Eighty two

"Don't do this..." Lilith pleaded. "I love you Mamu."

Deji pulled his sister close as Lilith spewed that blasphemy. His brows jerked high as he silently implored how the vampire countess could tell herself such a lie.

"And you love me too." Lilith insisted. “I know you do. Just hand over the girl. Give her to me Mamu. I will forgive you.”

“Shut it!” Deji slammed, pulling his sister even closer. "You do not get to tell me what to do anymore."

“When...” Lilith for the first time faltered. Her attention left Deji and lingered on Jason. She remembered those black smokes that shot out of his hands. It took that little for her to come to a conclusion. With a splay of hands, she picked the Alpha from the floor causing Yasmin to retrace her steps from the Relic–Alpha duo.

"This all started when your so-called gifts hit him. What the fuck did you do?" The look in her eyes was clearly maniacal. Her irises were crimson red and the white parts were oily orange. Veins of black jetted across her eyelids solidifying her transition into a true monstrosity.

"Whatever I did, brought her brother back." Jason scoffed.

His answer infuriated Lilith. She slammed her palms into his chest. Ribs clashed against the bones in her hand but her vampiric strength prevailed. Pieces of bones stuck out of Jason's flesh and his chest prolapsed. He felt the pain in every pore, vein even to the bone. Not quite done with him, Lilith raised the Alpha high, shaking him fervently to catch Deji and Olamide's attention.

"In seconds, I will be ripping out his heart," Lilith promised. "Whether you care for this werewolf or not, your so-called sister has no choice but to care. She is his mate. Jason's death will destroy her. I may not be able to hurt you. But nothing stops me from obliterating the girl if I can't have you. Protect her all you want but when this bastard's life washes over to the afterlife. All that will remain of that girl is a shell!"

"Why would I ever believe you?" Deji yelled back.

"Oh, but the answer is quite simple. Just look into the eyes of your sister."

Deji obeyed. What did he see? Olamide's glassy eyes held fear and her despair was valid. Their parents were out of the picture. He too had once left the picture. For countless months, Olamide had been entirely alone. That werewolf had been her resting place for the months he was gone. The man might have been the one to wipe his memories and toss him back to Lilith's dwelling but Deji understood why he did it. Jason had done it to prevent a day like this from ever coming into existence but it did anyway.

Lilith noticed the skepticism in Deji's eyes and continued her onslaught. "You can't fight me. I sired you. You can pull the heartstrings of my heart but that won't get you far either. Let's say you successfully escape with the girl you claim is your sister, what happens when the overwhelming sense of grief overcomes her? What happens when the will to live absconds from her and she chooses to take her life after your sacrifice? Can you live the rest of your immortal life knowing you had a hand in such an unfortunate incident?"

"Do not trust her," Jason mouthed. "Run and never turn back."

Lilith snapped another arm. Her eyes were fixated on Olamide. The pleasure of watching the girl wince until the inevitable happened filled her with satisfaction. Deji was still trapped in his mind. Olamide was too frozen to speak. This gave Lilith an opening she so much craved. But before she could act on her impulses, a discharge of light hit her on the hand which latched on to Jason. The hot light basically melted Lilith's hand causing Jason to drop to the floor. Jason wasted no time running towards Satake. The relic had chosen to save his Alpha rather than himself even with Yasmin Maplewood returned to finish him. As Jason shoved Yasmin away from Satake, Lilith came for Jason with malicious intent glazed in her eyes.

***

INTERMISSION (Olamide's mind)

As the scene unfolded before me, I begged Candice to help. The voice in my head seemed to have abandoned me and I couldn't blame her. I had forsaken her when she wanted to help. As evil, as I believed the witch within me, was, there was no way she could remain expressionless now that her brother had died. I had been like that minutes before Deji somehow regained his memories.

"Candice, you brought yourself to this realm," I begged the witch within me. "I am sure you will figure out a way to save her brother from the clasp of death."

Candice remained quiet. Jason saved Satake.  Lilith proceeded to puncture his heart. I wanted to shut my eyes to prevent myself from seeing the inevitable but my eyes refused to clasp shut. As hot tears cascaded down my face, the picture before me slowed. The world seemed to move in molasses. It was as if time stopped.

"But I can't bring him back. Neither can I help you." Candice replied. The source of the voice seemed to have emanated from behind me. I whirled backward. It was Candice alright but something had changed. Her spunk seemed to have dwindled. Her hair, which I vividly remembered to be raven was now frost white. Her porcelain skin had darkened. She was sprawled to the floor as if dying.

I found it strange that I felt worried for her. As much as Candice Blossom had scared me, I had to accept that the witch -albeit with nefarious intentions- had been there for me all the step of the way. She was like that family member who you chose to avoid because she had a knack for trouble yet somehow was always there for the family when needed. "Candice, are you alright?" I asked.

"He died." Candice wept. "If I had not been so blinded by power, he might have never been here. He might still be alive. I regret it Olamide. I regret it all. All those people died because of me. And despite all those senseless murders, all I got was kitsune ash. You know I loathed your mate for plucking me out of this world but now I wonder if he was wrong. I am a monster."

"You cannot blame yourself, Candice. You can't sulk over split milk. You found a way to return to the realm of the living. I am sure you can do it again. Just help me fight."

Out of nowhere, tree roots tentacled from beneath the floorboards and cradled Candice on either side. "I want to help you fight your battles. I really want to do so for my brother's sake but I cannot."

"What... do you mean?"

"When I died, I tethered myself to David. Now that he is dead. There is nothing keeping me to this plane. " Her breath segued to painful gasps as her body began to crack. The roots bandaged further and soon all that was left was Candice's face and her hands. As the roots dragged her into the earth where she belonged, Candice reached out for my hand. I accepted it.

"But this I can do for you." She said, closing her eyes and spreading the fingers of both hands before me, Candice focused on me and our connection. “Strength,” she commanded and I felt the surge of power infuse my system. "Hecate grants you the power to vanquish your enemies." Candice's palms heated over my hands imprinting peach sigils that tickled at her touch. Her vita flowed out in vibrant pink energy gleaming with iridescent glints, and it flowed in through my pores, illuminating my skin and causing the strange sigils to glisten like stars. "Tell Sofiane I love him." She told me in her final moments. The roots covered her entirely. Where she had once laid sprawled, a cherry Blossom tree lived.