Chapter 13

Death

I walked up to that lake. Feeling worse than usual. Furious at everything.

Jasmin was already there but I really didn’t need her witty remarks right now. I made myself rethink it many times. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone… or started this in the first place.

Meredith was right… I could have just ignored her… could have.

Meredith was still not here. What if she changed her mind? Maybe she was too occupied with her new companion.

Jasmin was sitting down next to a huge tree log on the ground. There was a white cloth laid down with all her over the top things. And a dozen lit candles.

Of course she noticed my stare and felt the need to ask about it. “Why such a long face?” She asked me grinding up some herbs.

“None of your concerns,” I said. She chuckled quietly, like trying to hide it, but failed when she threw her head back in loud laughter.

“Is it because of Meredith?” She asked after calming herself.

“Why would it be about her?” I snapped.

Jasmin shook her shoulders with a smirk playing on her lips. “You’ve been really interested in her lately.”

I narrowed my eyes on her. “Yes, because she is a threat until we don’t know why she can see me,’” I explained, but it was a little more than that. It was the change that she was giving me, the change from the usual. I hated it.

“I think we both know that this does not concern you that much.” She started. “She is just a mortal, here to bother you for maybe sixty more years…considering nymphs are a little more lively, maybe more. But still to you it’s nothing. It can’t be that you are just curious. You’re not the kind.”

“Fine!” I shouted at her. “Go home, this is not happening!” I announced, starting to leave.

How I started to dislike her.

“Why do you let me get under your skin?” she asked, making me stop.

I turned to face her. She spoke first. “Your excused are not good enough.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

Her smile now changed to caring and warm. “Truth. That you are fond of her…not in a friendly way, that you find her attracting. That you feel things around her. Things you shouldn’t. That you think about her, often.”

“You don’t know me!”

“Tell me that everything I said is a lie!” she demanded of me. She never raised her voice at me.

I looked ahead of myself. Swallowed a big lump. I hated her right now. “I can’t.”

She went back to her previous activity.

Only after a while did she speak again. “How’s the afterlife?” she asked as if nothing happened.

She knew me… I hated that she did. She knew me too well. Hated how she could see through me.

But it wasn’t out of nothing she changed the topic. She also knew that I dreaded continuing that conversation.

She was right… about everything.

“Death angels are acting weird,” I answered her.

“They are always weird.” She said, And yes they were weird, at least the ones who were in the afterlife, but to Jasmin everything that was not covered in gold was weird.

“Not like that... the ones that are on the earth, they are disappearing with no trace, three already are gone and I don’t know where.” I explained.

“That’s not that many,” she pointed out.

“It is when it has never happened before. They are the ones who find all the lost souls and give it to me, if they get lost I lose all the souls that they latched on to.”

“Well but they are only few on earth and the rest are in the afterworld, what wrong it will do when the few that are here will get away?” She asked and I was fazed by how stupid she was.

“You don’t think that it would be a problem, that those lost souls are just roaming the earth, hunting others? It is dangerous for witches like you who can see them, they can parasite off your energy and what then?” I asked her furiously.

“That’s why I have a friend like you,” she simply said.

“It hurts sometimes how egotistical you have become.”

“Become? I have always cared about myself and not caring about useless others. “She was offended by my statement and I knew exactly why that was...

“You cared about Alexander.” I said quietly, smirking at her and sitting next to her. How I loved to get under her skin.

Her jaw clenched. “He wasn’t useless, he would have done great things if he would still be alive,” she defended him.

“Is that why his soul is pitch black?” I asked her with the reason for irritating her. Every soul had a color from white to black showing how good of a person they have been in their life.

“He would have been the greatest ruler,” she said heatedly, but then she turned her stare ahead “Meredith, we were waiting for you.” her voice was now changed to a welcoming manner.

“Hello there, Love...” I said and then finally turned my stare to her... why was it so captivating? I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

She had never looked this kind of way. She looked not like her…

Her hair was neatly made and makeup put on her. The dress was too luxurious for her…it wasn’t her…

She always wore the same style dresses with slit on her right leg, this also had a slit. I liked it… but not like the usual ones.

