Echoes in Eternity (The Pella Series Book 1) (70 page)

“That’s the thing, dad. All he said is true
, everything about the people and the world events. A lot has happened since you were gone,” my father shakes his head.

“No matter how the
players change, the scenario remains relatively the same, human nature is very predictable. What Apollyon wants to accomplish has not changed. The methods he will employ to reach his end goal, to get you will always be well calculated and orchestrated through patiently nurtured plans. He will not act like a demon or one of his impatient minions. He is the master manipulator. There is none better.
You
…” he says emphasizing as his gaze bores into me, “You are more than a key to Eden. Eden has other defenses. Just because they can open a gate doesn’t mean they storm Elysium and take it over…”

             
“Why then am I such a big deal? Clearly, even if they had managed to sacrifice me they couldn’t have conquered Elysium.”

             
“No. But a universal puzzle has many pieces. You’re
the
wild card… Combined with…” he says but he can’t get the words out.

             
“What?” I ask curiously, sounding like I’m whining. He tries to rephrase his words to express his thoughts without being stopped, or without divulging whatever he’s not supposed to tell me.

             
“Your kind, you and Alex in particular can change the outcome. Clearly, you can see the other benefit of eradicating the first fifteen generations. They cannot be used as tools. No matter what he does or says, don’t trust Apollyon! Don’t let him get through you!” he inculcates.

             
“Dad, you’re an angel and he just had you splayed and incapacitated, helpless! I’m only half an angel. If you can’t escape his influence, his powers, I don’t know how I can.”

             
“It’s only because I’m weakened by my restraints and he wasn’t even supposed to be here, but your entry broke the seals. My mind is strong to resist him. You have the same ability…” he says then lowers his voice to a whisper. “You’re no longer a mortal. Somewhere in between. Once you complete this journey, you’re on your way to becoming immortal,” he utters, looking into my eyes trying to convey something. “Apollyon has the gift of Persuasion. He can easily convince people,
Fallen
and some of the Nephilim. But you have the ability to cling to your own decisions. That’s why he will try to get you by appealing to your desires, your freedom and your love of others. If none of that works, he will take pleasure in breaking you down piece by piece like breaking a wild horse, but in the process he will shred your mind and spirit. He’ll let your loved ones watch it and take pleasure in each torment.” I realize I scrambled out of my father’s embrace, trembling. My father’s hands hold my shoulders and steady me.

             
“Listen to me,” he says whispering into my ear. “You don’t have much time. I have set enough alliances to keep you safe. Those who are most loyal to you are marked and some of the marks are invisible for good reason. They
all
volunteered, they are not forced.”

             
“Was Alex…?” I say working on a dry swallow. “Did you force him?”

             
“No!” he shakes his head feverishly. “I could not have put someone into your service for an eternity forcefully. I could plead, beg, but in the end, it’s up to the individual. Alexander volunteered,” my father says confirming Alex’s statement.             

             
I stumble back again, but this time I’m yanked by an invisible force. My father catches me lightning speed before I land on the ground. I’m easily scooped up and back in the safety of his embrace. At that instant, my back arches again with a stabbing pain, making me scream in agony. My life force is jolting, sending signals all over my body. A compulsory force tries to pull me away and this time I can hear two distinct male voices urging me to not to resist and come. Their voices momentarily deafen me to my father.

             
“
Elissa! Please! Our bond is going to break, your time is up! Please, don’t resist!
” I hear their pleas.

“
It has to be now, Alex! We have no time left!
” Says the second male voice. He sounds very far, like a bad phone connection.

             
“He’s calling me again!” I whisper. My father’s eyes grow wide, concerned.

“Who?”

“Alex… I think. There’s another vo…ice….” The last word comes out wailing with the sudden stab of pain. My father expands his wings to their full glory. Even with the unbearable pain spreading my body, I can appreciate their magnificence. He lowers his wings, cradles my body and he closes his eyes as he runs his wing tips over my back, carefully scanning me. When he connects with the source of pain, his eyes open immediately.

“Your time is nearly up!
Your soul is ripe, ready to take over your body!” he says. No! I’m not ready to leave him! I just found him! I’m not even done with my questions!

“I need…” another pain shoots through as if someone is pumping in
large doses of adrenaline into my body, awakening all my nerves. I hold onto my father’s cradling wings with dear life. He slowly crouches with me in his arms, his chains softly rattling as they pile on the floor.

“I can dull your pain, but I can’t delay your departure,” he says sadly. He pushes hi
s wingtip onto base of my spine and relief floods me as if a pressure valve is opened, releasing the excess pain. As soon as relief hits me, I focus purposefully knowing I may never get a chance to see my father again and rapid fire my questions.

“Dad, I need answers and
I’m not going to get them up there. No one is telling me anything,” I say. The momentary flicker I capture on his eyes tells me that it has a lot to do with him.

“See, you’re here because you wanted to protect me. You allowed whoever was in position to make that exchange to imprison you by your own free will. I don’t
agree with your decision, but I envy you for having the free will to make the choice. Yet, you don’t afford the same freedom of choice to me. You know very well that if and when I get up there, I’ll be longing for Alex and know that I’m not to have him by your decision. Meanwhile he’ll be forced to protect me. Maybe he’ll be tired of waiting for me refusing him and someday I’ll see him in someone else’s embrace or bed, killing me a little more each day knowing I am in love with him but he isn’t mine to love. That’s the kind of life you have gifted me! But, I can’t accept it. If for whatever reason it’s best for the two of us not be together, then I think one of the options is best for me: Remain dead or move on out of his vicinity on my own as I had originally planned.”

