Lucas.
A few years back, I recalled an anecdote about the decapitated head of a Hybrid. He was the son of a vampire who had a deal with the witches, Damascus. His Mother was human but he happened to be bitten by a wolf before he was turned. Peter used to be a very good adviser of mine but he died in World War II. It was said that the witches had spelled him down and killed him in real death. It was like stabbing the heart of a vampire with a stake.
His body was discovered buried in sand somewhere in Poland, I recounted to Alexander, and arid conditions remarkably preserved his Aryan short blond hair, attractive features and even the stubble on his chin. When Trevor saw the head in a Polish forensic medical institute showcase while visiting as a dumbass billionaire in the human world, he recognized him instantly.
The body and the head are both now in the Sacred Heart Cemetery.
"His front teeth are broken," Trevo pointed out, explaining how this wouldn't have happened if it was a mare war that caused his death. He mentioned how the witches wouldn't have killed him by removing his teeth too. He probably has poor dental care.
"What do you want to do with him?" Alexander asked. I glanced at Peter's mummified remains on my right and his head on my left.
"I would need some advice and he is the only one who can give me those answers," I said without taking my gaze off his head.
"So you want to cast some spells to wake him up or something? He's a dead man, Lucas, he can't return."
I looked at Alexander. "You weren't there, were you? Just because his body has decayed, do you think that would be the end of his life?" They looked at me, thinking and wondering what I was also thinking.
"Peel off the white bandage that was used to coat his body. I would make a rite, he would come back."
They didn't believe it but they did it anyway. I took out a knife from the back of my pocket and cut my palm. I arranged the head on top of the body on the ground. My blood dripped into the mouth and around the body.
"Surge et resurge iterum. Dissolutus sed vivus intus. Revertere ad id quod olim fuisti. Levántate y resurge otra vez. Descompuesto pero vivo dentro. Regresa a lo que solías ser."
After chanting, the body changed composure, slowly, the body became fresh and filled, the head reconnected with the body and he was back to who he used to be.
"Peter?" His eyes opened and he sat up. Alexander and Trevor were in awe. "You did it," Trevor said.
I smiled and stretched a hand to Peter. "Been a while, mate."
Two hours later, we found a spot in an abandoned house down the city in Crescent Hollow. Peter had a headache and his eyes searched around. "Am I dead?" He asked.
"For fifty years I guess. You were buried somewhere in Poland."
"Geez." He certainly still had shock in his body. He has been staring around for an hour.
"I need to know something before we go ahead. Who wanted you dead?" I asked.
It's reasonable to think people wanted him dead and part of those people have to be witches. When he died, it wasn't just a natural death. Both Peter and I knew he was kind of immortal but only witches could kill him. I assume that is what happened with him.
"I was in my room, Luk. I closed my eyes and the next thing I remembered was a gun in my head…in between a war. It was like I teleported or I went into someone else's body. It was the witches, I know it and it has to be from the Circle." He was right. No one would attack him if it wasn't someone in the Circle who wanted him to keep quiet about something.
I glanced at him. Then that means he has information that I shouldn't know about. So they had to kill him to keep his mouth shut.
"You have a lot of thinking and guidance to do. Come on." We shuffled around the city and went back to my castle.
At the library, the other officials had gathered. Alexander the Beta and his wife Serah. Tyson the Omega and some other workers that headed their departments. Trevor was there too with Peter by my side. I needed the discussion to be made in his presence, and see how he reacted to it.
"So, I want all the reports."
Alexander started. "From the information I gathered from Aspen Ridge, there haven't been any other attacks but the woods are dying and the timbers are becoming dangerous."
I tilted my head. "What do you mean by they are becoming dangerous?" I asked.
"The scars left in the woods are making the trees burn slowly on their own and they are becoming —"
"Mountain ash," I completed.
"I don't understand," Peter said. That was when everyone noticed him.
"Isn't that…" Tyson stammered and pointed a finger at Peter.
"Yes, it's me and I would love to know what is going on here."
Other ministers murmured. "How did you—"
"That's not important, Tyson. Explain it in summary to him and let's go on. I have something important to attend to."
Tyson sighed heavily. "There have been attacks around Aspen Ridge. Not wolf, not human. We don't know what it is. It leaves a sign on the dead bodies and the trees. When diagnosed, mountain ash was found in their systems and the trees were slowly burning. They are turning to mountain ash."
Pete folded his hands. "What sign does it leave?"
"A "M"."
Peter's eyes were as wide as a saucer plate. He looked at me and looked at them. "End this meeting. We need to discuss something."
I ended the meeting and everyone went their separate paths. "What is it?" I asked him once we were alone.
"Do you know or you are turning a blind eye?" He said.
