Forty four

OLAMIDE

A soft gasp escaped my mouth as Sofiane tore away at the dirt making the earth bleed red. "What are you doing?" I questioned out loud.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I am helping you out." He retorted.

"But I don't want your help." I continued digging, ignoring the maddening voice emanating at the back of my head telling me to drop the damn shovel and kiss him. I had never felt Candice overpower my senses this bad. Before now, I could very easily restrain her but the closer Sofiane got to me, the weaker the rein I had over the witch became.

"It does not matter." Sofiane maintained. "Axel is in no state to help you at the moment and it would take you forever to unearth this grave all by yourself as much as you resent it human, you need me. I'm stronger and faster after all."

At that time, we had uncovered one-sixth of the ground my brother's coffin rested. A part of me appreciated the help and acknowledged that he was indeed stronger and faster. He was the one doing the work after all but t the same time, I felt frightened. The alien sensation overtaking my senses was intense. It was nothing like I felt when Jason came close. Honestly, it took everything I had in me to stay away. I took in the sight of those auburn locks and broad shoulders. His eyes were focused on digging but he knew very well he was being watched and that was the worst of it all. He knew the effect his presence was having and he chose to stay. This was no act of kindness. It was a game and a cruel one at that.

"I hear valid points Sofiane but your mind tells me differently. You aren't here to help me. You are here for her. She is dead. Why can't you forget her? Why can't you move on?" A familiar ache gripped my heart when I uttered those words. It felt like heartbreak and regret. As homely as the feeling came, I knew they weren't mine. The sight in front of me glitched. The cool morning seemed to be blanketed in black but when I blinked, everything seemed to return to normal. I looked in Sofiane's direction expecting a hostile or broken reaction but the werewolf was unhurt by my words. He spared me a look for a second before he continued digging. At this point, I was the one holding us back.

"How can I move on when she hasn't left yet? She's in you. She dug her way out of some shitty afterlife to stay by my side. She gave us a second chance so my temporary insanity was worth it. Candice came back to me."

"Except Candice didn't come back to you," I corrected, wiping off beads of sweat that had formed in my forehead as the minutes passed. "If you ask me, I'm guessing she was so afraid of the afterlife after all the terrible deeds that she has done that she chose to jump into my body rather than face her hell. Since we got talking, she has never mentioned anything about you. She however seems obsessed with Jason even if it is killing him she is after."

Sofiane's eyes shot up. A pool of cold darkness that rivaled the mad rush of running into wonderful red flags. The way they were fixed on me – unflinching in their courage and audacity – made me know my words did not affect him whatsoever. This werewolf was built of steel.

"Maybe I'm obsessed. Maybe I just can't let it go. But that makes two of us." He began. "I have seen humans grieve but I have never seen any desecrate a grave because they cannot let it go."

"My brother is not dead," I muttered under my breath. It came out unexpectedly. I was even shocked to hear myself saying it. It was inconceivable to know that I had come to that conclusion by the word of a genocidal witch and my own insecurities but nevertheless, I and Sofiane were not the same.

"But didn't you see his corpse? Didn't you watch him get buried? Did you not grieve him? Because I'm pretty sure if I have done all that as a human, I will purge every thought of my brother being alive but you haven't. Why? Because deep down, you want him to be alive. I also had a chance to grieve and forget Candice. But I didn't. I just could not move on. I didn't. Despite all the horrible things I found out about Candice, I still loved her and my love for her made me do terrible and shameful things. That same love brought me to you and now here we are. It's truly funny how fate works."

He was right. I hated to admit it but he was. Now four feet deep, we kept on digging. At the same time, I pondered on what Sofiane had said. Fate was indeed funny. I had tried to take my own life when Deji died. I somehow survived that night thanks to Candice. My grief had also been the factor that led me into the hands of Devin when I partied too hard for my good just to get off the pain Deji's absence and my parent's incognito had brought me. The concept of change, renewal, and rebirth frightened me. The closer we got to the coffin, the more the words I had told myself echoed in my head like a broken vinyl on repeat. I had wished that my brother stayed dead. Sofiane struck the earth one final time and his shovel hit something. He threw the shovel a few feet away and brushed on the earth revealing an old-looking coffin. I became increasingly conscious. Everything felt so wrong and for a brief minute, I didn't want to open the lid.

