The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (17 page)

            “Lesson number one: when
you fight, you do what it takes to stay alive. You need to be prepared to do
battle in all kinds of scenarios, on many types of terrain, with many different
handicaps. Do not panic. Allow yourself to overcome the obstacles so that it is
always you who is still breathing. Think about your un-making. Why do you think
that the first punishment I put you through was torture?” Lawrence floats close
to me, pressing me for a response.

            I already know the answer
and as I finally catch my breath, he pulls me under again, holding me until the
very last second that I can hold my breath. I want to kill him, but I force my
rage down and try to remain calm as I suck in air. Getting upset will only make
it worse. I won’t be able to focus and I may not be able to hold my breath as
long.

             “Because it’s the hardest
thing to overcome. It’s not only a severely painful experience, but it is a
mentally devastating feeling too,” I try to say quickly so that he won’t pull
me under again just yet.  I think about my own experience and how I felt at the
time. Even when you aren’t feeling more pain than you can bear, you have to
continue to tell yourself that death would not be a more welcome experience.

            “Precisely. If you’ve
known the greatest suffering, then, even if you fear it, you can be more
prepared for it.” With that, he reaches for me again, countering my block
calmly, and pulls me down into the deep water, dragging me further below the
depths.

Chapter Fifteen

           
E
ight months have gone by since I’d been marked and
entered the realm of the Immortals. Back on the mortal plane, it’s been nearly
two years since my family was murdered and I was stripped of the chance to grow
up like a normal person. These days, I look at myself and barely even recognize
the Rayne that I once was, the carefree, happy, young adult.

            I’ve kept my hair short,
but the red that I colored it to honor my sister has grown out greatly and my
face shows the knowledge of a deeper pessimism of the world that I will soon
return to. That young woman who was unsure and afraid of this power is now a
distant memory.

            As I stand before myself
in the mirror now, I see a woman that will never hide from shadows, but someone
who has become part of the shadows. The loss I feel for my family is still
there, eating at the back of my heart and soul, but somehow I’ve managed to
continue to move on, or at least I’ve learned to hide it from not only myself,
but the ones around me.

            Even Selene has changed.
She’s been working hard in secret, memorizing and mastering high level spells,
weaving signs, and learning how to fight with her magic. From what I’ve heard
from Kaede, Selene has become a force of her own. I’m proud and grateful that
she has taken this step in order to be able to stand along with me in my quest
to find justice. It’s even better that she seems to have found herself as well.

            Since I’ve been un-made,
which is the awakening of the powers hidden inside humans, powers that were
gifted to us by the Immortals thousands of years ago, I’ve had to be re-taught
the truth of the world and the supernatural races that live in it. I’ve had to
accept witches, vampires, werewolves, demons, Immortals, and even the elusive
fae. I’ve had to learn how to recognize these creatures, how to defend myself
against them, how to track them, their habits, and much more.

            I’ve gone on hunts with
the Immortals to protect the land from outsiders who have ventured through the
gates of this realm, attempting to destroy what the Immortals have built,
trying to claim their secrets, and rule their region. And I’ve killed without
hesitation, without remorse.

            Simple fact, I will kill
again, and for better or for worse, it gets easier every time. I look down at
my now rough hands and I try to remember how soft they were just eight months
ago and I can’t. I clinch both hands into a fist as I leave my reflection and
push those memories to the past. I go to find Lawrence.

            The Immortals do not
exclusively live in the realm alone, which is why they have an army in the
first place. Their home is more like a vast kingdom with about three towns that
is valued for many of its resources. The resources must be protected not only
for the sake of the Immortals themselves, but for the protection of many
worlds. They hold secrets that many have thought lost for millennia. Each
secret has been well worth killing for because the lives saved could never be
measured.

            Lawrence has been training
me to be a killer and Diana has been grooming me to be an encyclopedia so that
on the battlefield, I can make split second decisions, or even one day a
Machaera or Sword, which is a Protector for the Immortals. Becoming a Machaera
means to be granted immortality, to be given great responsibility, especially
protecting those resources which are powerful artifacts and even keys of pure
energy that can unleash some of the world’s most deadly beings.

            As of now, there are five
Machaera alive. The oldest one has been around since 3 B.C. His name is
Constantine and I am told that he once saved an entire village from a demon
called Typhon that breathes fire. It is rumored to be trapped by magical bonds
in Mount Etna this very day. Its eruptions are supposedly caused by the demon’s
rage. The other four are spread out in other realms, fighting the good fight
and such. Three males and two females. The Immortals said that I could be the
sixth, that I had that potential if I kept growing.

            Yet, right now, all I’m
focused on is finding the man who ordered my family to death and every single
day I come closer to that goal. Every day I grow stronger and smarter. My
training is almost coming to a close and soon I’ll be back in my world where I
can hunt him down. Diana has told me that learning about something in theory
and actually doing it in the real world are two completely different tasks.

            Even though I may be able
to hold my own against some of the weaker or younger Immortals doesn’t mean
that I will be able to fight off a pack of wolves, especially when the moon is
full. I need a cool and clear head at all times and I can’t let the need for
revenge or hatred take me over. It would be the death of me.

            Creatures like the Luna
Dasa, the moon’s servants, as some of the older wolves call themselves, can be
over five times stronger under the moon or if they are in moon rage and the
beast inside them has gone mad. Especially if it is an alpha, the leader of the
pack, who can pull even more strength from his pack from their pack-link if
they are near, I may not stand a chance.

