Obumbrate (20 page)

Kayden met my eyes for a moment across the counter, his hands digging into another freshly sliced fish. "Panties in a bunch over the Queen boiling for your blood? Don't be."

"Why not?" I asked.

"She won't do anything," he snickered, shaking his head. "She's the type who likes to play up on the drama. Draw it out, you know, like all vengeful high school-brained girls do."

This time, I let out the laugh that had built in my chest. Ari came into the room just as I finished my fit of laughter, his face carefully neutral as he swept his gaze from over the two of us.

He took the seat two over from me, pulling at the collar of his white button-up. He had already gotten dressed for the party, a full tuxedo that made him twice as handsome and dashing.

Taking a fork, he stabbed at a piece of salmon in the frying pan and pulled it out to eat. Kayden shot him a mixed glare of anger and surprise. "Let's run over this one last time."

I ran down everything I knew. "All three of us are heading to the Queen's castle, you and I, and Kayden separately. We're going to try and keep our noses clear, then wait for a moment to dodge out to her private end of the castle and wait for her. I confront, figure out why she's out for me..."

"And then you kill her," Kayden said simply.

Ari and I both stared at him. I envisioned fighting her and her shadows, their icy touch sucking the life of my fire right out from me. "Just one, teeny tiny, small problem; even if I could get close enough to her, I can't kill her."

"Why not?"

"Her shadows," I replied in a low, nervous tone. "They can strip me of my fire at her command. If we go in there, and she wants to fight or hold me, I won't make it out."

Ari looked livid, eyes burning with a bold and emblazoned fire. He sat straighter in his chair as he spoke, "You will make it back here, I promise you. We will come out together. As for the blending in part, we know the earrings and necklace won't shield you from her, so Lilix gave me something for you last night." He procured a small, thin green vial from thin air, reaching out to give it to me.

I took the vial gingerly, an uneasy feeling rolling in my stomach. "What is it?"

"A camouflage potion, so to speak. Lilix graciously donated some of her hair at the chance for you to play her."

I shook my head and shoved the vial back at him, adamant. "No, nuh-uh, not happening. I am not getting involved with all these magic potions and junk."

"Look, do you want to get in there and know why she's after you or not?"

"Well, yeah-"

"Then go get dressed in one of the gowns in her room, and meet us in the drawing room."

I stomped off to my room in a huff, muttering something about knocking both of their skulls into their heads if they ever tried anything like this again.

Inside my room, I went through Lilix's closet, not for the first time since I'd gotten here. The girl had everything from mortal high-end labels like Louis Vuitton and Chanel, to other brands in various languages I didn't even try to pretend and comprehend. Each cabinet and separate closet had a unique set of colored bags sheathed over the clothes stored inside, and I ended up going through four closets of red, yellow, purple, and green sheathed clothes before finally finding all the gowns in a closet with blue colored bags.

Each dress was an elegant masterpiece, decorated with the true craft of a professional, one-of-a-kind designer. The more bags I unzipped, the greater the detail on the dress; elegant, hand-stitched swirls embedded with real gems, trains of taffeta and satin cut expertly to frame a unique figure. All of this, for Lilix. The younger, former fashionista within me squealed in delight, knowing all too well that if you owned a dress specifically made for you, you had all you needed in life. Or so I had originally thought.

On the fifth dress unveiling, I heard a polite knock on door leading into the room. I let out an infuriated, irritated sigh.

"Ari, Kayden, if either one of you comes in here I swear, I'll remove your organs and make pretzels out of them."

"And if I'm neither of the offenders at hand?" A soft, higher voice came from the bedroom.

I craned my neck out of the blue-bagged closet, spotting a blonde ponytail, followed by an even more familiar pair of glowing blue eyes. Lilix had been hovering in the doorway, dressed in a buttery sundress, blue flowers patterned on the fabric. For a brief moment she reminded me of a southern blonde of a famous vampire TV show, if only her skin had been tanned and a gap between her two front teeth.

