The First Male (44 page)

“Brother, may I stand now?” Eli asked humbly.

“Will you behave?”

“Certainly. And I want you to know I am with you and our father.” Simon smiled and Eli stood up, released from Simon's power. “Thank you,” he said as he moved closer to Simon.

“What will you do, Simon?” Addie asked, the shock of Thomas's presence cracking her voice. “Now that you have ascended?”

“I will create a paradise.”

“What is your idea of
paradise
?” Addie asked with concern.

“You're my mother?” Thomas asked as he approached her. His face was balled with confusion. He stood close to Addie and looked at her as if he could see through her. “Mother?” He hugged her awkwardly. Tears welled in his eyes. “I have always wanted to see your face.”

“Yes, I am your mother,” she said as she pulled away gently. “And you are my son, my beautiful son, but you are not to be here. Your presence here is . . . unnatural—an abomination. Your flesh turned to ash decades ago.” Addie stroked his face tenderly. “You must go back to where you came from.”

“What? I don't understand.” Thomas's voice sounded innocent, as if he truly didn't understand all that had happened. “I don't wanna go back—I don't even know where I was. I wanna stay here, with you and my sons. I wanna live.”

“You don't remember the last twenty years, do you?”

“Twenty years?” Thomas asked.

“Yes, twenty years. You don't remember because your life ended. This life you have now is not yours,” Addie continued.

“What the hell is going on? This day was supposed to be about me!” Eli snapped.

“Shut up, Eli,” Rebecca said.

“And that's enough storytelling, Grandmother,” Simon said, curling his top lip. “He is here because it is my will. I gave him new life.”

Addie ignored Simon's warning and continued speaking. “Look at them, Thomas. Your sons are your age. How can that be? You cannot exist here; it is against nature,” she said and before anyone could react Addie blasted him with her power and sent him reeling across the room. He slammed into a window and a long piece of glass sliced deeply into his shoulder.

“No!” Simon screamed. “Behave, Grandmother,” he said and immobilized her. She stood in place, perfectly stiff, unable to move.

“Are you okay, Father?” Simon asked with concern. “Eli, get something to wipe the blood from our father.”

“Uh—okay,” Eli said and moved to a corner and picked up a rag from the floor.

“I'm okay, I think. What did you do that for?” Thomas screamed. Eli moved over to Thomas and helped him pull the long piece of glass from his shoulder; Thomas grimaced. Eli dropped the shard of bloodied glass onto the floor and helped Thomas to a chair in the corner.

“Your dear mother and her band of witches are the ones who killed you so long ago, Thomas. The shadows tried to protect you, but their powers were too great,” Eetwidomayloh said.

“All better now,” Eli said.

“You see what you did, Grandmother? Do you now understand why I have to remake the world? You are so used to violence and war with the shadows. I will end all of that. Don't you see? No more fighting. No more war. No more violence. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Wouldn't you like to put all of that aside and live in the glory of my kingdom?” Simon took a deep breath and continued. “I know you still fear me. I know how I am described in your
books
and your silly prophecies—which have all been proven wrong—but tell me, how you could possibly know of me when I am the universe? I am air. I am earth. I am fire. I am water. I am life itself,” he said as he turned his head toward the window in the front. “I can turn night to day,” he said, and the still-darkened outside instantly became light. “I am everything and nothing at all. You, too, Eetwidomayloh, got it all wrong. Your dark prophecies are false. I am servant to neither shadows nor light. The universe, which has bestowed upon me these awesome
powers, had other plans. What shall become of this world is entirely my decision and I want us to be a family.”

“Yeah, my brother will decide,” Eli said, “so fuck all of y'all.” Eli pumped his fist in the air.

Simon turned to Eli. “Brother, do not attempt to win me over with your false motives. I am you, remember? I know what darkness lies in your heart.”

“Wh—what are you talking about?”

“Oh, Brother. I have felt your jealousy of me since we met; I know the contempt you secretly harbor for her,” Simon said as he pointed at Rebecca, who recoiled. “Did you think you could keep your emotions secret from me?”

“Eli,” Rebecca said, trying to sound shocked.

“And, I know of the hatred you have for him.” Simon pointed at the Shadowman. “I know of your secret plans.”

“Secret plans?” Rebecca asked.

