The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (9 page)

            Finally, I hear the other
woman’s voice clearly. “And if you are not right, you will pay the price young
witch. You must know your place and I will be more than glad to teach it to
you.” Her voice is like a cold shower, shocking and lacking any warmth at all.
It echoes all around me as if it is coming from different directions and I
almost look behind me to make sure there aren’t any speakers on the wall,
magnifying the sound. Even though her voice is filled with icy power, it is the
most beautiful sound my ears have ever heard and I have to see who it belongs
to.

            I round the corner,
limping foolishly and then come to a stop. The woman known as Diana is facing
me, looking directly at me and I have to bite my lip to keep my jaw from
dropping. Diana is about 6’4” with long blonde hair that is so light that it
almost looks white. Her skin is incredibly smooth and is slightly glowing. Her
eyes are the lightest blue I have ever seen in my life and her lips, small and
pink, are frowning. Still, it doesn’t take away from her other-worldly beauty.

            She is wearing a long, one
strapped dress that hangs modestly over her chest, showing nothing, but still
managing to look attractive. There are no shoes on her feet and I’m sure that
she hardly wears any at all, despite having perfect feet as well.

            It takes all my energy to
look away from this woman, who by no means would ever be mistaken for human.
But, I have to show her where my heart lies as I look toward Selene.

            “Are you okay baby?” I ask
her.

            Selene looks almost
horrified at my blatant disregard of the woman across from me. “Um, you’re
asking me if I’m okay? Rayne, you shouldn’t be out of bed,” she tries to
chastise me. Her voice is thick with the accent I love so much as her
nervousness comes to the forefront.

            “I had to check on you. I
heard you speaking and it sounded like something was wrong.” I start to wobble
slightly and lean against the wall before I topple over while still trying to
look serious and protective.

            Selene notices my mini
struggle and smirks. Then, she catches her composure and looks back to Diana
who is staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

            “You’d try to come to the
aid of your witch while in your condition, human.” It’s not a question but I answer
her anyway, trying to ignore the way her voice resonates all around me and the
goose bumps that are forming on my skin.

            “Yes, as you said, she is
my witch. I love her.” I try to sound confident, have my voice contain power
like hers, but I know that’s impossible.

            “Interesting. Come to me child,”
Diana coaxes me. My body seems to move on its own toward her.

            As I get closer, I notice
that her skin truly has not one flaw to it. There is no visible mark or scar,
no extra hairs poking out, nothing. She is what make-up tries to imitate. Diana
lifts up my chin, taking me in as if I am a science project. Her hand is warm
and delicate, but part of me still wants to pull away from her as if she is a
ticking time bomb. Yet, I force myself not to pull away as we lock eyes.

            Suddenly, I’m gasping
before I realize it and I quickly turn my head. What I’ve seen, I can’t
explain. There is a power behind her eyes, frightening and beautiful all at
once and a look that says that she’s seen and done more than I ever will. Her
stare made me feel as though I was drowning. Waves of a tempest crashing down
onto my chest, filling my lungs.

            “It’s okay child, don’t be
ashamed. It is not often that one can look into the eyes of an Immortal the
first time meeting one.” She smiles at me. “You are beautiful. Young witch, you
have chosen well.” Diana says; her hand now on my shoulder, her height just as
intimidating as her supernatural eyes.

            I blink twice at her
words. Immortal? This is just getting better and better. I examine Diana’s
appearance. She doesn’t look to be much older than mid-thirty’s, but clearly, I
needed to add at least a couple zeros to her age. Apparently there are a lot of
things that I need to be brought up to speed on. I definitely don’t like
feeling like I’m at the bottom of the food chain either. No wonder why her damn
skin glowed. Jesus.

            “Thank you Diana. Are you
now willing to look?” Selene responds, a slight desperation in her voice.

            “I will look only if you
agree to pay the cost. If you are wrong, you will pay double that. These are my
terms,” she says, with finality.

            “I will,“ Selene responds.

            “Wait,” I say backing away
from both of them. “What cost? Look at what? If this is about me, I should know
what you’re talking about. And if you are going to have to pay something to a
freaking Immortal I should at least have a say in it.” I try not to sound whiny
or fearful, but we were dealing with a real life, f’ing Immortal. I know that
there is no way in hell they were talking about money.

            “You will watch your
tongue child. Although I am surprised that she did not explain to you why I am
here, you should appreciate what she is doing for you.”

           
‘But, I don’t even know
what’s going on,’
I think to myself, distrusting my voice not to sound
pouty.

            “Rayne. There is a
prophesy, no, more like an agreement that says that some humans will be given
power from the immortals in order to protect themselves and their kind. Long,
long ago before humans stopped believing in supernaturals or the ‘awakened’ as
some of our kind calls themselves, they pledged themselves as servants of the
immortals. The humans were being wiped out in waves with no true means or
heroes to stop the attacks,” Selene begins.

            Diana continues for her,
cutting her off with a wave of her hand, “In turn, if unique humans met
certain, as you say, criteria, they could be marked by an immortal to become
more than human. They would possess the means to destroy their enemies. If the
human was worthy, they could become a protector of their kind. In this way, humans
would not have to be completely powerless against the other races that walk the
Earth. However, that was long ago and the pact that was made has been long
since forgotten. As well, we immortals no longer walk this plane.”

            “Selene,” I say, turning to
her, ignoring the growing pain in my ankle. “What about me makes you think I
could be one of these people?” I am extremely curious to know.

            “Forgotten doesn’t mean
that it doesn’t exist anymore either. One of the prophecies says that ‘they
will be destroyed, gaze upon evil, yet know no fear,” Selene tells me
excitedly. “Your family’s death in a way was your destruction, they were your
lifeline. When the Devourer came after you, you knew what it was and yet you
stood up to it, unafraid. It is said that, that human who fulfills the prophesy
and becomes marked will be a warrior that the world has never before seen.
Rayne, there has not been one marked in over a generation. That seer was
talking about you.” Selene sounds so confident that I could be the one.