Lilix smiled, showing off her perfectly aligned and evened pearly whites. She joined me in the vast and roomy space of her personal closet, eyes settling on the cabinet of blue slipped bags. "I heard you were hunting for an outfit for tonight?"

"Something like that." Gesturing to her vast collection I was in the process of destroying, I continued. "I've found everything but the brown potato sack in here."

She rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching to fight back a smile. I automatically thought of Kayden and his brooding, rapidly altering moods. "I see you've been hanging around Kayden a lot, silly half-blood. Essie, right? That's what he calls you."

"Essallie, he calls me Essie for short."

She gave a small, thoughtful nod. "Your mother didn't happen to be high when she gave birth to you, did she?"

My face flushed. "No? Why?"

"Creative names like that typically warrant use of things like LSD. Not that your mother used anything of the sort," she hurriedly added at the sight of my face and clenched fists on the bed. If I didn't think she could fix a broken nose with a spell, I would have punched her. She sighed. "I keep going off topic. I came over to help you get ready, and here I am insulting you. I'm sorry."

I shrugged; I didn't really care about the rude remark. It was the fact that hearing about my Mom could still bring out something in me that hurt. The fact that my birth was one giant intentional breeding fest on my father's part. But some things just weren't meant to be shared, especially with the relatively unknown.

"Actually, I think I could use the help. Any idea what would blend in well with tonight's party?"

Walking over to the cabinet, she seemed to think about it, running her fingers over each bag and letting them rest for a moment before moving along. Then she grabbed one of the bags in the back, pulling it completely free from the closet and zipping it out from the bag.

It was gorgeous; a white corset detailed with golden thread, gold lacing in the back, the cut perfect for a woman's frame. It looked like a cross between a princess gown and delicate wedding dress, yet held something dark and forbidding. I envisioned myself wearing the dress, pairing it with a white, jeweled mask made for an evening of old socialite gossip and secret kisses on the wrist.

Judging by Lilix's smile, she must have approved of my gaping shock. Unlacing the back half of it with one hand, she beckoned me closer. "Come here, let's get you in this."

It took a little wiggling, but I managed to slide into the dress without a bodice and minimum gut-sucking. On my regular frame, the dress sat awkwardly, too loose in the chest and hips. Apparently, I was no Marilyn Monroe with a figure eight to boast about.

Lilix took to lacing up the back of the dress, tying to pre-fit it where it would sit perfectly after my change. She had me sit in front of a mirror, grabbing a spare vanity chair from her bedroom. A chilling, nagging sensation itched at my neck, hairs standing up on their ends. I felt like I had done this before, the ghost of the memory creeping over me.

"Ah, there it is," I heard from the other room. Lilix walked back in, holding a strand of pearls in her hands. She wrapped the strand gently around my neck and fastened it together, looking at me through the mirror with satisfaction. "Perfect. You look heavenly."

I watched her through the mirror, a hand reaching up to touch the pearls around my neck. "This is all so beautiful. Thank you."

She laughed. "Don't thank me, thank whoever I had commission this two hundred years ago." A dreamy look melted into her eyes, memories playing like a sweet lullaby in her head. "I'm pretty sure it was for a ball of some sort. No doubt I was chasing after a prince in some vain attempt to feel normal with the royals of England."

I was astonished, eyebrows raising high on my forehead. "How old are you, Lilix?"

Her eyebrows rose high on her head. "My, don't you know to never ask a lady her true age?" She placed a hand on her cheek, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Honestly, I've lost track. It's been some time since anyone's actually asked me how long I've been around."

"But you were here long before you met Kayden?"

"Oh yes, without a doubt," she nodded in affirmation. "I can remember up to the 1300's with perfectly clarity. Anything past that is a little hazy."

Unbelievable. I was standing in front of someone with over 700 years under their belt, and still she looked like she could have passed for my younger sister. "I thought witches were just humans practicing the craft."