I sighed, I wasn't sure myself. "I don't know Pete. I am hoping something else is attacking the wolves. I don't know what it is."
"You do, Lucas. This was exactly how it started, one hundred and fifty years ago. Deaths amongst wolves…mountain ashes…a human…this is how it all started and you are pretending not to know what is happening here."
I repressed the urge to look at his eyes. "Yes, I know."
I hoped something else was happening. I wished history wasn't repeating itself but the clues are just too much when I think about it. It breaks me to think of what happened 150 years ago.
"I am not seeing that monster again."
"Why did you bring me here? Huh? It's because you know what is happening but you can't do it alone. Tell me, what is next?"
"Peter, there have been deaths in the woods but it has come to a halt. Guess what, no humans around here anymore. I think that is why death stopped. Malachai, I am never seeing him again. He should be dust by now, bound by eternal pain. He would burn over and over again, he is drowning in pain and since he can't die, he has to go over it again and again and again. He is gone forever, Pete. Death isn't getting here."
"I believe you have someone waiting for you down there," Trevor said behind my back.
"You found a mate," said Peter. "I hope she is strong enough to hold on to your heart."
"Peter is right. You should stick to one woman. She would become our Luna soon," Trevor added and left with Peter.
I found Willow in a white floral garment in the woods. Her face lit up under the moonlight and her dress embraced the breeze.
"Willow, what are you doing here?"
She smiled and rushed to hug me. "What do you think? Your heart called me here. I was looking for you." She kissed me lightly. "I am worried. I needed to see you."
I agreed and walked her home.
"We should make this official, Lucas. I am thinking of next week. What do you think?"
I nodded. "Next week is great." I kissed her forehead.
"Don't leave me. Can you…stay the night?"
I closed in on her and caressed her rosy cheeks. "I would love to but I have something to attend to at home. I will see you tomorrow, okay?"
She nodded with a smile. "I love you," she said and waited for a response.
"That's a good thing, Willow. Goodnight."
I escaped from her real quick. When I got home, Aurora was asleep. Her curly hair spread on the bed. Looking at her from the table, she looked so familiar. I felt sorry for dragging her into what she has become even if she knows so little about it.
I found the cup I used to drink wine in the morning, there was a handprint on it and it was covered in blood. I looked at the cup and looked at Aurora. I'll save the explanation for tomorrow.
Lucas.
A few years back, I recalled an anecdote about the decapitated head of a Hybrid. He was the son of a vampire who had a deal with the witches, Damascus. His Mother was human but he happened to be bitten by a wolf before he was turned. Peter used to be a very good adviser of mine but he died in World War II. It was said that the witches had spelled him down and killed him in real death. It was like stabbing the heart of a vampire with a stake.
His body was discovered buried in sand somewhere in Poland, I recounted to Alexander, and arid conditions remarkably preserved his Aryan short blond hair, attractive features and even the stubble on his chin. When Trevor saw the head in a Polish forensic medical institute showcase while visiting as a dumbass billionaire in the human world, he recognized him instantly.
The body and the head are both now in the Sacred Heart Cemetery.
"His front teeth are broken," Trevo pointed out, explaining how this wouldn't have happened if it was a mare war that caused his death. He mentioned how the witches wouldn't have killed him by removing his teeth too. He probably has poor dental care.
"What do you want to do with him?" Alexander asked. I glanced at Peter's mummified remains on my right and his head on my left.
"I would need some advice and he is the only one who can give me those answers," I said without taking my gaze off his head.
"So you want to cast some spells to wake him up or something? He's a dead man, Lucas, he can't return."
I looked at Alexander. "You weren't there, were you? Just because his body has decayed, do you think that would be the end of his life?" They looked at me, thinking and wondering what I was also thinking.
"Peel off the white bandage that was used to coat his body. I would make a rite, he would come back."
They didn't believe it but they did it anyway. I took out a knife from the back of my pocket and cut my palm. I arranged the head on top of the body on the ground. My blood dripped into the mouth and around the body.
"Surge et resurge iterum. Dissolutus sed vivus intus. Revertere ad id quod olim fuisti. Levántate y resurge otra vez. Descompuesto pero vivo dentro. Regresa a lo que solías ser."
After chanting, the body changed composure, slowly, the body became fresh and filled, the head reconnected with the body and he was back to who he used to be.
"Peter?" His eyes opened and he sat up. Alexander and Trevor were in awe. "You did it," Trevor said.
I smiled and stretched a hand to Peter. "Been a while, mate."
Two hours later, we found a spot in an abandoned house down the city in Crescent Hollow. Peter had a headache and his eyes searched around. "Am I dead?" He asked.
