Eden was lying on the bed soon after she arrives from the hospital. Everything that happens at the underground site is unnoticed by any of them. She can’t blame anyone because it was her fault, anyway. She was so busy trying to figure it out and didn’t aware of the real danger that might come after the ritual. Jacob had come for a while and wanted to stay with her tonight, to make sure that she was okay. But Eden refuses. Her brother needs some rest, too. She’s fine and after taking a good nap, she’ll be okay by the next morning.
Jacob also told Eden that the other already left and will fly back home tonight. The King Alpha wants them to go back home together, as the work here is already done. Eden declines the offer and wants to stay for one more day. She wants to go back to the site tomorrow and took a last look at the three tombs as she felt she had missed something important there. The DPO might found the soul bearer, but there is something unusual about their finding. After talking for a few more minutes, Jacob retreated to his room and left her to rest alone. Queen Lena also comes after Jacob left and asks for more information about what just happened earlier.
Eden was uncomfortable talking alone with the Queen of Demons clans, so she call her brother to come to the room again so they can have some calm, important conversation together. Her brother had seen everything and he also must want some explanation for all of that at once.
“Why is he here? It’s not like I’m going to do something bad with you,” Queen Lena spoke with her displeased voice.
“Your Grace. I just want him to be here because I feel uncomfortable talking with you alone, not because I’m afraid. But because I feel safer with him here,” said Eden in her manner voice. “As you know, my brother has been with us all these times and he knows about our work. I assume he also wants to know what was happening and why, don’t you, Jac?” Jacob nods and agrees with Eden.
Eden then talks about what she had left to say in the underground after the incident happens. It still doesn’t occur to her that time until the fire hit and they sent her to the hospital for treatment. She begins by showing them the entire picture she take yesterday from her laptop and asked Queen Lena if she sees anything suspicious that might lead them to something new.
The Queen of Demons told them she had already given what she think to Eden, and she hid nothing from her. Everything she had done was purposely for the ritual and the soul bearer only because her son was one heir too. She will never harm her child.
Queen Lena furrowed her brow when Eden explained how the three tombs connected. How come the three tombs connected when yesterday they already figure it out? Someone might have ordered unintentionally to put the other two there besides the one that the soul bearer put there. She was already done with her research and yes, the second tomb indeed belongs to the priestess and that’s it.
The written on the tombs are peculiar but there is nothing abnormal about it. They did the ritual, and they did it well. Maybe after the ritual gets done here, the DPO found the right maiden there... there’s nothing strange about it at all. Perhaps they read the wrong information and translate the wrong transcription.
Eden arises from the bed and seat on the chair next to her brother. She took out something from her backpack. It made the dark brown envelope the size of A4 from animal skin and it feels soft on the hands. Eden opens the envelope and instructs Queen Lena to pull out the old yellowish paper from the inside and read it silently.
“I got that when I do some odd jobs for the DPO with mom in Ethiopia two years ago. The priest give it to me and told me I might need it someday... at first, I didn’t t know what it is exactly or when I’ll use it but after what just happened today, I’ll think that thing might get some connection with the work that DPO ask us to do here,” Said Eden with her calm voice.
Jacob also sees the old paper, and the writing is not something that he can read. Still, he finesses it because the papers look quite old and can easily get torn anytime if not handled with care.
“So what is your point, Eden? I can see the sigils symbol here and the meaning of it—we all know what these sigils mean but what it’s got to do with the three tombs there and why do you keep saying the connection between the three tombs and DPO’s dark intentions?!” Said Queen Lena questions Eden’s true intentions and why she keeps on saying the connection when both of them know there is no connection between the three at all. She starts unconvinced by Eden’s behavior.
“Do you think I lied to, Your Grace? You know me for years and we have been doing this work together for the past five to six years already... if I got some bad intentions, why I’m working hard to figure it out in the first place? I want the heir to get their true mates, not the fake ones...” reply Eden with her disappointed look. She never thought the Queen of Demons will doubt her.
“I never doubt you even once, Eden. I know how much effort you give, but I just can’t get you when you keep on suspecting the organization that had been protecting all of us for over 200 years now! It makes little sense...” Queen Lena said with her displeased before continuing her talk back again.
“If you can deliberate it like this, what makes me feel like the mother of the unmated heir, huh? I’m not going to a seat here doing a useless conversation with you if you keep accusing the organization. That keeps us all safe and peaceful all these years by calming them as the one who got an evil intention!” Queen Lena’s enraged voice made Eden and Jacob’s ears hurt. Her echoing voice inside Eden’s hotel room is formidable and strong.