That got her to laugh loud, her hands hugging her body as she let it out. Her head shook. "No, but that's what movies and books lead you to believe. There are actual witches, ones with the bloodline built deep within them, and there are mortal who play with silly little spells and incantations you can find on the internet. A real witch never ages, never dies, and carries the mark of her kind. But I'm not a witch." She pointed to her glowing eyes, showing the cats eye shape of her pupil. "See these? They are the mark of my people, a race far different from anything Earth has to offer. Though I have been accused of being a witch many times. Apparently if you're good with potions and have a gift for surviving the impossible, you're a witch. Who knew?"

I stared at her, bewildered. "Then, if you're not a witch, what are you?"

She seemed to pause for a moment, eyes drifting with the look of lost time. When she stared back at me, the weight of thousands of years pressed against my subconscious. "The human language doesn't have a word for our kind, but the closest is guardian."

"You said Earth as if," I hesitated, tethered to the last bit of my thought. Lilix's gaze had swallowed me whole, sucking me into a soul-searching gaze. "As if you're not from here."

"You're right, I'm not." She said without shaking her head. "Our kind came here long before mortals were putting blood on stone, back when the mystics of this world were the majority. Few living today know we exist. We are a dying race, not by choice, but by destiny. It is a true, tragic fate."

I felt ashamed, my cheeks burning with indignation. The first few times I had met Lilix, I could have sworn she was completely dumb, giving blondes everywhere a bad reputation. The more she spoke, the worse I felt on my horrid assumption. She had been prime witness to empires rising and falling, kings and queens making all the wrong choices, and in the end she would die, just like me. Yet there could be no comparison. Standing next to Lilix, I suddenly looked like a whiny child, a far cry from the teenager shelved with a great opportunity to take out a violent evil.

"I'm sorry," I whispered eventually, feeling the all-too familiar ache settle in my chest. "I can only imagine all the things you've had to see. The pain you've had to endure."

"Not all of it was bad, you know." Her eyes began to lighten, releasing me from her soulful stare. The smile to me through the mirror showed she meant it. "I've met several Nephilim in their time, and tons of demons like Kayden. I've fallen in love, had friendships stronger than diamonds, seen things that the world will never bear witness to ever again. I refuse to regret a single moment of my life."

The moment she said Kayden, my heart gave a weak beat against my skin. Hesitantly, playing with part of my skirt, I asked. "Kayden, has he always been like he is now?"

"Like what?" Her eyes went cloudy with confusion, her fingers running through the end of ponytail out of habit. "You mean snarky and moody?"

I nodded.

"Not always. He used to be much, much worse," her tone lowered, and I strained to hear it. "You never would have wanted to be around him after he lost his love to the Queen."

My eyes widened, a cold running over my body that had nothing to do with bare arms and exposed shoulders. "He loved the Queen?"

"No. The Queen killed his love." Lilix looked uncomfortable talking about it, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "She had been a mortal, and the Queen had just taken the throne. She explicitly forbade all relationships with mortals, unless it was out of need, like a vampire for blood. Kayden ignored her, and the Queen found out."

"What happened?"

"The Queen had a vampire turn her, and she ran into the sunlight, set herself on fire, and died."

I stopped breathing.

"Kayden loathed the Queen, wanted her dead. But with Lucretia being part demon, part Nephilim, he was useless against her. That's when he went underground, and found me."

The ache in my chest spread, and I took a small, shuddering breath to ease the pain. It had only been a couple of weeks since my grandparents were murdered by one of the Queen's personal Vens, and I could hardly stand it. To exist for centuries, carrying that kind of burden, had to be maddening. "How could he live like that, knowing the person who killed his only love got away with it every day?"

"I'm not sure, honestly." She let out a sad sigh, meeting my eyes in the mirror. Something in them was haunting and hollow, and I wondered if Kayden was the only one who had felt the power of the Queen's wrath. "Death would probably feel better than whatever he feels thinking about her."

I opened my mouth to speak when she placed both hands on my shoulders, shaking her head. "We could go on about this all night, but you have to go."

We started to walk out the room together, when she stopped in her tracks. "Hold on." Making a quick turn back into the room, I waited for her in the hall as she emerged with a familiar, small purple vial.

"I've seen that before," I said. "At the apothecary."