"I don't think I can do this," I whispered, tears rolling down my face.

"You didn't come this far from nothing," Sofiane whispered. "I think your heart deserves the truth. Ease your suffering and look."

His words comforted me. Slowly, I bent down and reached for the unhinged lid, pulling it with misty eyes. I expected to be hit with a horrible smell and a pang of regret when I came face to face with my brother's corpse but none of that happened. The coffin was empty.

***

Pouring the shattered glass into a trashcan, David came to speak to Satake. His angular face went tense. "Are you crazy? Why would you say something like that I'm a place like this? Do you have a death wish?"

Satake's dull eyes scattered across the room and his cheeks burned. "I came here to get answers. Not to get chastised by you."

"What answers?"

"I heard witches can do these tests to determine what kind of supernatural they are dealing with. Sort of like a DNA voodoo test. Can you do that?" Satake asked, walking around as he gathered his thoughts. David wondered if it had something to do with what Satake was. The man did seem frazzled. It almost made David puzzled. What exactly did Satake need the test for? What game was the Beta playing?

"Why would you want me to perform such a spell?"

"Because I have no idea what I am anymore. All my life, I always thought I was a werewolf. They told me I was and I believed the reason I could not shift was because of the trauma of watching my parents die. They told me my wolf had a stunted growth and it might never recover from it. But last night, after that witch messed with my brain, I saw them. I saw my parents. But it wasn't like I wanted to remember. They were not werewolves. My mother–She had nine tails." Satake shot back. He was angry but the rage was not directed at David. The Beta just seemed lost and frustrated himself. When he regained some of his composure, he looked in David's direction. "Does that answer your question, Isaac?"

David was surprised. When he had found out what Satake was at the De' crescent, he was certain Satake was a relic hiding among werewolves to protect himself from being a witch's potion. He refused to believe Satake was clueless all these while. Not to mention that the Beta was extremely witchphobic. The last place he would ask for help would be a warlock's pub. This had to be a trap of some sort. David took well the account of everything Satake has uttered. The Beta had also lost his parents at Crow territory and that meant his sister was involved. David knew he had to tread dangerous waters carefully. The last thing he needed was to be hate-crimed for being a Blossom witch. It truly bothered him when Satake referred to him as Isaac but David ascertained it would do both of them a great deal of good if Satake remained in the dark.

"No. This is the last place you should be asking for help." David retorted. "I know you are very distrusting of witches so excuse me if I find it odd that you came to one immediately something as dire as this pops out of the shadows."

David noticed how Satake's jaw twitched, a flicker of the familiar fury flared in his eyes. David didn’t need to hear a response from him to know what was going through his mind. "I don't believe it. You truly have no idea what you are."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Satake growled, slumping on the floor. "What am I?"

David's guts clenched, he showed Satake his palm which the rune had burned through. It itched as he closed the distance between them. The buzz got warm. Like it was warning David to steer clear but the primordial magic coursing his veins urged him second despite his reflexes warning him of the scalding pain. A shriek hung on the crevices of David's throat once he covered the space between them. Through Satake's irises, David could see his hand glow a bright red, vaguely making the insignia of a spider. A blue aura slowly whizzed out of Satake like a wisp of smoke. David could make out the form of a giant fox with nine tails.

"Why is your hand glowing?"

David held his breath in the momentary silence that followed. He knew once he spoke there was no going back but David also knew that leaving Satake in the dark would be a much worse scenario. "This is a sniffer rune. As its name implies, its purpose is to sniff out mystic individuals but not just any supernaturals. This rune is attracted to a demographic of rare and extremely powerful supernatural better known as relics."