"For fifty years I guess. You were buried somewhere in Poland."
"Geez." He certainly still had shock in his body. He has been staring around for an hour.
"I need to know something before we go ahead. Who wanted you dead?" I asked.
It's reasonable to think people wanted him dead and part of those people have to be witches. When he died, it wasn't just a natural death. Both Peter and I knew he was kind of immortal but only witches could kill him. I assume that is what happened with him.
"I was in my room, Luk. I closed my eyes and the next thing I remembered was a gun in my head…in between a war. It was like I teleported or I went into someone else's body. It was the witches, I know it and it has to be from the Circle." He was right. No one would attack him if it wasn't someone in the Circle who wanted him to keep quiet about something.
I glanced at him. Then that means he has information that I shouldn't know about. So they had to kill him to keep his mouth shut.
"You have a lot of thinking and guidance to do. Come on." We shuffled around the city and went back to my castle.
At the library, the other officials had gathered. Alexander the Beta and his wife Serah. Tyson the Omega and some other workers that headed their departments. Trevor was there too with Peter by my side. I needed the discussion to be made in his presence, and see how he reacted to it.
"So, I want all the reports."
Alexander started. "From the information I gathered from Aspen Ridge, there haven't been any other attacks but the woods are dying and the timbers are becoming dangerous."
I tilted my head. "What do you mean by they are becoming dangerous?" I asked.
"The scars left in the woods are making the trees burn slowly on their own and they are becoming —"
"Mountain ash," I completed.
"I don't understand," Peter said. That was when everyone noticed him.
"Isn't that…" Tyson stammered and pointed a finger at Peter.
"Yes, it's me and I would love to know what is going on here."
Other ministers murmured. "How did you—"
"That's not important, Tyson. Explain it in summary to him and let's go on. I have something important to attend to."
Tyson sighed heavily. "There have been attacks around Aspen Ridge. Not wolf, not human. We don't know what it is. It leaves a sign on the dead bodies and the trees. When diagnosed, mountain ash was found in their systems and the trees were slowly burning. They are turning to mountain ash."
Pete folded his hands. "What sign does it leave?"
"A "M"."
Peter's eyes were as wide as a saucer plate. He looked at me and looked at them. "End this meeting. We need to discuss something."
I ended the meeting and everyone went their separate paths. "What is it?" I asked him once we were alone.
"Do you know or you are turning a blind eye?" He said.
I sighed, I wasn't sure myself. "I don't know Pete. I am hoping something else is attacking the wolves. I don't know what it is."
"You do, Lucas. This was exactly how it started, one hundred and fifty years ago. Deaths amongst wolves…mountain ashes…a human…this is how it all started and you are pretending not to know what is happening here."
I repressed the urge to look at his eyes. "Yes, I know."
I hoped something else was happening. I wished history wasn't repeating itself but the clues are just too much when I think about it. It breaks me to think of what happened 150 years ago.
"I am not seeing that monster again."
"Why did you bring me here? Huh? It's because you know what is happening but you can't do it alone. Tell me, what is next?"
"Peter, there have been deaths in the woods but it has come to a halt. Guess what, no humans around here anymore. I think that is why death stopped. Malachai, I am never seeing him again. He should be dust by now, bound by eternal pain. He would burn over and over again, he is drowning in pain and since he can't die, he has to go over it again and again and again. He is gone forever, Pete. Death isn't getting here."
"I believe you have someone waiting for you down there," Trevor said behind my back.
"You found a mate," said Peter. "I hope she is strong enough to hold on to your heart."
"Peter is right. You should stick to one woman. She would become our Luna soon," Trevor added and left with Peter.
I found Willow in a white floral garment in the woods. Her face lit up under the moonlight and her dress embraced the breeze.
"Willow, what are you doing here?"
She smiled and rushed to hug me. "What do you think? Your heart called me here. I was looking for you." She kissed me lightly. "I am worried. I needed to see you."
I agreed and walked her home.
"We should make this official, Lucas. I am thinking of next week. What do you think?"
I nodded. "Next week is great." I kissed her forehead.
"Don't leave me. Can you…stay the night?"
I closed in on her and caressed her rosy cheeks. "I would love to but I have something to attend to at home. I will see you tomorrow, okay?"
She nodded with a smile. "I love you," she said and waited for a response.
"That's a good thing, Willow. Goodnight."
I escaped from her real quick. When I got home, Aurora was asleep. Her curly hair spread on the bed. Looking at her from the table, she looked so familiar. I felt sorry for dragging her into what she has become even if she knows so little about it.
I found the cup I used to drink wine in the morning, there was a handprint on it and it was covered in blood. I looked at the cup and looked at Aurora. I'll save the explanation for tomorrow.