“Not true! Not true!” Eli exclaimed. “Simon, stop it!”

Simon moved over to Eli and grabbed both his hands. “It's okay, Brother. What you felt was then; this is now. Growing up the way you did, under the auspices of shadows, it's no wonder you felt like that. No one blames you.” Simon released Eli's hands and strolled around the room, hoping to sway the crowd with his words. “I want you all to know that things will change. I will change them. All you have to do is let go of whatever ideas you had about the world and join me for my eternal reign. It shall be glorious and all shall bear witness to my majesty.” Simon smiled wildly and extended his arms as if to invite everyone into his embrace.

“I grow weary of words—too much talk. Open the veil,” Eetwidomayloh growled in exasperation. “Open it now and let us be done with this . . . 
talk
.”

“Temper your tone in the presence of your king,” Simon said. “You must learn your place,” Simon stated.

Eli and Rebecca gasped.

“Enough!” Eetwidomayloh bellowed, his deep voice rumbling like thunder. In a flash his massive hand was wrapped tightly around Simon's neck. He lifted him off the ground effortlessly, pulling Simon's face close to his. “I have had enough of this insolence,” he growled and loudly inhaled Simon's scent, his nostrils flaring. “You are corrupt. I smell it now; I can smell the light in you. You are not The One I have waited for; but, you will still do what you were created to do. You
will
tear down the veil so that shadows can bleed into this world. My patience has grown short, boy!” Eetwidomayloh tossed Simon across the room into the wall. Simon hit it hard, knocking several wooden beams to the floor.

“Simon!” Rebecca screamed as she raced toward him. Eetwidomayloh grabbed Rebecca by her neck and snapped it like a twig, tossing her limp body against the wall next to Simon.

“Rebecca!” Thomas raced over to Rebecca's body and pulled her into his arms. “No, she can't be dead. What have you done? She can't be dead!” he wailed as his eyes burned a deep red, and bloody tears raced down his cheek. Brooke moved to him and placed her arms around him to comfort him.

“Is she dead?” Eli asked, with a hint of a smile on his face. “Is she?”

“You will all die, and this little
boy
will not be able to bring you back with his parlor tricks!” Eetwidomayloh pounded his chest angrily and screamed at the top of his lungs. He turned his attention to Eli and he blasted him with shadowmagic. Eli hit the ground, blood spewing from his mouth. “You will all die!”

Addie, free from Simon's immobilization spell, hit the Shadowman with a ball of light that did little damage; Eetwidomayloh's un-contained anger and wrath gave him tremendous strength.

“You are next, witch!” He pointed his finger and Eli levitated from the ground. Eetwidomayloh held him, suspended, in air. “But first, I have waited twenty-one years to teach you the discipline
your mother never could. You have been the shit beneath my boot from the moment you were born. I knew you were not The One; The One could never be so incompetent.” Eetwidomayloh held out his hand and a long black whip with sharp barbs of bone embedded at the tip materialized in his hand. Eli's shirt ripped from his body. Eetwidomayloh cracked the whip once and, without hesitating, he brought the heavy strap across Eli's chest. When the whip struck his body, it tore into his flesh and blood gushed from the open wounds. Eli's scream was a death rattle. Eetwidomayloh whipped him again. And again.

“Puh-please, stop,” Brooke said in a weak voice. “Please stop all of this. I don't know what's going on—why I'm here. I wanna go,” she said, tears staining her face.

“Do not address me, human!” he bellowed out. He turned his hand toward her and the whip cut through the air fiercely. Brooke covered her face with her hands and screamed.

Then, everything stopped, including the whip.

Suddenly Simon was standing between Eetwidomayloh and Brooke.

“I told you to behave, Eetwidomayloh. Were you about to hit a woman? My queen?” The whip ripped from Eetwidomayloh's hand and flew into Simon's. “That was a mistake; a serious one. I may not be the one you wanted, but I am The One!” Simon raised his hand and brought the whip down across Eetwidomayloh's head. The whip tore into his skull and ripped a hole in it, sending pieces of bone fragment flying across the room. Eetwidomayloh's grip on Eli broke and he fell to the floor with a thud, his body battered and bloodied.