“You can’t do that! You need him! You need his help! It’s taken me many centuries to get you through all those lives…
It is beyond imperative that you gain your immortality!”

“Why would I need to live forever when it’s a miserable existence at best?”
I move to get out of his hold, but he holds me tighter.

“You must! Your life is too valuable!”
He looks at me as if I’m only a vessel of some purpose to fulfill. In that case, I’ll do it my own way. I am resolved in my decision.

“Fine
, then! You’re right. Maybe I ought not be with Alex. But, I’ll be damned if I have to stay around to watch him with someone else. I’ll be on my way at the first opportunity.”

“You can’t survive!”

“Really? I’m already dead, father! My heart isn’t beating.”

“It’s a temporary state!”

“Whatever purpose is designed for me to carry out, I will do it my own way. I’ll free Alex and whoever you have put on my protection detail. They may have volunteered for the job, but I don’t think they had great options to begin with. It was either shitty or shittier choices. In fact, I’ll even find a way to free you, so I owe no one a debt of life!” I spew. Each word I utter hits him like a freight train. I hate myself for injuring him like this. He might hate me for throwing all he has done for me for countless years away; but I need answers, and I need them soon. This is the only way to get them!

“You and
Alexander would tip the scales,” he says as he gets up abruptly, still cradling me in his arms. The shackles make a protesting noise as my father walks in the limited space of his confinement. “Because, he is your twin soul; your balance in the universe. Your perfect match. He’s the Yin to your Yang. Alexander is a first generation as well. Once he pledged his life to me, he could not have been killed. I only linked and strengthened the bonds you two naturally had.”

“
If
,” I say emphasizing the word trying to stress I’m speaking only in the hypothetical, “the bond you forged between the two of us was severed, broken off completely, would that be a death sentence for Alex?” I ask. My father narrows his eyes on me. He scans me up and down to try to get a good reading of any hidden intention.

“Alexander and you have a naturally formed bond. I say natural because it occurred before I got his binding oath. He was
on his deathbed, breathing his last. Yet, the second he saw you in the eyes of his mind, he was attached to you immediately on his own. I just wanted to save you the misery I experienced trying to keep you alive…”

“What do you mean?”

“If you were with him, your children would be cursed with the same decrees. Since you now have matriculated sixteen times already, you don’t have to worry about the death sentence from Eden. But the
Fallen
will certainly be after your children. Your sinless nature will be inherent,” he explains. His posture is reticent. He is not lying, but he’s withholding some crucial information. I give him my most stern look.

“You’re not telling me something.” What I say is a simple statement of fact; not a conjecture.

“Why would you say that?” he manages to look injured.

“Because you’re acting cryptic like Nieto!”
An involuntarily convulsion rattles my body, very hard. My father holds onto me tighter, gently soothing. When the shaking subsides, he continues.

“The less you know the better.”

“Sure, dad. Everyone knows my life, except me! How’s that fair?”

“It’s not about fairness!”

“If you say one more time, it is to protect me, I’m going to scream bloody murder!” His lips curve in a smile.

“You are your mother’s daughter. Fierce, just like her.” I don’t get a chance to respond. My eyes roll in my head, my back arches,
and a fierce jolt of electricity surges through my body as if life is being exploded into me, making me scream.

“
Elissa!! Come back to me baby!
” the pleading voices reach my mind once again.

“Alex!” I whisper
back.

“
Yes, angel
,” his voice caresses my soul, tinged with relief.

“
Courcillion is going to get you…
”

“Courcillion? The Duke? Why?” I ask, confused.

“
He has to revive you…
” The thought of having gone through death, and now the rebirth scares me.

“I… uhm…” I stutter. He senses my insecurity.

“
I’ll be with you all the way through. I’m
NOT
handing you over. I’m not leaving you. I’ll never leave you! Just let Maximillian guide you. He’s going to guide you into his memory with you…
”

“I’m not ready!”

“Alexandros, sed usque non!” I hear my father’s booming voice joining in ready to stealthily dominate conversation.

“
Marcus?
” asks Alex sternly. “
Where exactly is Elissa?
”

“
I can’t give you the map coordinates! This is Tartarus!”

Alex’s very colorful epithet comes through loud and clear
as if this is the confirmation of bad news.

“
Whose fucking idea was it to send her to…. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Was it that bitch inside? Hedone? Once I get Elissa back, I will rip her head off!
” he continues shouting.

“No!
Hedone doesn’t have the power to do this alone! And no, it isn’t her decision. Remember what I said to you before… Mors ultima linea rerum est. It’s time.”

What? Why is my dad telling Alex that death is everything’s final limit? What limit?
There’s a pregnant silence from Alex. What my father says means more to him than it does to me.

“
If you two are done arguing, we need to get Elissa back. And do it now! Her core temperature is just above room temperature. She’s been gone for ten days! Her heart hasn’t been beating for a full day… We can be fucked seven ways to Sunday! Can you just fucking wrap your differences up?
” booms the other impatient voice in a commanding tone.

“Shut up!” I hear Alex and my dad in unison.

“I need a few more minutes with him!”

“
Angel, I can’t take the chance of losing you! You’ve been gone a long time.
”