            I won’t even get on what a
pure blood vamp could be capable of if they are in bloodlust. Plus, the longer
lived a vampire, the more deadly and less human they can be. In other words, I
may be able to put up a fight, but I can’t cheat the facts.

            As I head to my meeting
place to speak with Lawrence, I spot Selene in a nearby garden, pulling some
herbs in a long, flowy lace dress. Compared to me in my dark tunic, she looks
like an angel. She notices me, smiles, and waves me over as she pulls her long
dark veil of hair from her face. I step closer into the garden and can smell
the various plants, flowers, and herbs. Selene has always tried to get me to
remember the names, but I’ve never really been able to keep up on them. My
knowledge extends to purple cone shaped plant, smelly, prickly leaf flower, and
green thingy.

            She has accomplished
something that is made possible with her high priestess heritage where if she
does a spell enough times successfully, it will imprint into her chakra and she
will be able to weave a sign for the spell or simply say an incantation. From
what I’ve heard from Diana, a high level spell done wrong is pretty draining
and dangerous stuff because it will both consume your life force quickly and
kill you when used too much, or you could succumb to dark forces in your
weakened state.

            However, since Selene is
technically a high priestess, her chakra level is much higher than most and can
exceed normal limits. Still, the more complex and powerful the spell, the more
energy she expels. Because of this, Kaede has been forcing Selene to push her
limits even more in her training and also teaching her how to make potions that
may sustain her chakra longer as well as replenish it faster. I’m sure she’s
picking the herbs for them now. I call it the energy drink for witches.

            Selene stands up and wipes
off the excess dirt from her clothes. Today she looks a little ragged and
tired. I notice the hint of bags under her beautiful green eyes and the
off-coloring of her skin and I frown as I take her into my arms.

            “Don’t,” Selene warns
before I say anything. “I know what I look like and I’m going to take a break
in a little while. I plan on sleeping and cuddling with you all day once I pick
the herbs to help me make a potion to help my body heal.”

            “What kind of healing?” I
ask protectively.

            “It’s to help me heal from
the emotional pain of this lack of sex. I mean damn, it’s been almost two
weeks.” Selene jokes, trying to keep me from worrying.

            I play along. “Well, if
that’s the case, we can do this right now.” I start to strip out of my shirt,
but she grabs the bottom of my fabric tightly.

            “Mine. Not for show,”
Selene growls.

            “Wow, with that tone, one
would mistake you for a Wolf,” I tell her teasingly.

            “They aren’t the only
possessive race I can promise you that. But seriously baby, don’t worry about
me right now. I just need to relax and heal. I’m working on high level spells
that are pretty draining, but I will be refreshed tomorrow. Go do your task
with Lawrence, and then tell him I said you are taking the rest of the day off
to be with me, no arguments. And if he thinks he can test me, I will find him;
better yet, I’d send Diana after him.”

            I laugh, then shudder at
the thought, remembering when Lawrence had lost me in the hills on one of our
training sessions. It took Diana three days to find me and when we finally met
back up with Lawrence, she punished him something vicious. With all that anger,
it was a wonder that Diana wasn’t training me.

            I travel through the
trees, the wind blowing teasingly at my back, bringing the scent of the lake
with it. After about a five minute trek through the growth, I squeeze through a
few more trees until I come upon the workspace that Lawrence requested that I
meet him at. He’s standing, shirtless as usual looking as if he’s in his late
thirty’s instead of the millennia that he really is. He once told me that they
long ago stopped keeping track of their age. His glowing skin a flawless,
permanent bronze that models would kill for and the shoulder-length blonde hair
that he has been allowing to grow makes him look like a god from a Greek myth.

            I don’t have to be a
straight woman to appreciate beauty like this when I see it. I’m also sure it
frustrates him that he can’t charm his way into my pants. The other day, he’d
said that the passion of our lovemaking would be so strong that the earth
itself would tremble. I trembled in laughter.

            Lawrence is not like one
of those guys at the bar who keeps on thinking that he can turn any lesbian
straight with his spectacular bedroom moves. He is an Immortal, and that means
to him that everyone is bisexual, that sex was a bond you share with people you
respect, a celebration that only takes two beautiful people and opportunity.
Sex for them also meant sharing their power and life force. It recharged them.
It made sense to me that they would do it so frequently.

             He definitely doesn’t have
a human point of view on sex, especially the bisexuality. Gay people and
straight people alike just couldn’t always accept that people could like both
sexes. It was just that he couldn’t understand how someone didn’t like both
sexes.

            They are also strong
advocates for threesomes. Diana had tried that angle with Selene and me. I
wasn’t as quick to refuse that offer as I had been when I first arrived. Selene
and I both said no, but I have to admit, I did have some images running through
my mind. I also think Diana knew I had considered it. Hell, she was absolutely
beautiful, alluring, and powerful. So was Selene. It would have been mind
blowing. To be able to taste their power together would have been ecstasy.

            Once, I had walked in on
Diana with a fae (one of the few left on this plane) by the name of Celeste. I
actually don’t think it was an accident; since Diana had a habit of summoning
me during her sex sessions, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the scene in front
of me.

            They both knew I was
there. Hell, Diana had been the one to call me, but she had something to prove.
Immortals are prideful beings and she wanted me to know what I was missing, the
power trip I could have enjoyed. Let’s just say, after that amazing
performance, I rushed straight back to Selene and ripped her clothes off,
literally. I never told her exactly why I’d been so eager that night. I’m glad
she never asked.