“I’m not saying the entire DPO is evil, Your Grace. What I’m trying to say here is that someone inside the DPO had some bad intention and I don’t think the DPO is aware of this at all or not...” Queen Lena jeers at Eden's words.
This young lady is indeed looking for her death. Did she forget she is one of the DPO authorities that can put her out forever? “Look at the picture carefully and I will tell you both what I know...” Eden put her laptop close to Queen Lena's and Jacob’s side. While she clarifies everything, she thought about the DPO and the soul bearer’s true identity.
Eden points toward the picture of the first tombs that face the North. The tomb is still in good condition and the carving symbol on its stone lids and walls clearly states that it was the tomb of the first soul bearer. The round jewelry stone on its lids comes from Hematite stone and not a bloodstone like what they thought before. Hematite is a shiny, heavy stone that looks and feels very similar to metal. Ranging from a steel grey to silvery black and sometimes found with a red flash within the stone, while the bloodstone is a dark green jasper with red spots.
The Hematite names come from Greek words for ‘blood’, and in some countries known as ‘bloodstone’, which sometimes causes confusion between these two stones. Since the Ancient Greek and Roman times, it had considered Hematite as a stone that protects against wounds and any other dangers, instilling courage and strength in the wearer. They also thought it to maintain these qualities during childbirth, giving endurance and strength and preventing heavy bleeding during childbirth.
So the first tombs are indeed the soul bearer, but she only got the place after the real soul bearer died. She died during childbirth and she was also from the Witches’ clans. “How do you know?” Eden then changes it to another picture and turns her laptop back again for Queen Lena to see.
“The strange craving figure on the sidewall of the tombs writes about it but I’m not sure until we open the tombs yesterday and there is a few figures word inside the tombs where the mummy laid...” Queen Lena is amazed by Eden’s discovery but said nothing and lets the young teenage girl continue to elaborate on her theory.
The second tomb which faces the Southside is a tomb that belongs to the priestess who’s supposed to take care of the soul bearer. The jewelry design on its stone lid is the shape of a quad arrow callout, meaning she is the high priestess from the four sides—of humans, werewolves, cold blood, and demons. They embedded the Blue Agate stone with white lace patterns into the breastplate of the high priest during the time of the Old Testament.
They commonly used this stone during Roman times, powdered and mixed with water, to counter snake bites. In twelfth-century France, they placed it in the drinking and cooking vessels for those who were suffering ill health, and in thirteenth-century England; They considered it to be useful for strengthening sight and ensuring fidelity.
“She died while protecting the first soul bearer. The priestess is a human, but also an oracle. The first person to identify the soul bearer,” said Eden again. “But something had killed her and I don’t know what it is. Because she does the writing from the first tombs and her tomb,” Jacob got confused. So did Queen Lena.
Eden can easily read their puzzled expression. She drew a soft smile and feels a numbness in her left arm and her eyes get heavy over the minutes. Something strange is happening to her body and she can feel it in every cell of her body now.
“So what kind of connection that the two tombs had with the wrecking tombs?” asked Queen Lena, patiently waiting for Eden’s further explanation. “And if it’s connected, why the DPO is behind all this mess?” Eden nodded slightly and again changes the picture on her laptop screen and put it into the last tombs whose got nothing special about them at all.
“This is the veritable tomb of the first soul bearer!” Eden answered gently and tries to avoid her drowsiness from getting ahead of her by blinking her eyes continuously.
“You just said the first tomb is the soul bearer, and this tomb is also the soul bearer? How come there are two of the soul bearer, here? The prophecy told nothing about a two-person becoming the first soul bearer, is it?!” Jacob finally let out his confusion by asking for more detail from his sister. Eden drew a smile again before answering.
“Yes, there are two soul bearers and DPO knew it very well!” Queen Lena stood up from her seat. Eden’s accusation of the DPO is overdramatizing. She had been sitting in the hall for over thirty years and read all the Old Testament and documents surrounding the supernatural world more than anyone.
Even the elder can’t compare to her and that is why the DPO appointed her as their leader in the research area. She almost lost her temper towards the young teenage girl, if not because of her big brother’s presence there. She already cast the spell on her so she’ll never have the guts to say whatever her tongue desired to say.
