Chapter fourteen

Edward glanced at the three strange doors and gulped. “Why only one shot?”

“Because, you will enter the one you chose and only when the door closes behind you can you know where you are. When any of these doors closes, none of them will ever open for the same soul again.” Selene explained.

Edward gulped once more, there was nothing to even give him a clue or something like that. “Can’t you give me a hint, I mean, how can I know which is which?”

“Edward, how many people are given back the chance to come back to life?” Selene asked and when he couldn’t answer, she continued. “This is already a hint as it is because you are given a second chance to cheat death. If you really want to be alive, your conscience would guide you. Anywhere you find yourself, is where you are supposed to be and there is nothing I or any other god can do about it. I really want you to be alive Edward, because only you can save my creation. But it doesn’t matter if I want you to if you don’t yourself. What is that one law that is abide by every soul including us gods?”

“The law of freewill,” Edward answered.

“Exactly, I have already gone against it by bringing your soul here, not knowing what you really want. The door you open is the one that reflects your innermost desire. So when you walk up to those doors and open one, wherever you find yourself is where you really want to be.”

“And when I choose a door that is not for the living?” Edward asked.

“You will never see your mate nor your son ever again because even in the underworld, your soul would have swarmed to the abyss by the time they died. And here, well, they can’t come here unless they are brought here and like I said…”

“Hades won’t let you have the same soul twice,” Edward completed and closed his eyes at that and he shook his head, how can he accept that?

“Mariah couldn’t make a decision so she sat every day staring at those doors, wondering which one would take her back to you. I brought her news about you every day to keep her company. When I told her you killed the Demon princess, she had smirked and said, ‘that’s my man’,” Selene chuckled. “When I told her you were in a deep slumber and it would be a long time before you are waking up, she wanted to be there when you wake up. However, she couldn’t bring herself to choose a door because she didn’t want to choose wrong. When she finally mustered the courage to, her body had long been disintegrated and so she had to be reborn in other to be given a new body. That was when I played another role, the Great war started with you two, so it’s by right it ended with you two. Or don’t you agree with me Prince Edward?”

“She stayed two thousand years here?” Edward asked.

“Yes, staring at those doors. It had taken her a hundred years to recover her memories and the rest, she sat on the very spot, staring at those doors,” she pointed at a space.

“How long has it been in the living world?”

“Want to know if you had recovered your own memories in hundred years?” Selene chuckled. “You will be happy to know that only two months has passed, so in my defense, you are doing greatly well.”

Edward seemed to let out a sigh of relief hearing that. “That means she is still pregnant.”

“Very much so. If you hurry now, you might be able to witness your child’s birth.”

Edward opened his eyes and glanced at those doors, there were his obstacle to reuniting with his love and he just wished he could burn them down and see where they are hiding. But he knew better, those are ancient doors and there was nothing he could do even if he was given all the power in the world. “Why do you insist that we get our memories back before we try the doors.”

“If I had shown you the doors when all you want to do is get out of here, would you care where you are going?” Selene asked and Edward got his answers. Of course, he wouldn’t, with no memories he wouldn’t know what he was missing or who he would never see again as all he would want would be to leave the place. “You don’t need to choose now Edward, you can take your time to prepare yourself in accepting the consequences of whatever door you opened.”

Edward gulped and closed his eyes, “Aliyah never mentioned this place.”

“Oh come on Edward, once you open that door, and step in through it, you will forget about this meeting until the day you die again.” She replied. Edward sighed but said nothing. “I will leave you now, you can take as long as you need but remember what comes with taking a long time, you will be getting a new body and all that.” With that, she disappeared, leaving Edward all alone and staring at the three black doors that could have been triplets for all he knows.

***

A big light flashed in the woods and when it vanishes, two wolves —one red fur and one white fur— and a man carrying a woman were suddenly there. Aliyah rushed to Rasmus and poked her snout on Irene’s hand but she didn’t open her eyes nor make any movement. “I can’t believe she did that, she knew her health was weak,” Rasmus whispered.

‘What do we do now?’ Aliyah asked Sean in the mind link.

Sean’s giant head scanned around them and he shrugged, ‘I don’t know but we will have to find a place to rest tonight. Without Irene and her scent hiding potion, the witches and rogues are going to find us if they as much as try.’

‘Then that means we have to stay in the woods where wolves’ scents are common, at least, it would buy us sometime and hopefully, Irene would wake up in the morning.’

‘I hope so too.’

“Let’s go, we can’t stay here. Something tells me they would come looking for us and without Irene’s scent hiding potion, we would be easily spotted,” Rasmus said, breaking their conversation. Sean and Aliyah shared a look and Sean started moving first, setting the pace for them to follow.

They haven’t gone long however, when they heard a distant howling. ‘Werewolves?’ Aliyah asked in the mind link.

‘Must be, it sounds coordinated, unlike the rogues,’ Sean replied.

‘Then, do you think it’s the High Howlers, you don’t think they would have given up on finding us?’

“I don’t think we should continue that path Sean,” Rasmus said. “From the sound of those howls, whoever that is making it must be looking for us and we certainly can’t fall into their arms.”

Sean nodded as a sign of agreement and changed his path, however, they caught a scent, it was a witch. “Sean, not that path either and we will have to pick up pace now,” Rasmus said as he quickly darted in the left path, Sean and Aliyah following behind as they made their way in the woods. Another howl sounded in that part and they turned around but then they heard growling rogues and from their sound, they couldn’t be that far. “Fuck,” Rasmus cursed, his eyes turning red. “We are surrounded.”

‘We mustn’t give up, we can’t give up. Sean, what are we going to do?’

‘This way,’ Sean replied, taking another part and they followed. Rasmus was backing Irene now and it was difficult getting her to stop slipping because she was unconscious but he didn’t let that slow him down as they maneuvered in the woods, using the tree shades as covers from the moonlight. The howling got louder now and Rasmus cursed. “Sean, we are running straight to the wolves and we can’t turn back now, the rogues are behind us.”

Aliyah was hyperventilating as she felt the fear clawing on her chest in as much as she tried to stay strong. Her waist was hurting but she knew she can’t complain now and neither can she shift back, she would need her paws if she wants to outrun the rogues or the werewolves. The howling kept getting closer just like the growling of the rogues. Sean and Rasmus shared a look and they seemed to have reach an agreement as Sean nudged Aliyah to hide behind a tree and Rasmus sets Irene down beside her. It was clear that they have decided to fight their way out of it. “When we are fighting them, take Irene and go, she would protect you when she gets better.”

‘No,’ Aliyah shook her head, in as much as she has found it hard forgiving Rasmus, she didn’t want the man to die and for her course and talk about Sean, Monica would be putting to bed soon, she can’t have her mate taken away from her like hers were taken from her.

‘Aliyah please, listen, we don’t have anymore choice. Go ahead, we will buy you time.’

‘No Sean, I am not leaving you, no one has to die for me. At most, I would sacrifice myself to them, I don’t have a reason to live anymore after all.’

‘Come on Aliyah, snap out of it. We are not doing this just to keep you alive, no one knows what evil would come when he gets you, do you understand that?’

‘But…’

‘Go, Now!’  his voice resonated in her head and her blue eyes stared at him in fear and pain. They could hear the rogues approaching now and Aliyah couldn’t believe that it’s has finally come to that. Suddenly, someone landed in front of them and his black eyes scanned their faces before he said, “come with me, now.”