            I look at Selene. She
thinks that because that thing’s mouth closed, I could be some kind of
super-human. I start to shake my head, but I can’t let Selene look like a fool
in front of the immortal. What if she was right about me?

            “So, when she improperly
summoned me, Selene stated that your entire family was just murdered and that
you fought against a Demon, a powerful one at that and it was unable to kill
you. Is this the truth young warrior?”

            Warrior? Me? I look back
at Selene who smiles and gives me the confidence that I need. I step toward
Diana again, nodding.

            “Yes. I couldn’t let that
thing hurt Selene too even if it cost me my life. I refused to let it kill me
knowing that I was afraid of it,” I say, as truthfully as possible.

            Diana nods in approval.
“Those are the qualities of a protector. There could be power in you yet.”

            Before I can blink, Diana
pulls me into her arms, grabs both sides of my cheeks and stares piercingly
into my eyes. This time, I’m unable to look away and I swear I feel her pulling
memories out of my mind. Birthdays, arguments, swimming, family time, the
Demon, she sees it all. It’s not really painful, but I feel a type of violation
that I’ve never felt in my life. The memories of me making love to Selene play
and I try to force myself to think of something else. Diana focuses of my
passions, competitiveness, and morality. Finally, she pulls away from me and
smiles.

            “It’s been over two
hundred years since I’ve marked anyone. There is something remarkable inside
you and you don’t even know it. You have a strong urge to protect child, and I
believe that with that strength, I can turn you into a weapon,” Diana says
satisfactorily.

            I finally give in to my
pain and limp to the couch. They both follow me without a word. So, I respond,
“A weapon? To be used as I see fit, or as a tool for others?” Power comes at a
cost; I was learning that the hard way.

            “You are right child. You
would owe me a service, but by no means would you be a slave. We immortals are
oath bound to guide the chosen humans, not to rule them. Long ago when that
pact was made, our eldest brother Alexander fell in love with the human race.
He said that he saw qualities inside of your kind that no other race that
walked the earth possessed. He never told us what the quality was and instead
said that we must all look for ourselves.”

            “With that, he bound us
all to human-kind and used his immortal life blood to send the power into every
human alive. It merged with their dna and gave them the chance to be able to
unlock the power that he had gifted them with. It cost our brother his life
forever as he knew it would, but not before making us promise that we’d never
enslave your men or women. He loved you so much that he sacrificed everything!
Therefore, that is the quality I seek when I mark a human. Genuine self
sacrifice for the thing called love. It is the one thing that I know cannot be
taught. Either it is who you are or it does not exist.”

            Selene reaches for my hand
and holds it tight. I squeeze it back.

            “I want to protect you,
but I see that there is something else in you that has the potential to be a
force all on its own,” Selene tells me.

            I think about their words.
“Will I be able to kill the demon that killed my family, or fight the man who
started all of this?” I need to know if I will have that kind of power, and at
this point if I owe Diana a service, I don’t care what it is.

            “Think wisely before you
make any rash decisions, young one. I can feel it in the air that you are
thinking of revenge. If you allow hate to rule your heart, I will not help
you,” Diana warns.

            I turn, let go of Selene’s
hand, and look Diana squarely in the eyes, this time unflinchingly. “Diana. My
family deserves justice and if I can be the blade that delivers that justice,
then so be it. Still, that will not be my sole purpose in obtaining power. If I
can grow strong to protect people so that they never have to go through what I
just did, then I will do it. After what I witnessed, I never ever want to be
weak again. If you refuse to help me, I will find another way.”

            Diana remains quiet for a
couple seconds, then nods as she stands up, turning her back towards us. “So be
it young warrior. I will mark you as one of mine and your journey will begin to
become something more, something that has always been hidden inside you. I will
help you unleash the power that you humans have lost.” She turns back towards
me and motions for me to stand up. I do so without hesitation. “This does not
mean that you will succeed. And even if you do unlock the power within you, you
may not be worthy of the title protector. Knowing this, knowing that this could
possibly be the death of you, if you are still willing to go through with this
endeavor, you will have three moons to finish your business in this world before
you and your witch enter mine.” She looks toward Selene in acknowledgement.

            “Normally, I would not
allow someone who was not marked or my cohort to enter my realm, but your
persistence about me meeting your lover was admirable and I know you would not
want to be separated from her in this great time.” Diana smiles with flawless
teeth.

            Selene bows. “Thank you
Diana. I am in your debt as well.”

            Diana turns back to me.
“When you come to me, be prepared to forget all you once knew about right and
wrong. You have lived in a world that is oblivious to its true self and
therefore, you can no longer see things as you once did. I hope you understand
that.”

            I nod.

            “Now, take off your
shirt.”

            I blink a couple times and
get ready to open my mouth to question her, but quickly change my mind and do
as she commands. Once my shirt is off, I swear I see a look of appreciation in
her eyes as she gazes upon my round breasts. Hmmm.

            With a motion so quick and
fluid, I barely see a long knife materialize from the air and Diana grab it
until I realize that she’s sliced her hand down the middle. The knife goes back
where it came from and Diana takes the pointer finger that isn’t on her
bloodied hand, rubs some of the blood, and draws a symbol right above my heart.
When the symbol is complete, she says some unintelligible words and then slams
her opposite hand into my chest right where she drew the symbols. My skin is
being branded and I can’t help myself as I hiss at the pain. When Diana
releases her hand, the symbol is now a part of my flesh, tattoo-like. It glows
brightly for a second, then, it disappears into my skin. Confusion paints my
face.