After her talk with Dean Bancroft, Morgianna had a lot to think about. For days she walked through her life in a daze, hardly paying attention to what was happening around her. She wanted to tell her friends and get their opinions but was not even sure how she would word it. 'Oh hey guys, by the way, that grandmother I was telling you about before is actually the cause of all this. She decided she liked a human and some god got mad that she didn't think he was good enough so he wants to destroy the world. On top of that apparently, the Dean, which is a woman knows granny from way back.'
Morgianna could feel a headache coming on as she watched the sun sink below the horizon. Currently she was standing alone amongst the trees letting the gentle breeze caress her cheeks.
'Child. I know you are confused, and probably angry and for that I take responsibility. I know it is not my fault for falling in love, but I should have had more foresight to see Eltarr's evil intentions. You are in this mess because of me... I wanted at least you to be safe, but even in that other world you weren't. We lied to you to get you to return here.' The voice that Morgianna had come to know as her Grandmother, Tadea was barely a whisper through her mind.
Even if Morgianna wanted to be angry, she couldn't muster the feeling, at least not towards her grandmother. She knew that the only things her grandmother was responsible for were giving her a second chance at life and falling in love. "I am angry... But not at you. I am angry that because you fell in love with someone the world almost ended due to jealousy. I am angry that my whole first life I never felt like I belonged and now I know why, I am also angry that even now that I am in this world the things that were wrong are very much still wrong. There are death flags that could take my life...and I find that now I do not want to die. In my past life it was nothing for me to take my friend's place because I wanted her to live and I myself did not so much want to."
Morgianna had not even realized those were her real feelings until the words were said aloud. There were no sounds around her as she stood, even the breeze that had been blowing just moments earlier had died down. 'I know that things are tough, but my hopes are for you to one day be happy, even with all that is yet to come, I know you will succeed. I must go now, but even when you cannot see me, I am with you.'
A twig snapping behind her made Morgianna tense. Slowly she turned her eyes scanning her surroundings but finding nobody there. She wanted to blame it on paranoia, but she knew the sound of that twig was far from imagination.
Casting another glance around, Morgianna caught what looked like a dark shape retreating farther into the forest. Even knowing that curiosity killed the cat she did not like being watched and felt as if something inside of her was pushing her to follow. Starting at a light jog, the figure soon sped up to a full sprint with Morgianna following closely behind, still only able to catch glimpses here and there as they ran. She did not know where she was being led, but she could smell the ocean.
Up ahead Morgianna saw the figure dash between two trees seeming to disappear. Pushing her legs a little harder Morgianna exited the forest and found herself standing on a cliff. Looking around she saw no person, only miles and miles of water below her and tress blocking off any view of the school. She felt like there were eyes on her burning a hole into her body but no matter where she looked she could not locate from where the stare was coming from.
With no idea what to do from there Morgianna began to walk the edge of the forest, peering between the trees in hopes of catching sight of the dark figure once more. With no luck she then decided to check the edge of the cliff, thinking that maybe the figure could have hidden over the edge. Her steps were slow and steady as she walked to the edge allowing her shoes to kick the loose dirt and rocks. She squatted down, letting her hair create a curtain around her pale face and scanned the rock wall.
As she scanned for any sign of the figure the air around Morgianna changed, the wind that was previously almost nonexistent picked up speed whipping her hair around her. Leaning back away from the edge she fought to get her hair out of her eyes catching a dark figure hurtling at her at an inhuman speed.
Within seconds it was on her and she felt two 'hands' make a connection with her body sending her backward over the edge. For a moment she let her body freefall through the air as she looked at the figure above her. It's humanoid shape shrouded in darkness that flickered in and out.
Morgianna extended her hands out letting the air around her bend to her will slowing the speed at which she fell until finally coming to a complete stop. The figure above didn't move, seeming to stay and watch what she would do next. If she wanted she could fly across the expanse of water straight to the nearest town, or maybe even to her friends who would welcome her with open arms. She could even call them here and break all the rules if she were so inclined. However a feeling inside of her told her that by the time they arrived it would be long gone.
Twisting her wrist she rose above the cliffside keeping a distance between herself and the flickering figure. "Who are you?" She could barely hear her own voice over the wind but she knew it heard her. It's 'head' titled to the side as if studying a fascinating creature making the hair on her arms stand up and a chill run down her spine.
"You look like your grandmother, I bet your tainted blood calls out to these filthy creatures that call this world their home. Join me and I will let you live." The voice was clearly male, it's sound gravely but not in a good way. Just from those words Morgianna had made her guess of who stood in front of her, yet she hoped beyond hope that she was wrong.
Moving her body so that she was hovering over solid ground, Morgianna watched the figure for any sign that it would attack. "You just tried to kill me, why should I believe you Eltarr?"
A dark chuckle resounded throughout to small clearing. "Well you shouldn't believe me blindly. However this is a once in a lifetime chance, get it? Because you've died before and will die again." Not getting the reaction he was hoping for he continued on as if not acknowledging his awkward joke. "Don't take too long making up your mind though. One day you will seek me out willingly, coming to me begging for your life, and on that day if you beg nice enough I may just let you live. Or I may kill all you care about first and then torture you for eternity." The shadow flickered as if shrugging. Morgianna felt that there was a smile in his voice as if the words he was saying were of the most pleasant topic, and not about her gruesome demise.
Just from what she had heard about him and her short conversation thus far Morgianna could tell that making a deal with him would be like making a deal with the devil. In the end she would always lose. Steeling her nerves, Morgianna straightened her spine and stared at the figure with cool lipid eyes. "I will never come to you and beg. Instead on that day should it ever come, it will be you that begs for your life." With those words she did not waste another moment. Using the wind to propel her forward Morgianna called her scythe into her hands and swung.
The shadow flickered as the scythe passed through it, another dark chuckle echoing through the cliffside before the shadow slowly dissipated into nothing. There was no trace left behind as if he had never been there to begin with. Morgianna knew this time she truly was alone, the eyes she had felt on her before were gone. Taking a deep breath she looked over the water and knew that she would have to make a trip to town soon. This was too big for her to handle on her own.
....
*somewhere far below the surface*
"Dammit! One day I will wipe that whole family out of existence. No, I will finish what I started and wipe this whole world out of existence. The seal is weakening so I can send out parts of myself but they are nowhere near strong enough to fight someone. I need to be free so that this world will tremble at the sound of my name. That girl is nothing but a nuisance, an obstacle to my goals and she must be dealt with." Another shadow was speaking, but it was nonetheless Eltarr. His real body lay upon a stone slab within the cavernlike room seeming to be in a deep sleep. The long blonde hair fanned around his body almost like a halo. His beauty was once the talk of the town, many women and men alike lining up just to see him. His eyebrows perfectly arched with long lashes that cast a gentle shadow over his high cheekbones.
The shadow reached out as if to touch his sleeping form but the closer it got the more it dissolved. He cursed in his heart vowing to make everyone pay. He would once again walk the surface, but this time he would revel in their fear.