“Please listen to me first, Your Graces. Like I said before, the DPO is aware of it all long before we do. They just try to hide the truth from us. Don’t ask why I said like this but asked me how I know...” Eden responded almost instantly after Queen Lena went on the warpath with her. Waiting for Queen Lena to respond, Eden took a deep breath before continuing her long lectures back.
The tomb with a wreck in its corner belongs to the first soul bearer. She is the young maiden from the omegas and half witches. The reason they chose her to become the first soul bearer is just that she knows about the magic stuff and how to handle it better. As one of the she-wolves, she is also brave, and good at infertility, which is perfect for breeding. That is why she got chosen. Eden also notices something strange about the mummy’s clothes. The clothes that were wrapping the mummy also look like it was burnt and not because of their old condition or anything.
“Tell me, Your Grace, you didn’t know about it too? How did she got chosen to be the first soul bearer and what happens to her after they chose her to bore the mates of the three heirs?” Queen Lena stays still in her seat.
Eden indeed is right. She has been doing the DPO work and done much research on the soul bearer for quite a long enough, but never cross her mind that DPO is already aware of it all. No wonder the King of Werewolf praises this little young girl a lot. The way she thinks and talks is far more than her proper age. Not just wise and bright, but her observation is also persistent and proved to be the truth every time. She was proud to have Eden as her apprentice and to do all these works together.
“Everything I know or heard, see or read, etc.; I don’t think as you did. My work is hundred percent transparent with you... I’ll hide nothing. The reason I do this work is for my son. I want him to have his mates and have his children...” Queen Lena spoke with a low tone as she regrets everything about Eden so far.
“I understand how you feel, Your Grace, and because I want to help the heirs, too. I’m might be a human but my family’s not... our heir also needs his mate and I hope you can put your trust in me,” Queen Lena move her head a bit as a gesture for her to agree with Eden’s says.
“The first soul bearer is a virgin maiden, but someone did something to her, and made her the enemy of DPO. So DPO dismiss her and selected another by killing the first not long after she got chosen. Queen Lena observes Eden's words. Because the soul-bearers appear naturally and not by force, they kill the first and bury her inside the unmaker tomb. The one that you see right now!” Said Eden, pointing towards the picture on the laptop.
DPO chooses its candidates. As the first comes from half omegas and half witches, they pick the maiden from the same. side like the first, perform the forbidden ritual without consent from the pact elders. Dragging her lifeless body to Eunoia River and placing her on the Bloodstone altar near the Bloodmoon pack territory, so she can be the next soul bearer.
Bleed her corpse with black ritual. DPO succeeds and a new soul bearer appeared. She does the mating ceremony with the Cold Blood heir. Why was the heir chosen? No one knows why. But she lived with the heir for some time. After a month, the first full moon arrives. The festival celebrates with joy and pride because the heir will get their destiny mate that year.
Eden doesn’t know how the soul is supposed to be delivered. There is no perfect instruction about it at all. Not even the clueless DPOs. The soul bearer gave birth like the normal human woman does when delivering their baby. No one knows what happens to the souls after their birth. According to the witches, the souls flee as soon after it delivers. DPO seals the truth and creates a new one. Made everyone believes they do a noble job. The 12-month rotation is the end, and this year the heirs definitely will get their mates.
With the three heirs aged half of their actual age; 25 years old, 125 years old, and 250 years old. A rare combination as the 12 years rotation is complete. The gap between the two was with the werewolves’ heirs because the werewolf found their mates more frequently compared to others. If the soul bearer is indeed found this year, they can proceed with the ceremony as soon as possible. If the soul bearer is not the real soul bearer, they have to wait for another 12 years again. That, of course, is up for heirs if they are still unmated during those times.
All they need is to confirm if the sigils are real. DPO can do what they want to do. And hopefully, the soul bearer is the real one. They don’t need another victim. The soul bearer needs to be protected from DPO wrongdoings. to make sure the soul bearer stays safe and alive during the process, she needs to look for more information about how to deliver the souls without mistreating them.
“In that case, we need to go home tonight!” Eden shakes her head slowly. She will stay for one or two more days.
“No! don’t call the DPO. I’ll stay to see the tombs and ask for more information from the reverend. If something new comes up, I’ll call you directly,” Jacob was just silent. He didn’t know what to say to his little sister after she gave them such an ultimatum.
“Make sure you stay safe!” Eden nods. exchange looks with her brother.
“I will!”