But this one had cut down her chest, deep-v showing off her beautiful sculpted shapes.

I caught Meredith’s eyes on mine as I was watching her. She returned my glance with a faint smile, this felt like a dream so unfamiliar but good, something wasn’t right… with me, with the way my mind worked around her. I hadn’t realized how much I noticed about her…

“Death...” Jasmin whispered to me and I shot my glance at her and she was watching me with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

“What?” I asked her in a warning manner. I hoped she wouldn’t start again.

She just shook her head chuckling at me and then turned to Meredith. “You look ravishing tonight.” she said.

“I am just coming from somewhere,” she explained, she was meeting with some kind of marriage candidate... at least that’s what I got from her conversation with Vincent. But I had a feeling that if she was here then it didn’t go so well, if it would she would have stayed there. And somehow that made me calmer.

Jasmin gestured us to sit down, around the white cloth. The ground was dirty and her dress was too beautiful to ruin, at least what kind of gentlemen I would be. “Wait,” I said as she was about to sit down. I took off my coat and laid it on the place where she was about to sit.

“It’s not necessary,” she said but thankfully Jasmin got involved so I didn’t have to argue with her.

“Just sit down and enjoy while he is nice,” she said and glanced at my direction, it would all be normal, except she smirked at me… I wanted to scream at her. Tell her to leave. She wasn’t helping my situation.

“Thank you,” she said sitting down. I noticed how she was looking at all the things that Jasmin had laid down. “What’s all this?” She asked her.

I also took a seat. Her eyes glanced at me… I felt it and for a second too long we both stayed captured in each other’s eyes.

Jasmin’s voice woke her up.

“You agreed to help us and there are few things you need to do to cooperate, well actually only one,” Jasmin explained, but she wasn’t giving her all the information.

“To be fair we could just force you because all you need to do is drink potion but... how would that look,” I said and Jasmin dodged my knee.

“Oh. that’s real gentlemen like.” she frowned at me.

“Not trying to be!” I snapped at her. At least I didn’t want to look like I was.

She ignored me. “You need to drink this,” she said, handing her a small bottle of red substance. “After that you will feel a little hazy, it will make you weak to keep your mind unlocked and I will take your hand to see what I didn’t see last time.”

Meredith nodded and opened the bottle. A mist shot up her nose and she coughed out. “And what’s all that other stuff for?” She asked, referring to black candles and some stones and herbs.

“Don’t mind her... she enjoys quantity not quality,” I said and she gave me a forced smile and looked back at the bottle. She looked worried. Hesitating.

She didn’t want to do it. I eyed Jasmin, she shook her shoulders.

I dragged my hand up to her to rip the bottle away but she flinched back. “You don’t have to do it.” I told her with my hand reached towards her.

She didn’t answer me but drank out the substance and looked at both of us. “What now?” She asked not effected..

How easy it would be to kill her if we were wishing her ill. I didn’t like how she liked playing with her life.

I was trying to give her a choice... now it was inevitable.

“Are you feeling any different?” Jasmin asked her.

I carefully watched. To see any slight difference she was feeling.

Meredith shook her head but then she stopped and rested her hands on the ground. She started looking around with her eyes squished together. “I think...it’s working.” she said that and thankfully she was sitting on the ground.

I had a strong feeling Jasmin specifically made her sit on the ground. She knew she would faint.

She was starting to wobble opposite my direction, she was about to hit the ground but I took her by her arm and pulled her in my direction and I caught her in my hold. I got struck back from the impact of her body, not because of the weight but... I didn’t know what it was.

This was the first time I had touched her and I didn’t think it would make me this.... this confused. I adjusted her more comfortably. Her head was now resting in my lap. And my hands wrapped around her.

I got an urge to touch her. She was awake but she was looking in one direction, tired. I put my finger tips and brushed her cheek slightly. As I did that her eyes found mine. She was doing something to me, I didn’t know what but her eyes were glued to mine, I noticed every little detail her eyes had, like the little green spot in her left eye that was not as noticeable usually.

Jasmin cleared her throat. I hadn’t realized she was kneeling next to us. “The spell will wear off,” she said quietly and I saw the smirk she was hiding but I didn’t even give her the pleasure of answering.

