face only seconds ago had completely vanished. Clara shifted her body, but didn't fully open her eyes; they hung low as if life had been suctioned from her soul. Addie knew it would take time to assess how much harm the dark powers had done to her sister.

When Addie waved her hand over Clara's face, she also removed the veil that covered her mind and prevented her from knowing
her true identity—a Thibodeaux witch. Years ago, as a measure of protection, Addie had cast a spell to hide Clara's identity from the world, even from Clara herself. Addie knew that if something happened to her the night Simon was born that the dark would hunt down every sister in an effort to wipe out the entire clan. Without Addie's protection, her sisters would be vulnerable to the shadows. Two of her sisters had already been lost, severely weakening the clan. But, two remained, assuming Clara survived The Dark Mother's torture. Addie would not lose Clara. She simply could not lose her. She would will her back to health, even if it took all her strength.

Addie laid her head in Clara's lap and sobbed. Her tears were hot and flowed heavily, dampening the raggedy robe Clara wore.

“Clara, please come back to me. I can't do this alone. I need you. The world needs you.”

“Addie?” Clara said in a voice that struggled to be heard. Addie slowly raised her head and met Clara's vacant gaze. Her eyes were wide now, straining to focus. “Is that you?” Addie jumped to her feet.

“Yes, yes, it's me.” Addie grabbed Clara's hand and clutched it tightly. Clara forced a smile.

“Where . . . where have you been?”

“It doesn't matter now. All that matters is I'm back.” Clara slowly turned her head and looked around the war-torn room.

“What's happened here? What's happened to me?” Addie wanted to explain the events of the night, but she didn't want to worry Clara. She knew that Clara, being the seer of her clan, could soon see the past and know what had transpired; if she had the strength. “I remember. I remember who I am. I remember everything now. What did you do to me, sister?” The accusatory tone in Clara's voice filled Addie with sadness.

“I tried to protect you. I tried to save you.”

“How? By . . . by . . . wiping my mind? Binding my power?” Clara coughed and spat up blood. Addie wiped it on the rag that was draped over the arm of the chair.

“I didn't take your memories, only buried them deep inside you, as I did with your powers so that the darkness would never know you were a Thibodeaux witch. I did what I had to do. I couldn't be around to protect you.”

Clara forced a weak smile. “You are the Priestess Supreme. I do not question your wisdom, sister.” Clara tried to pull herself from the chair, but quickly fell back down. “I feel so weak, so . . . sick. Dying . . . ”

“You are
not
dying,” Addie quickly corrected. “You need rest, sister.”

“Maybe you're right. I need to rest.” Clara leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Addie kept a close eye on her chest, making sure it continued to rise and fall with breath.

Addie stood above her sister, tears burning her eyes. She tried to shake the thought from her mind, but thoughts of death invaded it.

“Don't blame yourself for my fate,” Clara said, her eyes still shut. “I can feel your pain—your guilt. We both know I am dying. I can hear the music of The Higher Plain.”

“No, I can't let you go.”

“My sweet sister, you can't stop me, even with all your power,” she said with a warm, playful smile. “Some things are meant to be. My time here has passed.”

“All of this death is my fault.
All of it
. I gave birth to the father, and the father begat the sons. I have lost all my sisters. Now, the whole world will perish because of my incompetence. We shall die. The binding spell will break. I cannot stop the Ascension, especially without you. I'm afraid, Clara. Terrified.”