Leif (Existence) (11 page)


“You heard me, Leif. I said okay. Now let’s go.”


Well, that was easier than I’d expected. With one last glance in Sabine’s nosy direction I turned and made my way to the front entrance.

             
“Stop it,”
I growled at one of the Voodoo spirits as the
y gawked at Pagan’s body in the
dress Father had made her wear.

“May,
dat
is
sumtin
to see is it not,”
Father
called out as he walked into the large
foyer.

“Don’t make her uncomfortable, Father,”
I
pleaded.

             
“Who me?” he asked in an amused voice. I watched as he lifted his hand and placed two cigarettes in his mouth and then turned his attention to the activities going on outside.

             
I searched the onlookers for any sight of Sabine’s sister. If I could find her now then once this was over I could help Sabine and her sister escape. Then, it would be time t
o enjoy my forever with Pagan. That is— i
f we all survived Death’s fury.

             
“Please make them stop,”
Pagan whispered desperately. Confused I looked down at her then followed her gaze
to see tw
o of Father’s harem running their fingers over Wyatt’s crotch. Most teenage guys would enjoy that but I could see that Wyatt was uncomfortable and Pagan was very upset over it. But Wyatt had figured out complaining would only encourage Father.

“If I make a scene Father will then make it much worse. If you don’t want to see one of those two mount Wyatt right here then don’t say a word. Wyatt knows this. That’s why he’s so still.
”

Silence fell over the wild streets and people began fleeing. All the laughter and drinking ended as souls felt the presence of Death closing in on them.

“Ah
, Death draws near. The fallen ‘
ave
run to hide,”
Father
drawled and pulled the two cigarettes from his mouth to exhale small rings of smoke before placing them right back in.

“What does he mean?
”
Pagan asked.

“Dank is close. The souls of the people in the stree
ts felt him and ran. Unlike you,
most humans don’t cling to Death when he’s in his true form. Sure, they like the singer Dank Walker but when he’s truly in Death’s form
,
they hide.”

Father turned to Wyatt and crooked his finger once. The girls holding onto him released their claim on him as he stepped forward.

             
Gasps turned my attention to the streets in front of me.
Dankmar
had come and he hadn’t come alone. Death’s eyes searched until they found Pagan
,
who I had cuddled up against my side. She was mine.

“Well, well, well,
Dankmar
and pals. To
wat
do we owe dis honor?”
Father asked in his usual jolly tone.

“You kno
w why I’m here,
Ghede
,”
Dankmar
replied
not taking his eyes off of Pagan. The possessive gleam in his eyes made my skin crawl in fear. Would I be able to stand up to him? Would Father expect me to handle
Dankmar
all on my own?

“Tsk
tsk
tsk
, I don know
whut
you mean. You said to let her choose,”
Father
announced waving his hand in
our
direction. “She did.”

The blonde transporter started toward us when
Dankmar
stopped her. Did he not plan on taking her? Would it really be this easy?

“No. You forced her choice. That wasn’t part of the deal,”
Dankmar
roared. Pagan shivered in my arms and stepped
back
away from me.

“Here’s the soul you came for,”
Father pushed Wyatt toward Death
and
instantly
Wyatt
was in the protection of a transporters arms. Then he was go
ne. Pagan had gotten her wish, h
er one demand. It had been fulfilled. Now, Death needed to leave.

“Now is
dat
all you want or would you
lak
to axe her
yorself
?”
Father turned toward us
, “Come here Pagan,” he coaxed.

             
She was terrified of Father. I gently squeezed her arm in reassurance then nudged her forward. She had
to go to him. If she refused him
everything could get ugly.

“Axe her
Dankmar
,”
Father cackled as he grabbed Pagan and shoved her toward Death.

I took a step toward her. What was Father thinking?
Dankmar
could reach out and take her.

“I want—
”

“I didn’t ask you anything just yet
,
Pagan. Hold onto that thought just a moment more,”
Dankmar
instructed lifting his gaze from Pagan to focus on Father.
“You’ve messed with the wrong guy this time
Ghede
. You like your entertainment but I was never one to entertain.”

The transporters began to move away from
Dankmar
. Were they all getting ready to leave? Was this finally over? Then the warriors began to desc
end. I’d never seen one of the C
reator
’
s warriors before. I’d heard of them. Feared them. But never had I seen them. The massive swords that hung on their side would simply wipe out our world with a single swipe. A human’s freewill was the only power we held. The warriors however were giv
en their power from the actual C
reator. We had no chance against them.

“You brought de warriors for a
gurl
?”
Father asked in astonishment.

“Yes
,”
Dankmar
replied
then took a step forward holdi
ng his hand out to Pagan.

“I can’t,”
she sobbed
.

“Trust me,” he replied.
I waited knowing that this was it. If she went
to
him I would let her go. I would give up. If Pagan chose him one more time then I would let her go.

As if in slow motion, Pagan s
tepped forward and placed
her
hand in his.
Dankmar
pulled her up against his side tightly. The relief on his face was mirrored in her eyes as she gazed up at him. He was whe
re she wanted to be. I couldn’t
fight this anymore. All I was doing was making her hate me more every passing day. I’d loved Pagan for the majority of my life but I couldn’t force her to love me. I finally understood that.