She took Meredith’s hand in hers. I watched as Jasmin did her thing with her eyes in rainbow. Draining out all the memories from Meredith and feeding herself.

I have envied her power for as long as I knew her. How much a touch could tell her.

I first met Jasmin fifty years ago on a war field. I was collecting souls of soldiers in the forest and she walked up to me noticing what I was doing and since then we became friends.

Jasmin let go of her hand. And looked at me weirdly. “What did you see?” I asked her.

“Nothing...” she said. “But something happened when she was little...” she looked lost deep in her own thoughts.

Meredith shifted her head but was unable to speak.

I rested my palm on her soft cheek and other under her back.

Jasmin looked at her but remained talking to me. “Someone put a block on her mind... these kinds of blocks are most often used in curses...” she said and Meredith tried to sit up but I didn’t let her seeing how weak she still was by holding her more tight.

“I’m cursed?” She questioned slowly and quietly.

At first I didn’t realize how my hand slipped in her hair and started to massage her scalp.

“Yes... “Jasmin said. “And all we got to do now is find out your curse.” Jasmin stood up and paced around thinking. “Have you ever noticed that you couldn’t do anything that everyone else could? Anything at all”... she questioned.

“I don’t have a mate,” she said, avoiding any eye contact. How awful it must feel that you are meant to have a mate but don’t get one.

Jasmin shook her head. “No... It’s not it. Love curses can’t take away the moon goddesses gifts, she doesn’t work along with anyone... but if we could find why there isn’t a mate for you it could give us a clue as to why this curse is put on you,” she explained. “I know someone who is a destined moon goddesses destined one. I will find him.”

“What if...what if I don’t want to know?” Meredith asked Jasmin, finally pulling herself up from my lap where her head rested and a weird cold washed over me, but I didn’t mention it and pushed it away from my thoughts.

“You... said you will help...” Jasmin said, and I was about to tell that it’s not that important. But Meredith got to it first.

She shook her head. “Yes, you are right...I’m sorry.” she said.

“You don’t have to if...” I started.

“That’s why you are here right? To find that out. I will help.” She said her last word. This was the only reason I was here? But what if I didn’t need to know that? Would I still be here?

Jasmin was putting all her stuff away and putting them in her bag.

Meredith had come back to her senses and was leaning against one of the trees while I paced around.

Before leaving, Jasmin smirked at me and then turned to Meredith. “By the way. Congratulations on your engagement.” she said.

I looked shocked back at Meredith but she had her stare down. “Thank you!”

I watched Jasmin walk away and spoke. “You don’t have a mate…” I said. Her eyes laid on me expecting me to continue.

“Really?” She said offended and only then did I realized how it sounded.

“What I mean is…” I took my time to gather the words to not say something wrong. “How could you marry someone who is not your mate? Tell me if I understand werewolves wrong but… I have been told that they can’t love anyone else but their mate?” I asked her.

She didn’t look up at me. Her eyes now completely covering the ground. “I don’t have other choice.” she said with her voice slightly breaking but she coughed it off trying to hide it.

“No one can force you to....” I tried to reason with her.

“It’s what’s best for me, my future, my family,” she said quietly, but in her voice I could tell that she didn’t believe it herself.

“Who are you trying to convince?” I asked. “So you just give in to the pressure? That’s all it takes?”

She threw her hands in the air. “You have no idea what’s it like… to fail at something you were meant to succeed no matter the circumstances. I was supposed to have a mate, someone to love me, have me as his own but I failed!”

“You didn’t fail!”

Her eyes started to water but she quickly wiped it away with a fake smile. “I was just not worthy enough!”

“You can’t just settle down on something when you don’t believe in it!” how furious I was at her stupidity.

She got up and stormed away but I ran in front of her making her stop. “What are you to tell me what I need to do?” she asked angrily.

“You will ruin your life” Was all I said.

“Why do you feel the need to tell me what I should do with my life? Why do you care?” she asked and I did not have an answer for that, why did I care? I didn’t answer and she didn’t wait for me to.

She walked away in the darkness, after all these years I was finally going mad. She was making me completely crazy.