Eetwidomayloh screamed a blood-curdling cry that was equal parts shock and pain. He dropped hard to both knees and Simon continued to whip him mercilessly. Hot blood splattered across
Simon's face and the walls of the cabin, but he continued to whip the Shadowman viciously, not missing a beat. Eetwidomayloh moaned several deep, guttural sounds, and covered his head with his hands.

“Simon,” Addie said as she moved closer to him, cautiously. Simon's blue eyes had gone completely black. “That's enough. Simon, stop.”

He looked at her and then let the whip drop from his hand. “Back to the Shadowland you go, Eetwidomayloh; back to the depths of hell. I curse you and the Shadowland from this day forth. I curse you!” He clawed at the air and suddenly the vortex reappeared; now it was the size of a wall in the cabin. The putrid scent of sulfur and death poured from the hole. Simon peered into the Shadowland, which looked like a vast wasteland; a countryside eviscerated by a nuclear blast. Then, Simon let out a yell and kicked Eetwidomayloh with so much force that the giant flew across the room into the vortex. He was kicked with such force that the sound of him hitting the ground resonated from the Shadowland into the cabin. “I curse you forever more.” A ball of yellow light formed in Simon's hand and he threw it into the vortex. Then, he whispered, “Let there be light.” The horrendous sounds of thousands of creatures screaming poured out of the vortex.

Then, Simon sealed the tear in the veil, presumably forever.

“You should have let me kill him, Brother,” Eli said as he spat out blood, emboldened by Simon's victory.

“Shadows cannot die. As long as there is light, there will be dark, but the sunlight I sent to them will burn and keep them weak forever. The ball of light will spin and grow and cover much of the Shadowland with light. Eetwidowmayloh and his minions will have little refuge.”

“That's fuckin' awesome,” Eli said. “Fuckin' awesome.”

A blood-covered Simon with blackened eyes stood in the center of the room, shell-shocked. He looked at the blood that covered his hand and started licking it ravenously.

Addie stood in raw awe and fear of Simon's power. She studied his bloodied face and his blackened eyes and knew, without any doubt, that he was lost, too. Each time he bludgeoned the Shadow-man, he also bludgeoned the flicker of light that remained inside of him. Tears formed in her eyes.

She looked at the war-torn room. The Dark Mother was dead, and her back-from-the-grave son, Thomas, held her tightly, weeping. Everything was wrong. Everything. Addie moved to the front of the room near the broken window.

Brooke left Thomas's side and moved cautiously over to Simon. She grabbed his hand and stopped him from licking the blood that stained his hands.

“Simon, look at me,” she said gently. “Look at me.” He turned his head toward her slightly. “Baby, I see you. I still see you. You made me promise to always
see
you, no matter what happened. I see you, baby.” She stood on the tip of her toes and kissed his lips.

“Brooke,” he said.

“Yes, it's me, baby. It's me.”

“What happened?” He looked around the room and his black eyes changed back to their natural color. “Did I hurt you?” he asked suddenly, and with tremendous concern.

“No, no, I'm fine. You saved me.”

“Thank God,” he said as he hugged her tightly.

From behind and with a decisive blow, Addie stabbed Simon in the back with the bloodied shard of glass that Eli had pulled from Thomas's shoulder. The glass went through his body and pierced his heart. Brooke screamed.

Simon stumbled, not sure what happened.

“Brooke?” he said as he lost his balance and slammed into a table.

“It had to be this way,” Addie said. “Your power cannot be allowed to exist. I have to save the world.”

“What—what—have you done?” Eli asked, as he, too, lost his balance and stumbled. He looked down at his white vest and saw blood soaking through it, as if
he
had been stabbed by the glass. “You can't kill us. We can't die.”

“You can. You will,” she said in a voice that was confident, but not boastful; it carried a small sadness that couldn't be masked by victory. “The seed of the first born Thibodeaux male gave you life; only his blood could give you a proper death; blood of the father, as Clara said.”

“Y-y-you said I had light inside of me. You said I could be saved, Grandmother,” Simon said, his voice heavy.

Tears fell from Addie's eyes. “I was wrong about that.” Simon flung his body wildly around the room trying to remove the glass that was deeply embedded in his back. He threw his arm over his shoulder and tried to reach the glass, but it was out of reach. He flopped desperately, like a fish out of water, gasping for life and breath.