“Bad choice
leetle
gurl
,”
Father hissed. He hadn’t expected her to go. Deep down, I
’d known
she would.


“No,
Ghede
. You’re the only one who made the bad choice. You don’t take what’s
mine.”
Dankmar
challenged
. Then he paused and bent down to whisper in Pagan’s ear before handing her to the blonde transporter that
had
so
fiercely protected Pagan before.

“You took a soul that was too young to defend itself.
A soul that belonged to the Creator.
You changed fate and then decided to play with a world that is not yours. You stepped out of your realm and took another soul not under your rule. Now I give you a choice
Ghede
. We close this portal today as well as the ones found in Africa and Haiti where the warriors are now standing guard and we seal them for all eternity. Voodoo power will end right here. Right now. You crossed a line.”
The gauntlet had been thrown.
Dankmar
held the power.

“Or you let Pagan’s soul go. Free of any restitution. You stay clear of her and her family for all eternity and remain as you are. But I warn you
,
if I see your son, you or any of your spirits again remotely close to Pagan I will end this religion. There will be no second chances. It’s your choice.”

Father
turned and stared back at
me. I could feel his
eyes
boring into me as I studied Pagan. This was it. I would have to let her go now. It was the only way. She was never meant to b
e mine. Even though in my heart,
she always would be.

“Let her go.”
I replied. Then I dropped my eyes from her gaze and turned to walk away. Back into the castle
,
where my future would never be complete. I’d lost the key to my happiness.

14
.
“
I’m nothing like my father
”
– Leif

             
A mix of emotions churned violently inside me.  I couldn’t decide if despair, anger, loss, or hate was the most powerful. How had I failed so easily? Why hadn’t I moved in sooner and won her heart?

             
“Um, hey you… uh Leif, I think,” a familiar voice broke into my inner turmoil and I jerked my head around to glare at the intruder when I met the startled expression of Sabine. I’d forgotten about her. Shit. I wasn’t in the frame of mind to help anyone right now. Someone needed to help me.

             
“Oh my. Um, I take it things didn’t go so well with the girl,” she said softly.

             
“Obvious, is it?” I snapped
.

             
Her big brown eyes widened. “I’m sorry.”

             
The sincerity in her voice was my undoing. The emotions inside me all stepped back to let sorrow take the leading role as tears filled my eyes.

             
“She didn’t choose me,” I managed to say without chocking up.

             
“Oh. Wow. Well, uh, maybe that is for the… best?”

             
I wanted to roar that it wasn’t for the best. It would never be for the best. How could the fact I’d lost everything impor
tant to me ever be for the best?
Stalking toward my bedroom without replying I stopped and touched the cold doorknob then paused. Her scent would be in there. Her clothes. My pillow would smell of her. I’d see her there on my bed. I wasn’t that strong yet. Instead, I turned and walked back to the room I’d been sleeping in since Pagan had been here.

             
Sabine still stood in the hallway watching me anxiously. I knew she wanted my help
, but right now,
I couldn’t bring myself to care.

             
“You could come in and talk about it. If that would help,” Sabine paused and wrung her hands, “It always helps me to talk about things and I’m a really good listener.”

             
Damn she was nice. I didn’t need to be around nice right now. I was anything but nice at the moment. “No thanks. I need to be alone,” I replied as politely as I could manage before opening the door to my temporary roo
m.

             
“If you go in that room
,
I will find my si
ster alone.  I’m sorry that you’
re upset but I’m not standing around and waiting on you any longer. I need to find Rosella. She’s been gone too long already.
I’m in a
hurry.”

             
Telling Sabine to go ahead and try was so tempting. The only thing that kept me from walking away from her was the fact she would never make it out of here alive. I was the only chance she had. Those damn big
innocent
eyes of hers were pulling on my human side.
The part of me that felt compassion and r
emorse, the part that had been molded by my love for Pagan.

             
“Fine, I’ll help you. But I’m not in the mood for a hassle. Listen to me. Do what I say and we will get along just fine. Understood?

             
“Yeah, captain, I got it.” She drawled in a sexy southern accent I hadn’t paid much attention to earlier.

             
Nodding, my thoughts went back to Pagan. Was she happy now? What was she doing?  Would she miss me at all?

             
I needed to see her one last time.
Could I get away with going to check on her or would
Dankmar
make good on his threat? Forcing thoughts of Pagan aside I focused on the girl standing in front of me. The one who needed
me.

             
“I’ll go find
your sister
now. You stay here in your room.”

             
Sabine began shaking her head.

             
“That part isn’t up for argument. I will bring your sister back to you. But if you go with me, it will mess up everything.
Ghede
isn’t going to just let you walk away from here if he sees you.”

             
She swallowed n
ervously, “You mean your father?
”

             
So, she had heard a lot more of
mine and Pagan’s conversation
than I’d realized. “Yeah, my father.”

             
Finally she stepped back into her room and started to close the door. I watched as she studied me a moment. “But you didn’t make the girl stay with you. She wanted to leave and you let her.”

             
“I’m not my father. I’m nothing like my father. That’s the problem.”